noviembre 2022 – The English Box

Nov 23 2022

6 Common mistakes in English that you SHOULD AVOID!

Let me guess; you’re here because probably you are not a native English speaker and you are learning English… and of course you want to check whether you have been making these mistakes too. Well, I got this for you… Probably you have but why do we make some of these mistakes? Well it’s very very very simple so please read this and stay with the Box!

Let’s speak about something that is called INTERFERENCE and what the hell is interference? Interference is nothing but your first language interfering with the language you’re learning, in this case, if you are a Spanish speaker and Spanish is your first language, Spanish structures, Spanish pronunciation, Spanish vocabulary is interfering with English and that’s why people say things like “No is good” because in Spanish it’s natural to say “No está bien” so in English is “No is good” Right? But no! We know that in English is “It’s not good” and like this there are many many mistakes, but well, having said that, let’s begin spotting them. You’re going to see how often people make these mistakes.

I am agree

Yeah, I know it sounds ridiculous. I know it sounds like “Come on, this is too obvious!” Well, believe me this mistake happens and it happens a lot. Remember in English agree is neither a noun nor an adjective but a verb so you are not supposed to say things like “I’m agree”. In Spanish it’s very typical to say “Estoy de acuerdo” and it sounds dramatically similar to say “I am agree” but no, because “agree” is not an adjective, so in this case what’s the correct form? “I agree” Eliminate the verb to be from your structure.

And what happens if the sentence is negative? Should we use the verb BE? No, we never use the verb BE. Remember that, so the negative form of “I agree” is “I DON’T agree” Well so now let’s move to the next mistake of our list. Are you ready?

Stop overusing how

Yeah, although you don’t believe it, people overuse the word HOW and then again, yes, because of interference! That’s it! Usually the mistakes that I we are spotting right now happen with Spanish speakers learning English. Now let me tell you a very simple example:

“I think Eiza González speaks HOW a native”

Wait! She speaks HOW a native? Are you sure that’s correct? Well, obviously not! In this case although in Spanish it’s pretty natural to say Eiza González speaks HOW a native, in English that doesn’t work. In this case remember you are not supposed to use the word HOW, You are going to use the word LIKE because this word, besides being a verb is also a preposition and it’s a preposition that means SIMILAR TO. So remember every time you’re comparing two objects, two nouns in the way they do something you have to use LIKE and the pattern is quite simple;

verb + like + your noun

So in this case Eiza Gonzalez doesn’t speak HOW a native, she speaks LIKE a native. “Hmm, it smells like hamburgers!” and the same happens with the following questions, questions that in Spanish are commonly used with the equivalent of how in Spanish which is Cómo, but not in English, a very simple example of this is “Hey, how do you call this thing?” If you don’t want anyone to answer back something like “I don’t know, if you want to call that thing you can use your phone or you can text it or you can send an email” probably you’re just going to be like “What the heck?” and that’s for a very simple reason, you are asking for the way, the method, the means you can use in order to give this thing a call. The correct word if you want to know the name of this thing is WHAT, “What do you call this?” Then the other person will reply something like “Oh, a cutter” Exactly, that’s what I meant; a cutter. You see? And the same happens with questions like “How does she look like?” It should be “What does she look like?” And actually it comes connected with the thing that I told you before about like. “What does he?/ What does she look like?“And another example of this is when you are asking for some word that you don’t know and you say “Hey, how’s the word for this?” Is that correct?” In that case you should also use “Hey, what’s the word for this?” “Oh, that’s a cutter”.

I have 30 years old

This is one of the most typical mistakes, this is one of the things that you learn practically from the very beginning; this is basic English. Nevertheless, it’s a very common mistake with accomplished Learners as well. Not only with beginners, not only with intermediate students but with accomplished ones. In Spanish is like typical and actually is normal because literally the question in Spanish is “How many years do you have?” And then you answer how many years you have. In English people don’t ask you how many years you have, that’s why you’re not supposed to say “I have 20” “I have 30” “I have 40” and of course even a worse mistake is to say “I have 40 years old” “I have 50 years old” “I have 60, 70…” And this doesn’t apply to the age of people, this applies practically to the age of everything. If we’re speaking about a movie, the same thing. I don’t say “Hey, how many years does that movie have?” No, I say the same “How old is that movie?” “The other day I was watching Back to the Future and I was wondering how old it is.” Same thing. Well, to help you remember this, next time you’re speaking about something’s or someone’s age, remember not to say the verb HAVE.

