EDUCATED or POLITE - What's the difference?

One set of false friends that causes a lot of confusion in English is the difference between an EDUCATED person and a POLITE person. This is important to understand because even though we use them to describe people, they don't mean the same thing - and this video explains why.

POLITICS or POLITICIANS: What's the difference?

I try to create videos that are timely and help people talk about current affairs. Today's video is for those of you who follow the news: What's the difference between politicians and politics? 

(No jokes, just definitions!)

I should have done this one last week...

Unfortunately, I didn't think about doing a video on this until Monday, when I started seeing all the pictures of everyone at Carnaval. I hope that you had a great time at Carnaval, and I hope that this pair of words - custom or costume? - doesn't give you trouble.

I apologize for being a little slow with the videos this week - it's been busy. There will be more to come!

COMPLETE vs. REALIZE: What's the difference?

It's time for a new video on false friends! This is one that will be of interest to you who are doing the First Certificate, because this pair of easily confused words has appeared on the First in the past: it's the different between REALIZING something and COMPLETING something. 

AGREE or CONFORM - What's the difference?

Today's video will be useful for those of you who are studying business English: it describes the difference between AGREE and CONFORM, two verbs that people sometimes get mixed up when they're talking about legal documents.

Another vocabulary video

Good morning, everyone...

Sorry to post and run, but I'm off to a seminar this morning. Before I leave, however, here's another video for you: this one explains the difference between a CHAPTER and an EPISODE.

Enjoy!

ATTEND or ASSIST? The video explanation is here!

Well, it's been a grey, rainy day here in Ottawa: 8ºC, just like in Madrid, and our snow is almost all gone. I wasn't in the mood to get outside and do much today, so I've started work on a new series of videos.

Today's installment describes the difference between ASSIST and ATTEND. Be careful with this pair - this is the kind of question that Cambridge LOVES to put on exams like the First and the Proficiency.

CRISIS: What is it, exactly?

crisis: c.1425, from Greek krisis "turning point in a disease" (used as such by Hippocrates and Galen), lit. "judgment," from krinein "to separate, decide, judge," from PIE base *krei- "to sieve, discriminate, distinguish" (cf. Gk. krinesthai "to explain;" O.E. hriddel "sieve". Transferred non-medical sense is 1627.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that all Greek and Latin words mean the same in English as they do in Spanish!

It's true that the economic troubles we're currently experiencing can be described as a crisis. Dictionary.com defines a crisis as:

1. a stage in a sequence of events at which the trend of all future events, esp. for better or for worse, is determined; turning point.
2. a condition of instability or danger, as in social, economic, political, or international affairs, leading to a decisive change.

Both of those are good descriptions of what's happening in the economy now!

Recession, however, is a much more accurate word. A recession is defined as "a period of an economic contraction, sometimes limited in scope or duration", and when you think about it, this is a better way of describing what's happening because it is very specific to the economy. People understand that "crisis" means something negative, but it could be anything - it doesn't specifically refer to the economy.

If the economy gets much worse, then we need to use a totally different word: depression ("a period during which business, employment, and stock-market values decline severely or remain at a very low level of activity.")

Sources:
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/crisis
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/recession
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/depression