Word Usage

Word of the Day: Idiosyncrasy

Where or Whence

Elude vs. Allude vs. Illude

Misfeasance or Malfeasance

Prevaricate or Procrastinate

Between or Among

recommend & suggest

• recommend you to do or recommend you do?
• suggest you for something or suggest you do?

See ldoceonline: recommend, stackexchange, ldoceonline: suggest.

• I recommend that you define those parameters beforehand my recommendation (to you) is that those parameters should be defined beforehand.
• I recommend you to define those parameters beforehand my recommendation (to some other currently unspecified person) is that you are the person best-suited to the task of defining those parameters beforehand.

The verb recommend always takes either a noun object or a subordinate clause as a complement, never an infinitive.

See The Subjunctive and Should in that-clauses.

work or job — [1]

A job is a regular and official activity that you do, and receive money (a salary) for your activity. It is also called a profession or an occupation. You can have a full-time job (40 hours per week) or a part-time job (around 25 hours per week).

To find a job, you can check the job listings online or in the newspaper. The process of trying to get a specific job — when you send your resume or CV to a company — is called applying for a job.

Unlike work, job is a countable noun:

• Right after graduating from college, I worked two jobs so that I could pay off my student loans faster.

The word work is more general than job — whereas job is a specific occupation/profession, work refers to general efforts and activities done to accomplish a goal. Work can be done both inside an official job and outside a job!

• You can say you work at / for (a company): “I work at General Motors.”
• You can say you’re working on (a project / task): “I’m working on a market analysis” or “I’m working on improving customer satisfaction.”

The word work also refers to the context of your place of employment:

• I start work at 7 AM.
• I finish / leave work at 4:30.
• We go to work by car.
• I went to the bar with some friends from work.
• I can’t access Facebook when I’m at work

error or mistake — [1]

There is some overlap in these terms, which both refer to a “wrong” action. But there are also significant differences in usage and connotation.

A mistake, generally speaking, is a choice that turns out to be wrong. It could be something you decide to do on your own initiative that you later regret:

• You’re making a mistake — you’ll regret this!
• Coming here was a mistake — this trip has been a waste of my time.

… or a misidentification or miscalculation where a wrong answer is produced:

• I thought it was her, but I was mistaken.
• That can’t be his fingerprints, the computer must have made a mistake!

A mistake is wrong because the outcome is found to be wrong. Mistakes are made when a free choice is made, and later called mistakes when they score badly in the context of the goal of determining a particular answer, or else they simply turn out to be bad choices in some later assessment.

Errors, on the other hand, are made with reference to some ideal code, model, or set of rules that would have dictated a different action. The action was wrong because it was different from the “right” or normal one under the circumstances.

In sports, particular rules violations are errors. A mistake would be the coach or the referee making a poor strategic decision or a wrong call.

bad or badly — [1]

And other adverbs that can be flat (with -ly and without -ly, chaning meaning) — see the link above.

happen to or happen with — [1]

What happened to you means what affected you, what event had impact on you.

• A: You’re really late. And you’re limping. What happened to you?
• B: I fell on my way here and sprained my ankle. But, I wouldn’t let that stop me from meeting you. I came anyway, late or not.

What happened with you means what’s going on with you, what’s up with you.

• A: You were really ugly at the meeting today. What happened with you?
• B: Ugly? I guess I’m just tired of having all the work dropped on me. One of these days, I’m just going to quit.

know about or know of — [1], [2]

• know of = heard of
• know about = know and understand a lot

I would use the expression “I know Smith” if I have had personal experiences with the person.

know about means that I have heard many things about this person, or have researched him (such as if I were to say “I know about Einstein, he invented general relativity”):

• I know about tensor calculus I have learned this subject and can do the calculations

know of suggests that I have merely heard of this person in passing, or have a very limited knowledge of this person (such as if I were to say “I know of Madame Curie”, the emphasis being on the word of, and usually as a reply to someone asking “Have you heard of Madame Curie?”):

• I know of tensor calculus I have heard the name, but that is about all I know

my friend or a friend of mine — [1]

• my friend denotes some specific friend (the friend, my == the).
• Whereas, a friend of mine denotes some friend (one of).

on the contrary or in contrast — [1]

On the contrary is used to show that one idea/statement is wrong, whereas another one is right, according to speaker’s point of view (speaker’s point of view does exist):

• Some people think that capital punishment is a deterrent. On the contrary, it is no such thing, as the experience of many countries has shown.
• Your friend tells you she is moving to New York and you express surprise because you thought she hated big cities. She replies, “On the contrary, I’ve always wanted to live in an urban area.”

