Sense Vocabulary: "Bad Touch" Words

Good evening! Tonight we'll look at our last three words related to the sense of touch. In our last post we talked about "neutral" touch, and today we'll talk about "bad" touch, which are words that are generally used in a negative way.

What is this woman doing? If you don't know, read on to find out!
(Image by Jonathan Pankau, used under a Creative Commons license)

Today's words are generally used when talking about touching humans, not objects. The words are:

Slap, Punch, and Molest: "Neutral" Touching

Slap

Technically, a high five is a kind of slap, since you need to have an open hand to do it. I know a high five is usually "good" touching, but I had trouble finding a picture of someone slapping another person in the face. (Image by Ingorr, used under a Creative Commons license)

"Slap" is to use your open hand to hit a person. Many times this is used to describe a hit to the face:

"Mark often says offensive things to women, so women often slap his face."

A synonym of slap in this case can often be "smack." The main thing to remember is that with this action, your hand is open, not closed.

Punch

If you're good at boxing, you can make a lot of money by using your fists to punch other people! (Image) 

"Punch" is another type of hitting (and that's why it's generally "bad" touching). It's different from slapping because if you punch someone, you hit them with a closed hand. In fact, there's a special name for a closed hand: a fist:

"The two drunk men at the bar used their fists to hit each other like boxers. They punched each other in the head and stomach until they got kicked out of the bar."

Molest

Be very careful with this word! In Spanish, molestar means "bother" or "annoy" in English. But in English (especially American English), "molest" generally means to touch someone in a sexually inappropriate way! Unfortunately, it's often used with children, but not always (and you can understand why I didn't include a picture for this word!)

"The criminal was put in jail for abusing and molesting a child."

So, that's it for now. I hope you rarely have to use these words, but they're still important to learn to increase your vocabulary. If you have any questions ideas, please feel free to leave a comment! Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!


(Answer from Monday's post: The problem is the word the. It's not necessary before "Istanbul," but it is necessary before "The United States." Thanks for checking it out!)

Sense Vocabulary: "Neutral Touch" Words

The two people in this picture are holding hands.
(Image by Elizabeth Ann Colette, used through a Creative Commons license)

Hello! Tonight we'll be looking at four more words related to the sense of touch. In our last post we talked about "good" touch, and today we'll talk about "neutral" touch, which are words that can be positive or negative, depending on the context and circumstances.

Today's words can be used for humans, but you may notice that they're also frequently used to talk about touching objects. The words are:

Touch, Poke, Hold and Grab: "Neutral" Touching

Touch

"Touch" is the most obvious of these words, and I'm only listing it here to mention that it can be positive, negative, or neutral, depending on how you use it. It's general, basically. It can also mean to make an emotional connection:

"I was touched by the thoughtful gift you gave to me, especially since I didn't expect it."

Poke

The children in this picture are using a stick to poke into the sand, possibly to find something. (Image by Jconnell22, used under a Creative Commons license)

"Poke" means to use your index finger (or any other single finger, or a long object like a stick or a pole) to touch something. People often poke things to test if they are dangerous, to feel their texture, or to check if they are alive:

"Jane drank a lot of wine and now she's apparently 'sleeping' on the couch. Someone should poke her to wake her up and make sure she's OK."

Hold

This animal is called a Hedgehog. The person is holding the hedgehog in his hand. (Image by Hundehalter, used under a Creative Commons license)

"Hold" is a word that indicates you continually have something in your hand for a period of time. It's often used in sentences like:

"Can you please hold this bag of groceries while I find my keys and open the door?"

Also, if two people have their hands together for a long period of time, they are holding hands (like in the first picture above). This is common in romantic couples.

Grab

The bars on the sides of this toilet are called grab bars. If a person has difficulties sitting or standing up, he or she can grab the bars to help keep their balance. (Image by Shoyuramen, used under a Creative Commons license)

"Grab" is very similar to hold or take, but it indicates taking something quickly or informally. For example, if you leave your house and realize you forgot something, you can say:

"Oh! I forgot my book. I'll go back inside to grab it."

Another way to use "grab" can be to use it like "get," as in:

"After we finish work, a few of us are going to a restaurant to grab some dinner. Do you want to come?"

