Too, Very, Fewer, Less, Little, Few and a Little, a Bit

A.

Learn the following adjectives which are used informally and which mean very good and very bad. Note that they all have very common adjectival endings:

Very good:

• Fabulous
• Tremendous
• Marvelous
• Stupendous
• Amazing breathtaking
• Outstanding
• Smashing
• Fantastic wonderful
• Magnificent

Very bad:

• Awful dreadful
• Frightful
• Shocking
• Revolting
• Appalling
• Hideous
• Monstrous

B.

Too or very

Make sure you distinguish between too and very. Beginners often mix-up these two adverbs. Very means extremely and too means more than is wanted. Compare the following:

• The match problem was very difficult. It was too difficult for me to solve.
• We arrived at the hotel very late – too late to have dinner there.
• The lake was very muddy. It was too muddy to swim in.
• A pity! It was perfect weather for swimming. Not too hot.

C.

Too much / too many

Much and many can be used as an alternative to a lot of. Much is used with singular nouns and many is used with plural nouns. Too expresses the idea of more than enough or more than necessary. Compare the following:

• There were many / a lot of people in the dining room, but there wasn’t very much / a lot of food left.
• I haven’t eaten very much! ~ You’ve eaten far too much in my view.
• I had put too much salt in the soup and nobody ate it.

D.

Fewer / less

Fewer and less are the comparative forms of few and little and are used with countable and uncountable nouns, respectively. Compare the following:

• I’ve got a little (bit of) money in the bank. Not very much. Less than I had last year.
• The weather was awful and fewer children took part in the procession this year.

E.

Little / few and a little / a few

Little is used with uncountable and few is used with countable nouns. When we use few and little without the indefinite article, they usually have a negative meaning, but when we use them with the indefinite article, a little or a few, they have a more positive meaning. Compare the following:

• I have few friends in England and I feel quite lonely.
• I have a few friends in England, so I don’t miss home so much.
• I have little interest in classical music. I much prefer pop.
• I have a little wine in the cellar. Would you like some?

Rather than little or few, we sometimes prefer to use a negative construction with much or many in conversational English, as it sounds slightly less formal:

He has little money. > He doesn’t have very much money.

She had few friends. > She didn’t have many friends

F.

A little / a bit

A little, a bit and a little bit are often used in colloquial English with little or no difference in meaning. Compare the following:

• You’re driving too fast. Could you please slow down a little (bit) more?
• It was a long journey and I was feeling a bit / a little (bit) tired.

Bit can also combine with of before nouns to suggest a limited amount of something. Compare the following:

• Let me give you a bit of advice. Don’t drive speedily in built-up areas.
• I’m not very hungry after the journey. I’ll just have a bit of bread and cheese.
• I’ve got a bit of a problem. The car has overheated, so we’ll have to wait for it to cool down.

Little can also be used in this way:

• Would you like to try a bit of this / a little of this very sweet dessert?
• I’d love a bit of your / a little of your apple and walnut cake. It looks and smells delicious.

Before, Enough – Sufficient & Adequate

A.

‘Before’ – any time before now

Before means: at some unknown time before now. It does not say when. Therefore we would say:

I know that chap. I’ve met him somewhere before. Have you been here before? ~ No, I’ve never been here before. This is my first time.

‘Ago’ – at a certain time before now

Ago tells us how long before the present time something happened. It tells us when and gives us a time or a date. Because we are referring to a specific time in the past, the simple past is used:

Your mother phoned five minutes ago. Can you phone her back?

I saw her for the first time at film festival in Cannes some twenty years ago.

Ago always counts back from the present time. Note that if we are counting back from a past time, before or earlier or previously are used, not ago:

Last year I went back to my hometown that I had left ten years before and discovered that the house I grew up in was no longer standing. (= left home 10 years ago)

B.

Enough – sufficient, Adequate

I. Enough (where the second syllable is pronounced as in puff or stuff) and sufficient are very similar semantically, meaning as much as is needed:

I don’t have enough time to finish….

