COLLINS

COBUILD
COLUNS Birmingham Unlvantty Intemaltonai lAngoage Databaae

ENGLISH
GUIDES
------ 4------- 1
CONFUSABLE
WORDS
Edwin Carpenter

T H E U N IV E R S IT Y COLLINS
O F B IR M IN G H A M COBUILD

H arperC ollinsA < M s£m

H arperCollins Publishers
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London W6 8JB

COBUILD la a trademark o f w illiam Collins Sons & Co Ltd

C HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1993

First published 1993
Reprinted 1993

10 9 8 7 3 5 4 3 2

A ll rights reserved. No part o f this book may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted In
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission In w riting o f the Publisher.

ISBN 0 00 370683-6
Computer typeset by W yvern Typesetting Ltd

Printed In Great Britain by HarperCollins Manufacturing. Glasgow

NOTE Entered weeds that we have reason to believe

constitute trademarks have been designated as such.
However, neither the presence nor absence o f such
designation should be regarded as affecting the legal
status o f any trademark.

The Author and Publishers would like to thank the follow ing people fo r their help: Dora
Carpenter and Elisabeth Cane, who read the manuscript and provided valuable
comments: Deborah K irby, Annette Capel, Lores Heaslip, and Katy Shaw: and the
CoBtnLD team. In particular Stephen Bullon, Arm Hewtngs, and Jenny Watson.
Foreword
The Guide to Confusable Words is one o f a series o f Cobuild
English Guides to particular areas o f d ifficu lty fo r learners o f
English.

This Guide deals w ith words w hich m ay be confused. This m ay be

because they look or sound sim ilar, or because they have sim ilar,
but not identical, meanings. In some cases there m ay also be a
difference in the gram m ar o f the words. Often there are
m isleading sim ilarities between words in English and words in
other languages.

This book contains n early 400 entries, coverin g over 900 item s.
Using real exam ples, the entries show the typical use o f the words
in m odem English. The exam ples are taken from the Bank o f
English, a collection o f m odem English speech and w ritin g drawn
from a va riety o f sources. The com puter files o f the Bank o f
English currently contain approxim ately 200 m illio n words.

I hope that we have selected useful inform ation and that you find
the book easy to use. Please w rite to m e w ith any comments or
suggestions about how to im prove Cobuild publications.

John Sinclair
Editor in C h ief: C obuild E nglish G uides
Professor o f Modem English Language
University o f Birmingham

Corpus Acknowledgements
We would lik e to thank those authors and publishers who kindly
gave perm ission fo r copyright m aterial to be used in the Bank o f
English. W e would also lik e to thank Tim es Newspapers Ltd, the
BBC W orld Service, and N ational Public Radio o f W ashington fo r
providing valuable data.

iii
Introduction
Th is book deals w ith words w hich regu larly cause problem s
because they are easily confused. It is fa irly common to hear
m istakes such as ‘I ’m so borin g’ (instead o f ‘I ’m so bored’) or ‘An
eventual solution would be...’ (instead o f ‘A possible solution
would be...’). The entries in this book are designed to help you
when you are not sure w hich o f tw o o r m ore words is suitable for
a particu lar context.

There are m any reasons w hy certain words are confusable. For

exam ple, they m ay look sim ilar when they are w ritten down but
have v e ry differen t m eanings, fo r exam ple quite and quiet, or suit
and suite. O r th ey m ight look sim ilar and have closely related, but
not identical, m eanings, fo r exam ple altogether and a ll together, or
breath and breathe.
Some w ords not on ly look sim ilar, but also sound the same when
they are spoken, fo r exam ple practice and practise, or stationary
and stationery.
O ther words do not look the same, but can be easily confused
because they have sim ilar, although not iden tical m eanings, fo r
exam ple baby, infant, and child, or jo b and work.

Another area o f confusion can be the gram m atical differences

between words w hich share a sim ilar m eaning or a sim ilar form ,
fo r exam ple after, afterwards, and later, or its and it ’s.

D ifferences between B ritish and Am erican English can also cause

confusion.
The entries in this book deal w ith a ll these areas o f confusion.
The explanations are supported by real exam ples w hich show how
the words are typ ically used in m odern English.

How to use the book

The entry headings are printed in bold. Th ey consist o f tw o or
m ore confusable item s, separated by commas, fo r example:

every d a y , e v e ry day
excep t, excep t fo r , u nless, besides
Sometimes an item consists o f m ore than one w ord, fo r example:
before, in front o f

iv
 Introduction

The entries are arranged according to the alphabetical order o f

the first item in each heading. For exam ple, the first three entries
in the letter E are:

earn , w in , ga in
east, eastern , e a s te rly
eatab le, ed ib le

W here tw o entries start w ith the same item , they are arranged
according to the alphabetical order o f the second item , as in:

a fte r, a fterw a rd s, la te r
a fte r, b eh in d

It is im portant to rem em ber that some words (fo r exam ple actual,
much, and shop) appear in m ore than one entry. You can use the
index to find out w here they appear. Th e Index starts on page 241.

The Explanations
The entries contain explanations on ly fo r those m eanings o f
words w hich are confusable, and not necessarily fo r a ll the
meanings. F or exam ple, the en try fo r squ are, p la ce begins:

A squ are is a flat open area surrounded by buildings in a town or

city. M any such areas have S qu are in th eir names.

There is no m ention o f a square being a shape w ith fou r sides o f

the same length, because square and place are not confused when
square has this meaning.

The Examples
A ll the explanations are supported by real exam ples w hich show
how the words are used by speakers and w riters o f modern
English. The exam ples are taken from the Bank o f English and
are printed in ita lic.

Grammar
Some entries contain inform ation about the differen t gram m atical
functions o f a word. W here this inform ation is not a central part
o f the explanation, it appears towards the end o f the entry, under
the heading G ram m ar.

Other words
Some entries contain inform ation about additional words which
have a sim ilar m eaning to the words that are discussed in the
Introduction

m ain part o f the entry. Th is inform ation appears towards the end
o f the entry, under the heading O th er w ords.

Pronunciation
Inform ation about pronunciation is given w here it helps to
distinguish between confusable words.

The sym bols used to indicate pronunciation are part o f the

International Phonetic Alphabet. H ere is a lis t o f the symbols
used in this book:

v o w e l sounds: con son an t sounds:

a: heart, start, calm b bed, rub
ae act, mass, lap d done, red
ai dive, cry, mind f fit, if
aid fire, tyre, buyer 9 good, dog
ao out, down, loud h hat
aud flour, tower, sour j yellow
e met, lend, pen к king, pick
ei say, main, weight 1 lip, bill
еэ fair, care, wear m mat, ram
i fit, win, list n not, tin
i: feed, me, beat P pay, lip
id near, beard, clear r run
0 lot, lost, spot s soon, bus
dU note, phone, coat t talk, bet
o: more, cord, claw v van, love
Э1 boy, coin, joint w win
и could, stood, hood X loch
u: you, use, choose z zoo, buzz
ud lure, pure, cure J ship, wish
з: turn, third, word 3 measure
л but, fUnd, must 0 sing
d the weak vowel in butter, about. tj cheap, witch
forgotten e thin, myth
i the weak vowel in very, create 0 then, loathe
u the first weak vowel in tuition d3 joy, bridge
Stressed syllables are indicated by an u nderline under the vow el
sym bol fo r the stressed syllable.

vi
A
ability, capability, capacity
I f someone has a b ility , a particu lar a b ility , o r the a b ility to do
something, they can do it because they have the s k ill or the
knowledge that is needed to do it. You often use a b ility to say
that someone can do som ething w ell.
He had rem arkable a b ility as an adm inistrator.
There are fo u r m ain fa ctors which determ ine m athem atical a bility.
...the a b ility to bear hardship.

A person’s c a p a b ility is the amount o f w ork they can do and how

w ell they can do it.
The director has his own ideas both o f the role and o f the capability
o f the actor.
It was, in any case, beyond the capability o f one man.

I f someone has a particular ca p a city, a ca p a city fo r som ething,

or a ca p a city to do som ething, they have the characteristics
required to do it. C ap acity is a m ore form al w ord than a b ility .
...their capacity fo r being inspired by heroes.
...his capacity always to seethe other person’s p o in t o f view.

able, capable
Both ab le and cap a b le are used to say that someone can do
something.

When you say that som eone is a b le to do som ething, you mean
that they can do it eith er because o f th eir knowledge or s k ill or
because it is possible fo r them to do it.
Breslow wondered i f he would be able to clim b over the ra il.
They must be able to use th eir p rofits fo r new investment.

Note that i f you use a past tense, you are saying that someone has
actually done som ething.
We were able to reduce costs.
When you say that someone is cap ab le o f doing som ething, you
mean eith er that they have the know ledge and s k ill to do it i f they
want o r need to, o r that they are lik e ly to do i t
Workers are perfectly capable o f ru n n in g the organizations which
employ them.

1
a b le

She was quite capable o f dropping o ff to sleep.

You can also say that someone is capable o f a feelin g or an

action.
I think he’s capable o f loyalty and seriousness.
Bowman could not believe him capable o f m urder.

You norm ally use ‘cap a b le o f’ when talking about what

som ething such as a car or m achine can do.
...w ater turbines, which are capable o f producing m ore econom ical
electricity.
The ca r was capable o f 110 m iles per hour.

I f you describe someone as a b le or cap ab le, you mean that they

do things w ell and in an in telligen t way. There is little difference
between the tw o words when used in this way.
...the able and m ethodical K in g Charles V o f France.
This very able man totally fa ile d to see the possibilities o f the
telephone.
New born babies are m ore capable than was once thought.
W ell, you certainly have a capable gardener there.

above, over
A b o v e and o v e r are both used to talk about position and height.

I f som ething is h igher than som ething else, but an im aginary line
join in g them is not vertical, you have to use above.
The trees rose above the houses.

I f you go o v e r som ething, you cross it and get to the other side.
Castle stepped over the dog.
...a soaring seagull sw ooping over C entral Park.

I f you are w earing tw o item s o f clothing one on top o f the other,

you can say that you are w earing one o v e r the other.
Rudolph was w earing a sweater over a w ool shirt, and a silk scarf.

You can use eith er a b ove or o v e r i f som ething is higher than

som ething else and an im aginary lin e could be drawn vertica lly
join in g them.
He opened a cupboard above the sink.
She leaned forw a rd u n til her face was directly over the basin.

A b o v e and o v e r are also both used to talk about measurements.

2
 above

You use o v e r to say that a distance or period o f tim e is longer

than the one mentioned.
The plane flew a t a height o f over twelve thousand feet.
So we had this beautiful relationship f o r over a year.

You can use a b o ve or o v e r when you are talking about a point

that is higher than another point, especially a point on a scale.
The am ount o f tax you should pay is determined by what you earn
above a certain figu re.
Any money earned over that level is taxed at the rate o f 59 p er cent.
In each case I want to know the height o f the man. Everybody above
five feet eight inches is suspect.

A b o ve and o v e r are both used to talk about people’s ranks and

im portance rela tive to others.

You use a b ove to talk about people who are m ore im portant and
in a higher position than other people.
...behaving as i f she was in a position above even the staff, and
certainly above us.

If someone is o v e r you, they give orders or instructions to you.

...an officer set in authority over him .

account, bill
When you have an accou n t w ith a bank, you leave your m oney in
the bank and take it out when you need it.
The current account, sometimes called a cheque account, is the most
widely used.

When you have to pay fo r things lik e electricity o r a m eal in a

restaurant, you get a b ill.
I 'l l want a copy o f the phone b ill.
Clive asked the w aiter fo r the b ill.

accuse, charge
I f you accuse someone o f doing som ething w rong, you say that
they did it. For exam ple, someone can be accu sed o f being
dishonest, or o f a fau lt lik e laziness. I f someone has done
som ething that is against the law , they can be accused o f a crim e
and put on tria l in a court o f law .
He him self was accused o f incompetence.

3
accuse

And then you would start crying and accusing us o f not ca rin g i f
you died.
They were in great distress because they had been w rongfully
accused o f theft.
He is accused o f k illin g ten young women.

When the police ch a rge someone or ch a rge them w ith

com m itting a crim e, they form ally accuse them o f it. The police
ch a rge a person w ith a crim e when they have evidence that the
person was responsible fo r it. You can also ch a rge someone w ith
things lik e not doing th eir duty or lyin g. You do not use ‘charge’
when referrin g to m inor faults.
Colonel B u rr was arrested by order o f President Thomas Jefferson
and charged with treason.
He was arrested and charged w ith com m itting a variety o f offences.
He was declared not responsible fo r the crim in a l acts w ith which he
had been charged.
M r H orta charged the prem ier w ith being p o litica lly weak.

actual, real
You use actu a l to em phasize that the place, object, o r person you
are talking about is the correct or genuine one. For exam ple, if
you talk about the a ctu a l cost o f som ething, you are talking about
what it does cost rather than what it is expected to cost.
...tu rn in g fro m ratings in the p o lls to actual perform ance in
elections.
We ca ll the baby Doc. H is actual name is D a n ie l

You can also use a ctu a l when you are g ivin g exact inform ation
about som ething, fo r exam ple the tim e you take to do som ething
rather than preparing to do i t
The actual boat trip takes about forty-five minutes.

You on ly use a ctu a l in fron t o f a noun. You do not say that

som ething ‘is actual’.

Som ething that is r e a l exists and is not im agined, invented, or

theoretical.
...real o r im agined feelings o f inferiority.
Robert squealed in m ock terror, then in rea l pain.

N ote that you can use r e a l after a lin k verb lik e ‘be’ .
W hat w e saw w as real.

4
 actually

actually, really
A c tu a lly and r e a lly are both used to em phasize statements. Both
words can em phasize a w hole clause o r sentence, or ju st a w ord
or group o f words.

You use a c tu a lly when you are saying what the truth is about
som ething, in contrast to other things that m ight have been said
or thought.
A ll o f the characters in the novel actually existed.
Actually, a ll p o llu tion is sim ply an unused resource.

You also use a c tu a lly to em phasize som ething surprising. You

put a c tu a lly in fron t o f the surprising part o f what you are
saying.
Tom m o actually began to cry.
I was actually cru el sometimes.

A c tu a lly can be used to be precise or to correct someone.

N o one was actually drunk.
We couldn’t actually see the garden.

You use r e a lly in conversation to em phasize som ething that you

are saying.
I really think he’s sick.
I only wish you r people really trusted me.

When you use r e a lly in fron t o f an adjective or adverb, it has a

sim ilar m eaning to ‘v e ry ’.
This is really serious.
It was really good, wasn’t it?
We're doing really well.

adhere, adherence, adhesion

I f som ething ad h eres to som ething else, it sticks to it firm ly.
Some sugar grains may adhere to the sides o f the pan.

The noun from this sense o f ad h ere is adh esion .

It stuck there fo r seconds only by tactile adhesion.
I f someone ad h eres to a rule, they obey it. I f someone ad h eres to
a point o f view , they support it strongly.
They mostly adhere to a diet which avoids meat.
The governm ent has firm ly adhered to the view that this is a m atter
fo r individuals to decide.

5
a d h e re

The noun from this sense o f ad h ere is adh eren ce.

...a rig id adherence to the laws o f honour.
...their adherence to the philosophy o f social democracy.

• You do not use ‘adhere’ to talk about becom ing a mem ber o f an
organization; you say you ‘jo in ’ an organization.

admission, admittance
I f you want to get into a private building or part o f a building,
you seek ad m ittan ce. A d m itta n ce is a form al w ord and is
som etim es used on signs.
How then was he to ga in adm ittance?
Bernstein opened a d oor m arked N O A D M IT T A N C E .

A d m ission has the same m eaning, but is less form al. You do not
usually use ‘adm ission’ on signs.
M arsha was insisting on admission to D avid's office.
To ga in admission, one had to rin g that bell at the m ain gate.

You alw ays use ad m ission when you want to talk about going
into public places such as theatres and museums, or into a
hospital as a patient, or being allow ed into a u n iversity as a
student.
..fre e adm ission to a ll na tion a l museums and galleries.
...p riority cases fo r adm ission to h ospita l
He applied f o r adm ission to H arvard.

• A n ad m ission is a confession, usually made rather reluctantly,

that you have done som ething bad, unpleasant, or em barrassing.
The adm ission o f g u ilt is hard.
They made no adm ission th a t the newspaper had been fo o lin g the
public.

admit, confess
I f you admit som ething bad, unpleasant, or em barrassing, you
agree, usually rather reluctantly, that it is true. You can ad m it
that som ething is true, a d m it som ething, or ad m it to something.
I would be forced to adm it that I had used Ewen W aite’s gun.
He adm itted that the m ounting cost was a m atter o f serious concern.
Boylan began to play. Rudolph had to adm it he played well.
A ga in the m anufacturers, employers and governm ent were reluctant
to adm it the danger.

6
 admit

She was obviously in considerable pain, but she w ouldn’t adm it it.
She admits to being d ifficu lt to live with.

If you con fess som ething, you say that you have done som ething
you should not have done. U sually you feel regret or
embarrassment when you con fess som ething. You can con fess
that you have done som ething, con fess som ething, o r con fess to
someone.
Finally, the boy confessed that he had been lying throughout.
The m other could not be persuaded to confess her previous error.
It turned out that he’d confessed to Castle that he hadn’t gone to the
dentist.

I f someone con fesses to som ething such as a crim e, they say they
did it.
Bianchi had confessed to fiv e o f the murders.
They confess to m urders they haven’t committed.
Three days after M r Profum o confessed and resigned, Stephen Ward
was arrested.

You can also use both ad m it and con fess in expressions lik e ‘I
ad m it’, ‘I must a d m it’ , ‘I con fess’, and ‘I must con fess’ when you
mention a fact that em barrasses you sligh tly o r that you think
m ight upset the person you are speaking to.
Well, I 'l l adm it he seems harmless.
I have to adm it that this has been only p a rtia lly successful.
This is not a neat household, I confess.
I must confess that, to p u t it pla in ly, I fin d h im a bore.

advice, advise, suggest

I f you tell someone what you think they should do, you g iv e them
ad vice. A d v ic e is a noun that cannot be made plural. You can
say instead that you give someone ‘some a d v ic e ’ . A d v ic e is
pronounced /odvais/.
She needs sound m edical advice and help.
I 'l l give you some advice, M ike, d on't try.

A d vise is a verb. I f you a d vise someone to do som ething, you say

that you think they should do it. You can a d vise someone, a d vise
something, a d vise someone to do som ething, or a d vise doing
something. A d v is e is pronounced /odvaiz/.
You could not help her o r advise her.
I used to advise a sim ple and direct approach.

7
advice

D avid advised me to try to sleep.

You are advised to take out insurance.
I f the doctor foresees com plications, he w ill advise goin g to hospital.

I f you su ggest som ething, you m ention it as an idea or plan fo r

someone to think about. It is not necessarily the best idea or plan;
it is sim ply som ething to be considered. You can su ggest
som ething, su ggest doing som ething, or su ggest that someone
does som ething.
Your bank m anager w ill probably suggest a personal loan.
I suggested in v itin g Denny, and Jim agreed.
Sometimes he would suggest that she stayed at home w hile he
worked in the garden.
I suggest, my dear frien d , that you leave this m atter to me.

Other words
Instead o f saying that you su ggest som ething, you can say that
you make a su ggestion .
I made a few suggestions about how we could spend the afternoon.
The other governm ents greeted the suggestion w ith caution.

advocate, recommend
I f someone ad vocates a particular action o r plan, th ey say
publicly that it is the righ t action o r plan and that other people
should adopt it. Th ey are usually discussing a serious question
that they know a lot about and that can affect m any people.
A d v o c a te is pronounced /sdvokeit/.
The socialist policies he advocates would mean a m a jor reform o f
the Common M arket.
The only positive step he took a t this tim e was to advocate W inston
C h u rch ill's return to governm ent as a M inister.
The report advocates a massive program m e o f a id to developing
countries.

I f someone recom m ends a particular action o r plan, they suggest

that it is the best action or plan. They m ay be discussing a
serious question or a m inor one, and they m ay be g ivin g advice to
one person, a few people, or m any people.
He suffered severe headaches as a result o f this injury, and his
doctor recommended a rest.
The steps we've recommended above w ill help you get a view o f you r
firm 's interests.

8
 advocate

They recommend that no m ore than one egg a day should be eaten.
We recommend that you take an adequate supply o f currency and
tra veller’s cheques.

affect, effect
I f som ething a ffe c ts a person o r thing, it influences them or
makes them change.
Fitness affects you m entally and physically, and how you fe e l affects
everything fro m you r relationships to you r a b ility to cope.
One o f the problem s w ith noise is that it affects different people in
different ways.
Em otional states can affect ou r horm one levels.

The noun from a ffe c t is e ffe c t. I f som ething a ffe c ts you, it has an
e ffe c t on you.
...the effect o f noise on people in factories.
...under the effect o f the anaesthetic.

• If you e ffe c t som ething lik e a change o r a repair, you cause the
change to occur or the repair to be done. Th is is a fa irly form al
use, and is much less common than the use o f e ffe c t as a noun.
She claim ed that a ll her cures were effected solely by known
medicines and by prayers.
M rs M offat had effected hasty repairs w ith tape and gummed paper.

afflict, inflict
Problem s, illnesses, and m isfortunes a fflict people and cause
them to suffer. You can also say that someone is a fflic te d w ith an
illness, problem , or m isfortune.
...the diseases that a fflict the p oor in p oor countries.
Queasiness, headaches and languor afflicted her a ll day.
...those afflicted w ith the stark problem o f how to keep on livin g.

When people in flic t things lik e problem s, pain, or damage on

other people, they are deliberately doing som ething to make them
suffer.
One ought not to in flict one’s problem s on other people.
The body must have been erect when this chest wound was inflicted.
He wanted to in flict a punishm ent on me.

9
after

after, afterwards, later

You use a fte r, a fterw a rd s, and la te r to talk about things that
happen at a tim e follow in g the tim e o f speaking o r follow in g a
particular event.

You can use a fte r as a preposition.

A fter dinner she g o t hold o f the President and spoke to him .
He resigned after allegations that he was involved in
drug-trafficking.

You can also use a fte r as a conjunction.

I returned to England only recently, a fter spending two m onths in
India.
His fam e grew after he left the hospital.

In expressions lik e ‘shortly a fte r ’ and ‘not long a fte r ’, you can
use a fte r as an adverb.
Douglas came round to see me, and soon after I met h im again a t a
frie n d ’s.
Shortly after, Fania called me.

A fte rw a rd s can also be used as an adverb when you do not need

to m ention the particular tim e or event.
Afterw ards we went to a n ig h t club.
You’d better come up to my room afterw ards and show me what
y ou ’ve got.

You can use la te r as an adverb to refer to a tim e o r situation that

is after the one that you have been talkin g about, or follow in g the
tim e o f speaking.
I returned some three o r fo u r weeks later.
I ’l l go round and see N e ll later.

You can use a ll these words after a phrase w hich m entions a

period o f tim e to say when som ething happens.
She wrote about it six years afterwards.
Ten m inutes la ter Sutherland grabbed a m icrophone.
..Jive hundred years after his death.

• The w ords ‘shortly’, ‘soon’, and ‘long’ can be used w ith both
a fte r and a fterw a rd s.
He was back in the hotel shortly after six.
Soon afterwards, Ira came storm ing into the clin ic.
...under a tree known long afterwards as the Queen’s Oak.

10
 after

• ‘A little ’, ‘much’, and ‘not much’ can be used w ith la te r.

A little later, the fa in t blue glow o f the emergency ligh ts went out.
I learned a ll this much later.

after, behind
You use a fte r to say that som ething happens at a later tim e than
som ething else.
Eva was tidying up after lunch.
Send them on th eir way a fter ju s t one meal.

I f you are b eh in d someone or som ething, they are in fron t o f you

and you are facin g th eir back.
A lison came across and stood behind her.
The g ir l behind him is typing.
Sandy stared a t me, his eyes w idening behind his rim less glasses.

A fte r and b eh in d can also be used w ith verbs such as ‘w alk’ or

’run’ which express m ovem ent. I f you w alk o r run b eh in d
someone, they are in fron t o f you and stay in fron t o f you.
He walked behind me fo r a long way.

If you walk or run a fte r someone, you try to reach w here they
are, perhaps so you can talk to them or in order to catch them.
Thomas ran after him , y ellin g to him to stop.

after all, at last, finally, in the end, lastly,

last of all
You use a fte r a ll when you are m entioning an additional point
which confirm s or supports what you have just said.
They did not expect heavy losses in the a ir; after a ll, they had
superb aircraft.
They d id n’t bother to tie me up. A fter a ll, there were fo u r, five, six
o f them there, mostly w ith handguns.

You also use a fte r a ll to say that som ething is the case or m ay be
the case in spite o f what had previou sly been thought.
Could it be true, after a ll, that money did not b rin g happiness?
Perhaps it isn’t such a bad villa ge after a ll.

You do not use ‘after a ll’ to talk about what happens at the end o f
a long period. You use at la st, fin a lly , in th e end, or la st o f a ll.

11
after all

You use a t la s t o r fin a lly to say that som ething happens after
you have been w aitin g fo r it o r expecting it fo r a long tim e.

You can use a t la s t at the end o f a sentence.

The storm that had threatened fo r so long broke a t la s t

F in a lly usually comes eith er at the beginning o f a sentence o r in

fron t o f a verb.
A fte r another search on the map they fin a lly located it.

You also use fin a lly to talk about an act or result that is last in a
series o f things.
Trotsky lived in tu rn in Turkey. France, Norway, and fin a lly
M exico.
L e t’s come fin a lly to the question o f pensions.

You use in th e en d when you are talkin g about a situation that

comes about after a lon g tim e o r after a long process.
‘Perhaps the p olice g o t him in the end, ’ Sam said.
The perform ance was quite a success in the end.
In the end, Peter seemed quite happy and so d id I.

You use la s tly to talk about the last o f a series o f people or

things.
Then I went through the bathroom and lastly the bed-sitting room .
Lastly he jabbed the knife hard in to the tru n k o f the tree.

You use la s t o f a ll to em phasize that there is nobody o r nothing

else after the person o r th in g you m ention.
In ra pid succession his frien d s’faces appear and disappear: last o f
a ll he sees Lew is Seidel’s m addening smile.
Last o f a ll came the cat.

agenda, diary
A n agen d a is a lis t o f things that people want to discuss o r deal
w ith at a m eeting.
I t was possible to place it on the agenda fo r discussion by the next
international congress.
Am ong the m a jor topics on the sum m it agenda: interest rates.

A d ia ry is a book that has a blank space or page fo r each day o f

the year. You use a d ia ry fo r w ritin g down arrangem ents or
appointm ents or you r comments on what has happened on a
particular day.

12
 agenda

He scribbled an appointm ent fo r 10.30 in his desk diary.

My diary tells me that sum m er begins on 22nd June.

• Som etim es agen d a is used to refer to im portant m atters that

are being w id ely discussed, especially by politician s. You w ill
most often find it being used in th is w ay by journalists.
Telecom m unications has moved to the top o f the p o litic a l agenda.

Other words
Many people no lon ger use ordin ary diaries, but have ‘personal
organizers’ . These have sections that deal w ith the separate areas
in someone’s life , fo r exam ple th eir special interests, th eir
personal accounts, o r im portant telephone numbers. People
sometimes call a personal organ izer a ‘ F ilofax’ ; ‘ F ilofax’ is a
trademark.

ago, before, for, since

You use ago to connect a tim e in the past w ith the m om ent o f
speaking. I f you are speaking on Friday and you say that
som ething happened tw o days a go, you m ean that it happened on
Wednesday.
The land was acquired by the University two years ago.
I discovered a few days ago that Weiss was HoudinVs rea l name.

You use b e fo re to connect a tim e in the past w ith a m ore recent

tim e in the past. I f you are talkin g about what you did last
Wednesday and you say that you m et someone tw o days b e fo re ,
you mean that you m et them last Monday.
She said that, about s ix m onths before, she had gone to see an aunt
who lived in Stoneyvale.
...a woman he had firs t met twenty m inutes before.

You use fo r to say how lon g a period lasts in the past, present, or
future. I f you say that you have been doing som ething fo r tw o
days, you m ean that you have spent the last tw o days doing it a ll
the tim e or part o f the tim e.
She sat down and rem ained absolutely s till fo r nearly h a lf an hour.
He had disappeared fo r three weeks after that.
I t w ill ru in us fb r several years.

You also use fo r to say how much tim e passes w ithout som ething
happening. I f you are speaking on Friday and you say that you
have not done som ething fo r tw o days, you m ean that the last
tim e you did it was on Wednesday.

13
ago

I hadn’t seen h im f o r Jou r years.

He could n’t b rin g h im self to eat th e ir food , and he ha d n 't eaten fo r
days.

You use sin ce to say when a period started. I f you are speaking
on F riday and you say that you have been doing som ething sin ce
W ednesday, you m ean that you have spent the last tw o days doing
it.
She had been a m anager o f F a ira cre School since the reign o f K in g
Edw ard the Seventh.
She has been w orking w ith the grou p since it began.
B ra z il is to have its firs t civ ilia n president since the m ilita ry regim e
was set up 17 years ago.

You also use sin ce to say eith er when the last tim e was that
som ething happened, or how much tim e passes w ithout som ething
happening. I f you are speaking on Friday and you say that you
have not done som ething sin ce W ednesday, o r that it is tw o days
sin ce you did som ething, you m ean that the last tim e you did that
thing was on Wednesday.
Probably she hadn’t touched fo o d since breakfast.
I t was a sham efully long tim e since either she o r Tusker had been
to church.

alike, likely
I f people o r things are a lik e , th ey are sim ilar to each other. I f
people do the same things, they act a lik e .
D olly and M o lly were rea lly very m uch alike.
Superm arkets tend to look a lik e
We th in k and ta lk a lik e

I f something is lik e ly , o r i f it is lik e ly to happen, it w ill probably

happen. I f som eone is lik e ly to do som ething, you expect them to
do i t
N u clea r w ar would be less likely undo- a non nuclear policy.
The argum ent is likely to prove lon g and exhausting.
...die sort o f questions you are likely to ask.

alive, living, lively

Someone who is a liv e has not died and th eir life continues. You
use a liv e a fter a lin k verb lik e ‘be’, o r occasionally a fter a noun.
You do not use ‘alive* in fron t o f a noun.

14
 alive

She d id n 't say whether he was s till alive.

I am the happiest man alive.

A liv in g person, anim al, or plant has life and is differen t from
someone who is dead o r som ething that does not have life .
...or see liv in g artists a t th eir work.
Baboons, even the sm aller liv in g species, are very form id a ble
creatures.

Someone who is liv e ly is active and enthusiastic. B ehaviour and

activities can also be described as liv e ly .
Before her m arriage she had been lively and a lert and carefree.
The debate prom ises to be lively.

all, both, every, each

You use a ll to consider a w hole th in g or group, com plete w ith its
parts or members. You can talk about ‘a ll bread’ , ‘a ll the bread’,
or ‘a ll o f the bread’ , and ‘a ll books’ , ‘a ll the books’, o r ‘a ll o f the
books’ . You can also talk about ‘a ll people’, ‘a ll the people’ , o r ‘a ll
o f the people’.

Note that when a ll is used to consider a group, it im plies that the

group has m ore than tw o members.
O ur task, and the task o f a ll education, is to understand the present
world.
A ll th eir equipm ent is good.
B ut rem em ber: most o f m ankind is n ot a ll o f mankind.
A ll green plants depend on ligh t.
...a list o f a ll the biggest countries in the w o rld .
She thought o f a ll the women M arsha had told her about.
He wanted a ll o f the people to be there.

You can also say that people o r things a ll do som ething.

...the b ig table where we a ll ate fro m different plates and odd
patterned cups and saucers.

You use b oth to re fe r to tw o people o r things. You can talk about

'both boys’, ‘ both the boys’ , o r ‘b oth o f the boys’.
...the assassination o f both Kennedy brothers.
Both the kings under whom he served had fin a n cia l difficulties.
Both q f die diplom ats blushed when the company thanked them

You can also say that people o r things b oth do som ething.
Tony and N ig e l both laughed noisily.

15
all

You use e v e ry to indicate that you are referrin g to a ll the

mem bers o f a group and not ju st to some o f them. N ote that e v e ry
im plies that the group you are considering has m ore than tw o
members. You on ly use e v e ry w ith a singular noun.
He listened to every news bu lletin on the radio.
Every house had to be cleaned.
We are s till so fa r fro m g ra n tin g an equal chance to every child.

You use each to talk about every person o r thing in a group. You
use each rather than ‘every’ when you are thinking about the
mem bers o f a group as individuals. N ote that each can re fe r to
both mem bers o f a pair. You on ly use each w ith a singu lar noun.
The treatm ent is different in each case.
I t may be im possible to give each ch ild a room to him self.
Each apartm ent has one o r two twin-bedded rooms.

You can also say that people o r things each do som ething o r that
each o f them does som ething.
We each carried a blue m arking pencil.
There w ill be the benefit o f the low er rates o f ta x fo r each o f them.
Each o f the boys stood to earn as m uch as he used to.

alone, lonely, lone

I f someone is a lo n e, there is nobody w ith them. I f someone does
som ething a lo n e, nobody does it w ith them. T h ey m ay be happy
o r sad to be a lo n e. N ote that you do not use ‘alone’ in fron t o f a
noun.
A ga in he feels he is alone.
I quite like tra vellin g alone, actually.

I f someone is lo n e ly , they are sad that there is nobody w ith them

or that they do not have any friends.
It w ill be so d u ll and lonely here w ithout you.
We started it m ainly w ith the aim q f helping lonely people.

I f you talk about a lo n e person o r thing, there is o n ly one person

o r thing o f that kind present, when you m ight expect there to be
m ore. N ote that lo n e is alw ays used in fron t o f a noun.
In an Am erican suburban street a lone pedestrian is m ore
conspicuous than a lone m otorist.
Suddenly a lone fig u re came stru gglin g ou t q f the swamps.
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 alternate

alternate, alternative
A lte rn a te actions, events, o r processes keep happening regu larly
after each other. Th e adjective a lte rn a te is pronounced /o:lt3:not/.

A pattern o f a lte rn a te black and w hite stripes has a black stripe,

then a w hite stripe, another black stripe, another w hite stripe,
and so on. I f som ething happens on a lte rn a te days, it happens on
one day, then does not happen on the next day, then happens
again on the day after it, and so on. Things can also happen in
a ltern a te weeks, months, or years.
Frost splits rock, so does alternate intense heat and cold.
He played alternate balls left- and right-handed.
These courses are available in alternate years.

You use a lte rn a tiv e to describe som ething that can be used, had,
or done instead o f som ething else. F or exam ple, an a lte rn a tiv e
plan is a plan that could be used instead o f another one. I f you
look fo r an a lte rn a tiv e route, you know about one route but you
want another one, perhaps because the firs t one is closed.
Propose alternative solutions and test them.
There was no alternative site fo r a th ird London a irp o rt

A lte rn a tiv e can also be used as a noun, m eaning som ething else
that can be chosen instead.
The other alternative was to w ait u n til July.
There was absolutely no alternative but to go ahead.

You can also say that someone has tw o o r m ore a lte rn a tiv e s ,
meaning that they have tw o o r m ore courses o f action to choose
from . This use is now quite common, although in the past it was
considered incorrect.
If a man is threatened w ith attack, he has fiv e alternatives: he can
fig h t, flee, hide, summon help, o r try to appease his attacker.

You can also talk about an a lte rn a tiv e lifestyle o r an a lte rn a tiv e
society, m eaning one w hich is d ifferen t from the tradition al one
and which some people think is better.
...the supporters o f A ltern a tive Schooling.

• Some English speakers use a lte rn a te to describe som ething that

can be used, had, o r done instead o f som ething else. T h is is not
very common; you norm ally use a lte rn a tiv e .
—the development o f alternate energy sources.

17
alternate

• A lte rn a te can also be used as a verb. W hen you a lte rn a te

between tw o things, you regu larly do o r use one thing and then
the other. W hen a lte rn a te is a verb, it is pronounced /oiltonert/.
They alternated between pa tron isin g us and ig n o rin g us.
The post o f president should alternate between a Greek and a T u rk

W hen one th in g a lte rn a te s w ith another, the tw o things regu larly

occur in turn.
The T h ird W orld suffers fro m an annual cycle o f drought
a ltern a tin g w ith flood .

Other words
Instead o f saying that you do som ething on a lte rn a te days o r
during a lte rn a te weeks o r years, you can say you do it ‘every
other* day, week, o r year.
We only save enough money to take a rea l vacation every other year.

alternately, alternatively
You use a lte rn a te ly to say that tw o actions o r processes keep
happening regu larly after each other.
Each piece o f m aterial is washed alternately in soft w ater and
coconut oil.
The little g ir l had alternately sulked and made scenes.

You use a lte rn a tiv e ly to give a differen t explanation from one

that has just been m entioned, o r to suggest a differen t course o f
action.
O r alternatively was he short o f cash because he had never been to
the Rosses’ house a t a ll?
A lternatively, change seats a t once.

altogether, all together

You use a lto g e th e r as an adverb to em phasize that som ething has
stopped or has been done o r finished com pletely. I f you say that
som ething stops a lto g e th e r, you m ean that it stops com pletely; i f
you say that you have given som ething up a lto g e th e r, you mean
that you no lon ger do it at all.
Q uite soon she stopped trem blin g altogether and began to look
round a t them.
Th is does not mean that people should g o w ithout breakfast
altogether.

IS
 altogether

You can also use a lto g e th e r to em phasize a qu ality in som eone o r

something. I f you say that tw o things are a lto g e th e r d ifferen t,
you mean that th ey are com pletely differen t. I f you say that
som ething is a lto g e th e r m ore interesting, you m ean that it is
much m ore interesting, and i f you say that som ething is
a lto g eth er too slow, you m ean that it is much too slow.
Your sources o f supply are altogether different fro m those o f a
norm al re ta il business.
What troubled me was altogether vaguer and deeper.

You can also use a lto g e th e r to sum up a situation you have been
discussing and m ake a fin al judgem ent.
A ltogether ou r playground is a good one.
Altogether, caution and courage are necessary.
Yes, it ’s quite a pleasant place altogether.

You also use a lto g e th e r to show that an amount is a total. I f you

say that som ething cost a hundred pounds a lto g e th e r, you mean
that the total cost was a hundred pounds; i f you say that ten
people w ere present a lto g e th e r, you m ean that there w ere a total
o f ten people present.
A ltogether there m ust have been about twenty babies.
A ltogether I went back to her about seven times.
You w ill get £340 a week altogether.

You use a ll to g e th e r to say that a group o f people o r things are

together o r do som ething together, and that none o f them is
m issing. You can also talk about b rin gin g people a ll to g e th e r i f
you brin g everyone to a particu lar place.
It had been so long since the days when we were a ll together - a t
home, secure, sheltered.
Each organ depends on the other and a ll together make up the
whole.
When we have enough, we p o u r it a ll together in a p o t and heat i t
Students may be accommodated a ll together on a vast campus.

always, already, ever

I f som ething a lw a y s happens, it happens regu larly o r on a ll
possible occasions; i f som ething is a lw a y s the case, it is true at
all times.
I would always ask fo r the radio to be turned down.
He’s always been an active person.
N o m atter what she did, she would always beforgiven .

19
always

A m an always remembers his firs t love.

I f som ething has a lre a d y happened, it has happened before now.

B y using a lre a d y , you are often suggesting that it is surprising
that it has happened, o r that you expected it to happen later.
H asn’t the governm ent in fa ct already shown some readiness to
compromise?
He had already eaten m ore than he wanted.

You use e v e r, especially in n egative sentences, questions, and

‘i f ’-clauses and w ith superlatives, to talk about any tim e in the
past, present, or future.
The weeks dragged on, but no one ever came.
W ill I ever see France?
We could have g o t ourselves in to a precarious situation i f we had
ever launched ourselves on the clim b.
T h a t’s the nicest th in g anybody’s ever said to me.

amend, emend
I f you am end som ething, you change it so that it is m ore correct
o r appropriate. Laws, documents, and statem ents are often
am ended.
...the pow er to amend legislation.
I merely asked i f you wished to amend y ou r statem ent

I f you em en d a piece o f w ritin g, you change it so that a m istake

is corrected. E m end is fa r less common than am end; you say that
editors em en d old litera ry texts.

Other words
Instead o f using the verbs am en d and em end, you can use ‘m ake
an am endm ent’ and ‘m ake an em en dm en t'.
M adison sent me a copy o f the proposed amendments to the
constitution.

amiable, amicable
I f someone is a m ia b le, they are frien d ly and pleasant to be w ith.
You can also describe som eone’s behaviour o r a conversation as
a m iab le.
He was an am iable, am using fellow .
He raised a fin g e r in am iable w arning.
You use a m ica b le to describe how people behave o r feel when
 amiable

they are polite and co-operate w ith each other instead o f arguing
o r fighting.
Kathy and Vim had th eir am icable divorce.
...after a week o f am icable talks.

Other words
Instead o f saying that someone is a m ia b le, you can say that they
behave a m ia b ly.
The Customs m an sm iled am iably.

Instead o f describing som ething such as a dispute as am icab le,

you can say that it is settled o r conducted a m ica b ly.
The vast m ajority o f disputes are settled am icably.

anger, fury, rage

You feel a n g er when som eone does som ething that is cruel o r
that frustrates you. You can fe e l a n g e r about things lik e insults
o r delays.
Im patience is the fir s t reaction against a setback and can soon turn
to anger i f y ou 're n ot careful.
There was anger a t the suffering inflicted by the bom bing.

I f you feel fu ry o r ra g e , you have intense feelin gs o f anger w hich

are hard to control and can be violen t. You can also be ‘in a fu ry*
or ‘ in a ra g e’.
I nearly smashed the phone in fUry.
Thomas flew in to a cold fu ry , which Fanny observed w ith terror.
So great was th e ir rage that they began to destroy everything in
sight.
In a rage I went to M s desk, took a ll his books and hurled them ou t
o f the window.

anniversary, birthday
An a n n iv e rs a ry is a date when people rem em ber and celebrate
what happened on the same date in a previou s year. A m arried
couple celebrate th eir a n n iv e rs a ry on the date o f th eir wedding.
People also celebrate the a n n iv e rs a rie s o f im portant political
events or o f the founding o f organizations.
We went to H u ll fo r o u r anniversary.
...the sixty-sixth anniversary o f the end o f the F irs t W orld War.
You do not use ‘anniversary’ to talk about the date when you

21
anniversary

w ere bom . I f you w ere b om on January 1st, your b irth d a y is on

January 1st every year.
I always treat her to a g ift on her birthday.
...soon a fter his ninetieth birthday in Novem ber 1964.

announce, proclaim, declare, pronounce

I f you an n ou n ce some news, you te ll people about it publicly or
officially.
A ll that rem ained was to announce th eir engagement and f ix the
date o f the wedding.
On 1 A p ril he announced a f u ll p u b lic review o f the project.
They always announce the results on the radio.

You can also say that you annou nce news when you te ll it to a
few people in a v e ry serious or im portant way, even i f the news
its e lf is not very im portant.
'I ’ve made up my m ind to come back, ’ announced M rs P rin g le
m ajestically.
When he returned, he announced that he had broken seventeen
windows.

T o p ro cla im som ething im portant means to state pu blicly that

som ething is the case or that som ething w ill happen.
Governm ents and newspapers, fo r exam ple, can p ro cla im
som ething.
General B lanco had been authorized to p rocla im an arm istice.
The P u b lic Safety A ct allow ed the Governm ent to procla im a state
o f emergency at any tim e w ithout g iv in g reasons.
The paper proclaim ed in b ig banner headlines: ‘E N D O F W AR IN
E U R O PE ’.
They p rocla im adherence to a religiou s ethic but do not live by it.

T o d e c la re som ething lik e w ar o r independence means to state

o fficia lly that it has ju st begun.
W ar was declared on the enemy.
The decision o f whether o r not to declare independence s till hung in
the balance.
S ta rtin g tom orrow we w ill declare a hunger strike.

I f you d ecla re som ething to be the case, you o fficia lly state that it
is the case.
In d ia declared self-sufficiency in w heat in 1976.

22
 announce

A t his tria l he was declared innocent.

Ham burg had been declared an open city.

I f you d ec la re you r position o r intentions, you state them

openly.
They argued that the party should p u b licly declare its opposition to
the plans.
M y opponent has declared his intention to p etition the E lection
C ou rt

I f you d ec la re som ething, you say it firm ly and defin itely.

He declared that Jed was the m urderer o f M o ira Page.
Gertrude had declared th a t A nne needed a holiday.
"Yes,’ she declared, ‘we m ust be o ff.’

I f you p ron ou n ce som ething to be the case, you state o fficia lly or
w ith authority that it is the case.
In the a id she was pronounced cured, and released a fter about three
years.
He was pronounced g u ilty o f robbery.
When she left a t sixteen, any inspector o f schools would have
pronounced her a p oorly educated g irl.

T o pron ou n ce som ething means to say it in a w ay that shows

that you feel very sure about what you are saying.
‘The letter is a forgery ," she pronounced.
‘That is good, ' B aranovich pronounced a t la st

annoyance, irritation
You feel an n oyan ce when someone does som ething that you do
not lik e, o r when you cannot do what you want to do.
To his considerable annoyance, F rancis d id n ot accept the idea
immediately.
"Why didn’t you te ll me?" Jim m ie fa ile d to keep the annoyance ou t o f
his voice.

Irrita tio n can be used w ith the same m eaning as an n oyan ce.
However, it is m ore often used i f som ething you do n ot lik e goes
on fo r a long tim e.
/ s till fe lt an increasing irrita tio n as I watched her.
They rem ain a source o f constant irrita tio n to both m other and
father.

23
another

another, other, others

A n o th er thing or person o f a particular kind means one m ore
thing or person o f that kind. A n o th e r is usually follow ed by a
singular count noun or the pronoun ‘one’.
R ick pu lled out another camera.
I im agine somebody like you could have easily fou n d another job .
She had one pla tefu l and then went back fo r another one.

You can use a n o th er w ith ‘few ’ or a number that is larger than

one.
W ithin another few m inutes reports o f attacks began to come in.
The woman lived fo r another ten days.
They raised another £15,000fo r R oskill.

A n o th e r thing or person also means a d ifferen t thing or person ,

from the one you have been talking about.
It a ll happened in another country. ,
He mentioned the w ork o f another colleague, John Lyons.

A n o th e r can also be used as a pronoun.

She ate in one place, and I ate in another.
...one tin o f p in k p a in t and another o f brown.

When you want to refer to m ore than one type o f person o r thing, |
you use o th er. O th er is follow ed by a plu ral count noun, or
occasionally by an uncount noun.
O ther boys were appearing now.
There was certainly other evidence. |

W hen you are talk in g about tw o people o r things and h ave |

already referred to one o f them, you refer to the second one as th e ,
o th e r or th e o th e r on e. |
They had two little daughters, one a baby, the oth er a g ir l o f twelve. I
He blew ou t one o f his candles and moved the oth er one. |

When you are talkin g about several people o r things and have I
already referred to one or m ore o f them, you usually refer to the i
rem aining ones as th e oth ers.
Jack and the others pa id no attention.
F irst, concentrate on the im portant tasks, then move on to the
others.

When you have been talkin g about some people or things o f a

particular type, you refer to m ore people or things o f this type as I
о th ere. fl

24
 another

Some w riters are grea ter than others.

One policem an was stabbed and three others received m in or
injuries.

O th er is also used a lter determ iners such as ‘the’ , ‘some’, o r ‘any’

and after numbers. W hen it is used in th is w ay it is usually
follow ed b y a singular or plu ral count noun.
He was stopped by a policem an who had posted him self on the other
side o f the door to ou r room .
Chris is cryin g hard and people look over fro m the other tables.
I love my son like any other m other does.
The Hogans were there, and three other couples a ll fro m the
English Department.

apart, away
I f tw o people o r things are a p a rt, there is a distance between
them. You can also use a p a rt to say what the distance between
them is. For exam ple, they m ight be three m etres a p a rt or fifty
centim etres a p a rt. You use a p a rt when you are thinking about
people or things together or as a unit, although there is a distance
between them.
Stand w ith y ou r feet ju s t sligh tly apart.
I was s ittin g somewhat apart fro m the rest.
300 black women g o t together fro m places as fa r ap a rt as
Birm ingham , B righ ton and Leeds.
M ain crop potatoes should be planted 14 inches (35 cm ) a p a rt

If som ething is a w a y from another person o r thing, it is at a

distance from them. You can also use a w a y to say w hat the
distance between them is. F or exam ple, i f som ething is tw o
kilom etres a w a y, you m ean that it is tw o kilom etres from
yourself o r from som ewhere you h ave m entioned. You use a w a y
when you are thinking about the people o r things separately and
not as a u n it
I have to inspect a b u ild in g in a little villa ge away fro m the m ain
roads.
Fleet Street is only a few yards away.
And there, some twenty m iles away, was the C entral Tow er o f
Paine.

• I f you say that som eone is a w a y , you m ean that th ey are not at
work or not at school because they are ill o r on holiday.

25
apologize

apologize, excuse oneself

I f you a p o lo g ize to someone, you say that you are sorry fo r doing
som ething that th ey disapprove of, that upsets them, o r that
causes them trouble.
He apologized fo r in terru p tin g her and quickly left.
Indeed not m ore than a week after her terrib le accusations she
apologized to M ichael f o r what she had said.
‘I f I h u rt you, I ’m sorry. — ‘D on ’t apologize. ’

I f you excu se y o u rs e lf, you g iv e reasons to ju stify som ething that

you h ave done and that other people m ight disapprove of. These
reasons are often not v e ry good ones.
She was late fee- w ork every m orn in g and excused h erself by saying
that she had overslept.
What a fo o l he’d been to send her that expensive sca rf to excuse
h im selffo r not having kept the appointm ent

• N ote that you also excu se y o u rs e lf when you explain that you
have to leave someone to go som ewhere else.
The doorbell rings. Lewis excuses him self and pushes through the
crowd.

apparently, obviously
You use a p p a ren tly to em phasize that you are repeating
inform ation that you h ave heard, but that you do not know is
d efin itely true.
M r Andersen is here and would like to see you f o r a few moments.
Apparently it ’s ra th er urgent.
D id she really believe this? Apparently she did.
Apparently artists and directors a like donate th eir services.

You can also use a p p a ren tly when you are describing how
som ething seems to be, even though you are not sure that it is
rea lly lik e th a t
There are cases where two apparently opposing views may both be
co rrect
He was systematically circ lin g the block, stopping each time,
apparently to make sure I was s till upstairs.
You use o b vio u sly to em phasize that som ething is easily seen,
noticed, or recognized.
He had obviously already taken his shower, as his h a ir was dark
w ith water.

26
 apparently

Fontane was obviously irrita ted but try in g to be p o lite f o r Lucy’s

sake.
She was lookin g a t h im darkly and obviously w anting to speak.

You can also use o b v io u s ly to introduce som ething that is easily

understood.
This w ill obviously take some tim e and cost a grea t deal o f money.
Obviously parents need to be sensible.

approve, approve of
I f someone in authority a p p roves a plan o r action, th ey form ally
agree to it and say that it can happen. For exam ple, i f a
com m ittee ap p roves a decision, it allow s the decision to be acted
on.
A t least the idea is now accepted and has even been approved by
Parliam ent.
Benn was reluctant to approve projects in case they m igh t not be
com m ercially viable.

If someone in authority a p p roves som ething such as a building

or a product, they say that th ey are satisfied w ith it and allow it
to be used o r sold. F or exam ple, i f a drug is a p p roved , doctors
are allow ed to treat patients w ith i t
...premises which have been approved by the loca l authority.

If you a p p ro ve o f an action o r e v e n t you are pleased that it has

happened or is goin g to happen.
I don’t like the whole idea. I d id n ’t approve o f this m eeting.
His return to the office was widely approved of.

If you a p p rove o f a person o r som ething such as a book o r film ,

you lik e and adm ire them.
Do you think y ou r fa th e r w ill approve o f me?
He did n ot approve o f my pictures.

argument, dispute
An argu m en t is a disagreem ent between people w ho m ay or m ay
not know each other. People are som etim es calm during an
argument, but they can becom e angry.
He and D avid had been drawn in to a ferocious argum ent.
Money is notorious fo r causing argum ents in m arriage.

27
argument

A d isp u te is a serious argum ent w hich can last fo r a lon g tim e.

D ispu tes often take place betw een organizations, p o litica l parties,
o r countries. W hen used as a noun, d isp u te is pronounced
/dispjurt/ o r /dispjurt/.
Disputes over land boundaries, w ater rights, and debts are
commonplace.
A s im ila r dispute divided the p a rty in 1975.

You can also talk about a d isp u te between individuals.

T h eir dispute raged fa r a week, Cindy becom ing b itch ier as it
progressed.

D isp u te is also used as a verb. I f you d isp u te a fact o r a claim ,

you state strongly that you think it is w rong. Th e verb disp u te is
pronounced /dispjurt/.
Some learned historians today dispute his conclusions.
He disputed the legality c f the invasion.

arrive, reach
You use both a r r iv e and rea ch to talk about com ing to a
particular place, often during o r at the end o f a journey.

