Outcomes Elementary Vocabulary Builder  Unit 1

1 PEOPLE AND PLACES

Page 7 government  /ˈɡʌvə(r)nmənt/ Noun
the government is the group of people who are in
airport  /ˈeə(r)ˌpɔː(r)t/ Noun charge of a country or region
an airport is a place where planes take off (go into the
I don’t want the government to raise taxes | the
air) and land (come down onto the ground)
government is going to cut the number of policemen
Collocates:  a busy airport | the government is spending too much money at the
we’re flying from London airport tomorrow | I like to go moment | can the government make people happier? |
to the airport to watch the aeroplanes | the plane landed the local government (that works in a town or region, not
two hours late at the airport | the airport employs over the whole country)
2,000 people | Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in
the world mosque  /mɒsk/ Noun
a mosque is a building where Muslims go to pray to Allah
beach  /biːtʃ/ Noun there’s a beautiful mosque in the town centre | you have
a beach is the land at the edge of the sea to take off your shoes before you go into the mosque |
Collocates:  play on a beach | sit on a beach Masjid-ul-Haram, near Mecca, is the largest mosque in
a nice sandy beach | the children were playing on the the world
beach | we spent the day on the beach | there are some
museum  /mjuːˈziːəm/ Noun
lovely beaches near here | I sat on the beach for an hour
a museum is a building where people can go and look at
businesswoman  /ˈbɪznəsˌwʊmən/ Noun interesting things connected with art, history, science etc
a businesswoman is a woman who has an important job the Science Museum | the Museum of Modern Art | the
in a company or who owns her own company Louvre is a famous museum in Paris | the museum is
Collocates:  a successful businesswoman free (you don’t have to pay to get in) | we spent an hour
a very successful businesswoman | she’s a rich in the museum | a museum curator (a person who is in
businesswoman | an American singer, writer, and charge of the things in a museum)
businesswoman nurse  /nɜː(r)s/ Noun
church  /tʃɜː(r)tʃ/ Noun a nurse is someone whose job is to look after people
a church is a building where Christians go to pray to who are ill, especially in a hospital
God, especially on Sundays I’ve always wanted to be a nurse | he’s a nurse at the
Collocates:  a church service | go to church local hospital | the nurse gave him his medicine | the
nurse came to take my temperature
we go to church every Sunday | there’s a church at the
end of our street | a church service (a regular event at a office  /ˈɒfɪs/ Noun
church, usually on a Sunday) | we wanted to get married an office is a building or a room where people work,
in a church usually sitting at desks
countryside  /ˈkʌntriˌsaɪd/ Noun singular an open plan office (where there are lots of people
countryside is land that is not in a city or town and where working in the same big room) | my office is on the
there are not many buildings second floor | a big office block (a building full of offices)
| I don’t want to work in an office | would you come into
Collocates:  open countryside | unspoilt countryside | my office, please?
in the countryside
some beautiful open countryside (countryside where you police officer  /pəˈliːs ɒfɪsə(r)/ Noun
can see things like rivers and trees and not buildings a police officer is a man or woman who is in the police
or roads) | we sat on the train watching the countryside one police officer was hurt during the fighting | the police
go by | I prefer living in the countryside | the countryside officer called for help | 20 police officers arrived at the
around Amberley is beautiful | we went for a walk bank| a police officer shot two of the men
through some lovely unspoilt countryside (countryside
that has not been damaged by roads or buildings) river  /ˈrɪvə(r)/ Noun
a river is a long stream of water that runs through a
factory  /ˈfæktri/ Noun country and goes into the sea
a factory is a big building where things such as cars and the river goes through the city from east to west | I like
machines are made swimming in the river | we have a boat on the river | we
my dad works in a factory | I’m going to get a job in need to cross the river | a bridge over the river
factory | a car factory | a shoe factory | the factory
employs 200 people

