Decir ‘no puedo soportar’ en inglés is not as easy as pie (tarea fácil) si no tienes cuidado.

I’m a trained translator (that is the way to say in English that you have studied to be able to do your job – In Spain you’d just say ‘Estudié traducción’).

So, I am a trained translator.

And there is one thing translators become very good at:

we become experts at spotting (localizar) FALSE FRIENDS.

When you are a translator you need to be careful with all those words that ‘sound similar’ in Spanish and English, but which are treacherous (traicionero).

One of the most commonly misused words by students of English is ACTUALLY

*(if you have been with me for some time now you might remember that I sent an email about it. You can check it here).

Decir no puedo soportar en inglés

Another very common FALSE FRIEND is this one: the verb TO SUPPORT.

You may think that SUPPORT in ENGLISH means SOPORTAR in Spanish (Spain’s Spanish). Well: it doesn’t.

One of my lovely students, O. is having trouble with one of her feet. Her foot hurts (le duele el pie).

She wanted to say this in English:

«No puedo aguantart/soportar el dolor».

And to express that idea, she used SUPPORT, like so many Spanish-speaking people would have used (habrían usado).

The problem is… SUPPORT is a FALSE FRIEND.

A very BAD FALSE FRIEND. It does not mean SOPORTAR.

So…

How do we say ‘NO PUEDO SOPORTAR / AGUANTAR’ in English, then?

Here you have a couple of POSSIBILITIES:

CAN’T STAND= to hate

• I can’t stand this song… can you please turn the volume down?

As in: 

Decir ‘no puedo soportar’: otra opción

O puedes decir ‘no puedo soportar’ this way:

TO BEAR (sí, como ‘oso’ y se pronuncia igual /be – a/): to accept, tolerate, or endure something, especially something unpleasant:

• Tell me now! I can’t bear the suspense!
• It’s your decision – you have to bear the responsibility if things go wrong.
• ​[ + to infinitive ] He couldn’t bear to see the dog in pain.
• ​[ + -ing verb ] I can’t bear being bored.

(Del Cambridge Dictionary).

El problems con ‘el soporte técnico’

Y después de eso vengo yo y te digo que la expresión ‘soporte técnico’ es una traducción tan mala como extendida ya (desgraciadamente) … A VER SI ADIVINAS por qué…

Tiene que ver con el verdadero significado de SUPPORT en inglés.

Ahí lo dejo. Tira de monoligual dictionary to find out (averiguarlo).

¡Puedes escribirme en los omentarios si lo averiguas! I’d love to read you.

Ok. Time to go. Have a fun.

Elvira

Feature: Esto que vas a leer es uno de los mails que reciben mis subscribers en su correo 2 veces por semana. Por la gorra. Gratis (de momento). En ellos escribo de cosas que me gustan (y que probablemtne también te gustan a ti) y te enseño inglés útil, todo en uno. Si lo lees y te sirve busca alguna cajita de subscripción por la web. Si no, have a lovely day.

As is the case for so many people, maybe yours too, music was one of the defining features of my childhood.

My parents used to wake us up by playing (poniendo, reproduciendo) a vinyl record out loud at weekends (Serrat, very often).

Oh, my father’s old record player and hi-fi sound system… sweet memories.

Then, one day, a record in English entered my home. I think it was on Christmas day and the record was the original soundtrack of the film Dirty Dancing. The records was fine but, most importantly, it brought the vinyl cover sheet (la funda del vinilo) with the songs lyrics on it…

I discovered a whole new world at that moment: I was able to (kind of– más o menos) read those strange mesmerizing (deslumbrantes) sounds!

I must have been 11 or 12 (yo debía tener 11 o 12 años) at the time and my English was only elementary, but I started singing those words as if I knew (como si supiera) what I was saying. (I obviously didn’t).

That was just the beginning

Only a few years later, CDs came on the scene, and every time I got one, for Christmas or on my birthday, the first thing I used to do was check whether there was a booklet featuring the lyrics. It was extremely disappointing when they didn’t bring one (aquí ONE sustituye a -booklet- porque no lo quiero repetir).

You know the rest of the story.

Nowadays, getting the lyrics of a song is no longer a challenge since they can easily be found (‘pueden ser encontradas fácilmente’, o como diríamos más naturalmente en español ‘pueden encontrarse’) either on lyrics sites (such as Genious, or AZLyrics or Lyrics.com), or on the Youtube lyrics video versions of the songs.

You can even play with song lyrics in webs (an apps) like Lyrics Training or LyricsGaps.

That is why I had long neglected Spotify (durante mucho tiempo había abandonado Spotify) in favour of Youtube lyric videos.

However, due to various circumstances, in this 2021 I have resumed (he reanudado, como en los video juegos cuando le das al PAUSE) my use of Spotify only to find that there is a new feature!!!

LYRICS are featured right under the songs when you play them!!!

Why didn’t anyone tell me earlier?

That’s just paradise to me…

SO, FEATURE, pronounced /fiitcha/, according to the Cambridge and Oxford online dictionaries:

– a FEATURE (noun) is a typical quality or an important part of something

(un rasgo o característica)

a feature of Spotify; Our latest model of phone has several new features;

The main bonus feature on the DVD is a lengthy interview with the directo

and also: a feature is one of the parts of someone’s face that you notice when you look at them:

He has wonderful strong features. ; Her eyes are her most striking feature.

