Confusable words in English IV
Last modified on 2009-08-21 07:07:31 GMT. 4 comments. Top.
Pass and spend is also another pair of very basic words that can be used inaccurately. According to the LDOCE Online,
1. Pass is, among several other meanings, a transitive verb related to time. If, for example, you pass time or pass your life in a particular way, you spend it in that way.
We passed the summer really uncomfortably.
We played games to pass the time.
2. Spend time doing something is a collocation more usually used than “pass time” doing something.
I spent the whole day watching TV.
Let’s spend the night together, dancing and laughing!
Confusable words in English III
Last modified on 2009-08-21 07:07:59 GMT. 2 comments. Top.
Another very simple distinction should be made between the words music and song. Although they have to do with the same content area, they are not synonymous. See below:
1. Music is a series of sounds made by instruments or voices in a way that is pleasant or exciting. It also refers to the art of writing or playing music.
I often listen to music when I’m in the car.
I’m thinking about studying music at college.
2. A song is a short piece of music with words that you sing. It also refers to the musical sounds made by birds and some other animals such as whales.
I love listening to pop songs on the radio.
Have you ever heard the song of the lark?
Confusable words in English II
Last modified on 2009-08-14 05:40:40 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Brazilian students of English sometimes find it hard to distinguish between the words job and work. The difference, however, is very simple to grasp. Check it out:
1. A job is something a person does regularly in order to earn money. If you want somebody to employ you, you can say you are looking for a job. A job is also a particular task you have to do, like cleaning or writing an e-mail.
A local school offered me a job.
If I didn’t have all these posts to write, I could get so many other jobs done. 
2. Work is similar to job in that you also do it regularly, and get paid to do it. You can also say you are looking for work if you want somebody to employ you. However, unlike job, work is an uncount noun, and is also used as a verb. Work is also the various jobs you have to do, especially things you do not enjoy doing.
I thought everyone would have a job, and that I’d find work easily.
A housewife’s work can take 8 or 9 hours a day.
He was working at a bank.
Confusable words in English I
Last modified on 2009-08-14 05:15:05 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Some pairs of basic English words are known to cause confusion even at intermediate and more advanced levels. Below, you can find a very short list of such pairs, with explanations and examples. Practice activities will follow on after the list has been covered. Bold print in the examples indicates common collocations. Reference materials (upon which explanations, examples, and activities are largely based) include the following:
- Carpenter, Edwin (1993). Confusable Words (Cobuild English Guides 4). Cobuild
- Swan, Michael & Walter, Catherine (1997). How English Works. Oxford
- Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online. Pearson Longman
- bring X take
- job X work
- music X song
- pass X spend
- travel X trip
1. To bring a person or thing with you when you come to a place is to have them with you.
Why haven’t you brought me here before?
Please, bring you dictionary to every lesson.
2. To take a person or thing with you when you go to a place is to have them with you.
She gave me some books to take home.
There are limits on the amount of money you can take abroad.
Slang, Brazilian basics & “in” English III
Last modified on 2009-08-06 05:11:28 GMT. 2 comments. Top.
Even more slang:
“In” English:
- bling = hiphop jewelry/garish Xmas decorations
- cheesy = overly sentimental/crap <BrE>
- sad = uncool <BrE>
- What a minger!/(S)he’s minging! = very ugly/disgusting person or thing <BrE>
- chill(ed) = relax(ed)
Some fun:
- handbag = soccer players when they fight (e.g.: “The handbags are out!”)
- get anal about = get obsessive/cranky <BrE>/irritable <AmE> about
- an uphill gardener = gay
- go and see a man about a dog = pee
- (You) lightweight! = You can’t drink much! <BrE>
- have a senior moment = forget/mislay something
- get tits-up/pear-shaped = go wrong
Buzzwords:
- Chip & Pin cards = new bank cards
- people carrier = luxury van
- hopper = local bus service (smaller bus for smaller roads) <BrE>
- smart car = very small car that can park anywhere
- “Let it snow” = (found on little signs in the winter)
- a suit = somebody who lives for work/a workaholic always in a suit
- bog standard = ordinary (bog = toilet) <BrE>
- poodle parlor = store where dogs are groomed
- sex things up = exaggerate/spice things up
- congestion charge = (gotten for using a car in Central London)
- dumb down = lower standards to raise grades/results
That’s it, guys! I hope you enjoy the lists! This is what makes learning languages so fascinating, isn’t it?
Slang, Brazilian basics & “in” English II
Last modified on 2009-08-06 05:11:06 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
More from list:
“In” English:
- Mete bronca!/Vai fundo! = Go for it!
- Faz parte = It’s all good!
- astral = vibe
- aparecer/chegar = rock/pitch up <BrE>
- Demorou!/Já é! = Bring it on!
- na cara = in your face
- se amarrar em = dig <AmE>
- abusado = well lairy <BrE>
- bater um rango = grab some grub/chow
- pagar mico = show yourself up
- estar a fim = be up for something (e.g.: “You up for it?”)
- pagar cofrinho = show a builder’s cleavage
- ser marrento = have a stick up your ass/arse
- Valeu!/Fui! = Cheers!
(more to come…)
Slang, Brazilian basics & “in” English
Last modified on 2009-08-14 23:14:16 GMT. 2 comments. Top.
Robin Ward, an ELT colleague from the UK, put together the following list, which I find extremely useful and decided to post it here. Enjoy, learn, and use!
Brazilian basics
- (É) show/irado/sinistro/boladão = It’s the dog’s (bollocks)! <BrE taboo>, It’s the mutt’s nuts! <BrE>
- calçadão = prom(enade)
- biquini asa-delta = a tanga/thong
- malandro = a shark <BrE>
- Caô! = Bollocks! <BrE taboo>
- patricinhas/mauricinhos = chavs <BrE>
- hidro-ginástica = acqua-aerobics
- fiador = guarantor <BrE>
- condomínio = service charges <BrE>
- condomínio = a condo(minium) (the place) <AmE>
- mandioca = manioc/cassava
- cupuaçu = soursop
- perua = a tart <BrE>
- dar uma entrada = make a down-payment on something
- pagar parcelado = pay in installments, pay on the never-never <informal>
- galinha = a lush (man who sleeps around) <BrE>
- gostosa/sarada = fit <BrE>
- Cara de pau! = Cheeky!
- Eu estava viajando! = I was miles away/trippin’!
(more to come…)
