COLEGIO INTERNACIONAL SEK-EL CASTILLO

________________________________________________________
Modern Foreign Languages Department

CONFUSING WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv357.shtml

Situation / Position / Condition

My question is about the differences in meaning and use of situation, position and condition.
All three nouns are similar in meaning, but they have different nuances or shades of meaning and are used in
different contexts in different ways.
Condition
Condition describes the physical state of something or some one. We talk about people or things being in good
/ bad / terrible / etc condition. Condition can also refer to a health problem:
Considering its age, this house is in excellent condition.
He was in a terrible condition and had drunk far too much whiskey.
She has a severe heart condition and shouldn't be smoking at all.
Conditions (plural) refer to the environment in which something occurs. We talk about things happening in or
under appalling / terrible conditions. We also talk about people's living or working conditions:
The rescue was attempted under extremely difficult conditions and with little chance of success.
The refugees were living under appalling conditions with no access to clean water.
Are you happy with your working conditions? ~ Yes, they are excellent. I have no complaints.
The extremely windy conditions made it difficult for either side to play decent football.
Conditions also describe things that must be true or be done before something else can happen. We talk about
meeting or satisfying or imposing conditions.
In order to qualify for a grant as a postgraduate student, you will need to satisfy certain conditions.
The conditions imposed by the university meant that no one was likely to qualify.
Terms and conditions describe the business or financial arrangements of an agreement.
Make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully before you take out the student loan
on condition that
Note the expression on condition that for saying that one thing will happen only if another thing happens:
You can have the day off tomorrow on condition that you agree to work on Saturday.
They spoke to the police about the incident on condition that they would not be called as witnesses.
Situation
Situation refers to a set of conditions that are in place at a particular time and in a particular place:
If the situation had been different, our marriage might have succeeded.
I am particularly concerned about the situation in the south of the country where the rules of law and order appear
to have broken down.
We also talk about an economic or financial situation:
The financial situation is dire - the company has failed to make a profit in each of the last four years.
situation comedies / situations vacant

Note also the compound nouns situation comedies (abbreviated to sitcoms) which describe amusing television
drama series revolving around a set of characters in a family or organisation and situations vacant which refers to
a column or page in a newspaper where jobs are advertised:
'The Office' is regarded as one of the most original sitcoms the BBC has produced so far this century.
If you just want a clerical job, look in the situations vacant column in the local newspaper.

position
Position is used in a wider variety of contexts than situation or condition. First and foremost, it refers to the way
or where somebody or something is placed.
I was quite badly injured in the demonstration but managed to drag myself to a sitting position under a tree.
This plant loves sunlight and should be placed in an open sunny position in the flower border.
This is quite a detailed map showing the position of all the oil refineries.
Position can also describe a general situation and in this context can sometimes be replaced by situation:
The position / situation is that everyone must be interviewed about the break in by the security services.
If I were in your position / situation, I wouldn't dream of sheltering an escaped convict.
Position also means opinion, i.e. where you stand or are placed, on an issue:
My position on fox hunting is that it is a useful way of keeping the number of foxes down.
Position can also refer to a job in a company, a place in a list or where you play in a team sport such as football:
Is the assistant manager position still open? ~ No, I'm sorry, it's already been filled.
What is their position in the league? ~ They're in forth position at the moment, but if they win today, they'll move
up to third.
My best position is on the left in midfield, just in front of the back four.

ANIMAL IDIOMS
In the sentences:
On the BBC home page, I found the expression a fly-on-the-wall series, the first reality TV programme. What does
fly-on-the-wall mean?
Thank you in advance for your kind answer.fly-on-the-wall (adj)
By using concealed cameras, fly-on-the-wall television programmes or films show people doing what they normally
do every day. Big Brother is a good example of this type of reality TV programme. We use the expression fly-onthe-wall because if a fly settles on your wall at home, you do not normally notice it. Note that fly on the wall is also
used as a compound noun:
I'd like to have been a fly on the wall when your boss heard he'd been fired.

