When used in the sense of ‘not far’ or ‘a short distance away’, the adjectives near and close have the same meaning and are interchangeable. We can say: His house is very close. ✓ or His house is very near. ✓ Where’s the nearest shop? ✓ or Where’s the closest shop? ✓ Which town is nearer? ✓ or Which town is closer? Be careful of exceptions (as usual)! There a... »
English learners often have a problem with they’re, their and there because these words have the same pronunciation despite having different spellings and meanings. We call words like this homophones. Here are some typical mistakes with they’re, their and there: I saw there daughter yesterday. I saw their daughter yesterday. ✓ The children were ill last week but their fine now. They... »
As dictionaries tell us, the word wrong means ‘incorrect’. There’s nothing difficult or confusing about that, is there? Well, providing wrong is an adjective there isn’t (the wrong day, the wrong number, etc.). The trouble starts when we use wrong as an adverb and people start saying that it should be wrongly because adverbs always end in -ly. That’s true with many ad... »
Passed and past are confusing words because they are homophones (they sound the same but have different meanings). Here’s the difference: Passed is the past form of the verb pass. It means ‘go by something or near it without stopping’: Jim passed me without saying hello. (He didn’t stop.) We passed Big Ben on our boat trip down the Thames. (We saw Big Ben but didn’t s... »
Be careful: loose and lose are similar in both spelling and pronunciation but their meanings are completely different. Loose Loose is an adjective. It means ‘not tight’ or ‘not fixed properly to something’. Another meaning is ‘not tight enough’. Here are some examples: The top button on my shirt is loose. Can you sew it on properly for me? The door handle is loo... »
It is not only learners of English who confuse less and fewer – some native speakers also frequently use them incorrectly. But less and fewer are not actually so difficult to use correctly: less means ‘a lower amount’, while fewer expresses ‘a lower number’. In other words: fewer and less are both the opposite of more; we use fewer with countable nouns; we use less wi... »
Job and work are used in different ways. Here are the important differences that English learners need to know: Work and job as nouns and verbs Work is both a verb and a noun (uncountable); job is mostly used as a noun (countable): I’m busy – I have a lot of work. (uncountable noun) I have a lot of works. I have two jobs – I’m a taxi driver, but I also work as a part-time f... »
Say and tell both mean ‘communicate with someone verbally’. However, we use the two words differently. Here’s the basic difference: We say something BUT We tell somebody something. Examples: Michael said he was tired. OR Michael told me he was tired. Sara says she’s moving house. OR Sara tells me she’s moving house. Pete said: “I’m hungry, Elizabeth.”... »
I’ve had a few emails from people asking about the difference between close and shut. In fact, these two words often have the same meaning, and there are only a few cases when they are not interchangeable. Doors and windows, eyes and mouth We can close or shut doors and windows: Close/shut the door – it’s freezing in here. Always close/shut all the windows before you leave the ho... »
In this post we’ll look at so and such, two more words that often cause problems for students of English. We’ll see a simple rule that tells us whether we need so or such in a sentence. You can then test yourself with the quick exercise below. Meaning So and such both show an extreme state: He’s so tall. It’s so cold today. It’s such a big country. She’s such a ... »