exercise 1
exercise 2
exercise 3
exercise 4

• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• All this work is beginning to tire me out. I need a break.
• The long journey has tired me out.

• John was going to make the presentation but he backed out at the last minute.
• You’ve signed the contract so you can’t back out now.

• I had to sort out a problem with our delivery times.
• We’re meeting on Monday to sort out the details of the new contract.

• They have pulled out of the deal because they didn’t like our payment terms.
• The unions have pulled out of the negotiations and are now threatening strike action.

• I think we can rule him out for the job as he doesn’t speak Italian well enough.
• We haven’t ruled out the possibility of appointing a local agent.

• I only found out about this earlier today.
• We need to find out a lot more before we can give a definitive answer.

• I usually wash out my clothes in the sink when I am staying in a hotel.
• Red wine is really hard to wash out.

• The tennis at Wimbledon was washed out for the day.
• There so much rain that it might wash out the game.

• He was a big football star in college but he washed out in the NFL.
• The training course is tough but I’m not going to wash out.

• I’ll spread these photos out on the table so that you can all see them.
• You can spread the payments out over several months.

• I want to ask her out but I am too shy.
• He asked me out on Friday but I told him I had to wash my hair.

• My doctor told me to cut out dairy products.
• I cut out going to the gym because I did not have the time and now I am fat.

• He never cooks and always eats out or has a takeaway.
• For my birthday, I would like to eat out somewhere nice.

• I was walking quietly down the street when this young man jumped out in front of me.
• Stop the car at the corner and I will jump out.

• There is extra security today to keep the protestors out.
• Please keep out of my office. I need some peace and quiet.

• Did you leave anything out or is that the whole story?
• It is just a summary. I left out a lot of the details.

• I have slipped out of the meeting for a few minutes but I must get back.
• I did not intend to tell him. It just slipped out.

• I can never squeeze out that last bit of toothpaste from the tube.
• I managed to squeeze out of her that the job was offered to Alain.

• I stayed out all night and I feel terrible.
• We stayed out celebrating until the early hours.

• When we heard their derisory offer, we walked out of the meeting.
• This presentation is dreadful. I have a good mind to walk out.

• I used to smoke a packet a day but I stopped two years ago.
• Ben used to travel a lot in his job but now, since his promotion, he doesn’t.
• I used to drive to work but now I take the bus.

• There used to be a cinema in the town but now there isn’t.
• She used to have really long hair but she’s had it all cut off.
• I didn’t use to like him but now I do.

Here are a few more comments. I’ve looked up various different grammar books on this and found some disagreements. These are just my opinions, as an educated speaker of British English.

1. Different people seem to have different opinions about the question and negative forms.

-Some people think you say ‘used’ and some people that you say ‘use’.

I didn’t used to like him but I do now.

I didn’t use to eat tomatoes but I do now.

Did you used to swim at school?

Did you use to go to school by bus?

BBC English says that both forms are OK. I agree with that – but not everybody does.

2. Some people think that ‘used to’ should be a modal verb in its form. Other people think that it should be treated as a regular verb.

I used not to enjoy opera.

I didn’t use to enjoy opera.

I didn’t used to enjoy opera.

Used you to travel much before you had children?

Did you use to travel much before you had children?

Did you used to travel much before you had children?

I find the modal form very strange and I don’t believe I have ever used it. However, my favourite grammar writer insists that that is the ‘correct’ form. You can avoid the problem by asking a question in the past simple.

Did you travel much before you had children?

3. There are three situations in which we use ‘used to’. In two of these three situations, it is possible to use ‘would’ instead of ‘used to’.

Past Habits

When I was young, I used to go to the cinema on Saturday mornings.

When I was young, I would go to the cinema on Saturday mornings.

Repeated Happenings

We often used to have no money when I was a child.

We would often have no money, when I was a child.

BUT

Permanent States

We used to live in Edinburgh.

I used to like her but I don’t any more.

 

4. ‘Would can also be used to talk about ‘willingness’ or ‘insistence’ in the past.

He would go to night clubs and would get into fights.

They would always offer me money because they knew I was a poor student.

