Inside The Language

thank you so much Mr.Alston.

the phrase bottom line: so it is used to show absolute minimum.is it the same as at least?

eg. if you dont want to follow the rules , the bottom line is , you should be careful of your own health.

Samineh, I am so glad you raised the question concerning Lesson No. 1 (in the above text) number 5 Homophones (Homonyms) they are not the same and you noticed it. I noticed it but could not edit the above text.

Those examples (Night/knight) are “Homophones” and not “Homonyms.”

Below are the 3 close categories and descriptions to help your understanding.

1. Homonyms- Words that have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings. For example: suit yourself / wore a suit

2. Homophones- Words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings and can be spelled differently. For example: I want to go / I like it too / one plus one is two

3. Homographs (heteronyms)- Words that are spelled the same but have different meaning and often pronounced differently. For example:close=nearby / close=to shut

If they all seem confusing, don’t worry, they’re confusing to native speakers too!

Here is a bit of information on pre-fixes and suffixes that can help you remember the differences:

Homo= Same / Phone= Sound  / Graph=To write  / Hetero=Different

Using this information and applying it to these word categories you have:

Homo-phones becomes same-sound

Homo-graphs becomes same-spelling

Hetero-nyms becomes different meanings and different pronunciation

Samineh, in regards to your question concerning using the words “GIFT” and “REWARDS” they are not necessarily the same.

A gift is something that is given to honor an occasion.

For example: “Thank you for the birthday gift!”

You would not say thank you for the reward.

A reward is compensation for something that was done to show appreciation.

For example: A reward will be given to anyone who finds my lost dog.

In this case, you could use “gift” instead of “reward” but “reward” is closer to the intent of the speaker. Also, it doesn’t inform people what is the compensation. What if the “gift” is a pack of chewing gum?

Therefore, sometimes you could use these two words inter-changeably and most times not. 

I hope this answers your question, if not, ask again for further explanation.

Dear  Mr Alston,

i just get the meaning of homophones and homonymes, just number 5 in lesson 1 is said they are same, if i’m not mistaken,

and i have a question which is no related to our lessons in inside the language,if you dont mind..is  the words GIFT and REWARDS  used in the same context, i mean can we used them instead of eah other??

thank you so much dear Mr. Alston

Asemon and Arman your feedback is appreciated, thanks and welcome!

That’s very useful.Thank you for describing these things.There are pretty similar things like these “Inside the Language” stuffs in persian too,so I can easily get what you meant.

thanks it was very good

 You’re welcome Samineh, your feedback is appreciated.                                Part 3,  Nos. 11-15 Heteronym explanation is coming soon.

Thank you so much Mr Alston ,it was as useful as always.

Mina, you’re welcome. Use English as the opportunity arises. Do not keep it in your head, express it orally and/or written form. Use it or lose it!

oh 

thank you so much.

Hi

well,it was a useful lesson and I’m gratful of you because of teaching such things!

Well Samineh, here you go, words that are SPELLED THE SAME AND HAVE THE SAME PRONUNCIATION but DIFFERENT MEANINGS are called “HOMOPHONES.”

Below are some examples of common Homophones:

arms (weapons) arms (part of body)

ball (sphere) ball (dance)

band (music makers) band (strap)

bass(low musical sound) bass (fish)

bear (animal) bear (carry)

box (container) box (hit) box (shrub)

brush (tool) brush (undergrowth)

can (container) can (able)

case (container) case (condition)

There are more, just use a search engine for “homophones”

Thanks Samineh for bringing this part of English to our attention.

hello dear Mr Alston

what about the words that have same spelling and same pronounciation, but diffrent meaning..like bank (the palce for saving money)and (th area besides sea)?

thank you so much

Samineh, “that’s what I’m talking about!” (common phrase). Both pronunciation and meaning are different but the spelling is the same for “Heteronyms.”

In the case of “Homonyms” the spelling is different but the pronunciation is the same. For example, “bear” and “bare” or “hear” and “here.” This is a separate lesson, use the internet for details.

I myself didn’t pay attention to the different pronunciations of the heteronyms, difference in  the meaning just were important for me, now by this helpful lesson I pay attention to the pronunciation, I just found the phonetics of them in oxford.  Thank you Mr. Alston

                      word             verb                 noun

•   wound             /waund/           /wu:nd/


• produce       / Pre`dju:s /         /`Pradju:s/


• refuse              /rI`fju:z/            /`refju:z/


• polish               /`paliÐ /         /`Pa:lIÐ/


• lead                   / lI:d /                /Led/   


• desert           /dI`zƷ:rt/          /`desert/


• present           /prI`zent/          /`Preznt/


• bass                   /bæs/                 /BeIs/


• dove       /dëuv/ pt of dive         /dAv/


• object         /ëb`dƷekt/         /`a:bdƷekt/

NathalieRT, you’re welcome.

Once you get inside the English language, you begin to see things that you may not have seen before. However, once you’re exposed to the various figures of speech, then you can decide how to spend your time studying. 

Fantastic lesson, thank you for posting! I guess I need to better focus on the play of words, it should be fun & useful.

Heteronyms Explanation – Part 2, Nos. 6-10

Heteronyms are words that are spelled the same but have different pronunciations and meanings.

Please scroll back to June 13, 2014 for the complete list.

The explanation is below each sentence with a spelling as it sounds. After reading the explanations, read the sentences and understand the meaning as you read. Notice that although the spelling is the same, grammatically one of the same words Part of Speech (noun, verb, etc.) will be different than the other. Use a dictionary for details.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

The soldier decided to de-sert (which means to depart or leave) his des-sert (which is a sweet dish of food after a meal) in the dez-ert which is a dry sandy region (such as the Sahara Desert).

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

Since there is no time like the prez-uhnt (the existing time (now)), he thought it was time to pre-sent (to offer) the prez-ent (a gift).

Note: There are 3 “presents” and they have different meanings and are pronounced differently.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

A bass (which is a fish) was painted on the head of the base drum (musical instrument).

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

When shot at, the dove (rhymes with love) (a bird)/ dohv (to plunge)(past tense of “dive”) into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

I did not ob-ject (to oppose, dislike) to the ob-jekt (a certain thing).  

If you have any questions, please ask. Part 3 will have nos. 11-15 from the complete list. Use exposure, discovery, curiosity, reading and writing, speaking and thinking in English to improve your English.

Yarasanei, thanks for your appreciative words and welcome!

The next lesson I hope to post today (California time).

Thank you very much for such a great lesson