© 2017 National Geographic Learning  1

 Outcomes Elementary Vocabulary Builder  Unit 1

shop assistant  /ˈʃɒp əsɪst(ə)nt/ Noun city  /ˈsɪti/ Noun

a shop assistant is a person who works in a shop and a city is a big town where a lot of people live and work
helps the customers the city is in the east of the country | I didn’t like living
he’s a shop assistant in the supermarket | I had to wait in a city | London is the biggest city in England | Paris is
five minutes before a shop assistant came to help me | a very old city | St Petersburg is a beautiful city | Beijing
I worked for three years as a shop assistant | a helpful is the capital city of China (it is the most important city,
shop assistant | luckily the shop assistant spoke English where the government is) | the city centre (where there
are a lot of shops and businesses)
traffic  /ˈtræfɪk/ Noun uncount
traffic is all the cars, vans, lorries etc. on the road at the country  /ˈkʌntri/ Noun
same time a country is an area of land that has its own government,
Collocates:  heavy traffic | a traffic jam | traffic lights like France, China, or Brazil
there’s a lot of traffic in the city centre | the traffic was Russia is the biggest country in the world | there are
moving very slowly | a traffic jam (when there is so students from 23 countries at my university | which part
much traffic that people have to wait for long periods of of the country are you from? | we live in the north of
time without moving) | there is heavy traffic on the road the country
coming into Hull | traffic lights (red and green lights that
east  /iːst/ Noun
make cars stop and then let them go in order to control
the east is the direction where the sun appears in
the traffic)
the morning
university  /juːnɪˈvɜː(r)səti/ Noun the city is in the east of the country | Norwich is in the
university is a place where people can study after they east of England
leave school, usually when they are between 18 and Adjective: east | Adverb: east
21 years old
Collocates:  go to university granddad  /ˈɡrænˌdæd/ Noun
your granddad is the father of your father or mother.
I want to go to university next year | she’s studying
Children use the word granddad. The formal word is
engineering at university | a university student | she
grandfather. The mother of your father or mother is your
spent three years at Cambridge University | the oldest
grandma or grandmother
university in Europe is the University of Bologna in Italy
my granddad is over 60 | granddad, can I sit on your
waiter  /ˈweɪtə(r)/ Noun shoulders? | granddad’s working in the garden | my
a waiter is a man who works in a cafe or restaurant and grandma and granddad are coming to visit next week
brings the food and drinks to the customers. A woman
who does this job is called a waitress. Some people hot  /hɒt/ Adjective
use the word waitperson, which can mean a man or a if something is hot, the temperature is very high, for
woman doing this job example because the sun is very strong or because you
have a heater on
I worked as a waiter while I was a student | the waiter
dropped a plate of food | the waiter asked us what we it gets very hot in Milan in August | it’s really hot in here
wanted to eat | our waiter brought the food but forgot to | I can’t have a bath because there isn’t any hot water |
give us knives and forks | I asked the waiter for the bill I need a hot drink | it was very hot out in the sun | don’t
touch the plate – it’s very hot
Noun: heat || Opposite – Adjective: cold
Pages 8–9
boring  /ˈbɔːrɪŋ/ Adjective know  /nəʊ/ Verb
something that is boring is not interesting at all if you know something, a fact or some information is in
your head
my job is really boring | the film was so boring we left
before the end | the most boring book I’ve ever read | do you know when the film starts? | nobody knows
he’s the most boring teacher in the whole school where they went | I know how to make bread | do you
know who is the president of France? | does anyone
Adjective: bored || Opposite – Adjective: interesting |
know the way to the restaurant?
Adjective: interested
late  /leɪt/ Adjective
businessman  /ˈbɪznəsmæn/ Noun
if you are late, you arrive somewhere after you are
a businessman is a man who has an important job in a
meant to be there, or after something has already
company or who owns his own company
started there
Collocates:  a successful businessman
Collocates:  late for something
a very successful businessman | he’s a rich businessman
I’m going to be late for school if the bus doesn’t come
| an American singer, writer, and businessman
soon | hurry up or you’ll be late | I’m sorry I’m late | we
capital  /ˈkæpɪt(ə)l/ Noun got there ten minutes late | she was too late – the train
the capital or capital city of a country is the most had already left
important city, where the government is Opposite – Adjective: early
I’m from Mexico City, the capital | Tokyo is the capital of early for something
Japan | lots of people think New York is the capital of the
USA, but it isn’t | what’s the capital of Australia?

