Commonly confused words
Category Archives: Vocabulary
Make and Do
Common Collocations with DO
- Do a deal
To make an arrangement, esp. in business
Eg: Have you done any deals with distributors in Asia yet?
- Do business
To be engaged in business, to be involved in commerce or trade.
Eg: We want to do business with you
- Do damage
To cause harm or damage
eg: Did the storm do much damage?
- Do the dishes
To wash plates, cups, pots, pans, knives, forks, etc. used to cook and eat a meal
Eg: Whose turn is it to do the dishes tonight?
- Do the ironing
To iron clothes, sheets, …
Eg: I like listening to the radio while I’m doing the ironing.
- Do the shopping
To buy food and groceries
Eg: We usually do the shopping at our local supermarket.
- Do (your) best
Do all you can to succeed
Eg: We did our best to win, but the other team played really well.
- Do (your) duty
Do what you should do at work, at home, or for your community
Eg: The police were just doing their duty when they arrested him.
- Do (your) hair
Style your hair. I need the hair dresser to do my hair
Eg: Every morning I do my hair so it looks presentable.
- Do (your) nails
Paint your nails
Eg: Can you open this envelope for me? I just did my nails and they’re still wet.
- Do someone a favour
Do something for someone as an act of kindness
He: He did us a big favour by postponing his departure for a couple of weeks.
- Do harm
To have a bad effect on somebody or something
Eg: The floods didn’t do any serious harm to our crops.
- Do damage
To cause harm or damage
Eg: Did the storm do much damage?
- Do better
To improve performance or condition
Eg: We didn’t play well today, but I’m sure we’ll do better next time.
- Do work
To put effort into a task or a job
Eg: I’ve done enough work for one day. I’m going home.
Common Collocations with MAKE
- Make a bed
To neatly arrange the sheets, blankets and pillows on a bed
Eg: Mum says I have to make my bed before I go to school.
- Make a decision
To decide what to do
Eg: „Have you made a decision yet?“
- Make a fortune
To make a huge amount of money
Eg: My uncle made a fortune in the software business.
- Make a fuss
To create unnecessary excitement or concern about something
Eg: I like people who achieve a lot without making a big fuss about what they’re doing.
- Make a living
To earn money for the things you need in life
Eg: It’s not easy to make a living when the economy’s so bad.
- Make a mess
To create an untidy or disorganized state or situation
Eg: If rich kids make a mess, their servants tidy things up again.
- Make a mistake
To do something that’s wrong or has bad results
Eg: Whenever we make mistakes, our teacher corrects them for us.
- Make a note (of)
To write down something so that you don’t forget it
Eg: I’d better make a note of that, or I might forget.
- Make a pass at
Flirt with someone
Eg: My best friend’s brother made a pass at me – he asked if I was single and tried to get my phone number.
- Make a profit
To make money from business or investments
Eg: Big companies employ smart people to ensure they pay very little tax on the huge profits they make.
- Make a reservation
To book or reserve a seat on a train, a table in a restaurant, a room in a hotel, …
Eg: Shall I make a reservation for 8 o’clock at that Japanese restaurant?
- Make a takeover bid
To try to get control of something
Eg: The company made a takeover bid for one of its rivals.
- Make an appearance
To appear; to appear in a performance
Eg: We waited for thirty minutes for the professor to make an appearance, then we went home.
- Make an effort
To put time and energy into doing something
Eg: You can’t learn a language without making an effort.
- Make an excuse
To give a reason for doing something you shouldn’t do, or for not doing something you should do
Eg: He got to work late and made some excuse about being stuck in traffic.
- Make an offer
To state a price you’re willing to pay for something
Eg: He made a generous offer, but I had to turn it down.
- Make contact
To contact a person or an organisation
Eg: After I get there, I’ll make contact with a number of local trading companies.
- Make friends
To form new friendships
Eg: Jenny finds it hard to make friends.
- Make peace
To end hostilities; to reach a peace agreement
Eg: Both countries can rebuild now that they have made peace with each other.
Different Types of Breads in English
- White bread
Wholemeal bread is more nutritious than white bread.
