Daily Grammar – Week 7

1b. I thought in that school for five years. (No)

I taught in that school for five years. (Yes)

(“Taught” is the past tense of “teach”; “thought” is the past tense of “think”, though it is also a noun. For example, “let me know your thought on DG”.)

2. My friend hires this apartment from his boss. (No)

My friend rents this apartment from his boss. (Yes)

(“Hire” is used for something portable or mobile like a car, a bicycle, etc. A person, such as a labourer, can also be hired. “Rent”, as a payment made by a tenant at intervals in order to keep occupying a property, is also a verb, which means “to occupy premises in exchange for cash or have a temporary possession of an object in exchange for money.” The two words are related but they are not the same: you talk of “car hire” and “house rent”.)

3. I need a taxi to carry me to the airport. (No)

I need a taxi to take me to the airport. (Yes)

I need a taxi to convey me to the airport. (Yes)

(To “carry” is to “lift something and take it to another place”, perhaps the way villagers carry foodstuff to the market. A vehicle takes or conveys one to one’s destination.)

Did You Know?

The English words for livestock (cow, sheep, chicken) are Germanic-based and the words for meats (beef, mutton, poultry) are French-based. This is because the people who raised the animals were Anglo-Saxon peasants while the people who ate them were Norman aristocrats.