Confused and Misused Words - Infer V Imply

Infer – to form an opinion based on what you already know

• Judging from Kate’s expression, I inferred that she was quite pleased with what she saw.
• What do you infer from her refusal to attend John’s party?

Imply – to hint at sth without actually saying it

• What exactly are you implying?
• I’m not implying Sarah’s a bad a cook, but could we please eat out tonight?
• Are you implying (that) I’m overweight?

Homonyms - Net (As a Noun, Adjective and Verb)

Net

1. noun - fishing net

·         We couldn’t believe the number of fish hauled (= pulled) in from our fishing nets this morning.

2.  adj - what’s left when there is there is nothing else to be taken away

• John really wants to go on holiday. Unfortunately, his net income         (= income after tax is paid) is only enough to cover his monthly expenses.

3.  verb - to get sth good or to earn a lot of money from sth

• Sally netted herself a small fortune when she sold her company recently.
• Matt was overjoyed when he netted himself his dream job with a big law firm.

Common Idioms: Get Cold Feet

Meaning: To suddenly become afraid to do something

·         Sam was going to ask Brenda out, but when he found out she was from a very wealthy family, he got cold feet.

·         Ben was so sure he was going to go bungee jumping, but he got cold feet at the last minute.

Word Families Based on Nouns - Abuse

Abuse

1.  (verb) – to speak or treat someone cruelly

·        The bully was reprimanded for verbally abusing a group of                         small boys.

·        It’s disturbing to read about children being mentally and                          physically abused on a daily basis.

2.  (noun) – cruel, violent or unfair treatment

·        No one would have guessed that Amy was a victim of child abuse. She’s always so cheerful and friendly.

·        After years of (mental) abuse, Sally finally divorced her husband.

Abusive (adj) – using rude and offensive words

• He was kicked out of the bar for being abusive toward the waitresses.
• I can’t imagine how many abusive phone calls telemarketers have to deal with on a daily basis.

Abuser (noun)

·        Sally had to mentally prepare herself before facing her abuser in court.

·        John has been a drug abuser for years. It’s no wonder he never has any money.

Common Idioms - Round the Clock

Meaning: all day and night without stopping

• The round the clock construction of the new mall is driving everyone crazy.
• Due to John's rapidly deteriorating (= getting worse) health, his family has requested for round the clock attention from the hospital staff.

Cheat Sheet - Professional Emails

Compiled from SME May 2014

Hi everyone!

Hope you found the article above useful. I just wanted to add on to some of the things mentioned above:

• As correctly pointed out in the article, try to keep the use of acronyms to a minimum as it reflects on your level of professionalism.
• I can’t stress how important it is to check for spelling and punctuation. For instance, I just got an email from a travel agency. I have yet to open the email, but from my phone, I was able to make out the first sentence of the email. It read like this,

    Dear Ms May,

     Greetings! Kinkily refer to the……

I’m sure some of you would be smirking or chuckling upon reading this. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me laugh. Granted it’s nothing serious, but what is your first impression of this company? More importantly, would you want to do business with this company? Getting to the point is also crucial as everyone is pressed for time. If you can link your subject title to the content of your email, that would also help your clients, customers or associates to gauge the urgency of your email and respond accordingly. For instance, I was recently looking for an English-speaking tour to Taipei. So, when I emailed a few travel agencies, my subject title was ‘Seeking English-speaking tours to Taipei’. The subject title itself indicates that I’m a potential customer. As such, I would most likely get a reply within the next 48 hours.

For those of you who are in need of proof-reading services for your assignments, projects or presentations, please feel free to contact me at maynaik23@gmail.com.

Word Families Based on Nouns - Anger

Anger (noun)

• Tom still feels a lot of anger towards his father, who treated him poorly as a child.
• Sally struggled to contain (=control) her anger when she saw the scratch marks on her brand new car.
• The employees showed no surprise or anger when they were informed about the paycut in their salaries.

Anger (verb)

• It’s obvious the remark angered him as his face was as red as tomato.
• It always angers me to see people littering in public places.

Angry (adj)

• Sam was so angry with his brother that he stormed out of the house.