© 2017 National Geographic Learning  2

 Outcomes Elementary Vocabulary Builder  Unit 1

middle  /ˈmɪd(ə)l/ Noun surname  /ˈsɜː(r)ˌneɪm/ Noun

the middle of somewhere is the place that is the furthest your surname is the name that everyone in your
from all the edges, in the centre family has
Birmingham is in the middle of England | there’s a hole what’s your surname? | Elton John’s real surname
in the middle of my hat | the cathedral is in the middle of is Dwight | she changed her surname when she got
the city | we planted a tree in the middle of the garden married | Jones is a very common surname in Wales

name  /neɪm/ Noun west  /west/ Noun uncount

your name is the word people use when they talk the west is the direction where the sun goes away in
about you the evening
Collocates:  first name the city is in the west of the country | Bristol is in the
what’s your name? | my name is Fernando | have you west of England
chosen a name for the new baby yet? | her name is Adjective: west | Adverb: west
Margaret, but everyone calls her Meg | I can never
remember people’s names | Mrs Merkel’s first name work  /wɜː(r)k/ Verb
is Angela if you work, you have a job and get money for it
Collocates:  work hard
north  /nɔː(r)θ/ Noun uncount
she works in New York | I work in a bank | over
the north is the direction towards the top of a map
20 people work in my office | where do you work? |
the city is in the north of the country | Carlisle is in the he worked in a restaurant every evening | do you have
north of England to work on Sundays? | he works hard at the factory
Adjective: north | Adverb: north all week
Noun: work | Noun: worker
parent  /ˈpeərənt/ Noun
your parents are your father and mother Collocates:  hard work
my parents are both teachers | Luca’s parents are from
Italy | do your parents know you’re here? | he’s 30 but he Pages 10–11
still lives with his parents (in the same house) | come and
bad  /bæd/ Adjective
meet my parents
something that is bad is not good and you do not like it
part  /pɑː(r)t/ Noun it’s an interesting job, but the money’s bad (the pay isn’t
a part of something is a particular piece or area of it a lot) | I thought it was a really bad film | my exam results
which part of Brazil do you live in? | we have students were very bad | bad behaviour (doing things that you
from different parts of the world here | it’s a nice part should not do) | I just got some bad news | the food isn’t
of town bad here (it’s quite good)

place  /pleɪs/ Noun become  /bɪˈkʌm/ Verb

a place is a town or city, or a particular area or building in to become something means to start to be it
a town or city he wants to become a police officer | my brother hopes
Worthing is a really boring place | this is a good place to to become a pilot | the weather became very cold last
live | what sort of place is Cardiff? | this would be a good week | he became a member of the tennis club
place to build a hospital | Criccieth is a nice place for
cathedral  /kəˈθiːdrəl/ Noun
a holiday
a cathedral is a very big and important church
receptionist  /rɪˈsepʃ(ə)nɪst/ Noun there are two cathedrals in Liverpool | a beautiful
when you arrive at a hotel, the receptionist is the cathedral | the cathedral is 700 years old | we visited the
person who gives you your room key and tells you about cathedral | can you see the cathedral on the hill?
the hotel
civil servant  /ˌsɪv(ə)l ˈsɜː(r)v(ə)nt/ Noun
he’s a receptionist at the Hilton in Montpellier | the
a civil servant is someone who works for a government
receptionist gave me a map of the city | the receptionist
department. All the people and departments together
was very helpful
are called the civil service
south  /saʊθ/ Noun uncount she’s an important civil servant in London | he worked as
the south is the direction towards the bottom of a map a civil servant for over thirty years | do civil servants get
the city is in the south of the country | Brighton is in the paid a lot of money?
south of England
clinic  /ˈklɪnɪk/ Noun
Adjective: south | Adverb: south a clinic is a place where people can see a doctor and get
help if they are ill
student  /ˈstjuːd(ə)nt/ Noun
a student is someone who is learning things at school he works as a nurse in the clinic | a private clinic | I go to
or university the clinic once a month | a new clinic is going to open in
our town
I’m a student at Nottingham University | I share a house
with three other students | there are lots of students
living in this area | the city is very quiet when the
students have their exams
© 2017 National Geographic Learning  3
 Outcomes Elementary Vocabulary Builder  Unit 1

