Tag: difference (Page 1 of 2)

Are you grateful or thankful?

2022-12-29 / admin / 0 Comments

We use grateful and thankful to express our thanks for something. Even if the two words are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between them. So, what is the difference between grateful and thankful?

GRATEFUL

Grateful is used to express our gratitude when somebody is kind to us or helps us in a way that will have a long-time effect.

Many thanks for helping us move into our new flat. We are so grateful.
I am particularly grateful to my supervisor for her support and encouragement.

You can feel grateful when you are in a third-world country and realise that at home you have access to fresh air and clean water.

You can use grateful when you make a request in a formal letter:

I would be grateful if you would send me your latest brochure.

THANKFUL

Thankful is used when you feel relieved that something dangerous or unpleasant did not happen.

We had a burglary last week. I’m so thankful that my computer was not stolen.
My brother had a nasty car accident. We are all thankful that he was not seriously injured.

A damaged car is being lifted on to a lorry. The image illustrates the difference between grateful and thankful. — A nasty car accident

You are also thankful when somebody has done something and the situation would have been much worse if they had not done anything.

To sum up, if you are grateful, you express gratitude to somebody for something they have done or given and if you are thankful, you feel relief or happiness over something.

The corresponding nouns are gratitude and thankfulness.

Afraid of and afraid for

2022-04-29 / admin / 0 Comments

There is a clear difference between afraid of and afraid for.

AFRAID OF

When you are afraid of, for example, snakes, you have a fear that snakes might harm you.

My little sister is afraid of spiders.

A queue of travellers waiting to embark on an aircraft at the airport of Treviso, Italy. The image illustrates the phrase 'afraid of'. — Not afraid of flying

AFRAID FOR

When you are afraid for someone, you fear that something bad might happen to them.

I’m afraid for you. Never go out alone late in the evening!
She had always been a typical mother hen, overprotective and constantly afraid for her children.

AFRAID FOLLOWED BY A VERB

Afraid can also be used with a verb.

There is a difference in meaning between these two:

Afraid of doing something (more general)
Afraid to do something (because of the potential result)

He was afraid of losing his girlfriend, but he was afraid to tell her about his fears.
I’m afraid of climbing high ladders.
The parcel had arrived but she was afraid to open it.

I’M AFRAID

You can use the phrase I’m afraid to signal that something is impossible or untrue. If you ask to see your manager, the secretary might answer, ’I’m afraid she’s not in at the moment’. This means that the secretary knows that the manager is not there but wants to present the fact in a polite way. In some other languages the corresponding phrase indicates uncertainty, and the secretary will most likely go and check if the manager is in the office.

You can also use the phrase I’m afraid to soften disagreement or bad news:

I’m afraid you have misunderstood my intentions.
You have to leave now, I’m afraid.
I’m moving into my new flat on Saturday. Do you think you could give me a hand?
I’m afraid not. I’ll be away on a fishing trip over the weekend.

Farther or further?

2022-01-25 / admin / 0 Comments

What is the difference between farther and further?

Not a very big one, I’d say. Except in certain cases.

Both words can be used regarding distance. There are language purists who maintain that farther refers to physical distance and further to imaginative distance, but common usage does not seem to make that distinction. (If you want to stick to the distinction, it may help to remember that farther has far in it.)

The café is at the farther end of the street.
I can’t walk any farther.
Can you see her at the further end of the corridor?
We can’t get any further – there is a tree across the road.

The music room is on the left further down the corridor

Further can also mean more, in addition.

We need to look further into this.
Does it need further explanation?
Further (= Furthermore), recent research has shown this to be true.

In examples like the above, use further and not farther.

We can find further in some common sayings:

Nothing could be further from the truth.
We’ll deal with that further down the road (= later on, in the future).
He can’t see further than the end of his nose.
This will be in effect until further notice.
They left without further ado (= immediately, without delay).
Seek no further!
This can be seen as a further expression of her influence on the political development.
Further to our telephone conversation this morning, I am writing to confirm our order for ten ink cartridges.
I have nothing further to add.

Further can also be a verb, meaning promote, develop, help.

What can we do to further her studies?
He only wants to further his own interests.

In sum, if you want to write farther, do so only when it is a matter of physical distance. You will never be wrong using further.

Read about the difference between furthermore and moreover here.

Briefly and shortly

2021-12-09 / admin / 0 Comments

Briefly and shortly are easily confused. While brief and short are often synonymous (as you can read here), briefly and shortly have very different meanings.