We use many animal idioms in English. Here are a selection of those involving both larger and smaller animals. How
many of these do you know? Explanations provided beneath examples of use where meaning is not so obvious.
LARGER MAMMALS
a bull / bear market
take the bull by the horns
do the donkey work
flog a dead horse
the lion's share
a stag night
The bull market of the Eighties and Nineties is unlikely to return for some time.
I decided to take the bull by the horns and tell him he was upsetting Jane.
If you tell him to take it easy, he'll sit back and let you do all the donkey work.
Invest in shares and the chances are you'll be flogging a dead horse.
The lion's share of her money - over 80% - went to her nephews and nieces.
I'm having my stag night on the same day as my Sue is having her hen night.
bull market: situation where price of shares on the stock market are rising (bear market: prices falling) take the
bull by the horns: face up to problem instead of avoiding it donkey work: manual labour or jobs that are routine or

least important flog a dead horse: waste time on something unlikely to be successful (flog = whip) a stag night: a
social/drinking evening for groom's male friends prior to wedding (hen night = social/drinking evening for bride's
female friends)
SMALLER MAMMALS
keep the wolf from the door
dog tired
let sleeping dogs lie
let the cat out of the bag
cat nap smell a rat
If you can't get a better job, you won't be able to keep the wolf from the door.
He was dog tired - out on call all night and then took surgery in the morning.
She doesn't need to know he's been unfaithful. Let sleeping dogs lie.
He couldn't keep it secret, let the cat out of the bag and told her everything.
I like to cat nap for half an hour after lunch.
They intended to trick him but they were always larking about and he smelt a rat .
keep the wolf from the door: earn enough to buy food and other essentials
let sleeping dogs lie: not interfere; not mention something that could cause trouble
let the cat out of the bag: reveal a secret
smell a rat: sense that something is wrong (lark about: behave in playful, childish way)
BIRDS and FISH
a wild goose chase
up with the lark
chicken out
a fish out of water
a cold fish
have other fish to fry
I didn't know her flight number so trying to find Amy at Heathrow was a bit of a wild goose chase.
We'll have to be up with the lark tomorrow - the flight leaves at seven thirty.
They are short of funds so I think they're going to chicken out of this project.
I didn't know anyone at the reception so felt like a fish out of water.
He showed no emotion at this aunt's funeral - he's s cold sort of fish.
They wanted me to join them on this project but I told them I had other fish to fry.
a wild goose chase: a search that has no chance of success
chicken out: stop participating in something which is too dangerous or difficult.
have other fish to fry: have other things to do or more important matters to attend to.
INSECTS
a fly in the ointment
not hurt a fly
no flies on someone
a busy bee
have a bee in your bonnet
the bee's knees
It will be an exciting trip.
The only fly in the ointment is that Sue can't drive.
He has an awful temper but he wouldn't hurt a fly.
There are no flies on Jacob - he is fully aware of all aspects of the operation.
She's a busy bee all right - if there's a job to do, she just has to get on with it.
She's got a bee in her bonnet about eating raw fish to stay fit and healthy.
With her first class honours degree and job with the UN, she thinks she's the bee' knees.
a fly in the ointment: a difficulty which prevents total enjoyment
no flies on someone: said of someone who is alert and clever, not easy to deceive
have a bee in your bonnet: be obsessed with something (bonnet = hat)
the bee's knees: someone who thinks they are very clever and important

no = not / not any

In the sentences:
Hong Kong's goal: zero accidents on the road.

Hong Kong's goal: no accidents on the road.