I f you have already m entioned the place you are tra vellin g to, you
can sim ply say you a r r iv e . I f you want to m ention the place, you
use a r r iv e , follow ed b y ‘at’ o r ‘in ’ and the place name.
He was nearly the last to a rrive.
They were due to a rriv e a t London A irp o rt a t about m e o ’clock.
T h a t was how I came to a rriv e in Lexington.

You can use a r r iv e to em phasize being in a place rather than

travellin g to i t
When I a rrived in England I thought I knew English.

R each is alw ays follow ed b y a noun o r a pronoun referrin g to a

place.
The weather broke a few days a fter we reached Zerm att.
G uerrero knew that F lig h t Tw o w ould never reach its destination.

You can use rea ch to em phasize the effo rt o r the lon g jou rn ey i
required to get som ewhere.
To reach it in nine days m igh t n ot be easy.

A r r iv e a t and rea ch can also be used to say that someone

eventu ally makes a decision o r finds the answ er to something
26
 arrive

I t took us several hours to a rrive a t a decision.

They were unable to reach a decision.

arrogant, proud
You can describe someone as a rro g a n t i f they think that th ey are
better than other people and behave in an unpleasant w ay
towards them.
My husband was an arrogant, bu llyin g little drunkard.
I think it would be a rroga n t i f I tried to give any advice.

You can describe someone as p rou d i f they have strong feelin gs o f

self-respect.
...m illions o f decent, proud, hard-w orking people.
He was a poor, but very p rou d old man.

You can also say that som eone is p rou d o f som ething they have
or som ething th ey have done. T h is means that th ey think it is
good and are pleased about i t
He was prou d o f his son-in-law.
We were a ll tired but p rou d o f o u r efforts.

Prou d can also be used w ith a sim ilar m eaning to a rro g a n t.

Someone who is prou d thinks that they are better than other
people and ignores the feelin gs or advice o f others.
She was too prou d to apologize.
She was prou d and defiant.

artist, artiste
A n a rtis t is a person who draws, paints, or produces sculpture,
either as a job or as a hobby.
G iotto had, m ore than any a rtis t before him , the a b ility to make his
figures look solid.
He took to sketching and thought o f a career as an artist.
A n a rtis t is also a w riter, or a perform er or entertainer such as a
musician, actor, or dancer.
Any a rtist wants an audience.
There are few film artists who can equal this Renaissance man fo r
sheer cu ltu ra l depth.
A rtis te is an old-fashioned w ord fo r a professional entertainer
such as a dancer, m usician, o r circus perform er. N ote that
‘ artiste’ is not used to refer to classical m usicians.

29
artist

He was the strong m an in the acrobatic troupe, often taking the

place o f the usual artiste as bottom man in the ‘human pyram id’ a ct
B a l always called him self an artiste. He was a very sm all-tim e
actor.

ashamed, embarrassed
I f someone is asham ed, they feel gu ilty because they b elieve they
have done som ething w rong o r done som ething that oth er people
w ill disapprove of. Th ey are afraid o f m oral disapproval
She was too ashamed to te ll the fa m ily o f O liv e r’s crimes.
Inside, she fe lt ashamed about being a fa ilu re.
B u t alm ost as my temper flared , I fe lt ashamed o f my lack o f
co n tro l

I f someone is em barrassed, they fe e l upset because th ey think

they have done som ething w hich makes them seem foolish . T h ey
think that oth er people w ill laugh at them o r c riticize them i f they
find out. T h ey are afraid o f social disapproval.
‘D id you check the engine?’— ‘N o, ’ Brody said, embarrassed.
I was extrem ely embarrassed that I had n ot learned a little Spanish
before the trip .
She talked about how reluctant, even embarrassed, she had always
been to express her deep feelings.

ask for, demand

You use ask fo r when you are reporting requests. W hen someone
says that they want to be given som ething, you report this using
ask fo r . For exam ple, i f a woman says ‘Can I have an orange
juice?’, you report this as ‘She asked fo r an orange ju ice’.
She asked fo r a d rin k o f water.
N o good a rtist who asked h im f o r money u>as ever disappointed.
Robertson decided to ask f o r a job .

You use dem and when reportin g that someone has asked fo r
som ething in a v e ry forcefu l w ay and is determ ined to get it. For
exam ple, i f a th ie f says ‘Hand over the m oney’ , you report this as
‘He dem anded the money*.
They were demanding the resignation o f the governm ent.
...the fe a r that women may demand equal rights.
The policem an demanded to see th eir identity cards.
You can also use dem and when you you rself are asking fo r
som ething in a very forcefu l way.

30

J
 ask for
I demand to see a doctor.
‘I demand to know the m eaning o f th is !' he screamed.

asleep, sleeping
You use asleep and s leep in g to describe people when they sleep.

You on ly use a sleep after a lin k verb lik e ‘be’ or in the phrase ‘to
fa ll asleep ’.
D on’t make any noise, Guy’s asleep.
It is good, too, fo r babies to get used to fa llin g asleep in th e ir own
bed.
When you use s leep in g as an adjective, it comes in fron t o f a
noun.
The house was f u ll o f sleeping children.
Ginny stood look in g down a t her sleeping m other.

assent, consent
I f you give your assen t to som ething that has been proposed, o r i f
a proposal has you r a ssen t, you agree to i t
Haldane acted in these talks w ith the fu ll assent o f Grey and the
Foreign Office.
‘Cocoa a ll round?’ People m urm ured assent.
There is a t least gru d gin g assent to his rule.

I f you give you r con sen t to som ething, you give the perm ission
that is needed fo r it to happen or be done.
I had to rin g the education office to get o fficia l consent.
They ask fo r no-one’s consent to come, they ju s t arrive.
Have you the husband’s consent to take this ch ild ou t o f the country?

You can also say that when a num ber o f people a ll agree that
something is the case, or that som ething should be done, they do
it b y consent.
The question o f whether ordinary people can govern themselves by
consent is s till on tria l.
By common consent they stopped.
Grammar
A ssen t and con sen t can also be used as verbs.
They a ll assented to the proposition.
I f he and Belinda were to run away together, her fa th e r would
consent to the m arriage in ord er to avoid a scandal.

31
assignment

assignment, assignation
A n assign m en t is a jo b that som eone has been told to do, usually
b y an em ployer or a teacher.
John had an assignment as a photographer.
T h is was a straightforw ard public-relations jo b , an easy
assignment f o r beginners
She hastily set them another assignm ent before lettin g the class go.

A n a ssign a tio n is a secret m eeting, usually betw een lovers.

A ssig n a tio n is an old-fashioned w ord.
The couple had made the assignation on the beach.

assist, attend
I f you a ssist someone, you g iv e them the help th ey need. F or
exam ple, a nurse can a ssist a doctor, a guide can a ssist someone
who needs inform ation, o r you can a ssist som eone who has fallen
by p ickin g them up.
Two o f his men assisted the m idw ife and the baby was bom .
I enclose a sim ple map that may assist you.
He assisted her to the stool.

You use a tten d to talk about being present at an event such as a

class or a m eeting. You do not use ‘assist’ in this way.
Each day he walked several m iles to attend his lectures.
I stopped o ff in London to attend a conference.

assurance, insurance
‘L ife assu ran ce’ is a system by w hich you pay m oney regu larly to
a com pany that then pays m oney to your relatives when you die.
Th is sort o f agreem ent is also often called ‘life in su ran ce’ .
...a ll the developments in taxation, life assurance and investment.
A special fo rm o f life insurance would be w ell suited to this purpose.

You do not use ‘assurance’ to refer to a sim ilar system by which

you pay m oney to a com pany that then repays you i f your
property is lost, stolen, or damaged. A system lik e this is called
in su ran ce.
You should look in to insurance to cover against theft o r fir e a t you r
home.
The m anager can advise you on travel insurance and probably
arrange cover.

32
 a s s u re

assure, ensure, insure

I f you assu re someone that som ething is true, you tell them it is
definitely true, especially when they are w orried or doubt that it
is true. You can also assu re someone o f som ething, fo r exam ple, a
fact, your sin cerity, or the im portance o f som ething.
I k had been able to assure them that the schools would not close.
‘You’re w earing a wig. ’— ‘I can assure you I ’m n o t!’
A top officia l summoned some Am ericans to his office to assure them
o f their safety.

I f you en su re that som ething happens, you do what is necessary

to make it happen. N ote that in Am erican English, en su re can
also be spelled in su re.
The accounts department w ill ensure that you r tax is paid.
Eating these foods ensures that they get enough vitam in C.
He would do whatever was necessary to ensure victory.

In B ritish and Am erican English, in su re is norm ally used to talk

about protecting against risks. I f you in su re you r property, you
pay m oney to an insurance com pany that agrees to pay m oney to
you if your property is lost, damaged, or stolen. You can also
in su re yourself.
Insure your baggage before you leave home.
I f you brin g y ou r bicycle you m ust have it insured against theft.
He insured him self against a ll eventualities.

avenge, revenge
I f you avenge a w rong or harm ful act, you hurt or punish the
person who did it. A v e n g e is alw ays a verb. You a ven g e a person
who has been killed, a ven ge a m urder, o r a ve n g e yourself.
When a man was killed, it was his fa m ily ’s duty to avenge him .
He muttered tim e and tim e again that he would avenge Ids fa th e r’s
death.
...a cold-blooded desire to avenge h im self on a ll hum anity.

I f someone takes reven g e, or does som ething in re v e n g e , they

hurt someone because that person has hurt them or som eone they
care about. R even g e is usually a noun.
What i f Stein took revenge upon Breslow ’s daughter?
He w ill be safe fro m the dead m an’s relative who seeks revenge
I suppose a m ore sensual woman would have taken a lover in
revenge.

33
avenge

• R even g e is occasionally used as a verb. I f you re v e n g e you rself

on someone who has hurt you, you hurt them in return.
That was how he could revenge h im self on those people who had
mocked and robbed him .

avoid, evade
I f som ething is unpleasant or causes you trouble, you can try to
a v o id it or eva d e it.

I f you a v o id a place or a person, you do not go near them. I f you

a v o id doing som ething, you do not do it, eith er because it is a bad
thing to do or because you do not want to do it. I f you a v o id
som ething such as illness or a problem , you take action in order
to prevent it affectin g you.
Why have you been avoiding me?
T ry to avoid ca rry in g m ore cash around w ith you than is necessary.
Human beings w ill avoid p a in like any other anim al.

I f you e va d e som ething such as a duty, you manage not to do i t I f

you eva d e a problem , you do not deal w ith it. I f you eva d e
someone, you do not let them catch you o r fin d you.
I t m ight also be used as an excuse Jar evading o u r responsibilities.
A ga in Gordon evaded the question. 7 can’t te ll you that. ’
T im tried to hold her arm but she evaded him .

• N ote that i f you a v o id tax, you fin d a lega l w ay o f paying less; i f

you e va d e tax, you do not pay it when you should.
M ost p riva te forest buyers are using it as a way o f avoid ing ta x on
large sums o f money.
The rea l delinquents are people lik e you evading y ou r tax.

В
baby, infiant, child
A b a b y is a young human being during the v e ry first months and
years o f life . Some people refer to three-year-olds as bab ies, but
usually a b ab y is too young to w alk or talk. English speakers
often use the pronoun ‘ it’ instead o f ‘he’ o r ‘ she’ when talkin g
about a baby.

34
 baby

When a baby is b om the spine is curved backwards fro m head to

pelvis.
...the ghastly non-stop racket that a healthy baby makes when it
wants its food.

In fa n t is a fa irly form al w ord w hich means the same as bab y.

Doctors and people w ritin g about how to care fo r babies often call
th en in fa n ts. Infant can be used before another noun in
expressions such as ‘in fa n t health’. You do not norm ally ca ll a
baby an in fa n t, but som e w riters use the w ord fo r stylistic effect
o r to suggest that the baby is behaving in an unpleasant way.
The human W a n t is uniquely helpless and slow to m ature.
„.infant foods.
In h a lf a m inute M rs Ta y lor was back, ca rry in g the scream ing
W a n t in her arms.

A c h ild is a human bein g at any stage between b irth and

becom ing an adult, especially before becom ing a teenager.
The teachers adapt th e ir understanding and method to su it the
child.
Adults fin d it very hard to realize that young child ren have no
regard fo r property.

Note that someone’s c h ild is th eir son or daughter o f any age.

...grown-up children.

• In B ritish English, an in fa n t school is a school fo r children

between the ages o f fiv e and seven. In a prim ary school, the
in fan ts are the children between the ages o f fiv e and seven.

back, backwards
You use back to talk about retu rning to a point w here som eone or
something has been before. I f you g o back, you return to the
place you left; often th is place is m entioned.
I had lent my apartm ent to a frie n d f o r the weekend and when I g o t
back I found that the reading lam p w ould not work.
Days later, I came back to the spot.
No. I ’m not goin g back inside.

If someone m oves b ack w ard s, they m ove in the opposite

direction to the one that they are facing.
He was jerked o ff h is feet and dragged backwards.
So the hum m ingbird can hover and even fly backwards.

35
back

You use eith er bad e o r b ack w ard s to talk about m oving to a

position behind you w ithout tin n in g round.
Then they stepped back, laughing w ith trium phant pleasure.
‘A n d the Russians, o f course, ’ he said, rockin g back com fortably on
his stool.
She stepped backwards onto a coffee cup.
S tu a rt moved backwards in to a com er.

back, rear
Th e part o f a bu ildin g o r a veh icle that is furthest from the fron t
can be called eith er the b ack o r the re a r.

R e a r is often used in technical descriptions. F or exam ple, car

manuals talk about the r e a r o f a car.
He decided to approach the housefro m the re a r instead o f g o in g to
the fro n t door.

It is m ore usual to use b ack . F or exam ple, in ordin ary

conversation people talk about the b ack o f a car, not the ‘rear*.
...in the back o f the dark cab, w ith the ligh ts o f the city streaking
past.
Lang and Colonel von Tem pelhof sat in the back.

Both words are also used as adjectives.

There was a rea r entrance in to the post office.
...a suitcase on the back seat.
You use back to talk about the part o f an object that is at the
opposite end to the front. You do not use ‘rear’.
He pu lled his cap down m ore w arm ly over his ears and the back o f
his head.
M im i had C arter held by the back o f his trousers.

• Y ou r b ack is the part o f you r body that is behind you. from

you r neck to you r bottom .
• Y ou r r e a r is you r bottom ; th is is a humorous use.

bag, baggage, luggage

Both B ritish and Am erican speakers can refer to everyth in g that
travellers carry as th eir bags. Am erican speakers can also call
any individu al suitcase o r sim ilar item a bag.
‘Let me carry those fo r you, ’ he said as I picked up the bags.

36
 bag

She got out on the sidewalk and the p o rte r took her bags.
It was a fa c t that an a irlin e passenger’s bag could not be counted
on to a rrive safely a t P in e B lu ff, Arkansas.

Speakers o f B ritish English norm ally use lu g g a g e when they are

talking about everyth in g that travellers carry. H ow ever, they
sometimes use b a ggage when they are talking about tra vellin g in
a technical w ay, fo r exam ple when discussing airports or travel
insurance.
There are also coin-operated lockers in which you may leave
luggage.
f f you lose any o f you r luggage, enquire at once a t the Lost Property
Office.
Your baggage, cloth in g and personal effects are covered up to one
thousand pounds.

In Am erican English, lu g g a g e refers to em pty bags and suitcases.

B aggage refers to bags and suitcases w ith th eir contents.
He p u lls in behind a Citroen w ith a P a ris license, takes out his
baggage, and locks the car.

Note that there is no plural form o f b a gga ge or lu gga ge.

bar, pub
A b ar is a place w here you can buy alcoholic and non-alcoholic
drinks. A b a r can be part o f a la rger building such as a hotel or
theatre, or in A m erica it can be a separate building.
He called fa r the menu and ordered in the bar w hile they were
fin ish in g th eir drinks.
W illie paid fo r the drinks and they left the bar.
He eventually selected a sm all b a r ca llin g its e lf the Pussycat Go-go.

A pub is a building w here you can buy alcoh olic and

non-alcoholic drinks. M ost pubs are in B ritain and Ireland. T h ey
often contain tw o or m ore b a rs and have an im portant ro le in the
social life o f the people nearby. Pubs are ra rely found in Am erica.
The Black F ria r, lavishly appointed w ith A r t Nouveau decoration,
is die best pub o f its kind in London.
We a ll met in the pu b d u rin g the lunch break.

Both pubs and b ars have a counter w here drinks are poured and
this is also called a b ar.
He ordered a whisky and drained it standing a t the bar.

37
base

base, basis
Th e b ase o f an object is its low est part, w here it begins, o r w here
it touches the ground o r a surface.
We reached the base o f the volcano.
...a sm all hole a t the base o f the cylinder.

A b ase fo r a system o f ideas o r a subject o f study is the

foundation from w hich other ideas or m ore advanced studies are
developed.
...the com pulsory base on which post-school education rests.
Society is n a tu ra l and has a s p iritu a l base.
M a rx came to describe the economy as a base, o r structure, upon
which a superstructure was erected consisting o f such elements as
law, p olitics, philosophy, etc.

The b asis o f or fo r som ething is the central and m ost im portant

part o f it, from w hich it has been or can be fu rth er developed.
The cou rt is quite satisfied that there is no basis fo r these criticism s.
This fig u re has been adopted as the basis fo r the Governm ent’s
longer-term p la n n in g in h igher education.
This was the basis q f the fined design.

Th e w ord bases is pronounced /beisiz/ when it is the plu ral o f

base and /beisi:z/ when it is the plu ral o f basis.
...lam ps w ith bases lik e bhm t instrum ents.
I t is possible to explain the b iolog ica l basesf o r m an’s seemingly
a ltru is tic behaviour.

bath, bathe
A b a th is a long, low container that you fill w ith w ater and sit in
to wash you rself. Bath is pronounced /Ьо:0/.
He leaped ou t o f the bath and grabbed a tow el
The bathroom had tw o basins, a huge bath and m ore towels than I
had ever seen.
I f you b a th someone, o r g iv e them a bath , you wash them in a
bath.
She w ill show you how to bath the baby.
I wonder i f you'd give the children a bath?
You do not say that people ‘bath’ them selves. B ritish speakers say
that someone has a b ath and A m erican speakers say that
som eone takes a b ath or, m ore form ally, that they bathe. B ath e
is pronounced /bei6/.

38
 b a th

l had a bath and then I shaved.

Welch was about to take a bath.
1fou n d m yseff ru n n in g up the stairs to bathe.

In B ritish English, when someone bath es, they sw im o r play in a

lake o r riv e r o r in the sea. T h is use is rath er old-fashioned. It is
m ore common to say that someone ‘swim s’ or ‘goes fo r a sw im ’.
He loved to stay a t O xford and bathe in the river.
It is dangerous to bathe in the sea here.

B athe can also be used w ith a d irect object, when it means to

gently wash som ething. F or exam ple, you can b ath e a wound or
bathe someone’s eyes.
She really wanted to bathe his eyes because they looked bloodshot.

O th e r w o r d s
Am erican speakers o f English call a b ath a ‘bathtub’ or ‘tub’.
I spent hours in the w arm th o f the bathtub.
I lowered m yself deeper in to the tub.

because, as, since, for

You can use because, as, sin ce, or fo r to g ive an explanation fo r
something or to explain w hy you say som ething.

Because is the most com m only used w ord fo r g ivin g a reason or

m otive fo r som ething. I f someone asks a question beginning w ith
‘Why?’, you can rep ly using because.
7 said I w ouldn’t g o .’— 'W hy?— ‘Because I d id n ’t want to leave you. ’
W hy shouldn’t I come?’— 'Because you’re too busy. ’

I f you have said that som ething is the case and you want to say
why it is the case, you usually add a reason clause beginning w ith
because.
She fin a lly walked o f f and caught the bus, because she could not
really afford to pay both Eileen and a taxi.
I couldn’t see H elen’s expression, because her head was turned.

You can also use as o r sin ce to introduce a reason clause,

especially in w ritin g.
A b rie f note on The N a tion a l P o rtra it G allery’s character is
necessary, as the word ’G allery’ can be misleading.
I realized it w ouldn’t be in my interests to deceive him since I
planned to deed w ith his bank fo r many years.

39
because

Th e reason clause is som etim es put fir s t

A s they have been on the w inning side, they may have tem ptations
to extend th eir borders.
Since evaporated m ilk is about twice the strength o f fresh m ilk, you
always d ilute it w ith a t least an equal am ount o f water.

I f you want to say that there is a special reason fo r som ething,

you can use words lik e ’especially’ o r ‘p articu larly’ in fron t o f as
or sin ce. W hen you do this, you put the reason clause after the
m ain clause.
I wasfrigh ten ed when I went to bed, especially as my room was so
fa r up.
It was nice to have someone to ta lk to, p a rticu la rly as it looked as i f
I was g o in g to be there a ll night.

In stories, fo r is used to explain or ju stify som ething that has ju st |

been said. Th is is an old-fashioned use. J
A fte r a w hile he seems to feel the need o f company again, fo r he 1
suddenly scrambles back in to die kitchen.
The diet we gave her seemed satisfactory, fo r she grew well. i

j
become, become of j
You use b ecom e to talk about changes and developm ents. I f you j
b ecom e ill, you start to be ill after being healthy. I f som ething ]
b ecom es necessary, it is necessary now but was n ot necessary '
before.
When that happens, people become jealous. .
When Uncle N ick was told about this, he became very quiet. \
In less than a year Lon g Beach became the m ost crim e-free town o f
its size in the United States.

I f you ask what h as b ecom e o f som ebody or som ething, you want
to know what has happened to them.
He was a m ost d iligen t little man. The lib ra ria n wondered I
whatever had become o f him .
W hat then becomes o f the country’s concept o f na tion a l security?

before, in front o f ,
You use b e fo re to talk about som ething that happens at an earlier
tim e than som ething else. j
I woke w ell before dawn. J
He thought fo r a moment before he spoke. J

40
 before

I f someone or som ething is in fro n t o f a particular thing, they

are fu rth er forw ard than it is.
He stood there, in fro n t o f the desk, chew ing a t his moustache.
Stopping in fro n t o f the alum inium gate, she g o t out and unlocked
the chain.

You can use b e fo re to m ean the same as in fr o n t o f. T h is is a

form al o r old-fashioned use.
He saw now suddenly before h im the face o f Guy.
The tea had been set before than.

begin, start, commence

I f you b egin , sta rt, or com m ence som ething, you do it from a
particular tim e.

There is little differen ce in m eaning between these words, but

com m ence is used in form al English. It is not used in
conversation.
I had been asked to chat to the kids before they began lessons fo r
the day.
As they saw h im com ing they began to dance.
The meeting, then, is ready to begin.
He tore the list fro m the pad and started a fresh list.
M rs Bixby p u t a hand up to her m outh and started backing away.
The w ar started between England and France.
Students may commence a two-year T ra in in g Study in a chosen
activity.
The space-probe commenced taking a series c f photographs.

S tart has some special m eanings w hich are not shared by ‘begin’
or ‘commence’. You can use sta rt to say that someone makes an
engine or m achine begin to w ork. You can also use s ta rt to say
that someone creates a business or other organization. In stories,
sta rt is used to say that someone begins to m ove in a particular
direction.
He couldn’t get his engine started.
He scraped up enough money to sta rt Ins Hollyw ood restaurant.
They started down the street together.

Grammar
Note that com m ence cannot be used w ith a ‘to’-in fin itive. You
can begin to do som ething, or s ta rt to do it, but you cannot
‘commence’ to do i t

41
b e lie v e

believe, believe in
I f you b e lie v e som ething, you are convinced that it is true, even
i f you cannot prove it logically. You can b e lie v e a claim , b e lie v e
that som ething w ill happen, o r b e lie v e that som ething should be
done.
N o one ever believes the officia l answer.
I believed that I was a t the beginning o f a grea t adventure.
The Governm ent believes that such pow ers are essential.

I f you b e lie v e in God, you b elieve that God exists. I f you b e lie v e
in ghosts, you b elieve that there are ghosts. I f you b e lie v e in
som ething such as a system, you think that it works. I f you
b e lie v e in doing som ething, you think that it is the righ t thing to
do.
I t ’s n a tu ra l to th in k o f Europeans who believed in ghosts as
ignorant.
E laine believes in love.
The K irks are a m odem couple, and believe in d ivid in g a ll tasks
equally down the middle.

beside, besides
I f one thing is b esid e another, it is next to it or at the side o f i t
H is m other sat beside him , clu tch in g her handbag.
Beside the shed was a huge w ire birdcage.

B esid es means ‘ in addition to’ o r ‘as w ell as*.

W hat languages do you know besides A ra b ic and English?
Is there anything else w rong besides h er heart?
The fa rm possessed three horses besides Clover.
Besides its own pu blications the works have handled many other
magazines.

B esid es can also be used as an adverb m eaning ‘in addition to the

th in g ju st m entioned’.
He needed so m uch else besides.

between, among, amongst

You use b etw een to talk about anything that separates tw o people
or things, fo r exam ple a distance, space, object, person, point, or
place.
...an area betw een M a rs a n d Jupiter.

42
 between

...the wide expanse c f short grass between the lake and the great
house.
...the Orange R iver boundary between the Free State and the
Eastern Province.

You use a m on g o r am on gst to talk about a person o r th in g that

is surrounded by m ore than tw o other people o r things. A m on gst
is less common.
The house stood unfenced in green grass am ong gra zin g black-faced
sheep.
Stephanie moved am ongst the guests, thanking people fo r things.

Note that i f someone or som ething is b etw een things or people,

the things o r people are on eith er side o f them. I f som eone or
som ething is a m on g or am on gst things o r people, the things or
people are a ll around them.
He sat silently f o r a while, sta rin g down a t the glass between his
hands.
The canvas bag was standing on the flo o r between us.
...the sound o f a wood pigeon cooing am ong the trees.

• You can talk about relationships b etw een or a m on g people or

things. You can also talk about argum ents o r discussions
b etw een or am on g people. You use b etw een when there are tw o
people or things. You norm ally use am on g or am on gst when
there are m ore than two.
This raised im portant questions about the relationship between the
state and the p u b lic sector.
...the sim ilarities between the two situations.
She had already caused considerable riv a lry am ong the men.
There is a strik in g sim ila rity am ong the w all pa intings throughout
these regions.
...an argum ent between his m other and another P olish woman.
...an opportunity to discuss policy and educational issues am ongst
themselves.

big, large, great

B ig, la rg e , and g re a t can a ll be used to talk about size. They can
all be used in fron t o f count nouns, but only g re a t can be used in
front o f uncount nouns.
B ig is the w ord you usually use in conversation.
"Where?’— Over there, by that b ig tree.’
Ellen had a b ig bag o f eggs.

43
big

L a rg e is m ore form al than b ig .

Except in large cities, specialist bookshops fo r ch ild ren ’s literature
are few.
Countries which are p la n n in g to build medium-sized and/or large
wind turbines over the next few years include France and Holland.

You can use b ig , but not ‘large’ , to suggest that som ething is
im portant o r im pressive.
Chicago is to h im the B ig Town.
...his influence over the b ig advertisers.

You norm ally use g re a t to em phasize the im portance o f someone

o r som ething.
...the grea t E nglish m aster o f classical architecture, In ig o Jones.

H ow ever, g re a t can also be used to em phasize size and

im pressiveness.
...the beach o f a grea t cu rvin g bay in the west o f England.
Gardens lay wasted in ord er that grea t office blocks and ca r parks
m igh t take th eir place.

Both b ig and g re a t can be used to em phasize the intensity o f

som ething. G rea t is preferred in form al w ritin g.
You m ust fin d this a b ig change fro m the Navy, M r Rutland.
M ost o f them act like b ig fools.
He switched fro m one task to another w ith g rea t difficulty.
Effective analysis and recognized techniques can b rin g about a
great improvement.

You use la rg e or g re a t to describe amounts. You do not use ‘big*.

She made a very large am ount o f money.
...drugs taken in large quantities.
Young people consume great quantities o f chips.

blame, fault
I f someone gets the blam e fo r som ething w rong, they are
criticized by other people fo r being responsible fo r it.
He had to take the blame.
The blam e fo r this situation ties solely w ith the governm ent
The p oin t is to fin d ou t who was responsible. W hether they deserve
blam e is a separate m atter.
A fa u lt is a bad feature o f a person’s character or a system.
I knew my past much better than she did - and my faults.

44
 blame

His only fa u lt was a tendency to repeat himself.

Com puter fa u lts are commonplace.
...the N a tion a l Health Service, w ith a ll its faults.

I f you want to say that someone is responsible fo r som ething that

is wrong, you can say eith er that they are to b lam e fo r it or that
it is th eir fa u lt.
In this way, attention is drawn away fro m who is to blam e fo r these
attacks.
I know you love me and th a t none o f this is you r fa u lt.

I f you say that someone who is in a d ifficu lt situation ‘has only

them selves to b lam e’, you m ean that it is en tirely th eir fault.
He has only h im self to blam e fo r his predicam ent.

B lam e is also a verb. I f you b lam e someone or som ething fo r

som ething w rong or bad, you say that they are responsible fo r it
or that they caused i t
I was blamed fo r the theft.
Violence a t school is blamed on im m igrants.

bonnet, hood
In B ritish English, the m etal cover over the engine at the fron t o f
a car is called the bon n et.
Slowly he clim bed out, unlocked the boot and la id the rucksack on
the bonnet.
I unlocked the boot and la id the tools on the bonnet

In Am erican English, this cover is called the h ood.

Pa trick gets ou t o f the car, opens the hood, and peers in to i t
...the raised hood, under w hich I had bent to watch the m echanic a t
work.

In both B ritish and Am erican English, a b on n et can also be a

type o f hat tied under the chin. In form er tim es, b on n ets w ere
worn by wom en, but nowadays on ly babies’ hats are referred to as
bonnets.
Rhoda was w earing a bonnet and a kind o f lon g tra vellin g cape.
In both B ritish and Am erican English, a h ood is also a p art o f a
coat or jacket w hich can be pulled up o ver you r head to protect
you from bad weather.
The weather had turned so cold th a t I had to bicycle w ith the hood
o f my anorak putted up over my little orange hat.

45
border

border, boundary, frontier

A b o rd er is a lin e that separates tw o countries or other p olitical
regions such as states or counties.
Stanley wanted to spend the n ig h t across the F lorid a border.
...his parents’ cru m b lin g ancestral home somewhere on the Welsh
border.
So, legally o r illega lly, they crossed the border.

A b ou n d ary is a lin e that separates any tw o areas, fo r exam ple

towns, farm s, or countries.
Matthews showed us a fin e old hedge which once marked the parish
boundary.
In international law, three m iles is generally taken to be the
boundary o f a country’s airspace.

You refer to a border as a fr o n tie r when it is guarded and

separates countries w hich have d ifferen t p o litica l system s o r are
in dispute about som ething.
M ilita ry a ctivity on the fro n tie r diverted troops fro m th eir in ternal
security role.
I have to get o ff the tra in a t the fro n tie r and cross on fo o t between
the guard posts.

A fr o n tie r can also be a lim it beyond w hich nobody has explored

or established p olitical rights.
Space w ill not be the last fro n tie r, it w ill sim ply be the next
fro n tie r.

bored, boring
I f you are b ored w ith what you are doing, you are not interested
in it and w ish that you w ere doing som ething else.
We were a ll bored w ith the prospect c f another day’s school
I could never be bored w ith fo o tb a ll

You can also say that you are b ored when you feel that you have
nothing to do and w ish that you w ere doing som ething.
She said she was bored ju s t hanging around the house w ith the
kid.
Bored, he join ed an am ateur theatre grou p fo r som ething to do in
the evenings.

A n a ctivity o r person that is b o rin g makes you feel bored.

F o r me the most b orin g task is cleaning the machine.

46
 bored

La ter on, when a lecturer was boring, one could entertain oneself
w ith one’s own thoughts.
W as it a b orin g journey?’ I asked.

borrow, lend
I f you b o rro w som ething that belongs to som eone else, you take
it, usually w ith th eir perm ission. You intend to retu rn it some
tim e in the future.
E arly the next m orning he borrow ed his hostess’s car.
Jeremy had to borrow a d o th fro m the barman.
Father, I need to borrow fiv e thousand dollars.

I f you le n d som ething you own to som eone else, you allow them
to have it o r use it fo r a period o f tim e. Th e past tense and past
participle o f len d is le n t. L en d is often follow ed by tw o objects.
Betty lent h im some blankets.
He had len t T im the money.
I ’d be gra tefu l i f you w ouldn’t lend them to students.

Both b o rro w and le n d can be used w ithout objects, especially

when you are talkin g about m oney.
So the p oor had to borrow fro m the rich.
Banks w ill not lend to them.

Other words
The noun related to len d is loa n .
The governm ent had to make a fu rth e r loan o f £3.3m to save the
industry.

The verb lo a n has a sim ilar m eaning to len d . L o a n is used

m ainly in Am erican English.
I 'l l loan you fifty dollars.

box, carton, crate

A b ox is a square or rectangular container used fo r packing
objects. B oxes are usually made o f cardboard or wood. Some are
open, some have a separate lid , others close w ith a set o f
overlapping flaps.
He packed up his stock in cardboard boxes.

In Am erican English, a ca rto n is a cardboard box used fo r

packing things.

47
box

H i-fis should be specially packed in the cartons in which they

arrived.

In B ritish and Am erican English, a ca rton is also a closed

cardboard or plastic container used fo r food or drink.
I drank m ore m ilk fro m the carton 1 had opened.
...eating ice cream directly out o f the carton.

A cra te is a box made from thin strips o f wood.

...a large wooden crate.

A cra te is also a box divided up into sections fo r in dividu al item s

and made o f wood, plastic, o r metal.
Empty bottles chinked as the m ilkm an p u t them into his w ire crate.

brand, make, type

The bran d o f a product such as soap or tea is the name given to it
by the firm that makes it. One firm m ay m ake several brands o f a
particular product. B ran ds are usually products w hich do not last
fo r a long tim e.
There used to be so many different brands o f tea.
Stein was most p a rticu la r about soap and he had used this
p a rticu la r brand f o r over twenty years.

Th e m ak e o f a car o r o f an electric appliance such as a radio or

w ashing m achine is the name o f the com pany that makes i t You
use m ak e to refer to products w hich last fo r a lon g tim e.
...tests on different makes o f ca r to establish resistance to bodywork
stress.
She can spot the make o f typew riter a secretary is using.

I f you talk about what ty p e o f product you w a n t you are saying

what features it should have and w hat qu ality it should be. You
do not on ly talk about typ es o f goods; you can also talk about
typ es o f people o r abstract things.
You w ill have to decide w hich type o f p ra m to choose.
W ith a certain type o f a ctor th a t m ethod can be qu ite effective.
I t ’s a new type o f bank account fo r young people and children.

N ote that i f you ask someone what ty p e o f car they have, they
could reply, fo r exam ple, ‘a saloon’ o r ‘an estate*. I f you ask what
m ake o f car som eone has, they could reply, fo r exam ple, ‘Ford’ or
“Toyota’ .

48
 bread
bread, loaf
B read is a type o f food made from a m ixture o f flou r, w ater, and
yeast, and baked in an oven.
H er diet consisted o f bread and a handful c f lentils.
Garrotvay broke c f f another piece c f bread and chewed a t it.

Bread that has been baked in one large piece is called a lo a f. The
plural o f lo a f is lo a ves.
...a lo a f o f fa irly fresh bread.
I like to get hold o f a new lo a f and tear the end crust c f f it and
eat it.

• You do not talk about ‘breads’ unless you m ean d ifferen t types
o f bread, fo r exam ple breads made w ith d ifferen t types o f flour.

breath, breathe
Your b reath is the a ir that you take in to you r lungs and le t out
again, or the w ay a ir flow s in and out o f you r lungs. I f you ta k e a
breath , you make a ir go in to you r lungs. B rea th is a noun and is
pronounced /Ьгеб/.
She took a deep breath.
He bent down and blew on the coal steadily w ith his own breath.
She paused fo r breath.

When you b rea th e, you make a ir flow in and out o f you r lungs.
You b reath e in to make the a ir go in, and you b rea th e out to
make the a ir go out. Breathe is a verb and is pronounced /bird/.
Just breathe deeply and try to relax.
Breathe in a relaxed way, expanding you r abdomen fu lly as you
breathe in.

briefly, shortly
You use b rie fly to talk about things that happen fb r only a short
period o f tim e. For exam ple, i f you see som eone b r ie fly , you do
not see them fb r very long. I f you stay som ewhere b r ie fly , you
stay there just fo r a short tim e.
The two men had m et briefly once before.
The Duke proposed to stay there briefly to rest his troop s

I f you explain som ething b rie fly , you use v e ry few words o r g ive
very few details.

49
briefly

She told them briefly what had happened.

Stephanie w rote briefly and delicately to M rs Orton, suggesting a
visit.

You use s h o rtly and not ‘b riefly’ to say when som ething happens.
I f som ething happens s h o rtly a fter som ething else, it happens
soon after it.
Shortly after the break I was driven back to the h o te l
She died shortly afterwards.
When I inform ed her we were shortly to sa il f o r New York, she
looked distressed and bewildered.

You can also say that som ething happens s h o rtly before
som ething else. T h is is a sligh tly old-fashioned use.
It happened shortly before my seventeenth birthday.

• I f you speak s h o rtly to someone, you speak in an im patient or

sligh tly angry way.
‘Good-bye, and thanks!’ said M iss Jackson somewhat shortly,
pushing open the wet gate.
‘N a tu ra lly ,’ I said shortly.

bring, take
I f you b rin g a person or thing w ith you when you com e to a
place, you have them w ith you.
Why haven’t you brought me here before?
Be frien d ly and hospitable when your ch ild brings others home to
play.
Please b rin g your ca lcu la tor to every lesson.

I f you ask someone to b rin g you som ething, you are asking them
to carry or m ove it to the place w here you are.
B rin g me a glass o f Dubonnet.
B rin g down a p a ir o f nice, warm socks and a tow el fo r M r
Jordache.

I f you ta k e a person o r thing w ith you when you go to a place,

you have them w ith you.
She gave me some books to take home.
I t ’s a lovely house - he took me over to see it the other day.
There are lim its on the am ount o f money you can take abroad.
She took the suitcase inside and left it in the corrid or.

50
 British

British, English
B ritis h describes people and things that com e from anyw here in
the U nited Kingdom , w hich includes England, W ales, Scotland,
and N orthern Ireland.
Some B ritish scientists have dismissed this evidence as "poor
science’.
f f you hold a cu rren t B ritis h passport, a visa is n ot required fo r
entry in to Greece.

B ritis h is also used to describe anything to do w ith the

adm inistration o f the United Kingdom and in the names o f
national organizations.
M r Georgiadis is a naturalized B ritish citizen o f Greek orig in .
...a lecture a t the B ritis h A ssociation f o r the Advancem ent o f
Science.

The B ritis h are the people w ho liv e in the U nited Kingdom .

Compromise is one o f the basic p rin cip les and virtues o f the B ritish .

English describes people and things that com e from England.

M r Jumperwala told her some am using anecdotes about the
English aristocracy.
...the pleasures o f the E nglish countryside.

The E n glish are the people who liv e in England.

...in 1850 when the E nglish, lik e the C alifornians o f today, had m ore
money than sense.

Note that you should not use ‘English’ to describe people or things
from other parts o f the U nited Kingdom .

brought, bought
B rou gh t is the past tense and past participle o f the verb b rin g . I f
you say ‘He b rou gh t his dog’, you m ean that he had his dog w ith
him when he came.
My secretary brought my m a il to the house.
He was gla d someone had brought a cam era

B ought is the past tense and past p articip le o f the verb b u y. I f

you say ‘She b ou gh t a newspaper*, you m ean she obtained a
newspaper by paying m oney fo r it.
I bought m yself a piece o f chocolate cake.
She bought a piano.

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bus

bus, coach
In B ritish English, a bus is a large veh icle w hich takes |
passengers on journeys in a town or city, or to towns or villages
not fa r away. B uses can have eith er one o r tw o floors o r ‘decks'.
T h ey stop at ‘bus stops’.
You can take the V ictoria lin e to Walthamstow and walk o r catch a i
bus to the door. ]
I ’m w aiting fo r the bus bade to town. 1

In B ritish English, a coach is a com fortable bus w hich takes >

passengers on lon g jou rn eys between towns and cities, eith er as a |
regular route, o r as a special jou rn ey fo r a school o r a group o f
holidaym akers.
You may be able to tra vel by coach fro m V ictoria Coach Station.
...various excursions, includ ing coach trip s and day trip s to nearby
Turkey.

In Am erican English, both types o f veh icle are referred to as

buses.
Each day plain-clothes men rode the buses and subways.
...rid in g effortlessly over the p la in in a Greyhound bus.

Other words
In inform al B ritish English, a bus w ith tw o decks is called a
dou b le-d eck er bus or a d ou b le-d eck er.
...the large num ber o f double-decker London Transport buses. <

by, from
When you are talkin g about the author o f a book o r play, you say
that the book is b y som eone o r w ritten b y someone.
...three books by a great A u stra lia n w riter.
...a collection o f pieces by M ozart.

When talk in g about the person who has w ritten you a letter or
sent a m essage to you, you say that the letter o r message is fro m
that person. i
A few days la ter in Chicago the Capones received a messagefro m I
V ito Corleone. ]

52
с
cafe, cafeteria, wine bar
A caf6 is a place w here you can get ligh t m eals, cakes, and
drinks. In B ritain cafds do not usually sell alcoholic drinks. In
caffes your order is usually brought to your table by a w aiter or
waitress.
We went down to the ca ff to have tea and sandwiches.
P a u l Gazengel opened up his ca ff as usual, although there was
almost no business.

Note that cafes in France and the rest o f Europe sell alcoholic
drinks.
...the glasses o f wine which he consumed in the ca ff before dinner.

A c a fe te ria is a place w hich serves meals. Customers take th eir

food from a counter on a tra y and pay fo r it at a cash desk.
Colleges, offices, and factories often have a c a fe te ria w here
students and em ployees can eat.
...a breakfast o f boiled eggs and orange ju ice and coffee a t the dorm
cafeteria.
In Britain, a w in e b a r is a place w hich serves w ine by the glass.
Unlike a pub, it does not usually s ell beer, but it does sell
non-alcoholic drinks. It usually also serves m eals. You can eith er
drink at the bar o r h ave you r ord er brought to you r table by a
w aiter or w aitress.
She works three evenings a week in a w ine bar.
I usually go to a wine b a r ju s t a lon g the road.

can, could, be able to

Can, cou ld , and b e a b le to are a ll used to talk about a person’s
ab ility to do som ething. T h ey are follow ed by the in fin itive form
o f a verb.
You use can o r a present form o f b e a b le to to talk about a b ility
in the present. C an is m ore common, especially in speech.
You can a ll read and write.
I ’m no w riter but I can d ra ft a lecture o r a report that's reasonably
lucid.
The rattlesnake is able to detect the presence o f a sm all ground
squirrel.

53
can

You use cou ld or a past form o f b e a b le to to talk about a b ility in

the past.
He could run fa ster than anyone else.
He was able to answer a few questions.

You use be a b le to and not ‘could’ to say that someone managed

to do som ething at a particular tim e.
A fter treatm ent he was able to return to work.
D r Brartcale had been able to get to Boston only late the night
bgfore.

You use ‘w ill’ or ‘shall’ w ith b e a b le to to talk about a b ility in the

future.
He w ill be able to provide accurate, detailed inform ation fo r you.
One day, perhaps. I ’l l be able to explain.

I f you want to m odify a statem ent about someone’s a b ility, you

often use b e a b le to after a m odal such as ‘m ay’ o r ‘should’. You
do not use ‘can’ or ‘could’ after another modal.
We may be able to save him .
A man in good health should be able to go w ithout external oxygen
fo r at least a minute.
I m ight be able to help you.
You would not be able to d rive to inland cities alone here.

A fter verbs such as ‘want’ , ‘hope’, or ‘expect’ w hich must be

follow ed by a ‘to’-in fm itive, you use be a b le to and not ‘ can’ o r
‘could’ .
I hope to be able to have w onderful tou rin g holidays.
You’re foolish to expect to be able to do that.
A s a d river you have to be able to drive, obviously.

C an and co u ld are also used to talk about possibility. You do not

use ‘be able to’ in this way.

You use co u ld when you are saying that som ething is possible on
a particular occasion.
D on’t eat i t I t could be a toadstool.
300,000job s could be lost.

You use can when you are saying that, in general, som ething is
possible.
Such shifts in opinion can sometimes have a snow ball effect.
Too much salt can be h a rm fu l to a young baby.
The press te ll me he can appear insecure when dealing with them.

54
 can

T o talk about possibility in the past, you use cou ld h ave follow ed
by a past participle.
I t could have been worse.
He could have been d oing research on his own.

Can is also used to talk about what is allow ed by rules, o r what

someone is w illin g to le t another person do. When you are
referrin g to w hat was allow ed in the past, you use co u ld rather
than ‘can’ .
No student can be adm itted to a firs t degree u n til he has completed
fu ll-tim e attendance fo r a t least three university sessions.
They can leave a t any time.
We could go to any p a rt o f the island we wanted.

Can and cou ld are often used fo r asking perm ission o r fo r

m aking requests.
Can I take out a card please?
Could we p u t this fir e on?
Can you send me three new men out there rig h t now?

Could, but not ‘can’, is used fo r m aking suggestions.

You could phone her and ask.
‘Well, what sh a ll we d o?— "You could try Ebury S treet ’

canal, channel
A can al is a long, narrow stretch o f w ater that has been specially
built, usually to enable barges o r ships to sa il inland.
In summer, boat trip s g o east down the canal to Regent’s Park.
...the construction o f a canal lin k in g the P a cific and A tla n tic
oceans.

A ch an n el is a route in the sea or in a large riv e r along which

ships can sail.
The Russian tankers fin d in g th eir way up the channel occasionally
lodge fast.
The m ain channels had been closed by enemy submarines.

A ch an n el is also a sm all passage along w hich w ater can flow .

The riv e r had now assumed a new character, ra cin g through a
single channel between tree-clad banks.
...irrig a tio n channels.

55
cancel

cancel, postpone, delay

I f you ca n cel an arrangem ent o r an appointm ent, you stop it from
happening. You usually do not make any new arrangem ents.
The a irp o rt closed again. A ll flig h ts were cancelled to and fro m
Glasgow.
The perform ances were cancelled because the leading m an was i l l

I f you p ostp on e an arrangem ent o r an appointm ent, you make

new arrangem ents fo r it to happen at a later tim e.
The flig h t has been postponed u n til eleven o ’clock.
Could you postpone y ou r departure fo r fiv e minutes?

I f you d e la y som ething that has been arranged, you make it

happen later than planned.
Try and persuade them to delay some o f the changes.
The flig h t had been delayed one hour, due to weather conditions.

I f som ething d ela ys you, you start o r finish som ething later than
you planned.
Suppose there is some accident which delays you.
I ’m afraid I was sligh tly delayed.

Other words
English also uses a num ber o f phrasal verbs to express the idea o f
doing things at a later tim e o r not at a ll. F or exam ple, i f you
ca n cel a m eeting, you can also say that you ‘ca ll it o ff’ . I f you
p ostp on e a m eeting, you ‘put it o ff’ . I f a m eeting Is d ela yed , it is
‘held up’. Phrasal verbs are m ore common in speech than in
w ritten English.

capacity, capability
Th e ca p a city o f som ething is the amount that it can hold o r
produce.
The pipelin e has a capacity o f I S m illio n barrels a day.
In a ll countries m ilita ry security requires econom ic capacity to be
developed.

A person’s ca p a city is th eir a b ility to do som ething w ell.

M onty, as I soon realised, had no m ore capacity f o r figu res than
Jeremy had.
I f a m an is selfem ployed, he can adjust his perform ance to his
capacities.

56
 capacity

The c a p a b ility o f a country, m achine, o r person is th eir a b ility to

do a particu lar thing.
This constitutes a strong argum ent fo r m a intaining a retaliatory
capability.
The Tornado, with its ultralow fly in g capability, presented the
Warsaw Pa ct w ith severe problem s.
Every advance in m edical capabilities is an increase in ou r m oral
responsibility.
She may w orry about her capabilities as a parent.

carefree, careless, careful

I f you are c a re fre e , you do not h ave any cares o r w orries and
therefore fe e l happy and able to en joy life.
Before her m arriage she had been lively and a lert and carefree.
He was aware c f a g loriou s carefree fe e lin g o f joy.

I f you are ca reless, you do som ething badly because you are not
givin g enough attention to i t
...if you r cou rier is careless and leaves the coach unlocked.
He was careless and inefficient and drank too much.

I f you are c a re fu l, you do things properly and w ith a lo t o f

attention. C a refu l is the opposite o f careless.
I showered slowly, being careful not to wet my sore face.
He watched a ll this w ith the most careful attention.

carpet, rug
A carp et is a thick heavy coverin g fo r a floor. It is usually large
and covers most o f the floor. A ‘fitted ca rp et’ covers the flo o r
com pletely.
The flo o r was visible through the holes in the ca rp et
He asked what the m arks were on the s ta ir carpet.

A ru g is a fa irly sm all carpet w hich can easily be m oved. R u gs

are often placed on top o f a large carp et
It was sparsely furnished, w ith a few b righ tly coloured rugs.
...O riental rugs.

carry, lift
When you c a rry som ething, you m ove it from one place to
another w ithout lettin g it touch the ground.

57
carry

They carry the packing case up the stairs and into the bedroom.
The students carried banners.

W hen you li f t som ething, you m ove it upwards w ith you r hands.
A fte r you have lifte d it, you m ay c a rry it to a d ifferen t place.
He jum ped out c f the cab to lift the two heavy suitcases fro m the
boot.
The colonel lifted his cup, glared at it, set it down again.

carry, wear
When you c a rry som ething, you m ove it from one place to
another w ithout lettin g it touch the ground.
7 can’t carry any m ore wood,' said E ric. T m tired .’
The man g ot up and sauntered through, ca rryin g an open beer can.
I carried my dancing shoes in a little box.

When you are dressed in your clothes you say that you a re
w e a rin g them. You do not say that you ‘carry’ clothes o r shoes
when you are dressed in them.
She wore a p la id shirt, blue jeans and sneakers.
He is a dynamic little man who wears a bow tie.
He wore green suede shoes.

cave, cavern, cellar, basement

A c a v e is an opening in rock, fo r exam ple in the side o f a c liff or
a mountain, and can be large or sm all. In prehistoric tim es,
people lived in caves.
...a large collection c f caves known as the B lue G rotto.
The cliffs are riddled with caves and alm ost every one shows some
sign o f ancient habitation.

A ca v e rn is a very large cave, usually underground.

G radually the underground caverns f i l l up with deposits.

A reas below ground in buildings are called c e lla rs o r basem ents.

C e lla rs are often used fo r storin g things that are no longer
wanted o r that are not used very often.
I decided to retu rn the unwanted books to the cellar.

A basem ent is designed to be used regu larly o r lived in.

Departm ent stores often have basem ents, and som e restaurants
and bars are in basem ents.

58
 cave

He stopped outside the door leading down to the basement, where

D r F irm iu s lived.

certainly, surely
You use c e rta in ly to em phasize that what you say is defin itely
true.
He had probably been employed at Cluny and he certainly worked
a t Vezelay.
I t ’s certainly not accidental spillage.

You use su re ly fo r emphasis, especially when you are objecting to

som ething that has been said or done, or when you are expressing
surprise that other people do not agree w ith you.
B ut surety, Hom o, you care about what happens to you r w ork?
Academics tend to use ‘jo u rn a lis m ’ as a d irty word, but surety some
o f the best w riters have been journalists.
Eva Crane m ust surety be one o f the w orld’s best known experts on
bee keeping.

Both B ritish and A m erican speakers o f English use c e rta in ly to

agree to a request, o r to agree w ith what som eone has said.
Am erican speakers also use su re ly in this way.
‘Would you agree that it is s till a d ifficu lt w orld fo r women to live
in?'— ‘Oh, certainty. ’
He asked i f he m igh t be allowed to hear one o f her records. ‘Why
surety, D a n iel!’

cheque, check
In B ritish English, the form s that people use to pay m oney from
their bank accounts are called chequ es.
M rs Bradley wrote a cheque and gave it to the vicar.

In Am erican English, this w ord is spelled ch eck .

She had been receiving a check fo r s ix hundred d olla rs a m onth.

* In Am erican English, a ch eck can also be a b ill in a restaurant.

/ signaled to the waitress f o r the check.

childish, childlike
You can describe an adult or a young person as c h ild ish when
they act in an im m ature way, as i f they w ere s till a young child.

59
childish

She hoped that he w ouldn’t settle in to one o f his gloom y childish

moods and sp oil the day.
I thought her nice but ra th er childish.

You can describe an adult o r young person as c h ild lik e i f they

shows some o f the attractive qu alities that children have,
especially sim p licity and sincerity.
...his child like charm .
She was a dear old thing, but ch ild lik e and eccentric.

