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Pospone: Delay- Put off or cancel

1)   To POSTPONE= put off (informal)= to put off or delay to a later time (the date doesn't have to be mentioned). It expresses  a  voluntary action, initiated by a person who can decide or have authority, in order to delay an event. In "postponing", the people who were to participate in the event will be informed of the new date of the meeting. « Postpone » isn't negative.

- As his team wasn't ready for the presentation, Jack decided to postpone the meeting until they are.

 2)   To DELAY= to put off; doesn't express the same volontary intention to put off an event. It often expresses a momentary hitch or problem which is often unexpected. It's beyond the speaker's control. The event will not take place at the expected moment, but later. 

- The tennis final was delayed because of heavy rain. 

    - Her train was delayed for about 5 hours because of heavy snowfalls.

3)   To DEFER= to put behind in order of importance = to defer. It can be used instead of «postpone». Both overlap, but with «defer» the moment of the new event is generally given in the sentence. 

- The meeting was deferred to next week for lack of competitors.

4)   To CANCEL= to call off (informal) = to make unvalid. The event was planned, but won't eventually take place. 

-  Because of a serious domestic problem, the Prime Minister cancelled his trip to Paris. 

                                        

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1. The plane from NYC has been delayedcalled offpostponedI don't know for one hour because of bad weather. You’ll have to wait at the airport!


2. This decision cannot be called offcancelledput offI don't know much longer.


3. On that day, over 80 flights were postponeddelayedcancelledI don't know because of the terrible storm.


4. When it was announced that the wedding was called offdelayeddeferredI don't know, all the guests were already gathered in the church. What a shock!


5. For safety reasons, the Association has cancelleddelayedput offI don't know the gathering until December.


6. As he had a fever, he had to call offdelaypostponeI don't know the trip he had planned.


7. The coach was delayedcalled offcancelledI don't know because of a punctured tyre.


8. As the lecturer couldn’t arrive on time, the event was cancelleddeferredcalled offI don't know till the afternoon.


9. Let’s not wait for John! He’s just called to tell his train was delayedcalled offcancelledI don't know… He’ll be very late.


10. The teacher wanted the students to have enough time to study and therefore, he delayedcancelledpostponedI don't know the assignment.