So, that's it for today. On Monday we'll finish our trio of posts with three more "bad touch" words. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to join the conversation! Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Sense Vocabulary: "Good Touch" Words

Hi, and welcome to Word Wednesday! Tonight we'll be looking at words related to the sense of touch (also often described using the word feel; see Monday's post for a closer explanation).

Over the next few posts we'll look at 10 words that can describe different ways to touch. I'll divide them into three categories:

Today -"Good" (types of touch that are generally considered good)

Friday -"Neutral" (can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances)

Monday -"Bad" (types of touch that are generally considered bad)

Today's three "Good Touch" words all used for humans, but coincidentally they're also commonly used to talk about animals. They are:

Pat, Pet, and Rub: "Good" Touching

A sign advertising a "back rub" for men and women surrounded by red lights? Sounds a bit suspicious! I guess this could be good or bad! (Picture by CTLiota, used through Creative Commons license).

Here we go...

Pat

This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. The pages had different textures that you could touch and feel.

"Pat" usually means to move your open hand up and down on top of something. In some cultures, people often pat children on the head. You can also pat an animal, especially on its head.

In a semi-literal sense, you can use the phrase "pat on the back" when you want to congratulate a person for something. For example, you can say: 

"John deserves a pat on the back because he finally graduated!"

Of course, "Pat" can also be an abbreviation for Patricia or Patrick, so pay attention to the context.

Pet

Many guide dogs and other "working" dogs (like drug- or bomb-sniffing dogs at the airport) have signs that say something like "Please don't pet me, I'm working." (Picture by Hurricane Omega, used through Creative Commons license).

"Pet" usually means to move your open hand in a line while continually touching a surface. There is more hand contact with petting than there is with patting. 

"Pet" is often used to talk about touching animals. Of course, animals that live in our houses are called "pets," but I'm not sure if that's a coincidence.

Also, when people have a close romantic relationship, they often use different or "cute" names when talking to each other. Those names can be called "pet names."

Rub

Our cat Chubby always enjoys a good belly rub! (Picture by author)

"Rub" is very similar to "pet," but it's more continuous. Sometimes it's used to describe touching in a circular motion. It's also used for therapeutic touching or massage. For example, when a cartoon character is hungry, he often rubs his stomach. You can also give a back rub to someone who has back pains.

So, that's it for now. If you understood all these words, you deserve a pat on the back! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to join the conversation!

Senses: Touch and Feel

Hello, and welcome again to Mistake Monday! It's been a few weeks since we looked at a Common Error. Today's is actually not very common, but I still wanted to mention it briefly.

I've never seen this game before, but somehow it still reminds me of my childhood.
Image by Axel Tregoning, used through Creative Commons license.

Remember that we were talking about the Five Senses, and that we still had one more to talk about: touch. When we experience this action, we also often use the word feel. This can get complicated, so we'll look at more vocabulary words related to these topics on Wednesday. For today, let's see quickly how to use these words:

Not-Very-Common Error: Touch and Feel
DON’T say this:	"She feels herself bad." "I want to learn to touch the guitar."
WHY?	Hey, I admitted that the errors weren't that common. Anyhow, here are a few tips: -Touch usually means to use your hands or fingers to make physical contact with an object or other person: The crazy man on the bus screamed, "Don't touch me, you aliens!" "Can you close your eyes and touch your nose? If not, you may be drunk." As you can see, touch is normally used as a verb, but there are also cases when you can use it as a noun. -Feel (past tense: felt) is closely related to touch. In fact, you can normally say that a person who touches "does" the action, and the person who feels "receives" the action: "Did you feel that tremor? It wasn't an earthquake, but I still felt the room shake a bit." "I went to the dentist and they gave me anesthesia. I can't feel my tongue when I touch it." -Feel is also commonly used with temporary physical states and emotions (but it's not reflexive like in Spanish or some other languages): "I feel really hot-- do you think you could open the window or turn on a fan or something?" "I felt really sad when my cat died." As you can see, feel is a verb. The noun form is feeling. BONUS: -Touch is not used with musical instruments (unless you only want to touch it... but most people prefer to play an instrument): "In the past I could play some songs on the piano and the saxophone, but I've forgotten how to play them."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"She feels bad." -"I want to learn to play the guitar."

Do you have any questions? Remember that on Wednesday we'll look at more vocabulary related to this sense. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!