2 questions

[jctgf]

Hi,

I have 2 questions, please:

1) What's the difference between "fool" and "deceive"? How should I use them? I have heard "you have fooled me..." on many songs. "Deceive" seems to have a heavier connotation. Can I say that people is "fooled" on silly things and "deceived" on more important ones? Summing up, is it all about the level of formality?

2) Can I start a sentence with the expression "Taking this opportunity, I would like to…" instead of "I would like to take this opportunity to…"? Does it sound natural and good English?

Thanks.

 

[susiedqq]

1) is it all about the level of formality? Probably, but "deceive" seems to be more tricky and/or devious.

2) "I would like to take this opportunity to. Use this

 

[Barb_D]

It's definitely that "deceive" has a very negative quality to it. If your job was to take me out shopping while people gathered for my surprise party, and you managed to pretend that you had no idea it was my birthday, you fooled me. It would be very to use "deceive" here.

Note that the adjective and noun forms are even more different.

His words were deceptive - they intentionally gave the wrong impression
His words were foolish - it was silly of him to say them (no sense of being untrue or leading to a wrong impression)

You can have a harmless deception (like taking me out and pretending you didn't know it was my birthday) - this doesn't necessarily have the negative sense that "deceive" does.
There's no corresponding word for "fool"

 

[jctgf]

... It would be very to use "deceive" here.

Hi,
Thanks a lot.
It seems that the key word is missing on the text above (extracted from your reply).
I just want to make sure I understood your answer properly.
Thanks again.
JC

 

[Barb_D]

Gosh, there were a lot of typos in that post. I can only claim that the cat was lying across my arms and it was hard to see.

With the surprise party, I meant to say that it would be very unusual to use the word deceive for something like that.

I apologize for any confusion that resulted from my overly hasty typing.