‘Why surely, Daniel!’ chips, crisps, french files In British English, chips are pieces of potato cut like short sticks that are fried and served hot.. They are called french fries in Ame[r]
(1)ENGLISH CONFUSABLE WORDS 18 cancel, postpone, delay If you cancel an arrangement or an appointment, you stop it from happening You usually not make any new arrangements - The airport closed again All flights were cancelled to andfrom Glasgow - The performances were cancelled because the leading man was ill If you postpone an arrangement or an appointment, you make new arrangements for it to happen at a later time - The flight has been postponed until eleven o’clock - Could you postpone your departureforfive minutes? If you delay something that has been arranged, you make it happen later than planned - Try and persuade them to delay some ofthe changes - The flight had been delayed one hour, due to weather conditions If something delays you, you start or finish something later than you planned - Suppose there is some accident which delays you - I’m afraid I was slightly delayed Other words English also uses a number of phrasal verbs to express the idea of doing things at a later time or not at all For example, if you cancel a meeting, you can also say that you ‘call it off’ If you postpone a meeting, you ‘put it off’ If a meeting is delayed, it is ‘held up’ Phrasal verbs are more common in speech than in written English capacity, capability The capacity of something is the amount that it can hold or produce - The pipeline has a capacity of 1.2 million barrels a day - In all countries military security requires economic capacity to be developed A person’s capacity is their ability to something well - Monty, as I soon realised, had no more capacity for figures than Jeremy had If a man is self-employed, he can adjust his performance to his capacities - The capability of a country, machine, or person is their ability to a particular thing - This constitutes a strong argumentfor maintaining a retaliatory capability - The Tornado, with its ultralowflying capability, presented the Warsaw Pact with severe problems - Every advance in medical capabilities is an increase in our moral responsibility - She may worry about her capabilities as a parent carefree, careless, careful If you are carefree, you not have any cares or worries and therefore feel happy and able to enjoy life - Before her marriage she had been lively and alert and carefree - He was aware of a glorious carefree feeling of joy If you are careless, you something badly because you are not giving enough attention to it Thẩm Tâm Vy, Sept 13th, 2020 - if your courier is careless and leaves the coach unlocked - He was careless and inefficient and drank too much If you are careful, you things properly and with a lot of attention Careful is the opposite of careless - I showered slowly, being careful not to wet my soreface - He watched all this with the most careful attention carry, wear, put on When you carry something, you move it from one place to another without letting it touch the ground - ‘I can't carry any more wood,’ said Eric ‘I’m tired.’ - The man got up and sauntered through, carrying an open beer can - I carried my dancing shoes in а lưtle box When you are dressed in your clothes you say that you are wearing them You not say that you ‘carry’ clothes or shoes when you are dressed in them - She wore a plaid shirt, bluejeans and sneakers - He is a dynamic little man who wears a bow tie - He wore green suede shoes - Tracey is wearing a simple black dress - What are you wearing to Caroline's wedding? - Some musicians don't like to wear rings when they're playing - He wears glasses for reading - She wears very little makeup - The minister wore a confident smile throughout the interview - When she's working she wears her hair in a ponytail - You should wear your hair up (= so that it does not hang down) more often - it suits you - Are you wearing a new perfume? If you put something on, you cover part of your body with clothes, shoes, make-up, or something similar: Put on is a synonym of ‘wear’ - Put your shoes on - we're going out - He put on his jacket - She puts face cream on every night cave, cavern, cellar, basement A cave is an opening in rock, for example in the side of a cliff or a mountain, and can be large or small In prehistoric times, people lived in caves - a large collection of caves known as the Blue Grotto - The cliff's are riddled with caves and almost every one shows some sign ofancient habitation A cavern is a very large cave, usually underground - Gradually the underground caverns fill up with deposits Areas below ground in buildings are called cellars or basements Cellars are often used for storing things that are no longer wanted or that are not used very often - I decided to return the unwanted books to the cellar ENGLISH CONFUSABLE WORDS 18 DeThi.edu.vn (2) A basement is designed to be used regularly or lived in Department stores often have basements, and some restaurants and bars are