Monday, June 20, 2011

Pearson Brown English Lesson -Bring Phrasal Verbs

Bring Phrasal Verbs

If you ‘bring something about’, you cause it to happen.

* How can we bring about change in this old-fashioned company?
* We need to bring about a change in attitude.

If you ‘bring someone along’ with you, they come with you.

* I want to bring along John to the meeting, if that is OK.
* Why not bring Simon along, if he’s interested?

If something ‘brings back’ memories, it reminds you of the past.

* That photo brings back memories of our visit to Thailand.
* Meeting him brought back memories of when we worked together.

If you ‘bring down’ a price, you reduce it.

* We need to bring down the price to something more affordable.
* They’re bringing down the price of all their cars.

If you ‘bring forward’ a meeting, you arrange it for an earlier time.

* I want to bring forward the meeting to Tuesday.
* Can we bring forward the meeting by an hour?

If you ‘bring someone in on’ a discussion, you ask them to join in with your discussion.

* I want to bring in John on this as he is an expert.
* We need to bring in an outside consultant.

If you ‘bring out’ a new product, you introduce it to the market.

* I hear they have brought out a new model.
* We’re bringing it out early next year.

If you ‘bring someone round’, you persuade them.

* He was against the idea but Sally brought him round.
* How can we bring him round?

If you ‘bring up’ a subject, you mention it.

* Mark brought up the problem with the heating.
* Any other problems that you want to bring up?

If you ‘bring on’ somebody, you train them to be better.

* Martin always brings on the trainees really well.
* We try to bring on people quickly and promote them.

Exercises:

http://www.business-english.com/bringphrasals/exercise1.html
http://www.business-english.com/bringphrasals/exercise2.html
http://www.business-english.com/bringphrasals/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson -Be Phrasal Verbs

Be phrasal verbs

One way to say you are leaving is to say you are ‘off’.

* I’m off now. See you tomorrow.
* It’s time I was off or I’ll be late for the meeting.

If you have no more supply/stock of something you are ‘out of’ the item.

* We’re out of ink for the photocopier. Can you go out and get some?
* I’m afraid you are out of luck. I sold the last one an hour ago.

If you are depressed and miserable, you are ‘down’.

* He’s been very down since he lost his job.
* Why are you so down today?

When you have to submit something by a certain date, it has to be ‘in’ by then.

* The application has to be in before Friday.
* The report was supposed to be in last week but I’m still working on it.

If something is ‘on’, it is happening at the moment.

* There’s a good play on at the theatre. (or should that be theater?)
* I’m going to London because the sales are on.

If somebody is not present, they are ‘away’.

* I’m afraid he’s away on holiday.
* I’m going to be away for a few days.

If food is no longer fresh, it is ‘off’.

* I think this milk is off. Smell it.
* That melon is off. Don’t eat it.

If you know some inside information, often a secret, you are ‘in on’ the information.

* Is Sarah in on our plans? Has anybody told her yet?
* He won’t let me in on the secret.

If someone is ‘up to’ something, they are doing something secretive that you are not supposed to know about.

* I don’t know exactly what is happening but Tom is up to something.
* Why all the whispering? What are you up to?

If someone is ‘on’ something, they are taking something as a form of drug.

* He’s on 50 cigarettes a day at the moment.
* She’s on her third cup of coffee and it’s only 9 o’clock.

Exercises:

http://www.business-english.com/bephrasals/exercise1.html
http://www.business-english.com/bephrasals/exercise2.html
http://www.business-english.com/bephrasals/exercise3.html

Monday, June 13, 2011

Pearson Brown English Lesson -3 Word Verbs

Come in for’ means to receive. This is usually used with words such as ‘criticism’ ‘abuse’ ‘blame’.

* He came in for a lot of criticism for his actions.
* She came in for a lot of abuse when she tried to argue with them

Go in for’ can be used with words such as ‘competition’ to mean ‘enter’.

