Friday, January 21, 2011

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "throw"

These exercises are about using the verb ‘to throw ‘ combined with particles. Here are some of the most common:

to throw away’ means to get rid of something because you don’t need or want it any more.

* I’m going to throw away these old shoes. I can’t wear them any more.
* Throw away those old magazines. Everybody has read them.

to throw in’ means to add something extra when you are selling something.

* When I bought my car, they threw in free insurance.
* When you buy fruit and vegetables on the market, they often throw in a few extra.

to throw in’ a remark in a conversation means to suddenly say something without thinking about it.

* In the middle of dinner, he just threw in that he was leaving his job to travel the world.
* She just threw in some comment about how terrible a manager Nick was.

to throw yourself into’ means to do something with a lot of enthusiasm and energy.

* The children threw themselves into the project and got it finished very quickly.
* He loves his new job and has thrown himself into it with great enthusiasm.

to throw off’ means to free yourself from something.

* I’ve had this cold for ages now. I just can’t throw it off.
* He has never been able to throw off that young boy image.

to throw on’ means put on a piece of clothing quickly without much thought.

* I was in a hurry so I just threw on an old dress and coat.
* I’ll just throw on my coat and be with you in a moment.

to throw out’ means to reject a proposal or idea.

* The court didn’t have enough evidence so they threw the case out.
* After all the demonstrations and protests, parliament threw out the bill.

to throw someone out of’ means to force someone to leave a place.

* His bad behaviour was the reason he was thrown out of school.
* They were thrown out of the club because they had had too much to drink.

to throw together’ means to quickly make something without a lot of preparation.

* It was a very simple dinner. I just threw together a salad with things from the fridge.
* She’s very good at sewing. She just throws together a dress in an evening.

to throw up’ means to generate or produce new problems or ideas.

* It was a very good meeting. It threw up loads of new ideas.
* Our discussion has thrown up some very serious concerns about safety.

Exercises:
http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/throwphrasals/exercise1.html
http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/throwphrasals/exercise2.html
http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/throwphrasals/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "think"

These exercises are about using the verb ‘to think’ combined with particles:

to think ahead’ means to make plans or arrangements for the future.

* Just concentrate on today and try not to think too far ahead.
* We’re already thinking ahead to what will happen after the elections.

to think back’ means to look back over things that have happened.

* When I think back on what I did, I feel embarrassed.
* Think back to when I first lived here and what the house was like then.

to think of’ a fact or something that exists means you know it and can suggest it to someone else.

* I can’t think of any examples of something he has done well.
* Can you think of any reason I should do it? I’m not going to get paid.

to think of’ also means to consider the possibility of doing something.

* I’m thinking of going to Portugal for the holidays.
* He’s thinking of starting his own business.

to think out’ means to prepare or plan something fully before you start doing it.

* He obviously hadn’t thought it out properly before starting.
* It was very well thought out. He had obviously spent a lot of time on it.

to think over’ means to consider something carefully before deciding.

* We’ve got all the information we need. We’d like to think it over.
* I just needed a bit of time to think it over before I told him what I had decided.

to think through’ means to consider something carefully with all the possible consequences.

* It sounds like a good idea but we need to think it through to see if it will work.
* I haven’t had time to think it through at all. I don’t know what will happen.

to think up’ means to create something using your imagination.

* I don’t want to go to their party but I can’t think up an excuse.
* We’ll have to think up a very good reason why we didn’t make the deadline.

Exercises:


http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/thinkphrasals/exercise1.html
http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/thinkphrasals/exercise2.html
http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/thinkphrasals/exercise3.html

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Kandlerwirt in Oberbiberg



It is a lovely sunday as the sky is as blue as sapphire and the atmosphere is so clear that we can even see the mountains from far away.
It is somehow amazing to see blue sky without any cloud. So pristine!
Actually it has stop snowing since Christmas. Sometimes it snowed, but just for less than an hour and the snow melted away immediately.
I never feel comfortable stepping on muddy roads and puddles, (guess nobody will like it)I rather stay at home having a cup of coffee even I don't have to work sometimes.
I somehow feel relief to be able to dodge the chilling winter, however I miss the beautiful crystalised snow flakes at the same time.
Yes, I know my feelings contadict each other, but this is what I really feel.



We met Olli and his wife, Jule, also their 2 kids David (3 and a half yrs old)and Jonas (1 and a half) at Kandlerwirt at 13:15pm.
We were a bit late and the Casper family was already there when we arrived.
I like the Caspers very much, they are both friendly and keep laughing and smiling all the time.
Olli is hubby's old pal who spent most of their youthhood in boy scout's activities together.
They travelled through some European countries when they were 17 or 18.
Olli owns a computer company and isn't active anymore in boy scout group.

