Wednesday, 12 July 2017

EF2/3 Common Idiomatic Uses of Prepositions

Common Idiomatic Uses of Prepositions

           
All prepositions are used as idioms. Dictionaries won’t help.
‘at’’in’- full definition, won’t be meaningful
phrasal verbs- very important

1.         Some friends dropped in on us last night.          visit without calling first,
come to a person’s house without planning first

2.         The plane took off at exactly ten o'clock.             left
                                   
3.         I came across an old friend on Fifth Avenue yesterday.          met without expecting to, found
                                   
4.         He is a man that everyone looks up to.    respects, admires, everyone wants to be like him
                                                                       
                                                           
6.         We waited until ten o'clock, but she never showed up.                        came, arrived, appeared                

7.         They set out at dawn on their camping trip.                    began, went, left
            She left China and set out on a new life in Canada.

            set up- arrange, organize
            set out- began

PHRASAL VERBS = verb + preposition
                                   
8.         The lawyer will draw up the contract tomorrow.              write
                                   
9.         In this code, each number stands for a letter of the alphabet.             represent
            x + y = z
            At the wedding, her uncle stood for her father who was in jail.
           
10.       Many students have dropped out of our class.               quit, withdrew
                                   
11.       No one knows how she managed to get away from the police.          escape          
                       
12.       I am sure that Jim made up that story.                                                     
           
13.       How did such a strange thing come about?       happen, occur
                                               
14.       The sounds of their voices gradually died away.           slowly faded, got quieter
                                   
15.       Zelda is into transcendental meditation as a means of relaxation.
                       
16.       I can't make out what she means in this telegram.        understand

17.       You have made out this cheque incorrectly.                                                     
18.       Did you take in the Rodin exhibit at the National Gallery last month?
           
19.       They are taking on more workers at that factory.            hiring, employing

20.       Last month, they had to lay off several hundred workers.        fire, Employment Insurance
                                   
21.       Our sales have fallen off recently. dropped, gone down, dropped off-huge reduction
                                               
22.       An usher stood at the door giving out programs.                                               
23.       The car turned over twice before landing in the lake.                          
24.       He will turn over all his property to his children.                                    
25.       As soon as the rain lets up, we will leave.                                              
26.       The effects of the drug will wear off in a few hours.
                                   
27.       You must put an end to such foolishness. stop
            Put an end to your fighting.
                                               
28.       Our apartment looks out on the UBC campus.   overlooks, has a view of
                                               
29.       They are trying to stir up trouble among the smaller nations.  cause trouble
            The little boy is always stirring up trouble with his sister.
           
30.       We were all taken in by his smooth manner of talking. tricked, believe the lie
            The politician is a smooth talker. He is a good liar.
            The used car salesman is a smooth talker.
            He is a smooth talker with the single women.

            The customer was taken in by the smooth salesman.

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