Commonly Confused Words: Part One
时间：2019-01-12 作者：英语课 分类：2016年VOA慢速英语(四)月
Commonly Confused Words: Part One
From VOA Learning 1 English, this is Everyday Grammar.
Ashley: Before we get started today, Adam, I wanted to ask you about your weekend at home!
Adam: It was great, thanks! But the drive was a little tiring. Chicago is a lot further away than I thought.
Ashley: Sorry, you mean...Chicago is a lot farther 2 away than you thought.
Adam: Yes, that is what I said.
Ashley: No, you said “further.” In American English, “further” is usually used for non-physical or figurative distances. “Farther” is the correct word when talking about actual physical distance - or distance that you can measure.
Adam: Non-physical distances? Can you give me an example?
Ashley: Sure. If you cannot decide on which presidential candidate 3 to support, you might look further into their positions on important issues. Here there is no actual, measurable distance.
Adam: Okay, I guess that makes sense.
Farther and further are words that English learners - and even native English speakers - often confuse. The English language is full of commonly confused words. These words may sound the same but mean different things. Or maybe, they are spelled the same but mean different things.
Let’s look at some of these commonly confused words.?
Farther and Further
We will start with the two words we just mentioned: farther and further. The word farther is usually used as an adverb. In American English, we say farther when talking about a physical, measurable distance. For example, “We walked farther than we had planned.”
The word further has several meanings. It can be used as an adverb, adjective 4, and even a verb. As an adverb, further means “to a greater extent 5.” For example, “The scientists are looking further into the new research.”
As an adjective, further means “more or additional 6.” For example, “Further research is needed to reach a conclusion.” Notice how there is no physical, measurable distance in these examples.
Further can also be a verb. In its verb form, it means “to help the progress of something.” For example, you might hope to “further your career” by learning English. In other words, you hope learning English will help you advance your career. Again, there is no physical, measurable distance.
Lose and Loose
Our second set of commonly confused words is lose and loose. These are words that even native English speakers confuse. Lose [L-O-S-E] is a verb. Lose has several meanings. It can mean “to be unable to find.” You might tell a forgetful friend, “Don’t lose your keys again!”
Lose can also mean “to fail to win something.” For example, “People expected the team to lose the football game.”
It can also mean “to have less and less of something over time.” If someone is looking smaller than before, you might ask, “Did you lose weight?”
The word loose, [L-O-O-S-E] is usually used as an adjective. Notice that loose ends with a strong “s” sound, while lose, the verb, ends with a “z” sound. Loose has no relation to lose. Loose means “not tight, secure 7, or attached.” For example, you can have a “loose tooth”, “loose clothing,” or “loose pieces of paper.” Loose can also mean “not exact.” For example, if you try to very quickly translate something from your native language to English, you might be writing a “loose translation.”
Accept and Except
Another set of commonly confused words is accept and except. Although they are spelled differently, many American English speakers pronounce these words in almost the same way. But, these two words are not interchangeable.
Accept [A-C-C-E-P-T] is a verb. To accept means to receive or take something that is offered. For example, if a company offers you a new job, you will probably accept their offer.
Except [E-X-C-E-P-T] can be used as a preposition 8, conjunction 9 or a verb. In general, it means “not including.” For example, the post office is open every day except Sunday.
Here’s an example of accept and except in the same sentence.
“This machine accepts all coins except pennies.”
As a verb, except [E-X-C-E-P-T] means “left out.” It is used in formal speech. You might say “Women were excepted from the study.” As verbs, accept and except have almost opposite meanings, making these two words all the more confusing.
And that’s Everyday Grammar for this week. Join us again next week as we take a look at more examples of commonly confused words.
Words in This Story
figurative - adj. used with a meaning that is different from the basic meaning
extent - n. the range, distance, or space that is covered or affected by something or included in something
- When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
- Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
- I can throw the ball farther than you can.这个球我能比你扔得远。
- The farther hill is five kilometres away.那座更远的小山在五公里以外。
- Voters like a candidate who has the common touch. 投票者喜欢那些平易近人的候选人。
- The local newspapers dressed up the candidate as a boxer.当地报纸把那个候选人描绘成一个拳击手。
- Don't apply that adjective to me.不要用那个字眼来形容我。
- The adjective loose has several senses. 形容词loose有几个义项。
- The new race track is nearly six miles in extent. 这条新跑道将近六英里长。
- What's the extent of the damage? 损坏的程度如何?
- It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
- I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。
- He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
- Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。
- You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
- We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。
- Two or more sentences may be joined together by a conjunction.两个或两个以上的句子可以用连词连接。
- The conjunction of heavy rains and high winds caused flooding.暴风雨的同时发生引起了洪水泛滥。