Intro:
Rich: I’m confused.
Jen: Are you talking to yourself again, Rich?
Rich: Oh hiya, Jen … no, I’ve just seen that the cricket season has started.
Jen: I didn’t know you were a cricket fan as well as a football fan.
Rich: I’m not really. I find it confusing. How can a game that lasts up to five days finish in a draw?
Jen: Football matches often finish in draws.
Rich: I don’t think they would if they lasted five days.
Jen: Maybe not ...
Rich: And you can’t play in the rain. The season’s started but it hasn’t - all the games have been cancelled - rained off.
Jen: Well, I’d rather play and watch in the sunshine. Footballers have to play in all kinds of terrible weather - and the fans have to watch too - not for me.
Rich: Erm … I suppose that’s true. I’d rather go to matches in the summer, too.
Jen: What are you doing, anyway?
Rich: I’m supposed to be doing this week’s podcast. It’s going to be about confusing words.
Jen: Like cricket.
Rich: A bit like that I suppose but about words, words that learners find confusing. Maybe you could give me a hand? Are you busy?
Jen: No, not really. I suppose I could help.
Rich: Terrific!
Welcome - Confusing words
Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and I’m here with my special guest
Jen: Hi, I’m Jen
Rich: and welcome to this week’s Premier Skills English podcast
Jen: where we talk about football and help you with your English.
Jen: What’s happening this week, Rich?
Rich: In this week’s podcast, we’re talking about confusing words. We’re going to look at some words that learners often get mixed up. This confusion could be caused by a number of reasons.
Jen: One reason could be because the words look the same in your own language but have different meanings in English - these are called false friends.
Rich: Another reason could be that the words look similar and you think they mean the same but they don’t.
Jen: And a third reason could be that the words are used in different ways either lexically or grammatically.
Rich: There was a couple of examples in the opening conversation. Did you hear the words ‘terrible’ and ‘terrific’ they have very different meanings?
Jen: And we used the words ‘suppose’ and ‘supposed to’. These are very different and we will look at the difference in meanings in the next section.
Rich: Don’t forget to listen to the end of the podcast because we have a football phrase for you to guess and don’t forget to do the lesson below the podcast too. It has interactive activities, explanations, a task and some discussion questions at the bottom of the page.
Jen: We’re going to do five little roleplays that all contain words that can be confusing. After each conversation, we’ll look at the words that are often mixed up or confused.
Rich: Ready, Jen?
Jen: Ready Rich.
Topic Focus
Rich: Roleplay one.
Jen: Who do you think will win the FA Cup, Rich? Tottenham or Chelsea?
Rich: I don’t think either of them will win it.
Jen: Neither of them? You think Southampton will win it.
Rich: No, I don’t think so. I think Manchester Utd’s name is on the Cup this season.
...
Jen: the confusing words here are neither and either or neither and either.
Rich: The key thing to remember is that when we use either we are talking about a choice between two options. In the example above, the options were Tottenham and Chelsea.
Jen: And when we use neither we are putting two negative ideas together. In the example above it was the idea of Tottenham not winning the cup and the idea of Chelsea not winning the cup.
Rich: For example, I might say Is one of these jackets yours? and you could reply
Jen: Neither of them are mine. Which means not that one or that one.
Rich: But if the question was Which jacket are you going to wear tonight? You could reply by saying:
Jen: I’m not sure, I think I’ll wear either my new blue one or my black jacket.
Rich: This means that you are going to choose between the two.
...
Jen: Roleplay two.
Rich: That was a terrific result for Liverpool against Manchester City. A 3-0 win at home and a 2-1 win away. Did you watch it?
Jen: I thought it was a terrible result.
Rich: Oh, why?
Jen: I’m a Manchester City fan!
...
Rich: Terrific and terrible are two words that learners often get confused by but once you know the difference it’s quite easy to remember.
Jen: Terrible means really bad but terrific means fantastic.
Rich: But, it’s not the same for horrible and horrific. They both mean really bad.
...
Jen: Roleplay three.
Rich: Did you see that player run into the post last week? It was really funny.
