Date； 2006.11.16(Thu)
Although, even though, in spite of, despite.
Some English students often get confuse with some words that have similar meaning, and many times those words actually have the same meaning, is like to say the same thing with different words. As your vocabulary grows you may want to express the same thing in different words and for that you’ll need to know about these words; “although”, “even though”, “in spite of”, and “despite,” all them have a basic premise which is the meaning of the word “but,” keeping that in mind, the only thing you have to do is visualize the situation of what you want to say it.
Here I write what you need to know in order to find those little differences in nuance.
“Although” is a conjunction that has the same meaning of “however” used as linker both introduce a statement which is followed by another statement that may seem surprising, or seems to disagree with what you have just said. Here’s some examples “although the car’s old, it still runs well” “the car is old however it still works well” both sentences have the same nuance and meaning. Using even though could have the same meaning but different nuance. “Even though the car’s old, it still runs well,” using even though you really emphasize, that the car is old. Even though is basically used to emphasize that although something happen or is true something else also happens and is true as well.
“Despite” and “in spite of” are used in different situations, they are used to express that something happen without been prevented by someone or something else. “Maria is a good worker in spite of her problems at home.” Also in situations in which you did something that you didn’t really want to do. “Maria realized that despite herself she worried about her husband.”
Despite and in spite of (prepositions) can only be followed by noun or gerund. “Despite being one of the largest cities in the world Mexico City, was relatively safe”. “Although” and “Even though” (conjunctions) must be followed by a finite verb such as “was.” Here are some clear examples: “Despite owning two cars, he can’t drive”. “Although he owns two cars he can’t drive.” Just one last thing, despite being busy everyday I’ll keep on writing these articles for you, so even though I know you’re busy too, please come to check them out, I’m sure they will help you to improve your English speaking skills. See you next time. Bye!
Date； 2006.10.10(Tue)
Refuse, reject, decline
I don’t like to hear the word “no.” I suppose most the people feel the same way. It’s painful to be “refused” or “rejected.” Those two are similar words. Let’s add one more, “decline,” and talk about this three this time.
When you don’t want to do, give, accept or allow something, then you “refused” it. Here are some examples. Some farmers living near Narita Airport didn’t want to sell their land so the airport could be enlarged. They refuse to sell it. He was offered a promotion but, he refused it. He didn’t want to add responsibility.
“Decline” has the same meaning as “refuse,” but it a slightly different feeling. It’s a more courteous, more polite way to say no. I had to decline the invitation to the party; I was too busy. If I hadn’t had other plans, I would have gone. Decline is a softer way to say “no” than refuse. Up to now the politician Shinzo Abe has declined to say whether he would visit Yasukuni Shrine. It hasn’t been a strong statement; he just doesn’t want to say anything about it.
Take a look at the examples in the previous paragraph. You might say that the man declined the promotion, but declined doesn’t fit those farmers in Narita. They were strongly opposed to the plan.
One of the meanings to “reject” is to refuse something because it doesn’t meet your expectations or standards. I applied to the master course after I graduated from high school. Some accept me, but others reject me, they reject my application. My grades weren’t good enough for them. Here’s another example. Many countries want North Korea to stop testing missiles. North Korea has rejected their proposal so far. You can refuse to do something; North Korea has refused to stop launching missiles. But you can’t reject to do something; reject is not used in this sense. Things like proposals, offers, plans and ideas are rejected. Actions are refused but no rejected.
I’d like to invite you to read my articles every time you can, even further I invite you to take lessons with me. I hope you won’t refuse my invitation but I’ll understand if you want to decline, but please don’t reject it completely. Bye!
When you don’t want to do, give, accept or allow something, then you “refused” it. Here are some examples. Some farmers living near Narita Airport didn’t want to sell their land so the airport could be enlarged. They refuse to sell it. He was offered a promotion but, he refused it. He didn’t want to add responsibility.