shouldn't the plural form be changed to singular?
Hong Kong's goal: zero accident on the road.
Hong Kong's goal: no accident on the road.
Zero means no and the noun that follows it should surely be in singular form. Please answer my question.
zero = not any
With countable nouns, zero is always followed by plural nouns. With uncountable nouns, the singular form is used.
Compare the following:
Zero degrees centigrade is the same as 32 degrees fahrenheit.
We are likely to see zero growth on the stock market this year.
We are not likely to see any growth on the stock market this year.
no = not a / not any
With countable nouns, no is normally followed by plural forms. It sounds more natural and makes better sense to
say:
It was early December and there were no leaves on the trees.
No dogs, unless they are on a lead, are allowed in the flower garden.
No road accidents were reported in Chelsea throughout August.
than:
It was early December and there was no leaf on the trees.
No dog, unless it is on a lead, is allowed in the flower garden.
No road accident was reported in Chelsea throughout August.
Sometimes, no may be followed by singular or plural nouns, depending on whether one is thinking of one or more
than one:
It was 9 a.m., yet there was no policeman on duty outside the embassy.
It was 9 a.m., yet there were no policemen on duty outside the embassy.
In the Premiership last Saturday, no players were sent off.
In the Premiership last Saturday, no player was sent off.
In the Premiership last Saturday, not a single player was sent off.
Sometimes, it is more natural to combine singular and plural use:
He must lead a lonely life in that village: he has no wife and no children.
(A man normally has one wife, but often has more than one child!)
no = emphatic use
Note that we tend to use no, rather than not a or not any when we want to emphasise a negative idea. In the
lonely man example above, no is more effective than not a / not any. Compare:
He must lead a lonely life: he doesn't have a wife and he doesn't have any children.
With subject nouns, when no is used emphatically, not a / not any are not possible:
No politician tells the truth all the time.
No writer has won the Booker prize more than once.
Note that singular use sounds more natural in these examples.
no collocations
There are a number of common nouns that normally combine with no, rather than not a or not any. Most of them
are uncountable and include no amount, no time, no idea, no doubt, no reason, no need, no evidence, no
problem, no way, no point, no use. Study these examples of use:
No amount of washing could remove the stain from the garment.
There's no time to lose. We must leave immediately.
I have no idea how you solve this problem. It's quite beyond me.
There was no doubt she had lied. All the evidence pointed to her guilt.
I've no reason to think he won't return. He needs me as much as I need him.
There's no need to cry. We can sort this out together.
She complained of chest pains but the doctors found no evidence of infection.
Can you help me with the ironing? ~ No problem. I'm not busy this evening.
Can you help me with the cleaning? ~ No way. I have to be out by seven.
There's no point in shouting. He's deaf and can't hear you.
It's no use complaining. They won't bother to answer your letter

seem, appear and look

Are there any significant structural or semantic differences between seem, appear and look in the sense of to give
the impression of being or doing something?
look, seem and appear
Look, seem and appear are all copular verbs and can be used in a similar way to indicate the impression you get
from something or somebody. Copula verbs join adjectives (or noun compounds) to subjects:
She looks unhappy.
He seems angry.
They appear (to be) contented.
Note that adjectives, not adverbs, are used after copular verbs. We do not say:
She looked angrily
He seems cleverly.
We have to say:
She looked angry.
He seems clever.
Of course, when look is not used as a copular verb, but as a transitive verb with an object, an adverb will describe
how someone looks:
She looked angrily at the intruder.
look / seem - as if / like
After look and seem, but not normally after appear, we can use an as if / like construction:
It looks as if it's going to rain again.
It looks like we're going home without a suntan.
It seems as if they're no longer in love.
It seems like she'll never agree to a divorce.
seem / appear to + infinitive
After seem and appear we often use a to + infinitive construction ( or a perfect infinitive construction for past
events). We cannot use look in this way. Compare the following:
They appear to have run away from home. They cannot be traced.
I seem to have lost my way. Can you help me?
It seems to be some kind of jellyfish. Do not go near it.
They appear not to be at home. Nobody's answering.
They do not appear to be at home. No one's answering.
We can also use a that-clause after It seems?... and It appears..., but not after look. It looks... has to be
followed by an as if / like clause:
It seems that I may have made a mistake in believing you did this.
It appears that you may be quite innocent of any crime.
It looks as if / like you won't go to prison after all.
appear / seem - differences in meaning
You can use seem to talk about more objective facts or impressions and about more subjective and emotional
impressions. We do not usually use appear to refer to emotions and subjective impressions. Compare the
following:
impressions / emotions
It seems a shame that we can't take Kevin on holiday with us.
It doesn't seem like a good idea to leave him here by himself.
It seems ridiculous that he has to stay here to look after the cat.
more objective facts and impressions
They have the same surname, but they don't appear / seem to be related.

