英语易混词辨析及例句

1.study & learnSometimes my students get confused about when to use “study” and when to use “learn”. Therefore, I would like to write about that in today’s blog entry.Both words are used to convey the idea of trying to intake information in order to become more knowledgeable or intelligent. When we put them in order, however, we have to place “study” first, and then “learn” after that. Therefore, when we “study” we are reading, watching or listening to something in order to keep it in our memories. If we do this successfully, we can say that we “learned” it. Let me give you some example sentences using these words.✓I have to study fifty new words for my final exam in Spanish. I hope I can learn all of them. ✓I studied really hard in my history class, but I couldn’t learn all of the information.✓I learned a lot in my economics class because I studied every day.As I said before, learning is successful studying. Therefore, just because you study something doesn’t mean you will learn it. But if you never study at all, then you will never learn.In addition, it’s possible for us to learn something and then over a period of time, forget it. I’m sure all of us have had this experience when we think about our high school or university days. We can also “learn” something in ways that don’t involve studying. All of us learn things just from living our lives and making mistakes.Some people don’t learn from their mistakes, but I hope that most of us do.2.plausible & implausibleFor today’s blog entry, I’d like to go over the adjectives “plausible” and “implausible”. We use them when we want to talk about something which a person says that is likely to be believed or not believed. We can also use them when we are trying to figure out if something is true or not. Finally, they can be used to talk about the believability of a story in a novel, movie, or TV show. Let me give you some example sentences using them.✓I was late for work because I overslept, but I can’t tell my boss that. I have to think of a plausible excuse for being late.✓I can’t tell my boss that I was mugged on my way to work. This is a safe city, so that would be totally implausible.✓Some people don’t think it’s plausible that a meteor hitting the earth could cause the dinosaurs to die, but I think it’s tot ally plausible.✓Some people think it’s implausible that a meteor hitting the earth could cause the dinosaurs to die, but I don’t agree.✓I like action movies even though most of the time the stories are not plausible at all.✓I like action movies even though most of the time the stories are completely implausible. The word “plausible” is used positively, and the word “implausible” is used negatively, so they are the opposite of each other. However, we can also say “not plausible”, as in my fifth example sente nce. The only difference between “not plausible” and “implausible” is that “implausible” is slightly more formal than the other one. Please note that we don’t usually use words like “very” or “really” to emphasize these adjectives. Instead, it’s more commo n to use words such as “totally” and “completely” in order to emphasize them.3.little did I knowFor today, I want to go over the expression “little did I know”. We can also change the word “I”to other words such as “he”, “she”, “we”, etc. We use this when we want to talk about a person who doesn’t know an important piece of information about a situation, but they find out about it after it’s too late. Here are some ways to use it in sentences.✓I bought my house last year. Little did I know that the real estate market would drop so much.I wish I had waited.✓We invested money in ABC Company. Little did we know they would go bankrupt. I wish we had invested in another company.✓My sister really regrets marrying her husband. Little did she know when she married him that he would cheat on her all the time. She’s filing for divorce now.✓My brother and his wife recently moved to a city on the coast. Little did they know there would be so many mosquitoes there in the summer. I hope they’re ok.With this expressio n, the information that the person didn’t know about is always negative. The idea is that if they had known that information before, they would have made a different choice. Therefore, this is a way to express regret for a bad choice in the past. We use “would” + verb to explain the negative situation after “little did (I) know”.Please note that we can use the word “that” to link “little did (I) know” to the next sentence, but this is optional. If we omit it, the sentence still makes sense.4.affect & effectThis is my first blog entry for 2016. I hope everyone had a very happy new year! Today I want to write about the difference between the two words “affect” and “effect”. They’re quite similar, especially in spelling, and even native English speakers can get confused between them sometimes. The main difference between them, apart from the spelling, is that“affect” is a verb, and “effect” is a noun.We use the verb “affect” when we want to talk about something or something that makes a change or reaction in a certain person, place, or thing. We use the noun “effect” to talk about the change or reaction itself. Let me give you some examples.✓The bad weather we’ve been having recently is really affecting our business. Our sales have gone down.✓The bad weathe r we’ve been having recently is really having a bad effect on our business.Our sales have gone down.✓The color of the walls tends to affect my mood. If the walls are green or blue, I feel more relaxed.