“Excellent in” or “excellent at”?
‘Excellent at’ is probably more common than ‘excellent in’: ‘She is excellent at English’. But ‘excellent in’ can often be used instead: ‘She is excellent in English’ is acceptable but doesn’t sound as good....
Category: Usage
The difference between “lodger” and “tenant”
A lodger is someone who pays rent to live in a room or rooms of a property in which the owner (or ‘landlord’) also lives. The lodger usually shares other space – such as...
“Reputation of” or “reputation for”?
‘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” or “disappointed in”?
‘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....
“Goods train” or “freight train”?
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’....
“Historical” or “historic”?
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” or “to set out”?
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” or “to approve”?
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” or “Excessively”?
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”.
“While” or “whilst”?
There is a great deal of discussion and even disagreement about these words. The safest approach is to always use “while”.