Tag: MindMap

Irregular verbs

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It’s since a while that I am not uploading posts on grammar. In my opinion, for a beginner is not so easy to memorize irregular verbs, that’s why I decided to make mind maps and other resources on this topic. I hope you’ll find it useful.
Irregular verbs in English - mind map

You can download this mind map on Biggerplate (imx file). If you don’t have the possibility to open this kind of file, just download the image from Free English Materials’ Facebook Page (Album: Mind maps)

Since there are a lot of irregular verbs I decided to make smaller mind maps for each single group. In this way, it will be easier for you to read them.

Group one - one word

GROUP 1 – ONE WORD

  • cut
  • cost
  • hit
  • hurt
  • let
  • put
  • shut

Group two- two words

GROUP 2 – TWO WORDS

  • WITH ‘T’

    – build/built
    – dream/dreamt
    – get/got
    – keep/kept
    – lend/lent
    – shoot/shot
    – send/sent
    – sit/sat
    – sleep/slept
    – spell/spelt
    – spend/spent

  • WITH ‘GHT’

    – bring/brought
    – buy/bought
    – catch/caught
    – fight/fought
    – teach/taught
    – think/thought

  • WITH ‘D’

    – find/found
    – have/had
    – hear/heard
    – hold/held
    – make/made
    – pay/paid
    – read/read
    – say/said
    – stand/stood
    – tell/ told

  • SAME FORM FOR INFINITIVE AND PAST PARTICIPLE

    – become/became
    – come/came
    – run/ran

English Irregular Verbs - Group 3.png
GROUP 3 – THREE WORDS

  • WITH ‘EN’

    – be/was-were/been
    – beat/beat/beaten
    – bite/bit/bitten
    – break/broke/broken
    – choose/chose/chosen
    – drive/drove/driven
    – eat/ate/eaten
    – forget/forgot/forgotten
    – give/gave/given
    – hide/hid/hidden
    – ride/rode/ridden
    – rise/rose/risen
    – see/saw/seen
    – speak/spoke/spoken
    – steal/stole/stolen
    – take/took/taken
    – wake/woke/woken
    – write/wrote/written 
  • WITH ‘E’ – ‘WN’

    – blow/blew/blown
    – draw/drew/drawn
    – fly/flew/flown
    – grow/grew/grown
    – know/knew/known
    – show/showed/shown
    – throw/threw/thrown 
  • WITH ‘I’- ‘A’- ‘U’

    – begin/began/begun
    – drink/drank/drunk
    – ring/rang/rung
    – sing/sang/sung
    – swim/swam/swum

I’ll upload soon some quizzes on this topic. 😉

Difference between SUIT and FIT

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30-11-2015-09-20-05

 

You can download this mind map (IMX file) here: Biggerplate

I don’t know why but I couldn’t upload the image like I usually do. That’s why it results so small and you can’t get the full-size version by clicking on it :-(. I’ll upload it on Facebook, so if you want to take a look, click on this link: Mind Maps .

Collocations with ‘journey’

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I made this mind map because students often confuse these collocations. In this way, I hope it will be easier for you to remember the most common verbs you can use with this word.

Collocations with 'journey'

Download the pdf version of this mind map: Verbs + journey or the imx file available on Biggerplate.

These are the most common collocations with ‘journey’ + adjective or adjective + ‘journey’:

collocations with journey 2

You can download this mind map (imx file) on Biggerplate.

Example sentences from the web with some of these collocations:

  • The train journey, which I’ve taken from Pyongyang to the border, takes about five hours.
  • In the evening, five days after leaving Irkutsk, the train arrived in the Russian-administered city of Harbin. Here my grandfather decided to end his long railway journey.
  • Rebecca was exhausted, jet-lagged, hot, still shaking from the hour-long bumper car journey from the airport.
  • The Yellow River’s epic journey across northern China is a prism through which to see the country’s unfolding water crisis.
  • I traded in my luxury car and briefcase for a pair of walking shoes and a backpack and started a cross-country journey from Times Square.
  • It was the worst possible scenario on the best of all trips: a sentimental journey into the finest elk country in the West.
  • I chose not to call him to wish him a safe journey.
  • In a long, hazardous journey west, G. reached Portugal in mid-1941, and later went to London.
  • Achieving a representative form of government has been a long and tortuous journey, and the search for equity and justice has been an ongoing attempt to find or fashion a world that recognizes and respects all of those who live in it.

Do you know the difference between “to shout to somebody” and “to shout at somebody”?

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Difference_between_shout_to_and_shout_at
TO SHOUT AT (somebody) => When you are angry.
TO SHOUT TO (somebody) => When you want  people to hear you.

Example sentences:

  • Look, I am not some college student you can shout at.
  • He shouted to me from the other side of the street.

If you want you can download this mind map as imx file here: Biggerplate.