Jen: That sounds horrible. I hope he wasn’t badly injured.
Rich: No, I don’t think he was hurt. I think the post got damaged though.
...
Jen: Injured and damaged are two words that are sometimes confused.
Rich: Injured is similar to hurt and is used for people and animals while damaged is for objects.
Jen: That’s quite easy to remember. What about the word wounded? Like when you hear someone was wounded in an attack of some kind.
Rich: That confuses things more because wounded and injured are both used for people and animals.
Jen: One way to think about it is that wounds are a type of injury.
Rich: This is because wounds are usually connected to blood. A broken leg would be described as an injury but someone who had been stabbed with a knife would be described as wounded.
Jen: So, injured is a more general term. OK, let’s leave that one for now.
...
Rich: Roleplay four.
Jen: What are you doing on Saturday night?
Rich: Well, I’m supposed to be visiting my grandma …
Jen: I don’t suppose you want to come to the match with me? I’ve got tickets!
Rich: Brilliant! Erm … is it a cricket match?
Jen: No, Manchester City!
Rich: I suppose I could tell her that I’ll visit on Sunday.
...
Jen: In this example, suppose means to think or imagine. It’s common in negative sentences when it’s an invitation or request to do something. When we say I don’t suppose you … we really want or hope that the other person responds positively and say yes.
Rich: But supposed to is different. It’s used to talk about obligations or something that is planned. When I said I’m supposed to be visiting my grandma, supposed to means should. I should visit my grandma or I’m planning on visiting my grandma.
Jen: Got it. Let’s move on to the last one.
...
Rich: You must be happy with Manchester City winning their latest Premier League title?
Jen: Yes, very. I missed the match the last time we won the Premier League because I was on holiday so it’ll be a great atmosphere at the stadium next week!
Rich: The last league title Liverpool won was in 1990 but we could win the Champions League this season.
...
Rich: Last and latest are two words that are often confused. Last usually means the final thing or the end while latest means the most recent but sometimes last can mean the most recent too.
Jen: In the example, Rich said: You must be happy with Manchester City winning their latest Premier League title? Here latest means their most recent as they could win more titles in the future.
Rich: Then I said the last title Liverpool won was in 1990. This is also the most recent but here I’m emphasizing the final thing in a list rather than the most recent thing in a list.
Jen: That is quite confusing. We have some more examples and activities in the lesson below to help you.
Task
Rich: Our task for you this week is to complete five sentences using one of the confusing words that we’ve just looked at. Jen … can you read out the five sentences, please.
Jen: Oh, in each sentence I will say the word banana. That’s not the correct word, you need to decide which word to replace it with.
Rich: Let’s go bananas then …
Jen: Number one: Sergio Aguero has been out _______ for a month now.
Number two: That was a _______ game. I wish I’d been there.
Number three: I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m _________ to be in class.
Number four: You can choose ________ of them. It’s your choice!
Number five: Have you heard the ______ Rihanna album yet?
Rich: Write your answers in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
Football phrase
Rich: Every week we give our listeners a football phrase for them to guess. I know you have been thinking about this Jen so … have you got a football phrase for us?
Jen: Yes, I have, but first, we need to look at last week’s football phrase. The phrase was a comeback or to stage or make a comeback. This phrase is really just one word but it’s a compound noun and it means to win from a losing position.
Rich: Well done to Elghoul from Algeria, Ahmed Adam from Sudan, Baktislam from Indonesia, Milos from Serbia, KwesiManifest from Ghana, Sabanoleg and Liubomyr from Ukraine, and Lakerwang from China. What phrase have you got Jen?
Jen: I’ve tried to make it really difficult because you’ve told me that you haven’t had a week when nobody got the phrase.
Rich: The more the difficult the better
Jen: OK, this week’s football phrase is to **** * *******. The phrase means to make a mistake. It can be used in and out of football but is especially relevant for goalkeepers because the first word in the phrase is what goalkeepers do with the ball if they make a mistake. For example, Joe Hart played really well against Chelsea but then he ******* * ******* in the next game against Stoke.
