When there is no obvious subject for the sentence, we generally use There before nouns or noun phrases and It before adjectives and noun clauses: X freold terete ¥ It’s cold, isn’t it?.
Trang 1
SECTION 2
Introductory There and It
1 THERE AS SUBJECT
We use There + be to introduce new information
The word there has no real meaning in this structure
— it functions as a grammatical subject:
There were two men in the room (= Two men were
in the room.)
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion
There are sure to be casualties
2 INTRODUCTORY /T
It often refers back to a noun or noun phrase:
Next year’s sales plan is now available; it contains a
few changes
¢ However, sometimes Jt doesn’t refer back to a
noun Instead we use it simply as a grammatical
subject:
It’s very dark in here
It was just unbelievable what they’d done
* We use introductory It especially when describing
things, e.g with adjectives that can’t normally
function as subjects We commonly use It to talk
about the weather and the time:
It’s raining
It’s nearly six o’clock
It smells of fish in there
All English sentences must have a subject When
there is no obvious subject for the sentence, we
generally use There before nouns or noun phrases
and It before adjectives and noun clauses:
X freold terete
¥ It’s cold, isn’t it?
3 IT + CLAUSE
Introductory It is often followed by a to-infinitive,
-ing, or that-clause We do this especially if we want
to emphasise the adjective or avoid fronting a noun
clause (see Unit 10, Section 1):
It’s difficult to understand a word he said
It’s fun working with you
It turned out that he was lying to us all along
200
4 REFERRING FORWARD
Sometimes It refers forward to a noun clause in the sentence:
It’s amazing what you learn from hanging around bars
It frightens me that there are so many criminals around
¢ We use It especially with that-clauses, wh-clauses and to-infinitive clauses that may be formal in subject position The sentences above could be
rewritten:
What you learn from hanging around bars is amazing That there are so many criminals around frightens me
5 IT + REPORT VERB
Introductory It is common with report verbs used in
the passive (see Unit 2, Section 2.3):
It is thought that many people have been injured
¢ The structure with It + seem / appear + that is common in reporting events We also use It would seem / appear that:
It appears that he’s been promoted
It would seem that someone left the door unlocked
6 VERBS FOLLOWED BY /T
Some verbs are commonly followed by it + clause:
I find it strange that they haven’t told us
¢ Here are more examples of verbs we use in this way:
believe consider feel imagine think suppose judge count reckon guess
Write F next to the sentences where it refers forward
to a clause, B next to those where it refers back, and
X next to those where it doesn’t refer to anything in
the sentence
a It’s getting crowded now
b It is astonishing how often I’ve been asked that
question
c I bought a new car and it broke down almost immediately
d What time is it?
e Is it true that she’s run away?
Trang 2Practice
@ Write there’s or it’s in each of the gaps to
complete the following sentences
Example: It’s a good job you told me when you did
There’s little point in going back over the same old
ground
Ae just as well we brought our umbrellas
Bow a strong possibility of the Chairman not
making the meeting
{1's 2 good thing
c I gather also doubtful you warned me
whether his deputy will
d not thought to be ⁄ iy dự 4 =>
any serious risk involved
in the operation +
6 no use pleading
with me; I have no say in
the matter whatsoever
foo no shame attached
to being beaten by a player Pp —_—
of his calibre
g Don’t you think any chance at all that he
was unfairly dismissed?
| no good feeling sorry for yourself; what’s
done is done
bo a lot to be said for vegetarianism, in my
opinion
a shame you won't be able to see your own
son receive his degree
k_ generally believed to be a good thing to get
eight hours’ sleep a night
1 Wouldn’t you say all a question of habit how
long you need to sleep?
