| raise or rise? | Let us look at these two words first as verbs (doing words): My landlord has decided to RAISE the rent. He RAISED the rent a year ago. He has RAISED the rent three times in four years. My expenses RISE all the time. They ROSE very steeply last year. They have RISEN steadily this year. Now let us look at them as nouns (a raise, arise): You should ask your employer for a RISE. You should ask your employer for a RAISE. An increase in salary is called ‘a rise’ in the UK and ‘a raise’ in America. |
| recent or resent? | RECENT = happening not long ago RESENT = to feel aggrieved and be indignant |
| recover or re-cover? | Bear in mind the difference in meaning that the hyphen makes: RECOVER = get better, regain possession RE-COVER = to cover again |
| referee or umpire? | REFEREE = football, boxing UMPIRE = baseball, cricket, tennis |
| regal or royal? | REGAL =fitforakingorqueen; resembling the behaviour of a king or queen ROYAL = having the status of a king or queen, or being a member of their family |
| repellent or repulsive? | Both words mean ‘causing disgust or aversion’. REPULSIVE,however,isthe stronger of the two; it has the sense of causing ‘intense disgust’, even horror in some circumstances. REPELLENT can also be used in the sense of being able to repel particular pests (a mosquito repellent) and in the sense of being impervious to certain substances (water-repellent). |
| repetitious or repetitive? |
Both words are derived from ‘repetition’. Use REPETITIOUS when you want to criticise something spoken or written for containing tedious and excessive repetition. ‘Repetitious’ is a derogatory term. Use REPETITIVE when you want to make the point that speech, writing or an activity involves a certain amount of repetition (e.g. work on an assembly line in a factory). ‘Repetitive’ is a neutral word. |
| reverend or reverent? | REVEREND = deserving reverence; title for a cleric. The Revd. C. Benson The Rev. C. Benson REVERENT = showing reverence REVERENT pilgrims |
| rigorous or vigorous? | RIGOROUS = exhaustive, very thorough, exacting physically or mentally VIGOROUS = full of energy |
List R
fairly, quite, rather and pretty
1. Fairly modifies adjectives and adverbs. It is not very strong:
if you say that somebody is “fairly nice” or “fairly clever”, she will not be very pleased.
- “How was the film?” “Fairly good. Not the best one I’ve seen this year”
- I speak Greek fairly well – enough for most everyday purposes.
2. Quite is a little stronger than fairly
- ” How was the film?” “Quite good. You ought to go”
- He’s been in Greece for two years , so he speaks Greek quite well.
Quite can modify verbs
- It was a good party. I quite enjoyed myself.
3. Rather is stronger than quite. It can mean “more than is usual” , “more than was expected” or “more than is wanted
- “How was the film?” “Rather good- I was surprised”
- Maurice speaks Greek rather well. People often think he’s Greek
- I think I’ll put the heating on. It’s rather cold.
Rather can modify verbs
- I rather like gardening.
4. Pretty is similar to rather. It is only used in informal English
- “How are you feeling?” “Pretty tired. I’m going to bed”
5. Note
- The exact meaning of these words may depend on the intonation used
- Quite is not used very much in this way in American English
- We put quite and rather before a/an
- It was quite a nice day.
- I’m reading rather an interesting book
road and street
1. A street is a road with houses on either side.
We use street for roads in towns, but not for country roads.
- Cars can park on both sides of our street.
Road is used for both town and country.
- Cars can park on both sides of our road.
- There’s a narrow winding road from our village to the next one.
(not… a narrow winding street…)
2. Note that, in street names, we stress the word Road, but the word before Street.
- Marylebone ‘ Road
- ‘Oxford Street.
Talking: Say, Tell, Ask, Speak, Talk, Answer, Reply
Say (say/said/said)
We use say when we report someone’s words.
- She said ‘This is horrible!’
- He said that he wanted a drink.
We use say when we ask about language.
- a: How do you say ‘book’ in Spanish? b: ‘Libro’.
We say hello / goodbye please / thank you /Happy Birthday / Merry Christmas / Happy New Year / Congratulations
Tell (tell/told/told)
Tell is usually followed immediately by a person. Say is not followed immediately by a person.
- He told me his name. [not He said me his name.]
We use tell when we want to know how to get to a place.
- Can you tell me where the bus station is, please? [not Can you say me …?]
We use tell with other wh- words too (when, how, why, where), e.g. you can tell someone how to do something, where something is, why something happened.
- He told me how to send a fax.
- Tell me when you want to have dinner.
- You can tell someone the time / a story / a joke / your name / address / telephone number.
Ask
Ask is used for questions.
- My sister asked me where I was going, (or My sister asked (me) ‘Where are you going?’)
- a: Can I ask you a question? b: Yes.
- a: What day of the week were you born? b: Thursday.
You can ask someone the way / the time / a question.
Ask somebody to do something and ask someone for something.
- I asked him to turn off his radio, (or I said ‘Please turn off your radio.’
- She asked for the bill, (or She said ‘Can I have the bill please?’)
Speak/talk/answer/reply
Do you speak Japanese? [not Do you -talk Japanese?]
I like talking to you. (having a conversation with you)
Can you answer the telephone / the door, please?
(pick up the phone / open the door to see who it is)
I wrote a letter to him but he did not reply.
(for letters/faxes/e-mails) (he did not send me a letter