Hey buddies! A menudo utilizamos el verbo explain de manera incorrecta en inglés. En el post de hoy os lo explicamos -we will explain it to you– para que os resulte muy fácil.

Es frecuente que muchos hispano hablantes utilicemos estructuras similares a las que conocemos y utilizamos en nuestra lengua materna a la hora de aprender un nuevo idioma. Pero en algunos casos, como en el del verbo explain, no es una estructura correcta en inglés.

El error más común que cometemos a menudo a la hora de utilizar el verbo explain es utilizar el pronombre personal como lo haríamos en español:

 I’ll explain you how it works.
 He explained us the new program.

La forma de utilizarlo correctamente en inglés sería:

 He explained to us the new program, or he explained the new program to us.
 I’ll explain to you how it works. 

Es decir, la estructura correcta es:

To explain to someone something
To explain something to someone

¿Ves la diferencia? 😉

Éstos serían algunos ejemplos:

She explained the problem to her boss.
We tried to explain the situation with all detail.
They will explain to us the benefits of e-commerce.
You explained it to me very clearly.

También podemos simplemente utilizar la estructura:

To explain something

Como por ejemplo:

Can you explain the meaning of these expressions?
Let me explain that in a different way.

«Something», además puede ser una frase subordinada, como en los siguientes ejemplos:

I’ll explain (to you) how it works.
They explained how to use the corporate mail account.
He will explain when we need to change our email address.
She explained why it was not a good idea.

Esperamos que ahora os resulte más fácil. I hope I explained it clearly 😉

Now, you know how to use the verb «explain» in English!

Hey buddies, hoy veremos algunos conectores que podemos utilizar en nuestro discurso para indicar contraste- connectors to show contrast. Como por ejemplo:

ALTHOUGH / THOUGH / EVEN THOUGH

They have a similar meaning but position in the sentence is different in each of them. Observe:

Although we did our best, client was not satisfied with the results.
Client was not satisfied with the results, even though we did our best.
Client was not satisfied with the results. We did our best, though.

BUT / HOWEVER

We did our best. However, client was not happy about our performance.
We did our best, but client was not satisfied with the results.

IN SPITE OF / DESPITE

Again, these connectors have a similar meaning but you need different structures in the sentence.

In spite of + noun / (-ing) gerund
Despite + noun / (-ing) gerund

In spite of knowing the answer, he refused to help us.
In spite of the budget we could organize a good event.
Despite having serious problems, they are always smiling.
Despite their serious problems, they are always smiling.

You can also say in spite of / despite the fact that + subject + verb
Despite the fact that we had a low budget we could organize a good event.

Ahora ya puedes comenzar a utilizarlos y hacer que tus ideas queden más claras.