6 For each of the sentences below, write a new
sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the
original sentence, but using the word given
Example: It’s no good sitting feeling sorry for yourself
point
There's no point in sitting feeling sorry for yourself
a I’ve only just realised what our director meant by
that comment
dawned
b You should have been at the party; you would
have enjoyed it
pity
c People are optimistic that this new drug will be a
success
hoped
d I realised all of a sudden that we had been
stitched up
occurred
e We discovered eventually that all the goods had been stolen
transpired
f The polls point towards a landslide victory for the presidential party
indication
6 Complete each of the following sentences with
a suitable word or phrase
Example: It is common knowledge that superstitious people live longer, isn’t it?
a Ti absolutely amazing that in this day and age superstitions are so rife
b It strikes so odd that people still fret for days over a broken mirror
c Restaurants are half full of people necessary
to throw a few grains of any spilt salt over their shoulders
d Most of the people I know believe be an unnecessary risk to walk under a ladder
e It is widely grown men and women that cracks in the pavement should not be stepped on
f But I must confess I consider be my major ambition in life to find a four-leaf clover
© Finish each of the following sentences in such
a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence before it
Example: Showers are known to be better for you than baths
It is common knowledge that showers are better for
you than baths
a It looks as if there’s been an accident over there There cc c
b I’m glad we decided to come by train
[LỆ cu 2 chu ke
c The speed at which young children acquire language is quite incredible
hố
d No doubt there was a terrible row when the mistake was discovered
There is sure
e Such behaviour is totally inexcusable
There coi
f The choice of restaurant is entirely yours
Its entirely up
Trang 3
GRAMMAR
SECTION 3
Emphasis using What, All and It
1 EMPHASISING AN ACTION WITH WHAT
To emphasise an action, we can use a structure with
What + do (The full structure is What + subject + do
+ be + infinitive with or without to.):
He put the pot on What he did was (to) put
the table the pot on the table
I’m going to persuade
him to come earlier
What I’m going to do is persuade him to come earlier
* We commonly use this structure when
demonstrating a procedure or telling someone
about a sequence of events:
What you do next is fold the top left corner back on
itself
2 OTHER WAYS OF USING WH-CLAUSES
We can emphasise a whole action or series of actions
with a similar structure using What + happen + be +
that-clause:
What happened next was (that) he dropped it
What happened was (that) they all ran away as soon
as they saw the police car coming
* We can also use fronted wh-clauses with be as a sort
of introductory phrase:
What I think is (that) she should resign
What you need is a holiday
What Clive is is a pain in the neck
¢ Occasionally, the what-clause comes at the end of
the sentence:
A good rest is what I need
Your lateness is what I want to talk about
3 USING ALL INSTEAD OF WHAT
We can use all instead of what to mean ‘the only
thing’ This suggests that what happens is not very
big or important:
All we are going to do is take your teeth out
All that happened was that a window was broken
4 EMPHASISING NOUNS WITH /T + BE +
THAT /WHO
To emphasise nouns, we can use a structure with
It + be + that / who These structures are sometimes
called ‘cleft sentences’:
202
Usual Cleft sentence
She threw the jug
out of the window
Richard ran into the
office
It was the jug (that) she threw
out of the window, (= not, for example, the cup)
or: It was the window (that) she
threw the jug out of (= not, for example, the door)
It was Richard who ran into the office (= not Bernard) or: It was the office (that) Richard
ran into (= not the kitchen )
Cleft sentences allow us to stress a noun, often in
contrast to what we have already said:
I love going to Cornwall in summer, but it’s in the winter that it’s at its best
5 EMPHASISING OTHER PARTS OF THE SENTENCE
We can also use a cleft sentence to focus on other
parts of the sentence, not just nouns We can use it:
to emphasise an action by using a gerund:
It was learning to speak French that he found most enjoyable at school (not, for example, playing
football)
to emphasise a prepositional phrase:
It was from Heather that I heard the news
It was in London that he met his first wife
with because to give reasons:
It was because you’re clever that I married you
with when or until to emphasise time:
It was only when he phoned that I realised what had
happened
It wasn’t until Tuesday that they finally delivered the equipment,
