Upl 1
Upl 1
Upl 1
Adjectives to nouns
A lot of adjectives can be changed to nouns by the addition of a suffix (e.g., brave - bravery,
equal - equality,, etc), or by changing other features of the word (e.g., proud - pride,
sympathetic - sympathy, etc). Some nouns need a prefix and a suffix, depending on how they
are being used (e.g., equal = equality or inequality)
Task 1. Look at these sentences, and decide if the nouns in bold are correct or incorrect (the
key adjectives are in brackets at the end of each sentence). Look at the meaning of the whole
sentence before you decide, and don't forget to check the spelling.
1. I'm not sure you're old enough to be given such a responsibility. (responsible)
2. Although there are several differents between British and American English, there are also
many similarity. (different / similar)
3. It was a terrible lesson, the hotness in the room was unbearable, we were almost falling
asleep with boredom, and our stomachs were rumbling with hungryness. (hot / bored /
hungry)
5. The check-in staff said that the flight was late and apologised for the convenience,
although they didn't show much sympathetically. (convenient / sympathetic)
8. We had to measure the length, the wideth and the deepth of the swimming pool, and then
measure the hight of the diving board. (long / wide / deep / high)
9. She experienced a lot of happyness and lonelyness in her lifetime; her parents died when
she was still in her youth, her first husband left her, and her only child ran away from
home. (happy / lonely / young)
10. He lacked confidence in his ableness, and seemed unaware of his own intelligence.
(confident / able / intelligent)
11. There's a strong probableness, perhaps even a certainty, that he's going to get a grade A
in the exam. (probable / certain)
Task 2. Here are some more adjectives which can be made into nouns. How many can you
change?
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For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (0 7475 6624 0)
general vocabulary
Compound adjectives
A compound adjective is a combination of two words which function as a single adjective.
The two words are often joined with a hyphen.
Task 1. Join one word on the left with one word on the right to make compound adjectives.
5. It wasn't a particularly ________ tennis racket; it broke soon after I bought it.
6. She was wearing an ________ dress that made heads turn as she walked through the room.
9. My wife comes from a ________ family; they've always had more money than my own family.
10. My grandfather's becoming very ________ . Last week he went to the library in his slippers.
11. To make a bit of money, my sister and I used to sell ________ cakes.
12. He made a ________ attempt to take an interest, but it was obvious he didn't want to be there.
13. My father is a very ________ man. His favourite authors are Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco.
15. There are lots of jobs for ________ workers in the factories in my area.
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For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (0 7475 6624 0)
general vocabulary
Compound nouns
A compound noun is a combination of two words which function as a single noun.
• Some compound nouns can be written as one word. e.g., headache (head + ache).
• Some compound nouns can be joined using a hyphen (-). e.g., half-brother.
• Some compound nouns must be written as two words. e.g., television set.
There are no rules to tell us how a compound noun should be written. We have to learn each
one individually.
Task 1. Join one word on the left with one word on the right to make compound nouns. In
some cases, more than one combination is possible.
Task 2. Use the compound nouns above to complete the following sentences. You may need
to change the forms of some of the words.
1. When I was young, my parents used to tell me ________ about witches and giants and other
strange creatures.
2. We had to wait for the ________ to turn green before we were able to continue.
3. Don't leave this plant in the shade; it needs lots of ________.
4. In my home city, there is a lot of bad ________ as a result of the large number of cars and
industrial factories.
5. ________ in my city are very bad. There are often fights between black and white youths.
6. The more money you earn, the more ________ you have to pay to the government.
7. On my last holiday, I had terrible ________ as a consequence of eating some bad fish.
8. I tripped over my ________ and ended up with a broken arm.
9. Don't forget to put some money in the ________ or the traffic wardens will give you a
ticket.
10. When does our train leave? Why don't you check the ________ .
11. I enjoy playing all ball games, but my favourite must be ________.
12. When you write a question, don't forget to put a ________ at the end of the sentence.
13. I enjoy my English lessons, but sometimes our teacher gives us too much ________.
14. I've got a huge ________. I started it when I was six. My favourite comes from an island in
the South Pacific.
