Opportunities to Learn
Fill in the blanks with the following words. There may be more than one right answer.
as a result of despite even so in order to whereas
1. ___ ensure everything goes to plan, please read all instructions carefully.
2. ___ recent cutbacks, Marketing and Sales will be merged into one department.
3. Mary and Jeff feel we need to reduce personnel expenses, ___ I believe we should take more people on!
4. I agree with you about that; ___, I’m not going to approve it.
5. Valerie sent the report out, ___ my strict instructions not to.
Word Order: Un-mix the words to create real sentences.
1. messed I up know I , but didn’t to I mean !
2. Bethany doesn’t but skiing loves her husband , .
3. Although French he really speak to tries , he can’t.
4. detective loves Olivia reading stories, and at does every so opportunity.
5. as as Do do I like much strawberries you ?
Read the text and choose the best option:
Well, Christmas 1) is coming up/will come up, and we 2) should all be thinking/should all think about how we’re going to celebrate such a wonderful event. Yes, I know, 3) we’ve been having/we’ve had the decorations up since September, but now that it’s less than a month away, we’re really going to have to focus!
James, earlier you 4) had said/used to say that we should really push the discounts this coming long weekend, and I have to agree with you. So 5) could/do you write me up a report about what should go on sale and for how much and 6) get/to get it back to me by tomorrow? …
Fix the mistake in each of the sentences: I can’t choose among the red one or the blue one. Jimmy wakes up at 5:30 all mornings–I don’t know how he does it! Believe me, that new Adam Sandler movie is not worth to watch. I don’t like chocolate. That’s because I always get flan for […]
Remember, these phrasal verbs are not “set + particle” but rather units, so learn them as such! Put these verbs in the correct sentence, conjugated as necessary. You may want to look these words up in a dictionary, as they may have secondary meanings! (Just like in that sentence: “look up” isn’t just “turn your […]
“In case” may seem familiar to Spanish speakers, but it’s not what it seems at first glance. In fact, we need to look at more of the phrase to be sure we know what we’re talking about.
By this, I mean we need to see if there’s an “of”, i.e., “in case of”. This phrase can be translated into Spanish, no problem.
In case of fire, break glass.
The barbeque will be outside. In case of rain, the auditorium can be used as a back-up location.
But, without that “of”, “in case” means “if something should happen”:
You shouldn’t light that match, in case you start a fire.
We’ve prepared the auditorium in case it rains during the barbeque.
Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition
I’m normally a happy person, but 1)___ Christmastime, I find myself a bit depressed. It is mostly due 2)___ the fact that I’m far away 3)___my family. They’re 4)___the other side of the Atlantic, 5)___the west coast of the US, 6)___Washington state. I have to spend 15 hours 7)___ a plane …
Put the verb in parentheses in the right tense for each second- or third-conditional sentence
If I 1)___(win) the lottery tomorrow, it 2___(help) me a lot! See, I’m in debt. A lot of debt. Part of my problem was university: I was told that if I 3)___(go) to a great school, I (4)___(get) a great job, and then I (5)___(can) pay off my debts quickly. But in this economy, there are no jobs to be had. I wish I (6)___(go) to …
Like has two main uses, which can sometimes easily be confused.
The first one students often learn is the verb, used to describe something we enjoy or find pleasing:
I like reading books by Chaucer and Shakespeare.
I would like to travel the world.
I never used to like coffee, but now I love it!
Put the following modal verbs into the blanks. You may need a negative!
Can Might Must Will Would
I can’t believe I’ve lost my keys again! This is the second time this week. I really (1)___ stop leaving them in bad places. My dog (2)___ have eaten them, though. He loves eating everything. But if he had eaten them, he (3)___ look horrible right now, and he doesn’t. So the keys (4)___ be inside him. Oh! There they are! Finally! From now on, I (5)___ only leave them on the entry room table!