English guides 4 confusable words

COLLINS COBUILD COLUNS Birmingham Unlvantty Intemaltonai lAngoage Databaae ENGLISH GUIDES - CONFUSABLE WORDS Edwin Carpenter T H E U N IV E R S IT Y O F B IR M IN G H A M COLLINS COBUILD H arperC ollinsA < M s£m H arperCollins Publishers 77-85 Fulham Palace Road London W6 8JB COBUILD la a trademark o f w illiam Collins Sons & Co Ltd C HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1993 First published 1993 Reprinted 1993 10 A ll rights reserved No part o f this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted In any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission In w riting o f the Publisher ISBN 00 370683-6 Computer typeset by W yvern Typesetting Ltd Printed In Great Britain by HarperCollins Manufacturing Glasgow NOTE Entered weeds that we have reason to believe constitute trademarks have been designated as such However, neither the presence nor absence o f such designation should be regarded as affecting the legal status o f any trademark The Author and Publishers would like to thank the follow ing people fo r their help: Dora Carpenter and Elisabeth Cane, who read the manuscript and provided valuable comments: Deborah K irby, Annette Capel, Lores Heaslip, and Katy Shaw: and the CoBtnLD team In particular Stephen Bullon, Arm Hewtngs, and Jenny Watson Foreword The Guide to Confusable Words is one o f a series o f Cobuild English Guides to particular areas o f d ifficu lty fo r learners o f English This Guide deals w ith words w hich m ay be confused This m ay be because they look or sound sim ilar, or because they have sim ilar, but not identical, meanings In some cases there m ay also be a difference in the gram m ar o f the words Often there are m isleading sim ilarities between words in English and words in other languages This book contains n early 400 entries, coverin g over 900 item s Using real exam ples, the entries show the typical use o f the words in m odem English The exam ples are taken from the Bank o f English, a collection o f m odem English speech and w ritin g drawn from a va riety o f sources The com puter files o f the Bank o f English currently contain approxim ately 200 m illio n words I hope that we have selected useful inform ation and that you find the book easy to use Please w rite to m e w ith any comments or suggestions about how to im prove Cobuild publications John Sinclair Editor in C h ief: C obuild E nglish G uides Professor o f Modem English Language University o f Birmingham Corpus Acknowledgements We would lik e to thank those authors and publishers who kindly gave perm ission fo r copyright m aterial to be used in the Bank o f English W e would also lik e to thank Tim es Newspapers Ltd, the BBC W orld Service, and N ational Public Radio o f W ashington fo r providing valuable data iii Introduction Th is book deals w ith words w hich regu larly cause problem s because they are easily confused It is fa irly common to hear m istakes such as ‘I ’m so borin g’ (instead o f ‘I ’m so bored’) or ‘An eventual solution would be ’ (instead o f ‘A possible solution would be ’) The entries in this book are designed to help you when you are not sure w hich o f tw o o r m ore words is suitable for a particu lar context There are m any reasons w hy certain words are confusable For exam ple, they m ay look sim ilar when they are w ritten down but have v e ry differen t m eanings, fo r exam ple quite and quiet, or suit and suite O r th ey m ight look sim ilar and have closely related, but not identical, m eanings, fo r exam ple altogether and a ll together, or breath and breathe Some w ords not on ly look sim ilar, but also sound the same when they are spoken, fo r exam ple practice and practise, or stationary and stationery O ther words not look the same, but can be easily confused because they have sim ilar, although not iden tical m eanings, fo r exam ple baby, infant, and child, or jo b and work Another area o f confusion can be the gram m atical differences between words w hich share a sim ilar m eaning or a sim ilar form , fo r exam ple after, afterwards, and later, or its and it ’s D ifferences between B ritish and Am erican English can also cause confusion The entries in this book deal w ith a ll these areas o f confusion The explanations are supported by real exam ples w hich show how the words are typ ically used in m odern English How to use the book The entry headings are printed in bold Th ey consist o f tw o or m ore confusable item s, separated by commas, fo r example: every d a y , e v e ry day excep t, excep t fo r , u nless, besides Sometimes an