Distinguishing between pairs of words that are easily confused in English

“Alone” and “Lonely” are two very familiar words that we often use when communicating in English. But are you sure you are using them correctly? If not, let’s distinguish between “Alone” and “Lonely” in the article below!

“Alone” and “Lonely”

1. Alone

Alone /əˈləʊn/ is both an adjective and an adverb, describing the state of a person or thing being alone, with no one around.

For example:

- I plan to travel alone to Korea on Valentine's day.

- Do you live alone?

1. Lonely

Lonely /ˈləʊnli/ is an adjective that describes the feeling of loneliness, isolation, and boredom.

For example:

- She said she feels very lonely and depressed living in that big house.

- She said she feels very lonely.

So what are the differences between alone and lonely?

1. The difference between Alone and Lonely

Alone describes a state while lonely describes an emotion.

Sometimes you like to be alone but never want to experience the feeling of loneliness, right?

For example:

- I love travelling alone but I've never felt lonely so far.

- I don't mind being alone because I never feels lonely.

Alone never comes before a noun, lonely can come before a noun.

For example:

- She had a lonely childhood.

Alone can be used as an adverb but lonely cannot.

For example:

- I prefer going to lunch alone.

So, distinguishing Alone and Lonely is not difficult, right?

Hear and listen

Surely many of you still do not understand why, even though they are both listening actions, sometimes we use Listen and sometimes we use hear to express. Therefore, this article will provide you with the knowledge to distinguish between listen and hear with the easiest to understand illustrative examples. Hopefully, it can clear up confusion and help you feel more confident when taking English multiple choice tests.

Distinguish and use

Both are verbs that talk about receiving information through the ears, listen and hear have quite similar usage and accompanying phrases. However, these two verbs have quite a big difference in meaning.

While listen is active, intentional listening, often used with listening to music, listening to the radio, listening to teachers' lectures, etc., hear means passive, unintentional listening, used with rumors, conversations, news, etc. that are accidentally heard.

1. Listen

Listen means to actively and attentively listen to a piece of information (to give attention to someone or something in order to hear them).

Listen also means to accept someone's advice.

For example:

- She clapped her hands over her ears and refused to listen.

Structure:

- Listen to somebody/ something: listen to something

For example:

- I'm tired of listening to her talking about her problems.

- I listen to the radio while I have breakfast.

- Listen out for st: strain your ears to hear something (in a noisy place)

For example:

- Could you listen out for the phone while I'm upstairs?

2. Hear

Unlike Listen which refers to the act of concentrating on a piece of information, hear is simply the act of perceiving sound through the ears, meaning we only accidentally hear that piece of information. The information may not be as complete as when we “listen”. (to be aware of a sound through your ears).

For example:

- She could hear the hall clock ticking.

Structure:

- Hear about something: hear about something

For example:

- When did you first hear about the news that Ann is back?

- Hear somebody do/doing something: hear someone doing something (partially or completely)

For example:

- I think I heard someone talking about Jane in the office.

So now we know how to distinguish between pairs of words that are easily confused and apply them in the right context, right? Wish you success on your journey to conquer English.

Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang - Lecturer, Faculty of English Language