vocabulary Archives

Word Formations: loss, loser, lost, lose

23/04/2024 Escuela de Idiomas English Vocabulary: Vocab Rehab

Word formations: loss, loser, lost, lose. Why are word formations so important for Language learning? Well, from just one word, you can learn to create 5 more! Think about how your vocabulary base grows just by learning how to build word formations.

LOSS (noun)

to have less than you previously had of something
- Weight loss is a multi-billion dollar business.
a disadvantage due to have someone leave or due to something being taken
- If you want to leave that’s fine. It’s your loss.
a death
- the family is grieving from a recent loss.

LOSER (noun)

a person or a team that does not win
- The loser has to buy the first round of drinks.
someone that never succeeds.
this is a very negative word to use and not appropriate in most cases.
- I don’t know why she always dates losers.

LOST (adjective)

to now know where you are.
- Hi, I’m calling to say that I will be a bit late to the interview. I am lost.
when no one knows where something is.
- If you don’t try to talk to them, your money will be forever lost.
when you don’t know what to do.
- If you have advice, I would be happy to here it. I feel pretty lost about what I should be doing.

LOSE (verb)

Present simple: lose
Past simple: lost
Past participle: lost

to become unable to find something.
- Do you know where you lost your earrings? We can go back and look.
to have something taken away from you, including people by means of death
- 50 people lost their jobs last month.
- We lost our brother to Cancer 5 years ago.
to have less of something than you had before
- She has lost the desire to go to trial.
The opposite of win
- I can’t believe Madrid lost!

LOST (verb) vs LOST (adjective)

This can get a bit complicated. Note that the past tense of ‘lose’ is ‘lost’ and ‘lost can also be an adjective.

Verbs describe the action
- I lost ·$5.00.
Adjectives describe a noun or pronoun.
- I found the lost money.

Vocab Rehab

Now that you have seen Word Formations: loss, loser, lost, lose, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: oversight
Vocab Rehab: discrepancy

Cursos de inglés

Tenemos cursos de inglés para mayores de 16 años, para todos los niveles y necesidades en la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Álava.

English Expression: be worth it

11/04/2024 Escuela de Idiomas Expression Session

English Expression: be worth it. In Spanish you say ‘vale la pena‘ and in English we say ‘it’s worth it’ The word ‘worth’ means having value.

TO BE WORTH IT (SOMETHING)

FORM

Subject + to be + worth + object

MEANING AND EXAMPLES

The value of something is more than what it cost
- It’s expensive to have a financial advisor, but it’s worth it. You save in the long run.
- I think buying a new car is worth it if you have the money.
- It’s not worth getting upset over. We can replace the bike.
The value of something is more than the effort you put into it
- I know therapy can be difficult, but it is worth it in the long run.
- I don’t think being upset all the time is worth it.
- Is it really worth all the time you put into studying?

TO BE WORTH IT (SOMEONE)

FORM

Subject + to be + worth + object

MEANING AND EXAMPLES

Someone is worth the effort you put into them (usually in a relationship)
Use when you want to emphasize that the worth is the person and not the effort.
- You seem to be always fighting. Is she really worth it? (Is she more important than all the fighting?)
- I know I am making a lot of effort with him, but I think he is worth it. (emphasis on he)
- I know I am making a lot of effort with him, but I think it’s worth it. (emphasis on my effort)

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expression: be worth it, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: drop the ball
Expression Session: kill time

Cursos Inglés

En la Escuela de idiomas de la Cámara de Alava en Vitoria, tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotros para recibir más información.

English Vocabulary: oversight

19/03/2024 Escuela de Idiomas English Vocabulary: Vocab Rehab

English Vocabulary: Oversight. This is a funny word as it almost feels like it has two opposite meanings. On one hand, it means to pay special attention to something and yet it can also mean to make a mistake because you haven’t paid enough attention.

OVERSIGHT (MISTAKE)

A mistake due to a failure to see something or pay attention to something
Usually referred to as a small mistake. Be careful what you are calling an oversight.
- I’m sorry. It was an oversight on our part. We will send you the new model today.
- I would say it was more than just a simple oversight. I needed the model last week.

OVERSIGHT (CONTROL)

NOUN

Management of a project
Assure that a project is going as it should
- You will need to speak to my boss about that. I just provide general oversight on the project.
- If there is no governmental oversight, companies will never reduce their greenhouse gasses.

