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Category: language (Page 3 of 8)

Comprise and consist

2024-08-22 / / 0 Comments

How to use comprise and consist is a problem to many writers.

COMPRISE

Comprise means to include, contain, constitute, make up.

Asian students comprise a fairly large part of the university’s student union.
It’s a small book, comprising just about 60 pages.
The management group comprises economists and lawyers.

Since comprised means composed of, comprised of, which many authors write, is not considered good language. It is better to write composed of.

The committee is composed of experts from several fields.

Composed can also refer to a sense of mind, calm, free from agitation.

He remained composed in spite of all the turmoil.

A thin book to illustrate the verb comprise. It's a small book, comprising about 60 pages.
A small book, comprising just about 60 pages

CONSIST

Consist means to be composed of.

A continental breakfast consists of fruit juice, toast, butter and jam, and coffee.
A molecule of water consists of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom.
The team consisted of seven players.

Unlike comprise, consist is usually followed by of, but the word can also mean to be consistent, and then it is used without of.

His evidence consisted with that of the police officer.

Isn’t a restroom a restroom?

2024-07-19 / / 0 Comments

When I worked at the university, one day a visiting professor came by my room and asked, ’Is there a restroom somewhere here?’ I knew there was a small room where staff could lie down if taken ill or just to relax, so I told him that there was a restroom at the end of the corridor.

I was surprised when he looked into my office after only a couple of minutes and said, ’Thank you!’ ’Didn’t you find the restroom?’, I asked. ’Oh, yes’, he said and disappeared.

’That was a short rest’, I reflected, and it wasn’t until later that I realised what a restroom is in American English.

There are many euphemisms for the word toilet in English, which I mention in my book It’s not the farts that kill–it’s the smell!, available at Amazon. Among them are bathroom, gents’, ladies’, washroom, lavatory, john, privy, powder room, etc.

A sign pointing towards a toilet. The image illustrates various euphemisms such as restroom, lavatory, bathroom, etc.
With many euphemisms

Phrases are also used as euphemisms for going to the toilet. A guest in a British home might be told, ’I’ll show you where you can wash your hands’ and may think that the host thinks that he is dirty.

A British friend of mine told me that she had said, ’I think I need to powder my nose’ when visiting a family in Sweden (another way of implying that you are heading for the smallest room in the house), and her hostess had taken a close look at her and then said, ’No, you don’t. It’s perfectly fine.’

To return to the restroom, there is a story about an American who was picking up his Swedish friend at an airport. When they got into the car, the American said, ’Perhaps you need to got to the restroom?’, and without hesitating, the Swede answered, ’No, I can do that in the car.’

There, their and they’re

2024-05-24 / / 0 Comments

There, their and they’re are often confused.

THERE

There is an adverb. It refers to a special place and means in (or at or to) that place.

I have read a lot about Stockholm and I have always wanted to go there.
You can put you bag over there.
We go there every summer.

There is also used in a more abstract sense:

Hello there!
There you go (=Now it starts again).
There, there, it won’t hurt much longer now (said to comfort).

There can also be used as a formal subject, usually to say that something exists.

There is a nice pub just round the corner.
There is a new edition of her guidebook.
There seems to be a slight mistake here.

A poster for a restaurant with the word dessert spelled as desert. The image is intended to illustrate the sentence There seems to be a slight mistake here.
There seems to be a slight mistake here.

While there has many functions, their and they’re have only one meaning each.

THEIR

Their means belonging to them.

Have you seen their new house?
Their daughter is fifteen.

THEY’RE

They’re is a contracted form of they are.

They’re waiting for us at their hotel.

See also my post about it’s and its.

What are false friends?

2024-04-17 / / 1 Comment

False friends are words in two languages that look and/or sound alike but whose meanings are completely or partially different. The two words may have—and often do have—the same origin (If they do not have the same origin, they are called false cognates).

