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Word of the Day

UK

/ˌɒk.sɪˈmɔː.rɒn/

US

/ˌɑːk.sɪˈmɔːr.ɑːn/

two words or phrases used together that have, or seem to have, opposite meanings

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Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2024

November 20, 2024

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November 18, 2024

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Adjectives and adverbs Easily confused words Nouns, pronouns and determiners Prepositions and particles Using English Verbs Words, sentences and clauses

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Contents

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives

Adjectives Adjectives: forms Adjectives: order

Adjective phrases

Adjective phrases: functions Adjective phrases: position Adjectives and adjective phrases: typical errors

Comparative and superlative adjectives

Comparison: adjectives (bigger, biggest, more interesting) Comparison: clauses (bigger than we had imagined) Comparison: comparisons of equality (as tall as his father) As … as

Adverbs

Adverbs Adverb phrases Adverbs and adverb phrases: position Adverbs and adverb phrases: typical errors Adverbs: forms Adverbs: functions Adverbs: types Comparison: adverbs (worse, more easily)

Degree adverbs

Fairly Intensifiers (very, at all) Largely Much, a lot, lots, a good deal: adverbs Pretty Quite Rather Really Scarcely Very

Time adverbs

About Ago Already Always Early Ever Hardly ever, rarely, scarcely, seldom Next No longer, not any longer No more, not any more Now Often Once Soon Still Then Usually Eventually

Adverbs as discourse markers (anyway, finally) Adverbs as short responses (definitely, certainly)

Using adjectives and adverbs

Afraid Alike Hard Long Only Same, similar, identical Likely and unlikely As well (as) Even Hardly Hopefully Surely Too Ultimately

Easily confused words

Above or over? Across, over or through? Advice or advise? Affect or effect? All or every? All or whole? Allow, permit or let? Almost or nearly? Alone, lonely, or lonesome? Along or alongside? Already, still or yet? Also, as well or too? Alternate(ly), alternative(ly) Although or though? Altogether or all together? Amount of, number of or quantity of? Any more or anymore? Anyone, anybody or anything? Apart from or except for? Arise or rise? Around or round? Arouse or rouse? As or like? As, because or since? As, when or while? Been or gone? Begin or start? Beside or besides? Between or among? Born or borne? Bring, take and fetch Can, could or may? Classic or classical? Come or go? Consider or regard? Consist, comprise or compose? Content or contents? Different from, different to or different than? Do or make? Down, downwards or downward? During or for? Each or every? East or eastern; north or northern? Economic or economical? Efficient or effective? Elder, eldest or older, oldest? End or finish? Especially or specially? Except or except for? Expect, hope or wait? Experience or experiment? Fall or fall down? Far or a long way? Farther, farthest or further, furthest? Fast, quick or quickly? Fell or felt? Female or feminine; male or masculine? Finally, at last, lastly or in the end? First, firstly or at first? Fit or suit? Following or the following? For or since? Forget or leave? Full or filled? Fun or funny? Get or go? Grateful or thankful? Hear or listen (to)? High or tall? Historic or historical? House or home? How is …? or What is … like? If or when? If or whether? Ill or sick? Imply or infer? In the way or on the way? It’s or its? Late or lately? Lay or lie? Lend or borrow? Less or fewer? Look at, see or watch? Low or short? Man, mankind or people? Maybe or may be? Maybe or perhaps? Nearest or next? Never or not … ever? Nice or sympathetic? No doubt or without doubt? No or not? Nowadays, these days or today? Open or opened? Opportunity or possibility? Opposite or in front of? Other, others, the other or another? Out or out of? Permit or permission? Person, persons or people? Pick or pick up? Play or game? Politics, political, politician or policy? Price or prize? Principal or principle? Quiet or quite? Raise or rise? Remember or remind? Right or rightly? Rob or steal? Say or tell? So that or in order that? Sometimes or sometime? Sound or noise? Speak or talk? Such or so? There, their or they’re? Towards or toward? Wait or wait for? Wake, wake up or awaken? Worth or worthwhile?

Nouns, pronouns and determiners

Determiners

A/an and the Determiners (the, my, some, this) Determiners and types of noun Determiners: position and order Determiners: typical errors Determiners used as pronouns Every Possession (John’s car, a friend of mine) Such This, that, these, those Whole

Nouns

Nouns Nouns: form Nouns and prepositions Nouns: compound nouns Nouns: countable and uncountable Nouns: forming nouns from other words Nouns: singular and plural

Uncountable nouns

Accommodation Equipment Furniture Information Luck and lucky News Progress Weather

Noun phrases

Noun phrases: dependent words Noun phrases: order Noun phrases: uses Noun phrases: noun phrases and verbs Noun phrases: two noun phrases together

Pronouns

Pronouns Each other, one another Everyone, everybody, everything, everywhere It Gender No one, nobody, nothing, nowhere One One and one’s Pronouns: personal (I, me, you, him, it, they, etc.) Pronouns: possessive (my, mine, your, yours, etc.) Pronouns: reflexive (myself, themselves, etc.) Pronouns: indefinite (-body, -one, -thing, -where) Pronouns: one, you, we, they Relative pronouns Questions: interrogative pronouns (what, who) Someone, somebody, something, somewhere That