item consists o f m ore than one w ord, fo r example: before, in front o f iv Introduction The entries are arranged according to the alphabetical order o f the first item in each heading For exam ple, the first three entries in the letter E are: earn , w in , ga in east, eastern , e a s te rly eatab le, ed ib le W here tw o entries start w ith the same item , they are arranged according to the alphabetical order o f the second item , as in: a fte r, a fterw a rd s, la te r a fte r, b eh in d It is im portant to rem em ber that some words (fo r exam ple actual, much, and shop) appear in m ore than one entry You can use the index to find out w here they appear Th e Index starts on page 241 The Explanations The entries contain explanations on ly fo r those m eanings o f words w hich are confusable, and not necessarily fo r a ll the meanings F or exam ple, the en try fo r squ are, p la ce begins: A squ are is a flat open area surrounded by buildings in a town or city M any such areas have S qu are in th eir names There is no m ention o f a square being a shape w ith fou r sides o f the same length, because square and place are not confused when square has this meaning The Examples A ll the explanations are supported by real exam ples w hich show how the words are used by speakers and w riters o f modern English The exam ples are taken from the Bank o f English and are printed in ita lic Grammar Some entries contain inform ation about the differen t gram m atical functions o f a word W here this inform ation is not a central part o f the explanation, it appears towards the end o f the entry, under the heading G ram m ar Other words Some entries contain inform ation about additional words which have a sim ilar m eaning to the words that are discussed in the Introduction m ain part o f the entry Th is inform ation appears towards the end o f the entry, under the heading O th er w ords Pronunciation Inform ation about pronunciation is given w here it helps to distinguish between confusable words The sym bols used to indicate pronunciation are part o f the International Phonetic Alphabet H ere is a lis t o f the symbols used in this book: v o w e l sounds: son an t sounds: a: ae aid ao aud e ei еэ i i: id dU o: Э1 и u: ud з: л d b d f h j к m n P r s t v w X z J tj e d3 i u heart, start, calm act, mass, lap dive, cry, mind fire, tyre, buyer out, down, loud flour, tower, sour met, lend, pen say, main, weight fair, care, wear fit, win, list feed, me, beat near, beard, clear lot, lost, spot note, phone, coat more, cord, claw boy, coin, joint could, stood, hood you, use, choose lure, pure, cure turn, third, word but, fUnd, must the weak vowel in butter, about forgotten the weak vowel in very, create the first weak vowel in tuition bed, rub done, red fit, if good, dog hat yellow king, pick lip, bill mat, ram not, tin pay, lip run soon, bus talk, bet van, love win loch zoo, buzz ship, wish measure sing cheap, witch thin, myth then, loathe joy, bridge Stressed syllables are indicated by an u nderline under the vow el sym bol fo r the stressed syllable vi A ability, capability, capacity I f someone has a b ility , a particu lar a b ility , o r the a b ility to something, they can it because they have the s k ill or the knowledge that is needed to it You often use a b ility to say that someone can som ething w ell He had rem arkable a b ility as an adm inistrator There are fo u r m ain fa ctors which determ ine m athem atical a bility .the a b ility to bear hardship A person’s c a p a b ility is the amount o f w ork they can and how w ell they can it The director has his own ideas both o f the role and o f the capability o f the actor It was, in any case, beyond the capability o f one man I f someone has a particular ca p a city, a ca p a city fo r som ething, or a ca p a city to som ething, they have the characteristics required to it C ap acity is a m ore form al w ord than a b ility their capacity fo r being inspired by heroes .his capacity always to seethe other person’s p o in t o f view able, capable Both ab le and cap a b le are used to say that someone can something When you say that som eone is a b le to som ething, you mean that they can it eith er because o f th eir knowledge or s k ill or because it is possible fo r them to it Breslow wondered i f he would be able to clim b over the il They must be able to use th eir p rofits fo r new investment Note that i f you use a past tense, you are saying that someone has actually done som ething We were able to reduce costs When you say that someone is cap ab le o f doing som ething, you mean eith er that