Homonyms can be subdivided into homographs and homophones. Homographs are words which are written in the same,way but have different meanings. Compare bow in 'He took a bow /haul at the end of the concert' and 'He was wearing a bow / b a d tie'. Homophones are words which are pronounced in the same way but are spelt differently, e.g. bow as in 'He took a bow' and bough, 'the bough of a tree'.
Here are some more examples of homographs.
I live in the north of England. - 111~1
Your favourite pop star is singing live on TV tonight. /law/
I read in bed each night. /ri:d/
I read War and Peace last year. /red/
The lead singer in the group is great. 11i:cU Lead pipes are dangerous. /led/
The wind blew the tree down. / w ~ n d / Don't forget to wind your watch. I w a ~ n d l I wound my watch last night. Iwaundl
He suffered a terrible wound in the war. /wu:ndl
Some students at Oxford spend more time learning to row well than studying. haul They shared a flat for ages until they had a row over money and split up. haul This book is called English Vocabulavy in Use. /ju:s/
You must know how to use words as well as their meaning. /ju:z/
They lived in a large old house. /haus/
The buildings house a library and two concert halls as well as a theatre. Ihauzl The sow has five piglets. /sau/
The farmers sow the seeds in the spring. / s a d I bathed the baby this morning. /ba:Ot/
We bathed in the sea every day when we were on holiday. /beiddl Here are some of the many examples of homophones in English.
airlheir aloudlallowed doughldoe
fazelphase groanlgrown mightlmite panelpain
P ~ ~ Y I P ~ ~ Y rightlritelwrite sentlscent steaklstake tireltyre
weatherlwhether
How would you pronounce each of the underlined words in the sentences below? Choose a word with a similar sound from the brackets.
1 The girl I
live
with knows a good pub withlive
music. (divelgive) 2 The main house houses a collection of rare stamps. (mouselrouse) 3 They bathed the children after they had bathed in the sea. (lathelpath) 4 Yousow
the seeds while I feed the sow. (cowlglow)5 The violinist in the
bow
tie took abow.
(allowlflow) 6 He's thelead
singer in the group 'Lead piping'. (headldeed) 7 What arow
from the last house in the row! (ploughlthough) 8 Does he still suffer from his war wound? (foundlmooned)9 I wound the rope around the tree to strengthen it against the gale. (roundltuned) 1 0 It's quite hard to
wind
in the sails in thiswind.
(findltinned)Write the word in phonetic script in the correct spelling for the context.
Example: I really must do some more exercise or 1'11 never lose I w e ~ t l weight.
1 Watching sport on TV is such a I w e ~ s t l of time.
2 There is a hole in the Isaull of my shoe.
3 He broke a I p e ~ n l of glass in the kitchen window.
4 The eldest son of the monarch is the leal to the throne.
5 You are not /allaud/ to talk during the test.
6 Let's I ' p r a k t ~ s l our swimming together this evening?
7 He's going 10ru:l a rather difficult I f e ~ z l at the moment.
8 Don't throw away that orange 1pi:lI. I need it for a recipe.
Write one sentence using both of the words corresponding to the phonetic script.
Example: 1pe1V She was q u i t e pale a f t e r t h e exertion o f carrying such a heavy pail of water.
1 Ideal 3 I'praktrsl 5 Iwalnl 7 hart1 9 I h m l 2 11tsI 4 I g r e ~ t l 6 I s x t l 8 Ipre11 10 I r e ~ z l
Homophones and homographs are at the root of many jokes in English. Match the first part of each of these children's jokes with the second part and then explain the play on words involved in each.
1 What did the big chimney say to Because it's got a tender behind.
the little chimney?
2 What did one lift say to the other lift? A drum takes a lot of beating.
3 What did the south wind say to the I think I'm going down with something.
north wind?
4 Why did the man take his pencil to bed? A nervous wreck.
5 Why is history the sweetest lesson? H e wanted to draw the curtains.
6 What's the best birthday present? Because it's full of dates.
7 Why can't a steam engine sit down? Let's play draughts.
8 What's pale and trembles at the bottom You're too young to smoke.
of the sea?
