Grammar: Like vs. As (Como)

Like (Como)

"Like" = "parecido a" o "lo mismo que". "She speaks English like a native speaker." – Ella habla inglés como un nativo.
He swims like a fish.
Like me, my friend Craig is an English teacher.
You can also use ‘like’ to say that something is typical of someone:
It’s so like Reza to be late. – Es tan típico de Reza legar tarde.
It’s just like Craig to forget about the meeting.

TO LOOK LIKE:
Craig looks like my dad. – Me parezco a mi padre.
Craig is like his sister (in character)
It looks like it is going to rain. (Parece que va a llover)
You look like you didn’t sleep well.
We also use “like” before examples of things.
Because of my bad back, the doctor told me not to play competitive sports like tennis, football or rugby.
There are many good things about English food, like roast dinners, cakes and desserts.
      

Grammar: so and such – the difference

We use so and such to give emphasis
It’s cold today – It’s SO cold today.
It’s a nice day – It’s SUCH a nice day.
SO – before adjectives or adverbs when there’s no noun
She’s so pretty. – Ella es tan guapa/linda. (so + adjective)
He speaks so quickly. – habla tan rápidamente. (so + adverb)
We can also use so with words like: much, little, few etc:
You shouldn’t smoke so much. – No debe fumar tanto.
There’s so little time
There are so few hours in the day
SUCH – before single countable nouns with an adjective:
He’s got such a nice car.
She’s such a pretty girl.
Also use SUCH before uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns:
We’re having such bad weather. – Estamos teniendo un tiempo tan malo (such + countable noun – sustantivo incontable)
They always buy such expensive presents. – Siempre compran esos regalos tan caros. (such + adjective + plural noun – sustantivo en plural)
so + adjective or adverb (adjetivo o adverbio)
such + noun (sustantivo) ( with or without adjective – con o sin adjetivo)
We’ve been moved by such kindness from our listeners.
      

TRENDS

Things rise, increase, go up
Things go down, decrease, fall, drop
Prices have fallen, dropped, gone down, decreased
There has been a fall, drop, decrease (nouns) in st
There has been a dramatic/steady/slow/gradual/sharp/sudden/huge/big/significant/small/slight increase in prices
to fluctuate = to go up and down
There has been a lot of fluctuation
The euro has fallen dramatically against the dollar.
There has been a noticable increase.
to rocket, to surge, to soar, to shoot up
to plummit, to crash
to euro is in a downward trend, a downward spiral / an upward trend, an upward spiral
Craig and Reza’s Weekly wind-ups (to wind up = annoy, irritate, bother: fastidiar, disgustar, molestar)
      

Grammar: Reflexive pronouns

How can I guess if I can use the reflexive pronoun with a certain verb or not?
Is there any special rule to distinguish if the verb accepts or doesn’t accept the reflexive pronoun.
Thank you, Pau

When do we use reflexive pronouns in English?
What are reflexive pronouns?

Singular – myself, yourself, himself, herself and itself
Plural – ourselves, yourselves, themselves

When do we use them?

When the object is the same as the subject of the verb:
I look at MYSELF in the mirror every morning and think, “Man, I’ve got to do something about that body” Then I have a fried English Breakfast!
Quote from Steve Jobs:
“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked MYSELF: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’
And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”