they have the know ledge and s k ill to it i f they want o r need to, o r that they are lik e ly to i t Workers are perfectly capable o f ru n n in g the organizations which employ them a b le She was quite capable o f dropping o ff to sleep You can also say that someone is capable o f a feelin g or an action I think he’s capable o f loyalty and seriousness Bowman could not believe him capable o f m urder You norm ally use ‘cap a b le o f’ when talking about what som ething such as a car or m achine can .w ater turbines, which are capable o f producing m ore econom ical electricity The ca r was capable o f 110 m iles per hour I f you describe someone as a b le or cap ab le, you mean that they things w ell and in an in telligen t way There is little difference between the tw o words when used in this way .the able and m ethodical K in g Charles V o f France This very able man totally fa ile d to see the possibilities o f the telephone New born babies are m ore capable than was once thought W ell, you certainly have a capable gardener there above, over A b o v e and o v e r are both used to talk about position and height I f som ething is h igher than som ething else, but an im aginary line join in g them is not vertical, you have to use above The trees rose above the houses I f you go o v e r som ething, you cross it and get to the other side Castle stepped over the dog .a soaring seagull sw ooping over C entral Park I f you are w earing tw o item s o f clothing one on top o f the other, you can say that you are w earing one o v e r the other Rudolph was w earing a sweater over a w ool shirt, and a silk scarf You can use eith er a b ove or o v e r i f som ething is higher than som ething else and an im aginary lin e could be drawn vertica lly join in g them He opened a cupboard above the sink She leaned forw a rd u n til her face was directly over the basin A b o v e and o v e r are also both used to talk about measurements above You use o v e r to say that a distance or period o f tim e is longer than the one mentioned The plane flew a t a height o f over twelve thousand feet So we had this beautiful relationship f o r over a year You can use a b o ve or o v e r when you are talking about a point that is higher than another point, especially a point on a scale The am ount o f tax you should pay is determined by what you earn above a certain figu re Any money earned over that level is taxed at the rate o f 59 p er cent In each case I want to know the height o f the man Everybody above five feet eight inches is suspect A b o ve and o v e r are both used to talk about people’s ranks and im portance rela tive to others You use a b ove to talk about people who are m ore im portant and in a higher position than other people .behaving as i f she was in a position above even the staff, and certainly above us If someone is o v e r you, they give orders or instructions to you .an officer set in authority over him account, bill When you have an accou n t w ith a bank, you leave your m oney in the bank and take it out when you need it The current account, sometimes called a cheque account, is the most widely used When you have to pay fo r things lik e electricity o r a m eal in a restaurant, you get a b ill I 'l l want a copy o f the phone b ill Clive asked the w aiter fo r the b ill accuse, charge I f you accuse someone o f doing som ething w rong, you say that they did it For exam ple, someone can be accu sed o f being dishonest, or o f a fau lt lik e laziness I f someone has done som ething that is against the law , they can be accused o f a crim e and put on tria l in a court o f law He him self was accused o f incompetence accuse And then you would start crying and accusing us o f not ca rin g i f you died They were in great distress because they had been w rongfully accused o f theft He is accused o f k illin g ten young women When the police ch a rge someone or ch a rge them w ith com m itting a crim e, they form ally accuse them o f it The police ch a rge a person w ith a crim e when they have evidence that the person was responsible fo r it You can also ch a rge someone w ith things lik e not doing th eir duty or lyin g You not use ‘charge’ when referrin g to m inor faults Colonel B u rr was arrested by order o f President Thomas Jefferson and charged with treason He was arrested and charged w ith com m itting a variety o f offences He was declared not responsible fo r the crim in a l acts w ith which he had been charged M r H orta charged the prem ier w ith being p o litica lly weak actual, real You use actu a l to em phasize that the place, object, o