Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

1.Is there a difference between *to anesthetize* and *to paralyze*?


If I were to ask for the difference between two verbs, it's necessary to put *to* before the verb?

2. Is there a word that sounds like *tria* that means *gang*?


3. Practically every guy she knows is g ay, so she *assumes* or *presume* everyone is homosexual to avoid surprises.

Sorry, this is not a good sentence. I would like to know the difference between *presume* and *assume*? Which one applies to the sentence?

4. Back in his happy days at middle school, he would literally *bounce rather than walk* if you ever ran into him at school.

Is that a strange way to put it?

Thanks to you all.

[MrPedantic]

Hello MissD

1. When someone has a car crash and loses the use of his legs, his legs are "paralyzed". And when someone goes to the dentist to have a tooth removed, and is given an injection in the gum, he is "anesthetized".

It's probably better to use the to-infinitive when you ask for the difference between two verbs.

2. Yes: "triad" refers to a branch of an underground organization which is (I think) based in Hong Kong, but has spread throughout the world.

3. "assumes" is the right choice here. "Assume" and "presume" overlap in some of their meanings; but when they both mean "take as true without further verification", "presume" sometimes has an extra sense of "assume in advance".

4. Yes, the grammar is slightly strange. It seems to be an ellipsis: "bounce (rather) than walk". But using "bounce" to describe the walk of someone who proceeds in a cheerful energetic way is fairly common.

See you later,
MrP

[missdaredevil]

Practically every guy she knows is g ay, so she *assumes* or *presume* everyone is homosexual to avoid surprises.

Why is *assume* a better choice in this sentence?


Thanks

[John101]

hi

I think your english is very advanced. But you really dont need to worry about these little details. Most peoply wouldnt pass comment if you used either assume or presume.

However to me Presume is more correct in this context. you would usually presume things that happen in the future and assume things that happend in the past but the lines between these two are blurry.

so if someone asked me where my friends were yesterday (saturday) and i wasnt sure but knew they usually go home on saturday. your response would be "I assume they went home"

and if someone asks where your friends will be next saturday. i would reply. " I presume they will be at home"

Hope this helps

[missdaredevil]

Thanks for the compliment.
Since I am not a native speaker, I feel insecure about using the right words and making possible blaring(does that word sound natural?) mistakes.
In the near future, I will learn Spanish. Since my mother tongue is Mandarin.(It has a very different set of grammar and structure.) I figure it's best to learn Spanish through English.


Thanks again, for the words of encouragment.

[John101]

it would be "glaring" mistakes