Дидактический материал по лексике
учебно-методический материал по английскому языку (9 класс) на тему

 Words often Confused

1. Fill in the blanks with the verbs 'to carry', 'to bring' or 'to take' in the required form.

Note: the verb "to carry" does not indicate direction (направление);

the verb "to bring" indicates direction towards the speaker;

    the verb "to take" indicates direction away from the speaker.

1. The autumn came and ... with it heavy clouds and rains. 2. I have ... home several interesting magazines. "Read them tonight," I said to my sister, "because I must ... them to the library tomorrow." 3. Please ... this letter to the mail-box. 4. ... a raincoat, the weather may change.— But I always ... it in my bag. 5. Tell him to go away and ... his dog with him. 6. Jim arrived and ... Mary in his car. 7. I am sorry I've ... you here. The climate is not good for you. 8. She was ... a suit-case in her hand. 9. The guide ... us to the museum and showed us the exhibition.

2. Choose and insert the correct word in the proper form.

a) rise, raise

Note: “rise” is an irregular verb and cannot have an object;

“raise” is a regular verb, it can have an object, and can therefore be used in the passive.

    1. The sun … in the East and sets in the West. 2. Students usually … their hands when they want to ask a question. 3. He is still very weak. He can hardly … from his armchair. 4. It`s proper for a gentleman to … his hat when he meets  a lady in the street. 5. Early to bed and early to … makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. 6. The lights went down and  the curtain ... .7. Only a few people ... their voices against the plan. 8. She ... her еуеs to see a stranger in the room.

b) dress, put on, wear

Note: you "dress" a person: oneself, a child, etc;          

you "put on" clothes: a suit, shoes, a coat, a hat, etc;

     after you put something on you "wear" it.        

1. I usually get up at seven o`clock, wash, … and have my breakfast. 2. It`s very cold today. … your warm coat. 3. For a wedding one must be properly ... . 4. I don't know how to ... tonight.— Why not ... your navy blue suit? It looks very nice on you. 5. People ... differently in town and in the country. 6. Mrs. Smith always ... gray. 7. It's popular with some young men to ... beards and long hair.

c) meal, food

Note: "meal" is an occasion of eating (e. g. breakfast);

"food" is things we eat.

1. How many ... a day do you have? 2. The English are said to prefer plain good ... . 3. Let's go and have our ... at that restaurant over there.— Yes, but do you think they serve good ... ? 4. In England lunch is usually the biggest ... of the day.

3. Insert "hard' or “hardly”.

Note: "hard" means "difficult, not easy",

"hardly" can have several meanings: when used with "could/ can", it means "only with difficulty";

 used with "any", it means "very little";

used with "ever", it means "very seldom".

1. The one who works ... has little fear of failing an exam. 2. The life of an inventor used to be very ... . He had ... any time to waste. 3. She was so tired that she could ... stand. 4. He spoke too fast and it was ... to understand him. 5. I ... ever use my telephone because it is often out of order. 6. It was ... for her to admit that her son was a failure.

4. Study the following words; fill in the blanks with the proper words in the correct form.

a) learn, study, teach

Note: both "learn" and "study" mean "to get knowledge, but while "study" is used mainly when we mean the process itself, "learn" as a rule means the result of the process of studying, i. e. "to know smth. as a result of studying"; "study" has an additional meaning, i. e. "to examine smth. carefully";

"teach" is opposite in meaning to these two words as it means not "to get" but "to give knowledge, instruction”.

 1. Mother thought it is necessary to … Gerry something useful. and offered to ... him. 2. Leslie thought Gerry should … to sail and shoot and offered  to … him. 3. "The most important thing for him is to ... literature," said Larry. 4. We ... our first foreign language at schools. 5.  Even as a boy Gerry dreamt of ... biology. 6. She has a very good memory and can easily ... several pages by heart. 7. What subjects do you ... in the third year? 8. She was a good teacher and the child ... quickly. 9. She ... his face carefully before answering his question.

b) learn, find out, discover

No t e: "learn" may also mean “to be informed” or "to receive information" about  smth.; in this meaning it is very close to the words "discover" and "find out";

"learn" denotes getting information without any or much effort;

"discover" suggests that the new information is surprising, unexpected;

"find out" means “to get information by search or inquiry", i.e. "making an effort to get     it".

