Ron's ESL Blogs

Let’s talk about the difference between accept and except.

These are two words that sound the same but have different meanings.

They are English homophones.
Accept and except are almost antonyms (opposites), so it is important that you know how to use them correctly!

Accept means to receive something or to take something.

Except means to leave something out or not include.

We will look at each word separately.

Accept

Accept is an English verb that means to receive or to take.

Examples:

• Please accept my help.
  (Please receive my help.)
• This store does not accept credit cards.
  (The store does not take credit cards. You cannot use them there.)
• They accepted his application for the job.
  (They received/took his application for the job.)

Until now we discussed accept. Now let’s explain what except means.

Except

Except is usually an English preposition meaning leaving out, but or other than.

Examples:

• We go to school every day except Saturday and Sunday.
  (We go to school every day but Saturday and Sunday.)
• Everyone got a prize except Sally.
  (Other than Sally, everyone got a prize.)
• Except for her son, all the kids had a good time.
  (All the kids had a good time, not including her son. Her son did not have a good time.)

Hello,

Let’s talk about the difference between “synonyms” and “antonyms.”

Synonyms are words that have the same or almost the same meanings.

Example: small/tiny

Antonyms are words whose meanings are the exact opposite or almost the exact opposite.

Example: big/small
Synonyms and antonyms can help you be a better writer and speaker.

Synonyms and antonyms can help you be more descriptive and make your writing more interesting.

Synonyms

Synonyms are words that have the same or almost the same meanings.

Examples:

• little/tiny/small
• big/large
• fat/chubby
• beautiful/pretty
• sad/unhappy
• hard/difficult
• and/plus
• cold/chilly
• fast/quick
• kid/child

Synonyms are not always exactly the same.

For example, “pretty” and “beautiful” are synonyms, but they can have slightly different meanings.

• Sally is pretty, but her sister is beautiful!

This means that Sally’s sister is prettier than Sally.

• I am not fat! I am just a little chubby.

Here, fat is considered bigger than chubby.

Antonyms

Antonyms are words whose meanings are the exact opposite or almost the exact opposite.

Examples:

• big/small
• difficult/easy
• add/subtract
• hot/cold
• black/white
• ugly/pretty
• stupid/smart
• up/down
• child/adult

Why should you use synonyms and antonyms?

Synonyms and antonyms can help you be a better speaker and writer. Using the same words all the time can become boring.

Compare these two examples:

1. The tall boy climbed a tall tree to rescue the fat cat. The fat cat was stuck high in the tall tree.
2. The tall, lanky boy climbed the huge tree to rescue the fat cat. The chubby kitty was stuck high in the large tree.

The second sentence is more interesting and more descriptive than the first sentence.

So when building vocabulary you can enrich it by also learning synonyms and antonyms.

Hi there,

So should you say “every student” or “every students”?

Tricky one, isn’t it?

Well, the rule is the following:

“Every” is always followed by a singular verb.

That’s because we refer to every single item, and NOT to all of them combined.

So the correct phrase is “every student.”

Some more examples:
- Every students in the class must do the exam.
- Every student have has a teacher.

Here are some incorrect examples:
- Every words are important.
- Every moments are new.
- Every parent are present in the meeting.

And these are the same sentences, corrected:
- Every word is important.
- Every moment is new.
- Every parent is present in the meeting.

See also:
Subject-Verb Agreement

English has an ability to express an idea or concept with the finest details possible.

This can be done using synonyms.

A synonym is a word with the same, or almost the same, meaning as another word.

For example, you could say, “Janet wears a blue hat and a red dress.”

You could also say, “Janet sports a navy cloche and a burgundy gown.”

Let’s explain the second sentence:

“Sport” means “to wear in a proud way.”
It is a synonym of “wear.”

“Navy” means “very dark blue.”
It is a synonym of “blue.”

“Cloche” means “a woman’s hat that is shaped like a bell and fits close to the head.”
It is a synonym of “hat.”

“Burgundy” means “dark red,” like the Burgundy wine.
(That’s wine from an area in eastern France called Burgundy.)
It is a synonym of “red.”

“Gown” means “a long woman’s dress, worn in special occasions.”
It is a synonym of “dress.”

If we didn’t have the above words in the English vocabulary, we would probably say something like this:
“Janet proudly wears a very dark blue hat. Her hat is shaped like a bell and fits close to the head. She also wears a dark red long formal dress.”

