Grammar Teacher

For – part 2

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:23:43 +0000

We can use for to mean ‘because’. We only use this in very formal English.

The divers have to be careful for a sudden change in conditions could be dangerous.
Read the instructions carefully for you will only get one chance to enter the information.

We can use for to talk about a purpose or a reason.

What did you that for?
What is that for?
Thank you for your letter.
I don’t have enough money for the ticket.
I need treatment for my bad back.

For can mean that you are in favour/favor of something.

He is for the idea of cutting taxes.
I am for this change in the way we do things.
You need to stand up for what is right.

We can use for with expressions of time and distance.

I walked for miles.
I waited for a long time.
We will be away for the next week.

Sometimes we can omit the for completely in these expressions without changing the meaning.

I walked miles.
I waited a long time.

With the present perfect, for refers to a length of time. Since refers to the starting point.

I have studied English for seven years.
I have studied English since I was 12.

Here are some useful expressions using for

I enclose a cheque/check for 100 euros
What’s another word for stupid?
I’ve known him for ages.
I am all for making this change.
Get ready. -What for? -Anne is coming.

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For – part 1

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:13:51 +0000

We can sometimes use for + ing to talk about the purpose of a thing. When we do, it means the same as to + infinitive.

What is that for? It is for opening envelopes
This bell is for calling the waiter.
This bell is to call the waiter.

When we talk about the purpose of somebody’s actions, we cannot use for + ing.

I went there to ask for help.
To get tickets, you will have to queue for hours.

However, it is sometimes possible to use for + noun for this.

I went there for help.
You will have to queue for hours for tickets.

We can also use for + object + infinitive to talk about a purpose.

I gave her a notebook for her to write down new English words she found.
They sent a form for me to sign.

We also use the pattern for + object + infinitive in sentences after is or was.

The plan is for us to get to Barcelona by lunchtime.
The objective was for them to get the work finished by the end of last month..

We can add details to a noun by using the pattern for + object + infinitive

That is an expensive place for them to stay.
There is a lot of work for us to do.
There is no need for you to be so aggressive.

We also use the pattern for + object + infinitive after certain verbs and adjectives.

I am waiting for him to make the first move.
I have arranged for you to see the bank manager tomorrow morning.
We are keen for you to take the job.
I think it would be good for you to take a break now.

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Work – pay 2

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:49:20 +0000

‘commission’ is paid to people in sales based on the amounts of goods sold.

Working here I get paid a fixed salary and commission based on my sales.
I get paid a commission on the deals I negotiate.

People who are ‘hourly paid’ are paid a fixed rate for each hour that they work and not a fixed salary for a year or task.

He isn’t a salaried employee, he is hourly paid.
For everyone who is hourly paid, wages are paid weekly.

‘benefits’ are the extras that you are given by your employer on top of your salary. These may include private health insurance, a private pension, company car.

Although my gross salary is not high for the sector, I get a lot of extra benefits.
He has a very good benefits package including a car and private health insurance.

A ’taxable benefit’ is a benefit which is considered as part of your income and therefore included in the income to be declared for tax.

The value of the company car is included in my income. It is a taxable benefit.
Meals in the canteen, drinks and parking are generally not taxable benefits.

‘expenses’ are the costs that you incur doing your job that are reimbursed by the company, notably for travel.

When I travel, I pay for my tickets and hotels and then claim my expenses back.
The company is very strict about expenses. We can’t spend more than a certain amount on hotels or meals.

In order to claim expenses, you must keep all ‘receipts’ for payments you have made.

On the 30th of the month, we hand in all our receipts for our expenses.
When I take someone to lunch I always have to get a receipt so that I’ll be reimbursed.

If you use your own car to travel to another location for your work, you may be able to claim ‘mileage’ands be reimbursed a fixed rate per mile travelled to cover the cost.

It is better for the company to pay mileage than provide company cars.
There is a fixed rate for mileage depending on the size of the car.

a ‘pay review’ is when salaries are considered for changes.

The unions are preparing for the negotiations in the annual pay review.
A lot of changes to pay grades are being considered during the pay review. When the company closed the branch, the redundancy pay was very generous.