in basements - He stopped outside the door leading down to the basement, where Dr Firmius lived certainly, surely You use certainly to emphasize that what you say is definitely true - He had probably been employed at Cluny and he certainly worked at Vezelay - It’s certainly not accidental spillage You use surely for emphasis, especially when you are objecting to something that has been said or done, or when you are expressing surprise that other people not agree with you - But surely, Hamo, you care about what happens to your work? - Academics tend to use ‘journalism’ as a dirty word, but surely some of the best writers have been journalists - Eva Crane must surely be one of the world’s best known experts on bee keeping Both British and American speakers of English use certainly to agree to a request, or to agree with what someone has said American speakers also use surely in this way - ’Would you agree that it is still a difficult world for women to live in?’ — ‘Oh, certainly.’ - He asked ifhe might be allowed to hear one ofher records ‘Why surely, Daniel!’ chips, crisps, french files In British English, chips are pieces of potato cut like short sticks that are fried and served hot They are called french fries in American English - Then I’d get the tea ready, which was usually ham and chips, or kippers - He ordered his lunch from Room Service—a club sandwich with french fries on the side Very thin slices of potato that have been fried until they are hard and crunchy are called crisps, or occasionally potato crisps, in British English and potato chips in American English - I can't open this packet of crisps - a bowl of dip surrounded with a selection ofsalty biscuits and potato crisps - We had a packet of potato chips and American Ice Cream Sodas claim, pretend If you claim that something is true, you say that it is true, although you may not be able to prove it or to make people believe you - ‘Did he really kill six men?’ Kay asked ‘That’s what the newspapers claimed,’ Mike said - He claimed that he found the money in aforest - He claimed to be a Scot but had a powerful Liverpool accent If you pretend that something is true, you try to make people believe that it is true, although you know that it is not - The rest of us stood around for a while trying to pretend nothing had happened - He could pretend, perhaps, not to recognise them - ‘You don’t want to spend your life with me,’ Joyce said, ‘so why pretend? Thẩm Tâm Vy, Sept 13th, 2020 coat, jacket A coat is a piece of clothing with sleeves that you wear over the rest of your clothes when you go outside Coats are usually quite long, often reaching down to your knees or below your knees - Gertrude was wearing, under her coat, a brown lightjersey dress A jacket is a piece of clothing like a short coat Usually jackets reach down to your hips or waist You can wear a jacket indoors or outdoors, and you can wear a coat over it - He began to undress, hanging his jacket neatly on the back of a chair comic, comical Сomiс is used to describe things which are intended to be funny When comic has this meaning, it can only be used in front of a noun - She was glad it was a comic She had seen it before - Tim had nearly had a commission to illustrate a comic cookery book Both comic and comical can be used to describe something that amusing and makes you want to laugh, usually because it is slightly silly They can come either in front of a noun or after a verb such as ‘be’ or ’look’ - Her eyes rolled up in a blend of comic disgust, resignation and tolerance - She would look up with the most comical expression - Brooks’s attention to detail can occasionally be comic - It was almost comical to see the conflicting emotions flit across Frank’sface Comic is also a noun A comic is an entertainer who tells jokes to make people laugh - When the comic comes on they’ll all laugh A comic is also a magazine, usually for children, that contains stories told in pictures - He saw me reading a comic comment, mention, remark If you comment on a situation, or make a comment about it, you give your opinion on it You may express a careful thought, or you may just say a few words - He knew his father expected him to comment on the meal - ’It’s going to be pretty cold if you have to stay there all night,’ he commented - ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’ was Mrs Pringle’s comment It you mention something, you say it, but you not spend very long talking about it You have usually not been discussing it before - She casually mentioned: ‘I thought I had something of interest for you.’ - Johnny mentioned that he might be in New York right after the holidays If you remark on something, or make a remark about it, you say what you think or have noticed about it, often in a casual or informal way - Visitors generally remark on how well the children look - Mr Nixon hastened to remark that he was not against television - Gerald Sutton's first remark was: ’Your pals have found you ttv ENGLISH CONFUSABLE WORDS 18 DeThi.edu.vn (3)