Write W next to the sentences that contain a what-
clause or all-clause, C next to those that contain a cleft sentence, and X next to any that contain neither
a What we did was to go back to the beginning and
start again
Your progress is all I’m concerned with
He promised to call me but it wasn’t until later that week that he eventually phoned
It is unbelievable the lengths I had to go to in securing the contract
I think it’s because we have the same sense of humour that we work so well together
Trang 4Practice
@ In each sentence one of the underlined words
or phrases does not fit Write the number beside it
in the space and the correct word or phrase
Example: All you (1) have to do is tell me (2)
everything what (3) happened once you (4) left the
hotel 3 that
a What you did (1) wrong was that (2) you started
on the top coat before (3) the undercoat
that was (4) dry
b All that (1) happened that I (2) told him what I
thought of (3) him in no uncertain (4) terms
c It_was (1) while trying (2) to mend the window
when (3) I fell off the ladder
d He claimed to like (1) music but it was (2)
literature what (3) he loved more than anything
else (4)
e All (1) I love most about the weather (2) in this
country is that (3) it is totally unreliable
f He left the country at the age of (1) twenty and it
was (2) only after several years when (3) he
returned
g I mislaid my wedding ring once and it (1) wasn't
before (2) we eventually moved house that it (3)
came to light (4) again
h It’s (1) not learning (2) new words that J find (3)
difficult, and (4) remembering them
© Rewrite each of the sentences in such a way
that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the
sentence before it The first word and one other is
given as guidance
Example: 1 know what you did to her You broke her
heart (What / break)
What you did to her is break her heart
a I know what happened You lost your nerve, didn’t
you?
What/chickened
b I know what she did She upset all her colleagues
by being so arrogant
'What/ arrogance
c I know how you feel after getting your results
Many others are feeling the same way
How /how
d I know where you made your mistake; you
underestimated the competition
'Whecre /appreciate
e [ know why he was attracted to this job; he
wanted to give people orders
What/authority
EMPHASIS USING WHAT, ALL AND /T 12
6 Rewrite each sentence in three different ways Begin with the words given
Example: The rising tide frightened me
a What frightened me was the rising tide
b I was frightened by the rising tide
c It was the rising tide that frightened me
1 We took him to the hospital
a Where b It was ¢ The hospital is
2 I went to see my GP
a My GP bIt was my GP ¢ The person
3 The spices are amazing
a It’s the b What ¢ The spices are what
4 The location was important
a It’s the b What ¢ The location
5 I spent £15 on the ticket
a £15 was how b It was £15
c The amount I
6 He looks amazing for his age
a How b Whatis c¢ Itis
@ Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence printed before it
Example: We only noticed the stain on the carpet when all the guests had gone
It wasn’t until all the guests had gone that we noticed the stain on the carpet
a In some organisations what you know is not important; who you know is
In some organisations it’s NOt oes
b He took his hat off and then I recognised him
HÀ /.Lsuiấttitiiầă
c lonly realised she was a foreigner when she opened her mouth
d Your place of birth doesn’t determine your accent;
the place you spend your childhood in does
It’s not Where oc ete tenet ttre teenie
e His actions didn’t bring about his downfall; lying about them did
Tt wasn't Whât Hee
f You don’t know who your real friends are until a time like that
[ƯS OHỈY 0 che
g His jokes in themselves are not funny; his manner
of telling them is
h the salary increase wasn't why I stayed on; you were the reason
ID -
203
Trang 5
GRAMMAR
SECTION 4 * Nominalised language is especially typical of
formal, scientific and academic English:
This interesting Australian development was possible Nominalisation because of the isolation of these primitive mammals
¢ Nominalisation can make it easier to be
1 WHAT IS NOMINALISATION? impersonal Compare:
It’s always painful when people criticise you
It is often possible to use a noun group instead o Criticism is always painful (= nominalised)
one or more verb or adjective groups This is called
“nominalisation':
The boys laughed loudly and woke up the baby (= 3 HAVE A ., MAKE A , ETC
This sentence consists of two actions (verb We use a number of verbs, e.g look, laugh, comment,
groups), one causing the other) etc., aS nouns with verbs such as give, have, make,
The boys’ loud laughter woke up the baby take:
(= This sentence has one thing — the boys’ loud
laughter (a noun group) — that causes an action)