Other words
Instead o f saying that an adult or young person is ch ild ish , you
can say that they behave c h ild is h ly .
Even the competent adult may become childishly helpless o r
demanding when i l l

N ote that n eith er ‘ childish’, ‘childish ly’ , nor ‘childlike* is

norm ally used to describe ordin ary things to do w ith children.
Instead you use ch ild re n ’ s o r fo r c h ild ren .
Good ch ild ren ’s bookshops are few.
There are special shampoos f o r children.

chips, crisps, french fries

In B ritish English, ch ips are pieces o f potato cut lik e short sticks
that are fried and served hot. Th ey are called fre n c h fr ie s in
Am erican English.
Then I ’d get the tea ready, which was usually ham and chips, o r
kippers.
He ordered his lunch fro m Room Service—a club sandwich with
french frie s on the side.
V ery thin slices o f potato that have been fried u n til they are hard
and crunchy are called crisp s, o r occasionally p o ta to crisp s, in
B ritish English and p o ta to ch ip s in Am erican English.
I can’t open this packet o f crisps.
...a bow l o f dip surrounded with a selection o f salty biscuits and
potato crisps.
We had a packet o f potato chips and A m erican Ice Cream Sodas.

choose, elect
I f you ch oose som ething o r som eone from a group o f things o r
people, you decide w hich one you want.

60
 choose

She stared fo r a moment a t the clothes hanging in the closet, then

chose a simple, severe blue suit.
A prince in my position is fre e to choose men to serve him fo r th eir
ability.

I f someone ch ooses to do som ething, they do it because they want

to o r because they fe e l it is right.
M ost visitors to these p a rts choose to tra vel by bicycle o r to walk.
They could fir e employees whenever they chose.

I f a group o f people e le c t som eone to represent them o r to do a

particular job, th ey choose them by votin g fo r them rather than
fo r another person.
They elected a man fro m the southern Bendel state as th eir
chairm an.
They met to elect a president.

I f you e le c t to do som ething, you choose to do it. T h is is a form al

use.
They may elect to opt out o f the scheme.

church, chapel
A church is a building used fo r religiou s services by m ost m ajor
Christian denom inations.
This is one o f my fa vou rite London churches.
H a ifa century ago nearly everyone in B rita in went to church at
Christmas.

A ch apel is a separate area w ith in a church o r cathedral, o r a

building in a place lik e a school o r hospital, w here some
Christian services are held.
He turned away and went into one o f the side chapels, where
candles were burning.
I was w orking late in my school chapel, p rep a rin g fo r a special
service the next day.

In Britain, a ch a p el is also a sm all church used by some

Protestant Christians, such as M ethodists o r Baptists.
The fu n e ra l was held in the M ethodist chapel.
The Baptists, o f course, have g ot th eir own b u ria l ground behind
the chapel.

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civic

civic, civil, civilian

C iv ic is used to describe people o r things that h ave an o fficia l or
im portant status in a particu lar tow n o r city.
...a c iv ic leader fro m the loca l Pakistani com m unity.
The City C ouncil announced plans to b u ild a 100 m illio n d olla r
civ ic centre.

C iv ic is also used to describe duties, rights, and feelin gs that

people have because th ey are m em bers o f a particu lar com m unity.
She was determ ined to ca rry ou t her civ ic responsibilities.
There follow ed a rem arkable burst o f civ ic p rid e and enthusiasm.

Th e c iv il institutions o f a country are those w hich are not

connected w ith the arm ed forces.
C iv il fly in g had virtu a lly ceased.
They have th e ir own region a l systems o f m ilita ry and c iv il
adm inistration.

Th e c iv ilia n s in a country are people w ho are not mem bers o f the

arm ed forces.
M ost o f the w ork I d id in the arm y could have been dene by a
civilia n .
B ra z il is to have its firs t civ ilia n president since the m ilita ry regim e
was set up 17 years ago.

Other words
C iv il rig h ts are the rights people have in a society to equal
treatm ent and equal opportunities, w hatever th eir race, sex, or
religion m ay be.
The A m erican battle fo r c iv il righ ts helped the battle fo r women’s
liberation.
...the c iv il righ ts movement.
A person’s c iv il lib e rtie s are the rights they have to say, think,
and do what they want as long as they respect other people’s
rights.
Here too there has been a s im ila r attack on c iv il liberties.

claim, demand
I f som eone cla im s m oney, they ask fo r it because it lega lly
belongs to them.
People have to show th e ir passports to get m edical treatm ent, to
cla im welfare benefits, even to send th eir children to school.

62
 claim

You should cla im y ou r pension 3 o r 4 months before you reach

pension age.

I f someone dem ands m oney, they ask fo r it in a forcefu l and

som etim es aggressive way, even i f they do not deserve it or have
a righ t to it.
M y m other used to watch a t a window in case a landlord turned up
and demanded money we hadn’t got.
They are demanding s till higher wages.

claim, pretend
I f you cla im that som ething is true, you say that it is true,
although you m ay not be able to prove it or to make people
believe you.
‘D id he really k ill six men?’ Kay asked. ‘T h a t’s what the
newspapers claim ed, ’ M ike said.
He claim ed that he fou n d the money in a forest.
He claim ed to be a Scot but had a pow erful L iverp ool accent.

I f you p reten d that som ething is true, you try to m ake people
believe that it is true, although you know that it is not.
The rest c f us stood around fo r a w hile try in g to pretend nothing
had happened.
He could pretend, perhaps, not to recognise them.
‘You don’t want to spend y ou r life w ith me, ’ Joyce said, ‘so why
pretend?’

classic, classical, classics

Something that is described as classic is an absolutely typical
exam ple o f its kind.
It is a classic example o f what I can only ca ll M asculine Logic.
Otto broke off, shaking his head in the classic m anner o f one baffled
beyond a ll hope q f illum ination.

You also use cla ssic to describe som ething such as a book or film
which is o f a very high qu ality and has becom e a standard against
which sim ilar things are judged.
...one o f the classic works c fth e Hollyw ood cinema.

In this sense, classic can also be used as a noun.

...a great classic o f B ra zilia n literature.
...cheap paperbadt editions o f the classics.

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classic

C la ssica l describes things that are tradition al in th eir form , style,

or content, and that have existed fo r a long tim e. C la ssica l things
are often contrasted w ith m odem things.
...the com pany’s Am erican-style blend o f m odem and classical
dance.
...a central fla w w ithin classical M arxism .

C lassics is the study o f the language and literatu re o f A n cien t

Greece and Rome.
Guy had studied classics and philosophy a t Oxford.

• N ote that cla s s ic a l is also the adjective related to classics.

T ra d ition a lly in Europe the subjects q f study were classical
languages, history and the n a tu ra l sciences.

cloth, clothes, clothing

C loth is m aterial m ade from fibres such as cotton, w ool, or
nylon.
...machine-woven cloth.
...strips o f cotton cloth.

A c lo th is a piece o f clo th . The plural is cloth s.

Remove tea stains fro m china w ith a damp doth.
Rinse ou t cleaning cloths after use and hang to dry.

Your clo th es are the things you wear, such as shirts, coats,
trousers, and dresses. N ote that there is no singular form o f
cloth es.
She la id the baby down and quickly started taking o ff its clothes.
He washed his sum m er clothes and p u t them away.

C lo th in g is a m ore form al w ord used to refer to a person’s

clothes, eith er in a general way, or when talk in g about specific
types o f clothes w orn fo r particu lar jobs or by particular people.
He takes o ff his wet clothing.
...prison clothing.
They have to wear spacesuit-style protective clothing.

I f you want to refer to one garm ent, you can talk about a piece o f
c lo th in g or an article o f clo th in g .
He has been identified as the man who visited M a lta and bought a
num ber o f articles o f cloth in g fro m a boutique.

64
 coast
coast, beach, shore
The coast is the area o f land which lies alongside the sea. When
you talk about a coast, you m ay mean ju st the land close to the
sea, or a w ider area inland.
To the north and south the coast is rock fo r the m ost part.
A t this tim e sea kale was a relatively com m on p la n t around the
coasts.
...a protest a t o fficia l plans to site a th ird London a irp o rt on the
Essex coast.

A beach is a flat area im m ediately next to the sea that is usually

covered in sand or pebbles.
Tourists go there to walk on the beach.
G radually the o il stains were cleaned fro m the beaches.

The sh ore is the area o f land along the edge o f the sea, a lake, or
a wide river.
Bronzed men surfed into the shore on cu rlin g waves.
We could see the trees on the other shore.

coat, jacket
A coa t is a piece o f cloth in g w ith sleeves that you w ear o ver the
rest o f you r clothes when you go outside. C oats are usually quite
long, often reaching down to you r knees o r below you r knees.
Gertrude was wearing, under her coat, a brow n lig h t jersey dress.

A ja c k e t is a piece o f cloth in g lik e a short c o a t U sually ja ck ets

reach down to you r hips o r w aist. You can w ear a ja c k e t indoors
or outdoors, and you can w ear a coat o ver i t
He began to undress, hanging his ja cket neatly on the back o f a
chair.

comic, comical
C om ic is used to describe things w hich are intended to be funny.
When com ic has th is m eaning, it can on ly be used in fron t o f a
noun.
She was glad it was a com ic film . She had seen it before.
Tim had nearly had a com m ission to illu stra te a com ic cookery
book.

Both com ic and co m ica l can be used to describe som ething that
is amusing and makes you want to laugh, usually because it is

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comic

sligh tly silly. T h ey can com e eith er in fron t o f a noun o r after a

verb such as ‘be’ o r 'look ’.
H er eyes rolled up in a blend o f com ic disgust, resignation and
tolerance.
She would look up w ith the m ost com ical expression.
B rooks’s attention to detail can occasionally be com ic.
I t was alm ost com ical to see the con flictin g em otions f l i t across
F ra n k ’s face.

Grammar
C om ic is also a noun. A com ic is an entertainer who tells jokes to
make people laugh.
When die com ic comes on they’l l a ll laugh.

A com ic is also a m agazine, usually fo r children, that contains

stories told in pictures.
He saw me reading a com ic.

comment, mention, remark

I f you com m ent on a situation, or m ake a com m en t about it, you
give your opinion on it. You m ay express a carefu l thought, or
you m ay ju st say a few words.
He knew his fa th e r expected h im to com m ent on the meal.
‘I t ’s g oin g to be pretty cold i f you have to stay there a ll night, ’ he
commented.
T i l believe it when I see it, ’ was M rs P rin g le ’s comment.

I f you m en tion som ething, you say it, but you do not spend very
long talking about it. You have usually not been discussing it
before.
She casually mentioned: 'I thought I had som ething o f interest f o r
you.’
Johnny m entioned that he m igh t be in New York rig h t after the
holidays.

I f you rem a rk on som ething, or make a rem a rk about it, you say
what you think or have noticed about it, often in a casual or
inform al way.
Visitors generally rem ark on how w ell the children look.
M r N ixon hastened to rem ark that he was not against television.
G erald S utton’s firs t rem ark was: ‘Y our pals have fo u n d you.’

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 complement

complement, compliment
You use com plem en t to talk about m aking som ething com plete,
good, or effective. F or exam ple, i f one food com plem en ts another,
or is a com plem en t to it, they go w ell together. I f tw o people
com plem en t each other, they have personalities that are suited to
each other.
As oregano comes fro m the M editerranean, it is a perfect
complement to aubergines and peppers.
Her interests and my interests com plem ent each other: there is no
conflict.
The Tu ll com p lem en t’ o f a group, set, o r amount is every item or
person that it n orm ally includes o r should include.
He lacks a f u ll com plem ent o f teeth.
...a f u ll com plem ent o f one thousand passengers and crew.

I f you com p lim en t som eone, o r pay them a com p lim en t, you
praise them o r say som ething that shows adm iration.
Thomas tried a sm ile, to com plim ent M rs Ja rd in o on her rough
humour.
When he pays his com plim ent to you, show no reaction whatever.
Frank took the in vita tion as a grea t com plim ent.

comprehend, understand
I f you com preh en d som ething, you know what its m eaning is or
why it is the w ay it is. C om preh en d is on ly used in fa irly form al
or litera ry language, and usually w ith a n egative to say that
someone cannot com preh en d som ething.
H er face was blank and num b as though she could no longer
comprehend the reality around her.
He could not comprehend how G rant had ever been selected fo r this
mission.
It is much m ore usual to say that someone u n derstan ds a
situation or a problem .
‘And because I can go no fu rth e r, you m ust g o alone. D o you
understand?’
M orris fe lt he understood m ore deeply, now, what M cLuhan was
getting at.

comprehensive, understanding
Something that is com p reh en sive includes everyth in g that is
needed. For exam ple, a com p reh en sive study exam ines every

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comprehensive

detail o f a subject; com p reh en sive plans consider every

possibility.
...a comprehensive insurance policy.
Chapter 4 examines the last attem pt to im plem ent a comprehensive
anti-poverty program m e in B rita in .

You do not use ‘com prehensive’ to describe people who

understand others and show them kindness and sym pathy. You
say that they are u n d erstan d in g.
M rs Viccary turned ou t to be a d eligh tfu l person, wise, tolerant and
understanding.
I w ant so m uch to be as brave and as understanding as you are.

Other words
Instead o f saying that som ething is com p reh en sive, you can say
that it is done com p reh en sively.
We need designers able to deal w ith the design process
comprehensively.

confused, confusing
I f you are con fu sed, you do not understand som eone or
som ething. People who are con ftised som etim es do no know how
to behave in a particular situation.
She looked away, confused, not know ing what to say next.
Parents are apt to be confused about what psychiatrists and
psychologists are f o r and what the difference between them is.
M any young people are confused about the causes c f cancer.

Som ething that is con fu sin g makes you feel confused.

The sizes in cloth in g are sometimes confusing and you may fin d the
follow in g inform ation useful
This word is confusing in that it has two rather different but
related meanings.
Som ething that is con fu sed does not have any order or pattern
and is difficult to understand.
The figu res are sometimes confused.
F u rth er questioning revealed how confused and contradictory
Carm ichael’s replies were.

conscience, consciousness
A person’s conscience is the part of their mind that decides
whether what they are doing is morally right or not.

68
 conscience

M y conscience told me to vote against the others.

Oddly enough his conscience was never troubled by the two men he
had murdered.

A person’s con sciou sn ess is th eir m ind and thoughts.

Fantasies swam in and ou t o f his consciousness.
I f anything was im printed on her consciousness that night, it would
be the tw inkling silver lights.

I f someone loses con sciou sn ess in an accident, they become

unconscious; when they regain con sciou sness they become
conscious again.
Then he fe lt h im self carried in to the hospital and he lost
consciousness.
He has regained consciousness a fter fo u r days in a coma.

conscious, conscientious
Someone who is con sciou s is awake and able to know what is
happening, and not sleeping or unconscious.
When I was allow ed to go in to the surgery he was conscious b u t too
weak to move.
The patient was fu lly conscious d u rin g the operation.

I f you are con sciou s o f som ething such as a problem , you know
that it exists.
She was conscious o f her age and f u ll o f doubt about her worth.
He was conscious o f his lim ited achievements.

I f you take a con sciou s decision, you are aw are o f w hat you are
doing.
M ost large fa m ilies expand unintentionally, w ithout conscious
planning.

I f someone is con scien tiou s, they do w hat they h ave to do

properly and w ith care.
Conscientious parents sometimes w orry so m uch about jealousy.
He’s a very conscientious m inister.

contest, competition
A con test is a struggle to w in pow er o r control, especially in
politics. Th e noun con test is pronounced /kpntest/.
...the contestf o r the deputy leadership o f the La b ou r Party.

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contest

A con test or co m p etitio n is an event in which people take part

in order to find out who is the best at som ething, especially in
order to w in a prize. Th ey usually in volve tests o f knowledge,
speed, sk ill, or talent.
The loca l radio station was sponsoring a contest to fin d the most
p op u la r high school athlete.
H er insurance company employers held sales contests fo r its staff,
with merchandise prizes.
She won several com petitions f o r rock-and-roll dancing.
...a m agazine fu ll o f com petitions and activities.

I f on ly tw o people are involved, you usually use con test. For

exam ple, i f you are talking about an event in a sport such as
boxing or w restling, you refer to it as a con test.
...the heavyweight contest between Muham m ad A ll and the
Canadian cham pion T revor Berbick.

A co m p etitio n is often m ore serious than a con test, w ith m ore

com plicated rules or m ore com plicated things to do. It m ay take
place over a longer period o f tim e, and the entrants m ay have to
do several differen t things.
...the 1981 L orry D riv e r o f the Year com petition.
H is greatest disappointm ent was that he d id n 't w in the com petition
to do the B yron m em orial in Hyde P a rk

Grammar
C on test is also a verb. I f you con test som ething such as a
decision o r a w ill, you object to it form ally and oppose it,
som etim es aggressively. Th e verb con test is pronounced /kantest/.
I am g o in g to contest the w ilL
We would hotly contest this idea.

I f parliam entary candidates con test a seat, th ey try and w in i t

There was a by-election contested by s ix candidates.

C om p etition is used m ost com m only as an uncount noun to

describe a situation in w hich tw o o r m ore people or organizations
are tryin g to get som ething that on ly one o f them can have. When
they are in this situation, you can say that th ey are in
com p etition .
A s the population expanded, so did the com petition fo r land.
Searle is likely to fa ce some s tiff com petition fro m Tate & Lyle-
The two parties were not in com petition with each other.
N ote that ‘ contest’ is not used in this way.

70
 continual

c o n tin u al, co n tin u o u s, con stan t

You use con tin u a l, con tin u ou s, and con stan t to describe things
w hich continue to happen or exist w ithout stopping.
...the necessity f o r continual change by managers and workers alike.
The w orld that people thought to be stable was instead undergoing
continuous dynam ic change.
Th is would keep society in a condition o f constant change.

I f you are describing som ething undesirable w hich continues to

happen or exist w ithout stopping, it is better to use con tin u a l
than ‘continuous’ .
Continual p olice pressures were brought to bear against Card to get
him to withdraw his statement.
H er continual demands on me were affecting my work.
П was sad to see her the victim o f con tin u a l pain.

C on tin u al is also used to describe things w hich happen

repeatedly.
N in o Valenti’s fa ce was handsome though bloated by continual
drinking.
The management refused to deal w ith h im because o f his con tin u a l
disruptive activities.

You describe som ething as con tin u ou s when it happens a ll the

tim e w ithout any interruption at all, or seems to happen w ithout
any interruption.
A fter days o f continuous ra in in the area the Telle R iver was in
flood.
The K irks spent the sum m er in a state o f continuous excitement.
When standing you sway sligh tly forw ards and backwards
continuously although you are unaware o f it.

N ote that co n tin u a l is on ly used in fron t o f a noun. C ontinu ou s

can be used in fron t o f a noun and after a verb such as ‘be’ .
He gave continual thought to these two questions.
The landscape has undergone continuous transform ations.
These recordings are in sequence and continuous.

You describe som ething as con stan t when it happens a ll the tim e
or is alw ays there.
He was in constant pain.
He had to recognize the tru th c f E va ’s constant criticism that he
wasn’t a man.

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continual

Other words
You say that som ething happens c o n tin u a lly , con tin u ou sly, or
con stan tly.
I shivered and sweated continually.
Bev and I studied continuously, eith er in the lib ra ry o r in ou r
rooms.
F o r the fir s t six weeks in Naples I was constantly cold.

control, manage
I f you c o n tro l som ething such as a country or an organization,
you have the pow er to take a ll the im portant decisions about the
w ay it is run.
The Im am o f Yemen was an absolute ru ler. He controlled the life o f
every subject.
The m erchants controlled the netw ork o f m arketing and supplies.
They want to con trol th eir own lives w ithout being intim idated by
anyone.

I f you m an age som ething such as a business, an organization, or

a system , you are responsible fo r organizing it and seeing that the
righ t things are done. You have the pow er to make decisions, but
you m ay need the co-operation o f other people.
...in the sm all business sector, where those who own the business
often manage it as well.
M rs Hughes manages the 400 acre dairy fa rm with the help o f five
men.

cost, costs, price

The cost o f som ething is the amount o f m oney you need to buy it,
do it, or make it. For exam ple, the cost o f a holiday could include
what you pay fo r travel, hotels, and restaurants.
You may be charged with the cost o f the telephone call.
A lthough the tota l cost was over a m illio n pounds the results were
spectacular.

The costs o f a business or a home are the sums o f m oney that

have to be spent regu larly on running it. Th ey include m oney
spent on electricity bills, repairs, and taxes.
The company has one p a rticu la r problem : energy costs.
Employers were fre e to cut costs and boost p rofits by fo rcin g down
wages.

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 cost

The p ric e o f som ething is the amount o f m oney you have to pay
to buy it.
Members o f Parlia m en t were outraged by the p rice o f cold drinks in
O xford Street.
M ost restaurants now include the tip in the p rice o f the meal.

country, countryside, provinces

Land aw ay from towns and cities is called the c o u n try o r the
cou n trysid e.

C ou n try is often preferred when you want to contrast this type o f

land w ith towns and cities.
The key members o f the cabinet had fa rm s in the country to which
they liked to re tire f o r the weekend.
She’d plenty o f money and a b ig house somewhere in the country.
I t was ju s t like being in the country and n ot a t a ll in a town like
Twickenham.

C ou n trysid e is used especially when m entioning som e o f the

particular qu alities o f country areas, such as the scenery.
The wreckage was strewn over a three-m ile stretch o f heavily
wooded, h illy countryside.
The unspoilt countryside is mostly given over to fa rm in g.

Someone who lives in th e p ro vin ces lives outside the capital o f a

country, norm ally in a town or city. P ro v in c e s is not used in
conversation.
....his desire to leave the provinces fo r London.
N o hotel in the country, either in the provinces o r Paris, had taken
in a guest o f that name.

country, nation, state

A cou n try is a geographical area recognized as a separate
p olitical unit. M ost countries have th eir own independent
governm ents. England, W ales, and Scotland, how ever, are
separate countries, even though they are a ll part o f the United
Kingdom and are governed by the B ritish Governm ent. C ou n try
is used in a general way, not ju st when talkin g about the p olitical
status o f a place.
In the last few days there have been riots a ll round the country.
I had already worked in a developing country.
Many A sian countries are s till losing fa r m ore trees than are being
replanted.

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country

You use n a tio n to refer to a country that has political

independence, its own governm ent, and its own social structures.
N a tio n is used in m ore form al language, and is often used to talk
about the people o f a country. You do not use ‘nation’ sim ply to
refer to a place. You use co u n try instead.
...the biggest and m ost valuable assembly o f works c f a rt ever given
to the nation by an in d ivid u a l
A lm ost every western nation has had its era c f revolution o r c iv il
war.
The whole nation should have recoiled w ith shock a t the things that
were done.

You use state to refer to a country when you are considering it in

term s o f its p olitical organization and structure.
The L a tin Am erican states m aintained th eir independence.
The peoples o f the new states are by no means insensitive to die
dangers o f one-party rule.

States can also be adm inistrative areas w ith in a country.

...the oil-prod ucing states c f Texas and Oklahoma.
Haryana and P u n ja b were the fastest-developing states in India.

couple, pair
Both cou p le and p a ir refer to groups o f two.

I f you call tw o people a cou p le, you mean that they are m arried
o r have a close perm anent relationship. You usually use a plural
form o f a verb w ith cou p le.
Some couples do not give themselves tim e to adjust to m arriage.
In Venice we met a South A frica n couple.

Tw o partners who dance o r do other things together can also be

called a cou p le.
On die discotheque flo o r the younger couples do n ot circulate.

Tw o people can also be called a p a ir, but they m ay not have a

very close relationship. You often use p a ir in a humorous w ay or
to show disapproval. When p a ir is used lik e this, you use a plural
form o f a verb w ith it.
They’d always been a devoted p a ir.
A p a ir o f drunkards were try in g to k ill one another.
Tw o anim als that mate w ith each oth er and produce young are
called a p a ir.

74
 couple

Breeding p a irs lay fro m three to eight eggs annually.

Tw o things that m atch each other, fo r exam ple shoes or

ornaments, are called a p a ir. W hen p a ir is used lik e this, the
verb can be singular or plural.
She had p u t on a p a ir o f long black gloves.
I t is likely that a new p a ir o f shoes brings m ore happiness to a
ch ild than a new ca r brings to a grow n man.
He p u t on a p a ir o f brow n shoes which were w aiting there fo r him .

You also talk about a p a ir o f scissors, trousers, or oth er things

made o f tw o m atching parts. You use a singular verb.
On a hook behind the d oor was an old p a ir o f grey trousers.
A round his neck was a p a ir o f earphones.

In conversation, a co u p le o f things or people are tw o things or

people. You use a plural verb w ith a cou p le o f.
I walked two m iles there and back f o r a couple o f p a ils o f water.
They’ve been helped by a couple o f newspaper reporters.

V ery often when people talk about a co u p le o f things o r people,

they do not m ean exactly tw o o f them. T h ey m ean at least tw o but
not very many.
They’ll be com ing ou t in a couple o f minutes.
Somewhere amongst the grou p were a couple o f teachers.

cry, shout, yell

If you c ry or c ry ou t, you ca ll out lou dly usually because o f a
strong em otion such as unhappiness, excitem ent, o r fear.
'Come o n !’ he cried.
I heard Am y O ’Shea cry ou t in frig h t.

If you shou t, you speak in an extrem ely loud voice. You m ay

shout in order to be heard in a n oisy place, or because you are
angry o r excited.
I was very happy and shouted, ‘Thank y ou !’ to him but he only
smiled and waved his hand.
They turn th e ir radios on and shout across the room to one another.
That made Clarissa very angry indeed. She shotted, ‘You make me
sick !’
I f you shou t at som eone, you talk a n grily to them in a loud voice.
She scarcely glanced a t the p o o r m an; ju s t shouted a t h im fo r
spoiling her lovely evening.

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cry

The negotiators shouted a t each other across the table.

I f you y e ll, you call out loudly, eith er using w ords o r ju st m aking
a noise. People usually y e ll because they are excited, angry, o r in
pain.
I threw back my head and yelled ‘H elp!’
I yelled ou t in pa in and fe ll o ff the walL
'G et ou t o f my office!’ yelled M r M orris.

I f you y e ll at someone, you shout lou dly at them, usually because

you are angry.
I f she caught us eating, she would y e ll a t us, and sometimes she told
the boss.
I yelled a t R ichard to hang on.

cry, weep, sob

W hen someone c rie s , th eir eyes produce tears, because they are
unhappy, afraid, or in pain.
She was now cryin g and m oaning through her sleep.
One o f her children fe ll in a gam e and started to cry.

I f someone w eeps, they are cryin g because o f strong em otion.

W eep is a litera ry word.
H er face fe lt raw with weeping. She was sick and dizzy with grief.
James wept when he heard the news.

When someone sobs, they cry in a noisy way, taking short rapid
breaths. Sob is also a litera ry word.
Behind him he could hear K a iri sobbing in helpless, childish grief. ■
I began to sob with fe a r and nervous tension. <

Grammar
Sob is also used as a noun. ц
She began to weep in gasping, choking sobs.

cure, heal, recover, recovery

When a doctor or a treatm ent cu res a patient or a disease, or
cu res a patient o f a disease, the patient gets better.
He took the boy to a special doctor and had his eye infection cured.
D r Battacharya went in fo r acupuncture, and had once cured M rs
Bhoolabhoy o f m igraine f o r a whole week.
A cu re is a m edicine that cures a disease.

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 cure

Nobody would deny the value o f the w ork being done to fin d a cure
f o r cancer.
...a possible cure f o r A ID S .

W hen an ii\jury such as a cut o r a broken leg gets better, you say
that it h ea ls o r that it is h ealed .
I waited there six weeks, n ot know ing whether the leg w ould heal o r
not.
This ointm ent should heal the cut in no time.

I f you say that som eone h ea ls a sick person, you m ean that they
make them better, usually by unconventional m ethods known as
‘alternative m edicine’.
Give the Lord a chance, Ginny. He healed my leg. He can heal y ou r
m other’s blood.
He had beat m iraculously healed o f his illness.

When a sick person re c o v e rs , re c o v e rs from an illness, o r makes

a re c o v e ry , they get better.
In tim e Johnnie recovered, thankfully w ithout any perm anent
damage.
How long do people take to recover fro m sickness o f this kind?
He made a quick recovery, h it the operation hadn’t been as
successful as hoped.

cushion, pillow
A cu shion is a fab ric case filled w ith soft m aterial, w hich you put
on a seat to make it m ore com fortable. You can sit on it o r use it
to support your back or head.
She overturned the chairs and hurled the cushions about.
She tucked up her feet on a b ig divan covered with cushions.

A p illo w is a type o f cushion. You put you r head on it when you

go to bed.
She was lying on the bed, her head on the pillow .
I heard the cham berm aid thum ping pillow s as my bed was made
up f o r me.

custom, habit
A custom is som ething that people in a com m unity do because it
is a tradition, or because it is considered the righ t thing to do in
society. For exam ple, in B ritain, celebrating Christm as and
shaking hands are custom s.

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custom

‘Harvest Festival, ’ I said firm ly , ‘is a good old C hristian custom. ’

I ’m a stranger in this country, I don’t know the customs that well.
They had done a ll that th e ir relig ion and fa m ily customs had
required them to do.

You can also say that it is som eone’s cu stom to do som ething
when it is som ething they usually do. Th is is a fa irly litera ry use.
She had risen a t h a lf past six as was her custom.

A h a b it is som ething that you do regu larly, often w ithout

thinking w hy you do it. H a b its can som etim es be irrita tin g or
pointless.
H is tongue moistened his top lip . It was a h abit o f his.
She has a bad h a b it o f m um bling.
I can’t help it, I always te ll everybody everything, it ’s a terrib le
habit, it really is.

D
damp, moist, humid
I f som ething lik e the ground or a house is dam p, it is sligh tly
wet. I f you make a cloth dam p, you m ake it sligh tly w et, usually
so that you can clean som ething w ith it.
M y old, discarded boots had been lettin g in w ater on even
moderately damp ground.
I see the way o ld people are treated. There are too many liv in g in
damp, tumbledown houses.
Remove tea stains fro m china with a damp cloth dipped in
bicarbonate o f soda.

I f som ething lik e food o r the a ir is m oist, it is sligh tly w et in a

pleasant way. I f som eone’s skin is m oist, they are perspirin g
sligh tly; i f th eir eyes are m o ist, they look as i f they are going to
cry.
O il, butter, la rd o r m argarine help to keep bread moist.
There’s m ountain a ir in this room . I t ’s cool and m oist and alm ost
fla g ra n t.
He had glanced a t her as she sm iled in her sleep and had kissed her
on h er m oist brow.
H is eyes, too, were serious and m oist.

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 dam p

I f the a ir in a place is fu ll o f w ater vapour, you can say that it is

hum id. When a place is hum id, it is usually hot and unpleasant.
The a ir fe lt hum id and oppressive, saturated w ith heat and
moisture.
In the humid, disease-ridden ju n g le the costs o f road construction
are high.

dead, died
You use dead to describe a person, anim al, or plant that is no
longer alive; dead is an adjective.
H is firs t wife is dead.
He thought o f his dead companions.

You use d ied to say what has happened to a person, anim al, or
plant that has stopped livin g; d ied is the past tense and past
participle o f the verb d ie.
I pushed him . He fe ll and h it his head. A nd he died.
I ’m tryin g to trace refugees whose relatives have died in England.

deceptive, deceitful, deceiving

Something that is d ecep tive encourages you to b elieve som ething
that is not true.
Yet this apparent realism , even in his straightest drawings, is
deceptive.
Beth knew that its fra g ile appearance was deceptive.

If someone is d e c e itfu l, they are deliberately tryin g to trick

another person and make them b elieve som ething that is not true.
They had deserted me, the ungrateful, cunning, fick le, deceitful
traitors.
The bureaucrats’ evidence varied fro m the inept to the dow nright
deceitful.

I f you say that someone is d e c e iv in g you, you mean that they are
deliberately tryin g to trick you and make you b elieve som ething
that is not true. D e c e iv in g is the continuous form o f the verb
deceive.
I fe a r he may have been deceiving you on this p oin t, as, indeed, he
has been deceiving you on another.
The quickest way to ra ttle him was to accuse him q f deceiving the
public.

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deceptive

Other words
I f you say som ething is d e c e p tiv e ly easy or safe, you mean that it
seems easy o r safe, but that it is not rea lly so.
I t was a b rillia n t effort, made to look deceptively easy.
Instead, he said w ith a deceptively calm , alm ost cooing voice: ‘Jerry,
look a t m e.’

delighted, delightful
I f you are d elig h ted about som ething, you are very pleased and
feel some excitem ent about it. I f you say you would be d elig h ted
to do som ething, you mean you are v e ry w illin g to do it.
Hawk was delighted a t the way o u r tra in in g sessions were going.
M ost children who fin d they have shocked th e ir parents are
delighted, a t least secretly.
She said we would be delighted to see m ore o f Canton.

I f you find som ething d e lig h tfu l, you think it is v e ry pleasant or

attractive.
Really, they are d eligh tfu l children to live with.
Thank you fo r a w onderful meal, and a tru ly d eligh tfu l evening.

Other words
I f you do som ething d e lig h tfu lly , you do it in a w ay that people
lik e. You can use d e lig h tfu lly before an adjective; fo r exam ple, i f
som ething is d e lig h tfu lly sweet, it is sw eet in a v e ry pleasant
way.
She was sure that he would dance delightfully.
The result is a d eligh tfu lly smooth, lig h t soup.

deny, refuse
I f you d en y som ething, especially som ething that som eone says,
you say that it is not true.
He denied th a t there was any need fo r drastic reform .
This allegation was denied repeatedly by Governm ent spokesmen.
I d on 't deny th a t a rt is p olitica l.
I f someone d en ies you som ething you need or want, they do not
allow you to have it.
A ll my life I had never denied my m other anything.
A t times we’ve denied ju stice to groups with different religion s o r
p o litica l views.

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 deny

Hekima was denied the rig h t to present the defence he had so

carefully worked out.

I f you say that someone refu ses you or refu ses you som ething, or
that you have been refu sed som ething, you mean that they do not
allow you to have som ething you have asked for, or do not allow
you to do som ething you have asked to do.
He knows he can ru n to his Dad fo r money i f l refuse him .
The Rajah was infatuated w ith her and could refuse her nothing.
They had been refused perm ission to retu rn home.

I f you refu se to do som ething, you deliberately do not do it, or

say firm ly that you w ill not do it.
She's one o f those people who refuse to change th e ir opinions.
M r Benn refused to condemn them.

I f someone refu ses som ething you o ffe r them, they do not accept
it.
Anne was about to refuse the d rin k but then thought she had better
accept it.
It was an offer Lever fe lt he cou ld n 't refuse.

dependent, dependant
I f you are depen den t on someone or som ething, you need them
in order to exist or su rvive. I f ch ildren are d epen den t, they
cannot manage w ithout th eir parents. A rela tive whose needs are
en tirely paid fo r by another person is a d epen den t relative. I f
one country is depen den t on another, it needs m oney o r goods
from the other country. Used in this w ay, depen den t is an
adjective.
The g ift o f m aterial goods makes people dependent.
A secure ch ild isn 't made dependent by ordinary com forting.
...allowances fo r housekeepers, b lin d persons and dependent
relatives.
West Europe was s till heavily dependent on M iddle Eastern O il.

Your dependants are the people who you support fin ancially,
such as you r children. In Am erican English, this noun is usually
spelled dependent.
I f the borrow er dies d u rin g th a t period, his (o r h er) dependants w ill
be protected against losing th e ir home.
You do not need to work to support yourself o r y ou r dependents.

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describe

describe, characterize
I f you d escrib e som eone or som ething, you say what they are
like, fo r exam ple by saying what someone looks lik e, how
som ething works, or what you have experienced.
Gordon had casually rem arked that a boy had done it, and
described him . A few days la ter the arsonist was caught.
IdeaUy you w ould make y ou r own vinegar and I describe how to do
this on page 196.
He described the rest o f his te rrib le ord ea l
A nd yet you describe h im as respectable?
N o rth cliffe ’s o fficia l biographers describe h is relationship w ith
Lloyd George as one o f friendliness.

I f one th in g ch a ra cterizes another, it is v e ry typ ica l o f i t

...the incessant demand f o r change that characterizes o u r tim e

I f you c h a ra c te rize som eone o r som ething, you describe them by

picking out th eir m ain characteristics.
How would you characterize yourself?
The relationship was increasingly characterized as one o f vig ila n t
and stealthy hostility.

detract, distract, disturb

I f one th in g d etra cts from another, it makes the second thing
seem less im portant or not as good.
Advertisers p rtfe r television program m es not to be too involving, fo r
fe a r o f detracting fro m the im pact o f th eir advertisements.
To say a ll this doesn’t detract fro m the achievement, o f course.

You do not use d e tra c t to talk about bothering people. You say
that you d is tra c t them or d istu rb them.

I f someone d istra cts you, o r i f they d is tra c t you r attention, they

stop you from thinking properly about what you are doing and
prevent you from concentrating.
H er band was pla yin g in a p u b when a man began try in g to
distract them and make trouble.
I soon fou n d an in fa llib le way to distract his attention i f he became
too excitable.
1 spoke merely to distract h is attention fro m the feast.

I f som eone d istu rb s you, th ey interrupt you when you are busy
o r want to be qu iet o r alone.

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 d e tr a c t

A ll I wanted was a quiet com er where I w ouldn’t disturb anyone i f

I ju s t happened to snore.
The slightest sound would have disturbed him .

dinner, lunch, tea, supper

The m eal eaten in the m iddle o f the day is called d in n er by some
people and lu n ch by others. L u n ch can be eith er a m ain cooked
meal o r a snack. D in n er is usually a cooked m eal, and is the
m ain meal o f the day.
A t one o ’clock he went down the h a ll to the kitchen f o r lunch.
I t is d ifficu lt to provide a rest-tim e after school dinner f o r these
really sm all children.

The ligh t m eal o r snack that some people have in the afternoon is
called tea. U sually it consists o f cakes o r biscuits w ith tea to
drink. It is som etim es called a ftern o o n tea in cafes, restaurants
and hotels. H ig h tea is a la rger meal served on special occasions
or as an early even in g m eal.
Madeleine took tea w ith Madame.
He crept in to the dining-room , where the table was la id f o r h igh tea.

The m ain meal o f the even in g is called d in n er, tea , o r su pper by

different people. People who call th eir m idday m eal d in n er
usually call th eir m ain even in g m eal tea and serve it early in the
evening. People w ho call th eir m idday m eal lu n ch m ay call th eir
m ain evening meal tea , su pper, or d in n er. D in n er m ay be a
m ore form al meal than tea or supper.
Run out into the yard and let you r fa th e r fin is h his tea in peace.
I wondered i f you’d like to go into town w ith me fa r supper tonight.
I ’d like to ask you round fo r dinner one evening.
There were only the three o f us at d inner a t Sissinghurst that night,
my parents and myself.

Some people have a late even in g snack which they ca ll su pper.

Supper consisted o f a la rge ju g o f tea and a pla te o f cakes.

disappointed, disappointing
I f you are d isap p oin ted , you are rath er upset because som ething
has not happened o r because som ething is not as good as you
hoped it would be.
He was very disappointed that John had n ot been accepted f o r the
G ram m ar School a t Caxley.

83
disappointed

I ’m disappointed in you, P h ilip , really I am.

Som ething that is d isa p p o in tin g is not as good as you hoped it

would be.
The results have generally been disappointing.
The food and service, I regret to say, were disappointing.

discreet, discrete
I f you describe people or th eir behaviour as d iscreet, you m ean
that they are tactful and do not g ive away secrets about other
people.
She is very discreet She has never told me anything.
He follow ed a t a discreet distance.

Jew ellery o r decorations that are described as d is c re e t are sim ple

and in good taste.
...her sm a rt quiet expensive shoes and her discreet leather handbag.

D iscrete things o r ideas a re tota lly separate from and

unconnected w ith each other. D iscrete is a rath er form al w ord.
Occupations are grouped in to discrete categories.
The m ind divides the continuity o f the w orld around us in to discrete
units.

disinterested, uninterested
Someone who is d isin terested is not personally in volved in a
situation and can act or think in a fa ir and unselfish way.
I am confident that you w ill give me a disinterested opinion.
I know personally o f his disinterested help to unknown, ill and
dying people.

Someone who is u n in terested in som ething shows v e ry little

interest in it.
N o one here is interested in religion , i t ’s am azing how uninterested
they are.
She seemed to be ta lk in g to herself, uninterested in whether T im
was there o r not.

Some people also use d isin terested to say that som eone is bored
or not interested in som ething. H ow ever, this use is often
regarded as incorrect.

84
 distinct

distinct, distinctive
Som ething that is d istin ct, o r d is tin c t from som ething else, can
be recognized as d ifferen t and separate from it, even though the
tw o things m ight be sim ila r in some way.
Each o f his eight anim als had a distinct personality.
This is not a cross between a cherry and a plum , but a distinct
species.
The B ritish Museum is now distinct fro m the B ritish Library.

I f som ething lik e a shape o r a sound is d istin ct, you can see or
hear it very clearly.
‘You don‘t make y ou rself clear, ' said Sticking, in his m ost distinct
voice.
You use d is tin c tiv e to describe things w hich have a special
quality that makes them easy to recognize.
M r Ross noted th eir distinctive Glasgow accents.
Jossi’s appearance was distinctive. He was a pow erful gia n t who
stood over six feet tall.

distrust, mistrust
I f you d istru st someone, you are sure that you cannot trust them
and are very suspicious o f them.
You can’t trust anyone. Now I even distrust Cynthia.
F or the firs t tim e in his life he was inclined to distrust H intza's
judgement.

I f you m istru st someone, you are doubtful about them and are
not sure o f th eir m otives o r w hether you can trust them.
It is unfortunately necessary to m istrust men and treat them w ith
extreme caution a t a ll times.

D istru st and m istru st are also used as nouns. N ote that m istru st
is used m ore often as a noun than a verb.
They stood fa cin g each other in the darkness, fille d w ith m utual
distrust.
He took a week because he knew the deep m istrust that a ll A fricans
had o f doing things in haste.
She gazed on me w ith a sudden fe a r and m istru st

doubt, suspect
I f you dou bt that som ething is true o r possible, you are not
convinced or do not b elieve that it is true o r possible.

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doubt

He fe u so weak that he doubted whether he would be able to walk

as fa r as the bedroom.
Nobody doubted his in tegrity and knowledge o f countryside matters.
Jane never doubted f o r a moment that her fir s t ch ild would be a
son.

I f you su spect som ething is true, you think that it is probably

true, especially when you are relyin g on you r intuition or when
someone is not prepared to tell you the truth. You do not use
doubt.
I suspect he was already in New York.
I suspect that many c f them could barely read o r write.
I ’d never seen anything lik e this before - and I suspected no one else
had either.

doubtful, dubious, suspicious

I f you are d o u b tfu l about a situation o r possible event, you are 1
not certain about it and you m ay feel pessim istic o r unconvinced I
that it can happen o r take place.
The man behind the desk seemed doubtful. ‘I l l ju s t check. I ’m n ot *
sure t f we have a vacancy. ’ t
D o you fe e l insecure and doubtful about you r a b ility to arrange a
conference?
I was doubtful c f success.

I f you think a result or a p ossibility is d ou b tfu l, you think that it

is u n likely or not certain to happen. I f you think som ething lik e
evidence is d o u b tfu l, you are not rea lly convinced by it.
The com m ission's chances o f success are doubtful.
It was doubtful he would ever see that person again.
The independent m ilita ry fo rce is o f doubtful value in deterring an
invasion.

I f you are du biou s about som ething such as a proposal, you are
not sure w hether or not it is the righ t thing to do.
‘You could - but I ’m not sure you ought. ’ A lison sounded very
dubious.
The men in charge were a b it dubious about taking women on at
a ll.

I f you describe som ething as du biou s, you think that it is not

com pletely honest, safe, or reliable.
The econom ic lo g ic was in fa c t highly dubious.

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 doubtful

He made several ca lls on the most dubious o f pretexts.

M y prestige, i f any, is based on my dubious abilities as a teacher o f
English.

I f you are su spiciou s o f a person, you do not trust them and

think they m ay be ly in g o r m ay have com m itted or be planning to
com m it a crim e.
Residents in a block o f fla ts became suspicious o f a man who sat in
his ca r outside the fla ts f o r lon g periods.
I am suspicious o f the governm ent’s intentions.
He was so good in the language that M iss Lenaut had grow n
suspicious and had asked h im i f his parents spoke French.

I f you describe som ething as su spiciou s, you mean that you do

not trust it because it is probably bad, dangerous, o r wrong.
He listened f o r any suspicious sounds.
He was seat to make a suspicious movement w ith his hand towards
his pocket.
L et’s ju s t say she is m issing fro m home in suspicious circumstances.

drop, fall
Both d ro p and fa ll are used to describe what happens when an
object suddenly m oves downwards from one place to another
low er place w ithout any support.

When som ething drops, it usually m oves down in a fa irly straight

line w ithout anything stopping it.
You could throw a stone and it would drop thousands q f feet.

You can use fa ll w ith a sim ilar m eaning but not alw ays in the
same structures. F a ll can on ly be used in tran sitively, that is it is
not follow ed by an object. You cannot say that someone ‘fa lls’
something. You say that they d ro p som ething.
The yellow leaves were fa llin g to the ground.
He bumped in to a ch a ir and dropped his cigar.

Things often d ro p o r fa ll in an acciden t

Pla te a fter pla te dropped fro m his nerveless fingers.
Trees are allow ed to lie exactly where they fa ll.

I f som ething m oves downwards but not in a straight lin e, you use
fa ll and not ‘drop’. F or exam ple, you can say that a b all fe ll down
some steps or that a tree fe ll across a riv e r.
He tossed her the magazine. I t fe ll to the flo o r at her feet.

87
 drop 1
You can say that a person d rops when they deliberately jum p
straight down from som ething. Th ey usually m ove in a controlled
way. F or exam ple, you can say that a burglar drops from a
w indow to the ground when he leaves a buildin g qu ietly and is
tryin g not to disturb anybody. You can also say that people d rop
from aeroplanes using parachutes.
4,255 B ritish paratroopers were dropping on French soil.

W hen som eone fa lls , it is usually because o f an accident, and

they are unable to con trol th eir m ovem ent property.
I fe ll in a bram ble bush.
He stum bled in to a co rrid o r and felL

• T h e w ords d ro p and fa ll can also be nouns. A d ro p is the

height o f som ething vertical, such as a c liff o r w all, when you are
im agining som ething o r som eone fa llin g o ff it.
Sixteen hundred feet is a considerable drop.

A fa ll is what happens when som eone falls.

I hadn’t noticed how badly I had been bruised by the fa ll.

E
earn, win, gain
I f you ea rn m oney, som eone gives you m oney fo r the w ork you do
fo r them.
A certain am ount o f the money you earn in any one year w ill be
untaxed.
He earns two rupees a day collectin g rags and scrap paper.

I f you ea rn respect o r a good o r bad reputation, you get it by

actin g in a w ay that deserves it.
B ern had earned the reputation o f being a form id a b le opponent
...a system that would earn the hatred o f the w orld: Apartheid.

I f you w in m oney, you get it as a p rize in a com petition o r as a

result o f a b e t
He became the fir s t m an to w in over £500,000 in a single season.
I am pleased to in form you that you have ju s t won three hundred
thousand pounds.

88
i
 earn

If you w in som ething you want, such as respect or power, you

succeed in getting it.
He soon won the respect o f the c iv il servants.
He fe ll in love w ith her and tried to w in her affection.

I f you g a in a reputation o r power, you get it.

He had, however, gained an undeserved reputation as a m agician
very early in his career.
The Associated Television C orporation gained con trol o f another c f
the big fiv e television companies.

If you g a in an advantage or benefit, you obtain it.

People earning in excess o f £10,000 a year gained an average tax
benefit o f £480.

east, eastern, easterly

The east is the direction you look towards in the m orning in
order to see the sun rise. The east o f a country or area is the part
towards the east. You use east, eastern , and e a s te rly to describe
things that are in or com e from the east.

You use east to describe a part o f a place that is in the east,

whether it is a large place lik e a country o r a sm aller place lik e a
building. N ote that east is often used to make a contrast w ith the
west, north, and south: i f a bu ilding has an ‘ea st wing*, it
probably also has a ‘west w in g’.
We flew over the east side o f Lake Turkana.
...the relatively shallow waters o f the east coast.
On a w all in the East W ing o f o u r College, there hangs a picture.

E astern means relatin g to the east and refers to a m ore general

area than east.
...the countless fis h in g villages that dot the coasts c f southern and
eastern A frica.
...a little over half-way down the eastern coast o f the South Island.
The trend spread w ell beyond eastern France.

You can also use ea stern to describe things that com e from the
east or that are found there.
■As she talked, her cultivated eastern accent started slipping.
The sun had not yet risen, but a lin e o f p in k on the eastern horizon
told him that daybreak was near.

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east

W inds that com e from the east can be described as east o r

e a s te rly winds.
I had trudged alon g the sea fro n t in the teeth o f the fie rce east wind.
M any a doty there was an icy easterly a - northerly wind blow ing o ff
the sea.

You can also use e a s te rly to describe directions and locations. I f

som ething m oves in an e a s te rly direction, it m oves towards the
ea st U n like ea st and ea stern , e a s te rly can be used w ith ‘m ore’
and ‘m ost’.
The yacht was con tin u in g in an easterly direction.
I t reaches in to the A tla n tic in a d irection m ore easterly than
anything.
I t is one o f the m ost easterly Greek islands.

eatable, edible
E d ib le means that som ething is safe to eat and not poisonous.
The whole fis h is edible.
M any seaweeds are edible.
...edible mushrooms.

You can use ea ta b le o r e d ib le to say that som ething is good

enough or tasty enough fo r a person to eat and enjoy.
To convert dried peas and beans in to an eatable fo o d they m ust firs t
be soaked.
Chunks o f uncooked p ota to are barely eatable.
The fig s are edible and pleasantly tangy.
I thought ra b b it the least edible o f a ll the bush foods.

economy, economics, economic, economical

Th e econ om y o f a country is the w ay m oney is organized in it
and the w ay trade and industry are run.
The m odem economy is propelled by a fren zy o f greed.
Mass unemployment is always possible in a m arket economy.
New E ngland’s economy is s till largely based on m anufacturing.

E con om ics is the study o f how econom ies are organized and
w ork. N ote that when econ om ics has th is m eaning, it is used
w ith a singular verb.
Econom ics is not an exact science.
Econom ics plays a cen tra l ro le in shaping the activities o f the
m odem world.

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 economy

E con om y is carefu l use o f m oney and resources so that th ere is

no waste.
Unfortunately most ch a irs are designed f o r th e ir looks o r fo r
economy but w ith little thought fo r the needs o f the body.

E conom ic is the adjective that describes things relatin g to the

econom y o f a country and econom ics. N ote that when econ om ic
has this m eaning, it alw ays comes before a noun.
Econom ic conditions are m ere favourable.
...the econom ic theories o f Ricardo.

If an a ctivity is econ om ic, it makes a p rofit o r saves m oney.

When econ om ic has this m eaning, it can go eith er in fron t o f a
noun or after a verb.
It is not always p ra ctica l o r econom ic to recover energy fro m
organic matter.

Som ething that is eco n om ica l does not cost a lot o f m oney to
operate o r use.
This system was extrem ely econom ical because it ran on half-price
electricity.

I f a person is econ om ica l, they are careful not to waste m oney,

effort, or tim e.
People are having to be as econom ical as possible

edit, publish
The person who ed its a book checks that there are no spellin g
mistakes and that it is clea rly w ritten.
Textbooks have to be w ritten, edited, prin ted and distributed.
I am indebted to M rs M a ria Jepps, who checked and edited the
entire work.

When a com pany p u b lish es a book o r m agazine, it prints copies

o f it. w hich are then sent to shops to be sold.
One c f the most in flu en tia l books ever w ritten about space travel
was published by V iking Press in 1949.
Why a book by on Englishm an, published in B rita in , should be
w ritten in Am erican I do n ot know.
Other words
A person who ed its books is called an e d ito r.
She's a very good ed itor and cuts much m ore energetically than I
do.

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e d it

The e d ito r o f a newspaper or m agazine is the person in charge o f

it.
Before jo in in g IT N S ir A lis ta ir had had a distinguished career as
ed itor o f The Econom ist magazine.

A p u b lish er is a person or a com pany that publishes books,

m agazines, or newspapers.
The publishers o f the book are Collins.

educate, bring up
Teachers, parents, and other people ed u cate children and young
people by teaching them the subjects and skills th ey require.
He was born in 1934 a t E xeter and educated a t Beckenham
G ram m ar School.
M any m ore schools are needed to educate the young.

You can also say that parents edu cate th eir children b y sending
them to school.
He had pa id out good money to educate J u lie a t a boarding school
in Yorkshire.

W hen you are talkin g about parents lookin g a fter th eir children
and helping them to develop ph ysically and m orally, you do not
say that they ‘educate’ them, but that they b rin g up th eir
children.
The way we choose to b rin g up children is vita lly im portant. B u t
where we b rin g them up also has a b ig effect on th eir lives.
She died soon a fter and I was brought up by an old frie n d o f
m other’s called Lucy Nye.