The food was palatable but I was too shy to snap them.
Oh yeah, thumbs up for the choices as well.
The restaurant is not a normal restaurant which provides certain kind of standard meals.
Since they rear their own livestock, you can get meals cooked with beef, veal, mutton, porks and etc.
I had 2 big pieces of tender juicy veal cutlets,while hubby voted for grilled mutton which looked really tempting. I was totally content with my food.
Olli went for grilled veal and Jule ordered Roulade.
Each of the meal came with a plate of fresh salad and a big portion of vege dumpling.
In Europe, seems like salad makes an excellent complement to any dish.
After a satisfying lunch, Jule was craving for dessert.
Hubby and I opted out since we were totally stuffed with our lunch.
Instead of cake, we ordered coffee.

For me, it was a luxurious weekend.
We dined out twice this week and cost us almost 70 Euro for 2 meals.
But since hubby never complaint about that, I will of course pretend to be alright with it. Haha!



After lunch, we took a walk around the small village.
The village is small, yet serene and peaceful.
I am sure those village kids will have a wonderful unforgettable childhood living here.
Sometimes I do think of living at the countryside and go for a very simply life.
But I dare not say that I will be satisfy with this kind of life.
No more dining out? (ok, not to exaggerate, maybe once or twice a month)I couldn't imagine.
I would like to keep my job, but I will definitely refuse to drive an hour car just to get to work.



It was a wonderful day, but I feel somehow down because my weekend is going to end now...
Monday Blue, argh..hate it!

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "talk"

These exercises are about using the verb ‘to talk ‘ combined with particles:

to talk at’ someone means to speak to someone without listening to them, there is no dialogue.

* She just talks at me. She never lets me say a word.
* He doesn’t talk to you, he just talks at you.

to talk round’ a problem or subject means that you avoid discussing the important point.

* I feel we didn’t get to the point, we talked around it for hours.
* She just talked round the problem but didn’t say anything of importance.

to talk back’ means to reply rudely instead of being polite.

* He was very polite and didn’t talk back to his parents.
* Her children are not at all well brought up. They talk back to everyone.

to talk down’ means to reduce the importance of something, make something smaller than it is.

* He is forever talking me down and making me feel useless.
* They talked down the success of our project as they were very jealous.

to talk down to’ someone is to speak to someone as if they were inferior to you.

* She talked down to me as if I was a child.
* The teacher talks down to her students as if they were idiots.

to talk someone into’ means to persuade someone to do something.

* He doesn’t want to do it but I think I can talk him into it.
* She talked me into going with her even though I didn’t want to.

to talk someone out of’ means to persuade someone not to do something.

* I talked her out of buying that car. She doesn’t need to spend so much money.
* I wanted to do a parachute jump but he talked me out of it saying it was dangerous.

to talk over’ means to discuss a problem or situation before making a decision.

* I want to talk things over with Freddie first. He always gives good advice.
* Can we talk it over? I think you are being too hasty.

to talk through’ means to help someone to understand something by explaining the details.

* Can you talk me through the procedure? I’m not sure what I have to do.
* I’ll talk you through it step by step as you do it.

to talk up’ means to speak enthusiastically about something so that it appears more interesting.

* When you demonstrate the products, talk up the advantages of buying them.
* I’m sure he talked up my skills to his boss to make him sure he hired me.

Exercises:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/talkphrasals/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/talkphrasals/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/talkphrasals/exercise3.html

Monday, January 3, 2011

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "take" part 4

Here is the final part of our look at some common expressions using the verb ‘to take ‘ combined with particles:

to take up’ means to start doing a hobby or activity.

* Since he retired, he’s taken up golf.
* I’m thinking of taking up yoga. It will help me relax.

to take up’ also means to take a particular quantity of space or time.

* This sofa is too big. It takes up too much space.
* I’m going to stop going to the classes. They take up too much time.

to take up’ can also mean to remove something which is fixed down to a surface.

* We’re taking up the tiles and replacing them with a new ones.
* We are going to take up the old floor in the kitchen and put in a wooden one.

to take up’ also means to accept an offer or opportunity.

* I’m going to take up your offer of a lift. Can you pick me up at seven?
* He’s going to take up that job offer and move to the office in London.

to take up’ means to continue an activity that had been interrupted.

* Jenny came back and took up the story where she had left off.
* When Pete had to leave, I took up the story where he had finished.

to take up’ also means to shorten a piece of clothing.

* I’m so short that when I buy jeans, I always have to take them up.
* I had to take the sleeves up a couple of inches as my arms are not as long as yours.

to take someone up on something’ means to accept an offer someone has made.

* Bill offered me a ride home so I took him up on it.
* I don’t know whether to take my parents up on their offer of a loan to buy my car.

to take someone up on something’ can also mean to ask for an explanation of what they have said or done.

* You should have taken him up on it. You can’t let him say things like that.
* I took her up on what she said because I didn’t think it was true.

to take up with someone’ means to start a relationship with someone.

* She’s taken up with Johnny who is almost 5 years older than her.
* He took up with a rough gang of boys who lived just down the street.

to take something upon yourself’ means to decide to do something without asking first.

* She took it upon herself. If she had asked me, I’d have done it.
* Harry has taken it upon himself to organise everything without talking to us first.

