Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 8

 41. What is the difference between ‘familiar with' and ‘familiar to'?

When you say that you are familiar with a subject, you are implying that you know about it; you have, in fact, a good knowledge of it. When you become ‘familiar with someone', you behave in a rather informal way with an individual: you become more friendly than is acceptable, and in the process you do not give the respect that the person deserves.

*Use simple language. The audience may not be familiar with our jargon.

*The students are too familiar with the Vice Chancellor.

Just as people are familiar with things, things are familiar ‘to' people, in other words, ‘recognizable'.

*Does the smell seem familiar to you?

42, How is the word ‘entourage' pronounced?

The first syllable is pronounced like the word ‘on', and the second like the word ‘to'. The ‘a' sounds like the ‘a' in ‘father', ‘path', and ‘bath', and the final ‘ge' like the ‘s' in ‘measure', ‘pleasure' and ‘treasure'. The word is pronounced ‘ON-tu-raazh' with the stress on the first syllable. This is one way of pronouncing the word. Whenever an important person goes somewhere, he always has several people accompanying him. For example, when the Prime Minister visits another country, he is usually accompanied by a few ministers from his Cabinet, and by the members of his own family. These people who go along with the Prime Minister are part of his entourage.

*The film star and the members of her entourage walked in two hours late.

43. What is the meaning and origin of ‘lived up to its billing'?

In the old days, promoters used posters and leaflets to let the public know that a new play was going to be staged soon. These various forms of advertisements were called ‘bills'. When a well-known actor played the leading role, his name was written rather prominently; sometimes, it appeared at the top of the poster or leaflet. It is from this practice that we get the expression ‘top billing'. When you say that a movie lived up to its billing, you mean it lived up to your expectations. In other words, the show was as good as the ‘bill' (advertisement) claimed it would be.

*I saw the film yesterday. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to its billing.

44. What is the meaning of ‘vegan'?

First, let's deal with the pronunciation of this word. The ‘e' is like the ‘ee' in ‘fees', ‘bees' and ‘sees', and the following ‘a' is like the ‘a' in ‘china'. The word is pronounced ‘VEE-gen' with the stress on the first syllable.

Donald Watson, the founder of the Vegan Society, coined this word in 1944. Like a vegetarian, a vegan lives on a diet that excludes meat. But this individual is a lot more particular than a vegetarian; unlike a vegetarian, a vegan avoids all animal products. He doesn't eat eggs, butter or cheese and doesn't drink milk or honey. He is also rather fussy about his wardrobe; he avoids leather, wool and fur.

45. Is it okay to say, ‘He's been working in this office from March 2008'?

No, it isn't. The word that you have in mind is ‘since' and not ‘from'. When you say that someone has been working in an office ‘since March 2008', you mean that the individual started working in March 2008 and still continues to work there. He has been working in that particular place for over two years now. In such sentences, the word ‘since' usually answers the question, ‘when'. ‘For', on the other hand, answers the question ‘how long'.

*I've been in Hyderabad since March. (When did I come to Hyderabad?)

*I've been in Hyderabad for five months. (How long have I been in Hyderabad?)

It is however possible to use ‘from' when you referring to the future. For example, you can say, ‘Nandini says that she will start teaching from September.'

A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper

Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above