·Words that go together
Prepositions and collocations. A collocation is a pair of words that go together because usage says so, not logic. In the Aptis Core there is an entire collocations task, and many grammar questions also depend on the correct preposition. In this video we look at verbs with their preposition, adjectives with theirs, make, do, take and have, adjective and noun collocations, and the word-for-word errors from Spanish that cause the most mistakes. The rules are AptisBot's own reading.
1/4Verbs and adjectives with prepositions
Each verb and each adjective chooses its own preposition, and you cannot work it out. Verbs: depend on, rely on, agree with, listen to, wait for, look for, apologise for. Adjectives: good at, afraid of, interested in, responsible for, worried about, proud of. And verbs that take a preposition in Spanish but not in English: discuss, enter, marry, approach. We discussed the plan, not discussed about. She entered the room, not entered in the room. And others that take a preposition in English but not in Spanish: wait for, look at, listen to.
2/4Make, do, take and have
Make, do, take and have: four verbs that Spanish translates almost always as hacer or tener. Make is usually to create or produce something: make a decision, make a mistake, make progress, make money. Do is usually an activity or task: do homework, do the shopping, do a favour, do your best. Take, for time and transport: take a photo, take a break, take the bus, take an exam. And have, for meals and actions: have breakfast, have a shower, have a look, have a rest. No rule lets you work them out: you learn them as pairs. Do a mistake and make homework are typical errors.
3/4Adjective and noun collocations
Adjective and noun collocations are the ones most often confused, because the Spanish adjective is different. Heavy rain, lluvia fuerte, but strong coffee, café fuerte. High temperature, temperatura alta, but a big mistake, un gran error. Fast food, comida rápida, but a quick look. And a tall building, but a high mountain. The Core task gives you a word and ten options for five gaps: choose the one that sounds right with the other word, not the one that translates best. And learning them in chunks, with examples, is far more effective than learning them one by one.
4/4Word-for-word errors from Spanish
Word-for-word errors from Spanish come from translating each word literally, and examiners recognise them. These are the most frequent. Depend of, depende de: the correct form is depend on. Discuss about: the correct form is discuss. Explain me: the correct form is explain to me. I am agree: the correct form is I agree. Married with: the correct form is married to. Say me: the correct form is tell me. Actually, which means in fact, not currently, which is the meaning of actualmente. And prepositions of place: at the university, in the city, on the second floor. The practical rule: when you doubt a preposition, think of a phrase you already know, not of the Spanish.
·Practice
For practice, write eight sentences of your own. Two with a verb and its preposition. Two with an adjective and its preposition. Two with make or do. And two with an adjective and noun collocation. Then check each one for word-for-word errors from Spanish: depend of, discuss about, explain me. And note down the new pairs you learn, always in chunks.