Difference between a/an and the

Very simply:

a/an just means 'one of a class'
the means 'you know exactly which one'.

Compare:

• A doctor must like people. ( = any doctor, any one of that profession)
  


• My brother's a doctor. ( = one of that profession) I'm going to see the doctor. ( = you know which one: my doctor)
  


• I live in a small flat at the top of an old house near the town hall, (a small flat, there might be two or three at the top of the house — it could be any one of these.


• an old house: there are lots near the town hall — it could be any one.


• the top: we know which top: it's the top of the house where the person lives — a house only has one top.


• the town hall: we know exactly which town hall is meant: there's only one in the town.)

Articles: a/an

A noun like house, engineer, girl, name refers to a whole class of people or things.
We use a/an with a noun to talk about just one member of that class. (A/an means 'one'.)

• She lives in a nice big house.


• My father is an engineer. (NOT My father is engineer.)


• A girl phoned this morning.


• Tanaka is a Japanese name.

We use a/an when we define or describe people or things (when we say what class or kind they belong to).

• He's a doctor.


• She s a beautiful woman.


• 'What's that?' 'It's a calculator.'

We do not use a/an with a plural or uncountable noun, because a/an means 'one'.

• My parents are doctors (NOT . . . a doctors.)


• Would you like some salt?(NOT . . . a salt.)

We do not use a/an with an adjective alone (without a noun). Compare:

• She's a very good engineer.


• She s very good. (NOT She's a very good.)

We do not use a/an together with another determiner (for example my, your).

• He's a friend of mine (NOT He's a my friend)
  

Note that we write another in one word.

• Would you like another drink? (NOT . . . an other drink?)

After all

After all gives the idea that one thing was expected, but the opposite happened.
It means 'Although we expected something different'.

• I'm sorry. I thought I could come and see you this evening, but I'm not free after all


• I expected to fail the exam, but I passed after all

Position: usually at the end of the clause.

We can also use after all to mean 'We mustn't forget that ... '
It is used to introduce a good reason or an important argument which people seem to have forgotten.

• It's not surprising you're hungry. After all, you didn't have breakfast.


• I think we should go and see Granny. After all she only lives ten miles away, and we haven't seen her for ages.

Position: usually at the beginning of the clause.

Adjectives without nouns

We cannot usually leave out a noun after an adjective.

• Poor little boy.'(NOT poor little)

But there are some exceptions:

We sometimes leave out a noun when we are talking about a choice between two or three different kinds (of car, milk, cigarette, bread).

• Have you got any bread?¹ 'Do you want white or brown? '


• A pound of butter, please.' 'I've only got unsalted '

We can use superlative adjectives without nouns, if the meaning is clear.

• I'm the tallest in my family.


• 'Which one shall I get?' The cheapest'

We can use some adjectives with theto talk about people in a particular condition.

• He s collecting money for the blind

Note that this structure has a plural 'general' meaning: the blind means 'all blind people', not 'the blind person' or 'certain blind people'.

The most common expressions of this kind are:

• the dead
  


• the sick
  


• the blind
  


• the deaf
  


• the rich the poor
  


• the unemployed
  


• the young
  


• the old
  


• the handicapped
  


• the mentally ill

(In informal speech, we usually say old people, young people etc instead of the old, the young.)

These expressions cannot be used with a possessive's.

• the problems of the poor
  


• poor people s problems (NOT the poor's problems)

Adjectives: position

adjective + noun
subject + copula verb (be. seem, look..) + adjective

Most adjectives can go in two places in a sentence:

before a noun

• The new secretary doesn't like me.
  


• She married a rich businessman

after a 'copula verb' (be, seem, look, appear, feel and some other verbs)

• That dress is new, isn't it?


• He looks rich

A few adjectives can go before a noun, but not usually after a verb.
Examples are elder, eldest and little. After a verb we use older, oldest and small.

• My elder brother lives In Newcastle. (Compare: He's three years older than me.)


• He's a funny little boy. (Compare: He looks very small.)

Some adjectives can go after a verb, but not usually before a noun.
The most common are ill, well and afraid, alive, alone, asleep.
Before nouns we use sick, healthy, frightened, living, lone, sleeping.

• He looks ill (Compare: He's a sick man.)


• Your mother's very well (Compare: She's a very healthy woman.)


• She's asleep (Compare: a sleeping baby)

In expressions of measurement, the adjective comes after the measurement-noun.