How + adjective + verb to be + noun

Fun or funny

People tend to believe that they manage properly the words fun and funny, but probably you are not managing them well and let me tell you why; people tend to believe that actually they are kind of the same thing but no, they are not. Sometimes you want to say things like “Hey, having a holiday in Cabo sounds like a FUNNY thing” but that’s not really right. FUN can be an adjective, yes, but it can also be a noun and it has to do with ENTERTAINMENT there’s no comedy involved, in this case a holiday or vacation in Cabo sounds like a FUN thing, like an entertaining thing… and relaxing by the way. You can also use it in the expression “Let’s have some fun” Let’s have some entertainment, let’s have some relax. Now, speaking about FUNNY, it refers to something that actually provokes you to laugh, in this one comedy is involved. It refers to something hilarious, something comical. When you’re just scrolling on Tik Tok and watching funny videos, exactly! That’s it! You’re watching things that provoke you to laugh so those are funny also comedians comedians are supposed to be funny.

History vs story

Just in the same fashion, we have HISTORY and STORY. The first thing you have to remember is history is an uncountable noun. What does this mean? It doesn’t have a plural form and you cannot use A or AN. You cannot say A history or you cannot say TWO histories… you cannot say THREE histories because it’s an uncountable word and it’s singular. And when do we use it? Well, history refers to the events that happened in the past of someone’s life or the life of a country, the life of a city, the life of a culture, etc. It refers to all this set of events that have happened through the passing of time and of course it also refers to the academic subject. Some people love it some people hate it. And what about story? Well, story on the other hand, works a little bit different. First of all, you must remember story is a countable noun, with this one you can use a plural form and you can say A story. Story is a narration of events that happened to you or someone imaginary or real at some point in time.

Interested or interesting

If you’re speaking about yourself, what do you think that matches better; I am bored or I am boring? Well, if your answer is that you are boring, well, I’m so sorry for you. If you’re saying you’re boring you’re assuming that that’s one of your characteristics; If you start talking, everybody falls asleep. Sorry but that’s what you’re saying. The correct answer should be I’m bored, I’m bored expresses a transitory feeling provoked in my case by an external agent so I feel bored, Did you catch the difference? The ING form represents a situation, a situation that can be created either by people or things in general while the ED adjectives are representing a feeling a reaction that was provoked by an external agent, ED adjectives only work with living things; My dog can be bored, I can be bored but… The movie can be bored? Not really, just follow this pattern:

ING = CAUSE

ED = EFFECT

Well, of course there are many more mistakes that English Learners make and are quite common but we’re going to leave those for a second part. But tell us, have you been making any of these mistakes or have you making any others you believe are commonly made by learners?

We’d love to read you! We urge you to illustrate your reading with our video on this issue.

DaGilster 0 Comentarios

Nov 15 2022

Need some motivation? Here are some major benefits of learning English.

Benefits of speaking English, both personal and professional

The greatest benefit of speaking English: fulfilling your dreams.

If your goal in life is to do business, English is an excellent tool. If you want to study at the best universities in the world, English helps you too. If you prefer to read books, watch movies and listen to today’s hottest podcasts… Guess what? English is also the key. These are just a few advantages of speaking English. Here we break them down and introduce you to others.

As everything in this life, besides this precious piece of information given here, English also depends on the goals you pursue when learning this language. Every person has a dream that he or she wants to fulfill by speaking English.

We hope these pointers can really help you on your path to achieving every single thing you are looking for! Well, having written this; let’s get this started!

