Author: andreaalthoff

Difference between Miss and Lose

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The verbs MISS and LOSE have several different meanings in English and they can be easily confused.

When to Use MISS

We use MISS in these cases:

  1. to not attend an event or something
  • I missed your birthday. 
  • Alan, you missed a great concert last night.
  • You missed class on Friday.

2. to arrive too late to get on a bus, train, or plane

  • John missed the train this morning.

3. to not see or hear something

  • The goalkeeper missed the ball.
  • Sorry, I missed that. Could you repeat it please?

4. to feel sad about someone or something that you have stopped seeing or having

  • My sister moved to Vietnam last year. I really miss her!
  • I miss my girlfriend. She’s on holiday with her family.

IMPORTANT: if you are going to use a verb after the verb MISS, this verb must be in the gerund

  • I miss going out with my friends.

When to Use LOSE

We use LOSE in these cases:

1. can’t find something or something’s gone

  • I lost my dog. Please help me to find him.

2. sports games

  • My favorite football team lost 5-1 in the semifinal.

3. someone is gone from your life

  • I lost my Grandmother last year.
  • I’ve lost my girlfriend. We had a messy break up and I don’t think I’ll ever see her again.
  • She lost her husband during the war.

Collocations

  • miss a chance/opportunity
  • lose a chance/opportunity
  • miss the point
  • lose time/money
  • lose confidence/interest/hope etc
  • lose weight/height/speed etc
  • lose your sight/hearing/voice/balance etc
  • lose sight of something
  • lose track of something/somebody

PRACTICE: Choose between the proper form of lose or miss.

a. The lady looking after the property was very helpful when we got lost/missed on the way back.

b. It is possible to lose/miss weight fast without dieting.

c. My pen is losing/missing from my desk! Who’s had it?

d. When Sylvia noticed her credit card was losing/missing, she called her credit card provider and cancelled it.

e. My apartment is only a block from the office, so I don’t lose/miss time commuting to work.

f. I lost/missed quite a lot of money on the stock exchange last year.

g. My daughter lives in Paris. I lose/miss her a lot.

h. I’ve just lost/missed the fast train to London.

i. Can you say that again, please. I lost/missed the thread of the conversation.

j. You’ve lost/missed the point. I don’t care about the money.

a. lost; b. lose; c. missing; d. missing; e. lose; f. lost; g. miss; h. lost; i. missed; j. missed

What do you do?

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When talking about a place we work in, we say:

“I work in” + “a” + place of work

  • I work in a restaurant.
  • She works in an office.
  • We work in a shop.

When we are talking about a field of work, we say:

“I work in” + field of work

  • He works in marketing.
  • She works in finance.

However, when we give our job title we use the verb “to be”, so we say:

  • I’m a teacher.
  • You’re a doctor.
  • Are you a designer?
  • We’re students!
  • He’s unemployed.

Dialogue

Oliver: What do you do, Ava?

Ava: I’m a doctor! How about you?

Oliver: I work in a restaurant, but I’m also a student!

Ava: Cool!

Now we are going to introduce the verb “to study”:

Do you work in finance? No, I study French at university.

These three verbs all remain the same, except when they are paired with “he/she”:

I + do / work / study

you + do / work / study

he / she + does / works / studies

we + do / work / study

they + do / work / study

Examples:

Do you work in marketing?

Does he speak Turkish?

I study Chinese at university.

She studies economics at university.

We study medicine at university.

We work in a restaurant.

He works in an office.

Dialogue

Hannah: What do you do?

John: I work in marketing. How about you?

Hannah: I’m a student. I study German.

John: My sister studies German, too!

Hannah: Nice!

John: What does your sister do?

Hannah: She works in a restaurant.

Now let’s finish our lesson introducing or reviewing vocabulary for jobs and occupations with this easy ‘What am I?’ quiz. Each answer is a job.

Wait a minute. Hold on a second.

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What would you say to tell someone to wait?

‘One moment, please.’

That’s okay but first, let’s also learn casual language for the expression ‘one moment, please.’

When we need people to wait, even for a short time, we need to say the right things to let them know about the delay. Here are ways to tell someone to wait in everyday conversations, from the formal to the slang.

Professional, formal, everyday situations

  • One moment, please.
  • Just a moment/minute, please.
  • Bear with me, please. (= please be patient for a moment)
  • I won’t be long. (= the other person will only need to wait for a short time)

Casual – colleagues at work, friends

  • Wait/just a second.
  • Just a sec.
  • Just a moment/minute.
  • Excuse me for just a moment/minute.

Slang – friends, family and when we are in a hurry

  • Hold on (a sec)!
  • Hang on (for a minute/a second/ a sec)!
  • Gimme (= give me) a moment/minute/second.
  • Hold your horses! (Idiom) Where are you going without your jacket! It’s cold outside!
  • Hold your horses! Did you say we have to meet at 5 tomorrow?
  • Hold your horses. Let’s calm down for a moment.

