Expressing Your Purpose

Refer to definitions and collocations in this handout to answer the quiz.

Definitions and examples are from: http://learnersdictionary.com/definition/ESL
Collocations come from: http://oxforddictionary.so8848.com/

Expression
Aim at

Definition and examples

to have a specified goal or purpose
[no object]
If you want to be successful, you have to aim high. [=you have to
be ambitious]
often + at
The movie aims at comedy [=the movie is intended to be a comedy],
but it really isn't very funny.
a political movement that aims at promoting world peace

Collocations with
attention

VERB + ATTENTION devote, direct, give (sb/sth),

pay, turn How many times do I have to ask you to pay
attention? He had a cup of tea and then turned his
attention to the report. | get, have, receive Can I
have your attention, please? These poems have
received a lot of critical attention. | attract, call,
capture, catch, command, compel, draw, excite,
grab I tried to attract the waiter's attention. Wherever
he goes, he commands attention. She doesn't like to
draw attention to her illness. | deflect, distract,
divert, draw The government is trying to divert
attention away from the economy. | hold, keep,
rivet There was something in the way he spoke that
riveted her attention. | concentrate, confine,
focus In this chapter we shall confine our attention to
non-renewable energy sources. | refocus, transfer,
turn The firm decided to refocus its attention back onto
its traditional strengths and expertise. | deserve,
need, require a matter requiring urgent attention |
jostle for, vie for dozens of concerns jostling for your
attention She was surrounded by men all vying for her
attention. | repay an interesting essay that repays

Collocations with
conclusion

Deal with (someone or

something)

close attention | bring sth to My boss was grateful that

I had brought the matter to his attention. | come to |
avoid, escape Her primary aim was to avoid the
attentions of the newspapers
VERB + CONCLUSION arrive at, come to, draw,
reach I can't draw any conclusions from what she
said. | jump to, leap to We don't want to jump to the
wrong conclusion. Don't go jumping to conclusions
before you know the facts. | lead to, point to It all
points to the conclusion that nobody knew what was
going on.
1: to be about (something) : to have (something) as a subject
The book deals with World War II.
Her speech dealt with health care and the nation's economy.
The film deals with some serious issues.
2 : to make business agreements with (someone)
He deals fairly with all his customers.
Their salespeople are very easy to deal with.
3 : to do something about (a person or thing that causes a problem
or difficult situation)
The government dealt harshly with the rebels.
I'll deal with you later.
Who's going to deal with this mess?

4 : to accept or try to accept (something that is true and cannot be

changed) : to control your feelings about (something)
She's still trying to deal with his death.
I'm still dealing with the fact that we lost the game.
The weather is bad, but we'll just have to deal with it.

drive at (something)

to attempt to say or do (something) usually used as (be) driving

at
I have no idea what he was driving at.
I think I see what you're driving at.

Outline

to list or describe only the most important parts of (an essay,

speech, plan, etc.) : to give an outline of (something)
The President outlined his agenda for the next term.
The book outlines the major events of the country's history.
All players must follow the rules outlined above.

Overview

a general explanation or description of something : summary

I was asked to give an overview of the company's sales figures.
This book provides a broad/general overview of American history.

Point out (someone

or something) or point
(someone or
something) out

to direct someone's attention to (someone or something) by

pointing
He pointed his girlfriend out in the crowd.
Could you point out the restrooms, please.
We asked her to point out (to us) her country on the map

Collocations with
Details

VERB + DETAIL give, go into, provide, send,

supply Briefly describe the product, but do not give any
technical details at this stage. I don't want to go into
any more detail than absolutely necessary.| lay out,
lay sth out in, set out, set sth out in, spell out,
spell sth out in Details of the pension plan are set out
below. The rules are set out in detail in chapter seven. |
establish, finalize, work out, work sth out in We
haven't yet worked out the the case. | show The
receipt shows details of the item purchased. | disclose,
pass on, release ~s The city council refused to
disclose details of the proposed traffic ban. | find out
~s You can find o | enter ~s Enter your details in the
form below then click on submit. | take ~s The
secretary took my details and said they would get back

to me. | check Make sure you check the details of the

policy before you sign it. | record The computer
records the details of everyone entering the country. |
be lacking in, lack The speech was well delivered but
lacking in detail.
Get across

1.: to be clearly expressed to and understood by someone

I hope my point has finally gotten across to you. [=I hope you finally
understand what I am trying to say]
2: get (something) across or get across (something) : to express
(something) clearly so that it is understood
I don't know if I was able to get my point across to you.
a politician who is trying hard to get his message across(to the
voters)

Get through
a. get through or get through to (someone) : to be clearly expressed to
and understood by someone
I hope my message has finally gotten through to you. [=I hope you
finally understand my message]
I think my message finally got through.
b. get through to (someone) or get (something) through to
(someone) : to express something clearly so that it is understood by
(someone)
I've talked to him many times, but I just can't seem toget through
to him.
I hope I've finally gotten my message through to him.

