My friend was talking to me recently about his plans for the new Year.

He said he wanted to do the opposite of what he had been doing.

Instead of waking up late, I plan on waking up early instead of being lazy.

I plan on working hard.

My friends plan made me think about opposites in English.

We have words that carry one meaning and an opposite meaning.

They're like a coin that has two sides, heads and tails.

These words are called Contra Nim's.

Here's an example.

Think about American money.

This is a $50 bill.

I'm rich.

Bill is a noun that could mean money, but it also has an opposite.

Meaning the other side of the coin, if you will.

I got a bill for $50.

No, that's right.

You want to have a $50 bill, but you do not want to get a bill for $50.

There are many words like this.

Sanction is one example that you will often hear in the news.

Sanction is either a punishment, as in the United Nations will impose sanctions on or ah, kind of official approval.

Critics say the policy lacked legal sanctions.

You can often tell the meaning of a country nim by thinking about the context that the word comes in.

Try writing down different examples of contra names that you hear and then practice using them, and that's everyday grammar.