Confused and Misused Words - Partly V Partially

Partly (adverb) – to a certain degree, but not completely

• Jake’s attractiveness is partly due to his great sense of humour.
• This building is partly owned by my grandfather.

Partially (adverb) – not in a state of completion

• This building was only partially built when I saw it six months ago.
• Kelly refused to eat the chicken as it was only partially cooked.

Common Idioms - Ear-piercing/Ear-splitting

Meaning – loud and shrill

• Natalie let out an ear-piercing shriek when she unwrapped her Christmas present.
• The ear-splitting screams from the restless little boy woke half the passengers on the plane.

Grammar - Adverbs of Comparison

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

The rules are:

1.    Comparative adverbs are used when comparing the actions of one or more people/things at two different times.

a.    adverbs + ‘er’ + than

·         Mark works harder than Alex.

b.    adverb + ‘er’ + 1^st time frame + than + 2^nd time frame

·         Mark works harder now than he did last year.

c.     more + adverb + than

·         John eats more quietly than Peter.

d.    more + adverb + 1^st time frame + than + 2^nd time frame

·         Ice-cream generally sells more briskly in summer than in winter.

2.    Superlative adverbs are used when comparing the actions of three or more people/things, or the actions of one person/thing at three or more different times.

a.    the + adverb + ‘est’ + among/of

·         Mark works hard.

·         Mark works harder than Alex.

·         Sam studies the hardest of the three.

b.    the + most + adverb

·         It snowed heavily last night.

·         It snowed more heavily yesterday than on Monday.

·         It snowed the most heavily on Friday.

3.    Do not use two different comparative or superlative forms of adverbs together. Adverbs ending in ‘er’ or ‘est’ cannot be used with more or most in the same sentence.

·         The journey to work took more longer yesterday than today.                                                                       (WRONG)

·         The journey to work took longer yesterday than today. (CORRECT)

4.    Certain adverbs have irregular and superlative forms.

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

·         Sandy ate little at dinner tonight.

·         Mandy ate less than Sandy.

·         Jessie ate the least among them.

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

Homophones - Flaunt V Flout

Flaunt (verb) – to show off sth you are proud off

• Sally was walking around the office flaunting her huge diamond ring this morning.

Flout (verb) – to intentionally break the law, rule or custom

·        It’s very common of motorcyclists to flout the law by not wearing their helmets.

• The employees decided to flout company tradition and turned up for work in casual clothes.

Confused and Misused Words - Momentary V Momentous

Momentary (adj) – lasting for a very short period of time.

• A momentary lapse of concentration on the road could cause an accident.
• John blamed his momentary lapse of memory for not remembering who Terence was.

Momentous (adj) – very important because of its effects on future events.

• The momentous news of Steve Job’s passing sent shock waves throughout the world.
• The decision to move overseas was a momentous one for the whole family.

Common Idioms - Daylight Robbery

Meaning – charging an unreasonable price for sth

·         $10 per hour for parking? That’s daylight robbery!

·         I couldn’t believe they were charging people $100 each just to get past the front door of that bar. That’s daylight robbery! 

Proverbs and Sayings - You Can Lead a Horse to Water But You Can't Make It Drink

Meaning – you can give others good advice or offer them good opportunities, but there is nothing you can do if they choose not to listen to your advice or take advantage of the opportunities.

• Ken has been given countless opportunities to work in the top firms of the country, but he has turned them all down. It simply goes to show that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
• Sam has access to the best doctors money can buy, but he refuses to heed any of their advice. This clearly demonstrates that you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

Phrasal Verbs - Die (Die down V Die for V Die from/of V Die off V Die out)

Die down – to decrease in strength or intensity

• The rain finally died down after an hour of heavy dwnpour.
• The Chinese government is just waiting for the protests in Hong Kong to die down.

Die for – to have a strong desire for sth

• After going almost half a day without caffeine, I was dying for some good coffee.

Die from/of (a disease, starvation, cold, a drug overdose etc)

• It’s so sad to hear about people dying from/of starvation in Africa on a daily basis.
• More and more people are dying from/of cancer these days.

Die off – to die quickly or in large numbers

• Cattle were dying off throughout the country due to the prolonged drought.

Die out – to become extinct or go out of practice

• It is believed that dinosaurs died out millions of years ago.
• The norm of working behind an office desk is slowly dying out nowadays.

Homonyms - Object (as a Noun and Verb)

Noun

1. a thing that you can see or touch

·                     I saw a strange object in the garage this morning.

2. (purpose) – a reason for doing sth, or the result you wish to see by doing it

·                     The object of advertising in a business magazine is to increase         awareness about our company among entrepreneurs.

3. (cause) – somebody or sth that causes particular feelings in or actions by others

·                     John left the company after becoming an object of ridicule among his colleagues for over a year.

Verb – to feel or express opposition to or a dislike of sth or someone

·                     Do you think anyone would object if we started the meeting a little earlier?

·                     Danny was relieved when his parents didn’t object to his decision to quit his job to pursue his dreams.

Homonyms - Lie (As a Verb and Noun)

1.  (verb) – position

·         I know you’re restless, but you should lie down and try to get some rest.

·         Ben lies awake at night, worrying about money.

·         When Daniel and Fiona are on holiday, they spend the days lying on the beach.

2.     (verb) – speak falsely

·        Not many people like George as he is constantly lying.

·        John was furious when he found out that Sally had lied to him.

3.     (noun) – sth you say that is untrue

·         I can’t stand people who tell lies.

·         Zack told a lie when he said he liked Jessica’s dress.

Confused and Misused Words - Laid V Lain

Laid – past tense and past participle of lay

• John fell asleep as soon as he laid his head on the pillow.
• Sally has laid the table with new plates and glasses.

Lain – past participle of lie

• The letter had lain unopened in his drawer for almost a week.

Homophones - Muscle V Mussel

Muscle (noun) – One of the many tissues in the body used to produce movement

• My muscles are so sore from all the exercise we did yesterday.

Mussel (noun) – A small, orange sea creature that lives in a black shell. Mussels can be eaten.

·        This hotel always serves fresh mussels at their buffets. Maybe that’s why they are such a hit with the customers!

Confused and Misused Words - Final V Finale

Final

1.   (adj) – last

• The owner must have found our final offer to be fair as he has agreed to sell his house to us.
• We’re usually at our busiest during the final stages of a project.
• John has just received his final warning to move out from his rented apartment.

2.   (adj) – used to indicate you are certain you will not change your decision about sth.

·         I’m not attending the party and that’s final.

Finale of a show etc (noun) – grand final scene or event

·         All the performers came on stage for the grand finale.