Polysemous / polysemic words

A polysemous or polysemic word is a word that has several meanings. 

E.g. Bank: An establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue of money, for the extension of credit, and for facilitating the transmission of funds. / A mound, pile, or ridge raised above the surrounding level. / The rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea or forming the edge of a cut or hollow.

This school year we are having a contest and we are posting these words here.

1. Stick: palo / pegar (José Luis, 6A)

2. Cell: célula / celda (Germán, 6B)

3. Tag: pilla pilla / etiqueta (Álvaro, 6A)

4. Free: libre / gratis (Daria, 6B)

5. Course: curso / plato (Álvaro, 6A)

6. Football: balompié / balón de fútbol (Marta, 6B)

7. Save: ahorrar / salvar (Pablo, 6A)

8. Bass: metal / bajo (music) (Germán, 6B)

9. Stress: estrés / acento (Nael, 6A)

10. Book: libro / reservar (Ainhoa A., 6B)

11. Train: tren / entrenar (Daria, 6B)

12. Season: estación / sazonar (Claudia, 6B)

13. Period: período / punto (Jorge, 6A)

13. Bolt: rayo / tornillo (Daria, 6B)

14. Lift: elevar / ascensor (Pablo L., 6A)

15. Date: fecha / dátil (Ainhoa A., 6B)

16. Hook: percha / garfio (Marcos, 6A)

17. Flat: piso / plano (Álex, 6B)

18. Left: izquierda / dejado (José Luis, 6A)

19. Cool: frío / guay (Marina, 6B)

20. Park: parque / aparcar (Hugo, 6A)

21. Square: cuadrado / plaza (Álex & Germán, 6B)

22. Can: poder / lata (Àlvaro & Aitor, 6A)

23. Mean: significar / tacaño (Marcos, 6A)

24. Opposite: contrario/ enfrente (Marina, 6B)

25. Coach: entrenador / autobús (Nael, 6A)

26. Draw: dibujar / empate (Germán, 6B)

27. Trolley: carrito / tranvía (Nael, 6A)

28. Chest: pecho / cofre (Aitana, 6A)

29. Absorb: absorber / amortiguar (Marina, 6B)

30. Saw: vio / sierra (Aitor, 6A)

31. Alarm: alarmarse / despertador (Yoel, 6B)

32. Miss: señorita / perder (Aitor, 6A)

33. Turkey: Turquía/ pavo (Marcos, 6A)

Polysemous words

Coming soon!

False friends

False friends are words in English that are similar to others in Spanish, but have a different meaning. For instance, 'library' is a false friend. Why? Because it seems to mean "librería", but it actually means "biblioteca".
Can you give more examples?

1. Library: biblioteca, not librería.

2. Balloon: globo, not balón. (Jimena, 5A) 

3. Excited: emocionado, not excitado (Ainhoa, 5B)

4. Cartoon: dibujo animado, not cartón (Aitor, 5C)

5. Arm: brazo, not arma (Luz, 5B)

6. Carpet: alfombra, not carpeta (Lucas, 5A)

7. Rope: cuerda, not ropa (Alan, 5B)

8. Summary: resumen, not sumario (Germán, 5C)

9. Actual: real, not actual (Hugo, 5A)

10. Fabric: tela o tejido, not fábrica (Andrea, 5B)

11. Floor: suelo, not flor (Álvaro, 5C)

12. Contest: concurso, not contestar (Carlos, 5A) 

13. Constipated: estreñido, not constipado (Yoel, 5B) 

14. Exit: salida, not éxito (Álex, 5A)

15. Advice: consejo, not aviso (Jorge Juan, 5B)

16. Stress: acento, not estrés (José Luis, 5C)

17. Lyrics: letra de canción, not lírica (Fran, 5B)

18. Embarrassed: avergonzada, not embarazada (Aitana, 5A)

19. Poison: veneno, not poción (Lucas, 5B)

20. Major: alcalde, not mayor (Ángel, 5B)

21. Grape: uva, not grapa (Sophia, 5C)

22. Arena: estadio, not arena o harina (Hugo, 5A)

23. Pan: sartén, not pan (Olivia, 5C)

24. Ball: baile, not balón in this case (Jorge, 5A)

25. Assist: atender, not asistir (Ivana, 5B)

26. Relatives: familiares, not relativos (Marina, 5C)

27. Camp: campamento, not campo (Martín, 5A)

28. Lace: encaje, not lazo (Samuel, 5B)

29. Argument: discusión, not argumento (Pablo, 5A)

30. Relief: alivio, not relieve (Doménico, 5B)

Working on our oral skills

When learning a new language, people are eager to start communicating and talking to each other. In order to achieve this without an accurate English level, there are several shortcuts to establish a conversation. These simple sentences and questions will help you break the ice.

• To say hello or to greet someone: Hello / Hi / How do you do? / What’s up? / (It’s) Nice to meet you / (It’s) Nice to see you / How are you today?/ Good morning / Good afternoon / Good evening

• To say goodbye: Good morning / Good afternoon / Good day / Goodbye / Bye-bye / Bye / Good night

• To find out information about the other person: What’s your name? / How old are you? / What’s your address? / Where do you live? / Where are you from? / What’s your telephone number? / What’s your favourite colour (sport, animal, number...)? / Do you like spaghetti (football, cats, TV...)?

