90
Easily confused words A
Words similar in form and close in meaning The United Nations should intervene to stop the civil war. [step in; neutral in meaning] She shouldn’t interfere in things that don’t concern her. [involve herself; negative and critical] The phone’s been ringing continually. It’s driving me crazy. [very frequently; often negative] Stir the mixture continuously until it boils. [without stopping; from a recipe] There’s a new series on TV about space exploration. [set of related programmes] I don’t want to miss this week’s episode of Oliver Twist. It’s a serial – if I miss one, I’ll lose track of the story. [set of programmes where the story continues over different episodes] We sat in the shade of a big oak tree. [out of the sun; pleasant connotation] The evening sun cast long shadows. [dark areas or shapes] They lived in the shadow of a chemical factory. [in a place dominated by; negative connotation] She complimented me on my performance at the concert. [praised, expressed admiration for] I took a course in programming to complement my other IT skills. [make them seem better, more complete or more attractive in combination]
B
Words of different form but from the same area of meaning The cake mixture should be moist but not sticky. [slightly wet; from a recipe] The climate in the north is damp and rather cold. [slightly wet in an unpleasant way] The theme of the festival was ‘1,000 years of culture’. [the main idea that everything followed] The topic of conversation soon changed to the news. [what the people talked about] The security officer noticed a broken window. [concerned with protection of property, etc.] The safety officer told him that he must wear a helmet. [concerned with prevention of accidents, etc.] We took a smaller road in order to avoid the roadworks on the motorway. [stay away from] The escaped prisoner evaded capture for three months. [escaped from; more formal]
C
Phrasal combinations Phrasal verbs may have noun forms with different meanings. verb
noun
Six men broke out of the prison.
There was a breakout at the prison.
The disease has broken out in several villages in the north of the country.
There has been an outbreak of the disease in several villages in the north of the country.
Economists are looking out for signs of an end to the recession.
The outlook is not good. The economy seems to be stagnant.
He stood at the corner, looking out for police cars.
He was the lookout while the others robbed the bank.
The Swimming Club decided to set up a committee to look into the club rules.
The company setup is quite complex, with branches in 30 different countries.
In some cases, two verb forms have the same words in a different order and different meanings. verb 1: particle first
verb 2: particle second
upend [move into a vertical position]
end up [finish]
uphold [confirm, support]
hold up [delay]
outdo [do better than]
do out [decorate]
outrun [run faster than]
run out [use something so there is none left]
upset [make someone worried, unhappy or angry]
set up [organise or arrange something]
Language help Common prepositions often occur as prefixes, e.g. up and out in the table above. Other examples include over (overcook, overcome), in (input, income). Make a note of new examples as you meet them.
See also Unit 86. 186
English Vocabulary in Use Advanced
