Active and Passive Vocabulary

If I ever need to buy a hinge in Brazil, I'll be OK then. ;-)

Avalon said:

Winston Churchill was famous for his particularly large vocabulary,he used 60,000 words in his writing(? what writing?)

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Apart from everything else he won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his many books on English and world history.

Tdol said:

If I ever need to buy a hinge in Brazil, I'll be OK then. ;-)

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Are Brazilian hinges particularly good? ;-)

Hinge is a marvelous word

To Tdol!
The best hinges are sold in Moscow. If you ever need another hinge buy a tour to Moscow.;-)

curmudgeon said:

Apart from everything else he won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his many books on English and world history.

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Thank you ,excuse my ignorance..;-)

MikeNewYork said:

Are Brazilian hinges particularly good? ;-)

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It hinges on the make ( of hinges ) you buy, I guess...;-) To be honest, I have never bought one myself...:roll:

Avalon said:

It hinges on the make ( of hinges ) you buy, I guess...;-) To be honest, I have never bought one myself...:roll:

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Basically, a hinge is a hinge. I don't think I'll travel to Brazil or Moscow to find one.

MikeNewYork said:

Basically, a hinge is a hinge. I don't think I'll travel to Brazil or Moscow to find one.

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What would you travel to Brazil or to Moscow for? Vacations? Business?

Avalon said:

What would you travel to Brazil or to Moscow for? Vacations? Business?

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Both. I've never been to either place. The closest I've come to Brazil is Aruba. The closest I've come to Moscow is the Ukraine.

MikeNewYork said:

Both. I've never been to either place. The closest I've come to Brazil is Aruba. The closest I've come to Moscow is the Ukraine.

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So you've been to the Ukraine. How did you like it?

Harry Smith said:

So you've been to the Ukraine. How did you like it?

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I loved it for the most part. The people were wonderful and the food was great. I went to both Odessa and Yalta and found them to be an interesting contrast. Odessa seemed to be much more Ukranian and Yalta seemed to be much more Russian. We were followed by a couple of guys in suits during our stay in Yalta. After a while, we started waving at them. I went to a Russian opera in Yalta. No offense, but I prefer the Italian form. ;-)

MikeNewYork said:

I loved it for the most part. The people were wonderful and the food was great. I went to both Odessa and Yalta and found them to be an interesting contrast. Odessa seemed to be much more Ukranian and Yalta seemed to be much more Russian. We were followed by a couple of guys in suits during our stay in Yalta. After a while, we started waving at them. I went to a Russian opera in Yalta. No offense, but I prefer the Italian form. ;-)

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It's nice to hear you liked the Ukraine. I liked it,too. My brother's familly lives in the Crimea, in Sevastopol and I sometimes visit them. How about visiting Moscow, the capital of Russia? Or you'll visit Rome?;-)

Harry Smith said:

It's nice to hear you liked the Ukraine. I liked it,too. My brother's familly lives in the Crimea, in Sevastopol and I sometimes visit them. How about visiting Moscow, the capital of Russia? Or you'll visit Rome?;-)

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I've been to Rome, and I loved it. I would love to see Moscow and Saint Petersburg one day. So many cities, so little time. :-?

MikeNewYork said:

I've been to Rome, and I loved it. I would love to see Moscow and Saint Petersburg one day. So many cities, so little time. :-?

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Saint Petersburg is a paradise. I was there in summer. It was just the time when there were the white nights. I enjoyed myself greatly. By the way, such discussions can help extend one's vocabulary.;-)

Harry Smith said:

Saint Petersburg is a paradise. I was there in summer. It was just the time when there were the white nights. I enjoyed myself greatly. By the way, such discussions can help extend one's vocabulary.;-)

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Yes, I think I'll pass on Saint P in the winter. :-D

My vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. I am absolutely euphoric!

MikeNewYork said:

Yes, I think I'll pass on Saint P in the winter. :-D

My vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. I am absolutely euphoric!

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I often read a dictionary. It helps me much in widening my vocabulary, though I mainly read to check the pronunciation of words. I do it because during the day my students mispronounce some words and I correct them and after correcting I begin to mispronouce.;-)

MikeNewYork said:

Yes, I think I'll pass on Saint P in the winter. :-D

My vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. I am absolutely euphoric!

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I often read a dictionary. It helps me much in widening my vocabulary, though I mainly read to check the pronunciation of words. I do it because during the day my students mispronounce some words and I correct them and after correcting I begin to mispronouce.;-)

Harry Smith said:

I often read a dictionary. It helps me much in widening my vocabulary, though I mainly read to check the pronunciation of words. I do it because during the day my students mispronounce some words and I correct them and after correcting I begin to mispronouce.;-)

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Dictionaries are very useful. I always look up words I don't recognize. I often look up words that I know, but can't articulate a definition for. I also like to check the etymologies of words -- mostly to see how they interconnect with similar words.

MikeNewYork said:

Dictionaries are very useful. I always look up words I don't recognize. I often look up words that I know, but can't articulate a definition for. I also like to check the etymologies of words -- mostly to see how they interconnect with similar words.

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Sometimes it's so difficult to choose the right word for my students. I think it's the lack of the practice. My problem is that I use correct words and very often can't explain why I use them. Where can I find the answer how to choose the right words besides dictionaries?