Lesson 29--Restaurant Collocations

In Today's English Chunks, I would like to look at some useful restaurant collocations, and point out some phrases that my students make incorrectly.  If you have any questions about these phrases, please don't hesitate to ask.  You can leave a comment in the comment section.

1)  pay for dinner--my students often use phrases like "pay the dinner" but these are not correct.

2) pay the bill--we don't say pay the money, or pay the dinner.

3) buy someone dinner--we don't say pay him a dinner.

4) leave a tip--we don't say pay the tip.  We either leave a tip, or use the verb form: tip the waiter.

Lesson 28--Laugh (and its prepositions)

 

Laugh at someone

e.g.      The audience laughed at him and his unusual costume.

            It isn't polite to laugh at people.

            Maria laughed at the comedian's jokes.

Laugh about something

e.g.      Greg laughed about his problems because they were too big to handle.

            I can laugh about it now, but at the time I could only cry.

Lesson 27--Phrasal Verb: To Take Up (a new hobby, sport, pastime)

 

take up             start, begin a new hobby, sport or pastime

 

e.g.                  Philip took up tai chi to lose weight.

                        Ellen wants to take up karate to improve her confidence.

                        Taking up stamp collecting might be a good idea.

question you can ask people

                     What sport would you like to take up?
                      Have you thought about taking up painting.  It's very relaxing.
                      When did you take up smoking?

Lesson 26: To Turn Something Down

Phrasal Verb:   turn down

 

Meaning:         to refuse and offer, to reject an offer

                        (separable phrasal verb)

 

e.g.                  Maria turned down the job offer because the salary was too low.

                        Greg turned down his bosses request to change his position.

                        She turned his invitation to dinner down.

 

Usefulness Factor       8/10  Used in all situations to say no.

Lesson 25 Review Quiz

Review Quiz

It's time to review the past 24 lessons.  Fill in the blanks with suitable words.  When finished, check your answers by clicking on the quiz answers link in the top left corner of this blog.  Good luck.

 

1. Whether I go or not depends ______ the weather.
2. I bumped ______ an old friend the other day outside of Tim Horton's.
3. I was all set to propose when I suddenly _____ ______ ____.
4. I spent three hours arguing _____my sisters yesterday.
5. It's raining and cold, you'd better _____ _____your jacket.
6. Sheila wanted to have a surprise party for her brother, but her brother's girlfriend spoiled it by ______ _______ ____ _____ _______ ______ _____.
7. His mother got angry and told him that it _____time he____ his homework.
8. The couple got ____ the subway at Union Station and got _____ at Eglinton.
9. Melanie always got the ______ on her Christmas shopping and was usually finished by September.
10. Greg was very indecisive and had trouble _____ ___ his_____.
11. The guidance councillor asked him what kind of job he was interested ____.
12. Her hard work couldn't ____ _____ ______ her laziness in the early part of the semester.
13. The politician thought he could _____ ____ _____ taking bribes from some rich citizens in exchange for voting against some unpopular legislation.
14. Amanda excelled ____ the arts.
15. Due to a lack____ time, he skipped breakfast.
16. The teacher ___ ____ marking the papers to watch the hockey game.
17. If you want a good job, you should apply ____ Microsoft.
18. The teacher congratulated the students ____ finishing the quiz.
19. Luckily for the students the teacher had ______ minutes to talk. 
20. a) few              b) a few
21. She had very _______ time to waste worrying about her past mistakes.
22. a) little             b) a little

 

 

Lesson 24--Congratulate prepositions

Congratulate for/on

congratulate +for/on + noun or gerund

 

e.g.      I congratulated him on his new job.

            I congratulated him on getting a new job.

            She congratulated him for his big win.

            She congratulated him for winning the race.

            Congratulations on your new job.

Lesson 23--Maybe versus May be

Maybe             adverb, often used at the beginning of a sentence or end, to indicate                                               how likely and possible it is.

 

e.g.                  Maybe, he is at home.

                        I will talk to her later, maybe.

                        Maybe, the weather will be bad tomorrow.

                        Maybe he took the bus home.

 

May be            modal verb, often used after the subject of a sentence, to indicate how                 

                        likely and possible it is.

e.g.                  I may be late for work tomorrow.

                        I may be too tired to do my homework.

                        She may be spending time with her friends.