English Made Easy

Here is one of my favorite lessons for my students in English Made Easy, back when I taught English as a Second Language. I just love homonyms. Do you, or do they confuse you?

Homonyms
Homonyms are words that are pronounced alike but have different meanings and spellings. In contrast, English has homophones that share pronunciation despite the fact they are spelled differently. Examples of homonyms are stalk (part of a plant) and stalk (follow/harass a person) and left (opposite of right) and left (past tense of leave). There are some subtle contexts with homographs and polysemous homonyms (polysemes) that I will deal with in a separate lesson.
Homonym has Greek roots, deriving from ὁμώνυμος (homonumos) meaning “having the same name”. This is the conjunction of ὁμός (homos), “common, same” and ὄνομα (onoma), “name”. So, it describes two or more distinct ideas or words sharing the “same name”.
Another example of a homonym is fluke. A fluke can be:
• A fish
• A flatworm
• Parts of an anchor
• The fins of a whale’s tail
• A stroke of luck
Occasionally, you will find homonyms that sound the same but are spelled differently. For example, a bow is a bending at the waist and a bough is a branch of a tree.
Homonymns can lead to communication difficulties and thus trigger misunderstandings. Thus it is critical to listen to the words surrounding the homonym in order to gather the context of the sentence. When I use the word bank, only the words that precede and follow will allow you to know if I am talking about the bank of a river, a bank of switches, a place to put my money or a billiards or pool shot.
Here are some examples of homonyms used in sentences:
1. The wind blew my blue shirt into the garden.
2. Maha rode along as we rowed the boat from the island to the lakeside road.
3. I’ve never seen such a beautiful scene.
4. We want a site for our home that will be out of sight.
5. The seam in the tent doesn’t seem to hold back the rain.
6. Due to the dry weather, we do not see any dew on the grass.
7. I knew they had a new gnu at the zoo.
8. Some people know that you add to find the sum.
9. They’re hanging their coats over there.
10. I ate the eight cakes that were on my plate.
Based on what you have learned from the lesson above, why not test yourself to see how well you understand homonyms? If you have any problems at all, please don’t hesitate to contact me and we will work together to make everything clear. Ready?
A _____ is an animal. bare, bear
When it _____, it pours. rains, reigns, reins
It is dishonest to _____. steel, steal
A _____ is a type of tree. beach, beech
Take me _____ to your leader! to, too, two
What a _____ of good milk! waist, waste
My _____ is naturally curly. hair, hare
The team _____ the playoffs. won, one
She vanished into thin _____. air, heir
The _____ of Jordan is Amman. capital, capitol
Come _____ right this minute! hear, here
The window _____ was cracked. pain, pane
That’s him! He is the _____. won, one
A _____ child is called a son. mail, male
A carrot is a _____ vegetable. root, route
To _____ means to plant seeds. sew, so, sow
Iron is used to produce _____. steal, steel
I am very honored to _____ you. meat, meet
A _____ is a type of shellfish. muscle, mussel
One tasty fish is called _____. place, plaice
How did you do? Homonyms are among the most interesting words in the English language because of their mystery and potential for fun. Let me know if you have any problems with this fascinating subject or if you simply want to comment. I really enjoy hearing from you!

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I have loads of English books and workbooks to give away. If you're interested, and in Amman, message me here to arrange picking them up. I'm leaving Jordan and I can't possibly take them with me.

40 Synonyms for “Different”

Looking for a different way to say “different”? Here are forty more or less distinct synonyms, along with their sometimes similar, sometimes disparate meanings.

