Blogia
Just Call Me Angel

PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH

I HAVE LIVED A THOUSAND YEARS

A COMMITTEE - TO COMMIT   MAIMED  GHASTLY  DRIZZLE  REMINISCED ABOUT

BRIMMING WITH  DISARRAY   UNMISTAKABLY  GRIM  TO WIND DOWN-UP

SCORCHING SUN   OVERWHELMING ODDS   SHRILL RADIO BROADCASTS 

GOD FORBID  TO STOOP  HEART-THROB  LACED WITH  IN HUSHED TONES

TO UNBOLT - REBOLT   PERCHED ON   TUCKED IN  THE DREAD OF  TO POKE

TO PEEP   SLIM - STURDY  TO CART AWAY  A STEEP FINE  TO PEER THROUGH

GLISTENING WHITE WINTER   DRAG ( the slow drag of the war ) GLOOM 

CLUMSILY ( to walk clumsily ) ENDEARMENTS  SPLASH ( the children splash all summer in the Danube )

TO LOOM ( the lovely hills loom in a blue haze towards the west )  WHIZZING AROUND ( trams whizzing around corners ) HERD ( herds of cattle)

Quaint

Quaint

 "Photographing in Colorado with Australian photographer Pete Dobre we drove from Aspen back into Ridgway in the late afternoon. I’d never been to Colorado before and was enamored with a sense of quaintness about the scenes and little surrounding towns. So different than the feel of my desert world. As we were driving in, this amazing sunset unfolded and we pulled over like photographers possessed and shot from the side of the road to catch this fleeting scene.

I’d never realized till later that for me, this particular shot captured the "feeling" of quaint that I was trying so hard to define. The little homes, nestled among the larger than life landscapes, fireplaces burning, farms bustling and life happening as the day was ending under a beautifully painted sky."

Valerie Millet

Landscape photographer, USA

 

Part of Speech:     adjective

Definition:     strange, odd

Synonyms:     bizarre, curious, droll, eccentric, erratic, fanciful, fantastic, freakish, freaky, funny, idiosyncratic, laughable, oddball, off the beaten track, offbeat, original, outlandish, peculiar, queer, singular, special, unusual, weird*, whimsical

Antonyms:     common, conventional, regular, usual

 

* = informal/non-formal usage

 

 

   
   

Cave in / in to

"Originally Young had intended for the A and B sides of the LP to be in reverse order, but was convinced by David Briggs to swap them at the last moment. Young has said that he later came to regret caving in".

Main Entry:    accede

Definition:     agree or consent


Synonyms:     accept, acquiesce, admit, allow, assent, be game for, cave in , comply, concede, concur, cooperate, cry uncle, endorse, enter into, fold, give the go-ahead, give the green light, go along with, grant, let, okay, permit, play ball, roll over and play dead, subscribe, throw in the towel, yield


Antonyms:     condemn, demur, denounce, denounce, deny, protest, refuse

 

CAVE IN TO


Main Entry:     fawn  

 
Definition:     ingratiate oneself to; serve

Synonyms:     abase, apple-polish, be at beck and call, be obsequious, be servile, blandish, bow, brownnose, buddy up, butter up, cajole, cater to, cave in to , cotton, court, cower, crawl, creep, cringe, crouch, curry favor, debase, defer, fall all over, fall on one's knees, flatter, grovel, honey up, invite, jolly, kneel, kowtow, lay it on, lick boots, make up to, massage*, oil, pander, pay court, play up to, scrape, slaver, snow*, stoop, stroke*, submit, toady, truckle, woo*, yield

Antonyms:     ignore

* = informal/non-formal usage

Phrasal Verb BACK

BACK AWAY = move in backward direction; retreat

They backed away from the boy wielding a knife not wanting to get stabbed.

BACK DOWN = stop defending yourself or your opinion

Christina never backs down. She loves to argue and usually wins.

BACK INTO = enter a parking space or hit something in reverse gear

He backed into the fire hydrant because he couldn’t see it in the rear view mirror.