She's not getting any better. It seems / appears that she's not been taking the medication.
non-copular use of appear and look
Note that seem is used only as a copular verb, but both appear and look have other meanings and uses:
appear = (begin to) be seen
She has appeared in five Broadway musicals since 2000.
Cracks have suddenly appeared in the walls in our lounge.
Digital radios for less than 50 began to appear in the shops before the end of last year.
look = direct your eyes / search
I've looked everywhere for my passport, but I can't find it.
I've looked through all the drawers and through all my files.
He didn't see me because he was looking the other way.
Note that look is used in a wide range of phrasal verbs:
Could you look after the children this afternoon while I go shopping?
Could you look at my essay before I hand it in?
I'm looking for size 36 in light blue. Do you have it?
It's been a hard year. I'm looking forward to a holiday now.
I've written a letter of complaint and they've promised to look into the matter.
Look out for me at the concert. I'll probably be there by ten o' clock.
Don't you want to look round the school before enrolling your children?
He's a wonderful role model for other players to look up to.
If you don't know the meaning of these phrasal verbs, look them up in a dictionary.

Learning and using synonyms

People use synonyms to avoid repeating the same word. For example:
This hotel is so expensive. It's very pricey.
What is the difference in meaning between expensive and pricey? When should I use synonyms?
expensive / pricey
Synonyms are words with the same or sometimes slightly different meanings. Alternatives are sometimes used in
the same context with little or no difference as in your example, Yeon-Ju, except that pricey is a bit more informal
than expensive. Virtually anything that costs a lot of money may be considered expensive or pricey.
keen / eager
I am always keen / eager to introduce synonyms in this way in the examples of use that I quote on the learnit
pages. In this example, keen and eager are very close in meaning and may be used interchangeably.
Finding alternatives with the same or similar meaning is undoubtedly a good way of expanding your vocabulary and
use of English, Yeon-Ju, but we have to be careful.
disgusting / appalling
These synonyms are quite close in meaning, but not as close as in the previous pairs. Compare the following:
The food they served at John and Paula's wedding reception was disgusting.
The food they served at John and Paula's wedding reception was appalling.
The service at this hotel is disgusting.
The service at this hotel is appalling.
Both adjectives are possible in both contexts, but disgusting is perhaps more appropriate to the first context as it
suggests that the food was highly unpleasant to the taste. Appalling is perhaps more appropriate to the second
context as it suggests that the service was generally unpleasant, shocking, offensive and unacceptable.
pretty / good-looking / beautiful

These three synonyms, indicating someone or something that is pleasing in appearance, are also quite close in
meaning, but use is restricted:
It was a beautiful summer's day.
She was wearing a pretty polka-dot bikini.
With his jet-black hair and high cheekbones he appeared unusually good-looking.
A summer's day cannot be pretty or good-looking. A bikini is not substantial enough to be called beautiful
(whereas an attractive wedding dress we would describe as beautiful). Only people, of either sex, can be described
as good-looking and men are not usually thought of as pretty or beautiful.
Collocation
What we learn from this is that words sometimes occur together, or collocate with each other, in fairly fixed ways.
verb + adverb
Certain verbs tend to be used with certain adverbs.
If you think hard / carefully about it, you'll realise that I'm right.
(Not: If you think strongly / powerfully / precisely.)
If I remember correctly / rightly, you were not there at the time.
(Not: If I remember exactly / precisely / truly)
If you truly / really love me, you'll turn down that job in Norway.
(Not: If you purely / justly / rightly / precisely love me.)
adjective + noun
Certain nouns tend to occur with certain adjectives:
It came as a complete surprise to me when she married him
(Not: It came as a comprehensive / full / entire surprise to me)
He carried out a full / comprehensive market survey before launching the product.
(Not: He carried out a complete / all-embracing market survey)
(And not: before discharging / dispatching / propelling the product.)
verb + noun
Certain Verbs and nouns habitually occur together.
If you eat chocolate before a meal, it will spoil / ruin your appetite.
(Not: it will damage / harm / suppress your appetite.)
The government has recently conducted / carried out a survey on the causes of obesity in children.
(Not: The government has fulfilled / administered / run a survey)
I can't change my eating habits so I shall continue to eat junk food.
(Not: I can't alter / amend / modify my eating habits)
learning and using synonyms
When you are learning new words it is always a good idea to learn them in the contexts in which they are used and
the typical collocations that go with them.

