1. grammar. 1.1. verbs + prepositions. 1.2. phrasal verbs. 2. … · 2014-11-25 · verb + with...

TOPIC 6 Phrasal verbs . Practising conversation.Understanding written and oral messages

1

UCJC

GRADO DE MAESTRO EN EDUCACIÓN INFANTIL / PRIMARIA

UCJC 1. Grammar.

1.1. Verbs + prepositions.

1.2. Phrasal verbs.

2. Focus on Vocabulary: Varieties of English

3. Communicative skills.

4. Writing: Formal and Informal letters.


2

UCJC


1. Grammar

1.1. Verbs + prepositions

In English there are some verbs that are followed by a preposition and are called prepositional verbs. Have a look at the following examples:

Look/ have a look/ stare/ glance AT. Ex: I’m looking at the beach.

Laugh/ smile AT. Ex: Don’t laugh at his jokes. They are not funny at all.

Aim/ point AT…shoot/fire AT. Ex: Are you shooting at the two little rab-bits?

Verb + AT

Verb + TO

Talk/ speak TO. Ex: I would like to speak to Susan, please.

Listen TO. Ex: Are you listening to the BBC 1?

Write TO. She is writing to you after her illness.

Invite TO. Ex: She is invited to the wedding.

Happen TO. Ex: It happens to be the perfect story.

Prefer one thing/person TO another. Ex: I prefer tea to coffee.

ENGLISH

3Profesora de la asignatura: María Jesús Perea.

Shout AT somebody (when you are angry)/Shout T0 somebody (so that they can hear you)

Ex: Stop shouting at me!

Ex: She shouts to her grandmother so that she can hear the conversation.

Throw something AT somebody/something /

Ex: She throws things at him as she is really angry.

Throw something TO somebody.

Ex: She throws the ball to him, so that he can catch it.

Explain /describe/ apologize

We say explain something (TO somebody)

Also: explain TO (somebody) that/ what/how/why…:

Describe is similar.

Note that we say “apologize TO somebody (for…)” :

But “thank somebody (for something)”, “ask somebody (for something)”.

Verb + ABOUT

Talk about/read about/ tell somebody about/ have a discussion about

Also “do something about something” (to improve a bad situation).

Some verbs can be followed by AT or TO, with a difference of meaning.For example:


4

UCJC


Care ABOUT, care FOR and take care OF

Care About somebody/something

You can also say care what/where and how. Ex: I don´t care how you got to the petrol station.

“ care what/where/ how”

Care for somebody/something. Two meanings:

• like something

• look after somebody

Take care of (look after).

Dream about/ of

Dream About ( when you are asleep)

Dream Of being so-mething /doing so-mething ( imagine)

Hear about/ of/ from

Hear about (be told about so-mething)

Hear of (know that somebody/so-mething exists)

Hear from (receive a letter or phone call from somebody)

Think about (You concentrate your mind on it).

When you think of (something, the idea comes to your mind).

We also use think of when we ask or give an opinion.

The difference is sometimes very small. Often you can use of or about.

You can also say “think of” or “think about doing something” for future actions.

Think about/ of

ENGLISH


Remind

Remind somebody about (tell somebody not to forget)

Remind somebody of (cause somebody to remember)

Complain (to somebody) about (saying that you are not satisfied)

Complain of a pain, an illness (saying you have a pain, illness)

Warn somebody of/about (a danger), something bad which might happen.

But, if you are talking about people, you have to use the preposition about, (not “war-ned of him”).

Warn somebody about (somebody/something) which is dangerous, unusual…

Verb + FOR

Ask (somebody) for…

Apply to (person, company) for…

Wait for.../ Wait for something to happen

Search (a person, place/) for

Leave (a place) for (another place)

Look for and look after

Look for… (search for, try to find)

Look after ( take care of)


6

UCJC


Verb + IN

Believe in. Ex. I believe in your skills as a teacher.

Specialize in. Ex: You should specialize in Chemistry.

Succeed in. They have succeeded in business.

Verb + INTO

Break into

Crash/ drive/bump/ run into

Divide/ cut/ split something into

Translate one book from (one language) into (another).

Verb + ON

Concentrate ON. Ex: Is he concentrated on his reading?

Insist ON. Ex: She is always insisting on you going to visit her.

Spend ON. Ex: I have spent all my money on the trip.

ENGLISH


Verb + WITH

Collide with. Ex: The bus collided with the lorry.

Fill something with. Ex: Fill the jug with milk for breakfast.

Provide/supply something with. Ex: Can you provide Susan with a copy of the do-cument?