ADJECTIVE

oversight can also be used to decribe the type of committe, board, etc.
- She sits on the oversight committe for sustainability.

COLLOCATIONS WITH OVERSIGHT

Adjectives with oversight

minor, major, lax, strict, effective, ineffective, slight
- It was due to a minor oversight, but they have corrected the mistake.
administrative, technical, federal, financial, logistical, governmental, operational, regulatory,
- Not having enough chairs for everyone was a logistical oversight on their behalf.

Verbs with oversight

to be an oversight
- I appologise. This was clearly due to an oversight.
has oversight of
- He has oversight of the financial department
to avoid, prevent, eliminate
- I will review the numbers to avoid an oversight.

Prepositions and prepositional phrases

due to
exempt from
subject to
- Although they are a large and powerful company, they are not exempt from oversight.
by/in (accounts, Congress, human resources, sales, the sales department, the state, the police)
- It was left out due to an oversight by/in accounts.
of (the agency, department, industry, operation, project)
- They claim that there is governmental oversight of the operation.

English Vocabulary

Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: Oversight, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: discrepancy
Vocab Rehab: false friends: career and degree

Cursos inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava, tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades.

English Vocabulary: Discrepancy

07/03/2024 Escuela de Idiomas English Vocabulary: Vocab Rehab

English Vocabulary: Discrepancy. Saying there seem to be some discrepancies is a friendlier, more diplomatic way to tell someone they have made a mistake or that you don’t agree with them.

DISCREPANCY

use discrepancy when there are two things that should be the same but are not.
This word refers to numbers, figures, data, etc.
- There is a discrepancy in the figures. You say that the company spent $35,000 on travel, but we only have $28,000 accounted for.
- We need to review the stock again because you and Jack have some dicrepancies in your paperwork.
We can also use it to talk about a difference in ideas
- We are waiting on a decision from the Board of Directors. There seem to be serious discrepancies between some of the members about how to continue.
- His policies show apparent discrepancies between what he promised and what he is able to offer.

COLLOCATIONS WITH DISCREPANCY

PREPOSITIONS

between
in

VERBS

account for
arise
be
explain
exist
find
note
notice
notice
observe
occur
perceive

ADJECTIVES

apparent
great
huge
large
major
marked
minor
obvious
serious
slight
small
some
substantial
understandable

Vocab Rehab

Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: Discrepancy, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: False Friends: career vs degree
Vocab Rehab: tenacious

Cursos ingles

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Cursos presenciales de inglés en Vitoria u online desde tu casa y/o oficina.

English Expression: Drop the ball

05/03/2024 Escuela de Idiomas Expression Session

English Expression: drop the ball. I have to admit, I love baseball expressions. It’s a sport I started playing at age 6. And I promise that it was never a good thing to ‘drop the ball’. That’s why it is such a good way of expressing how you feel about a mistake you have made.

DROP THE BALL

to make a mistake by not doing something you should have done
to miss out on an opportunity because you didn’t do something you should have done
- Joe dropped the ball and waited to too long to ask her out. She’s already dating someone new.
- I really dropped the ball at work and am worried about getting fired.
- Don’t drop the ball! We are all counting on you.

Expressions in English

Now that you have learned English Expression: drop the ball, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: kill time
Expression Session: waste of time

Cursos Inglés Vitoria

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava tenemos todos tipos de clases de inglés. Ponte en contacto con nosotros para buscar un nivel adecuado a idiomas@camaradealava.com o llamarnos a 945 150 190. Puedes recibir más información aquí

Business English
Preparación de Exámenes
Conversation
Inglés General

False Friends: Career and Degree

19/02/2024 Escuela de Idiomas English Vocabulary: Vocab Rehab

False Friends: career and degree. Oh how much do we hate those False Friends – the words that sound exactly like a word in a different language but has a different meaning. It sounds like it’s a friend, but it’s not. Curse you False Friends!!!

CAREER – PROFESIÓN / TRAYECTORIA

Career in English is a job that you have been doing for a long time (not your university studies)
- Before her career in social work, she was a banker.
- He’s finally retiring after a 40 year career in marketing.

DEGREE – CARRERA

a qualification given for finishing a university course
degree is the correct translation of ‘careera‘ in Spanish.
- He has a degree in education.
- Although he got his degree in History, he’s working in politics.