Other words
Instead o f saying that parents ed u cate th eir children b y sending
them to school, you can say that they ‘g iv e them an ed u cation ’.

elder, eldest, older, oldest, elderly

You use e ld e r and eld est to say w ho was b om before others in a
fam ily. F or exam ple, i f you have an e ld e r brother o r sister, you
have a brother or sister w ho was b om before you. The eld est
child in a fam ily was b om before the other children.
His m other had impressed upon M m how hopeless he was compeared
to his elder brother.

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 elder

Angela was very fo n d o f her parents, though bitterly jealous o f her

elder sister.
They were pretty g irls and I guessed that the eldest, M arianne, was
no m ore than twenty.

You use o ld e r and o ld est to say who was bom first in any group
o f people, not ju st fam ilies.
One q f the old er boys had to be continually on watch fo r w ild
animals.
Some years ago I had the p rivilege o f m eeting the w orld's oldest
man.

I f you talk about ‘o ld e r people’, you mean people who are no

longer young.
The older people, like M iss Clare and M rs P rin g le, shake their
heads sadly.

O ld er can be used to show differences in age, in com parisons

using ‘than’. ‘E lder’ cannot be used in this way.
Jemmy was at least fiv e years older than I was.
She was a couple o f years older than me.

I f you describe someone as e ld e rly , you mean that they are old.
Some people consider e ld e rly a m ore polite w ord than ‘old’.
...a sm all, energetic, elderly man w ith a heavy moustache.

"The e ld e rly ’ are e ld e r ly people.

...a psychiatrist who specialized in the care o f the elderly.

electric, electrical
You use e le c tric to describe particu lar m achines or devices that
use electricity.
Place a ll the chopped vegetables in an electric blender.
...an electric fire .

You also use e le c tric to describe things that are d irectly involved
in producing o r conducting electricity.
E lectric current does not flo w through water, but through the
im purities in water.
The electric w irin g is dangerous.
You use e le c tric a l when you are talking in a m ore general w ay
about m achines, devices, o r system s w hich use o r produce
electricity. E le c tric a l is typ ically used in fron t o f nouns such as
‘equipm ent’, ‘appliance’, and ‘com ponent’.

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e le c t r ic

Rem oval men w on’t disconnect any electrica l o r gas apparatus.

...electrical appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines.
...m ore attractive technologies f o r storin g heat and electrica l energy.

You also use e le c tric a l to talk about people o r organizations

connected w ith the production o f electricity or electrical goods.
...a vast firm o f consulting electrica l engineers.
...the electrica l and m echanical engineering industries.

embarrassed, embarrassing
I f you are em barrassed, you fe e l nervous and upset about
som ething that you have done or that has happened.
She was speaking in a very loud voice because she was so angry
and H ugh looked a t h er in an embarrassed way.
She was a little embarrassed and did not know what to say.

Som ething that is em b a rra ssin g m akes you feel em barrassed.

He said som ething that w ould be em barrassing f o r me to repeat.
D ubois’s discovery helped to rescue Haeckel fro m an em barrassing
situation.

emigrate, migrate
I f you em igra te, you leave the country w here you w ere b om and
go and liv e perm anently in another. People often em ig ra te
because they hope to find new opportunities or m ore freedom in
another country.
He and Betty had been ta lk in g about the possibility o f em igrating to
A ustralia.
In 1973 he eventually em igrated and settled in Vienna.
You use m ig ra te to talk about a large num ber o f people leavin g a
country or an area tem porarily. When people m ig ra te, it is
usually because they need m oney or work.
M illio n s have m igrated to the cities because they could not survive
in ru ra l areas.
The men are leaving th eir wives to cultivate the home p lo t w hile
they m igrate in search o f seasonal work.

You can also say that people m ig ra te when they m ove home
perm anently because they b elieve liv in g conditions w ill be better
elsewhere.
The m ore prosperous m iddle-class inhabitants have increasingly
m igrated to the suburbs and the countryside.

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 emigrate

When birds, anim als, or fish m ig ra te, they m ove at a particular

tim e o f year from one part o f the w orld or a country to another, in
order to breed or to find food.
Every spring they m igrate towards the coast.

envelop, envelope
When one thing en velop s another, it covers, surrounds, or
encloses it com pletely. E n velo p is a verb and is pronounced
/invelap/.
O u r heads were enveloped in smoke.
Deadly silence enveloped the W ar Room.

An en velo p e is the paper cover in w hich you send letters through

the post. E n velop e is a noun and is pronounced /envaloup/ or
/Dnvoloup/.
Enclosed is a stamped addressed envelope fo r y ou r reply.
Tim . who usually received only b ills through the post, looked at the
envelope w ith surprise.

especially, specially
You use e s p e c ia lly to em phasize one m em ber or part o f a group
you have m entioned. You can replace e s p e c ia lly b y ‘ in
particular'.
...the d ifficu lty o f the p o o r in advanced economies, especially the
United States.

You can also use e s p e c ia lly to em phasize one aspect, case, or

circum stance w here som ething that you are saying is true. You
can replace e s p e c ia lly b y ‘ in particular’.
The true fig u res may be m uch higher, especially in ru ra l areas.

You most often use s p e c ia lly to indicate that som ething is done
fo r someone o r fo r a special reason. It is often follow ed b y ‘fo r’ or
by a verb, usually the past participle.
I guessed that the m in t had been p u t there specially f o r me.
What is a m eal? I t ’s fo o d specially prepared to be appetizing.

N ote that som etim es e s p e c ia lly is used w ith this m eaning when
som ething is done o r provided fo r a person.
...excellent clothes boutiques especially f o r the rich young fem ale.
You can use e s p e c ia lly o r s p e c ia lly in fron t o f an adjective and

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e s p e c ia lly

som etim es in fron t o f a verb to m ean ‘m ore than usually’. N ote

that s p e c ia lly is m ore inform al than e s p e c ia lly .
I t seemed especially illogica l.
...a specially lon g and elaborate song.
I specially like her story about N orm a Talmadge.

everyday, every day

You use every d a y , spelled as one w ord, to describe norm al life
and the ordinary things that are part o f it and w hich are not
especially interesting or unusual. E very d a y is an adjective which
always comes in fron t o f a noun.
We must retu rn to everyday life, fo rg e t tragedies and love-affairs.
C hildren’s language develops w ith everyday talk.
She was dressed in her everyday p rin t frock .
In the rough, overcrowded conditions, in ju ries are an everyday
occurrence.

I f som ething happens e v e ry day, spelled as tw o words, it happens

on seven days each week. E v e ry d ay is an adverbial, rather than
an adjective.
Lucy and I ta lk on the telephone every day.

You can also say that som ething happens e v e ry d a y when you
m ean that it happens very often.
Then there occurred one o f those things th a t m ust happen every day
in the w orld o f b ig business.

except, except for, unless, besides

E xcept is norm ally follow ed by a noun group. You use excep t
w ith a statem ent to introduce the on ly things, people, or ideas
that your statem ent does not apply to. In the exam ple below, the
on ly thing that did not relax was the person's righ t hand.
A ll o f his body relaxed except his rig h t hand.

E xcep t can also be follow ed b y prepositional phrases and clauses

o f tim e, [dace, and m anner.
The hot weather had made tra vellin g im possible except in the cool
o f the m orning before the sun rose.
We led alm ost completely separate existences, except when we came
together to clim b.

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 except

You use ex cep t fo r in fron t o f a noun group when you are

m entioning som ething that prevents a statem ent from being
com pletely true.
The classrooms were silent, except f o r the busy scratching o f pens
on paper.
I had absolutely no frien d s except f o r Tom.

U nless is a conjunction and is follow ed by a clause. You use

u n less to introduce the circum stances in w hich som ething w ill
not take place o r is not true. In the first exam ple below , the
statem ent ‘there was som ething w rong w ith Louise’ , w ould not be
true i f the speaker had m ade a m istake. O therw ise it w ould be
true.
Unless I was mistaken, there was som ething w rong w ith Louise.
In the 1940s and 1950s, a woman was n ot properly dressed unless
she wore gloves.
You m ust n ot give com plim ents unless you mean them.

You use b esid es to introduce fu rth er things in addition to those

you are m entioning.
Soft fr u it w ill give you, besides a lo t o f pleasure, a source o f
vitamins.

H owever, i f you talk about ‘the on ly person besides m e’, or ‘the

only thing b esid es that’ , you are referrin g to the on ly other
person or thing in a particular situation or context.
He was now the only person besides Gertrude herself who regularly
talked to Guy.

excited, exciting
I f you are ex cited , you cannot relax, because you are looking
forw ard to som ething v e ry eagerly or because you are pleased
about som ething that has happened.
He was very excited and talked non-stop as we drove through the
lightening streets.
O f course I fe e l terrib ly honoured and excited by the way things
have turned out.
He had been too excited to e a t

I f som ething is e x c itin g , it interests you and m akes you feel fu ll

o f ideas and enthusiasm.
We m et people w ith interesting and excitin g stories to tell.
She had had a very excitin g career.

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excuse

excuse, forgive
I f you excu se someone or excu se th eir behaviour, you provide
reasons or a ju stification fo r what they have done in order to
make it seem less bad, especially when other people disapprove o f
it. E xcu se is a verb and is pronounced /ikskjurz/.
Can we excuse her by saying she was a victim o f events?
He wrote hum ble letters in which he tried to excuse his actions.

I f you fo r g iv e someone or fo r g iv e them fo r som ething that they

have done, you decide not to punish them and not to continue
feelin g angry or upset.
Though she had eventually agreed to fo rg iv e him , the damage had
been done.
D on’t do it. You’l l never fo rg iv e yourself.
I 'l l never fo rg iv e you f o r this - never.
D iaghilev asked me to change the ending. I refused, o f course, and
he never forga ve me.

Occasionally, in fa irly form al English, the m eaning o f the verb

excu se can overlap w ith the m eaning o f fo rg iv e .
I could never excuse him fo r being so rude.

When excu se is used w ith a sim ilar m eaning to fo r g iv e , it can

have tw o objects.
I excused h im m uch o f his prejudice because I liked him .

• E xcu se can also be used as a noun. A n excu se is a reason that

you g iv e in order to explain w h y som ething has been done, has
not been done, or w ill not be done. N ote that the noun is
pronounced /ikskjuis/.
T h a t’s a classic excuse f o r spending m ore than you earn.
I t m igh t be used as an excuse f o r evading o u r responsibilities.

exhausting, exhaustive
A n exh a u stin g experience o r a ctivity makes you very tired.
John and D ougal had had an exhausting day.
The argum ent is likely to prove lon g and exhausting.

A n ex h a u stive search or study o f som ething is thorough and

com plete.
These are fin d in gs we should not dismiss w ithout exhaustive
testing.
This lis t is by no means exhaustive.

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 exhausting

O th er w ord s
I f you are exh au sted, you are very tired indeed.
A t the end o f the day I fe lt exhausted.

expect, wait for, look forward to

When you ex p ect someone, you think that they are going to
arrive. When you ex p ect som ething, you think that it is going to
happen or arrive.
I had sent a postcard saying I was com ing so they were expecting
me.
We are expecting rain.
I ’ll pay fo r it as soon as the money I ’m expecting fro m Florence
arrives.

When you w a it fo r someone or som ething, you rem ain in the

same place or delay doing som ething u n til they a rrive or happen.
Whisky was served w hile we waited fo r Vorster.
We g ot o ff the plane and waited fo r o u r luggage.
They waited fo r orders to begin.

When you lo o k fo rw a rd to som ething that is going to happen or

that you are going to experience, you fe e l happy because you
think you w ill enjoy it.
I always looked forw a rd to Charlene M itch e ll’s visits.
1’U bet you’re looking forw a rd to that hot S icilia n sun.

experience, experiment
I f you ex p erien ce som ething, or i f you have an ex p erien ce,
som ething happens to you that has an effect on you.
...the very deep desperation that Jonathan must have been
experiencing.
I t was an experience each seemed to enjoy.
Their day o f tra in in g had been a most try in g experience fo r them.

An exp erim en t is a scien tific test that is done in order to

discover som ething or to prove that a theory is true. Scientists do
exp erim en ts, or, in m ore form al English, carry out exp erim en ts.
They also ex p erim en t w ith things.
He frequently visited other labs to see which new experim ents had
been done.

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experience

The firs t experim ent were carried ou t by D r Preston McLendon.

In his experiments high-altitude conditions were simulated.
He im proved the efficiency o f pumps, and experimented w ith
pow ering them by steam, water and gunpowder.

F
fairly, quite, rather
F a irly , q u ite, and ra th e r are a ll used to say to what extent
som ething is true. For exam ple, i f you want to say how b ig
som ething is, you can say that it is fa ir ly big, q u ite big, or
ra th e r big.

I f som ething is described as fa ir ly big, it is at least as b ig as you

would expect or need it to be, but not as b ig as other things lik e
it. N ote that when an adjective lik e ‘b ig’ comes before a noun, you
talk about ‘a fa ir ly b ig thing1.
There’s a lo a f o ffa irly fresh bread.
H er h a ir had been grow ing, but she had decided to keep it cu t fa irly
short.
I suppose we’d better get g o in g fa irly soon, hadn’t we?
We live in a fa irly ru ra l a rea

I f som ething is described as q u ite big, it is usually b igger than

som ething that is described as fa ir ly big, and b igger than most
other things lik e i t You can say that som ething is q u ite b ig when
you want to express surprise at how b ig it is. N ote that when an
adjective lik e ‘b ig’ comes before a noun, you usually talk about
‘q u ite a b ig thing’ but you can also say ‘a q u ite b ig thing’ .
I t was quite dark by now, and there was no moon.
The dog turned on her m ore than once and b it her quite severely. u
I t was quite a lon g clim b up the white, chalky road to the cemetery. I
She d id so in a qu ite detached way. J
I f som ething is described as ra th e r big. it is usually b igger than I
som ething that is described as q u ite big. I f you say som ething is i
ra th e r big, you are em phasizing how b ig it is, and you m ay even I
be suggesting that it is too big. N ote that when an ad jective lik e I
‘b ig’ comes before a noun, you can talk about eith er ‘a ra th e r b ig I
thing’ o r ‘ra th e r a b ig thing1. R a th er can also be follow ed by
words lik e ‘too’ o r ‘m ore’ and by com parative form s o f adjectives.

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 fairly

Its apparent sim plicity and re lia b ility are ra th er deceptive.

She g ot rather angry w ith me when I tried to intervene.
He p u t an arm ou t and his fa th e r ra th er shakily took it as they
began to walk.
They had a ra th er sad look.
I have had ra th er a sad life.
In the second year two ra th er m ore specialised subjects are chosen
fro m a tota l o f seven.

fantasy, imagination
A fa n ta sy is a story or situation that someone creates in th eir
m ind w hich is d ifferen t from what happens in norm al life and
which is usually pleasant or amusing.
Fantasies are quite usual in the norm al child.
Every act o f creation must be preceded by a fantasy.
She has her fantasy too, a hope that some day she w ill conceive a
ch ild to replace the one she gave away when she was sixteen.

Your im a g in a tio n is the pow er you r m ind has to think o f new

ideas and situations.
In his im agination he took h im self on a Journey through the
universe.
These plans reveal a com plete fa ilu re o f im agination.
You need a very good im agination to get to g rip s w ith these kinds o f
ideas.

farther, further
Both fa rth e r and fu rth e r are used as the com parative form o f
‘fa r’. F a rth e r and fu rth e r can be both adjectives and adverbs.

F a rth er and fu rth e r are both used to talk about distances and
time.
Birds were able to fin d fo o d by fly in g fa rth e r and fa rth er.
He must have fou n d a window open fu rth e r along the balcony.
The dom estication o f anim als stretches fa rth e r back in tim e than we
had previously imagined.

Only fu rth e r can be used to talk about the degree or extent o f

something. I f you have fu rth e r discussions, you have m ore
discussions. I f a situation is fu rth e r worsened, a bad situation
becomes worse.
It was agreed to ca ll a fu rth e r m eeting on the 10th.
The p rice o f energy has done fu rth e r damage.

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farther

The governm ent its e lf announced fu rth e r changes to the scheme.

The situation is likely to be fu rth e r worsened by the expected
population grow th.
...aspects o f advanced technology which com plicate the w orld yet
fu rth er.

Grammar
N ote that fu rth e r can also be a verb. I f you fu rth e r som ething,
you help it to progress, be successful, or be achieved.
...a p loy by M o rris to fu rth e r his career.

female, feminine
You use fe m a le to describe wom en and things associated w ith
women. You also use fe m a le to describe anim als belonging to the
sex that can g iv e b irth to babies or la y eggs, and things associated
w ith them.
...the best fem ale athletes.
...a very m uch sm aller p rop ortion o f the fem ale population.
...tw o horses, a wolf, three boars and three fem ale deer.

You can also use fe m a le as a noun, but on ly when referrin g to

anim als.
He came upon a fa m ily o f lions - a big male, a beautiful fem ale,
and two h a lf grow n cubs.

You use fe m in in e to describe qu alities and characteristics that

society has tradition ally associated w ith wom en rather than men.
Often fe m in in e has connotations o f gentleness and passiveness.
She seemed to have plenty o f fem inine charm.
...a good, calm , reasonable and deeply fem in in e woman.
Fem inine qualities are consistently invalidated, denigrated and
suppressed.
...displays o f every kind offem in in e luxury fro m novelty jew ellery to
evening dresses.
O ver the years, the ideals o f fem inine perfection change.

• Some languages d ivid e nouns and adjectives into tw o classes,

fem in in e and m asculine, or into three classes, fem in in e,
masculine, and neuter.

O th e r w o r d s
F em in ism is the b e lie f that wom en should have the same rights,
power, and opportunities that men have.
The firs t tw o-thirds o f the book is a discussion on fem inism .

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 female

A fe m in is t is a person w ho believes in and supports fem inism .

Claudia thought o f h erself as a fe m in is t

few, a few
I f you talk about fe w people or things, you mean not m any people
or things. O ften you are im plying that there are not as m any as
you would lik e or expect.
He looked a t na tu ra l phenomena in a way that few painters before
him had done.
There seemed to have been few places in B rita in th a t Sarah had not
visited.

You use a fe w to indicate that you are talkin g about a sm all

number o f people o r things. A fe w is often follow ed b y a
measurement o f tim e o r distance.
A few youths were standing around and talking.
I t would be interesting to ask her a few questions, w ouldn’t it?
When she returned to the phone a few m inutes later, she sounded
agitated.

• F ew and a fe w can also be used as pronouns.

Many are invited but few are chosen.
Each volunteer spent one n igh t a week in the cathedral. A few spent
two.
B ut now, at least, the d u ll days fo r a few o f us were over.

final, eventual, possible

You use fin a l to describe the last thing o r person in a series, o r to
describe som ething that happens at the end o f an event o r series
o f events.
The war in Europe was in its fin a l few hours.
I quoted his fin a l words o f the interview.
We had o u r last look a t A frica as we took o ff fo r London on the
fin a l stage o f ou r journey.

You use even tu a l to describe things that happen or are achieved

after a lot o f delays or com plications.
The company’s eventual collapse In 1971 in p a rt stemmed fro m these
events.
He welcomed the Governm ent’s eventual decision in February to
hold a rtferendum .
The eventual w inner was H enrietta M urdoch.

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 I
final

You use p o ssib le to describe things that m ight happen o r exist in

the future, o r people that m ight becom e som ething o r do
som ething. You cannot use ‘eventual’ in this way.
T h a t’s the tim e you especially need pla n n in g to m inim ise possible
errors o f judgem ent.
The possible danger lay in being seen in a hotel co rrid o r o r foyer.
You may have to draw you rself to you r boss's attention as a
possible candidate.

finally, eventually, possibly

When som ething happens a fter you have been w aitin g fo r it o r
expecting it fo r a lon g tim e, you can say that it fin a lly happens.
F in a lly I went to bed.
The heat o f the sun fin a lly becomes too much f o r me and I sh ift my
ch a ir in to the shade.
Davies was quiet f o r a lon g time. 'Y ea h ,'h e fin a lly said. ‘This is
bad.'

You can also use fin a lly to say that som ething happens last in a
series o f events.
The m ountains that ringed the horizon turned mauve, then purple,
and fin a lly black.

W hen som ething happens a fter a lo t o f delays o r com plications,

you can say that it e v e n tu a lly happens.
Eventually they g o t through to the hospital.
You are goin g to te ll us. N o t now perhaps. B u t eventually.
I fou n d V ictoria Avenue eventually.

You can also use e v e n tu a lly to talk about what happens at the
end o f a set o f events, often as a result o f them.
The entire program w ill eventually cost them fifty b illio n rubles.
Eventually, they were forced to retu rn to England.

You use p o ssib ly to talk about what m ight happen in the future.
I f you say som ething m ay p o s s ib ly happen, you m ean that
although it m ay happen, you are not sure that it w ill. When
p o ssib ly is used in this w ay it usually comes after the modals
‘could’, ‘m ay’, and ‘m ight’ . You cannot use ‘eventu ally’ in this
way.
I took very good care to keep clea r o f any situation in which l m ight
possibly meet him .

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 find
find, discover, find out
I f you fin d som eone o r som ething, you see w here they are o r
learn w here they are, especially when you have been lookin g fo r
them.
1 want you to fin d him fo r me and b rin g him back.
They fou n d the body in a dustbin.
When M rs O liver returned to the house, she fou n d M iss Livingstone
w aiting fo r her.
It took him ten m inutes to fin d the Encyclopaedia B ritannica.

D isco ver is som etim es used instead o f fin d . D isco ver is a rather
form al w ord. It is used especially in form al investigations and
scientific research. If, after a lo t o f research, you found a cure fo r
the common cold, you would say that you had d isco vered the
cure.
A great deal o f research is being ca rried ou t to discover the benefits
o f regu la r exercise.
The two men were discovered dead.

You can also use d is c o v e r when you find som ething by acciden t
It is am azing to think that this well-known flow er was discovered
as recently as 1903.
Just before the w ar two hoards o f treasure were discovered in
England.

I f you cannot see the thing you are lookin g for, you say that you
cannot fin d i t You do not use ‘discover’ in th is way.
I think I ’m lost - 1 can’t fin d the bridge.

I f you fin d, d isco ver, o r fin d ou t that som ething is the case, you
learn that it is the case.
The very young ch ild fin d s that noise expresses best o f a ll his power
over his environm ent.
He was surprised and alarm ed when he discovered the whole school
knew about his efforts.
Wefound out that she was wrong.

In clauses beginning w ith ‘when’, ‘before’, o r ‘as soon as’, you can
om it the object after fin d ou t. You cannot do this w ith ‘discover’
or ‘find’ .
When m other fin d s out, she’ll divorce you.
You want it to end before anyone fin d s o u t
As soon as I fou n d out, I jum ped in to the car.

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fin d

I f you succeed in obtaining some inform ation w hich is d ifficu lt to

obtain, you can say that you d is c o v e r o r fin d ou t what you want
to know.
He has some reason f o r cryin g even i f you cannot im mediately
discover what it is.
Have you fou n d ou t who k illed my husband?

You can also say that someone fin d s o u t facts that are easy to
obtain.
I fou n d ou t the tra in times.
I want to fin d ou t i f the authorization f o r my visa has come through
yet.

You do not say that you ‘discover’ facts that are easy to obtain.

find, found
I f you fin d som eone or som ething, you see w here th ey are o r
learn w here they are, especially when you h ave been lookin g fo r
them. F in d has an irregu lar past tense and past participle, fou n d.
The m ill w ill not be easy to fin d .
Somehow o r other, he reached the A lp s and fou n d a rem ote v illa g e
You m ight never have fou n d me again.

There is also a verb fou n d , w hich has a regu lar past tense and
past participle, fou n ded. I f som eone fou n ds an organization, o r
an institution such as a school, they start it, often by paying fo r
it.
The BBC was its e lf founded by men o f vision and high-m inded
prin ciple.
Only eight university institutions had been founded in the region.
There was ta lk about fou n d in g a professorship f o r p o litica l
economy a t Oxford.

floor, ground, grounds

Th e fla t surface that you w alk on in a b u ildin g is called the flo o r.
The to ile t was leaking and w ater was ru n n in g a ll over the flo o r.
The kitchen was low and cool; w hite walls, p in k brick flo o r.

Th e surface that you w alk on when you are outside is called the
grou n d.
The m ist risin g fro m the wet ground was gettin g heavier.
Th e cabin h ad bu rn ed to the ground .

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 flo o r

The grou n d s o f a bu ildin g such as a school o r a large house are

the gardens o r land that surround it.
These are p riva te grounds and you are a ll trespassing.
Could P a u l and A rn old have m et in the hospital grounds in M arch?
O ur bus carried us across the grounds o f the Havana University.

• In B ritish English, the grou n d flo o r o f a buildin g is the flo o r

that is le v e l o r alm ost le v e l w ith the ground outside. Th e flo o r
above the grou n d flo o r is called the 'firs t floor*.
T h eir fla t was on the ground flo o r a t the back.
...on the firs t flo o r o f the Museum.

In Am erican English, the flo o r w hich is le v e l w ith the ground

outside is called the 'firs t flo o r’ and the flo o r above it is the
‘second flo o r’ .

food, meal, dish

Food is what people and anim als eat to keep them a live and to
allow them to rem ain healthy. You can refer to a particu lar type
o f fo o d as ‘a food'.
B rin g enough food and water fo r the trip .
Babies are meant to spend th eir firs t year gettin g hungry,
demanding food, enjoying it.
Salmon was once a commonplace food in Scotland.

A dish is food specially prepared in a particular way. It m ay

involve just one type o f food, fo r exam ple scram bled eggs, o r it
may in volve several com bined together, as in a stew, and it m ay
be cooked or not cooked.
She could make a new dish w ithout referrin g to any cookery book.
The vegetables are served as an accompaniment, not very often as a
dish on th eir own.

A m eal is an occasion when food is eaten, such as breakfast,

lunch, or dinner. Several dishes m ay be served during a m eal.
I t ’s sensible to avoid sweets between meals.
On top o f the norm al work, you had to wash up a fter every m eal o f
the day.

A m eal is also the food that is eaten on one o f these occasions.

...a sim ple m eal o f bread and cheese.
M ost restaurants now include the tip in the price o f the meal.

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foot

foot, feet
A fo o t is a unit fo r m easuring length used in B ritain and
Am erica. It is equal to 12 inches o r 30.48 centim etres. W hen fo o t
has th is m eaning, its usual plural is fe e t.
The pole is two o r three feet away fro m the garage.
C lim bin g solo, he g o t to about twenty feet above the ground.

H ow ever, you can use fe e t o r fo o t as the plu ral in fron t o f words

lik e 'h igh ', ‘ta li', and ‘long*.
The m ain dome was only twenty feet across.
...a grea t rough slab 20feet h igh and 50 long.
A s she was leaving, they asked her how ta ll she was. So I said,
‘F iv e fo o t tw o.’

N ote that you alw ays use fo o t as the plu ral in fron t o f another
noun. F or exam ple, i f a w all is six feet high, you refer to it as a
six fo o t w all.
...a 5,000fo o t lim estone w all in the Dolom ites.
...a 300fo o t rope.

footpath, path, lane

A fo o tp a th or a p ath is a narrow strip o f ground that people w alk
on to go from one place to another.
Then he left the churchyard and walked by a footpa th that led out
on to the cliff.
'T u rn in here,’ Lofquist said, p oin tin g tow ard a footpath into the
woods at th eir righ t.
From the h arbour a narrow path runs around the fo o t o f the cliffs.
On the side o f the m ain road a narrow path zigzags up into the
central hills.

A p ath is also a short strip o f ground used by people to cross

places lik e parks and gardens.
The track led to a fa rm . A fte r that a path frin g ed w ith fen n el and
w ild lavender led to some beehives.
A path strewn w ith tiny white stones led up to the firs t house.

A ‘public fo o tp a th ' is a path across private land w hich can be

used by anyone, not just the landowner.
...the battle o f Lord Rotherw ick to win m ore than 1.5 m illio n pounds
as compensation fo r a new p u b lic footpa th through the secluded
woods o f his estate.

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 footpath

A la n e is a sm all road, especially in the country.

He trotted back along the lane ad m irin g the autum n crocuses.
Boyd S tuart parked his ca r on a gra vel patch ju s t o ff the lane.

L an e is also som etim es used in the names o f roads.

Back in Cannon Street, the next tu rn in g to the rig h t is St. S w ithin’s
Lane.

forbid, prevent
I f you fo rb id someone to do som ething, or i f you fo rb id an
activity, you order that it must not be done. Someone m ay in fact
do it despite what you say.
I fo rb id you to te ll her.
Christopher was forbidden to see her.
I believe that parents should fla tly fo rb id program m es that g o in
fo r violence.

If you p reven t som ething, o r i f you p re v e n t som eone from doing

something, you make it im possible fo r that thing to happen o r to
be done.
Measles can be prevented by im m unization a t 1 year o f age.
She closed her eyes to prevent him looking into them.
M y only idea was to prevent him fro m speaking.

forever, for ever

You use fo r e v e r in fron t o f the continuous form o f a verb to mean
‘very often’ .
...the doctor who is forever w inding up his watch.
Babbage was forever spotting triv ia l errors in th eir calculations.

You use fo r e v e r in fron t o f an adjective to talk about a qu ality or

attitude someone or som ething alw ays has.
The President rem ained forever grateful.

You use fo r e v e r or fo r e v e r to say that som ething is or alw ays

w ill be the case.
I 'l l never leave you, I 'l l love you forever.
When the game is goin g w ell you fe e l you can go on playing forever.
I was quite certain she had left me fo r ever.
I ju s t want to hide m yself here fo r ever, and be safe and happy.

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forever

Children som etim es use fo r e v e r in the phrase ‘fo r ever and e v e r’

to em phasize that som ething n ever stops.
‘D a d d y,'Libby said, ‘does o u r blood keep go in g round inside fo r
ever and ever?’

forget, leave behind

I f you fo r g e t som ething such as you r keys, you do not rem em ber
to take them w ith you when you go som ewhere. I f you fo rg e t to
do som ething such as buy some m ilk, you do not rem em ber to do
it.
Take you r raincoat. You fo rg o t it before.
She had fe lt sick that m orning in the villa ge and had forgotten the
bread and butter.

I f you le a v e som ething b eh in d , you do not b rin g it w ith you. You

leave it w here it is eith er because you decide not to take it or
because you do not rem em ber to take it.
We were w orried when we fou n d a ll th a t gear you left behind in the
helicopter.
We cross the creek using a rope, which we leave behind.
Feeling in his pockets he fou n d his w allet wasn’t there; he must
have left it behind a t the inn.

former, late, deceased

You use fo r m »* to describe someone who used to have a
particu lar job o r position, but who no lon ger has i t F or exam ple,
the fo rm e r president is som eone who used to be the president,
but is not any m ore. F o rm e r does not indicate w hether the
person is a liv e o r dead now.
..fo rm e r President G erald Ford.
...S ir R alph Vemey, fo rm e r chairm an o f the N ature Conservancy
Council.

You use la te when you are talking about someone who is dead.
F or exam ple, the la te president is someone who used to be
president, but who is now dead. Th ey need not have been
president when th ey died.
M y m other, although only a p o o r relation, nevertheless was related
to the late S ir Perceval Large.
...H arold Ross, the late ed itor o f The New Yorker.
A deceased person is one who has recently died. F or exam ple,

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the deceased president is someone who was president until they

died a short tim e ago. D eceased is a rather form al word.
...Duke Amadeus IX . the sixteen-year-old son o f the now deceased
Duke Louis.
I fe lt gra tefu l to the deceased Uncle James.

Grammar
D eceased is most com m only used as a noun. The deceased is a
dead person, especially som eone who has died very recently. It is
a form al w ord, com m only used in legal contexts.
D id you know the deceased?

fragile, frail
D elicate things that are easily broken o r damaged can be
described as fr a g ile .
She poured tea in to cups as th in and fra g ile as m agnolia petals.
...constructions b u ilt o f fra g ile m aterials that sim ply fa ll a p a rt after
a short period o f time.

F ra g ile is som etim es used to describe people. I f som eone feels

fra g ile , they feel weak, fo r exam ple because they are ill or
because they have drunk too much alcohol.
He said that she had died o f a broken heart. A lonely, incapable,
fra g ile woman.
B u rr looks pale and fra g ile today.

A fr a il person is weak and in poor health.

He saw that it was an old lady; she appeared sm all, demure, and
fra il.
Her head trem bled on her fr a il neck.
He was the only person who had really noticed how little she ate,
how thin and fr a il she was.

frightened, frightening
I f you are frig h ten ed , you feel afraid or nervous.
I think he was tru ly frigh ten ed o f me at times.
I was more frigh ten ed than I had ever been in my life because I
knew that human lives were at stake.
Som ething that is frig h te n in g makes you feel frightened.
D o you ever have frig h te n in g dreams?
I t was a strange, ra th er frig h ten in g place.

Ill
G
game, match
In some sports lik e football, rugby, or badminton, a com petition
between tw o teams or players can be called eith er a m atch or a
gam e, but m atch is preferred as an o fficia l term .
...the gam e against N otts County.
...the atmosphere in the city on the day o f a b ig match.

I f you m ention the name o f the sport, it comes before the w ord
m atch.
...a cricket match.
...a fo o tb a ll match.

When you talk about a gam e o f som ething, it does not usually
in volve professional players.
D on often came fo r a gam e o f snooker.
He played in a gam e o f cricket against a team fro m St M ary's.

In Am erican football and baseball, a com petition can on ly be

called a gam e, not a m atch . I f you m ention the nam e o f the sport,
it comes before the w ord gam e.
You go to the baseball gam e fo r me and te ll me who won.

• A gam e is also a part o f a match in sports such as tennis and

squash.
Becker leads by fo u r games to one.

game, sport
A ctivities such as football, hockey, or athletics are called sp orts.
M y fa vou rite sport is footb a ll.

A sp o rt such as football, rugby, or badm inton, w hich in volves

tw o teams o r players com peting against each other, can also be
called a gam e.
In a gam e like tennis, the score is kept by the um pire.

A ctivities such as athletics, skiing, and row in g are only referred

to as sports. You do not called them ‘gam es’.
In sports, he preferred fen cin g and row ing to tra d ition a l team
games.

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 game

S p ort, and not ‘gam e’ , is used in form al situations, fo r exam ple

when referrin g to organizations w hich con trol sports.
...governing bodies o f various sports should unite.
...the Sports C ou n cil

G am es is used in the names o f some organized events in w hich

com petitions in several sports take place.
...the O lym pic Games.

G am es is also organized sports in schools.

/ was hopeless a t games a t sch ool

gas, petrol
G as is the name given to a ll air-lik e substances such as oxygen
and hydrogen. G as is m ost often used to refer to the substance
that is burned in people’s homes fo r heating and cooking.
The p ropella n t gas in an aerosol does n ot sim ply disappear when
you press the button.
She turned on the gas in the oven.

In Am erican English, the liq u id obtained from petroleum and

used to pow er cars and other m otor veh icles is called gas, or
sometimes ga solin e.
I ’m sorry I ’m late. I had to stop f o r gas, and the station was
jammed.
Sometimes I p u ll in fo r gas when the tank is three-quarters fu ll.

In B ritish English, this liqu id is called p e tro l.

The use o f leaded p e tro l has resulted in gross contam ination o f the
environment.
He pulled in a t K eelefb r petrol.

gentle, polite
Someone who is g e n tle speaks or acts in a kind w ay w ithout
hurting people o r dam aging anything. For exam ple, a good nurse
is g en tle w ith a patient.
...a gentle, sweet man.
... a boy w ith a gentle, sensitive nature.
You do not use g e n tle to talk about how w ell someone behaves:
someone w ith good manners is p o lite .
I was very p olite and called him ’S ir’.
One could always rely on him to be p o lite and do the rig h t thing.

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g e n t le

O th er w ord s
I f someone is g e n tle , you can say that they behave g e n tly . I f
someone is p o lite , you can say that they behave p o lite ly .
D r Alexander asked gently, ‘W hat hurts, P a u l?’
‘S it down, please, ’ Claude said politely.

girl, daughter
A g ir l is a fem ale child.
The little g ir l was w earing a white fr illy dress.
...a g ir l o f eleven.

W om en up to the age o f about th irty can also be referred to as

g ir ls . H ow ever, m any wom en object to th is and p refer to be
referred to as ‘women*.
A t 17 he fe ll deeply in love w ith a g ir l o f 24 and she w ith him .
We’d been invited to the wedding o f a g ir l we knew.

You do not norm ally ca ll someone’s fem ale ch ild th eir ‘g irl’ . You
say that she is th eir d au gh ter.
He looked up fro m the m agazine and began th in k in g about his
daughter.
Why do we go into such a rage when ou r daughter doesn’t clean up
her room ?

gold, golden
G o ld is a valuable yellow -coloured m etal that is most com m only
used to make jew ellery.
A large gold ea r-rin g pierced his rig h t ear.
D on ’t w rite hard because this pen has g ot a gold nib.

G o ld can also be used as an adjective to describe som ething

w hich is gold-coloured.
...a cap w ith gold braid a ll over it.
The islanders could see the sun g lin tin g on the gold buttons o f the
officers’ tunics.
G old en is also used to describe som ething w hich is gold-coloured.
The grea t banks o f golden flow ers sm ell o f rip e peaches.
A soft wind blew through K itty ’s golden hair.
G old en is also som etim es used to refer to som ething that is made
o f gold or covered w ith gold.
...loca l d ignitaries in golden chains o f office.

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 greatly

greatly, largely
You use g re a tly to em phasize the degree o r extent o f som ething.
If you егцоу som ething g re a tly , you en joy it v e ry much; i f you
are g re a tly pleased, you are v e ry pleased.
Most p ilots said they greatly enjoyed fly in g .
The new policies could greatly help to develop In d ia ’s a g ricu ltu ra l
p oten tia l
The one th in g as bad as a w rong decision is a decision th a t is
greatly delayed.
I fe lt greatly honoured when I was asked to be godm other.

You use la r g e ly to em phasize that a statem ent is m ostly but not

com pletely true.
New England’s economy is s till largely based on m anufacturing,
fa rm in g and tourism .
A t the moment he is largely unknown.

L a rg e ly is also used to introduce the m ain reason fo r som ething.

The tow er’s h illto p position must have been chosen largely fo r the
pleasure o f the view.
The B ritish d id not entirely believe what they were being told,
largely because they did not want to.

grocer, greengrocer
A g ro c e r sells food lik e flou r, sugar, and tinned goods. A grocer’s
shop is called a g ro c e r’s.
I reached in to my pocket and gave the nickel to the grocer.
I went over the cobbled road to the g ro ce r’s.

A g re e n g ro c e r sells vegetables and fru it. A g re e n g ro c e r’ s shop

is called a g re e n g ro c e r’ s.
M ost greengrocers now sell green and red peppers, aubergines and
artichokes.
On her way home she called a t the greengrocer’s, a t the libra ry, and
at the chem ist’s.

grow, grow up
When children g ro w , they gradually becom e ta ller and stronger.
There’s nothing in the w orld m ore fa scin a tin g than w atching a
child grow and develop.
They seem to think that the quicker the baby grow s the healthier he
is.

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grow

A s children g ro w up, they gradually develop into adults.

Perhaps when he grew up he would be allow ed to do as he pleased.
The baby who doesn’t get any love w ill grow up cold and
unresponsive.

H
hair, hairs
The mass o f thin strands that grow on a person’s head is called
h a ir. H a ir also grows on other parts o f the body. N ote that h a ir
is an uncount noun when used w ith this m eaning.
He asked me why I had dyed my hair.
He had finished com bing his h a ir and was now inspecting the
result.
In most societies the fa c t that ad ult fem ales have h a ir on th eir
bodies is taken fo r granted and even appreciated.

Individu al strands o f h a ir are called h a irs.

...the sp rin k lin g o f grey hairs that had grow n m ore noticeable with
each year.
She left tra ils o f long grey hairs as she paced the house.

handbag, purse
A h andbag is a sm all bag that wom en and some men carry and
use fo r holding things lik e keys, m oney, and sm all personal items.
H er aeroplane ticket to Chicago, dated tom orrow , was in her
handbag.
Slow ly she reached into her handbag and took out her spectacles
and p u t them on.

In Am erican English, a h andbag is called a pu rse.

Kay took the letter out o f her purse.
She took her large glossy black purse fro m the knob o f the door.

In B ritish English, a p u rse is a v e ry sm all bag used m ainly by

women fo r holding m oney, and is usually kept in a handbag.
She began hunting in her purse fo r some coins.
M rs Hochstadt took C larissa’s purse away fro m her and counted
ou t the money f o r C larissa’s oranges.

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 handbag

In Am erican English, this is called a ch an ge p u rse or a m on ey

purse.
...a pan o f m uffins on the kitchen table, next to it a change purse
partly open, and a p a ir o f steel rim m ed glasses.
She showed me the empty inside o f her money purse.

happy, happily, lucky, luckily

If you are h appy you feel pleasure, often because som ething nice
has happened.
I was happy to hear that you passed you r exam.
I w ill make you happy, happier than you ever dreamed.

I f you do som ething h a p p ily, you do it w illin g ly and w ith feelings

o f pleasure.
A fter lunch, F lick and Angela went happily o ff w ith K a rin to do
some shopping.
We laughed and chatted happily together.

If you talk about someone’s good fortune, you say that they are
lu ck y, or that som ething lu c k y happens to them. You do not use
‘happy’ in this w ay.
There are some lucky children who ra rely catch cold.
It was very lucky. The boy m igh t have died.
Then, by a lucky coincidence, we had a visit fro m a frien d .

You can add lu c k ily to a statem ent to say that it is v e ry fortunate

that som ething happened, because otherw ise som ething else
m ight have happened w hich w ould have been unpleasant
Luckily, in a day o r two, I fe lt perfectly f i t again.
Luckily f o r me and them, love d id eventually grow and flou rish .

hat, cap
You w ear a h a t on you r head to protect it from the sun o r the
cold when you are outside. M ost h a ts h ave a brim , a part that
surrounds the bottom part and sticks out &om it. H ow ever, some
hats, fo r exam ple some fashion h ats fo r wom en, have no brim .
I hadn’t brought a hat and sweat was soon trick lin g down fro m my
head.
They bought the hat, a trilb y , and then had coffee a t the Mombasa
Coffee House.
G iancarlo is adjusting a m odel’s quilted satin hat.

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hat

A cap is a type o f hat made o f soft fabric that fits closely over
your head. Caps do not have a brim , but they often have a peak, a
s tiff part that sticks out over your forehead. Caps are usually
w orn by men and boys. They are often w orn as part o f a uniform ,
fo r exam ple by some B ritish schoolboys.
A massive p olice captain, g o ld b ra id on his cap. came up the steps. I
He lim ped o ff down the shabby street, his d oth cap squarely on top j
o f his head. ,
...cotton baseball caps ( some w ith g re a t cellu loid visors) f o r g la rin g •
sun.

hear, listen to
When you h ea r sounds, your ears sense them and your brain
reacts to them. You m ight pay attention to them or you m ight
ignore them. You cannot stop you rself h ea rin g som ething.
She could hear the birds, bursting w ith song, and see buds on the
trees.
When I woke in the night, I could hear the cars and trucks s till
beating th eir way down the road.
Behind him , he heard the door to the room close softly.

When you lis te n to sounds o r when you lis te n to someone, you

pay attention to the sound o r to what the person is saying. You
can decide i f you want to lis te n to som ething o r n o t
He told her about the play. She listened in silence.
She listened to the whole story o f my visit to B righ ton w ith her head
bowed.
I was d riv in g across Texas listening to a loca l rad io station.

• I f you have been to a m usical perform ance, you do not usually

say that you ‘listened to’ the m usic or ‘listened to’ the perform er.
You say that you h ea rd them.
That was the fir s t tim e I ever heard J im i Hendrix.

height, depth
The h eig h t o f a person or thing is th eir measurem ent from the
bottom to the top. You measure the h eig h t o f things that are
above the ground or a particular surface, fo r exam ple m ountains
or trees.
The man was o f approxim ately the same height and b u ild as
himself.

118
J
 height

... the height above sea level a t which the measurement is taken.
Assistants had to bu ild a p la tform to raise the cam era to the
necessary height.
I had clim bed to a height o f 25,850fe e t unaided by oxygen.

The d ep th o f a th in g is its m easurem ent from the top to the

bottom. You m easure the d ep th o f things that are below the
ground o r a particu lar surface, fo r exam ple lakes o r w ells, o r o f
things that are hollow .
H ot w ater was successfully recovered fro m a depth o f only 1600m.
The island is covered w ith a netw ork o f shallow lakes, none m ore
than a few yards in depth.
Place the terrine in a la rg er roasting tin w ith cold w ater to a depth
o f l inch.

hire, rent, let

In B ritish English, i f you pay a stun o f m oney in order to use
som ething fo r a short period o f tim e, you can say that you h ir e it.
In Am erican English, it is m ore common to say that you re n t it.
He had been unable to h ire another ca r because o f the holiday
season.
He rented a ca r fo r the weekend.

I f you make a series o f paym ents in order to use som ething fo r a

long period, you say that you re n t i t
The apartm ent he had rented was on the th ird flo o r.
He rented a colou r T V soon a fter m oving in to his apartm ent in
Rummidge.

I f you re n t a house o r room to someone, they pay you m oney to

be allow ed to liv e in i t
N orm ally we live in Falm inster but had rented o u r house there to a
visitin g Am erican professor and his fa m ily .
They had tried to make aid s meet by ren tin g the basement room to
a fa m ily o f Ita lia n refugees.

I f you le t a house or room to someone, they pay you m oney to be

allow ed to liv e in i t
The people who have la rge houses w ould never dream o f lettin g a
room to a school teacher.
The notice said: 'Room in priva te fla t to let u n til end O ctober.’

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historic

historic, historical
You use h is to ric to say that som ething was im portant in h istory,
o r that it w ill be regarded as im portant in the future. For
exam ple, a h is to ric building is a very old one w here interesting
things have happened.
...th eir h istoric struggle Jar em ancipation.
We are seeing the b irth pang o f in d u stria l democracy: this is an
h istoric moment.
...a broad tree-lined, red-surfaced avenue bordered by St. James's
P a rk and h istoric royal houses.

A h is to ric a l event is a rea l event in the past w hich is part o f

history. You also use h is to ric a l to describe things to do w ith
history.
...actual h istorica l events.
...autographs and m anuscripts o f h istorica l interest

H is to ric a l evidence is p roof o f things that actually happened in

the past.
H istorica l evidence seems to support this conclusion.

H is to ric a l novels, plays, and film s deal w ith real and im aginary
events in the past.
I t is as good a racy, rom antic h istorica l novel as one could hope to
fin d .

Grammar
In form al English, the indefinite article ‘an’ is som etim es used
before h is to ric and h is to ric a l, rather than ‘a’.

history, story
H is to ry is the events o f the past, eith er in the w orld as a w hole or
in particular countries, especially when they are seen as a process
which leads up to the present.
In the whole o f history, there had never been a situation quite like
this.
Poverty, hunger, plagues, disease: they were the background o f
history rig h t up to the end o f the nineteenth century.

H is to ry is also the study o f history.

Between Ю and 20 p er cent thought history, a rt and handicraft and
cu rren t affairs useless and boring.

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 history

I f you w rite a h is to ry o f a country o r a subject, you w rite a book

about what happened in that country o r subject in the past.
She published a history o f the Women’s Institute movement o f
England and Wales.

A s to ry is a description o f a series o f events that happened to a

person o r group o f people. These events m ay rea lly have
happened, or they m ay be the product o f someone’s im agination.
I t ’s a very lon g story about the m ule I rode fro m West P o in t to
Newburgh.
We had succeeded in sellin g the story o f the expedition to the D aily
Express.
She never read stories to me a t n ig h t before I went to bed.

holiday, holidays
I f you describe a single day as a h o lid a y , it is a day on w hich
nobody in a particu lar country is requ ired to w ork, often because
that day is a religiou s festival. In B ritain these holidays are called
‘bank holidays’.
This occurred a t any time, and invariably before m a jor p u b lic
holidays.
It is always open 12 a.m. to 2 p.m ., except B atik Holidays.

In B ritish English, a h o lid a y is also a period o f tim e lastin g m ore

than tw o or three days that you spend aw ay from hom e fo r
pleasure. When you go aw ay from hom e in this w ay, you say that
you ‘go on h oliday*.
The rem ainder o f that holiday passed w ithout in cid en t
It was the warmest day o f the holiday.
Remember to tu rn o ff the gas when you go on holiday.

When you spend a lon g period o f tim e lik e this each year, you can
also refer to it as you r h olid a ys.
Where are you g o in g f o r y ou r holidays?

The h o lid a ys are also the period o f tim e when schools and
colleges are closed.
I was staying w ith a school frie n d d u rin g the school holidays.
My m other took me and my two sisters f o r o u r sum m er holidays to
AU-Aussee, a villa ge n ot f a r fro m Salzburg.

You can refer to a period o f tim e aw ay from w ork as h o lid a y .

You usually arrange w ith you r em ployer when you can have

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holiday

this tim e. H o lid a y can be spent eith er at hom e o r aw ay from

home.
The company offers a pension scheme and three weeks’ p a id holiday.

Other words
The usual Am erican w ord fo r a lon ger period o f tim e spent aw ay
from w ork or school, or fo r a period o f tim e spent aw ay from
home enjoying yourself, is ‘vacation’ .
H arold used to take a vacation a t that time.

A t a B ritish university, the ‘vacation’ is one o f the periods o f

several weeks when the u n iversity is o fficia lly closed fo r teaching.
I'v e a lo t o f reading to do over the vacation.

homework, housework
Children at school do h om ew ork after th eir classes, usually at
home in the evening. For exam ple, h om ew ork m ay in volve doing
maths problem s or w ritin g essays.
W hat do you do i f children ask fo r help w ith th eir homework?
He w ouldn't do his chem istry homework.

H ou sew ork is the w ork that you do to keep you r hom e clean and
to look after the people liv in g in it. It in volves jobs lik e
washing-up and cooking.
Boys can do as much bed-making, housework, and washing-up as
th eir sisters.
She relied on him to do m ost o f the housework.

Other words
T rad ition ally, h ou sew ork was done by a ‘housew ife’ who stayed
at hom e to look after the house w h ile h er husband w ent out to
w ork.
/ was a housewife and m other q f tw o sm all children.

house, home
A house is a building in w hich people liv e , usually the m embers
o f one fam ily. H ouses are separate from other buildings, o r joined
on one o r both sides to other houses. W hen you refer to someone’s
house, you are not em phasizing any em otional attachm ent to it
by the people who liv e in it; you are sim ply referrin g to the
building.
I was fu rio u s and told him to g et ou t o f my house.

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 house

Helen invented a flim sy excuse to take her ou t o f the house.

On Sunday m orning W addell came to D ick ’s house.

You r hom e is the place w here you o r you r fa m ily liv e

perm anently. Y ou r h om e m ay be a fla t o r apartm ent or a house.
It m ay even be a tent o r caravan. You are usually v e ry fond o f
your h om e and have warm feelin gs about i t
The Benns’ home stood in a row o f V ictorian town houses.
Pensioners should be able to liv e an independent life in th eir own
homes.
Some couples, soon to m arry, required new homes.
When my husband came home a t fiv e I stopped w orking.

A djectives are often used before hom e to describe the w ay o f life

o f the people there o r to talk about a particular kind o f home.
M ost children fe a r ghosts, especially children fro m religiou s homes.
The others were a ll brought up in w orking<lass homes.
...a happy home.

• A hom e is also an institu tion w here people w ith particular

needs are cared for.
...a child ren ’s home.
...an old people’s home.
...a home fo r the m entally handicapped.

human, inhuman, humane, inhumane

You use human to describe anything to do w ith people. H um an
is pronounced /hjuimon/.
There are hundreds o f thousands o f things that can go w rong w ith
the human body.
...human relationships.

I f you describe a particular person or th eir behaviour as hum an,

you mean that they show certain qu alities that are considered
typical o f m ost people. These qu alities include kindness and a
tendency to make mistakes.
F o r the firs t and only tim e in ou r dealings w ith one another he was
alm ost human.
I f I have given offence, remember that my fa ilu re was simply
human and not fo r want o f the s p irit to do good.
I f you describe a person or th eir behaviour as in hu m an, you
mean that they do not have or respect decent human qualities,
and usually that they are very cruel.

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human

How inhum an, I wonder, can the w orld become?

The violence o f the gunmen, he thinks, is inhum an, barbaric,
sim ply im possible to justify.

You can also describe som ething as inhum an when you mean
that it is not human, or does not seem human, and is therefore
strange or frightening.
T h eir faces looked inhum an, covered w ith scarlet and black paint.

I f you describe a particular person or th eir behaviour as

hum ane, you mean that they behave in a kind and thoughtful
w ay and avoid m aking people or anim als suffer. H um ane is
pronounced /hjuunein/.
They succeeded in tu rn in g humane, cultured upper<lass liberals
into bom b-throw ing terrorists.
...the humane treatm ent o f psychiatric patients.

