Confusing English Words Challenge 36
Algunas palabras en inglés pueden crear confusion en los principiantes.
Some words in English can be confusing for learners.
This one is to practice the following "very strange" word: Like (one word)
Both native Spanish and English speakers may answer - but write both Spanish and English sentences.
I would appreciate some help in checking the Spanish sentences.
Agradecería una cierta ayuda en la comprobación de las oraciones españolas.
I will "accept" the best effort after about a week
Every attempt will get a vote.
NOTE - we would normally need 2 sentences, one in each language for each use of this word, .
a) Like
I wonder how many meanings / uses we can find.
Futher explanation as to the different meanings / uses may be given.
Please do not suggest new words - but pictures are welcome.
9 Answers
I like pretty flowers, like roses and carnations.
Me gusta las flores bonitas, como la rosa y el clavel.
"Like, the craziest thing happened to me the other day. So, I was at like, the mall, like walking around, and I told totally saw Becky and Brad like, making out, like on the bench, in front of like everyone. Sha, it was like, insane. They were like, all over each other and they like, didn't care that like, everyone was watching. I mean like, kids were like, totally like, starring, with like, their little chins like on the floor. It was like, totally disgusting. So I like, totally went over there and said something. I was like, 'Becky, everyone is like totally watching you. There are like kids here, you should like get a room.' And she was like, all like 'mind your own business, you're like totally jealous.' Like I'd be jealous of her and Brad. Brad totally like, liked me, like six weeks before he liked Becky. Like, as if. Anyway, I like totally have to go. I'm like super late. Bye."
My 2nd attempt:
| a use of “like” | Los artes; música, pintura y cosas así, a menudo cortan de un presupuesto de la escuela, mientras los programas deportivos no se afectan. | The arts; music, painting and the like, are often cut from a school budget, while sports programs are not affected. |
See SD dictionary – like
he and his like -> él y los de su clase
it's not for the likes of me -> no es para gente como yo
music, painting and the like -> música, pintura y cosas así
I think here “and the like” is being used in a list?
My attempt:
| a use of “like” | Como la carne roja, como, la carne molida extra-magra. | I eat red meat, such as, extra-lean ground beef. |
I am trying to use like in the sense of “such as” – como (without the accent). See SD dictionary - like
like gustar
Do you like fish? / ¿Te gusta el pescado?
I like swimming. / Me gusta nadar.
She likes him but she doesn’t love him. / Le tiene cariño pero no le quiere.
I like to sleep late. / Me gusta dormir hasta tarde.
How much would you like? / ¿Cuánto quiere?
I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes. / No me gustaría estar en tu lugar.
Would you like something to eat? / ¿Te gustaría comer algo?
I don’t like my children watching a lot of television. / No me gusta que mis hijos vean mucha televisión . if you like (coloquial) / si quieres
I like that! (irónico) / ¡mira que bien!
like the look/sound of somebody or something / gustarle a uno la pinta de algn/algo
I don’t like the sound of that cough. / No me gusta esa tos.
Ver más vocabulario relacionado con la palabra like
como, igual de
to look/be like sb parecerse a algn
to run like the wind / correr como el viento
He cried like a child. / Lloró como un niño.
He acted like our leader. / Se comportó como si fuera nuestro líder.
Do it like this. / Hazlo así.
como, tal como
European countries like Spain, France, etc. / Países europeos (tales) como España, Francia, etc.
like + -ing - It’s like baking a cake. / Es como hacer un pastel.
like anything (coloquial) / a tope, a más no poder
I had to run like anything. / Tuve que correr como nunca.
conjunción (coloquial) como
It didn’t end quite like I expected it to. / No terminó como esperaba.
como si
She acts like she owns the place. / Se comporta como si fuera la dueña.
What is she like?
What does she look like?
What does she like?
What does she like to do?
Who does she look like?
Who does she like?
Who is she like?
Likeable / agradable
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/opinion/15iht-edoconnor.1.6661788.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Like
As a preposition used in comparisons
Like is one of the words in the English language that can introduce a simile (a stylistic device comparing two dissimilar ideas) as in, "He plays like Okocha".
It can also be used in non-simile comparisons such as, "He has a toy like hers".
As a conjunction
Like is often used in place of the subordinating conjunction as, or as if. Examples:
? They look like they don't want to go to school.
? They look as if they don't want to go to school.
Many people became aware of the two options in 1954, when a famous ad campaign for Winston cigarettes introduced the slogan "Winston tastes good — like a cigarette should."
The slogan was criticized for its usage by prescriptivists, the "as" or "as if" construction being considered more proper.
Winston countered with another ad, featuring a woman with greying hair in a bun who insists that ought to be "Winston tastes good as a cigarette should" and is shouted down by happy cigarette smokers asking "What do you want — good grammar or good taste?"
The appropriateness of its usage as a conjunction is still disputed, however. In some circles it is considered a faux pas to use like instead of as or as if, whereas in other circles as sounds stilted.
]As a verb
Generally as a verb like refers to a fondness for something or someone. Example:
? I like traveling.
Like can be used to express a feeling of attraction between two people, weaker than love and distinct from it in important ways. It does not necessarily imply a romantic attraction. Examples:
? Marc likes Denise.
? Sarah likes George.