You can study abroad
Studying abroad has many advantages, but how does it relate to speaking English? When we talk about undergraduate and graduate degrees abroad, we sometimes tend to think of American and British universities and colleges. However, even though speaking English does open doors, you can also get opportunities at schools in other non-English speaking countries or regions.

For example, in Quebec, Canada, French is the main language spoken, but McGill University, one of the most important in the world, has English as its official language. The same is true of the University of Tokyo (Japan) or the University of Reykjavik (Iceland), to cite other examples.

Another advantage of knowing English related to your studies is that, no matter where your university is located, you can apply for exchange programs with English-speaking universities.

You improve your job opportunities
Did you know that 25% of jobs require English speakers to interact with people from other countries? So says a survey conducted by Reuters. But why English and not another language? Well, because more than 375 million people speak English for business even if it is not their native language.

Thanks to figures like the above, thousands of companies worldwide are looking for people trained to interact in English and with certifications that endorse their mastery.

We are not only talking about local companies seeking to internationalize, but also about international companies that want to integrate the best profiles in the world into their ranks.

In fact, in a post-Covid-19 world, job opportunities for people who speak English have increased without the need to change their place of residence.

Encourage networking
Imagine an agenda full of contacts with professionals from Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. What is the link between all these people and you? English. By having this skill, you eliminate the barriers of mother tongues.

So, whether you are setting up a business or undertaking research or artistic work, you can find the most qualified people who share your goals.

It gives you access to thousands of documents
Most of the content on the Internet is in English. We are talking about 25.2%, compared to almost 8% in Spanish. Although the written content can be translated from the browser, the result is not the best in terms of grammar.

In addition, those who do not speak English are missing out on much of the video content, YouTubers, influencers or celebrities who speak English, even a lot of excellent memes.

But it’s not all fun. When doing homework, research or needing information of any kind, searching in English will give you a wider variety of results than if you limit yourself to Spanish options. The best open sources of data, reports, statistics, studies, etc., are only available in English.

Strengthen your brain
This is hard to understand until you experience it for yourself, but by mastering another language, your brain works differently.

Studies have shown that the bilingual brain is able to concentrate better, learn more easily and multitask. Does speaking two languages make you smarter? Not exactly, but by switching from one language to another your brain exercises the area in charge of decision making, making it easier for you to concentrate and adapt to different activities at the same time.

It is also true that people who speak two languages can learn a third or fourth language more easily. You will find that after learning English, your brain will be able to better understand the structure of a new language.

It helps you empathize
Learning a language is learning about another culture. This is another of the most important advantages of knowing English because it helps you to understand, accept and respect the diversity of the world.

To the extent that we empathize with other people who are not like us and, better yet, understand them, we can work together to overcome the problems that afflict us all.

You have more tourism options
While you can travel anywhere in the world without having to know English or the local language, speaking English makes things easier, starting with flights and airports.

In addition, thousands of tourist centers around the world have guides who share the richness of a place with tours in English. In short, this language not only opens the doors to English culture, but to all the cultures of the world.

DaGilster 1 Comentarios

Nov 6 2022

Celebrities with a degree: Did you know the professions of these Hollywood stars?

An acting career can be a coin flip. At times, it takes a lot of luck to achieve fame and fortune. However, many performers wanted to strengthen their future with a university major, either out of a desire for self-improvement, or as insurance if the doors of Hollywood did not open wide enough for them.

Through this article, we’re exploring this fascinating side of some of the biggest Hollywood hot-shots that probably you had no idea that even existed. If motivation is what you need, just give it a look!

HISTORIAN STEVE CARELL

The son of nurse Harriet T. Koch and Edwin A. Carell, an electrical engineer, as a child Steve Carell played the piano with other members of his family, and joined a historical reenactment group, which ultimately gave him a taste for acting but also for history.

In 1984 he earned a degree in history from Denison University in Granville, Ohio. At Denison, Carell was a member of Burpee’s Seedy Theatrical Company, an improvisational comedy troupe formed by students, and decided that he would pursue this profession.