• two metres high (NOT high two metres)


• ten years old


• two miles long

Adjectives: order

Before a noun, we put adjectives in a fixed order.
The exact rules are very complicated (and not very well understood).
Here are the most important rules:

Adjectives of colour, origin (where something comes from), material (what it is made of) and purpose (what it is for) go in that order.

colour   origin    material  purpose noun

red         Spanish      leather           riding      boots

• a Venetian glass ashtray (NOT a glass Venetian ashtray)


• a brown German beer-mug (NOT a German brown beer mug)

Other adjectives come before colour-adjectives
Their exact order is too complicated to give rules.

• a big black cat (NOT a black big cat)


• the round glass table (NOT the glass round table)

First, last and next usually come before numbers.

• the first three days (NOT the three first days)


• my last two jobs (NOT my two last jobs)

about to

be + about + to-infinitive

If you are about to do something, you are going to do it very soon.

• Don't go out now — we're about to have supper


• I was about to go to bed when the telephone rang.

Cardinal Numbers, Ordinal numbers, dates, Fractions, decimals, Percentages, Arithmetic, Saying '0'

Cardinal numbers

• 379 = three hundred and seventy nine


• 2,860 = two thousand eight hundred and sixty


• 5,084 = five thousand and eighty-four


• 470,000 = four hundred and seventy thousand


• 2,550,000 = two million, five hundred and fifty thousand


• 3,000,000,000 = three billion

Note: There is no plural's' after hundred, thousand, million and billion when they are part of a number.

On their own, they can be plural, e.g. thousands of people; millions of insects.

Ordinal numbers and dates

One of the problems with dates is that we write them and say them in a different way:

• We write 4 January (or 4th January), but say the fourth of January or January the fourth.


• We write 21 May (or 21st May), but say the twenty-first of May or May the twenty-first.


• 1997 = nineteen ninety seven


• 1905 = nineteen hundred and five or nineteen oh five

Fractions and decimals

• 1 1/4 = one and a quarter


• 1 1/2 = one and a half


• 1 3/4 = one and three quarters


• 1 1/3 = one and a third


• 1.25 = one point two five


• 1.5 = one point five

• 1.75 = one point seven five


• 1.33 = one point three three

Percentages

• 26% = twenty-six per cent


• More than 50% is the majority; less than 50% is the minority.

Arithmetic

There are four basic processes for working out (= calculating) a problem:

+ = addition e.g. 6 + 4 = 10 (six plus/and four equals/is ten)

- = subtraction e.g. 6-4 = 2 (six minus four equals/is two)

X = multiplication e.g. 6 X 4= 24 (six times / multiplied by four equals/is twenty-four)

/ = division e.g. 4/2 = 2 (four divided by two equals/is two)

Saying '0'

This can be spoken in different ways in different contexts.

• telephone number: 603 724 = six oh three, seven two four (AmEng = six zero three)


• mathematics: 0.7 = nought point seven, 6.02 = six point oh two


• temperature: -10 degrees = ten degrees below zero / minus ten degrees


• football: 2-0 = two nil


• tennis: 40-0 = forty love

Abbreviations

We usually write abbreviations without full stops in British English.

• Mr (NOT -Mfr) = Mister
  


• Ltd = Limited (company)
  


• kg = kilogram


• the BBC = the British Broadcasting Corporation


• the USA = the United States of America


• NATO = the North Atlantic Treaty Organization


• OPEC = the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Some abbreviations are made from the first letters of several words.
We usually pronounce these with the stress on the last letter.

• the BBC / bi:bi:'si:/


• the USA / ju:es'ei/

Some of these abbreviations are pronounced like one word.
We do not usually use articles with these.

• NATO (NOT the NATO)


• OPEC (NOT the OPEC)

Ages

We talk about people's ages with

be + number

• He is thirty-five.


• She will be twenty-one next year.

be + number + years old

• He is thirty-five years old

To ask about somebody's age, say

• How old are you?(What is your age ? is correct but not usual.)

Note the structure

be + .. . age (without preposition)

• When I was your age. I was already working.


• The two boys are the same age


• She's the same age as me.

afternoon, evening and night

Afternoon changes to evening when it starts getting dark, more or less.
However, it depends on the time of year.
In summer, we stop saying afternoon by six o'clock, even if it is still light.
In winter we go on saying afternoon until at least five o'clock, even if it is dark.

Evening changes to night more or less at bedtime.

Note that Good evening usually means 'Hello', and Good night means 'Goodbye'
— it is never used to greet people.