Quantifiers

A bit All Any Both Either Enough Least, the least, at least Less Little, a little, few, a few Lots, a lot, plenty Many More Most, the most, mostly Much, many, a lot of, lots of: quantifiers No, none and none of Plenty Some Some and any

Question words

How What When Where Which Who, whom Whose Why

Using nouns

Piece words and group words Comparison: nouns (more money, the most points) Nouns and gender Reported speech: reporting nouns Age Half Holiday and holidays Mind Opinion Promise Reason Sort, type and kind Thing and stuff View Way Work (noun)

Prepositions and particles

Using English

Functions

Commands and instructions Commentaries Invitations Offers Requests Greetings and farewells: hello, goodbye, Happy New Year Suggestions Telephoning Warnings

Numbers

Dates Measurements Number Time

People and places

Geographical places Names and titles: addressing people Nationalities, languages, countries and regions Place names

Place and movement

Abroad Away and away from Back Inside Nearby Outside Up

Politeness

Reported speech

Reported speech Reported speech: direct speech Reported speech: indirect speech

Sexist language

Spoken English

Types of English

British and American English Dialect Double negatives and usage Formal and informal language Newspaper headlines Register Slang Standard and non-standard language Swearing and taboo expressions

Useful phrases

According to Actual and actually Approximations (around four o’clock) At all Else Hear that, see that However, whatever, whichever, whenever, wherever, whoever It’s time May as well and might as well More or less Of course Point of view

Writing

Apostrophe (’) Apposition Contractions Contrasts Detached impersonal style Internet discourse and text messages It, this and that in paragraphs Paragraphs Punctuation Speech into writing Spelling Such as

Verbs

Tenses and time

Past

Past simple (I worked) Past continuous (I was working) Past continuous or past simple? Past simple or present perfect? Used to Past perfect simple (I had worked) Past perfect continuous (I had been working) Past perfect simple or past perfect continuous? Past perfect simple or past simple? Past verb forms referring to the present Past: typical errors

Present

Present continuous (I am working) Present perfect continuous (I have been working) Present perfect simple (I have worked) Present perfect simple or present perfect continuous? Present perfect: typical errors Present simple (I work) Present simple or present continuous? Present: typical errors Present verb forms referring to the past

Future

Future: will and shall Future: be going to (I am going to work) Future: other expressions to talk about the future Future continuous (I will be working) Future in the past Future perfect continuous (I will have been working here ten years) Future perfect simple (I will have worked eight hours) Future: present continuous to talk about the future (I’m working tomorrow) Future: present simple to talk about the future (I work tomorrow) Future: typical errors Going to

Verb forms

Finite and non-finite verbs Imperative clauses (Be quiet!) Infinitives with and without to Infinitive: active or passive? Perfect infinitive with to (to have worked) Verbs: basic forms Verbs: formation

Verb patterns

Hate, like, love and prefer Hear, see, etc. + object + infinitive or -ing Help somebody (to) do Look forward to Stop + -ing form or to-infinitive Verb patterns: verb + infinitive or verb + -ing? Verb patterns: verb + that-clause Verb patterns: with and without objects Would like Would rather, would sooner

Phrasal verbs and multi-word verbs

Passive voice

Get passive Have something done Passive: forms Passives with and without an agent Passive: uses Passive: other forms Passive: typical errors

Modal verbs and modality

Can Could Could, may and might Dare Had better May Might Modality: forms Modality: meanings and uses Modality: tense Modality: other verbs Modality: other modal words and expressions Must Need Ought to Shall Should Will Would

Conditionals and wishes

Conditionals Conditionals: if Conditionals: other expressions (unless, should, as long as) Conditionals: typical errors If only In case (of) Suppose, supposing and what if Wish

Using verbs

Table of irregular verbs

Words, sentences and clauses

Word classes and phrase classes

Word formation

Word formation Prefixes Suffixes Compounds Abbreviations, initials and acronyms -ish and -y Diminutives (-let, -y and mini-) Hyphens

Word order and focus

Word order and focus Word order: structures Cleft sentences (It was in June we got married.) Fronting Inversion No sooner Not only … but also

Conjunctions and linking words

Clauses and sentences

Adjuncts Clauses Clauses: finite and non-finite Clause types Complements Dummy subjects Exclamations Heads Objects Sentences Subjects Subject complements Subject–verb agreement

Relative clauses

Relative clauses Relative clauses referring to a whole sentence Relative clauses: defining and non-defining Relative clauses: typical errors

Negation

Negation

Neither, neither … nor and not … either Not

Neither, neither … nor and not … either Not Forming negative statements, questions and imperatives Negation: two negatives Negative clauses with any, anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere Negation in non-finite clauses Negative prefixes and suffixes Negative adverbs: hardly, seldom, etc. Negation: emphasising Negation of think, believe, suppose, hope

Questions

Questions: alternative questions (Is it black or grey?) Questions: statement questions (you’re over 18?) Questions: two-step questions Questions: typical errors Questions: wh-questions Questions: yes-no questions (Are you feeling cold?) Questions: follow-up questions Questions: echo and checking questions Questions: short forms

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