2 WHY USE NOMINALISATION?
We use nominalisation for several reasons:
* It can change the emphasis of the sentence
Compare:
I wasn’t very well so I had to stay at home
My poor health meant I had to stay at home
(= nominalised)
The first sentence has two parts linked by so Both
parts are equally important In the nominalised
version, the action — stay at home — is the focus of
the sentence
* Because a lot of information can be packed into a
noun group, it can make sentences shorter and
leave the rest of the sentence free to add new
information:
Usual Nominalised version
He had an insatiable His insatiable appetite [or
appetite for adventure adventure led to his
and because of this involvement in a pioneering
he became involved expedition to Antarctica
in a pioneering
expedition to
Antarctica
* It can refer back to processes already mentioned:
After several days they eventually reached the summit of
the mountain The ascent left them tired and
exhausted (= Here the ascent summarises the
whole of the process in the previous sentence)
* We often prefer to start a sentence with a noun
phrase rather than a verb phrase Compare:
They looked at the evidence and realised that there had
been a miscarriage of justice
The evidence revealed that there had been a miscarriage
of justice (= nominalised)
204
He gave a short laugh Let’s have a quick look She made some remark about his smelly feet
We do this especially if we want to use an adjective before the noun ~ this is more common than using a verb and adverbial phrase:
We had a long talk about it
Sometimes there is no comparable adverbial phrase:
She sat down and had a good cry
This is partly a matter of collocation:
give a shout / sigh / hug / welcome / look have a look / belief / chat / fall / sleep have belief / respect
take a look / bath / walk / photograph / holiday make a comment /start/claim make progress
Underline the nominalised phrases in these examples
a A sharp fall in the value of sterling followed speculation about the government’s economic policy
(Sterling fell sharply in value because people were speculating about what the government planned
to do about the economy.) The total eradication of smallpox was the direct result of an intensive programme of
immunisation
(Smallpox was totally eradicated because everyone
was immunised in a programme that was very intensive.)
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a
single man in possession of a good fortune must
be in want of a wife (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen: meaning “Everyone knows it is true that a single man who has a good fortune must want to
be married.’)
Trang 6r Practice
@ Rewrite these questions starting with What
Example: How old do you have to be to hire a car?
What is the minimum age for hiring a car?
How big is the room exactly?
L4 ?
How fast are you allowed to drive on motorways
in Britain?
NOMINALISATION |
Any traveller to the sub-continent obviously has to have a valid passport
POSSESSION 00 ccc eet cece te tee eens ee eeer et esneenstetnteeeneees
Beethoven's late quartets have been very influential
on modern composers
Beethoven’s late quartets have exerted
I wasn’t at all surprised to find the builders had already gone home
Te CAME -
One is constantly threatened by violence in some
c How do you think you would react if such a thing THOT .,
What Q.2 0222 ưyu refused to accept what I said
d How tall are you precisely? They Íound he
What Q 20 2n neere The article only referred briefly to the problem of
e How far is it from your house to the school? inner-city crime
„4=
Do you know how heavy this package is?
TheFr€ LH HH Huệ Everyone approved of the decision to implement
What na tougher parking restrictions
g Where does he stand officially in the firm’s — -:
„ — © Rewrite each sentence using all the prompt
h Where do the government stand officially on words printed below it
capital punishment?
What 0e Hrea
Example: A lot of people have complained in writing
to us about how bad the food was
received / number / written / standard
We have received a large number of written complaints about the poor standard of the food
Example: The doctor wanted to have / take a look at a I’m shocked that most members have responded so
shock / response / proposals / majority
b The mayor is reputedly proud of the way he looks
© Fill the gaps in these sentences with a form of
one of these verbs
give make take have
Can I a word with you in private?