clothes  /kləʊðz/ Noun plural what time do you get up? | I got up late this morning |
clothes are pieces of material such as shirts, jackets, and she got up at 6:30 | I hate getting up in the dark in
trousers that people wear winter | we get up late at weekends | I’ve got to get up
I enjoy buying new clothes | a clothes shop | I’m going early tomorrow
shopping for clothes | his clothes were old and dirty | my
go out  /ˌɡəʊ ˈaʊt/ Phrasal verb
wardrobe is full of clothes
if you go out somewhere, you go to somewhere like a
company  /ˈkʌmp(ə)ni/ Noun restaurant or cinema to have a nice time
a company is a business organisation do you want to go out? | we went out three times last
Microsoft is a big company | she runs a small company week | I can’t afford to go out tonight | let’s go out | they
in Paris | a company that employs 300 people | he left went out for a meal
the company after six years
go to bed  /ˌɡəʊ tə ˈbed/ Phrase
department  /dɪˈpɑː(r)tmənt/ Noun when you go to bed, you get into bed in order to sleep
a department is one of several parts that make up a for the night
large organisation when do you go to bed? | I went to bed at 11 last night
I work for a government department | the traffic | he was tired and decided to go to bed early | I don’t
department | the university science department | she’s want to go to bed yet | my dad wouldn’t go to bed until
the manager of the sales department after I came home

designer  /dɪˈzaɪnə(r)/ Noun great  /ɡreɪt/ Adjective

a designer is someone who decides what something if you say that something is great, you mean that you like
should look like and draws it so that other people can it and that it is very good
make it Birmingham is a great place to live | there are some
there are three designers in our studio | I want to go to great shops here | we saw a great film last night | you
art school and become a designer | a clothes designer | look great in that jacket | Athens is a great city
she works as a designer for a clothes company
home  /həʊm/ Noun uncount
Verb: design | Noun: design your home is the house or flat where you live
different  /ˈdɪfrənt/ Adjective Collocates:  at home
if two things or people are different, they are not I work at home | my home is in Wales | she left home
the same when she was 17 (she went to live somewhere away
Collocates:  different from something or someone from her parents) | I’m going to stay at home tonight |
what’s your home address?
I want a different job | my brother and I go to different
schools | I work for a different company now | the boys Adverb: home
had the same colour hair but different colour eyes | this Collocates:  go home
one is broken – can you get me a different one? | his
second film was very different from his first one interesting  /ˈɪntrəstɪŋ/ Adjective
if something is interesting, you would like to see more of
Noun: difference
it or know more about it
Collocates:  a difference between things
I watched an interesting programme on TV last night |
enjoy  /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ/ Verb this is an interesting book | she has a very interesting job
if you enjoy something, you like it when it is happening | we met lots of interesting people in Canada | that’s an
and it makes you happy interesting idea | it sounds like an interesting holiday
Collocates:  enjoy doing something Adjective: interested | Verb: interest || Opposite –
Adjective boring | Adjective: bored
do you enjoy your job? | I don’t enjoy working here | she
enjoys playing sport | I never enjoy shopping | I hope you Collocates:  be interested in something
enjoy your meal | did you enjoy your holiday?
job  /dʒɒb/ Noun
Adjective: enjoyable someone’s job is the work that they do every day in
order to earn money
free time  /ˌfriː ˈtaɪm/ Noun uncount
your free time is the time when you do not have to work he got a job in a factory | do you enjoy your job? | it’s a
at your job or do school work very boring job | I don’t want an office job | she found a
job as soon as she left school
I like to go to the gym in my free time | doctors don’t
get much free time | I’ll have some free time to come journalist  /ˈdʒɜː(r)nəlɪst/ Noun
swimming at the weekend | how do you spend your a journalist is someone who writes for a newspaper
free time? or magazine, or who reports on the news on television
or radio
get up  /ˌɡet ˈʌp/ Phrasal verb
when you get up, you get out of bed after you have journalists waited outside the building | a television
finished sleeping journalist | she’s a journalist who reports for the Times
newspaper | my daughter wants to be a journalist | a
sports journalist

