This is a guide to help learners to communicate easily in both speech and writing through a better understanding of the English language.
Summon / summons
‘Summon’ means ‘to officially order someone to come to a meeting or a court of law.’
You have been summoned to a meeting with the principal.
‘Summons’ means ‘an official order to appear in a court of law.’
The plural is ‘summonses.’
Superior
‘Superior’ means ‘having a higher position or rank than someone else.’
I will report you to your superior officer.
This unusual comparative form is followed by ‘to’ and not ‘than.’
The quality of her work is superior to that of her friend.
The word ‘superior’ cannot be preceded by ‘most’ to form a superlative. However, it can be used with ‘most’ colloquially in the sense of displaying a feeling of being better than others.
James proved to be a most superior kind of employee.
Suppose / supposing
The word ‘suppose’ is used when saying what someone should or should not do, especially because of rules or what someone in authority has said.
You are supposed to tell your superior officer if you want to leave your job.
‘Suppose’ is also used when you think something is true, although you are uncertain about it.
I suppose he could have shot himself.
‘Supposing’ is used to ask someone to imagine what would happen if a particular situation existed.
Supposing you lost your job, what would you do?
Supposing he gets here on time, we can start the meeting.
Surprise
A surprise is an unexpected or unusual event.
What a lovely surprise to see you again!
Grandmother paid us a surprise visit.
Rebel forces took the city by surprise.
An element of surprise is important to any attack.
When ‘surprise’ means ‘taken unawares,’ it is followed by the preposition ‘by.’
Roger was surprised by a burglar.
When it means ‘astonished’ it is followed by ‘at.’
Sandra was surprised at his peculiar conduct.
Susceptible
‘Susceptible’ means ‘likely to suffer from a particular illness or be afflicted by a particular problem.’
Women are more susceptible to stress than men.
‘Sustain
If your ankle starts to swell, it gradually increases in size.
School leavers are swelling the ranks of the unemployed.
My heart swelled with pride as my daughter collected her degree certificate.
If a part of your body is swollen, it is bigger than usual because of illness or injury.
Sympathy / sympathiser
‘Sympathy’ is the feeling of being sorry for someone who is in a bad situation.
Janet has a lot of sympathy for old people.
‘Accept my deepest sympathies’ is used in a letter to someone whose close relative has died.
A sympathiser is someone who supports the aims of an organisation or political party, but does not belong to it.
The anti-corruption rally attracted many sympathisers.
Syndrome
A syndrome is a set of physical or mental effects that shows that someone has a particular disease.
There is no satisfactory drug for the treatment of ‘irritable bowel syndrome.’
Synonym
A synonym is a word or phrase which has the same or another word or phrase in the same language.
The words ‘small’ and ‘little’ are synonyms.
There are dictionaries of synonyms and antonyms.
Synthesis / synthesise / synthesiser
Synthesis’ means the mixing of different ideas, influences or things to make a whole which is different or new.
His latest album is a synthesis of African and Latin rhythms.
There are many vitamins that the body cannot synthesise itself.
A synthesiser is an electronic keyboard instrument which can reproduce and combine a large range of recorded sounds.
