Commonly Misused Words

besides

The LDOCE defines besides as meaning 'in addition to; also'. This is true most of the time, but there are some cases in which besides has a slightly different nuance than 'in addition to'.

In sentences like (a) and (b) below, the meanings of 'in addition to' and 'besides' are similar, although we'd be more likely to use (a) in informal conversation and (b) in a formal setting or in writing.However, when you are talking about reasons for doing or not doing something, 'besides' and 'in addition' are slightly different. When we use besides, it seems like the reason is not considered a "proper" reason; it sounds like an afterthought that isn't sufficient on its own (even though it may be the "real" reason for doing something.) (c) and (d) are some examples of this use of besides.

  1. Besides buying a computer, I want to use some of my bonus money to go on a trip.

  2. In addition to buying a computer, I want to use some of my bonus money to go on a trip.

  3. I can't go to John's party tonight. I have big exam tomorrow and I have to stay home and study. Besides, his parties are always boring.

  4. I would never consider giving him a job; he has no experience and his qualifications aren't very high. Besides, I heard that his wife is leaving him because he is always fooling around with other women.

challenge

Challenge has become a Japanese word, but the Japanese use of challenge is sometimes quite different from the English use of this word. I think that the Japanese-English use of challenge is related to the noun challenge, but the verb challenge has a somewhat different meaning. This sometimes leads to sentences that sound very strange, for example:

Strange: I always felt like challenging as many subjects as possible.

The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English gives these basic meanings for the verb challenge:

  1. to invite (someone) to compete against you in a fight, match, etc.

    Examples:

    • I challenged him to a game of tennis.
    • I challenge you to a race me across the lake.

    Notice that both the subject and object are human. In rare cases, this kind of meaning occurs with a non-human object, but only when that thing is thought of as an adversary:

    • We challenged the icy weather as we climbed Mt. Everest.

  2. to question the rightness, legality, etc. of

    Examples:

    • She challenged the authority of the court.
    • Traditional female roles are constantly being challenged by contemporary feminists

    Note: The subject of the sentence is human and the object is usually an abstract noun like authority, customs, or beliefs.

  3. to test the abilities (of a person or thing)

    Examples:

    • I only like to study something that challenges me.
    • The difficulty of putting our ideas into practice challenged us to find a new method.
    Note: in these examples, the subject is human or non-human and the object is human.

  4. to stop and demand official proof of the name and intentions of (someone)

    Examples:

    • The sentry challenged the stranger.

    Note: In these examples, both the subject and the object are human.

When you look at the four definition above, you can see what is strange about the sentence "I always felt like challenging as many subjects as possible." It seems that the writer is thinking of a meaning like definition 3, but in this case, the sentence should say something like: "I always felt like I wanted to be challenged by many different subjects."

Another way to express this meaning would be to use the noun form of challenge: "I always wanted to take on the challenge of many different subjects." But probably the most natural way to say it would be to use the verb try rather than challenge: "I always wanted to try many different subjects."

consist

The verb consist is usually used with the preposition of . It means "is made of," but it is NOT a passive verb. We never use the phrases "is consisted of" and "was consisted of".

Wrong:

Right:

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