In contrast is used to show differences between two ideas/statements. Speaker does not interpret one of them as wrong and another one as right (both of them could be true or false, it just does not matter):

• The music of Wagner and Mahler calls for large orchestras. In contrast, the music of a composer like Mozart can be performed with a relatively small number of musicians.
• In New York, you don’t need a car. In Los Angeles, in contrast, you can’t really get along without one, though you won’t need a snow shovel.

Here’s a simple test: if you could possibly substitute that’s wrong the phrase you want is on the contrary (or to the contrary). If not, then use in contrast.

how do you call or what do you call — [1]

It is not natural English to say “How do you call it?” to mean “What is the English word for that?” The only situation I could imagine in which “how do you call it?” is correct is if you are asking for information about the correct manner of summoning (or “calling”) something.

• How do you say/pronounce ‘Extraordinary’? Asking about a sound or a method of speech
• What do you call him? Asking about an object or person

speak in English or speak English — [1]

• speak English refers to an ability.
• speak in English refers to a language choice.

Examples:

• Do you speak English? Do you know English well enough to use it verbally?
• Could you speak in English? I'd like to request that you speak English instead of some other language.

Prepositions — [1], [2]

• She is afraid of speaking in public.
• Norma is anxious about making the presentation. (anxiety about + Ving)
• I am bored of doing the same old job.
• He is capable of winning a gold medal.
• Nancy was concerned about being late.
• Tim is content with winning second place.
• Fiona was disappointed with coming in third place.
• He was discouraged by not getting the job.
• The researcher was excited about going to Africa.
• That actor is famous for being extremely weird.
• She is fond of having picnics. (fondness for + Ving)
• She is frightened of being alone at night.
• The banker was guilty of stealing money.
• He was happy about winning the lottery.
• She is interested in becoming a doctor. (interest in + Ving)
• He was involved in making the movie.
• She was known for causing problems.
• He was proud of having completed the marathon.
• She is remembered for protecting mountain gorillas.
• He is responsible for causing the damage. (responsibility for + Ving)
• Tina is scared of being alone at night.
• The surfer is terrified of being attacked by a shark.
• She is tired from working all day.
• Margaret is tired of making dinner every night.
• The hikers were worried about not having enough water.
• He has the advantage of speaking English fluently.
• His belief in not harming animals was something he learned from his mother.
• She took credit for improving the filing system.
• The delay in processing the visa caused problems.
• The disadvantage of flying is that you can’t see the scenery along the way.
• She has a great deal of experience in introducing new products to international markets.
• His fear of flying made travel difficult.
• His habit of smoking in restaurants caused many problems in California.
• Her knowledge of climbing helped her during the competition.
• His love of singing developed when he was a child.
• Their memories of traveling in Africa will stay with them forever.
• I think his preference for speaking his native language is natural.
• The criminal’s regret for committing the crime did not convince the judge.
• The process of painting such a large mural is more complicated than you might think.
• The main reason for taking the course is to improve your language skills.
• The magazine’s report on choosing the right car was not well researched.
• Her reputation for lying is well known.
• I don’t know if I believe his story about seeing a UFO.
• His talent for learning languages was impressive.
• ask a favour of my parents
• work hard at
• He was totally focused on winning.
• get better at
• have the opportunity to do something
• practise something
• Bloggers pay attention to what is going on in the world.
• He is waiting for her girlfriend.
• She has a talent for finding a bargain.
• He has an aptitude for maths.
• The film picks up on the difficulties people experienced during the war.
• I am useless at ball sport.
• I am hopeless at geography.
• He is gifted at painting.
• We pay for the pizza.
• He is an expert in Italian art.
• He has a lot of ability as a dancer.

to as preposition:

• I am looking forward to seeing you.
• I am used to waiting for buses.
• I am prone to leaving things until the last minute.
• After living in a house with a garden, it’s hard to adapt to living in a flat.
• A quarter of all workers admit to taking time off when they are not ill.
• No one owned up to breaking the window.
• People become so desperate to make contact with beasts and fowl that they resort to going on nature trails.
• She didn’t really take to studying English.
• When will you get around to mowing the grass?
• He is accustomed to having his own office. (addiction to + Ving)
• She is addicted to watching TV.
• She is committed to improving her English.
• The organization is dedicated to ending poverty. (dedication to + Ving)
• The money will be devoted to protecting the environment. (devotion to + Ving)
• They are opposed to building a new road in the park.
• His reaction to winning the prize was quite funny.
• I objected to having to rewrite the article.
• He confessed to having a secret admiration for his opponent.
• My parents had trouble adjusting to living in an apartment.
• He has clearly committed his government to continuing down the path of economic reform