r person you are talking about is the correct or genuine one For exam ple, if you talk about the a ctu a l cost o f som ething, you are talking about what it does cost rather than what it is expected to cost .tu rn in g fro m ratings in the p o lls to actual perform ance in elections We ca ll the baby Doc H is actual name is D a n ie l You can also use a ctu a l when you are g ivin g exact inform ation about som ething, fo r exam ple the tim e you take to som ething rather than preparing to i t The actual boat trip takes about forty-five minutes You on ly use a ctu a l in fron t o f a noun You not say that som ething ‘is actual’ Som ething that is r e a l exists and is not im agined, invented, or theoretical .real o r im agined feelings o f inferiority Robert squealed in m ock terror, then in rea l pain N ote that you can use r e a l after a lin k verb lik e ‘be’ W hat w e saw w as real west Down fro m the A rctic Seas the fis h w ill move in to the western waters o f B rita in and Ireland The sun is setting over the western hills Winds that com e from the west can be described as w est or w e s te rly winds M other said the west wind was bad fo r the nerves D u rin g the n ig h t a warm westerly wind blew across the downs You can also use w e s te rly to describe directions and locations I f som ething m oves in a w e s te rly direction, it m oves towards the west U nlike ‘w est’ and ‘w estern’, w e s te rly can be used w ith ‘m ore’ and ‘most’ In ord er to avoid a storm , we flew over the east side o f Lake Turkana th er than take the m ore n orm al westerly route The m ountainside fa cin g the h arbour has a westerly outlook We were standing on the most westerly p o in t o f England whole, all W h ole is used to describe som ething that is being considered as a com plete, sin gle thing, rath er than being considered to be made up o f a set o f individu al parts A s an adjective, w h o le is preceded by a determ iner such as ‘the’ car ‘this’ o r b y a possessive such as ‘m y’ o r ‘h er’, and follow ed b y a singular noun "Why I have to g o ? — "The whole class is goin g ’ The response was so grea t th a t a whole page had to be given over to readers’ letters Koch applied h is whole w eight to die brake p ed a l T h e w h o le o f is also follow ed b y a singular noun .throughout the w hole o f the industrialized w orld The whole o f the right-hand side o f M s su it was black w ith blood L ik e w h o le , a ll can be used to talk about som ething that is being considered as a com plete, sin gle thing A ll and a ll o f are follow ed by a determ iner such as ‘the’ o r ‘this’, o r a possessive such as ‘m y’ o r ‘your* and a singu lar noun T h ey cannot be follow ed b y ‘a’ or ‘an’ A p o in t o f g o ld appeared above the sea and a t once a ll the sky lightened That means y ou ’l l lose a ll y ou r investm ent A few m inutes la ter Louison was p ed a llin g down the d rive w ith a ll the fo rce his frigh ten ed legs could muster want to thank the people o f New York f o r a ll th e ir help 237 whole A ll and a ll o f are also used to talk about a com plete set o f separate parts considered together A ll and a ll o f are follow ed by a determ iner such as ‘the’ o r ‘these’, o r a possessive such as ‘your’ or ‘th eir’ and a plu ral noun A ll can also be follow ed by a plural noun on its own Page wanted a ll o f the people to be there A ll o f the defendants were proved guilty Few children nowadays have a ll these advantages in th eir own home A ll a irlin es kept uniform ed representatives a t a irp o rt post offices N ote that in fron t o f plu ral nouns w h o le has a d ifferen t m eaning from a ll It is used to give emphasis F or exam ple, i f you say ‘A ll the streets are deserted’, you m ean that every street is deserted I f you say ‘W h o le streets are deserted’, you m ean that some streets are com pletely deserted willing, w ilful I f you are w illin g to som ething, you w ill it i f som eone asks you to She may be w illin g to the washing herselff o r an extra charge The store m anager was m ore than w illin g to help You describe som eone as w illin g when they are eager and enthusiastic in the things they do, rath er than being forced to them There w ill be no shortage o f w illin g volunteers He was a w illin g p a rticip a n t in my plays A w ilfu l person is obstinate and determ ined to get what h e o r she wants She was a w ilfu l child A w ilfu l attitude o r w ilfu l behaviour is v e ry deliberate, and is often intended to hurt someone I have rely encountered such a s p irit o f w ilfu l independence A p u b lic enquiry la ter