offer

'Offer' is a very useful word. It can be a noun or verb.

As a verb:

Someone can offer you a job.
If you don't want to take the job, you reject their offer or (more informally) turn it down.

Someone can offer you some money. This might be for you to keep or to pay back.

Someone can offer to help you.

As a noun you can will often see it used in written advertisements or stuck on shop windows when there is a sale or special price for something
eg. 'This week's special offer' or 'This offer is for a limited period only' 

If you buy a car you often make an offer to the seller. This is how much you suggest you want to pay for it.
If you increase your offer a little to the maximum you want to pay, this is your final offer. 

dodgy

'Dodgy' is an informal adjective that you can use to describe a person or a thing.

Describing something, it can mean 'risky' or 'dangerous' eg That electrical wiring looks a bit dodgy. I think it needs to be checked by an electrician before someone hurts themselves.
It can also mean 'unreliable' eg The tax inspector questioned what he regarded as dodgy accounts.

Also if you have been having problems with your stomach or digestion eg feeling a bit sick and needing to be careful what you eat, you can say you have a dodgy stomach (or tummy). 

A dodgy person can be someone who might be dishonest eg I didn't want to buy the car from him because he looked rather dodgy.  
 

faff

'Faff' is an informal word in British English. It is normally spoken or used in very informal writing eg texting on a phone.

Most commonly it is used as the phrasal verb 'faff about'.

If you faff about you are not using your time effectively eg 'He spent half the morning faffing about trying to decide which clothes to wear.'

When someone faffs about, it can be quite annoying for other people because the behaviour can be seen as indecisive or wasting time eg 'My boss is useless. She's always faffing about and never gets any proper work done.   

'Faff' can also be used as a noun. It refers to something that is irritatingly and perhaps unnecessarily complicated or tiresome eg 'Getting my visa was such a faff'

Sometimes 'faffer' is used to describe someone who faffs and you might also hear 'faffy' used as an adjective eg 'Sounds like a really faffy thing to do.'

time

You probably already know 'What time is it?' but 'time' can also be used in many expressions. Do you know these? From time to time

• On time
• Make time for
• For the time being
• Pass the time
• Time flies

 Here are some examples of how to use them:

• I quite like going swimming. I go to the local pool from time to time.
  (We use it for something we do occasionally but not regularly.)
• The bus was on time.
  (The bus arrived at the correct time.)
• When you have a busy job, it is important to make time for your friends and family.
  (You make sure you have time for something.)
• I am happy to stay in the accommodation for the time being.
  (It is OK for the moment but I will change it when I can.)
• We passed the time window-shopping at the airport.
  (In this case, your plane was delayed and you needed to do something with the extra time you had before your flight.)
• Time flies when you are enjoying yourself.
  Yesterday the time flew by.
  (If time flies, you feel the time passes quickly, usually because you are busy doing something.)

Time is also a verb:

• The Wimbledon champion timed the shot beautifully.

key

You normally need a key to open your front door or to lock a suitcase.

It can also be a solution to something:
eg Trusting your partner is the key to a good relationship

 

As an adjective 'key' has other useful meanings:

'Key' can mean 'most important'

eg  The key thing to remember is......
      The key person in the company is the Finance Director

Other words and expressions including 'key':

'Low key'  If something is done in a low-key way it is done relatively quietly and without much fuss. eg The celebration was surpisingly low key.

'Keynote'  A keynote speaker is often the central or most important speaker at a conference or event. The speaker is often well-known and respected by the audience. A keynote speech or address is typically covers the main themes of a conference. 

'keyed up'  Someone who is keyed up is excited and perhaps nervous eg The athlete was so keyed up about running in the Olympic final, she couldn't sleep well.     

crush

Crush

If you crush something, you destroy or damage it, usually by squeezing very strongly.

Lets look at some examples:

He crushed his fingers in the machinery and needed medical attention.

The front of the car was crushed in the accident.

The recipe said to crush the nuts into small pieces before adding them to the other ingredients

 

Defeats can be crushing if they are very heavy eg The ruling party suffered a crushing defeat at the election

 

Emotionally one can be crushed: He was crushed when he heard the news that his best friend had died.

