Tag Archives: confusing words

Confusing Words: Finally,In the End, Eventually, Lastly and At Last

Yes, I know, these connectors can be quite confusing; that’s why I have created this beautiful presentation to help you clarify them . I just hope the explanation doesn’t mix you up more. And it’s also, with this mind, the reason why a quiz follows the explanation. Beautifully presented as well. 🙂

To create these two interactive activities I have used Riddle.com, which helps you create interactive content in a few minutes.

Steps to create a Riddle
• Click on the Create Button
• Choose the type of Riddle you want to make. For this post , I have created a List and a Pop Quiz, but you can also create opinion polls and surveys.
• In a Riddle you can use images, animated gifts, articles, youtube videos…etc
• You can share on facebook and twitter or get an embed code for your blog
• The best feauture? It’s free!
I highly recommend Riddle to create beautiful interactive content for your classes.

CONFUSING WORDS: LASTLY, FINALLY, EVENTUALLY, IN THE END, AT LAST

Lastly and Finally

Use LASTLY or FINALLY to introduce the last point you want to make, the last action in a series of actions, or the last item in a list
  • Lastly, I would like to remind you that speaking Spanish is not allowed in this class.
  •  Load the paper, select the number of copies, and lastly press ‘Print’
  • You add flour, salt, and finally milk.

FINALLY and EVENTUALLY

 Use FINALLY  or EVENTUALLY to say that something happens after a long time
  • Finally we managed to get the car to start.
  • When she eventually turned up, the food was cold.

EVENTUALLY and IN THE END

Use EVENTUALLY or IN THE END  to say what the result or outcome of something was
  • They eventually got bored and went home.
  •  In the end we decided to cancel the trip.

AT LAST

Use AT LAST to say that something happens after a long period of waiting or trying, when you are glad about this
  •  It’s good to be home at last.
  •  At last, the pizza’s here!

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Ready for a small quiz?

Confusing Words: Finally,In the End, Eventually, Lastly and At Last

Read the sentences and decide which of the options best fits the gap.
Source: Longman Dictionary of Common Errors

Although she had been ​ill for a ​long ​time, it still came as a ​shock when she ___ ​died

Eventually

At last

__, I’d like to ​thank everyone for coming this ​evening

Eventually

Finally

Thank goodness! I’ve ​finished my ​essay ____!

at last

in the end

___ the baby stopped crying and we managed to get some sleep

Finally/eventually

lastly

Do you really mean that you’ve stopped smoking ___?

at last

finally

___ Spain won by two goals to one.

in the end

at last

___, as soon as you hear a beep, press the start button

Finally

eventually

It seems more and more likely that the human race will ___ destroy itself

eventually

lastly

She showed us the new dress, then the blouse and ___ the shoes

lastly

in the end

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You didn’t score as well as the experts but this means you can only get better! Practise makes perfect so just get stuck in and give it a go. You’ve got to be in it to win it!
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Viral content expert!

You know everything there is know about creating viral content! Well, almost. Great start – now it’s time to get creating fun viral content. Then you can sit back and watch people share it around the world.
[You can use this space to write some funny content to encourage people to share their result. You can also add in links like the one below or choose (in the Customise menu) to show a form that collects user information so you can build an email list etc.]

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Did you Know…. hung or hanged?

I can almost see my students smiling with a hint of irony painted on their faces when they hear me saying the words” English is very easy”. And yes, you  might disagree with me here but  it all depends on what language you compare it with and, in their case, Spanish grammar is a far cry from English grammar, being the first much more complicated to understand. I am also well aware of the difficulties they have when learning English but we need to focus on the positive things. I wouldn’t be doing a good job if I don’t motivate my students!

But… sometimes… only sometimes, English could be a bit confusing, and the use of  hung and hanged is a little quirk of the English language.

This is what one of my students wrote . “He said that  nobody  lived in that house  because the man who lived there had killed all his family and then he hung himself.”

