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- 'ise' in British English - sympathise, criticise, and so on.
Luckily, my spell checker accepts both!
Equipment, utensil, tool and apparatus
What is the difference between 'equipment', 'utensil', 'tool' and 'apparatus'?
Thank you for these four items, Sam. They are clearly all from the same lexical field.
What you need to know is what restrictions are placed on their use.
Equipment usually describes (all) the necessary articles for a purpose. Thus you
would say:
" 'A lot of equipment was needed for this mountaineering (or camping)
expedition.'
Apparatus is similar in meaning to equipment, although it tends to relate to
particular contexts. Thus gymnastic apparatus refers to all the apparatus you
would expect to find in a gym. It tends to be used in scientific or technical contexts:
" 'The chemistry lab was full of the apparatus needed for a range of
experiments'.
119
For tools and utensils it is also very important to know which other words they
collocate with. For example, we talk about garden tools for a gardener and work
tools for a carpenter, but kitchen utensils for a housewife or house-husband.
'take'- expressions
Mirto F Santos from Brazil writes:
I don't quite understand the meaning of the expression take for granted. Can you
please help me?
Derek from Taiwan writes:
What does this expression mean: take it as it comes?
take something / someone for granted
There are two realisations of this expression, Mirto. In one of them when somebody
takes you for granted, they are befitting from your help, without acknowledging it:
" He just takes me for granted - never any thanks for all the things I do for
him.
If you take something for granted, you assume it will happen or is the case
without thinking about it:
" I took it for granted that I would give the opening address at the
conference.
" The things I take for granted in Madrid just do not apply to my life in
London.
take it as it comes
If you take things as they come, you take them in sequence or in order with no
need to prioritise:
" You're going to be very busy today - lots of customers. ~ Oh, that doesn't
bother us. We'll just take it as it comes.
take-expressions
We noted in another answer (to review that answer click here) that take is one of
the most frequently used verbs in the English language. Consequently, there are
more than fifty expressions in current use that incorporate the verb take. Here are
eight of the more opaque.
120
take it lying down - submit to insult without protesting, like a dog when cowed
" She's horrible to you all the time - don't just take it lying down!
take it on the chin - accept a difficult situation without complaining
" Her criticism was quite justified. He took it on the chin and apologised.
take it out on someone - work off frustration by being unpleasant to someone
" I know you've had a bad day at work, but don't take it out on me.
take one's breath away - stress that something is extremely beautiful
" When you get a first glimpse of the Niagara Falls, it takes your breath
away.
take one's hat off to - express admiration for someone's achievements.
" I take my hat off to the police for managing the protest without arresting
anyone.
take someone to the cleaners - deprive them of their money or possessions
" They took me to the cleaners. I went into the casino with £100 and came
out £1,000 in debt.
take someone for a ride - trick or deceive them, perhaps for financial gain
" He's taking you for a ride. Why did you lend him £100? You'll never get it
back.
something takes the biscuit - a stupidity that evokes surprise
" I didn't mind her borrowing my jeans, but stealing me underwear - well, that
just about takes the biscuit!
take multi-part verbs
Similarly, there are numerous multi-part verbs where take is combined with a
preposition and/or adverbial particle. Some of them have a literal meaning, like
take away or take off which are relatively easy to understand:
" Have you finished with that yet? ~ Yes, I have. Please take it away.
" I took off my dirty clothes and put them in the laundry basket.
Other examples have an idiomatic meaning where the meaning may not be clear
from an understanding of the individual words. These include:
take after - to resemble a family member in appearance, character or behaviour
121
" Sylvia has always been a worrier - she takes after her mother in that
respect.
take up an activity - become interested in it or start doing it.
" She took up line dancing after her husband died.
take up on - accept an offer OR challenge someone verbally
Can I take you up on that lift to Manchester? ~ Sure! No problem.
I'd like to take you up on that. I don't agree that cloning is inevitable.
take over - assume management, control or ownership
" It's possible that the supermarket chain Safeway will be taken over by
Sainsbury's.
Note that the verb needed for going past someone is overtake:
" He overtook me on the brow of the hill - really dangerous driving!
take to - develop a liking for someone or something
" He's taken to drinking heavily since his wife left him.
" Tommy has really taken to his new teacher and can't wait to get to school.
Expressing views and opinions
in my view / opinion
I think we would normally drop point of and simply say in his view (in my view /
in their opinion / etc):
" In my view, birds should not be kept in cages.
" How important is it, in your view, that the twins should stay together? ~ In
my opinion, it's very important.
If we want to use point of view, I think we would more often say from my point
of view rather than according to my point of view. Both these expressions
emphasise the position or angle you are judging the situation from:
" From my point of view it makes no difference whether you return on Saturday
night or Sunday morning.
" From a political point of view, the agreement of the UN is extremely
important.
122
" From the point of view of safety, always wear a helmet when you are on the
building site.
to my mind / etc
In my view, from my point of view, in my opinion are all fairly formal ways of
expressing your opinion characteristic of written English. Less formal equivalents
more characteristic of spoken English, include the following:
to my mind: to emphasise that this is your opinion
reckon: usually to express an opinion about what Is likely to happen
feel: to express a strong personal opinion
if you ask me: to express an opinion that may be critical
to be honest (with you): to express a critical opinion without seeming rude [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl chiara76.opx.pl
- 'ise' in British English - sympathise, criticise, and so on.