Angrily (adverb)

• ‘Stop blasting your radio!’ she shouted angrily.
• The unhappy employees protested angrily outside the company’s headquarters.
• The politician reacted angrily to claims of infidelity.

Confused and Misused Words - Historic V Historical

Historic (adj) – important or very likely to be important in history

• The site of the historic battle has been a huge tourist attraction for over a decade (=10 years).
• A historic day like Independence Day is often celebrated with fireworks and live performances.

Historical (adj) - connected with the study or representation of things from the past

·        Many important historical sites were destroyed during the earthquake few years ago.

·        The opposition party’s historical win last year is still a favourite topic amongst the locals.  

Common Idioms - Clear the Air

1.  to release the tension in a situation, eg. by giving others a chance to express their opinions.

·         We had a huge row/argument this morning, but at least it cleared the air.

2.  to make the air cooler and fresher

·         I’m so glad the heavy rain has helped clear the air. 

Confused and Misused Words - Fewer V Less

Fewer – used when referring to countable nouns like people of things

• There were fewer than 600 people at the Wealth Summit today.
• Companies are now manufacturing fewer desktops as demand has shifted to tablets and laptops.

Less – used when referring to amounts or quantities

• In my efforts to lose weight, I’m taking less sugar in my coffee.
• The whole tour package to Taiwan costs less than RM1200. 

Grammar - Adverbs of Time and Frequency

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

The rules are:

1. Adverbs of time are often placed in these positions:

1. At the beginning of the sentence

Definite adverbs of time (now, today, tomorrow, tonight, yesterday)

·   Yesterday, we went for a movie.

Indefinite adverbs of time (afterwards, again, recently, suddenly)

·   Suddenly, it started to rain.

2. At the end of the sentence

Definite adverbs of time (now, today, tomorrow, tonight, yesterday)

·   I will be at the Wealth Summit tomorrow.

Indefinite adverbs of time (afterwards, again, early, late, recently, suddenly)

·   James was late.

3. Between the subject and the main verb

Indefinite adverbs of time (already, just, recently, suddenly)

·   They recently bought a new house.

4. Immediately after the verb ‘to be’ or a main verb

Indefinite adverbs of time (again, already, later, recently, suddenly)

·   Sally was suddenly whispering to her sister.

·   Zack arrived late for the party.

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

2. Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something occurs. They are often placed in these positions:

1. At the beginning of the sentence (occasionally, often, sometimes, usually)

·   Sometimes my father goes out for a drink.

2. At the end of the sentence (frequently, occasionally, sometimes)

·   We bump into Sam at the gym frequently.

3. Between the subject and a main verb (always, often, usually, seldom, rarely, never)

·   She usually eats at the café near the office.

4. Immediately after the verb ‘to be’ (always, often, usually, seldom, rarely, never)

·   Tony is never late for anything.

3. An adverb of indefinite time or an adverb of frequency is usually placed after the first word in a verb group of two or more words.
• I have already finished my assignment.
• She has rarely seen anyone since the accident.

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

Homophones - Missed V Mist

Missed (verb) - past simple of miss

1.  to fail or to do or experience something

·         We missed the start of the movie because we got caught in traffic.

·         I missed breakfast this morning, so I’m starving now.

·         I’m glad I missed the rush hour or I would have taken more than an hour to get here.

2.  to arrive too late to catch a bus, train, plane etc

·         Sam was really annoyed that he missed the last bus back to his place.

3.  to not attend something

·         We missed Sean’s birthday party last week. So, we have to think of an excuse before we see him again.

4.  to fail to hit or avoid something or someone.

·         James was really lucky the bullet missed his heart by a few centimeters.

·         The naughty boy threw a ball at his sister but he missed.

5.  to fail to notice someone or something

·         People kept telling me that John was at my party last night but I never saw him. I suppose I must have missed him.

Mist (noun) – a thin fog

• John left for work shortly after the early morning mist cleared.

Confused and Misused Words - Farther V Further

Farther

• It was farther (= adjective) to the bus stop than we had expected.
• How much farther (= adverb) is it to the hotel?

Further (= adverb)

• I can’t walk any further. My feet are so sore.
• Further instructions will be given later.
• If you wish to take this matter further, you can file charges against the company.
• Before we go any further, there are a few things I need to clarify with you.