Friday Takeaways
‘worth’ vs ‘worthy’
Which is correct?
‘My IELTS test is tomorrow – should I buy a course?’
1. ‘It’s not worthy to buy a course’.
2. ‘It’s not worth buying a course’.
Check your answer here
2. is correct.
‘It’s not worth + ing’
The meaning of ‘It’s not worth + ing‘
Meaning 1
An action is not justified because it will not get a valuable or positive enough response.
e.g. It’s not worth spending any time studying for the test because it won’t make any difference at this late stage – the time would be wasted.
Meaning 2
Something is not as valuable or as important as someone thinks.
e.g. The course costs a lot of money but it only has 5 lessons, so it’s not worth buying.
Fixed expression ‘It’s not worth it‘.
‘Stop worrying about the test. It’s not worth it’.
= the importance does not justify the concern you’re showing.
‘Why are you crying about your ex? He’s not worth it.’
= he doesn’t deserve the time/energy that you’re wasting on him.
Useful expressions with ‘It’s worth’
‘It’s worth pointing out that most people are law-abiding citizens’.
‘It’s worth highlighting the fact that only 3% of the population have been vaccinated’.
‘Chinese is a difficult language but it’s worth the trouble/the time.’
‘It’s only a piece of land, but it’s worth fighting for‘.
‘If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well‘.
‘I bought it for £10 but it’s worth much more‘.
‘Even if you’re not ready to do it now, it’s worth considering‘.
‘You might win! It’s worth a try‘.
‘I learnt some interesting things – it’s worth watching/reading‘.
And of course, the famous L’Oreal advert ‘Because you’re worth it’.

When to use ‘worthy‘
‘He’s not worthy of your attention’.
= he doesn’t deserve your attention
= you’re giving him more attention than he deserves.
‘Worthy’ is a much more formal expression and takes ‘of + noun’.
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