 

As a noun 'crush' can mean an immature passion for someone eg When she was 14, she had a crush on the lead singer of the band.     

fuss

'Fuss' is an interesting word. It can be a noun and a verb, and can be made into an adjective and adverb. In general it is connected with paying a lot of attention to someone or something and sometimes having strong feelings about it. Usually it has a negative meaning but this depends on the situation.

Examples with a negative meaning include:

What was all the fuss about?
He kicked up a fuss over the late delivery of his order. (He probably got a bit angry with the delivery company)
Mary always gets into a fuss when she gets stressed.

In Britain we have the expression 'fusspot'. A fusspot is someone who is always finding problems with things.

Sometimes 'fuss' can be used positively:

I love making a fuss of my grandchildren when they come to visit.

If you are a 'fussy' person, you have particular likes and dislikes. A fussy eater may not like many kinds of food and be difficult to cook for.

Some examples:

She is much fussier than Tom.
He was the fussiest customer we've ever had. He didn't like the starter, main course or dessert!

You can use the negative to say you don't mind something:

'Do you want to go out or stay in and watch TV?'
'I'm not fussy...either is OK ' or 'I'm not fussed'

Rooms in a house can be fussy if there are too many designs,details or too much decoration.

Using 'fuss over' as a verb you can say:

Her ill mother didn't want to be fussed over. She just wanted to be left in peace.

order

Order

This word is really useful in a restaurant.

The waiter might say 'Are you ready to order'. He is aking if you have decided what to eat.

You can buy something by ordering it eg I've ordered two books from that new website.

You can also 'place an order' for something eg We placed an order with your company 3 weeks ago but we are still waiting for the delivery.  

A government minister can order an inquiry into a scandal or some mismanagement.

If you 'order someone about', you talk to them as if you are in a superior position. Naturally, people don't like it eg I hate the way he tries to order me about. 

There are many other expressions with 'order'

• A machine can be 'out of order'. This means it isn't working eg The coffee machine is out of order.
• If something is 'in order' it is arranged properly and ready to be inspected eg All his documents were in order.

place

Place

'Place' is quite a common English word and like many other words can be used as a noun and a verb.

Let's start with the verb

The general meaning is to put something somewhere eg

Can you place the tray on the table? 
He placed his hands on her shoulders

You can also place a bet if you want to gamble: 'I placed a £20 bet on Fastboy, the winner of last year's race'

'Place' can also be used when ordering something from a company/organisation eg I want to place an order for 20 computers. 

As a noun 'place' can refer to a town, an area or an organisation.

Oxford is a great place to live....I love walking past all the old colleges.
Do you want to come back to my place (my home) for a drink?
I couldn't find a parking place anywhere!
I sent my cv to loads of places but no-one replied!

Expressions

If something(s) is 'all over the place' it means it is untidy eg After the strong wind her hair was all over the place. Or: Cups were left all over the place.

'In the first place' can be used to introduce an important reason or point.
Eg I have several complaints about your customer service. In the first place it took me 3 weeks to get a reply to my phone call.  

The expression 'in place of' can be used to say something has been replaced by another eg Because of the bad weather we're going to visit a museum in place of the hill walking. 

rush

Rush

Perhaps you have heard of the rush-hour. This is the busy time in the morning and late afternoon when people drive to and from work.

'Rush' often has the meaning of moving quickly and not having enough time.

If you are too busy to read this, you might be in a rush!

Imagine you only have a couple of hours to pack your suitcase, get to the airport and check in. You'll be doing everything at high speed with no time to waste and you'll definitely be in a rush.

As a verb you can rush someone to hospital eg He was badly injured so the ambulance rushed him to hospital.

People can rush to do something that may only be available for a limited time eg When the dates of the concert were announced, hundreds of people rushed to buy tickets. If a bank is having financial problems, people will often rush to withdraw their money.

When air or water moves quickly, it can be heard to rush eg In the cave we started to get frightened as we heard a rush of water coming closer. There was a rush of air through ther trees and we knew the weather was about to change. 

