Vocabulary Building
1. RATE
charge ▪ rent ▪ fee ▪ fare ▪ fine ▪ toll ▪ rental
These are all words for an amount of money that is charged or paid for something.
rate a fixed amount of money that is asked or paid for something:
a low hourly rate of pay
interest rates
charge an amount of money that is asked for goods or services:
an admission charge
rent an amount of money that you regularly have to pay for use of a building or room.
fee (rather formal) an amount of money that you have to pay for professional advice or services, to go to a school or college, or to join an organization:
legal fees
an annual membership fee
fare the money that you pay to travel by bus, plane, taxi, etc.fine a sum of money that must be paid as punishment for breaking a law or rule:
a parking fine
toll an amount of money that you have to pay to use a particular road or bridge.
rental an amount of money that you have to pay to use something for a particular period of time.
Rent or rental? In British English rent is only money paid to use a building or room: for other items use rental. In American English rent can be used for both, but rental is still more common for other item.
* Patterns
(a) rate/charge/rent/fee/fare/fine/toll/rental for something
(a) rate/charge/rent/fee/toll/rental on something
at a rate/charge/rent/fee/fare/rental of…
for a charge/fee
to pay (a) rate/charge/rent/fee/fare/fine/toll/rental
to charge (a) rate/rent/fee/fare/toll/rental
2. DISEASE
illness ▪ disorder ▪ infection ▪ condition ▪ ailment ▪ bug
These are all words for a medical problem.
disease a medical problem affecting humans, animals or plants, often caused by infection:
He suffers from a rare blood disease.
illness a medical problem, or a period of suffering from one:
She died after a long illness.
* disease or illness? Disease is used to talk about more severe medical problems, especially specific conditions and those that affect particular organs:
Crohn's/Parkinson's disease • heart/kidney/liver disease • heart/kidney/liver illness . Illness is used more generally and can refer to both severe and minor medical problems, and problems that affect mental health: a terminal/life-threatening illness • a mild/minor illness • mental illness • mental disease .
Illness can be used about a period of time: a long/short illness • a long/short disease disorder (rather formal) a condition that causes problems with the way part of the body or brain works:
a rare disorder of the liver
A disorder is generally not infectious. Disorder is often used in the names of specific conditions affecting the brain, for example attention deficit disorder, bipolar disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. When it is used to talk about physical problems, it is often used with autoimmune, blood, bowel and kidney, and these are commonly serious, severe or rare.