“Decline” has the same meaning as “refuse,” but it a slightly different feeling. It’s a more courteous, more polite way to say no. I had to decline the invitation to the party; I was too busy. If I hadn’t had other plans, I would have gone. Decline is a softer way to say “no” than refuse. Up to now the politician Shinzo Abe has declined to say whether he would visit Yasukuni Shrine. It hasn’t been a strong statement; he just doesn’t want to say anything about it.
Take a look at the examples in the previous paragraph. You might say that the man declined the promotion, but declined doesn’t fit those farmers in Narita. They were strongly opposed to the plan.
One of the meanings to “reject” is to refuse something because it doesn’t meet your expectations or standards. I applied to the master course after I graduated from high school. Some accept me, but others reject me, they reject my application. My grades weren’t good enough for them. Here’s another example. Many countries want North Korea to stop testing missiles. North Korea has rejected their proposal so far. You can refuse to do something; North Korea has refused to stop launching missiles. But you can’t reject to do something; reject is not used in this sense. Things like proposals, offers, plans and ideas are rejected. Actions are refused but no rejected.
I’d like to invite you to read my articles every time you can, even further I invite you to take lessons with me. I hope you won’t refuse my invitation but I’ll understand if you want to decline, but please don’t reject it completely. Bye!
Date； 2006.09.29(Fri)
Scene, Sight
People who are learning English often have questions about similar words. That’s natural. If they ask a native speaker about them, they usually expect to get a definite answer: an answer that clearly shows the difference. That’s natural too. But it’s not always that simple. Take for example the difference between a “scene” and a “sight”.
First, I want to give you a little back ground. I was talking with another teacher, and he told me that one of his students told him in class that he, the student had gone to a park and seen a family having a picnic. There was a mother, a father and two children who were playing happily on Sunday afternoon, The student said, “it was a touching scene.” the teacher correct her, “it was a touching sight.” Naturally the student wanted to know what the difference was, but the teacher had a difficult time explaining it. He said “it was just a feeling,” and then later he asks me which one I would choose. I thought either one was OK. However If I had to choose one, “scene” would be my choice. The reason is the activity, “the children playing”. I think there’s movement, there’s action in scenes. Movies are made up of scenes. “Scene” can also refer to a place, like the scene of crime. But even then, it’s a place where something happened. It’s the place where the crime was committed.
If you take a trip, sightseeing is probably something you do. Here is an example. “They went to London and saw the sights.” They went to places worth seeing. I think that a “sight” is something like a photograph, but that a “scene” is more like a movie picture. I don’t know if this will help you to understand the difference between them, but I wanted to tell you the story about the Teacher so that you know that even we (the Teaches) don’t always agree on how similar words are different.
Keep asking questions even if the answers you get are not always satisfying. Wanting to know will help you to learn. See you next time. Bye!
First, I want to give you a little back ground. I was talking with another teacher, and he told me that one of his students told him in class that he, the student had gone to a park and seen a family having a picnic. There was a mother, a father and two children who were playing happily on Sunday afternoon, The student said, “it was a touching scene.” the teacher correct her, “it was a touching sight.” Naturally the student wanted to know what the difference was, but the teacher had a difficult time explaining it. He said “it was just a feeling,” and then later he asks me which one I would choose. I thought either one was OK. However If I had to choose one, “scene” would be my choice. The reason is the activity, “the children playing”. I think there’s movement, there’s action in scenes. Movies are made up of scenes. “Scene” can also refer to a place, like the scene of crime. But even then, it’s a place where something happened. It’s the place where the crime was committed.
If you take a trip, sightseeing is probably something you do. Here is an example. “They went to London and saw the sights.” They went to places worth seeing. I think that a “sight” is something like a photograph, but that a “scene” is more like a movie picture. I don’t know if this will help you to understand the difference between them, but I wanted to tell you the story about the Teacher so that you know that even we (the Teaches) don’t always agree on how similar words are different.
