Tricky Words in this week's OVI
The important difference in English between countable (unit) and uncountable (mass) words is shown in several words appearing in this week's extracts, namely "production", "work", "experience" and
(to some extent) "performance". These words change their meaning depending on their countable or uncountable reference; they can have either without changing their form. Putting it simply, words
with "a/an", "one", "each" or "every", "several" or "many" in front of them, or words with "-s" on the end (indicating plural - množné číslo), are countable, whereas words with "some" or "much" or
nothing in front of them, and never with a plural "-s", are uncountable. "The" doesn't count. because it is the same for countable and uncountable, singular and plural words.
Andy's Wordshop
"Production" means "výroba" in expressions like "primary production", "production technology" or "in production", but it means "produkcia" in expressions such as "an excellent production of the
play" or "in several Broadway productions". "Work" means "práca" in the sense of "robota" in expressions like "long years of work", "they're not at work" or "I'm looking for some work", but it
means "dielo" in expressions such as "this is a most intriguing work of art" or "in his more recent works, the author…". "Experience" means "skúsenosť" or "skúsenosti" in expressions like "How much
work experience do you have?" or "a lot of experience", but it means "zážitky" in expressions such as "to exchange experiences from the Marathon" or "a holiday full of unforgettable experiences".
Finally, "performance" usually means "výkon", but "a performance" may mean "vystúpenie" as well as "výkon".
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