Questions

[Amal-30]

1- What is the difference between "city"and "country"?

2- Why are there many different words in English have the same meanings, e.g., mistake - error - wrong - false,
right - correct - true ??

3- Where can I use "at" and "in"?

 

[TheParser]

1- What is the difference between "city"and "country"?

2- Why are there many different words in English have the same meanings, e.g., mistake - error - wrong - false,
right - correct - true ??

3- Where can I use "at" and "in"?

***NOT A TEACHER*** Lolo Katti, good afternoon. Some of the great teachers at this website will soon answer you. English is my only language, but I am ashamed that I know very little about its history. Maybe (only MAYBE) we have so many different words because English has borrowed words from so many other languages. I went to a good dictionary and discovered that (a) "mistake" comes from an old English word that comes from a Norse word ("Norse" = north = the area around Norway) that comes from an old French word/ "error" comes from an English word thst comes from a French word that comes from Latin/ "wrong" comes from an English word that comes from an old Norse word/ "false" comes from an English word that comes from an old French word. I think there are many books and articles on the Web that will give you the history of the English language and answer many of your questions. (P.S. I think if you type in "at" and "in" in the SEARCH box of this website, you will find many helpful articles.) Good luck.

 

[Mehrgan]

1- What is the difference between "city"and "country"?

2- Why are there many different words in English have the same meanings, e.g.,

mistake - error

- wrong - false,
right - correct - true ??

3- Where can I use "at" and "in"?

Hi,
Maybe this sound unrelated to the question. But, as far as I know, an Error is Different to a Mistake. In case of a "Mistake" we know the rules, but due to some reasons such as fatigue, forgetness, etc. we fail to use or obey the rule. An example might be the case with ESL students who despite knowing the rule for adding an "s" to the end of verbs for third person singular fail to use it with ease. However, in the case of "Errors" we don't know what the rule for doing Sth is. (not a teacher...)

 

[Anglika]

The wonderful variability of the language derives from the many sources for it - Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Jute, Danish, Latin, Greek, Old French. It allows us many synonyms and a richness of expression.

 

[Amal-30]

But words that have the same meaning make a learner confused.
I mean that I know what the word "right" means but don't know what the words "true" and "correct" mean, thinking that the word "right" is enough to know and use it, so when a person says the word "true" actually I will think of any meaning other than "right" and this is what happened to me with the words "fog" and "mist" in the exam at college.

 

[Mehrgan]

But words that have the same meaning make a learner confused.
I mean that I know what the word "right" means but don't know what the words "true" and "correct" mean, thinking that the word "right" is enough to know and use it, so when a person says the word "true" actually I will think of any meaning other than "right" and this is what happened to me with the words "fog" and "mist" in the exam at college.

Hi,
You can't sort it out unless you live in an English speaking country for a while, or pay enough attention to the collocations associating those words. That is, you gradually come to an unconscious understanding of which possible contexts they're used in. Parts of the elements comprising a word are determined by the contexts they're used in as well as the words associating them. (to start I'd suggest you should check items you find problematic in Oxford Collocations Dictionary.)

Not a teacher...just a suggestion...

 

[Linguist__]

2- Why are there many different words in English have the same meanings, e.g., mistake - error - wrong - false,
right - correct - true ??

(Not a teacher)

The first thing I was taught in linguistics class (semantics, specifically) - there's no such thing as a synonym.

That is, no two words mean exactly the same thing - in any language, English included. This is, of course, not including words like sidewalk vs. pavement as synonyms (which are still not really synonymous - the difference is one is American, the other isn't).

As Anglika said, the diversity of vocabulary is due to a diversity of influence. This can be both a help and a hinderance.

 

[Amal-30]

That is, no two words mean exactly the same thing - in any language, English included.

So, what is the difference between "flower" and "rose",
"fog" and "mist"?

 

[Raymott]

So, what is the difference between "flower" and "rose",
"fog" and "mist"?

I'll take the easy one.
A rose is a type of flower.
A rose is a member of Rosaceae Rosa genus, which is only one of many families and genuses of flowering plants.
Most flowers are not roses.
The following things, for example, are flowers, but not roses: lilies, tulips, daffodils, daisies, pansies, carnations, geraniums ...

