Učiteľ angličtiny. Záľuby: beh, šach, hudba. Zoznam autorových rubrík: Angličtina, Slovenčina, Behanie
Prepositions belong among the most frequent words used in the English language, so there are a lot of various prepositional phrases to learn. Moreover, we have to bear in mind that a lot of words can collocate with different prepositions, which can result in a change in meaning.
In this issue we will take a closer look at several pairs/groups of words which differ only slightly in spelling and are easily confused by non-native users of English. The meanings of the words differ little or considerably, depending on each pair/group. Some words have more meanings than those described here.
This month’s Difficulties with English are special ones and really difficult – they deal with the “-ic/-ical” pairs of words. There are very subtle differences between such pairs, so it comes as no surprise that foreign users of English often mix them up (which is not a fatal mistake and no terrible shame, of course). I even doubt whether average native speakers always use these almost identical (or is it “identic”?) words correctly. Anyway, a brief overview won’t do us any harm, I suppose.
Hi, there! How’re you doing? Here I am again with similar words and phrases. Before you read their definitions, try to guess what each expression means.
Hi again. In this issue I’d like to continue comparing groups/pairs of words with similar meanings which are easily confused. Please note that most of the words have several more meanings than those described in the article.
Hi guys, how are you doing after the summer holidays? I hope you’re full of energy and eager to make good progress in your English. In this issue we are going to discuss several groups of “school” words which have similar meanings and are easily confused by learners of English. For each word there is a definition with an example sentence. (Many of the words, of course, have more meanings than those decribed here.)
‘Oh, come on, bro, give me a break! I only talked to Jane yesterday. No big deal.’ A nice piece of informal English taken from a movie, isn’t it? Let’s have a closer look at it, shall we?
English has a very rich vocabulary, and so it comes as no surprise that there are plenty of words which are often used incorrectly by foreign users of English. Among these, false friends and confusing words are prevalent. A false friend is a word in a foreign language that looks similar to a word in one’s native language but has a different meaning (e.g. actually versus aktuálne). Confusing words are pairs or groups of words which have similar meanings but different usages, and are often mixed up (e.g. possibility versus opportunity).
Among the twenty most common English words are nine prepositions – of, to, in, for, with, as, on, at, and by (some of them function as adverbs or conjunctions as well). It is not easy for foreign users of English to completely avoid making mistakes when using various prepositional phrases. What is more, a lot of words can collocate with different prepositions with a change in meaning.
‘I often listen to the tower.’ Do you remember this typical example of a lexical mistake caused by the mother tongue’s influence from my very first article? In this month’s issue we are going to discuss several similarly incorrect sentences, which I have come across in my English lessons recently.
I had a student whose name was Karol Králik, who I used to call Charles Rabbit, but this was only for fun (Karol didn’t mind it). We, of course, don’t translate our Christian (first) names or surnames. Nevertheless, I like calling my students by the English versions of their names in our English lessons, so Zuzka is Susan, Katka is Kate, Janko is John, etc. Some of them feel a bit discriminated against, though, as I can’t think of any suitable English counterpart for their names (e.g. Ľuboš or Milan).
‘Let’s talk about sex, baby, let’s talk about you and me,’ is sung in a popular song from the 1990’s. Why not talk about sex in one of my what’s up articles?
Do you like travelling? Are you interested in cars or motorbikes? I’m not at all, and maybe neither are you. In spite of that, discussing some vocabulary connected with means of transport won’t do any harm to anybody, will it?
Did you know that the most frequently used English word is the definite article ‘the’? No kidding – this small word, having no meaning on its own, can be found more often than any other word in both spoken and written English (take any book or film and count).
One of the oral school-leaving exam topics, besides other things, deals with holidays and festivals. It is not easy for us Slovaks to name all our holidays in English.
Our home is the thing which we are in contact with virtually every day. Any average learner of English is able to name the most common types of dwellings and the main parts of a house and its surroundings, and yet there are quite a few difficulties hidden in the housing vocabulary.
Between you and me, I’m a sporty sort of guy, and athletics is a particular favourite of mine. I used to compete in long-distance races, and I don’t miss any athletic television broadcasts. I’d like to make a few comments about this sport in this month’s issue.
In this month’s issue we are going to take a close look at some clothes and sports vocabulary as students tend to make a lot of funny mistakes when talking or writing about these topics.
It is sometimes pretty funny to read students’ written papers such as projects, essays, stories, or letters. They often use incorrect English equivalents for our words, which they have looked up in a bilingual dictionary.
I was about to start my lesson the other morning when a student walked into the classroom. ‘Sorry I’m late. I’ve fallen asleep,’ he apologized. ‘So how is it possible that you’re awake?’ I replied with a smile. Some students took the point and laughed. The latecomer wanted to say that he had overslept, i.e. he had slept longer and got up later than he had intended. Instead, he claimed that he had begun to sleep and was still sleeping, which is virtually impossible unless somebody is sleepwalking and talking while asleep.
