A few Spanish/English False Friends

the false friends:

English - part of
speech - Spanish

the English meaning

the Spanish
meaning

library - n - librera

a place where you borrow a place where

books
you buy books

to divert - v - divertir

to change the direction of to have a good

something
time

sympathetic - adj simptico

understanding

nice, friendly

argument - n argumento

a verbal fight

the plot of a
book, film or
play

to prove - v - probar

to make certain that

something is true

to try
something
new, to try
some clothes
on

topic - n - tpico

a subject/theme

clich

eventually -adv eventualmente

in the end/finally

possibly

informal - adj - informal casual, not formal

irresponsible

crime - n - crimen

something illegal

a murder,
serious crime

to realise - v - realizar

to be fully conscious of
something

to carry
something out

sensible - adj - sensible to have good sense

sensitive

actually - adv actualmente

in fact

nowadays

educated - adj - educado

a person who has received

polite
a good education

conductor - n conductor

a person who leads an

orchestra

the driver of a
vehicle

particular - adj particular

special

private

content - adj - contento satisfied

happy

success - n - suceso

someone/thing that turns

out well

an event

parent - n - pariente

mother or father

family
member

direction - n - direccin move to something/where address

Note: sometimes the two words do correspond more or less. The
false friend concerns a different meaning of the same word.

False Friends
There is a fault in each of the sentences below,
including this one! What is it & what is the correct
version?
1. When you make a sauce, remove it slowly.
2. It was a tramp - they were waiting for him so he
couldn't escape.
3. English is an easy idiom to learn.
4. She couldn't go to the party as she already had a
compromise.
5. It was a good notice - Sheila had twins.
6. They went to the bar for a vase of wine.
7. He was feeling insane so he went for a run.
8. The film was a great exit - it won 8 Oscars.
9. He put the papers inside the carpet.
10. They have a reunion every morning at 10am.
English exercise "False friends" created by eos17 (12-08-2008) with The test builder
Click here to see the current stats of this English test

1. My friends call me Eos .It is my

2. My favourite
3. I also like

.
are cinema,crosswords ,swimming .

very much .

4. I am reading a book about Chinese Painting

5. I found this book in a small

.
of the Latin Quarter .

6. Every two weeks ,I go and attend a

7. Oh !My God ! This man

on Art History at the university for seniors .

he is Einstein ;he is mad .

8. My daughter is a spoilt child ,she often sulks .What a bad

9. I am used to

alone on the beach .

10. This English exercise is hard,if I make too

,my teacher will not be happy !

Fill the gaps by choosing the most appropiate answer in brackets.

1
Did you know that Chrissie got ________________ (embarrassed/pregnant) on holiday in Ibiza?
2 The ________________ (signature/subject) I hate most is maths.
3 Begonia is a very ________________ (kind /sympathetic) person.
4 Keep ________________ (removing/stirring) the soup the whole time.

5 I couldn't agree more. That's a very ________________ (sensible/sensitive) idea.

6 The film The Quiet American was a box-office ________________ (exit/success).
7 How many ________________ (idioms/languages) can you speak?
8 ________________ (Actually/Nowadays) I'm living with my parents again.
9 The poor live in the ________________ (slums/suburbs).
10 The police came to my ________________ (assistance/attendance).
11 I've got ________________ (a cold/constipation). Pass me a tissue, please.
12 I was only living with my parents ________________ (eventually/temporarily).
13 The government have ________________ (inverted/invested) a lot of money in the new scheme.
14 Do not ________________ (invert/invest) this package.
15 The Englishman wearing navy blue socks with sandals is a bit of a ________________ (stereotype/topic) in Spain.
16 He never stops moving some part of his body. He finds it impossible to ________________ (keep quiet/keep still).
17 We didn't enjoy the wedding ________________ (absolutely/at all).
18 English is very ________________ (important/interesting) for my job.
19 All my immediate family live in England but I have a lot of ________________ (parents/relatives) in Canada.
20 My ________________ (journey/working day) is from 8 am to 5 pm but it only take me twenty minutes to get to the office.
21 The Red Cross are ________________ (controlling/monitoring) the situation in the north very closely.

Word Families 1
Noun - Verb - Adjective
Write the word forms for the following words:
NOUN
VERB
Example: deceive
deception
deceive
1.
agree
2.

apologize

3.

attract

4.

care

5.

compare

6.

complicate

7.

consider

8.

create

9.

obligate

10.

pollute

ADJECTIVE
deceived