FALSE FRIENDS

Not that you had a look at False Friends: career and degree, have a look at our other False Friends posts:
1. Vocab Rehab: False Friends: Terrific and terrifying
2. Vocab Rehab: False Friends: Suburbs and slums
3. Vocab Rehab: False Friends: Sensitive and Sensible
4. Vocab Rehab: False Friends: Comprehensive and Understanding

Cursos Inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava, tenemos cursos de inglés para todas las necesidades y niveles.

Preparación de exámenes de Cambrdige, EOI, Oxford A2 a C2
Business English desde A1 a C2
Inglés General A1 a C2
Cursos de Conversación

English Expression: Kill time

06/02/2024 Escuela de Idiomas Expression Session

English Expression: Kill time. Another nice expression that translates perfectly into Spanish: matar tiempo. This makes it easy to remember and use so you can bump up your exam points or impress your boss.

KILL (THE) TIME

to do something not important while waiting for someone or something.
- My flight doesn’t leave for another three hours, so I’m just killing time shopping and buying things I don’t need.
- You know you always have to wait at the doctor’s office, so take something to kill the time.
- Yesterday I had to wait for 30 minutes to talk to someone in customer service. Luckily, I was at home and killed time by cooking while I was waiting.

English Expressions

Now that you have learned English Expression: Kill time, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: waste of time
Expression Session: it is what it is

Cursos Ingles Vitoria

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava, tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Pincha aquí para recibir más información sobre las clases.

Preparación de Examenes de Cambridge, EILTS, Oxford Test of English
Business English – grupos presenciales y online
Business InCompany – individual o de grupos individualizados para tu empresa
Conversation classes
Inglés General

English Vocabulary: tenacious

30/01/2024 Escuela de Idiomas English Vocabulary: Vocab Rehab

English Vocabulary: tenacious. There are lots of names for these kinds of people: persistent, tough, annoying. But, when we use the word tenacious, there is a strength behind it. We are talking about someone who won’t stop usually because they believe strongly in something.

TENACIOUS

Adjective
Someone who doesn’t stop until they achieve what they want.
- Amnesty International is a tenacious advocate for human rights.
- She’s a tenacious little girl and doesn’t accept no for an answer.
Something that is strong or not persistent.
- We need to find a more tenacious metal for this project.
- Julie really has a tenacious memory

TENACITY

noun
the quality of being very determned.
- I admire your tenacity for change.
- He showed a lot of tenacity, but in the end I’m not sure he is going to win.
The quality of persisting
- The company has outlived the other ones out of sheer tenacity.
- The tenacity of certain stories allow then to be told by each generation.

TANACIOUSLY

adverb
To achieve something in a tenacious way.
- Joe is tenaciously battling the lawsuit in court.
- We tenaciously record every event so that future generations will know what happened.

Cursos de inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades, presencialmente y online.

English Vocabulary

Now that you have read about English Vocabulary: tenacious, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: time off
Vocab Rehab: strive

English Expressions: Waste of time

23/01/2024 Escuela de Idiomas Expression Session

English Expressions: Waste of time. This is the perfect expression to say that something is ‘una perdida de tiempo’. It’s a perfect translation, which doesn’t happen very often.

WASTE TIME

A WASTE OF (SOMEONE’S) TIME (noun phrase)

a pointless activity that does not make good use of your time
Both examples below have the same meaning. Using someone may give a bit more emphasis to the person.
a waste + of + time
- Having to talk to each person individually is a waste of time.
- I hate commuting to work every day. It’s a waste of time.
a waste + of + someone’s + time
- Having to talk to each person individually is a waste of their time.
- I hate commuting to work every day. It’s a waste of my time.

WASTE (SOMEONE’S) TIME (verb phrase)

to not use your time correctly
to not use the time you have available in a productive way
- You should be doing your homework and not wasting time playing video games.
- Don’t waste my time. I have a lot of things to do today.
- I don’t know why they waste their time calling everyone when they can just send a text message.

Cursos inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expressions: Waste of time, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: it is what it is
Expression Session: level the playing field

English Vocabulary: Time off

18/01/2024 Escuela de Idiomas English Vocabulary: Vocab Rehab

English Vocabulary: Time off. Time off is a way to refer to all types of ‘leaves’ from work without giving too many details. It can refer to medical leave, maternity/paternity leave or simply vacation/holidays.