* I went in for a Scrabble tournament at my club and I won.
* She was a good athlete when she was younger and went in for the trials for the Olympic team

Sit in on’ can be used with words such as ‘conference’ or ‘meeting’ to indicate that you attend as an observer and not as a regular participant.

* I’ve asked John to sit in on this meeting as he knows more about these people than we do.
* I’d like you to sit in on the negotiations with the unions as part of your training

Stand in for’ is used to mean ‘substitute for’.

* Harry is ill so I’m going to stand in for him and make the presentation.
* Wendy is on vacation and I’m standing in for her

If you ‘go along with’ existing plans, opinions or decisions you accept them and don’t try to change them.

* I go along with your ideas about increasing our marketing in China.
* You agreed to go along with our decision

If you ‘listen out for’ something, you keep alert and make an effort to hear it.

* I’m expecting him to call so listen out for the phone ringing.
* Listen out for their car. They should be here soon

If you ‘cash in on’ a situation, you take advantage of it, often unfairly.

* He cashed in on my absence with flu to contact my customers directly.
* We need to cash in on the emerging markets in Asia

If you ‘drop in on’ somebody, you make an informal, unarranged visit to see them.

* I dropped in on Martin when I was visiting Sidcup.
* Drop in on me any time you are in town.

Exercises:

http://www.business-english.com/threewordverbs/exercise1.swf
http://www.business-english.com/threewordverbs/exercise2.swf
http://www.business-english.com/threewordverbs/exercise3.swf
http://www.business-english.com/threewordverbs/exercise4.swf
http://www.business-english.com/threewordverbs/exercise5.swf

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Strong Collocations 1

Strong Collocations 1

In the last few years, we have begun to recognize the importance of “word partnerships” – or strong collocations as we grammarians call them. These days you can even find collocation dictionaries. Here is an exercise showing a few common ones:

http://www.better-english.com/strongcollocation/collocations.htm

1 He spoke English with a ........ French accent.
average
careless
widespread
pronounced
chronic

2 His new novel has met with ........ acclaim.
careless
dreadful
great
pronounced
wholehearted

3 We need to make sure that there is enough ........ accommodation to house all the delegates.
careless
dreadful
yellow
luxury
wholehearted

4 He gave us a ........ account of all that you had achieved over there.
ready
yellow
careless
luxury
glowing

5 Could you please give me an ........ account?
itemised
dreadful
great
luxury
glowing

6 We need to crack down hard on the ........ abuse of drugs.
average
outright
widespread
frenetic
careless

7 He was able to predict what was going to happen with ........ accuracy.
itemised
uncanny
careless
luxury
glowing

8 They've made some highly ........ accusations about us.
itemised
uncanny
damaging
luxury
glowing

9 We need to find a new site with ........ access to the European motorway network.
ready
outright
widespread
pronounced
wholehearted

10 This will probably be the ........ achievement of her career.
itemised
uncanny
damaging
crowning
glowing

11 I did all the groundwork on this project but he only gave me a ........ acknowledgement in his report.
itemised
uncanny
damaging
crowning
grudging

12 I don't know him very well. He's just a ........ acquaintance.
casual
uncanny
damaging
crowning
grudging

13 We're fighting for the ........ abolition of the death penalty.
average
outright
decisive
frenetic
chronic

14 I'm afraid he was involved in a ........ accident.
ready
dreadful
widespread
pronounced
wholehearted

15 He invited me around to see his ........ acquisition, a new BMW.
casual
latest
damaging
crowning
grudging

16 We need to take some ........ action before it is too late.
casual
latest
decisive
crowning
grudging

17 He wasn't particularly good. He was of about ........ ability.
average
latest
decisive
frenetic
chronic

18 I don't think we can succeed without the ........ acceptance of the unions.
average
polite
careless
pronounced
wholehearted

19 There always a lot of ........ activity going on but nothing much seems to get done!
careless
latest
yellow
frenetic
grudging

20 I'm afraid her husband has got a ........ addiction to gambling.
careless
latest
decisive
frenetic
chronic