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Contributed by Daniel Evans

ONE POINT LESSON:Vocabulary

CATCH

"Catch" is a relatively simple word in the english language.  But students can often make mistakes when using it.

The word actually has two uses, as a noun, and as a verb.

The noun, "a catch" is a casual English word which means "a hidden drawback/disadvantage".

For example,

"I was really happy when I got a promotion in my job,  but then I realized there is a catch, I have to be at my office an hour earlier each day!"

However, "catch" is more commonly used as a verb.  The verb "to catch" has many meanings, but the most basic meanings are:

• to capture; to take and hold something/one when it doesn't want to be held, or after a chase.
• the stop the motion of a moving object, and hold it.
• to take, i.e. To take a train.
• to become sick with a cold/virus.

Here are some example sentences:

• After a long car chase, the police eventually manged to catch the criminal.
• That player is very good at catching the baseball.
• I'm going to Kyoto tomorrow.  I plan on catching the Bullet Train at 9.30am.
• My best friend has Influenza.  I hope I don't catch it!

However, some people can make mistakes when using "catch". 

Remember, we cannot use this word to mean "get".  For example, we cannot say...

• I want to catch a new boyfriend.

or,

• I was able to catch a lovely new apartment.

These sentences are not correct, so be careful when using "catch"!

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Contributed by Daniel Evans

ONE POINT LESSON:Vocabulary

HARD and HARDLY

'Hard' is quite a basic English vocabulary word.  Most people know how to use it as an ADJECTIVE.

 As an ADJECTIVE, it's main meanings are...

i)  resistant to pressure, can not easily be dented or squashed

ii)  showing, or done with, a lot of strength

iii)  difficult

For example,

• Tennis balls are soft, but baseballs are very hard.
• He gave the soccer ball a hard kick.
• Studying Chinese is very hard.

 But what about when we want to change it to an ADVERB?

 Of course, 'hardly' is an ADVERB, but it does not have a similar meaning to the ADJECTIVE 'hard'.

The main meaning of 'hardly' is only just / barely, or almost not.

 So for example,

• There were hardly any people at the party.
• The writing was so small that I could hardly read it.
• When I finished shopping, I hardly had any money.

When we want an ADVERB which has a similar meaning to i), ii), or iii) above, we can use 'hard'. 

The word 'hard' can be used as both an ADJECTIVE or an ADVERB.

 For example,

• The fighter punched his opponent hard.
• I work hard at my job.
• I threw the baseball too hard, and accidentally smashed a window.

 So remember, 'hard' and 'hardly' have very different meanings!

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