I crossed it off and wrote “hanged” instead. The verb “hang” can be regular or irregular. You study:

                 hang- hung/hanged-hung/hanged

So far, easy.But when do you use “hung” and when “hanged”? The explanation can be either short or long. I think I’ll go for the short one as you can always check meanings and use in a good dictionary.

  • Hanged is used  when the meaning is
  1. to kill somebody  by tying a rope attached from  above around their neck and removing the support from beneath them .

                              The prisoner  was ​found guilty of the crime  and hanged ​.

       2.  (slang) to damn or be damned: used in mild curses or interjections. 

                               I’ll be hanged before I ask her out again

  • Hung is preferred in all other senses of the word.

Once clarified, it isn’t that difficult, is it?

Do you have time for a little test?

Some pictures ___ on the walls of his house

hung

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His arms __ down limply, over the edge of the couch.

hung

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Red meat is __ for at least 28 days, making for a memorable steak

hung

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He was __ for murder

hanged

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I am __if I know

hanged

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A heavy gold necklace __ around her neck.

hung

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He _____ himself from a beam in the attic

hanged

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Word of the Day : High and Tall

WHAT IS HIGH AND WHAT IS TALL?

This forest has very tall trees

  • TALL. This simple idea is easy to remember: if a thing is higher than it is wide, then we use Tall .

People , trees , ladders, street lamps,  buildings with a lot of floors are Tall

I am 1,70 cm tall

I live in a very tall building. It has 20 floors

  • HIGH: we use high for things which are wider.

There are some high mountains in Austria

Prisons have very high walls

A BIT MORE?

  • When talking about measurements, Tall is used for people and High for things. So, as you can see there are things that can be “tall” or “high” depending on the context

I am 1,70 cm tall

This building is 25 m high (tall) / I live in a very tall building

  • The adjective High is used when talking about distance above the ground

The shelf is too high for me to reach. Can you help me?

  • Parts of the body are long, not tall

TEST YOURSELF

The clouds are very ... today

high

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This park has very ... trees

tall

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The woman is six feet ___

tall

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What is the ___mountain in the world?

highest

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This building is 75 metres ___

High ( we are talking about measurement)

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This is a very ___ building. It has 30 floors.

tall (higher than wide)

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The fence was too ___for a man of his age to climb

high

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high

A word on Grammar: Because and Because Of

Do you know the difference between these two structures? Do you know how to use them?

  • Because is a conjunction. It is followed by Subject+Verb

I didn’t go out because it was raining

  • Because of  is a two-word preposition. It is used before a noun or a pronoun

I didn’t go out because of the rain

(due to is similar to because of)

Test your knowledge now with this interactive quiz.

If the quiz is unavailable , click here

Because and because of 

Music can also help you a lot with your English. Here’s this beautiful song by Kelly Clarkson. Enjoy it and listen very attentively to the chorus. You’ll hear our targeted grammar point.

Word of the day : Win and Beat

Do you know the difference between the verbs “win” and “beat”?

Which is correct ..?

  • Real Madrid beat FC Barcelona(by) 3-1
  • Real Madrid won FC Barcelona (by) 3-1

Study the difference .

  • Win/wɪn/, won/wʌn/, won/wʌn/ means to achieve first position and/or  get a prize in a competition or competitive situation. You win a game or a competition
  • Beat/biːt/, beat/biːt/, beaten /ˈbiːtn/ means to defeat or to do better. You beat a person or a team you are playing against

So now, which of the two sentences above is correct? Well done , the first sentence “Real Madrid beat FC Barcelona (by)  3-1 “ is correct

Test yourself with these exercises:

He ___ first prize in the raffle

won

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Everybody likes ___ an argument

winning

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She has ____ her own record of three minutes ten seconds.

beaten

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Spain ___ Belgium by 5-4

beat

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He ___ her at tennis

beat

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He ___ first place in the competition

won

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Thanks for reading! 🙂

Source: Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

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