Mother tongue, honeymoon and a small amount of gold

Saeed asks: Why do we say mother tongue and not mother language and why honeymoon and not honey
month?
Marga asks: Do you say: a small amount of gold or a little amount of gold? What is the difference?
Honeymoon
Honeymoon is a compound noun, meaning a holiday spent together by a couple immediately after their marriage.
We also have the expression honeymoon period, meaning the beginning of a period of time when everything is
pleasant in a relationship and partners don't criticise each other:
They plan to go on honeymoon to Thailand for a month.
The honeymoon period for this new government is now over.
Honey month is an impossible combination and would not make any sense now, even though the word
honeymoon was originally used to describe the first month of marriage. The reference to the moon (and therefore
lunar month) is ironic: everybody knows that as soon as the moon is full, it starts to wane and dies.
Mother tongue - native language

Mother tongue is another fixed collocation. You are right, Saeed, we do not say mother language. Instead, we
would normally say native language, though native tongue is also possible, see below:
Her mother tongue was Russian, but you would never have guessed it from her perfect pronunciation of English.
You should acquire a perfect grasp of your native tongue before you start to learn a foreign language.
The greater part of learning a foreign language, Saeed, is all about knowing which words naturally occur together.
The examples given so far are relatively straightforward but it becomes more complicated when we look at the
words which small and little naturally occur with.
A small house / a little house
When little and small both mean not large, with some nouns they can be used interchangeably with little or no
difference in meaning:
They lived in a little house in the country.
They lived in a small house in the country.
However, little also suggests that you feel sympathy for something, whereas small is more neutral and does not
suggest this. Compare the following:
He's only a little boy. He doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. ~ He may be a small child, but that
doesn't excuse his behaviour!
Because little invokes sympathy, it is often used with other adjectives like nice, sweet, tiny, pretty, poor. Small
cannot be used in this way:
This job is a nice little earner. Maximum reward for minimum effort.
She's a sweet / pretty little thing. Always has a smile on her face.
They live in this tiny little bed-sit in Shepherds Bush.
Little = not much
Little is also more complicated than small because it can also mean not much. Small can only mean not large.
Compare the following:
Will you have beer or wine with your meal? ~ I'd like a little wine, please. A small glass of red wine would be nice.
Would you like a large or a small coffee? ~ Oh, a small coffee please. I shan't sleep tonight if I have a large one.
Abstract nouns that often follow little (meaning not much) include hope, chance, change, effect, use and point:
There's little chance / hope of finding any survivors after such a massive explosion. I see little point in continuing
the rescue mission.
There has been little change in his condition over the last seventy two hours. The new drugs appear to have had
little effect.
Small amount / small number
When we define small as not large we are thinking about small in size, amount or number:
These shoes are too small. They really don't fit me at all.
I only had a small amount of gold but enough to purchase everything I needed.
A disappointingly small number of people entered the competition.
Note that small also combines readily with very and few as well as with too. Few cannot be combined with little
and little is not normally used with very or too:
I noticed that there were a few small mistakes in your essay.
The phone box was very small, but we all managed to squeeze in.