20 Time
One thing before another
Before I went to work I fed the cat. [or, more commonly in written English: Before going to work.. .]
I had written to her prior to meeting the committee. [formal/*ritten style]
It was nice to be in Venice. Previously I'd only been to Rome. [fairly formal, more informal would be before that, I...]
I was in the office from 2.30. I was out earlier on, [before then, fairly informal]
The city is now called Thatcherville. Formerly it was Grabtown. [used when something has changed its name, state, etc.]
Things happening at the same time
While I waited, I read the newspaper. [or, more formal: While waiting, I read
...;
the waiting and reading happen together.]As I was driving to work, I saw an accident. [As describes the background when something happens in the foreground.]
I saw her just as she was turning the corner. [precise moment]
During he war, I lived in Dublin. [does not specify how long]
k
Throug lout the war, food was rationed. [from beginning to end]
She was entering at the very time/the very moment I was leaving. [These two are stronger and more precise than as or just as.]
One thing after another
After I'd locked up, I went to bed. [or, more formal: After locking up
...
; we d o not usually say ' ~ f t e r having locked up...'.I
We went to the castle. Then we caught a bus to the, beach.
First we went to the theatre. After that, we had a meal.
He fell ill and was admitted to hospital. He died soon afterwards. [In these two examples, after that and afterwards are interchangeable.]
Following my visit to Peking, I bought lots of books about China. [fairly formal]
Time when
When I'm rich and famous. 1'11 buy a yacht. , . [Note: not 'When I will be rich...']
As soon as we've packed we can leave. [immediately after]
Once we've finished we can go and have a coffee. [less specific]
The momendthe minute I saw his face I knew I'd met him before.
I stayed in that hospital the time (that) I broke my leg.
I met Pollv at Ken's wedding. O n that occasion she was with a different man.
6
Connecting two periods or events
The meal will take about an hour. In the meantime, relax and have a drink. [between now and the meal]
The new whiteboards are arriving soon. Till then, we'll have to use the old ones.
I last met him in 1985. Since then I haven't set eyes on him.
By the time I retire, I will have worked here 26 years.
20.1
Look at these pages from the personal diary of Laura, a businesswoman who travels a lot, then do the exercise.Mon Paris - day 5
12 Pompidou Centre then theatre
Tue Been away 6 days!
13 Paris OK, but miss home.
.
Up early. Said goodbye t o Fri Nick and left. 5aw bad 16 accident on motorway.
Answered all the mail, Sat then felt I could watch W! 17
Wed Left Paris 10 am. Lots ofphone calls! Sun 14 Huge pile of mail waiting! Sandra, Joyce - and 18
Manchester, then Dougy all in a row! Lazy day!
Thu Glasgow. Met Maura a t book tickets for Dublin Notes
15 Nick?. - 24th!
). Fill in the blanks with connectors. An example is given.
I 1
.Prior.
to going to Manchester, Laura was in Paris.2 Her next trip after Glasgow is on 24th. . . . she can have a quiet time at home.
3 She was in Paris for over a week. . . . she got home there was a big pile of mail waiting for her.
4 ... ..she was at Nick's place on the 16th, she met Maura.
5 She went to the theatre in Paris on Monday. . . .
,
she had been to the Pompidou Centre.6
..:
. . . she had said goodbye to Nick, she left.7 ... she had answered all her letters, she felt she could watch TV for a
while.
8 . . . she put the phone down it rang again. This time it was Dougy.
Make more sentences with connectors you haven't used, based on the diary information.
Think of things that are true for you in these situations and complete the sentences. Add more sentences if you can. An example has been done.
1 While I'm asleep, I usually dream a lot.
2 After I've eaten too much,.
..
3 The moment I wake up, I.
..
4 Throughout my childhood I...
5 I'm doing vocabulary right now. Earlier on, I was...
6 Once I've finished my language course, I'll
...
7 Before I go on holiday, I always..
.
8 Following an argument with someone, I always feel
Follow-up: If you can, get hold of a news report in English. Underline all the time
connectors and see if there are any which you can add to those on the left-hand page. If there are, write a whole sentence in your notebook showing how the connector is used.