ADMISSION / ADMITTANCE
I called at his office but was refused admittance.
No admission will be charge at the school concert.
It is impossible to gain admittance into another country without a visa.
AIR / AIRS
There was air pollution near the factories.
I don't like people who put on airs.
There was an air of excitement when the match began.
ALONE / LONELY
'Leave me alone,' shouted John.
John felt lonely when he remained alone in the house.
ALMOST / MOST / MOSTLY
She is the most intelligent student in class.
The people in Hong Kong are mostly Chinese.
Most of the students wish to have a rest after long hours of work.
ALTOGETHER / TOGETHER / ALL TOGETHER
There were altogether twenty members in the committee.
The students are all together in he chemistry laboratory.
The students study together in the library.
AS A WHOLE / ON THE WHOLE
Let us take the whole incident into consideration as a whole.
Jack is on the whole an industrious student.
ASSURE / ENSURE / INSURE
The manager assures us that the recorder would be repaired properly.
The owner of the goldsmith wants to insure against robbery.
You must check your work carefully to ensure that you do not make any mistakes.
CAUSE / REASON
What are the causes of their quarrel?
What is your reason for studying in this school?
CHARGE / COST / PRICE / VALUE / WORTH / CHARGED WITH
These books cost a lot of money.
These books are worth a lot of money.
The price of the books has been raised recently.
An antique has no value if it is broken.
We did not need to pay any service charge after using the hall.
That man was charged with theft.
CLASH / CRASH
What a pity that the two meetings clash.
He saw a bus crash into the lamp post.
Ann and Mary often quarrel because their ideas often clash.
CLOTH / CLOTHING / CLOTHES
John cleaned the table with a cloth.
He laid a cloth on the ground and put down some clothes.
Her clothes got wet after the rain.
I don't like wearing thick clothing in winter.
COMPOSE / COMPRISE / CONSIST
The class club committee comprises eight members.
The class club committee consists of eight members.
The committee is composed of teachers and students.
COMPARE TO / COMPARE WITH
You may compare your work with David's and see which is better.
Your work is nothing compared with David's.
Many poets like to compare life to morning dew.
CONCERN / CONCERNING / CONCERNED
All the classmates are concerned about his health.
The topic is concerned with careless driving.
They are discussing something concerning the youth problem.
CONTINUAL / CONTINUOUS
The continual rain made us feel bored.
They enjoyed a continuous performance till midnight.
COPY / IMITATE
You should not copy your neighbour's answers.
The teacher advised his students not to imitate him.
CREDIBLE / CREDULOUS / INCREDIBLE
That is really an incredible story. I don't think it's a real one.
He is such a credulous man that he often believes what you say.
Did the committee find his statement credible?
DAMAGE / DAMAGES
The storm did great damage to the squatter area.
The insurance company has to pay for the damages to shop.
He claimed $2000 damages from his boss for the loss of his leg while at work.
DAMAGE / INJURE / HURT / WOUND
He hurt his leg after jumping down from a tree.
Many huts are damaged by the fire.
A tall man hurt him with an axe.
Many fire victims were injured and taken to hospital.
DISINTERESTED / UNINTERESTED
A judge should be disinterested; otherwise he cannot make a fair judgement.
He is uninterested in dancing.
DIVIDE / SHARE
John shared his food with Tom.
The boys shared the books among themselves.
The teacher divided the students into four groups.
ECONOMIC / ECONOMICAL / ECONOMICS / ECONOMY
Mrs Chan is said to be an economical housekeeper.
He is going to study economics in the university.
Tourism plays an important part in the economy of Hong Kong.
People had a miserable life in the time of economic depression.
ELIGIBLE / LEGIBLE
She is eligible for promotion because she is hardworking and has good qualifications.
Mr Wong's handwriting is legible.
EMINENT / IMMINENT
Dr Wong is an eminent surgeon in our city.
Most people were in a hurry to go home as a typhoon was imminent.
