The difference between the words comfortable and convenient, to visit and to attend

—   Hello, our dear friends! My name is Nathaniel. This is Martin.

—   And my name is James.

—   Welcome to our grammar lesson!

—   Last Sunday we decided to go somewhere to have fun, because we usually work a lot.

—   We thought about different places: a theatre, a cinema, a museum, a zoo, etc.

—   But in the end, we decided to go to the cinema near Nathaniel’s house.

—   When we came, we saw a man and a woman.

—   They were sitting in front of us.

—   The woman’s voice was so strange as if she came from another planet.

—   And since we are well-mannered, we could stop ourselves from laughing.

—   Well… anyway this is not the main reason why we are telling you about this woman.

—   We decided to tell you about her because of what she was saying.

—   Listen to the conversation between the woman and the man and you’ll guess the topic of our lesson.

—   Rick, why did you invite me to this awful cinema?

—   Jessica, why is it awful? I think it’s great!

—   Are you serious? Next time you can go to this place alone, if you like it.

—   Oh, it’s a wonderful idea.

—   Excuse me. What did you say?

—   Never mind. I just want to know what’s wrong with the cinema.

—   All right! I’ll tell you what’s wrong. The seats are so inconvenient!

—   Honey, could you keep your voice down, please?

—   What? Do you want me to shut my mouth?

—   No, of course not, my darling! But you are talking so loudly.

—   You know what? I’m leaving! And I won’t attend this cinema ever again.

—   But, honey…

—   Rick, are you coming or not?

—   All right… Let’s go.

—   The situation was really terrible! Poor man.

—   Yeah! I agree. But we’ve told our friends about this incident, because the woman made serious mistakes in her speech.

—   Yes, that’s right. She used the words “inconvenient” and “attend” which are not suitable in the situation.

As you can guess, today in the lesson we will:

·        talk about the difference between the words “comfortable” and “convenient”;

And

·        discuss the difference between the words “to visit” and “to attend”.

—   First of all, let’s talk about the words “comfortable” and “convenient”.

—   We will discuss what they have in common.

—   And we will also tell you about the difference between these two adjectives.

Take a vocabulary and try to find the translation of the words “convenient” and “comfortable”. If you do that, you will see that both these words are translated as “удобный”. This is their main translation, but not the only one.

We can also translate the word “convenient” as “подходящий, пригодный, находящийся под рукой” and the word “comfortable” as “уютный, комфортный”.

Now let’s discuss when we can use the word “convenient”.

1. If a way of doing something is convenient, it means that it’s easy, or very useful or suitable for a particular purpose.

For instance:

Ella and Zoe thought it was more convenient to have breakfast in the kitchen.

2. If you describe a place as convenient, it means that it’s near to where you are, or you can reach another place from there quickly and easily.

For instance:

This is a really convenient place for my office, just next to the apartments where I live.

3. If we say that it’s a convenient time to do something, it means that it’s a time when you are free to do it or would like to do it.

For instance:

Would 9 o’clock be a convenient time for our meeting?

The synonyms of the word “convenient” are “suitable, fitting, appropriate, handy, available, accessible, nearby”.

Let’s look at the following two examples:

1. Mike, let’s try to find a convenient time for our lesson!

And

2. Mike, let’s try to find a suitable time for our lesson!

As you can see, we can use both variants.

The opposite of the word “convenient” is “inconvenient”.

For instance:

I live in the village. I have to travel 200 kilometres to get to my favourite restaurant. It’s very inconvenient.

—   We’ve just told you everything about the word “convenient”.

—   Now let’s discuss when we can use the word “comfortable”.

—   This will help you to understand the difference between these two words.

1. The word “comfortable” is used to talk about a physical feeling.

Look at the following examples:

This soft sofa is really comfortable to sit in.

Eliza bought new shoes two days ago. They are really comfortable to wear.

Robin really likes his new trousers. They are the most comfortable he’s got.

From these examples you can see that we can use the word “comfortable” to describe furniture, shoes and clothes.

2. “Comfortable” is also used to talk about salary when we want to emphasize that we have enough money for a good standard of living.

For example:

It's easy to feel secure when you have a comfortable salary.

Or

Erin’s parents are not very rich, but I think they are quite comfortable.

3. If we describe a person as comfortable, it means that we feel confident and relaxed with him or her.

For example:

Mollie is a very comfortable person. She is my best friend.

Or

Jacob loved me and I felt comfortable with him.

4. In a race, competition, or election, if you have a comfortable lead, you are likely to win it easily.

For example:

By half distance David and Hugo held a comfortable three-lap lead.

Or

Cody appeared to be heading for a comfortable victory.

5. When we say that a sick or injured person is comfortable, we mean that this person is in a stable physical condition.

For example:

Jonathan was described as comfortable in hospital last night.

Or

Mr. Mills is a wonderful doctor. His aim is to make his patients comfortable.

6. If we say that we have a comfortable life, job or situation, we mean that it doesn’t cause us any problems or worries.

For example:

My dad’s retirement looks far from comfortable.

Or

Marry isn’t comfortable with the idea of leaving her old mother on her own.

The synonyms of the word “comfortable” are “pleasant, homely, easy, relaxing, well-off, prosperous”.

Look at the following two examples:

1. Amanda came from a comfortable, middle-class family.

And

2. Amanda came from a well-off, middle-class family.

As you can see, we can use both variants.

The opposite of the word “comfortable” is “uncomfortable”.

For instance:

These trainers are so uncomfortable to wear.

Paul, I think you're making everybody uncomfortable!

—   We’ve discussed the words “convenient” and “comfortable”.

—   Now you know what they have in common.

—   You also understand the difference between “convenient” and “comfortable”.

—   Now let’s talk about the words “to visit” and “to attend”.

—   Pupils often confuse them.

—   That’s why we will tell you about these two words in more detail.

—   First of all, let’s discuss what the words “to visit” and “to attend” have in common.

The words “to visit” and “to attend” are both translated as “посещать”, but this is not the only meaning they have.

The word “to visit” can also be translated as “навещать, проведывать, ходить в гости” and the word “to attend” can be translated as “присутствовать, участвовать, обучаться”.

Now let’s discuss when we can use the word “to visit”.

1. If you visit someone, you go to see them and spend time with them.

For instance:

Darcy wanted to visit his sister in Canada.

2. If you visit a place, it means that you go there for a short period of time.

For instance:

Toby and Luke visited a museum and a cinema while they were in Spain.

3. If you visit a website, it means that you look at it.

For instance:

Visit our website and you won’t regret!

—   We’ve discussed when we can use the word “to visit”.

—   Now let’s talk about the word “to attend”.

1. If you attend a meeting or other event, it means that you are present at it.

For instance:

Over seventy people attended the wedding.

2. You can say that you attend an institution such as a school, college, university, or church if you go there regularly.

For instance:

Julia and Mia attended the Oxford university together.

3. The word “to attend” can be used to show that you pay attention to what someone is saying.

For instance:

I’m afraid Adam and Aiden weren’t attending to what was being said.

—   Guys, now you know everything about the words “convenient” and “comfortable”, “to visit” and “to attend”.

—   We hope our lesson will help you not to confuse these words in the future.

—   That’s all for today.

—   See you soon, boys and girls.