When you harm someone or something, it means you hurt them. You can hurt a person's body or their feelings. For example, if you push someone, you might harm them. If you say something mean, you can also harm their feelings. It's not good to harm anyone or anything.
§ Mistakes people make with this word
The word 'harm' is quite versatile, but its nuances can sometimes lead to common mistakes. Understanding these subtleties is key to using it accurately. Let's look at some frequent errors.
§ 1. Using 'harm' as a noun when 'damage' or 'injury' is more appropriate for physical impact.
While 'harm' can be a noun, referring to the injury or damage itself, it often carries a more general or abstract sense. When discussing specific physical damage, especially to objects or body parts, 'damage' or 'injury' might be more precise.
- Incorrect Usage
- The car suffered a lot of harm in the accident.
- Correct Usage
- The car suffered a lot of damage in the accident.
The fall caused serious harm to her knee.
§ 2. Confusing 'harm' with 'hurt'.
Both 'harm' and 'hurt' can mean to cause physical or emotional pain, but 'harm' often implies a more significant or lasting negative effect, or damage to integrity, while 'hurt' can be more immediate and less severe, or refer specifically to pain.
- Incorrect Usage
- My finger is harmed after I hit it with a hammer.
- Correct Usage
- My finger is hurt after I hit it with a hammer.
Smoking can seriously harm your health in the long term.
§ 3. Overusing 'harm' when more specific verbs are available.
Because 'harm' is a general term, sometimes a more precise verb can convey the exact nature of the negative action more clearly.
- General Usage
- The flood harmed the crops.
- More Specific Usage
- The flood damaged/destroyed the crops.
Cutting down trees can harm the environment.
§ 4. Incorrect prepositions with 'harm'.
When using 'harm' as a verb followed by a direct object, no preposition is needed. When used as a noun, it often takes 'to' or 'on' depending on the context, but 'to' is more common for individuals or abstract concepts.
Verb: You harm someone/something.
Noun: Cause harm to someone/something.
- Incorrect Usage
- She didn't want to harm to her reputation.
- Correct Usage (verb)
- She didn't want to harm her reputation.
- Correct Usage (noun)
- She didn't want to cause harm to her reputation.
The scandal caused significant harm to the company's image.
§ 5. Using 'harmful' instead of 'harm' (and vice versa).
'Harm' is a verb or a noun, while 'harmful' is an adjective. Confusing these two can lead to grammatical errors.
- Incorrect Usage
- That substance can harmful your health.
- Correct Usage
- That substance can harm your health.
Exposure to loud noise is harmful to your ears.
수준별 예문
Smoking can harm your lungs.
Fumar pode prejudicar seus pulmões.
Here, 'harm' is a verb meaning 'to damage'.
Don't harm the little bird.
Não machuque o passarinho.
'Harm' is used as a verb in the imperative form.
Loud music can harm your ears.
Música alta pode prejudicar seus ouvidos.
'Harm' is followed by a direct object, 'your ears'.
Did the fall harm your leg?
A queda machucou sua perna?
'Harm' is in the past simple tense in a question.
We must not harm animals.
Não devemos machucar animais.
'Harm' is used after the modal verb 'must not'.
Eating too much sugar can harm your teeth.
Comer muito açúcar pode prejudicar seus dentes.
The gerund 'eating' is the subject of the sentence, and 'harm' is the verb.
The bad news did not harm her spirits.
As más notícias não prejudicaram o ânimo dela.
'Harm' is used in the negative past simple form.
Be careful not to harm the flowers.
Cuidado para não danificar as flores.
'Harm' is used in an infinitive phrase with 'not to'.
암기하기
기억법
Imagine a **H**eavy **A**rm **R**eaching out to **M**angle something. This can help you remember that 'harm' means to cause damage or injury.
시각적 연상
Picture a delicate, beautiful flower being crushed by a large, heavy boot. The image of the crushed flower visually represents 'harm' or damage being inflicted.
Word Web
챌린지
Think of three different scenarios where someone or something could be 'harmed.' For example, a sharp object could harm a person, bad weather could harm crops, or unkind words could harm someone's feelings. Try to use the word 'harm' in a sentence for each scenario.
셀프 테스트 6 질문
Which of the following actions could potentially harm a plant?
Over-watering can cause root rot, which harms the plant.
If you spread untrue rumors about someone, you could deeply ______ their reputation.
Spreading untrue rumors causes damage to a person's reputation.
Loud noise can ______ your hearing over time.
Exposure to loud noise for extended periods can cause damage to your hearing.
Eating a balanced diet can harm your health.
Eating a balanced diet is generally beneficial for your health, not harmful.
If you drop a glass on a hard floor, it is likely to harm the glass.
Dropping a glass on a hard surface will likely cause it to break or chip, which is a form of harm.
Helping others in need can harm your emotional well-being.
Helping others often has a positive effect on one's emotional well-being, rather than causing harm.
/ 6 correct
Perfect score!