We have sufficient evidence to…..

II. Adequate is also close in meaning to enough and sufficient. It suggests that something is good enough or large enough for a particular purpose:

This country will never maintain an adequate supply of trained teachers if so many leave the profession after four or five years.

This little car is perfectly adequate for any driving you need to do in town.

His computer skills were adequate for the type of work required of him.

III. Inadequate – insufficient: Note that the negative of sufficient and adequate can be formed with the prefix in -. For the negative of enough we have to use not:

The level of funding available for the training of teachers is inadequate. I have insufficient resources to be able to deal effectively with this problem. We don’t have enough milk if everybody wants milkshake.

IV. Enough can also be used, as:

In this climate it’s not warm enough to go out without a jacket in the evening.

You’ve missed him, I’m afraid. You didn’t get up early enough.

I didn’t work hard enough. So I was unsuccessful in the exam.

I didn’t revise enough. So I didn’t pass the exam.

I’ve only saved $250. Will that be enough for this type of holiday?

Some more dressing on your salad? ~ Oh no, I have quite enough, thanks.

I’ve quite enough of this fruit salad, thanks. It’s a bit too sweet for my liking.

I didn’t read it all, but I read enough of the report to get the main idea.

I answered all the questions, but I didn’t get enough of them right to pass the driving test.

I don’t have enough time to finish reading this report before the meeting. But I have sufficient information to know what the outcome should be.

You’ve missed him, I’m afraid. You didn’t get up early enough.

Miss, Rise or Raise & Drive or Ride

A.

Miss

1. There are a number of shades of meaning when miss means ‘fail to make contact with’. Compare the following:

• If you’re not careful you’ll miss the flight and there isn’t another till next week.
• Is Jenny still here? ~ You’ve just missed her. She left five minutes ago.
• He cored four goals, but then he missed a penalty.
• The bullet just missed my head. It whizzed past my ear and embedded itself in the wall.
• No, you’ve missed the point. Bobby gave her the money. He didn’t want it back.
• The railway station is right at the end of this road. You can’t miss it!
• If you leave the queue now, you’ll miss your chance of seeing this film.
• It was my granny’s funeral last Thursday so I had to miss all my lessons last week.

B.

Miss= be sorry to be without

Compare the following:

• I miss my grandmother terribly. She was such a kind, gentle person.

• Will you miss me when I’m away?
• ~ Oh, I shall miss you all right!

• What do you miss most about the south of France now you’re in Britain?
• ~ I miss my family, I miss the people, I miss the sunshine, I miss the cheese and the wine.

• Do you miss walking in the Pyrenees?
• ~ Yes, I miss that too.

C.

Miss in idioms

Note also idiomatic usage in the following expressions:

• He didn’t have all the advantages of a proper education and really missed out.
• There have been several near misses between planes landing at this airport recently. He’s failed his exams again and I think he has missed the boat as far as higher education is concerned.
• I think I’ve missed a trick here in failing to consult my accountant about tax returns.
• I think I’ll give the book signing ceremony a miss. What about you? ~ No, I’m going.
• They came four in the league and missed promotion by only one point, but as the old saying goes: a miss is as good as a mile.

• Miss. can be used as an alternative to Ms. placed in front of the name of an unmarried woman when the person concerned wishes it to be known that she is single.

• Miss. right or Mr. right can be used as expressions to describe a woman or man who is regarded as an ideal marriage partner:

D.

Rise or raise?

Compare the following:

• ‘The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.’

• I rise (i.e. get up) at six o’ clock every weekday morning in order to be at work by seven.’
• ‘He rose (i.e. stood up) to greet her.’
• ‘I raised my hand because I wanted to ask a question, but he took no notice of me.’
• ‘If you are raising a family as a single parent, you shouldn’t try to work full-time.’
• ‘My child was ill and I had to raise money to pay for the operation.’

E.

