Rob and steal both mean ‘take something from someone without permission’. Rob focuses on the place or person from which the thing is taken. Steal focuses on the thing that is taken.
Look at the examples below:
ROB – you rob a person or place (of something) rob – robbed – robbed To rob means to take something from someone using force, threat, or violence. It typically involves a confrontation or intimidation of the victim. Robbery often happens in a public setting or a place where the victim is present.
EXAMPLES: The thieves robbed the bank at gunpoint. The thief robbed the bank (of money). She was robbed at gunpoint. Their house was robbed while they were out to dinner. The thieves robbed the armored vehicle yesterday.
STEAL – you steal something (from a person or place) steal – stole – stolen To steal means to take something that belongs to someone else without permission and with the intention of keeping it for oneself. This act can occur without the knowledge of the owner. It can involve taking something discreetly or without violence.
EXAMPLES: She stole money from her friend’s purse. They stole all her jewelry. Someone stole my phone. His car was stolen last year. One of my workmates stole my lunch from the fridge.
In summary, while both involve taking something unlawfully, “steal” is more general and can involve taking something without the owner’s knowledge, whereas “rob” specifically implies using force or threat to take something from someone directly.
When something is generally or always true (FACTS or STATES). The book is on the table. The tables aren’t blue. Why is the door open? People need water.
For a situation that we think is somewhat permanent. I live in Brazil. She doesn’t eat meat. I am a teacher. Do you have a car?
For habits or things we do regularly. I watch TV in the evening. We usually eat Sunday lunch together. I have a karate class on Mondays. He drinks coffee with breakfast.
When we are telling jokes. A horse walks into a bar. The barman sees him. The barman asks: Why the long face?
To talk about the future when we are discussing a timetable or a plan. The movie starts at 8 pm. What time does the train leave? The class ends at 7:45 pm. The ship doesn’t sail at 3 pm.
EXCEPT means “not including” or “besides.” You can use either EXCEPT or EXCEPT FOR as a conjunction to introduce a clause containing the only thing that was not included in the main part of a sentence: Everybody came to the party, EXCEPT/EXCEPT FOR Jonah. He ate everything on the plate, EXCEPT/EXCEPT FOR the broccoli. I have no time in my schedule, EXCEPT/EXCEPT FOR an hour on Friday.
You can use EXCEPT FOR when you want to show that the statement in the main part of the sentence is not completely true: My vacation was great, EXCEPT FOR the rain. (So, not completely great because of the rain). I finished cleaning the whole house, EXCEPT FOR the bedrooms. (So, I didn’t completely clean.) We drank all the liquor, EXCEPT FOR one case of Gin. (So, we didn’t completely drunk.)
You can use EXCEPT followed by a few different grammatical patterns:
EXCEPT + AN INFINITIVE: I never go to the mall, except to buy presents.
EXCEPT + A BASE VERB: I don’t do anything except work in the office.
EXCEPT + A PREPOSITION: There are no good stores except in the mall.
EXCEPT + THAT + SUBJECT + VERB He’s great, except that he is always late.
People always ask me what things they can do during their everyday lives that might help them improve their English. Here are a few suggestions. If you can think of any others, please add them in the comments.
Adjectives are words used to describe a person, place, or thing. For example:
The tall man in the red shirt is a friend of mine. We drove along a quiet road until we reached a small town. I’m reading an interesting book.
Prepositions are words used to connect two ideas or to demonstrate the relationship between two concepts. Examples of prepositions in English include at, in, on, for, to, with, and from.
Adjective + Preposition Combinations
There are many cases in which adjectives are combined with prepositions – but there is no rule stating when to use which combination. As you read and listen to more English, you will become more and more familiar with how these adjective-prepositions combinations are used. Here are a few of the more common combinations of adjectives and prepositions in English.
These two words look very similar but are quite different. BESIDE – is a preposition and means ‘next to.’ BESIDES – as a preposition means ‘except.’ BESIDES – as an adverb means ‘also.’
We use BETWEEN … AND to show when something begins and ends, or the range during which something is expected to happen. – The concert will start between 9 pm and 10 pm. – I lived in NY between 1985 and 1997. – The doctor sees patients between 2 and 6 pm.
We use AFTER to refer to the time following an event or period of time. – I usually watch TV after dinner. – I moved to Brazil after living in NY. – I was able to sleep after taking the sleeping pill.
We use TO/PAST when telling the time to refer to the number of minutes before (to) or after (past) and hour. – Class starts at half past two.. – I’ve been waiting since ten to two. – The train leaves at twenty-five past eleven.
We use WITHIN to refer to a span of time during which something will occur. – The package should arrive within a week. – We will have the results within minutes. – You will receive an answer within 24 hours.
We use FROM … TO to show when something begins and ends. – The class will be from 2 pm to 4 pm. – She was sick from Tuesday to Friday. – The course runs from January to May.
We use AGO to say how much time before now that something happened. – I started studying English three months ago. – I moved to Brazil 17 years ago. – The last election was almost three years ago.
We use BEFORE to refer to a period of time preceding a particular event, date, or time. – I usually wake up before 6:30 on weekedays. – I had read the book before I saw the movie. – The game is on before the News.
We use BY to say that something will happen no later than a time or date. – Students must hand in their homework by Friday. – I will be back by six o’clock.. – The rain should stop by the weekend.
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