CONFUSING WORDS
Words are neither
effective nor ineffective; they just impart different meanings to the sentences
in which they are used. It is the writer's effective use of words and phrases
that makes sentences effective or ineffective.
The English language
is made up of nearly a million words and phrases. A writer, especially one
whose English is not his or her first language, may face two major problems in
writing: not knowing "enough" words; and not knowing how to choose
the "right" words.
Writing is made up of
words. Effective writing requires having a good stock of vocabulary, as well as
selecting the most suitable words and phrases to express the intended ideas.
There are many English
words and phrases that are frequently confused and misused by ESL learners.
This book provides hundreds of those words and phrases with examples to show
how they should be used correctly.
Right / Rightly
e.g. Do it right now.
e.g. Do it right away.
e.g. I rightly canceled the
trip.
e.g. We refused the
offer, and rightly so.
Recourse / Resort
Recourse means turning
to others or something for help; resort means
to turn to for help (both noun and verb).
e.g. His only recourse was the police.
e.g. The police
should not resort to
violence to stop the peaceful demonstration.
e.g. The army
decided using violence as the last resort.
Circumspect / Circumstantial
Circumspect means being careful
and cautious of behavior; circumstantial means
giving full details.
e.g. You have to be
very circumspect when
you meet the Governor.
e.g. The prosecutor
is looking at the police’s circumstantial report.
Refrain / sustain
Refrain means to hold back; sustain means to hold up.
e.g. Everybody is asleep; you have to refrain from making any noise here.
e.g. Everybody is asleep; you have to refrain from making any noise here.
e.g. Can you sustain the silence?
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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