Let’s go to learn Spanish! #17
Posted in ELE, Español como Lengua Extranjera, Intermediate level, Learning Spanish, Let's go to learn Spanish!, Nivel intermedio, Spanish as a foreign language
False friend: ENVIAR
Here we are with another false friend! Today we’re going to explain the difference between the verb enviar and its false friend in English envy.
On one hand, the verb enviar means to send. It can be used in different ways.
-
- Send something somewhere:
-
-
- Envíame la carta a mi dirección [Send the letter to my address]
-
-
- Send something in figuratively:
-
-
- Tu madre te envía muchos besos [Your mum sends you kisses]
-
-
- Send or destine someone to a place; in this case, the collocation is “enviar a alguien a un lugar”:
-
-
- Los padres enviaron a los hijos a la escuela [The parents took their kids to school]
-
-
- Send something somewhere:
On the other hand, the verb envy in English means to be jealous of something or someone. In Spanish, envy would be envidiar a alguien or envidiar algo de alguien, as you can see in the examples below:
-
-
- Juan envidia a su jefe porque tiene más vacaciones [Juan is jealous of his boss since his holidays are longer]
- Envidio la energia de mis primos [I envy my cousins’ energy]
-
