Language Review
A. Study the prepositions used after some verbs, adjectives and nouns. Use a dictionary to understand their meanings.
-
accompanied by (adj)
ahead of (prep)
according to (prep)
aim at (v)
account for (v)
In answer to (n)
accuse sb of (v)
apply to sb for sth (v)
accustomed to (adj)
approve of (v)
acquainted with (adj)
argue with sb about sth (v)
addicted to (adj)
arrive at (a small place) (v)
adequate for (adj)
ask for (v) (but: ask sb a question)
advice on (n)
assure sb of (v)
agree to/on smth (v)
attached to (adj)
agree with sb (v)
(un)aware of (adj)
B. Use the phrases of Exercise A in the situation of your own.
C. Study the following verbal phrases and their synonymous expressions (or words). Make as many sentences as you can with the verbal phrases.
-
Take
take away
=
1) to remove, 2) to lead sb to another place
take back
=
1) to withdraw, 2) to remind of the past
take for
=
to identify wrongly
take in
=
1) to give accommodation, 2) to fully understand
take on
=
1) to undertake work or responsibility, 2) to employ
take out
=
1) to remove; extract, 2) to clean
take over
=
1) to gain control of sth, 2) to spend time on
take up
=
1) to begin a job, 2) to fill time/ space
be taken aback
=
to be strongly surprised
be taken in
=
to be deceived
Acquiring More Skills
Expressing Agreement and Disagreement
There are different ways to express agreement. Strong agreement can be expressed by the following:
I totally agree.
I agree entirely.
I quite agree.
You are perfectly right.
I couldn’t agree more.
Precisely.
Exactly.
Absolutely.
Mild agreement can be expressed in the following way:
You may be right there.
That’s true.
Tentative agreement:
Maybe you are right
Perhaps.
I tend to agree.
I suppose so.
To express mild disagreement you may use the following:
That’s not really how I see it.
I don’t really agree/think so.
I can’t really go along with you there.
I think you are mistaken.
I can’t see that I’m afraid.
I’m afraid I can’t agree with you there.
Strong disagreement can be expressed by the following:
I don’t agree with you at all.
I’m sorry, but that’s out of the question.
I totally disagree.
I think you are wrong.
You are quite wrong about that.
Of course not.
That’s absurd.
That’s ridiculous.
Nonsense!
It’s out of the question.
No way!
Note: Be careful with That’s absurd and That’s ridiculous. These expressions are very strong and can be offensive.
A. Match each statement to an appropriate reaction above to express agreement.
And another thing: you should always be looking at the opinions of both sides.
Apart from that, if you try to control our working time, we’ll lose our creativity.
Besides that, the prizes help us to attract and keep the best workers.
Even so, I agree that some limits should be set.
Not only do we have this problem, but it also sets a very bad example to the other departments.
On the one hand, we have to think of the needs of each department. On the other hand, we have to think of the company as a whole.
In addition, our biggest current project looks as though it won’t be accomplished at all.
What’s more, they say they don’t have a pleasant work environment.
B. Match the statements 1–8 from Exercise A with possible reactions expressing disagreement.
C. Work in groups of 3 or 4 or in pairs. One person should express his/her point of view on some problem, others should agree or disagree with his/her point of view. Take turns and compare your results with others.