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* Manage is a verb. It means to be in charge of, act on, or dispose of; to come to terms with; handle effectively; be successful; or achieve a goal.
*Control can be used as a verb or a noun. As a verb, it means to exercise authoritative control or power over; to lessen the intensity of, temper, hold in restraint, hold or keep within limits; handle and cause to function; or to control (others or oneself) or influence skilfully, usually to one's advantage.
Examples:
I managed to carry the box upstairs.
She managed her parents' affairs after they got too old.
The young violinist didn't manage her bow very well.
They control the budget.
Control your anger.
Control the quality of the product.
* Decent is an adjective. It means socially correct. I also means sufficient for the purpose.
* Descent is a noun. It means a movement downward, or properties attributable to your ancestry.
Examples:
He is from a decent family.
It's a decent wage.
His entire line of descent has been warriors.
They found out that they were of Welsh descent.
*Desperate is an adjective. It means showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire; marked by despair or loss of hope.
*Disparate is an adjective. It means fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind; different in every way.
Examples:
A desperate cry for help.
She felt a desperate urge to confess.
They came from two disparate cultures.
They have disparate ideas.
* Fewer is a quantifier meaning a smaller number of. It is used with countable nouns.
*Less is a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree. It is used with uncountable nouns.
Examples:
Fewer trains were late this year.
There should be fewer books on the table.
He works less these days.
We need more money and less debt.
Quiz: Fewer & Less
Replay means to play again; reproduce (a recording) on a recorder; play (a melody) again; or repeat a game against the same opponent.
Reply is a verb that means to react verbally or show a response or a reaction to something. As a noun, it means A statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation; the speech act of continuing a conversational exchange.
Examples:
The lawyers replayed the conversation to show that their client was innocent.
The result was a draw, so both teams will have to replay the game.
She didn't want to reply.
He wrote replies to several of his critics.
* Moral can be used as an adjective or as a noun. It describes standards of good or bad character and behaviour because it's concerned with principles of right and wrong. It can also mean the significance of a story or event; can be used describe a kind of story that tells you how you should or should not behave.
* Morale is a noun. It means a state of individual psychological well-being based upon a sense of confidence and usefulness and purpose; the spirit of a group that makes the members want the group to succeed.
Examples:
He had no moral sense on the one hand, on the other, no fear.
He claimed his book was a very moral work.
The moral of the story is to love thy neighbour.
It is a difficult task but not impossible now our morale's improved so much.
You know the California crew - the morale's up there.
* Wander is a verb. It means to travel aimlessly or without any destination. It also means to lose clarity or turn aside especially from the main subject of attention or course of argument in writing, thinking, or speaking.
* Wonder ,as a verb, means means to consider or question some issue; to have a wish or desire to know something; be amazed at something. As a noun, it means something that causes feelings of wonder; the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising; a state in which you want to learn more about something.
Examples:
After dinner, we wandered into town.
I often wander through the woods, it helps me think.
I wonder whether this was the right thing to do.
The pyramids are a wonder to behold.
Quiz: Wander vs. Wonder.
*Look over is a verb. It means to examine or inspect it, often in hasty fashion.
*Overlook is also a verb. It means to Look past, fail to notice; leave undone or leave out.
Examples:
I asked him to look over what I had written.
Remember to looked over the proposal before the meeting.
How could I overlook that typo?
The teacher probably overlooked some of my mistakes.
* Accept is a verb. It means to give an affirmative reply to; to agree; receive willingly something given or offered.
* Except is a preposition or conjunction. It means with the exception of; other than; used to introduce an exception to a proceeding statement.
Examples:
Please accept my present.
I cannot accept your invitation.
We accept the idea of universal health care.
There was nothing left except bread.
I work every day except Tuesdays.
I can forgive everything except that.
Quiz: Except vs. Accept
* Any one means any single person or thing out of a group of people or things.
* Anyone is a pronoun. It's always written as one word. It means any person.
Examples:
You can take any one of the books on this shelf.
Any one of those cakes will surely be delicious.
Has anyone seen my wallet?