Briefly means for a short time.

She appeared briefly in an Italian film.
In Britain he worked briefly as a veterinarian.
We spoke briefly about the weather.

Shortly means soon and indicates a point in time.

Shortly after her exam, she moved to Paris.
I’ll be with you shortly.

The following message should not worry you too much:

The landlord will briefly cut off electricity in the building.
This means that you will be without electricity for a short time.

However, if you get the following message, you might worry:

The landlord will shortly cut off electricity in the building.
This implies that you may not have time to prepare for the power cut.

To sum up:

Briefly tells us that something lasts for a short time.
Shortly indicates a short time before or after something.

I’ll see you briefly means that I will see you for a short time.
I’ll see you shortly means that I will see you very soon.

A young couple is seen from above waving goodbye. — They said they’d be back shortly

As I mentioned above, you can read about the words brief and short here.

Brief and short

2021-11-22 / admin / 0 Comments

What’s the difference between brief and short?

Both brief and short are adjectives that are the opposite of long when we talk about time.

The lecturer gave a brief summary of previous research.
There was a brief moment of silence.

We had a short discussion.
It happened a short time ago.

Short can also be the opposite of tall as well as the opposite of long when we talk about distance.

The boy was short and chubby.
The bus stop is just a short distance from our house.

A small boy is taking a short walk with his grandfather. — A short walk with grandpa

Brief is sometimes used as a verb meaning inform and as a noun meaning short information, summary.

The press secretary briefed us about the decision.
Our boss gave us a first brief of the negotiations.

Brief can also mean instructions about duties, responsibilities, etc.

Part of the architect’s brief was to design a building that would comply with local environmental regulations.

A briefing is a meeting in which detailed information or instructions are given.

Debriefing has two meanings: A detailed report given by an agent or a soldier after a mission has been carried out or a meeting held after a traumatic event (such as a natural disaster, a hijacking, etc.) to let victims deal with their trauma.

Briefs is another word for underwear, while shorts are trousers (usually for sport or relaxing) that reach only to the thighs or the knees. Shorts can also refer to underwear for men.

Before this text gets too long, I had better remind myself to be brief or to keep it short.

My next blog post takes a look at briefly and shortly, two words with very different meanings.

Take or bring

2021-10-26 / admin / 0 Comments

These two words usually indicate direction in relation to the speaker or the listener.

Take implies moving something from where the speaker or listener is.
Bring implies moving something to where the speaker or listener is.

Can you take my dress to the dry cleaner’s?
You can bring it back when you come next week.
Should I take some flowers to Mary’s party?
Don’t take your car to work today. There’s an awful traffic jam in the centre.
Bring the salt, please!
Wait a second! I’ll bring you your towel.

In the last sentence we look at the situation from the listener’s point of view. In other words, we have changed the perspective as in the following examples:

I took your briefcase home with me by mistake.
Thanks for your kind invitation. I’ll be happy to come. Shall I bring some wine?

A woman is standing in front of a lot of wine bottles in a liquor store — Shall I bring some wine?

To sum up, think of movement to or from a position. You can compare with come and go. You come here and you go there. Bring it here and take it there.

That said, you may find that either take or bring is used when the direction is unclear or unimportant. It can also depend on whether you put the emphasis on here or there, if you think about where you are now or already imagine yourself at another location.

When you say ”Should I take some flowers to Mary’s party?”, you are still at home. When you say, ”Shall I bring some wine?”, you are already imagining yourself at the party.

Like or such as?

2020-12-21 / admin / 0 Comments

Some writers use like when they should have used such as instead.

When you suggest a category or give something as a type example, write like:

Uncle Bill often listens to crooners like Bing Crosby.

Here Bing Crosby represents a specific type of singers, crooners, who often perform in a sentimental way (think of Crosby’s version of White Christmas and you will understand!).

The sentence does not state that Uncle Bill actually listens to Bing Crosby, only that he listens to singers of that type.

When you specify singers that Uncle Bill listens to, use such as:

He collects vinyl records with singers such as Dean Martin, Fred Astaire, Perry Como, Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole.

These singers are generally known as crooners, and here we understand that Uncle Bill has their records.

A plate of squids. — Seafood such as octopus is healthy

Some more examples:

You should eat more fruits like oranges.
Citrus fruits such as tangerines, clementines and lemons are rich in C vitamin.
Advanced tools like robots can reduce production costs.
Robots can take over more complicated tasks such as welding and grinding.
The course covers basic concepts of business administration such as accounting, finance, human resources and marketing.

