Language Study

●Word Study

Word list:

Ascend / blurt / charter / confirm / convertible / deprive / credit / expedition / fancy / envision / tuck / supplement / solemn / squarely / retort

1. ascend

1. ascend

Examples:

●We had ascended 3,000 ft..

●He took exams to ascend through the ranks.

n. ascent ascendible

2. blurt

v. to say (something) suddenly and without careful consideration

Examples:

●Peter blurted out the news before he considered the consequence.

●He found himself blurting out the whole story to her.

●Cf. blunder

●He blundered (out) his surprise at her winning the prize.

3. charter

v. to hire (an aircraft, ship, or motor vehicle)

n. the hiring of an aircraft, ship, or motor vehicle for a special purpose

Examples:

●He chartered a plane to take him to Paris.

●He liked to see the boat sparkling clean before each charter.

●The government chartered the new airline..

4. confirm

Derivatives

v. a. reinforce someone in (an opinion, belief, or feeling)

b. establish the truth or correctness of (something previously believed, suspected, or feared to be the case)

Example:

●The strange events confirmed his belief in the supernatural.

●This latest tragedy merely confirms my view that the law must be tightened.

●If these fears are confirmed, the outlook for the economy will be dire.

5. convertible

a. able to be changed in form, function, or character

●Nationalism is too easily convertible into bitterness and selfishness.

●They don’t have access to a convertible currency.

●The convertible sofa means that the apartment can sleep four.

6. deprive

v. deny (a person or place) the possession or use of something

Example:

●The city was deprived of its water supplies.

●There is no need to deprive yourself of food on this diet.

●This law will deprive us of our most basic rights.

7. credit

v. to believe that sb/sth is responsible for sth or for doing sth, especially sth good

Examples:

●Bach is credited with performing the first solo on a piano.

●He is widely credited with having started the Middle East peace process.

●She credits her good looks and intelligence to her father’s side of the family.

8. expedition

n. a journey or voyage undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose, especially that of exploration, scientific research, or war

Examples:

●The scientists will go on an expedition to the South Pole.

●She was about to embark on a major expedition.

9. fancy

n. imagination

v. to imagine

Examples:

●My research assistant is prone to flights of fancy.

●Children usually have lively fancy.

●He fancied he could smell the perfume of roses.

10. envision

● to imagine as a future possibility; to visualize

Examples:

●She envisioned the admiring glances of guests seeing her home.

●They envision hackers breaking into their information vaults.

11. tuck

v. a. to push, fold, or turn (the edges or ends of something, especially a garment or bedclothes) so as to hide them or hold them in place

Examples:

●Why don’t you tuck your trousers into your socks?

●Tuck your shirt into your jeans.

12. supplement

v. to add an extra element or amount to

n. sth that is added

Examples:

●She took the job to supplement her husband's income..

●She supplements her diet with eggs and fruit.

●Our special supplement is packed with inspirational ideas for healthy and glamorous hair.

13. solemn

adj. characterized by deep sincerity, serious

●He addressed them all in very solemn tones.

●He swore a solemn oath to keep faith.

●The two sides solemnly declared, “The region must be made immune from any foreign interference.

14. squarely

adv. a. directly, without deviating to one side

b. in a direct and uncompromising manner

Examples:

●The bullet hit him squarely between the shoulder blades.

●They placed the blame squarely on the doctor.

15. retort

v. to say something in answer to a remark or accusation, typically in a sharp, angry, or wittily incisive manner

Examples:

●She retorted upon him, saying he was to blame.

●The answer they make to us may very easily be retorted.

●Phrases and Expressions

List:

such … As / beyond doubt / on one’s account / year in, year out / sign on / start sb off

1. Year in, year out

continuously or repeatedly over a period of years

Examples:

●They rented the same bungalow year in, year out.

●He had travelled on the 7.40 train to London year in, year out for thirty years.

●Cf. week in, week out; day in, day out

●I’m tired of the same old routine week in, week out.

●I drive to work day in, day out, and I’m getting tired of spending so much time travelling.

2. sign on

to commit oneself to employment, membership of a society, or some other undertaking

Examples:

●Eric has been signed on for the team as goalkeeper.

●Shall I sign you on for the painting class?

3. start sb./sth. off

to begin (or cause someone or something to begin) working, operating, or dealing with something

Examples:

●What started you off on this search?

●Treatment should start off with attention to diet.

4. such… as

of the type about to be mentioned

Examples:

●There is no such thing as a free lunch.

●What was the reward for such a one as Fox?

●… such things as iron, silver, and gold.

5. beyond / without doubt

allowing no uncertainty

Examples:

●This is beyond doubt the finest wine I have ever drunk.

●The evidence proves beyond doubt that he is innocent.

6. on one’s account

because of sb or for sb’s sake

Examples

●I can’t go, but don’t stay in on my account.

●Don't bother on my account.

●Cf. on one’s own account: for yourself

●In 1992 Smith set up in business on his own account.

●No one sent me, I am here on my own account.

●Word Building

Compounds

1. noun compounds

2. adjective compounds

●Grammar

Uses of object complement

1. Causative verb/verbs of senses("let," "make," "have," and "get" ) + (pro)noun + (to)-infinitive

●I don't know if my boss will let me take the day off.

●My teacher made me apologize for what I had said.

●I had the mechanic check the brakes.

●I had my hair cut every two month.

●He had us laughing during the lunchtime.

●Susie got her son to take the medicine even though it tasted terrible.

Uses of object complement

2. Verbs such as elect, appoint, call, make, keep + object + noun/adjective:

●They elected him monitor of the class.

●We must keep our room clean.

●We call him Big Brother.

Uses of Object Complement

3. Verbs such as claim, regard, describe, etc. + object + as + noun:

●We regard him as a genius.

●We considered the project as wasteful.

●She described her lover as a tall, dark and handsome guy.

Uses of Object Complement

4. Verbs such as delegate, instruct, order, tell, etc. + object + to-infinitive:

●The teacher asked us to finish our work on time.

●He told her to put on warm clothes.

5. Verbs such as find, think, etc. + it + adjective + to-infinitive (object):

We find it hard to write programs.

●We find it hard to write programs.