EQUAL / IDENTICAL / SIMILAR
The tow applicants are of equal ability.
Your book is similar to the one that I lost last week.
They are surprised to find that their shirts are identical.
ERROR / MISTAKE / CRIME / SIN / FAULT
I took his book by mistake.
There are so many typing errors in this letter that I do not understand what it talks about.
An error of judgement may lead to disastrous results.
Don't punish him. It is not his fault.
He confessed his sin to a priest.
It is a mistake to force children to do too much work.
He is a very careful man but he makes mistakes occasionally.
He was sentenced to death because he had committed a very serious crime.
EXCITING / EXCITED / EXCITEMENT
The boys became excited when they watched such exciting basketball match.
When he heard that he had passed the examination, he jumped out of excitement.
EVERYDAY / EVERY DAY
What do you do every day?
John seems to be very busy with everyday work.
She writes ten letters every day.
FARE / FEE
A student has to pay the fare when he takes a bus.
The fare is more by taxi than by minibus.
When will the students pay the school fee?
GAOL / GOAL
He has been shut in a gaol for years.
What is your goal in life?
Both teams scored a goal at the beginning of the match.
HANG / HANGED / HANDED HAND / HUNG / HUNG
Last night the criminal was hanged to death.
John hung a picture on the wall a few minutes ago.
HARD / HARDLY
Hardly had he finished his work when the bell rang.
He could hardly see in darkness.
He tried hard to improve himself.
HIRE / LET / RENT
This house is not to let.
The young couple rented a flat in the building.
They hired a truck to carry the furniture to their new flat.
HOPE / EXPECT / WISH
I don't expect to see him at the airport next Monday.
What do you expect him to do?
I wish I could help you solve the problem.
She hopes she will be admitted to the university.
IMAGINARY / IMAGINATION / IMAGINATIVE
This story was about an imaginary situation.
Why does John have so much imagination?
He's got an imaginative mind.
IMMIGRATE / EMIGRATE / MIGRATE / IMMIGRANT
The Chans family will emigrate to England tomorrow.
Where do the birds migrate when winter comes?
Thousands of refugees immigrate into Hong Kong over the past few years.
Too many immigrants may lead to various social problems.
INTERESTING / INTERESTED / INTEREST
These story books do not seem to interest the students.
He is very interested in taking photographs.
You can never find this book interesting if you don't read it.
INSIST / PERSIST
John insisted on going for a walk despite the heavy rain outside.
The committee persisted in adopting Tommy's plan though it was not very practical.
INTENSE / INTENSIVE
Most of the onlookers felt hot because of the intense heat.
Last year I took an intensive course in Japanese.
JOURNEY / VOYAGE / TOUR / TRIP
We shall take a trip to Cheung Chau on Sunday.
Mr Chan had a tour in Europe during the summer vacation.
How long does a journey from Hong Kong to Taiwan take?
One of the tourists caught a cold on the journey.
LATE / LATELY / LATER / LATTER / LATEST / LAST
I haven't seen Mary lately.
Both John and Jack are hardworking students, but the latter was more active at school.
Mary is always fascinated by the latest fashion.
Read the last line of the third paragraph carefully.
Jane is always late for school.
LAY / LAYING / LAID / LAID LIE / LYING / LIED / LIED TO LIE / LYING / LAIN
The boys lay the bottles on the table carefully.
An old man has been laying over there for a long time.
She laid a cloth on the ground and then lay down.
He lied to his teacher.
LOOSE / LOOSEN / LOSE
Mary lost her schoolbag last Friday.
He tried to loosen the screw but in vain.
He felt hot and so he loosened his collar.
It is reported a bear in the zoo has got loose.
LOUD / LOUDLY / ALOUD
Would you mind not talking so loud?
You have to speak aloud; otherwise your classmates can't hear what you say.
It's impolite to speak in a loud voice.
A woman shouted loudly that her handbag was stolen.
