The terms and empathy and sympathy are often confused, and with good reason. Both of the words deal with the relationship one has to the feelings and experiences of another. Today we explore the differences between these terms and how they are most commonly used.
Both sympathy and empathy have roots in the Greek term páthos meaning “suffering, feeling.” The prefix sym- comes from the Greek sýn meaning “with, together with” and the prefix em- derives from the Greek en- meaning “within, in.”
Sympathy is the older of the two terms. It entered English in the mid-1500s with a very broad meaning of “agreement or harmony in qualities between things or people.” Since then, the term has come to be used in a more specific way. Nowadays sympathy is largely used to convey commiseration, pity, or feelings of sorrow for someone who is experiencing misfortune. This prevailing sense is epitomized in the category of greeting card most often labeled “sympathy” that specializes in messages of support and sorrow for those in a time of need.
Consider the following examples:

“There was little sympathy in England for David Beckham … when he received a red card in a 1998 World Cup loss to Argentina.” –New York Times,  July 2, 2015

“…the new [Facebook] feature would automatically replace the existing ‘like’ button with a ‘sympathize’ one when users tag their statuses with a negative emotion, like ‘sad’ or ‘depressed.’” –New York, December 6, 2013

Empathy entered English a few centuries after sympathy—in the late 1800s—with a somewhat technical and now obsolete meaning from the field of psychology, which referred to the physiological manifestation of feelings. Unlike sympathy, empathy has come to be used in a more broad way than it was when it was first introduced into the lexicon; the term is now most often used to refer to the capacity or ability to imagine oneself in the situation of another, thereby vicariously experiencing the emotions, ideas, or opinions of that person.
Consider the following examples:

“…many of us believe that if more lives are at stake, we will — and should — feel more empathy (i.e., vicariously share others’ experiences) and do more to help.” –New York Times, July 10, 2015

“I think that’s almost what it is sometimes if you sum up what acting is. It’s just the ultimate expression of empathy.” –Emily Blunt, Los Angeles Times, December 8, 2014

To sum up the differences between the most commonly used meanings of these two terms: sympathy is feeling compassion, sorrow, or pity for the hardships that another person encounters, while empathy is putting yourself in the shoes of another.

Is the head of a school called a principal or a principle? These two words are frustratingly similar, leaving even the most experienced English speakers to second-guess which word means what. Today, we’ll discuss the distinct meanings between these easy-to-confuse terms and a little trick to help differentiate between your principals and your principles.
A principal is a chief or head, particularly of a school. Principal can also be used as an adjective meaning “first or highest in rank, importance, or value,” as in The principal objective of this article is to teach you the difference between two words. A principle, on the other hand, is “rule of action or conduct” or “a fundamental doctrine or tenet.” Principle is often attached to the word moral, meaning “of, relating to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong.”
As you may have guessed, principal and principle are linguistically related. Principal stems from prīncipālis, a word meaning “first, chief.” Principle comes from prīncipium, meaning “beginning, origin, fundamental truth, or basis.” Both terms can ultimately be traced to the Latin word prīmus, meaning “prime; first.”
If you find yourself having trouble choosing between principal and principle, think about the context. Use principal in reference to a person who is in leadership or to describe the importance of something; use principle to refer to a standard, rule, or guiding belief. One popular mnemonic device to remember this difference is the isolation of “pal” from principal. The principal of your school is your “pal.

 The expressions in detail :

                            1. Giving something a go - Present participle of ‘Give something a go’ = Try something or make an attempt

                             2 .Got a taste of his own medicine - Pasttense of, ‘get a taste of one’s own medicine’= having the bad things that one has

been causing others. 

                             3 . Don’t judge a book by its cover = We           should not form an opinion about a person or a thing by

their appearance

The triumvirate of their, there, and they’re can flummox writers at all levels. The confusion stemming from these words is that they are homophones, meaning they have the same pronunciation but differ in meaning and derivation. Today we explore the differences between their, there, and they’re.
Their is the possessive case of the pronoun they, as in They left their cell phones at home. Their is generally plural, but is increasingly accepted in place of the singular his or her after indefinite singular antecedent, such as someone: Someone left their book on the table.
There is an adverb that means “in or at that place,” as in She is there now. In this sense, there is essentially the opposite of here. There is also used as a pronoun introducing a sentence or clause, as in There is still hope.
They’re is a contraction of the words they and are, as in They’re mastering the differences between their, there, and they’re.
If you find yourself coming up blank when trying to determine which one to use, take a hint from the spelling of each: Their has the word heir in it, which may remind you that the term indicates possession. There has the word here within it. This should serve as a reminder that it is appropriate for talking about places, whether figurative or literal. And the apostrophe in they’re should tip you off that it’s the product of two words: they are. If you can substitute they are into your sentence and retain the meaning, then they’re is the correct homophone to use.