Drive or ride?

Anything with four or more wheels (like a car, a bus, a lorry or a train) we drive; anything with two wheels or that we straddle (like a horse, a bike, motorbike or scooter) we ride, (even though you need a driving license to ride a motorbike.

Consider the following:

• ‘I had never driven such a powerful car before.’
• ‘I hadn’t ridden a bike in twenty years.

F.

Idioms derived from “The family”

It runs in the family – an ability or talent that is passed on through the generations your own flesh and blood – a member of your family, do not forget it!

Bad blood – hostility or unfriendliness between two families or family member’s

Blood is thicker than water – family ties are stronger than any other, despite arguments.

• He has two daughters, both very athletic, just like their mother. It runs in the family.
• You should take better care of your younger sister. She is your own flesh and blood.

• There is bad blood between the two brothers. They haven’t spoken to each other in two years.

• His housekeeper had looked after him for many years but he still left all his money to his only son. Blood is thicker than water, you know.

Some confusing expressions

A.

Wear

• She was wearing a beautiful diamond necklace with matching earrings.

You can also wear your hair in a particular way:

• David Beckham used to wear his hair short, but now he is wearing it long.

There is another meaning to wear. If something wears, it becomes thinner or weaker because it is used frequently over a long period of time. We also have the expression to wear thin and the phrasal verb to wear out. People can also feel worn out. If something wears you out, it makes you feel extremely tired. Compare the following usages:

• This carpet is beginning to wear. We shall soon have to replace it.

• He is such an annoying person. My patience is wearing thin.

• If you didn’t play football every day, your shoes wouldn’t wear out so quickly

• Don’t rush around so much. You’ll wear yourself out.

• I’ve spent all day shopping and I feel quite worn out.

B.

Dress

When you dress, you put clothes on. You can also dress children, dress a wound by cleaning it and covering it and dress a salad by putting oil and vinegar on it. If you dress up, you put on different clothes o make yourself look smarter, (if you dress down, you pt on clothes that are just informal than usual.) We often speak of getting dressed as a colloquial alternative to dress. Compare the following usages:

• You’d better get dressed now. Henry will be here in ten minutes.
• She came in covered in mud. So I bathed her and dressed her in new clothes.

• I must dress now for the party. Have you dressed the salad yet?

• I think its better not to dress that wound. We’ll just leave it so that the air can get to it.

• It is customary now to dress down in certain offices in the city on Fridays. There is no need to wear a suit.

• I just love dressing up and Edward’s having an Edwardian party on Saturday.

C.

Horrible, horrific, terrible – terrifying – terrific

You can describe something as horrible (or deadfull or awful) when you do not like it at all:

The hotel was horrible – just awful. The walls were all painted a horrible colour and I’ve never had such dreadful meals.

You would describe something as horrific when it is really upsetting or frightening to think about it or speak about it:

It was a horrific motorway accident: twelve people died.

Terrible – terrific

In a similar way, terrible and terrifying, which have similar shades of meaning to horrible and horrifying, are both derived from the noun terror from which we get the nouns terrorist and terrorism:

Ridding the world of terrorists and terrorism is easier said than done.

Compare the following:

• The food was terrible. Nobody at the camp had any idea about how to cook.

• Everybody in the team was terrific. I had never seen them play so well together before.

D.

Can you guess the meaning of some of these expressions?

• I’d love to be on the stage. I’ve always wanted to be in showbiz.
• I can guarantee that at least eight of these numbers will be show stoppers.
• Don’t worry. She’ll organize everything while you’re away. She’s quite capable of running the show.
• Glynis Johns as Desiree in the original production of Night Music stole the show.

On the stage – working as an actor or actress in the theatre

Showbiz – show business

Number – a song or musical and dance scene

Show stopper – a song or number that provokes such a strong reaction from the audience (it stops the show) that they are in raptures

To run the show – to take charge of any even or activity, not necessarily connected with entertainment or showbiz.

