سؤال وجواب

Welcome to BBC Xtra English. Today Khalid and Kaz answer your questions on the English language.

Hamid writes from Khartoum, Sudan. He wants to know the difference between 'afraid' and 'fear'.

Khalid says he's afraid of cats. Kaz is afraid of spiders.

'Afraid' is an adjective. But it never goes in front of a noun. You can't say: "I'm an afraid person". You'd say "I'm a frightened person".

'Fear' is different; it's a noun. Look at these two sentences:

Khalid is afraid of cats. He has a fear of cats.

Mustapha writes from Morrocco. He asks "What is the difference between 'despite', 'although' and 'in spite of'?"

Kaz explains that there isn't much difference between 'despite' and 'in spite of'.

Fior example: The traffic was bad this morning, but Kaz still got to work on time. So, he got to work despite the traffic. Or we could say, he got to work in spite of the traffic.

We use 'although' to introduce a contrast in a sentence.

For example: I failed the exam although I worked hard.

Kaz explains that it's different from 'in spite of' and 'despite' because you can't use 'although' to introduce a noun phrase, such as 'hard work'.

You can't say: "I failed the exam although my hard work." You have to say: "I failed the exam in spite of my hard work."

Every Sunday we answer your questions about English. Please send us your questions, in English, by filling in the form below.

عزيزي المستمع سنجيب عن اسئلتكم المتعلقة باللغة الانجليزية كل يوم أحد الرجاء ملء الاستمارة أسفل الصفحة و أدناة ترجمة بعض العبارات التي وردت في سؤال و جواب هذا الأسبوع.

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