• A Good evening Terrible weather, isn't it?
  B-Yes, dreadful.

• A:Hasn't stopped raining for weeks. Well. I must be going. Good night
  B Good night

Distance, dimension, Size in people and things

Distance

The most common way of asking about distance is probably:

• How far is it? Is it a long way? Is it a long way? Is it very far? Is it very far?


• No, just round the corner. / a couple of minutes' walk (= very near).


• No, not far. / No, about five or ten minutes' walk (= quite near).


• Yeah quite a long way. / Yeah, over a mile.


• Yes it's a long way. / Yes it's miles. / Yes it's too far to walk.

Note:

• We can use far in a question or negative but not in a positive statement on its own


• We don't say 'it's far', we say 'it's a long way'. But we can say 'it's too far to walk'.

Size and dimension

We can describe size using the nouns above or the adjectives formed from them, like this:

• What's the length/width/height/depth/size of ...?


• How long/wide/high/tall/deep/big is ...?

Note:

• We generally use tall to describe people, trees and buildings; and high to describe mountains. We also say high-rise buildings.

• Notice also that in the answer to these questions, an adjective follows the measurement: The garden is about ten metres wide. (= The width is about ten metres.)

Size in people and things

We use different words to describe the size of people and things:

• a tall girl     (not a short girl)


• a fat person    (not a thin person)


• a long book (= many pages)    (not a short book)


• a deep lake (= many metres)   (not a shallow lake)


• a thick book (not a thin book)

• a wide road    (not a narrow road)

Note:

• We can use big or large to describe size in English, but not great.


• For English speaking people, great (infml) = fantastic.


• But we can use great before big to say that something is very big, e.g. I saw a great big dog in the park.


• If you want to ask about size in clothes, you say: What size are you? or What size (shoes) do you take? If you don't know, then you need someone to measure you.

A. What is an idiom? fixed expressions?

What is an idiom?

An idiom is a group of words with a meaning that is different from the individual words, and often difficult to understand from the individual words.

Here are some more common idioms.

• The teacher told us to get a move on. (= hurry; be quick)


• My wife and I take it in turns to cook. (= I cook one day, she cooks the next, etc.)


• I don't know the answer off-hand. (= without looking it up or asking someone)


• It's not far. We can take a short cut (= a quick way) through the park.


• I'm not very good at small talk. (= social talk; not about serious things)


• I'm sorry I can't make it (= come) on Friday.


• I asked her to keep an eye on (= watch / look after) my suitcase while I went to the toilet.

Fixed expressions

There are also expressions in English where the meaning is easy to understand, but the same idea in your language may need a completely different expression.

In other words, if you just translate from your language, you may say something in English which is completely wrong.

For this reason, you need to learn some expressions as idioms.

• a: What was wrong with the hotel?


• b: Well, for a start it was next to a motorway and very noisy. And to make matters worse, there were factories on the other side of the road, which stayed open 24 hours a day.

It's not a problem in the short term (= at the moment) but in the long term (= for the longer future) we will need to think about it and probably spend some money on it.

Using idioms

Idioms are important but they can be difficult to use correctly.

With many idioms, if you make just a small mistake, it can sound strange, funny, or badly wrong.

• get a move;


• a small talk;


• put an eye on,


• off-hands

Idioms often have special features:

• they may be informal or funny or ironic;


• they may only be used by certain people (e.g. young children, or teenagers, or elderly people);


• they may only appear in limited contexts;


• they have special grammar.

For these reasons, you can often 'learn' the meaning of an idiom but then use it incorrectly.

• After her husband died she was down in the dumps.
  (This idiom means 'sad and depressed' but is completely wrong here: the situation is too serious and the idiom is too informal.)

Easy idioms to use

Some idiomatic expressions are used on their own, or with just one or two other words. These are often the easiest to use.

• a: Are you coming?
  b: Yes, hang on. (= wait)


• a: Can I borrow your dictionary?
  b: Sure, go ahead. (= help yourself; take it; do it)


• a: What's up? (= what's the matter?)
  b: Nothing.


• a: I don't know which one to choose.
  b: Well, make up your mind. (= make a decision)


• a: I'm really sorry but I've forgotten to bring the book you lent me.
  b: That's OK. Never mind. (= it's OK, don't worry; it's not important)

C.Phrasal verbs: grammar and style

Grammar: intransitive verbs

Some phrasal verbs are intransitive and do not need a direct object.