Luckily, my spell checker accepts both!
Equipment, utensil, tool and apparatus
What is the difference between 'equipment', 'utensil', 'tool' and 'apparatus'?
Thank you for these four items, Sam. They are clearly all from the same lexical field.
What you need to know is what restrictions are placed on their use.
Equipment usually describes (all) the necessary articles for a purpose. Thus you
would say:
" 'A lot of equipment was needed for this mountaineering (or camping)
expedition.'
Apparatus is similar in meaning to equipment, although it tends to relate to
particular contexts. Thus gymnastic apparatus refers to all the apparatus you
would expect to find in a gym. It tends to be used in scientific or technical contexts:
" 'The chemistry lab was full of the apparatus needed for a range of
experiments'.
119
For tools and utensils it is also very important to know which other words they
collocate with. For example, we talk about garden tools for a gardener and work
tools for a carpenter, but kitchen utensils for a housewife or house-husband.
'take'- expressions
Mirto F Santos from Brazil writes:
I don't quite understand the meaning of the expression take for granted. Can you
please help me?
Derek from Taiwan writes:
What does this expression mean: take it as it comes?
take something / someone for granted
There are two realisations of this expression, Mirto. In one of them when somebody
takes you for granted, they are befitting from your help, without acknowledging it:
" He just takes me for granted - never any thanks for all the things I do for
him.
If you take something for granted, you assume it will happen or is the case
without thinking about it:
" I took it for granted that I would give the opening address at the
conference.
" The things I take for granted in Madrid just do not apply to my life in
London.
take it as it comes
If you take things as they come, you take them in sequence or in order with no
need to prioritise:
" You're going to be very busy today - lots of customers. ~ Oh, that doesn't
bother us. We'll just take it as it comes.
take-expressions
We noted in another answer (to review that answer click here) that take is one of
the most frequently used verbs in the English language. Consequently, there are
more than fifty expressions in current use that incorporate the verb take. Here are
eight of the more opaque.
120
take it lying down - submit to insult without protesting, like a dog when cowed
" She's horrible to you all the time - don't just take it lying down!
take it on the chin - accept a difficult situation without complaining
" Her criticism was quite justified. He took it on the chin and apologised.
take it out on someone - work off frustration by being unpleasant to someone
" I know you've had a bad day at work, but don't take it out on me.
take one's breath away - stress that something is extremely beautiful
" When you get a first glimpse of the Niagara Falls, it takes your breath
away.
take one's hat off to - express admiration for someone's achievements.
" I take my hat off to the police for managing the protest without arresting
anyone.
take someone to the cleaners - deprive them of their money or possessions
" They took me to the cleaners. I went into the casino with £100 and came
out £1,000 in debt.
take someone for a ride - trick or deceive them, perhaps for financial gain
" He's taking you for a ride. Why did you lend him £100? You'll never get it
back.
something takes the biscuit - a stupidity that evokes surprise
" I didn't mind her borrowing my jeans, but stealing me underwear - well, that
just about takes the biscuit!
take multi-part verbs
Similarly, there are numerous multi-part verbs where take is combined with a
preposition and/or adverbial particle. Some of them have a literal meaning, like
take away or take off which are relatively easy to understand:
" Have you finished with that yet? ~ Yes, I have. Please take it away.
" I took off my dirty clothes and put them in the laundry basket.
Other examples have an idiomatic meaning where the meaning may not be clear
from an understanding of the individual words. These include:
take after - to resemble a family member in appearance, character or behaviour
121
" Sylvia has always been a worrier - she takes after her mother in that
respect.
take up an activity - become interested in it or start doing it.
" She took up line dancing after her husband died.
take up on - accept an offer OR challenge someone verbally
Can I take you up on that lift to Manchester? ~ Sure! No problem.
I'd like to take you up on that. I don't agree that cloning is inevitable.
take over - assume management, control or ownership
" It's possible that the supermarket chain Safeway will be taken over by
Sainsbury's.
Note that the verb needed for going past someone is overtake:
" He overtook me on the brow of the hill - really dangerous driving!
take to - develop a liking for someone or something
" He's taken to drinking heavily since his wife left him.
" Tommy has really taken to his new teacher and can't wait to get to school.
Expressing views and opinions
in my view / opinion
I think we would normally drop point of and simply say in his view (in my view /
in their opinion / etc):
" In my view, birds should not be kept in cages.
" How important is it, in your view, that the twins should stay together? ~ In
my opinion, it's very important.
If we want to use point of view, I think we would more often say from my point
of view rather than according to my point of view. Both these expressions
emphasise the position or angle you are judging the situation from:
" From my point of view it makes no difference whether you return on Saturday
night or Sunday morning.
" From a political point of view, the agreement of the UN is extremely
important.
122
" From the point of view of safety, always wear a helmet when you are on the
building site.
to my mind / etc
In my view, from my point of view, in my opinion are all fairly formal ways of
expressing your opinion characteristic of written English. Less formal equivalents
more characteristic of spoken English, include the following:
to my mind: to emphasise that this is your opinion
reckon: usually to express an opinion about what Is likely to happen
feel: to express a strong personal opinion
if you ask me: to express an opinion that may be critical
to be honest (with you): to express a critical opinion without seeming rude [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]