- Wheat bread
Making good wheat bread is a satisfying experience for a number of reasons.
- Whole grain bread
Parents were sent weekly and coupons for brown rice, whole grain bread, and other healthful foods.
- Rye bread
Since it is low in calories, rye bread is ideal for dieters.
- Hot dog bun
I had a hot dog bun for breakfast.
- Hamburger bun
It’s the hamburger bun what I ordered.
- Croissant
She bit into a croissant and took a sip of coffee.
- Swiss roll (U.K) – jelly roll (U.S)
I will have black tea with lemon and sugar and a piece of swiss roll/ jelly roll.
- Pretzel
I love pretzels, trail mix, raisins and dried fruit.
- Bagels
People are eating bagels for lunch, dinner and snacks in between.
- Donut
She is eating a donut, and the powdered sugar makes more spots on her dress.
- Rolls
She put some margarine on her roll.
- Breadsticks
Would you like some more breadstick?
- French bread/ baguette
French bread goes stale very quickly.
Food alphabet
Our student Mia made this great food alphabet!
Look, see, watch
Agreeing
Days, Months and Compass
Expressions about Age
Types of music
‘What kind of music do you like?’ – How often have you been asked this question and been unable to answer it? In today’s lesson we look at vocabulary that we can use to help us answer this question. This is a list of 10 different styles of music. We also call them genres. When native English speakers ask the question ‘What kind of music do you like?’, they are expecting to hear you say one, two or even three of these genres:
Max: What kind of music do you like?
Suzy: I like listening to dance music, country and blues. How about you?
Max: I like listening to dance music too. I also like listening to classical music and reggae.
Different types of music
1) Blues
This style of music is usually slow and often sad. It started in the southern US. Singers often sing about their difficult lives or their bad luck.
Famous blues singers include B.B. King, Bessie Davis, and Otis Rush.
2) Classical music
With this style of music, there is no singing. It is only instrumental.
Famous composers of classical music include Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach.
3) Reggae
This style of music comes from Jamaica. It has strong second and fourth beats. Reggae songs often contain non-standard grammar.
Famous reggae singers include Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
4) Children’s Music
This style of music is easy to understand. They are songs that have been especially written for children. Yes, there are adults that like these songs too. 🙂
5) Country
This is a popular style of music that is based on traditional music from the western and southern US.
Famous country singers include Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and Willie Nelson.
6) Dance music
You can often hear this style of music in night clubs. It has a very strong beat and people like to dance to it.
7) Easy Listening
This style of music is not difficult, complicated, or serious. This is a wide style and may include other styles of music.
Famous singers of this style of music include André Rieu, Andre Kostelanetz, and Henry Mancini.
8) Electronic music
This style of music is often made on the computer or with other electronic instruments.
9) Rock music
This style of dance music began in the USA in the 1950s. It has a strong loud beat and simple tunes that are often repeated.
Famous rock bands include U2, The Beatles, and The Eagles.
10) Heavy Metal/Metal
This is a style of rock music that is often played loudly using electrical instruments.
Famous heavy metal bands include Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin.
11) Hip-hop
In this style of music, songs are often about politics or the society. The hip-hop artists speak the words rather than sing them. It is also called rap music or hip hop music.
Famous hip-hop artists include Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Notorious B.I.G.
12) Gospel
This is a style of religious music. It was started by African Americans in the south of the US. It is usually performed by groups of singers with strong voices.
Famous gospel groups include the Fairfield Four, the Dixie Hummingbirds, and the Golden Gate Quartet.
13) Jazz
This style of music was developed in the early 20th century. The music is often improvised. This means that the performers change the music as they perform.
Famous jazz performers include Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Andy Williams.
14) New Age
This style of music helps people to relax. It is often used to create a calm and peaceful environment. Some people listen to this style of music when they meditate.
Famous New Age performers include Enya, Era, and Paul Horn.
15) Pop
This style consists of popular modern music. These pop songs usually have strong beats and words that are easy to listen to and remember.
Famous pop artists include Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Michael Jackson.