• The children are growing up. (= getting older and more mature)


• The doctor told me to lie down on the bed.


• Don't wait out there. Please come in. (= enter)


• I'm going to stay in (= stay at home) this evening.

With these verbs, you cannot put another word between the verb and adverb.

Grammar: transitive verbs

But many phrasal verbs are transitive and do need a direct object.

With some of these, you can put the object between the verb and adverb:

Put on your shoes / Turn on the TV / Put your shoes on /        Turn the TV on /

If the object is a pronoun, it must go between verb and adverb.

Put them on / [not Put on them]   Turn it on / [not Turn on it]

Note: A dictionary will show you if you can put a word between the verb and adverb:

Style: formal or informal

Some phrasal verbs can be used equally in written or spoken English. Sometimes this is because there is no other easy way to express the meaning of the phrasal verb.

• I always wake up early, even at weekends.


• The car broke down (= went wrong; stopped working) on the motorway.


• The plane couldn't take off because of bad weather.


• Thieves broke into (= entered by force and illegally) the house and took money, credit cards and all my jewellery.

Informal phrasal verbs

But most phrasal verbs are informal and are more common in spoken English.

In written English there is often a more formal word with the same meaning.

• We had to make up a story. (= invent/create from our imagination)


• I can usually get by on about £200 a week. (= manage)


• You can leave out question 7. (= omit, i.e. you don't need to do question 7)


• They've got a problem and they asked me to sort it out. (= resolve (it) / find a solution / do something about it)

B. Phrasal verbs: form and meaning

Formation

A phrasal verb is a verb combined with an adverb or preposition, and occasionally with an adverb and preposition.

• The price of petrol may go up (= increase) again next week.


• He fell over (= fell to the ground) when he was running for the bus.


• She's promised to find out (= learn/discover) the name of that new hotel.


• Who is going to look after (= take care of) the children when she goes into hospital?


• If you don't understand the meaning, you can look it up (= find the meaning in a book - in this case a dictionary).

• He doesn't get on with (= have a good relationship with) his parents, (verb + adv + prep)

Meaning

Sometimes the meaning of a phrasal verb is very similar to the base verb, and the adverb just emphasises the meaning of the base verb,

• stand up


• wake up


• save up


• hurry up


• sit down


• lie down


• send off (e.g. a letter).

On other occasions, the adverb adds the idea of completing the action of the verb

• drink up (= finish your drink)


• eat up (= finish eating)


• finish off.

But more often, the meaning of a phrasal verb is very different from the base verb

• go up doesn't mean the same as go


• look after is different from look; and look after is also quite different from look up.
  

An adverb or preposition can therefore change the meaning of a verb a great deal.

Here are some more examples of this type of phrasal verb.

• It took her a long time to get over (= get better / recover from) her illness.


• He told me to carry on (= continue) as far as the traffic lights.


• I persuaded my wife to give up (= stop ) smoking.


• I can't make any sandwiches because we've run out of bread. (= the bread is finished / all used, so we have no bread)


• In the end my next-door neighbour had to come and put out (= extinguish/stop) the fire.

Multiple meaning

Many phrasal verbs have more than one meaning, so you must be careful when you see a phrasal verb you think you know, or look up the meaning in a dictionary.

In the examples marked *, the phrasal verb is much more natural than the explanation in brackets.

• It was hot so I decided to *take off (= remove) my jacket.


• I am always nervous when the plane * takes off (= leaves the ground).


• I don't think I'll get through (= finish) this report before five o'clock. I think she'll get through (= pass) the exam.


• I "picked up the rubbish (= took it from the ground or a low place) and put it in the bin.

• I had to go to the shop to pick up (= collect) my photos.


• My alarm clock didn't go off (= ring) this morning.


• The bomb could go off (= explode) at any minute.


• The fish will *go off (= go bad) if you don't put it in the fridge.

In time or on time?

Sometimes two prepositions can be used with the same noun, but the meaning is different.

• Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always arrive on time. (= at 8.30)


• Lessons begin at 8.30 and I always get there in time. (= before 8.30; I'm not late)


• In the end we went home. (= finally, after a long period)


• At the end of the book they get married.


• The two men are in business. (= they are businessmen)


• The two men are in Germany on business. (= they are there for work and not for a holiday)


• I'll see you in a moment. (= very soon)


• I can't speak to you at the moment. (= right now)

On time and in time

On time = punctual, not late.
If something happens on time, it happens at the time which was planned:

• The 11.45 train left on time. (= it left at 11.45)


• Til meet you at 7.30.'   'OK, but please be on time.' (= don't be late, be there at 7.30


• The conference was well-organised. Everything began and finished on time.

