Homonyms - Influence (As a Noun and Verb)

1. (noun) - to have an effect on people or things
- Sally was under the influence of her father throughout her teenage life.

- We're relieved to know that Gary's a good influence on my brother. 


2. (verb) - to affect or change the way someone or something develops, thinks or behaves.

- She has a own style, and isn't influenced by current trends.

- What influenced you to choose a career in business?

- His ability to influence people is amazing and frightening at the same time.

Words From The Same Family - Intelligent v Intelligence

Intelligent (adj) - showing the ability to learn and understand things easily. 

• She's clearly very intelligent, but her lectures are hard to follow.
• Wilson, our quiet accountant, surprised us with his intelligent ideas over lunch yesterday.

Intelligence (noun) - the ability to learn, understand and make judgement based on reason.

• I was surprised someone of his intelligence hardly reads.
• William is blessed with good looks and intelligence, and he knows it.

Homonyms - Harm (As a Noun and Verb)

1. (noun) - injury or damage
- Skipping a meal once in a while won't do you any harm.
- You could always ask Jim if you could borrow his car for the day. There's no harm in asking.
- Vigorous exercise combined with lack of sleep can do more harm than good.


2. (verb) - to hurt somebody or damage something.
- Thankfully, no one was harmed in the fire.
- The company's reputation has been severely (=seriously) harmed by a number of scandals. 

Homonyms - Copy (As a Noun and Verb)

1. (verb) - to produce sth that is the same as the original piece of work.

• A lot of people think that Sarah cheated in the test by copying from John.
• All the restaurants Uncle Raymond recommended sound great! I am going to copy all the names and visit them soon.

2. (verb) - to behave in the same way as someone else.

• Tim tends to copy his cousin in the way he dresses and speaks.
• It's amazing how children can copy the things adults say and do from such a young age.

3. (noun) - sth that has been made exactly the same as sth else.

• I always carry a copy of my passport when I'm travelling.
• Could you please make three copies of these notes for tomorrow's class?

20 Practical Grammar Tips (Reader's Digest)

Found this article with a list of practical grammar tips by Reader's Digest. I hope you all find this helpful!


https://www.rd.com/culture/most-confusing-grammar-rules/

Confusing and Misused Words - Access v Assess

Access 

(noun) - getting near to a person or place.

• The only access to the island is by boat.
• The main access to (= entrance to) the museum is at the side.

(noun) - opportunity to use or look at sth.

• The hackers had complete access to the company's confidential files for more than 24 hours. 

(verb) - enter a place.

• It is definitely a challenge for anyone on a wheelchair to access this building.
• You need a card to access the lab.

Assess

(noun) - to judge or decide on the value, quality or importance of sth.

• Insurance companies are assessing the flood damage.
• Exams are not the only means of assessing a student's intellect.

(verb) - to judge

• Our lecturer is going to assess us based on our project grades.
• Insurance companies assessed the flood damage in the millions of dollars.

Homonyms - Group (As a Noun and Verb)

1. (noun) - a number of people of things put together.
- A small group of people were waiting outside the bank when I got there this morning.
- All the house chores were completed quickly because we worked as a group.


2. (verb) -  to put people or things together.
- All the children grouped together around the birthday boy for a photo.
- All the books at the book fair are grouped by price.