What’s up? or Difficulties with English (30)

One of my students once wrote in an assignment on his bedroom: ‘On the wall is hanged my favourite singer.’ Can you see what is strange about the sentence?

Písmo: A- | A+
Diskusia  (1)

Well, it's confusion between different third forms of the verb hang. There are several pairs or groups of English verbs which are often mixed up because of similar spellings and/or pronunciations of their forms.

lie (1) = to say or write something that you know is not true

lie - lied - lied

My new girlfriend lied about her age.

You have lied to me several times. I don't trust you anymore.

Note also the progressive form: lying

You could see from her face that she was lying.

lie (2) = to be or put yourself in a flat position so that you are not standing or sitting

SkryťVypnúť reklamu
SkryťVypnúť reklamu
SkryťVypnúť reklamu
Článok pokračuje pod video reklamou
SkryťVypnúť reklamu
Článok pokračuje pod video reklamou

lie - lay - lain

I was tired after the party so I just lay in bed all Sunday

Jane has lain on the beach all afternoon and now she's terribly sunburnt.

The cat was lying asleep by the fireplace.

lay = to put somebody or something in a particular position

lay - laid - laid

I got undressed and laid my clothes on the bed.

The progressive form is laying.

I'm laying my books on the desk so that I can sort them out.

The verb lay has several more meanings, e.g. people lay the table before a meal, birds, insects and fish lay eggs, you can lay money on a football match (to make a bet on the result), etc.

Be careful with the pronunciation: lie [lai], lay [lei]

SkryťVypnúť reklamu

rise = to come or go upwards; to get into a standing position (+ several more meanings)

rise - rose - risen

The audience rose to cheer the actors.

The river has risen by three metres.

raise = to lift or move something to a higher level; to increase the amount or level of something; to collect money (+ other meanings)

raise - raised - raised

John raised his hand and asked the teacher a question.

We have raised 500 euros for charity.

rouse = to wake somebody up

rouse - roused - roused

My mobile roused me from a deep sleep at 5 a.m.

Our dog was roused by the burglars.

Again, be careful with the pronunciation: rise [raiz], raise [reiz], rouse [rauz]

SkryťVypnúť reklamu

arise = to happen, to occur, to start to exist

arise - arose - arisen

A terrible storm arose during the night.

A serious problem has arisen which will take time to solve.

arouse = to make somebody have a particular feeling or attitude; to waken, to excite, to make you feel more active

arouse - aroused - aroused

His strange behaviour aroused or suspicions that he had been taking drugs.

The citizens were aroused by repeated murders.

saw = to use a saw (a tool with a long blade with teeth) to cut something

saw - sawed - sawn/sawed

I sawed the plank in two.

The tree had to be sawn down.

sew = to make or attach something by using a needle and thread

SkryťVypnúť reklamu

sew - sewed - sewn/sewed

My grandmother sewed all her clothes.

I have sewn the button on for you.

sow = to plant seeds in the ground to grow

sow - sowed - sown/sowed

We sowed some vegetable seeds last weekend.

The fields around have been sawn with maize.

Please note the pronunciation: saw [so:], sew [səu/sou], sow [səu/sou]. As you can see, the verbs sew and sow are homophones (have the same pronunciation but different spelling and meaning).

The irregular third forms sawn, sewn, sown are more common in British English whereas the regular forms are used especially in American English.

wind [wind] = to make somebody unable to breathe for a short time

wind - winded - winded [windid]

He was winded by a blow to his stomach.

wind [waind] = to wrap or twist something; to make a clock, watch, etc. work by turning a knob

wind - wound - wound [waund]

The clock went for two days after I wound it.

wound [wu:nd] = to injure part of the body using a weapon

wound - wounded - wounded [wu:ndid]

A lot of soldiers were wounded in the battle.

fall = to drop down from a higher level to a lower level; to suddenly stop standing accidentally

fall - fell - fallen

The boy slipped on ice and fell.

Some of the books had fallen onto the floor.

fell = to cut down (a tree)

fell - felled - felled

How many trees have you felled today?

find = to discover somebody or something by chance or after searching

find - found - found

I found Jane sitting in the church.

found = to start something, e.g. an institution, an organization, etc.

found - founded - founded

The college was founded in 1965.

Finally, the verb we started the article with:

hang (1) = to attach something so that the lower part is loose; to be attached in this way

hang - hung - hung

I hung my coat up and went into the kitchen.

hang (2) = to kill a person by tying a rope around their neck and allowing them to drop; to be killed in this way

hang - hanged - hanged

In the past people were hanged for serious crimes.

Now you see that the student's sentence should have read as follows: 'On the wall is hung (a picture of) my favourite singer.'

Daniel Miklošovič

Daniel Miklošovič

Bloger 
  • Počet článkov:  150
  •  | 
  • Páči sa:  35x

Učiteľ angličtiny. Záľuby: beh, turistika, cyklistika, šach, hudba. Zoznam autorových rubrík:  BehAngličtinaŠkolstvoVieraPolitikaPostrehy

Prémioví blogeri

Iveta Rall

Iveta Rall

91 článkov
Yevhen Hessen

Yevhen Hessen

36 článkov
Zmudri.sk

Zmudri.sk

3 články
INESS

INESS

110 článkov
INEKO

INEKO

117 článkov
Anna Brawne

Anna Brawne

108 článkov
reklama
reklama
SkryťZatvoriť reklamu