100 Mistakes #10 - Sensible, Sensitive and Sympathetic

Here we have three adjectives which are frequently misunderstood and confused. They look a lot like words in other languages (French, Spanish...) but they don't have the same meanings.

The first problem lies in the word 'sense', which relates to our 6 senses: our ability to hear, see, touch, smell, taste and... er... detect electromagnetic fields. 'Sense' is also used to mean our ability to think and react to other people's feelings.

Sensible = with good sense, rational.

• That's a sensible decision.
• She'll be fine in India, she's a sensible girl.

Sensitive = reacting to a small stimulus, aware of others' feelings, emotional.

• I can't use soap because my skin is very sensitive.
• She's really sensitive to my feelings. If I've had a bad day, she really listens.
• Be careful when you talk to John about his report. He takes his work very seriously and can be sensitive to criticism.

Notice that 'sensitive' in the second example is a very positive characteristic, while in the third, it is a potential problem.


'Sympathetic', on the other hand, looks like 'simpático' or 'sympathique' but it doesn't mean the same.

Sympathetic = listening and empathizing with someone, understanding - not usually a permanent characteristic.

• When I explained that I had gone to the wrong building, they were very sympathetic.
• I don't really need a solution, just a sympathetic ear, someone who will listen.

Nice, friendly, likeable, lovely = simpático, sympathique = what you thought 'sympathetic' meant.

• What did you think of my friends? They seemed really nice.
• The hotel owner was really friendly and he told us where to find the best fish.
• He's a very likeable chap, isn't he!
• The woman at the shop was so lovely; she gave me two extra chocolates!

Now over to you:

Which of these is sensible, sensitive, sympathetic... or just nice?

I explained that someone had stolen my wallet but they weren't very ________.

My neighbour brought me a leg of ham this morning: he said he was given two for Christmas and could never eat both of them. How ________!

She told me she was ________ but she never noticed when I was upset.

I'm going to call them now and see if they know what's going on.
I think that's very ________.

100 Mistakes #3 - 'any' is not negative

'Any' is used in questions and negative sentences but it is not negative in itself.

Let´s talk about cheese!

"Do we have any cheese?"

This a general, unspecific question about cheese. I´m not asking about the type of cheese. I just want to know if there is any.

any = unspecific, it is not important what kind

If the answer is 'yes', you're now talking about something specific.

"Yes, we have some Cheddar and some Gorgonzola."

Notice that 'some' doesn't tell us anything about quantity.

If the answer is no, it will remain unspecific.

"No, we don´t have any cheese."

- - - - - 

If you go to the World's Greatest Cheese Shop, and ask them if they have any cheddar, they will say, "Yes madam, we have 12 types of cheddar."

If you go to the World´s Greatest Cheese Shop, and ask them if they have any ham, they will say, "I'm sorry madam, we don´t have any ham."

We don`t have any ham = We have no ham

Note that there is only one negative in a negative sentence: 'not', in the first, and 'no', in the second.

If you go to the World´s Greatest Cheese Shop, and ask them what kind of cheese they have, they will say, "We have any cheese you can think of, madam!"

We have any cheese you can think of = it doesn't matter what kind of cheese you think of, we have it...

Manchego?

Yes.

Red Leicester?

Yes.

Goat's cheese?

Several varieties.

Double Gloucester?

Yes.

Camembert?

Of course.

Cornish Yarg?

Certainly.

Wyfe of Bath?

Yes.

Cheshire?

Yes, madam. I told you, we have any cheese you can think of. We are, after all, the World's Greatest Cheese Shop.