Warn ask explain wait search point blame take care live suffer
1. Have a nice holiday! ___ yourself! 2. Can you ___ this rule ___ me? 3. I have been ___ you for 20 minutes already. 4. Everybody ____ me ___ the accident. 5. My salary is not enough to ____. 6. She ____ very bad headaches. 7. Before you go into the house, I must ____ you ___ the dog. 8. Don’t ___ the knife ___ me. It’s dangerous. 9. When I finished my meal, I ____ the waiter ____ the bill. 10. Police are ____ the man who escaped from prison.
EXERCISE 3. Use your own ideas to complete these sentences. Use a preposition.
1. I spend quite a lot of money _____.
2. Dave’s got his birthday today. I am going to congratulate ______.
3. His parents don’t approve ______.
4. Sue accused me ______.
5. We complained ______.
6. He’s very selfish. He doesn’t care ______.
Prepositions and Prepositional Adverbs as Idioms
EXERCISE 4. Study the examples and compose your own sentences with the prepositional phrases.
Inside out
She turned this place inside out looking for her keys.
Up and out
Why are you still sleeping? You’ll be late. Up and out of bed now.
On and on
That record plays on and on. I wish they would change it.
In and out
We won’t stay long at the party; just a quick in and out.
To and fro
The dog ran to and fro across the lawn.
For and against
Give me the arguments for and against this case.
Down and out
Nobody loves you when you haven’t got any money and you’re down and out.
Round about
I dropped my keys in the sand ‘round about here somewhere, but I don’t know exactly where.
THE VERB – Present Forms: Level B
Present Simple
Present Cont.
Present Perfect
Present Perf.Cont.
a
permanent situations or states
She works as a nurse.He owns a large shop.
temporary situations
They are staying at the Park Hotel at present.
recently completed actions
She has tided her room (She has finished tiding her room You can see it is tidy now – evidence in the present)
actions started in the past and continuing up to the present
He’s been writing a letter for two hours. (He started two hours ago and he’s still writing it.)
b
repeated / habitual actions (especially with frequency adverbs: often, usually, etc)
I usually get up at 7.30.
actions happening at or around the moment of speaking
She is looking for a better job
actions which happened at an unstated past time and are connected with the present
He has lost his keys. (He is still looking for them)
past action of certain duration having visible results or effects in the present
She’s been crying. (Her eyes are red.)
c
permanent truths or laws of nature
Money doesn’t buy happiness.Water freezes at 0°C.
repeated actions with “always” expressing annoyance or criticism
She’s always interrupting me!
personal experiences/changes which have happened
I’ve lost 10 kilos.
Actions expressing anger, irritation, annoyance, explanations or criticism
Who has been using my toothbrush? (annoyance)
d
timetables/programmes (future meaning)
The plane leaves at 6.10.
fixed arrangements in the near future
The Browns are visiting us tonight (It’s all arranged.)
emphasis on number
She’s written three letters since this morning.
Emphasis on duration (usually with for since or how long)
She’s been calling on clients since this morning.
e
reviews/sports commentaries/dramatic narrative
Meryl Streep acts brilliantly in this film.
changing or developing situations
His English is getting better
Time expressions used with:
Present Simple
every day/week/month/year, usually, often, always, rarely, never, sometimes, in the morning/evening/afternoon, at night, on Mondays, etc
Present Cont.
now, at the moment, at present, nowadays, today, tonight, always, still
Present Perfect
just, ever, never, already, yet, always, how long, so far, recently, since, for, today, this week/month, etc
Present
Perfect Cont.
how long, for, since
Note: live, feeland workcan be used either in the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous with no difference in meaning.
I’ve been leaving / I’ve lived in Rome for a year.
State verbs
Verbs describing a permanent state (state verbs) do not normally have continuous forms. These are:
(1) verbs of the senses: see, hear, smell, feel, taste etc
(2) verbs of opinion: agree, believe, consider etc
(3) verbs of emotions: feel, forgive, hate, like, love etc
(4) other verbs: appear (=seem), be, belong, fit, have (possess), know, look (appear), need, prefer, require, want, weight, wish etc
The verbs look, watch, listenexpress deliberate actions and can be used in continuous forms.
Some state verbs: see, smell, taste, feel, think, have etc have continuous forms but there is a difference in meaning.
verb
STATE
ACTION
think
I think she is rich.
I’m thinking about your plan.
taste
The milk tastes awful.
He is tasting the sauce; it might need some salt.
have
He has a pet dog.
He’s having dinner now.
feel
This cloth feels like velvet.
She’s feeling her way in the dark.
see
I see you are in trouble.
I’m seeing my lawyer tonight.
smell
The kitchen smells of burnt meet.
Why are you smelling your food?
come
He comes from Spain.
He’s coming from Spain.
love
I love holidays.
I’m loving this holiday.
look
Your hair looks great.
She is looking at some old photographs.
weigh
The baby weighs 5 kilos.
I’m weighing myself on my new scales.
be
Ann is very tall.
Ann is being very kind to me these days.
Have gone to, have been to, have been in
He has gone to Paris. (= He is there or on his way to Paris)
He has been to Paris once. (= He’s visited Paris once but he’s back now.)
He has been in Paris for three months. (= He’s in Paris now.)
In other words:
I’ve never eaten mango before. = It’s the first time I’ve ever eaten.
I’ve never seen such a good film. = It’s the best film I’ve ever seen.