Rich: Thanks, Jen. Let’s see if anybody gets it right. Right, that’s all we have time for this week! Don’t forget to write your answers to our questions and make a guess at our football phrase in the comments below.
Jen: If you have enjoyed this podcast or found it useful, leave us a rating or review and that will help other people find us.
Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football!
Leave a comment
Log in to leave a comment
Comments
03/10/2021
points
Task
• I’m always confused by playing cards game bridge and by ice hokey. I always confuse the words “Last” and “In the end” Earlier, I was describing "traffic jam" as "terrific" which sounds like it has a negative meaning but afterwards I realised this mistake.It had to be "terrible".
Bananas-:) must be eaten. Not to search.
1- Sergio Aguero has been out injured for a month now.
2- That was a terrific game. I wish I’d been there.
3- I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m supposed to be in class.
4- You can choose either of them. It’s your choice!
5- Have you heard the latest Rihanna album yet?
Phrases
• Either doing pay rise or increasing additional payments, both of them make sense. But I think neither of them will arrive the rate of prices rise.
• Terrific successes at the beginning sometimes cause terrible results.Like scoring goals after kick off the match.
• An obese person fell over a car thanks god nothing happened him but car damaged seriously. This is an imagined event-:)
• At the wild animals fight, one of them both injured and wounded.
• I suppose these spouses are supposed to be vaccinating. But they ignored it. This spouses are supposed to be vaccinated. But I don't suppose they will do.
• The latest play that she acted was her last performance before passed away.
03/10/2021 13:28
Tottenham Hotspur
5526
Task
• I’m always confused by playing cards game bridge and by ice hokey. I always confuse the words “Last” and “In the end” Earlier, I was describing "traffic jam" as "terrific" which sounds like it has a negative meaning but afterwards I realised this mistake.It had to be "terrible".
Bananas-:) must be eaten. Not to search.
1- Sergio Aguero has been out injured for a month now.
2- That was a terrific game. I wish I’d been there.
3- I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m supposed to be in class.
4- You can choose either of them. It’s your choice!
5- Have you heard the latest Rihanna album yet?
Phrases
• Either doing pay rise or increasing additional payments, both of them make sense. But I think neither of them will arrive the rate of prices rise.
• Terrific successes at the beginning sometimes cause terrible results.Like scoring goals after kick off the match.
• An obese person fell over a car thanks god nothing happened him but car damaged seriously. This is an imagined event-:)
• At the wild animals fight, one of them both injured and wounded.
• I suppose these spouses are supposed to be vaccinating. But they ignored it. This spouses are supposed to be vaccinated. But I don't suppose they will do.
• The latest play that she acted was her last performance before passed away.
01/01/2021
points
Sergio Aguero has been out injured for a month now.
That was a terrific game. I wish I’d been there.
I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m supposed to be in class.
You can choose either of them. It’s your choice!
Have you heard the lastest Rihanna album yet?
01/01/2021 17:56
Chelsea
97
Sergio Aguero has been out injured for a month now.
That was a terrific game. I wish I’d been there.
I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m supposed to be in class.
You can choose either of them. It’s your choice!
Have you heard the lastest Rihanna album yet?
27/05/2020
points
This week's football phrase could be ( a blunder ) or ( a bloomer ) or ( a foul-up )
27/05/2020 23:16
Manchester United
6510
This week's football phrase could be ( a blunder ) or ( a bloomer ) or ( a foul-up )
27/05/2020
points
Task
Sergio Aguero has been out ( injured ) for a month now.
That was a ( terrific ) game. I wish I’d been there.
I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m ( supposed ) to be in class.
You can choose ( either ) of them. It’s your choice!
Have you heard the ( latest ) Rihanna album yet?
27/05/2020 23:11
Manchester United
6510
Task
Sergio Aguero has been out ( injured ) for a month now.
That was a ( terrific ) game. I wish I’d been there.
I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m ( supposed ) to be in class.
You can choose ( either ) of them. It’s your choice!
Have you heard the ( latest ) Rihanna album yet?