Different ways of saying “I like it”

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  • Different_ways_of_saying__I_like_it_I’m really into it.
    This means you’re interested in an activity or a subject.
    Ex. I’m really into gardening, but these squirrels keep messing with my tomatoes.
  • I’m fond of it.
    This means you have liked something for a long time or may have an emotional attachment with something.
    Ex. He is fond of this kind of music.
  • I’m keen on it.
    This just means that you’re interested in something and you want to learn more about it.
    Ex. I’m keen on learning English.
  • I’m mad about it.
    I love doing something and I do it a lot.
    Ex. It’s a real tragedy, I love this woman, I’m mad about her.
  • I’m crazy about it.
    This is the same as “I’m mad about it”.
    Ex. Finnish women are crazy about cars.
  • I can’t get enough of …
    This means that I love doing it and I don’t want to stop.
    Ex. Yeah, I can’t get enough of new wave.
  • I have got a soft spot for …
    You like someone a little more than other people.
    Ex. No, don’t tell me you’ve got a soft spot for this guy.
  • I fancy him/her
    You think that he/she is attractive, good looking.
    Ex. I mean, she may fancy him, but she’d never act on it.
  • It appeals to me.
    It sounds/ looks great. I like the idea of it.
    Ex. In his report, Mr Szejna has opted for a wide approach, which appeals to me.
  • It goes down well. (With people)
    This means that other people like something that you do.
    Ex. The presentation went down really well with the class.
  • It’s to my liking.
    A very formal way to sai “I like it”.
    Ex. The colour of the paint is just to my liking!
  • I’m partial to it.
    It means that I like to eat or drink something, maybe too much.
    Ex. I like all the food here, but I’m particularly partial to the fried chicken.
  • I’m attached to it/you/him/her/them.
    I like it a lot, and if I lost it, I would be sad.
    Ex. Giovanna, I admit that I’m very attached to you.
  • I’m addicted to …
    It means that I like it so much that I can’t stop doing it.
    She looks nice enough, but she lies on her taxes and she’s addicted to painkillers.
  • I have grown to like …
    I didn’t like it at first, but now I do.
    Ex. I’ve grown to like the music of Radiohead.
  • I am passionate about it.
    This means I’m really interested and excited about it.
    Ex. Julia runs the selection committee, and she’s very passionate about the candidates.

You can download this mind map on Biggerplate.

Ways of saying “goodbye” in English

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Informal_goodbyes

INFORMAL GOODBYES

  • Bye! => very common way to say goodbye.
  • Bye bye! => it sounds very kiddish (more for kids).
  • Later! => Very friendly and casual way, more for men. Ex. “Later bro!”, “Later man”.
  • See you later / soon => Very casual and relaxed goodbye. It can be used to indicate that you want to or plan to meet with the person again soon. If you use “ya” instead of “you”, this become even more casual.
  • Talk to you later
  • I’ve got to get going / I must be going => This is used in casual situations when you want to escape the conversation quickly and you don’t want to go through a longer or more sentimental goodbye.
  • Take it easy => It’s now less used than in the past. It is casual and it means “take care”.
  • I’m off
  • Have a good one => Similar to “have a nice / good day”, but it sounds really casual.
  • So long! => It’s used in some news headlines, but not so common between people.
  • Alright => Very casual way.

Formal_and_business_goodbyes

FORMAL AND BUSINESS GOODBYES

  • Goodbye!
  • Have a nice day / have a good day! => For example, you buy something in a shop after you have paid the cashier would tell you “Have a nice day”.
  • I look forward to our next meeting
  • Take care! => it is a little formal and you use it with your close relatives and other people you are close too. You might use this in an email or written letter.
  • It was nice to see you again / It was nice seeing you.
  • Good night!  => Notice that “good afternoon”, “good morning” and “good evening” are greeting expressions and you can’t use them to say “goodbye”).
  • Farewell => it is more like a final goodbye. For example, someone is moving abroad and you are not going to see this person again. In this situation, you can use “farewell”.  It is the type of thing that two lovers in a movie might say if they’re never going to see each other again. So, you probably won’t use it often in daily life.

Slang_ways_of_saying_goodbye

SLANG WAYS OF SAYING “GOODBYE”

  • Later / laters / catch you later
  • Peace / peace out => it comes from the hip-hop music culture. It’s more of a hand gesture. It is a very casual way and it means that you wish the other person well.
  • I’m out / I’m out of here => You are really happy about going.
  • I gotta jet / I gotta take off / I gotta hit the road / I gotta head out => these are slang versions of “I have got to get going”. “Gotta” is an abbreviation of “got to”.
  • Catch ya later! => Variation for “See you later”. This is used very casually between friends or acquaintances.
  • Smell you later! => This is something you’ll hear kids say far more than adults! But grown-ups might occasionally be overheard saying this to a friend as a joke too. 

This is a video on this topic:

Mind maps download (imx file) available on Biggerplate.

Do you know the difference between “in time” and “on time”?