a
b The boy a deep breath and dived in reputation / pride / appearance
c Come on, me a cuddle c A soldier must be brave, level-headed and obedient
d Canl a suggestion? qualities / paramount importance
e She me a telling-off d What we spend doesn’t always tally with what we
f I’m sure he'll a good account of himself in cam
the match sometimes / discrepancy / outgoings / earnings
g She always manages to a success of things e It’s distinctly possible that she will not recover
h Sometimes if you a good cry you feel better from her illness very rapidly
¡ He the trouble to visit her later in hospital distinct / rapid
j They us a wonderful send-off f You needn’t pay anything until you've received the
goods
© Finish each of the following sentences in such a There / make / before / of
way that it is as close as possible in meaning to the — g_ She could do with being more confident
sentence printed before it suffers / of
h I really did intend to try harder this term, but I haven’t succeeded
every / more / effort / met / no
Example: My father finds much of modern society
incomprehensibk
My father has difficulty understanding much of
modern society
205
Trang 7Unit twelve
Vocabulary
SECTION 5
Substituting one phrase for another
We can use words or phrases to replace others with
more or less the same meaning We may use one
phrase rather than another because it is shorter, more
precise or involves a change of emphasis
1 ADVERBS
We can use adverbs to replace phrases:
Despite renovations, the building remains the same in
nearly every way can become: Despite renovations,
the building remains substantially the same
Some students use commas without taking much care
can become: Some students use commas
indiscriminately
1 Replace the underlined phrases with one of the
adverbs listed Make any other necessary
changes
inevitably inadvertently
a Such military posturing is almost certain to lead to
war
b I wiped the entire disk without meaning to
2 NOUNS
We can use nouns to replace phrases (see Section 4
for nominalisation):
My brother knows nothing about chemistry, which is
why there was an explosion can become: My
brother’s ignorance of chemistry led to an explosion
That the two sexes are not treated in the same way is
taken for granted in some quarters can become:
Inequality between the sexes is taken for granted in
some quarters
2 Replace the underlined phrases with one of the
nouns listed Make any other necessary changes
malnutrition inferiority
a His feeling that he just wasn’t as good as other
people never went away
b An alarming number of dieters are simply not
eating as much as their body needs
206
3 ADJECTIVES
We can use adjectives to replace phrases:
Everyone agreed with the decision to complain to the
director can become: The decision to complain to
the director was unanimous
They were locked together in combat, trying to kill each other can become: They were locked together
in mortal combat
3 Replace the underlined phrases with one of the adjectives listed Make any other changes
necessary
partial painstaking
a It was an investigation that left no stone unturned
b The driver of the second car accepted that she wasn't wholly without blame for the accident
4 PHRASES AND MULTIPLE CHANGES When we make grammatical changes, we usually
need to change more than one word These changes may also be a matter of collocation:
Thad fully intended to start this report this afternoon, but I couldn’t can become: I had every intention of starting this report this afternoon, but I couldn’t
The statue is extremely tall can become: The statue reaches a considerable height
¢ We can also use common phrases and prepositional phrases:
We've been trying to sell our flat for over a year
can become: Our flat has been on the market for
over a year
I was so shocked by her revelations I couldn’t think what to say can become: I was so shocked by her revelations I was lost for words
4 Rewrite the following sentences using one of the phrases listed
alland sundry at sixes and sevens
a The leaflet was distributed to absolutely everyone whether they wanted it or not
b My filing system is hopelessly disorganised
Practice
@ Replace the underlined words with one of the adverbs listed Make any other necessary changes
prematurely single-handedly conclusively consecutively interminably concurrently scrupulously arbitrarily
Trang 8a The leader’s speech went on for hours and hours
until we were all nodding off
b I think they have proved beyond any doubt that
the painting is genuine
c My father with extreme care avoided any mention
of the coming wedding
d Jan completed the renovation of the house
entirely on his own
I worked on the farm for three summers in a row
My son was born three weeks before he was due
For the experiments, they selected several animals
at random
On this computer you can run several programs
at the same time
© Replace the underlined words with one of the
adjectives listed Make any other necessary
changes
antiquated cumbersome meticulous cursory
ingenious frivolous unwarranted exhaustive
a This is an extremely clever device for opening
bottles with no effort
b The factory is still using old and out-of date
equipment on the production line
c Your intrusion into my affairs is unjustified and
unnecessary
d The inspectors merely gave a brief and not very
thorough glance at the records
e The current administrative procedures are slow,
inefficient and difficult to deal with
f The conductor paid close and detailed attention to
the composer’s instructions
g I think your comments are silly and not to be
taken seriously
h After a thorough and painstaking enquiry, the
conclusions remained unclear
6 Rewrite the sentences below using one of the
common phrases listed There are more phrases
than you need
with time on my hands grow on somebody
round the bend slow but sure cut and thrust
rule of thumb ins and outs too much of a good thing
lost his touch yank and file make a go of
by a hair’s breadth at the best of times
a Ata party you can reckon on one bottle of wine
for three people as a rough guideline
b Even when things are going really well, I find it
hard to get on with my boss
c Asa pianist, he’s not as good as he used to be
d I’ve got plenty of spare time now the children are
at school
SUBSTITUTING ONE PHRASE FOR ANOTHER | So
e The ordinary soldiers don’t get the same food as the officers
f I think we could try and make a success of this business
g That woman drives me completely mad!
