Feel nauseous and vomit are also used in more formal British English.. - She was stricken with pain and began to vomit.[r]
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ENGLISH CONFUSABLE WORDS ~ 04
Hair (tóc), hairs (lông)
The mass of thin strands that grow on a person’s head is called hair Hair also grows
on other parts of the body Note that hair is an uncount noun when used with this
meaning
- He asked me why I had dyed my hair
- He hadfinished combing his hair and was now inspecting the result
In most societies the fact that adult females have hair on their bodies is taken for
granted and even appreciated Individual strands of hair are called hairs
- the sprinkling of grey hairs that had grown more noticeable with each year
- She left trails of long grey hairs as she paced the house
remark, notice
If you remark that something is the case, you say what you think about a particular
subject or what you have observed about it What you say may be an opinion or a
statement of fact
- All day people had remarked that I looked well
- But as the journalist himself remarked, clothes alone cannot disguise anyone
- ‘A fine autumn morning, Mr Castle,’ Mr Halliday remarked
If you notice that something is the case, you become aware of it You may say
something about it, or you may not
- The first thing you noticed about him was his eyes
- I noticed a stranger leaning over the gate, watching us with interest
- She stood back so that they would not notice her
sick, nauseous, vomit, ill
To be sick means to bring up food through your mouth from your stomach
- She was in a ship She was going to be sick
- He was being violently sick
To feel sick means to feel that you want to be sick
- Flying always makes me feel sick
American speakers say they feel nauseous rather than ’feel sick’
They use the verb vomit instead of ‘be sick’ Feel nauseous and vomit are also used
in more formal British English
- I felt dizzy and nauseous
- She was stricken with pain and began to vomit
If someone has a disease or a problem with their health, you can describe them as ill or
sick
- I’m too ill to see anyone
- My boy’s sick Measles
Most British speakers do not use ill in front of a noun unless they are also using an
adverb such as ‘very’, ‘seriously’, or ‘terminally’
- We had two still very ill men on our hands
- It was a drug given to severely mentally ill people
Some American speakers use ill on its own in front of a noun
- one of our ill sisters
You can use sick in front of a noun
- I’d say he’s a sick man
sometimes, sometime You use sometimes to say that something happens on certain occasions, rather than all
the time
-‘Do you hear from your sister? ~ ‘ Sometimes.’
- Sometimes I wish I was back in Africa
You can also use sometimes to say that something happens in certain cases, but not in
every case
Sometimes they just come for a term, sometimes six months
Sometimes, people do not begin to examine their marriages until they see the divorce advancing upon them
Sometime means at a vague or unspecified time in the future or past
- Can I come and see you sometime?
- He saw Frieda Maloney sometime last week
When it is used in this way, sometime is often written as two words
- He died some time last year
You also use sometime in front of a title or name of a job to indicate the position or
job that someone had at an unspecified time in the past
- Sir Alfred Mannings, sometime President ofthe Royal Adademy
speak, talk When you speak or talk, you use your voice to produce words Sometimes you can use both speak and talk without changing the sense very much, as in the following
examples
- Johnny had been speaking almost in a whisper
- Uncle Sam went on talking, in his low, throaty voice
You usually use speak when one person is addressing another, and the second person is listening rather than joining in For example, a politician speaks to an audience If you speak to someone about something that worries or annoys you, you say what you think
is wrong
- It was Harold’s turn to speak
- He never spoke at meetings butjust stared at the other directors
- It was essential that I speak to Smithy
- Several parents had spoken to me expressing their grave concern
You usually use talk when two or more people are having a conversation or discussion For example, when people have a meal together, they talk to each other If you talk to someone about something that worries or annoys you, you discuss it with DeThi.edu.vn
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them and expect them to express their point of view Note that in American English you
can also talk with someone
- A family of five were finishing lunch and talking loudly
- She said that she would like to meet me because Patricia had talked about me
- If you are really serious, Davis, I’ll talk to Watson
- Have you talked with the doctor yet?
• If you speak a language, you know that language and can use it
- You speak such excellent French!