To steal the show – to win the greatest applause and to be better than all the other performers.

Assure – Ensure – Insure

A.

Assure – ensure – insure

1. If you assure someone that something is true or will happen, you tell them that it is definitely true or will happen, often in order to make them less worried. We often use such phrases as I can assure you or let me assure you in order to emphasize the truth of what we are saying:

• Let me assure you that the children will be totally safe on this adventure holiday.
• I can assure you that the children will be totally safe on this adventure holiday.

2. If you ensure that something happens, you make certain that it happens. A less formal equivalent of this verb in spoken English would be make sure:

• Ensure / Make sure that your working hours as well as your rate of pay are written into your contract.

3. Insure has another meaning. If you insure yourself or your property, you pay money to an insurance company so that if you become ill or if your property is stolen or damaged, the company will pay you a sum of money:

• We can insure your car against fire, theft and third party damage for as little as $30 per month.

• Make sure you remember to insure the digital camera and the mobile phones. They’re not included under the house contents insurance.

B.

Affect – effect

Affect and effect are often confused, even by native speakers of English. Compare the following:

• ‘The really hot weather affected everybody’s ability to work.’
• The tablets which he took every four hours had no noticeable effect on his headache.’

C.

Efficient – effective

These two words are often confused, if somebody or something is efficient, then he, she or it works in a well- organized way, without wasting time or energy. Consider the following examples:

• ‘She was efficient in everything she did.
• ‘He hasn’t made very efficient use of his time.
• ‘This engine is really efficient.

If something is effective, it works well and produces the results that were intended. Consider the following examples:

• ‘These tablets really are effective. My headache’s much better now.’
• The only effective way to avoid high fever at this time of the year is to stay indoors.

D.

Hurt

If part of your body hurts, you feel pain there. If you hurt someone, you cause them to feel pain.

• Have you been knocked over? Tell me where it hurts / it’s hurting.
• ~My arm hurts.

• You’re hurting my arm. Ouch! Don’t touch me. That hurts!

You can also hurt someone’s feelings, and cause them to feel emotional pain:

• I think she’s going to be hurt. I don’t think she’ll ever fall in love again.

• What hurt me most was the betrayal. How could be behave like that?

E.

Kid and Kidding

Kidding is widely used in the meaning to joke if you want to suggest that what has been said may not be appropriate or true:

• I’m going to call her and tell her she should marry Ben.

~ Are you kidding? Ben’s the last person she should marry!

• I’m going to buy her a ring with diamonds and emeralds.

~You’re kidding me! Where are you going to get the money from?

• He says he’s going to make a million before he’s forty!

~Who is he kidding? He is kidding himself if he thinks so.

Kid

Note that kid and kids are also widely used to refer informally to children, sons and daughters:

• We’re going to take the kids to see Lion King at the theatre in London.
• He’s just a kid. He doesn’t understand the difference between right and wrong.
• They don’t have any kids so there’s always plenty of money for holidays.

On Changing

Changing the subject – starting to talk about something else to avoid embarrassment

Changing your mind – deciding to do something else, usually the opposite

Changing your tune – a more informal expression for saying or doing something else.

Having a change of heart – reversing your opinions or attitudes

A sea change – a complete change in someone’s attitudes or behaviour

Remind, Remember, Recall

A.

House and Home

House describes a particular type of building. Home is the place where you live and feel that you belong to.

Compare the following:

‘Most people in India live in semi-detached houses.

‘We’re going to buy Tony a doll’s house for Christmas.’

‘The Houses of Parliament in India are visited by 50,000 people each year.’

‘I’ve enjoyed living abroad for the last five years, but it’s time for me to go back home now!’

‘We were at home in bed when our car was stolen from outside the house.’

‘These children need a good home and we are in a position to give them one.’

B.

Travel / journey /trip / expedition / safari

1. Travel is the general term to describe going from one place to another. E.g. His travels abroad provided lots of background material for the novels he wrote.

2. A journey is one single piece of travel. You make journeys when you travel from one place to another. (Note that the plural is spelt journeys, not journeys): The journey from London to Newcastle by train can now be completed in less than three hours.

3. A trip usually involves more than one single journey. We talk about day trips, round trips and business trips, we make journeys usually, but we go on trips. E.g. I went on a day trip to France. We left at 6.30 in the morning and returned before midnight the same day.

4. An expedition is an organized trip whose purpose is usually scientific exploration of the environment. E.g. Numerous expeditions to The Antarctic have ended in disaster.

5. A safari is a trip or expedition to observe wild animals in their natural habitat. E.g. His one ambition in life was to go on safari to Kenya to photograph lions and tigers.

C.

Remind, Remember, Recall

Remind and remember are not the same. If you remind somebody about something, you make them remember it. Compare the following:

Remind me to send Tony an email about the change of dates.

When you say that somebody or something reminds you of something, you associate it with a memory from your past;

She reminds me of the Princess royal. They are so alike in books and bearing.

If you remember something, you recall people or events to your mind. Compare the following:

Do you remember the first time we sat under the stars, listening to Beethoven’s Ninth?

When you recall something, you remember it and tell others about it:

The Prime Minister recalled his visits to France and the six meetings he had with the French President.

If you recollect something, you remember it and usually talk about it. There is little difference between recollect and recall in this context.

She recollected / recalled that she had been living in Paris when Picasso and Matisse were both working there.

D.

Tell or ask?

Many experts argue that, ask is more polite as asking for something is the same as requesting it, whereas telling someone to do something is the same as instructing or ordering them. Compare the examples given below:

Why don’t you come round at about eight for a bite to eat?

~ I told them to come around at eight for something to eat.

~ I asked them to come around at eight for something to eat

But sometimes we need to use tell when the meaning is more explicitly instruct and ask when the meaning is more explicitly request. Compare the following:

Be careful not to dive too close to the rocks.

~ I told them not to dive too close to the rocks.

Don’t drink water from the stream. It’s polluted.

~ I told her not to drink water from the stream. It’s not clean.

Can you show me how to operate this computer?

~ I asked her to show me how to operate the office computer.

Would you let me know when tony arrives?

~ I’ve asked him to let me know when Tony arrives.

Telephoning: Tips

A.

Telephoning in a language which is not your own is not easy. You should be aware that the person you are speaking to may have difficulties too.

Therefore keep the following points in mind:

• Speak clearly. Use clear articulation and avoid difficult words and long sentences if it is not necessary to use them.

• Do not speak too fast. Keep in mind that many people tend to speak too fast when they are nervous. Hardly anyone ever speaks slowly.

• Ensure that you have got everything right. This is especially important if the other person gives addresses or dates.

• Be polite. Start and end the conversation politely. Try to avoid being too direct. In English this is often done by using ‘would’. Compare: I want some more information – I would like to have some more information.

• Be efficient. Make sure that you are well prepared for the call and know what you want to say and how you want to say it in advance.

• Get familiar with the telephone alphabet. This is particularly important if you have to spell names and addresses. (See page 115 of this book)

• Get familiar with frequently used expressions.

• Listen carefully so that you don’t need to ask the other person to repeat information.

B.

Tips for Getting People to Slow Down!!

One of the biggest problems is speed. Native speakers, especially business people, tend to speak very quickly on the telephone. Here are some practical tips to get native speakers of English to slow down!

• Immediately ask the person to speak slowly.

• When taking note of a name or important information, repeat each piece of information as the person speaks. This is an especially effective tool. By repeating each important piece of information or each number or letter as the spell or give you a telephone number you automatically slow the speaker down.

• Do not say you have understood if you have not. Ask the person to repeat until you have understood.

• Remember that the other person needs to make himself/herself understood and it is in his/her interest to make sure that you have understood. If you ask a person to explain more than twice they will usually slow down.

• If the person does not slow down begin speaking your own language! A sentence or two of another language spoken quickly will remind the person that they are fortunate because THEY do not need to speak a different language to communicate. Handled carefully, this exercise in humbling the other speaker can be very effective. Just be sure to sue it with peers and not with a boss!

C.

Some commonly used word groups

• Could you give me the number of Deccan Airways?
• Is that in the city or in the suburbs?
• In the city. On MG Road.
• Just a moment, please.
• What’s the telephone number of Pan Airways?
• Just a moment, please.
• Thank you, operator.
• That number is 9849227667.
• I’d like to speak to Jack, please.
• What number are you calling?
• M-U-Nine-Eight-One-Four-Three-Seven-Six
• Sorry. You‘ve got the wrong number.
• May I speak to the director, please?
• May I know, who’s calling, please?
• Tell him it’s his friend from Japan.
• Just a moment, please.
• I’d like to speak to Mr. Bush, please.
• May I ask who’s calling, please?
• Tell him it’s his assistant.
• Please hold the line while I see if he’s in.

EXERCISE

Real life situations – Businesses are always interested in telling you about their products. Find a product you are interested in and research it over the telephone. You can…

• Call a store to find out the prices and specifications.
• Ring the company representative to find out details on how the product works.
• Telephone a consumer agency to find out if the product has any defects.
• Call customer service to find out about replacement parts, etc.

Telephone English

A.

Reacting to what the caller says

I’m listening.

I’m following.

I see/know what you mean.

Quite so.

Right.

Okay.

Exactly.

Sure.

How interesting!

Really?

Is that right?

Me too.

Neither would I

And So?

And what happened?

And then?

Does he?

Are they?

I’m surprised!

Really?

No! Never!

No Way!

Get out!

It can’t be!

Gosh! Wow!

I don’t it!

I can’t believe you!

What a surprise!

That is a surprise!

That’s incredible!

That’s amazing!

Can you believe it?

He didn’t!

Are they?

Are you?

You must be kidding!

Are you pulling my leg?

B.

As you finish your telephone conversation, there are some appropriate and courteous statements that should always be made. You should:

Thank the customer for calling.

Let the customer know you appreciate his or her business.

Provide assurance that any promises will be fulfilled.

Leave the customer with a positive feeling.

Courteous closing statements

“Thanks for calling. We appreciate your business.”

“Thanks for your order.”

“Please call us anytime.”

“I enjoyed talking to you.”

“Thank you for your patience. I am glad we could resolve your concern.”

“It was a pleasure talking with you.”

“If you have additional questions, please call again.”

“I know you had to wait a long time. Thank you for being so patient.”

“My apology about the mix up. We do appreciate your business.”

“Thanks for placing your order with us.”

“Goodbye, and thanks for calling.

C.

Closing phrases for telephone conversations:

Listen, I can’t talk now.

Someone’s just come in.

Someone wants to speak to me.

There’s someone on the other line.

I’ve got some people here right now.

There are dinner guests here.

Hang on, I can hear something boiling over.

I can hear the doorbell.

I’ll have to go.

Well, I’d better let you go.

Well, I don’t want to use/run up your phone bill.

Well, thanks for calling /returning my call.

I’m really glad you called.

I appreciate your calling.

It was nice of you to call.

I’ll get back to you on that.

I’ll talk to you later.

Well, it’s been good talking to you.

I’ve really got to run.

D.

Problems

I’m sorry, I don’t understand.

I cannot hear you very well.

You must have dialed the wrong number.

I’ve tried to get through several times, but it’s always engaged.

Sorry, wrong number.

Wrong number / you’ve got the wrong number. This is (6453), you should dial again.

Can I leave a message?

I’ll ring back later. When’s the right time?

Can you ask (him) to call me?

Can I take a message?

Could you ring back in half an hour?

Shall I get him to ring you back?

I’ve been trying to get (12345678).

It rings engaged all the time.

I was cut off.