Marketing and business administration graduate Kevin Costner

The Bodyguard actor graduated in Business Administration and Marketing from California State University Fullerton (1973-1978). In his youth he was a great athlete, excelling in baseball, basketball, soccer and canoeing: he built a canoe himself and paddled the Missouri River at the age of 18.

He graduated with a degree in business and landed a high-paying job as a marketing director. But that job only lasted thirty days because he met the great British actor Richard Burton on a plane. Costner confessed him that he had always wanted to be an actor. Burton’s response was simple: “To be happy, we must fight for our dreams”. When he got off the plane, Costner quit his job and moved to Hollywood.

Psychologist Natalie Portman

In 1999, while working on the filming of Star Wars, she entered Harvard University to study psychology and obtained her degree in 2003.

In an emotional speech at Harvard, the actress said she preferred to be “intelligent” rather than an actress, talked about her “dark” past and the prejudices she had to face.

“Today I feel like I did when I first came to Harvard in 1999. When I entered I thought I had made a mistake, that I wasn’t smart enough to be here… Every time I opened my mouth, I tried to prove that I wasn’t just a dumb actress. I was afraid that people would assume that because I was famous and therefore not worthy of the intellectual rigor here,” the performer said and confessed that, at the time, she was up for the challenge. “I didn’t care if college was going to ruin my acting career. I’d rather be smart than a movie star.”

Portman also took a few minutes to share with the graduates her “dark years,” as she herself defined them. In this context she explained how difficult it was for her to adapt to the new and competitive life at Harvard but, at the same time, how exciting it was.

“On several occasions, I even burst into tears in meetings with professors,” she revealed to the crowd.

Biologist Lisa Kudrow

The interpreter of the outlandish “Phoebe” in the series Friends attended Portola High School in Tarzana, California and graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, with a degree in biology.

Her father Lee was a physician and worked with him for eight years on an interesting scientific study on the relationship between left-handedness and cluster headache (a type of headache considered one of the most severe headaches).

Neuroscientist Mayim Bialik

She is known for playing “Amy Farrah Fowler” in the TV series The Big Bang Theory and in her childhood for roles as Blossom in the 90′s sitcom. Bialik studied at the University of California UCLA, despite being admitted to other more recognized universities such as Harvard or Yale, to stay close to her parents.

In 2000 she graduated in neuroscience and Judaic and Hebrew studies. In 2007 she obtained her PhD in neuroscience with a thesis focused on the study of the hypothalamus and obsessive-compulsive disorder in Prader-Willi syndrome.

Historian Edward Norton

His maternal grandfather was the famous architect James Wilson Rouse, his father is the prestigious lawyer Edward Mower Norton, so he felt the obligation to finish a university career, which he did by studying history at Yale University.

He also took courses in astronomy, history of oriental and Japanese philosophy (a language he is fluent in), and excelled in rowing competitions that the university itself scheduled (1991). He stated in an interview that he chose to study history because it could serve as a reinforcement in the world of cinema.

Lawyer Gerard Butler

The famous actor of 300 studied law at the University of Glasgow. During his time as a student, he became the president of the university’s law society.

A year before graduating, he took a sabbatical and moved to California for a while. However, despite the excesses of his break, Butler returned to Scotland to finish his degree. During this time he sang in a rock band called Speed and decided he wanted to be an actor, but only after his degree.

Engineer Rowan Atkinson

The British actor and screenwriter, best known for playing the beloved character Mr. Bean and starring in Blackadder and Johnny English, studied at Oxford and Newcastle universities, where he obtained a degree in Electrical Engineering and later obtained a master’s degree at Queen’s College, Oxford, the same college where his father was a student and of which he has been an Honorary Fellow since 2006.

Impressive and motivating at the same time, don’t you think? What other celebrities do you know with university degrees? Tell us about them and don’t forget to spread the word about our content.

DaGilster 0 Comentarios

The English Box

The English Box

6 Common mistakes in English that you SHOULD AVOID!