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English Confusable Words 17
English Confusable Words 17
back, rear A bar is a place where you can buy alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. A bar can be
The part of a building or a vehicle that is furthest from the front can be called either the part of a larger building such as a hotel or theatre, or in America it can be a separate
back or the rear. building.
Rear is often used in technical descriptions. For example, car manuals talk about the - He called for the menu and ordered in the bar while they were finishing their drinks.
rear of a car. - Willie paid for the drinks and they left the bar.
- He decided to approach the house from the rear instead of going to the front door. - He eventually selected a small bar calling itself the Pussycat Go-go.
It is more usual to use back. For example, in ordinary conversation people talk about A pub is a budding where you can buy alcoholic and non-alcoholic drỉnlcs. Most pubs
back of a car, not the ‘rear’. are in Britain and Ireland. They often contain two or more bare and have an important
- ...in the back of the dark cab, with the lights of the city streaking past. role in the social life of the people nearby. Pubs are rarely found in America.
- and Colonel von Tempelhofs at in the back. - The Black Friar, lavishly appointed with Art Nouveau decoration,is the best pub of
Both words are also used as adjectives. its kind in London.
- There was a rear entrance into the post office. - We all met in the pub during the lunch break.
- ...a suitcase on the back seat. Both pubs and bars have a counter where drinks are poured and this is also called a
You use back to talk about the part of an object that is at the opposite end to the front. bar.
You do not use ‘rear’. - He ordered a whisky and drained it standing at the bar.
- He pulled his cap down more warmly over his ears and the back of his head.
- Mimi had Carter held by the back ofhis trousers. briefly, shortly
• Your back is the part ofyour body that is behind you, from your neck to your bottom. You use briefly to talk about things that happen for only a short period of time. For
• Your rear is your bottom; this is a humorous use. example, if you see someone briefly, you do not see them for very long. If you stay
somewhere briefly, you stay there just for a short time.
bag, baggage, luggage - The two men had met briefly once before.
Both British and American speakers can refer to everything that travellers carry as - Duke proposed to stay there briefly to rest his troops.
their bags. American speakers can also call any individual suitcase or similar item a If you explain something briefly, you use very few words or give ѵегy few details.
bag. - She told them briefly what had happened.
- ‘Let me carry those for you, ’ he said as I picked up the bags. - Stephanie wrote briefly and delicately to Mrs Orton, suggesting a visit.
- She got out on the sidewalk and the porter took her bags. You use shortly and not ‘briefly’ to say when something happens, if something
- It was a fact that an airline passenger’s bag could not be counted on to arrive safely happens shortly after something else, it happens soon after it.
at Pine Bluff, Arkansas. - Shortly after the break I was driven back to the hotel.
Speakers of British English normally use luggage when they are talking about - She died shortly afterwards.
everything that travellers carry. However, they sometimes use baggage when they are - When I informed her we were shortly to sailfor New York, she looked distressed and
talking about travelling in a technical way, for example when discussing airports or bewildered.
travel insurance. You can also say that something happens shortly before something else. This is a
- There are also coin-operated lockers in which you may leave luggage. slightly old-fashioned use.
- If you lose any ofyour luggage, enquire at once at the Lost Property Office. - It happened shortly before my seventeenth birthday.
- Your baggage, clothing and personal effects are covered up to one thousand pounds. • If you speak shortly to someone, you speak in an impatient or slightly angry way.
In American English, luggage refers to empty bags and suitcases. - ‘Good-bye, and thanks!' said Miss Jackson somewhat shortly, pushing open the wet
Baggage refers to bags and suitcases with theừ contents. gate.
- He pulls in behind an Audi with a Paris license, takes out his baggage, and locks the - Naturally,’ I said shortly.
car. - We will shortly be arriving in King's Cross Station.
Note that there is no plural form of baggage or luggage. - Shortly after you left, a man came into the office looking for you.