– to FEATURE (verb) is to include someone or something as an important part ( que aparece, que muestra, que incluye…)

The movie features James Dean as a disaffected teenager.

This week’s broadcast features a report on victims of domestic violence.

It’s an Australian company whose logo features a red kangaroo.

¿Y cuando en las pelis ponen al principio «Star wars… FEATURING… Harrrison Ford»?

O cuando hay una colaboración entre artistas y dicen «Coldplay – Princess Of China ft. Rihanna» o «Ed Sheeran ‒ Perfect Duet (Lyrics) ft. Beyoncé«, ese ft. significa «featuring»…

Todo eso podemos traducirlo por ‘en el que aparece, que incluye’ o ‘CON’…

Lo más difícil, es utilizarlo después.

Venga, a ver si te atreves a intentarlo, usas FEATURE / TO FEATURE en los comentarios y me lo enseñas.

¿Te ha servido este artículo? Aquí hay más: ¿qué significa ‘actually’?

Y no puedo irme sin enlazar esto:

https://lyricstraining.com/en/play/bill-medley-jennifer-warnes/ive-had-the-time-of-my-life/H7I4Vxsgc7#b7w

Time to go now.

Enjoy your day 😉

Elvira

Lee el artículo si no quieres decir constantemente ‘interesting’.

Y si no lo vas a leer y vas a seguir utilizando ‘interesting’ 300 veces en casa conversación, por lo menos pronúncialo bien:

/IN- tres- ting/.

En serio, no lo digas (tanto)

Puedes decir un montón de cosas más. Te lo prometo. Mira:

I understand not everybody finds English as fascinating as I do.

After all, languages are more alluring for those of us lucky enough to have had the opportunity (suficientemente afortunados por haber tenido la oportunidad) of using them in real contexts.

This may have been so (esto puede haber sido el caso), either (ya bien) because we were able to study or work abroad at some point in our training or career, or (o bien) because we have friends or family to share the language with.

Taking on engaging activities which involve (incluyen) using your English, whatever your level (sea cual sea tu nivel), is essential to continue improving. I am aware (soy consciente), however, that this is not always easy.

Sometimes, activities that are enticing to us in our mother tongue (lengua materna), such as reading or watching series, become tedious (boring) when we do them in English…

This is often due to the fact that the activity does not adapt to our actual knowledge (nivel REAL, porque ‘actual’ no significa lo qeue parece!) of the language. Therefore, we simply get bored as a result of a lack of understanding (a consecuencia de una falta de comprensión).

For some students, using English is more compelling when it requires social interaction; conversation classes and groups tend to be more motivating for extroverted people.

In any case, the key to success lies in trying (se encuentra en intentar) various options, until you find the one that is most appealing to you.

Yes… I know this has not been the most stimulating article I have written lately…

But I hope at least you’ll remember two or three of these alternatives to ‘interesting’ because honestly, it can really help you improve your English.

• 

Si te ha gustado see artículo, tienes 2 semanales como see aquí:

NO DIGAS ‘INTERESTING’: CÁMBIALO POR ALGUNA DE ESTAS

Now you know 9 refreshing words that you can apply to your texts INSTEAD  of (en vez de) the recurrent good old INTERESTING.

Here they are again:

• fascinating (extremely interesting and attractive: a fascinating story; Her letters offer a fascinating insight into early Victorian family life.)
• alluring (​attractive and exciting in a mysterious way: an alluring smile.)
• engaging (​interesting or pleasant in a way that attracts your attention: I didn’t find the prospect of a house with no electricity very alluring; She was wearing a most alluring dress at Sam’s dinner party.)
• enticing (something that is enticing is so attractive and interesting that you want to have it or know more about it: The offer was too enticing to refuse; An enticing smell came from the kitchen.)

• compelling (Her latest book makes compelling reading; His eyes were strangely compelling.)
• motivating (something or somebody is motivating when it makes somebody want to do something, especially something that involves hard work and effort: A motivating manager knows how to help people make things happen.)
• appealing ( attractive or interesting: Spending the holidays in Britain wasn’t a prospect that I found particularly appealing; Brightly coloured packaging made the pens especially appealing to children.)
• stimulating (​full of interesting or exciting ideas; making people feel enthusiastic: Thank you for a most stimulating discussion; The programme contains some creative and visually stimulating material.)
• refreshing (pleasantly new or different: It’s refreshing to meet someone who is so dedicated to their work; It made a refreshing change to be taken seriously for once.)

(Las definiciones y ejemplos son de Oxford Online Dictionary y Cambridge).

I’d love to get a comment from you telling me that you have seen some of them in context, or even better, that you have used some of them yourself.

I’m thinking that maybe, you could actually describe the best series or book, or song you’ve listened to or seen or read lately using some of these words!!

(Yes, that would be really cool…)

Here you have some more words an another opportunity to practice with the nice people from Interactive English:

Y si quieres más artículos sobre como sustituir algo queue ya sabes usar en inglés por otra cosa: No digas BUT

Have a lovely day…

Elvira

Tienes 2 opciones de vídeo para aprenderte los usos básicos del TO + INFINITIVO de una vez por todas:

(más…)