                              WATCH DIS

Does one accept an invitation or except it? If someone is left off of an invitation list, has she been excepted or accepted? What’s the difference between these two terms, and how can we keep them straight?
Accept means, most broadly, “to take or receive (something offered)” or “receive with approval or favor,” as in I accept this trophy.
Except has a verb sense of “to exclude; leave out,” as in the phrase present company excepted. But it’s also used as a preposition and a conjunction, as in the following examples, respectively: They were all there except me; Every inch of the facility was well fortified except here. The term is widely used in the phrase except for meaning “were it not for,” as in She would travel more except for lack of money.
As with some other commonly confused terms, accept and except share a linguistic ancestor. Both can be traced to the Latin verb capere meaning “to take.” The prefix ex- means “out of.” The prefix ac- is a variant of ad-, which occurs in loanwords from Latin where it meant “toward.”
One easy way to keep these two terms straight is to zero in on the ex- in except and associate it with exclude. This association should help cement the meaning of except. When determining whether to use except or accept in a sentence, consider first what part of speech the context calls for. If you need a verb, and if that verb could be replaced with exclude without losing the intended meaning of the sentence, then choose except. If the meaning is lost with exclude, then opt for accept. If you need a preposition or conjunction (or anything other than a verb), except is the term for you as accept is only used a verb.

Over the last 200 years, the pronoun whom has been on a steady decline. Despite its waning use in speech and ongoing speculation about its imminent extinction, whom still holds a spot in the English language, particularly in formal writing. Understanding when and how to use this embattled pronoun can set your writing apart.

Whom is often confused with who. What’s the difference between these two pronouns? Who is a subjective-case pronoun, meaning it functions as a subject in a sentence, and whom is an objective-case pronoun, meaning it functions as an object in a sentence. Who, like I, he, she, and they, performs actions, as in Who rescued the dog? (who is doing the rescuing in this sentence). Whom, like me, him, her, and them, is acted on, as in Whom did you see? (whom is being seen here, not doing the seeing). Whom more commonly appears when it follows a preposition, as in the salutation To Whom it may concern (Does it concern he? No. Does it concern him? Yes.) or in the title of Ernest Hemingway’s 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls.
How do you decide which one to use? When in doubt, substitute him (sometimes you’ll have to rephrase the sentence) and see if that sounds right. If him is OK, then whom is OK. If the more natural substitute is he, then go with who. For example: You talked to whom? It would be incorrect to say You talked to he? but saying You talked to him? makes grammatical sense.
That said, in informal speech and writing, speakers will often opt for who where whom has traditionally been used. This choice sounds more natural and less formal to most native English speakers.
Do you ever use whom?

The similar spellings and pronunciations of allusion and illusion can cause even seasoned writers to second-guess their choice of words. Today we will examine and clarify the differences between these two terms.
An allusion is a reference, direct or implied, to something or someone. Allusions are often found in books, songs, TV shows, and movies. For instance, the title of Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World is allusion to a work by William Shakespeare; the phrase “brave new world” is spoken by Prospero’s daughter, Miranda, in the The Tempest:
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in ’t!
An illusion, on the other hand, is something that deceives the mind or senses by creating a false impression of reality. Illusions are often (though not always) related to visual perception, as in optical illusion. A mirage, such as the phenomenon of perceiving a sea of water in a desert, is a type of illusion.
Allusion and illusion are both related to the Latin term lūdere meaning “to play,” along with their linguistic cousin delusion. Although the prefix de-, denoting privation or negation, provides a hint to the more serious contexts in which this term is sometimes used.
A delusion is a false belief or opinion. In the context of mental health, a delusion can be defined as a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact, as in “paranoid delusion.”
To keep them straight, try associating the “i” in illusion with an eye, relating the term to optical illusions.