MAYBE / MAY BE
Maybe he is unable to solve the problem himself.
David may be doing his work now.
MEMORISE / MEMORY / MEMORIAL / MEMORABLE / REMEMBER
I shall never forget taking part in such a memorable occasion.
I remembered seeing him read a newspaper a few minutes ago.
I do not take history because there are too many facts to memorise.
My uncle has bad memory for dates.
A memorial school is built for the chairman of the association.
MOVABLE / PORTABLE
The large cupboard in the kitchen is not movable.
You may bring along your portable cassette recorder when you go for the picnic.
NEGLECT / NEGLIGENT / NEGLIGIBLE
Good parents never neglect their children.
It was said that John was rather negligent in his work.
He was dismissed because he was negligent of his duties.
The manager did not report the burglary to the police because the amount of money stolen was negligible.
NOISE / SOUND / VOICE
A customer complained in a loud voice.
Don't make any noise; otherwise you'll be punished.
Some sounds of explosion were heard when a fire broke out.
PASS / PAST
I walk pass a church on my way to school every morning.
She passed the School Certificate Examination two years ago.
My uncle often tells us his past glories.
I saw a car crash into a shop when I passed a supermarket.
PERSONAL / PERSONNEL
It is only my personal opinion. What's yours?
Many applicants were waiting outside to see the personnel manager of the firm.
RESPECTABLE / RESPECTFUL / RESPECTIVE / RESPECTIVELY
The candidates went to their respective classrooms when the bell rang.
He belongs to the respectable upper classes.
The crowd stood at a respectful distance from the governor.
Our principal is a respectable man.
The students went back to their classrooms respectively after the assembly.
PRINCIPAL / PRINCIPLE
Mr Wong is the principal of a famous secondary school.
What is the principle food of the Chinese?
Some students find it difficult to understand the principle of geometry.
PRESENTLY / RECENTLY
A new flyover will be built on that busy road presently.
John has made much improvement recently.
RAISE / RISE / AROUSE / ARISE
Many problems arise after the government announced the new taxation policy.
You may raise your hands if you have questions.
The minibus drivers usually raise the fare when a typhoon comes.
The food price has risen a lot recently.
Two young men wearing sun glasses arouse the policeman's suspicion.
REFUSE / REJECT / DECLINE
He refused to help us organise the annual carnival.
He was disappointed to hear that his application was rejected again.
He was so busy that he declined his friend's invitation to dinner.
The committee had considered carefully before rejecting his proposal.
Mr Wong refused to discuss his plan with his colleagues.
SCENE / SCENERY
They were fascinated by the scenery in the countryside.
That soldier never forgets the scene of a great b battle.
The drama consists of five scenes.
SOMETIME / SOMETIMES / SOME TIME
He will leave for Scotland sometime next year.
Sometimes I watch television till midnight.
We haven't seen Amy for some time.
SUCCESSIVE / SUCCESSION / SUCCESS / SUCCESSFUL
They were busy with their work in five successive days.
They tried hard to make the variety show a success.
They did not give up in spite of a succession of defeats.
It is said that John will be in succession to his father's property.
Congratulations! Your plan is really a treat success.
THOROUGH / THROUGH
The police carried out thorough investigation into the murder case.
That window is too narrow to get through.
I wondered how he got through his examination.
TIRED / TIRESOME
He felt tired after working for a long time.
The tiresome students made the teacher very angry.
VALUABLE / INVALUABLE / PRICELESS / WORTHLESS
I would like to thank Sergeant Wong for his invaluable service to us.
This is really a very valuable gift.
She kept her diamond ring with care because she thought that it was a priceless one.
Nobody would take care of a worthless antique.
WAKE / AWAKE / AWAKEN / WAKEN
Mary got up late this morning because her mother forgot to wake her up.
It is difficult to make him awake to the problem.
The accident awakens him to the danger of careless driving.
Is the patient awake or asleep?
He woke up at half past six yesterday.
|