Anytime you need to translate a word or two from Portuguese to English or any other languages, you have several free, useful tools available to you. First, there are lots of smartphone applications which translate words quickly. Google Translate comes built into smartphones using the Android platform, but it is also available for free on […]
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Common Phrases – Apologizing
This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Common PhrasesToday we are going to look at a few different ways to say “I’m sorry” in English. Repetition becomes boring, so it is nice to have a variety of ways to say the same thing. The following phrases are in order from most informal […]
Phrasal Verbs – Give Back
This entry is part 12 of 12 in the series Phrasal Verbs(This is a series on Phrasal Verbs. There are hundreds of phrasal verbs and many of them have no relation to the words that form them. When you are learning a new phrasal verb, I recommend learning it as a completely new piece of vocabulary, instead […]
Phrasal Verbs – Give Away
This entry is part 11 of 12 in the series Phrasal Verbs(This is a series on Phrasal Verbs. There are hundreds of phrasal verbs and many of them have no relation to the words that form them. When you are learning a new phrasal verb, I recommend learning it as a completely new piece of vocabulary, instead […]
Phrasal Verbs – Blow Up
This entry is part 10 of 12 in the series Phrasal Verbs(This is a series on Phrasal Verbs. There are hundreds of phrasal verbs and many of them have no relation to the words that form them. When you are learning a new phrasal verb, I recommend learning it as a completely new piece of vocabulary, instead […]
Expressions (expressões) – Dog Eat Dog
This entry is part 10 of 10 in the series Expressions(English, like most other languages, is full of expressions that don’t really make sense when translated. This series will explore some of the different, popular expressions used in English to help any speaker improve their vocabulary.) There are many expressions which work well in […]
Using “The” Correctly – Part II
This entry is part 9 of 13 in the series Improving EnglishWe already looked at the basic rules about “the,” but there are a few things that are harder to understand. Let’s take a look at using articles with names. Proper names never use an article. (David, Brian, Santa Clause, Barack Obama, Xuxa) Proper titles […]
Expressions (expressões) – Corner the Market
(English, like most other languages, is full of expressions that don’t really make sense when translated. This series will explore some of the different, popular expressions used in English to help any speaker improve their vocabulary.) There are many expressions which work well in business settings, so we will look at some over the […]
False Friends (Falsos Cognatos) – Anticipate/Antecipar
This entry is part 6 of 6 in the series False Friends( False friends or false cognates are words that look the same in different languages, but which actually have different meanings.) Anticipate is a false friend that I personally use sometimes! I really like the word “antecipar” and try to use it the same […]
Time Changes
One of the hardest adjustments for me to make when I moved from the United States to Brazil was the difference in seasons. In the United States, December is Winter, so Christmas is cold and Santa Claus makes sense. In Brazil, December is Summer, so New Years is a beach holiday. Growing up, I always […]
