You cut it out, you excise it, you extirpate it, right? Indeed, you can ask a surgeon to do all those things but, statistically, most native speakers will not hesitate to use a different verb: remove. They will have the growth surgically removed. Yes, remove-tumor is a natural lexical connection. At this point in your learning process you should be aware of the differences between the abovementioned verbs. Each and every one of them elicits a distinct reaction. Cut out feels informal, excise is quite technical, extirpate sounds even more formal (if only because it is longer). Now, in Spanish we would doubtlessly go with extirpar. Are we better educated? No. That's just a case in which we, speakers of a romance language, have agreed to use a latinate term. Big surprise. My point is... we may want to think twice before we do some extrapolating and decide to pronounce that word in English. Our usage is different even if the words share the same obvious origin. Similarly, we Spaniards prefer rinoplastia when most English speakers will choose nose job. Remember? In English rhinoplasty is a medical term with limited street cred.
Another example: from the beginning is a straightforward simple expression, isn't it? Now check out these alternatives:
from the get-go
right off the bat
right out the gate
Ideally, you should feel the punchy quality of right off the bat as opposed to the blandness of from the start. In a perfect world your reaction to we got off to a bad start would be different to the one you get after hearing we didn't start well. Think about the difference between these two phrases:
Empezamos con mal pie
No empezamos bien
Feel it? So, we have two issues here. Number one, an advanced student ought to perceive the differences. Number two, an advanced student should feel the need to express those nuances. When a learner is happy with "getting the message across" by means of a simple unnuanced phrase s/he is in trouble. Progress is compromised because we seldom eat when you are not hungry and we rarely learn if we are not interested.
In case you are still not convinced, there is quite a compelling argument to be made about the need for specific verbs. More often than not, English speakers will prefer the word that describes not only what happens but also how it happens. So, when we Spaniards pick a generic word (the hypernym) many native speakers favor the accurate term (the hyponym). Think about it. Let's say a table is dirty. What do you do about it? Well, in Spanish we will probably think of one verb: limpiar. Most of you will automatically translate it into clean. There's nothing wrong with the verb to clean. Hey that's what Google Translate will suggest. However, in real life most English speakers won't use the verb clean. They will want to specify just how you are going to clean it: are you going to wash it, scrub it, wipe it?
I would like you to feel that need to be specific. Not because it sounds cool. Not because it can help you pass the exam but because it's the done thing.
Anyhow, all this is learnable stuff. It may take some time to integrate it into your system but, unlike growing an extra finger, it is feasible. You can't say the same thing about many other things in life, which is the reason why I would like you to watch the clip below. I know it's an obvious choice. It just so happens that, in the C1.2 course, we're dealing with the old "nurture vs. nature debate" and I believe that professor Irene Gallego Romero has boiled it all down (not dumbed it down) to an engaging, articulate, informative presentation that will help you acquire the necessary vocabulary to discuss this topic with rigor and that C1 accuracy you're after. Enjoy.
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