You can be rushed off your feet eg I was so busy today. I had to work in the office in the morning, do the food shopping at lunchtime, go to the hospital in the afternoon, cook a large meal in the evening and fix the computer before going to bed...I was rushed off my feet.   

spot

Spot

'Spot' has a number of meanings. One meaning is 'to notice something'. Let's look at some examples:

'I've just spotted that I need a visa for my business trip.'

'He spotted the police doing a speed check.'

'She spotted an old school friend walking into the shop.'

'I don't like him very much. Let's hope we spot him before he spots us!'

'Oh, I didn't spot all those spelling mistakes. I'll write it again' 

 

Spots also be small (usually red) marks on the skin. Teenagers especially can suffer from spots around the face. We can also use the word 'spotty'. Eg 'I felt sorry for him because his face was really spotty.'

With clothes the spots can be any colour. Eg 'His yellow spotted tie looked terrible with his green shirt.'

We also use the word 'spot' for liquids. Eg 'I realised it was starting to rain when I saw spots of rain on the car windscreen.'

 

If something is 'spotless' it is very very clean. For example: The house was spotless.

Also if you have a 'soft spot' for someone you specially like them. Eg 'I've always had a soft spot for my niece. Even if she is very naughty I find it easy to forgive her. Maybe she reminds me of myself when I was younger.'   

stick

Stick

'Stick' is a frequently used word. It can be a noun and a verb and is used in a lot of expressions.

As a noun 'stick' usually refers to a long thin piece of wood or other material.

If I am camping in the countryside where there are a lot of trees, I might collect some sticks to make a fire.

People who have difficulty walking might buy a walking stick to help them.

In a car with manual gears, you have to use a gear stick.

A nice expression is 'to get the wrong end of the stick'. It means you completely misunderstand a situation. For example: I'm sorry, I got the the wrong end of the stick and mistakenly thought she was complaining. 

As a verb 'stick' means has different meanings

To stop a bus in Britain sometimes you have to stick your hand out so the driver knows you want him/her to stop. A child might stick his tongue out at another child. Here the meaning is 'to put out'.

'Stick' is also used with the meaning of not being able to move.

For example:

• The car was stuck in the snow
• You need to stick some stamps on the letter

If you have a computer or maths problem that you cannot solve, you can say you are stuck
eg I'm stuck, can you help me?

If  you have honey on your fingers, your fingers will be sticky. 

Some interesting expressions are:

'stick up for someone' eg When my friend Peter was criticised unfairly I stuck up for him and said it wasn't his fault.

'stick one's neck out' eg The economist stuck his neck out and predicted that the price of oil would reach $200 per barrel before Christmas.
In this sentence the economist is not being cautious and is making a prediction that other economists are likely to disagree with.
 

tip

Tip

Have you heard of these uses of 'tip'?

I gave the taxi driver a £2 tip. (If you tip a waiter, taxi driver or hotel porter, you give them a little bit of money to thank them for good service.)

Just a moment, I'm trying to remember his name...oh it's on the tip of my tongue..I'm sure I'll remember his name in a minute or two. (The tip of your tongue is literally the end of your tongue but if a name of something is 'on the tip of one's tongue' you are are expecting to recall very soon a name that you know.

We use 'tip' to mean to mean the end point of something which is long. For example:

He cut his finger tip
The southern tip of Malaysia 

An iceberg also has a tip... it is the part that you can see above the water. We use it in an expression that means a small part of a bigger problem. Eg This situation is only the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure we'll hear much more about this scandal.  

A 'tip' can also be a small piece of advice Eg. I'll give you a tip: the best restaurants are outside the city centre.

As a verb 'tip' can mean to move something so that it is not horizontal Eg The teacher was not pleased when the schoolboys tipped their chairs against the wall.

If something 'tips over' it turns over completely Eg In the strong winds, the little boat tipped over.        
 

bright

The word 'bright' is an adjective

It has two main meanings: The first meaning is clever. The second is strong colour.

Let's look at some examples:

1.

She's very bright. She passed all her exams with top grades.

