English semantics

These word pairs have essentially the same meaning, but differ in semantics by a distinction that isn't made in certain other languages I know. This makes these distinctions lexical selection issues in machine translation.

say, tell

• "say" takes as a required complement the utterance/thing said; the person told is optional
• "tell" takes as a required complement the person told something; the utterance/thing said is optional

since, starting

• "since" means something is still ongoing
• "starting" doesn't mean it's still ongoing

since, because

• "because" seems to explain the reasoning behind the matrix clause's semantics
• "since" seems to more remind the interlocutor of the reasoning behind the matrix clause's semantics

watch, look at

• "watch" if something changes or has the potential to change
• "look at" if something is static

hurry up, be quick

• "hurry up" if activity has already started
• "be quick" if activity hasn't started yet

out, outside

• "out" = not at the house = somewhere else
• "outside" = not in the house = but often at the house (i.e., not out)

go home, go inside

similar to out, outside

• "go home" means you're not near the house, it's not about going into the house
• "go inside" means going into the house (or other structure), once you're already near it

before, until

• "before" if event has a stage that can start or end preceding reference event
• "until" if event has stages or iterations that can continue preceding reference event and end upon reference event

Or maybe it's just about the presence ("before") or absence ("until") of a gap of time between the event and the reference event.

that's why, so

both explain that the thing before is a reason for the thing after, but they differ in their uses:

• "that's why" if you've already talked about the thing after it ("that's why I went shopping")
• "so" if you haven't already talked about the thing after it ("so I went shopping")

even though, even if

• "even though" makes the matrix phrase depend on something that actually happened/happens/will happen
• "even if" makes the matrix phrase depend on something that is only hypothetical

take, get

• "take" seems to add a nuance of someone else being deprived of something
• "get" can still involve being an active agent in making oneself receive something

carry, pick up, lift

• "carry" (activity) means the agent already is holding the patient (has picked it up)
• "pick up" (achievement/accomplishment) is about the agent acquiring the patient, and feels a bit inchoative
• "lift" is about either an agent moving a patient up (achievement) or the agent holding a patient up (state)

wear, put on

• "put on" is like an inchoative version of "wear"