It is clear that false friends may give rise to amusing and sometimes embarrassing mistakes, but they can also cause potentially disastrous misunderstandings with serious consequences.

Here are some examples of English false friends in other languages
(The first letter in German nouns is upper-case):

English–French

carcoach, bus, van
cavecellar, basement, nightclub
figureface
journalnewspaper, magazine
lecturereading, reading matter
locationrenting, hiring; lease, reservation
radioX-ray
routeroad
sensiblesensitive
smokingdinner-jacket, tuxedo
English–German
alsoso, thus
blankshiny, bright
chefleader, boss
chipspotato crisps
fatalawkward, embarrassing
giftpoison, venom
hallsound, echo
kindchild
lackvarnish, lacquer
listcunning, trick
modefashion
plumpawkward; crude; obvious
smokingdinner-jacket, tuxedo
stillquiet, silent
tastekey (on a keyboard)
English–Italian
braceembers, charcoal
cuteskin
duetwo
famehunger, starvation
faredo, make
mediaaverage
replicarepetition; reply
smokingdinner-jacket, tuxedo
stilestylus
turbinewhirlwind, swirl
English–Spanish
actualcurrent, topical, fashionable
cabaretnightclub
editorpublisher
eventualpossible; temporary
particularprivate, personal
sensiblesensitive; responsive; emotional
villasmall town, municipality
virtualpotential, possible
English–Swedish
artspecies
barnchild
bragood, well
fartspeed
fasteraunt
friskhealthy; fresh
frompious
glassice cream
kisspee
semestervacation
slutend
smokingdinner-jacket, tuxedo

You can read about my book on English–Swedish false friends and other treacherous words here.

Critic or critique—what’s the difference?

2024-03-27 / / 0 Comments

It may be difficult to understand the difference between critic and critique.

A critic in English refers to a person. It is someone who criticizes something, in other words, expresses criticism.

A critic is also someone who gives an opinion about books, films, music, etc., usually professionally in a paper or magazine or on radio or television. A critic writes a review.

A small boy is reading a book while walking on a pavement. The image is meant to illustrate the concept of a critic.
Future critic?

A critique is a detailed analysis and assessment, usually of a literary, philosophical, or political theory.

The problem for Swedish speakers of English is that both criticism and critique correspond to the same word in Swedish, kritik, and that critic can be mistakenly taken to mean kritik.

Connect to or connect with?

2023-12-27 / / 0 Comments

There is a difference between connect to and connect with.

CONNECT TO

Use connect to when you talk about a physical link between one object and another.

Make sure the printer is connected to your computer.
My Wi-Fi works but I’m not connected to the internet.

CONNECT WITH

Use connect with when you talk about a relationship, a non-physical link.

These are typical symptoms connected with appendicitis.
He immediately connected with his therapist.
She is extremely good at connecting with her audience.

This, of course, also applies to the noun connection.

A man is being heard by the police in connection with a burglary last night.

A speaker in front of his audience of students. The image illustrates the difference between connect to and connect with.
He is extremely good at connecting with his audience

Practice or practise?

2023-11-21 / / 0 Comments

Should you write practice or practise?

PRACTICE

In British and American English, practice is a noun with the following meanings:

1. custom, method, tradition, habit
–Practice is the process of doing something as opposed to theory

2. exercise, work-out
–Practice is the repeated exercise to acquire a skill

3. profession, work, career, occupation
–I was looking for a text-book on the practice of medicine

4. business, company, office, firm
–She works in a small legal practice

5. use, operation, application
–The nurse encouraged the practice of safe sex

In American English, practice is also a verb, corresponding to practise in British English.

PRACTISE

In British English, practise is a verb related to the nouns presented above.

Consequently, it can mean repeat, rehearse; do, work out; apply, carry out, perform; specialise in, work at.

As you see, American English has only the spelling practice for both the noun and the verb.

In British English, you can write To practise every day is good practice

A young girl is practising playing the flute in a living-room. The purpose of the image is to illustrate the difference between practice and practise.
To practise every day is good practice

Read more about the endings -ice and -ise here.

