To wash or clean the windows

Is there any difference between «to wash the windows» and «to clean the windows». Thank you beforehand.

20 Answer s

Yo creo que wash se refiere a lavar y clean se refiere a limpiar.

Yes, in Spanish we say «limpiar las ventanas» (clean the windows). I want to know why they say: «wash the windows». Will there be any difference between the one and the other?

I think Mokay made a good point that generally washing something implies cleaning with some type of soap/cleaning solution; whereas, cleaning can be used more generally, and does not necessarily imply the application of any type of liquid cleaning agent.

Cleaning implies removing any of the following: impurities, clutter, dirt, etc., but washing implies the more specific action of cleaning with the use of soap and water or some other type of cleaning solution.

Arreglar el cuarto — straighten up your room: implies that there is clutter in the room, and that things need to be put back into their proper place. If I were to tell my children to perform this action on their room, I would most likely say «clean your room» or «straighten up your room» but never «wash your room.»

Lava los platos — wash the dishes: implies that the dishes are dirty and need to be cleaned. The actual act requires that they be cleaned with soap and relatively copious amounts of water, so we normally would say «wash the dishes,» but «clean the dishes» would be OK to use here as well. It would just not be as common.

Lava la ropa — wash the clothes: again like the dishes, you are using soap and large amounts of water to remove impurities/dirt from your clothing so «wash the clothes» would be the correct way to go. In this case, however, you would probably be hard-pressed to say clean the clothes in reference to the action of washing them in a washing machine. This is probably due to the advent of dry-cleaning because if you were to say to me, «I need to have my clothes cleaned» I would naturally assume that you meant that you needed to take them to the (dry) cleaners. I think that the word «clean» in reference to laundry is probably better usually only used as a modifier rather than as a verb. For example: «I like to have clean clothes/laundry.»

You also said in reference to the interior of a car you would say:

limpiar el interior del coche

Upon giving this some thought, I think that it would be very similar in English as well. If I were to say this in English I would probably use the somewhat idiomatic expression that uses the word «out» to imply that I am doing something to the interior of the car. For example: «I have to clean my car out today» or «I am going to clean the inside of my car out today.» I think that either of these would be how I would imply that I was going to remove any clutter/trash/misplaced items in my car and possibly that I was going to wipe off the dashboards etc with some type of spray on cleaning agent.

And you can say: limpiar el coche (clean the car), lavar el coche (wash the car)

I believe this to be the same in English as well.

Earlier Qfreed said this:

I believe that in English there is no difference in meaning between wash the windows and clean the windows. There are products referred to as window (glass) cleaners and the product that you wash/clean your car’s windshield with is called windshield washer fluid.

I think that what he is getting at is that it would be equally acceptable to say that you are going to «wash the windows» and that you are going to «clean the windows.» I have heard the actual job (as in «employment») referred to as both a «window washer» and a «window cleaner.»

The bottom line is that each one of these acts can be considered an act of «cleaning.» Sometimes, however, there is a specific way of cleaning that is used for particular chores. For example, «Brush your teeth,» «straighten up your room,» **»wash the dishes,» «scrub the pots and pans,» «wash the windows,» «wipe off/down the table/bench/counters.» With each of these methods, the effect of your actions is that you are cleaning up some type of mess, so for many cases «clean» is interchangeable. I think that the distinction comes when one of the words becomes synonymous or is part of another distinct and commonly used phrase/idea (i.e a dentist’s «teeth cleaning» procedure; a «washing machine» and a «washboard» for washing clothes, etc). When this is the case, the broader term «clean» and the narrower more descriptive term «wash/brush/scrub/wipe, etc» are no longer as readily interchangeable.

I think then that it boils down to specificity because if I needed to clean my mouth out, this could imply more than one specific action (flossing, brushing, rinsing with a mouthwash). Others, such as cleaning the windows (as Qfreed alluded to) do not have as many options (I think that most people will agree that the correct way to clean a window is to give it a good washing with some type of liquid and then wipe the liquid away along with the dirt, much the same as the correct way to clean the dishes is to give them a good washing)

I think that I am repeating myself here, so I will stop and pray that this was not to painful to read, as I know that I have a terrible habit of droning on and on, ad nauseum, regarding a single point. I do hope, though, that if you did read this that it was able to help you in at least some small way.