1. Alternate: arranged or occurring in turns, or see alternative; also, every other (also a verb)
2. Alternative: referring to a choice; also, apart from the conventional or usual
3. Assorted: consisting of different kinds
4. Differing: see distinct, or changing from one case or situation to another; also, disagreeing
5. Discernable: able to be recognized as different; also detectable or recognizable
6. Discrete: see distinct
7. Disparate: see distinct, or incompatibly different
8. Dissimilar: not alike
9. Distant: different in kind; also, separated or far away from, going a long way, or far behind, or reserved in behavior, or distracted
10. Distinct: separate, or readily distinguishable; also, notable or unmistakable
11. Divergent: differing from each other or from a standard
12. Divers: see various (also an unrelated and differently pronounced plural form of diver)
13. Diverse: see distinct, or unlike
14. Eclectic: Drawn from various sources, or see heterogeneous
15. Heterogeneous: consisting of dissimilar ingredients or parts
16. Idiosyncratic: having a distinguishable quality; also, eccentric, or hypersensitive
17. Indiscriminate: see heterogeneous or motley; also, random, unrestrained, or careless about distinction
18. Individual: see separate; also, pertaining to an individual or individuality (also a noun)
19. Kitchen-sink: consisting of noticeably different parts; also, referring to the degrading aspects of poverty
20. Magpie: collected indiscriminately; also, acquisitive (also, a person who collects indiscriminately or chatters, or the bird whose behavior inspires these usages)
21. Manifold: see diverse or various; also, many, or consisting of various qualities (also an unrelated noun)
22. Miscellaneous: see diverse
23. Mixed: consisting of more than one kind (also a verb)
24. Motley: incongruously diverse; also, having different-colored markings
25. Multifarious: see diverse or various
26. Particular: see distinct; also, detailed, specific, or exacting or meticulous (also, in plural form, a noun)
27. Peculiar: distinctive; also, unusual or abnormal (this negative connotation predominates, so use with caution)
28. Piebald: consisting of incongruous parts; also, consisting of different colors (especially black and white)
29. Promiscuous: consisting of all types, or not restricted to one type; also, casual, irregular, or tending to have multiple sexual partners (because of this provocative connotation, promiscuous is rarely used in other senses)
30. Raggle-taggle: see motley
31. Ragtag: see motley; also, ragged or slovenly
32. Respective: see separate
33. Separate: not similar; also, autonomous, detached, or individual (also a verb)
34. Several: see distinct and separate; also, exclusive or relating separately, or a few
35. Single: unlike any other; also, lone, unmarried, or celibate, or honest or exclusive, or designed for one, or having only one item or part, or undivided
36. Singular: distinctive; also, exceptional or unusual, or pertaining to a single thing
37. Sundry: miscellaneous or various
38. Variant: varying slightly; also, demonstrating disagreement or variety (also a noun)
39. Varied: see diverse and various; also, having different-colored markings (also a verb)
40. Various: unlike, or of differing kinds, or see separate; also, individual, or having a number of qualities, or an indefinite number more than one
Note, however, that different is often redundant, as in “They came up with many different ideas” (do you need to specify that the ideas they came up with were not identical?), so consider whether it is necessary to replace the deleted word at all.

Re-posted from Daily Writing Tips by Mark Nichol

10 Words for Bodily Functions and Actions

No, this list isn't just for those in the medical profession. Many readers find sesquipedalianism — use of overly complicated words when a simpler synonym is available — irritating, but ostentatious vocabulary has its place in invective, satire, and standard-issue humor, and can enhance general prose, whether through figurative or literal use.

1. Borborygmus: rumbling (“What I thought was the rumbling of a truck was only a bout of borborygmus in my stomach”)

2. Emesis: vomiting (“I turned away in disgust from the vile rhetorical emesis of the racist orator”)

3. Eructation: belching (“The smokestacks engaged in endless eructation”)

4. Ingurgitation: guzzling (“We gazed in disbelief at the rampant ingurgitation occurring among the frat boys arrayed around the keg”)

5. Mastication: chewing (“The students, engrossed in the mental mastication required of the assignment, failed to notice my entrance”)

6. Micturation: urinating (“They’re micturating over all that we honor and respect”)

7. Osculation: kissing (“The odious osculation that takes place between politics and big business will never cease”)

8. Peristalsis: swallowing (“They accepted the lies with peristaltic enthusiasm — hook, line, and sinker”)

9. Sternutation: sneezing (“His incessant explosions of sternutation were unsettling”)

10. Tussis: coughing (“John produced gratuitous tussis to signal his extreme skepticism”)

Re-posted from Daily Writing Tips by Mark Nichol