Times have changed

The outbreak of COVID-19 has definitely turned the world upside down! Everything has changed and nobody knows when we will be back to normal, if we ever do…

Let’s focus on some “change” verbs and how we can use them.

Many of these verbs refer to small changes; for example, adapt. If you adapt something, you change it slightly for different uses or conditions: 

'The play has been adapted for children.' 

'Hospitals have had to be adapted for modern medical practice'.

Similarly, to adjust something is to make a small change to it, usually to make it more correct, effective or suitable: As a teacher you have to adjust your methods to suit the needs of slower children.

Ajust also means to become more familiar with a new situation:  'I can't adjust to living on my own.'

'It takes some seconds to adjust your eyes to the dark.'

'It takes a while to adjust to a new lifestyle.'

Readjust: to change in order to fit a different situation, or to repair something slightly:

'After living abroad for so long, he found it difficult to readjust to life at home.'

'The clock automatically readjusts when you enter a new time zone.'

If you modify something, you change it slightly to improve it or make it more acceptable:

'The proposals were modified and approved.'

'All the files are marked with the date and time they were last modified.'

Other ‘change’ verbs describe big changes. For example, if you transform something, you completely change its appearance or character in a very positive way:

'The area has been transformed into a major tourist attraction.'

'Computers have transformed the way work is done.'

But if the change is in a negative way, we can use the phrase: turn (something) upside down, which means to change completely in a bad way.  

'Many people in Argentina are worried about the extended lockdown as it could turn the country’s economy upside down.'

At the time of writing, we are facing many changes and challenges in our daily lives. I hope we can make the best of it (=you make a difficult situation as pleasant and positive as it can possibly be)