1. Occurred or happened
If
you say that something ‘occurred’ you mean that it happened:
The accident occurred whilst
passengers were waiting to board the plane.
But
if you say that something ‘occurred to you’ you mean that an idea came into
your mind:
Something suddenly occurred to me
while I was waiting for the plane.
Be
careful, therefore, no t to use this
expression if you mean that something happened which concerned you. Instead you
can say:
Something suddenly happened to me
whilst I was waiting for the plane.
2. On
Tuesday afternoon—in Tuesday afternoon
In
general we use ‘in’ with the word ‘afternoon’.
In the afternoon we went to a stadium
to see a match.
But
when afternoon is specified, we have to use ‘on’ with afternoon or any other
parts of a day.
I will phone you on Tuesday
afternoon.
Collect all stationery on the morning
of your exam.
3. Outset—onset
The
onset is a beginning/starting, especially of something unpleasant.
From the onset of a nasty cold, he
has been ill.
Outset
is a very beginning of an event.
I have been involved with the project
from the outset.
4. Party—person
One
of the meanings of the word ‘party’ is a political organization whose members
all have the same aims and beliefs, usually one that is trying to win elections
to parliament. There is another meaning which might cause confusion to
many.
The guilty party has promised to pay
Rs. 50, 000 in compensation.
(This is the person who has confessed his or her crime.)
A certain person told me that Binaya
voted for Subash Chandra Nembang.
5. Pass
an exam—pass in an exam
The
word ‘pass’ is a transitive verb. It always takes a direct object to make
complete sense. So the word ‘pass’ is not followed by a preposition. Many Nepalese
translate Nepali sentences into English without any modification. Consequently,
a common mistake is made.
Ma parikshyama pass bhaye. (‘ma’ a Nepali preposition)
Wrong I passed in an exam. (Because the word pass does not take
any prepositions.)
Right I
passed an exam.
6. Passage—aisle
Many
people are confused of these two words, who unknowingly misuse these words
while speaking and writing. The word ‘aisle’ means a passage between rows of
seats in a church, theatre, railway carriage, bus, aeroplane, etc. or between
rows of shelves in a shop or supermarket:
The bride and groom walked slowly
down the aisle (ie
after their wedding ceremony).
‘Passage’
or ‘passageway’ is a long, narrow space that connects one place to another:
There is a passage to the side of the
house, leading to the garden.
7. People—peoples
The
word ‘people’ itself indicates a plural noun or more than one person, however,
we can use write peoples as a plural form of people.
Our school employs over 200 people. (more than one person)
Europe is made up of man different
peoples. (all the
people of a race)
8. Plan—think
Do
you first think or plan? When you plan, you think and decide what you are going
to do or how you are going to do something in advance.
She is just planning her holidays.
When
you think, you consider an idea or a problem.
You should think about where you want
to live.
9. Practicable—practical
The
word ‘practicable’ means ‘that which appears to be capable of being put into
practice; that which appears to be capable of being done.’ For example,
Kalpana’s
plan, I feel certain, is practicable.
The
word ‘practical’ means that something is ‘known to be workable or effective.’
For example,
All
of the participants got some really practical advice.
The parliament believes that Amar’s
plan, which has never been tried in any form, is practicable. (not practical because the plan has
never been implemented)
Note:
The word ‘practicable’ is never applied to persons. Only the word ‘practical’
when applied to persons, means ‘realistic’, calculating’, interested in actual
conditions rather than in unknown or imaginary practices.’
10.
Read—study
When
you study, you engage in the activity of learning, especially by serious
reading.
Apekshya is in her bedroom, studying
for the upcoming exam.
But
when you read, you look at words that are written and say them aloud for other
people to listen to.
I always read my children stories at
bedtime.
Wrong Which
class do you read in? (because
you learn about subjects at school)
Right Which
class do you study in?
11.
Refuse—deny
These
two words mean ‘not to accept’ in general. Nevertheless, they have different
clear-cut meanings.
When
you refuse, you say that you will not do or accept something.
Messi refuses to admit that he was
interested in leaving Barcelona.
When
you deny, you say that something is not true, especially that you are accused
of.
Sampada denied killing her friend at
the party.
12.
Remember—memorize
Remembering
is not possible without memorizing. You memorize something well so that you can
remember it exactly.
Akhil has memorized all his friends’
birthdays.
If
you remember a fact or something from the past, you keep it in your mind, or
bring it back into your mind.
I cannot remember the name of the
film I saw last month with my wife.
13.
Rent—hire
In
UK English you rent something for a long period of time.
Sikha has rent a 2-bedroom flat.
You
hire something for a short period of time.
My family hired a car for the
weekend.
In
US English the word rent is used in both situations.
14.
Ride—drive
You
ride a bike, cycle, horse. (small means of transport). When you ride these
vehicles, you control them; you are no longer a passenger.
I always ride my bike to work.
She taught me to ride a horse.
You
drive large means of transport like a bus, car or truck. (You control them.)
But you ride a bus to work. (as a passenger in US English.)
15.
For sale—on sale
For
sale means ‘things offered to anyone anywhere who wants to buy them.
There are three houses for sale near
us.
On
sale means ‘things are in the shops for people to buy’.
The latest model of this video
recorder is now on sale in your high street.
16.
Scene—view
A
view is the whole area that you see from somewhere, for example when you look
out of a window or down from a hill and see a beautiful place.
Simla had a great view from her
window across the park.
A
scene is what you see in a place, especially when you are describing a place
where something unusual or shocking is happening:
Farsha described the horrific scenes
which followed the bombing.
17.
Search for someone—search someone
Many
of the students in Nepal use the latter one. If you search a place or person,
you are looking for something in that place or on that person.
The police searched the man (looked in his clothes or frisked) for some illegal things at the airport.
If
you search for something or someone, you are looking for that person or thing
because you have something to do with them.
I am searching for Chiranjibi sir. (I want to talk to him.)
Students
call their teachers by title plus their surnames in the UK. For example,
Mrs Tamang, Mr Limbu, etc.
18.
Sensible—sensitive
Both
the words are adjectives to describe how someone is. The adjective sensitive
tells others how easily you feel or experience something.
Sambhu is a very sensitive man and
gets upset easily.
Sensible
is related to making decisions based on reasons rather than feelings and
imagination.
It would be more sensible to leave
before the traffic gets bad.
19.
Shade—shadow
Shade
is the protection from the sun, a darker, cooler area behind something, example
a building or a tree.
I am hot. Let’s find some shade to
sit in.
A
shadow is the ‘picture’ made by something that blocks out light. Moreover, a
dark area on a surface caused by an object standing between direct light and
that surface:
In the evening your shadow is longer
than you are.
The shadows lengthen as the sun go
down.
20.
Shift—move
‘Shift’
is one of the most frequently used words by the Nepalese. These two words have
almost same meaning; therefore, Nepalese writers/speakers make a blunder.
Compare their meanings:
If
you shift something, you move that from one place to another. Moreover, we
shift something that is movable and small enough to be transported.
We need to shift all these boxes into
the other room.
If
you move, either you change your position or go to a different place to live or
work.
We moved into a new apartment at New
Baneshwor. (to
change the living place)
We moved the chairs to another room. (to change place or position)
Wrong Our
family have shifted to Biratnagar.
Right Our
family have moved to Biratnagar.