‘redundancy pay’ is given if you lose your job and are made redundant. This is usually related to the time you have worked for the company.

When I lost my job, I used my redundancy pay to set up my own company.
When the company closed the branch, the redundancy pay was very generous.

‘notice’, specified in the terms of your contract, is the time worked between telling your employer that you are leaving your job and actually leaving.

I have to work out two months notice before I can start my new job.
When I left, I was paid my notice but I didn’t have to work it.

Jobs – money

admin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:19:35 +0000

‘gross salary’ is the salary before anything is deducted for contributions and tax.

Her gross salary is £50 000 but obviously she takes home considerably less than that.
He earns £40 000 a year gross.

‘net salary’ is the salary that you are paid after deductions have made

My gross salary is around £60 000 but the net is around £48 000.
The net salary is the gross salary minus the deductions the employer makes for contributions and tax.

‘deductions’ are payments made by the employer for an employee to health and pension schemes based on the gross salary.

Although my gross salary seems good, after deductions, I haven’t very much left.
The details of the deductions are on your pay statement. You can see what you are paying.

‘income tax’ is the tax which is paid on the money you earn.

In the UK, income tax is deducted directly from your salary and paid to the state.
In some countries, you have to complete an income tax return annually to calculate the tax to be paid.

‘rate’ is the amount you are paid per hour, week or month of work.

I don’t know what the standard rate is for this type of work.
Some people are paid on piece rate. They are paid by their output, not by the time it takes.

The ‘basic state pension’ is the money paid on retirement to everyone who has paid contributions for the required number of years.

Although I contribute to the state pension fund, I also pay into a private one too.
The basic state pension is very low, too low for a decent standard of living.

The ’national minimum wage’ is the minimum an employee can be paid per hour of work.

Everyone here is paid a rate that is better than the minimum wage.
The national minimum wage varies according to age. Young people are paid less than adults.

The ‘equal pay’ law states that employers must pay the same to men and women who are doing the same or similar jobs.

Equal pay for women is the law but many are still paid less than their male colleagues.
Each year, there are many cases where women take their employer to court to fight for equal pay.

‘overtime’ is a higher rate of pay for working more than the usual hours or unsocial hours.

When I work on Sundays, I am paid overtime.
I do a lot more hours than in my contract but I don’t get paid overtime.

A ‘bonus’ is an extra amount of money paid as a reward on top of your fixed salary.

We usually get a bonus at Christmas depending on how well the company has done.
Every year, usually in January, we receive a bonus. It is a discretionary bonus related to your performance.

English Phrasal Verbs – go

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:53:22 +0000

If food is stored in a hot place for too long, it will ‘go off’.

I think this fish has gone off. It smells terrible.
If you don’t keep it in the fridge, it will soon go off.

As time continues, we say that time ‘goes by’.

One year went by without any news from him.
Time goes by so slowly.

If you have an experience, you ‘go through’ the experience.

I went through a lot of problems with my teenage daughter.
The hurricane was an awful experience to go through.

If you are allowed to start something you can ‘go ahead’.

The boss said we can go ahead and make the necessary changes.
We can’t go ahead without approval from Head Office.

If you are ill, you may have ‘gone down with’ a virus.

I went down with flu and had to take a week off work.
My son has gone down with mumps.

If people receive news badly, it didn’t ‘go down’ very well.

The news of the redundancies went down very badly.
The increase in price has gone down surprisingly well with our customers.

The way you ‘go about’ a job is the way that you handle it.

You’re not going about this very well.
He’s not going about the job in the right way and is having a lot of problems.

Every morning, my alarm clock ‘goes off’ too early!

The burglar alarm went off and scared them away.
I slept in because my alarm didn’t go off.

If I want you to continue a story, I will say ‘go on’.

Go on. Tell me more details.
Please go on. This is very interesting.

If you choose an option, you ‘go for’ that option.

I’ll go for the larger model.
Which option will they go for?

English Phrasal Verbs – into part 3

admin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:35:32 +0000

If somebody ‘flies into’ an emotional state, they do it very suddenly and without warning.

He flew into a panic when he heard that the big boss was coming.
She flew into a rage when she heard that her project had been cancelled.

If you ‘fool someone into’ doing something, you trick them into doing it.