✓The color of the walls tends to have an effect on my mood. If the walls are green or blue, I feel more relaxed.As my examples show, both of these words can be used to indicate negative or positive reactions. Please note that we use the verb “have” with “effect” and it is followed by the preposition “on”. We can also place an adjective in front of the word “effect”. The adjectives most commonly used are “good” and “bad”. This is the case of my second example sentence. In the case of my last example, we could also say: Blue or green walls tend to have a good effect on my mood. I hope that is clear to everyone. Have a great 2016 and I’ll write another blog entry next month.5.find & find outRecently, one of my students was having trouble understanding the nuance between “find”and “find out” in English. So, I’ve decided to write about that today.I think the easiest way to think about the difference between these two is to realize that we use “find” when talking about discovering something that is tangible or physical such as a person or an object. However, we use “find out” when talking about discovering or learning some kind of information. Here are some examples to help you:✓I need to find an apartment downtown which is not so expensive, but it’s really hard.✓I found this watch when I was cleaning the house. Is it yours?✓Can you find out what Harold’s phone number is?✓I just found out that my coworker got married last weekend! I’m so happy for her!It’s important to note that both of these can be used when talking about actively looking for something or some information or passively discovering it by accident.In the case of my first sentence with “find”, the person is actively searching for a physical thing (an apartment); in the second sentence, the person accidentally discovers something (the watch).In the case of my first sentence with “find out”, the person actively wants to know some information (the phone number); in the second sentence, the person accidentally discovers some information during a conversation (the marriage). You can also think of “find out” as the first step in the process of knowing something. First, we “find out” some information, and then we “know” it for a long time, unless we happen to forget it. I hope this is clear to anyone who has ever been confused about these words.6.religiouslyThis time I’d like to write about the word “religiously”. We use it when we want to talk about a person who never misses doing something. In other words, they always do it when they’re supposed to or when they have a chance to do it. Here are some example sentences using it.✓My sister brushes her teeth three times a day religiously.✓My mother watches that TV show religiously. She never misses a single episode!✓Recently, Tom has been going to the gym religiously five times a week, so he’s really in good shape now.✓I used to read the newspaper religiously, but I don’t do that anymore. I’ve really become out of touch with what’s happening in the world.When we use this word, it has nothing to do with being a religious person. The reason we say “religiously”to mean doing something all the time is that most religions require people to do certain things regularly and often as a way to show that their faith is strong. In the same way, people who are very passionate about something will do it regularly and often.As you can see from my examples, we place this word at the end of a sentence or clause. Also, please note that it can be used for all types of sentences: past, present and future.7.take exception toToday, I want to go over the grammatical expression “take exception to”. We use it when we want to say that we don’t like what another person has said or done, and we feel offended by it. Let me give you some ways to use it in sentences.✓I take exception to the fact that you think I’m stupid just because I didn’t go to university.✓A: You probably don’t understand modern music because you’re over 50.✓B: I take exception to that!✓I don’t know how to use polite forms in Japanese. I hope my coworkers in Tokyo don’t takeexception to that.✓Be careful what you say to Cheryl. She’s very sensitive and takes exception to many things. We can use this expression in all types of sentences: positive, negative and questions. We often put the words “the fact that” after this term. This is then followed by another sentence explaining the thing the person is offended by. This is the case of my first example.It’s often used as a direct response to a statement. This is the case of my second example.It’s not really clear why “take exception” means to be offended. Perhaps it’s be cause the word “exception” means that something is different. Therefore, “I take exception to that.” could be seen as meaning “I feel differently about that than other people do and am therefore offended by it.”This term can be used in both daily conversat ions and business situations.8.tackleThis blog entry is about the verb “tackle”. We often use this word in business situations when we want to talk about starting to deal with a problem at work. Let me give you some examples of how to use it.✓We’re havi ng a big problem with the employees over the issue of vacation time. How do you think we should tackle this problem?✓People are constantly late for work, and the boss said he would tackle the problem himself. I wonder what he’s going to do.✓I’ll tackle the problem of low morale at the office if you deal with the customer complaints we’ve been getting recently.✓Our sales have been going down steadily since January. If we don’t tackle this problem soon, we’ll go out of business.It’s important to note that when we say we will tackle a problem, it means we haven’t started to deal with that problem yet. If the process has already started, then we say we’re handling the problem or dealing with the problem.You might be interested to know that we can also use the word “tackle” when talking about American football. When a football player attacks a player from the opposite team in order to stop him from running with the football, we say he “tackles” him. So I suppose that’s why we use it when talking about problems; we are attacking a problem in order to stop it.9.in one’s sleepI have another interesting grammatical expression for you: “in one’s sleep”. We use it when we want to talk about something that we know very well, or something that we are very skillful at. Here are some example sentences using it.