Here are some exercises:

exercise 1

exercise 2

exercise 3

exercise 4

exercise 5

 

‘to cut across’ means to take a shortcut over an area instead of going around the edge.

1. • It’ll be quicker to cut across the field.
   • She quickly cut across the car park to where he was standing.

‘to cut back’ means to reduce the amount of money being spent.

1. • The government has cut back on education with less teachers.
   • I’ve had to cut back on my spending as I’m not making any money at the moment.

‘to cut down’ means to remove a tree or plant by cutting it near the base.

1. • To make bigger fields, the farmer has cut down a lot of the hedges.
   • We cut down the old tree in the garden as it blocked all the light.

‘to cut down’ also means to reduce the number or quantity of something.

1. • The article was too long and so I had to cut it down to fit the space.
   • I have cut down the number of hours I work to only thirty a week now.

‘to cut in’ = to interrupt someone when they are speaking.

1. • I was trying to explain it when she cut in and started talking.
   • He really annoys me. He’s always cutting in and never lets me speak.

‘to cut off’ = to stop supplies of something like electricity or water

1. • They didn’t pay the bills and the electricity was cut off.
   • The water was cut off while they repaired the leaking pipes.

‘to cut off’ can also mean to stop a telephone connection.

1. • I’ll ring him back. We got cut off in the middle of the conversation.
   • I’m sorry but I pressed the wrong button and cut you off.

‘to cut out’ = when an engine or piece of machinery suddenly stops working

1. • There’s a problem with my car. The engine keeps cutting out.
   • When I stopped at the lights, the engine cut out.

‘to cut through’ difficulty means to be able to deal with the problems or bureaucracy quickly

1. • To get the permits in time, we had to find a way to cut through all the bureaucracy.
   • She can cut through the complex legal language and get to the point.

‘to cut up’ = to divide something into smaller pieces

1. • It was too big to go into the bin so I cut it up.
   • At the end, there was a cake left so we cut it up and each took a piece home.

• I couldn’t find it in the local shops. I had to send away for it.
• I don’t know what they are like. I’m going to send away for some samples.

• The food was cold when it was served so we sent it back.
• When it arrived, I didn’t like the colour so I sent it back.

• The baby was very ill so she sent for the doctor.
• I knew I was in trouble when the boss sent for me.

• Please send in the completed forms before January 31st.
• The TV show is funny family videos that viewers send in.

• I’d like to speak to James. Can you send him in, please?
• I’m ready now. Can you send in the first patient?

• You should have got it by now. I sent it off two days ago.
• I packed everything up and sent it off last week.

• Here is my new address. Can you send my mail on to me?
• My colleague is dealing with this. I’ll send a copy of your email on so she can deal with it.

• The wedding is in two months. We need to send out the invitations.
• We sent out copies of the new brochure to all our existing clients.

• This tiny transmitter sends out a signal strong enough to be picked up a kilometre away.
• The phone mast sends out radio waves that some people think are dangerous.

• I don’t want to cook. Let’s send out for a pizza.
• It’s almost lunchtime. Shall we send out for some sandwiches or snack.

• A few suggestions have been put forward for consideration.
• Jan put forward a few ideas for raising money for the charity.

• He put his name forward as a candidate for election.
• I’ve put Peter’s name forward for the post in accounts.

• We have put in a more powerful engine in the new version.
• We’ve just had a new bathroom put in.

• I’ve put a lot of money in this project. I hope to make a good profit.
• I’ve put all my money in government bonds.

• I hope I get the job in Toronto. I’ve put in for a transfer there.
• She’s put in for the job in the Export department but I don’t think she’s qualified for it.

• I’m not happy with the result even though I’ve put a lot of time into it.
• She put a lot of effort into getting it right.

• Tomorrow will be too late. Don’t put it off.
• She’s put the wedding off until her father has recovered from his illness.

• I wish he would let me work quietly. His talking puts me off my work.
• All the people watching put him off his game. He didn’t play very well at all.

• His arrogant attitude puts people off him very quickly.
• The stories I heard about him really put me off him.

• I couldn’t sleep. I finally put the light off at two in the morning.
• Can you put the light off, please? It’ll be easier to see the screen.