Note: in the UK and Australia, you might hear:

  • Just a tick.
  • Wait a tick.
  • Hold on a tick.

Prepositions of place: IN, ON and AT

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Prepositions are words that show things like:

TIME = at 2:00 o’clock

PLACE = in Moscow

DIRECTION = near the airport

First, let’s learn a few basic prepositions of place.

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE show where something/someone is.

Here is a list of basic prepositions of place with example sentences:

  • The ball is on the box.
  • The ball is in the box.
  • The ball is near the box.
  • The ball is between the boxes.
  • The ball is above the box.
  • The ball is in front of the box.
  • The ball is behind the box.
  • The ball is next to the box.
  • The ball is under the box.

The video below is at a beginner level. Start by watching it if you need to review the prepositions of place.

IN = inside something

ON = just above something, but touching it

AT = an exact location or point

PRACTICE: Complete the sentences with in, on or at, and find the answers at the end of the lesson.

1. The dog is _____ London.

2. My friend is _____ the cinema.

3. The man is _____ the island.

4. The students are _____ school.

5. The teacher isn’t _____ the classroom.

6. My black bag is _____ the desk.

7. The cat is _____ the chair.

8. The boy is _____ the English class.

9. My uncle is _____ Scotland.

10. My dad is _____ work.

Now, look at the pictures in the video. Where is the ball? Choose the best preposition of place for each question.

We usually use IN with towns, cities, and countries, ON with streets, and AT with streets + number.

This was my student’s practice:

Hi Andrea,
I live in Brazil.✔️
I live in Blumenau.✔️
I live in the Salto do Norte neighborhood.✔️
I live on Luiz Wilhelm Street.✔️
I live at 47 Luiz Wilhelm street.✔
Salto do Norte is near to (❌sem o to) the Itoupava Norte neighborhood.
Salto do Norte is far from Ponta aguda.✔️
My house is next to my job.✔️

Good job Evair!?????????

ANSWERS: in 2. at 3. on 4. at 5. in 6. on 7. on 8. in 9. in 10. at

Sentence stress

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What is stress?

Stress means pronouncing some syllables in a word and the content words in a sentence more strongly than others.

Stress is about contrast.

Pronouncing sentence stress well depends on creating a clear contrast between stressed and unstressed syllables.

You should pronounce stressed syllables or words more clearly, more slowly, and more loudly than unstressed syllables or words.

Native speakers of English listen for the STRESSED syllables and words, not the weak ones.

Pronouncing sentence stress correctly will make a big difference to how you pronounce English and will improve your comprehension. You’ll immediately sound clearer and more natural when you speak English.

Portuguese, French, Italian, and Spanish are described as SYLLABLE-TIMED LANGUAGES, which are languages that take approximately equal amounts of time to pronounce. 

English, German, and Dutch are described as STRESS-TIMED LANGUAGES, where the stressed syllables are said at approximately regular intervals, and unstressed syllables shorten to fit this rhythm.

Pronunciation: stress and intonation and Stress and intonation: quais palavras enfatizar are the two introductory lessons. Review them if necessary.

Now, listen carefully to the following video and take notes. It will help you to understand what sentence stress is in English pronunciation. It will help you recognize and pronounce stress correctly in a sentence and how it can change the meaning of a sentence.

Sometimes, one idea in your sentence is more important than others. You’ll add extra stress to this idea.

Read the full script and test your understanding of the lesson with a quiz.

Sentence stress is flexible, and the line between content words and grammar words isn’t fixed. So there are the most probable ways, but there are other possibilities. It depends on the meaning you want to express. 

  • Content words – words that give you the meaning of the sentence are usually stressed.
  • Structure or grammar words – words that don’t carry meaning are usually unstressed. They’re grammatically necessary; they connect the content words together.

Content words – stressed

Words carrying the meaningExample
Main verbsSELL, GIVE, EMPLOY
NounsCAR, MUSIC, MARY
AdjectivesRED, BIG, INTERESTING
AdverbsQUICKLY, WHY, NEVER
Negative auxiliariesDON’T, AREN’T, CAN’T

Structure words – unstressed

Words for correct grammarExample
Pronounshe, we, they
Prepositionson, at, into
Articlesa, an, the
Conjunctionsand, but, because
Auxiliary verbsdo, be, have, can, must

You can add extra stress to a word if you want to:

  • emphasize one particular idea,
  • contrast two ideas,
  • or to correct or contradict someone else.

Conclusion

  • You do not need to hear every word to understand the meaning of a sentence. If you focus on listening to the stressed words, you can understand what someone means even if you do not hear the unstressed grammar words.
  • Pronounce the stressed words more strongly, clearer as possible, and pronounce the unstressed words at a lower volume and as fast as you can, like a weak pronunciation.
  • Pay equal attention to the unstressed words, and try to get a clear contrast between the stressed and unstressed words.