5 CONFUSING EXPRESSIONS

In everyday English, people speak with different dictions that are grammatically correct - but, many listeners find some of the expressions difficult to comprehend. In fact, many of the expressions require Yes, but a listener might unintentionally say NO as s/he knows not what the speaker is insinuating.

The five (5) rampant confusing expressions shall be lucidly rationalized below. 

The five (5) CONFUSING EXPRESSIONS are;

1. In short VS For short.

2. Do you mind VS I don't mind.

3. I can't thank you enough VS Thank you.

4. Chat up VS Chat with. 

5. Upcoming VS Up-and-coming.

Let's rationalize the expressions one by one.

IN SHORT vs FOR SHORT.

Supposed you attend an interesting event, and you have to tell your friend how the event started at 7:30 a.m and ended around 8 p.m. This might take much of the time you've got. So, you have to skip some uninterested part of it to tell the main part of the event. To say that, you would want to say 'In short, the boy won't. It means, you'll say 'IN SHORT' if you want to explain the main part of something. FOR SHORT on the other hand is the shorter way of saying a long name. If you have a long name, it might be difficult for some people to pronounce it. To help the pronouncers, you can make it short for them. If your name is ABDULRASAQ, you can tell people to call you RASAQ for short (Not In short). My name is Abdulrazaq; you can call me Rasaq, for short. 

DO/WOULD YOU MIND vs I DON'T MIND. 

One of the polite ways to ask for permission is 'Do you mind'. If I want you to share this post, I will politely say, 'Would you mind sharing this post?'. The problem in this expression lies in the response. People don't know what to say in response, or they do not know if the answer is to be YES or NO. If the intention is to share the post, 'I don't mind' will be the answer - which is the same as YES. Although, 'Do you mind' could be used when you are mad at a person. If you do not want me in your room, you may say ' Do you mind! I have to be alone right now'. It's another way to tell me that you don't want me in your room at that moment.

There are other five ways to use 'Do you mind' and 'If you don't mind'. Drop your comment if you want more on that.

I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH vs THANK YOU.

One of the positive expressions that appears negative is 'I can't thank you enough'. When you hear this, it means Thank you. If you appreciate something a lot, and Thank you seems not to be enough, you could say 'I can't thank you enough'. God has done so much for me, and I can't thank Him enough. It doesn't mean you don't appreciate what God did. It means, you're very happy and appreciative.  

CHAT UP vs CHAT WITH

Before you can chat a person up, you guys must have been sexually attracted to each other. When you chat up a person, it shows that you're sexually attracted to the person. You can chat your girlfriend/boyfriend up because, you guys are sexually attracted to each other. CHAT WITH on the other hand is an informal conversation with your friends, colleagues, siblings, cousins etc.  The aforementioned people could be chatted with about something (ir)relevant.

UPCOMING vs UP-AND-COMING

The words are never paid attention to, by many speakers of English in many English speaking countries. Till date, many speakers are still using the words wrongly. UPCOMING is used with event/programmes (spelling bee, wedding, festival etc). Example sentences; I will register ten students for the upcoming spelling bee. The upcoming festival will be more interesting than this. But, up-and-coming on the other hand is used to modify a person in a field/profession. There are Up-and-coming doctors, up-and-coming lawyers, up-and-coming professors etc. Pay attention here; the up-and-coming tells you

that the people are likely to be successful or popular in the professions. 

In a nutshell, the five (5) confusing expressions are not limited to the way they were been used in sentences above. Kindly drop your comments or chip in with your opinion in the comment section.