Ch 45 · Lesson 18

False friends: colegio, pariente, en absoluto

is school, a relative, the countryside, lately, funny, and means not at all. Plus the mistakes.

The short version

The phrase that reverses what you meant

not at all
Why?

looks like absolutely and means the exact opposite: not at all. Answer ¿ ? with and you have said not in the slightest. To agree emphatically you want , or . Get these the wrong way round and you cheerfully contradict yourself.

A is a school, not a college

.

My daughter goes to school.
Why?

: my daughter goes to school. University is . is any relative (your parents are your ), is the countryside (a camp is a ), and is funny, not gracious.

Colegio, pariente, campo: the nouns

the false friendthe word you wantedWhat do the colours mean?

Four nouns from home and school, and what each one really is:

  • a schoola school
  • a universitya university
  • the countrysidethe countryside
  • a signaturea signature
False friendSpanishEnglish
.My daughter goes to school.
.He's a distant relative.
.We live in the country.
.My favourite subject is history.

Your parents are your ; a is any relative.

En absoluto, últimamente, gracioso

the false friendthe word you wantedWhat do the colours mean?

Three that reverse or twist what you meant:

False friendSpanishEnglish
¿ ? .Do you mind? Not at all.
.I' been sleeping badly lately.
.Your brother is very funny.

answers no. To say absolutely in the sense of yes, of course:

  • ¿? . - Are you coming? Absolutely.

Mistakes English speakers make

the word you wantedWhat do the colours mean?

Each word in the middle column is real Spanish. It just says something else:

To sayNotBut
I record it
he pretended
I support you
attend a wedding
my parents
absolutely (yes)

Going further: False friends at a glance and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.

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Lesson 18 of 26 in this chapter

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What do the colours mean?