In today’s post I’m going to teach you how to discuss risk and danger. It’s useful for business and also for general situations.
There are three main nouns that you need to know: danger, threat and risk. Danger is the most serious, threat next and risk is the weakest. Threat is weaker than danger because it is only probable danger, i.e. it is not definite. It is deliberate, whereas risk may not be.
It is also helpful if you can speculate about the future, especially with adverbs.
“There is an increasing threat of street robbery in many major cities for people wearing headphones.”
“You are unlikely to face danger from bears in Winter but you should still take precautions.”
“I think hiking alone in bad weather is probably risky even if you carry a mobile phone.”
Some other useful words are:
- inherent (adjective): linked to an action, thing or state.
- take heed (of something) (phrasal verb): to follow advice or recommendations.
- urge (verb): to strongly recommend or insist.
“There is an inherent danger in handling weapons.”
“Due to the developing revolution in parts of North Africa, tourists are urged to take heed of Foreign Office warnings and evacuate the area immediately.”
There is no inherent risk or danger in studying English. However, I would like to urge you to take heed of my repeated advice to study frequently. Without study, there is a threat that your English ability may suffer.