Gareth King - Colloquial English - A Complete English Language Course

or

Why don’t you turn off the radio ?

I’ve got to pay this cheque in.

or

I’ve got to pay in this cheque .

Exercise 6

Change these phrasal verb sentences by replacing the noun with a pronoun, as in the first example.

1 I’m going to pay in this cheque.

I’m going to pay it in.

2 Henry’s going to do up the

house.

__________________ .

3 Could you turn off the radio?

__________________ ?

4 I need to look up these words.

__________________ .

5 Could you write down the

address?

__________________ ?

6 Will you fill in these forms?

__________________ ?

7 We’re going to send back the

letters.

__________________ .

8 They’re going to knock down

this building.

__________________ .

9 Tom’s trying to start up the

engine.

__________________ .

10 Switch off the lights, please.

__________________ .

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Dialogue 5

Su asks Neil if he’s coming to a concert.

SU:

Are you going to come with us to see the Stones?

NEIL:

Well, I was going to, but it looks like I can’t make it.

SU:

Oh dear – why not?

NEIL:

It’s on the twenty-fifth, isn’t it?

SU:

Yes. Is that a problem?

NEIL:

Don’t you remember? It’s our wedding anniversary, and I’m going to take Fiona out somewhere to cele-brate.

SU:

Where are you going to take her?

NEIL:

I don’t know yet. I want to surprise her.

SU:

Well, why don’t you bring her to see the Stones?

NEIL:

Fiona hates the Stones.

SU:

Then it’ll be a real surprise for her, won’t it?

Idioms

• it looks likemeans ‘it seems that . . .’ or ‘it’s probable that . . .’

It looks like it’ll rain later

It looks like we’re going to miss the bus

• I can’t make itmeans ‘I won’t be able to keep the appointment’ or

‘I won’t be able to do what we planned’.

• We use Oh dearto show that we are disappointed about something, or unhappy about something:

James has broken his leg.

– Oh dear, has he?

Oh dear, we’re going to be late for the concert.

The coffee machine’s broken today, I’m afraid

– Oh dear.

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Dialogue 6

Kelly’s not happy about the milk she’s just bought, so she asks Di what she thinks.

KELLY:

This milk doesn’t seem very fresh, does it?

DI:

What do you mean?

KELLY:

[ Offers Di the bottle ] Have a smell.

[ Di has a smell ] What do you think?

DI:

Hmm – you’re right, it smells off. Take it back, I expect they’ll give you your money back.

KELLY:

I hope so!

Language point 45 – state verbs

Most verbs in English are ACTION VERBS – they describe an action that lasts a short period of time and has a beginning and an end.

Here are some examples of action verbs:

say

write

switch on

eat

run

go out

read

phone

look for

But some verbs are not action but STATE VERBS – they describe:

• feelings

• states of mind

• situations that continue over a period of time

Here are some examples of state verbs:

know

remember

prefer

hope

see

feel

contain

taste

have

forget

mean

expect

belong

love

want

smell

think

hate

seem

like

State verbs work differently from action verbs in English – in particular, they do not normally have a present continuous . Compare these two sentences:

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action

Harry’s looking for a newspaper

state

Harry wants a newspaper

not

‘Harry’s wanting a newspaper’

In the first sentence, look fordescribes an action, and we use the PRESENT CONTINUOUS to show that the action is happening now – go back and review Language point 21 if you need to remind yourself about this. In the second sentence, wantis a state of mind not an action, and so we use the PRESENT SIMPLE.

In the same way, present tense questions and negatives are different for actions and states:

action

Is Harry looking for a newspaper?

state

Does Harry want a newspaper?

action

Harry isn’t looking for a newspaper.

state

Harry doesn’t want a newspaper.

because the present continuous uses beas its AUXILIARY, while the present simple uses do. It is wrong to say:

‘Is Harry wanting a newspaper?’

‘Harry isn’t wanting a newspaper.’

Be careful!Some state verbs have secondary meanings which

are actions – for example, expectmeans ‘think (something will happen)’ (state), but it also means ‘wait for’ (action): I expect Suzie’ll be late

(state)

I’m expecting a parcel today

(action)

Another example – see(state) means ‘understand’, but see(action) means ‘visit’:

I see why you’re upset

(state)

I’m seeing my family at the weekend

(action)

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Exercise 7

Make the correct choice from the brackets to complete the sentences – you will need to think about whether the verbs are state or action.

1 I (want/’m wanting) to see the new film.

2 James (goes/is going) to the cinema this evening.

3 Brian (isn’t liking/doesn’t like) vegetables.

4 (Is this book belonging/Does this book belong) to you?

5 My diary (contains/is containing) important information.

6 Adrian (doesn’t read/isn’t reading) the paper at the moment.

7 (Do you know/Are you knowing) John Smith?

8 Shamira (sees/’s seeing) her family this evening.

9 I (don’t expect/’m not expecting) any post today.

10 (Do you see/Are you seeing) what I’m saying?

Language point 46 – ‘bring’ and ‘take’

Bringand takeare DIRECTION VERBS, like comeand go: come

means:

move towards the speaker

bring

means:

carry (a thing) or lead (a person) towards

the speaker

go

means:

move away from the speaker

take