Helping English language learners
‘Reputation of’ and ‘reputation for’ are interchangeable. Sometimes ‘reputation for’ sounds better, particularly when ‘reputation’ is preceded by the indefinite article: ‘The company has a reputation for good service’ and ‘The company has a...
‘Disappointed with’ and ‘disappointed in’ are mostly interchangeable. ‘Disappointed in’ usually shows a greater level of disappointment. ‘I’m disappointed with this book’ means that it isn’t as good as I hoped it would be....
Historically ‘goods train’ in the UK and ‘freight train’ in the US. But nowadays ‘freight train’ is more common than ‘goods train’ in the UK. The railway authorities in the UK use ‘freight train’....
This causes a lot of confusion, even to native speakers of English. Basically: In British English: shedule – /ˈʃɛdjuːl/ In American English: skedule – /ˈskɛdʒuːl/ But many British people pronounce it the American way.
Historical is used to refer to things from or about the past. Historic is used to refer to things that are important or significant. ‘Any past event is historical, but only the most memorable...
To set off and to set out are often interchangeable: We set off on a journey We set out on a journey She set off across the river She set out across the river...
To approve of usually means to like something, to think something is good, and – perhaps – to recommend it. I approve of his shoes. I approve of this book. You ought to read...
Exceedingly and excessively are both adverbs. They have related but different meanings: Exceedingly means “very”. For example: “She wrote an exceedingly good essay”. Excessively means something like “too”: “The children were excessively noisy”.
A mother-in-law is the mother of someone’s wife or husband. So a father-in-law, son-in-law or daughter-in-law is the father, son or daughter of someone’s wife or husband. “Mother-in-law is an example of a “compound...
There is a great deal of discussion and even disagreement about these words. The safest approach is to always use “while”.