I broke my toys and tore my shirt
(The difference between BREAK and TEAR)
Answers to the exercise

    1. Be careful. There's some broken glass on the floor.
    2. She can't play tennis for a while - she's broken her leg.
    3. My leg hurts - I think I've torn a ligament ixсj.
    4. He tore his pocket on a nail.
    5. I've made too many mistakes in this letter. I'll have to tear it up and start again.
    6. Don't tell Susan about George's new girlfriend. It'll break her heart.
    7. The teacher punished some students for tearing pages out of their notebooks.
      (This one is autobiographical - see the note below).
    8. I don't like people who break promises.

    *Note:
    When I was 12 years old, I was punished by one of my teachers for tearing pages out of my history exercise book. I got one nights' detention - had to stay behind for an hour after school and then take 2 buses home because I'd missed the school bus.

    We hope you found this lesson useful. There are also many idiomatic uses of break and tear, which we will look at in a future lesson. Remember that there are plenty of other one-point lessons on this website. Please click here if you want to try some of them.

    © Robert E. Jones, 2004