TIME OFF

A period of time that you do not have to go to work due to illness, holiday, permission, etc.
- She’s going to take some time off after the baby is born.
- They are taking some time off to get some help for their ageing parents.
- I was wondering if I could take some time off at the end of the month.

COLLOCATIONS WITH TIME OFF

Time off to do something
- Tom would like to get some time off to relax.
- More and more fathers are taking time off to care for their children.
Time off for something
- It’s hard to get time off for vacation in the U.S.
- I wouldn’t want to use my time off for sick days.
Time off from something
- Mary is requesting some time off from her job.
- An increasing number of people are receiving time off from work due to stress.

VERBS USED WITH TIME OFF
- take
- have
- get
- give
- be given
- receive
- request

English Vocabulary

Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: Time off, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: Strive
Vocab Rehab: Bargain

English Vocabulary: Strive

19/12/2023 Escuela de Idiomas English Vocabulary: Vocab Rehab

English Vocabulary: strive. Strive can be a complicated word to use because it doesn’t actually collocate with a wide variety of words. And although some people may translate it as ‘tratar’ or ‘esforzarse’ in Spanish, it doesn’t actually capture the full meaning of the word. In situations like these, it’s good to see examples and the words that it does collocate with in order to apply the word correctly.

STRIVE

to try very hard to achieve or accomplish something
strive + infinitve
- She strives to do her best in everything she does.
- We are always striving to learn new things to apply at our jobs.
strive + for + noun
- If he continues to strive for perfection, he will wear himself out.
- Their slogan is ‘Strive for excellence’.

COLLOCATIONS WITH STRIVE

Strive + to + infinitive + something

strive to____ something
- achieve
- be
- become
- (not) die
- do
- (not) fail
- improve
- (not) lose
- offer
- provide
- succeed at

Strive + for + something

strive for ____
- excellence
- greatness
- perfection
- success

adverb + strive

____ strive
- always
- constantly
- continuously

Vocab Rehab

Now that you’ve seen our post about English Vocabulary: strive, check out our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: bargain
Vocab Rehab: inclusive language

Cursos inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio, tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los necesidades y niveles.

English Expression: It is what it is

12/12/2023 Escuela de Idiomas Expression Session

English Expression: It is what it is. There are those times when you need to say ‘es lo que hay’ and this is the phrase you will need to use in this case.

IT IS WHAT IT IS

Used to say that we can not change the situation and that we have to accept it.
An expression to say ‘there’s nothing we can do about it now’.
- If only I knew earlier that it was going to rain. I would have brought the clothes inside. Well, I can’t do anything about it now. It is what it is.
- It is what it is. He doesn’t want to go to the game. We aren’t going to force him.

Cursos de inglés

Si estás buscando cursos de inglés, tenemos una oferta amplia en la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava. Ponte en contacto con nosotros idiomas@camaradealava.com o llamanos a 945 150 190.

Inglés para negocios (niveles A2 a C1)
Preparación de exámenes de Cambridge y de Oxford Test of English. Somos centro examinador de Oxford Test of English. Puedes programar un examen hoy para la semana que viene.
Inglés general (niveles A1 a C2)
Clases de conversación una vez o dos veces a la semana
Cursos InCompany para ti y para tu empresa.

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expression: It is what it is, have a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: level the playing field
Expression Session: turn over a new leaf

English Vocabulary: Bargain

28/11/2023 Escuela de Idiomas English Vocabulary: Vocab Rehab

English Vocabulary: Bargain. You are familiar with the word negotiate, but bargain can also be used to discuss prices in an office or out on the street.

BARGAIN

verb
to try to convince someone to offer a service or do something for you at a cheaper price.
- Don’t be afraid to bargain for the price of the clothes.
- I really don’t feel comfortable bargaining for the price when it is already very cheap.
noun
something that is sold for less than it’s real value.
- I got the sofa for a real bargain.
- We should go shopping this weekend. There are lots of bargains for Christmas.

STRIKE A BARGAIN

make a deal
come to an agreement about what each party will be doing.
- The union finally struck a bargain with Michelin and the workers will go back to work next week.
- It is in their favor to strike a bargain before this gets messy.

Vocab Rehab

Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: Bargain, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: inclusive language
Vocab Rehab: spot on

Cursos inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava, tenemos cursos de inglés para todas las necesidades y niveles: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2

English: Inclusive language

14/11/2023 Annie Hintz English Vocabulary: Vocab Rehab

English: Inclusive language. As society evolves, so does language. It’s important to make sure that you are using language that is inclusive and does not discriminate against individuals in and out of the office.

INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

language that does not discriminate
language that represents different people in a positive way

GENDER INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

to refer to the male and female workers in your business, use workforce, personnel or staff.
- There are 200 men and women that make up our worforce.
manpower is a sexist word that refers to a time when women did not work. It also sounds as if men are powerful and women are not.
Other examples of gender inclusive language includes saying ‘Hello everyone’ instead of ‘Hello guys’ to refer to women and men.

please stop calling women over the age of 18, girls. They are women. Calling them a girl sounds as though they are innocent or incapable.
- Women make up 50% of the Board of Directors.
Refering to men and women as female or male staff members/members of staff is also an acceptable,
- The male members of staff are requesting a new changing room.

Inclusive language for people with disabilities

Disabled member of staff or a person with disabilities, although is not a great alternative, it is what we have as of November 2023.
- If we want to invite Arantxa for lunch, we need to make sure that our house is accessible for someone with a disability.
Handicapped and differently-abled were both terms that were used at one point and are no longer seen as positive.
Know someone who has a disability? Ask them how they prefered to be called.

Age inclusive language

nobody wants to be called old, so stop using this word and use elderly to talk about people over the age of 70.
- The elderly are often excluded from society.
For those staff members who are up in age, try experienced worker, senior worker or senior member of staff.
- Our senior workers are our most valuable members of staff.

Inclusive language about one’s sexual orientation

Don’t asume that the person in front of you is married and that they are to a man or a woman. Instead of asking about their husband or wife, ask about their partner.
Don’t asume a man dates a woman and vice versa, ask if they are dating anyone.
There exist lots of different ways in which LGBTQ+ liked to be addressed. If you aren’t sure how to address someone, ask them.

Again, if you aren’t sure how to address people at work, at a bar or at the dinner table, ask them.

Vocabulary in English

Now that you have seen English: Inclusive language, have a look at our other Vocab Rehab Posts.

Cursos inglés

En la Escuela de idiomas de la Camara de Comercio tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades.

English Expression: turn over a new leaf

08/11/2023 Escuela de Idiomas Expression Session

English Expression: turn over a new leaf. This seems like the perfect idiom for this time of year when the leaves on the trees are falling. Turning over a new leaf means starting fresh and changing your behavior.

TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF

to say that someone is beginning to behave in a better, kinder way.
to behave in a positive way
- I’m so glad that you spoke to Sarah. She’s really turned over a new leaf and even seems happier in her job.
- You can’t expect him to just turn over a new leaf if he doesn’t even know that he is behaving poorly. Talk to him.

Expression Session

Now that you have seen English Expression: turn over a new leaf, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: have skeletons in one’s closet
Expression Session: bear in mind

Cursos de inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Alava, tenemos cursos para todos los niveles y necesidades. Para poder inscribirte en un curso o para recibir información, pinche aquí.

Cursos para principiantes, nivel A1 y A2, inglés general y de negocios
Cursos de preparación de exámenes de niveles A2, B1, B2, C1 y C2
Inglés para negocios (grupales, individuales, presencial y online)
Conversación, nivel B2, C1, C2

English Expression: Have skeletons in one’s closet

30/10/2023 Escuela de Idiomas Expression Session

English Expression: Have skeletons in one’s closet. It’s Halloween time, so let’s take a look at this very Halloweeny idiom.

HAVE SKELETONS IN ONE’S CLOSET

to have a secret about something bad that you have done in the past
- I’m not sure I trust him. I think he has some skeletons in his closet.
- We all have skeletons in our closets. I promise I won’t judge you if you tell me them.
to have a secret about something embarrassing that happened to you in the past.
- Don’t bring up all my skeletons in the closet in front of John. It’s too embarrassing.
- Nobody’s family is perfect. They all have skeletons in the closet.

SKELETONS IN THE CUPBOARD

Has the same meaning as skeletons in the closet.
- I don’t like talking about my skeletons in the cupboard.
- He never talks about himself. I think he has some skeletons in his cupboard that he doesn’t want to talk about.

Halloween vocabulary

Now that you have seen English Expression: Have skeletons in one’s closet, take a look at our other Halloween-based posts:
How to carve a pumpkin
Vocab Rehab: synonyms for scary
Podcast: off the cuff: Halloween!

Cursos inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio, tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotros: idiomas@camaradealava.com