English expressions, which are confusing, we laugh Americans - ForumDaily
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English expressions, which are confusing, we laugh Americans

Has it ever happened that you are talking to a foreigner and you don’t seem to have confused anything, but his eyes are rounded and he clearly does not understand you?

Фото: Depositphotos

It is easy to get into an awkward situation when you speak not in your native language and do not know all the subtleties of the use of certain words. Especially often this happens with homophonic words, which sound the same or almost the same, but mean different things or concepts (and sometimes they are completely opposite).

AdMe.ru I learned all the subtleties of the use of English words that are easily confused.

To be alone - To be lonely

To be alone means “to be alone.” This phrase does not carry any negativity; it means that a person is comfortable being alone.

To be lonely (remember the song “Lonely, I'm Mr. Lo-o-onely”) means precisely “to feel lonely and suffer because of it.”

Effective - Efficient

It is especially easy to get confused here, since in Russian there are no such nuances in the use of the word “effective”. In English, effective means effective precisely to achieve the result that we need. (For example, This is a very effective diet, I've lost weight really fast. - This is a very effective diet, I lost weight quickly.) We use the word effective when we want to emphasize the achievement of results.

Efficient - used in the meaning of “optimal, productive, not spending a lot of time, energy, effort.” (She is a very efficient office worker. She does everything very quickly. - She is a very efficient employee, she does everything very quickly.) We use efficient when we want to emphasize reasonable resource consumption.

Defuse - Diffuse a situation

Defuse (de-fuse) - literally “remove the detonator from an explosive device.” This is the word used in the combination defuse a situation - “to cool the situation, relieve tension.” It should not be confused with the word diffuse, which, as you might guess, means diffusion and sputtering.

On time - In time

In time - “in time” - is used when we are talking about the right, that very moment. (The doctor arrived just in time to help her. — The doctor arrived just in time to help her.)

On time is used when it comes to pre-scheduled events, the schedule. This expression applies if you want to emphasize accuracy and punctuality. (The plane took off on time. — The plane took off on time.)

To wake up - To get up

A couple of expressions that beginners often get confused about. In fact, everything is simple: to wake up - “wake up”, to get up - “get out of bed”. If you turn off the alarm and continue to sleep, then wake up may not turn into get up.

Storey - Story

Storey means "tier" or "floor", and "story" and "story" are story.

We added a storey to our house. — We added a floor to our house.
I'll finish telling the story tomorrow. “I’ll finish telling this story tomorrow.”

Emigrate - Immigrant

It is necessary to distinguish, as in Russian, emigration (leaving the country) from immigration (entering the country). For his “old” country, the person who left will be an emigrant, and for the new country, he will be an immigrant. To simplify the task, remember immediately with prepositions: immigrate TO (entry), emigrate FROM (exit).

Her grandfather emigrated from India 70 years ago. — Her grandfather emigrated from India 70 years ago.
My friend immigrated to the USA after she got married. — My friend immigrated to the USA after she got married.

The word migrate means constant, repetitive movement. For example: Robins migrated south every winter. — Blackbirds fly south every winter.

Lay - Lie

Lay - “to put”, and lie - “to lie” (“to be located”) or “to lie”.
Lay has the simple past form - laid.
Lie - also lied.

But in the meaning of “to lie / be located,” lie is an irregular verb. It is because of this that confusion arises (to lie - lay - lain). Compare:

He lied to me about his sister. “He lied to me about his sister.”
The island groin in the south. The island lay in the south but now it seems to be gone. — The island is located in the south. The island was located in the south, but has now disappeared.
Do not lay the book there. - Don't put the book there.

Than - Then

Two words with a minimal difference in pronunciation, which many begin to confuse at school. Then c “e” - “then”. Typically used to connect two sentences or parts. (Take off all your clothes first. Then get in the shower. - First, take off your clothes. Then take a shower.)

Than is used within a comparative phrase to mean “than”. (My right hand is bigger than my left hand. — My right hand is larger than my left.)

Aloud - Allowed

Another pair of homophones that are indistinguishable by ear. Aloud - “loud, loud, out loud”, and allowed - “allowed, allowed”.

Aisle - Isle

Isle is a rarely used (mainly in geographical names) version of the word island - “island”. At the beginning the sound [ai] is pronounced.

Aisle is pronounced the same way, but it denotes a passage between the rows in a church, a theater, or a mall in a supermarket.

Higher - Hire

Hire - “to hire for a job.” Higher - as you might guess, the comparative degree from high - “higher, higher.”

Bad - Badly

Bad (adjective) is used most often in the meaning of “rotten, spoiled, smelling bad”, etc. (His feet smell bad. — His feet smell bad.)
It can also mean that a thing of poor quality, broken, uncomfortable. (She had a headache from sleeping in a bad bed. — She had a headache because she slept on an uncomfortable bed.)