The opposite of on time is late:

• Be on time. Don't be late.

In time (for something / to do something) = soon enough:

• Will you be home in time for dinner?
  (= soon enough for dinner)


• I've sent Emma a birthday present. 1 hope it arrives in time (for her birthday).
  (= on or before her birthday)


• I'm in a hurry. I want to be home in time to see the game on television.
  (= soon enough to see the game)

The opposite of in time is too late:

• I got home too late to see the game on television.

You can say just in time (= almost too late):

• We got to the station just in time for our train.


• A child ran into the road in front of the car - I managed to stop just in time.

Talking: Say, Tell, Ask, Speak, Talk, Answer, Reply

Say (say/said/said)

We use say when we report someone's words.

• She said 'This is horrible!'


• He said that he wanted a drink.

We use say when we ask about language.

• a: How do you say 'book' in Spanish? b: 'Libro'.

We say hello / goodbye   please / thank you /Happy Birthday / Merry Christmas / Happy New Year / Congratulations

Tell (tell/told/told)

Tell is usually followed immediately by a person. Say is not followed immediately by a person.

• He told me his name. [not He said me his name.]

We use tell when we want to know how to get to a place.

• Can you tell me where the bus station is, please? [not Can you say me ...?]

We use tell with other wh- words too (when, how, why, where), e.g. you can tell someone how to do something, where something is, why something happened.

• He told me how to send a fax.


• Tell me when you want to have dinner.


• You can tell someone the time / a story / a joke / your name / address / telephone number.

Ask

Ask is used for questions.

• My sister asked me where I was going, (or My sister asked (me) 'Where are you going?')

• a: Can I ask you a question? b: Yes.


• a: What day of the week were you born? b: Thursday.

You can ask someone the way / the time / a question.

Ask somebody to do something and ask someone for something.

• I asked him to turn off his radio, (or I said 'Please turn off your radio.'


• She asked for the bill, (or She said 'Can I have the bill please?')

Speak/talk/answer/reply

Do you speak Japanese?   [not Do you -talk Japanese?]

I like talking to you. (having a conversation with you)

Can you answer the telephone / the door, please?
(pick up the phone / open the door to see who it is)

I wrote a letter to him but he did not reply.
(for letters/faxes/e-mails) (he did not send me a letter

How should I use my dictionary?

What dictionaries do I need?

If possible, you should buy two dictionaries: a good bilingual dictionary and a good English-English dictionary.

• The bilingual dictionary is quicker and easier for you to understand;


• the English-English dictionary may give you more information about a word or phrase,

It is also a good idea for you to work in English as much as possible.

Here are some current recommended English-English dictionaries:

Large dictionaries

• Cambridge International Dictionary of English


• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English


• Collins COBUILD English Dictionary


• Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Medium-sized dictionaries

• Collins COBUILD Essential Dictionary


• Oxford Wordpower Dictionary


• Longman Active Study Dictionary

What information does a dictionary give me?

• the meaning, e.g. homesick = unhappy when you are away from home for a long time


• the pronunciation, e.g. chaos /kems/, dreadful /dredful/, island /aitand/


• the part of speech, e.g. dirty adj {= adjective), lose v (= verb), law n (= noun)


• any special grammatical features, e.g. advice (U) (= uncountable)


• common collocations (word partners), e.g. you do homework [NOT you make homcwofk]


• example phrases or sentences, e.g. It was such a big menu, I didn't know what to choose.


• opposites (where they exist), e.g. polite (* impolite/rude)

Note: In most English-English dictionaries for foreign learners, collocations are usually shown in bold or italics, or they are included in the examples given after the definition.

How should I use my dictionary?

Here are some ideas to help you.

• When you look up a word, put a V  next to it. Each time you return to a page with a V  look at it quickly to check that you remember the word.

• If you see an English word in a text, first try to guess the meaning, and carry on reading to see if your guess seems correct. Use your dictionary to check the meaning.

• If you look up a word in a bilingual dictionary and get several different words in your own language, look up the word in your monolingual dictionary. This should help you to decide which word in your own language is the nearest translation in this context.

• Remember that many words have more than one meaning, and the first meaning in the dictionary is not always the one you want. Read through the different meanings.

Adjective suffixes: Noun or verb + suffix

Suffixes change word class, e.g. from verb to noun or noun to adjective, but they can also change meaning (see sections B and C below).