- Peter was one of the few members of his team to speak good English
- He made friends with Korean labourers who spoke some English but wanted to learn
more
• During an actual conversation, you can talk or speak in a language, or talk or speak
the language Note that speak is slightly more formal
- Sitting Bull was to talk in the Sioux language; an interpreter was to translate
- They spoke in Yiddish in case the line was being tapped
- There were a lot ofpeople on the boat talking French
- Then it dawned on me that they were speaking Spanish
spend, pass (time)
If you do something from the beginning to the end of a period of time, you can say that
you spend that amount of time doing it
- She woke early, meaning to spend all day writing
- At the end of last term I spent three days cleaning our flat
You can also say that you spend time in a place, if you are there from the beginning to
the end of that period of time
- We found a hotel where we could spend the night
- He spent most of his time in the library
If you do something to occupy yourself while you are waiting for something, you say
that you do it to ‘pass the time’
- He had brought a book along to pass the time
- How am I going to pass the time here?’ he wondered
You can say that time has passed in order to express the idea that a period of time has
finished
- The first few days passed
- The time seems to have passed so quickly
none, neither
You use none to refer to three or more people or things when you are making a
negative statement that applies to all of them
- None could afford the books or food
- The bomb exploded and knocked out afew men Luckily, none were killed
You can also use none of followed by a pronoun or noun group
- None of them had learned anything about the teaching of reading
- None of his black companions answered
You use neither to refer to each of two people or things when you are making a
negative statement that applies to both of them
- Neither had close female friends at the university
- She chose first one, then another, but neither was to her satisfaction
You can also use neither of followed by a pronoun or noun group
- Neither of them spoke again for a long while
- Neither of these extremes is desirable
• You can also use neither immediately in front of a singular count noun
- Militarily, neither side can win
elder, eldest, older, oldest, elderly You use elder and eldest to say who was bom before others in a family For example,
if you have an elder brother or sister, you have a brother or sister who was bom before
you
- The eldest child in a family was bom before the other children
- His mother had impressed upon him how hopeless he was compared to his elder brother
- Angela was very fond of her parents, though bitterly jealous of her elder sister
- They were pretty girls and I guessed that the eldest, Marianne, was no more than twenty
You use older and oldest to say who was bom first in any group of people, not just
families
- One of the older boys had to be continually on watch for wild animals
- Some years ago I had the privilege of meeting the world’s oldest man
If you talk about ‘older people’, you mean people who are no longer young
- The older people, like Miss Clare and Mrs Pringle, shake their heads sadly
Older can be used to show differences in age, in comparisons using ‘than’ ‘Elder’ cannot be used in this way
- Jemmy was at least five years older than I was
- She was a couple of years older than me
If you describe someone as elderly, you mean that they are old Some people consider
elderly a more polite word than ‘old’
- a small, energetic, elderly man with a heavy moustache
- ’The elderly’ are elderly people
- a psychiatrist who specialized in the care of the elderly
electric, electrical You use electric to describe particular machines or devices that use electricity
- Place all the chopped vegetables in an electric blender
- an electric fire
You also use electric to describe things that are directly involved in producing or
conducting electricity
- Electric current does not flow through water, but through the impurities in water
- The electric wiring is dangerous
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You use electrical when you are talking in a more general way about machines,
devices, or systems which use or produce electricity
Electrical is typically used in front of nouns such as ‘equipment’, ‘appliance’, and
- Removal men won’t disconnect any electrical or gas apparatus
- electrical appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines
- more attractive technologies for storing heat and electrical energy
You also use electrical to talk about people or organizations connected with the
production of electricity or electrical goods
- a vast firm of consulting electrical engineers
- the electrical and mechanical engineering industries
especially, specially
You use especially to emphasize one member or part of a group you have mentioned
You can replace especially by ‘ in particular’
- the difficulty of the poor in advanced economies, especially the United States
You can also use especially to emphasize one aspect, case, or circumstance where
something that you are saying is true You can replace especially by ‘ in particular’
- The truef igures may be much higher, especially in rural areas
You most often use specially to indicate that something is done for someone or for a
special reason It is often followed by ‘for’ or by a verb, usually the past participle
- I guessed that the mint had been put there specially for me
- What is a meal? It’s food specially prepared to be appetizing
Note that sometimes especially is used with this meaning when something is done or
provided for a person
- excellent clothes boutiques especially for the rich young female
You can use especially or specially in front of an adjective and sometimes in front of a
verb to mean ‘more than usually ’ Note that specially is more informal than
especially
- It seemed especially illogical
- a specially long and elaborate song
- I specially like her story about Norma Talmadge
former [cựu], late [nguyên], deceased [cố]
You use former to describe someone who used to have a particular job or position, but
who no longer has it For example, the former president is someone who used to be the
president, but is not any more Former does not indicate whether the person is alive or
dead now
- former President Gerald Ford
- Sir Ralph Verney, former chairman ofthe Nature Conservancy Council
You use late when you are talking about someone who is dead For example, the late
president is someone who used to be president, but who is now dead They need not
have been president when they died
- My mother, although only a poor relation, nevertheless was related to the late Sir
Perceval Large
- Harold Ross, the late editor of The New Yorker
A deceased person is one who has recently died For example, the deceased president
is someone who was president until they died a short time ago Deceased is a rather
formal word
- Duke Amadeus IX, the sixteen-year-old son of the now deceased Duke Louis
- I felt grateful to the deceased Uncle James
Note: Deceased is most commonly used as a noun The deceased is a dead person,
especially someone who has died very recently It is a formal word, commonly used in
legal contexts
- Did you know the deceased?
hire, rent, let
In British English, if you pay a sum of money in order to use something for a short
period of time, you can say that you hire it
In American English, it is more common to say that you rent it
- He had been unable to hire another car because of the holiday season
- He rented a car for the weekend
If you make a series of payments in order to use something for a long period, you say
that you rent it
- The apartment he had rented was on the thirdfloor
- He rented a colour TVsoon after moving into his apartment in Rummidge
If you rent a house or room to someone, they pay you money to be allowed to live in it
- Normally we live in Falminster but had rented our house there to a visiting American professor and hisfamily
- They had tried to make ends meet by renting the basement room to A family ofItalian refugees
If you let a house or room to someone, they pay you money to be allowed to live in it
- The people who have large houses would never dream of letting a rfrom to a school teacher
- The notice said: ‘Room in private flat to let until end October.’
…to be continued
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