Well done. That's a very bright idea.

2.

Did you see his shirt? It's bright orange!

I need my sunglasses? The sun is very bright.

Look. That's the brightest star in the sky.

We can also use 'bright' to talk about a good future

For example: I'm sure you'll have a bright future in this company.

There are also some useful expressions with 'bright':

If I want someone to take an optimistic view of their bad holiday, I might say: 'Look on the bright side. At least the weather was good'

If you get up early in the morning, you can say you get up bright and early.

Don't forget that there is the verb 'brighten' which means to make brighter For example: These new curtains will brighten the room

drop by

Examples:

‘Drop by next time you are in the area.’

‘My neighbour dropped in for a chat.’

‘We’ll drop by on Tuesday morning.’

If someone drops by, they visit someone informally and often just for a short time. The visit is not planned in detail and is often spontaneous.

Tip:

Try to build up your knowledge of verbs that have more than one part. For example: drop by, put on, look forward to, come across. When you check their meanings in a dictionary, you need to check if they need an object and if they can be separated.

Examples:

She put her jacket on

He put on his jacket

He put it on

He’s looking forward to his holiday

I look forward to hearing from you

We’re looking forward to it

They came across it in an antique shop

Aviation English - a course for pilots and air-traffic controllers

Aviation English is a new course in English Language Communication Skills for pilots and air-traffic controllers.

The Student's Book is based on ICAO document 9835: Manual on the implementation of ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements.  Everything in it has been carefully designed to help you develop the very specific skills described in the ICAO level 4 Language Profile.

New resource site coming March 2008 - get a taste of what's to come, visit www.macmillanenglish.com/aviationenglish:

Key Features

• Helps students achieve and maintain level 4 according to the ICAO language requirements
• Can be used as a self-study package of with groups in a classroom 
• Divided into 12 Units in both the Student's Book and CD-ROM 
• Teacher's Book provides help for both aviation experts with little teaching experience and teachers with little experience of aviation.

For an intensive one-to-one course in Aviation English please contact a member of the Homelingua Team

Aviation English 

Email English - a course in writing Email in English

Email English is a course for students of general and business English who need to write effective and convincing emails. It develops  language skills and inspires confidence, as well as providing invaluable reference material. You can download some self-study worksheets from the publishers, MacMillan English

Key Features

• Ideal for both self-study and classroom use 
• Features a variety of exercise types and covers a wide range of topics to ensure full understanding and language development 
• The Phrase Bank consists of phrases organised functionally, which students can use to construct more effective emails in class and at work 
• Students deal with both formal and informal emails and learn to switch appropriately between the two mediums

Publisher: MacMillan
Level: Intermediate - Upper-Intermediate (B1-B2)

Email English

 

Individual Words

Look at the word 'airport'

Which part of the word (syllable) is more important 'air' or 'port'? 

Is it AIRport or airPORT?

The difference is important because if the wrong syllable is stressed your pronunciation will be difficult to understand. Also if every syllable is stressed, your English will not be natural. 

The answer is: AIRport (the first syllable is stressed)

In English a syllable is stressed by making it higher and louder. Try saying 'airport' in this way. Don't worry if it sounds strange! 

TIP

In English, most nouns and adjectives with two syllables have the first syllable stressed. Try saying the words below. 

Examples:

Oxford OXford
London LONdon
music MUsic
money MOney
water WAter

happy HAppy
quiet QUIet
busy BUsy
lovely LOVEly                        Can you think of more? 

When you learn a new word, try to check the word stress by looking in a dictionary. All good learners dictionaries should show the stressed syllable. You can also practise listening for word stress when you watch films!

Certificate in Advanced English (CAE)

CAE is an exam for advanced users of English. This exam is aimed at people who can use written and spoken English for most professional and social purposes. It is widely recognised for work or study purposes.

Is CAE for you?

Can you...

• use English in an effective way for business or study purposes?
• use English confidently and flexibly?
• produce well-structured, clear pieces of writing on complex issues?

If this describes your skills now, or describes the level of skills you are working towards, then CAE is the right exam for you.