Badly (adverb) is used to describe the way in which something is done.
He plays piano very badly. — He plays the piano very badly.
The people involved in the accident were badly hurt. “The people involved in the accident were seriously injured.

Badly can also mean “extremely, very” without a negative component: to want something badly - want something very much.

Elicit - Illicit

Elicit - “to evoke, to draw out, to achieve.” For example: The teacher elicited answers from the students. — The teacher sought answers from the students.

Illicit is the adjective “illegal, prohibited.” (The teacher found illicit things in a student's desk. — The teacher found prohibited things at the student’s desk.)

Imitated - Intimated

Imitated - past tense from to imitate - “to imitate, imitate, depict.” Intimated - from to intimate - “to hint, to imply.” Compare:

The toddler imitated the dog by crawling on hands and knees and barking. — The kid imitated the dog, standing on all fours and barking.

The pirate intimated that he knew where the treasure was buried. — The pirate hinted that he knew where the treasure was buried.

Comprise - Compose

Comprise means “to include, to consist of something.” For example: The USA consists of 50 states. — The USA included 50 states (or The USA is composeded of 50 states).

Compose - “to compose, to form something with oneself.”
50 states form the USA. — 50 states compose the USA.

In a Sense - In Essence

In a sense - “in some way, on the one hand.” Can also be used in the form in some sense. (In a sense, computers have been a boon to society. — On the one hand, computers are a benefit to society.)

In essence or essentially - “originally, by nature, essentially.” (The cat is, in essence, quiet. — By nature, cats are quiet animals.)

To lend - To borrow

This is such a common mistake that it has almost become the norm in spoken language. However, if you want to be impeccably literate, you should use this pair of words correctly: “to lend” - lend, “to borrow” - borrow. Accordingly, if you want to borrow a book from someone, it is correct to ask: Will you lend me the book?

Фото: Depositphotos

Precede - Proceed

Again, changing just one letter gives the word the opposite meaning. Precede is “to precede, precede something” (in time, place, order or significance). Proceed is “to continue, to resume” (especially after a pause or break).

The election of a new president precedes his inauguration. — Presidential elections precede the inauguration.

After your first task has been completed and approved, you may proceed to the second one. - After the first task is completed and accepted, you can move on to the second.

Principal - Principle

Principal - “director” (usually of a school). Principle - “principle, law.”

His parents had a meeting with the principal. — His parents had a meeting with the director.

His parents thought that they had instilled stronger moral principles in their son. “His parents thought they had instilled strict moral principles in their son.

More / most important - More / most important

More / most importantly mistakenly used as an adverb with -ly to emphasize a particular degree of importance. However, it is quite enough to say more / most important.

Most important, you need to be polite to one another. “The most important thing is to be polite to each other.”

Loose - Lose

Loose is pronounced with an [s] sound and means “free, not restricting movement.” It is also a verb that means “to untie, to set free, to set free.” Lose is pronounced with a [z] sound and means “to lose” or “lose.”

You can lose your phone. — You might lose your phone.
I don't want my football team to lose the game. — I don't want my football team to lose.
This loose sweater feels very comfortable. — This spacious sweater is very comfortable.

Resign - Re-sign

Resign without a hyphen ("s" pronounced like [z], stress on the second syllable) means "to quit a job." (My boss didn't want to increase my salary so I decided to resign. — My boss didn’t want to raise my salary, so I decided to quit.)

Re-sign (pronounced [s]) means, on the contrary, “to renew a contract, re-sign.” (I love my current job, so I happily re-signed for another year. — I love my current job, so I happily extended my contract for the next year.)

Important: resign can be used in the second meaning without a hyphen, which means that words can be distinguished only by context.

Disinterested - Uninterested

Even native speakers often use both of these words to mean “boring, uninteresting.” But, to be precise, only the word uninterested has this meaning. Disinterested means something completely different: “impartial, objective” (for example, a judge in a court).

The children wanted to play in the garden uninterested in doing any studying. — The children wanted to play in the garden and were not interested in studying.

Sometimes a stranger can make a disinterested and fair decision more easily than a family member. — Sometimes a stranger can form a more objective opinion about you than a family member.

Bear - Bare

Bear, acting as a noun, is "bear". But it can be a verb and means “to support a heavy object” or “to withstand the difficulties of life.”

Don't stand on that old chair bear your weight. - Don't stand on this chair, it can't support your weight.

I cant bear to see my child in pain. “I can’t see my child suffering.”

Bare means "naked, uncovered."

Must see optional arms. — Visitors are not allowed to enter the temple with bare arms.

Further - Farther

Further (“further”) is used figuratively when we propose to continue something non-literally, abstractly, for example a story. (You can now go further in telling the story.)

Cannot be used in this farther value. Father is used when talking about physical, tangible space.

She ran farther and faster than him. — She runs faster and further than him.

If we drive any farther tonight we'll be too tired. - If we continue driving further, we will be too tired.

If the sentence can allow both physical and abstract meaning, then both words will do.

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