✓I know the way to Stephen’s house very well. I’ve been there so many times I could get there in my sleep.✓Sharon has fixed this kind of computer so many times that she could do it in her sleep.✓A: Do you know how to make beef stew?✓B: Are you kidding? I used to make it for my mother at least twice a month. I can do it in my sleep.✓I’m going to train you very well. By the time we’re finished, you’ll be able to use this machine in your sleep.As you can see from my examples, we use words such as “can”, “could” or “be able to” withthis expression. The idea with this expression is that we know how to do something so well that we could do it automatically even in an unconscious state. Obviously, this is not true, and if we are asleep, we could not do it. However, this is a typical example of exaggeration in English. We often use exaggeration as a way to emphasize something when we’re speaking. It’s used far more often in spoken English than in written English.10.in a rowThe entry for today is about the grammatical expression “in a row”. We use it when we want to talk about two or more things happening consecutively. In other words, they happen one after another with no breaks in between. Let me give you some example sentences using it.✓Next week, I have four days off in a row! I’m so excited!✓My favorite baseball team lost seven games in a row. All their fans are really disappointed! ✓My girlfriend has given me something really special for five birthdays in a row. I hope she gives me something nice again this year.✓My family and I have gone on vacation to Hawaii for three years in a row. I really want to go somewhere different this year.So, we use this to talk about time. We use such words as: days, weeks, months, years, etc.We can also use it to talk about things that happen according to a regular schedule such as sports games or meetings at the office. My second sentence is an example of that.In the case of my first example, there is a big difference between having four days off and having four days off in a row. For example, if we have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday off, we would say “I have four days off”. We couldn’t use the expression “in a row” because we had to work on Wednesday. However, if it’s Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, we use “in a row” because there is no interruption.11.time and time againThis time I want to write about the grammatical expression, “time and time again”. We use it when we want to talk about a situation which happens very frequently. Here are some example sentences using it.✓I’m so annoyed with Jack! He’s late time and time again when we make plans to get together.✓Time and time again my sister says she’s going to break up with her boyfriend, but she never does.✓Joyce come s over to borrow things time and time again. She’s really getting on my nerves.✓This author uses water as a metaphor time and time again in his novels.It’s important to note that this expression is often used to complain about something or someone. I think this is clear with my first three example sentences. However, in the case of my last example, when the person says the author uses that metaphor “time and time again”, it sounds a little negative and as if he/she doesn’t like that habit of the author. If the person wants to sound less negative, they would say something like “This author often uses water as a metaphor in his novels.”12.temperamentalThis blog entry is about the adjective “temperamental”. We use it to describe a person or amachine which is very sensitive and unpredictable. Let me give you some example sentences using it.✓I heard that actress is really temperamental, so nobody wants to work with her.✓My new boss is supposed to be really temperamental, so I’m really worried about working for him.✓Please be aware that this photocopier can be quite temperamental. Sometimes you have to hit it to make it work.✓I’m really frustrated with my car these days. It still works, but it’s become really temperamental.When we use this word to talk about a person, as in my first two examples, they are very sensitive emotionally and their behavior cannot be predicted. When we use this word to talk about a machine, as in my last two examples, it is very sensitive physically and whether or not it works properly cannot be predicted. In English, both ways of using this word are equally common. In all cases, this word is considered negative.13.slowly but surelyThis time I’m going to write about the expression “slowly but surely”. We use it when we want to talk about making gradual progress with something when trying to achieve a goal. Here are some ways to use it in sentences.✓I’m still not great at speaking Spanish, but I’m improving slowly but surely.✓If you keep working hard, slowly but surely you’ll become s uccessful.✓This is a difficult problem to figure out but, if we work together on it, we can do it slowly but surely.✓When I first moved to this city I didn’t have any friends. However, slowly but surely I was able to make friends here.As you can see from my examples, we can use this expression to talk about situations that are happening now, in the future or in the past. We can place the expression “slowly but surely” either at the end of the sentence or in the middle. We can even put it at the beginning of a sentence, but it’s usually placed after a word such as “however”. This is the case of my last example. In this expression, “surely” means “definitely”. Therefore, the meaning of this expression is that something will definitely happen, but it will take a long time.。