This is longer and slightly less accurate. (Though definitely clearer if you are unfamiliar with the above words!)

- Now reread the first and second sentences.
- After reviewing each, Imagine Janet’s appearance.
She looks quite different, doesn’t she?  :-)

This is only one way of using synonyms.

Understanding synonyms (and their opposite – the antonyms) is important to truly mastering the English language with all its “colors” (= aspects).

1) So what are synonyms and antonyms?

2) Pretty, beautiful, handsome… what’s the difference?

3) Why are synonyms and antonyms important?

4) How to use them to improve vocabulary?

5) How to use them to improve writing skills?

Visit the Synonyms and Antonyms lesson to get the answers.

In a previous post, we went over dynamic verbs vs. stative verbs.

Here is a quick reminder:

Dynamic = moving or changing.

Dynamic verbs are verbs that describe an action, not a state.

For example:
Take, break, eat, jump, work, find, buy, dance, fish.

Stative = having a state, or existing.

Stative verbs are verbs that describe a state, not an action.

For example:
Have, love, agree, be, want, hate, know, own, cost, sound, prefer, seem, hear.

Note that stative verbs usually describe:
– Relationships between things or people (for example, “have”)
- Emotions or states of mind (for example, “love” and “agree”)
- Appearance and senses (for example, “seem” and “hear”)
- Measurements (for example, “weigh”)

Using stative verbs

Stative verbs are not usually used in the progressive tenses.

Correct: I love you.
Incorrect: I’m loving you.

Correct: Do you agree?
Incorrect: Are you agreeing?

Correct: He doesn’t deserve to win.
Incorrect: He isn’t deserving to win.

Correct: She hated the winter.
Incorrect: She was hating the winter.

Correct: Did you hear that noise?
Incorrect: Were you hearing that noise?

Correct: The trip didn’t include a visit to the beach.
Incorrect: The trip wasn’t including a visit to the beach.

Correct: They will remember us.
Incorrect: They will be remembering us.

Correct: Will it surprise you?
Incorrect: Will it be surprising you?

Correct: This will probably weigh a lot.
Incorrect: This will probably be weighing a lot.

As you must know, words usually have more than a single meaning.
Likewise, some verbs have both stative and dynamic meanings.

For example, the verb “have” is such a verb.

It has many different meanings (you can learn about them in the English Helping Verbs Course).
One of these meanings is “to own.”
This is a stative meaning, since it describes a state, and not an actual action.

Examples:
“I have two cats.”
“You have a new laptop.”
“We have too many problems.”

Another meaning of the verb “have” is “to drink, eat, or smoke
something.”

Examples:
“They had a drink at the bar.”
“We have lunch every day at noon.”
“I will have a cigarette or two.”

I think you can agree with me that this meaning is fully dynamic.
Drinking, eating and smoking are definitely actions and not states.

So in such a case, “have” can be used in the progressive tenses,
too.

Correct: We never have breakfast. (dynamic meaning)
Correct: We are having lunch right now. (dynamic meaning)
Correct: We have a house. (stative meaning)
Incorrect: We are having a house. (stative meaning)

Correct: Jenifer tastes wine for a living. (dynamic meaning)
Correct: Jenifer is tasting some wine right now. (dynamic meaning)
Correct: This wine tastes awful. (stative meaning)
Incorrect: This wine is tasting awful. (stative meaning)

Correct: I always think too much. (dynamic meaning)
Correct: I am thinking about your offer. (dynamic meaning)
Correct: I think you are right. (stative meaning)
Incorrect: I am thinking you are right. (stative meaning)

Here are some verbs with both dynamic and stative meanings:
Be, have, see, smell, taste, think, expect, feel.

Example sentences (stative and then dynamic):
He is (has the identity of) a boy /
He is being (behaving) naughty.

I can see (notice with eyes) you now /
I am seeing (dating) a doctor.

He can’t smell (notice the smell) from birth /
Your puppy is always smelling (trying to get the smell of) me.

This cake tastes (has a taste) great /
We are just tasting (checking the taste of) the cake.

They think (have opinion) this is wrong /
They are thinking (considering) what to do.

I don’t expect (think it will happen) a raise /
We were not expecting (waiting for) any guests.

She feels (has a feeling) depressed /
She is feeling (touching) the texture of the fabric.

For more info and a set of online exercises, visit Dynamic Verbs and Stative Verbs – Examples and Exercises.