Commonly Confused Words: Part Two

 

 

Commonly Confused Words: Part Two

From VOA Learning¹ English, this is Everyday Grammar.

This week, we continue explaining commonly confused words in the English language.

Ashley: That reminds me…Adam, do you still have my grammar book that I let you borrow last week?

Adam: No, I lied the book down on your desk yesterday.

Ashley:  You mean, you laid the book on my desk yesterday.

Adam: Lie, lay, laid, lied…what’s the difference? 

Ashley: That’s a hard question to answer. Both words have several definitions³. But an easy way to remember the difference is this: “Lay” is a transitive verb. That means it requires an object in the sentence. “Lie” is an intransitive verb. That means it does not require an object.  You said you put the book on my desk. “Book” is the object of the sentence, so you need the transitive verb “lay.”

Adam: I think I get it now. That seems easy enough.

Ashley: Well, the difference between these two words is a little more complex than that. Let’s keep going.

Lay and lie  Lay means “to put or set something down in a flat position.” The past tense of lay is laid.Sometimes, it is used with the word “down.” For example, “He laid the newspaper down on the table.” Or, “The mother laid the baby down for a nap4.” Notice there is an object in each sentence: “newspaper” in the first, and “baby” in the second. The verb lie has several meanings. It can mean “to be in a flat position on a surface,” such as a bed. With this definition2, it is also sometimes used with the word “down.” For example, “The doctor told him to lie down on the examination5 table.” Remember, lie is an intransitive verb. The subject is doing the action, not an object. To make these two words even more confusing, the past tense of lie is lay [L-A-Y]. For example, “Last night, she lay in bed unable to fall asleep.” In this example, even native English speakers might use the past tense of lay, which is laid. Listen to this famous song by Simon and Garfunkel. In this example, they are using the transitive verb lay followed by the direct object me. Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down    present  past  past participle  transitive  Lay The chicken lays eggs.  Laid The workers laid the foundation6 for new school.  Laid He has already laid his cards on the table.  intransitive  Lie Don’t lie on the grass.  Lay She lay on the bed.  Lain The food had lain on the counter for too long.    Affect and Effect   These next commonly confused words sound - and look - almost the same: affect and effect. But the one-letter difference changes a lot.   Let’s start with effect [E-F-F-E-C-T]. Effect can act as a noun7 or, in rare cases, a verb. As a noun,effect means “a change that results when something happens.” For example, “The Chinese economy has an effect on global markets.”   Affect [A-F-F-E-C-T] is usually used as a verb. Affect means “to influence.” In other words, affectmeans “to have an effect” on something or someone. For instance8, “The Chinese economy affectsglobal markets.”   Affect [A-F-F-E-C-T] can also be a noun -- but it is much less common. As a noun, affect is “an emotion or desire that influences behavior.”   As mentioned before, effect can also be used as a verb. Used a verb, effect has a similar meaning to affect. It means “to cause something or make something happen.” For example, “President Obama has tried to effect a change in the country’s health care policy.” Again, effect is rarely used as a verb.   If you are confused, just remember this: effect is usually a noun, and affect is usually a verb.    noun  verb    Effect   The law had no effect. a change   The president used his power to effect change. (rare) to cause    Affect   She took the bad news with little affect. (rare) an emotion or desire that influences behavior   The Chinese economy affects global markets. To influence   Than and Then   Finally, we have than and then.   Than [T-H-A-N] is both a preposition9 and conjunction10. It is used when comparing things. For example, “I am taller than my sister.” Or, “Canada is larger than Mexico.”   Then is most often used an adverb. It can mean “at that time.” It can also be used when describing what happens next. For example, “I fed my dog, and then I walked my dog.”   You can also use then when describing something that must be true if something else is true. We call this an “if/then statement.” For example, “If it is raining, then the concert will be canceled.”   And that’s Everyday Grammar for this week. Join us again next week as we take a look at more examples of commonly confused words!

 

 

 

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 definition   

n.定义；限定，确定；清晰度

参考例句：

• The book attempts a definition of his role in world politics.该书要阐明的是他在世界政局中的作用。
• I made a definition for this word.我给这个字下了定义。

3 definitions   

定义( definition的名词复数 )； 规定； 清晰（度）； 解释

参考例句：

• Write clear definitions in order to avoid ambiguity. 释义要写清楚以免产生歧义。
• Definitions in this dictionary are printed in roman type. 这本词典里的释义是用罗马体印刷的。

4 nap   

n.(白天)打瞌睡，打盹

参考例句：

• The nap of the coat has been worn off.外衣上的绒毛已经磨掉了。
• Don't bother me while I am taking my nap.我小睡的时候不要打扰我。

5 examination   

n.考试，考查，试题；检查，调查

参考例句：

• Teachers always judge their students on the final examination.老师常根据期末考试来评价他们的学生。
• He put up a good show in the final examination.他在期末考试中表现得不错。

6 foundation   

n.[pl.]地基；基础；基金会；建立，创办

参考例句：

• The foundation of the university took place 600 years ago.这所大学是600年前创办的。
• The Foundation gives money to help artists.那家基金会捐款帮助艺术家。

7 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

8 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

9 preposition   

n.介词

参考例句：

• You should cancel this preposition in the sentence.你应该删去句子中的这个介词。
• We use different preposition to talk about time,days,months and seasons.我们用不动的介词来谈论时间，日，月和季节等。

10 conjunction   

n.联合，连接，接合；连接词

参考例句：

• Two or more sentences may be joined together by a conjunction.两个或两个以上的句子可以用连词连接。
• The conjunction of heavy rains and high winds caused flooding.暴风雨的同时发生引起了洪水泛滥。