1.2. Phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs are idiomatic expressions, combining verbs and prepositions or adverbs to make new verbs whose meaning is often not obvious from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. They are widely used in both written and spoken English, and new ones are formed all the time as they are a flexible way of creating new terms.

In phrasal verbs, the main verb is usually combined with the following prepositions:

In on up away round about

over by Out off down back

through along forward

So you can say put out/ get on/ take off/.. These verbs are phrasal verbs.

We often use out/off/up etc. with verbs of movement. For example:

Get on: We couldn’t get on the train as it was full of people.

Drive off: They drove off just after they left the traffic jam.

Come back: Are you coming back soon?

Turn round: Please, turn around, have a look at this picture.


8

UCJC


But often the second word (out/ off/up) gives a special meaning to the verb.For example:

Break down: Sorry for that, but the car has broken down (the engine stops working)

Look out: Look out! It must be a mistake. She left the country three years ago (be careful)

Take off: I get really afraid when the plane is taking off (went into the air)

Get up: I always get up at 7 o’clock in the morning (get out of bed)

Get on: How was the exam? How did you get on? (how did you go)

Get by: My English isn’t very good but it is fine to get by. (to manage).

Sometime a phrasal verb is followed by a preposition.For example:

Phrasal verb Preposition

Run away

Keep up

Look fordward

Cut down

From (flee from)

with (follow)

to (wait, hope)

(reduce)

Sometimes a phrasal verb has an object. Usually there are two possible positions for the object:

I switch on the light or I switch the light on.

Phrasal verb object phrasal verb object

If the object is a pronoun (it, them, me, him) only one position is possible.

Ex: I switch it off. (Not switch off it).

ENGLISH



USEnglish

Travel on the street In the home

American English

Gasoline

Truck

Baggage

Side-walk

Line

Vacation

Trunk

Hood

Cab

Freeway

Round trip

Baby carriage

British English

petrol

lorry

luggage

pavement

queue

holiday

boot

bonnet

taxi

motorway

return

pram

American EnglishAntenna

Elevator

Eraser

Apartment

Closet

Drapes

Yard

Cookie

Candy

Garbage

Diaper

panti-house

British Englishaerial

lift

rubber

flat

wardrobe

curtains

garden

biscuit

sweet

rubbish

nappy

tights

English in the USA differs considerably from British English. Pronunciation is the most striking difference but there are also a number of differences in vo-cabulary and spelling as well as slight differences in grammar. On the whole, British people are exposed to a lot of American English on TV, in films and so on and so they will usually understand most American vocabulary.

American spelling is usually simpler. For example, British English words en-ding in –our and –re, end in –or and –er in American English., ex: colour, color, centre, center.

There are differences in individual words too, ex: plough becomes plow. The American spelling usually tries to correspond more closely to pronunciation.

Here are some common US words with their British equivalents.


10

UCJC


Here are some words and phrases which can cause confusion when used by Brits and Americans talking together because they mean something different in each language.

Vocabulary American English British English

A bill

The first floor

Pants

Potato chips

Purse

Subway

Vest

Wash up

A (bank) note

The ground floor

Trousers

Potato crisps

A handbag

Underground railway

A waistcoat

Wash your hands

A check ( in a café)

The second floor

Underpants

French fries

A wallet

An underpass

An undershirt

Wash the dishes

US or American English is not the only special variety of English. Each area of the English-speaking world has developed its own special characteristics. This is usually mainly a matter of vocabulary and pronunciation.

Is particularly interesting for its rich store of colloquial words and expressions. This colloquialism often involves shortening a word.

Sometimes the ending –ie or –o, is then added. Ex: smoko (is a tea or coffee break). Because of the current popularity of Australian TV programmes and films, some of these words are now being used by British people too.

Australian English

ENGLISH


On the other hand, Indian English, is characterised by sounding more formal than British English. It has retained in everyday usage words that are found more in the classics of XIX century literature than in contemporary TV pro-grammes from London, ex: The Prime Minister is felicitated on his birthday. An Indian can complain of a pain in his bosom (rather than his chest).

Indian English

Uses a number of special dialect words. Some of the more common of these are worth learning.

aye: yes loch: lake dreich: dull

ben: mountain to mind: to remember wee: small

brae: bank (of river) bairn: child ken :know

dram: drink (usually whisky) bonny: beautiful lassie: girl

glen: valley burn: stream

kirk: church stay: live

Scottish English


12

UCJC


It is the term used to refer to the English that originated in the Caribbean islands and has now spread to many parts of the UK, Canada and the USA. Below you can find some words which are characteristic of Black English but are also now used in other varieties of English.