1. Mother was surprised to ... that each member of the family had a different idea of education for Gerry. 2. I was sorry to ... that our hockey team again lost the game. 3. Give her a ring to ... if she is at home. 4. I've just... he had passed all his exams. 5. For a long time we tried to ... something about his past, but failed. 6. When Bell`s rivals ... about his invention, they tried to claim their own rights to it. 7. Suddenly I ... that I had left my note-book with her address in it behind.

5. Study the following words; insert the proper words in the required form.

a) sick, ill

Note: "sick" can be used in the expression "be sick", which means "to bring up food from the stomach”  or "want to do this";

in American English “sick” is normally used when you talk about bad health, e.g. "Come down, our daughter is sick"; in British English "sick" is used before a noun;

"ill" is used after a subject and verb, e.g. The parents asked the doctor to have a look at their sick daughter, they said she had been ill for three days;                          

"sick" саn also mean "very tired of", e.g. "I'm sick of your questions.”

1. The child  was … three times in the night. 2. The girl has been looking after her ... father for eleven years. 3. Sorry I've missed all those classes: I've been ... . 4. The ... child was finally taken to hospital. 5. He could hardly eat anything. The very thought of food made him ... . 6. If you are ..., you'd better stay home. 7. I'm ... and tired of listening to your advice. 8. Why is she absent? Is she still ...? 9. He is a very ... man.  

 b) reach, reach for

Note: "reach" means "get to", "go as far as";

"reach for" means "put out the hand to take smth."

1. There were green fields as far as the eye could ... . 2 ... the picture, he knocked down the vase standing on the shelf. 3. She ... the salt and passed it to me. 4. When we at last ... the station the train had already left. 5. He ... his wallet and found it was gone. 6. She ... her pen and started writing. 7. It was quite dark when the tourists ... the village.

c) suggest, offer

Note: one suggests a plan or an idea;

one offers an object, help, a job, etc; one may offer to do smth. and it will be done by the person who makes the offer;

one can suggest that smb. else or a group of people, which may or may not include the speaker, should do smth.; "suggest" is never followed by an infinitive.

1. The plan which you ... is very interesting. 2. The woman ... us a cup of tea. 3. I ... we take lunch first and then go to the cinema. 4. The job he was ... didn't interest him much. 5. When I said that I was tired she immediately ... my going to bed. 6. No one ... to help the old man. 7. The young man stood up and ... his seat to the woman. 8. She ... that we should play a game of tennis before dinner. 9. The girl ... to buy milk on her way back from school. 10. Who was the first to ... this method of doing the work?

6.  Study the following words. Fill in the blanks with the suitable words

     in the  required form.

a) gather, collect, pick

Note: "gather" expresses the idea of bringing or drawing together;

"to get together from various places or sources", it usually means a gradual process;

"collect" is "to gather with design or choice", i.e. according to some plan, often   forming an ordered whole;                        

"pick" is a synonym of "gather", but it is more colloquial and. is used in combinations like: to pick flowers, berries, fruit, mushrooms.

1. We decided to hurry home because a snowstorm was ... . 2. Tom has ... a large number of coins from different countries. 3. He has been ... his pictures for many years. 4. A large crowd ... to listen to the speaker. 5. He went to Africa to ... material for his new book. 6. One of the pleasures of walking in the woods is to ... flowers. 7. A large sum of money was ... to help the striking miners. 8. He has been ... stamps since his schooldays. 9. At dawn she would go to the woods to ... mushrooms.

b) bother, trouble, worry

Note: "bother" means "put someone to inconvenience", often about smth. that has nothing to do with him directly;

"trouble" means "approach smb. about smth. difficult or unpleasant" usually expecting him to put it right for you, "give oneself inconvenience";

"worry" means "to be/feel anxious or uneasy about smb./smth.".

1. Don't ... about your son. He'll be all right soon. 2. May 1 help you with your suitcase? — Don't ... I'll manage. 3. What is ... you? — It's awful headaches I have,

doctor. 4. Excuse me for ... you? Can I speak to Mr. Gordon? 5. Mothers always ... about their children. 6. Don't... trouble until trouble ... you.

c) kill, murder

Note: both "kill" and "murder" mean "put to death" but while killing may be unintentional, murder is intentional.

1. Many people were against the railways fearing that smoke might ... birds in the air. 2. The old lady was ... for her jewels. 3. A lot of passengers were ... in the crash. 4. "I'm afraid your grandfather has been ...," said the policeman. 5. She's always trying to ... two birds with one stone.