VOCABULARY
Specially is used to say that something is done for a particular purpose.
Before adjectives it's better to use especially to emphasize them. For example, especially good (but not specially good).
Especially cannot be used at the beginning of a sentence.
She loves vegetables. She especially likes carrots (but not Especially she likes carrots).
- especially
We should practice more, especially grammar.
Everybody likes this cake, especially the children.
This part of the film is especially interesting.
- specially
This mouse is specially designed for left-handed people.
I made this cake specially for you.
She specially liked the cake.
2) look, see or watch
| Word | Explanation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| look | to pay
attention, to try to see what is there; seem look up (e.g. dictionary) |
Look at the board,
please. You can look up the words in the dictionary. |
| see | visual
impression come to the eyes; understand |
Can
you see the the blue car over
there? I see what you mean. |
| watch | look for a time; like to look | He watches TV in the evenings. |
3) A FEW, FEW, LITTLE
THE QUANTIFIERS
A few and few, a little and little
These expressions show the speaker's attitude towards the quantity he/she is referring to.
A few (for countable nouns) and a little (for uncountable nouns) describe the quantity in a positive way:
- "I've got a few friends" (= maybe not many, but enough)
- "I've got a little money" (= I've got enough to live on)
Few and little describe the quantity in a negative way:
- Few people visited him in hospital (= he had almost no visitors)
- He had little money (= almost no money)
LITTLE : only used with UNCOUNTABLE nouns, synonym for hardly any, not
much
e.g. Look at the sky, there is little hope for bright and sunny weather tomorrow.
A LITTLE:only used with UNCOUNTABLE nouns, synonym for a small amount, some
e.g. Is there ? The weather forecast says there is still a little hope.
FEW: with COUNTABLE nouns, synonym for hardly any, not many
e.g. Few people attended the meeting. I counted only 4.
A FEW: with COUNTABLE nouns, synonym for a small number, some
e.g. A few people asked me how I felt. That was nice.
exercises: http://www.smic.be/smic5022/quantifiers1.htm
4) In relation to / with
"relation to" is usually used when trying to
relate two topics (usually: "in relation to"). "relation with" is also used here, but less frequently.
e.g.
"In relation to the announcement, I would like to note that ..."
"I would like to talk about the quality of your work in relation to the latest project
"relation with" is usually used socially - talking about a person's social relation to another person.
e.g.
"Our relations with the organization improved over the past year."
"I must say that my relation with my mother could be vastly improved."
There are exceptions of course, but it's a good place to start.
Familiar works in a similar
way:
"I'm familiar with the ideology" (X familiar with Y: Y is the topic, usually)
"These are things that are familiar to me." (X familiar to Y: X is the topic, and Y is the person)
Speak to/with is really different:
USUALLY (with exceptions of course) "speak to" doesn't have to entail the person spoken to to listen:
"I spoke to her but she wasn't listening"
"Speak with" usually means the person spoken to is listening and participating in the conversation:
"I spoke with her but she wasn't listening" -> sounds weird.
But if you want to express something along the lines of:
"I really need to meet up with my boss and talk to him about a few things." you could use either:
"I really need to speak to my boss."
"I really need to speak with my boss."
Although in the second case you still get the idea that there will be more of a willing conversation.