Confused or Misused Words - Emission V Omission

Emission (of sth) – a release or discharge of it

• Environmental groups the world over want a                           substantial reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases.
• The emission of carbon monoxide from vehicles can be drastically reduced if more people car-pooled or take public transport. 

Omission (of sth) – the act or mistake of leaving it out  

• There are some serious errors and omissions in this article.

Homophones - Eminent V Imminent

Eminent – famous, respected or important

·         Mr Johnson is one of the busiest and most eminent doctors in the country. Yet, he always makes time for his family and friends.

Imminent – coming or likely to happen soon

·         A strike in imminent. Employees have been unhappy about their salary and working conditions for a long time.

·         Diana’s imminent departure for England to pursue her career has made her boyfriend very sad.

Similes With As - As Cheap As Dirt

Meaning – very cheap

·         Cars in Australia are as cheap as dirt when compared to Malaysia.

·         Due to the global financial crisis, the properties in certain parts of the world are as cheap as dirt. 

Common Idioms - Carbon Copy

Meaning – an exact copy

·         John may be the carbon copy of his father, but they are as different as night and day (= very different from each other). 

Confused of Misused Words - Eligible V Illegible

Eligible – suitable or qualified for something

• Anyone above the age of 55 is eligible for pension.
• John is one of the most eligible bachelors in his family. It’s no wonder his family and friends are always trying to hook him up with girls.

Illegible – not readable (for handwriting)

• Most of the doctors I know have illegible handwriting.

Homophones - Medal V Meddle

Medal

• Sam was over the moon (= extremely happy) when he won a gold medal at the swimming competition.

Meddle – to try and change or have an influence on things that are not your responsibility.

• I have very little tolerance for people who meddle in other people’s affairs.

Homonyms - Grave

·         We visit and clean up our ancestors’ graves once a year.

·         John made a grave (=huge) mistake by investing a large portion of his savings in shares.

·         Not realizing how grave (=seriously bad) the situation was, Jake continued to make jokes.

·         Sally took the first flight home to Singapore when she heard her grandfather was gravely (adverb) ill.

Synonyms - Adjourn

Meaning – pause, rest, defer, discontinue, interrupt, postpone, suspend

·    Due to unforeseen circumstances, the meeting was adjourned (postponed) until Wednesday.

• Shall we adjourn for lunch? I’m sure we could all use a break.

Proverbs and Sayings - Give The Devil His Due

Meaning – Give even a bad person or a person you dislike due credit for any good things they do or any good aspects of their character.

·         I have never liked Jake, but to give the devil his due, he was really nice to me when I was new in this company.

Common Idioms - Burn Your Fingers; Get Your Fingers Burnt

Meaning – to suffer the unpleasant consequences of interfering in something, taking a risk, or acting foolishly

• I strongly believe that anyone who invests in property now will get their fingers burnt.
• Everyone feels sorry for Kent as he recently got his fingers burnt when his business failed to take off.

Homophones - Leak V Leek

Leak

• You really ought to get a plumber to fix that tap. It’s been leaking for the past 3 days.
• We were very fortunate that our mechanic noticed the oil leaking from our car when we sent it to him to be serviced.

Leek - a long, white vegetable with green leaves on top that tastes and smells like an onion.

·        Leek isn’t one of my favourite vegetables even though it smells and tastes like onion.

Confusing and Misused Words - Disability V Inability

Disability (noun) – a physical or mental handicap such as blindness or lameness.

• I have nothing but respect and admiration for people who refuse to let their disabilities stop them from pursuing their dreams.

Inability (noun)– the state of being unable to so something.

• Ben’s inability to converse in Mandarin puts him at a huge disadvantage given he’s applying for jobs in China.

Homonyms - Content (As an Adjective and a Noun)

As an adjective

• I’m quite content (=pleased) with what I already have.

As a noun

• John failed to find his house keys despite emptying out the contents of his bag. 

Homophones - Devise V Device

Devise (verb) – to invent a plan, system, object etc

• Jake is great at devising useful phone applications. It’s no surprise he’s so successful.

Device (noun) – a tool that has been invented for a particular purpose

• The special device used by the rescuers enabled them to successfully locate the people trapped in the collapsed building. 

Common Idioms - A Bull In A China Shop

Meaning:

1. somebody who is very clumsy or rough, knocking things over and causing damage.
• I always stay away from antique shops whenever I’m out with my brother. He’s like a bull in a china shop.

2. somebody who is not very sensitive or tactful.

• Despite knowing how delicate the situation was, Charles was like a bull in a china shop over dinner.

Grammar - Question Tags

The rules:

1.    Negative question tags with positive statements are used like             this:

• We were quite early, weren’t we?
• The Kents will be leaving for Canada tomorrow, won’t they?
• It has stopped raining, hasn’t it?
• Sarah does all the house chores herself, doesn’t she?

• The girls made muffins this morning, didn’t they?
• I look strange in this outfit, don’t I?
• Mark lives in Singapore, doesn’t he?

2.    Short forms like wasn’t and isn’t are used in question tags.

·         Tonight’s concert was great, wasn’t it?

3.    Pronouns are used in question tags. The pronoun in a question tag must agree with the subject of the statement.

·         John was upset last night, wasn’t he?

·         The children are hungry, aren’t they?

·         The dog has been fed, hasn’t it?