Som ething that is in h u m an e is cruel and causes unnecessary

suffering.
P rison conditions are, quite sim ply, uncivilized and inhumane.
They w ill be killed by trapping o r poisoning, both o f which are
extremely inhumane.

I
illegal, unlawful, illegitimate, illicit
Som ething that is ille g a l is against the law o f a country and you
can be punished fo r i t
The Governm ent aim ed to elim inate u n officia l strikes by m aking
than illega l.

Som ething that is u n la w fu l is ille g a l. U n la w fu l is a form al

w ord. U n la w fu l is som etim es used to indicate that in differen t
circum stances an act m ay be law ful. F or exam ple, in B ritain a
person m ay have a gun i f they h ave a licence. I f they do not have
a licence, you can say that they are in u n la w fu l possession o f a
gun.
I t is d ifficu lt to th in k o f a m ore blatant exam ple o f unlaw ful sex
discrim ination.
They were charged w ith unlaw ful possession o f explosive substances.
...a verdict o f unlaw ful k illin g .

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 illegal

U n la w fu l is also used when considering religiou s law s w hich are

not necessarily the same as the law s o f a country. F or exam ple, a
divorced person cannot m arry again in the Roman C atholic
church. Such a m arriage could be called u n la w fu l b y the church,
but it would not be considered ille g a l b y the state.

If someone is ille g itim a te , th eir parents w ere not m arried at the

tim e that they w ere bom .
E llen had three m arriages, several love affairs and tw o illegitim a te
children.

Som ething that is ille g itim a te is not approved o f by the law o r by

social customs, but it is not actu ally breaking any laws.
A ll parties regarded the treaty as illegitim ate.
...the illegitim a te gain q f a considerable em pire

An illic it a ctivity is not allow ed by the law , o r not allow ed o r

approved o f by the social customs o f a country.
They were a ll prosecuted fo r illic it liq u o r selling.
They view pregnancy as a punishm ent fo r illic it sex.

Other words
Law less is used to describe places, people, and actions that are
violen t and take no notice o f the law . L a w less is a form al w ord.
...to provoke them into fu rth e r lawless violence.
...the lawless days o f the West.

imaginary, imaginative
Something that is im a g in a ry is not rea l and on ly exists o r
happens in someone’s im agination.
Many children develop fea rs o f im aginary dangers.
She remembered how f o r years she had held im aginary
conversations w ith the empty bed which had been A la n ’s.
...pictures o f com pletely im aginary plants.

People who are im a g in a tiv e are good at form in g ideas o f new and
exciting things. T h e ideas them selves, o r the things they produce
w ith th eir im agination, can also be described as Im a g in a tive.
H er name as an excellent and im aginative dressmaker was gettin g
widely known.
They were both unusually loving, ca rin g as w ell as sensitive and
im aginative people.
...an im aginative scheme.

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immoral

immoral, amoral
I f you describe someone or th eir actions as im m o ra l, you believe
that what they do is m orally wrong.
They believe that it is im m oral fo r B rita in to rely fo r its defence on
nuclear weapons.
...the e v il ideas which lead him to k ill, com m it adultery, and do
other im m ora l things.

I f someone is a m ora l, they do not care w hether what they do is

m orally righ t or wrong, or they do not understand what is
m orally righ t and wrong.
The huge g lob a l conglom erates are a m oral beings. T h eir ethics are
the m inim um required fo r p o litica l survival.
...one o f those am oral im m ature photojoum alists who hop fro m
trouble spot to trouble spot.

imply, infer
I f you im p ly that som ething is the case, you suggest that it is the
case w ithout actually saying so.
Was it true, as Rose’s b a rrister had im plied, th a t he had m arried
her sim ply fa r the money?
My fa th e r’s employer im plied that he would take me on.

I f you in fe r that som ething is the case, you decide that it must be
the case on the basis o f w hat you know already, but w ithout
actually being told.
B u t after a ll, he was m arried, and, I had inferred, to a ra th er
d ifficu lt sort o f woman.
A s a result o f this sim ple statement, I could in fer a lo t about his
fo rm e r wives.
• Some English speakers use 'in fe r1w ith the same m eaning as
im p ly , but this is considered incorrect b y carefu l speakers.

impractical, impracticable
A n idea o r a m ethod that is im p ra c tic a l is n ot sensible or
realistic and w ill not produce good results.
T o expect autom atic protection fro m the p olice is im practical.
I t would be im practical to try ou t every single new idea.
Som ething that is im p ra ctica b le is im possible to do. For
exam ple, an Im p ra ctica b le plan cannot be carried out.

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 impractical

It is increasingly im practicable to deal w ith a ll you r money needs

in cash.
The enforcement o f the rules had proved im practicable.

include, consist of, comprise

I f one th in g in clu d es another, it has that thing as one o f its parts.
The course includes a substantial program m e o f laboratory work.
The fis h has a m ixed diet which includes fly larvae, freshw ater
shrimps, snails and vegetable m atter.

You say that som ething con sists o f a num ber o f things when you
are m entioning a ll o f its parts.
The b u ild in g consists o f two room s divided by a p a rtitio n o f glass
and wood.
Her demands were few - her diet consisted o f bread and a hancfful
o f lentils.
You can also say that som ething com p rises a num ber o f things or
people when you are m entioning a ll o f its parts.
The com m ittee com prised 14 M P s drawn fro m a ll parties.
The sm all convoy com prised a p olice squad ca r and two closed vans.

Some people say that som ething ‘ is com prised o f’ particu lar
things, but this is generally thought to be incorrect.

indoors, indoor
In doors is an adverb. I f you go in d o o rs, you go into a building. I f
something happens in d o o rs, it happens inside a building.
Alexandra ran indoors and up the stairs to pack her bag.
She hated being indoors and dragged us fro m pa rk to park.
Indoors, o u r m other was cooking pancakes.

In d o o r is an adjective used in fron t o f a noun. You use it to

describe objects or a ctivities that exist or happen inside a
budding.
...an indoor sw im m ing pool.
O ur indoor games are table tennis, chess, cards.
I propose that indoor fo o tb a ll be forbidden.

inedible, uneatable
You use in e d ib le to describe things such as berries or
mushrooms that cannot be eaten because they are poisonous.
The berry o f the w ild p la n t is inedible.

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You use u n eatab le and in e d ib le to describe food that tastes so

unpleasant that you do not want to eat it.
'D id you have a good flig h t? ’— ‘The fo o d was uneatable.’
Was she the one who used to make that uneatable gingerbread?
Only twenty o f these species are poisonous, but many hundreds are
inedible because o f toughness, indigestibility, o r taste.

inflammable, flammable, non-flammable

Both inflammable and flam m ab le are used to describe m aterials
or chem icals that can easily catch fire and start burning.
Inflammable is m ore common.
The fa ctory used and stored a huge quantity o f inflam m able and
explosive chemicals.
D on’t pack anything dangerous o r inflam m able such as matches,
chemicals, o r a battery gas lighter.
Napalm , the most common incendiary, is a highly flam m able je lly
made fro m aviation fu e l and certain chemicals.

M aterials which do not catch fire easily are described as

non-flam m able.

institute, institution
A n in s titu te is an organization set up to do a particu lar type o f
w ork. In s titu te s are v e ry often concerned w ith academ ic
research o r m edicine.
The w ork is being funded by the In stitu te o f P o litic a l Science.
... a team o f psychologists a t the In stitu te o f Psychiatry.

Th e bu ilding w here such w ork is carried out is also called an

in stitu te.
...standing outside the In stitu te f o r Contem porary Studies.

The w ord in s titu te is also used in the titles o f organizations fo r

particu lar professional groups such as accountants o r surveyors.
... the cou n cil o f the In stitu te o f Chartered Accountants.

A n in s titu tio n is a large, im portant organization, fo r exam ple a

college, hospital, o r company.
Some institutions accommodate only fu ll-tim e students.
We’re n ot a charitable institution.
... the F irs t N a tion a l Bank o f Boston, a prop er and prosperous
institution.

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 institute

Some organizations also have In s titu tio n in th eir name.

...economist George Perry c f the B rookings In stitu tion .

interested, interesting
I f you are in te re s te d in som ething, you are keen to know o r hear
m ore about it o r to spend tim e doing it.
O f a ll the grou p C live was the m ost interested in anim als.
Asked how he became interested in p olitics, he replied, 7 was bom
that way.'

If you find som ething in te re s tin g , it attracts you r attention and

you enjoy finding out about it o r doing it.
It must be an aw fully interesting job .
The interesting th in g is that this is exactly the answer we g ot
before.

its, it’s
Its is a w ord lik e ‘ m y’, ‘your’ , ‘his’ , ‘her’ , and ‘th eir’, w hich is
used to show that som ething belongs to or relates to a thing, a
place, an anim al, or a child. The thing, place, anim al, o r ch ild has
already been m entioned or is known about by the listen er or
reader.
The refin in g o f any g ra in fu rth e r reduces its vitam ins, proteins and
roughage.
The trade union movement has undergone many changes in its long
history.
He liked London f o r its exotic quality.
Suddenly the dog whined, tucked its ta il between its legs and ran
indoors.
She hoisted the ch ild on her shoulder and started p a ttin g its back.

It's is the usual spoken form o f ‘it is’ o r ‘ it has’. ‘It has’ is on ly
shortened to it ’s when ‘has’ is an a u xilia ry verb.
I t ’s a beautiful day.
It's getting late.
I t ’s been two years.
It's been very nice ta lk in g to you.

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jealousy, jealous, envy, envious
[ f you feel je a lo u s y o r are jea lo u s, you have feelin gs o f
resentm ent and bitterness because you think som eone is tryin g to
take aw ay som ething that you fe e l belongs to you, fo r exam ple a
partner o r a possession.
She was a very jealous woman.
He was jealous o f his w ife and suspected her o f adultery.
He was very good a t ta lk in g me ou t o f things, suspicions, jealousies
and so on.

I f you e n v y som eone, fe e l e n v y , o r are en vio u s o f som eone, you

feel that you would lik e to have som ething that they have.
I envy him . He is never bored.
A man driven by greed o r envy loses the pow er o f seeing things as
they really a re
B eing a cook was regarded as a good jo b , and several people were
envious o f me when I was given that jo b .

Jealou s can be used w ith the same m eaning as en viou s.

I always feU that she was sligh tly jealous o f E lle n ’s enorm ous fam e.
I often fe lt jealous because D avid could go ou t when he wished.

job, work
A jo b is som ething that a person does regu larly in ord er to earn
m oney. I f you want som eone to em ploy you, you can say that you
are lookin g fo r a jo b . N ote that jo b is a count noun.
Leaving school and sta rtin g a fu ll-tim e jo b is likely to be one o f the
biggest changes in y ou r lifestyle.
A loca l banker offered B ill a job .

A jo b is also a particular task that you have to do, lik e cleaning

or w ritin g a letter.
j f I did n’t have a ll these notes to w rite I could get so many job s
done.

Your w o rk is the job that you do regu larly, especially i f you are
paid to do it. I f you want som eone to em ploy you, you can also say
that you are lookin g fo r w o rk . N ote that w o rk is an uncount
noun.

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 job

I thought everyone would have a jo b and that I would fin d w ork

easily.
B lin d people also need m ore m eaningful w ork than m aking baskets
and brooms.

W ork is also the various jobs that you have to do, especially
things w hich you do not enjoy doing.
A housewife’s w ork can take ten o r twelve hours a day.

Grammar
W o rk is also used as a verb.
He was w orking in a bank.

journey, voyage, trip, excursion

A jo u rn e y is the process o f tra vellin g from one place to another
by land, a ir, o r sea.
Z o rin arranged transport and accom m odation fo r the rest o f the
journey.
I t was a journey o f over 2,000 miles, and took nearly three days.
D rivin g made h im tense, and lon g journeys affected his bad back.

I f you jo u rn e y to a place, you tra vel there. T h is is a litera ry use.

The nights became colder as they journeyed north.
We journeyed to Naples together.

A v o y a g e is a v e ry lon g jou rn ey from one place to another,

usually by sea or in a spacecraft.
The harnessing o f steam had made sea voyages quicker and m ore
com fortable.
...the voyage to the m oon in 1972.

I f you v o y a g e to a place, you travel there by sea. T h is is a litera ry

use.
I t was fru s tra tin g to live at the sea’s edge and be unable to voyage
upon it.
...the land which S t Brendan and his com panions reached after
seven years o f voyaging.

A tr ip is the process o f tra vellin g from one place to another,

staying there, usually fo r a short tim e, and com ing back again.
M orris decided to take a trip to London and stay overnight.
J a rl and Jytte were o ff to M ila n on a business trip on the Monday.

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A n excu rsio n is a short jou rney, eith er as a tourist or to do a

particu lar thing.
A sm a ll tou rist office organizes excursions to the palace o f Knossos.
Sometimes we made a weekend excursion to the hippopotam us
island in the river, above the rapids.

Other words
N ote that tr ip has another m eaning when used as a verb. I f you
trip , you knock your foot against som ething when you are
w alkin g so that you fa ll or nearly fall.
She tripped over a stone.

judicial, judicious
A country’s ju d ic ia l system is the w ay it organizes its courts and
the adm inistration o f justice. I f you talk about ju d ic ia l
procedures and ju d ic ia l decisions, you are talk in g about the w ay
the courts w ork and the decisions they take.
I would lik e to g o through p rop er ju d ic ia l procedures.
...the tra d ition o fju d ic ia l independence f o r a ll Suprem e C ourt
judges.
...a ju d icia l enquiry.

I f someone acts in a ju d ic io u s w ay, they show good judgm ent and

careful thought. A ju d ic io u s decision is a sensible one.
She is always ready to give ju d iciou s parental advice.
'I t ’s not bad, ’ Kay said in a ju d iciou s voice.
I f the policies are ju d iciou s and far-sighted, they can help a lot.

К
keep, guard
I f you k eep som ething, you have it and do not throw it away, give
it away, or sell it. You m ay want to go on having it because you
need it, are lookin g after it, or do not want to give it back to its
owner.
...the few books and possessions I kept a t the apartm ent.
I noticed he was keeping a carbon copy o f the ed itoria l and I asked
him why.
Why d id n ’t Daddy let me keep the ten dollars?

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I f you gu ard som ething, you protect it by bein g near it and not
lettin g anyone else take it, harm it, or approach it.
Every door was guarded, and nobody could get in o r ou t w ithout a
pass.
In Norse m ythology the w olf-dog G arm guarded the entrance to the
underworld.
One o f o u r subsidiary companies was a security company, guard ing
factories and homes a t night.

L
lamp, light
Lam ps and lig h ts are both devices fo r givin g ligh t and m aking
places brighter.

A lam p can usually be m oved around and gives lig h t to a sm all

area. You often find lam ps on desks, beside beds, or over pictures
or m irrors. M ost lam ps are powered by electricity, but they can
also use o il or gas.
Bradshaw walked to his desk and flick ed on the lam p.
She g ot up to adjust the shade o f the standard lam p by her ch a ir.
From his hand the p a ra ffin lam p cast flick e rin g splashes o f lig h t
over the group.

When you talk about the lig h ts in a house or building, you are
usually referrin g to the m ain sources o f electric ligh t w hich are
often attached to the ceilin g.
W ill you tu rn on the lig h t, please. H urtle?
He sat w ith the ligh ts o ff and the curtains draw n back.

A lig h t can also be anything that produces o r reflects ligh t, fo r

exam ple a tra ffic ligh t or one o f the ligh ts on a car.
She began to ru n towards the ligh ts o f the m ain road.

lawyer, solicitor, barrister, attorney

In both B ritish and A m erican English, la w y e r is a general term
fo r a person who is qu alified in law and is en titled to represent
people in legal m atters. Am erican la w y e rs can both prepare cases
and represent th eir clien ts in court.
7 have nothing to say, ' I told him , ‘u n til I see my lawyer.'

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lawyer

...a w itty speaker and the most successful crim in a l defence lawyer in
Scotland.
I think you should talk this over w ith you r lawyers in New York
and y ou r bankers.

In B ritain, a s o lic ito r prepares legal documents, fo r exam ple w ills

and contracts, and prepares cases that are heard in court.
S o lic ito rs can also represent th eir clients in certain courts, but
not in the highest appeal courts.
M y s o licito r phoned, and told me that the p olice wanted to see me
again.
A rra n ge f o r the seller to leave the keys w ith either the estate agent
o r the s o licito r fo r you to p ick up when you want to sta rt m oving in.

In the higher B ritish courts, the argum ents fo r each side are
usually presented by b a rristers.
A s o licito r w ill arrange at least one conference between the barrister
and the defendant.
There is a rig h t o f challenge th a t a b a rrister can use to have seven
members o f the ju ry changed.

In the A m erican lega l system , an a tto rn e y is a person who is

qualified in law and who represents som eone else in lega l m atters.
N o one wanted to accept the p osition o f defense attorney.
C ord on’s attorney had had long discussions w ith the police.
A Justice Departm ent attorney had confirm ed th a t the W atergate
prosecutors were suspicious.

Other words
In Scotland, a b a rris te r is usually called an ‘advocate’.
He was a sk ilfu l and experienced advocate.

lay, lie
I f you la y som ething som ewhere, you put it there, often rather
carefully. Th e other form s o f la y are la y s, la y in g , and la id .
Take the top sheet and lay it in the centre o f the bed.
She la id her hand on his.
He la id the two objects on the table side by side.

T o lie som ewhere means to be there in a horizontal position, or to

get into that position. The other form s o f lie are lie s , ly in g , la y ,
and la in . Th e past participle la in is ra rely used.
The baby was lying on the table.

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He made me lie on this couch.

Then he went in to the cabin and lay on the bunk.

L ie is often follow ed by an indication o f how somebody is lyin g.

I lay s till on the bed, w atching him.

To lie can also mean to say or w rite som ething w hich you know
is untrue. W hen lie is used lik e this, its other form s are lie s ,
ly in g , and lie d .
Why should he lie to me?
Rudolph was sure that Thom as was lying.

L ie is also used as a noun. A lie is som ething that som eone says
or w rites w hich they know is untrue.
He knew that a ll these statements were lies.
I have never told a lie to my pupils.

Grammar
Both la y and lie are often used in phrasal verbs.

L a y is often used w ith ‘down’ or ‘out’. W hen you la y som ething

dow n , you put it down on a surface.
H ilary la id down her soup spoon.

When you la y som ething ou t, you put it in a particu lar place,

spread out and neatly arranged.
I watched him sta rt to lay the papers out on the table in the
conference room .

L ie is often used w ith ‘down’. W hen you lie d ow n , you m ove into
a horizontal position, usually in order to rest or sleep.
What I really wanted was to lie down and g o to sleep.

Other words
A lie-d o w n is a short rest, usually in bed.
Have an aspirin, a cup o f tea and a good lie-down.

learn, teach, study

When you le a rn som ething, you obtain know ledge o r a s k ill as a
result o f studying or practising. You can le a rn a subject, le a rn
about a subject, le a rn to do som ething, or le a rn how to do
something.
Lots o f Am ericans learn Spanish.
They can also learn about ch ild care.

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learn

He had never learnt to d riv e

I learned how to f ix radios in the Arm y.

I f you teach a subject, you explain it to people so that they know

about it or understand it. You do not say that you ‘learn’ someone
something. N ote that the object o f teach can be eith er a person or
a subject such as m athematics.
She taught Portuguese litera tu re a t Oxford.
I lik e teaching sixth-form ers.

It is m ore common fo r teach to h ave tw o objects: you teach

someone som ething. In the passive, som eone is ta u gh t som ething.
W ill you teach me this game?
She was taught em broidery by the nuns.

You can also tea ch som eone about som ething, tea ch som eone to
do som ething, or tea ch som eone how to do som ething.
In h igh school she was taught about equality.
He taught her to fis h on Lake Taupo.
You should teach me how to listen to m usic properly.

You stu dy a subject by reading books about it and often by

follow in g a special course at a u n iversity or college.
He had studied engineering a t the University q f Riga.
He won a scholarship to the Slade School, where he studied under
Henry Tonks.
A fte r supper, I went to my room and studied u n til m idnight, and
then I went to bed.

legal, lawful, legitimate

L e g a l is used to describe things that in volve the law .
...the B ritish lega l system.
...legal advice

I f som ething such as an action is le g a l, it is not against the law

and you cannot be punished fo r it under the law .
The decisions are a ll legally correct but as someone once said,
’Being legal doesn’t make it r ig h t ’
They used th e ir opportunity, sk ilfu lly com bining both lega l and
underground methods.

I f som ething is la w fu l, it is allow ed by law or acceptable to the

law. L a w fu l is a form al word.

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 legal

A ll his activities had been perfectly law ful; he had only exercised his
rights.
T h eir aim was to ’educate p u b lic opin ion to demand, by every
law ful means, the p ro h ib itio n o f h unting in B rita in .’

I f som ething is le g itim a te , it is correct or acceptable according to

a law o r ru le. L e g itim a te can also mean that som ething is
ju stified under the circum stances.
Both regim es claim ed to be Korea's legitim ate governm ent.
R eligious leaders have a legitim ate reason to be concerned.

less, fewer
You use less in fron t o f an uncount noun to say that one quantity
is not as b ig as another, o r that a qu antity is not as b ig as it was
before.
A shower uses less water than a bath.
She may even give h im less attention.
B rita in ’s industry is using less and less o il.

Less is also som etim es used in fron t o f the plu ral form o f count
nouns. Some people object to this use. T h ey say that you should
use fe w e r instead.
They tend to eat few er cooked meals and m ore sandwiches
There were few er people and a m ore relaxed atmosphere altogether.

You use ‘less than’ in fron t o f a noun group to say that an amount
or measurement is below a particu lar point o r leveL
H a lf o f a ll w orking women earned less than twenty pounds a
week.
I travelled less than 3,000 miles.

'Less than’ is som etim es used in fron t o f a noun group referrin g

to a number o f people or things.
The whole o f Sw itzerland has less than s ix m illio n inhabitants.
The country’s standing arm y consisted o f less than a hundred
soldiers

Some people object to this use. T h ey say that you should use
‘fe w e r than’ in fron t o f noun groups referrin g to a num ber o f
people or things.
He had never been in a class w ith few er them fo rty children.
In 1900 there were few er than one thousand university teachers.

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less

G ram m ar
The superlative form o f less is lea st. The superlative form o f fe w
is few est.
Experim ent to see which precautions work best and w ith least effort.
The cham pions in g o lf are the players who h it fewest bad shots.

library» bookshop
A lib r a r y is a place w here books are kept. People read the books
there or borrow them to read at home. You can also study in a
lib ra ry . A p u b lic lib r a r y also keeps newspapers, magazines,
records, and sim ilar items.
I t is a beautifully produced book to borrow fro m the library.
...a new extension to the library.

A lib r a r y is also a private collection o f books o r records.

He had recommended a book to her and had loaned it to her fro m
his library.

A ’lib ra ry’ is not the place w here you go to buy books. A shop
that sells books is called a b ook sh op in B ritish English and a
b ook sto re in A m erican English.
...a second-hand bookshop.
...the technique o f perusing books in bookshops w ithout actually
buying them.

licence, license
The w ord lic e n c e is a noun in B ritish English. L icen se is a verb
in B ritish English, and a verb and noun in Am erican English.

A licen ce or, in Am erican English, a licen se is an officia l

document that gives you perm ission to do, use, or ow n som ething.
For exam ple, in B ritain, you need a lic e n c e to d rive a car. In
Am erica, you need a licen se.
/ disagree w ith the two pound licence to fis h the Thames.
He could lose both his liq u o r and his hotel licence.
The black autom obile bearing New York license plates stopped in
fro n t o f the Adam s’ home.

A n officia l body lik e a governm ent or the police can licen se a

person or an organization to do som ething. I f someone is
licen sed , they have a lic e n c e fo r a particular a ctivity. I f a gun or
a business is licen sed , its owners have been given a licen ce.

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 licence

Dogs should be m ore strictly licensed and controlled.

T h eir bars are licensed to sell a lcoh ol

little, a little
You use lit t le to say there that there is not much o f a thing, often
when there is not as much as you would expect or not enough.
For exam ple, if you say that there is lit t le tim e, you mean that
there is not enough tim e to do a particular thing.
We had little chance o f success.
John and I had very little money M i­
l t is clear that little progress was made.

You use a lit t le sim ply to indicate that you are talkin g about a
sm all quantity or amount o f som ething. For exam ple, i f you say
there is a lit t le b it o f cake left, you mean that there is some cake
but that it is not very big. You are not saying w hether you think
there is enough.
'Have a drink. Scotch o r Bourbon?’— ‘A little drop o f Scotch would
be very welcome.’
She lay awake a little w hile longer.
I had made a little progress.

• L ittle and a lit t le can also be used as pronouns.

L ittle has changed.
Beat in the eggs, a little at a time.

little, few
You use lit t le to say there that there is not much o f a thing, often
when there is not as much as you would expect or not enough.
For exam ple, i f you say that there is lit t le tim e, you mean that
there is not enough tim e to do a particular thing. N ote that you
use lit t le w ith uncount norms.
There was little tim e fo r form a lities.
She had little e je c tio n f o r him .
Gertrude paid little attention to him .

You use fe w to say that there are not m any o f a thing, often when
there are not as m any as you would expect. For exam ple, you can
say that there are fe w eggs, coins, or mistakes. N ote that you use
few w ith plural count nouns.
They were strange, lonely years, fo r my m other had few friends.
Forests are one o f E urope’s few m a jor na tu ra l resources.
There were very few young people in the audience.

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lose

lose, loose
I f you h a ve lo s t som ething, you no longer have it and cannot find
it. You m ay have forgotten w here you put it, you m ay have
throw n it away by accident, or someone m ay have taken it from
you. L o st is the past p articiple and past tense o f the irregu lar
verb lose.
'Is n 't it silly o f me?’ M rs B ixby said. ‘I'v e lost my pocketbook. ’
You com plain about losing the things, and you com plain about my
fin d in g them.

L oo se is usually an adjective. I f som ething lik e a handle is loose,

it is not properly fixed in place.
The loose boards on the landing were creaking.
M y fa th e r took the butter-knife and prised loose a b rick in the walL

I f you lo o s e an anim al, or let an anim al lo o se, you release it from

w here it was kept.
The wolves were loosed late last n ig h t
A youth had brought a p a ir o f w hite rats in to church and had let
them loose on the flo o r d u rin g my sermon.

Other words
The verb lo osen means to m ake som ething less tigh t or to undo it
slightly.
W ith the aid o f a screw driver, loosen the two screws a t each end.
He loosened his seat-belt.

love, like
I f you lo v e a person or a place, you feel a strong affection fo r
them. For exam ple, parents lo v e th eir children and people who
want to get m arried usually lo v e each other.
Oh I love you, I love you w ith a ll my heart.
A boy loves his m other m uch m ore than he loves any little g irl.
He loved his country above a ll else.

I f you lik e someone, you enjoy th eir company. I f you lik e

som ething, it gives you pleasure. For exam ple, you can say that
you lik e you r neighbours i f they are frien d ly and helpful. Your
favou rite television program m e is the one you lik e best.
I liked B rian, but we had never been close friends.
T im and Daisy liked the place because it was quiet.

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 love

In conversation, people som etim es use lo v e to em phasize that

they en joy or lik e som ething very much.
Children love noise and mud.
I love y ou r new hairdo.

M
machine, motor, engine
A m achine is a piece o f equipm ent which uses electricity or some
other form o f pow er to perform a particular task.
...a washing machine.
He has even devised a sim ple m achine fo r cu ttin g the fib re up.

When a m achine operates by electricity, you refer to the part o f

the m achine that converts pow er in to m ovem ent as the m o to r.
The washing m achine is powered by an electric m otor.
Efficiency improvements in electric m otors could save m ore
electricity than U K nuclear stations currently produce.

Larger m achines are usually pow ered by petrol or diesel en gin es.
For exam ple, the part o f a car that provides the pow er to m ake it
m ove is usually called the en gin e.
The m an went on w orking, o r appearing to work, on the engine o f
the sm all car.
She turned her engine on, then her p a rk in g lights.
The a ircra ft’s passengers were aware that drey were operating w ith
three engines instead o f fou r.

You talk about the en g in e o f a ship, but the m o to r o f a sm all

boat.
Black smoke belched fro m the engine in to the cabin.
We patched leaks, overhauled the m otor, and refitted her.

Some people refer to the engine in a car as the m o to r.

He started the m otor o f the ca r and drove o ff abruptly.

magazine, newspaper, paper, journal

M agazin es, n ew sp ap ers, p ap ers, and jo u rn a ls a ll contain
inform ation and articles fo r people to read.

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magazine

A m a ga zin e is published regu larly, usually every w eek o r every

month. It is often concerned w ith a particu lar subject such as
com puting o r cars, o r w ritten fo r particular readers, fo r exam ple
teenagers. It is usually illu strated w ith photographs and pictures,
often in colour, and contains articles, advertisem ents, and
som etim es stories. Som e magazines deal w ith news, but present
background d etail and analysis rather than the latest inform ation.
Some m agazin es are read fo r entertainm ent as w ell as fo r
inform ation. M any m agazines are printed on shiny paper.
She was s ittin g on the divan, quite a t home, reading a film
magazine.
He was about to launch a quarterly m agazine devoted to religious
studies.

A n ew sp ap er is published eith er every day from M onday to

Saturday or every Sunday. D aily n ew sp ap ers report the news o f
the previous tw enty-four hours. Sunday n ew sp ap ers report the
news o f the previous week. N ew sp ap ers are illu strated w ith
photographs and include articles about the background to the
news, articles o f general interest, and advertisem ents.
Agostino sat a t the little desk w ith the newspaper spread ou t in
fro n t o f h im a t the sports page.
She ra id in the newspapers about increasing unemployment am ong
teachers.

A n ew sp ap er is often called a p ap er.

I read about the riots in the papers.

A jo u rn a l is designed to interest a particular group o f readers,

often a professional group. F or exam ple, people in u n iversities
read academ ic jo u rn a ls , and doctors read m edical jo u rn a ls . A
jo u rn a l is often a v e ry serious publication. It m ay appear w eekly,
m onthly, or every few months. It contains articles about its
subject m atter. Some jo u rn a ls are illustrated; some contain
advertisem ents.
...the B ritish M edical Journal.
Does y ou r union jo u rn a l have articles on health and safety?
...the sort o f scientific inform ation norm ally published in learned
journals.

magazine, shop, store

A m agazin e is a publication w hich often has articles on a
particular subject, fo r exam ple com puting o r cars, o r is intended
fo r particu lar readers, fo r exam ple women.

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 magazine

He switched his attention back to the m agazine and went on w ith

his reading.
...boys p la yin g ping-pong, sittin g over chess boards, reading
magazines.

A m agazine is not a place w here you buy things. You do your

shopping in a shop or a sto re.
From a shop specializing in cam ping equipm ent he bought a p a ir o f
hiking boots.
...articles th a t nobody really needs, but which occupy the ground
floors o f a ll b ig stores.

magic, magical
M a gic is a special pow er that occurs in children’s stories and that
some people b elieve exists. It is supposed to make apparently
im possible things happen such as m ake people disappear or
control events in nature.
Janoo-Bai was suspected o f p ra ctisin g m agic.
She was accused o f in flictin g bad fo rtu n e on them through e v il
magic.

You use the adjective m a gic in fron t o f a noun to describe things

that perform m a gic or that are b elieved to perform m agic.
They raided the Isle o f Annen to seize the m agic cauldron fro m
which only the brave and the true could eat.
The words were used as a m agic charm to ward o ff fear.
Hecate was invoked in m agic spells.

You can use m a gica l in a sim ilar way.

Iron was once thought to be a m agical m etal w ith supernatural
powers.
I t was believed that this m agical essence w ould protect a man fro m
possession by e v il spirits.
...m agical garments.

You also use m a gica l to say that som ething in volves m agic or is
produced by m agic.
...m agical processes.
Explanations are fou n d fo r what seemed m agical.

You can also use eith er m a gic or m a gica l to describe things

which have a m ysterious, pleasant, and excitin g quality.
The shrine is a m agic place.

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magic

...this strange m agic brow n-haired g ir l w ith long heavy sleepy

eyelashes.
The Dordogne is a kind o f m a gica l picture-book world.
Close up to that m agical face, the lovely violet eyes, he lost his
anger.

make, do
I f you produce or construct an object or substance, you m ak e it
out o f other m aterials. For exam ple, you can m ake clothes to
w ear or m ake a m eal or a drink.
Sheila makes a ll her own clothes.
The heat is enough to make perfect yoghurt overnight.
Then he came into the kitchen to make the coffee.
...the b ig companies that make women’s fa ce creams.
You can make petroleum ou t o f coal.
I have made you a drink.

Another use o f m ake is in expressions w here it does not have a

distinct m eaning o f its own, but where most o f the m eaning is in
the noun w hich is the object o f m ake. For exam ple, i f someone
decides som ething, you can say that they m ak e a decision.

You can use m ak e w ith nouns referrin g to talking, sounds, and

gestures, fo r exam ple:
appeal confession gesture remark
claim distinction noise signal
comment enquiry point sound
comparison excuse promise speech
complaint fUss protest suggestion

She made an angry gesture w ith her fis t.

She made a rem ark about the weather.
M ay I make a suggestion?
He made the shortest speech I have ever heard.

You can use m ak e w ith nouns referrin g to plans and attempts,

fo r exam ple:
appointment change effort start
arrangement choice plan
attempt decision progress

I ’d like to make an appointm ent to see one o f the doctors this

m orning.
He made an attem pt to calm down.
I th in k I made the w rong decision.
D aintry made one m ore effort to escape.

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 make

You can also use m ak e w ith some other nouns, fo r exam ple:
appearance fortune mess phone call
contribution impact mistake profit
debut loss note recovery

She has made several television appearances recently.

He had made a te rrib le mistake.
The company made a p ro fit o f 113 p e r cent.
She made a very good recovery.

Do is used to say that som eone perform s an action, a ctivity, or

task. It is not norm ally used to say that someone produces
something.
We did qu ite a lo t o f w ork yesterday.
Sm all children want to do a lo t o f things th a t get them dirty.

Do is often follow ed b y an ‘ -mg’ form such as ‘cooking’ or

‘shopping1, and by oth er nouns referrin g to w ork and to jobs
connected w ith the home.
/ do the cooking and B ria n does the cleaning.
I want to do a little shopping on the way to the h osp ita l
You never do any housework.

Here is a lis t o f nouns w hich are often used w ith do:

business dishes ironing washing-up
chores duty job work
cleaning exercise research
cooking homework shopping
course housework washing

You can also use do when you do not specify exactly what action
you are referrin g to. You cannot use ‘make’ in th is way.
What have you done?
You've done a lo t to help us.
W e'll see what can be done.

In conversation, do is often used to replace a m ore specific verb.

For exam ple, i f you ‘do you r teeth’, you brush them, and i f you
'd o the flow ers’, you arrange them.
She had done her h a ir fo r the party.
We have a man to do the garden.

Occasionally, do can replace ’m ake’ in this way.

I have ju s t done three hundred and fifty dresses.

• D o can also be used as an au xiliary, fo r exam ple in questions

and n egative sentences.

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make

D o you understand what I ’m saying?

Does she s till want to come?
We d id n’t have much money.

In some sentences, do m ay occur tw ice: once as an au xiliary and

once as a m ain verb.
W hat did she do a ll day?
I f this exercise hurts you r back do not do it.

male, masculine
You use m ale to describe men and things associated w ith men.
You also use m ale to describe anim als belonging to the sex that
cannot give birth to babies or la y eggs, and things associated w ith
them.
A ta citu rn m ale com panion stood next to her.
This style o f m ale dress was established in the mid-nineteenth
century.
...three large strong m ale camels.

You can also use m a le as a noun, but on ly when referrin g to

animals.
The males establish a breeding territory.

You use m ascu lin e to describe qu alities and characteristics that

society associates w ith men rather than women.
...m asculine notions th a t s triv in g and achievement are fo r men only.
...w hat used to be called m asculine assertiveness.
Boys are brainwashed into th in k in g that it ’s sm art, trendy,
m asculine to smoke.
It m ust have som ething to do w ith m asculine pride.

• Some languages divid e nouns and adjectives into tw o classes,

m ascu lin e and fem inine, or into three classes, m ascu lin e,
fem inine, and neuter.

man, husband
A m an is an adult m ale human being.
La rry was a handsome m an in his early fifties.
He was visited by two men in the m orning.
The person a woman is m arried to is norm ally called her
husband, not her ‘man’.
She and her husband were new people in the town.
She met her husband in 1942.

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 many

many, a lot of, a lot, much

M an y, a lo t o f, a lo t, and m uch are a ll used to talk about large
numbers o f people o r things, o r large quantities or amounts.

You use m an y or a lo t o f in fron t o f a plu ral count noun to talk

about a large num ber o f people o r things.
There m ust be m any men who do n ot w ant to change these
attitudes.
There were many com plex problem s to be solved.
A lo t c f people thought it was funny.
You’ve done them a lo t o f favours.

A fter ‘too’ and ‘so’, you have to use m an y.

She had been most a fraid o f liv in g lik e her m other, too many
children, too little money.
I had spent my entire life w ith so many books I wanted to read and
no tim e to do it in.

You also use m an y in the phrase ‘as m a n y ... as’ .

His am bition now is to win as many tournam ents as he can.
I cannot claim to have talked to as many people as he does.

In spoken English, m an y often sounds form al in affirm ative

sentences in which it does not follow ‘too’ o r ‘so’, or in w hich it is
not part o f the phrase ‘ as m a n y ... as’ . H ow ever, it does n ot sound
form al in n egative sentences, or in questions.
When you fir s t g o there, not many people ta lk to you.
How many times must I te ll you?
In w ritin g, m an y can be used as a pronoun to refer to a large
number o f people or things. T h is use o f m an y is fa irly form al.
You do not norm ally use ‘a lot* in this way.
In the H ong Kong camps alone, there are over 20,000 people. M any
have been th e re fo r fiv e o r ten years and have nowhere to g o back
to.
Many were s till lying where they had been injured.
When you want to talk about a large num ber o f the people or
things in a particu lar group, you can use m an y o f o r a lo t o f
follow ed by a plu ral pronoun o r by a plu ral noun group which
begins w ith ‘the’, ‘these’, th ose’ , o r a possessive.
A lo t o f than are m arried women.
Many o f his books are s till available.
...the grea t dream many o f us had th irty years ago.
We had already heard a lo t c f these songs a t least once.

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many

You use m an y o r a lo t in fron t o f a noun group beginning w ith

‘m ore’ to em phasize the differen ce in size between tw o groups o f
people o r things, o r between the same group o f people o r things at
d ifferen t tim es.
I know many m ore country people than I do town people.
There are many m ore tra in in g courses on offer.
There is s till room f o r a lo t m ore people.
There w ill be a lo t m ore flig h ts.

You use m uch o r a lo t o f in fron t o f an uncount noun to talk

about a large quantity o r amount o f som ething. M u ch is not
usually used lik e th is in affirm ative sentences, because it sounds
v e ry form al. H ow ever, it does not sound form al in negative
sentences, o r in questions.
I did n’t seem to have m uch strength left in my hands.
Is this g oin g to make m uch difference?
H e’s lost a lo t o f w eight

H ow ever, you have to use m uch after ‘too’ and ‘so’ and in the
phrase ‘as m u c h ... as’, even in affirm ative sentences. M u ch does
not sound form al when used in th is way.
I t gave the President too much power.
There’s so much pa in in the world.
I t absorbs as much heat as possible.

M u ch or a lo t can be used as a pronoun to refer to a large

quantity or amount o f som ething. Th is use o f m uch sounds
form al in affirm ative sentences.
There wasn’t much to do.
I suppose they learned a lo t by doing it.
...a dog who has lived long, and experienced much.

When you want to talk about a large quantity or amount o f a

particular thing, you can use m uch o f or a lo t o f follow ed by ‘ it’,
‘this’, or ‘ that’, or by a noun group which begins w ith ‘the’, ‘this’ ,
‘that’ , or a possessive.
I s till remember much o f it in some detail.
A lo t o f this is shared accommodation.
One thousand years ago thick forests covered much o f the UK.
C aroline devoted much o f her life to education.

You use m uch o r a lo t in fron t o f a noun group beginning w ith

‘ m ore’ or ‘less’ to em phasize the difference between tw o quantities
or amounts.

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 many

Children, whose bones are grow ing, need much m ore calcium than
adults.
It has led to divorce and a life w ith much less tim e fo r her child.
He had gained a lo t m ore sleep than the others.
You can stay on the island fo r a lo t less money.

You use m uch or a lo t in fron t o f com parative adjectives and

adverbs, and in fron t o f adjectives and adverbs that are preceded
by ‘less’ , in order to em phasize the differen ce between tw o people
or things.
She was much old er than me.
Unfortunately the aim is a lo t m ore lim ited than the experts realize.
M rs S a lt’s statement should have been disclosed m uch earlier.
I t is m uch less likely.

You use v e r y m uch o r a lo t as an adverb to say that som ething is

true to a great extent.
I enjoyed it very much.
You lik e R alph a lot, d on 't you?

In clauses that do not have an object but w hich are follow ed b y a

‘that’-clause or a ‘to’-in fin itive, you can use v e r y m uch, but not ‘a
lot’ , to add emphasis to a verb.
We very much hope he’ll continue to be able to represent you.
He would like very m uch to w rite to Dennis himself.

You do not use ‘much’ w ithout ‘v e ry ’ in affirm ative sentences to

say that som ething is true to a great extent. H ow ever, you can use
it w ithout ‘very ’ in n egative sentences.
The situation isn ’t likely to change much.
I d id n 't like him much.

You can use m uch in negative sentences and questions to mean

‘often’. A lo t can be used to m ean ‘often’ in negative sentences,
questions, and affirm ative sentences.
She doesn’t ta lk about them much.
Does he come here m uch?
They talk a lo t about equality.

Grammar
When the subject o f a sentence consists o f a lo t o f follow ed by a
plural noun group, the verb w hich follow s is plural. When the
subject consists o f a lo t o f follow ed by an uncount noun group,
the verb w hich follow s is singular.

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many

Quite a lo t o f people at work think I ’m rather lucky to be your

daughter.
A lot o f the arable land was under used and poorly tended.

You can use ‘there are’ or ‘there w ere’ in fron t o f a lo t o f when it

is follow ed by a plural noun group. You can use ‘there is ' or ‘there
was’ in fron t o f a lo t o f when it is follow ed by an uncount noun
group.
There are a lo t o f companies whose p rofits are goin g to disappear i f
things rem ain the same.
There were a lo t o f people about.
There is a lo t o f corruption.
There was a lo t o f business to sort through.

Other words
In w ritin g, you often use ‘a great deal o f’ instead o f m uch in front
o f an uncount noun group in affirm ative sentences. S im ilarly, you
often use 'a great num ber o f’ instead o f m an y in fron t o f a plural
noun group in affirm ative sentences. These phrases are sligh tly
m ore form al than ‘a lot o f', but not as form al as m uch or m an y.
He said a grea t deal o f inform ation had been provided by the
Am erican authorities.
Am ong the horsemen were a grea t num ber o f officers.

In conversation, you can use lo ts o f instead o f a lo t o f, and lo ts

instead o f a lo t.
He has lots o f friends.
I have lots to do.

memories, memoirs
Someone’s m em ories are the things they rem em ber about th eir
past.
Some o f his earliest mem ories are o f cam ping in the F lin t H ills w ith
his parents.
He was f u ll o f memories, nostalgic fo r the past, ha tin g change.
In the m ain, though, my memories o f a London childhood are
happy ones.

Someone’s m em oirs are a w ritten account they g iv e o f th eir life,

in the form o f a book.
In the past, m ost fo rm e r presidents retired to w rite th eir m em oirs
He was w ritin g his m em oirs o f h is career abroad.
They’re m aking a m ovie o f his w ar memoirs.

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memory, souvenir
A m em ory is som ething that you rem em ber from your past.
That sweet sm ell brought the memories flood in g back.
A lthough he is now a wealthy m an he cannot erase the memories o f
childhood.
...a memory o f an old frien d .

A so u ven ir is an object that you keep to rem ind you o f som ething
that has happened to you or o f a place that you have visited.
Tourists often buy so u ven irs when they are on holiday.
The w alls were fille d w ith photos and souvenirs o f the colonel's
army days and his hunting expeditions.
You can shop fo r souvenirs - the black and brow n co ra l Jewellery is
pa rticu la rly fine.

meter, metre
A m eter is a device that m easures and records som ething, fo r
exam ple the amount o f electricity o r gas used in a home, o r how
much a passenger must pay a ta x i driver.
To know how much electricity you use in a week, learn how to read
your meter.
The ta xi d river hadn’t bothered to switch o ff his meter.

A parking m eter is a device on a street into which you put m oney

in order to be allow ed to park your car fo r a period o f tim e.
Occasionally, I ju s t pa rk a t a meter, and walk around fo r a while.

A m etre is a m etric u n it o f length, equal to 100 centim etres or

39.37 inches.
A t a cafe a hundred metres down the street he again used the phone.
The flam es and smoke rose hundreds o f metres in to the sky.

N ote that in A m erican English ‘m etre’ is spelled m eter.

He poked his head in to the cab to read the meter.
They are fly in g a t fiv e hundred meters over a high shallow valley.

middle, centre
The m id d le or c e n tre o f som ething is the part furthest aw ay from
its outer part.
You can talk about the m id d le o f a two-dim ensional shape or
area. U sually you m ean an approxim ate area rather than an exact
point.

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We p u ll o ff in to a little town th a t could be in the m iddle o f Iowa.

In the m iddle o f the law n was a grea t cedar tree.

You can talk about the cen tre o f an area o r three-dim ensional
shape. U sually you m ean an exact point rather than an
approxim ate position. F or exam ple, in m athem atics you talk
about the c en tre o f a circle, not the ‘m iddle’.
...the centre o f the cyclone.
Bake the buns in the centre o f a very h ot oven.

I f you talk about the c en tre o f a tow n or city, you m ean the area
w here there are the m ost shops, offices, o r places w here people
m eet
A t the centre o f the huge city rose a com plex o f skyscrapers.

Th e m id d le o f a road o r riv e r is the part that is furthest from its

sides o r banks. You do not talk about the ‘centre’ o f a road or
river.
...w hite lines painted a lon g the m iddle o f the highway.
We managed to p u ll on to a sandbank in the m iddle o f the river.

mistake, fault
I f you make a m istak e, you do the w rong thing. F or exam ple, you
m ay make a w rong decision, produce the w rong answer in a
calculation, buy som ething you do not rea lly want, or call
someone by the w rong name.
I ’m a fra id you've made a mistake. M y name is M ary Taylor. M rs
Taylor.
In some elementary schools, even today, sm all children are punished
fo r mistakes in addition o r in spelling.
The W orld Bank has clearly learned fro m past mistakes.

A fa u lt is a bad feature o f a person’s character or o f the w ay they

do som ething.
Ryden idolized his daughter so m uch that he could not see her
faults.
'Thoughtless o f me. ’— ‘Thoughtlessness is hardly one o f you r faults. ’
T h a t was always one o f my faults. I was always too intense.
I f you say that som ething is som eone’s fa u lt, you mean that they
are responsible fo r som ething bad or w rong happening.
It's im portant guests should be well-fed. I f they overeat it ’s th eir
fa u lt.
It was a ll Jack's fa u lt.

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You also use fa u lt to refer to som ething w rong in a m achine or

structure.
The m achine has developed a fa u lt.
Com puter fa u lts are commonplace.

moral, morals, morale

M o ra l means relatin g to righ t and w rong behaviour. M o ra l
values o r m o ra l issues in volve you r sense o f what is righ t and
wrong. M o ra l is pronounced /moral/.
I t is o u r m ora l duty to stay.
This presented them w ith m ora l choices concerning the d istribu tion
and use o f pow er and wealth.
...a whole system o f m ora l behaviour which the young ch ild was not
ready fo r.

The m o ra l o f a story o r o f a situation is the lesson that you can

learn from it about how you should o r should not behave.
The m ora l is obvious; it is th a t grea t arm am ents lead inevitably to
war.

A person’s m ora ls are the principles and values they use to

decide the righ t and w rong w ay to behave.
Many o f the early laws were concerned w ith the m orals and
education o f children and women.
The parent o f the problem ch ild never thinks o f challenging his own
code o f m orals.

A person’s m o ra le is the confidence and optim ism th ey have

when they are dealing w ith an im portant, d ifficu lt, or dangerous
situation. M o ra l is pronounced /тэга:1/.
Rotherm ere’s m orale depended apparently on his immense success
in m aking money.
There is nothing like w inning to boost the m orale o f players.

Other words
M o ra lity is the idea that some form s o f behaviour are righ t and
others are wrong. M o ra lity is pronounced /moraetati/.
Sexual m orality was enforced by the fe a r o f illegitim acy.

more, most
M ore and m ost are used to make com parisons or to describe an
increase in a qu ality such as size, amount, beauty, or in telligence.

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Th e com paratives and superlatives o f some adjectives and adverbs

are form ed b y using m o re o r m ost rather than b y adding ‘-er’ or
‘-esf.

You use m o re to com pare one person or th in g w ith another. It

indicates that the first person o r th in g has a particu lar qu ality to
a greater extent than the second person or thing.
M any parents are s till m ore am bitious f o r th e ir sons than th eir
daughters.
M oist, cold a ir is m ore ch illin g than dry a ir o f the same
temperature.
The psychological effects are m uch m ore d ifficu lt to cope w ith.

You also use m o re to com pare the extent to w hich a person or

thing has a particu lar qu ality at tw o d ifferen t tim es.
I saw Baschia every day and every day he seemed m ore tired.
N ext tim e, I w ill chose m ore carefully.

You use m ost to com pare one person o r th in g w ith other

m embers o f a set or group. It indicates that the person or thing
that you m ention has a particu lar qu ality to a greater extent than
any o f the others.
...his closest and m ost intim ate frien d .
I thought up two o r three different excuses, in clu d in g o f course the
most obvious one.
B rita in ’s most fam ous a viation pioneer, S ir Thom as Sopwith.

N ote that when you use m ost in fron t o f an adjective, you are
usually referrin g to one person or thing in a set or a group which
has at least three members. In conversation, some people use
m ost in fron t o f an adjective when they are com paring ju st tw o
things. For exam ple, someone m ight say 'W hich book did you find
most interesting?’ when talking about tw o books. You should
avoid this in form al w ritin g.

much, very
M u ch is an adverb, used to em phasize that som ething is true to a
great extent. When used w ith a verb, it is usually found in
n egative sentences, questions, o r a fter words such as ‘v e ry ’, 'so’,
‘as’, and ‘too’ .
I don’t feel the cold much.
Does he come here m uch?
I enjoyed it very much.
I hope very m uch that you w ill be com ing on Saturday.

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There is so m uch fin a n cia l hardship.

They liked h im alm ost as m uch as his money.

M u ch is also used w ith verbs in the passive, and w ith past

participles.
I t had been m uch discussed w ith the group.
Well, good-bye and thanks, M r Welch. M uch obliged to you.
This led to frequ en t and m uch publicised threats o f dismissal.

M uch is also used to em phasize com parative and superlative

adjectives and adverbs.
Now I fe e l much m ore confident.
I thought that he was m uch the best speaker.
I ’m treated so m uch better than Judy was.
This could be done very m uch m ore quickly.

V e ry is an adverb, used to em phasize an adjective o r another

adverb.
You are g o in g to become very rich and very pow erful.
I k greeted me w ith a very gentle voice.
She says y ou 're very clever.
This h igh ly automated p la n t operated very successfully.
Hanover was very badly damaged.

• N ote that v e r y is often used to em phasize m uch.

I very m uch doubt that.
A t 67, F ord very m uch wants to stay active.
I hoped very m uch th a t M iss Gray would stay w ith me a t Fa ira cre
School.
...a very m uch heightened susceptibility to infection.

N
narrow, thin
Som ething that is n a rro w has a v e ry sm all distance between its
two sides, so that it is not v e ry w ide. You can describe roads as
n a rro w , as w ell as other spaces that people o r things m ove along
or fit into.
Tom drove the bike down the narrow back road behind the Boylan
estate.
Watch the stairs, they’re narrow .

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The room was sm all, and had in it a narrow bed and a cupboard.

Som ething that is th in has a v e ry sm all distance between its tw o

opposite surfaces, so that it is not v e ry thick. You can describe
lin es as th in , as w ell as things such as curtains o r w alls.
...a collarless s h irt w ith a th in grey stripe.
I gave A ich a the th in silver chain I was wearing.
A lon g way o ff she saw K ate F erreira , in her th in white
em broidered linen dress.

People and parts o f th eir bodies can also be described as th in .

He was a ta ll, th in man w ith a deeply lined forehead.
The fir e warmed th e ir th in legs

nervous, irritated
I f you are n ervou s, you are w orried and tense, and m ay behave
in a frightened way. You m ight be n ervo u s i f you have to take an
exam ination o r have to make a speech in public.
C olin ’s d riv in g made her nervous.
It was the fir s t tim e I had ever been in fro n t o f a T V camera, and I
was so nervous I could barely keep the quaver ou t o f my voice.
A funny little nervous half-sm ile appeared on bandy’s m outh.

