Do You Know Their Differences?

DO YOU KNOW THEIR DIFFERENCES?

Decorative / Decorous

Decorative: having an artistic or showy effect.

e.g. The ballroom with all the ribbons and flowers are very decorative.

Decorous: showing good taste.

e.g. The movie star looks decorous in that simple but elegant dress.

Foul / Fowl

Foul means dirty or offensive.

e.g. The smoke from that factory fouls the air. (as a verb)

e.g. He always speak foul language, even in the presence of ladies. (as an adjective)

Fowl is a bird, such as hen.

e.g. We are going to have a roast fowl for Thanksgiving.

Pretense / Pretension

Pretense is to make believe; pretension is a claim

e.g. He made no pretense to like her (He did not pretend that he liked her).

e.g. She made no pretension to that award. (She did not say she got that award)

Genteel / Gentle

Genteel: well-bred, polite; imitating the lifestyle of the rich.

e.g. Your friend is genteel. Is he really rich?

e.g. All along he has been living in genteel poverty. He is not practical.

Gentle:  soft and well-behaved.

e.g. He is a gentleman: he is especially gentle with the ladies.

Terminable / Terminal

Terminable: can be ended.

e.g. Your job is only temporary and terminable at any time.

Terminal: at the end.

e.g. The doctor told the patient that she had terminal cancer.

Ingenious / Ingenuous

Ingenious is clever; ingenuous is natural, free from deceit.

e.g. I must say that was an ingenious way to steal the money.

e.g. His response was sincere and ingenuous.

Lose / Loose

Lose means being unable to find.

e.g. Here is your ticket to the game; don't lose it.

e.g. Don't lose your temper (become angry).

Loose means to set free or to become less tight.

e.g. You are too loose with your children (you have little or no control over them).

Providing that / Provided that

Providing that is incorrect. 

e.g. You can go out to play provided (that) you have finished your home work.

e.g. You can keep the book for another week providing that no one has reserved it (incorrect: provided that should be used instead).

Bulk / Hulk

Bulk: in large quantities; the greater part of.

e.g. His business was selling brown rice in bulk.

e.g. The billionaire gave the bulk of his estate to charity.

Hulk: a big, clumsy person.

e.g. If you do nothing to your obesity, you will soon become a hulk.

Some time / Sometime / Sometimes

Some time means a period of time.

e.g. We have been waiting for the bus for some time.

Sometime, as an adverb, means approximately; as an adjective, means former or occasional.

e.g. She was my sometime girlfriend.

e.g. Why don't you visit me sometime?

Sometimes, as an adverb, means now and then.

e.g. Sometimes we are on good terms, and sometimes we are not -- that's our relationship.

Accountable to / Accountable for

Accountable to someone; accountable for something (meaning "responsible for").

e.g. The Manager has to be accountable to the Board; he has to be accountable for all his business decisions.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

My New Book on the Miracle of Living

ANYTHING IS EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING IS NOTHING, NOTHING IS EVERYTHING by Stephen Lau

This newly published book is about the miracle of living.

“Anything” may be “everything” to you, but not to others, and vice-versa. That may explain the some of the difficulties in human relationships. Life is difficult because it is all about you, and not about others. Let go of “anything is everything” to you if you focus more on others as well.

“Everything is nothing” is a universal truth: nothing lasts, no matter how we wish they were permanent. Many of us are reluctant to accept this universal truth of the impermanence of all things in this world.

“Nothing is everything” is enlightenment of the human mind, which is profound understanding of the ultimate truths of self, of others, and of the world around.

This 100-page book explains with many real-life examples to illustrate the perceptions of “anything is everything”, “everything is nothing”, and “nothing is everything”—based on the ancient Chinese wisdom and the Biblical wisdom.

Get the wisdom to live your life as if everything is a miracle.

Click here to get your paperback copy.

Click here to get your digital copy.

