Similar Sounding Words

[Murf]

I was in the classroom last week and we discussing appearance.

The conversation turned to skin colour, fair skin... and dark skin.

When i said 'dark skin' one of the boys at the back thought i said 'Taksin' and class burst out laughing.

Anyone else had a similar experience?

[otherstuff1957]

Yup, I recently did a lesson about at peom called "Jim". I used the poem for two lessons and so, on the second day I waved a copy of the poem at them and said "OK, everybody get out your Jims". It wasn't until I saw a couple of boys in the back of the class snickering that I realized what I had said!

[tayto]

[Murf]

The boys at your school have Jims???

[tayto]

Try the exercise at the bottom of this page.

more difficult than it looks.

http://www.5minuteenglish.com/jan29.htm

[vegan]

Try the exercise at the bottom of this page.

more difficult than it looks.

http://www.5minuteenglish.com/jan29.htm

the second answer is wrong

it's "capital"

[mbkudu]

Try the exercise at the bottom of this page.

more difficult than it looks.

http://www.5minuteenglish.com/jan29.htm

the second answer is wrong

it's "capital"

No, it's right. The Capitol (with an 'o') is the building where the US Congress resides. I even looked it up in the dictionary.

Actually 6a and 6b are not right. 6a has a 'z' ending and 6b has an 's' ending. One more; desert has primary stress on the first syllable and dessert has primary stress on the second.

Edited August 31, 2007 by mbkudu

[canuckamuck]

A capitol is a seat of government like the Capitol building in Washington DC, but Washington DC is the Capital region of the USA.

But your both sort of right as Washington is the figurative seat of government.

[adjan jb]

Sorry I teach French not English and a funny reply I once got is not about similar sounds, it's an anagram + some confusion about the right verb.

So I was teaching French for secretaries 101 and I asked my students about a secretary's qualities. A student replied "avoir du poil" (to be hairy) instead of "être polie" (to be polite).

[mbkudu]

A capitol is a seat of government like the Capitol building in Washington DC, but Washington DC is the Capital region of the USA.

But your both sort of right as Washington is the figurative seat of government.

Actually, now that you've said that, and I've looked at the example again; the example is ambiguous. It says: 'the place where the government resides.' That could be either of the two places you mentioned above.

[PeaceBlondie]

Perhaps the test writer didn't fully understand the difference between a capital and a capitol. First rule of test making is to understand the material better than the best student. Besides, in context, capitol seldom is used (referring only to the building), and when the wrong spelling is used, few people even realize the mistake. It's moot.

[Scott]

Yes a friend of mine works in the Captiol (building) which is in the Capital, Washington D.C.

I think they ususally spell Capitol Hill with an "O" as well.

[tim77]

A few years ago, some Scottish friends (husband and wife) were visiting, and we were discussing the transportation needs of the wife who needed to get to the airport.

So as an American, I used the expression: "I'll drive by in the morning and give you a ride". (Turns out that in Scotland, "giving a ride" is an idiomatic expression meaning to have sex.) The Scottish expression is to "give a lift".

[B Fuddled]

A tall Isan girl named Short long loved a big Mr. Little. But Little, thinking little of Short, loved a little lass named Long. To belittle Long, Short announced she would marry Little before long. This caused Little shortly to marry Long. To make a long story short, did tall Short love big Little less because Little loved little Long more?

[Loaded]

I recently heard about a crazy bloke who seduced a cleaner before running off before the police arrived

= Nut screws washer and bolts

[Murf]

I recently heard about a crazy bloke who seduced a cleaner before running off before the police arrived

= Nut screws washer and bolts

hahaha...