WORDY WEDNESDAY: FALSE FRIENDS ASSIST vs. ATTEND
08 / 10 / 2014
WORDY WEDNESDAY: FALSE FRIENDS ASSIST vs. ATTEND: meaning and examples
Good morning again.
As you know, on Wordy Wednesday the Daily Vitamin focuses on English vocabulary. Today we are looking at the false friends ASSIST and ATTEND.
In English the verb TO ASSIST means to help.
Example 1: Can you assist me with this problem?
TO ATTEND means to be present at an event.
Example 2: I attended a lecture at the university.
This is often confusing for Spanish speakers because the verbs atender and asistir have the opposite translations of ASSIST and ATTEND. Many Spanish speakers use ASSIST when they mean to use ATTEND, and vice-versa.
Example 3 (incorrect): ***I assist a History class on Monday nights.***
The speaker wants to say that she goes to the class on Mondays (attends), but she really says that she helps with the class, which is different.
Attend (Eng) = Asistir (Span)
Assist (Eng) = Atender (Span)
Example 4 (correct): I attend a History class on Monday nights.
You can also see another lesson we did back in 2006 about these false friends.
https://www.ziggurat.es/es/lecciones_ingles/index.asp?id=603
Tomorrow we will continue our Theme Thursday with a lesson on casual vs. formal business emails.
Until then, have a great day!
As you know, on Wordy Wednesday the Daily Vitamin focuses on English vocabulary. Today we are looking at the false friends ASSIST and ATTEND.
In English the verb TO ASSIST means to help.
Example 1: Can you assist me with this problem?
TO ATTEND means to be present at an event.
Example 2: I attended a lecture at the university.
This is often confusing for Spanish speakers because the verbs atender and asistir have the opposite translations of ASSIST and ATTEND. Many Spanish speakers use ASSIST when they mean to use ATTEND, and vice-versa.
Example 3 (incorrect): ***I assist a History class on Monday nights.***
The speaker wants to say that she goes to the class on Mondays (attends), but she really says that she helps with the class, which is different.
Attend (Eng) = Asistir (Span)
Assist (Eng) = Atender (Span)
Example 4 (correct): I attend a History class on Monday nights.
You can also see another lesson we did back in 2006 about these false friends.
https://www.ziggurat.es/es/lecciones_ingles/index.asp?id=603
Tomorrow we will continue our Theme Thursday with a lesson on casual vs. formal business emails.
Until then, have a great day!
