This expression dates from the 15th century and since then, its meaning has remained the same. We use it when we mean that someone has enough money to be able to eat and live. They didn't earn much, but it was enough to keep the wolf from the door. This sentence means that although they didn't earn a lot of money, they were capable of … [Read more...]
Birds of a Feather Flock Together
Did you know that this proverb has been current in this form since the late 16th century? When do we use it? Well, we use it when we speak about people who have similar tastes, character, interests and consequently spend time together because they are very similar. Sometimes we use it to show we disapprove or don't like what those people do or … [Read more...]
You cannot have a NEWS! It’s uncountable
Translating from our language into another one is very risky. We tend to think that the rules we use in our mother tongue are good in any other language, and that's why, when we want to say in English " Tengo una noticia importante que contarte", we tend to say things such as "I have an important news to tell you", which is incorrect. News is … [Read more...]
Deceptive or deceitful?
Using one or the other depends on what we mean. Both of them come from the verb deceive, which means make someone believe something that is not true. We can lie to someone, and that's a way of deceiving them, or we may not say something when they think something else is true, and in fact it isn't. From "deceive" we get two adjectives: deceptive … [Read more...]
The last drop?
When we use proverbs in a language which is not our mother tongue, we have to be careful and make sure we are using them correctly. There is a proverb in Spanish : " Fue la gota que colmó el vaso", which means that a minor action which apparently is not important, may cause a terrible reaction , basically because it has not been the only one. That … [Read more...]
What’s the difference between ADVISE and ADVICE?
We may think these words are exactly the same, but they are not. In fact, the first one is the verb, ADVISE (aconsejar), whereas the second one, written with "C" is the noun (consejo). Moreover, we have to be careful when using the word ADVICE because unlike the Spanish word, in English ADVICE is UNCOUNTABLE, so we cannot "give smo AN ADVICE". We … [Read more...]