Colour idioms
Learning with colours was a leitmotif of Learning English recently. Can you help me to understand two of the
expressions: whiter than white and paint the town red?
We have many idiomatic expressions involving the whole range of colours in English. In answering your question,
Michal, we will have a look today at just three colours: red, white and blue (the colours of our national flag).
white colour idioms

White in British culture is traditionally associated with purity and innocence. See if you can work out the meaning of
the following white colour idioms word for word. Then check your understanding by reading examples of how they
are used in context. Finally, check again against the explanations given.
go as white as a sheet
white coffee
a white-collar worker
tell a white lie
whiter than white
The news must've been bad. She went as white as a sheet when she read the telegram.
- Do you want white or black coffee? - White please. Well, dark brown, actually - just a dash of milk.
He hopes to get a white-collar job, though, with his level of education, he'll be lucky to get a blue-collar one.
It's OK to tell a white lie. It doesn't do any harm and it nearly always does some good.
She's whiter than white - the image of perfection. In her entire life she has never put a foot wrong.
go as white as a sheet: become extremely pale in the face
white coffee: coffee with milk (note: not white tea; instead: tea with milk)
white-collar worker: an office worker (note blue-collar = factory or physical work)
tell a white lie: telling a lie to avoid making someone upset
whiter than white: someone who is totally fair and honest
red colour idioms
Red is often associated with anger or danger (red traffic lights). In British culture, red-haired people (redheads) are
traditionally hot-tempered and high-spirited. Try to work out the meaning of these red colour idioms in the same
way as before.
be in the red
see red
roll out the red carpet
paint the town red
a red-letter day
She's always in the red, never in the black. No overdraft would ever be big enough for her.
When she realised saw that no housework had been done all week, she saw red and banished us from her holiday
home.
It'll be time to roll out the red carpet when Auntie Meg returns home. We haven't seen her for twenty years.
They decided they would paint the town red after winning so much money by gambling on the horses.
It was a red-letter day for us when we were able to move into our new holiday house - the house of our dreams.
be in the red: have minus amounts on one's bank account (in the black = in credit)
see red: lose one's temper; become suddenly angry
roll out the red carpet: put on a special welcome for an important person
paint the town red: enjoy yourself by going to bars and/or clubs
a red-letter day: a very happy or exciting day
blue colour idioms
Blue is traditionally the colour of boys' clothes in British culture - pink for girls. It is also associated with loyalty and
true love. Try to work out the meaning of these blue colour idioms in the same way as before.
a blue movie
out of the blue
scream blue murder
the boys in blue
a blue-eyed boy
Blue movies, or adult videos as they are sometimes called, are normally only available from sex shops.
His suggestion that we should move to Cyprus came completely out of the blue. I wasn't expecting it.
They started to scream blue murder when I told them they would have to work an extra half an hour on Saturday
afternoons.
It's a criminal offence. We can't sweep it under the carpet. We should hand it over to the boys in blue.
He's the blue-eyed boy of skateboarding all right. He's won this competition five times.
a blue movie: a film with explicit adult scenes

out of the blue: suddenly and unexpectedly

scream blue murder: make a lot of fuss; shout loudly and emotionally in protest
the boys in blue: the uniformed police
a blue-eyed boy: a young man (grudgingly) admired because he is successful

afraid / scared - frightening / terrifying

Hasan asks: when do you use afraid and when do you use scared?
Natali asks: Could you please explain to me the difference in meaning between scary, frightening and terrifying?
afraid / scared / frightened
There are differences in use and I shall try to illustrate these. But all these adjectives express roughly the same
degree of worry or fear and can therefore be used interchangeably to some extent. Frightened suggests more
sudden fear:
All small children are afraid of / scared of / frightened of school bullies.
Dont be scared / afraid / frightened. Im not going to hurt you.
All three can be followed by of + -ing clause. Frightened cannot always be followed by of + pronoun or noun:
Hes afraid of / scared of / frightened of flying in small planes.
Hes a strict teacher. Everyone seems to be afraid of / scared of him.
All three can be followed by the to + infinitive pattern:
She seemed too scared to swim where there were such big waves.
After such an experience shes afraid to go anywhere near the sea.
I was too frightened to jump in at the deep end of the pool.
We can be scared by or frightened by something. We cannot use afraid in this way:
She was scared by the hooting of the owl.
They were frightened / terrified by the gunfire and the breaking of glass.
Note that terrified expresses a stronger degree of fear.
Shes terrified of / by large dogs and wont go near them.
afraid / scared / frightened - position in clause
Note that afraid is one of those adjectives that cannot normally be used before a noun, but instead is used after
a verb. Scared and frightened can be used in both positions:
He seemed afraid. He appeared frightened.
He was, without doubt, a frightened man.
Im afraid I / we / he / etc
Im afraid is also used in another way, meaning: I regret that I have to tell you that. It is used to
introduce bad news in a gentle or polite way:
Im afraid theres been an accident at the crossroads. Your sons been knocked over on his bike.
Im afraid we shant be able to come on the skiing trip with you. Johns got to work.
Hes done very little work, Im afraid. Hell have to repeat the course.
Im afraid so. / Im afraid not.
We can use these forms as short answers to confirm bad news:
Will I really have to repeat the course next year? ~ Im afraid so.
Cant you really come on the skiing trip with us? ~ Im afraid not.
frightened / frightening
As a general rule, adjectives ending in -ed are used to describe how people feel. Adjectives ending in -ing describe
the things or situations that give rise to these feelings. So, remember, frightened describes how you feel.
Frightening describes the things that make you feel frightened:

