present, actual Present is used in front of a noun to indicate that you are talking about things as they are now, rather than how they used to be or will be in the future.. - The present[r]
(1)ENGLISH CONFUSABLE WORDS 13 nervous, irritated If you are nervous, you are worried and tense, and may behave in a frightened way You might be nervous tf you have to take an examination or have to make a speech in public - Colin’s driving made her nervous - It was the first time I had ever been in front of a TV camera, and I was so nervous I could barely keep the quaver out of my voice - A funny little nervous halfsmile appeared on bandy’s mouth If you are irritated, you are annoyed by something which you cannot prevent or stop You might be irritated if someone is making too much noise or if a machine keeps breaking down - My father had called me twice, and he sounded irritated - ‘How long have you been watching me?’ the little man asked in an irritated voice none, neither You use none to refer to three or more people or things when you are making a negative statement that applies to all of them - None could afford the books orfood - The bomb exploded and knocked out a few men Luckily, none were killed You can also use none of followed by a pronoun or noun group - None of them had learned anything about the teaching of reading - None of his black companions answered You use neither to refer to each of two people or things when you are making a negative statement that applies to both of them - Neither had close female friends at the university - She chose first one, then another, but neither was to her satisfaction You can also use neither of followed by a pronoun or noun group - Neither of them spoke again for a long while - Neither of these extremes is desirable • You can also use neither immediately in front of a singular count noun - Militarily, neither side can win no, none You use no in front of nouns to mean ‘not any’ or ‘not one’ For example, you might say that you have no time or no stamps - Have I not just told you that I had no extra information? - There was no moon that night - We saw no houses, no smoke, nofootprints, no boats, no people - He has given no reasonfor his decision You use none instead of a noun group that begins with ‘no’ to indicate that there are not any of the things or people that you have already mentioned - Occasionally a new star would appear in the sky where none had been detected before Thẩm Tâm Vy, September 3rd, 2020 - I have answered every single question My opponent has answered none - Part time assistance is a lot better than none at all notable, noticeable If you describe something as notable, you mean that it is important, interesting, or remarkable A notable writer, for example, is a good writer whose work is worth reading; a notable exception is an exception which is important Notable is a fairly formal word - One of the notable historians of the period is Adam Ulam - Most of the foods we eat contain small amounts of protein, notable exceptions beingfat, sugar and alcohol - The most notable quality of a convention is its sheer tedium Something that is noticeable is easy to hear, see, or recognize because it is so obvious - The years had made a noticeable change in Muller - his hair was almost white now - Effects such as pollution and ecological damage begin to become noticeable - The teachers reported а noticeable increase in the amount of reading done by the pupils notice, observe, pay attention If you notice something, you become aware of it by seeing it or by using your other senses - I noticed she was wearing a new dress - I noticed a new tranquillity about him - I have noticed that yourfather is not asfriendly towards me as he used to be Observe can be used with the same meaning as notice However, observe is a rather formal word - Glancing cautiously about the room, she observed a threadbare rug and afew pieces ofsadly shabby furniture - The Count, I observed, had a mildly speculative expression on his face You also use observe to talk about watching someone or something deliberately and very carefully - A half dozen spectators gathered on the outside to observe the proceedings - He will stand well back in order to observe you from a distance If you pay attention to someone or something, you watch or listen with great concentration, especially in order not to miss anything - For the first time he paid attention to the driver - I was not paying attention to what was going on now, at present, presently You can use both now and at present to talk about things as they are at the time when you mention them Now may refer to a period of time or to a particular moment - She gradually built up energy and is now back to normal ENGLISH CONFUSABLE WORDS 13 DeThi.edu.vn (2) - I’m feeling much better now - I’m going home now At present refers to a period of time and may imply that the situation may change At present is quite formal - I don’t want to get married at present - At present there is a world energy shortage Presently means ‘quite soon’ For example, if something is going to happen quite soon, you can say that it will happen presently.This use is slightly old-fashioned - The Prince of Wales will be here presently - I shall have more to say presently Presently is sometimes used in the same way as at present - Leningrad, presently a city of four million - American and Japan are presently working on chips which will hold a million words Some speakers of English find this use of ‘presently’ unacceptable • You cannot use ‘actually’ to talk about things as they are at the tune when you mention them You use now, at present, or less commonly presently power, strength If you say a person or an organization has power, you usually mean that they are able to control other people and their activities - It gave the President too much power - The military authorities are refusing to hand over power You not usually say that someone who has well-developed muscles has ‘power’ The word you use is strength pulled with all his strength - They wouldn’t have had the strength to drag it back to the village - 'This glancing blow would havefelled most men, but Parker had exceptional strength Instead of talking about the power of a person or organization, you can say that they are powerful - Until his illness, President Botha was by far the most powerful and popularfigure in white South African politics - They organize themselves in powerful and effective trade unions Instead of talking about someone’s strength, you can say that they are strong - She was small and frail-looking, but deceptively strong - His strong arms were around me, pinning me down Powerful is sometimes used with a similar meaning to strong - He had broad shoulders and powerful arms - a powerful man practical, practicable You use practical to talk about what happens in real life rather than in theory A practical example is one that might really happen A practical difficulty is one that actually has to be dealt with - Let’s take a practical example of what one group of workers did - They refuse to face any ofthe practical difficulties that would come from changing things Ideas, methods, and plans that are practical are realistic and produce good results or are likely to produce good results - He may well be able to suggest practical ways round a financial difficulty - How long will it be before nuclear fusion becomes practical? Something that is practicable is capable of being carried out successfully Practicable is a formal word - It would be perfectly practicable for us to get married in England - State intervention to aid private industry was both practicable and beneficial present, actual Present is used in front of a noun to indicate that you are talking about things as they are now, rather than how they used to be or will be in the future - The present system has manyfailings - Economic planning cannot succeed in present conditions You also use present in front of a noun to indicate that you are talking about the person who has a job, role, or title now, rather than someone who had it in the past or will have it in the future - The present chairperson is a woman - Zanussi’s new film about the present Pope You not use ‘actual’ to describe things as they are now You use actual to emphasize that the place, object, or person you are talking about is the real or genuine one - The predicted results and the actual results are very different - The interpretation bore no relation to the actual words spoken priceless, worthless, valueless If you say that something such as jewellery or a work of art is priceless, you mean that it is extremely valuable and worth a great deal of money - The place is crammed with priceless carvings and statuettes - the priceless collection of the Byzantine emperors If you say that something is worthless, you mean that it is of no value or use - The promises made between Cochise and the government would be worthless - The goods are often worthless by the time they arrive The synonym of worthless is valueless - valueless currency - Her shares in the company have become valueless - Some of the royal forests had become valueless as hunting grounds - We thought the chair was an antique worth a lot of money, but it turned out to be a valueless replica - On most political issues, my own opinion was pretty well valueless … to be continued Thẩm Tâm Vy, September 3rd, 2020 ENGLISH CONFUSABLE WORDS 13 DeThi.edu.vn (3)