Believe / Believe In / Trust

This another situation where a Korean word (BIT-DO) has two English translations. Believe and Trust are often confused. Likewise, to believe and to believe in have different meanings.

to believe - this is generally only used for trust in one situation.
Example: He told me he was with his friends, and I believe him.
My brother says he wasn't at the Web Cafe' yesterday, but I don't believe him.
My husband promised to give up smoking, but I'll believe it when I see it.


to believe in - this is for belief in the existence of something, or a belief in someone's abilities.
Example: I believe in God and ghosts.
I don't believe in vampires, and I hate the Twilight series.
You can win this race. I believe in you.


to trust - this is stronger than "to believe" and can apply to a general attitude towards someone.
Example: I trust my son, so I don't believe he would cheat.
I would trust you with my life.
Her bad relationships make it difficult to trust men.
Don't trust anyone who promises the world.
I don't trust my government.

Marriage and Graduation

The two subjects of this post show how an event and the resulting status can be confused. Once your wedding has taken place, you are married. After that, you continue to have a marriage. Once your graduation has taken place, you are a graduate. The easiest way to explain all of this is to give a succession of examples (Note: watch the prepositions). Enjoy!

Example (Marriage):
I am a married man.
I'm married to a lovely woman.
I have been married for five years now.
We were married in the summer of 2005.
Our wedding was in a church.
I believe we have a very happy marriage.
A good marriage takes a lot of work, but it's worth it.


Example (Graduation):
I am a graduate.
I graduated with honors.
I have been a graduate for five years now.
I graduated in the summer of 2005.
My parents came to my graduation.
My brother will graduate next year.
He is graduating from the same university I did.

"-ate" Verb Mistakes

Even with high level speakers, I hear a few common mistakes with "-tion" nouns that become "-ate" verbs. There are are many words that can be converted correctly. For example:

I made a donation.
I'm going to donate money.

The activation of the security system hasn't begun.
I'm going to activate the security system.

The extermination of the rodents will be messy.
We will exterminate the rodents brutally.



Sometimes, the noun and verb don't share the same meaning:

I'm going on vacation.
I'm going to vacate the country. (to vacate means "to leave an area, usually by public order or to avoid a disaster")


Some "-ate" verbs are incorrect. These are the four most common:
We had a conversation.
We conversed.
We conversated. (incorrect)

We need to make a reservation at a hotel.
We need to reserve a room.
We need to reservate a room. (incorrect)

I gave a presentation.
I presented a lot of information.
I presentated. (incorrect)

You're pronunciation is clear.
You pronounce your words very clearly.
You pronunciate very well.


Color Scheme:
Correct
OK--but not preferred
Incorrect