Noun or verb + suffix

Noun or Verb	Suffix	Adjectives
danger, fame	-ous	dangerous, famous (= well-known)
music, politics industry, economics	-al	musical, political, industrial, economical (= saves you money)
cloud, fog, sun, dirt	-y	cloudy, foggy, sunny, dirty (not clean)
attract, create	-ive	attractive (= pretty, nice to look at); creative (= ableto produce new ideas; with imagination)

Note: Sometimes there is a spelling change. Here are common examples:

double the consonant,

• sun/sunny,


• fog/foggy

leave out the final 'e',

• create/creative,


• fame/famous

leave out the final's' before 'al',

• politics/political;
  


• economics/economical

change 'y' to 'i' before 'al',

• industry/industrial

-able /abl/

This suffix (also -ible in some words) is used to form many adjectives from nouns or verbs:

• enjoyable
  


• comfortable
  


• knowledgeable (= knows a lot)
  


• suitable (= right/correct for a particular situation)

Quite often, -able (and -ible) has the meaning 'can be done'.

• Something that is washable 'can be washed'.
  


• drinkable


• comprehensible (= can be comprehended or understood)


• reliable (= can be relied on or trusted, e.g. a car or other machine that never goes wrong or breaks down).

Words ending -able quite often express the opposite meaning by adding the prefix un-:

• undrinkable


• unreliable


• unbreakable (= cannot be broken)


• unsuitable


• uncomfortable

Words ending -ible add the prefix in-:

• incomprehensible


• inflexible (somebody who is inflexible has a fixed idea about something and cannot change quickly or easily; an inflexible timetable cannot be changed easily)


• inedible (= cannot be eaten).

-ful and -less

The suffix -ful often means 'full of + the meaning of the adjective:

• careful, you are full of care


• if you are helpful you are full of help.


• painful (= hurts a lot)
  


• useful


• thoughtful (= someone who is thoughtful is kind and always thinks about others; a thoughtful action shows care for others)

The suffix -less means 'without' + the meaning of the adjective:

• if you are careless, you do something 'without care'.


• painless, useless (= has no use or function) thoughtless, jobless and homeless (= with nowhere to live)

Note: You can see that -ful and -less are often used with the same words to form opposites. This is not always true: a person with a home is NOT homcful.

Noun suffixes

Verb + suffix

Many nouns are formed in this way.

Verb	Suffix	Noun
improve (= get better)	-ment	improvement
manage (e.g. a shop or business)	-ment	management
elect (= choose somebody by voting)	-ion	election
discuss (= talk about something seriously)	-ion	discussion
inform (= tell someone something)	-ation	information
organise	-ation	organisation
jog (= running to keep fit or for pleasure)	-ing	jogging
spell (e.g. S-P-E-L-L)	-ing	spelling

Note: Sometimes there is a spelling change. The most common is the omission of the final 'e' before the suffix -ion or -ation: translate/translation; organise/organisation

Adjective + suffix

Nouns are also formed by adding a suffix to an adjective. Two suffixes often added to adjectives to form nouns are -ness and -ity.

Adjective	Suffix	Noun
weak (not strong)	-ness	weakness
happy	-ness	happiness
dark (e.g. at night, when you can't see)	-ness	darkness
stupid   (not  intelligent, clever)	-ity	stupidity
punctual (= always arrives at the right time)	-ity	punctuality
similar (= almost the same; not different)	-ity	similarity

Pronunciation

The addition of these suffixes may change the pronunciation.

Nouns ending -ion or -ity have the main stress on the syllable before, so the pronunciation may be different from the verb or adjective:

Verb educate        translate discuss

Noun education    translation  discussion

Adjective similar           stupid            punctual

Noun similarity     stupidity      punctuality

-er/-or and -ist

These are common noun suffixes added to existing nouns or verbs, and they describe people and their jobs. -er

• dancer singer murderer farmer

-er

• driver manager footballer employer

-or

• actor director translator operator

-ist

• artist economist psychologist journalist

Note: Notice the common spelling changes:

• translate/translator


• operate/operator


• economy/economist


• psychology/psychologist.