cleared h im o f w ilfu l m isconduct woman, wife A w om an is an adult fem ale human being .a ta ll, dark-eyed woman in a sim ple brow n dress There were men and women w orking in the fields 238 woman The person a man is m arried to is norm ally called his w ife , not his ‘woman’ His wife and children were hungry He has now a rrived back in Geneva, where he's expected to be reunited w ith h is w ife and daughter wood, woods, forest A w o o d is a large area o f trees grow in g close to each other I t was cool and dark in od e the wood A t last we entered the cool beech wood through which the S qu ire’s drive twisted I told h er I had heard her ta lk in g in the wood I f you talk about a particu lar w ood , you can also call it “the w oods’ I have to search the woods f o r hazel branches .a bride w alk through the nearby woods We rushed o u t o f the woods and down the h ill A fo re s t is an extrem ely large area o f trees F o rests are usually a long w ay from towns and cities They had th eir p icn ic in a clea rin g in the fo re s t This w ould destroy the Am azon forest, believed to provid e a quarter o f the w orld’s oxygen supply woolly, woollen W o o lly clothes look as i f they are made from w ool Th ey m ay rea lly be made from w ool o r they m ay be m ade from a m aterial that looks lik e w ool W oolly scarves, thick coats and w ellingtons decked the lobby She was very shy, and kept tw isting the belt o f her lon g droopy w oolly cardigan W o o lle n clothes are actually made from w ool o r from a m ixture o f w ool and a rtificia l fibres Tim had run over to fetch a woollen jersey as the weather had grow n colder He bought a p a ir o f h ik in g boots, long w oollen socks, denim trousers, check w oollen s h irt and a haversack 239 worried worried, worrying I f you are w o rrie d , you are unhappy because you keep thinking about a problem or about som ething unpleasant that m ight happen She was w orried about fin d in g a jo b when she graduated I called after him , w orried that I m igh t have sounded ungrateful I began to feel worried Som ething that is w o rry in g m akes you feel w orried F o r a few parents it rem ains a w orrying question, no m atter how m uch experience they've had He’s had a w orrying tim e a t the office worth, value I f som ething is w o rth an amount o f m oney, that is the amount you would get fo r it i f you sold it The lens alone was w orth about £100 Tw o chairs lik e that m ust be w orth a t least a thousand pounds up in London In form al o r litera ry English, you can talk about the w o rth o f a person, m eaning th eir usefulness, or im portance .true knowledge o f the oth er’s w orth and a profound awareness o f th eir in d ivid ual existence This jo b has robbed me o f a ll worth You can also use v a lu e to talk about how useful o r im portant a person is V a lu e is also used w ith things such as qu alities and plans She is beautiful, but my concerns are o f her true value as my son’s wife Is she a strong, hard worker? Everyone realizes the value o f sincerity T h e ir task was to ensure that no inform ation o f positive m ilita ry value to the enemy was sent out When you talk about the v a lu e o f som ething that you can ow n such as a house or car, you m ean the am ount o f m oney that som eone w ill pay fo r it You not talk about the ‘w orth’ o f som ething that som eone owns W hat would you say is the value o f th is property today? They p a id 28 percent above m arket value fo r i t The value о/ the horse is now in excess o f £500,000 240 Index I f the w ord you are lookin g fo r is the first w ord in an en try, it appears on its ow n in b old I f it is not the first w ord in an entry, it is follow ed by the sym bol Ф and the w ord w hich does com e firs t N ote that som e w ords occur in m ore than one entry F or exam ple, actual occurs once in the en try w here actual is the first w ord in the heading, and once in the en try w here present is the first w ord in the heading A fte r also occurs tw ice, but in both en tries it is the firs t w ord in the heading It is th erefore listed in the index w ith the note: (2 entries) ability able above account accuse actual actual Ф present actually adhere adherence О adhere adhesion Ф adhere admission admit admittance О admission advice advise О advice advocate a few О few affect afflict after (2 entries) after a ll afterwards О after (1st entry) agenda ago alike a little Ф little (1st entry) alive all all Ф whole all together Ф altogether alone a lot Ф many a lot of Ф many already Ф always already Ф still alternate alternately alternative c