I f you are irrita te d , you are annoyed by som ething w hich you
cannot prevent or stop. You m ight be ir r ita te d i f someone is
m aking too much noise or i f a m achine keeps breaking down.
M y fa th er had called me twice, and he sounded irritated .
‘How lon g have you been w atching me?’ the little man asked in an
irrita ted voice.

no, none
You use n o in fron t o f nouns to mean ‘not any’ or ‘not one’ . For
exam ple, you m ight say that you have n o tim e or n o stamps.
Have I not ju s t told you that I had no extra inform ation?
There was no m oon that night.
We saw no houses, no smoke, no footp rin ts, no boats, no people.
He has given no reason fo r his decision.

You use n on e instead o f a noun group that begins w ith ‘no’ to

indicate that there are not any o f the things or people that you
have already m entioned.

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 no

Occasionally a new star would appear in the sky where none had
been detected before.
I have answered every single question. M y opponent has answered
none.
Pa rt-tim e assistance is a lo t better than none a t a ll

none, neither
You use n on e to refer to three o r m ore people o r things when you
are m aking a negative statem ent that applies to a ll o f them.
None could afford the books o r food.
The bom b exploded and knocked ou t a few men. Luckily, none were
killed.

You can also use n on e o f follow ed by a pronoun or noun group.

None o f them had learned anything about the teaching o f reading.
None o f his black com panions answered.

You use n e ith e r to refer to each o f tw o people or things when you

are m aking a negative statem ent that applies to both o f them.
N either had close fem ale frien d s a t the university.
She chose fir s t one, then another, but neither was to her
satisfaction.

You can also use n e ith e r o f follow ed b y a pronoun o r noun

group.
N either o f them spoke again fo r a lon g while.
N either o f these extremes is desirable.

• You can also use n e ith e r im m ediately in fron t o f a singular

count noun.
M ilita rily , neither side can win.

none, no-one, nobody

N on e means ‘not a single th in g o f a particu lar kind’ o r ‘not a
single m em ber o f a particu lar group’.
This created a class o f la rge landowners where none had existed
before.
They la ter went to w ork a t reg u la r jobs. B u t none rose to become a
good scholar o r a fin e artist.

You can also use n on e o f follow ed by a pronoun or noun group.

None o f them spoke Sinhalese.
None o f the clothes were any use, anyway.

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N o-one or n ob od y means ‘not a single person’ . You m ay be

m aking a general statem ent o r talk in g about a particular group
o f people. You do not have to m ention the group o f people. N ote
that there is no differen ce in m eaning between no-on e and
n obody.
I knocked on the door. No-one answered, so I went in.
She’s the sweetest g irl, Jane, I swear no-one could help lovin g her.
T h a t’s a question nobody can answer.
The room looked so pretty when there was nobody in it.

north, northern, northerly

Th e n o rth is the direction on you r le ft when you are looking
towards the direction w here the sun rises. Th e n o rth o f a country
or area is the part towards the north. You use n o rth , n o rth ern ,
and n o rth e rly to describe things that are in o r com e from the
north.

You use n o rth to describe a part o f a place that is in the north,

whether it is a large place lik e a country o r a sm aller place lik e a
building. N ote that n o rth is often used to make a contrast w ith
the south, west, and east: the n o rth side o f a building is opposite
the south side.
M ale unemployment in the N orth Wales town o f F lin t now stands a t
38 per cent.
...M olyvos - a charm ing h ill villa ge on the n orth coast
How about m aking a film on the N orth W all o f the E iger?

N o rth ern means relatin g to the north and refers to a m ore

general area than n orth .
I d id n 't know m uch about the geography o f N orth ern C alifornia.
...the northern regions o f the B ritish Isles.
It is a tiny harbou r on the northern coast o f Cyprus.

You can also use n o rth e rn to describe things that com e from the
north o r that are found there.
There was no northern puritanism here in the M id d le Ages.
He held her hand lovingly when they walked in the su n ligh t q f the
northern summer.
...Sunday evening in a sm all northern in d u stria l town w ith the
interm ittent cold rain.

W inds that com e from the north can be described as n o rth or

n o rth e rly winds.

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 north

There was a sm ell o f snow on the north wind.

Heavy w alls a t the rea r sheltered build ings fro m cold northerly
winds.

You can also use n o rth e rly to describe directions and locations.
I f som ething m oves in a n o rth e rly direction, it m oves towards
the north. U nlike ‘north’ and ‘northern’, n o rth e rly can be used
w ith ‘m ore’ and ‘ most’ .
...the wet, northerly slopes.
He recommended a m ore northerly course than usual to avoid
strong headwinds.
We proceeded a long a m ore northerly route.

notable, noticeable
I f you describe som ething as n ota b le, you m ean that it is
im portant, interesting, or rem arkable. A n o ta b le w riter, fo r
exam ple, is a good w riter whose w ork is w orth reading; a n o ta b le
exception is an exception w hich is im portant. N o ta b le is a fa irly
form al word.
One o f the notable historians o f the period is Adam Ulam.
M ost o f the foods we eat do contain sm all am ounts o f p ro to n ,
notable exceptions being fa t, sugar and alcohol.
The most notable qu a lity o f a convention is its sheer tedium.

Som ething that is n o tic e a b le is easy to hear, see, or recognize

because it is so obvious.
The years had made a noticeable change in M u lle r - h is h a ir was
alm ost w hite now.
Effects such as p o llu tio n and ecological damage begin to become
noticeable.
The teachers reported a noticeable increase in the am ount o f
reading done by the pupils.

note, notice
N ote and n o tic e can be used as both nouns and verbs.
A n ote is a short message you w rite fo r som eone else to read, or
som ething you w rite down to help you rem em ber som ething.
W ilt opened the note. T m goin g away w ith S ally and Gaskell to
think things over.’
She wrote the m ilkm an a note.
Hercule P o iro t, w ith a sheet o fp a p e r in fro n t o f him , was m aking
notes.

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A n o tice is a sign givin g inform ation or instructions w hich is put
in a place w here people can read it.
B illy caught sight o f a printed notice propped up against the glass
in one o f the upper panes. I t said B E D A N D B R E A K FA ST.
In the crypt o f the eleventh century church, so notices and posters
indicated, wine was being served.
She was sta rin g a t the notice th a t claim ed ‘A W oman’s R ig h t to
Choose’.

I f you n o te a fact, you becom e aware o f it and keep it in your

mind. You can m ention it in order to point it out to others.
I t was a surprisin g vanity in such a composed fig u re ; S tu a rt noted
it with interest.
N ote that the report does n ot ca rry any fo rm o f officia l
recommendation.
The com m ittee also noted that this was n ot the fir s t case o f its kind.

i f you n o tic e som ething, you observe it at a particular moment.

You m ight forget about it later.
He waited a moment and hoped she w ouldn’t notice he was ou t o f
breath.
I had noticed by the streetlight that his fa ce was red and swollen.

notice, observe, pay attention

I f you n o tice som ething, you becom e aw are o f it by seeing it or
by using you r other senses.
I noticed she was w earing a new dress.
I noticed a new tra n q u illity about him.
I have noticed that y ou r fa th e r is not as frien d ly towards me as he
used to be.

O b serve can be used w ith the same m eaning as n o tice. H ow ever,

ob serve is a rather form al word.
G lancing cautiously about the room , she observed a threadbare ru g
and a few pieces o f sadly shabby fu rn itu re.
The Count, I observed, had a m ildly speculative expression on his
face.

You also use o b serve to talk about w atching someone or

som ething deliberately and very carefully.
A h a lf dozen spectators gathered on the outside to observe the
proceedings.
He w ill stand w ell back in order to observe you fro m a distance.

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 notice

I f you p a y a tte n tio n to som eone o r som ething, you watch or

listen w ith great concentration, especially in order not to m iss
anything.
F o r the fir s t tim e he p a id attention to the driver.
I was not paying attention to what was g o in g on.

now, at present, presently

You can use both n ow and a t p resen t to talk about things as they
are at the tim e when you m ention them.

N ow m ay refer to a period o f tim e or to a particular moment.

She gradually buiU up energy and is now back to norm al.
I ’m fe e lin g m uch better now.
I ’m g o in g hom e now.

A t p resen t refers to a period o f tim e and m ay im ply that the

situation m ay change. A t p resen t is qu ite form al.
I don’t want to get m arried a t present.
A t present there is a w orld energy shortage.

P re s e n tly means ‘qu ite soon’ . F or exam ple, i f som ething is goin g
to happen qu ite soon, you can say that it w ill happen p resen tly .
This use is sligh tly old-fashioned.
The P rin ce o f Wales w ill be here presently.
I shall have m ore to say presently.

P resen tly is som etim es used in the same w ay as a t p resen t.

...Leningrad, presently a city o f fo u r m illion .
Am erican and Japan are presently w orking on chips which w ill
hold a m illio n words.

Some speakers o f English find this use o f ‘presently* unacceptable.

• You cannot use ‘actually’ to talk about things as they are at the
tim e when you m ention them. You use n ow , a t p resen t, or less
com m only p resen tly.

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occasion, opportunity, chance, possibility
A n occasion is a tim e when a particular event happens o r a
particu lar situation arises.
Several times as a ch ild I was bullied by old er bays. On one
occasion, I was knocked unconscious.
I m et him on only one occasion.
There are occasions when you must not refuse.

A n occasion can also be the even t itself, especially an im portant

event such as a wedding o r public cerem ony.
In his shirtsleeves he fe lt he wasn’t prop erly dressed f o r the
occasion.
This garm ent is ju s t special enough to be worn fo r casual evening
occasions.

I f you say you ‘have occa sion to do’ som ething, o r that an event
is an ‘occasion fo r’ som ething, you mean that people and
circum stances make it possible. Th is is a rather form al use.
She had had little occasion to m ix w ith the opposite sex.
The question rem ained whether Benn could succeed in m aking this
crisis the occasion f o r fundam ental change.

I f you have the o p p o rtu n ity or the ch an ce to do som ething, you

can do it because people and circum stances m ake it possible.
O p p ortu n ity is m ore form al than chance. N ote that you do not
say that you have the ‘p ossib ility’ to do som ething.
You w ill have the opportunity to ask the athlete questions about his
personal career.
New jo b opportunities have been fou n d fo r women.
The cinema specialized in revivals, and this was a quite w onderful
chance to see this unique masterpiece.
I d id n ’t have a chance to say a word.

A p o s s ib ility is som ething that m ight happen o r be done, but that

also m ight not happen or be done. You say that there is a
p o s s ib ility , that a p o s s ib ility exists, o r that som ething is a
p o s s ib ility .
There was ju s t a possibility that they had taken the w rong road.
Only then did he perm it his m ind to consider the possibility o f an
accident.
The possibility exists fo r trade unionists to rebu ild th e ir confidence.

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I f only they had told me o f this possibility, how much suffering I

would have been saved!
They rang to say that Jeffrey m ight have typhoid, it was a
possibility, but no one was to worry.

office, bureau
A n o ffic e is a room , a set o f room s, o r a w hole buildin g w here
people do professional w ork, fo r exam ple adm inistration or
computing.
D om inic wants to see you in his office.
I was alone in the office when M a rk R utland came in.
„ a massive program m e f o r the insulation if f houses, fa ctories and
offices.

B ureau is used, especially in the United States o f A m erica, in the

names o f organizations that deal w ith collectin g o r g ivin g
inform ation.
She worked f o r the Bureau o f In d ia n A ffa irs on a reservation in
Arizona.
You can ask the C itizens’ Advice Bureau i f you need help w ith the
letter.

In B ritain, bu reau is also used in the names o f organizations that

introduce people to each other. F or exam ple, an em ploym ent
bu reau is w here em ployers can fin d tem porary staff.
Freelance W ork f o r Women Bureau was started by a m arried
woman who needed a jo b .
...the fir s t m arriage bureau specifically aim ed a t young black
professionals.

In Am erican English, a bu reau is also a branch o f an

organization w hich has its headquarters in a d ifferen t c ity or
country.
Luce was infuriated to hear fro m his W ashington bureau what
M arshall rea lly th ou g h t
• In B ritish English, a b u reau is also a w ritin g desk w ith shelves
and draw ers, and a lid that opens to form the w ritin g surface.

one, you, people

You use on e or you to m ake a statem ent w hich is true o f any
individu al person, rather than a particu lar person. O ne is m ore
form al than you .

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I was as certain as one could be w ithout absolute proof.

I suppose one ca n 't blam e him .
...just as one acquires s k ill in g o lf o r skiing o r fo re ig n languages.

In conversation, most people use you .

Now, a cam el can kick you in any direction, w ithin a radius o f six
feet.
I f a ch ild seems sick w ith a rash o r i f the rash is extensive, you
should c a ll the doctor rig h t away.
A crisis can be a blessing in disguise i f it makes you stop and take
a lo n g look a t y ou r life.

P e o p le is used to talk about men, wom en, and children in

general, o r about a particular group o f them.
The am ount o f potatoes and bread people buy has dropped.
When people ch a rter my boat, I d on 't ask questions about them.
D on ’t go on about it. People may get bored o r embarrassed.

opposed, opposite
I f you are opposed to som ething such as a new developm ent, a
policy, or a belief, you strongly disagree w ith it o r disapprove o f
it.
Steve was uncom prom isingly opposed to apartheid.
...the movements opposed to nuclear weapons.
Ia m opposed to ca pita l punishm ent.

You also use opposed to describe ideas, systems, or philosophies

that are very differen t from each other.
The dispute revealed two totally opposed concepts o f the role o f the
p u b lic sector.
...two b itterly opposed schools q f socialist thought.
...a style o f pow er that was diam etrically opposed to that o f the
La bou r Party.

O pposed can on ly be used as an ad jective o r past participle.

O pposite can be used as a preposition, adverb, adjective, or noun.

You use the adjective op p osite in fron t o f a noun when you are
m entioning one o f tw o sides o f som ething. So, fo r exam ple, i f you
are on one side o f som ething, the other side is the op p o site side.
I was moved to a room on the opposite side o f the corrid or.
On the opposite side o f the room a telephone rang.

O pposite has a sim ilar m eaning when it is used as a preposition

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o r an adverb. I f som ething is o p p osite you, it is on the other side

o f a space such as a room o r a street, and it faces you.
We sat opposite each other.
The only other h otel o f any size in London is opposite a railw ay
station.
I was sent ou t to buy tea fro m the cafe opposite.

You also use op p o site in fron t o f a noun to describe things o f the

same type that are as differen t as possible in a particu lar way.
L ittle g irls , on the other hand, get the opposite tra in in g.
/ wanted to impress them but probably had the opposite effect
Too much pressure would produce overheating, whereas too little
would produce the opposite re s u lt

You use the noun op p o site i f tw o things o f the same type are
com pletely d ifferen t in a particu lar way.
H ell is the opposite o f heaven.
She was so quiet and the very opposite o f my dad.
In general, well-cooked food is nourishing food . A nd die opposite
can be equally true.

opposite, in front o f
You use op p osite when you are m entioning one o f tw o sides o f
something. I f som ething is o p p osite you, it is on the oth er side o f
a space such as a room or a street, and it faces you.
She sank down on the sqfa opposite him .
On the opposite side q f the room , on the w all, hung an A frica n
mask.

I f som ething is in fr o n t o f you, it is ahead o f you in the direction

you are facing. It is usually rela tively close to you, and m ay be
facing in any direction.
A g ir l in fro n t o f her had been try in g to post a parcel.
I jum ped up and stalked over and stood in fro n t o f her.
A crowd had assembled in fro n t o f the courthouse.

outdoor, outdoors
O u tdoor is an adjective and is alw ays used in fron t o f a noun.
You use it to describe things that happen o r exist in the open a ir
rather than inside a building.
Could l s till Indulge in outdoor activities, lik e sa ilin g and fe ll
w alking?

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Breakfast may be taken in the d in in g room o r on an outdoor

terrace.

O u tdoors is an adverb and is usually used after a verb o r to

qu alify a w hole sentence. I f som ething happens o r exists
ou td oors, it happens in the open a ir rather than inside a
building.
I t was such a beautiful day, that I decided it would do him good to
be outdoors
The doctor tells the parents to let the ch ild outdoors as soon as die
cold is gone completely.
Outdoors, they are delighted to watch leaves and shadows Indoors,
they study th eir hands.

P
pants, shorts, trousers
In B ritish English, pants are an item o f underwear w orn b y men
and women. Th ey cover the part o f your body above you r legs and
below your waist. M en’s pan ts are also called ‘underpants’ and
wom en’s pants are som etim es referred to as ‘knickers’ or
‘panties’.
He dried vigorously, then p u t on newly laundered pants and vest
Instead o f a bra and pants, fo r instance, I decided to take a b ikin i.

In Am erican English, this item o f underwear is usually called

sh orts o r ‘underpants’ when it is fo r a man and ‘panties’ when it
is fo r a woman.

In B ritish English, a p a ir o f tro u sers is a single piece o f clothing

that covers each o f your legs in a lon g tube o f fab ric and that
covers you r hips.
He p u t the money in the left side o f his trousers.
He wore brow n corduroy trousers and a tartan s h irt

In A m erican English, th is piece o f cloth in g is called pants.

Boon was already rem oving his shoes and socks and ro llin g up his
pants.
He always wears the same th in g: faded khaki pants, a sh irt, a
loosely fittin g gray sweater.

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In both B ritish and Am erican English, sh orts are short trousers

that leave you r knees and part o f your thighs bare.
/ tucked my sh irt in to my shorts.

parcel, package, packet

A p a rcel is an object or group o f objects wrapped in paper or a
cardboard box. You often pack things in p a rcels when you want
to send them by post.
She was always scrib b lin g away at som ething, o r w eighing a
parcel, o r lick in g a stamp.
I waited f o r the postm an today; I ’d hoped he'd b rin g a new p a rcel o f
books.

A package is the sam e as a parcel. In Am erican English, a

package can be any size, but in B ritish English p ack age usually
refers to a fa irly sm all parcel.
The package fro m H ila ry evidently contained a book
He dug in to the pocket o f his jeans and pu lled out a sm all package
wrapped in tissue.
He went o ff and left a la rge package on the kitchen table fo r me to
post.

A pack et is usually a box made o f thin cardboard, o r a bag,

envelope, o r wrapper, in w hich a quantity o f item s or o f a
substance is sold.
...a packet o f cigarettes.
...a cereal packet.
...soup out o f a packet.

Sometimes a p ack et is a v e ry sm all parcel that is usually flat.

I ’ve got a packet fo r you - fro m somewhere abroad.
...a rather messy packet, in greaseproof paper, which presum ably
held his lunch.

particular, particularly, peculiar, peculiarly

You can use p a rtic u la r to indicate that you are talk in g about a
special o r in dividu al case o f som ething.
Let us consider a p a rticu la r exam ple in which this problem emerges
vividly.
It is im portant to discuss a ch ild 's p a rticu la r problem s and
interests.

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You can use p a rtic u la rly to indicate that som ething applies m ore
to one person, thing, o r situation than others.
It was hard f o r the children, p a rticu la rly when they were Ш.
Protests came against the severity o f the sentences, p a rticu la rly
against the im prisonm ent o f three Union officials.

You can also use p a rtic u la r o r p a rtic u la rly to em phasize how

great o r intense som ething is. F or exam ple, i f you have
p a rtic u la r d ifficu lty in doing som ething o r find som ething
p a rtic u la rly difficu lt, you find it v e ry difficu lt.
These child ren need p a rticu la r care in being shown how to tackle
arith m etica l problem s.
He was prou d to be host to so many people and was paying
p a rticu la r attention to Ellen.
She was lookin g p a rticu la rly attractive today.

I f you describe som ething as p e c u lia r, you fin d it strange often in

a w ay you do not lik e. You can also describe people as p e c u lia r
o r say that they behave p e c u lia rly .
He was w earing a p ecu lia r s u it
Les had a most p ecu lia r sense o f hum our.
Uncle H arold sm iled at him peculiarly, b lin k in g in the ligh t.

You can also use p e c u lia r and p e c u lia rly to talk about
som ething w hich is unique or characteristic in a pleasing way.
This is a form al use.
Here P im lico has its own p ecu lia r fla v o u r and atmosphere.
Pregnancy is a peculiarly im portant tim e in a woman’s life.

pass, take, sit

I f you pass a test or exam ination, you are successful in it.
To pass exam inations you need to work effectively.
Your object is to learn fa cts and retain them lon g enough to pass
the exam ination.

You do not use ‘pass' to say that you do a test or exam ination.
You say that you ta k e o r s it a test o r exam ination.
W hatever exam inations you intend to take in the fu tu re you need to
be num erate and literate.
P u p ils a t the schools ru n by Tra fford C ouncil sat the exam in
Novem ber.

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pavement, sidewalk
A path w ith a hard surface by the side o f a road where
pedestrians can w alk is called a p avem en t in B ritish English and
a sid ew a lk in Am erican English.
The street lamps cast a d u ll yellow ish glow on the pavement every
few hundred yards.
He strolled out o f the bar on to the pavement.
The sidewalk is narrow , only wide enough fo r one person.
We walk under shady trees on very neat sidewalks past neat houses.

Note that in Am erican English, the p avem en t is the hard surface

o f a road, sidewalk, or area such as a playground.
Traunsteiner swerved the ca r back f u ll onto the pavement.
The ribbon o f pavement goes on m ore o r less endlessly through
broken country.

pay, buy
When you p a y someone, p ay them m oney, or p a y fo r som ething,
you give someone m oney fo r som ething that they are sellin g to
you or fo r a service that they have done fo r you.
The two packing cases are taken ou t and set on the pavement.
Flecker pays the driver.
I've left you some money to pay the window cleaner.
In many cases people are farced to pay f o r th eir own medicines in
fu ll.
When you p ay a b ill o r debt, you pay the amount o f m oney that is
owed.
He paid his b ill and 1ф.
We had been paying £50 a week f o r a single room in London.

I f you b u y som ething, you obtain it by paying m oney fo r it.

Gaskell's bought a bicycle. He says i t ’s quicker and it keeps him fit.
You could use that money f o r buying b eeffrom the butcher.

place, room
You use p la ce to talk about areas o r points w here things are.
It's not easy to fin d a com fortable place to sit.
I t ’s a good place fo r a serious talk.
You can refer to the position w h ere som ething belongs as its
place.

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She p u t the book back in its place on the shelf.

D on ’t p a rk you r ca r in the w rong place.

A p la ce at a table is an area fo r one person to use.

I fou n d a vacant place fo r my m eal a t one o f the tables in the d in in g
hall.
Everyday 12 places are la id f o r dinner.

You do not use ‘place’ to talk about the space you need fo r doing
som ething. I f you want to say that there is enough em pty space to
do som ething or to fit som ething, you say that there is enough
room .
There was plenty o f room f o r Daisy’s potted plants.
...the re lie f o f being alone w ith enough room to stretch him self.

I f you provide space fo r som ething b y m oving oth er things, you

m ak e ro o m fo r it.
He p u lled m a il in fla m the side o f the desk to make room fo r the
books.

play, show
A p la y is a piece o f w ritin g w ith dialogue w hich actors are
intended to speak. It usually has a story and it can be serious or
amusing. P la y s are perform ed in theatres, on the radio, or on
television.
I never stopped quoting my own stories, plays and poems.
He often flew to M inneapolis to see plays at the G uthrie Theatre.
...the delicate subtlety o f character that Chekhov’s plays have.

A sh ow is a perform ance that is intended to entertain an

audience. M ost sh ow s in volve m usic, and they often consist o f a
series o f com edy sketches and scenes w ith singing and dancing. A
m usical is a sh ow , and a p la y can also som etim es be called a
show .
7 have a couple o f glasses o f red wine in the pub after the show.
I had booked fo r the show by phone.

please, thank you, thanks

You say p lea se when you are p olitely asking fo r som ething or
asking someone to do som ething.
Can I have my hat back please?
Could you turn left a t the next lights, please?
Please hurry up and get dressed, M orris.

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 please

You also use p lease when accepting an o ffer in a polite way.

‘S hall I read to you?’— Yes, please.'

You say th an k you or th an ks to show that you are gratefu l fo r

som ething that someone has given you o r done fo r you. T h an k s is
m ore inform al than th a n k you .
Thank you fo r a delicious lunch.
‘There’s you r receipt. '— ‘Thanks. ’

You also say th a n k yo u o r th an ks when accepting an offer,

because you are gratefu l fo r the offer.
'W ould you lik e some m ore sherry?’ I asked her. 'W ell, ju s t h a lf a
glass, M r Desland, thank you. ’
‘Help you rself to sugar. ’— ‘Thanks. ’
‘I ’l l rin g you tom orrow m o rn in g .— ‘OK, thanks very m uch.’

You say ‘no, th an k yo u ’ or ‘no, th an k s’ when you are refusing an

offer in a polite way.
‘W ouldyou Idee some coffee?’— ‘N o, thank you.’
‘Do you want a biscuit?’— N o , thanks.'

You can also refuse an o ffer by using th an k you o r th an k s w ith

a phrase such as ‘I ’m a ll righ t’ o r ‘I ’m fin e’ .
‘Is the sun bothering you? S h a ll I p u ll the curtain?’— N o , no. I ’m
fine, thank you. ’
‘Do you want a lift? ’— N o , it ’s a ll righ t, thanks. I don't mind
w alking.’

Note that you do not use ‘Thank you’ or ‘Thanks’ on its own to
refuse an offer.

power, strength
I f you say a person or an organization has p o w er, you usually
mean that they are able to control other people and th eir
activities.
I t gave the President too much power.
The m ilita ry authorities are refusing to hand over power.

You do not usually say that someone w ho has w ell-developed

muscles has •power’. Th e w ord you use is stren gth .
He pulled w ith a ll his strength.
They w ouldn’t have had the strength to d rag it back to the villa ge
This glancing blow would have felled most men, but Pa rker had
exceptional strength.

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O th er w ord s
Instead o f talking about the p o w e r o f a person or organization,
you can say that they are p o w e rfu l.
U n til his illness, President Botha was by fa r the m ost pow erful and
p op u la r fig u re in w hite South A frica n politics.
They organize themselves in pow erful and effective trade unions.

Instead o f talkin g about som eone’s stren gth , you can say that
they are stro n g .
She was sm a ll and fra il-lo o k in g , but deceptively strong.
H is stron g arm s were around me, p in n in g me down.

P o w e rfu l is som etim es used w ith a sim ilar m eaning to stro n g.

He had broad shoulders and pow erful arms.
...a pow erful man.

practical, practicable
You use p ra c tic a l to talk about what happens in rea l life rather
than in theory. A p ra c tic a l exam ple is one that m ight rea lly
happen. A p ra c tic a l d ifficu lty is one that actu ally has to be dealt
with.
L e t’s take a p ra ctica l exam ple o f what one g rou p o f w orkers did.
They refuse to fa ce any o f the p ra ctica l d ifficulties th a t would come
fro m changing things.

Ideas, methods, and plans that are p ra c tic a l are rea listic and
produce good results or are lik e ly to produce good results.
He may w ell be able to suggest p ra ctica l ways round a fin a n cia l
difficulty.
How lon g w ill it be before nuclear fu sion becomes pra ctica l?

Som ething that is p ra c tic a b le is capable o f bein g carried out

successfully. P ra c tic a b le is a form al word.
It would be perfectly p ra ctica ble f o r us to get m arried in England.
State intervention to a id p riva te industry was both practicable and
beneficial.

practice, practise
P ra c tic e is the regu lar train in g you do in order to im prove you r
s k ill at a sport o r at an a ctiv ity such as music. P ra c tic e is a noun.
He f e ll ewer, narrow ly m issing a flow erbed. ‘You need some m ore
practice, my la d ,’ said K a rin , p ick in g h im up.

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 practice

She did n’t show up f o r ch o ir practice this m orning.

A little practice w ill be needed to really benefit fro m this exercise.

I f you p ra ctise, you do the train in g necessary to im prove your

sk ill at som ething. P ra c tis e is a verb.
Bob Charles did not become a great g o lfe r overnight. He had to
practise hard.
On his own A lec could be gently encouraged to practise his reading
and w riting.
Occasionally they would practise m anoeuvring the bus round
obstacles.

Note that in Am erican English, the spelling ‘practise’ is not

norm ally used. The verb is spelled p ra ctice, lik e the noun.
I practiced and learned the headstand.

present, actual
P resen t is used in fron t o f a noun to indicate that you are talkin g
about things as they are now, rather than how they used to be o r
w ill be in the future.
The present system has many fa ilin g s.
Econom ic pla n n in g cannot succeed in present conditions.

You also use p resen t in fron t o f a noun to indicate that you are
talking about the person w ho has a job, role, o r title now, rather
than someone who had it in the past o r w ill have it in the future.
The present chairperson is a woman.
...Zanussi's new film about the present Pope.

You do not use ‘actual’ to describe things as they are now. You
use actu al to em phasize that the place, object, o r person you are
talking about is the real o r genuine one.
The predicted results and the actual results are very d ifferen t
The interpretation bore no rela tion to the actual words spoken.

prevent, avoid, warn

I f you p reven t som eone from doing som ething, you do not let
them do it.
These laws specifically prevented workers fro m m eeting o r acting
together.
He did nothing to prevent her fro m w alking over to the desk.

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prevent

I f you p re v e n t som ething, you do som ething to ensure that it

does not happen.
...calls f o r urgent action to prevent a fa m in e in Sudan.
There is little th a t can be done to prevent this kind c f misuse o f
com puter power.

I f you p re v e n t accidents o r diseases, you stop them from

happening. I f you a v o id accidents o r diseases, you succeed in not
having them o r catching them.
She slept soundly tied to h im by a length o f cloth th a t prevented her
fro m fa llin g .
The hum an m ind holds a grea t deal o f pow er to prevent many
diseases.
...a sound recom m endation f o r avoid ing cancer.

When you are talkin g about dangers and risks, you norm ally use
a void .
You m ust avoid the danger o f w riter’s cram p and m uscular tension.

You do not use ‘prevent’ when tellin g people about a danger o r

g ivin g them some oth er im portant inform ation. Th e w ord you use
is w a rn . You can w a rn som eone about a danger o r w a rn them o f
a danger, o r w a rn them that som ething is happening. You can
also say that you w a rn som eone to do som ething when you te ll
them to do it in ord er to avoid a danger.
I withdrew to the bade seat, w arning her about the hole in the flo o r.
I d id w arn you ofp ossib le fa ilu re .
The doctors had warned us th a t he was in a serious condition.
She had repeatedly warned me to stay away fro m the Blade F orest

price, prize
Th e p ric e o f som ething is the amount o f m oney that you h ave to
pay in order to buy i t
He wanted to know the p rice o f the car.
He p a id $500f o r an In d ia n python w hich m igh t b rin g jo u r tim es
that p rice in Japan o r Europe.

A p riz e is som ething o f valu e that is given to som eone who has
achieved som ething, fo r exam ple w inning a com petition o r
passing an exam.
I entered one o r two com petitions and won prizes.
I was the clever one a t sch ool I always g o t the prizes.

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 priceless

priceless, worthless
I f you say that som ething such as jew ellery o r a w ork o f art is
p riceless, you m ean that it is extrem ely valuable and w orth a
great deal o f m oney.
The place is crammed w ith priceless carvings and statuettes.
...the priceless collection o f the Byzantine emperors.

I f you say that som ething is w o rth less, you mean that it is o f no
value o r use.
The prom ises made between Cochise and the governm ent would be
worthless.
The goods are often worthless by the tim e they a rrive.

principle, principal
A p rin c ip le is a ru le that someone has to guide th eir behaviour,
or a rule w hich explains how som ething w orks o r is organized.
P rin c ip le is a noun.
...a man o f high principles.
This is the p rin cip le on which the com m on barom eter operates.
...the ‘one man, one vote'p rin cip le.

P rin c ip a l means first in order o f im portance. F or exam ple, your

p rin cip a l reason fo r doing som ething is you r m ain o r most
im portant reason. P rin c ip a l is an adjective.
B u rk itt’s work centred around a search fo r a viru s infection as the
p rin cip a l cause o f this disease.
Cham berlain consulted his p rin cip a l colleagues.

P rin c ip a l can also be used as a noun. A p rin c ip a l is a person

who runs a school or college.
They arranged w ith the p rin cip a l o f her school to take tim e off.
The P rin cip a l had begun to regret his criticism s c f L ib era l Studies.

proceed, precede
I f you p roceed to do som ething, you go on to do it after doing
som ething else.
She proceeded to ask my name, address and age.
He was in a position to make a scandal, which he now proceeded to
do.

I f you p roceed w ith a course o f action you have started, you

carry on w ith it.

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proceed

I suggest we proceed w ith dinner.

I t is necessary to exam ine this cla im before we proceed any fu rth er.

I f an a ctivity p roceed s, it continues as planned.

The development process can proceed m ore rapidly.
The council have now reopened the account and payment is
proceeding norm ally.

You can also use p roceed to talk about w here someone goes or
w here som ething leads. F or exam ple, i f you p roceed to a place,
you continue tra vellin g t ill you reach it. I f a road p roceed s north,
it leads north.
Leaving Soho Square, proceed westwards through C arlisle Street
and Sheraton Street.
He knows nothing can happen t ill he arrives so he proceeds a t a
leisurely pace.
A lo n g the top o f the p a rk the N o rth W alk proceeds through grass
and trees to the ch ild ren ’s playground.

N ote that p ro ceed is a fa irly form al w ord. It is used m ostly in

w ritten English.

You use p reced e to talk about what com es o r happens before

another thing. I f one event p reced es another, it happens fir s t Fen'
exam ple, the month o f M arch p reced es the month o f A p ril.
N o one knows how many wooden bridges preceded the firs t stone
bridge over the Thames.
...the p e d a l silence that precedes an a irlin e r’s landing.

I f someone or som ething p reced es you som ewhere, they go there

before you go, or they go in fron t o f you.
I arranged that he should precede me to Scotland.
A cabbie precedes him up the stairs, loaded w ith bundles.

N ote that p reced e is a form al word.

programme, program
A p rogram m e on the television o r radio is a broadcast o f
som ething such as a film o r docum entary.
W hat is y ou r fa vou rite television program m e, G illia n ?

A research p rogra m m e o r a developm ent p rogra m m e is a plan

fo r fu tu re research o r developm ent.
The pa rty had fa ile d to state how it w ould pay f o r its am bitious
social program m e.

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 programme

He had n ot been able to p rise any inform ation about h is own

teaching program m e fro m the university.
A p rogram m e is also a plan which gives details o f actions or
events that are to take place.
...th eir program m es o f meetings, talks and exhibitions.

A theatre or concert p rogra m m e is a booklet givin g details o f a

perform ance.
Note that in Am erican English the spellin g p ro g ra m is used fo r
the above m eanings.
There’s a good program on the Late Late Show. A n old Bela Lugosi
movie.
Citizens’ response to conservation program s is enthusiastic.
’From what I understand. ’ he continued, 'you r hosts p la n an
extensive program o f entertainm ent. ’
The program listed W illia m W arfield as Porgy and Leontyne P rice
as Bess.
A com puter p ro gra m is a set o f instructions that is used by a
com puter in ord er to perform a particu lar operation. N ote that the
B ritish and A m erican spellings are the same.
Recently, fo r example, I decided to w rite a program f i r a
m icroprocessor using m achine code.
I couldn’t see how one could get a good chess p la yin g p rogra m onto
a cheap com puter so soon.

prove, test
If you p ro v e a fact, you show by lo gic o r dem onstration that it is
definitely true. F or exam ple, you can p ro v e that someone is gu ilty
by producing evidence.
He is goin g to have to prove his innocence.
Even the lowest ran kin g c iv il servant is required to pass tests
p rovin g competence.
He was able to prove that he was an Am erican.
You do not use ‘prove’ to talk about tryin g som ething out to see if
it works or is effective. The word you use is test.
He stood up and tested his leg by w alking round and round the cave.
A num ber o f new techniques were tested.
Other words
The noun related to p ro v e is p r o o f.
What p ro o f have you that this is true?

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Q
quite, quiet
You use q u ite to em phasize adjectives and adverbs. F or exam ple,
i f you are q u ite sure about som ething, you are com pletely sure
about it. Q u ite is pronounced /kwart/.
I used to g o ou t alone. Q uite alone.
Please make you rself quite com fortable and ca ll fo r anything you
like.

You also use q u ite in fron t o f adjectives, adverbs, and verbs to

indicate that som ething is the case to a fa irly great extent but not
to a very great extent. For exam ple, i f som ething m oves q u ite
slow ly, it m oves rather slow ly.
Fortunately they fou n d it quite amusing.
Once she even g ot Lynn to adm it that M a rlin was quite a nice boy.
They roam ed the streets, played footb a ll, lived quite easily w ithout
us.
I quite enjoy looking round museums.

Someone or som ething that is q u ie t m akes v e ry little noise. A

q u ie t place is one w here there is v e ry little noise. Q u iet is
pronounced /kwaiat/.
Everyone is quiet. N o one is talking.
Everything became very qu iet and the f u ll focu s o f attention fe ll on
Ann.
She went in to the church. I t was quiet, and smelled o f incense.

R
raise, rise, arise
You use ra is e , ris e , and a ris e to talk about m oving upwards.

I f you ra is e som ething, you m ove it so that it is in a h igh er

position. R a is e is a regu lar tran sitive verb. Th e past tense and
past p articip le are ra ised .
He began to raise a massivefis t.
Raise the legs, tryin g to lift the thighs o ff the flo o r.
H ooper raised his cam era and pressed the button.

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 raise

I f som ething ris e s , it m oves upwards. F or exam ple, i f smoke

rises, it m oves up towards the sky. R is e is an irregu lar
in tran sitive verb. Th e past tense is ro s e and the past p articip le is
risen .
In the distance he could see the smoke fro m his bonfire ris in g up in
a w hite colum n.
Clouds c f birds rose fro m the tree-tops.

I f you ris e , you get out o f bed o r you stand up a fter sitting,
kneeling, o r ly in g down. T h is is a form al use.
She could not have told you a t what tim e she had risen that
m orn in g o r how she made her way to the station.
When he saw us arrive, he attempted to rise but couldn’t quite make
it
Ash had bowed, knelt and risen in im ita tion c f the other
worshippers.

A ris e can also be used to say that som eone gets out o f bed o r that
they stand up after sitting, kneeling, o r ly in g down. W hen a ris e is
used lik e this, it is v e ry old-fashioned o r litera ry. A r is e is an
irregu lar in tran sitive verb. Th e past tense is a ro se and the past
participle is a risen .
I arose a t six.
He arose to greet her.

• R a ise and ris e can also be used as norms. A ris e is an increase

in an amount or quantity.
...price rises.
...the rise in crim e.

In B ritish English, a r is e is also an increase in som eone’s wages

or salary.
He went to ask f o r a rise.

In Am erican English, th is is called a ra is e .

He thought about asking his boss f o r a raise.

relation, relative
Your re la tio n s o r you r re la tiv e s are the people w ho belong to
your fam ily, especially your cousins, aunts, uncles, and
grandparents.
...people visitin g fa m ily and relations in the two settlements.
...letters to Papa, relatives and friends.
I was a distant rela tion c f h er fir s t husband.

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relation

You use the words ‘close’ and ‘near’ w ith re la tiv e to describe
those mem bers o f you r fam ily m ost d irectly related to you, fo r
exam ple you r parents, brothers, o r sisters.
Sometimes two o r three close relatives are admitted.
The current im m igration policy fa vou rs those who already have
close relatives in the country.
Those w ith inform ation need to ensure that the nearest relatives are
told before any lists are issued to the press and m edia

You use re la tio n but not ‘rela tive’ in questions such as ‘A re you
any re la tio n to Carole?’ o r ‘A re you a re la tio n o f C arole’s?’ . You
can use ‘N o re la tio n ’ i f you want to say that you are not related
to a person w ith the same name as yours.
A re you any rela tion to the N icolson whose wife w rote ‘H erita ge?
‘B arrett, lik e the poet?’— ‘Yes, ’ I said. ‘N o relation. ’
M r M ugabe (n o rela tion q f R obert M ugabe) spent ten years in exile
in the United States.

Other words
People who are re la te d belong to the same fam ily.
...fou r people closely related to each other.

relations, relationship
When you talk about the re la tio n s between people or groups o f
people, you mean the ways in which they are in contact w ith each
other and the w ay in w hich they behave to each other when they
are in contact. Phrases such as ‘human relations’, 'industrial
relations’ , and ‘race relations’ refer to relations between
individuals, between m anagement and workers, and between
races. R ela tio n s is a plural noun.
One o f his weaknesses was hum an relations. He seemed unable to
com m unicate well w ith m ost people.
He identified the need fo r an enquiry in to in d ustrial relations in the
ca r industry.
A ll these recent provocations are designed to disturb the good
relations between Cuba and Ecuador.
H is personal relations w ith Callaghan were fa r m ore cord ia l than
they had ever been.
When you talk about the re la tio n s h ip between tw o people or
groups o f people, you m ean the w ay that they feel and act towards
each other.
She and my fa th e r always had a nice, warm relationship.

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 relations

...the atmosphere o f inform ality in the relationship between sta ff

and pupils.
The intensity o f her relationship w ith M ary dated fro m that tim e.

remark, notice
I f you rem a rk that som ething is the case, you say what you think
about a particular subject o r what you have observed about it.
What you say m ay be an opinion or a statem ent o f fact.
A ll day people had rem arked that I looked well.
B ut as the jo u rn a lis t h im self remarked, clothes alone cannot
disguise anyone. '
'A fin e autum n m orning, M r Castle, ’ M r H alliday remarked.

I f you n o tic e that som ething is the case, you becom e aw are o f it.
You m ay say som ething about it, or you m ay not.
The firs t th in g you noticed about h im was his eyes.
I noticed a stranger leaning over the gate, w atching us with
interest.
She stood back so th a t they would not notice her.

remember, remind
I f you rem em b er som ething such as a nam e o r a fact, you are
able to brin g it back in to you r m ind in ord er to think about it.
He remembers everything th a t happened in the afternoon.
When I phoned I could n ot rem em ber any o f the g irls ’ names.

I f you rem em b er to do som ething, you do the th in g you intended

to do w ithout forgettin g o r bein g told to do it.
He remembered to tu rn the gas off.
Do rem em ber to leave tim e and energy to p u t a ll y ou r tools away.

I f someone rem in d s you o f a fact o r event o r rem in d s you about

it, they say som ething w hich causes you to think about it.
I decided this was the m om ent to rem ind the lads o f th e ir
responsibilities.
And then, thank God, Yvette rem inded me about the food.

I f someone rem in d s you to do som ething, they te ll you to do

som ething w hich you already know you are supposed to do.
She also rem inded me to be ca rtfu l.
She rem inded me to wear the v is ito r’s badge a t a ll times.

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rest

rest, remains
You use th e re s t to talk about a ll the parts o f a thing or a ll the
m embers o f a group apart from those that have already been
m entioned. You can also use th e re s t o f follow ed by a noun
group.
Only a qu a rter were able to fu n ction as norm a l w hilst the rest had
suffered damage.
He spent the rest o f his life in prison.
We drove the rest o f the way in silence.
I don’t know why you don’t come and live here lik e the rest o f us.

You use th e rem a in s to talk about w hat is le ft o f som ething when

most o f it has been taken aw ay o r destroyed. You can also use th e
rem a in s o f follow ed b y a noun group.
A piece o f sku ll has been fou n d am ong the rem ains uncovered a t the
site.
Exposed by excavation are the massive rem ains o f heated rooms,
Turkish baths and sw im m ing pools.
The door splintered and left the rem ains o f the lock d angling fro m
the fram e.

rest, stay, stop

When you rest, you do not do anything active fo r a period o f
tim e, especially after w orkin g or travellin g.
Chris is a ll fo r exploring, but I'm so tired I ju s t w ant to rest.
They walked fo r two hours, then they rested, then they walked fo r
another two hours.
He sits under a tree and rests.

When you sta y som ewhere, you continue to be in a place w ithout

leavin g it.
D aniel wanted to stay and hear the m usic that was sta rtin g up
again.
People have been warned to stay indoors.
B ut now I fe lt it would be im possible f o r me to stay in Germany any
longer.

I f you sta y at a hotel o r at som eone’s house, you liv e there fo r a

period as a guest or visitor.
M y m other never asked where I would be staying in New York.
Guy and G ertrude had stayed a t the castle once.

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 rest

I f you stop som ething that you are doing, you no lon ger do it. For
example, i f you stop when you are w alkin g o r d rivin g, you no
longer move.
He follow ed th a n f o r a few yards, and then stopped.
The van crept forw a rd a little then stopped again.
She wept f o r a tim e and M r C raft looked a t her sternly u n til she
stopped.

I f you stop in a tow n o r at a place, you spend a short tim e there

before goin g on som ewhere else.
We then sailed to Stockholm , stopping long enough to hear a
perform ance o f the M a rria ge o f F igaro.
They'd rid e f o r hours on end, stepping a t some little p u b f o r lunch.

restless, restive
I f you are restless, you find it d ifficu lt to keep s till and relax,
often because you are bored and want to start doing som ething
else.
A fter a flig h t she is restless, ca n 't s it dawn, can’t sleep.
A baby that is gettin g too little to eat w ill be restless and cry a good
deal.

I f you are re s tiv e , you are im patient or disobedient because you

are bored or dissatisfied, and are lik e ly to becom e rebelliou s if
there is no change.
A llen grew restive because his m usic was interrupted.
The crew, who disliked the new Captain, were restive and m utinous.

retire, resign
When someone re tire s , they leave th eir regu lar em ploym ent and
stop w orking, often because they have reached the age when they
can get a pension. In B ritain, men can get a state pension at
sixty-five, and wom en at sixty. H ow ever, some people continue to
w ork fo r longer, and others r e tir e early.
Tw o-thirds o f head teachers retire before the age o f sixty.
Viscount W hitelaw has been speaking about his decision to retire
fro m fu ll-tim e politics.

I f you re s ig n from you r job, you say that you do not want to
continue doing it and you leave it. You can re s ig n from you r job
at any age, and often you start another job soon afterwards.

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retire
A ll he had to do was threaten to resign and he’d have g o t
prom otion lik e a shot.
He had to resign fro m the cou n cil after the scandal.

• When professional sportsmen and wom en stop playin g sport as

th eir profession, you can say that th ey r e tir e from the sport, even
i f they are fa irly young.
A lv in K a llich a rra n is to retire fro m first-class cricket a t the end o f
his contract w ith W arw ickshire this year.

review, revue
A re v ie w o f som ething such as a film or a book is a discussion o f
it by a critic who gives an opinion about its quality. A re v ie w
can be an article in a newspaper or m agazines or part o f a radio
or T V program m e.
I collected £10fro m an a ctor in the cast who had bet on good
reviews f o r the play.
I held an exh ibition o f my own paintings a t Cambridge. The c ritic a l
reviews were memorable.
...a collection o f his television reviews.

A re v ie w can also be a m agazine, o r occasionally a program m e

on television or radio, w hich deals w ith intellectu al subjects,
especially literatu re and the arts, and in w hich critics express
th eir opinions. Some o f these m agazines have R e v ie w in their
titles.
He made occasional contributions to the arts sections o f the weekly
review s
...Th e New York Review o f Books.
In an a rticle in the Jewish Q uarterly Review he fou n d the
inform ation he was look in g fo r.

A r e v ie w can also be a study b y experts o f how som ething is done

o r managed. It is usually carried out in ord er to recom m end
changes and im provem ents.
He in itiated a comprehensive review o f in d u stria l policy.
Nevertheless the review concluded against a ll the alternatives.
On 1 A p ril he announced a f u ll p u b lic review o f the project.
A revu e is an am using entertainm ent produced in a theatre, w ith
songs, dances, and com ic sketches. R evu es are often satirical.
...a four-m an stage revue called Beyond the Fringe.
He had ju s t finished w ritin g a revue f o r Cochran called On W ith the
Dance.

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reward, award, prize

A rew a rd is som ething that you are given fo r doing som ething
which people approve of. F or exam ple, an em ployer m ight give a
w orker some extra m oney as a re w a rd fo r being efficien t, o r
parents m ight g iv e a ch ild a toy as a re w a rd fo r being good.
He had given me a day o f f - a rew ard I accepted w ith suspicious
gratitude.
There were never any rewards f o r being good a t games.

A re w a rd is also a sum o f m oney offered to anyone who can give

inform ation about stolen property o r about som eone w ho is
wanted by the police.
H urst announced a rew ard o f £50,000f o r inform ation.

A satisfying experience can also be considered a rew a rd .

B u t the w alk brought its rew ard: a splendid view.

A n a w a rd is a certificate o r m edal that is given by an

organization such as a u n iversity o r council.
...a new award, the diplom a o f H igh er Education.
Food and service fu lly w arrant the Egon Ronay award as H otel o f
the Year.

When an award is given in recogn ition fo r an outstanding

achievem ent, it m ay be referred to as a p rize .
We are sometimes asked why it is rig h t to give a p rize f o r tennis,
but w rong to give one f o r geography.
...the N obel P riz e f o r Peace.

A p riz e is also som ething that you are given fo r w in n in g a

com petition o r a game.
Prizes include fre e holidays.
I entered two com petitions and won prizes.

• Both re w a rd and a w a rd can also be used as verbs. I f you

rew a rd someone, you g iv e them a rew ard. N ote that re w a rd is
often used in the passive.
W ork hard and you w ill be rewarded.
They rewarded the w inners w ith g ifts o f fr u it and flow ers.

I f you a w a rd som ething such as a prize or certificate to someone,

you g ive it to them. N ote that a w a rd m ay be follow ed by tw o
objects. It is often used in the passive.
F ive cam paign medals were awarded to those who fo u g h t in the
Free French Forces.

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reward

Sinha awarded contracts to favoured firm s.

The B ritish Governm ent awarded him a g ra n t o f £1500.
Jennifer was awarded her degree on Wednesday.

road, street
Both roa d s and streets are routes used by people on foot and in
vehicles to get from one place to another. Both ro a d and s tre e t
can be used in names.

R oads are found in the country, in villages, and in towns and

cities. R oad s som etim es have buildings on each side.
M iss Clare was w aiting outside her gate, ju s t before the road bends
to Beech Green.
Villages are short o f schools, health clinics, roads - and so they are
short o f jo b s f o r teachers, nurses, engineers.
...W indsor Road.

A ll the routes in a country can be called its roa d s when you talk
about them a ll together, even those that have ‘ S treet’ in th eir
names.
In 1976 there were 14.5 m illio n cars and taxis on the country’s
roads.
The ancient ruins were accessible by road.

S treets are found in towns and cities, and have buildings on each
side.
...the tacky, unim aginative shop fro n ts that lined the m ain street.
They went into the cafe across the street.

Routes that have ‘ S treet’ in th eir name are usually in the centre
o f a town or city.
I left the office in P in e Street and started tow ard Broadway.
...the little eighteenth-century houses along Palace Street.

The ‘H igh Street’ is the m ain street in a town, w here a ll the most
im portant shops are located.
On the east side o f the H igh Street, opposite the Cathedral, is
London B ridge Station.
...W apping H igh Street.

A ll the routes in a town or c ity can be called its streets when you
talk about them all together, even those that have ‘ R oad ’ in th eir
names.

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In O xford the ra in had cleared the streets, and only buses and cars
splashed through them.
The two men walked slowly down the street.

• When w ritin g addresses, you often abbreviate ‘ R oad ’ to ‘Rd\

and ‘S treet’ to ‘ St’ .

row, quarrel, fight, argument

When people disagree and argue w ith each other, you can say that
they have a ro w , a q u a rre l, a fig h t, o r an argu m en t.

A ro w is a disagreem ent between an gry people who know each

other w ell. A ro w usually in volves a lo t o f shouting. R o w is an
inform al w ord.
They had n ot spoken since the row on Saturday.
We had b ig rows, he g o t very angry and violent w ith me.
There was one h ell o f a row when they came on and fou n d the
double bass wrecked.

A q u a rre l is a disagreem ent between an gry people, usually

between people who know each other. A q u a rre l can continue
over a lon g period o f tim e.
I f he were to continue it would only lead to another qu a rrel and
more tears.
I t was the firs t prolonged qu a rrel between C h u rch ill and
Beaverbrook.

A fig h t is a disagreem ent between angry people. T h ey m ay know

each other or they m ay n o t It can in volve physical violence, but
it does not alw ays do so. U sing the w ord fig h t fo r a disagreem ent
which does not in volve violen ce is m ore common in Am erican
English and in inform al B ritish English.
A vicious fig h t appeared to be goin g on.
She doesn’t like this guy I'm goin g ou t with. We get into terrib le
fights.

An argu m en t is a disagreem ent between people who m ay know

each other o r who m ay not. People are som etim es reasonable
during an argu m en t, but th ey can becom e angry.
Im m ediately an argum ent broke ou t about the wisdom o f the
decision.
D u rin g the two days’ visit, we had qu ite a few frien d ly arguments.
I ’m sorry about this but there’s n oth in g I can do rig h t now. Any
argum ent w ill ju s t worsen things.