BACK OFF = retreat; make space

You better back off a little if you want me to start serving this crowd again.

BACK OUT = A. go in reverse direction B. to not keep a promise or to not show up

A. She backed out of the garage carefully to avoid scratching the paint.
B. The band backed out of the concert but we got a refund for the tickets.

BACK UP = A. support B. copy C. move backwards, reverse

A. Good thing John was there to back up your story.
B. Back up your files onto a CD so you don’t lose them.
C. Could you back up a little so I can see the screen, please?  

Ojo :

C. sounds strange to me...I would say "move back a little", but back up?


"Back up" is  often used when talking about vehicles,one can "back out" of a parking place, for example. This means not only to "back up" but to also be exiting.And one can "back out" of a situation. ( Courtesy of Richard Chanel , from Brooklyn )

Preposition Combinations

I know these are not quite proficiency level, but I think it helps to read through them quickly until you come across one or two you were not so sure about

 

  • Verb - Preposition Combinations

 

Agree on (something)

We agree on that issue.

Agree with (a person)

I agree with you in that matter.

Approve of

Betty approves of exercising.

Arrive at OR in

They arrived in Tokyo last night.

 


Have you arrived at a decision?

Complain about

Please do not complain about the color.

Consent to

She consented to her daughter’s marriage.

Comment on

She commented on his haircut.

Consist of

Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

Depend on

I am depending on you to help me.

Laugh at

We laughed at his silly shirt.

Object to

Do you object to my smoking?

Succeed in

He succeeded in making everyone angry.

 

 

  • Some verb preposition combinations take two objects.



Compare… with OR to

Why compare me with ( OR to) my brother?

Excuse… for

I cannot excuse you for being late.

Prefer… to

She prefers juice to milk.

Remind… of

She reminded me of my appointment.

Thank… for

I thanked him for letting me use his bike.

  • Adjective - preposition combinations with verb "be."

 

Be afraid of

Jake is afraid of dogs.

Be accustomed to

I was accustomed to seeing her every day.

Be aware of

Are you aware of this problem?

Be bored with

Todd is bored with backgammon.

Be certain of

He cannot be certain of the date.

Be disappointed with

Susan was disappointed with her meal.

Be familiar with

Is Doctor Jones familiar with that new pill?

Be famous for

Michigan is famous for its Great Lakes.

Be frightened by

Don’t be frightened by the dog, he won’t bite.

Be happy with

The Smith’s are very happy with their new car.

Be in favor of

Are you in favor of abortion?

Be interested in

John is interested in anthropology.

Be opposed to

He is really opposed to buying a new car.

Be satisfied with

He is not satisfied with his new school.

Be surprised at (or) by

I was surprised by his behavior.

Be tired of

Maria is tired of working for a living.

Be worried about

Mark is very worried about his sick mother.



  • Prepositions in fixed phrases.



According to

According to the news, it will rain tonight.

Along with

Can you take this bottle along with these cans, to the recycle bin?

As well as

I enjoy physics as well as math.

Because of

Because of the strike, there will be no buses today.

By means of

The child entered the yard by means of an open gate.

By way of

John went to Paris by way of London.

In addition to

In addition to studying ballet full-time, Patricia works part-time.

In case of

In case of fire, break glass and pull alarm.

In consideration of

In consideration of all your hard work I would like to take you to dinner.

In contrast to (or) with

In contrast to last summer, this summer is quite cool.

In deference to

In deference to her age, we did not argue with her.

In hopes of

We came here in hopes of meeting the famous musician.

In lieu of

He gave an oral report in lieu of the written exam.

In pursuit of

The business is in pursuit of excellence.

In search of

They went into the cave in search of lost treasure.

In spite of

In spite of his good intentions, he did not study much or do well on the exam.

In the face of

In the face of a severe drought, conservation measures needed to be adopted.

In terms of

He was a good teacher in terms of getting his students to pass their exams.


Ojo a estas :

By means of
By way of
In lieu of
In terms of