How to Type Spanish Accents, Characters, and Punctuation in Windows

You can type in Spanish on Microsoft Windows machines—complete with accented letters and inverted punctuation—even if you’re using a keyboard that shows English characters only. There are essentially three approaches to typing Spanish in Windows. First, use the international keyboard configuration that is part of Windows, best for if you frequently type in Spanish. Alternatively, you can use built in character maps. Finally, you can use some awkward key combinations if you have only the occasional need, if you’re at an Internet café, or if you’re borrowing someone else’s machine.

Configuring the International Keyboard

International Symbols on the Right Alt Key

The easier of the two available ways of using the international keyboard involves pressing the right Alt key (the key labeled «Alt» or sometimes «AltGr» on the right side of the keyboard, usually to the right of the space bar) and then another key simultaneously. To add the accents to the vowels, press the right Alt key at the same time as the vowel. For example, to type á, press the right Alt key and the A at the same time. If you’re capitalizing to make Á, you’ll have to press three keys simultaneously—A, right Alt, and shift.

The method is the same for the ñ, n with the tilde. Press the right Alt and the n at the same time. To capitalize it, also press the shift key. To type the ü, you’ll need to press right Alt and the Y key.

The inverted question mark (¿) and inverted exclamation point (¡) are done similarly. Press right Alt and the 1 key (which also is used for the exclamation point) for the inverted exclamation point. For the inverted question mark, press right Alt and /, the question mark key, at the same time.

The only other special character used in Spanish but not English are the angular quotation marks (« and »). To make those, press the right Alt key and either bracket key [ or ] to the right of the P simultaneously.

Special Characters Using Sticky Keys

The sticky keys method can be used to make accented vowels, too. To make an accented vowel, press ‘, the single-quote key (usually to the right of ; the semicolon), and then release it and type the vowel. To make ü, press the shift and quote keys (as if you were making «, a double quote) and then, after releasing, type the u.

Because of the «stickiness» of the quote key, when you type a quote mark, initially nothing will appear on your screen until you type the next character. If you type anything other than a vowel (which will show up accented), the quote mark will appear followed by the character you just typed. To type a quote mark, you’ll need to press the quote key twice.

Note that some word processors or other software may not let you use the key combinations of the international keyboard because they are reserved for other uses.

Typing Spanish Without Reconfiguring the Keyboard

If you have a full-size keyboard, Windows has two ways to type almost any character, as long as it exists in the font you are using. You can type in Spanish this way without having to set up the international software, although both options are cumbersome. If you’re using a laptop, you may be limited to the first method below.

10 цитат на Английском. Развиваем эрудицию

Всем нам иногда сложно оставаться позитивными, ведь жизнь — сложная штука. Эти 10 цитат на английском помогут вам увидеть жизнь с лучшей стороны, открыть потрясающие возможности и улучшить своё настроение!

1. «Success is the child of audacity». (Benjamin Disraeli)

«Успех — дитя смелости». (Бенджамин Дизраэли)

2. «We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light». (Plato)

«Можно с лёгкостью простить ребёнка, который боится темноты. Настоящая трагедия жизни — когда взрослые люди боятся света». (Платон)

3. «It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change». (Charles Darwin)

«Выживает не самый сильный и не самый умный, а тот, кто лучше всех приспосабливается к изменениям». (Чарльз Дарвин)

4. «I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions». (Stephen Covey)

Я не продукт моих обстоятельств. Я продукт моих решений. (Стивен Кови)

5. «You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough». (Mae West)

«Мы живём один раз, но если правильно распорядиться жизнью, то и одного раза достаточно». (Мэй Уэст)

6. «The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why». (Mark Twain)

Два самых важных дня в вашей жизни: день, когда вы родились, и день когда поняли зачем. (Марк Твен)

7. «Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened». (Dr. Seuss)

«Не плачь, потому что это закончилось, улыбнись, потому что это было». (Доктор Сьюз)

8. «There are no shortcuts to any place worth going». (Helen Keller)

«К достойной цели нет коротких путей». (Хелен Келлер)

9. «Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm». (Winston Churchill)

«Успех — это умение двигаться от неудачи к неудаче, не теряя энтузиазма». (Уинстон Черчилль)

10. «Never make fun of someone who speaks broken English. It means they know another language». (H. Jackson Brown, Jr.)

«Никогда не смейтесь над человеком, который говорит на ломаном английском. Это значит, что он знает и другой язык». (Х. Джексон Браун — младший)

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Упражнения «Конструкция have something done» (с ответами)

1. Перепишите предложения, используя конструкцию “have something done”. Обратите внимание на временную форму глагола.

