A selection of free English language tools and resources for professionals and students: Videos, articles, tutorials, “English grammar for Spanish speakers” and “grammar made easy” posts, vocabulary building and listening exercises; news, science and research; business English materials and career management tips; travel English and much more. Enjoy!
Para construir correctamente un texto, es importante saber cómo estructurar correctamente un párrafo y, antes que eso, una oración. Por eso, me parece buena idea incluir una serie de posts sobre las estructuras básicas del idioma y poner los cimientos para explicar otros temas de manera mucho más clara y simple.
Cambridge dictionary ⇒ ‘case’ is “any of the various types to which a noun (or pronoun) can belong, according to the work it does in a sentence (clause), shown in some languages by a special word ending; for example: the accusative/dative case.”
➧Llamamos 'case' a la forma que toma un nombre / sustantivo / pronombre según la función que tiene en la oración; por ejemplo: caso acusativo / caso dativo.
In English, like in Spanish, a word is a single unit that has full meaning and can stand alone or be part of a larger structure (spoken or written). Words can be classified according to their meaning and function and divided into different categories or parts of speech. Some books list up to 8 or 9 parts of speech depending on whether they take determiners as adjectives or as a separate category. Others divide verbs into lexical verbs and auxiliary verbs. In my posts, for the sake of simplification, I’ll be taking determiners as adjectives and treating verbs as a single part of speech (unless otherwise stated), so the 8 major parts of speech in English grammar are noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, conjunction, preposition, and interjection.
In general terms, either preposition is correct, but the choice depends partly on meaning and partly on grammar.
In addition, American English generally prefers to when there is a choice, whereas in British English the two different constructions are more evenly spread.
💡Let’s look first at the meaning of each phrase. To compare can be defined broadly as "to estimate the similarity or difference between things." For example:
Individual schools compared their facilities with those of others in the area.
It is difficult to compare our results to studies conducted in the United States.
In this meaning, either preposition can be used.
💡However, when compare is used to say that one thing resembles another, or to make an analogy between two different things, to is obligatory:
Her novel was compared to the work of Daniel Defoe.
He compared children to young trees, both still growing and able to be shaped.
A Shakespearean example ⇒ One of the most famous lines in English poetry, from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, uses compare to in this way:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Shakespeare is likening the addressee to a summer’s day, even though in the end he shows his beloved to be lovelier than such a day.
💡Intransitive uses
British English prefers with when compare is used intransitively, because similarities are being evaluated:
His achievements do not compare with those of A. J. Ayer.
No other English painter can compare with Sutherland in the subtlety of his vision.
In American English, however, compare tois possible and slightly more frequent:
None of those birds compare to L.A. pigeons.
No, today’s calamities don't compare to the Great Depression or even to the agricultural troubles of the 1980s.
💡Compared to...
When the past participle compared introduces a phrase, the preposition is either to or with, although here usage is moving in favour of to:
This was a modest sum compared to what other people spent.
Compared to physics and astronomy, cosmology is a young science.
However, compared with the USA and Japan, Europe contains a group of separate nation states.
💡Comparable, comparison
Comparableis used with to or with in line with the previous discussion, with a marked preference in current usage for to:
We find ourselves in a situation comparable to mediaeval times.
Social mobility is, in fact, comparable with most countries in Europe.
Comparison as the noun equivalent of compare can be followed by either with or to:
Poussin’s approach bears closest comparison to Michelangelo’s.
Prices for real estate in Tbilisi cannot stand comparison with Western capitals or indeed Moscow.
The phrase in comparison tois more often used thanin comparison with, but by comparison with is more frequent than by comparison to:
The film is utterly benign in comparison to some of the more violent movies of today.
The standard is pitiable in comparison with other countries.
Essentially, both with and to are correct prepositions to use after compare, comparable, or comparison, although it may be worth checking the regional and grammatical context of the sentence when making your choice.
This is a weekly selection of reading articles, free online exercises, YouTube videos, games, quizzes and resources for you to further improve your English language skills and have fun – ENJOY!
📜READING PICKS – Articles, blog posts, quizzes and more:
From BBC CULTURE:Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera: Portraits of a complex marriage, by Kelly Grovier. Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera painted each other for 25 years: those works give us an insight into their relationship, argues Kelly Grovier.
Seen side-by-side in photographs, they struck an almost comic pose: his girth dwarfing her petite frame. When they married, her parents called them ‘the elephant’ and ‘the dove’. He was the older, celebrated master of frescoes who helped revive an ancient Mayan mural tradition, and gave a vivid visual voice to indigenous Mexican labourers seeking social equality after centuries of colonial oppression. She was the younger, self-mythologising dreamer, who magically wove from piercing introspection and chronic physical pain paintings of a severe and mysterious beauty. Together, they were two of the most important artists of the 20th Century.(Continue reading)
From BBC TRAVEL:The country with 11 official languages, by Denby Weller. Before coming to South Africa, the last thing an Australian would think is that there might be language difficulties.
[...] Discussion of the evolution of the colonial languages of
South Africa is controversial, not least because they are just two of the 11
official languages in use today, and neither one is the first language for the
majority of South Africans. In the 2011 Census, IsiZulu emerged as the language
most spoken at home, followed by IsiXhosa. Afrikaans was a first language for
13.5% of South Africans, while English was spoken in just 9.6% of homes. Yet it
is English that has emerged as the lingua franca – albeit a unique, local
dialect enriched by the company of the many languages of the land. (Continue reading)
🎬VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:
LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS:
What causes antibiotic resistance? - Kevin Wu (4:34 minutes)
This is a weekly selection of reading articles, free online exercises, YouTube videos, games, quizzes and resources for you to further improve your English language skills and have fun – ENJOY!
