Familiar words, news meanings
You have already met these words with another meaning. In the news they usually mean something else.
| you know | in the news |
|---|---|
| la tasa the fee | la tasa the rate |
| la reforma the renovation | la reforma the reform |
| regular so-so | regular to regulate |
| la escala the layover | la escala the scale |
| retirarse to retreat | retirarse to retire, to withdraw |
La banca is banking, the banks as a whole. (In a casino it is also the house: la banca siempre gana.)
| My father worked in banking all his life. | Mi padre trabajó en la banca toda su vida. |
You pay a tasa at an office, but a tasa de paro goes up and down:
| The unemployment rate has gone down this year. | La tasa de paro ha bajado este año. |
A reforma at home brings builders; a reforma in parliament is passed or protested:
| The government has passed the reform this week. | El Gobierno ha aprobado la reforma esta semana. |
Regular as a verb conjugates and takes an object (regula, regulan), so it is easy to tell from regular 'so-so':
| A new law regulates the price of rent. | Una nueva ley regula el precio del alquiler. |
Going down, and roughly how much
Descender is usually a more formal bajar. Figures, prices and planes descend:
| The plane has already started to descend. | El avión ya ha empezado a descender. |
En torno a gives an approximate number. With el it contracts to en torno al:
| The inflation rate is around 3%. | La tasa de inflación está en torno al 3 %. |
It also means 'around' a topic:
| The debate revolves around the reform. | El debate gira en torno a la reforma. |
Retiring
Retirarse is what athletes and politicians do. For an ordinary job at pension age, Spaniards usually say jubilarse:
| The politician retired after the elections. | El político se retiró después de las elecciones. |
| My favorite footballer is retiring this year. | Mi futbolista favorito se retira este año. |
