Some Confused words

Question

1. cloth vs clothes2. loss  vs lose3. satiate vs satisfy4. for you vs to youCan someone pls explain what difference between above words as well as the meaning with example.Thx

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hello Cody.

1. cloth vs clothes. -- Cloth = fabric; clothes = wearing apparel. My clothes are all made of expensive cloth.
2. loss vs lose. -- Loss is the noun; lose is the verb. If you lose your reputation, it will be a great loss.
3. satiate vs satisfy.-- Satiate means maximally satisfy. Most people are satisfied with two eggs for breakfast, but it takes four eggs to satiate me.
4. for you vs to you.-- Not easy to separate; when they can be confused, the meanings are usually the same.

CodyLim · Answer

thx for ur explanation.

Khoff · Answer

Hi Cody -- welcome to the Forum. Please use real words here instead of abbreviations like "thx" and "ur." Thanks for your cooperation!

Philip · Answer

KhoffHi Cody -- welcome to the Forum. Please use real words here instead of abbreviations like "thx" and "ur." Thanks for your cooperation!

And, Cody, you should not interpret this as a form of snobism on the part of Khoff or anyone else. It's just that we have people with very limited English skills coming to these forums, and we don't want to confuse them or have to explain which shortened forms of words are correct and which are not.

Unfortunately, I am guilty of using partial sentences and some highly idiomatic phrases when I respond to posts, but I try to control myself.

I welcome you, as well!

Quangtn03 · Answer

Mister MicawberHello Cody.

1. cloth vs clothes. -- Cloth = fabric; clothes = wearing apparel. My clothes are all made of expensive cloth.
2. loss vs lose. -- Loss is the noun; lose is the verb. If you lose your reputation, it will be a great loss.
3. satiate vs satisfy.-- Satiate means maximally satisfy. Most people are satisfied with two eggs for breakfast, but it takes four eggs to satiate me.
4. for you vs to you.-- Not easy to separate; when they can be confused, the meanings are usually the same.

Hi Mister Micawber.
I've just read about how to distinguish "for you" and "to you". You two can read thourgh this link below.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/ask_about_english/071203/

Mister Micawber · Answer

Hi Quang,

Thanks for your post, but that BBC link does not answer the question-- it merely deals with two very distinct uses of to and for. The problem that often concerns learners and confounds teachers is this situation:

For me, English is the universal language.
To me, English is the universal language.

I have no clear and simple analysis for this kind of usage.

Some Confused words

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