Improving our English

Title

Source

Volume XIX (Issue No. 2) February 1967

Year

1967

Subject

English language education

Foreign language education

English as a foreign language

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

IMPROVING OUR ENGLISH This section of Panorama will be regularly published for the benefit of Filipino students of English. It will be devoted to idiomatic English — nouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, and expressive phrases. Idiomatic expressions are distinctive ways or peculiarites of using words and phrases in English. They are usually forcible, terse, and vivid. They are the most difficult part of the language for a person to learn who is not an American or Englishman. They must be committed to memory and frequently used in speaking and writing. B. ADJECTIVES, PARTICIPLES, AND APPROPRIATE PREPOSITIONS 1. According to. The building is according to the architect’s plans. 2. Accruing to. The profits accruing to him from the busi ness. 3. Accustomed to. It is hard to drive a carabao not accus tomed to the yoke. The work of the office will be easy when you get accustomed to it. 4. Addicted to. Can you save a man addicted to alcohol? 5. Adequate to. The supply of provisions is not adequate to the needs of the family. 6. Adjacent to. These two men’s farms are adjacent to each other. 7. Affixed to. The syllable -en affixed to an adjective often forms a verb, e.g. broad, broaden. 8. Agreeable to. The plan was not agreeable to his wishes. The acquaintance he formed became far from agree able to him. 9. Allotted to. He likes the place allotted to him in the procession. 52 Panorama 10. Amenable to. Is this student amenable to the rules of the college? 11. Applicable to. Your criticisms are' not applicable to the subject. 12. Ashamed of. He is ashamed of his folly. Are you not ashamed of your company? 13. Attentive to. A pupil should be attentive to his teacher. No one was more attentive to his duty than he. 14. Awake to. He is not awake to his opportunities. 15. Belonging to. He stole a horse belonging to his gentle man. 16. Beneficial to. Regular exercise is beneficial to health. Stability of government is beneficial to any nation. 17. Close by, to. His house is close by mine, or close to mine. 18. Common to. The act of sleeping is common to man and beast. 19. Conducive to. Gopd ventilation is conducive to good health. 20. Consecrated to. A monument consecrated to the memory of the brave. 21. Contiguous to. Manila is contiguous to Pasay. 22. Contrary to. This has turned out contrary to my ex pectations. His opinions are directly contrary- to yours. 23. Corresponding to, with. I found an old picture corres ponding to one printed in this book. 24. Crushed to death; crushed to pulp. Crushed with grief. 25. Deaf to all entreaty, to advice, to reason. 26. Detrimental to. His enmity is detrimental to your inte rests. 27. Disagreeable to. It is disagreeable to me to hear such things. 28. Displeasing to. His manner was very displeasing to me. 29. Distasteful to. Travelling is distasteful to the old man. 30. Equal to. He was equal to the occasion. This angle is equal to that. Will the boy be equal to such a task? February 1967 53 31. Essential to. Truth and purity are essential to moral character. 32. Expose to danger, to the attack of the priests. 33. Faithful to the trust reposed in him; to one’s engagements. 34. False to. He has proved false to his professed principles. Never be false to your promises. 35. Familiar to, with. His name is familiar to me. Nothing but careful study can make one familiar with the Visayan tongue. 36. Fatal to. The wound is likely to prove fatal to him. This exercise is fatal to good health. 37. Friendly to. He will not join the association, but he is friendly to it. 38. Given to, is to be devoted or addicted to. I am sorry to say this man is given to the use of alcohol. This man is given to study. 39. Grateful to a person, for a thipg. He feels grateful to you for the kindly interest you have taken in him. He is grateful for your kindness. 40. Hostile to. I always thought him hostile to you. 41. Important to. This document is important to your case. 42. Indebted to a person for a thing. I am greatly indebted to you for your help. 43. Indifferent to. A good bishop seeks to be indifferent to pleasure or pain. 44. Indispensable to. Clearness and precision are indispens able to a good style of writing. Food is indispensable to life. 45. Inferior to. I do not acknowledge myself inferior to him. His essay is not inferior to yours. 46. Injurious to. Intemperate habits are injurious to health. Instability of government is injurious to the best interests of a country. 47. Kind to. Be kind to the poor. God is kind to men. If you 3re kind to others, they will in turn be kind to you. 54 Panorama 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. Liable for, to. Is a man liable for his son’s debts? He is liable to imprisonment for a month. Lost to. He is lost to all sense of shame. Loyal to. A good citizen is loyal to the government. Married to a good wife. Natural to. It is natural to man to err. Obedient to. The servant must be obedient to his master. Opposite to. Whose house is opposite to the hospital? Painful to. This news is very painful to my mother. Parallel to. This line is parallel to that. Partial to. This man is always partial to his friends. Peculiar to. Pertinent to. ject. Pleasant to. This is a custom peculiar to the Moros. These remarks are not pertinent to the sub Sweet music is pleasant to the ear. Preferable to. Poverty with honesty is preferable to wealth got by unfair means. Prejudicial to. This will be prejudicial to your best inte rests. Preparatory to. He studied logic preparatory to entering the college. Previous to. He left previous to your arrival. Prior to. This event was prior to the battle of Panipat. Productive of. Industry and economy will be productive of good results. Profitable to, for. Are protective duties in the long run profitable to a country? The book will prove pro fitable for the public to read. Proportionate to. Rewards should be proportionate to merit. Relevant to. His speech was not relevant to the question. Repugnant to. All harshness is repugnant to his feelings. Sacred to. The heart should be a temple sacred to God alone. Similar to. The coin you showed me is similar to this one. Starved to death; starved zvith hunger, with cold. (Starve once meant to die any manner of death.) 1967 74. Strange to. This custom is strange to me. 75. Subject to. All things earthly are subject to decay. A girl subject to fits of epilepsy. 76. Subsequent to. A time long subsequent to the king’s death. I got his reply subsequent to the date of my second letter. 77. Superior to. He is superior to all meanness. 78. Thankful to a person, for a benefit. Be thankful to God for all His gifts. I feel very thankful to my old friend for giving me this appointment. 79. True to. Be true to the trust reposed in you. A servant true to his master’s interests. 80. Unknown to. A man unknown to fame. His handwriting is unknown to me. 81. Useful to a person, for a purpose. AND THE PITIABLE . . . (Continued from poge 51 ) covered that this is only half the proverb. Only to his own children in their little prep schools and at Eton, Harrow, and-Winchester did he teach the whole proverb, which goes thus: “Honesty is the best policy unless you can get away with it”; and get away with it he did, until the Americans refused to put any money in the collection — only tea. leaves. Today they have nearly all gone — one by one, the provincial churches of the imperial Eng lish crown. Gibraltar, the Falklands, Scotland, North ern Ireland, and ourselves are about all that are left to look after the old Bull and its beloved Stock Exchange. — I. B. Griffith in Good Morning Wales. 56 Panorama

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