She looked very frightened when I told her she would lose her job.
It was one of the most frightening films I had ever seen.
Its frightening to think that they are capable of producing nuclear weapons.
terrified / terrifying
Similarly, terrified describes you feel. Terrifying describes the things that make you feel terrified. Terrified and
terrifying express a higher degree of anxiety or worry than frightened and frightening:
I was so much in debt. I was terrified I would lose my job when the restructuring was announced.
It was a terrifying experience. I doubt he will ever recover from it.
scared / scary
Scary is the adjective relating to things or situations; scared the adjective relating to how people feel. Scary
and frightening express similar levels of fear or worry:
Being alone in a cave with five thousand bats was scary.
I felt scared when night fell and I was nowhere near human habitation.

take care / take a look: verb + noun collocations with take

Maria asks: Please can you give me some information about collocations, especially about verb + noun collocations
with take? Thanks a lot.
Collocations are words that habitually or typically occur together. There are verb + adverb collocations like wave
frantically (not wave hecticly). There are adjective + noun collocations like regular exercise (not steady exercise).
There are adverb + adjective collocations like completely or wholly satisfied (not utterly satisfied). And there
are verb + noun or verb + object collocations like follow someone's example (not pursue someone's example).
take
Take is one of the most commonly used verbs in the English language whose basic meaning is to move something
or somebody from one place to another, e.g:
I took him to the hospital because he was having difficulty breathing.
Take plenty of warm sweaters. It will be cold in Scotland.
There are a large number of take + noun collocations of which I include a selection of the most common below.
Note how much of the original meaning of take is retained in these examples.
The first five are relatively easy to understand:
take a walk / a bus / a train
take a minute / a while / ten minutes
take exercise
take an interest in
take a photo
I'm not ready yet. Why don't you take a walk round the park?
It's essential for your health to take regular exercise.
I took 300 photographs when I was on holiday in Patagonia.
Since Sharapova won Wimbledon my son has taken an interest in tennis.
Aren't you finished yet? ~ No, it will take me a while, I'm afraid
The middle five are a bit more difficult so an explanation of the meaning is given after each example:
take steps / measures / action
take advice
take offence
take cover
take pity
If you take my advice, you'll stop seeing him.
We should take steps to ensure that no more money is lost on this venture.
There's no need to take offence. I was only joking!
They were firing over our heads, so we had to take cover.
She took pity on the stray dog and be became a family pet.

