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This week, we continue explaining
commonly confused words in the
English language.
continue explaining = continue +
ING verb: continuamos
explicando;
ASHLEY:
That reminds me… Adam, do you
still have my grammar book that I
let you borrow last week?
ADAM:
No, I lied the book down on
your desk yesterday.
ASHLEY:
You mean, you laid the book down on my desk yesterday.
ADAM:
Lie, lay, laid, lied…what’s
the difference?
that reminds me: eso me
recuerda; I let you borrow:
te di en préstamo; I
lied
the book down:
(verbo incorrecto) te dejé el libro;
I
laid
the book down:
(verbo correcto) te dejé el libro;
ASHLEY:
That’s a hard question to
answer. Both words have several
definitions. But an easy way to
remember the difference is this:
“Lay” is a transitive verb. That
means it requires an object in the
sentence. “Lie” is an intransitive
verb. That means it does not require
an object. You said you put the book
on my desk. “Book” is the object of
the sentence, so you need the
transitive verb “lay.”
hard: difícil; both words:
ambos vocablos; several:
varias; easy way to: manera
fácil de;
ADAM:
I think I get it now. That
seems easy enough.
ASHLEY: Well, the difference between
these two words is a little more
complex than that. Let’s keep going.
that I get it now: que ahora
lo comprendo; a little more
complex than: algo más complejo
que; let's keep going:
continuemos;
LAY AND LIE
Lay means “to put or set
something down in a flat position.”
The past tense of lay is laid.
Sometimes, it is used with the
word “down.” For example, “He
laid the newspaper down on the
table.” Or, “The mother laid
the baby down for a nap.” Notice
there is an object in each sentence:
“newspaper” in the first, and “baby”
in the second.
lay/laid/laid/laying:
colocar, poner, situar; lay down:
ubicar, acostar; nap: siesta;
The verb lie has several
meanings. It can mean “to be in a
flat position on a surface,” such as
a bed. With this definition, it is
also sometimes used with the word
“down.” For example, “The doctor
told him to lie down on the
examination table.” Remember,
lie is an intransitive verb.
The subject is doing the action, not
an object.
lie/lay/lain/lying:
acostarse, situarse, encontrarse,
extenderse (como verbo
regular, lie también
significa mentir: lie/lied/lied/lying);
flat position on a surface:
posición plana sobre una superficie;
To make these two words even more
confusing, the past tense of lie
is lay [L-A-Y]. For
example, “Last night, she lay
in bed unable to fall asleep.” In
this example, even native English
speakers might use the past tense of
lay, which is laid.
even more confusing: más
confusas aún; unable to fall
asleep: sin lograr dormirse;
Listen to this famous song by Simon
and Garfunkel. In this example, they
are using the transitive verb
lay followed by the direct
object me.
Like a bridge over troubled
water / I will lay me down
like a bridge over troubled
waters: como un puente sobre
aguas turbulentas; I will lay me
down: me extenderé;
AFFECT AND EFFECT
These next commonly confused words
sound – and look – almost the same:
affect and effect.
But the one-letter difference
changes a lot.
almost the same: casi iguales;
one-letter: de una letra
(adjetivo);
Let’s start with effect
[E-F-F-E-C-T]. Effect can
act as a noun or, in rare cases, a
verb. As a noun, effect
means “a change that results when
something happens.” For example,
“The Chinese economy has an
effect on global markets.”
effect: efecto, incidencia,
influencia; to have an effect on:
incidir en, repercutir sobre;
global markets: los mercados
mundiales;
Affect [A-F-F-E-C-T] is
usually used as a verb. Affect
means “to influence.” In other
words, affect means “to
have an effect” on
something or someone. For instance,
“The Chinese economy
affects global markets.”
affect (verb):
afectar, incidir en, repercutir
sobre;
Affect [A-F-F-E-C-T] can
also be a noun
–
but it is much
less common. As a noun, affect
is “an emotion or desire that
influences behavior.”
affect (noun):
embotamiento afectivo (que afecta el
comportamiento); much less:
mucho menos; behavior (AE) =
behaviour (BE): comportamiento;
As mentioned before, effect
can also be used as a verb. Used a
verb, effect has a similar
meaning to affect. It means
“to cause something or make
something happen.” For example,
“President Obama has tried to
effect a change in the
country’s health care policy.”
Again, effect is rarely
used as a verb.
effect (verb): llevar
a cabo, realizar;
If you are confused, just remember
this: effect is usually a
noun, and affect is usually
a verb.
confused: confundido/a;
THAN AND THEN
Finally, we have than and
then.
finally: por último, para
terminar;
Than [T-H-A-N] is both a
preposition and conjunction. It is
used when comparing things. For
example, “I am taller than
my sister.” Or, “Canada is larger
than Mexico.”
than: que (comparativo);
taller than: más alto que;
larger than: más extenso que;
Then is most often used an
adverb. It can mean “at that time.”
It can also be used when describing
what happens next. For example, “I
fed my dog, and then I
walked my dog.”
then: luego, después
(adverbio); what happens next:
lo que sucede a continuación; I
walked my dog: paseé a mi perro;
You can also use then when
describing something that must be
true if something else is true. We
call this an “if/then statement.”
For example, “If it is raining,
then the concert will be
canceled.”
then: entonces (adverbio);
if something else is true: si
algo más es verdadero; canceled (AE)
= cancelled (BE): cancelado;
And that’s Everyday Grammar for this
week. Join us again next week as we
take a look at more examples of
commonly confused words!
I’m Ashley Thompson.
And I’m Adam Brock.
join us again: vengan
nuevamente; as we take a look at:
mientras repasamos. |