Here is the outline of the book:

INTRODUCTION

ONE: ANYTHING IS EVERYTHING

The Meanings and the Interpretations

A Frog in a Well

Human Wisdom and Spiritual Wisdom

Oneness with All Life

Love and Forgiveness

Gratitude and Generosity

Sympathy and Empathy

Compassion and Loving Kindness

TWO: EVERYTHING IS NOTHING

Understanding Is Everything

The Mind and the Ego

Attachments and Illusions

Control and Power

Detachment and Letting Go

Impermanence and Emptiness

THREE: NOTHING IS EVERYTHING

The Paradox

The Way

The Miracle

The Enlightenment

APPENDIX A: TAO TE CHING

APPENDIX B: MINDFULNESS

APPENDIX C: MEDITATION

APPENDIX D: WORDS OF WISDOM

APPENDIX E: ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Learn Some American Idioms

All at sea: confused

e.g. The lawyer was all at sea when he read the two conflicting reports of the incident.

Kettle of fish: a mess, an unpleasant incident

e.g. That was a pretty kettle of fish: your in-laws and your parents arguing at the party. 

Meet someone halfway: compromise

e.g. He settled the agreement with her by meeting her halfway.

First and last: above all; under all circumstances

e.g. She was an accomplished pianist first and last.

Poop out: tire out

e.g. The marathon race pooped me out; I could hardly walk.

Make as if: pretend

e.g. You made as if you enjoyed the film, but you really didn’t.

Late in life: in old age

e.g. It was only late in life that he became a famous writer.

Bark up the wrong tree: make the wrong choice; accuse the wrong person.

e.g. If you think I took your money, you’re barking up the wrong tree.

Poke one’s nose into something: interfere with

e.g. I don’t like the way you poke your nose into my affairs.

Come what may: no matter what

e.g. Don’t worry! Come what may, I’ll be on your side.

Handwriting on the wall: a warning

e.g. If the Governor had seen the handwriting on the wall, he would not have adopted those unpopular proposals.

Go through the roof: very angry

e.g. When he found out that you took his money, he went through the roof.

Fork out: pay

e.g. I like this computer, but I don’t want to fork out a lot of money.

Above all: most importantly

e.g. Above all, you must have a valid visa if you wish to continue to stay in the United States.

A little bird told me: somehow I knew

e.g. “How did you know what I did?” “Well, a little bird told me.”

Stephen Lau

Confusing Words

Refrain / sustain

Refrain means to hold back; sustain means to hold up.

e.g. You have to refrain from making any noise.

e.g. Can the government sustain the booming economy for long?

Forbear / Forebear

Forbear means to tolerate, refrain from; forebear means an ancestor

e.g. You have to forbear from asking too many questions at the meeting.

e.g.  He always takes pride in that Charles Dickens was his forebear.

Everyday / Every day

Everyday is an adjective.

e.g. This is an everyday event.

e.g. This happens in every day.

e.g. Every day somebody is killed on the road.

Reign / Rein

Reign means to rule over; rein means to control (e.g. an animal)

e.g. The emperor reigned over the country for decades.

e.g. You must rein in your hot temper.

e.g. Beware of giving free rein to your reason. (i.e. not release from any restraint).

Indispensable / Indisputable

Indispensable means absolutely necessary; indisputable means factual, without a doubt, and not arguable.

e.g. Air is indispensable to life.

e.g. It is indisputable that the verdict of the judge is final.

Spoiled / Spoilt

Spoiled (the past tense or past participle of “spoil”) means lay waste, rob; spoilt means mar or ruin.

e.g. Your car accident spoiled my vacation.

e.g. You are a spoilt child!

Recourse / Resort

Recourse means turning to others or something for help; resort means to turn to for help (both noun and verb)

e.g. His only recourse was the police.

e.g. The police should not resort to violence to stop the peaceful demonstration.

e.g. The army decided using violence as the last resort.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Everyday American Idioms

Pour money down the drain: waste money

e.g. It’s better to declare bankruptcy, rather than pouring money down the drain; nothing can revive the business.

Trump up: make up something untrue

e.g. The witness trumped up an excuse why he lied previously.

After all: in spite of everything

e.g. She didn’t get a good score; after all, it was her first attempt

Take one’s medicine: accept misfortune or punishment that one deserves

e.g. I messed it up; it was all my fault. I’ll take my medicine.

Late in life: in old age

e.g. It was only late in life that he became a famous writer.

Poke one’s nose into something: interfere with

e.g. I don’t like the way you poke your nose into my affairs.