Published on by Anna1 Comment

On_time_vs_in_timeExample sentences from the web:

  • ON TIME
    – Today’s flight is on time. Departure is 10:30 am. (=the flight will leave on time, it’s on schedule to leave at 10:30 am)
    – Remember to be on time for work tomorrow or I will fire you! (=do not be late)
    – He starts a new job at the railway station tomorrow and he wants to be on time for work.     (= he doesn’t want to be late)
  • IN TIME
    – Will you be home in time for lunch? (= soon enough for lunch)
    – He was just in time for the last train. (= he was almost too late)
    – The plot to assassinate the president was discovered just in time.     (= they could find the hit man before it was too late, otherwise, the president would have been murdered)

Video on this topic:

Now you are ready to test your knowledge on this topic :-).

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TO END vs TO FINISH – Collocations in English

Published on by Anna2 Comments

To_end_vs_to_finishBased on: McCarthy, M. O’Dell, F. (2008), Collocations in use, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

TO END

  • To stop with a clear conclusion. We use it when there’s an important change.
    Example: World War II ended in 1945.
  • END can’t be followed by either the infinitive (to- form) or the -ing form.
    Example: Mark ended drying his hair. => This sentence isn’t correct!
    The correct sentence is: Mark finished drying his hair.

TO FINISH

  • To bring something to an end.
    Example: Are you sure you’ll finish your essay by Monday?
  • To eat, drink the last of something.
    Example: I’m sorry, I just finished the coffee.
  • It can be followed by the -ing form, but not by the infinitive.
    Example: They have finished to play. => This sentence is not correct!
    The correct sentence is: They have finished playing.

“Come” – Phrasal verbs

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Come_01

Conjugation of “TO COME“. (link)

EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB

COME ALONG => Arrive at a place
– Go now and I will come along later.
– He decided to give the money to the first stranger who came along.
– Even if another job comes along this summer, I won’t take it.

COME OUT => Disappear or become less strong (of dirt or colour on clothing/material)
– We scrubbed the carpet with soap but the stains still wouldn’t come out.
– Let your dress soak overnight and the stain will probably come out.

COME OUT => Become public knowledge after it has been kept secret (of the truth)
– The truth is beginning to come out about what happened.
– The news of her death came out last week.

COME OUT OF => Leave after a period in a place (of hospital/prison)
– After three years, she came out of the coma.
– Mandela came out of prison after 27 years of captivity.
– The criminal came out of the house with arms raised.

COME OUT => Be given to people (of results or information)
– When do your exam results come out?
– Elections were held in Albania on 2 July and the results came out on 2 September.

COME APART => Separate into pieces
– It came apart when I tried to lift it off the floor and I had to glue it back together.
– The artery that is bringing blood to your brain, it’s coming apart.
– The doll just came apart when touched.

COME AROUND/ROUND => Become conscious again
– The unconscious patient finally came around.
– My sister was with me when I came round after the operation.

Here you can download the mind map (imx file).


Come2

EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB

COME ABOUT => Happen, especially something that is not planned
– How did such a mess come about, anyway?
– How did this quarrel come about?
– I truly believe that the integration of the European Union cannot come about if we do not proceed rapidly to unify rules relating to justice.

COME OFF => Happen successfully, or as planned
– I was surprised when the plan came off so easily.
– To everybody’s astonishment, the scheme came off.
– She didn’t come off well in that interview.

COME UP => Mentioned or discussed
– Your name came up in conversation.
–  If the subject of Nobel Prizes comes up, maybe you could drop something about my nomination.

COME UP => Happened unexpectedly, usually a problem or difficult situation
– I’ll be late home tonight because something’s come up at work has to be ready for tomorrow morning.
– I’m sorry, but something came up at home and I couldn’t finish my homework.
– I’m the one who promised to take her to the theater, but then something came up.

COME UP=> Become available
– And when the PE vacancy came up, she suggested Jason.
– Now, there had been some rumors that if a vacancy came up on the Supreme Court, that LBJ might appoint me.
– A full-time opening came up, and Jack gave the job to his son.

 

Here you can download this mind map (imx file).

Come_03

EXAMPLES FROM THE WEB

COME UP AGAINST => Encountered or have to deal with (a difficult situation)
– The negotiations came up against stumbling blocks on several points.
– I’ve never come up against anything I can’t handle.
– Two years ago, the Amsterdam Council already came up against this problem and did not manage to solve it.

COME TO => Make (a decision about something)
– I’ve got to come to a decision.
– Everybody in the school comes to that conclusion?
– In 1992, the French came to a decision on the basis of spurious information.

COME ACROSS => Discover (or met) by chance
–  I came across my old school reports when I was clearing out my desk.
– Recently, I’ve come across some useful information.
– He’s the most brilliant student I’ve come across.

COME DOWN TO => Depend mostly on or be influenced most by
– I guess in the end my decision will come down to what my professor recommends.
– It all comes down to a question of who tries hardest.

Here you can download this mind map (imx file).