Prefixes with the meaning 'not'

Prefixes (un-, in-, il-, ir-, and dis-) are often used to give adjectives (and some verbs and nouns) a negative meaning. Here are common examples:

happy         unhappy

like (v)       dislike (v)

possible     impossible

legal            illegal (= against the law)

correct      incorrect

regular      irregular, e.g. irregular verbs

un- is used with many different words, e.g. unfriendly, unable, unemployed (= without a job), untidy (= not in order; in a mess)

im- is used before some words beginning with m or p, e.g. impolite (= rude), impatient (somebody who is impatient wants things to happen now; they cannot wait for things)

il- is used before some words beginning with 1, e.g. illegible
(= cannot be read because the writing is very bad)

ir- is only used before some words beginning with r, e.g. irresponsible

dis- is used before some adjectives, e.g. dishonest, and a few verbs, e.g. dislike, disagree

in- is used before a limited number of words, e.g. invisible (= cannot be seen)

Note: A prefix does not normally change word stress,e.g. happy/unhappy; possible/ impossible. But the stress may change if you want to emphasise the negative or opposite:

• A: Was he happy about the change?


• B: No, he was very unhappy about it.

Get - Go - Turn - Become

Get is a very common verb in English, but it is not always appropriate for talking about changes. Note also alternatives to get which can improve your style.

Go, not get

Go is used for changes in people's personality, appearance and physical abilities: People go mad/bald/grey/blind/deaf.

Go is often used for sudden, usually negative, changes: He was very embarrassed and his face went red. Suddenly the sky went very dark and it started to rain.

Go can also be used for slower colour changes:

The pages of the book had gone yellow over the years.

Turn, not get

Turn often collocates with colours: The sky turned gold as the sun set.

When the tomatoes turn red, the farmers pick them and sell them.

The news gave his mother such a shock that her hair turned white overnight.

Get and become

Get and become can often be used with the same collocations, but become is more formal

and is therefore more appropriate in essays:

She gave up smoking when she became pregnant.

I would like to become involved in raising money for charity.

The same is true for collocations with adjectives such as angry, bored, excited, depressed,

upset, impatient, violent-.

He became depressed after his wife's death.

Become, not get, is used with the following: extinct, (un)popular, homeless, famous. Our local baker's has become famous for its apple tarts.

Alternatives to get and become

She fell ill and was taken to hospital.

Everyone fell silent when they heard the shocking news.

As my father grew older, he spent less time working.

The noise grew louder and soon we realised it was a plane approaching.

Overusing and misusing get

Here are some sentences from students' essays where get is wrongly used.

sentences with get	more appropriate alternatives
1 was able to get new friends.	1 was able to make new friends.
A year ago he got a heart attack.	A year ago he had/suffered a heart attack.
If 1 get a child of my own one day ...	If 1 have a child of my own one day ...
1 was getting crazy.	1 was going crazy.
In June, 1 got a baby, James.	In June, 1 had a baby, James.

Dicourse markers

Discourse means "pieces of language longer than a sentence".
Some words and expressions are used to show how discourse is constructed.
They can show the connection between something we have said and something we are going to say;
or they can show the connection between what somebody else has said and what we are saying;
or they can show what we think about what we are saying; or why we are talking.

by the way	We use by the way to introduce a new subject of conversation	"Nice day". "Yes, isn't it? By the way, have you heard from Peter

Have -Take - Pay

Have

Note that these verbs collocate with have rather than any other verb (e.g. get or make).

collocation	example
have an accident	Mr Grey had an accident last night but he's OK now.
have an argument / a row	We had an argument / a row about how to fix the car.
have a break	Let's have a break when you finish this exercise.
have a conversation/chat	I hope we'll have time to have a chat after the meeting.
have difficulty	The class had difficulty understanding what to do.
have a dream/nightmare	I had a nightmare last night.
have an experience	I had a frightening experience the other day.
have a feeling	I have a feeling that something is wrong.
have fun / a good time	I'm sure you'll have fun on the school trip.
have a look	The teacher wanted to have a look at what we were doing.
have a party	Let's have a party at the end of term.
have a problem / problems	Ask the teacher if you have problems with the exercise.
have a try/go	I'll explain what to do and then you can have a go/try.

Pay

collocation	example
pay attention	You must pay attention to the teacher.
pay a compliment	I was trying to pay her a compliment but she misunderstood.
pay your (last) respects	At a funeral people pay their last respects to the person who has died.
pay tribute [formal]	When Jack retired, his boss made a speech paying tribute to all he had done for the company.

Make and do

This unit deals with make and do, two verbs that many learners have problems with. If you remember that the basic meaning of make is about producing something and the basic meaning of do is about performing an action, then the collocations on this page may seem more logical.