h I'm no good at the quick thinking needed in a debate
i That car only just missed me
j Treally don’t understand all the history and details
of the controversy
6 Finish each of the following sentences in such
a way that it is as close as possible in meaning to
the sentence before it
a What was being proposed was far-reaching in the extreme
b The builders put in an enormous amount of work
to ensure their customers were happy
The builders went to
c The little girl looked remarkably like her grandmother at the same age
The little girl bore o.oo cece
d The water is over 50 metres deep at this point
The water reaches cao
e The painter was greatly inspired by the Italian masters
The painter derived octets
f The boxer was severely injured by his opponent
His opponent inflicted co ee
eo For each of the sentences below, write a new
sentence as similar as possible in meaning to the original sentence, but using the word given
Example: The campaign was at its most intense just before the election
peak The campaign reached its peak just before the election
a Nobody died in the explosion
fatalities
b The fact that I am the managing director’s niece is beside the point
neither
c My teacher is always criticising my paragraphing
fault
d Solomon couldn’t stop crying when he lost his favourite toy
floods
e The two lawyers worked in an atmosphere where neither trusted the other
mutual
207
Trang 9
VOCABULARY
SECTION 6
Intensifying and emphasising
We can emphasise the meaning of a statement in
many ways
1 POWERFUL ADJECTIVES
The choice of a strong adjective is a common device
Here are some examples:
It’s very hot in here can become: It’s boiling in here
It cost a lot can become: The price was exorbitant / extortionate / astronomical
It’s a big problem can become: It’s a monumental / vast / colossal / gigantic problem
2 COLLOCATION
Collocation is important when choosing strong
adjectives For example, a number of intensifying
adjectives close to the meaning of ‘complete’
collocate with particular nouns but not with others
Here are some examples:
an eternal optimist a comprehensive defeat Sheer stupidity arrant nonsense rank disobedience utter madness unshakeable faith
an unmitigated disaster
1 Which two of the nouns listed collocate with
utter, which two with sheer and which two with both?
a excellence c degradation e ruin
b panic d ecstasy f joy
3 ADVERBS OF DEGREE
¢ Adverb—adjective combinations are common to
give emphasis Here are some examples:
absolutely ridiculous totally wrong downright rude plain stupid thoroughly ashamed dead right utterly defenceless
that’s perfectly all right
¢ Adverb-—verb combinations are also quite common
For example:
I quite/ totally agree I quite / fully understand
I would much / greatly appreciate it
4 CLICHES AND EXAGGERATION
We often hear or read clichés such as:
We're running out of superlatives for this athlete
208
* We often use phrases that contain exaggeration to
strengthen a meaning; because we use them so much, the meaning becomes weaker Here are
some examples:
indescribably beautiful incredibly talented unutterably filthy unspeakably rude inexpressibly sad infinitely better
incomparably superior
* If we want to add strength to a meaning we can try
to use less frequent collocations:
delightfully eccentric perfectly awful
2 Which of the five adjectives listed does not collocate with the adverb purely?
hypothetical accidental correct incidental coincidental
5 SENTENCE ADVERBIALS Sentence adverbials (see Unit 7) can also lend emphasis to a statement Here are some examples:
Believe it or not, Amazingly enough,
Difficult as it is to believe, Incredible though it is,
To everyone’s astonishment,
6 PHRASES THAT INVITE OR EXPRESS SURPRISE
We can also strengthen a statement, or question, by adding a word or short phrase before or after a key word in the sentence:
The same thing happened as recently as last week
You can pay as much as £100 for a pair of jeans there
No fewer than 90 students turned up for the lecture
Bill Gates himself was at the conference You mean the Bill
Gates? The very man What in the world was he doing
there? Why on earth didn’t you give him my name? Why ever didn’t you tell me before?
@ Underline one, two or three of the adjectives that can complete each sentence
Example: The runner collapsed in a state of
exhaustion sheer total full
a The fact I had done the exam essay a week earlier WaS luck
pure comprehensive sheer
b It was will-power that enabled me to win
sheer full utter
c This is the thing I was dreading
one very sheer
Trang 10d Deliberate handball is cheating
outright out-and-out comprehensive
e The athlete has confidence in his ability
unshakeable pure supreme
f 5-0isa win in anybody’s book
comprehensive confirmed complete
g He was reprimanded for his stupidity
crass very utter
h Giving his nephew the job was favouritism
out-and-out outright downright
i Many a time he’s proved to be a(n) liar
rank compulsive inveterate
j He carried off the role of Hamlet with skill
unadulterated consummate faultless
oO Arrange these adjectives into four groups
according to their meaning
a ludicrous i laughable q preposterous
b excruciating j astounding r agonising
c pathetic k unbearable s dazzling
d staggering 1 immense t stupendous
e huge m gigantic u_ vast
f absurd n gigantic v_ colossal
g ridiculous o tremendous w brainless
h giant p stunning x fatuous
1 big 2 silly 3 surprising / | 4 painful
size)
© Rewrite each sentence with the two prompt
words so that it is as close as possible in meaning
to the sentence before it
a The sheer size of my opponent succeeded in
putting me off
alone / enough
b As many as 85,000 people watched the Cup Final
fewer / turned
c What they’re asking of us is eminently reasonable
nothing / whatsoever
d The party was an absolute wash-out from start to
finish
unmitigated / beginning
e You don’t have to pay more than £10 for a pair of
shoes there
pick / little
f Are you saying it wasn't the boss who suggested a
pay cut for his employees?
themselves / idea
INTENSIFYING AND EMPHASISING
© In each gap in the following sentences (1-6) two of these adverbs could fit Write the letters for two adverbs in each gap
Example: O: d h
a sincerely f outright
b categorically g really k utterly
c strenuously (h fiercely) | faithfully (d_ strongly) i patently m quite
e thoroughly j genuinely n_ wholly
(0 The terms of the will were contested.)
1 They both denied that they had been in any way at fault
2 Its obvious that the boy has no interest in reading; why push him?
3 He promised that he would return my camera before he left the country
4 I reject the suggestion that I have been
negligent
5 1 approve of sex education in schools
6 Ti hope that one day we shall meet again in
different circumstances
© Choose just one of the three adverbs given to complete each of these sentences
1
10
I found the whole experience
embarrassing
blatantly hotly acutely One or two of the class were rude
perfectly downright entirely
| resent being called working class
sharply fully bitterly Their second goal was offside
seriously blatantly wholly The whole team were confident
abundantly downright supremely I doubt whether we will ever see him
again
seriously totally completely He understands the seriousness of the charges
greatly deeply fully She was absent from the staff meeting downright thoroughly conspicuously
I was disgusted by their behaviour
thoroughly bitterly glaringly
It should be clear that we are all under pressure
conspicuously abundantly fully
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