• To help you in class: Can you repeat, please? / Can you spell it, please? / How do you say (lápiz) in English? / What's the meaning of pencil in Spanish? / May I have some water, please? / May I go to the toilet, please? / Can you open (close) the window (door), please? / Can I borrow your pencil (rubber, sharpener...), please? = Can I have a pencil (rubber, sharpener), please? = Have you got a pencil (rubber, sharpener...), please? / Be quiet, please / Silence, please / Pay attention / Open (close) your books (notebooks), please / Which (What) page are we on, please? / Can you play it (the audio track) again, please? / Can you explain that again, please? / Can you write it on the (black)board?

• To help you out around the city: Excuse me, how can I get to Alfonso el Sabio Street (Santa Barbara Castle, the beach...)? / Excuse me, can I have a coke (a glass of water, a cup of tea...), please? / Would you like something to eat (drink)? / Excuse me, can you tell what time it is, please? / How much is it (this)? / Can I pay cash (credit card)? 

I will be adding more useful expressions soon. Please, use them.

What time is it?

Read and use this project I have created about the time. Please, read all the sections and do the activities to practise the contents. Click on telling the time to enter this project. I hope you like it... 
Bear in mind that this has been created with exelearning and some notions appear in Spanish as a default setting. 

Verb 'to have (got)'

Here you will find the different forms (long and short) of the verb 'to have (got)'. Affirmative and negative forms as well as questions and short answers are also included. Click on read more to continue...

Idioms and other expressions

This year we are working with 'idioms'. Idiom is a false friend and it is used to express something in a figurative way. Do you remember false friends? Could you give an example? Well, from now on we are using idioms in class, a very good approach to the English language and culture. Click on read more to continue...


29. Saved by the bell. What does it mean? Could you find a similar expression in Spanish?
Answer: Salvado por la campana (Many thanks to David, 6th)

28. Bite off more than you can chew. What does it mean? Could you find a similar expression in Spanish?
Answer: El que mucho abarca poco aprieta (Many thanks to Lorena, 6th)

27. Bury the hatchet. What does it mean? Could you find a similar expression in Spanish?
Answer: Enterrar el hacha de guerra (Many thanks to Elena, 6th)

26. Face the music. What does it mean? Could you find a similar expression in Spanish?
Answer: Dar la cara (Many thanks to David, 6th)

Asking and answering questions

This entry deals with particular aspects of the English language. Here you will find special tips or shortcuts to use the language in a better way. Following this advice you will be able to speak properly and avoid Spanish constructions.

* Questions: 

1) Remember that, when you ask a question in English, it is advisable to use the auxiliary form in that question to answer it properly. For instance:

- Do: Do you like pizza? Yes, I do. 

- Can: Can I have a blue pen, please? No, you can't. Sorry.

- Have: Have you got any sisters? Yes, I have.   

- Be (am, is, are): Are you sad? Yes, I am. 
                           Is he happy? Yes, he is. 
                           Are they bored? No, they aren't.   

2)  Here we are going to analyse a question and its answer. Bear in mind that, when asking a question, you are supposed to use part of that same question to answer it. Example: 

Why is Stella sad? We have two options: short or long answer. Let's analyse the short answer first. 
a) As we are asked why, we should start our answer with because. Now we need a subject (Stella) As it is already mentioned in the question, we can substitute Stella for she. So, we have Because she... Now focus on the verb. We can choose miss. As we need a present tense and Stella is a third person (singular), we need to add something to the verb, remember? Then, Because she misses... Then we can use a complement; for instance, her mother. The final result would be: Because she misses her mother.       

b) Now we move on to the long answer. First, we need to use the question. So, we say: Stella is tired... Then we elaborate the rest of the answer following the pattern of the short one above. The complete answer would be Stella is tired because she misses her mum.  

The indefinite article

A and an are indefinite articles. We use them before singular nouns. Their meaning in Spanish is un / una. 

For instance: What's this? It's a ball. (¿Qué es eso? Es un balón.) 

* A comes before consonants. Example: There's a kite in the toy box.

* An comes before vowels (a, e, i, o, u) Example: There's an apple on the plate.

Be careful!!! 

1) When a word starts with u, you will have to consider its pronunciation: 

- If the vowel is pronounced as a Spanish 'a', then you will use an. For instance: It's an unknown business. 

- But if the vowel is pronounced /ju:/, you will use a. Example: This is a university. 

2) When a word starts with h, you will also have to consider its pronunciation: 

- If the consonant is silent as in Spanish, then you will use an. For instance: It's an hour late.
- But if the consonant is pronounced as a Spanish j, you will use a. Example: It's a hospital.

* Written activities yet to come...

Present continuous

Here you will find the different forms (long and short) of the present continuous. Affirmative and negative forms as well as questions and short answers are included. I used the verb 'to play' as an example. Click on read more to continue...

Wh- questions

When asking questions in English, we sometimes use words that start with wh-. Here is a list of these words. I hope it helps and you can use them. 

Prepositions (time)

Verb 'to be'

Here you will find the different tenses (present and past) and forms (long and short) of the verb 'to be'. Affirmative and negative forms as well as questions and short answers are also included. Click on read more to continue...

Present tense

Pronouns

Here are the personal pronouns in English. Remeber that we use the third person singular 'it' for things, animals, places...