NOTAS IMPORTANTES PARA APRENDER INGLES

Other - another

Other is an adjective meaning 'different'.
Another expresses quantity, something extra or additional.

I don't like Cheerios, Give me other cereal.
I really like Zucaritas, give me another bowl, please.

exception:  another day = a different and separate day usually in the future.
            other day = a different day in the past.

A little, little -  a few, few    

* A few and a little express a positive idea. They indicate that something exists or is present.

Although she has been here only two weeks, she has already made a few friends.
This is a positive idea. She has made some friends.

I'm very pleased. I've been able to save a little money this month. This is a positive idea. I have saved some money instead of spending all of it.
 

* Few and little give a negative idea; they indicate that something is largely absent.

I feel sorry for her. She has few friends.
Negative idea: She does not have many friends; she has almost no friends.

I have little money. I don't even have enough money to buy lunch.
Negative idea: I have almost no money.

Dream of - dream about

dream of ( imagine, want) He dreamt of becoming a singer.  It refers to wishes and desires

dream about (while sleeping) Last night I dreamt about you.  Mental activity that happens when you are sleeping

Beside vs Besides

*Beside is a preposition of location. It means “next to:”

-There is a nice store beside our house.        -I have a small table beside my bed.        -The calculator is beside the notebook.

*Besides means“in addition” or “apart from”

-What did you do on your vacation besides sleep?
-Besides Sarah and Joanna, there were no women at the meeting.
-I didn’t eat anything at the restaurant because I wasn’t hungry – and besides, I don’t like Italian food.

 Rise / raise / arise

*Rise means “to go up” or “to increase” – by itself. There is only a subject; there is no object.

-The sun rises at 6:00 AM.            -Energy consumption rose 20% this year.

*Raise means “to move something to a higher position” or “to increase something,” so there are two entities, the subject (which performs the action)and the object (the thing that is moved or increased)

-I raised my hand to answer the teacher’s question.     (subject = I; object = my hand)
-The state is raising the minimum age to get a driver’s license – from 16 to 18.  (subject = the state; object = the minimum age to get a driver’s license)

Raise can also be used in a more metaphorical sense.

-He raised some objections to the project proposal.     (= he expressed the objections)
-Our baseball team raised money for a local orphanage.     (= collected money from donations)
-My parents raised their voices during the argument.     (= spoke louder)

*Arise is similar to rise, but is more formal and abstract. It can also be used to mean “appear” or “result from”:

-Several important questions arose during the meeting.
-I’d like to work in Japan, if the opportunity arises.
-A new spirit of hope has arisen among the country’s people.
-Sorry, I’ll need to cancel our appointment. A few problems have arisen.

Each  /  Every

 

Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings.
Each = every one separately
Every = each, all

Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning:
Prices go up each year.
Prices go up every year.

But often they are not exactly the same.
Each expresses the idea of 'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality.
Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in general.
Consider the following:
Every artist is sensitive.
Each artist sees things differently.
Every soldier saluted as the President arrived.
The President gave each soldier a medal.
Each can be used in front of the verb:
The soldiers each received a medal.
Each can be followed by 'of':
The President spoke to each of the soldiers.
He gave a medal to each of them.

Every cannot be used for 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used:
He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.
Every is used to say how often something happens:
There is a plane to Bangkok every day.
The bus leaves every hour.

“Going to go”  vs “going to”
 

"I'm going to the shops" means you are in the process of going right now.
"I'm going to go to the shops" means you will be going to the shops at some point in the future, but are not in the process at the moment.
Me: Good morning Chuchita, What are you doing?
She: I’m going to my house righ now, and this afternoon I am going to go to the shops.

Using “for”  or “to”

 Use for when someone benefits from the action, and use to when the objects moves in the direction towards something or someone, like this:

I brought a chair for Sandy. ('Sandy' benefits from the action.)
I brought a chair for myself. (I benefit from the action.)
I brought a chair to the table. (The chair moves in the direction towards the table.)

I made a cake for Karen. ('Karen' gets the cake! Pat benefits.)
I made a cake to Karen. (Ungrammatical. Use a movement verb, like 'give'.)

I gave a cake to Karen. (The 'cake' moves in the direction towards Karen. Karen also benefits, but don't use 'for'. The verb 'give' already has the meaning of benefit within its meaning.)

I wrote a letter for Mary. ('Mary' benefits. Someone else did the work.)
I wrote a letter to Mary. (The 'letter' moves in the direction of 'Mary'.)

I will buy a cake for Sam. ('Sam' benefits. Someone else does the buying.)
I will buy a cake to Sam. (Ungrammatical. 'buy' expresses an exchange of items (money and things bought) so 'for' is best.

To = We give something to someone

Bring, give, hand, lend, offer, owe, pass, pay, post, promise, read, sell, send, show, take, teach, tell, throw, write.

For = We buy something for someone

Book, bring, build, buy, choose, cook, fetch, find, get, leave, order, pick, reserve, save.

FOR can be used to talk about somebody's purpose in doing something, but only when it is followed by a noun.

We stopped at the pub for a drink.
I went to the college for an interview with Professor Taylor.
(A drink, an interview are nouns)
 

You cannot use for before a verb in this sense. The infinitive alone is used to express a person's purpose.

We stopped at the pub to have a drink
I went to the college to see Professor Taylor
 

You can use for before "ing" to express the "purpose" of a thing (what it is used for) especially when the thing is the subject of the clause.

Subject = that Cake, An Altimeter, etc.
Is that cake for eating or just for looking at?
An altimeter is used for measuring height above sea level.
 

But when the clause has a person as subject, it is more common to use an infinitive to express the purpose of a thing.

Subject = We, James, She, etc.
We use altimeters to measure height above sea level.