© 2017 National Geographic Learning  4

 Outcomes Elementary Vocabulary Builder  Unit 1

language  /ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/ Noun nice  /naɪs/ Adjective

a language is the set of words that people use when if you say that something or someone is nice, you mean
they speak to each other and when they write things. that you like them and think they are good or pleasant
English, German, Russian and Japanese are all there’s a nice café near here | she’s a nice person | we
languages had a nice meal at a restaurant | this is a nice place to
how many languages do you speak | Russian is a live | he always wears nice clothes | the soup tastes nice
difficult language to learn | English and German belong
to the same family of languages night  /naɪt/ Noun
night is the time when it is dark, between the afternoon
like  /laɪk/ Verb and the morning
if you like something, you think it’s good and it gives I woke up in the middle of the night | it rained a lot
you pleasure during the night | we worked all through the night | the
he doesn’t like his job | I like playing computer games | I airport is closed at night | he died on Saturday night |
don’t like carrots | do you like swimming? | nobody likes he works nights (during the night rather than during
it when it rains the day)
Opposite – Verb: hate
people  /ˈpiːp(ə)l/ Noun plural
live  /lɪv/ Verb people are men, women, and children. The singular is
the place where you live is the town or country where person
your home is and where you spend most of your time the people at work are really nice | there are 15 people
where do you live? | I lived in Madrid for two years | my in my class | I met some interesting people in Poland |
parents still live in Manchester | she lives on her own | how many people live in New York? | two people rode
do you live in a house or a flat? | he lives close to past me on bikes | six people were hurt in the accident |
the university he’s the nicest person I know

local  /ˈləʊk(ə)l/ Adjective police station  /pəˈliːs steɪʃ(ə)n/ Noun

something that is local happens or exists inside a small a police station is a building where the police work and
area close to where you are, rather than all over the have their offices
country they took him to the police station | I live next door to
a civil servant in a local government office (the a police station | they closed our local police station
government of a town rather than a country) | I work for last year
a local newspaper | our local football team is doing very
sleep  /sliːp/ Verb
well | did you try the local food when you were in Rome?
when you sleep, you rest with your eyes closed
| both our kids go to the local school | the local shops
are very good here I sleep eight hours a night | sleep well (what you say to
someone at night when they go to bed) | I went to bed
long hours  /ˌlɒŋ ˈaʊə(r)z/ Adverb but I was too worried to sleep | she slept on the plane
if you work long hours, you spend a long time at work journey to Los Angeles
every day Noun: sleep
I enjoy the job, but I have to work long hours | I did long
hours when I started work as a doctor speak  /spiːk/ Verb
when you speak, you say words that people can hear
money  /ˈmʌni/ Noun uncount and understand. if you can speak a particular language,
money is the coins and bank notes that you can use to you know enough of its words and grammar to be able
buy things to talk to other people who know that language
I forgot to bring any money with me | have you got Collocates:  speak to someone
enough money for the train ticket? | how much money how many languages can you speak? | he speaks
have you got? | I like my job but I don’t get much money English with a German accent | she speaks very good
for it | it costs a lot of money to fly to Australia | my old Italian | can you speak more slowly please? | the teacher
car isn’t worth much money wanted to speak to me after the lesson
newspaper  /ˈnjuːzˌpeɪpə(r)/ Noun Noun: speaker
a newspaper is a set of sheets of paper with stories
studio  /ˈstjuːdiəʊ/ Noun
and pictures about the news printed on them. They are
a studio is a room or office where an artist, designer, or
usually published every day and are often called just
photographer works. A studio is also a place where they
papers. Some newspapers also have websites
make films or television programmes
can I look at your newspaper? | a free newspaper |
Collocates:  a design/film/television studio
which newspaper do you read? | I bought a newspaper
at the station | a national newspaper | a local newspaper she has a studio in Islington | he works in a studio