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ro w

G ram m ar
R ow , q u a rre l, and fig h t are also used as verbs w ith the same
meanings. The verb related to argu m en t is argu e.

rule, regulation, law

R u les, reg u la tio n s, and la w s te ll people what they are allow ed to
do and what they must not do in particular places and particular
circum stances.

R egu la tion s are made by an officia l organization or authority

and are w ritten down. Th ey are intended to control the way
people behave or how things are done. For exam ple, the arm y’s
reg u la tio n s say what a soldier’s duties are and the things a
soldier must not do. Planning reg u la tio n s control the
construction o f new buildings and the sort o f buildings which are
acceptable in particular places.
I asked my secretary to get copies o f a ll the relevant p rison
regulations.
This regulation does not apply to graduate students.
The C ouncil points ou t that pla n n in g regulations have been altered
to fa v o u r developers.

I f you are speaking or w ritin g less form ally, you can use ru le
instead o f ‘regulation’.
There are strict rules governing the k illin g and cooking o f
kangaroo.
One im portant ru le is th a t die au p a ir’s w orking day should last no
m ore than fiv e hours.

You use ru le when talking about games such as chess.

...the rules o f chess.
You don’t need to know the rules o f the gam e to enjoy i t

R u les do not have to be w ritten down. Th ey can be an inform al

agreem ent about how som ething should be done.
Rules about bedtime are made by vote.
He lives as someone in another ‘p retend’fa m ily, with its own rules
about washing and mealtimes.

L aw s are made by governm ents and rulers. Th ey are w ritten

down and apply to a ll the people in a country. Th ey say what is
and what is not a crim e and how citizens are required to act in
th eir dealings w ith each other.

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 rule

We shall need m ore stringent laws against pollu tion .

Health and safety laws are enforced by inspectors.

Certain sports also call th eir rules la w s.

...the Rugby Union's laws.

S
sack, bag, pocket
A sack is a large container made from rough cloth o r very strong
paper, used fo r carryin g o r storin g things such as coal, grain, o r
potatoes.
...a large hessian sack containing oranges, lemons, potatoes, g a rlic,
onions, and coconuts.
My sack had about sixty birds inside it.

S im ilar containers made o f plastic and often used fo r rubbish are

sometimes also called sacks.
...a garbage sack which is supplied as p a rt o f the system.

A b ag is a container o f any size made o f fa irly soft m aterial, fo r

example paper, plastic, leather, o r cloth, and used fo r carryin g
things such as shopping o r tools, o r fo r storin g things such as
rubbish o r clothes.
Tony pu lled ou t a bottle o f wine and a corkscrew fro m his bag.
He poured a ll the oranges out o f the bag back in to the box.
He puts them in pla stic garbage bags and locks the bags in the
garage.
She came back w ith the white p la stic bag containing the dress.

A p ock et in a piece o f clothing is an opening in w hich you can

put sm all things, fo r exam ple a handkerchief o r m oney.
He reached in to his breast pocket again and extracted a bundle o f
five-pound notes.
The visitor g ot the ca r keys fro m his pocket and gave them to him .

A p ock et in som ething such as a briefcase or handbag is a

compartment in w hich you can put things lik e credit cards or
documents.
B oth my cases had elasticized linen pockets in the lids.

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safety

safety, security
You use s a fe ty to talk gen erally about being protected from harm
or danger. I f you are w orried about someone’s sa fety , you are
w orried that they m ight have an accident or be attacked. I f you
are w orried about the s a fe ty o f a ladder, you are w orried that it
m ight cause an accident. I f you are w orried about the s a fe ty o f a
drug, you are w orried that it m ight have bad side effects.
I was m ore concerned fo r his safety than I was f o r my own.
We need to clearly establish the em ployers’ responsibility fo r health
and safety a t work.
Professor Goldberg, Chairm an o f the Committee on Safety o f
Medicines, stated: ‘N o d rug is completely safe. ’

You use s ecu rity to talk about the precautions that are taken to
protect someone or som ething from attack or som ething from
being stolen. For exam ple, i f you are w orried about the sec u rity
o f you r property, you are w orried that someone m ight attack it or
steal it.
You may want travellers cheques which have the advantage o f
considerable security against theft.
The Queen's visit has been marked by tig h t security.

The s e c u rity o f a country is the measures it takes to prevent

attacks and spying.
He argued that security depended upon disarm am ent and the
co-operation o f free people.
He was s till regarded by the U.S. Governm ent as a possible threat to
national security.

salary, wages
I f you are em ployed, you r em ployer pays you a s a la ry or w ages
fo r doing you r job.

A s a la ry is the amount o f m oney that someone is paid each year,

although th ey actually get a certain amount each month. In the
past, it was on ly people w ith professional o r non-manual jobs who
received sa la ries. A person’s s a la ry is usually paid d irectly into
th eir bank account o r paid to them b y cheque.
In a good year, a top executive’s bonus can ou tstrip his annual
salary.
The state provides 85 p e r cent o f teachers’ salaries and certain
standard equipment.

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 salary

W ages are usually paid once a week. In the past, m anual and
non-skilled w orkers received w a ges. Nowadays they m ay receive
eith er w ages o r a s a la ry . A person’s w a ges m ay be paid to them
in cash o r b y cheque, o r the m oney m ay be paid d irectly into
th eir bank account.
M y husband was head horseman a t Round Wood Fa rm and when
we m arried his wages were 13 sh illin gs a week.
They hated w orking underground, but the wages seemed h igh to
them.

salute, greet, welcome

When a soldier sa lu tes an officer o r gives a sa lu te, he or she
makes a form al sign o f respect. Th e most common form o f salu te
is to raise the righ t hand so that the fin gers touch the forehead
w ith the palm facin g down o r aw ay from the face. It is norm ally
only members o f the arm ed forces and organizations such as the
police w ho sa lu te each other.
A large uniform ed p olice sergeant recognized him at once and
saluted.
Then M a jor Franks fro m W ashington's s ta ff entered and saluted me.
‘Yes, sir, ’ said Pitm an, g iv in g the m a jor an exem plary salute.

When people g re e t each other, they say som ething lik e ‘H ello’ or
‘Good m orning’ or make a gesture such as w avin g or shaking
hands.
She lim ped down the stone steps to greet H arry w ith a kiss on both
cheeks.
The p rin cip a l guests were greeted on a rriv a l by the L ord M ayor o f
London.

When you w elcom e someone, you show that you are glad to see
them when they arrive.
As the king arrived he was welcomed a t the door by the prince.
A t the a irp ort we were welcomed by Caledonian Airw ays and
shown to the ftrst< la ss cabin.

You can also use the w ord w elcom e to welcom e someone, but this
often sounds rather form al.
Welcome to Peking.

G ra m m a r
The noun related to g re e t is g re e tin g .
She d id n ’t acknowledge G inny’s greeting.

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The adjective related to w elco m e is w elcom e, not ‘welcom ed’.

I was a welcome visitor in both camps.

satisfactory! satisfying
I f som ething is sa tis fa c to ry , it is as good as it needs to be. N ote
that s a tis fa c to ry often follow s an adverb. F or instance, i f you say
that som ething is ‘very satisfactory’ or ‘h igh ly satisfactory’ , you
m ean that it is very good and that you are pleased about it.
I fin d this method very satisfactory.
I t produces h ighly satisfactory results in the hands o f competent
teachers.
D o you want to stay, then? W ill the room be satisfactory fo r you?
There is no satisfactory, scientific explanation.

I f som ething is s a tis fy in g , it gives you a feelin g o f pleasure and

f ulfilment.
It had been a busy but satisfying day fo r Tom Hagen.
Linda cut the cotton w ith a satisfying snip o f the scissors.
The school wants to respect y ou r ch ild and to offer him a satisfying
social and intellectual experience.

say, tell
If you say som ething, you use your voice to produce words. S ay
is usually used w ith a report clause or a quote.
Janet says it ’s urgent.
‘Come round th is side o f me, ’ said Daniel.

I f you want to m ention the person being spoken to, you can do
this after the preposition ‘to’ .
‘Sam ,’ said M r Hearst to the news editor.
I said to him , ‘I ’d never do anything like that. ’

You can use say w ith a question when you are quoting the exact
words that w ere used.
'How are you doing?’ Bobby said.

N ote that you do not say that som eone ‘says’ a question. You say
that they ‘ask’ a question.
J ill began to ask Fred a lo t o f questions about his childhood.
N ote that say is usually on ly used w ith an object i f the object is a
very general w ord such as ‘som ething’ , ‘anything’ , or ‘nothing’.

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 say

/ must have said som ething wrong.

The man nodded but said nothing.

I f a notice or a book says som ething, that is what is w ritten on it

or in it.
There was a notice saying ‘Corps D iplom atique’.

I f someone te lls you som ething, they g iv e you inform ation in

words.You usually use t e ll rath er than ‘say’ when you are
m entioning the person bein g spoken to as w ell as the speaker.
T e ll is used w ith an object w hich refers to the person w ho is
being spoken to, and a report clause or a quote.
We told them we were goin g to visit relatives.
I told him I ’d be rig h t bade.
T il g o w ith h im to get the crowbars. ’ M iss C arrie told Sam.

T e ll m ay be follow ed by tw o objects, one o f w hich refers to the

person being spoken to and one w hich refers to the words used.
Sometimes when the inform ation has already been given or
suggested, on ly the person being spoken to is m entioned.
He told her his name.
M r Jum perw ala told her some am using anecdotes about the
English aristocracy.
D id n 't they te ll you?

You can use te ll w ith an object and ‘about’ to refer to the topic
being discussed.
M att was ju s t tellin g us about a shark he caught.
My aunt w rote and told me a ll about it.

You use te ll w ith an object and a ‘to’-in fin itive when reportin g an
order or instruction.
He told her to s it on the bed.
She told me to be ca rtfu l.

You can also use te ll and a quote to give the same inform ation.
For exam ple, the first exam ple above would be ‘Sit on the bed,’ he
told her.

There are a few nouns which can be used as the object o f te ll

without an object referrin g to the person being spoken to. These
include ‘truth’, ‘lie ’ and ‘story’.
I d on 't know whether y ou 're te llin g the tru th o r not.
He was tellin g another fis h in g story.

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say

• It is not usual to g ive som eone’s exact words, except in w ritten

n arrative.
‘Just a m om ent!’ M r Foster said suddenly.
'Y ou ’ll have to come back some other day,' she told him .

scarce, rare
You say that som ething is scarce when there is not much o f it,
especially when people need it and cannot get it.
Reasonably priced accom m odation in B rita in is scarce
A t this tim e supplies o f o il did become scarce and prices rose.
Heavy m etals can sometimes be recycled, conserving scarce na tu ra l
resources and solving a potentially serious p o llu tio n problem .

You say that som ething is ra re when it is not common and is

th erefore considered to be in teresting and valuable.
Today the p la n t is ra re in its na tu ra l h a b ita t
I sheltered in a ra re patch q f shade under some trees.
I suffer fro m a ra re eye disease.

scarcely, rarely
You use s c a rc e ly rath er lik e a n egative, to say that som ething is
only ju st true or on ly ju st the case. F or exam ple, i f you say that
som ething has s c a rc e ly changed, you m ean that it has changed
v e ry little ; i f you say that you have s c a rc e ly any m oney, you
m ean that you have v e ry little m oney.
The leaves have scarcely been changed a t a ll by cu ltiva tion .
There is scarcely anything to ecu.
So m uch had gone w rong that he could scarcely believe his good
luck.

I f som ething r a r e ly happens, it does n ot happen v e ry often.

G inny was in Verm ont and rarefy came to H u llsport any m ore i f
she could avoid i t
He rarefy had m ore than fifty d olla rs in his pocket.
There are some lucky child ren who rarefy catch cold.

Other words
’B arely’ and ‘hardly’ have a sim ilar m eaning to s c a rcely , but do
not m ean the same as ’ra rely’ .
He was so drunk that he could barely stand.
I was beginning to lik e Sam, though I hardly knew him .

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scene, scenery
You can refer to som ething that you see as a scene o f a particular
kind. You m ay be anywhere, and m ay be lookin g at pleasant or
unpleasant things.
I looked out on a depressing scene; the streetlamps were
h igh ligh tin g the puddles.
...a scene o f domestic tra n qu illity .

You refer to attractive countryside surrounding you as scen ery.

Note that scen ery is an uncount noun.
He had tim e to adm ire the scenery.
The scenery was a m ix o f olive groves and farm land.

school, college, university

A sch ool is w here children are taught. M ost children in B ritain
start sch ool between the ages o f fou r and liv e and leave between
the ages o f sixteen and eighteen. A p rim a ry sch ool teaches
children up to the age o f about eleven; after that they go to a
secon dary sch ool. In some areas there are m id d le sch ools,
which teach children between the ages o f about eigh t and tw elve.
We greeted each other and I made enquiries about B etty’s new
school in Caxley.
Stanley asked Sylvia p olitely how P a u l was gettin g on a t school.
...what a ch ild should know when he leaves the p rim a ry school.
M uch emphasis is often placed on preparation f o r transfer to
secondary school

A c o lle g e teaches students who have le ft secondary school and

who want to specialize in a particu lar subject o r area o f study,
especially those who want to study technical subjects or to do a
particular job.
She was offered a lectureship a t the R uncorn College o f F u rth er
Education and she accepted i t
Wendy went to B righ ton H igh School and then on to A r t College.
Gerald Brooke was a young and idealistic lecturer a t a London
technical college.

A u n iv e rs ity teaches students who have le ft secondary school

and who want to study any o f a w ide range o f subjects. A
u n iv e rs ity has the righ t to aw ard degrees, fo r exam ple Bachelor
o f A rts (B A ) and D octor o f Philosophy (PhD ), and has fa cilities for
research.

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school

H is brother was a professor o f mathematics a t one o f the northern

universities.
Graduates w ill norm ally carry out th eir research and be supervised
in the University.
...the W olfson Research Laboratories, housed on the B irm ingham
University campus.

• Some colleges and u n iversity departm ents have S ch ool as part

o f th eir name. N ote that in both cases the w ord sch o o l m ust be
accom panied by a m odifyin g ad jective o r a qu alifyin g phrase.
...the M edical School and the adjacent M edical Centre.
...the Colum bia University Graduate School c f Business.
She took a pa rt-tim e teaching post in a well-known London a rt
school

In Am erican English, a u n iversity o r college is often called a

sch ool.
He dropped ou t o f school after a year.
He p u t h im self through school, studied law.

• Some A m erican u n iversities use C o lle g e as part o f th eir name.

...Joan Shapiro, Professor c f S ocia l W ork a t S m ith College.

Some o f the older B ritish u n iversities are made up o f c o lleg es.

...the M u lla rd Space Science Laboratory at University College,
London.

Some B ritish secondary schools, especially som e c f those w hich

charge fees, have C o lle g e as part o f th eir name.
I t was ru n by a man who had been deputy headmaster a t Dulw ich
College.

sea, ocean
The sea is the salty w ater that covers about three-quarters o f the
earth’s surface. Som etim es the sea is referred to as th e seas,
especially in litera ry English.
The underlying b elief has been that since the sea is so b ig no harm
can come to it. Unfortunately this is not true.
So she shaded her eyes and looked out to sea.
They had fu n fis h in g in the river, throw ing stones into the sea,
baking spuds over a log fire .
M uch o f his income, however, came fro m lobster fis h in g in the
treacherous seas around Honda.

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A sea is a large separate area o f th is salty w ater, usually partly

surrounded by land. It norm ally has a name w hich includes the
word Sea. Some seas can be en tirely surrounded by land.
...natural gas, discovered in la rge quantities beneath the N orth Sea.
...semi-enclosed water bodies such as the M editerranean and the
B a ltic Sea.
Sewage waste poured in to rivers and seas.
They got as fa r as Persia, via Volga and the Caspian Sea.

A n ocean is one o f the fiv e very large areas o f salty w ater on the
earth’s surface: the A tlan tic Ocean, the P acific Ocean, the Indian
Ocean, the A rctic Ocean, and the A n tarctic Ocean.
W ithin about 1,000 m iles o f the equator the upper layers o f the
ocean are about 35 degrees Fahrenheit w arm er than the deeper
waters.
M y fa m ily have been traders and m erchants in the In d ian Ocean
f o r centuries.

In litera ry language you can refer to the sea as the ocean o r the
oceans.
This creature lies in the depths c f the ocean.
The wind was the same w ind that New in China, N ow in g across
oceans, valleys, and m ountain ranges.

search, search for, seek, look for

I f you search som ewhere, search fo r som ething, seek som ething,
or lo o k fo r som ething, you try to find som ething.

I f you search a place, or i f you search fo r som ething in a place,

you exam ine the place very thoroughly, m aking an effort to find
something, usually by touching and m oving things.
Ginny searched the bookcases, fin a lly locating the b ird book.
The cop searched the fro n t o f the ca r and told my fa th e r to open the
trunk.
He searched in the glove com partm ent and fou n d an a irlin e
timetable.
He searched through a draw er fo r a ca rvin g knife and fork .
He can’t ju s t have disappeared. I mean, y ou ’ve searched fo r him ?

You can also search fo r som ething such as an answer or

inform ation.
The people searched and searched fo r fa cts about th eir ancestors.
...searching f o r ways to end the dispute.

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You usually seek som ething such as an answer o r inform ation

rather than an o b ject You can also seek som ething such as a new
job or a place to liv e . S eek is often used in w ritin g, but you do not
norm ally use it in conversation.
I f an in ju ry does occur, then it is advisable to seek a good diagnosis
and treatm ent as soon as possible.
Sources o f energy were sought in n a tu re: wind, sun, water, steam,
coal.
A good student seeks knowledge fa irly and im partially.
They had to get special perm ission to g o to any specific area to seek
work.

I f you lo o k fo r an object, you try to find it. You often lo o k fo r

things you have lost or that you w a n t Som etim es you sim ply use
you r eyes w ithout touching anything.
She was m um bling, lookin g f o r her shoes.
We were even th in k in g o f lookin g f a - a cottage in the Peak D is tric t

You can also lo o k fo r som ething such as a solution o r a job.

B rita in is looking fo r a peaceful, d iplom atic solution.
They came to look fo r w ork in the rich , developing south.

see, watch, look at, regard

W hen you see someone or som ething, you notice them w ith your
eyes. You m ay exam ine them closely or you m ay pay v e ry little
attention to them.
He saw Karen standing ra th er meekly in the doorway.
I poked my head out c f the tent to see a sky, velvet black, studded
w ith stars.
He’s g ot a paper hat stuck over his eyes and he can’t see a thing.

W hen you go to the theatre o r cinem a, you say that you see a play
o r film . You do n ot use ‘look at’ o r ‘watch’ .
I saw ‘D ear B ru tu s’ a t its fir s t n igh t in 1917.
We saw Greta G arbo in 'Queen C hristina’.

W hen you w a tch som eone or som ething, you n otice w hat is
happening w ith you r eyes, paying a lo t o f attention. O ften what
you are w atching is m oving o r is about to m ove.
From the window he watched Louisan cycle down the broad path
that led towards the gates.
I t was terrible. M y every move was being watched.

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Outdoors, they are delighted to watch leaves and shadows.

He watched and listened. There was no movement and no sound.

Both see and w atch are used when you are talkin g about
television o r sport.

You say that som eone w atch es television , but that they w a tch or
see a particular program m e.
He spends several hours w atching television.
She went home to watch ‘A lie n ’.
I saw it on television a fter the news.

S im ilarly, you say that som eone w atch es a sport such as football,
but that they w atch o r see a particu lar m atch.
M ore people are w atching cricket than ever before.
I'd sooner g o out w ith a gu n than watch a fo o tb a ll match.
...those o f us who saw E ngland’s defeat a t W rexham.

I f you lo o k a t som eone o r som ething, you deliberately direct your

eyes so that you can see what they are lik e o r what is happening.
The person o r thing m ay or m ay not be m ovin g as you lo o k a t
them.
He looked at her across the table, chew ing his parsnips slowly.
H enri! Everyone is looking a t you !
A t 2, 3 and 4 months, they enjoy looking a t bright-coloured things
and things that move.

You do not use re g a rd to talk about n oticin g things w ith you r

eyes. You use re g a rd to talk about how you think o f them w ith
your mind. I f you re g a rd som ething as im portant, you think it is
im portant.
Some women in this situation regard the jou rn ey to w ork as th e ir
only tim e in the day f o r relaxation.
I'v e never tried to resist what I regarded as inevitable.
We regard such visits as im portant.

sensible, sensitive
A sen sib le person m akes good decisions and judgem ents and
avoids risks, dangers, o r problem s. Th e decisions o r judgem ents
are based on reason rather than em otion.
She was fa r too sensible to believe these rid iculous lies.
He told her to be brave and sensible.
O f course, sensible precautions have to be taken.
I t ’s sensible to avoid sweets between meals.

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You can also describe clothes as sen sib le i f they are practical and
strong rather than fashionable and attractive.
She invariably wore ‘sensible’ clothes and p la in shoes.
She wears a sweater, casual slacks and sensible shoes.

A s e n s itiv e person is easily upset or offended by other people’s

rem arks o r behaviour.
This may make a sensitive ch ild tense and apprehensive.
There are sensitive children who are upset by fa iry stories.

I f you are s e n s itiv e to a particu lar thing such as criticism , you

are easily upset or offended b y i t
He’s very sensitive to criticism .
,..(f you are sensitive to unintended slights.

You can also say that you are s e n s itiv e about som ething, i f it
w orries or upsets you.
You really m ust stop being so sensitive about y ou r accent.
Some parents are sensitive about advice fro m th eir children's
teachers.

I f you are s e n s itiv e to people’s feelin gs or problem s, you show

understanding and awareness o f them.
We’re try in g to make people m ore sensitive to the d ifficulties faced
by w orking mothers.
...the protection and support o f sensitive, perceptive parents.

S en sitive skin reacts badly to chem icals.

One person in fiv e is sensitive to b iolog ica l washing powder.

serial, series
You use both s e ria l and serie s to talk about a set o f program m es
fo r radio or television o r a set o f pieces o f w ritin g printed in
d ifferen t editions o f a m agazine o r newspaper.

A s e r ia l is a fiction al story w hich is d ivid ed in to parts. F or

exam ple, a novel can be d ivid ed in to parts and shown on
television as a s e ria l.
The novel has recently been dram atized as a television s e ria l
M any o f Dickens’ novels were published in seria l fo rm .

A s e rie s is a set o f related program m es or pieces o f w ritin g. A

serie s m ay be fiction al, but each part is a com plete story in itself.
M any serie s are not fictional: fo r exam ple a w ild life se rie s on

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television is a set o f program m es about nature. N ote that the

plural o f series is also series.
...the 1960s T V puppet series T h u n d er bird s’.
...a comedy series.

serviette, towel
In B ritish English, a s e rv ie tte is a square o f cloth or paper that
you use to protect you r clothes w h ile you are eating, and
sometimes to w ipe you r fingers and mouth.
He drew caricatures on the serviettes ju s t as he had in Viennese
cafis.

The piece o f cloth that you use fo r d ryin g you rself after w ashing
is called a to w el.
M y h a ir is wrapped up in a towel, because I ’d ju s t washed it when
you rang.
I'v e hung up a tow el behind the bathroom d oor f o r you, i f you want
a wash.

shadow, shade
A shadow is a dark shape on a surface w hich is caused b y a
person or object that prevents lig h t from reaching the surface.
The dark shape on the surface is sim ilar to the outline o f the
person or object.
The lamps cast my shadow a long the street as I went my way alone.
The heavy shadow o f a je t fro m Midw ay a irp o rt crossed the room .
The elm trees in the corner o f the playground cast com fortin g cool
shadows.

Shadow or an area o f sh ad ow is an area covered by the shadow

o f som ething. I f som ething is in sh adow , it is in an area that is
covered by the shadow o f som ething.
A m ulberry tree threw a black patch o f shadow above the place.
A slim fig u re in khaki moved through the shadow.
It was in shadow, but its shape and m arkings were p la in enough.
The shade is an area which is dark and cool because the sunlight
cannot reach it. Shade can cover a large area and be caused by
the shadow s o f m any differen t things.
...a nicely b u ilt stone house set in die shade.
The two men lay back in deckchairs in the shade o f a fin e copper
beech tree.
I sheltered in a ra re patch o f shade under some trees.

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ship, boat
Vessels that tra vel over w ater can be called sh ip s or boats.

A sh ip is norm ally large and used eith er b y the navy o r fo r

transporting passengers o r goods b y sea.
There were other ships in p o rt and an o il tanker was creeping
towards a storage wharf.
Th is is a cruise ship and I was taken on as a steward a t the last
m inute.
D u rin g the fo llo w in g centuries, la rge areas were cleared to b u ild the
pow erful ships o f the B ritis h Navy.

A n y vessel that travels over w ater can be described as a b oa t, but

sm all ones that sa il in riv e rs or that a re used fo r leisu re can on ly
be called boats.
John took me down the riv e r in the old boat.
He walked alon g the wooden p ie r and clim bed down the short
ladder in to die boa t

In conversation, large passenger ships such as ferries, are also

often called boats.
She was g ettin g o jf a t H am burg to take the boat to Stockholm .
The shipping lin e operating the boat, the S obra l Santos, had not
released the lis t o f passengers.

shirt, blouse
S h irts and b lou ses are pieces o f clothing that are w orn on the
upper part o f the body. Th ey are made o f ligh t m aterials such as
cotton or polyester and they usually have a collar, sleeves, and
buttons down the front.

S h irts are usually w orn by men, and they are often w orn w ith a
tie. M ost s h irts have buttons up to the neck, but some casual
sh irts are open at the neck.
He had shaved and he had on not merely a w hite sh irt but a clean
one, w ith a co lla r and necktie.
He wore a dark blue s h irt and cotton trousers and his sleeves were
rolled up.

B lou ses are on ly w orn by wom en and are not w orn w ith a tie.
Som etim es th ey have buttons up to the neck, but m any are meant
to be w orn open at the neck.
The efficient-looking dark suit only p a rtly conceals a b rig h t blouse

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She’s so s illy ! She wears a b ig flop p y bow on her blouse.

...the high-collared school blouse.

shorts, underpants, pants

S h orts a re short trousers w orn by m en and wom en. Th ey cover
the tops o f you r legs and you r hips. Som e sh orts are lon g enough
to cover you r legs alm ost down to you r knees.
She took a p en cil fro m the h ip pocket o f her shorts.
The second m an w ore a striped s h irt and grey shorts.

In Am erican E nglish, sh orts can also be a piece o f underw ear

w orn by m en and boys. T h ey cover the part o f the body above the
legs and below the w a is t In B ritish E nglish they are called
u nderpants o r pan ts.
Your dad was in his underclothes - b rig h t blue shorts and singlet.
She came in and picked up the underpants and vest th a t the ch ild
had peeled off.
He took o ff his shorts and pants and stood there naked.

sick, nauseous, vomit, ill

T o be sic k means to brin g up food through your mouth from you r
stomach.
She was in a ship. She was g o in g to be sick.
He was being violently sick.

To fe e l sic k means to fe e l that you want to be sick.

F ly in g always makes me fe e l sick.

Am erican speakers say they fe e l nauseous rather than ‘feel sick’.

Th ey rise the verb v o m it instead o f ‘be sick’. F e e l nau seou s and
v o m it are also used in m ore form al B ritish English.
I fe lt dizzy and nauseous.
She was stricken w ith p a in and began to vom it.

I f som eone has a disease or a problem w ith th eir health, you can
describe them as 111 o r sick .
I ’m too ill to see anyone.
M y boy’s sick. Measles.
M ost B ritish speakers do not use i l l in fron t o f a noun unless they
are also using an adverb such as ‘very ’, ‘seriou sly’, or
•term inally’ .

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s ic k

We had two s till very ill men on o u r hands.

It was a d ru g given to severely m entally ill people.

Some Am erican speakers use i l l on its own in fron t o f a noun.

...one o f o u r ill sisters

You can use s ic k in fron t o f a noun.

I ’d say he’s a sick man.

snake, serpent
Snake is the norm al w ord fo r the long, thin rep tile that has scales
on its skin and no legs. There are m any d ifferen t types o f sn ake,
fo r exam ple vipers, cobras, and pythons.
N o poisonous snake attacks, it merely defends itself.
S m a ll snakes need feeding only once o r twice a week.

In litera ry or old-fashioned English, snakes are som etim es called

serp en ts.
The fa m ilia r tale o f Adam and Eve, the forbidden fr u it and the
serpent is one o f the key myths o f European civilisa tion .
...a creature w ith the head o f a lion , the body o f a goa t and the ta il
o f a serpent.

someone, somebody, anyone, anybody

N ote that som eon e means the same as som eb od y and an yon e
means the same as an yb od y.

You use som eone o r som ebody to refer to a person w ithout

saying who you mean.
He had to see someone.
Just then somebody opened a door.

You use an yon e or an yb od y to talk about people in general, or

about each person o f a particu lar kind.
He took longer than anybody else.
I t must surely have been obvious to anyone w ith a spark o f common
sense.
...anyone who has a genuine concern fa r human beings.

You also use an yon e or a n yb od y in questions, clauses beginning

w ith ‘ i f ’ or ‘unless’, and in n egative clauses w ith words lik e ‘not’,
‘never’ , and ‘hardly’.
D o you ever see anybody fro m the C lub here?

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I f anyone wants me ju s t say I ’ve gone to the dentist’s.

I don’t want to see anyone.
th ird ly anyone now seriously accepts this once-popular view.

You can use som eon e or som ebody in questions i f you expect the
answer to be ‘yes’ , and in clauses beginning w ith ‘ i f ’ and ‘unless’
when you want to m ake a p ossibility seem m ore realistic.
D id someone pay you not to te ll what you knew?
I f someone hits you, you h it back immediately.
How can we te ll i f someone is lying?

• Som eone and som ebody do not have plural form s. I f you want
to refer to a group o f people w ithout saying who you mean, you
say ‘some people’.
Some people attempted to dash across the bridge.
The law may be held to be unsatisfactory by some people.

• You use ‘any one’ to em phasize that you are referrin g to on ly

one o f som ething. You do not use ‘anyone’ .
That was m ore money than he had seen at any one tim e in a ll his
twenty-one years.

something, anything
You use som eth in g when you are referrin g to a particu lar thing
w ithout saying exactly what it is.
There’s sotnething I have to te ll you!
A security m an in p la in clothes who was eating som ething asked f o r
my papers.

You use a n y th in g to talk about a thing or event w hich m ight

exist or happen, or about each thing or event o f a particu lar kind.
What can I do? I ’l l do anything.
D o g o and help you rself to anything.
You can say and do anything you want and I can’t fir e you.

You also use a n y th in g in questions and in clauses beginning w ith

‘i f ’ or ‘unless’ .
Had anything happened? Was there some good news?
I f you can fin d ou t anything, we’ll be most grateful.
You also use a n y th in g in negative clauses w ith words lik e ‘not’
and ‘never’ .
I don’t know anything really.
He never seemed to do anything at a ll.

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He had no idea anything like this was goin g to happen.

N ote that you cannot use ‘anything’ w ith ‘not’ as the subject o f a
clause. The w ord you should use is ‘nothing’ .
She shook the bottle over the glass; nothing came out.

You can use so m eth in g in questions i f you expect the answ er to

be ‘yes’ , and in clauses beginning w ith ‘i f ’ and ‘unless’ when you
want to m ake a possib ility seem m ore realistic.
Is n ’t there som ething we could play sittin g down?
I f I need a d o lla r o r tw o to buy som ething I have to ask my wife f o r
money.

sometimes, sometime
You use som etim es to say that som ething happens on certain
occasions, rath er than a ll the tim e.
‘D o you hear fro m y ou r sister?’— ‘Sometimes. ’
Sometimes I wish I was back in A frica .

You can also use som etim es to say that som ething happens in
certain cases, but not in every case.
Sometimes they ju s t come fo r a term , sometimes s ix months.
Sometimes, people do not begin to exam ine th eir m arriages u n til
they see the divorce advancing upon them.

S om etim e means at a vague or unspecified tim e in the future or

past.
Can I come and see you sometime?
He saw Frieda M aloney sometime last week.

When it is used in this way, som etim e is often w ritten as tw o

words.
He died some tim e last year.

You also use som etim e in fron t o f a title or name o f a job to

indicate the position or job that someone had at an unspecified
tim e in the past.
...S ir A lfred M unnings, sometime President o f the R oyal Adademy.

somewhere, anywhere
I f you talk about being o r goin g som ew h ere, you are talking
about a particu lar place, but you do not o r cannot say exactly
w here it is.

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He’s somewhere up there by the bridge.

One always assumes that a track w ill lead somewhere.

I f you talk about being or going a n yw h ere, you are talking about
any place in general, or any part o f a particu lar place.
But i f you really want me, I w ill come to you always, anywhere.
I was ready to go anywhere a t a ll in the w orld where it rained
more.

You also use a n yw h ere in questions, clauses beginning w ith ‘ i f ’

or ‘unless’, and in negative clauses w ith words lik e ‘not’, ‘n ever’ ,
‘hardly’, and ‘seldom ’.
/s there anywhere on the island you haven’t been?
I f that b u ll gets anywhere near my place, I ’l l k ill it.
I have never been anywhere so desolate.
His parents seldom stayed anywhere m ore than a few months.

You can use som ew h ere in questions i f you expect the answer to
be ‘yes', or in clauses beginning w ith ‘i f ’ and ‘unless’ when you
want to make a p ossibility seem m ore realistic.
S hall we g o and eat somewhere?
Have I seen you somewhere before?
...ifP e g le r is somewhere w ithin the sound o f these wards.

sound, noise
A sound is som ething that you hear.
A few moments la ter Bonasera recognized the sound o f a heavy
ambulance com ing through the narrow driveway.
The com puter also lacks the a b ility to discrim inate between speech
and other sounds.

A n o ise is a sound that you hear, especially when it has no

m eaning o r w hen it is unpleasant
There was a sudden noise o f distant explosions.
I looked a t Anne - cheerfully eating her soup w ith sucking noises.

Sound and n o is e can both be use w ithout ‘a’ o r ‘the’. Sound is

the general term fo r what you hear as a result o f vibration s
com ing though the a ir, o r som etim es through w ater o r solid
m aterials.
The storm o f sound beat a t them.
You can use n o ise to refer to a lo t o f unpleasant noises.
F o r nearly fo rty years now, I have lived w ith ch ild ren ’s noise.

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south, southern, southerly

The sou th is the direction on your righ t when you are looking
towards the direction w here the sun rises. The sou th o f a country
or area is the part towards the south. You use sou th, sou th ern ,
and so u th erly to describe things that are in or com e from the
south.

You use sou th to describe a part o f a place that is in the south,

w hether it is a large place lik e a country o r a sm aller place lik e a
building. N ote that sou th is often used to m ake a contrast w ith
the north, west, and east: the sou th side o f a building is opposite
the north side.
A fte r a b rie f visit to the U.S., he returned to South Am erica.
The south side o f the church is elaborate.
In the west and a lon g the south coast rocky shores and cliffs
predom inate.

S ou th ern means relatin g to the south and refers to a m ore

general area than ‘ south’.
The Thames is the grea t divide o f southern England.
...the Oaxaca VaUey in the southern highlands o f M exico.
He had arranged fo r him to be transferred to another town on the
southern coast q f Sicily.

You can also use sou th ern to describe things that come from the
south or that are found there.
A m ale voice w ith a th ick southern accent answered. 'H ello. I'm a
frie n d o f W ill’s .'
His face was very tanned, as though he had been lying on a
southern beach fo r months.

W inds that com e from the south can be described as sou th or

so u th erly winds.
The bigger islands gave some shelter fro m the south wind.
...a yard-wide belt i f seaweed and kelp pushed ashore by the
southerly breeze.

You can also use so u th erly to describe directions and locations.

I f som ething m oves in a so u th erly direction, it m oves towards
the south. U nlike ‘south’ and ‘southern’ , so u th erly can be used
w ith ‘m ore’ and ‘m ost’.
...Crete, the m ost southerly and largest o f a ll the Creek islands.
H ooper stood a t a southerly window.

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sp eak , ta lk
When you sp eak o r ta lk , you use you r vo ice to produce words.
Sometimes you can use berth sp eak and ta lk w ithout changing
the sense v e ry much, as in the follo w in g exam ples.
Johnny had been speaking alm ost in a whisper.
Unde Sam went on talking, in his low, throaty voice.

You usually use sp eak when one person is addressing another,

and the second person is listen in g rath er than jo in in g in . For
exam ple, a p olitician speaks to an audience. I f you speak to
someone about som ething that w orries o r annoys you, you say
what you think is wrong.
It was H a rold ’s tu rn to speak.
№ never spoke a t m eetings but ju s t stared a t the oth er directors.
It was essential that I speak to Sm ithy.
Several parents had spoken to me expressing th e ir grave concern.

You usually use ta lk when tw o o r m ore people are h avin g a

conversation o r discussion. F or exam ple, when people h ave a
meal together, th ey ta lk to each other. I f you ta lk to someone
about som ething that w orries o r annoys you, you discuss it w ith
them and expect them to express th eir poin t o f view . N ote that in
Am erican E nglish you can also ta lk w ith someone.
A fa m ily o f fiv e were fin is h in g lunch and ta lk in g loudly.
She said that she would lik e to meet me because P a tricia had talked
about me.
I f you are really serious, Davis, I ’ll talk to Watson.
Have you talked w ith the doctor yet?

• I f you speak a language, you know that language and can use it.
You speak such excellent French!
Peter was one o f the few members o f his team to speak good
English.
He made frien d s w ith Korean labourers who spoke some E nglish
but wanted to learn more.

• D uring an actual conversation, you can ta lk or sp eak in a

language, or ta lk or sp eak the language. N ote that speak is
sligh tly m ore form al.
S ittin g B u ll was to ta lk in the S ioux language; an interpreter was
to translate.
They spoke In Yiddish in case the lin e was being tapped.
There were a lo t o f people on the boat ta lk in g French.
Then it dawned on me that they were speaking Spanish.

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speech, conversation
Speech is the a b ility to speak, the act o f speaking, or the w ay
someone speaks.
Speech is controlled on one side o f the brain.
They communicated, i f they communicated, w ithout speech.
The older he grew the m ore incom prehensible became his speech.

I f tw o or m ore people have a co n versa tio n , they talk to each

other in an inform al w ay fo r a w hile. C o n versa tion is the
a ctivity o f having conversations.
The g ir l next to me tried to start a conversation.
The conversations were m ostly about the heat.
B a l and his frien d s were too deeply engrossed in conversation to
m ind anything.

speech, talk, lecture

I f you make a speech, you speak to an audience, usually in a
form al way, and say things that you have already prepared; often
you w rite down your text in advance and read it out. You usually
speak about a situation or problem that concerns the audience.
For exam ple, people make am using speeches at weddings, and
politician s m ake speeches to express th eir view s and policies.
The vica r made a speech w ishing M iss C ray m uch happiness.
The opening sessions in the tra in in g course were welcom ing
speeches.
He worked on W ilson's p olicy speeches, p a rticu la rly the speech on
L a b ou r’s econom ic policy.

I f you give a ta lk , you speak to an audience in an inform al way.

You norm ally prepare what you are going to say, but you do not
alw ays have a w ritten text to read. In a ta lk you norm ally g ive
people inform ation, fo r exam ple about you r experiences or a
subject you know w ell.
They are pla n n in g a series q f hour-long talks by such speakers as
the fo rm e r Archbishop D onald Coggcm and D elia Sm ith.
He achieved sudden notoriety by his weekly talks on B B C radio
under the title ‘People and Th in gs’.

I f you g ive a le c tu re , you speak in a fa irly form al w ay to an

audience, especially to a group o f students, about an academ ic
subject. L ectu res are one o f the m ain w ays o f teaching in
u niversities.

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I came to England in the autum n o f 1935 to give two lectures at

Bedford College.
Adam had been goin g to lectures on philosophy.
When I began my university course, the firs t lecture was given by
the Professor o f E n glish literature.

spend, pass
I f you do som ething from the beginning to the end o f a period o f
tim e, you can say that you spend that amount o f tim e doing it.
She woke early, m eaning to spend a ll day w riting.
A t the end o f last term I spent three days cleaning o u r f la t

You can also say that you spend tim e in a place, i f you are there
from the beginning to the end o f that period o f tim e.
We fou n d a hotel where we could spend the n ig h t
He spent most q f his tim e in the library.

I f you do som ething to occupy you rself w h ile you are w aitin g fo r
something, you say that you do it to 'pass the tim e’.
He had brought a book a lon g to pass the time.
‘How am I goin g to pass the tim e here?’ he wondered.

You can say that tim e has passed in order to express the idea
that a period o f tim e has finished.
The firs t few days passed.
The tim e seems to have passed so quickly.

square, place
A squ are is a fla t open area surrounded b y buildings in a tow n or
city. M any such areas have S qu are in th eir names.
There was a policem an on the other side o f the square.
He loved his house in the square a t D elft and painted it continually.
...a mass procession fro m M a rb le A rch to T ra fa lg a r Square.

P la ce is used as part o f the name o f a square o r short street in a

town, especially one w here the houses are a ll o f a sim ilar type.
Inspector Cook began by describing his visit to 2 B lackburn Place.

stand, bear, tolerate, support

I f you cannot stan d someone o r som ething, you find them so
annoying o r irrita tin g that you do not want to be in volved w ith

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them in any way. I f you cannot stan d a situation, that situation is

too d ifficu lt and upsetting fo r you and you no lon ger w ish to be
in volved in i t N ote that stan d is usually used in a negative
con text o r in a question. It com es a fter a m odal such as ‘can’ o r
after another a u xilia ry such as ‘do’.
I listened to his engine how ling u n til I couldn’t stand it any longer.
I don’t th in k I can stand being in the house w ith h im f o r another
m in u te
i f it weren’t f o r the child ren I couldn’t stand livin g.
How do you stand the diet?

B ea r is used in a sim ilar w ay to stand.

I couldn’t bear staying in the same town as th a t man.
I can’t bear h im !

I f you to le ra te som ething, you allow it o r accept i t even though

you do not agree w ith it o r approve o f i t You norm ally use the
w ord to le ra te when you are talk in g about someone who has some
degree o f au thority o r choice.
Why is it th a t parents, who are otherw ise kind, tolerate cru el
schools f o r th e ir children?
A ll healthy societies can tolerate dissent.
This is the last occasion on w hich I can tolerate M acleod’s gross
neglect and carelessness.

You do not use ‘support’ to talk about what you can accept o r
allow . I f you su p p ort someone o r som ething, you g iv e them your
help and you want them to succeed. F or exam ple, i f you su p p ort
a political party, you vote fo r it. I f you su p p ort a ch arity, you
give m oney to it.
I travelled around the country appealing to people to support me
and a ll p o litica l prisoners.
He was sure the men would support th eir unions.
In addition to the tra in in g o f teachers, the University supports a
Research Centre f o r the Education o f the Visually Handicapped.

stationary, stationery
These words look sim ilar and are both pronounced /stei/эпэп/.
H ow ever, th eir m eanings are com pletely different.

Som ething that is s ta tio n a ry is not m oving.

He made fo r a stationary lorry, g o t in and drove off.
The boats were nearly stationary in the water.

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She could stop horses a t w ill and keep them stationary Jbr as long
as she liked.
S ta tion ery is a ll the variou s things you use fo r w ritin g, such as
paper, pens, envelopes, and ink.
They are B rita in ’s biggest book publisher: diaries, stationery,
textbooks, as w ell as m a jor fic tio n and non-fiction titles.
...a short letter on p rison stationery.

statistics, statistical
S tatistics are figu res w hich g iv e factu al inform ation about the
w orld o r about an area, fo r exam ple the num ber o f dogs in a town,
the average age o f doctors, o r the p a ren ta ge o f pupils w ho pass
an exam.
There are no statistics show ing any appreciable im provem ent in
ru ra l income levels.
Statistics never prove anything.
W orld expenditure on education exceeded defence and m ilita ry
budgets, a statistic w hich most people fin d very surprising.

S tatistics is also the branch o f m athem atics w hich studies these

figures and interprets them. W hen it has this m eaning, sta tistics
is an uncount noun, and takes a singular verb.
Social science courses com m only require elementary m athem atics o r
statistics.
M odem m athematics courses tend to begin w ith set theory and the
basis o f statistics.
Statistics has never been taught here before.

S ta tis tic a l is the ad jective describing things related to s ta tistics.

1 L ittle statistical w ork has been done on fads and fashions.
The paper also made sta tistica l breakdowns rega rd in g the num ber
o f dog owners.

Other words
Instead o f saying that tw o things are have a s ta tis tic a l
relationship, you can say that th ey are s ta tis tic a lly related.
‘B ut this is a ra re case,'said M erkin, ’too ra re to be statistically
im p o rta n t’

j steal, rob
* If gnpieone ste a ls som ething, th ey take it w ithout intending to
J give it back.

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He tr ia l to steal a caravan fro m a caravan site.

A rm ed raiders disguised as postmen stole 50 bags o f m ail.
M y ca r was stolen on Frid ay evening.

The object o f s te a l is the th in g that is taken. F o r exam ple,

someone m ight s te a l m oney, food, o r a car.
I slipped in to the kitchen and stole some o f the coins.
A t fir s t Jed was only ordered to steal sm a ll sums o f money fro m his
parents.

I f someone takes som ething that belongs to you w ithout intending

to give it back, you can say that they ro b you o f it. R ob is not
usually used in conversation, but it is often used in stories and
newspaper reports. It usually im plies that the crim e is very
serious, and often that it is violent.
The two men were robbed o f m ore than £700.
...a film about unemployed teenagers jo in in g forces to rob a fa ctory
o f stainless steel sink units.

The object o f ro b is the person or place that som ething is taken

from . For exam ple, crim inals ro b people o r places lik e banks.
One n igh t they planned to rob an old widow.
Use y ou r organization to rob a few banks.

Other words
A person w ho stea ls is called a ‘th ie f’ . Th e plu ral o f ‘th ie f’ is
‘th ieves’. Th e act o f stealing is called ‘theft’.
...jew el thieves.
P olice believe the thefts may be the w ork o f one gang.

A person w ho rob s someone is called a ‘robber*, and ‘robbery* is

the crim e o f taking m oney o r property, often by using threats o r
force.
The robber knocked ou t a warden before strip p in g the p o rtra its
fro m th e ir fram es.
The robbery occurred a t the Gardener Museum.

A th ie f who stea ls from som eone’s pocket is a ‘pickpocket’.

They were prey to pickpockets and other crim inals.

Someone w ho stea ls things from shops is a ‘shoplifter’.

...the technology used in departm ent stores to discourage shoplifters.

Someone who stea ls from houses and other buildings, can be

called a ‘burglar’ . N ote that, in B ritish English, you say that they

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'burgle’ a house; in A m erican English, you say that they

‘burglarize’ a house.
B urglars yesterday ransacked the offices o f the Deputy M inister.
They w orry that th e ir house may be burgled w hile they are away.
Her home had been burglarized.

steps, stairs, staircase

Steps, sta irs, and sta irca ses are a ll used to clim b up o r down a
slope and are m ade up o f a series o f fla t surfaces raised up on the
slope, one above the other.

A step is a single one o f these raised surfaces. S teps are usually

outdoors, fo r exam ple in fron t o f a building. H ow ever, you
occasionally refer to steps indoors, especially when they are not
carpeted o r do not connect tw o floors o f a building.
She raced up the steps and in to the cottage.
Back in V illiers Street there are steps leading up to the footw ay over
H ungerford Bridge.
...the short co rrid o r th a t leads to the child ren's room s, and the steps
that lead down to his basement study.
We halted a t die bottom o f a flig h t o f steps leading onto the stage.

S tairs connect d ifferen t floors inside a buildin g and are often

covered in ca rp et
They went up the stairs and in to the fla t.
He went ou t in to the h a ll and stood a t the fo o t o f the stairs ca llin g
fo r her to come down.
I clim bed the stairs to o u r bedroom.

A sta irca se is a set o f stairs considered as a structure, w hich

usually includes a ra il o r bannister at the side. S taircases are
usually in side buildings.
There were odd creaks fro m the staircase and inexplicable sounds
fro m the upper flo o r.
They went in to a large, dark, m arble-flow ed ha ll, w ith a b ig
staircase w inding up fro m it.
Ahead o f me the m ain co rrid o r ended in a narrow tw isting
staircase.

still, yet, already

I f you say that som ething is s t ill happening o r is s t ill true, you
mean that it has been happening o r it has been true since some

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tim e in the past, and that it continues to happen o r be true. S till

is often used to add emphasis, o r to suggest that som ething is
surprising.
She wets s till lookin g a t me.
There are s till plenty qf horses round here.
A n h ou r passed, two, and s till she slept on.

You use y e t in n egative sentences and in questions. I f you say

that som ething has not happened y e t, you mean that it has not
happened at the tim e you speak. Y e t is often used to add
emphasis, o r to suggest that it is su rprising that som ething has
not happened, o r that it is lik ely to happen later.
Why should I die? I ’m not eighty yet.
The troops could not yet see the misty shores o f Normandy.
I t isn’t dark y e t

I f you ask i f som ething has happened y e t, you want to know i f it

has happened at the tim e you speak. In B ritish English, you use
the present perfect tense fo r these questions.
Have you told her about her fa th e r yet?
Have you done that yet?

In A m erican English, you can also use the past sim ple tense fo r
these questions. For exam ple, some Am ericans say ‘D id he do it
yet?’ rath er than ‘Has he done it yet?*.

I f you say that som ething has a lre a d y happened, you m ean that it
has happened b efore the tim e at w hich you are speaking. A lre a d y
is often used to add em phasis o r to suggest that it is surprising
that som ething has happened, o r that you expected it to happen
later.
The fie ld beyond the orchard had already been sown w ith barley.
He had shewed already before dinner, but now he went ewer his chin
a second time.
Lessep and M aury were already eating.

store, shop
Places w here goods are sold are usually called shops in B ritish
English.
We’re goin g to take the typew riter back to the shop.
La ter in the m orning, a t lunch-tim e, she w ould g o ou t to the shops.
N a tu ra l brown rice is obtainable fro m health fo o d shops.

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Large shops w hich sell a special type o f goods are som etim es
called stores.
A ll insecticides should be available fro m b ig stores, ironm ongers o r
some do-it-yourself shops.
W ait to buy linen u n til the sum m er o r w inter sales, then g o to stores
with a good reputation.
...a fu rn itu re store

A very large shop w hich has separate departm ents sellin g m any
different types o f goods is called a d ep artm en t sto re.
...the fam ous London departm ent s tore Harrods.

In Am erican English, places w here goods are sold are norm ally
called stores.
She came out o f the store and sat down on the bench.
The clerks in the store raced to help us.
The next day he went down to a fancy stationery store on M arket
Street and bought h im self a th irty -d olla r fo u n ta in pen.

• Shop is also used as a verb. W hen people shop, they go to shops

and buy things. H ow ever, it is m ore common to say that someone
goes sh oppin g, rather than that they 'shop’ .
I usually shop on Saturdays.
They went shopping after lunch.

Other words
A ch ain sto re is a departm ent store o r superm arket that is part
o f a large num ber o f sim ilar shops in differen t towns, a ll o f w hich
are owned by the same person or company.

storey, story
A flo o r o r le v e l o f a building is called a s to re y in B ritish English
and a s to ry in Am erican English.
So we sta rt b u ild in g a h otel and get the fir s t storey finished.
It is a large late G eorgian house, painted white, w ith fo u r storeys, a
basement, a back and fro n t garden.
The paneled pa rtition s can fo ld back to make one room o f the whole
story.
The house was fo u r stories h igh and had a t least th irty rooms.
In both B ritish and Am erican English, a s to ry is a description o f
real or im aginary events.
He could be m ost witty, though, when te llin g stories about some o f
his fam ous colleagues.

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storey

The teacher then read a story about a young boy who had fa lle n
down and h u rt himself.

strange, foreign
S tran ge means odd, unfam iliar, o r unexpected.
I had a strange dream about you and me last night.
Her husband had become strange and distant.

A stra n ge person is a person that you do not know o r have n ever

m et o r seen.
I realized it wasn’t rig h t to ta lk to a strange g irl.
I don’t lik e strange people com ing in to my house.

You do not use ‘strange’ to describe people o r things that come

from a country w hich is not your own. You use fo re ig n .
The United States had 68,000fo re ig n doctors in 1972.
We can give you sterlin g in exchange fo r most fo re ig n notes.

stranger, foreigner
A s tra n g e r is someone that you do not know o r have n ever m et
o r seen.
H er m other d id n ’t trust strangers.
A n ton io was a tota l stranger to a ll o f us.

A s tra n g e r is also a person who does not know a place v e ry w e ll

The tou rist’s wife said to Harvey, ‘W hat tim e do the stores close
downtown?’ Harvey said, T m a stranger h ere ’

I f you want to say that someone com es from another country and
not from you r ow n, you do n ot call them a ‘ stranger’. You say
they are a fo re ig n e r.
...th a t vague uneasiness that comes w ith hearing a new ly-arrived
fo reig n er speak y ou r language as w ell as his own.
...a fo re ig n e r ra id in g ou t o f a phrase book.
In A ugust there are over one m illio n foreign ers in F ra n ce

study, studio
A stu d y is a room in a house that is used fo r reading, w ritin g,
and studying.
I p u lled down a d u lllo o k in g book fro m an upper sh elf in my
fa th e r’s study.