A songwriter like Leonard Cohen will be remembered forever (Songwriters similar to Cohen will never be forgotten).
A songwriter such as Leonard Cohen will be remembered forever (Leonard Cohen will never be forgotten).

There should not be a comma or a colon after such as, but you can have a comma before such as. Leave out that comma if what comes after such as is additional and essential information.

To sum up:

Use like when you refer to a category (you imply comparison).

Use such as when you give actual examples (you imply inclusion).

Recipe and receipt

2020-11-30 / admin / 0 Comments

What is a recipe and what is a receipt? The two words have different meanings, but it was not always so.

A recipe is something you use in the kitchen. It is a list of ingredients and instructions on how to prepare a dish or make a cake, for example.

When you pay for something you usually get a receipt, a proof of a transaction. Money has been received.

Originally these two words had the same meaning, coming from the Latin word recipere, to receive or take. In 14^th century English both words referred to medicine, not to food. A prescription for a medicine usually started with the word recipe, meaning take.

Interior of a pharmacy with bottles of medicine. — Perhaps you need a prescription for this

There is not really much difference between preparing medicine and preparing food – in both cases it is a matter of preparing ingredients – so in the 18^th century recipe began to be used also in the kitchen.

Recipe can also be used metaforically in expressions such as a recipe for disaster or a recipe for success.

In modern language, prescription is used to refer to medicine. The doctor prescribes what medicine you should take.

Then, when you have paid the doctor, he may write out a receipt.

Enquire and inquire

2020-10-20 / admin / 0 Comments

Enquire and inquire both mean to ask or seek information about something. The corresponding nouns are enquiry and inquiry.

Basically there is no big difference in meaning between these words. It can be generally said that inquire is the common form in the USA and enquire in Britain.

Burly man on a beach speaking on a cellphone. He is enquiring about renting a sunshade. — The man enquired about renting a sunshade

However, there are writers – particularly in Britain – who make a slight distinction between the two forms of the word. They use enquire simply as a synonym of ask in a general sense. Inquire is used with the meaning of making a formal investigation.

My boss enquired about the passing away of our dog.

The police are making inquiries to find the owner of the abandoned car.

If you write American English, you could use inquire, but otherwise you need not worry about which form is correct. As always, choose one form and be consistent throughout your text!

What’s the difference between -ic and -ical?

2019-07-07 / admin / 0 Comments

The endings -ic and -ical may cause confusion. They both have the meaning of related to or characterised by.

The ending -ic is more common. Here are some examples:
academic
anestethic
athletic
chaotic
episodic
linguistic
melodic
neurotic
parodic
patriotic
poetic
rhapsodic
sympathetic
synthetic

The adjective ending -ical is common with nouns ending in -ology.
anthropological
biological
geological
physiological
theological

Nouns ending in -ic take the ending -ical as adjectives:
clinical
musical
sceptical

There are adjectives that have different meanings when they end in -ic and -ical:

CLASSIC is used to denote a standard, the highest quality or having lasting worth:
Over 200 classic motorcycles are on display at the motor show.
She wore a casual but classic outfit.

Interior of a red Fiat 500 with steering wheel, dashboard and pedals visible — The Fiat Cinquecento is a classic car.

The Classics refers to the literature of ancient Greece or Rome:
I’ve always wanted to read the Classics but I never seem to have time.

CLASSICAL refers to the culture of ancient Greece or Rome or to European music from the 18th and 19th centuries:
In Italy a classical education is considered valuable also in business.
Beethoven was arguably the greatest composer in the transition between classical and romantic music.

Classical can also refer to established principles in, e.g. physics:
Classical mechanics is based on Newton’s general principles.

ECONOMIC refers to economy:
Economic growth had never been stronger.

ECONOMICAL means being efficient or careful about spending money:
Modern cars are much more economical.

ELECTRIC refers to machines or instruments powered by electricity:
Electric cars are becoming very popular in Norway.

ELECTRICAL means related to electricity:
He is an electrical engineer.
The fire was started by some electrical fault.

HISTORIC
To denote something important in history we use historic:
This was a historic moment for our country.
You must visit the town’s historic houses and gardens.

HISTORICAL
Historical means related to or having to do with history or past events:
In my youth I liked to read historical novels.

Adjectives ending in -ic and -ical have the adverbial form -ically (but the word public takes the form publicly).