© 2017 National Geographic Learning  5

 Outcomes Elementary Vocabulary Builder  Unit 1

tax  /tæks/ Noun cheap  /tʃiːp/ Adjective

tax is part of the money that people earn which they something that is cheap does not cost very much money
have to give to the government a cheap hotel | tickets for the concert were quite cheap
everyone thinks that taxes are too high | the government | a shop selling cheap clothes | I only bought it because
are going to increase taxes again | how much tax do it was cheap | I bought a cheap watch which broke after
you pay every year? | the tax system is very difficult to a week
understand Opposite – Adjective: expensive
want  /wɒnt/ Verb cinema  /ˈsɪnəmə/ Noun
if you want something, you do not have it but would like a cinema is a theatre where you can go and watch films
to have it, for example because you think you need it
there aren’t any cinemas in my town | we go to the
do you want a drink? | she wanted a new car | I want to cinema every Saturday | they opened a new cinema last
buy another jacket | he wants to become a police officer week | what’s on at the cinema this week? | I’ll meet you
outside the cinema
workplace  /ˈwɜː(r)kˌpleɪs/ Noun
a workplace is somewhere such as a factory or office cold  /kəʊld/ Adjective
where people work if something is cold, the temperature is not very high,
an accident in the workplace | we need to provide a safe for example because it is winter or because the sun is
workplace not shining
it gets very cold in the winter here | it’s really cold – I’m
Pages 12–13 going to put the heater on | would you like a cold drink? |
if you’re cold, put your coat on
area  /ˈeəriə/ Noun
Opposite – Adjective: hot
an area is part of a country or place
the Lake District is a beautiful area | it’s a nice area to crime  /kraɪm/ Noun
live in | there are lots of theatres in this area of the city crime is activity that is against the law. A crime is an
| Chelsea is a fashionable area of London | I’ve lived in action that someone does that is against the law
this area all my life | my brother moved into the area last Collocates:  commit a crime
year (started to live there)
crime is a problem in this area | the crime rate (number
beautiful  /ˈbjuːtəf(ə)l/ Adjective of crimes happening) here is very high | he did not
something or someone that is beautiful is very nice to commit this crime by himself | the crime of murder |
look at a crime wave (a lot of crime happening all at the
same time)
Florence is a beautiful city | a beautiful old church
| Elizabeth Taylor was a very beautiful woman | a Noun:  criminal
beautiful painting
day  /deɪ/ Noun
Noun:  beauty a day is a period of 24 hours. There are seven days in
a week, and 365 days in a year
big  /bɪɡ/ Adjective
something that is big is large a nice sunny day | I spent all day working for my exams
| I get up at 7 o’clock every day | we’re going to fly to
she works in a big shop | his feet are very big | they live
Dublin the day after tomorrow | we had a lovely day by
in a big house by the river | London is a very big city | I’m
the sea
afraid of big dogs
Adverb:  daily
Opposite – Adjective: small
dirty  /ˈdɜː(r)ti/ Adjective
building  /ˈbɪldɪŋ/ Noun
something that is dirty has dirt or dust on it and is
a building is something such as a house that has walls
not clean
and a roof, and usually doors and windows
leave your dirty shoes by the door | his shirt was dirty
there are some very old buildings in Chester | the
| wash the dirty plates | a dirty towel | don’t get your
cathedral is a beautiful building | the building was
clothes dirty | his car is always really dirty
damaged by fire | a new building | the hospital buildings
Noun:  dirt || Opposite – Adjective: clean
busy  /ˈbɪzi/ Adjective
if somewhere is busy, there is a lot of activity and a lot of easy  /ˈiːzi/ Adjective
people there. If you are busy, you have a lot of things to something that is easy is not difficult, and you can do it
do and do not have any time to relax without much effort
the restaurant gets very busy on Friday evenings | a my job isn’t easy, but I enjoy it | the English exam was so
busy airport | a busy town centre | I’ve had a very busy easy | it’s very easy to find the cinema | an easy question
week | I was so busy I didn’t even stop for lunch | she Adverb:  easily || Opposite – Adjective: difficult
was too busy to answer my email

