Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner1]

Hello,

A:What is the difference in meaning among the four sentences?

1.I involved myself in the activity for fun.

2.I took part in the activity for fun.

3.I participated in the activity for fun.

4.I joined the activity for fun.

B:What is the difference in meaning between the two sentences?

1.The retired old man involved himself in a hobby to pass the time.

2.The retired old man took up a hobby to pass the time.

Thank you very much

[pugachevV]

I'd say the examples at A. all mean the same thing for practical purposes. There are slight variations in meaning, which you can look up in the dictionary, but the intent is to say that you took up: golf, or horse riding, or rocket building, or whatever because it was fun.

So it is with the second set: the old man made model aeroplanes/airplanes (for instance) to pass the time.

[learner1]

Thanks.