My lesson "Q", "R"

Bal spoke in a quiet voice.

Quiet is an adjective. Someone or something that is quiet makes only a small amount of noise.

It's a quiet little village.

A quiet place does not have much activity or trouble.

He was quite young.

You use quite in front of an adjective or adverb. It means fairly, but not very. For example, if something is quite big, it is big, but it is not very big.

She was quite a pretty girl.

You can also use quite in front of a, followed by an adjective and a noun.

I need something slightly cheaper. He could run a bit more quickly than the other two men.

Don't use quite in front of comparative adjectives or adverbs. Use a bit or slightly.

You're quite right. I saw the driver quite clearly.

Quite can be used in front of an adjective or adverb to emphasize something.

I'm rather busy at the moment. He did it rather badly.

Rather means more than a little.

I would rather stay in bed.

If you say that you would rather fo something, you mean that you would prefer to do it.

It made him frightened rather than angry. I use the bike when I can, rather than the car.

Rather than means instead of. You can use rather than to link words, phrases or clauses.

You should read this book.

When you read a piece of writing, you look at it and understand what it says.

Have you read that article I gave you?

The past tense form and past participle of read is read.

I'm going to read him some of my poems. You should read books to your baby.

If you read something such as a book to someone, you say the words aloud so that the other person can hear them. You can either say that you read someone something, or that you read something to someone.

I'll go up and read to Sam for five minutes.

You can also say that you read to someone without saying what you read.

We got ready for bed.

If you get ready, you prepare yourself for something.

Lunch is ready.

If something is ready, it has been prepared and you can use it.

I really enjoyed that. Ot was really good. He did it really carefully.

You use really in conversation to emphasize something that you are saying.

We really are expecting her book to do well. It would really be too much trouble.

You can put really in front of or after an auxiliary verb. For example, you can say He really is coming or He is really coming.

I think he likes you. - Really? He hardly spoke to me all day.

You can use Really? to show that you are surprised by something that someone has said.

We've got receipts for everything we've bought.

A receipt is a piece of paper that shows that you have received money or goods from someone.

She gave me a recipe for carrot soup.

Don't confuse receipt with recipe. A recipe is a set of instructions for how to cook something.

I asked my friends to recommend a doctor who is good with children.

If you recommend someone or something, you praise them and advise other people to use them or buy them.

I'll recommend you for the job.

You can say that you recommend someone or something for a particular job or purpose.

The committee recommended several changes. The doctor may recommend eating less salt.

If you recommend something or recommend doing something, you say that it is the best thing to do.

We recommend that you pay in advance.

You can recommend that someone does something.

I recommend a visit to Paris. I recommend visiting Paris/I recommend that you visit Paris.

Don't say that you recommend someone an action.

I am a relation of her first husband. We went to France to visit some of our relatives.

Your relations or relatives are the members of your family.

The country has good relations with Israel.

The relations between people or groups are the way they behave towrds each other and feel about each other.

We have a good relationship with our customers.

You can talk in a similar way about the relationship between two people or groups.

Their relationship ended two months ago.

A relationship is also a close friendship between two people, especially a romantic friendship.

Some people can't even relax when they are at home.

When you relax, you make yourself calmer and less worried.

Oliver remained silent. I stayed awake.

To remain or stay in a particular state means to continue to be in that state. Remain is more formal than stay.

I was allowed to remain at home. Fewer women these days stay at home to look after their children.

If you remain or stay in a place, you do not leave it.

We stayed in Brussels for two weeks.

If you stay in a place, you live there for a short time. Don't use remain with this meaning.

He remembered the man well.

If you remember people or events from the past, you still have an idea of them in your mind.

I remember asking one of my sons about this.

If you still have an idea in your mind of something you did in the past, you can say that you remember doing it.

He remembered to turn the gas off.

If you do something that you had intended to do, you can say that you remember to do it.

Even small objects can remind us of events in the past.

If something reminds you of something that happened in the past, it make you think about it.

I need to remind people about their reports. Remind me to speak to you about Davis.

You also use remind to mean that you mention something that someone needs to do, so that they do not forget to do it. In this meaning, you say you remind someone about something or remind them to do something.

I reminded him that we had a wedding to go to on Saturday.

You can also remind someone that something is the case.

The waiters came in to remove the cups.

If you remove something, you take it away.

Last year my parents moved from Hyde to Stepney.

If you go to live in a different house, don't say that you remove. Say that you move.

The children are responsible for cleaning their own rooms.

If you are responsible for doing something, it is your job or duty to do it.

They were responsible for the death of two policemen.

If you are responsible for something bad that has happened, it is your fault.

I hope they find the man responsible.

Responsible can also be used after a noun. If you talk about the person responsible, you mean the person who is responsible for what has happened.

They are responsible members of the local community. I thought it was a very responsible decision.

However, if you use responsible in front of a noun, it has a completely different meaning. It means sensible and showing good judgement.

I returned to my hotel.

When someone returns to a place, they go back there after they have been somewhere else.

I went back to the kitchen and poured my coffee. I have just come back from a holiday in Scotland. I must get back to London.

Return is a fairly formal word. In conversation, you usually use go back, come back, or get back.

He borrowed my best suit and didn't return it. We returned the books to the shelf.

When someone returns something they have taken or borrowed, they give it back or put it back.

They learned to ride a bike. He was the best horse I have ever ridden.

When you ride an animal, bicycle, or motorcycle, you control it and travel on it. The past tense form of ride is rode, and the past participle is ridden.

It was her turn to drive the car. Dennis has never learned to drive.

When someone controls a car, lorry or train, don't say that they ride. Say that they drive it.

There is a risk of flooding.

If there is a risk of something bad, there is a possibility that it will happen.

He risked breaking his leg when he jumped.

If you risk doing something, that thing might happen as a result of something you do. For example, if you risk upsetting someone, it is possible that you will upset them.

If you have an expensive rug, don't risk washing it yourself.

You can also say that someone risks doing something when they do it even though they know it might have bad results. For example, if you risk phoning someone, you phone them even though you know that it might cause problems.