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 Outcomes Elementary Vocabulary Builder  Unit 1

expensive  /ɪkˈspensɪv/ Adjective quiet  /ˈkwaɪət/ Adjective

something that is expensive costs a lot of money if a place is quiet, there are not many people there and
an expensive watch | I like expensive clothes | it’s a not much is happening
good restaurant, but too expensive for us | an expensive we spent a quiet evening at home | I go shopping on
meal | that’s a nice dress – was it expensive? | it was Tuesday mornings when it’s quiet | a quiet village in the
very expensive to take a taxi to the airport country | the town centre is always quiet on Sundays
Opposite – Adjective: cheap
relax  /rɪˈlæks/ Verb
famous  /ˈfeɪməs/ Adjective if you relax, you do not work or do anything difficult, but
if lots of people know about someone or something, that do things you enjoy that do not need much effort
person or thing is famous I walk in the park to relax | listening to music helps me
Messi is the most famous footballer in the world | it’s relax | you must be tired - sit down and relax | I’ve got so
a very famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci | is Lady much to do I can’t relax | try to relax
Gaga more famous than Adele? | the Ritz is a famous Noun:  relaxation | Adjective: relaxing
hotel in Paris | I want to be famous
safe  /seɪf/ Adjective
house  /haʊs/ Noun something that is safe is not dangerous and will not hurt
a house is a building which a person or family lives in people or do any damage
we live in a big house | they’re building two new houses Collocates:  safe to do something
at the end of the road | my house is near my school | it’s a safe area – I walk everywhere, even at night | is
a family house | come to my house after school | their it safe to ride a bike on the streets here? | I didn’t feel
house is over 100 years old safe on my own in a foreign city | they said it was safe to
swim in the sea here
little  /ˈlɪt(ə)l/ Adjective
something that is little is not very big Adverb:  safely | Noun: safety
there are some nice little places to eat on the beach | a sea  /siː/ Noun
little girl | it’s an interesting little book | he worked in a the sea is the large area of water that covers a lot of
little office on the third floor the earth
love  /lʌv/ Verb a house near the sea | swimming in the sea | the sea
if you love something or someone, you like them between England and France is called the English
very much Channel | the Mediterranean Sea | we went out on the
sea in a boat
I love my job | I just love walking by the sea | I loved the
film | he loves his kids | everyone loves Christmas shopping  /ˈʃɒpɪŋ/ Noun uncount
shopping is the activity of going to the shops to
magazine  /ˌmæɡəˈziːn/ Noun
buy things
a magazine is like a thin book with a paper cover which
is published every week or every month Collocates:  go shopping | do the shopping
I write for a number of magazines | do you read any there are lots of places to go shopping | we went
fashion magazines? | a football magazine | a monthly shopping this morning | I hate shopping | I do the
magazine (that is published every month) | the magazine shopping on Saturday morning | a shopping centre
appears every Thursday (a place in a town with a lot of shops all in one building)
Noun:  shop | Verb: shop
month  /mʌnθ/ Noun
a month is a period of 28, 29, 30 or 31 days. There are small  /smɔːl/ Adjective
12 months in a year. something that is small is not very big
we pay 400 Euros a month in rent | I’m going to Norwich is quite a small city | his feet are very small | a
California next month | she spent six months working in small café | she was carrying a small dog | the hotel was
a supermarket | I get paid on the last day of the month nice but the rooms were rather small
| meetings are held on the second Wednesday of every Opposite – Adjective: big
month | it’s rained a lot this month
Adjective: monthly | Adverb: monthly summer  /ˈsʌmə(r)/ Noun
summer is the time of year when it is hot, after spring
problem  /ˈprɒbləm/ Noun and before autumn
a problem is something that you do not like and which is it’s very hot in Rome in the summer | a summer holiday
difficult to stop or change | in Australia, Christmas is in their summer | we went to
crime is a problem in this area | you can talk to me about Geneva last summer | every summer, my grandparents
any problems you’ve got | there are traffic problems in go back to Scotland
the city centre | we have a problem – the car won’t start
| unemployment (when lots of people cannot get a job) is
a big problem