In and within

2023-10-30 / / 0 Comments

The words in and within often cause confusion. Some writers use the word within in places where it is inappropriate or wrong. I once saw an advert from a university that was inviting applications for the position of Professor within Economics. If you know that within often can be replaced by inside, it is clear that the ad looked slightly ridiculous.

In my job as copyeditor of scientific texts, I see within more often than I would like. Perhaps those who write within may think the word makes a text more scholarly. As you can see from the example above, within may look ludicrous.

IN

In is used about place or time:

He was in the kitchen.
My daughter lives in Italy.
This happened in late September.
See you in a minute. 
I haven’t felt this happy in years. 

WITHIN

Within often means inside a certain area, according to particular limits or rules, or during a certain period of time:

An angry voice was heard from within.
After she had left, I had a warm feeling within me.
Don’t place this medicine within the reach of children!
Delivery is free of charge within a thirty-kilometre limit.
From your hotel, the picturesque gardens are within easy reach.
I am not sure we can do this within budget.
Within minutes of arriving at the railway station, I heard a loud voice calling my name.
They had had three burglaries within six months.

A little girl is stretching to reach an apple hanging from a tree. The image illustrates the use of in and within.
Just within reach

IN AN HOUR OR WITHIN AN HOUR?

I’ll be back in an hour means that I ’ll be back in about one hour, perhaps fifty, sixty, or seventy minutes from now.

I’ll be back within an hour means that I’ll be back at any time before an hour has passed but in one hour at the latest.

I hope this has helped you understand the difference between in and within.

At the end, in the end and by the end

2023-08-28 / / 0 Comments

Can you distinguish between at the end, in the end and by the end?

AT THE END

At the end refers to a particular time or place. It is always followed by ’of’.

At the end of the show, the audience gave a standing ovation.
The bathroom is at the end of the corridor.

The image shows a gallery or mine passage in a mine and is intended to illustrate the use of the phrase at the end.
What’s at the end of the tunnel?

A specific phrase is at the end of the day, which means after all, when everything is considered, when all is said and done.

At the end of the day, you’ll have to decide for yourself.

IN THE END

In the end refers to an outcome or result.

We had a long discussion and in the end we decided to get rid of our old car.

BY THE END

By the end means before, no later than.

You will get my report by the end of this week.

There is also a difference between at the beginning and in the beginning. Read more here.

Adopt, adapt and adept

2023-07-16 / / 0 Comments

The similarity of these three words can be confusing. Adopt and adapt are verbs, while adept is an adjective or a noun.

ADOPT

Adopt means to take or acquire as your own. This can refer to adopting a child (which usually involves legal formalities) or adopting an animal as a pet. 

It didn’t take long before they regretted having adopted a Great Dane.

You can also adopt, for example, a certain lifestyle, a strategy or a habit.

She had adopted a vegetarian diet.

Adopt is also used to say that one language has borrowed a word from another language.

From Swedish, English has adopted the word smorgasbord, meaning a buffet of hot and cold dishes.

ADAPT

Adapt means to modify, to adjust or become adjusted to new conditions, to make something suitable for a new use.

The spare room had to be adapted into a small office.

The film was adapted from a Pulitzer-winning novel.

Our dog quickly adapted to the new environment.

The corresponding nouns are adoption and adaptation.

ADEPT

As an adjective, adept means skilled, talented, good at doing something difficult, and as a noun it refers to an expert, somebody who is skilled or talented.

To everybody’s surprise, Grandma turned out to be adept at using a computer.

We all considered him an adept at cooking.

A man in a kitchen preparing dinner. The image is meant to illustrate the word adept.
We all considered him an adept at cooking

In Swedish, adept means pupil, disciple or novice, beginner.  Thus, in spite of the word having the same Latin background as the English one, the Swedish word has the opposite meaning.

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