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Speak English Right - 1:8:17
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Good morning.
One of our members asked me a question that I believe would be good for all of our members to learn. She asked what the difference is between ‘contracting’ an illness and ‘coming down’ with an illness.
Words/Phrases
‘contracting’
‘coming down with’
‘down with’
The word ‘contract’ is most often used to describe a business term. It is an agreement that each of the people agreeing to (on ‘entering into’) specific terms in a business arrangement. However, when talking about an illness, the word means that a person is ‘getting’ the illness. You can also say that they are ‘coming down with’ an illness. In fact, they both mean the same thing. Each one is just a different way of expressing the same thing.
Practice
She is coming down with a cold.
She contracted a cold last week.
The child came down with the flu a few days ago.
The child contracted the flu a few days ago.
The little girl contracted the measles (麻疹) recently.
The little girl came down with the measles recently.
She’s down with the measles.
He’s down with the flu.
One of the most powerful ways to really sound like a native English speaker is to know different ways of saying and expressing the same thing. When you learn how to do this, you will become much more fluent and sound like a native speaker of English.
That’s all for today.
Goodbye for now.
I hope you have a wonderful day!
(Opinions of the writer in this blog don't represent those of China Daily.)
MichaelM
Michael is the author of the transformational book, Powerful Attitudes. He is a professional educator, an educational consultant, an author. He lives in Zhengzhou, Henan Province. He enjoys playing guitar and writing poetry. He loves China.
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