- Every time somebody says «I love fantastic movies», I want to ask «Who doesn’t, I wonder?» because fantastic doesn't express genre of a movie, it expresses your opinion of the movie meaning great, awesome. If you want to talk about the genre, use science fiction or sci–fi.
- Fantastic is just one example of the so–called «false friends» group of words. They are words that look and sound very similar to words in your native language (like computer, which is international now), but their meaning are often drastically different. They are often derived from a common root in an ancient language, but later their meanings develop in different ways. Such deceptive words may trick both beginners in learning English and experienced learners and speakers.
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"False friends" examples
- There is a list of the most frequently misused words that often confuse native speakers:
- I’ll tell you an anecdote. You should be extremely careful with your next words, because anecdote is a real story from your life or the life of somebody you know. What the Russians mean by anecdote is called a joke.
- He’s in his cabinet. In the English language the word cabinet means a piece of furniture where papers can be kept. It is also used in politics as «the cabinet of ministers». If you are talking about a room, use office or study.
- The girl over there is really sympathetic. The person you say this to will be really surprised by your words and will probably ask you how you know that. Sympathetic is somebody who can understand other people's problems and feelings. If you just want to say that you like the girl, use cute.
- Mr. Brown is the chef of our department. Don't confuse the words chef |ʃef| and chief |tʃiːf|. The first has its origins in the French language and means the head of cooks in a restaurant. The other one, chief, means boss, director, and the person in charge.
- Madonna is an artist. Since when? Dali was an artist, whereas Madonna is just a singer or a pop–singer.
- Bach was a great compositor. Actually, he had something to do with music. So, compositor is the one who works on a typing machine, a composer is someone who makes music.
- I used clay to stick the pieces together. If you broke a cup, clay is completely useless, unless you want to make a new one. Glue is your best choice.
- I always make the bed; I’ve been so accurate since childhood. Accurate means precise, specific, this false friend is similar to a Russian word that means neat or tidy.
- Dostoyevsky wrote a lot of great novels. In order not to bore you with details we'll just say that the system of genres in America is simpler than the one in Russia, so basically there are just two kinds — short stories and novels.
- All we can do is speculate. The surprise on your friend's face is understandable, because speculate means to form a theory about something beyond your actual knowledge. If you are talking about financial things, you need the word jobbery.
As you understand now, you should be extremely careful with «false friends», because they may get you in a very awkward situation.
Unfortunately, there is no universal remedy that may help you learn to avoid confusion once and for all. Just learn not to believe anything until you check it. Good luck in learning English!