Spoken English and IELTS Coaching

What is the difference between ‘erupt’ and ‘irrupt’?

Erupt is the more commonly used word in English. It means ‘explode’, ‘break out’, ‘burst open’ etc. The word is used to convey the fact of something exploding suddenly and violently.

Example sentences are,
People of that village know that bordering volcano erupts frequently.
There is a lot of tension between the two countries. A war may erupt any time.
He erupted in anger when he heard the lies of the other man.

The word ‘irrupt’ is used much less in English. As different from ‘break out’, which is the meaning of ‘erupt’, the meaning of ‘irrupt’ is ‘break in’ which mean break into a place or force an entry into a place. ‘Irrupt’ also means to increase rapidly.

Example sentences are,
New types of grasses have started irrupting in the area.
When he returned after many years, the past irrupted into her life.
She irrupted into the room.

What is the difference between ‘sympathy’ and ‘empathy’?

There is a similarity in the meaning of ‘sympathy’ and ‘empathy’ since both words convey a sense of pain at the sight of another person’s suffering, and an inclination to help that suffering person. However, the words are not identical in meaning.

‘Sympathy’ is just acknowledging that another person is suffering and showing an interest to comfort him/her. Examples sentences:
1. She felt sympathy for the orphan child and offered to fund his education.
2. He felt sympathy for the old man who had no one to care for him.

‘Empathy’, on the other hand, involves a personal understanding or experience of the other person’s difficulty. The speaker, when he ‘empathizes’ with another person, is able to understand the depth of the other person’s suffering because he has himself gone through it. Example sentences:
1. I can empathize with cancer patients because I am a cancer survivor.
2. She felt empathy for the jobless young man because she too had been jobless for fairly long periods.

Though ‘empathy’ hints at a stronger emotion and understanding, both ‘sympathy’ and ‘empathy’ can be equally honest emotions. Sometimes ‘sympathy’ could make a person help another more or respond more immediately than ‘empathy’ could.

Why Do We Skip the 'C' in 'Indict'?
Yet we don't skip it in 'edict' or 'verdict'

‘Indict’ is pronounced as \in-DYTE\. Other legal terms in English that share the Latin root word ‘dicere’ ("to say") are pronounced as they are spelled: edict, interdict, verdict.

‘Indict’ means "to formally decide that someone should be put on trial for a crime." It comes from the Latin word that means "to proclaim."
It is pronounced so because its original spelling in English was endite, a spelling that was used for 300 years before scholars decided to make it look more like its Latin root word, indictare. Our pronunciation still reflects the original English spelling.

The other words ending in -dict were either borrowed directly from Latin or the English pronunciation shifted when they were re-spelled to reflect a closer relationship to Latin.

From Merriam-Webster

Why Do We Skip the 'C' in 'Indict'? Yet we don't skip it in 'edict' or 'verdict'

The difference between optimum and maximum
Optimum means ‘most favourable’, ‘most advantageous’, perfect, ideal etc. Example sentences:
1. The company has provided optimum working conditions for its employees.
2. The optimum number of people for a team was seen to be eight.
3. The optimum climb speed is decided by taking into account all the factors that affect climbing.
4. The optimum temperature for plant growth varies according to the species of the plant.
Maximum means the ‘biggest amount’ or ‘upper limit’ or ‘highest degree’ possible under a given circumstance.
1. In their country, the minimum age for enlisting in the army is 18 and maximum age is 35.
2. The maximum service charges for home delivery will not be more than Rs.200/-
3. As a result of rains, the water rose to a maximum height of 2’ in the area.
4. What is the maximum amount of cash that you are allowed to withdraw from an ATM?

What is the difference between discreet and discrete?
Discreet means “being careful or cautious in one’s actions” especially to avoid embarrassment or confusion.
Examples: You should have been more discreet before challenging your boss.
She made discreet enquiries about her new colleague.

Discrete means “separate or disconnected”.
Examples: Most objects are made of discrete units.
The students were asked to examine the discrete parts of the instrument and prepare a report.

Rules on Using Apostrophes

1. Apostrophes are used for indicating ownership.

• With nouns that do not end in ‘s’ (and which are in most cases singular), add the apostrophe before ‘s’, like,
This is my mother’s book.
That is a bird’s nest. My teacher’s house is the one with a garden in front.

• When the noun is plural and does not end in ‘s’, follow the same rule, like,
The women’s hands are muddy.
He is an expert in making children’s movies.
Everyone referred to her as ‘people’s princess’. That tailor is an expert in stitching men’s clothes.

• When the noun is singular and ends in ‘s’, then too follow the same rule, like,
My boss’s car is red in color. To get the class’s attention, the teacher narrated an interesting story.

• When the noun is plural and ends in ‘s’, add an apostrophe at the end after the ‘s’, like,
The teachers have organized their students’ work very well.
There are no good boys’ hostels in the area.
They will soon open a girls’ hostel.
That is my parents’ home.

2. Apostrophes are used for indicating that a letter or letters have been removed to contract words. Examples are,
Cannot – can’t; do not – don’t; will not – won’t; should not – shouldn’t

A mistake that many students make is saying ‘I did a mistake’ instead of ‘I made a mistake’.
When I explained that, one of them asked: “Can we say I did a blunder?”
The answer is that in the case of ‘blunder’ also, it is ‘make a blunder’ and not ‘do a blunder’. Examples are,
I made a blunder by ignoring the doctor’s advice. She made the blunder of revealing the secret to him.
However, blunder is also a verb. Examples are,
The police blundered and chased the wrong person. The authorities blundered in cancelling the program.

What is the difference between tardy and ta**ry?

The word ‘tardy’ means slow, late to act, or lethargic. Ta**ry means gaudy, cheap and showy, flashy etc.

Examples: 1. He is a skilled worker but so tardy that no one wants to employ him.

1. Her friends did not like the ta**ry dress she wore for the party. 2. Mary did not like the interior décor of her neighbour’s house. It was too ta**ry for her taste.

What is the difference between Manners and mannerism?

Manners (the word is normally used in plural) refers to rules of behaviour that are considered right or polite according to the rules of the society. Mannerism is a peculiar conduct that is specific to a person.

Examples: 1. He has impeccable table manners. 2. Teachers should teach children good manners.

1. He has the irritating mannerism of tapping the table with a pencil while speaking. 2. Her loud voice and her funny mannerisms made her the butt of jokes.

What is the difference between ingenuous and ingenious?
Ingenuous means innocent, simple, or too open, while ingenious means clever, practical, capable etc.

Examples: The ingenuous child did not realise that the man was cheating her. He was ingenuous enough to believe that his co-workers would never thwart his plans.

He was an ingenious craftsman who designed and built small machines. She managed to find an ingenious solution to the difficult problem.