GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL

Grateful is the normal word for people's reactions to kindness, favours etc. In other words we use grateful to talk about how we feel when someone is kind to us or does us a favour. A person, who is grateful, is appreciative of benefits received.

For instance:

- I'm very grateful for all your help. ( NOT I'm very thankful....)

-She wasn't a bit grateful to him for repairing her scooter.

- I am extremely grateful to all the teachers for their help.

- We would be grateful for any information you can give us.

On the other hand, 'thankful' is used especially for feelings of relief at having avoided a danger, or at having come through an unpleasant experience. A thankful person is pleased about something good that has happened, or something bad that has not happened.
For example:

Peter: I heard you were in an accident. Are you okay?

Bob: I’m fine. There was some damage to the truck. I’m just thankful that no one was injured.

I was thankful to see they'd all arrived safely.

I'm thankful that we got home before the storm started.

We feel very thankful that he didn't marry her after all.

I hope the aforementioned information was of some help.

SENSIBLE VS SENSITIVE

SENSIBLE VS SENSITIVE

A 'sensible' person is able to make good judgements based on reason and experience rather than emotion. In other words, a 'sensible' person has 'common sense', and does not take stupid decisions. For instance,

-I think the sensible thing would be to take a taxi home.

-I want to buy that pen.~ Be sensible, friend. It's much too expensive.

-I think that's a very sensible idea.

-She gave me some very sensible advice.

On the other hand, a 'sensitive' person feels things easily or deeply, and may be easily hurt. Let's see some examples: 

-Don't shout at her - she's very sensitive. ( NOT ... very sensible.)

-He's very sensitive about his weight.

-This movie may upset a sensitive child.

I hope the information was useful.

TABOO WORDS AND SWEARWORDS

Taboo Words and Swearwords

Many languages have words which are considered dangerous, holy, magic or shocking, and which are only used in certain situations or by certain people. For example, in some African tribes the names of dead chiefs must not be said; in many cultures, words associated with religious beliefs are used only on religious occasions, or only by priests. Words of this kind can be called 'taboo words'.

Taboo words are commonly avoided with euphemisms, such as the English euphemism pass away, meaning "die".

English has three main groups of taboo words and expressions:

(a) A great number of words connected with the Christian religion ( e.g. the names Christ, God) are considered holy by some people. Such people may be upset or shocked by their 'reckless' use.

(b) Certain words relating to sexual activity and the associated parts of the body ( e.g. balls, fuck) are regarded as shocking by a lot of people. In polite or formal language these words are generally avoided, or replaced by other expressions ( e.g. testicles, make love or have sexual intercourse).

(c) Some words referring to the elimination of bodily wastes, and the associated parts of the body, are also regarded as 'dirty' or shocking ( e.g. piss, shit). They are replaced by more 'polite' words and expressions with the same meaning ( e.g. urinate, defecate).

Because taboo words are shocking, they are common in situations where people want to give vent to their emotions by using 'strong' language. This is called 'swearing'. When people swear, taboo words usually change their meanings out and out. For instance, fuck off and piss off have nothing to do with sex or urinating- they are simply violently rude ways of saying 'go away'.

I believe the information was of some help.
 

LUNCH VS DINNER

Healthy food refers to food that contains the right amount of nutrients to keep our body fit. We need healthy food to keep ourselves fit. But it is quite interesting to understand the regional and social differences in the names for meals.

BRITISH USAGE
(a) midday: dinner or lunch?
The midday meal is often called dinner, especially if it is the main meal of the day. People who are 'higher' in the social scale usually call it lunch.

Wikipedia says dinner usually refers to what is in many Western cultures the largest and most formal meal of the day, which many Westerners eat in the evening. On the other hand, lunch, the abbreviation for luncheon, is a meal eaten around midday.

(b) afternoon: tea
Some people have a light meal of tea and biscuits or cakes, called tea, at four or five o'clock in the afternoon.

(c) early evening: (high) tea or supper
Many people have a cooked meal around five or six o'clock. This is often called tea; some people call it supper.

(d) later evening: supper or dinner
A meal later in the evening is often called supper ( and some people use the same word for a bedtime snack). Some people use dinner for the evening meal if it is the main meal of the day. A more formal evening meal with guests, or in a restaurant, is usually called dinner.

AMERICAN USAGE

Americans generally use lunch for the midday meal and dinner or supper for the evening meal. However, in rural areas it is still common for the main meal of the day to be eaten at midday and called dinner, with the evening meal being called supper.

Celebration meals at Christmas and Thanksgiving are called Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner, even if they are eaten at midday.

I believe the information was quite handy.

FUN vs FUNNY

Language as a communication system varies from country to country. It may be quite difficult for one to learn a new language which greatly differs from one's first language. In my opinion, the most difficult aspects of learning a new language are pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. We, here, are going to talk about the difference between FUN and FUNNY.

FUN

-Fun is normally an uncountable noun. It can be used after 'be' to say that things or people are enjoyable or entertaining. For instance:
We had a lot of fun at Eddie's party.
I decided to learn French, just for fun.
She's very lively and full of fun.
Peter and John are a lot of fun.

In informal English, 'fun' can also be used as an adjective as illustrated in the examples below:
She's really fun to be with.
That was a real fun party.
This game looks fun!
There were a lot of fun things for young people to do there.

FUNNY
'Funny' is an adjective, and is used to say that something makes you laugh or amuses you. For instance:
Why are you wearing that funny hat?
I was really embarrassed, but then I saw the funny side of it.
That's the funniest thing I've ever heard.

HELP: Note that 'funny' does not mean 'enjoyable':
The party was great fun.
But one can't say - 'The party was very funny.'

Funny can also be used to refer to something that is difficult to explain or understand. It can mean strange or peculiar:
That's funny- he was here a moment ago and now he's gone.
The engine is making a very funny noise.
A funny thing happened.

Funny can also be used in a humorous way showing lack of respect for somebody:
Don't you get funny with me!

I hope the information provided above was of some help.

Farther vs Further

English is used used as a language of international communication throughout the world. But it can sometimes be puzzling even to native learners. Here we're going to solve one such puzzle.

Farther vs Further

1. Distance 

We use both farther and further to talk about "distance". They mean the same.

For instance, 

"How much farther/further is it?"

"I have to travel farther/further to work now."

"Edinburgh is farther/further away than York."

2. Additional 

Further , but not farther, can also mean "more" or "additional" as illustrated in the examples mentioned below:

"Are there any further questions?"

"For further information, see page 5."

"Further, it is important to consider the cost of repairs."

I hope the information provided above was useful.