EXERCISE: Back with FALSE FRIENDS

1. You should be careful when talking to Mary these days as she has failed her driving test and she is very ___________
about it. (sensible/sensitive)
That’s not a very _____________ remark; I should say it sounds rather stupid. (sensible/sensitive)

2. After hearing that Mary had broken up with her boyfriend, her boss was very ____________ and overlooked the fact
that she had forgotten to send that important letter.(friendly/sympathetic)
The new student is very _______________ and has already made good friends with his
classmates. (friendly/sympathetic)

3. As it had been requested, all the students _______________ the conference on the new school
regulations. (assist/attend)
The patient was immediately _______________ by an orderly when walking feebly into the hospital. (assist/attend)

4. Don’t forget your ____________ at the end of the page. (signature/subject)

The new school _________________ doesn’t seem to interest my students. (signature/subject)

5. Mary was sure she would ________________ the exam so the news of her failure came as a shock. (approve/pass)
I didn’t _______________ the way he reacted to the news. (approve of/pass)

6. Her _______________ was very much applauded by the audience. (representation/performance)

A ________________ of the whole community was received by the ambassador. (representation/performance)

7. Because of the road works, we had to pay a lot of attention so that we wouldn’t miss the
_________________. (fun/diversion)
We had lots of _____________ during our stay with Mary. (fun/diversion)

8. We ______________ that the order had been sent out without checking. (carry out/realize)
We ________________ the instructions by the book. (carry out/realized)

9. We got to the ____________________ just on time to get the train. (station/season)

Most children say that summer is their favorite _____________ (station/season)

That's curious!

FALSE FRIENDS OR FALSE COGNATES WILMER MOSQUERA O

Here is a list of false cognates more known.

an abstract: resumen (y no abstracto)

actual: real, efectivo (y no actual, que se dice current)

actually: en realidad (y no actualmente, que se dice nowadays, at present)

to advertise: anunciar (y no advertir, que se dice to warn)

advice: consejos (y no aviso, que se dice warning, notice)

argument: discusión, pelea (y no argumento de un libro/una película, que se dice plot)

arena: estadio, plaza de toros (y no arena, que se dice sand)

arm: brazo (y no arma, que se dice gun)

to assist: ayudar (y no asistir a un lugar, que se dice to attend)

brave: valiente (y no bravo, que se dice fierce)

camp: base militar o campamento (y no campo en general, que se dice field)

carpet: alfombra (y no carpeta, que se dice folder)

casualty: víctima o herido (y no casualidad, que se dice coincidence)

college: facultad, colegio universitario (y no colegio, que se dice school)

commodity: mercancía o materia prima (y no comodidad, que se dice comfort)

conductor: director de orquesta o cobrador (y no conductor, que se dice driver)

embarrassed: avergonzado/a (y no embarazada, que se dice pregnant)

eventual: definitivo o posible (y no eventual, que se dice casual, incidental)

eventually: finalmente, tarde o temprano (y no eventualmente que se dice by chance, possibly)

exit: salida (y no éxito, que se dice success)

5) I am agree
A common error among Spanish speakers is the translation 'I am agree for Estoy de acuerdo. One should keep in mind
that agree is a verb, whereas de acuerdo, as in estoy de acuerdo, is an adjective. Therefore, one should say:

- I agree

- He agrees

- We agree

And in past for example: - I agreed

Slang

Probably because of the influence of American tv shows in Latin America, or visits/ studies in the United States, many
students aren't aware of the difference between formal and informal English. It's not uncommon to find the following
words in formal essays:

1. guys (boys/ people/ persons)

2. gals (girls)

3. kids (children)

4. gonna (going to)

5. wanna (want to)

6. cause/'cause/cos (because)

7. pretty (as in: it's pretty difficult; quite/ rather)

8. thru (through)