Hi this Ceema
and I'm back with a new lesson
on the usage of words like under
below, beneath and underneath.
Well all these words sound quite similar don't they?
Well, they do and yeah their meanings are quite similar
but they are used in quite different context.
Now what is all these three words mean?
When I refer to words like under
below beneath and underneath,
I'm talking about you know
I'm referring to things that are you know down in the downward position
So, of course when I talk about under below, I'm talking but anything that is
down there, but let's see where we can use these words
and in how many context we can use it in.
Okay, the first one is the word under.
Now the first context in which you will use the word
under, is to talk about something
that is below a three dimensional object
So we have an example, the sentence which is
They sat under a tree. Now, I remember I said
below a three-dimensional object
So anything under a three-dimensional object like a tree, for example
then I use the word under. So if I want to say
me and my friend we sat under
a tree, which is a three-dimensional object,
then I use the word under. For example I could have
a three dimensional object like a table, I can say that
the book was under the table
or I could say that the cat was sleeping under
the chair, the chair again being a three-dimensional object.
Now I can also use the word under
when I want to talk about layers of something
So, if
I want to say that you know something is under a layer,
so for example I have a sentence like, I have a T-shirt
under my jacket. So this is a shirt
now imagine if I was wearing a jacket on top of it,
I could say that I have a shirt
under my jacket because I'm talking about.
layers of something. Okay, so
we use under also when we're talking about layers
and then I could say I could use under
also when I'm talking about numbers so I will say
I can raise under fifteen thousand dollars
or I can do it under seven hours
So, if I'm talking about time which is also numbers,
money which is again numbers
I will use the word under okay so
I was under-17 when I learned to drive
that's again when you use the word under and
the last context where you use the word under
is to talk about a state of mental
well-being or ill being, so it talks about your
mental state. So I can say that
this group is under a lot of stress.
Now my mental state in this case
is stress. I can say that I was under
a lot of pressure. So
we're talking about a mental state and that is when I use the word
under. So here please notice that unlike
these, the under used out here
is talking about a mental situation,
a mental state and not a physical state like these three sentences are.
Okay now we will deal with the next word
which is below and see what contexts they can be used in.
As I said the word below can also be used
in different contexts, so let's see the different
ways in which we can use the word below.
Let's look up our first sentence which is,
the red photo is below
the black one. Now why do I use
below in this context? I'll help you understand this
by means of a diagram
Okay, now imagine this is my wall or
a blackboard if you may, on now this context
in which I use below the talks about
comparing the level of one thing
against the other, provided
both of them are on the same plane.
Okay so as I said imagine that
this is my blackboard or maybe this is my
wall this square out here, okay.
so I will draw a red photo
okay, and now we will have a black photo
okay well it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out
which one is up there and which one is down. The sentence says that,
the red photo is below
the black one and that it's true but why do I use the word below and not
under because I'm talking about
two things which are on one pane
surface, so if both the photos were
on the blackboard, I would say the red photo is below
the black one. If this was on
a wall I would again say the red
photo is below the black one, but
suppose I have a table here and
the black photo is somewhere here, but
the red photo is lying somewhere here.
Could I say the red photo is below
the black one? No! I will then use the word
under because when I explained under,
I clearly mentioeds that anything that is
you know under a three-dimensional
object, will always have an under
used in it. But when I'm talking about
a plane surface and I'm comparing the levels of two things,
it is always the word below.
okay then let's move on to
the next sentence which is, the temperature
has dropped below freezing point.
So here again I use the word below when I want to talk about
the level of temperature
so
I've talked about the level of temperature being below freezing point
Maybe I want to talk about level, the sea level.
So I can say that the diver
went a hundred feet below sea level
that's quite possible, I could also talk about
you know the level of altitude.
So i can
that, that is the height, of course and I can say the plane lost control
and went immediately 100 feet you know
below 100 altitude
so i'm talking about here the level of temperature, the sea level
and level of altitude
and then you have the last context where you use below
when I talk about thing that are mentioned
later. So let's see
a sentence which is, read the instructions
below, not under. Read the instructions below
before you start. Now when I say
I use the word below when I'm talking about things that happen
later or a mention later I am saying that
I use below because I know there are certain things that I need to
you know consider, certain things that I need to
read before I start my next
action. So maybe I'm sitting in an exam
and I've got to write you know give the exam
but I need to consider things are mentioned
at you know a later stage, so before I start my exam
I have to read the instructions which are mentioned
after you know a page or maybe after two pages
before I start doing something okay
So now that we have learned below, let's talk about the other two words which are
beneath and underneath. Alright now let's look at the last two pair of words
which is beneath and underneath and see how they are used.
The first sentence says,
they slept beneath the blankets.
So, the first context in which I use the word
beneath is talking about being
covered by something.
so now
you are sleeping beneath the blankets, so what I'm actually saying is,
I am being covered by the blankets.
maybe I could also say that she hid
beneath the water. She was beneath
the surface of the water. So I wanted to hide from somebody looking at me
I wanted to be covered by the surface of the water so I
I just go dip in and I'm covered by the surface of water.
So, that is nothing but being covered by something.
Moving onto the next context, we talk about using the word
beneath, when we are talking about
a person's emotions,
a person's feelings
or maybe their actions.
So a sentence like this which goes, beneath
it all, he still loves her. So maybe
we're talking about a couple who you know gets into a lot
arguments, a lot of petty fights but beneath that
all which means beneath all the emotions, the feelings, the drama
they still love each other. So we are talking about beneath because we're talking
about a person's
feelings, his emotions and all the drama in between
and then you have a sentence like she treats people
as if they are been meet her.
Now here the word beneath talks about
people of
a low social position
or someone you want to talk about when you find them very disgusting.
I could say something like, the guy is offensive he is completely beneath me.
That is a very high handed way of saying it, but we talk about
people being beneath us when we're talking about people
who have a low social position compared to us, and we talk about people who we
don't like, we find very disgusting very offensive.
So apparently she, somebody, treats people
as if they are beneath her, so that's how the word beneath
is used in the three main ways and then the last word
underneath is simply an exaggeration
of the word under, so it is the word
under, but it is exaggerated,
which means I could use underneath and under
you know I can replace them with one another, but why do I use the word
underneath? You know sometimes
a sentence like, the ball was underneath the sofa.
Could I say the ball was under the sofa?
Yes I could because we're talking about three-dimensional
objects, so when I talk about. three-dimensional objects
you know that I can use the word under but
underneath is more exaggerated because I want to give
you know, more expression
or you know just emote or you not talk about it
in a more casual way so an emoted way,
an emotive way of saying something, so maybe I was looking for the ball
all over and then I find it underneath the sofa,so to somebody
asks me,
"Where did you find the ball?" I said, "The ball was underneath the sofa." So I'm
saying that
in a more exaggerated way and therefore I use the word
underneath instead of under because under is also fine.
So that's it for the lesson on
the usage of the word under below underneath and beneath
I hope you found it very useful
Do drop in your comments. I'll be back with some more lessons, until then this
me saying goodbye.
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them