A flower, on the other hand, is the reproductive unit of any flowering plant, and comes in a large variety of forms. The flower is the part of the plant which has petals (usually) and a stamen and pistil - the pollen-producing male component and the ovary.

Rose - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Amal-30]

Another new question is:

How can you differentiate between female names and male names in English and how can you pronounce them?

In my language we can differentiate between them easily and clearly from their names. There are special names for female and special names for male and those names can't be mixed at all.

But English names are difficult to pronounce and differentiate between them.

 

[Anglika]

The same is true for an English person meeting foreign names for the first time. How one earth can you tell, particularly in those countries where there appears little or no difference. For example, the Spanish name Xavier has no English equivalent and is incredibly difficult to say; the Japanese name Arata is often reduced to Arthur in order to be comprehensible.


As to names given to people in English-speaking countries, you can set out to learn lists of male and female names, keeping in mind that there are a few that can be used for both, often with a minor spelling variation: Lindsay/Lyndsay/Lindsey being one example.

Baby Boy Names | Boy Names | Boys Names | Boys | Parents Connect
Baby Girl Names | Girl Names | Girls Names | Girls | Parents Connect

 

[Linguist__]

In my language we can differentiate between them easily and clearly from their names. There are special names for female and special names for male and those names can't be mixed at all.

I found this, which suggests these Arabic names are appropriate for both male and female:

Behind the Name: Arabic Unisex Names

It could be wrong, of course. That website contains a lot of names I've never heard of.

Names are complex things. As far as I'm aware, a first name can be anything the parent desires, including how it is pronounced. If you come across someone's name in real life, there's no problem in asking how they say it - or if the say 'My name is ___' and you aren't confident in knowing how to say it then just ask. The person would rather you asked and got it right, than consistently said it wrong. If you are just reading and don't know how to say a name that you read, then just look around the internet for a pronunciation. Those 'name guides' often give a pronunciation.

If you think English names are hard, try Scottish/Irish ones:

Niamh - pronounced 'neev'
Dàibhidh - Gaelic form of 'David'
Mhairi - pronounced 'VA-ray'
Ruaidhrí - pronounced 'ROAR-ay'

As for your question about 'fog' and 'mist'. They are both types of weather - fog, however, suggests a greater reduction in visibility than mist. That is, fog is 'thicker' than mist.

As we said before, English has a wealth of vocabulary, and weather is one category that shows off this wealth. Some words which mean 'wet weather' and often showing varying degrees of 'how wet are:

rain, damp rain, fine rain, drizzle, sideways rain, misty rain, monsoon, damp, drenching, bucketing, poaring, smurry, spitting, showering, down-pour...

Not an exhaustive list, by any means. Also, some Scottish words for rain (some of which I've heard on BBC weather (the national one)):

dreich - wet, cold, and grey
mochie - wet, warm, and pleasant
simmer cowt - a haze on a hot day
plump - similar to 'down-pour'
smirr - similarly to (possible the etymology of) smurry
haar - mist coming from the sea
plowtery
dreep
plype
etc
etc

I include these words, because I use them as I use English - that is, to me they are no different than English words because I speak English.

 

[Amal-30]

I found this, which suggests these Arabic names are appropriate for both male and female:

Behind the Name: Arabic Unisex Names

It could be wrong, of course. That website contains a lot of names I've never heard of.

Oh, I'm female, my real name is "Amal" and I haven't ever seen a male his name is Amal.

I'm from Saudi Arabia, maybe in other Arabic cities or countries.

Also, I don't agree with that website. Yes there are Arabic names for both female and male but this is very very very very very rare.
As for me, I haven't met such thing.
In that website there are names that are female only or male only and if they are used for both, they will be very funny such as:

QAMAR قمر m & f Arabic
Means "moon" in Arabic

MARAM مرام f & m Arabic
Means "wish, desire" in Arabic.

I'TIMAD اعتماد f & m Arabic
Means "reliance" in Arabic.

And many other names.

These names are like my friends' names
and I can't imagine that there is a man has one of these names. This will be very strange and funny. :roll: