Blog - Page 29 of 30

unused = not used; fresh; new

You can get a refund on the unused tickets.
All the unused cheque leaves were surrendered to the bank.
Unused car, unused furniture, etc.

disused = no longer being used; abandoned

Beware of the disused well near the playground.
This bridge was used until the 2000s and then fell into disuse.
Long periods of disuse can damage batteries.
Disused mine, disused warehouse, etc.

Unused to also means unaccustomed to

She was quite unused to this way of life

Artist or Artiste?

Language Tips

svk

July 10, 2018

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Artist = a person who produces works in any of the arts subject to aesthetic criteria [ahr-tist]

1) Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the most famous artists in the world.
2) She is a tattoo artist in Cochin.
3) You’re an artist!
4) He is the greatest living artist.

Artiste = a skilled performer, especially a dancer, singer, or actor [ahr-teest]

1) Famous cine artiste Jagadish will be the chief judge.
2) Sambasivan is the most famous Kathaprasangam artiste from Kerala.
3) mime artiste, cine artiste, circus artistes, chat artiste, etc.

An Artiste is an artist specific to performing arts.The word ‘artiste‘ is pronounced with a longer ee sound in the middle.

Magnet or Magnate?

magnate = a person of power or influence (often in a specified area)

1) M A Yusuf Ali is a business Magnate from Kerala who owns the Lulu group of companies.
2) She was a magnate in the newspaper industry.
3) Real estate magnate, Media magnate, political magnate, property magnate.

magnet = something that attracts (iron)

1) Kids took out a magnet from the damaged motor.
2) I love Fridge magnets.
3) Earth behaves like a big magnet
4) Munnar is a magnet for tourists to Kerala

A Magnate might have a magnetic personality. But the two words are different.

Prove your Mettle

Mettle refers to what a person is made of.
It is a person’s ability to cope well with difficulties; endurance; determination; courage.

1) France showed their mettle by defeating Argentina in the FIFA World Cup.
2) It’s time for you to prove your mettle
3) The competition will test her mettle.

metal=opaque, lustrous elements that are good conductors of heat and electricity
They are generally malleable, ductile and dense compared to other elements.

1) Aluminium is a metal and hence readily conducts heat.
2) metal detectors
3) Gold is the most precious of all metals

A piece of advice to the learners of English Language

You can learn the language at any age provided you have a passion or desire for it. Unlike literature, functional aspects of English have greater practical utility in our day-to-day communication, either verbal, written or through devices. Though there is no shortcut for language study, there is a specific sequence to be followed in accordance with the step-by-step appropriacy of dealing with the subject which I have christened as SVK – ABC approach where A stands for the items to be considered first in the order of our study and B represents the next items or topics to be considered and C denotes the last items to be considered. This pattern follows the grammar book written by me entitled SVK English Grammar and Usage and hence called SVK – ABC approach!

Here A stands for the most important aspects which include:

Tenses – Active and passive voice and their sub-divisions.
Conditional clauses using the word ‘if’.
Modal verbs and their application
Other useful structures.

These are the essentials which should be given primacy in the language study.

The second letter B comes next in importance which includes:

Building of vocabulary
Idiomatic expressions

The topics included in the item B are supportive to the essentials mentioned in the item A.

The third item is C which includes Phonetics and proverbs. They are ornamental in nature, but useful and important to a serious learner. If you are able to pronounce your words clearly with good diction and clarity, it will attract an international acceptance. if you know some proverbs, you can express a huge mountain of ideas in a few words which will reduce the time required to the minimum to explain an idea and the hearer will have the satisfaction of having understood the whole idea in a clear way. More importantly, that will add to the beauty of your language. Thus the item C covers the beautification aspects of the language study.

To RECAP:
A – Tenses, conditional clauses, modal verbs and other structures
B – Vocabulary and idiomatic expressions
C – Phonetics and proverbs

If you follow this approach of study, you will be able to cover all important areas of the functional aspects of English in a highly systematic and holistic way.

Best of Luck!
Sunny Varkey K

Prescribe versus Proscribe

prescribe = recommend as something beneficial; to give medical prescriptions

1) The doctor prescribed three months of physical therapy for my leg injury.
2) You are bound to follow the rules as prescribed by the authorities.

proscribe = forbid, especially by law.

1) Regulations proscribe the use of mobile phones in the examination halls.
2)The education department proscribed the controversial portion from the syllabus.