You can pick anyone to be in your team.
For further explanation and practice, click here.
*Apart is an adverb that means Separated or at a distance in place or position or time; not taken into account or excluded from consideration; away from another or others; into parts or pieces.
* "A part" means something that forms the whole of something; something determined in relation to something that includes it.
Examples:
These towns are many miles apart.
These problems apart, the country is doing well.
They grew apart over the years.
people can't tell the twins apart.
I want to be a part of your team.
She wanted to feel a part of something bigger than himself.
They made me feel like I was a part of the family.
* Discreet is an adjective. It means prudent or judicious in one’s conduct.
* Discrete is also an adjective. It means separate or distinct.
Examples:
He kept what he knew to himself, thinking that it was to his advantage to be discreet.
She's very discreet and loyal.
It's a government with three discrete divisions.
When writing a scientific manuscript, you need to include five discrete sections: introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusions.
Quiz: Words easily confused.
* Like is usually used as a preposition. It means possessing the characteristics of; resembling closely; similar to.
* Alike is used as an adjective or and adverb. It means having close resemblance; in the same manner or to the same degree.
Examples:
I feel like running away.
She looks like her older sister.
They dress and walk alike.
All politicians are alike.
Quiz: confusing words quiz.
* When talking about possession, it is usually possible to replace have with have got.
* When talking about actions or experiences, it is not possible to use have got instead of have.
Examples:
I have a great idea. OR I have got a great idea.
They have a great house. OR They have got a great house.
He is having a bad day. NOT He is having got a bad day.
We are going to have a meeting next week. NOT We are going to have got a meeting next week.
For further explanation click here.
Quiz: Have and Have Got.
*Remember doing means to recall knowledge from memory for doing an action.
*Remember to do means to do an action you should do.
Examples:
I remembered locking the door.
Remember to call me when you get there.
Remember to take your high blood pressure medicine.
* See more about Verbs That Change in Meaning
* Since is used with the present perfect to express that something has happened 'from' a certain point in time.
* For is used with the present perfect to express that something has lasted 'for' a certain period of time.
Examples:
I've lived with them for 5 years.
I've known him since I was 10.
He has lived in Bangkok for a long time.
He has been here since 9:00 A.M.
For further explanation about since & for click here.
* Borrow means to take or receive (something) on loan with the promise or understanding of returning it.
* Lend means to give or allow the use of (something ) temporarily on the condition that the same thing will be returned.
Examples:
May I borrow your book?
I will lend you my car.
She borrowed $100 from her father.
Can you lend me your Camera?
Quiz: What's the Opposite?
1)* "into": it's a preposition that's used to expresses motion to a point on, or within, something; to expresses a change of state; or to express you love for something or someone.
2)* "in to": is the adverb "in" followed by the preposition to.
Examples:
1)
He drove the car into the garage.
Turn ice into water.
She's into rock music.
2)
They turned their paper in to the teacher.
The administrators wouldn’t give in to the demands of the protesters.
I’m going to turn the wallet I found in to the police.
Click here for more examples.
* "the" is normally pronounced with a short sound (like "thuh"). However, when "the" comes before a vowel sound, we pronounce it as a long "thee".
Examples:
The (thee) apple.
The (thee) ice-cream.
The (thuh) house.
The (thuh) door.
*Note: it is the sound that matters, not the letter used in writing a word. Therefore, we use a long "thee" before a vowel sound, not necessarily before a vowel.
Example:
The (thee) hour.
The (thee) MP3 player.
Here's a free online Talking Dictionary of English Pronunciation: howjsay.com
* either .. or: is a construction we use to show there is a choice between two different things, but you can only choose one, not both. It means one or the other, but not both.
* neither...nor: is a construction we use to show that two or more things are not true or possible. It means not the first object and not the second object are behaving in a certain way. see more here
Examples:
Her hair was neither long nor short.
I could neither laugh nor cry.
You either pass or fail your test.
There's no third option, you know.
He did not find the key either on or under the mat.
Quiz- Both ... and, neither ... nor, either ... or.
Posted in: Tip of the day
