Common Error: "How do you call...?"

Hello everyone, and welcome to Mistake Mond... uhm, Mistake Tuesday! Monday was a national holiday here in Costa Rica, so we didn't have to go to work. That was great, but it seems to have melted my brain a bit, and I completely forgot about Mistake Monday. But better late than never, right?

Anyhow, today's error is very common among my students and even my coworkers. I often don't even notice it anymore, but I still told my students I'd talk about it on the blog. It's when someone says, "How do you call...?" to ask for an unknown vocabulary word. Confused? Let's take a closer look:

Common Error: "How do you call...?"
DON’T say this:	How do you call a person who collects trash? I don't know how to call my amazing new invention.
WHY?	-When people say this, they're probably just translating "Cómo se llama" in Spanish, "Wie heisst es" in German, or a similar equivalent in another language. In English, though, you should say "What do you call..." if you're asking for the name of an unknown object or person. -Technically, you could say "How do you call..." but then you'd be asking for a method of calling. If my students ask a question with "How do you call..." I usually respond, "With a telephone!" (Because I'm a mean teacher!)
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"What do you call a person who collects trash?" -"I don't know what to call my amazing new invention." -"Can you help me? I don't know how to call the telephone operator to ask for a telephone number."

So, that's it for today. I wasn't really sure what to call today's post, but I hope it was clear. If you have any comments or questions, please leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!