alternate alternatively Ф alternately although Ф though altogether always amend amiable amicable Ф am iable among О between amongst Ф between amoral Ф im m oral anger anniversary announce annoyance another anti-social Ф unsocial anybody Ф someone anyone Ф someone anything Ф something anywhere Ф somewhere apart apologize apparently approve approve of Ф approve argument argument Ф row 241 arise О raise arrive arrogant artist artiste О artist as О because ashamed ask for asleep assent assignation О assignment assignment assist assurance assure at last Ф after a ll at present Ф now attend Ф assist attorney Ф law yer avenge avoid avoid Ф prevent award Ф rew ard away Ф apart baby back (2 entries) backwards Ф back (1st entry) bag bag Ф sack baggage Ф bag bar barrister Ф lawyer base basement Ф cave basis Ф base bath bathe Ф bath bathroom Ф toilet be able to Ф can beach Ф coast bear Ф stand because become become of Ф become before before Ф ago begin b eh in d Ф after (2nd e n try ) believe 242 believe in Ф believe below Ф under beneath Ф under beside besides Ф beside besides Ф except between big bill Ф account birthday Ф anniversary blam e blouse Ф shirt boat Ф ship bonnet bookshop Ф library border bored boring ф bored borrow both ф a ll bought Ф brought boundary Ф border box braces Ф suspenders brand bread breath breathe Ф breath briefly bring bring up Ф educate British brought bureau Ф office burglar ф thief bus bush Ф tree buy Ф pay by cafe cafeteria Ф cafe can ranfll cancel cap Ф hat capability Ф ability capability Ф capacity capable Ф able capacity capacity Ф ability carefree careful Ф carefree careless Ф carefree carpet carry (2 entries) carton Ф box cave cavern О cave cellar Ф cave centre о middle certainly chance c occasion channel Ф canal chapel Ф church characterize Ф describe charge Ф accuse check Ф cheque cheque child Ф baby childish childlike О childish chips choose church cinema Ф theatre city Ф town civic civil Ф civic civilian Ф civic claim (2 entries) classic classical Ф classic classics Ф classic cloth clothes Ф cloth clothing Ф cloth coach Ф bus coast coat college Ф school comic comical О comic commence Ф begin comment competition Ф contest complement compliment Ф complement comprehend comprehensive comprise Ф include confess Ф admit confused confusing Ф confused conscience conscientious Ф conscious conscious consciousness Ф conscience consent Ф assent consist of Ф include constant Ф continual contest continual continuous Ф continual control conversation Ф speech (1st entry) cost costs Ф cost could Ф can country (2 entries) countryside Ф country (1st entry) couple crate Ф box cravat Ф tie crisps Ф chips cry (2 entries) cure cushion custom damp daughter Ф girl dead deceased Ф form er deceitful Ф deceptive deceiving Ф deceptive deceptive declare Ф announce delay Ф cancel delighted delightful Ф delighted demand Ф ask for demand Ф claim (1st entry) deny dependant Ф dependent dependent depth Ф height describe detract diary О agenda died О dead dinner disappointed disappointing Ф disappointed discover Ф find (1st entry) discreet discrete Ф discreet dish Ф food disinterested dispute ф argument distinct distinctive Ф distinct distract Ф detract distrust disturb Ф detract Ф «watt* doubt doubtftil drop dubious Ф doubtful duty Ф tax each Ф a ll earn east easterly Ф east eastern о east eatable economic Ф economy economical Ф economy economics Ф economy economy edible Ф eatable edit educate educate Ф teacb effect Ф affect elder elderly Ф elder eldest Ф elder elect Ф choose electric electrical Ф electric embarrassed embarrassed Ф ashamed embarrassing Ф embarrassed emend Ф amend 244 emigrate engine Ф machine English Ф British ensure Ф assure envelop envelope Ф envelop envious Ф jealousy envy Ф jealousy especially evade Ф avoid eventual Ф final eventually Ф finally ever Ф always every ф a ll everyday every day Ф everyday except except for Ф except excited exciting Ф excited excursion Ф journey excuse excuse oneself Ф apologize exhausting exhaustive Ф exhausting expect experience experiment Ф experience fairly fall Ф drop fantasy farther fault Ф blame fault Ф mistake feet Ф foot female feminine Ф female few few Ф little (2nd entry) fewer Ф less fight Ф row final finally finally Ф after a ll find (2 entries) find out Ф find (1st entry) fine Ф tax flammable ф inflammable floor food foot footpath for Ф ago for О because forbid foreign Ф strange foreigner Ф stranger forest Ф wood forever '■for ever Ф forever forget forgive Ф excuse form er found Ф find (2nd entry) fragile frail ф fragile french fries Ф chips friendly Ф sympathetic frightened frightening Ф