Break/ destroy/ damage

Dora: Hi, James! You, look so excited, as if you had found a treasure.

James: Oh, almost!

Dora: Come on! Tell me…

James: Guess!

Dora: I’ll break my head searching for the answer!!!

James: Ok-ok! My Dad bought me a new car yesterday!

Dora: WOW!!!

(звук столкновения машин)

Dora: There must be a car accident! Let’s have a look!

James: Someone has broken my car.

Dora: I’m so sorry!

In the lesson today you will learn the synonyms of the verb to break. They are to destroy and to damage.

Let’s consider James’s situation.

Someone destroyed his car.

(The car is so broken that it can’t be used anymore.)

Someone damaged his car. (The car might have some scratches or dents on it.)

And you can use the verb break for both situations either for complete destruction as in the first example or minor damage as in the second case.

Someone broke his car.

You see that the verbs to destroy and to damage are the shades of the verb to break. They differentiate only in their degree of destruction.

You must know that:

Destroy is to "break completely" - so like you are damaging something so much that it breaks and cannot be repaired – to ruin. – разрушать, уничтожать, истреблять.

The statue was destroyed.

A lot of houses were destroyed by the hurricane.

Be careful with the toy ship; don't destroy it.

Losing his job completely destroyed his confidence.

Their problems with money destroyed their marriage.

All the files were deliberately destroyed.

You have destroyed my car by pouring sugar in the tank!

Absolute power is the power to destroy. (Frank Herbert, Dune)

Wars can destroy everything but hope! (Mehmet Murat ildan)

Damage is when you are causing harm to something, so it does not work properly or look like it did before – наносить вред, ущерб, урон.

The building was severely damaged by the storm.

The scandal caused serious damage to her career.

It is important for a child to learn that one should not damage someone else's property.

The parcel was carefully wrapped to protect it from damage during shipping

He tried to repair the damage by apologizing, but it was too late.

Break is to crack or split something into many pieces violently or with a lot of force. – ломать, разбивать, разрушать.

Break the chocolate bar into pieces so that everyone can have some.

Anyone who rides a motorbike without a helmet is breaking the law.

Someone's broken my camera – I can't get it to focus properly.

Smoking is a difficult habit to break.

The path was really icy and I was lucky I didn't break my neck.

At 12.30 we'll break for lunch, and start again at 2 o'clock.

While playing football in the yard the boys broke a window.

I expect he broke all the girls' hearts when he was at school.

Promises are given to be broken. (proverb)

Read the sentences and choose the proper word.

1.            The ice broke under his feet and he sank into cold water.

2.            The police couldn't find any footprints; they had been destroyed.

3.            John is a reliable man; he will never break his word.

4.            Smoking seriously damages your health.

5.            The summer was hot and dry, and a large forest was destoroyed by the fire.

6.            My reputation was destroyed and it was useless to try and save it.

7.            Laws like promises shouldn't be broken.

8.            If you break a mirror, you will have bad luck for seven years

9.            When Mr. White lost everything he had worked so hard for, it broke his heart.

10.       The storm did a lot of damage to the area.

Dora: Hi, James! Have you done your car yet?

James: It wasn’t my car then. Mine was at the other side of the rode.

Dora: Let’s take a ride then.