I fooled him into believing that next Monday was a public holiday.
She fooled me into thinking that John was Italian.

If you ‘slip into’ a bad state or condition, you gradually start to be that way.

The economy is slipping into recession.
He improved for a while but now he’s slipping back into his old habits.

If you ‘run into’ somebody, you meet them by chance.

I ran into Martin when I was doing some shopping.
I hope to run into you again one of these days.

If a quantity ‘runs into’ the thousands, it is more than one thousand.

The money spent on the project must run into the millions.
The death toll runs into the hundreds.

If you ‘run into difficulties’, you begin to experience them.

The company ran into difficulties in the 90s when consumer tastes changed.
We’ll run into problems if we don’t act now.

If you ‘settle into’ a new job, you begin to feel relaxed and at ease.

How are you settling into your new job?
I’ve had problems settling into my new company.

If you ‘fling yourself into’ a task, you do it with a lot of energy.

He’s flung himself into his new job. He’s already made a lot of changes.
She flings herself into everything she does. She has an amazing amount of energy.

If you ‘sink money into’ a project, you invest it.

Microsoft have sunk millions into developing their range of products.
We’d need to sink a lot of money into the factory to turn it around.

If you ‘sink into’ a state, you gradually get worse.

He’s sunk into a depression over the last few months.
The company has sunk deeper and deeper into debt.

English Phrasal Verbs – into part 2

admin — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:21:56 +0000

If you ‘check into’ a hotel, you arrive at the hotel and complete the registration process.

I’m going straight to the meeting. I’ll check into my hotel later.
Just give me thirty minutes to check into my hotel and I’ll be ready to go.

If you ‘check into’ some information, you verify if the information is correct.

We need to check into his background to see if he is who he says he is.
We need to check into these statistics to see how reliable they are.

If people ‘crowd into’ a room, many of them go into a small space.

Can everybody crowd into this room or do we need a bigger one?
We all crowded into this tiny room to hear her speak.

If you ‘get into’ a subject, you become interested in it or involved with it.

I’ve been getting into yoga recently and I’ve become more relaxed.
I got into teaching English because I wanted to visit other countries.

You can also ‘get into’ a habit of doing something.

I’ve got into the routine of jogging every morning before I start work.
You should get into the habit of checking your email only twice a day.

If you ‘look into’ something, you examine all the details.

We need to look into why we are doing so badly in Japan.
We’ll have to look into the possibility that our sales team have become unmotivated.

If a car ‘pulls into’ the side of the road, it stops.

Pull into that rest area so that we can have a break.
The train was pulling into the station as we got there.

If you have ‘put time/effort into ‘ something, you have spent a lot of time/effort on it.

I’ve put a lot of effort into this project but I don’t seem to be getting anywhere.
You’ve put a lot of work into this and I appreciate it.

To ‘put money into’ something means to invest in it.

We need to put a lot more money into English training.
We’ve put loads of money into research and development with very poor results.

If you ‘dig into’ something you have been saving, you use it part of it.

We will need to dig into our reserve fund to finance this work.
I had to dig into my savings to repair the storm damage to my house.

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English Phrasal Verbs – into part 1

admin — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:12:26 +0000

If you ‘bump into’ someone, you meet them by chance.

I bumped into Martin in the mall.
You’ll never guess who I bumped into today.

If you ‘burst into a room’ or ‘burst into tears’, you do it suddenly and without warning.

Don’t burst into my room like that. Please knock first.
When I told him the bad news, he burst into tears.

If something ‘comes into’ force, it begins to happen.

The new tax rules come into effect from next Monday.
When the changes come into effect, productivity is certain to rise.

If you say that a particular emotion or quality ‘doesn’t come into it’, it means that it doesn’t influence the situation.

I promoted Kate because she was the best person for the job and the fact that she is my daughter didn’t come into.
She’s rich because she’s good at what she does. Luck doesn’t come into it.

Often when we use ‘go into’ it has the idea of ‘entering’.

I was thinking about going into politics.
The new model has just gone into production.

Sometimes ‘go into’ can mean to do things in great detail.

The deal sounds good but we’ll have to go into the details of the contract.
It’s very complicated and we don’t have time to go into that now.

