later or latter? LATER is the comparative of ‘late’. (late, later, latest) Iwillseeyou LATER. You are LATER than I expected. LATTER is the opposite of ‘former’. Cats and dogs are wonderful pets but the LATTER need regular exercise. Note: use ‘latter’ to indicate the second of two references; use ‘last’ to indicate the final one [...]
(a) few and (a) little
1. We use few with plural nouns, and little with singular (uncountable) nouns. Compare: Few politicians are really honest. I have little interest in politics 2. There is a difference between a few and few, and between a little and little. Few and little are rather negative: they mean ‘not much/many’. A few and a [...]
fewer and less
Fewer is the comparative of few (used before plural nouns) Less is the comparative of little (used before uncountable nouns which are singular) few problems/ fewer problems little money/ less money I’ve got fewer problems than I used to have I earn less money than a postman. In informal English, some people use less with [...]
Like and as
Like = ‘similar to’, ‘the same as’. What a beautiful house! It’s like a palace, (not as a palace) ‘What does Sandra do?’ ‘She’s a teacher, like me.’ (not as me) Be careful! The floor has been polished. It’s like walking on ice. (not as walking) It’s raining again. I hate weather like this, (not [...]
hear and listen (to)
1. Hear is the ordinary word to say that something ‘comes to our ears’ Suddenly I heard a strange noise Can you hear me? Did you hear the Queen’s speech yesterday? Hear is not used in progressive tenses. When we want to say that we hear something at the moment of speaking, we often use [...]
small and little
Small is used just to talk about size. It is opposite of large Could I have a small brandy, please. You’re too small to be a policeman. The adjective little is used to talk about size + emotion If we call something little, we usually have some sort of feeling about it- we like it, [...]
last and the last
Last week, last month etc is the week or month just before this one. If I am speaking in July, last month was June. If I speaking in 1985, last year was 1984. (Note that prepositions are not used before these time-expressions) I had a cold last week. Were you at the meeting last Tuesday? [...]
long and for a long time
Long is most common in questions and negative sentences, and after too and so. How long did you wait? I didn’t play for long. The concert was too long. In affirmative sentences, we usually use a long time. I waited (for) a long time. ( I waited long is possible, but not usual.) It takes [...]
borrow and lend
borrow something from somebody lend something to somebody lend somebody something Borrow is like take. You borrow something from somebody I borrowed a pound from my son. Can I borrow your bicycle? Lend is like give. You lend something to somebody, or lend somebody something. (the meaning is the same) I lent my coat to [...]
as and like
I. Similarity We can use like or as to say that things are similar Like is preposition. We use like before a noun or pronoun like + noun/ pronoun You look like your sister (not .. as your sister) He ran like the wind . It’s like a dream She’s dressed just like me We [...]
