Tâm
Can you help me discriminate them? - Are they positive connotation or negative connotation? - Are they colloquial or formal? Reasonably / sort of / kind of / somewhat / moderately. I'm learning American english. Thank you for your help!
Apr 26, 2018 3:06 AM
Answers · 4
1
Hilary already gave an explanation, but I just want to comment on a couple things. Grammatically, your question isn't wholly incorrect, but most people would not use "discriminate" in this context. It would be more common to say "tell the difference" or "differentiate." So, you could ask: "Can you help me tell the difference between each of these words?" "Can you help me differentiate these words?" "Discriminate" is a bit more formal, I'd say, but the meaning is about the same as "differentiate." It also has a negative connotation which is more commonly known. In a negative context, it can mean to unjustly show bias toward someone or something based on specific characteristics (race, age, gender, sexual orientation, etc.) Also, you should say "Are they positive or negative?" OR "Do they have a positive or negative connotation." These are just some minor changes, but you would be perfectly understood either way. Good work. :D I hope this is helpful.
April 26, 2018
They are neither positive or negative. They are adverbs which describe/qualify other things. "I am somewhat surprised". "He is somewhat drunk". Reasonably, somewhat and moderately are all formal and quite okay to use in spoken and written English. Sort of and kind of are non-standard, not always suitable for written contexts, but probably quite common in American Emglish.
April 26, 2018
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!