False friends: “embarazada” is not embarrassed
CEFR B1 · part 2
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
“Si tuviera tiempo…”Building the three conditional patterns, and above all the unreal one: “si” plus…“Es aburrido” is not “está aburrido”The adjectives whose meaning changes with the verb: “aburrido”, “listo”, “rico”…“Dijo que…”: reporting what somebody saidTurning direct speech into “dijo que…”, moving the tense, the person, the possessives…“Busco a alguien que hable inglés”Choosing indicative or subjunctive after “que” depending on whether the person or thing…“Tan”, “tanto”, “tal”: one “so”, three wordsUsing “tan” with adjectives and adverbs, “tanto” with verbs and nouns —agreeing— and…“Ser” or “estar”: two verbs for one “to be”Choosing between “ser” and “estar” in everyday sentences: who you are and what you are…The rule, in three lines
Some Spanish words look exactly like an English word and mean something else. Embarazada is pregnant, not embarrassed. Actualmente is currently, not actually. Realizar is to carry out, not to realise. Éxito is success, not exit. Sensible is sensitive. Constipado is having a cold. Asistir is to attend. Librería is a bookshop. Carpeta is a folder. Pretender is to intend.
The usual slip. Trusting the resemblance. Every one of these produces a perfectly grammatical sentence that says something you did not mean.
Why it catches you out. This one is yours alone, and it comes from your advantage: the shared Latin vocabulary that makes Spanish look easy for an English speaker is exactly what sets the trap. A Chinese speaker never says “estoy embarazada” meaning embarrassed, because nothing in their language suggests it.