Time, money or energy that has ‘gone into’ a project, is what has been used or spent on the project.

Over $100,000 has gone into the development of this new system.
I appreciate that a lot of effort has gone into the writing of this report.

If you ‘grow into’ an activity, you become better at doing it over time.

She was very unsure at first but has really grown into her new job.
Give it some time and you will grow into the role.

If you ‘talk someone into’ doing something, you persuade them to do it.

I didn’t want to come but Annie talked me into it.
I think I can talk him into it.

If you ‘tune into’ a particular radio or television station, you select it.

More and more people are tuning into ‘The Apprentice’.
People listen to their Ipods and don’t tune into the radio as much as before.

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English Phrasal Verbs – out part 7

admin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 11:03:46 +0000

If you ‘fall out’ with somebody, you have a bad argument with them.

They fell out over the arrangements for the meeting.
I don’t want to fall out with you but I’m very unhappy with what you have done.

If news ‘leaks out’, people who shouldn’t know about it do.

Details of the report leaked out over the weekend.
If this information leaks out, we are in serious trouble.

If you ‘come out with’ something, you say something suddenly.

She came straight out with it and said I was a liar.
You never know what he is going to come out with next.

If you ‘come out with’ a new product , you make available something new.

Microsoft have come out with a new version of Office.
We haven’t come out with a new product for two years.

If you ‘give out’ information, you hand it out to people.

I’ll give out a summary at the end so you don’t need to take notes.
Could you give those papers out for me, please?

If something ‘gives out’, it stops working or supplies run out.

Our stock of leather will give out in three days, if we don’t get any more.
My voice is about to give out so I’ll stop my presentation at this point.

If you are ‘let out’ of something, it can mean that you escape from doing something difficult or unpleasant or that you have agreed to do.

They won’t let us out of our contract with them.
He resigned this morning which lets me out from having to fire him.

If you ‘make something out’, it can mean that you are able to see or hear something with difficulty.

I couldn’t make out what he was saying with all that background noise.
I can’t make out who sent me this letter.

To ‘make out something’ can mean to claim falsely that something is true.

He made out that he had a lot of experience in this area but it wasn’t true.
He’s not as difficult a person as he is often made out to be.

If you are ‘put out’, it can mean that you are annoyed or caused extra work by something that is said or done.

He seemed put out that we didn’t ask him to join us for lunch.
I don’t want to put you out. Don’t do it if it is too much bother.

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English Phrasal Verbs – out part 6

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:53:52 +0000

If you ‘burst out’, you suddenly say something. If you ‘burst out laughing’, you suddenly start to laugh. If you have an ‘outburst’, you express your feelings (usually anger) strongly.

I burst out laughing when I saw Derek wearing his kilt.
He suddenly burst out crying when I told him he had lost his job.

If you ‘call somebody out’, you ask them to come to help you.

We called out the fire brigade because the situation was so dangerous.
I was called out in the middle of the night because the computer system went down.

If you ‘call out’, you say something loudly.

If you know the answer, just call it out.
I called out your name but you couldn’t have heard me.

If you ‘carry out’ a task, you do something you were told or agreed to do.

We need to carry out a survey to see what people really want.
I didn’t think he would carry out his threat to resign.

If you ‘clear out’ a place, you remove all the unwanted items.

We cleared out the old storeroom and turned it into an office.
You’re fired. Clear out your desk and leave the premises.

If you ‘wear somebody out’ , you make them very tired.

I’m worn out from all the business trips I take.
Running two offices in Milan and New York is enough to wear anybody out.

If you ‘work something out’, you make a calculation or make a plan and a decision.

I need to work out the new prices for next year’s catalogue.
We need to work out an agreement between our companies.

If something unpleasant or bad ‘breaks out’, it starts.

The fire broke out in the warehouse.
A fight broke out in the canteen when somebody tried to jump the queue.

If you ‘drop out’ of an activity, you stop doing it.

We dropped out of the bidding for the new contract because we were going to make a loss.
I’ve dropped out of the planning committee because I don’t have the time.

If you ‘fall out’ with someone, you have an argument with them.

Harry and I have fallen out about the plans for the new building.
I don’t want to fall out with you but I strongly disagree.

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