Find the right word

Finding the right word to express what you want to say can often be difficult. Finding the right translation for a word can sometimes be even more difficult.

Why not sign up for our monthly language review. It covers the common mistakes that Spanish speakers make as well as words and phrases that frequently cause  problems for people just like you.

Here are two examples of what we mean.

1. easy-to-fix mistakes that many Spanish speakers make – including people with a good level of English

Mistake number 1. Confusion with “this” and “next” Today is Monday. Your colleague says: “Let’s meet up next Thursday for lunch. I will pick you up at 1.30.” Depending on whether your colleague is Spanish or Anglo Saxon, you could both have a surprise.

2. Finding the right translation

Consider the word “whole”. At first view, there is nothing complicated here. Simple dictionaries will show you that:

Whole = entero, total, integral

That’s O.K. to get started, but you need to look at and think about context. Look at the examples below and then try the exercises so that you can develop a ‘feel’ for which is the right way to translate “Whole” into Spanish; which is not so difficult for a Spanish speaker. More difficult for a Spanish speaker is to know that when you say a range of different expressions in Spanish, you only need to use a variation of  “Whole” in English.

Here are some Spanish words that can be rendered by “Whole” in English.

entero, integro, todo

en su totalidad, en su conjunto

muy, mucho

completamente

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