Many are associated with the music world.

Dreadlocks: Rastafarian hairstyle beat: exhausted

Chick: girl dig: Understand

Jam: improvise pad: bed

Rap: Street-talk square: dull

Black English

ENGLISH


Talking to natives. Understanding written and oral messages.

Slang is a particular kind of colloquial language. It refers to words and expressions which are in-formal. Slang helps to make speech vivid and interesting but it can easily be used inappropriately. Although slang is mainly used in speech, it is also often found in the popular press.

To use slang can be risky for someone who is not a native speaker.

Firstly, because some slang expressions can cause offence to some sections of the population. For example, most policemen are quite happy to be referred to as coppers, but are offended by the term pigs.

Secondly, slang words date very quickly. Different generations, for example, have used different slang expressions to say that something was “wonderful”.

Pre-war: top-hole 1970s: ace, cosmic

1940s: wizard 1980s: brill, wicked

1960s: fab, groovy

It can be possible to work out a native speaker’s age from the expressions which they use, as peo-ple tend to stick with the slang expressions of their youth.

To sum up, you may find it interesting to learn about slang and you may come across slang expres-sions (particularly when you are watching films or reading popular newspapers or novels) but you might avoid using yourself slang without being conscious about how appropriate it might be.

Here are some examples of slang words and expressions which you may come across.

The ones which are most likely to cause offence are underlined:

Expressions for money: dough, bread, dosh, loot, brass

Expressions for the police: fuzz, coppers, bill

Expressions for drunk: sizzled, paralytic, legless.

Expressions for a stupid person: wally, prat, nerd, jerk, plonker

Expressions for lavatory: loo, lav, bog, john

Expressions for drink: booze, plonk (wine), a snort, a snifter.

Drug-related expressions: a fix, dope, grass, high, stoned

Prison- related expressions: nick (prison), nark (informer), screw (warder)

Slang is often used by one particular group and is unintelligible to other people, but it is necessary to have also these references in order to be more competent in every day conversation and when reading or watching the media.



14

UCJC


4. Writing: Formal and Informal letters.English letters are laid out according to the following conventions:

• The full postal address of the place you are writing from should be written on the upper right corner of the letter.

44, Whiteladies RoadShepherds Bush

Bristol, W35UK

• The date should be written as follows: 21 st September 2008. The date should be placed under the writer postal address.

• The name and full postal address of the person you are writing to should be only written in formal letters, never in informal letters. It should be located on the left –side of the letter.

• Dear is followed by the name of the person you are writing to. If you are writing to a company and do not know the name of the person you are writing to, then you should write Dear Sir/ Madam. It is placed under the address of the person you are writing to and is always followed by commas.

• The text of the letter distinguishes between formal and informal styles:

• Formal style does not use contractions or colloquial expressions, typical of spoken language. Moreover, in formal style sentences are joined by means of connectors; ex: however, firstly, furthermore.

• In informal style (used in letters to friends and relatives) sounds as if the letter were spoken. It contains contractions, colloquial expres-sions. Be careful in these texts with idioms, as these expressions become old-fashion very soon and thus, are easy to use incorrectly.

• To finish your letter, you should use one of the expressions below de-pending on who the recipient of the letter is:

When addressing a formal letter: Yours, Yours ever, Yours sincerely, Yours truly, Yours faithfully.

When writing informal letters: With love from, lots of love, best regards, best wishes.

ENGLISH


Useful language in a formal letter

I am writing to = ask/enquire/request/confirm/ apologise/com-plain/

I am writing in = reply/response to /connection with/

I would like to = apply for/express my concern

With reference to your (letter)…

Thank you for your later

Typicalfirst

sentence

I look forward to = hearing from you

Meeting you

Thank you again for your kind cooperation.

Thanking you in advance for your assistance in this matter.

I hope this matter will receive your prompt attention

Typical last sentence

Useful language in an informal letter

Typical first sentence Typical last sentence

Dear…,

I/We are having…..

We/They say that…..

So…

As you see/know

At last,

See you soon

Take care,

Cheers,

Yours,

Love,

Write then a comma and your name.


16

UCJC


1. Grammar.

1.1. Verbs + prepositions.

1.2. Phrasal verbs.



4. Writing: Formal and Informal letters.

1. grammar. 1.1. verbs + prepositions. 1.2. phrasal verbs. 2. … · 2014-11-25 · verb + with...

Documents