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 Outcomes Elementary Vocabulary Builder  Unit 1

swimming  /ˈswɪmɪŋ/ Noun uncount walk  /wɔːk/ Verb

swimming is the activity of moving in the water using if you walk somewhere, you go there putting one foot
your arms and legs in front of the other
Collocates:  swimming pool | swimming costume I walk to work | she walked through the park | it’s too
I love swimming | we go swimming every Saturday | a far to walk – let’s get the bus | we walked home from
swimming pool (a big hole in the ground full of water the cinema
which people can swim in) | a swimming costume Noun:  walk
(what people wear when they go swimming) Collocates:  go for a walk
Verb:  swim
winter  /ˈwɪntə(r)/ Noun
town  /taʊn/ Noun winter is the time of year when it is cold, between
a town is a place with a lot of buildings where people autumn and spring
live. A town is larger than a village and smaller than a city winters are very cold in Eastern Russia | in Australia,
I live in a small town near Bratislava | Farnham is a nice their winter is in July and August | we go skiing every
town | the town centre | a busy town winter | they have a lot of snow in winter

visit  /ˈvɪzɪt/ Verb work  /wɜː(r)k/ Noun uncount

if you visit a place, you go there and spend some time work is the job you do and the place where you do it
there. If you visit a person, you go to where they live or I like my job, but it’s hard work | she starts work at eight
work and spend some time with them o’clock | we went to a restaurant after work | I don’t get
a lot of people visit Stratford in the summer | we visited home from work until after 6 o’clock | I walk to work
the cathedral in the afternoon | we’re going to visit every day | he was out of work (did not have a job) for
friends in New York | my grandparents come to visit six weeks
every Christmas Verb:  work | Noun: worker
Noun:  visitor

© 2017 National Geographic Learning  8

 Outcomes Elementary Vocabulary Builder  Unit 1

EXERCISES

Prepositions Collocations
A Choose the correct preposition. E Complete the sentences with the correct form of
the verbs in the box. Look up the words in bold if
1 I’m going to stay at / in home tonight. you need help.
2 I’m very interested for / in music. commit    do    go    be    go

3 I want to speak at / to the manager. 1 There are lots of places to

shopping in this town.
4 They have a lot of snow in / on winter.
2 He did not the crime.
5 Messi is the most famous footballer in / of the world.
3 I don’t enjoy sport.
6 The restaurant is busy on / in Friday evenings.
4 It’s time to home.
B Complete the sentences with the correct
preposition. 5 I not interested in football.
1 The children were sitting the beach.
F Match the words to make collocations. Look up
2 What’s the capital Australia? (a–f ) if you need help.
1 shop a) jam
3 We go the cinema every Saturday.
2 police b) pool
4 They went for a walk the countryside.
3 swimming c) hard
5 I’m going to be late the meeting!
4 work d) service
6 There’s a big difference the two pictures.
5 church e) assistant
7 His second film was very different his first one.
6 traffic f) station

Word families G Complete the missing adjectives. Look up the

nouns if you need help.
C Are the words verbs or nouns?
1 h_ _ _y traffic
1 beach
2 f_ _ _t name
2 church
3 a nice s_ _ _y day
3 know
4 a m_ _ _ _ _y magazine
4 become
5 a b_ _y airport
5 enjoy
6 h_ _d work
6 clinic
7 o_ _n countryside
D Tick the words in the unit that are both a verb
and a noun. 8 a s_ _ _y beach
1 walk

2 work

3 sea

4 relax

5 month

6 sleep

© 2017 National Geographic Learning  9