Get to

1.get to (something)
a : to start (doing something)
She sometimes gets to worrying over her health.
We got to talking about old times.
b : to deal with (something)
The letter is on my desk, but I haven't gotten to it yet.

I'll get to the accounts as soon as I can.

2
get to (someone)
a : to bother or annoy (someone)
All these delays are starting to get to me.
see also GET 26a (above)
b : to make (someone) feel sad
The movie's sad ending really got to me.
see also GET 26b (above)
c chiefly US : to change or influence the behavior of (someone) wrongly or
illegally by making threats, paying money, etc.
The witness changed his story. Someone must havegotten to him.
3
get to (somewhere) : to go to or reach (somewhere)
We got to the station/airport just in time.

Put (something)
forward or put forward
(something)

(somewhat formal)
: to suggest (something) for consideration : purpose
He put forward [=put forth] a theory about how the accident may
have occurred.

Put (something)
out or put out
(something)

a : to cause (something) to stop burning :extinguish

She put the fire out by pouring water on it.
She put out her cigarette in an ashtray.
b : to stop (something) from working
Who put out [=turned off] the lights?
c : to take (something) outside and leave it there
I put the dog out in the backyard before leaving the house.
putting horses out to graze
(US) Don't forget to put out the trash/garbage. = (Brit) Don't forget

to put out the rubbish.

d : to extend (something) outward
I put out my hand and he shook it eagerly.
She put out her arm for them to stop.
e : to place (something) where people may use it
He always put out a bowl of candy for the grandchildren.
We should put out a few extra chairs in case more people arrive.
f: to produce (something)
This small radiator puts out a surprising amount of heat.
They will have to put out considerable effort to meet the deadline.
It was early spring, and the trees were just starting toput out their
leaves.
g : to make (something) available to be bought, used, etc.
She plans to put out a new album in March.
They need to be putting out cars that get better gas mileage.
The information was given in a pamphlet put out by the university's
health department

Put (something)
over or put over
(something

to cause (something) to be clearly understood : to put (something)

across
He puts over very complicated concepts in a way that his students
can understand.

Preview

to give a general description of (something that will happen in the

future)
They previewed the upcoming football season.

Collocations with

VERB + QUESTION ask (sb) | have Have any of the

Question

audience got questions for our speaker? | address,

put I'd like to put a question to the first speaker. |
bombard sb with, fire The children bombarded us
with questions. The interview panel fired questions at
me from all angles. | frame, phrase I need to phrase
my question rather carefully. | face | answer, reply
to, respond to | do (used only about written
questions) I couldn't do Question 6. | field The
chairperson fielded technical questions that she could
not answer herself. | evade, parry He skilfully parried
all the interviewer's most probing questions.
VERB + QUESTION bring up, pose, raise The new play
poses some challenging questions. | consider,
discuss, examine | address, deal with, face, tackle
| answer, decide, find a solution to | come to

Raise a question

Bring up a topic

Regarding

I would like to raise the question of the environmental impact this policy will
have
relating to (something) : in or with regard to (something)
Regarding your first question, we cannot assist you.

Refer (usually with

to)

to look at or in (something) for information

She often refers to her notes when giving a speech.
Please refer to our Web site for more information.

Remind

to make (someone) think about something again : to cause

(someone) to remember somethingRemind me to buy some groceries
after work.
I constantly have to be reminded how to pronounce her n
She'll forget to call the doctor if you don't remind her.

Spell (something)
out or spell out
(something)

to explain the details of (something) clearly

The contract spelled out the terms of his employment.
She didn't get the hint, so he had to spell it out for her.

stress

[+ object] : to give special attention to (something)

The dentist repeatedly stressed [=emphasized] the importance of

flossing regularly.
The union stressed the need for stricter safety standards.
The risks involved in the procedure should/must be stressed.