What will CAE do for you?

Cambridge ESOL is a department of the world-famous and historic University of Cambridge. Attaining one of its certificates is an achievement and a reward in itself. However, there are many other benefits to taking CAE:

• a CAE certificate is valid for life, you never need to take the exam again
• CAE is truly international, recognised around the world for business and study purposes
• hundreds of employers, universities and government departments officially recognise CAE as a qualification in advanced English
• passing CAE gives you the confidence to take on the Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)
• CAE's 'Can Do' skills give you the confidence to use English in real situations.

'For a diplomat, the English Language is an indispensable tool in everyday work. The CAE courses helped me to correct the mistakes I used to make in conversation, to improve my writing skills and to enrich my vocabulary. I am now looking forward to taking the following step: the Certificate of Proficiency in English.' CAE candidate

What will taking CAE help you do?

CAE is at Level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) - an internationally recognised framework which Cambridge ESOL helped to develop. The framework uses six levels to describe language ability from A1 to C2. 'Can Do' statements have been used to describe these levels in terms of real skills with language.

For example, at C1 level, typical users can be expected to:

• read quickly enough to cope with an academic course
• understand complex opinions
• produce clear, well structured and detailed pieces of writing
• express themselves well with a good degree of fluency
• use English flexibly for social, professional and academic purposes.

Your preparation for CAE will give you these kinds of practical language skills.

What does CAE involve?

CAE has five papers:

Reading: 1 hour 15 minutes

You will need to understand texts from publications such as fiction and non-fiction books, journals, newspapers and magazines.

Writing 2 hours

You will have to show you can process information from different types of input to produce a number of different types of writing such as letters, articles, reports and reviews. The pieces of writing will be aimed at specific types of readers, each of about 250 words.

Use of English Paper 1 hour 30 minutes

Your use of English will be tested by tasks which show how well you can control your grammar and vocabulary.

Listening: 45 minutes

You need to show you can understand the meaning of a range of spoken material, including lectures, news programmes and public announcements.

Speaking: 15 minutes

You will take the Speaking test with another candidate or in groups of three, and you will be tested on your ability to take part in different types of interaction: with the examiner, with the other candidates and by yourself.

Business English Certificates (BEC)

Business English Certificates (BEC)

English for your future: Cambridge ESOL certificates for the world of work

The Business English Certificates (BEC) are internationally recognised qualifications that shows employers your skills for using English in the workplace.

BEC is an ideal English language exam if you are preparing for a career in business. There are three different levels of BEC: BEC Preliminary, BEC Vantage and BEC Higher.

Is BEC for you?

If your English language ability is sufficient for most simple communications, such as shopping, you may consider progressing towards BEC. You should have an understanding of, or interest in, the world of work, business and commerce.

Why take BEC?

More than ever, a good knowledge of English is needed to succeed in international business and commerce. If you can show you have relevant language skills, you'll have a great advantage in the jobs market and much greater flexibility if you want to work abroad.

BEC can help you show that you have learned English to an appropriate standard and can use it in a business context.

The BEC exams are aligned with Levels B1 to C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages — an internationally recognised framework which Cambridge ESOL helped to develop. The framework uses six levels to describe language ability, from A1 to C2. 'Can Do' statements have been used to describe these levels in terms of real skills with language, such as being able to write a report, or take a telephone message. This means that preparing for BEC will help you develop real-life skills and the confidence to use them.

BEC is also linked with the UK Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's National Standards for Literacy, within the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

'BEC has helped develop cross-cultural communication skills and overall development of the students. It has had an impact on confidence levels through international certification. It has also introduced unfamiliar situations and helped stimulate creative thinking and analysis'
Laura Cirello, Head Learning and Development, JP Morgan Treasury and Securities Services, Mumbai

Recognition

BEC is officially recognised by more than a thousand educational organisations, employers, ministries, government bodies and professional organisations throughout the world as a suitable qualification for business use.

Leading international companies such as Sony Ericsson, Shell, Vodafone, Bayer, Coca-Cola and HSBC have all recognised BEC in their offices around the world.