In online communities (social networking or media sharing portals, e.g on Facebook or YouTube), dedicated visual GUI elements (icons, buttons etc.) provide for users option to like certain persons, groups, pages, status, posts, comments, published links, videos, photos etc., thus displaying their personal attraction, acknowledgement or sympathy with the "liked" object, and this "liked" status will be constantly displayed. Some communities apply a "dislike" option (as opposed to "like"), some even make possible to withdraw one's "like". Latter action is called "unlike". Examples:
? You like this . ? You and 17 other persons like this.
? John Doe likes your link.
The word can also be redoubled (often in a more juvenile sense) to indicate a more romantic interest, often with increased stress on the first 'like.' The functional basis for this repetition is a heavy emphasis on the root meaning of 'like,' which is 'to favor.' ? I know you like Sam, but do you like like her?
In slang and colloquial speech
The word like has developed several non-traditional uses in informal speech.
These uses of like are commonly associated with Valley girls in pop culture, as made famous through the song "Valley Girl" by Frank Zappa, released in 1982, and the film of the same name, released in the following year. The stereotyped "valley girl" language is an exaggeration of the variants of California Englishspoken by younger generations. However, non-traditional usage of the word has been around at least since the 1950s, introduced through beat and jazz culture. The beatnik character Maynard G. Krebs (Bob Denver) in the popularDobie Gillis TV series of 1959-1963 brought the expression to prominence. A very early use of this locution can be seen in a New Yorker cartoon of 15 September 1928, in which two young ladies are discussing a man's workplace: "What's he got - an awfice?" "No, he's got like a loft."
The word finds similar use in Scooby Doo (which originated in 1969) : Shaggy: "Like, let's get out of here, Scoob!"
The Top Cat TV Cartoon series from 1961-62 often used the word in a similar way to the above Scooby Doo quote, as quoted by the jazz beatnik type characters. It's shown in the 1962 Top Cat Annual several times too, eg. "Like, that Mr Gaff is a real grouch"
It is also used in the 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange by the narrator as part of his teenage slang. "I, like, didn't say anything."
Such uses of the word like can now be found everywhere English is spoken, particularly by young, native English speakers.
A common eye dialect spelling islyk.
As an adverb
Like can be used as an adverb meaning "nearly" or to indicate that the phrase in which it appears is to be taken metaphorically or as a hyperbole. Examples:
? I, like, died!
? They, like, hate you!
? He was, like, really really mad!
Like also has an adverbial use in the construction be + like + TO infinitive, meaning "be likely to, be ready to, be on the verge of." Examples:
? He was like to go back next time.
? He was like to go mad.
As the following attest, this construction has a long history in the English language.
? But Clarence had slumped to his knees before I had half finished, and he was like to go out of his mind with fright. (Mark Twain, 1889, Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court)
? He saw he was like to leave such an heir. (Cotton Mather, 1853, Magnalia Christi Americana)
? He was like to lose his life in the one [battle] and his liberty in the other [capture], but there was none of his money at stake in either. (C. MacFarlane and T. Thomson, 1792, Comprehensive History of England)
? He was in some fear that if he could not bring about the King’s desires, he was like to lose his favour. (Gilbert Burnet, 1679, History of the Reformation of the Church of England)
As a quotative
Like is sometimes used as a quotative to introduce a quotation or impersonation. In this usage, like functions in conjunction with a verb, generally be (but also say, think, etc.), as in the following examples:
? He was like, "I'll be there in five minutes."
? She was like, "You need to leave the room right now!"
Like can also be used to paraphrase an implicitly unspoken idea or sentiment:
? I was like, "Who do they think they are?"
It is also sometimes used to introduce non-verbal mimetic performances, e.g., facial expressions, hand gestures, body movement, as well as sounds and noises:
? I was like [speaker rolls eyes].
? The car was like, "vroom!"
See Golato (2000) for a similar quotative in German.
As a hedge
Like can be used to indicate that the following phrase will be an approximation or exaggeration, or that the following words may not be quite right, but are close enough. This usage is associated with informal registers and non-standard dialects. Examples:
? I have, like, no money.
? The restaurant is only, like, five miles from here.
As a discourse particle or interjection
Like can also be used in much the same way as "um..." as a discourse particle. It has become a trend among North American teenagers to use the word "like" in this way.(see Valspeak, discourse marker, and speech disfluency):
? I, like, don't know what to do.
It is also becoming more often used (Northern England and Hiberno-English in particular) at the end of a sentence, as an alternative to you know. Note that this construction implies a desire to remain calm and defuse tension:
? I didn't say anything, like.
? Just be cool, like.
Use of "like" as a filler is a fairly old practice in Welsh English. In Scotland, it was used at least as early as 19th century, e.g. in R L Stevenson's 1886 novel Kidnapped: What'll like be your business, mannie? (p 7) 'What's, like, wrong with him?' said she at last. (p 193)
I had a thread on this awhile back:
http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/173471/like-how-can-i-explain-using-like
I never did find that essay on "like" by that woman...
Ian my friend , I am not in a position to translate this sentence or even know if it is acceptable , but in Oz we have a liking for using just that " I have a liking for something or other" is that in your lexicon ? 
Come on guys ! You can do better.
A lady, somewhere in the USA, wrote a thesis on the word "like".
It can be used with this sense - 'as if' or 'as though'
For example:
The children looked like they had been in a scuffle.
Not sure about the Spanish translation though, maybe...
Los niños parecieron como sí hubieran estado en una pelea.
If this is too literal, maybe this? Although to me that would have a slightly different meaning,
'It seems like the children have had a scuffle.'
Parece que los niños han tenido una pelea.