Exercises:


http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals4/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals4/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals4/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "take" part 3

Here is the third part of our look at some common expressions using the verb ‘to take ‘ combined with particles:

to take someone out’ means to spend time with them at the restaurant or cinema for example.

* He took me out on Friday night to a lovely restaurant.
* I took the children out for the day to the beach.

to take out’ money means to withdraw it from your bank account.

* I went to the cash machine and took out $100 this morning.
* He took out $1000 from his savings account to pay for his car.

to take out on’ If you take something out on someone it means that you are unpleasant to someone because you are angry or upset.

* Don’t take your anger out on me. It’s not my fault.
* When he’s fed up, he takes his anger out on his family.

to take over’ means to gain control of another company by buying it.

* All the high street shops have been taken over by the large chains stores.
* My parent’s factory was taken over by a large group that wanted production locally.

to take over’ a job or responsibility means you start doing it and replace the previous person who was doing it.

* I’ve taken over from Fiona. She left at the end of last month.
* Rafael takes over as Managing Director in June when Pierre retires.

to take over’ also means to become more important or successful than something else.

* It has now taken over as our biggest selling product.
* Less people buy CDs now. Buying on the internet has taken over as the way to buy music.

to take round’ means to take someone to a place and show them it.

* When I arrived, she took me round and introduced me to everyone.
* She took me round the house and showed me all the changes they had made.

to take through’ means to explain something to someone so they understand how to do it.

* He took me through the registration process and explained it all.
* I took Jim through the schedule and explained how it works.

to take to’ means to begin to like something.

* I’ve really taken to my French class. I enjoy it very much.
* I didn’t think she’d take to it but she seems to love it.

Exercises:


http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals3/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals3/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals3/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "take" part 2

Now let’s continue looking at some common expressions using the verb ‘to take ‘ combined with particles:

to take in’ means to let someone stay in your house as a guest.

* She is taking in paying guests to help pay for her house.
* She took in a lodger to help pay the mortgage.

to take in’ also means to deceive someone, to make someone believe something that is not true.

* I was completely taken in by him. I believed everything he said.
* Don’t be taken in by all the publicity. It’s a very expensive product.

to take in’ also means to understand, comprehend a situation.

* I just couldn’t take in what he was saying. It didn’t make sense.
* He was in shock and couldn’t take in what people were saying to him.

to take in’ also means to take something for repair.

* I took my car in this morning for a service.
* I’ll take it in and get it cleaned.

to take off’ means to remove something, especially clothes.

* I had to take my coat off when the sun came out, it was so warm.
* I wish he would take off his sunglasses so we can see his eyes.

to take off’ is also to be away from work for holidays or illness.

* He has never taken a day off in twenty years. He’s our best employee.
* I’m going to take a couple of days off to visit my parents.

to take off’ is also when a plane leaves the ground.

* The plane was over half an hour late taking off but we arrived on time.
* I hate taking off. I can’t see how the plane can get off the ground.

to take on’ means to begin to employ someone.

* Sophie has just been taken on with a permanent contract.
* We need to take on a couple of extra sales people as business is growing very fast.

to take on’ also means to accept a responsibility or a work.

* We’ve taken on too much work. We just don’t have enough staff to do it.
* We can’t take on any more new clients. We have too many already.

to take out’ means to remove something from a particular place.

* He took the picture out of the frame and gave it to me.
* She had to take everything out of her handbag before she found her papers.

Exercises:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals2/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals2/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals2/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "take" part 1

Now let’s begin looking at some common expressions using the verb ‘to take ‘ combined with particles:

to take after’ means to resemble a parent or family member.

* She’s blond with blue eyes. She takes after her father.
* He is good at maths. He doesn’t take after me!

to take along’ means you take someone or something with you when you go somewhere.

* I took Sue along to the party. She really enjoyed it.
* Shall we take a bottle along? That is always appreciated.

to take apart’ means to separate something into the parts it is made up of.

* He took the machine apart and couldn’t reassemble it.
* The machine needs taking apart and cleaning and oiling then it’ll work.

to take aside’ means to isolate a person from the rest of a group to talk to them privately.

* After the meeting, he took me aside and asked me what I really thought.
* She took Danny aside and explained what she wanted him to do.

to take away’ means to remove something from its place and put it elsewhere.

* Someone had cleaned the room and taken away all the dirty dishes.
* Take that away! I don’t want it in here.

to take away’ also means to remove something and stop them having it again.

* His passport was taken away so he can’t leave the country.
* Security was very strict in the airport, they even took away my bottle of water!

to take back’ means to return something you have bought or borrowed.

* When I got home I discovered it didn’t work so I took it back to the shop.
* When you’ve finished using it, can you take it back to the kitchen and put it away, please?

to take down’ means to go to a lower level or place with something.

* I took them down to the beach for the day as the weather was beautiful.
* Can you take that down, please? It shouldn’t be up here in your bedroom.

to take down’ also means to remove something that is attached to a wall or other object.

* When I went into the sitting room, I noticed that he had taken down all the pictures.
* Now the election is over, all the posters have been taken down.

Exercises:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals1/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/takephrasals1/exercise2.html