100 Mistakes #22 - Journey, Trip and Travel

Jeff has just arrived in London.

Me: How was the journey, Jeff?
Jeff: Oh, not too bad. There was a bit of traffic coming into London but apart from that...

Jeff has just been on holiday.

Me: How was your trip, Jeff?
Jeff: Amazing! The temples in Cambodia blew my mind.

Jeff is in an English class.

Me: So Jeff, what do you do in your free time?
Jeff: Well, I enjoy reading, going cycling in the mountains, music - mainly rock - and travel.

- - - - -

In the above examples, journey, trip and travel are all nouns.

journey = from A to B (by train, plane, bus, car etc.)

trip = the journey + everything you did at your destination

travel = the field of interest; the category (in a bookshop, for example)

We don't say the travel or a travel because travel is a category and categories do not have an article: music, rock, travel, psychology, linguistics...

- - - - -

travel is also a verb, so Jeff could say:

I don't like travelling by bus; it makes me feel sick.

trip is a verb too but it means experiencing the effects of psychedelic drugs:

Jeff: Wow, look at the lights. They're like tubes. It's beautiful.
Me: You're tripping, Jeff.

Now over to you:

Which of these is journey, trip, or travel?
(You may have to change the form if it's a verb.)


After the disastrous ________ last summer, _________ is the last thing on my mind.

I wasn't really expecting the _________ to take this long. I thought we'd be there by seven.

I've ________ to over 30 different countries.

I never thought we'd actually get to ride an elephant. This is the best _________ I've ever been on.

I don't like to take too much with me when I _________ .

100 Mistakes #11 - Next, Last and Latest

The latest album by David Bowie is called "The Next Day".

We use "the latest" to talk about the newest thing: books, magazines, music, products etc. Notice that we say it is the latest, because we are thinking about what's new and what's happening now.

So, on the 15th July 2014, the latest iPhone is an iPhone 5, the latest issue of New Musical Express has the Libertines on the cover, and the latest news on the BBC is about Israeli bombing in Gaza.

So Andy, what's the latest album by David Bowie?

I told you, it's called "The Next Day".

And what's the latest album by the Beatles?

Erm, well there isn't a latest album by the Beatles because they split up in 1970.

Ok, then, what was the last album they released?

Let It Be (which was actually recorded before Abbey Road.)

Really?

Yes, really.

We use "the last" when we are thinking about the most recent thing in the past.
We are not focusing on what's new and what's happening now. Notice that we say it was the last because we are thinking about the past.

When was the latest time you went to France?
When was the last time you went to France?

'Next' and 'last' in time clauses

In English we use 'next' and 'last' in time clauses with no article (without "the") to talk about the time after this and the time before this.

Last week, I went to Bulgaria, this week I'm staying in Barcelona and next week, I'm going to Bournemouth.
Next month, I'm starting a course in logic and next year, I'm hoping to go to university.

You can use "next time" when you want to refer to the next scheduled event but we never use "next day" without an article.

Next day we can talk about your favourite David Bowie albums.

Next time we can talk about your favourite David Bowie albums.

Which leaves us with one question:

Why is David Bowie's latest album called "The Next Day"?

You can use "the next day", if there is a clear sequence of days.

The first day we went to the beach; the next day we played crazy golf, the next day it rained, so we went down into a cave to see the stalactites, and the last day, we went to the beach again. There wasn't much else to do.

In the David Bowie song, it sounds like his holiday was even worse:

"Here I am, not quite dying
My body left to rot in a hollow tree
Its branches throwing shadows
On the gallows for me
And the next day
And the next
And another day"

100 Mistakes #7 - 'Responsible' is an adjective

'Responsible' is an adjective, like 'impossible', 'probable', 'flexible', 'likeable', 'horrible'... or any other word that ends in 'ible' or 'able'.

It is impossible to use 'responsible' as a noun in English.

Who is the responsable for authorizing policy decisions?
Who is responsible for authorizing policy decisions?

Notice that in the correct English sentence, there is no 'the' because 'the' comes before nouns, and 'responsible' is not a noun.

In Spanish and French, 'responsable', can be used as a noun. Note the difference in spelling too!

I am the responsible of the Human Resources department.
I am in charge of the Human Resources department.

'In charge of' explains that you are the person who is ultimately responsible for something. Notice that it is always 'responsible for' and never 'responsible of'.

I'd like to speak to the responsible for complaints.
I'd like to speak to the person responsible for dealing with complaints.

"person responsible" = person who is responsible
(We have not suddenly changed the rules for the position of adjectives!)

If you really need to use a noun, you could try 'manager' or 'representative':

I'm applying for the position of Responsable of Sales in Central and Eastern Europe.
I'm applying for the position of Sales Manager for Central and Eastern Europe.

Are you the responsible from the Berlin office?
Are you the representative from the Berlin office?

So the next time you catch yourself saying "the responsible", kick yourself hard in the shins for being so irresponsible.