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 study

They exchanged good nights and he rapped on the d oor opposite

W ashington’s study.

A stu d io is a room w here an artist works, fo r exam ple a pain ter

or a photographer.
When I was a t M oore’s studio I was s till a student.
In 1863 Edma and Berthe went to the studio q f the fam ous
landscape p a in ter Corot.

A stu d io is also a room w here radio o r television program m es are

recorded, m usic is recorded, o r film s are made.
...die b ig recording studio in M aida V ale

A stu d io o r stu d io fla t is a sm all flat, w ith one o r possibly tw o

rooms.
I lived a t that tim e in a studio fla t near to O lym pia

subway, underpass
A su bw ay is a passage that is used by pedestrians to go
underneath a road.
There is a covered route to it fro m South Kensington Station by that
weird subway w ith its grim y glazed tiles and naked electric lig h t
bulbs.

An underpass is eith er a passage fo r pedestrians o r a road fo r

vehicles that goes underneath a road o r ra ilw a y line.
...the lethal exhaust gases fro m the underpass beneath.
...a ra ilroa d underpass.

• In Am erican English, th e su bw ay is a railw ay system in which

electric trains tra vel below the ground in tunnels.

suit, suite
A su it is a set o f clothes consisting o f a jacket and a m atching
pair o f trousers fo r a man, o r a jacket and a m atching sk irt or
pair o f trousers fo r a woman. S u it is pronounced /suit/.
Stein had changed in to a sober, dark, woollen suit.
...the woman in the sensible grey w ool su it and the fr illy pin k
blouse.
A su ite is a set o f m atching fu rnitu re used in a particu lar room,
fo r exam ple a bedroom or liv in g room . A ‘three-piece su ite’ Is a
set o f tw o m atching arm chairs w ith a sofa. S u ite is pronounced
/swiit/.

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s u it

...a three-piece suite fo r the lounge.

They went in to the large liv in g room w ith its red suite.
...a new bedroom suite.

A su ite is also a set o f connected rooms, especially in a hotel.

The hotel m anager threw open the door o f the suite.
We arrived in the penthouse suite a t 7.15.

surprised, surprising
W hen som ething unexpected o r unusual happens, you can say
that you are su rp rised .
Those who expected this outcome were surprised.
I'm surprised a t you r behaviour.
I ’m surprised it's this cold.
Som ething that is su rp risin g makes you feel surprised.
A t firs t it seems su rprisin g that they have so few links w ith th eir
counterparts in western countries.
Today there is nothing su rprisin g about fin d in g a woman holding
down a successful jo b in h igh finance.

suspenders, braces
In B ritish English, su spen ders are the fastenings used b y wom en
to hold up stockings.
She kicked ou t a leg and unfastened her suspenders.

In A m erican English, su spen ders are the straps m en w ear over

th eir shoulders to hold up th eir trousers. In B ritish English, these
are called b races.
The dealers sat hunched over th e ir com puters in th e ir white shirts
and red suspenders.
'R ig h t,' said Donald, rem oving his coat to reveal red braces.

sympathetic, friendly
I f you have a problem and someone is sym p ath etic or shows a
sym p ath etic attitude, they show you that they care and would
lik e to help.
I t is youth today who are m ost sym pathetic towards the elderly.
M y boyfriend was very sym pathetic and it d id make me fe e l better.
He looked sym pathetic and squeezed her a rm affectionately.
I sought to preserve a sym pathetic attitude to the cu ltu re o f which
they were a p a r t

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 sympathetic

A person who is fr ie n d ly o r has a fr ie n d ly attitude is kind and

pleasant and behaves the w ay a frien d would behave.
...his wife, a frie n d ly woman who offered me cakes and tea.
The woman had been frien d ly to ly n .
...a pleasant, frien d ly sm ile.
Posy gave her a frie n d ly h it w ith a newspaper.

You do n ot usually use ‘sym pathetic’ to describe someone that

you like. H ow ever, people occasionally re fe r to som eone in a
novel o r play w ho is easy to lik e as a sym p a th etic character.
A s there were no sym pathetic characters in rea l life, there were none
in my book.
R ealistic and sym pathetic elderly characters are seldom viewed on
the television.

You are m ore lik e ly to show that you lik e a rea l person by
describing them as ‘nice’ o r likeable*.

tall, high
You use both ta ll and h ig h to describe things that measure a lot
from bottom to top.

You use t a ll when you are talking about people.

He was ta ll and very thin, w ith narrow shoulders.
...a ta ll handsome man.

Other things, fo r exam ple trees and buildings, can be described as

ta ll i f they are fa irly narrow in relation to th eir height.
A fa in t breeze o ff the riv e r stirred the ta ll elephant grass.
He looked round a t the ta ll, narrow -fronted buildings on each side
o f the road.
W ith his left hand, he raised a ta ll glass o f lem on tea to his face.

You can also give an actual m easurement, by placing the

measurement before ta ll.
Its chimneys are 600fe e t ta ll
Charles was about 5 fe e t 4 indies ta ll.

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tall

You use h ig h to describe things w hich measure a la rger distance

than usual from the bottom to the top.
She lives in the h igh m ountains o f northern Japan.
He saw them s ittin g on h igh stools a t the sem icircular bar.
...the h igh w alls o f the prison.

You can also specify an actual height, b y placing a measurement

before h igh .
...fences three metres high.
...a low m ud w all about 10 centim etres high.

N ote that h ig h can also be used as an adverb.

The w ater rose dangerously high.
I threw the shell h igh up in to the a ir.

taste, taste o f
I f you ta ste som e food o r drink, you eat or drink a sm all amount
o f it in ord er to try its flavour.
He tasted his cold soup. I t was n ot qu ite ch illed enough.
I have tasted the p ie - it is quite excellent

W hen you eat or drink som ething, you can describe the flavou r by
saying how it tastes. T a ste can be follow ed eith er by an
adjective such as ‘sweet’ or ‘salty’ w hich gives inform ation about
the flavour, or by an adjective such as ‘delicious’ o r ‘revoltin g’
w hich gives you r opinion about the flavour.
S tra in o r sieve it and add enough sugar to keep it fro m tasting
sour.
The tears tasted salty, like sea water.
‘Id o n ’t know what it is, ’ he said, 'but it tastes wonderful. ’

I f food or drink tastes lik e som ething, its flavou r is sim ilar to
that thing.
She ate a b it o f meat which tasted like chicken.
The bananas were sm all and tasted like soap.

You say that food or drink tastes o f som ething i f it d efin itely has
the flavou r o f that thing. For exam ple, soup made w ith fish tastes
o f fish.
W ith greasy fin g ers we ate the pie which tasted o f cinnam on.
The tea tasted fa in tly o f b itter almonds.
The usually sweet water fro m o u r pum p turned brow n and tasted o f
nails.

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 ta x

tax, duty, fine

A tax is an amount o f m oney that you pay to the governm ent so
that it can pay fo r public services. You usually pay part o f your
income as ta x , and com panies pay part o f th eir profits as ta x . The
price o f m any things that you buy also includes some ta x .
A cut in taxes w ill mean a cut in governm ent spending.
We do not propose to increase incom e tax.
You’ll fin d each item has two prices. These are before and after tax
is added.

A du ty is a special tax that you pay on goods such as alcoholic

drinks, cigarettes, and petrol, or that you pay when you im port
goods into a country.
This year’s budget rises in excise duties on drink, tobacco and
petrol also added two p er cent to re ta il prices.
B rita in hopes to persuade Japan to low er existing im p ort duties on
whisky.
You are allowed to b rin g in to the U K certain goods w ithout
in cu rrin g duty.
This year’s budget rises in excise duties on d rink, tobacco and
petrol also added two p e r cent to re ta il prices.

A fin e is an amount o f m oney that som eone has to pay i f they are
found gu ilty o f an offence or a crim e.
They could g et $22,000 in fin es and 32 years in ja il.
Some large fin es have been imposed on employers exposing workers
to asbestos.
Men were sent to p rison f o r n ot paying the fines.

teach, instruct, educate

I f you teach someone, you explain a subject to them as teachers
do in school, o r show them how to do a particu lar task lik e
cooking o r drivin g.
He couldn’t read a t eighteen; h is w ife had to teach him .
I t is often grandm others who teach children to cook, sew o r k n it
I had taught in ordinary schools f o r many years.

I f you in stru ct som eone in a subject o r sk ill, you g iv e them

inform ation that th ey have to learn, so that th ey know how to do
som ething in the approved way.
Reg Renn instructs the trainees a t the college’s m otor vehicle unit.
The m agistrate instructed me in the procedure o f the court.

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teach

I f you in stru ct som eone to do som ething, you te ll them to do i t

The ju d ge instructed them to keep silent about his decision.
I have been instructed to give you th is
You can in stru ct y ou r bank to pay you r b ills by standing order.

I f you ed u cate someone, you teach them over a lon g period o f

tim e, so that they gain know ledge and experience in several
subjects.
The m ore affluent the society, the better it educates its m em bers
John Tyndall was b om in 1934 a t Exeter and educated a t
Beckenham G ram m ar S ch ool

teacher, lecturer, tutor, professor

Anyone who teaches can be called a tea ch er. H ow ever, i f you say
that someone is a tea ch er, you usually m ean that th ey are a
schoolteacher and w ork in a prim ary or secondary school.
M y m other, a prim a ry school teacher herself, had already taught
me how to read.
Good teachers never underestimate the a b ility o f children to learn.

In B ritain, a le c tu re r is someone who teaches at a u n iversity or

college.
David is now a lecturer in m athem atics a t London University.
A lecturer gave a talk on the tsetse fly .

A tu to r in a B ritish u n iversity teaches sm all groups o f students,

and is also responsible fo r g ivin g in dividu al students help and
advice.
The Head o f a Departm ent may appoint a m ember o f his s ta ff os
tu to r to in d ivid u a l students.
H is tutors in E nglish and H istory give him qu ite fa vou ra ble rep orts

A p rivate tu to r teaches in dividu al pupils, usually to help them in

subjects w hich th ey fin d d ifficu lt at school.
Ken had made progress w ith his home tutor.

In B ritain, a p ro fe s s o r is the m ost sen ior teacher in a u n iversity

departm ent In A m erican and Canadian u n iversities and colleges,
a ll o f the sen ior teaching sta ff are called p ro fessors. N ote that
P ro fe s s o r is also U3ed as a title w ith a person’s name.
...James C hallis. Professor o f Astronom y a t Cam bridge.
A n d everybody seems to have money these days Except college
professors.
...the research being ca rried ou t by Professor B u tler and his team.

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 t e r r ifie d

terrified, terrifying
I f you are te rrifie d , you feel extrem ely frightened.
The g ir l was obviously terrified and wanted noth in g so much as to
get back to her seat
You’re terrified o f thunderstorms.

Som ething that is te r r ify in g makes you fe e l terrified .

Chicago was terrify in g w ith its noise and confusion and buildings
that seemed to reach the sky.
She was shaking w ith fa tig u e and reaction a fter the terrify in g
encounter w ith the tiger.

testament, w ill
I f one th in g is a testam en t to another thing, it is a sign that
shows that the other thing rea lly is the case. T esta m en t is a
form al word.
A ll six o f them reflected th e ir personalities in m anner and dress: a
testament to the lib era tin g effect o f lack o f uniform .
It is a testament to the pow er o f the forestry lobby th a t the study
was follow ed up immediately.

A w ill is a legal document in which someone gives th eir

instructions about who should receive th eir m oney and
possessions when they die.
I'm not bothering to make a W ill - everything w ill g o to my wife
and children.
He’s not a young man. Has he made a w ill?

A person’s la st w ill and testam en t is th eir w ill. L a st w ill and

testam en t is a lega l term w hich is norm ally used as the form al
title o f a w ill.
I t ’s probably h er last w ill and testament.

theatre, cinema
A th e a tre is a buildin g w ith a stage w here plays, m usicals, and
sim ilar entertainm ents are perform ed. Th e spellin g th e a te r is
used in Am erican English.
You m ust see the new play a t the P a rk Theatre.
The thundering applause o f the audience went ro llin g through the
theatre.
He told h er about a Boston theater fir e when he was young.

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theatre

In B ritish English, a cin em a is a bu ilding w here film s are shown.

In Am erican English, this building is usually called a m o v ie
th e a te r or a th ea ter.
W ajda’s M an o f Iro n seems to be playing a t every cinem a in
Warsaw.
A fte r lunch we went to the cinema.
A n Albany m ovie theater lost the sound to the last ten m inutes o f
Godfather III.
We managed, fin a lly , to get a third -rate theater in New York to play
th efilm .

Other words
When B ritish people go to see a film , they say that they are going
to the cin em a or to the ‘pictures’ . Am erican speakers talk about
going to the ‘m ovies’ .
Everyone has gone to the cinema.
She went twice a week to the pictures.
Some frien d s and I were d riv in g home fro m the movies.

thief, robber, burglar

A nyone who steals som ething can be called a th ie f.
I once saw a th ie f snatch a watch fro m a s ta ll in Ibadan m arket
You came sneaking up like a th ie f and stole Tim m y’s glasses!

A ro b b e r uses violen ce and threats to steal m oney o r som ething

valuable from places such as banks, shops, o r trains.
Bank clerks were shot in different towns as they tried to resist the
robbers.
The tra in robbers were given sentences ra n gin g up to 30 years.

A b u rg la r breaks in to houses and oth er buildings and steals

things.
You should see my place, th a t’s rea lly w ell protected against
burglars.
There was a scullery window open and the b u rg la r may have shot
the dog.

though, although
Both th ou gh and a lth o u gh are used in subordinate clauses to
introduce a fact w hich is not expected o r that is contrasted w ith
another fact. T h ou gh is not used in v e ry form al English.

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 though

Though he teas noisy and ra th er boastful, I g o t to lik e him .

It was certainly not paper, though it looked very m uch lik e it.
K arin, although she said she was hungry, declined fo o d o r drink.
The bazaar is m uch the same, although there are some rather
sm art new shops.

You can use ‘even though* to em phasize a surprising fact.

She wore a f u r coat, even though it was a very h ot day.
He began to sweat, even though it was cold on the station.

You can use ‘as th ou gh ’ to describe a situation by g ivin g a

com parison o r a possible explanation.
7 began to look a t M onty as though he was a M a i stranger.
The fu rn itu re looked as though it had come ou t o f somebody’s attic.

T h ou gh can also be used to m ean ‘ however*. T h is is a fa irly

inform al use.
A t weekends, though, the atmosphere changes.
He was dressed neatly, though.

tie, cravat
A tie is a long thin, strip o f cloth that is w orn under a sh irt collar
and tied at the front, so that it hangs down the fron t o f you r s h irt
Stein g ot to his feet, p u lled o ff his tie and loosened his s h irt colla r.
When my tie was stra igh t I went through in to the living-room .

A c ra v a t is a w ide strip o f cloth that a man w ears wrapped

around his neck and tucked in side the open colla r o f his s h irt
...his polka-dotted craved and short-sleeved jacket.
She adjusted a scarf, w orn lik e a cravat inside the co lla r o f her
green tweed coat.

tights, stockings
T ig h ts and stock in gs are w orn by wom en to cover th eir legs.
T h ey are n orm ally made o f nylon o r a sim ilar th in m aterial, but
m ay be m ade o f a th icker m aterial such as w ool.

T ig h ts are a single piece o f cloth in g that covers the legs and goes
up as fa r as the w aist.
She picked out an o ld s k irt and a p a ir o f tights.
She discovered how d ifficu lt it was to fin d in g m atching tights fo r
her dress.

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tig h ts

S tock in gs are tw o separate pieces o f clothing; each one covers a

leg as fa r up as the thigh. T h ey are held up eith er b y suspenders
o r b y an elastic part at the top.
She pu lled her stockings on, s n o w in g the elastic a couple o f times.
...a woman in a flow ered s k irt and black stockings and shoes.

tired, tiring
I f you are tire d , you have little en ergy and want to rest.
7 can’t ca rry any m ore wood, ’ said E r ic ‘I ’m tired. ’
D o you m ind i f I s it down? I ’m feelin g very tired.
Slow ly M urd o went down the mountainside, feelin g very tired and
cold.

A task o r a jou rn ey that is tir in g makes you feel tired.

The nervous tension fro m ca rin g fo r a new baby is tirin g .
You could, o f course, d rive down, I im agine - and I know that can
be tirin g .

tiresome, tiring
A person or th in g that is tireso m e makes you fe e l annoyed,
irritated, or bored.
...some ra th er tiresom e questions.
He was drum m ing on his knee in a way which his s o licito r found
pecu lia rly tiresome.
M rs P a rtrid ge spoke patiently, as to a tiresom e child.

A task or a jou rn ey that is tir in g makes you feel tired.

O ur m other said we should have an early n igh t after such a tirin g
day.
I tried to rem em ber that I had made a lon g and tirin g journey.

toilet, lavatory, loo, WC, bathroom

In English, there is a w ide range o f words that refer to the bow l
used by people when they want to get rid o f waste from th eir
bodies. The same words are used to refer to the room that
contains the bowL

Th e most w id ely used words in ordin ary English are to ile t and
la v a to ry . L a v a to ry is sligh tly m ore form al.
He asked to go to the to ile t
To a child, the toilet is the m ost interesting room in any house.

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 toilet

‘Have you been to the lavatory?', said my wife as we set o ff fo r

Buckingham Palace.
The lavatories are through that door over there.

In conversation, m any B ritish speakers use the w ord lo o .

The houses on the estate were clean, centrally heated, w ith indoor
loos.
He absolutdy refused (and s till does) to clean the loo.

The term W C is used m ainly in w ritin g when referrin g to a toilet

as a fa cility , fo r exam ple in advertisem ents fo r houses o r hotels.
W C stands fo r ‘w ater closet*.
A ll room s have an en-suite bathroom w ith WC, wash-basin and
bath o r shower.
...one cold w ater tap outside; outside W C leaks.

A b ath room is a room w ith a bath, washbasin, and often a toilet,

but m any speakers, especially Am ericans, talk about goin g to the
b ath room to refer to goin g to the to ile t.
One o f the g irls le ft to g o to the bathroom .
The kids had to g o to the b a th room -y ou know how it is w ith kids.

Other words
In some public buildings, the toilets are called the ‘cloakroom s’.
We went along together to the cloakroom , where there were s till two
o r three g irls pow dering th eir noses.
...the S ta ff Cloakroom .

town, city
T ow n s and c itie s are areas covered in streets w here people liv e
and w ork, and w here there are shops, offices, factories, schools,
and places fo r entertainm ent.

Usually tow n s are sm aller than c itie s , but a large num ber o f
people m ay liv e there.
Fraserburgh is a bustling fis h in g town.
‘You know M cCarthy?’— ‘In Otis town, everybody knows everybody.’
They aim ed to a ttra ct industry to the new towns.

C ities are usually large. O fficially, a c ity has a charter which

gives it certain p rivileges. Th is charter is given by the m onarch
in B ritain , and In A m erica by the state. M ost B ritish c itie s have a
cathedral.

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town

L ife in a sm aller com m unity may su it you better than that in a

la rge city.
...the m ilium s who have m igrated to the cities because they could not
survive on the la n d

tree, shrub, bush

T re e s , sh ru bs, and bushes are a ll types o f large p la n t

A tre e has a lon g w oody stem called a trunk. Branches w ith

leaves on them com e out o f the trunk. Oaks and beeches are
exam ples o f trees.
Every tree fim m iles had been knocked down f o r firew ood.
The rough bark o f the trees was wet and shiny.
A blackbird was sin gin g in the ash tree.

A sh ru b or bu sh is a large plant rather lik e a sm all tree, w ithout

a trunk, but w ith a group o f branches grow in g from near the
ground. T h ey do not usually grow as high as trees, but some can
grow to several m etres. Roses and rhododendrons are exam ples o f
shrubs o r bushes.

W hen people are talk in g about these plants in a technical way, fo r

exam ple in horticulture, they tend to use the w ord sh ru b rather
than ‘bush’.
Desert rocks, flow ers, grasses, trees, shrubs, and ca cti are arranged
here to show that yards w ithout lawns can be attractive.
This two fo o t ta ll shrub likes hot, a rid clim ates.
The guelder rose is a handsome shrub.
...a sm all evergreeen shrub fro m the M editerranean.

Bush is a m ore general w ord, used when people are not

concerned about the technical details, but m ore w ith the general
effect. N ote that you can put bush after the nam e o f a plant, as in
‘rose bush’, but you cannot do th is w ith ‘shrub’.
The afternoon sun was low above the gorse bushes and the wind
was risin g.
...a clean-swept yard w hich had some flow erin g bushes in it.
He flu n g h im self down under a bush to re s t
I peered through the bushes.

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и
under, underneath, below, beneath
I f som ething is u n d er, u n d ern eath , b e lo w , o r b en eath another
thing, it is in a low er position than the other thing.

You use u n d er or u n d ern eath when you can im agine a straight

vertical lin e join in g the tw o things, or when one th in g covers the
other.
D id you p u t some newspapers under that clock?
We squeezed under the w ire and in to the garden.
The space under the bed was suffocating.
To help you w ith this, p u t a cushion underneath you.
Now the spider’s underneath y ou r dress.

B elo w is usually used to say that one th in g is at a much low er

level than another.
She would rin g la ter to get the phone num ber in the ca ll box below
th eir fla t.
Below the house the beach is lon g and shelving.
Down below in the valley the chimneys were sm oking.

B en eath has a sim ila r m eaning to u n d er or b e lo w , but it is used

m ainly in w ritin g.
...the w arm and sluggish riv e r flo w in g past the Em bankm ent
beneath his window.
They searched everywhere, in the cupboards, under the carpets,
beneath floorboa rd s and mattresses, even in the bathroom and
kitchen.
F a r beneath them, the trees o f the forest sighed in the breeze.

underground, tube, subway, metro

In B ritish English, a ra ilw a y system in w hich electric trains
travel below the ground in tunnels is usually called an
u n d ergrou n d o r u n d ergrou n d system . People using a particular
underground system usually re fe r to it as ‘the U n d ergrou n d ’.
When you are talk in g about the system in a d ifferen t city, you put
the nam e o f the c ity in fron t o f the w ord u n d ergrou n d ; fo r
exam ple, ‘ the Stockholm undergrou nd*.
They travelled a little way together on the Underground.

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underground

J f you have a lo t o f luggage it w ill be d ifficu lt to tra vel by bus o r

underground.
...the B e rlin underground.

In London, the u n d ergrou n d also has an in form al name, the

Tu be.
When I come by Tube it takes about an hour.
O u r ca r was stolen fro m a Tube station ca r park.
I t was s till ra in in g, but I walked to the tube instead o f spending
money on a ta xi.

In A m erican English, a ra ilw a y system lik e this is not called the

■underground'. It is called the su bw ay.
They had acted as consultants f o r the o rig in a l New York subway a t
the sta rt o f the century.
She couldn’t fin d a ta x i so she took the E igh th Avenue subway
uptown.

In som e oth er cities, especially Paris, the underground railw ay is

called the m etro .
I travelled south on the M etro.
...the Moscow m etro system.

• In both B ritish and A m erican English, a su bw ay is also a path

fo r pedestrians under a busy road.

unsocial, unsociable, anti-social

You use u n socia l m ainly in the phrase ‘u n socia l hours’ , w hich
are tim es outside norm al w orkin g hours during w hich em ployees
are paid extra fo r w orking. F or exam ple, people who w ork at
night w ork ‘u n socia l hours’.
There were also special provisions fo r those who worked unsocial
hours.
The nurses say they stand to lose up to fo rty pounds a week in
payments fo r unsocial hours.

Someone who feels u n sociab le does not want to talk to other

people and tries to avoid m eeting them.
They poured her a shandy, w hich she forced down, not w ishing to
appear unsociable.
‘Can I get you anything? You’re n ot feelin g sick?’— ‘No, ju s t
unsociable. ’

Someone who is a n ti-so cia l behaves in a w ay that annoys and

causes trouble fo r other people.

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i
 unsocial

H er teacher says that Peggy seems very unhappy and anti-social.

The p o o r bay continued to be anti-social, dishonest, hateful, and f u ll
o f anxiety.
...outbreaks o f violent o r anti-social behaviour.
Youngsters between 16 and 20, w ithout high er education, were
inclined towards anti-social activities.

A n ti-s o c ia l is also used w ith a sim ila r m eaning to u n sociab le.

They both were prou d and shy and anti-social.
Some have blamed the rig im e f o r m aking them m ore aggressive
and a n ti social.

V
valuable, invaluable, valueless
I f som ething such as jew ellery is va lu a b le , it is w orth a lo t o f
money.
This collection is the biggest and most valuable assembly o f works
o f a rt ever given to the nation by an individual.
She collected vintage cars and b u ilt up a valuable stamp collection.

I f som ething such as help o r advice is va lu a b le, it is v e ry useful.

After-school play centres are valuable fix - a ll children.
He could give me valuable inform ation.

In v a lu a b le is not the opposite o f V aluable’. I f you say that

som eone o r som ething is in v a lu a b le , you m ean that th ey are
extrem ely good and useful.
The tra in in g they receive is considered invaluable experience Jbr a
career in finance.
T h eir evidence could be invaluable in p ro v in g that the accident was
caused by negligence.

I f you say that som ething is va lu eless, you m ean that it is not
useful, effective, o r w orth anything.
...involvem ent in valueless activities.
He knew an advertising cam paign, however inspired, was valueless
w ithout the m uscle o f an organization behind i t
...the governm ent’s sudden decision to declare h a lf the banknotes in
the country valueless.

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van

van, lorry, truck

A va n is a veh icle that is used fo r carryin g goods on roads. It has
a roof, and no w indows in the com partm ent w here the goods are
k e p t Som e van s are about the same length as a car. Others can
be about a m etre longer.
M in d the patch o f m ud near the shed; the baker’s van g o t stuck in
that last n ig h t
Delivery vans could hardly get through the traffic.

A lo r r y is also used fo r carryin g goods on roads. It is la rger than

a va n , and much la rger than a car.
Convoy a fter convoy o f g ia n t lorries thunders a lon g the roads.
I alm ost h it the tim ber lo rry before I even realised it was th ere

In A m erican E n g lis h , a veh icle lik e this is called a tru ck .

H uge articulated trucks constantly a rriv e w ith thousands o f
turkeys
He had a fle e t o f fre ig h t h a u lin g trucks th a t made h im a fortune.

vest, waistcoat
In B ritish English, a v e s t is a piece o f underwear that you w ear
on the top h a lf o f you r body, under a shirt, blouse, o r dress, in
order to keep warm . It is called an ‘undershirt’ in Am erican
English.
He w ore only a vest over h is w hite pyjam a trousers.
She came in and picked up the underpants and vest th a t die ch ild
had peeled off.

In A m erican English, a v e s t is a piece o f cloth in g w orn o ver a

shirt. It has no sleeves, fits closely to the body, and is norm ally
w orn by men, often under a jacket.
He was dressed as always in a black su it w ith vest, and high-topped
black shoes
...blade je a n s a leather vest and, o f course, a cowboy hat.

Th is piece o f clothing is called a w a istco a t in B ritish English.

G randison W h iting fold ed h is hands across his waistcoat, ju s t
above his watch-chain.
The man noted the appointm ent in his tiny diary and replaced it in
his waistcoat pocket.

234
w
want, wish
I f you w a n t som ething, you fe e l a need fo r it o r a desire to have
it
He could have a lawyer i f he wanted one.
I f you want the jo b , it ’s yours.
The boy here wants a canary.
...ties and shirts th a t nobody wants.

You can also use a ‘to’-in fin itive a fter w an t. You can say that you
w an t to do som ething, that you w a n t som eone to do som ething,
or that you w a n t som ething to happen.
I want to get ou t o f here.
He dropped his w allet and I want to give it to him .
He wanted actors to perform M s plays as though they were m usical
scores.
I do not want the garden to g o ju n gly.

You use w is h w ith a Чо’-in fin itive w ith the same m eaning as
w a n t. H ow ever, th is is a form al use.
She said that she wished to consult h im about h er fu tu re.
He d id n o t have to answer questions i f he d id n ot wish to.
I fe lt I was hearing everything that M oza rt wished me to hear.
She added th a t she w ouldn’t wish h im to be an a rtis t unless he were
a grea t one.

In stories, people som etim es say that th ey w is h fo r som ething

when th ey w a n t it. Som etim es they are talk in g about th eir secret
desires.
So y o u r husband wishes f o r a son.
W hatever they unshedfo r , they asked fo r, and it was b rou g h t
He was afraid, because he had so often wished f o r his fa th e r’s
death.

W ish is norm ally follow ed b y a ‘that’-clause. I f you w is h that

som ething was th e case, you would lik e it to be the case, although
you know it is u n lik ely o r im possible.
I wish I could offer a m agic solution to y o u r problem .
I wish I lived near London.
He wished he had phoned f o r a cab.

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wedding

wedding, marriage
A w ed d in g is a cerem ony in w hich a man and a wom an becom e
each other’s husband and w ife. A w ed d in g usually includes a
m eal o r oth er celebration that takes place a fter the cerem ony.
W hat rem ained was to announce th eir engagement and f ix the date
O f the wedding.
Even though it w asn't a fo rm a l wedding we'd very m uch lik e to g ive
you a present.

Th is cerem ony can also be called a m a rria g e.

I remember the day o f my m arriage.
...the A rchbishop o f C anterbury’s sermon a t the royal m arriage.

A m a rria g e is also the relationship between a husband and w ife.

I t has been a happy m arriage.
She feels no con flict a t a ll between m arriage and career.

west, western, westerly

The w est is the direction you look towards in the even in g in
order to see the sun set. Th e w est o f a country o r area is the part
towards the west. You use w est, w estern , and w e s te rly to
describe things that are in o r com e from the west.

You use w est to describe a part o f a place that is in the west,

w hether it is a large place lik e a country o r a sm aller place lik e a
b u ild in g N ote that w est is often used to m ake a contrast w ith the
east, north, and south: the w e s t face o f a m ountain is opposite the
east face.
They had established themselves alm ost everywhere in West A frica .
The only way it could be reached was by a dangerous and g ru e llin g
clim b up the westfa ce o f the m ountain.
Th is seaweed is often abundant on the m iddle and low er shore,
especially on the West coast.

W estern means relatin g to the west and refers to a m ore general

area than ‘w est’.
He commanded a tank troop a t A n zio w hile D ixon was an R A .F .
corp ora l in western Scotland.
On the western side was the precipice known as the F ro g ’s Head.
...a location o ff the western coastline o f the m ainland o f Scotland.

You can also use w estern to describe things that com e from the
w est o r that are found there.

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 west

Down fro m the A rctic Seas the fis h w ill move in to the western
waters o f B rita in and Ireland.
The sun is setting over the western hills.

Winds that com e from the west can be described as w est or

w e s te rly winds.
M other said the west wind was bad fo r the nerves.
D u rin g the n ig h t a warm westerly wind blew across the downs.

You can also use w e s te rly to describe directions and locations. I f

som ething m oves in a w e s te rly direction, it m oves towards the
west. U nlike ‘w est’ and ‘w estern’, w e s te rly can be used w ith
‘m ore’ and ‘most’.
In ord er to avoid a storm , we flew over the east side o f Lake
Turkana ra th er than take the m ore n orm al westerly route.
The m ountainside fa cin g the h arbour has a westerly outlook.
We were standing on the most westerly p o in t o f England.

whole, all
W h ole is used to describe som ething that is being considered as a
com plete, sin gle thing, rath er than being considered to be made
up o f a set o f individu al parts. A s an adjective, w h o le is preceded
by a determ iner such as ‘the’ car ‘this’ o r b y a possessive such as
‘m y’ o r ‘h er’, and follow ed b y a singular noun.
"Why do I have to g o ? — "The whole class is goin g. ’
The response was so grea t th a t a whole page had to be given over to
readers’ letters
Koch applied h is whole w eight to die brake p ed a l

T h e w h o le o f is also follow ed b y a singular noun.

...throughout the w hole o f the industrialized w orld.
The whole o f the right-hand side o f M s su it was black w ith blood.

L ik e w h o le , a ll can be used to talk about som ething that is being

considered as a com plete, sin gle thing. A ll and a ll o f are follow ed
by a determ iner such as ‘the’ o r ‘this’, o r a possessive such as
‘m y’ o r ‘your* and a singu lar noun. T h ey cannot be follow ed b y ‘a’
or ‘an’.
A p o in t o f g o ld appeared above the sea and a t once a ll the sky
lightened.
That means y ou ’l l lose a ll y ou r investm ent
A few m inutes la ter Louison was p ed a llin g down the d rive w ith a ll
the fo rce his frigh ten ed legs could muster.
1 want to thank the people o f New York f o r a ll th e ir help.

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whole

A ll and a ll o f are also used to talk about a com plete set o f

separate parts considered together. A ll and a ll o f are follow ed by
a determ iner such as ‘the’ o r ‘these’, o r a possessive such as ‘your’
or ‘th eir’ and a plu ral noun. A ll can also be follow ed by a plural
noun on its own.
Page wanted a ll o f the people to be there.
A ll o f the defendants were proved guilty.
Few children nowadays have a ll these advantages in th eir own
home.
A ll a irlin es kept uniform ed representatives a t a irp o rt post offices.

N ote that in fron t o f plu ral nouns w h o le has a d ifferen t m eaning

from a ll. It is used to give emphasis. F or exam ple, i f you say ‘A ll
the streets are deserted’, you m ean that every street is deserted. I f
you say ‘W h o le streets are deserted’, you m ean that some streets
are com pletely deserted.

willing, w ilful
I f you are w illin g to do som ething, you w ill do it i f som eone asks
you to.
She may be w illin g to do the washing herselff o r an extra charge.
The store m anager was m ore than w illin g to help.

You describe som eone as w illin g when they are eager and
enthusiastic in the things they do, rath er than being forced to do
them.
There w ill be no shortage o f w illin g volunteers.
He was a w illin g p a rticip a n t in my plays.

A w ilfu l person is obstinate and determ ined to get what h e o r she

wants.
She was a w ilfu l child.

A w ilfu l attitude o r w ilfu l behaviour is v e ry deliberate, and is

often intended to hurt someone.
I have ra rely encountered such a s p irit o f w ilfu l independence.
A p u b lic enquiry la ter cleared h im o f w ilfu l m isconduct

woman, wife
A w om an is an adult fem ale human being.
...a ta ll, dark-eyed woman in a sim ple brow n dress.
There were men and women w orking in the fields.

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 woman

The person a man is m arried to is norm ally called his w ife , not
his ‘woman’ .
His wife and children were hungry.
He has now a rrived back in Geneva, where he's expected to be
reunited w ith h is w ife and daughter.

wood, woods, forest

A w o o d is a large area o f trees grow in g close to each other.
I t was cool and dark in od e the wood.
A t last we entered the cool beech wood through which the S qu ire’s
drive twisted.
I told h er I had heard her ta lk in g in the wood.

I f you talk about a particu lar w ood , you can also call it “the
w oods’ .
I have to search the woods f o r hazel branches.
...a bride w alk through the nearby woods.
We rushed o u t o f the woods and down the h ill.

A fo re s t is an extrem ely large area o f trees. F o rests are usually a

long w ay from towns and cities.
They had th eir p icn ic in a clea rin g in the fo re s t
This w ould destroy the Am azon forest, believed to provid e a quarter
o f the w orld’s oxygen supply.

woolly, woollen
W o o lly clothes look as i f they are made from w ool. Th ey m ay
rea lly be made from w ool o r they m ay be m ade from a m aterial
that looks lik e w ool.
W oolly scarves, thick coats and w ellingtons decked the lobby.
She was very shy, and kept tw isting the belt o f her lon g droopy
w oolly cardigan.

W o o lle n clothes are actually made from w ool o r from a m ixture

o f w ool and a rtificia l fibres.
Tim had run over to fetch a woollen jersey as the weather had
grow n colder.
He bought a p a ir o f h ik in g boots, long w oollen socks, denim
trousers, check w oollen s h irt and a haversack.

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worried

worried, worrying
I f you are w o rrie d , you are unhappy because you keep thinking
about a problem or about som ething unpleasant that m ight
happen.
She was w orried about fin d in g a jo b when she graduated.
I called after him , w orried that I m igh t have sounded ungrateful.
I began to feel worried.

Som ething that is w o rry in g m akes you feel w orried.

F o r a few parents it rem ains a w orrying question, no m atter how
m uch experience they've had.
He’s had a w orrying tim e a t the office.

worth, value
I f som ething is w o rth an amount o f m oney, that is the amount
you would get fo r it i f you sold it.
The lens alone was w orth about £100.
Tw o chairs lik e that m ust be w orth a t least a thousand pounds up
in London.

In form al o r litera ry English, you can talk about the w o rth o f a

person, m eaning th eir usefulness, or im portance.
...true knowledge o f the oth er’s w orth and a profound awareness o f
th eir in d ivid ual existence.
This jo b has robbed me o f a ll worth.

You can also use v a lu e to talk about how useful o r im portant a

person is. V a lu e is also used w ith things such as qu alities and
plans.
She is beautiful, but my concerns are o f her true value as my son’s
wife. Is she a strong, hard worker?
Everyone realizes the value o f sincerity.
T h e ir task was to ensure that no inform ation o f positive m ilita ry
value to the enemy was sent out.

When you talk about the v a lu e o f som ething that you can ow n
such as a house or car, you m ean the am ount o f m oney that
som eone w ill pay fo r it. You do not talk about the ‘w orth’ o f
som ething that som eone owns.
W hat would you say is the value o f th is property today?
They p a id 28 percent above m arket value fo r i t
The value о/ the horse is now in excess o f £500,000.

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Index
I f the w ord you are lookin g fo r is the first w ord in an en try, it
appears on its ow n in b old . I f it is not the first w ord in an entry,
it is follow ed by the sym bol Ф and the w ord w hich does com e
firs t
N ote that som e w ords occur in m ore than one entry. F or exam ple,
actual occurs once in the en try w here actual is the first w ord in
the heading, and once in the en try w here present is the first w ord
in the heading. A fte r also occurs tw ice, but in both en tries it is
the firs t w ord in the heading. It is th erefore listed in the index
w ith the note: (2 entries).

ability a lot of Ф many

able already Ф always
above already Ф still
account alternate
accuse alternately
actual alternative c alternate
actual Ф present alternatively Ф alternately
actually although Ф though
adhere altogether
adherence О adhere always
adhesion Ф adhere amend
admission amiable
admit amicable Ф am iable
admittance О admission among О between
advice amongst Ф between
advise О advice amoral Ф im m oral
advocate anger
a few О few anniversary
affect announce
afflict annoyance
after (2 entries) another
after a ll anti-social Ф unsocial
afterwards О after (1st entry) anybody Ф someone
agenda anyone Ф someone
ago anything Ф something
alike anywhere Ф somewhere
a little Ф little (1st entry) apart
alive apologize
all apparently
all Ф whole approve
all together Ф altogether approve of Ф approve
alone argument
a lot Ф many argument Ф row

241
arise О raise believe in Ф believe
arrive below Ф under
arrogant beneath Ф under
artist beside
artiste О artist besides Ф beside
as О because besides Ф except
ashamed between
ask for big
asleep bill Ф account
assent birthday Ф anniversary
assignation О assignment blam e
assignment blouse Ф shirt
assist boat Ф ship
assurance bonnet
assure bookshop Ф library
at last Ф after a ll border
at present Ф now bored
attend Ф assist boring ф bored
attorney Ф law yer borrow
avenge both ф a ll
avoid bought Ф brought
avoid Ф prevent boundary Ф border
award Ф rew ard box
away Ф apart braces Ф suspenders
baby brand
back (2 entries) bread
backwards Ф back (1st entry) breath
bag breathe Ф breath
bag Ф sack briefly
baggage Ф bag bring
bar bring up Ф educate
barrister Ф lawyer British
base brought
basement Ф cave bureau Ф office
basis Ф base burglar ф thief
bath bus
bathe Ф bath bush Ф tree
bathroom Ф toilet buy Ф pay
be able to Ф can by
beach Ф coast cafe
bear Ф stand cafeteria Ф cafe
because can
become ranfll
become of Ф become cancel
before cap Ф hat
before Ф ago capability Ф ability
begin capability Ф capacity
b eh in d Ф after (2nd e n try ) capable Ф able
believe capacity

242
capacity Ф ability comprehensive
carefree comprise Ф include
careful Ф carefree confess Ф admit
careless Ф carefree confused
carpet confusing Ф confused
carry (2 entries) conscience
carton Ф box conscientious Ф conscious
cave conscious
cavern О cave consciousness Ф conscience
cellar Ф cave consent Ф assent
centre о middle consist of Ф include
certainly constant Ф continual
chance c occasion contest
channel Ф canal continual
chapel Ф church continuous Ф continual
characterize Ф describe control
charge Ф accuse conversation
check Ф cheque Ф speech (1st entry)
cheque cost
child Ф baby costs Ф cost
childish could Ф can
childlike О childish country (2 entries)
chips countryside
choose Ф country (1st entry)
church couple
cinema Ф theatre crate Ф box
city Ф town cravat Ф tie
civic crisps Ф chips
civil Ф civic cry (2 entries)
civilian Ф civic cure
claim (2 entries) cushion
classic custom
classical Ф classic damp
classics Ф classic daughter Ф girl
cloth dead
clothes Ф cloth deceased Ф form er
clothing Ф cloth deceitful Ф deceptive
coach Ф bus deceiving Ф deceptive
coast deceptive
coat declare Ф announce
college Ф school delay Ф cancel
comic delighted
comical О comic delightful Ф delighted
commence Ф begin demand Ф ask for
comment demand Ф claim (1st entry)
competition Ф contest deny
complement dependant Ф dependent
compliment Ф complement dependent
comprehend depth Ф height
describe emigrate
detract engine Ф machine
diary О agenda English Ф British
died О dead ensure Ф assure
dinner envelop
disappointed envelope Ф envelop
disappointing Ф disappointed envious Ф jealousy
discover Ф find (1st entry) envy Ф jealousy
discreet especially
discrete Ф discreet evade Ф avoid
dish Ф food eventual Ф final
disinterested eventually Ф finally
dispute ф argument ever Ф always
distinct every ф a ll
distinctive Ф distinct everyday
distract Ф detract every day Ф everyday
distrust except
disturb Ф detract except for Ф except
do Ф «watt* excited
doubt exciting Ф excited
doubtftil excursion Ф journey
drop excuse
dubious Ф doubtful excuse oneself Ф apologize
duty Ф tax exhausting
each Ф a ll exhaustive Ф exhausting
earn expect
east experience
easterly Ф east experiment Ф experience
eastern о east fairly
eatable fall Ф drop
economic Ф economy fantasy
economical Ф economy farther
economics Ф economy fault Ф blame
economy fault Ф mistake
edible Ф eatable feet Ф foot
edit female
educate feminine Ф female
educate Ф teacb few
effect Ф affect few Ф little (2nd entry)
elder fewer Ф less
elderly Ф elder fight Ф row
eldest Ф elder final
elect Ф choose finally
electric finally Ф after a ll
electrical Ф electric find (2 entries)
embarrassed find out Ф find (1st entry)
embarrassed Ф ashamed fine Ф tax
embarrassing Ф embarrassed flammable ф inflammable
emend Ф amend floor

244
 food heal Ф cure
foot hear
footpath height
for Ф ago high Ф tall
for О because hire
forbid historic
foreign Ф strange historical Ф historic
foreigner Ф stranger history
forest Ф wood holiday
forever holidays Ф holiday
'■for ever Ф forever home Ф house
forget homework
forgive Ф excuse hood Ф bonnet
form er house
found Ф find (2nd entry) housework ф homework
fragile human
frail ф fragile humane Ф human
french fries Ф chips humid Ф damp
friendly Ф sympathetic husband Ф man
frightened ill Ф sick
frightening Ф frightened illegal
from Ф by illegitimate Ф illegal
frontier Ф border illicit Ф illegal
further Ф farther im aginary
fury Ф anger imagination Ф fantasy
gain Ф earn imaginative Ф im aginary
game (2 entries) immoral
gas imply
gentle impracticable Ф im practical
girl impractical
gold include
golden Ф gold indoor Ф indoors
great Ф big indoors
greatly inedible
greengrocer Ф grocer infant Ф baby
greet Ф salute infer Ф imply
grocer inflammable
ground Ф floor inflict Ф afflict
grounds Ф floor in front of Ф before
grow in front of Ф opposite
grow up Ф grow inhuman Ф human
guard Ф keep inhumane Ф human
habit Ф custom institute
hair institution Ф institute
hairs Ф hair instruct Ф teach
handbag insurance Ф assurance
happily Ф happy insure Ф assure
happy interested
hat interesting Ф interested

245
In the end О a fter a ll loaf О bread
invaluable О valuable lone О alone
irritated <> nervous lonely О alone
irritation О annoyance loo О to ile t
Its look at О see
it’s О its look for О search
jacket <> coat look forward to О expect
jealous <> jealou sy loose О lose
jealou sy lorry О van
job lose
journal Ф m agazine (1st entr love
jou rn ey luckily О happy
ju d icia l lucky О happy
judicious О ju d icia l luggage О bag
keep lunch О din n er
lam p m achine
lane О footpath m agazine (2 entries)
large <> b ig m agic
largely О grea tly magical О m agic
lastly О a fter a ll m ake
last o f all Ф a fter a ll make О brand
late o form er m ale
later О a fte r (1st entry) man
lavatory О to ile t manage О con trol
law О ru le m any
lawful О lega l marriage О w edding
la w yer masculine О m ale
la y match <> gam e (1st entry)
learn meal О food
leave behind О fo rget memoirs О m em ories
lecture <> speech (2nd entry) m em ories
lecturer О teacher m em ory
lega l mention О comment
legitimate <> lega l m eter
lend О borrow metre О m eter
less metro О underground
let <> h ire m iddle
lib ra ry migrate <> em igrate
licence m istake
license О licen ce mistrust О distrust
lie о la y moist t£> damp
lift О ca rry (1st entry) m oral
light О lam p morale О m oral
like О lo ve morals О m oral
likely О a lik e m ore
listen to О bear most t£> m ore
little (2 entries) motor О m achine
lively О a liv e much
livin g О a liv e much О m any

246
narrow particularly Ф particular
nation Ф country (2nd entry) pass
nauseous Ф sick pass Ф spend
neither Ф none (1st entry) path Ф footpath
nervous pavement
newspaper pay
Ф magazine (1st entry) pay attention Ф notice
no peculiar Ф particular
nobody О none (2nd entry) peculiarly Ф particular
noise o sound people Ф one
none (2 entries) petrol Ф gas
none ф no pillow Ф cushion
non-flammable Ф Inflammable place
no-one Ф none (2nd entry) place Ф square
north play
northerly Ф north please
northern О north pocket Ф sack
notable polite Ф gentle
note possibility Ф occasion
notice possible Ф final
notice Ф note possibly Ф finally
notice О rem ark postpone Ф cancel
noticeable Ф notable power
now practicable Ф practical
observe Ф notice p ractical
obviously Ф apparently practice
occasion practise Ф practice
ocean О sea precede ф proceed
office present
older О elder presently Ф now
oldest Ф elder pretend Ф claim (2nd entry)
one prevent
opportunity Ф occasion prevent Ф forbid
opposed price
opposite mice Ф cost
opposite Ф opposed priceless
other Ф another principal Ф principle
others Ф another principle
outdoor prize Ф price
outdoors Ф outdoor prize Ф reward
over Ф above proceed
package Ф parcel proclaim Ф announce
packet Ф pared professor ф teacher
pair Ф couple program Ф programme
pants programme
pants Ф shorts pronounce Ф announce
paper Ф magazine (1st entry) proud Ф arrogant
parcel prove
particular provinces Ф country (1st entry)

247
pub Ф b ar sack
publish Ф edit s a fe ty
purse О handbag s a la r y
quarrel Ф row s a lu te
quiet Ф quite s a tis fa c to r y
quite s a tis fy in g Ф s a tis fa c to r y
quite Ф fairly say
rage Ф anger s c a rc e
raise s c a r c e ly
rare Ф scarce s ce n e
rarely О scarcely scen ery Ф sce n e
rather Ф fairly sch ool
reach Ф arrive sea
real Ф actual s e a rc h
really Ф actually search fo r Ф s e a rc h
rear Ф back (2nd entry) s ec u rity Ф s a fe ty
recommend Ф advocate s ee
recover Ф cure seek Ф sea rch
recovery Ф cure s e n s ib le
refuse Ф deny s en s itiv e Ф s e n s ib le
regard О see s e r ia l
regulation О rule s erie s Ф s e r ia l
relation serp en t Ф s n a k e
relations serviette
relationship Ф relations shade Ф s h a d o w
relative Ф relation sh a d o w
remains о rest (1st entry) s h ip
rem ark s h ir t
remark О comment shop Ф m a g a z in e (2 n d e n try )
remember shop Ф s to r e
remind Ф remember sh ore Ф c o a s t
rent Ф hire s h o rtly Ф b r ie fly
resign Ф retire s h o rts
rest (2 entries) sb o rts Ф p a n ts
restive Ф restless sb ou t Ф c r y (1 st e n try )
restless sh ow Ф p la y
retire sh ru b Ф tr e e
revenge Ф avenge s ic k
review sid ew a lk Ф p a v e m e n t
revue Ф review sin ce Ф a g o
reward sin ce Ф b ec a u se
rise Ф raise s it Ф p ass
road s lee p in g Ф a s le e p
ro b Ф s te a l sn ak e
ro b b er Ф t h ie f sob ф c r y (2 n d e n try )
ro o m Ф place s o lic ito r Ф la w y e r
row som eb ody Ф s o m e o n e
rug Ф carpet som eon e
rule s o m e th in g

248
sometime Ф sometimes surprised
sometimes surprising Ф surprised
somewhere suspect Ф doubt
sound suspenders
south suspicious Ф doubtful
southerly ф south sympathetic
southern Ф south take Ф bring
souvenir О memory take Ф pass
speak talk Ф speak
specially Ф especially talk Ф speech (2nd entry)
speech (2 entries) tall
spend taste
sport Ф game (2nd entry) taste of Ф taste
square tax
staircase Ф steps tea Ф dinner
stairs Ф steps teach
stand teach Ф learn
start Ф begin teacher
state Ф country (2nd entry) tell Ф say
stationary terrified
stationery Ф stationary terrifying Ф terrified
statistical Ф statistics test Ф prove
statistics testament
stay О rest (2nd entry) thanks Ф please
steal thank you Ф please
steps theatre
still thief
stockings Ф tights thin Ф narrow
stop Ф rest (2nd entry) though
store tie
store Ф magazine (2nd entry) tights
storey tired
story Ф history tiresome
story Ф storey tiring Ф tired
strange tiring Ф tiresome
stranger toilet
street Ф road tolerate Ф stand
strength Ф power towel Ф serviette
studio Ф study town
study tree
study Ф learn trip Ф journey
subway trousers Ф pants
subway Ф underground truck Ф van
suggest Ф advice tube Ф underground
suit tutor Ф teacher
suite Ф suit type Ф brand
supper Ф dinner under
support Ф stand underground
surely Ф certainly underneath Ф under
underpants Ф shorts wedding
underpass Ф subway weep Ф cry (2nd entry)
understand Ф comprehend welcome Ф salute
understanding west
О comprehensive westerly ф west
uneatable Ф inedible western Ф west
uninterested О disinterested whole
university Ф school wife Ф woman
unlawful Ф illegal wilful Ф w illin g
unless Ф except will Ф testament
unsociable Ф unsocial w illing
unsocial win Ф earn
valuable wine bar Ф cafd
value Ф worth wish Ф want
valueless Ф valuable woman
van wood
very Ф much woods Ф wood
vest woollen Ф woolly
vomit Ф sick woolly
voyage Ф journey work Ф job
wages О salary worried
waistcoat О vest worrying Ф worried
wait for Ф expect worth
want worthless Ф priceless
warn ф prevent yell Ф cry (1st entry)
watch Ф see yet Ф still
WC Ф toilet you Ф one
wear Ф carry (2nd entry)

250
COLLINS COBUILD ENGLISH GUIDES

4 CONFUSABLE WORDS
This book has been specially prepared for students of English from the
intermediate level and for teachers of English. It offers unique
coverage, based on actual usage from the COBUILD database, of over
900 common words that are often confused by learners of English of
all nationalities.
The contrastive entries deal systematically with meaning and usage,
giving plenty of real examples. Grammar notes clarify particular
points of difficulty, and related words of interest are also featured.

Some of the many entries included are:

assure, ensure, insure keep, guard

borrow, lend
carry, wear
disinterested, uninterested
earn, win, gain
experience, experiment
forget, leave behind
interested, interesting
job, work
learn, teach, study
legal, lawful, legitimate
licence, license
make, do
practice, practise
raise, rise, arise
sensible, sensitive
still, yet, already

COLLINS COBUILD ENGLISH GUIDES provide extensive

information on specific areas of today’s English, using the
evidence from the COBUILD database to select w hat is really
important. This unique series w i l l inrtisnensable to
students and teachers alike.
ISBN 0-00-370562-5