Common Error: "Earn," "Win," and "Beat"

Good afternoon, and welcome again to Mistake Monday! I've been busy traveling the last few months, but I'm back in Costa Rica now, so I'll try to update the blog more frequently again. Today I want to look at another Common Error. If you're not sure what kinds of errors I'm talking about, look here for a list of previous errors we've looked at on the blog.

Monopoly (or "Monopolio," as it's called here in Costa Rica) is one of my favorite board games. I don't always win, but I often am able to beat my opponents by buying as many properties as possible. (Photo by Ryan Sitzman)

Today's error is found often when talking about sports or other types of contests. It's also confusing for Spanish speakers because one Spanish word (ganar) can mean all three of the English words. Let's have a closer look:

Common Error: Earn, Win, and Beat
DON’T say this:	"She wins a lot of money in her job." "Saprissa won La Liga in last night's soccer game."
WHY?	-Earn refers to the money a person receives for doing work or a job. For example, you can say: "Pablo earns 5,000 Colones per hour working for the phone company." "I'd like a job where I can earn enough money to support my family." In most cases, you can also use the word make instead of earn. ("Pablo makes 5,000 Colones..."). -Win (past tense: won) means that one person or team defeats or conquers another person or team. The opposite is lose (past tense: lost). When you use these words, you usually mention the competition or contest, but not the opponent: "Jenny was the winner of the poker tournament. She won $50,000!" "Spain won the World Cup in 2010." The team with the highest score is the winner, and the team with the lowest score is the loser. Also, you can win a contest or competition unexpectedly (like the lottery or a raffle, for example): "I hope I win a free car in the supermarket raffle!" -Beat: Finally, beat is similar to win, but it's used a little differently in a sentence. You have to indicate both the winner and the loser (opponent) when you use the word beat: "Terry beat Tommy in the video game, but Tommy beat Terry playing soccer."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"She earns a lot of money in her job." -"Saprissa beat La Liga in last night's soccer game." OR -"Saprissa won last night's soccer game."

Hopefully you understand. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Mistake Monday: Find Two Errors

Hi! I was going to complete the series of posts on "touch" words, but today has been a long and tiring day, and I need to get up tomorrow morning for my Chinese class. So today, I'm just going to do a short post, and we'll finish the "touch" words on Wednesday.

Look at the picture below, taken from Turkish Airlines' website. Does anything look strange? I can find two mistakes, can you?*

We'll be back on Wednesday with the answer, as well as the final post in our "senses" series. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great night!

*By the way, I'm referring to language mistakes, not geography. But now that I think about it, there doesn't seem to be much order in the way they're listing cities or prices, either!

Common Error: "Sense"

A sign using the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used in parts of Europe and Asia. I can't read or understand this sign, so it doesn't make sense to me. (Image)

Welcome to Mistake Monday! My Spanish-speaking students sometimes say "have sense," but that's generally not correct. Let's see why:

Common Error: "Have Sense" vs. "Make Sense"
DON’T say this:	"This question doesn't have sense." "It just doesn't have any sense! Why would she run away and not tell anyone?"
WHY?	-This is a fast correction, generally. The Spanish phrase "no tiene sentido" is generally translated as: "It doesn't make sense." The difference is obviously the verb. In Spanish, things "have" sense, but in English, they "make" sense. That's the most common way to use the word "sense" in English, but you can also find it in phrases like... "Use your common sense" ...which means that you should think rationally and notice things that are obvious.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"This question doesn't make sense." -"It just doesn't make any sense! Why would she run away and not tell anyone?"

Speaking of senses, on Wednesday I think we'll look at the five senses, so be sure to check back then.

If something doesn't make sense, you can sometimes say it's "nonsense," but be careful! "Nonsense" often refers to things that are stupid and pointless, also! (Image)

If you have questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!