Н-р: She didn’t cut her hair herself. (Она не стригла свои волосы сама.) – She had her hair cut. (Она подстриглась.)

1. Tim didn’t clean the windows himself. (Тим не мыл окна сам.)
2. Mary doesn’t usually deliver the food to her house herself. (Обычно Мэри не приносит продукты домой сама.)
3. Fred hasn’t washed his car himself. (Фред не мыл машину сам.)
4. My husband isn’t testing his eye-sight himself. (Мой муж не проверяет свое зрение сам.)
5. I won’t check my blood pressure myself. (Я не буду сам измерять свое кровяное давление.)
6. Jane didn’t service her car herself. (Джейн не обслуживала свою машину сама.)
7. They will not mend the roof of the house themselves. (Они не будут сами ремонтировать крышу дома.)
8. She isn’t making the curtains herself. (Она не шьет шторы сама.)
9. I didn’t remove this coffee stain from the suit myself. (Я не сам выводил пятно от кофе с костюма.)
10. We don’t X-ray our chests ourselves. (Мы не сами делаем рентгеновский снимок грудной клетки.)

2. Используйте глагол из скобок в конструкции “have something done” в необходимой временной форме. Добавьте необходимые слова. Переведите предложения.

Н-р: I think I can afford to . (my house/paint). – I think I can afford to have my house painted . (Думаю, я могу себе позволить, чтобы мне покрасили дом.)

1. Fred . (the meat/cut) into small pieces at the butcher’s now.
2. You must . (your grey boots/repair).
3. I forgot to . (the oil level and tyres/check) in my car.
4. Bob . (his new watch/mend) almost every month.
5. We are going to . (our flat/decorate) next weekend.
6. Sheila . (that lovely dress/make) by Mrs. Stewart yesterday.
7. They just . (central heating/install) in the house.
8. You should go and . (your photograph/take) for a new passport tomorrow.
9. My daughter wants to . (her ears/pierce).
10. My dad . (his tooth/pull out) two days ago.

3. Напишите о неприятных событиях, используя конструкцию “have something done”.

Н-р: The singer’s concert was cancelled because of bad weather. (Концерт певца был отменен из-за плохой погоды.) – The singer had his concert cancelled because of bad weather.

1. Fred’s glasses were broken. (Очки Фреда были разбиты.)
2. Sam’s bike was stolen from the garage. (Велосипед Сэма был украден из гаража.)
3. My driving license was taken away by the police. (Мои водительские права отняли полицейские.)
4. His wallet was stolen in the crowd. (Его бумажник украли в толпе.)
5. Harry’s nose was broken in a fight. (Нос Гарри был разбит в драке.)
6. Sarah’s hat was blown off by the wind. (Шляпу Сары унесло ветром.)

Ответы:

1. Tim had the windows cleaned.
2. Mary usually has the food delivered to her house.
3. Fred has had his car washed.
4. My husband is having his eye-sight tested.
5. I will have my blood pressure checked.
6. Jane had her car serviced.
7. They will have the roof of the house mended.
8. She is having the curtains made.
9. I had this coffee stain removed from the suit.
10. We have our chests X-rayed.

1. is having the meat cut (Сейчас в мясной лавке для Фреда нарезают мясо на маленькие кусочки.)
2. have your grey boots repaired (Тебе нужно починить свои серые ботинки.)
3. have the oil level and tyres checked (Я забыл проверить уровень масла и шины в машине.)
4. has his new watch mended (Бобу ремонтируют его новые часы почти каждый месяц.)
5. have our flat decorated (Нам собираются отделывать квартиру в следующие выходные.)
6. had that lovely dress made (Миссис Стюарт сшила для Шейлы то милое платье вчера.)
7. have just had central heating installed (Им только что установили центральное отопление в доме.)
8. have your photograph taken (Тебе нужно сходить сфотографироваться на новый паспорт завтра.)
9. have her ears pierced (Моя дочь хочет, чтобы ей прокололи уши.)
10. had his tooth pulled out (Моему папе удалили зуб два дня назад.)

1. Fred had his glasses broken.
2. Sam had his bike stolen from the garage.
3. I had my driving license taken away by the police.
4. He had his wallet stolen in the crowd.
5. Harry had his nose broken in a fight.
6. Sarah had her hat blown off by the wind.