English Vocabulary in Use Elementary

Introduction

To the student

This book has been written to help you learn new vocabulary. You already know hundreds of English words, but to speak and write English in normal situations you need at least 1-2,000 words. In this book, there are around 1,250 new words and phrases for you to learn. You will find them on the left-hand page of each unit. Every new word or phrase is used in a sentence, or in a conversation, or has a picture with it, or has some explanation of what it means. On the right-hand page there are exercises and other activities to help you practise using the words and to help you to remember them. The book has been written so that you can use it yourself, without a teacher. You can do the units in any order you like, but we believe it is a good idea if you do Units 1 and 2 first, as they will help you to work with the rest of the book in the best possible way.

The key at the end of the book is for you to check your answers to the exercises after you do them. The key sometimes has more than one answer. This is because often there is not just one correct way of saying something. The key also has possible answers for most of the exercises which are open-ended, or where you are asked to talk about yourself.

The index at the end of the book has all the important words and phrases from the lefthand pages. The index also tells you how to pronounce words. There is a table of phonetic symbols to help you understand the pronunciation on page 157.

You should also have a dictionary with you when you use the book. This is because sometimes you may want to check the meaning of something, or find a word in your own language to help you remember the English word. Sometimes, you will also need a dictionary for the exercises; we tell you when this is so.

To learn a lot of vocabulary, you have to do two things:

Study each unit of the book carefully and do all the exercises. Check your answers in the key. Repeat the units after a month, and then again after three months, and see how much you have learnt and how much you have forgotten. Repeating work is very important.
Develop ways of your own to study and learn new words and phrases which are not in this book. For example, every time you see or hear an interesting phrase, write it in a notebook, and write who said it or wrote it, and in what situation, as well as what it means. Here is an interesting example:

ready: (%an af fhe- door of a fhe-afre-, fo all fhe- people- ‘Have your tickets

ready please!’ = have your ticket in your hand.

Making notes of the situations words are used in will help you to remember them and to use them at the right moment.

We hope you like this book. When you have finished it, you can go to the next book in the series, English Vocabulary in Use: pre-intermediate and intermediate, and after that, to the higher level, English Vocabulary in Use: upper-intermediate and advanced.

To the teacher

This book can be used in class or as a self-study book. It is intended to take learners from a very basic level of vocabulary to a level where they can use around 2,000 words and phrases. The vocabulary has been chosen for its usefulness in everyday situations, and the authors consulted a written and spoken corpus of present-day English to help them decide on the words and phrases to be included. The new vocabulary (on average 20-25 items per unit) is presented with illustrations and explanations on the left-hand page, and there are exercises and activities on the right-hand page. There is a key and an index with pronunciation for all the key vocabulary.

The book focuses not just on single words, but on useful phrases and collocations. For example, difficult teaching points such as the difference between do and make, are dealt with through collocation (we do our homework, but we make mistakes), and useful phrases (e.g. come along, in the unit on come) are presented.

The book is organised around everyday topics, but also has units devoted to core verbs such as get and bring/take, as well as units concerned with ways of learning vocabulary. Typical errors are indicated where appropriate, and the most typical meanings and uses are focused on for each key item. The units in the book can be used in any order you like, but we would advise doing the initial units on learning vocabulary (Units 1 and 2) first, as these lay the foundations for the rest of the book.

The right-hand pages offer a variety of different types of activities, some traditional ones such as gap-filling, but also more open-ended ones and personalised activities which enable learners to talk about their own lives. Although the activities and exercises are designed for self-study, they can be easily adapted for pair-work, group-work or whole-class activities in the usual way. The key sometimes gives alternative answers to the exercises, and also usually gives possible model answers for the more personalised ones.

When the learners have worked through a group of units, it is a good idea to repeat some of the work (for example, the exercises) and to expand on the meaning and use of key words and phrases by extra discussion in class, and find other examples of the key items in other texts and situations. This can be done at intervals of one to three months after first working on a unit. This is important, since it is usually the case that a learner needs five to seven exposures to a word or phrase before they can really know it, and no single book can do enough to ensure that words are always learnt first time.

When your students have finished all the units in this book, they will be ready to move on to the two higher level books in this series: English Vocabulary in Use: pre-intermediate and intermediate, by Stuart Redman, and after that, to the higher level, English Vocabulary in Use: upper-intermediate and advanced, by the same authors as this book.

We hope you enjoy using the book.

Think of four examples of prepositions.

Are these phrases, sentences or questions?

in the park phrase-
Do you speak English?
a black cat
She’s writing a book.
What’s your name?
I like English.

Answer these questions.

What is the plural of book?
What is the singular of men?
Is from a verb?
Is cat an adjective?
Is ‘Jane loves Hari.’ a phrase?
Is bad an adverb?

Follow these instructions.