frightened from Ф by frontier Ф border further Ф farther fury Ф anger gain Ф earn game (2 entries) gas gentle girl gold golden Ф gold great Ф big greatly greengrocer Ф grocer greet Ф salute grocer ground Ф floor grounds Ф floor grow grow up Ф grow guard Ф keep habit Ф custom hair hairs Ф hair handbag happily Ф happy happy hat heal Ф cure hear height high Ф tall hire historic historical Ф historic history holiday holidays Ф holiday home Ф house homework hood Ф bonnet house housework ф homework human humane Ф human humid Ф damp husband Ф man ill Ф sick illegal illegitimate Ф illegal illicit Ф illegal im aginary imagination Ф fantasy imaginative Ф im aginary immoral imply impracticable Ф im practical impractical include indoor Ф indoors indoors inedible infant Ф baby infer Ф imply inflammable inflict Ф afflict in front of Ф before in front of Ф opposite inhuman Ф human inhumane Ф human institute institution Ф institute instruct Ф teach insurance Ф assurance insure Ф assure interested interesting Ф interested 245 In the end О a fter a ll invaluable О valuable irritated nervous irritation О annoyance Its it’s О its jacket coat jealous jealou sy jealou sy job journal Ф m agazine (1st entr jou rn ey ju d icia l judicious О ju d icia l keep lam p lane О footpath large b ig largely О grea tly lastly О a fter a ll last o f all Ф a fter a ll late o form er later О a fte r (1st entry) lavatory О to ile t law О ru le lawful О lega l la w yer la y learn leave behind О fo rget lecture speech (2nd entry) lecturer О teacher lega l legitimate lega l lend О borrow less let h ire lib ry licence license О licen ce lie о la y lift О ca rry (1st entry) light О lam p like О lo ve likely О a lik e listen to О bear little (2 entries) lively О a liv e livin g О a liv e 246 loaf О bread lone О alone lonely О alone loo О to ile t look at О see look for О search look forward to О expect loose О lose lorry О van lose love luckily О happy lucky О happy luggage О bag lunch О din n er m achine m agazine (2 entries) m agic magical О m agic m ake make О brand m ale man manage О trol m any marriage О w edding masculine О m ale match gam e (1st entry) meal О food memoirs О m em ories m em ories m em ory mention О comment m eter metre О m eter metro О underground m iddle migrate em igrate m istake mistrust О distrust moist t£> damp m oral morale О m oral morals О m oral m ore most t£> m ore motor О m achine much much О m any narrow nation Ф country (2nd entry) nauseous Ф sick neither Ф none (1st entry) nervous newspaper Ф magazine (1st entry) no nobody О none (2nd entry) noise o sound none (2 entries) none ф no non-flammable Ф Inflammable no-one Ф none (2nd entry) north northerly Ф north northern О north notable note notice notice Ф note notice О rem ark noticeable Ф notable now observe Ф notice obviously Ф apparently occasion ocean О sea office older О elder oldest Ф elder one opportunity Ф occasion opposed opposite opposite Ф opposed other Ф another others Ф another outdoor outdoors Ф outdoor over Ф above package Ф parcel packet Ф pared pair Ф couple pants pants Ф shorts paper Ф magazine (1st entry) parcel particular particularly Ф particular pass pass Ф spend path Ф footpath pavement pay pay attention Ф notice peculiar Ф particular peculiarly Ф particular people Ф one petrol Ф gas pillow Ф cushion place place Ф square play please pocket Ф sack polite Ф gentle possibility Ф occasion possible Ф final possibly Ф finally postpone Ф cancel power practicable Ф practical p ractical practice practise Ф practice precede ф proceed present presently Ф now pretend Ф claim (2nd entry) prevent prevent Ф forbid price mice Ф cost priceless principal Ф principle principle prize Ф price prize Ф reward proceed proclaim Ф announce professor ф teacher program Ф programme programme pronounce Ф announce proud Ф arrogant prove provinces Ф country (1st entry) 247 pub Ф b ar publish Ф edit purse О handbag quarrel Ф row quiet Ф quite quite quite Ф fairly rage Ф anger raise rare Ф scarce rarely О scarcely rather Ф fairly reach Ф arrive real Ф actual really Ф actually rear Ф back (2nd entry) recommend Ф advocate recover Ф cure recovery Ф cure refuse Ф deny regard О see regulation О rule relation relations relationship Ф relations relative Ф relation remains о rest (1st entry) rem ark remark О comment remember remind Ф remember rent Ф hire resign Ф retire rest (2 entries) restive Ф restless restless retire revenge Ф avenge review revue Ф review reward rise Ф raise road ro b Ф s te a l ro b b er Ф t h ie f ro o m Ф place row rug Ф carpet rule 248 sack s a fe ty s a la r y s a lu te s a tis fa c to r y s a tis fy