General Vocabulary:

• Take off (v) - when an aerospace vehicle goes from the ground to flying in the air.

• Feed (v) - give food to - Did you remember to feed the cat?
• Bring someone up (v) - look after a child until it is an adult - She was brought up by her
grandparents.

• Bug (n) - a small insect

• Realise (v) - become aware of a fact, understand it - They realised that something was
wrong.

• Avoid (v) - stop oneself from doing something - Peter avoided eating that food.

• Would rather (adv) - used to indicate one’s preference over the rest of choices - I’d
rather have a coffee than a coca-cola / I would rather you didn’t tell him.

• Instead of (adv) - an alternative - Do exercise instead of eating that much.

• Except for (prep) - not including - I was naked except for my socks
• Apart from (phrase) - except for - Everyone was there apart from my father

• Over time (adv phrase) - gradually - Despite their initial attitude, they were accepting the
fact over time.

• Overtime (n) - time worked in addition to one’s normal working hours

• Whether (conj.) - expressing a doubt between two different options - I don’t know
whether to stay or go. Sometimes the second option is implied and it doesn’t need to
appear - We’ll know whether she comes.

General explanations:

• Also vs too - the only difference is their position in the sentence. Too is used at the end
of the sentence whereas also goes before the verb or adjective. In writing, also is placed
in front position to emphasise what follows.

• OK, I’ll phone you next week and we can discuss it then. Also, we need to decide
who will be going to Singapore.

• He was also interested in politics.

• He was interested in politics too.

• Neither / either / so when used to show agreement with negative or positive statements

• I don’t understand spanish - Neither do I (inversion)

• I don’t understand spanish - I don’t understand it either.
• We use neither in the first one because we are using a positive sentence
whereas in the second one we are using a negative sentence, hence
either comes to place. Both of them are used to show agreement with a
negative statement.

• I am happy - So I am (inversion).

• I am happy - I am happy too.

• Let vs allow

• To allow needs the infinitive marker “to”. Allow is “to let someone have or do
something” - The dissident was allowed to leave the country.

• To let doesn’t need the infinitive marker “to” - My boss lets me leave early.

• For vs to.

• To - Identifies the person or thing that receives something. There is some kind of
transfer happening or something being moved from one place to another, it
express direction towards you. - Please, send it back to me / The package was
mailed to Mr Kinn yesterday.

• For - in support of, in favour of, on behalf of or to the benefit of. Something is
being done to benefit something or someone else - I bought this gift for you.

• Let’s check some examples:

• I closed the door to you - It implies that the action is being made towards
you, I’ve closed the door to you and you can’t enter anymore.

• I closed the door for you - It implies that I closed the door to help you or to do
you a favour so you didn’t need to close it.

• My friend bought lunch to me - It implies that my friend took the lunch and he
carried it from wherever the lunch was to the place I was.

• My friend bought lunch for me - It implies that my friend wanted to be nice

and he bought some food for me, either he gave it directly to me or not.

• I made a quick phone call for my mum - It implies that, somewhat my mum
wasn’t able to do the phone call and I did it for her.

• I made a quick phone call to my mum - It implies that I called directly to my

mum.

• Vicky will take the bicycle for us and send it to the team - It implies that Vicky
will do us a favour, which is pick up the bicycle and after that, she will carry
the bicycle and she will give the bicycle directly to the team.

• Must, Should, have to, need to.

• Need to, used when an action is very important and necessary for someone to do.
It’s kind of a substitute for “It’s necessary for me to…” and it implies a requirement
for something; a certain action must be done in order for something else to
happen, to get something.

• I need to eat more vegetables so I can lose weight.

• I need to call my mom and find out how my dad's surgery went. [=It is
necessary and important for me to call my mom and find out how my dad's
surgery went.]

• Have to and must are much the same although some differences can be found in
their use. We can thing that “have to” is a shorter way to say “have an obligation
to”. Let’s have a look at these three examples:

• I must turn in the papers by tomorrow.

• I have an obligation to turn in the papers by tomorrow.

• I have to turn in the papers by tomorrow.

 All the three sentences mean more or less the same. When we use must the tone is
much stronger hence denotes urgency. Have to is also used when we come to a logical
conclusion given the circumstances, for example: “My car is broken and I can’t take the
bus so I have to walk my way there.” Other studies say that have to expresses an
impersonal idea; what somebody in authority says that it’s necessary to do whereas must
is used for personal opinions. Must and have to are both used for obligation and they’re
usually quite similar:

• I must go now - I have to go now (similar meaning)

• I must remember my mum’s birthday (my opinion)

• I have to drink 5 litres of water everyday (this is what doctors say)

When using a negative form the difference is wider because must not expresses a
prohibition whereas don’t have to expresses the absence of obligation:

• You mustn’t smoke. (you are not allowed to smoke)

• You don’t have to smoke. (it’s not necessary for you to smoke but you can if
you want to)

Of course, this is only theory and the practice is much more complex due to the
fact that there is an overlap between both categories. When speaking about an obligation,
this might be a need as well.

• Should - this modal verb indicates a duty or correctness, something you think is the
right thing to do - “He should have been more careful” / “I think we should study this
first”. Should is also used when giving or asking for some advice like - “What should I
take to the party?” “You should take money”. Should can be used to express a
desirable or expected state like in - “In two days, you should
• Like vs as - when they both are prepositions like means “similar to” whereas as means
something like “in the role of” something that is not similar but the one that it is:

• As your friend, you can count on me whenever you need me. (I am your
friend)

• Like your friend, you can count on me whenever you need me. (I am not your
friend but I would like to act in a similar way)