📜READING PICKS – Articles, blog posts, quizzes and more:
Among many
monogamous species, from cockatiels to cichlid fish, studies have revealed a
clear pattern: it helps to be more similar to your mate. When mating pairs are
behaviourally similar, their reproductive success tends to be higher.
In human terms, this would imply it’s better to be similar
to your partner. Indeed, for a
long time psychologists and others have argued that similarity is probably
beneficial – after all, then we will be more likely to enjoy the same pursuits,
values and outlook on life.
But no matter how intuitive the idea seems, for decades
nearly every study has failed to support it.
Now, though, a team of
psychologists at the University of Amsterdam think they know why. They have taken
a far more sophisticated and nuanced look at the issue than in previous
research.(Continue reading)
From BBC REEL:Reel: The oldest coffee in the world. From huts in remote villages to internet cafes in the capital city, coffee ceremonies are the centre of social life and hospitality in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee.(Continue reading)
(1) When we talk about an uncountable noun or a countable plural noun in general (i.e. we talk about all the items in a group, or there is no need to specify an item in particular), we do NOT use an article: ➧Cuando hablamos de un sustantivo (=nombre) incontable o contable pluralen general (es decir, hablamos de todos los elementos de un conjunto o no hay necesidad de especificar uno en particular), NO usamos artículo:
⟶ Advances in technology (❌The advances) have made it easier for us to keep in touch with our loved ones. ⟶ Modern technology (❌The modern technology) is essential to our lives, both at home and at work. ⟶ Students (❌The students) should hand in their assignments on time. ⟶ People (❌The people) are the same everywhere. 👉In these examples, we are talking about 'technology', 'students', and 'people' in general.
(2) When we talk about a countable singular noun in general (i.e. we talk about one non-specific item in a group), we use a / an (the indefinite article): ➧Cuando hablamos de un sustantivo contable singular en general (es decir, hablamos de un elemento no especificado en un conjunto), usamos 'a' / 'an' (un, uno, una = el artículo indefinido): ⟶ I went to a pub last night. (Fui a un bar anoche.) ⟶ I’ve got a car. (Tengo un coche.) ⟶ He gave me an apple. (Él me dio una manzana.)
🔺 ‘A’ or ‘an’?
Use ‘a’ before words that start with aconsonant SOUND: ➧Usamos ‘a’antes de palabras que comienzan con un SONIDO consonante:
⟶ A university degree ⇒ ‘u’ is pronounced /juː/ here, and /j/ is a consonant sound ⟶ a one-hour class ⇒ ‘one’ is pronounced /wʌn/, and /w/ is a consonant sound ⟶ a uniform / a house, etc. Use ‘an’ before words that start with a vowel SOUND: ➧Usamos ‘a’ antes de palabras que comienzan con un SONIDO vocal: ⟶ An honest man ⇒ ‘h’ is silent here, and the first sound is a vowel: /ˈɒnɪst/ ⟶ an hour ⇒ ‘h’ is silent here, and the first sound is a vowel: /aʊə/ ⟶ an MBA degree, etc.
(3) When we talk about an uncountable, a countable plural or a countable singular noun in particular (i.e. we talk about a specific item, or there is only one item in the group, and it is therefore clear which item we are talking about – e.g.: ‘the sun’), we use ‘the’ (the definite article): ➧Cuando hablamos de un sustantivo incontable, contable plural o contable singularen particular (es decir, hablamos un elemento específico, o hay un solo elemento en el conjunto, por ejemplo: ‘the sun’, ‘el sol’), usamos ‘the’ (el, la, los, las = el artículo definido): ⟶ A look at the advances in technology during the 1960s (los avances en tecnología durante la década de los 60), from washing machines to computers. (BBC Four) (a specific set of advances) ⟶ The students who failed the exam(Los alumnos que reprobaron el examen) should study hard for the resit. (a specific group of students) ⟶ The people who migrate(La gente que migra) are called migrants. (a specific group of people)
👉The rules above apply to almost all cases; however, there are some special uses that should also be taken into account. Read more:
This is a weekly selection of reading articles, free online exercises, YouTube videos, games, quizzes and resources for you to further improve your English language skills while having fun –ENJOY!
📜READING PICKS – Articles, blog posts, quizzes and more:
From BBC FUTURE:A little bit of boasting could have benefits, by Talya Rachel Meyers. Many cultures tend to praise modesty and humility. But new research has revealed that the tendency to feel, and show, pride evolved for a reason – and plays a key role even today.
Pride is the downfall of many a tragic hero. Mr Darcy has to let his go before he can earn Elizabeth Bennet’s love. Dante listed it as one of the seven deadly sins. And as the famous (and oft-misquoted) verse from Proverbs cautions us, it “goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall”.
There’s no question about it: we’re consistently told that pride makes us obnoxious at best and doomed at worst.
But pride may not entirely deserve this reputation as a destructive force. There’s new evidence that this emotion has an evolutionary function, and that it plays an important role in the way that we interact with the world.(Continue reading)
🎬VIDEO PICKS – Short and fun videos:
LESS-THAN-5-MINUTE VIDEOS:
Visiting London - Beginner's Guide for Shopping in London (3:48 minutes)