take steps, measures, etc: perform an action in order to achieve something

take advice: follow someone's guidance (on how best to achieve something)
take offence: feel upset because of something someone has said or done
take cover: hide of shelter from e.g bad weather or gunfire
take pity: show sympathy for someone because they are in a bad situation.
The final five are most difficult as they are idioms whose original meaning has been lost (but which is explained in
the notes below):
take the mickey out of someone
take the axe to something
take a raincheck
take heart
take one's breath away
Stop taking the mickey. I'm fed up with being the butt of your jokes.
Can you manage Friday? ~ I'll have to take a raincheck on that, I'm afraid.
The way she played Lady Macbeth was so compelling it took my breath away.
Try to take heart from the fact that he's no longer in pain.
The company took the axe to senior management and abolished five posts.
take the mickey out of someone: to tease. Mickey represents Mickey Bliss, Cockney rhyming slang for piss. The
expression then is a euphemism for take the piss.
take the axe to something: make drastic cuts, particularly in workforce
take a raincheck: politely decline an offer whilst implying that you may take it up later. A rainckeck was originally
a voucher used in the US entitling one to see another baseball game if the original one was rained off.
take heart: take courage In former times, moral courage was supposed to come from the heart and physical
courage from the stomach.
take one's breath away: be so surprised by something that it makes you hold your breath
Ones that we have not worked on include:
take a seat
take a bath / shower
take care
take a look
take milk / sugar in tea / coffee
take a break
take somebody's word for something
take your temperature
take a risk
take the credit
take responsibility
take the weight off ones feet
take a dim view of something
take ones hat off to someone
take a page out of someone's book
take a leak
take stock
that takes the biscuit!
Check them out in a good dictionary, if the meaning is not clear. Start with the most commonly used ones which I
have listed first.

faults, flaws, weaknesses and drawbacks

Could you help me to work out the differences in use between the following words: faults, flaws, weaknesses and
drawbacks? Are they interchangeable when talking about someones character?
Of these four synonyms, or expressions with similar meanings, fault is probably the most widely term used.
Faults

Fault is not so much used to talk about someones character, Helen. Instead we talk about electrical, mechanical
or technical faults:
There was a fault in the wiring and I had no idea how to correct it.
There was a delay in the broadcast of the programme and this was due to a technical fault.
A mechanical fault caused the train to come off the rails.
A fault then describes a weakness in something, primarily. But sometimes it is used to describe a weakness in
someones character:
She has her faults, but, on the whole, shes a nice person.
We all have our own faults, I suppose.
We also have the frequently used expression: Its (not) my/your/his/etc fault. This is a more idiomatic way of
saying: I am (not) to blame or I am (not) responsible (for this unfortunate situation).
Its not my fault hes late. Dont blame me.
Im sorry. Its my fault. I forgot to pass on the message.
If you dont get enough sleep, its entirely your own fault.
It was partly the teachers fault for giving them too much homework.
Flaws
We use flaw mainly to talk about a minor fault or weakness in something which make it less effective or valuable.
We talk about flawed arguments for example. Note also a flawless complexion:
Theres a flaw in your argument. I agree with you up to a point, but the last part doesnt make complete sense to
me.
There was a tiny flaw in the necklace and it certainly wasnt worth all the money we had paid for it.
She attributed her flawless complexion to the moisturising creams she used.
However, we can also talk about serious or major flaws:
There are major flaws in the way we train teachers in this country.
There were serious flaws in the construction of the pedestrian bridge.
And, yes, we can also use flaw to describe a fault in someones character:
The only flaw in his character was his short temper he tended to fly off the handle at the slightest provocation.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses generally describe the state or condition of being weak and of lacking strength or resilience.
The main weakness of this government is that it keeps changing direction on key policy issues.
He showed great weakness in not owning up to his part in the bad behaviour.
Weaknesses can also refer to faults or problems that make something less attractive or effective:
They were keen to know how well it would sell in Russia so they listed all the strengths and weaknesses of their
product for this market.
The only weakness in her character that I could spot was that she seemed to be over-dependent on others.
Note that if you have a weakness for something, you are very fond of it:
I have a great weakness for chocolate. I can never refuse it.
Drawbacks
We use drawback to refer to a feature of something which makes it less useful or acceptable than it could be.
Drawback is often synonymous with disadvantage, but note that drawforward does not exist as an alternative
to advantage!
The only drawback / disadvantage with this accommodation is that its a fifteen-minute walk to the bus-stop.
The main drawback of this examination is that it takes two months before the results are released.
So, Helen, from the shades of meaning inherent in all four of these terms, note that we can refer to faults, flaws
and weaknesses in someones character, but we are less likely to talk about drawbacks in someones character.