27/05/2020
points
Two words are really confusing for me which are ( advice & advise )
But I learned lately that advice is a noun and advise is a verb
27/05/2020 23:08
Manchester United
6510
Two words are really confusing for me which are ( advice & advise )
But I learned lately that advice is a noun and advise is a verb
27/05/2020
points
I think baseball is very confusing for me and horse riding as I have no idea what should someone do to win
27/05/2020 23:03
Manchester United
6510
I think baseball is very confusing for me and horse riding as I have no idea what should someone do to win
30/06/2018
points
guess the word answers
terribly
last
supposed
either
latest
30/06/2018 19:01
Southampton
23
guess the word answers
terribly
last
supposed
either
latest
30/06/2018
points
the phrase is to blunder
30/06/2018 18:58
Southampton
23
the phrase is to blunder
26/04/2018
points
I think this week's phrase is to make a blunder
26/04/2018 18:21
Manchester United
4768
I think this week's phrase is to make a blunder
25/06/2018
points
I think this week's phrase is " what a cracker"
25/06/2018 06:00
Chelsea
107
I think this week's phrase is " what a cracker"
24/04/2018
points
I suppose football phrase is to"play a blinder"
24/04/2018 13:19
Arsenal
2337
I suppose football phrase is to"play a blinder"
24/04/2018
points
Correct me.
★ B Questions
● There are quite a few sports that I find confusing, but the one which confuses me the most is NFL. Firstly, there's no crossbar and the posts seem to be a bit too high for me, add to that it's normal to see players being brought down and to witness some absolutely massive collisions. I wonder why players are using their hands despite the game is called FOOTBAL? Yes sometimes the ball is kicked maybe if the referee has awarded a free kick or something of that kind, but most of the time a player ruches towards the line with the whole opposition trying to make countless interceptions and this usually results in a pile of bodies. I think there's too much toughness into that sport.
● Thank you for this podcast. Now I understand all the words introduced in this pod and I don't know any other meanings. Anyway, I've got a little headache with the pronunciation of these two words 'Either & Neither'. I prefer to pronounce them a bit like 'cyber', not like 'visa'. Will that make difference in meaning?
● I'm sure there are a nuumber of word pairs that I often get confused with. However, I can't remember them now because they're not in my active vocabulary, maybe when I come across some, I might write them down. Now this pair of words, 'Fridge & refrigerator', I use them interchangeably, but they may not refer to the same thing. I don't know what is the exact different between those two words?
24/04/2018 11:47
Liverpool
2903
Correct me.
★ B Questions
● There are quite a few sports that I find confusing, but the one which confuses me the most is NFL. Firstly, there's no crossbar and the posts seem to be a bit too high for me, add to that it's normal to see players being brought down and to witness some absolutely massive collisions. I wonder why players are using their hands despite the game is called FOOTBAL? Yes sometimes the ball is kicked maybe if the referee has awarded a free kick or something of that kind, but most of the time a player ruches towards the line with the whole opposition trying to make countless interceptions and this usually results in a pile of bodies. I think there's too much toughness into that sport.
● Thank you for this podcast. Now I understand all the words introduced in this pod and I don't know any other meanings. Anyway, I've got a little headache with the pronunciation of these two words 'Either & Neither'. I prefer to pronounce them a bit like 'cyber', not like 'visa'. Will that make difference in meaning?
● I'm sure there are a nuumber of word pairs that I often get confused with. However, I can't remember them now because they're not in my active vocabulary, maybe when I come across some, I might write them down. Now this pair of words, 'Fridge & refrigerator', I use them interchangeably, but they may not refer to the same thing. I don't know what is the exact different between those two words?
24/04/2018
points
★TASK
1- injured
2- terrific
3- supposed
4- either
5- latest
★Football phrase:
This week's phrase might be '**** * *******' and indeed it's a difficult one.
24/04/2018 10:17
Liverpool
2903
★TASK
1- injured
2- terrific
3- supposed
4- either
5- latest
★Football phrase:
This week's phrase might be '**** * *******' and indeed it's a difficult one.
20/04/2018
points
How do u collect scores?
20/04/2018 22:32
Chelsea
1
How do u collect scores?
