Unserer Erfahrung nach gibt es verschiedene Wörter, die unsere Teilnehmenden leicht verwechseln. Lernen Sie Vokabular immer im Zusammenhang und mit Beispielsätzen, die Ihnen die Anwendung deutlich machen. Ihr Trainer wird Sie auf solche typischen Fehler im Englischunterricht hinweisen.
Recognize/realize
She ran into Tim downtown and didn’t recognize him — he looked completely different.
She only realized it was him when he started talking to her.
He recognized the fear in her voice.
lie/lay
I have to go and lie down — I have a headache.
I wanna lay you down on a bed of roses (Bon Jovi).
Can you help me lay the table? She laid the table before her mother could ask her (past tense of lay is laid).
I like lying on the beach. I lay down at 2pm because I was so tired (past tense of lie is lay).
If/when
If you come home, bring some milk! Ouch!!!
Unfortunately mixing up “if” and “when” can lead to some absurd scenarios.
In this case the question that comes up is: Will the partner/significant other /spouse ever come home?
Or will they choose to stay away, never to return again?
Understanding the difference between “if” and “when” is vital.
“If” means that a condition needs to be fulfilled.
If I won the lottery, I would move to California immediately (but chances are low).
If they decide to expand to Italy, I will put myself forward as the new country sales manager because I speak fluent Italian.
But they are not sure if Italy is a good opportunity.
“When” on the other hand means “at a time when”.
We will eat when she gets home.
When they lived in Spain, they didn’t write to us very often.
When you are ready, let me know and I’ll call a taxi.
Here are some examples of the WRONG usage:
If I die, I want to be cremated.
When I go now, I will still catch the bus.
If I was a child, I was always very lively.
If I was young, I never needed anyone.
When you want, I can help you.
And here is another little thing not many intermediate learners of English know:
Take an umbrella in case it rains.
“in case” means “für den Fall, dass“ (which means that you take the umbrella anyway).
That is a completely different meaning to: “I‘ll take an umbrella if it rains” (which means you only take the umbrella after looking outside and checking whether it is raining or not)