15. We could see the path in front of us clearly in the ________, although everything else
around us was dark.
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For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (0 7475 6624 0)
general vocabulary
Confusing pairs and false friends
Confusing pairs are two words which have a similar meaning to each other, but are used in a
different way.
False friends are words in English which have a similar-looking word in another language but
which have a different meaning.
1. actually / now
Please can we go home ________ ?
It looks quite small, but ________ it is over 5 metres high.
2. advice / advise
My grandfather gave me a very useful piece of ________ .
I ________ you to put all your money into a deposit account.
3. affect / effect
The cuts in spending will have a serious ________ on the hospital.
The strike will seriously ________ the train service.
4. already / yet
I haven’t seen her ________ this morning.
I’ve ________ done my shopping.
6. avoid / prevent
The police will ________ anyone from leaving the building.
You should travel early to ________ the traffic jams.
7. beside / besides
Come and sit down ________ me.
________ managing the shop, he also teaches in the evening.
8. bring / fetch
It’s your turn to ________ the children from school.
Don’t forget to ________ the books to school with you.
9. chance / possibility
Our team has a good ________ of winning tonight.
There is always the ________ that the plane will be early.
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For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (0 7475 6624 0)
general vocabulary
Confusing pairs and false friends
11. conduct / direct
Von Karajan will ________ the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra at the concert.
It took two policemen to ________ the traffic.
16. go / play
Shall we ________ jogging or swimming?
Neither. Let’s ________ tennis.
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For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (0 7475 6624 0)
general vocabulary
Confusing pairs and false friends
24. nature / countryside
We must try to protect ________ and the environment.
The English ________ is beautiful in spring.
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For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (0 7475 6624 0)
general vocabulary
Contrast and comparison
Complete these sentences with the most appropriate word or expression from A, B or C.
4. The two machines _____ considerably; one has an electric motor, the other runs on oil.
5. When he travelled down the east coast of the USA, he became aware of the _____ in weather between
the north and south of the country.
7. Can you tell the _____ between an apple and a pear with your eyes shut?
8. When companies employ people, they must not _____ between people of different sex or race.
10. My two brothers are almost identical. They are very difficult to _____.
11. They have two things _____; they are both Welsh, and they are both left-handed.
13. He's very rich and lives in a big house. _____, he doesn't seem very happy.
14. British and Australian people share the same language, but in other respects they are as
different as _____.
15. We share the same language, but in other respects we are _____ from each other.
A.
1. I think Ben got out of bed on the wrong side this morning.
2. We're planning a little get-together of people from the office.
3. The manager began the meeting with a few comments and then got down to brass tacks.
4. Jan and Richard get on like a house on fire.
5. Rory and Jeannie are getting married? Get away with you!
6. You'll get the sack if you talk to the boss like that.
7. That humming noise is really getting on my nerves.
8. He's got a nerve to ask for a day off.
9. I rang the shops to try and find a new dishwasher, but got nowhere.
10. When she asked him for money, he told her to get lost.
11. OK everyone, we're a bit late so let's get going.
12. Got it!
13. Do you think he got my meaning?
14. Get a grip on yourself - you've got an interview in half an hour.
15.The president is having to get to grips with the failing economy.
16. If they don't get their act together, they'll miss the last date for entries to the competition.
17. How can I get him off my back?
18. If I don't get a rise soon, I'll start looking for another job.
19. I've got out of the habit of eating chocolates.
20. Rainy weather always gets me down.
B.
A. to be unsuccessful
B. a meeting of friends
C. to stop pestering someone
D. to understand.
E. to be dismissed from a job.
F. not to do something any more
G. to start to deal with something
H. Go away. Leave me alone.
I. over-confidence or rudeness
J. to start
K. to receive an increase in salary
L. to try to control yourself; to try to be less emotional
M.to start discussing the real problem
N. Don't try to make me believe that.
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For reference, see the Easier English Dictionary for Students (0 7475 6624 0)