in g Ф s a tis fa c to r y say s c a rc e s c a r c e ly s ce n e scen ery Ф sce n e sch ool sea s e a rc h search fo r Ф s e a rc h s ec u rity Ф s a fe ty s ee seek Ф sea rch s e n s ib le s en s itiv e Ф s e n s ib le s e r ia l s erie s Ф s e r ia l serp en t Ф s n a k e serviette shade Ф s h a d o w sh a d o w s h ip s h ir t shop Ф m a g a z in e (2 n d e n try ) shop Ф s to r e sh ore Ф c o a s t s h o rtly Ф b r ie fly s h o rts sb o rts Ф p a n ts sb ou t Ф c r y (1 st e n try ) sh ow Ф p la y sh ru b Ф tr e e s ic k sid ew a lk Ф p a v e m e n t sin ce Ф a g o sin ce Ф b ec a u se s it Ф p ass s lee p in g Ф a s le e p sn ak e sob ф c r y (2 n d e n try ) s o lic ito r Ф la w y e r som eb ody Ф s o m e o n e som eon e s o m e th in g sometime Ф sometimes sometimes somewhere sound south southerly ф south southern Ф south souvenir О memory speak specially Ф especially speech (2 entries) spend sport Ф game (2nd entry) square staircase Ф steps stairs Ф steps stand start Ф begin state Ф country (2nd entry) stationary stationery Ф stationary statistical Ф statistics statistics stay О rest (2nd entry) steal steps still stockings Ф tights stop Ф rest (2nd entry) store store Ф magazine (2nd entry) storey story Ф history story Ф storey strange stranger street Ф road strength Ф power studio Ф study study study Ф learn subway subway Ф underground suggest Ф advice suit suite Ф suit supper Ф dinner support Ф stand surely Ф certainly surprised surprising Ф surprised suspect Ф doubt suspenders suspicious Ф doubtful sympathetic take Ф bring take Ф pass talk Ф speak talk Ф speech (2nd entry) tall taste taste of Ф taste tax tea Ф dinner teach teach Ф learn teacher tell Ф say terrified terrifying Ф terrified test Ф prove testament thanks Ф please thank you Ф please theatre thief thin Ф narrow though tie tights tired tiresome tiring Ф tired tiring Ф tiresome toilet tolerate Ф stand towel Ф serviette town tree trip Ф journey trousers Ф pants truck Ф van tube Ф underground tutor Ф teacher type Ф brand under underground underneath Ф under underpants Ф shorts underpass Ф subway understand Ф comprehend understanding О comprehensive uneatable Ф inedible uninterested О disinterested university Ф school unlawful Ф illegal unless Ф except unsociable Ф unsocial unsocial valuable value Ф worth valueless Ф valuable van very Ф much vest vomit Ф sick voyage Ф journey wages О salary waistcoat О vest wait for Ф expect want warn ф prevent watch Ф see WC Ф toilet wear Ф carry (2nd entry) 250 wedding weep Ф cry (2nd entry) welcome Ф salute west westerly ф west western Ф west whole wife Ф woman wilful Ф w illin g will Ф testament w illing win Ф earn wine bar Ф cafd wish Ф want woman wood woods Ф wood woollen Ф woolly woolly work Ф job worried worrying Ф worried worth worthless Ф priceless yell Ф cry (1st entry) yet Ф still you Ф one COLLINS COBUILD ENGLISH GUIDES CONFUSABLE WORDS This book has been specially prepared for students of English from the intermediate level and for teachers of English It offers unique coverage, based on actual usage from the COBUILD database, of over 900 common words that are often confused by learners of English of all nationalities The contrastive entries deal systematically with meaning and usage, giving plenty of real examples Grammar notes clarify particular points of difficulty, and related words of interest are also featured Some of the many entries included are: assure, ensure, insure borrow, lend carry, wear disinterested, uninterested earn, win, gain experience, experiment forget, leave behind interested, interesting job, work keep, guard learn, teach, study legal, lawful, legitimate licence, license make, practice, practise raise, rise, arise sensible, sensitive still, yet, already COLLINS COBUILD ENGLISH GUIDES provide extensive information on specific areas of today’s English, using the evidence from the COBUILD database to select w hat is really important This unique series w i l l inrtisnensable to students and teachers alike ISBN 0-00-370562-5 ... Foreword The Guide to Confusable Words is one o f a series o f Cobuild English Guides to particular areas o f d ifficu lty fo r learners o f English This Guide deals w ith words w hich m ay be... difference in the gram m ar o f the words Often there are m isleading sim ilarities between words in English and words in other languages This book contains n early 40 0 entries, coverin g over 900... ples, the entries show the typical use o f the words in m odem English The exam ples are taken from the Bank o f English, a collection o f m odem English speech and w ritin g drawn from a va riety