Fill the gap in the question. What……………. your name?
Add another example of a colour, black, green, blue …
Correct these words, speek, inglish
Answer this question. Is there a river in your town?
Match the verbs on the left with the nouns on the right. Draw lines,

make homework

do a shower

have a mistake

*Ằ Learning vocabulary

Tip: Keep a vocabulary notebook. Write the words you learn from this book in it. Use a good dictionary. Ask your teacher to recommend one. You will need it for some exercises in this book.

Here are some ways of writing down words you want to learn.

A Write down words that go together (collocations)

You do the exercises in this book. Sometimes, you may make mistakes in your English.

In your vocabulary book, write down: do an exercise and make a mistake.

When words are used together like this, we call it a collocation.

You go by train, but on foot (= walking) preposition + noun

Some people are good at languages [not good-mJ adjective + preposition

saw a very tall man [not high man] adjective + noun

Tip: Always write down collocations when you learn a new word.

Learn words in families

word family some words in the family

temperature hot, warm, cool, cold

Have/had/had

c Expressions with have

Is that your camera? Can I have

(= look at it)

Is that your bicycle? Can I have

Goodbye! Have a good journey! (= somebody is going away)

Do you have a moment? (= have some time) Can I have a word with you? (= speak to you)

We always have a good time in our English lessons (= fun; we enjoy them)

I’m going to have my hair cut. See you later. Can you meet me at the hairdresser’s?

want to learn to ski but I don’t have the time.

D Have + got (speaking/informal) = have (writing/formal)

I’ve got three sisters. Have you got any brothers and sisters?

My house is big. It’s got five bedrooms and three bathrooms.

We’ve got ten minutes before the train goes.

Have you got a pen?

(In a shop) A: Do you sell postcards? B: Yes, but we haven’t got any at the moment. I’ve got a problem. Can I have a word with you?

I’ve got a cold / a headache.

Have to

We use have to when the situation means you must do something. The museum’s not free. You have to pay $10 to go in.

All students have to do the exam.

haven’t got a car, so I have to walk to school every day.

…

I Fill the gaps with make or do.

I always…………………….. a lot of mistakes when I speak English.
If I…………………….. my…. homework every day, my English will get better.
Let’s go to bed now. We can………………………… the dishes in the morning.
I want to……………………. an exam in French. Do you know where I can………………………………. one?
We always try not to………………………. a noise after ten o’clock at night.

6.2 Complete the sentences with make(s)/made me feel.

That film…………………………………..
Long lessons always…………………………………..
She was horrible to me; it……………………………………..
What are these people doing? Complete the sentences using

Correct the mistakes in these sentences. Look at the example.
I have to make my homework. I have- +o do rvuj homeworks
Can I make a photo of you?
He’s 25 but he never makes his own washing. He takes his dirty clothes to his mother’s.
What do you think, yes or no? We must do a decision today.
I have to take an appointment with the doctor. Do you have her phone number?
I do mistakes when I speak English.
Are you making an exam tomorrow?

Fill the gaps in the sentences.

I put money in, but the ticket didn’t come of. .. the machine.
A: I’m going to Taiwan tomorrow.

B: Oh! When are you coming………………………….. ?

A: Two weeks from now.

The teacher came……………………….. the classroom and started the lesson.
A: Where do you come………………………. ?

B: I’m Brazilian.

Come and………………………. me…. at five o’clock; we can talk about it then.
The children come……………………… school at four o’clock.

Answer these questions for yourself.

What time do you come home every day?
What country do you come from?
What do you do when you come into your classroom?

Look up these verbs in a dictionary. Write the meaning in your vocabulary book. You may find more than one meaning, but just write down one meaning for each verb. After a week, cover the verbs, look at your notes and see if you can remember the verbs.

come round 2 come across 3 come up

Fill the gaps with take or
Are you going to the shops? ………… Jake-……. an umbrella. It’s raining.
‘Don’t forget to……………………….. your books tomorrow!’ the teacher said to the class.
Are you going to the kitchen? Can you…………………………… me…. some water?
your…. camera with you when you go to Bangkok. It’s beautiful there.
Are you going to the secretary’s office? Can you………………………….. these papers, please?
Shall I…………………… you a present from New York?
Fill the gaps with take or bring back.
Can I……………………… this book to read tonight? I’ll…………………………….. it……………………

tomorrow.

When she went to Belgium, she………………………… me………………………. some….
Please……………………. my umbrella. You can…………………………. it………………………
Match the words on the left with the words on the right. Draw lines.
Fill the gaps with the correct form of bring or
She always……………………… me presents. Yesterday she…………………………. me some chocolates.
Hello, I’ve…………… ……….. you some flowers. I hope you like them!
I…………………….. 72 photographs when I was in Rio de Janeiro.
She has……………………… my…. book, but she’s going to………………………. it…. back tomorrow.
Are you in your English lesson now? If yes, look at (a). If no, look at (b).
Name three things you always bring to the lesson.
Name three things you always take to the lesson.