16) Opera
An opera is a kind of play where the characters sing rather than speak. These operas have orchestras (i.e. large groups of musicians which play mostly classical music).
Famous opera singers include Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Potts, and Montserrat Caballé.
17) R&B
This popular style of music was started by African Americans in the 1940s. It was developed from blues and jazz.
Famous contemporary (i.e. modern) R&B singers include Rihanna, Beyonce, and Mariah Carey.
18) Soundtrack
This is not so much a style of music as a collection of music and/or songs that are used in a specific movie (e.g. the soundtrack to Iron Man, the soundtrack to The Dark Knight, etc.) and games (e.g. the soundtrack to Assassin’s Creed, the soundtrack to Halo, etc.). It is often abbreviated to OST which stands for Original Soundtrack.
19) World Music
World Music is the traditional or folk music of a specific culture or country.
20) Kwaito music
This is a modern style of music that started in South Africa in the 1990s. It is based on house music but features African sounds and a slower beat.
Famous kwaito artists include Lebo Mathosa, Arthur Mafokate, and Brenda Fassie.
How can we say dates in English?
Today’s free English lesson is about saying dates in English.
Ordinal Numbers
The first thing you should know is that we usually use ordinal numbers (e.g. first, second, third, etc.) instead of cardinal numbers (e.g. one, two, three, etc.) when we talk about the days.
| Numeral | Cardinal Number | Ordinal Number |
| 1 | one | first |
| 2 | two | second |
| 3 | three | third |
| 4 | four | fourth |
| 5 | five | fifth |
| 6 | six | sixth |
| 7 | seven | seventh |
| 8 | eight | eighth |
| 9 | nine | ninth |
| 10 | ten | tenth |
| 11 | eleven | eleventh |
| 12 | twelve | twelfth |
| 13 | thirteen | thirteenth |
| 14 | fourteen | fourteenth |
| 15 | fifteen | fifteenth |
| 16 | sixteen | sixteenth |
| 17 | seventeen | seventeenth |
| 18 | eighteen | eighteenth |
| 19 | nineteen | nineteenth |
| 20 | twenty | twentieth |
| 21 | twenty-one | twenty-first |
| 22 | twenty-two | twenty-second |
| 23 | twenty-three | twenty-third |
| 24 | twenty-four | twenty-fourth |
| 25 | twenty-five | twenty-fifth |
| 26 | twenty-six | twenty-sixth |
| 27 | twenty-seven | twenty-seventh |
| 28 | twenty-eight | twenty-eighth |
| 29 | twenty-nine | twenty-ninth |
| 30 | thirty | thirtieth |
| 31 | thirty-one | thirty-first |
Months
The second thing to look at is the correct pronunciation of the months:
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Years
The third thing to look at is the correct pronunciation of the years:*
We usually group the numbers together in pairs:
1982: one-thousand, nine-hundred and eighty-two X
1982: nineteen eighty-two
1328: one-thousand, three-hundred and twenty-eight X
1328: thirteen twenty-eight
1632: one-thousand, six-hundred and thirty-two X
1632: sixteen thirty-two
1999: one-thousand, nine-hundred and ninety-nine
1999: nineteen ninety-nine
Things change after 1999:
2000: two-thousand
2001: two-thousand and one
2010: two-thousand and ten
Saying Dates
Let’s get down to saying some dates:
the + the day (ordinal number) + of + the month
Written: My brother was born on 15 June 1977.
Spoken: My brother was born on the fifteenth of June nineteen seventy-seven.
Written: Barack Obama became the president of the USA on 20 January 2009.
Spoken: Barack Obama became the president of the USA on thetwentieth of January two-thousand and nine.
Written: Egypt became a republic on 18 June 1953.
Spoken: Egypt became a republic on the eighteenth of June nineteen fifty-three.
Written: I was born on 23 September.
Spoken: I was born on the twenty-third of September.
Written: 2012 is a leap year.
Spoken: Two-thousand and twelve is a leap year.
Please note: This is the correct way of saying dates in British English. It is not the same in American English.
Smart Zvornik 