20/04/2018
points
Hi Tasnim,
You collect points by writing and replying to comments and by completing the quizzes that you can find on most pages on the website.
We hope that you enjoy getting as many points as you can!
Rich - The Premer Skills English Team
20/04/2018 23:14
Liverpool
594
Hi Tasnim,
You collect points by writing and replying to comments and by completing the quizzes that you can find on most pages on the website.
We hope that you enjoy getting as many points as you can!
Rich - The Premer Skills English Team
20/04/2018
points
1.Sergio Aguero has been out injured for a month now.
2.That was a terrific game. I wish I’d been there.
3.I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m supposed to be in class.
4.You can choose either of them. It’s your choice!
5.Have you heard the latest Rihanna album yet?
-------------------------------
I think baseball is a kind of game that I find confusing. Once I tried learning its rules, but I gave up in the end.
There are many words that are interesting in English.For example, guise and disguise have a similar meaning. Voice means the sounds you make when you speak, whereas invoice means a kind of receipt. Moral and morale have different meanings. And the word sanction even has two opposite meanings.
------------------------------
I suppose this week's football phrase is "**** * *******".
20/04/2018 17:49
Chelsea
337
1.Sergio Aguero has been out injured for a month now.
2.That was a terrific game. I wish I’d been there.
3.I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m supposed to be in class.
4.You can choose either of them. It’s your choice!
5.Have you heard the latest Rihanna album yet?
-------------------------------
I think baseball is a kind of game that I find confusing. Once I tried learning its rules, but I gave up in the end.
There are many words that are interesting in English.For example, guise and disguise have a similar meaning. Voice means the sounds you make when you speak, whereas invoice means a kind of receipt. Moral and morale have different meanings. And the word sanction even has two opposite meanings.
------------------------------
I suppose this week's football phrase is "**** * *******".
20/04/2018
points
This week phrase is hard to guess. But I like when it’s not an easy one, so I’m going to try. It seems to me that the phrase is to ‘**** * ********’.
20/04/2018 15:29
Watford
4408
This week phrase is hard to guess. But I like when it’s not an easy one, so I’m going to try. It seems to me that the phrase is to ‘**** * ********’.
20/04/2018
points
Sergio Aguero has been out injuredfor a month now.
That was a terrific game. I wish I’d been there.
I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m supposed to be in class.
You can choose either of them. It’s your choice!
Have you heard the latest Rihanna album yet?
There are a lot confusing words in English for me.Brake and
break,or loose and lose,appraise and apprise are some of them.but thankfully this podcast helped me to understand some confusing words in English.You are doing great job and and you help me a lot with my english, keep sharing valuable information and knowledge.I really appreciate that.
I think that football pharase for this week is make a blunder mistake,or maybe make a terrible mistake.
20/04/2018 07:03
Manchester United
2663
Sergio Aguero has been out injuredfor a month now.
That was a terrific game. I wish I’d been there.
I can’t go on Wednesday because I’m supposed to be in class.
You can choose either of them. It’s your choice!
Have you heard the latest Rihanna album yet?
There are a lot confusing words in English for me.Brake and
break,or loose and lose,appraise and apprise are some of them.but thankfully this podcast helped me to understand some confusing words in English.You are doing great job and and you help me a lot with my english, keep sharing valuable information and knowledge.I really appreciate that.
I think that football pharase for this week is make a blunder mistake,or maybe make a terrible mistake.
19/04/2018
points
I find American football confusing with all these kits worn by the players.
1. Aguero has been out injured for a month now.
2. That was a terrific game. i wish I'd been there.
3. I can't go on wednesday because I am supposed to be in class.
4. You can choose either of them. It is your choice.
5. Have you heard the latest Rihanna album yet?
football phrase, make a blunder.
19/04/2018 16:27
Manchester City
3988
I find American football confusing with all these kits worn by the players.
1. Aguero has been out injured for a month now.
2. That was a terrific game. i wish I'd been there.
3. I can't go on wednesday because I am supposed to be in class.
4. You can choose either of them. It is your choice.
5. Have you heard the latest Rihanna album yet?
football phrase, make a blunder.