Vijana wengi wanaojifunza Kiingereza hupata changamoto katika kutumia vitenzi ‘cancel’ na ‘annul’ kwa usahihi. Ingawa vyote viwili vinamaanisha kufuta kitu, kuna tofauti muhimu. ‘Cancel’ humaanisha kufuta mpango au tukio lililopangwa, wakati ‘annul’ humaanisha kufuta kitu rasmi au halali, mara nyingi kitu ambacho kimekuwa kikiendelea kwa muda mrefu. Fikiria ‘cancel’ kama kufuta miadi, na ‘annul’ kama kufuta ndoa.

Angalia mifano ifuatayo:

• Cancel:

  • Kiingereza: I had to cancel my appointment because I was sick.
  • Kiswahili: Ilinibidi nifute miadi yangu kwa sababu nilikuwa mgonjwa.
  • Kiingereza: The concert was cancelled due to bad weather.
  • Kiswahili: Tamasha hilo lilifutwa kutokana na hali mbaya ya hewa.

• Annul:

  • Kiingereza: The court annulled their marriage after discovering evidence of fraud.
  • Kiswahili: Mahakama ilifuta ndoa yao baada ya kugundua ushahidi wa udanganyifu.
  • Kiingereza: The government annulled the law because it was unconstitutional.
  • Kiswahili: Serikali ilifuta sheria hiyo kwa sababu ilikuwa kinyume cha katiba.

Kumbuka, ‘cancel’ hutumika kwa mambo ya kawaida zaidi, wakati ‘annul’ hutumika kwa mambo rasmi na yenye uzito zaidi. Mazoezi zaidi yatakusaidia kufahamu matumizi sahihi ya maneno haya mawili.

Happy learning!