Once again I need your help. One of my FCE students was writing a review about his favourite TV series when he asked me how it is said in English the word "m�rito".  I asked him to tell me the whole sentence because sometimes when my students ask me how to translate one word in English I got stuck. He told me the sentence: "In conclusion, my favourite TV series is The Simpsons and I think that they have a lot of __________ because they have entertained a lot of generations of children." Since I didn �t know how to say that word in English I told him to write "success" intead. When the class was over I looked the word up in a dictionary. The given answers were "merit", "worthy". Still I am not sure if these words would fit and express my student �s meaning. As far as I know the word "merit" is used when talking about academic results, I may be worng though.

 

On the other hand, when talking about CD and songs can we used the words "slow" or "strong" to describe the rhythm or style? Which words can we use to describe songs or albums?

 

Thanks a million for your help!

 

 

Merit is the word to use, but as it describes the singular series the verb needs to agree.

 

I would use many, but only because it sounds smoother.

 

Describing music:

slow rhythm

strong beat

 

As for what you said about the dictionary giving "merit" and "worthy" for m�rito, that is strange because "merit", like "m�rito" is a noun, while "worthy" is an adjective. Also, "merit" is not at all restricted to academic usage. It is similar to the words "worth" and "value" in their non-monetary sense.

 

Bruce