Keep asking questions even if the answers you get are not always satisfying. Wanting to know will help you to learn. See you next time. Bye!
Date； 2006.09.26(Tue)
Sad
This time the topic is not a happy one, if you’re feeling “blue” and “lonely,” you might want to wait for another time to read it. Actually it’s not going to be that sad. Lots of people have asked me how “sad” and “lonely” are different, so let’s talk about these two and more if there’s room for it.
It seems obvious to say this but, when you feel unhappy you can say that you’re sad. Lots of things can make you sad: disappointments, troubles, broken hearts, the deaths of people close to you, even a sad history in the movie theater. You can “be” or “feel” sad. I was sad about the history of some people who were at the World Trade Center on September 11th in New York when the terrorist attack, there’s a film of Oliver Stone which tell us about the facts. This film made me feel sad. “Sad” is an adjective and you can use it to describe things that give you the feeling. Here’s an example. Tears welled up in their eyes as they saw the film to his sad history. Some times you’ll see “sad” used when there’s no feeling of sorrow. It can also mean “terrible, really bad.” The house was in sad shape when they bought it. It was practically falling down; many things need to be fixed. (I’m sure they feel sad about paying for the repairs).
“Lonely” is a little different. When you “are” lonely or “feel” lonely, you want the company of other people; you want to be together with friends or companions. That feeling makes many people sad, but “sad” and “lonely” is not exactly the same thing. I was sad at the movie theater, but I wasn’t lonely because there were lots of other people around.
There is another word that you can use to express when you are “sad.” The word “blue” is also an adjective that describe also sadness not just the color. And there’s another one. “Alone” when you are alone, you are not with any one else. “Alone” is also an adjective, but is also and adverb. One of my friends’ lives alone; he lives by himself. He doesn’t have a wife or a roommate. I remember asking him one day, “Don’t you ever get lonely?” He said, “No, not really.” He never feels the need of a companion. “Alone” can also have the meaning of “without the help of someone else.” The boy couldn’t carry the suitcase alone. I wasn’t able to finish the work alone so I asked someone for a hand.
Don’t ever feel sad if you have trouble with similar words. Remember, you’re not alone. Lots of other people have the same trouble, too. Bye!
It seems obvious to say this but, when you feel unhappy you can say that you’re sad. Lots of things can make you sad: disappointments, troubles, broken hearts, the deaths of people close to you, even a sad history in the movie theater. You can “be” or “feel” sad. I was sad about the history of some people who were at the World Trade Center on September 11th in New York when the terrorist attack, there’s a film of Oliver Stone which tell us about the facts. This film made me feel sad. “Sad” is an adjective and you can use it to describe things that give you the feeling. Here’s an example. Tears welled up in their eyes as they saw the film to his sad history. Some times you’ll see “sad” used when there’s no feeling of sorrow. It can also mean “terrible, really bad.” The house was in sad shape when they bought it. It was practically falling down; many things need to be fixed. (I’m sure they feel sad about paying for the repairs).
“Lonely” is a little different. When you “are” lonely or “feel” lonely, you want the company of other people; you want to be together with friends or companions. That feeling makes many people sad, but “sad” and “lonely” is not exactly the same thing. I was sad at the movie theater, but I wasn’t lonely because there were lots of other people around.
There is another word that you can use to express when you are “sad.” The word “blue” is also an adjective that describe also sadness not just the color. And there’s another one. “Alone” when you are alone, you are not with any one else. “Alone” is also an adjective, but is also and adverb. One of my friends’ lives alone; he lives by himself. He doesn’t have a wife or a roommate. I remember asking him one day, “Don’t you ever get lonely?” He said, “No, not really.” He never feels the need of a companion. “Alone” can also have the meaning of “without the help of someone else.” The boy couldn’t carry the suitcase alone. I wasn’t able to finish the work alone so I asked someone for a hand.
Don’t ever feel sad if you have trouble with similar words. Remember, you’re not alone. Lots of other people have the same trouble, too. Bye!