False Friends

inhabitable - not "inabitável" (uninhabitable); it means habitável.
ingenuous - not "ingênuo" (naive); it means engenhoso.
library - not "livraria" (bookstore); it means biblioteca.
scholar - not "escolar" (school); it means erudito.
comprehensive - not "compreensivo" (understanding); it means abrangente, amplo, extenso.
eventually - not "eventualmente" (ocasionally); it means finalmente, conseqüentemente.
injury - not "injúria" (insult); it means ferimento, lesão.
pretend - not "pretender" (to intend, to plan); it means fingir.
realize - not "realizar" (to carry out, to make come true, to accomplish); it means notar, perceber, se dar conta.
record - not "recordar" (to remember, to recall); it means gravar disco, gravação, registro.
legend - not "legenda" (subtitle); it means lenda.
genial - not "genial" (brilliant); it means afável, aprazível.
balcony - not "balcão" (counter); it means sacada.
anticipate - not "antecipar" (to bring forward, to move forward); it means prever, aguardar, ficar na expectativa.
actual - not "atual" (present, current); it means real, verdadeiro.
service - not "serviço" (job); it means atendimento.
tax - not "taxa" (fee); it means imposto.
lamp - not lâmpada (light, bulb); it means abajur.
intend - not "entender" (understand); it means pretender.
sensible - not "sensível" (sensitive); it means sensato.
novel - not "novela" (soap opera); it means romance (livro).

FALSE FRIENDS

concourse - not "concurso" (contest); a large area in an airport or railway station where people can walk;

confer - not "conferir" in the sense of "checar" (check); give authority, a legal right, or an honour to somebody;

disgrace - not "desgraça" (tragedy); embarrassment, humiliation, indignity;

particular - not "particular" as in "aula particular" (private); among other meanings: someone who is particular has very clear ideas about what they like and dislike and wants everything to be exactly as they like it; (Example: Mr. Drew is known for being very particular.)

pavement - not "pavimento" (floor); the same as "sidewalk" (USA); a path with a hard surface beside a road;

sympathetic - not "simpático" (friendly); kind to someone who has a problem and willing to understand how they feel;

ultimately - not "ultimamente" (lately); after a process or activity has ended; (Example: Technological advances could ultimately lead to even more job losses.)

valour - not "valor" (value) the quality of being very brave, especially in war

These are just a few. Let´s enlarge the list!!!!

ROCK AND ROLL

Probably the most famous binomial is rock and roll. Why is rock and roll a binomial? Because it has two terms coordinated by a conjunction. In this case, the two terms are both verbs. The terms in binomials, however, can also be two nouns, two verbs, two prepositions, two adverbs or any mix of all the above. Also a binomial can occur with any conjunction, including but and or, and not just and.

Another important thing to know about binomials (and trinomials) is that it is a fixed expression with a fixed order. In other words, it would sound strange to say "I love roll and rock." Portuguese also has binomials such as vira e mexe, altos e baixos, indas e vindas, but they are not nearly as common as they are in English.

To discover the right/best way after making mistakes : Through trial and error

In today´s world: In this day and age

Maintain obedience in society: Keep law and order

Oferta e demanda: supply and demand

The basics for living: food and shelter

Can you think of any others?

Adapted from Como dizer tudo em inglês Avançado by Ron martinez

ELLIPSIS

Dialogue 1: A: What´s your name?

B: My name is John

Dialogue 2: A: What´s your name?

B: John

Which one sounds more natural to you? Dialogue 1 or dialogue 2? Of course dialogue 2 sounds more friendly, conversational and simply more natural. That´s not to say that dialogue 1 isn´t correct or even possible. (And that´s the way many students still learn.) But the linguistic phenomenon represented in dialogue 2, the omission - or ellipsis - of unnecessary information is one of the areas which are key to spoken fluency.

Match the dialogues:

1 - You´re Brazilian, right?

2 - I wasn´t hurt because

I was wearing my helmet.

3 - How do you like this table?

I made it myself

4 - Oh, I have an idea! We can get there faster

if we take the tunnel.

5 - Yes, I know what you mean. The Internet

is a source of stress sometimes, but

it also helps a lot of people.

a - Good thing.

b - Good job.

c- Good thinking.

d - Good point.

e - Good guess.

Adapted from Como dizer tudo em inglês - Avançado by Ron Martinez

FIGURATIVE USE OF COMMON EVERYDAY WORDS OR PHRASES IN BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE.

HOW DO YOU SAY THEM IN ENGLISH?

1 - "abacaxi" - a hot potato; a hard/tough nut to crack

2 - "abobrinha" - baloney; nonsense; rubbish

3 - "bater na mesma tecla" - to harp on about the same thing

4 - "cara-de-pau" - cheeky

5 - "ficar" - to make out

Adapted from Break the branch? Quebrar o galho? by Jack Scholes

On Irregular Verbs

The teacher claimed it was so plain,
I only had to use my brain.
She said the past of throw was threw,
The past of grow - of course - was grew,
So flew must be the past of fly,
And now, my boy, your turn to try.
But when I trew,
I had no clue,
If mow was mew
Like know and knew
(Or is it knowed like snow and snowed?)

The teacher frowned at me and said
The past of feed was - plainly - fed
Fed up, I knew then what I ned:
I took a break, and out I snoke,
She shook and quook (or quaked? or quoke?)
With raging anger out she broke:
Your ignorance you want to hide?
Tell me the past form of collide!
But how on earth should I decide
If it´s collid
(Like hide and hid),
Or else - from all that I surmose,
The past of rise was simply rose,
And that of ride was surely rode,
So collide must be collode?

Oh damm these English verbs, I thought
The whole thing absolutely stought!
Of English I have had enough,
These verbs of yours are far too tough.
Bolt upright in my chair I sat,
And said to her "that's that" - I quat.

From : The Unfolding of Language - Guy Deutscher

COMPOUND NOUNS: Did you guess them correctly?

OFF-COLOUR
- Slightly ill.

TURN-ON
-Something that makes you feel excited.

TURN-OFF
-Something that makes you lose interest in something.

RED-EYE
-Take the red-eye - to take a journey in a plane that continues all night.

TWO-TIME
-To have a secret relationship with someone who is not your regular partner.

NO-BRAINER
-A decision that is easy, and that you do not need to think about, used when you want to emphasize that it is really very easy.

LAID-BACK
-Relaxed and seeming not to be worried about anything.

MIND-BOGGLING
-Difficult to imagine and very big, strange, or complicated.