Make
collocation	example
make arrangements for	The school can make arrangements for pupils with special needs.
make a change / changes	The new manager is planning to make some changes.
make a choice	Jill had to make a choice between her career and her family.
make a comment / comments	Would anyone like to make any comments on the talk?
make a contribution to	She made a useful contribution to the discussion.
make a decision	I'm glad it's you who has to make the decision, not me.
make an effort	Joe is really making an effort with his maths this term.
make an excuse	I'm too tired to go out tonight. Let's make an excuse and stay at home.
make friends	Karen is very good at making friends.
make an improvement	Repainting the room has really made an improvement.
make a mistake	They've made a mistake in our bill.
make a phone call	I've got to make some phone calls before dinner.
make progress	Harriet is making progress with all her schoolwork.
Do
collocation	example
do your best	All that matters in the exam is to do your best.
do damage	The storm did some damage to our roof.
do an experiment	We are doing an experiment to test how the metal reacts with water.
do exercises	We'll do some exercises practicing these collocations tomorrow.
do someone a good turn / do someone a favour	Scouts and guides are supposed to do someone a good turn every day.
do harm	Changing the rules may do more harm than good.
do your hair	No, I'm not ready. 1 haven't done my hair yet.
do your homework	My son has to do his homework straight after school.
do the ironing/shopping/ washing, etc.	I'll do the washing if you do the ironing.
do some work	We'll do some work on our project and then we'll go to the cinema.

Frequency adverbs

always >

usually >

often >

sometimes >

now and then >

occasionally  >

not often >

hardly ever >

rarely>

never

Common Prepared Foods

1.  mustard
2.  hot dog
3.  baked beans
4.  potato chips

5.  pancakes
6.  syrup

7.  bun
8.  pickle
9.  hamburger

10.  spaghetti
11.  meatballs
12.  salad dressing
13.  tossed salad

14.  beef stew

15.  pork chops
16.  mixed vegetables
17.  mashed potatoes
18.  butter
19.  roll


20.  baked potato
21.  steak
22.  cookie
23.  sundae

24.  taco
25.  egg roll
26.  strawberry shortcake

27.  biscuit
28.  french fries
29.  fried chicken

30.  pizza

31.  jelly
32.  (sunnyside-up) egg
33.  bacon
34.  toast
35.  coffee
36.  ice cream cone

Poultry-Seafood-Sheiifish

Poultry

16.  whole (chicken)
17.  split
18.  quarter

19.  thigh
20.  leg
21.  breast
22.  wing
23.  turkey

24.  chicken
25.  duck

Seafood

26.  fish

27.  whole

28.  filet
29.  steak
Sheiifish

30.  lobster

31.  shrimp
32.  clam(s)
33.  oyster(s)
34.  mussel(s)

35.  scallop(s)
36.  crab(s)

Meet

1.  beef

2.  ground beef
3.  roast
4.  stewing meat
5.  steak

6.  pork

7.  sausage

8.  roast
9.  chops
10.  spare ribs

11.  bacon
12.  ham


13. lamb

14.  leg
15.  chops

Fruits

1.  (a bunch of) grapes

2.  apple
a.  slem
b.  core

3.  coconut

4.  pineapple

5.  mango

6.  papaya

Citrus Fruits

7.  grapefruit
8.  orange
a.  section
b.  rind
c.  seed

9. lemon
10.  lime

Berries

11.  gooseberries
12.  blackberries
13.  cranberries
14.  blueberries
15.  strawberry
16.  raspberries

17.  nectarine
18.  pear

19. cherries

20. (a bunch of) bananas a. peel

Dried Fruits

21. fig
22. prune
23. date
24. raisin(s)

25. apricot

26. watermelon

Nuts

27. cashew(s)
28. peanut(s)
29. walnul(s)
30. hazelnut(s)
31. almond(s)
32. cheslnut(s)

33. avocado
34. plum
35. honeydew melon

36. cantaloupe
37. peach
a. pit
b. skin

FRUITS

1. apple
2. peach
3. pear
4. banana
5. plum
6. apricot

7. nectarine
8. kiwi
9. papaya
10. mango
11. %
12. coconut

13. avocado
14. cantaloupe
15. honeydew (melon)
16. pineapple
17. watermelon

18. grapefruit
19. lemon
20. lime
21. orange
22. tangerine
23. grapes

24. cherries
25. prunes
26. dates
27. raisins
28. blueberries
29. cranberries
30. raspberries
31. strawberries