Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 52
251. What is the difference between ‘invite’ and ‘invitation’?
Most of us tend to use invite as a verb and invitation as a noun. Pawan made sure that I wasn’t invited to the wedding. He tore up the invitation that was being sent to me. When used as a verb, ‘invite’ has the stress on the second syllable: in-VITE. Nowadays, there is a tendency among native speakers of English to use ‘invite’ as a noun. When used in this manner, it has the same meaning as ‘invitation’. The stress, however, in this case is on the first syllable: IN-vite. *Harish was disappointed because he didn’t get an invite to the party. The use of ‘invite’ as a noun is becoming fairly common in informal contexts. Careful users of the language, however, frown upon this. They prefer the use of ‘invitation’.
252. How is the word ‘zeitgeist’ pronounced?
There are several ways of pronouncing this word of German origin. The ‘z’ is like the ‘ts’ in ‘cuts’, ‘huts’, and ‘puts’. A simpler way is to pronounce it like the ‘z’ like the ‘z’ in ‘zip’ and ‘zoo’. The ‘ei’ in the first and second syllable are like the ‘i’ in ‘fight’, ‘might’, and ‘tight’. The word is pronounced ‘ZAIT-gaist’ or ‘TSAIT-gaist’ with the stress on the first syllable. ‘Zeit’ in German means ‘time’ and ‘geist’ means ‘spirit’. The word literally means ‘spirit of the time’; the term is normally used to refer to the spirit of the age. Zeitgeist has been defined as ‘the general set of ideas, beliefs, feelings, etc. which is typical of a particular period in history.’
253. What is the meaning of ‘cast-iron guarantee’?
A cast iron is a kind of hard metal which does not bend easily. When you give someone a cast-iron guarantee about a product, you are telling the person that it can be trusted completely; there is no way that the product will fail. *I need a cast-iron guarantee that you won’t exceed the budget. The word ‘guarantee’ has the stress on the final syllable, and not the first.
254. Is it okay to say, ‘He’s been depromoted’?
No, it isn’t. Although ‘depromoted’ is a possible word, it does not exist; no dictionary lists it. The word that you have in mind is ‘demoted’. When you ‘demote’ someone, you lower his rank or position. *After the trial, my cousin was demoted from colonel to captain.
255. What is the meaning of ‘it’s your funeral’?
This is an expression that is mostly used in informal contexts. When you tell someone that it’s his funeral, what you mean is that the thing he intends to do is rather stupid. In other words, it’s your way of warning the person that he has made a wrong decision, and he is the one who is going to suffer the consequences. *You want to go for a walk at this time of the night? It’s your funeral.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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