Run in the family: a characteristic in all members of a family

e.g. Longevity runs in the family: they all live to a ripe old age.

Above all: most importantly

e.g. Above all, you must have a valid visa if you wish to continue to stay in the United States.

Have it coming: deserve what one gets

e.g. Failure was unavoidable. What you did had it coming.

A little bird told me: somehow I knew

e.g. “How did you know what I did?” “Well, a little bird told me.”

Tie up: engage or occupy in doing something

e.g. He was tied up at the meeting, and could not come to the phone.

Push someone to the wall: force someone into a difficult or defensive position

e.g. Don’t push him to the wall! He might even kill you!

All at sea: confused

e.g. The lawyer was all at sea when he read the two conflicting reports of the incident.

Presence of mind: clarity of thinking

e.g. Without presence of mind, it is impossible to handle one crisis after another.

As flat as a pancake: very flat

e.g. You left front wheel tires is as flat as a pancake.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

The 8 Parts of Speech of English

First and foremost, you must know the 8 parts of speech of the English language.

8 PARTS OF SPEECH

There are eight parts of speech in the English language: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. 

(1) Nouns are names of things (book, chair, pen), people (boy, David, policeman)

(2) Pronouns stand for nouns: I (me); we (us); he (him); she (her); it (it); they (them); who (whom). The words in brackets are object pronouns.

e.g. I like him.

e.g. We like it.

e.g. He likes her.

e.g. She likes him.

e.g. It likes them.

e.g. They like it.

e.g. Who likes it?

e.g. Whom do you like?

(3) Verbs are words that show being:

e.g. I am a student.

e.g. You are happy.

e.g. He is poor.

e.g. We are doctors.

e.g. They are nurses.

Verbs are also words that describe an action:

e.g. I love you.

e.g. You go away!

e.g. She cries a lot.

e.g. We sleep at night.

e.g. They work in the office.

Some verbs are transitive: they need an object; some verbs are intransitive: they do not need an object; some verbs are both transitive and intransitive.

e.g. Please bring a chair. (transitive)

e.g. The sun rises. (intransitive)

e.g. He sings a song. (transitive)

e.g. He sings every morning. (intransitive)

(4) Adjectives describe nouns: e.g. a heavy chair; e.g. a pretty dress; e.g. You are happy.

(5) Adverbs describe verbs or adjectives: e.g. He eats slowly. e.g. You look very pretty.

(6) Prepositions are words that show the relationship between words.

e.g. I depend on you.

e.g. Give this to him.

e.g. We live in the United States.

e.g. They go with you.

(7) Conjunctions are words that are used to join sentences: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.

e.g. Get up and go to bed.

e.g. You like him, but he does not like you.

e.g. Put it here, or put it there.

e.g. I do not eat this, nor do I drink that.

e.g. You can stay, for it is raining.

e.g. I am tired, so I lie down.

e.g. You are tired, yet you do not want to go to bed.

(8) Interjections are words used to express different levels of emotions, such as surprise: e.g. Wow! My goodness!

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

My New Book on Living for Life

The TAO of Living for Life

This book is about the art of living well, which is being in the material world we are all living in, but without being of this mundane world. This daunting and challenging task requires profound human wisdom, which comes from TAO wisdom, the ancient wisdom from Lao Tzu, the ancient sage from China, more than 2,600 years ago.

Lao Tzu was the author of the immortal classic Tao Te Ching, made up of 81 short chapters of Chinese poetry on human wisdom, one of the most translated books in world literature.

This book explains the essentials of TAO wisdom, based on Stephen Lau's own translation and interpretation of Lao Tzu's immortal classic Tao Te Ching with his comments after each of the 81 chapters. Living for life is the wisdom of living in this contemporary age. It is not easy, so you need TAO wisdom.

For more information, click here.

The TAO of Living for Life shows you the wisdom of living not just for yourself, but also for others as well --  just as the famous English poet John Donne says: "No man is an island."  Once you perceive this intricate inter-connection between people, you will self-intuit the wisdom of Lao Tzu.  After all, according to Lao Tzu, there is no word or blueprint for human wisdom -- it is all about self-intuition.

Stephen Lau