Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 18 ]

18- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

Speaking .

The verbs in the table describe how loudly a person is speaking and also , often indicate mood . These verbs may be followed by clauses beginning with ‘that’ .

verb	loudness	most likely mood
whisper	soft
murmur	soft	romantic or complaining
mumble	soft [ and unclear ]	nervous or insecure
mutter	soft	irritated
shout	loud	angry or excited
scream	loud [ usually without words ]	frightened or excited
shriek	loud [ and shrill ]	frightened or amused
stutter , stammer	neutral	nervous or excited

B-] The following verbs indicate how the speaker feels .

verb               patterns               feeling                  verb            patterns                  feeling

boast  to sb about st   that   proud on oneself    complain to sb about st that    displeased  

insist       on st that               determined           maintain         that                     confident

object    that/ to + ing     unhappy about situation       confess  that /to+ ing    repentant

 threaten   that /to do st         aggressive                urge    sb /to do st                  encouraging

argue        with sb about, at / that  not in agreement  beg   sb to do / at for st        desperate

groan                 that           despair , pain              grumble          about st           displeased

C-]To give an idea of the way someone speaks and his / her feeling , you can use a speaking verb , pus an adverb . For example , ‘He said ‘proudly’ . She spoke ‘angrily’ . This is most common in written style . Some useful adverbs describing the way someone is feeling while they are speaking .

If someone feels angry : ‘crossly’ , ‘furiously’ , ‘bitterly’ [ about something in the past ]

If someone feels unhappy : ‘unhappily’ , ‘gloomily’ , ‘miserably’ , ‘sadly’

If someone feels happy : ‘happily’ , ‘cheerfully’ , ‘gladly’ , ‘hopefully’ , ‘eagerly’

If someone feels worried : ‘anxiously’ , ‘nervously’, ‘desperately’ , ‘hopelessly’

Other useful adverbs are ‘boldly’ , ‘excitedly’ , ‘gratefully’ , ‘impatiently’ ,

‘passionately’ , ‘reluctantly’ , ‘shyly’ , ‘sincerely’.

Health and medicine .

A-] What are your symptoms :

- I’ve got a cold / a cough / a sore throat / a temperature [ a higher temperature than normal ] / a stomach ache / chest pains / earache / a pain in my side / a rash on my chest / spots / a bruise on my leg [ e.g. after playing football ]

/ a black eye [ e.g. after being hit in the eye ] / a ump on my arm / indigestion [ after eating too fast ] / sickness and diarrhea [ an upset stomach which makes you vomit and need to go to the toilet frequently ] / sunburn / painful joints [ e.g. ankles , knees , wrists , shoulders ] / blisters [ after wearing new , tight shoes ] .

- I feel sick / dizzy [ my head is spinning ] / breathless / shivery [ cold and hot ]

/ faint [ light-headed ] .]

I am depressed / constipated [ not able to go the toilet ] / tired all the time .

I’ve lost my appetite / voice ; I can’t sleep , my nose itches [ I want to scratch it ] , my leg hurts .

B-] What do doctors do ?

They take your temperature , listen to your chest , look in your ears , examine you , take your blood pressure , ask you some questions and weigh and measure you before sending you to the hospital for further tests .

C-]What’s the diagnosis ?

You’ve got flu / chickenpox / mumps / pneumonia / rheumatism / an ulcer / a virus / a bug / something that’s going round .

You’ve broken your wrist and sprained / dislocated your ankle .

You’re pregnant / a hypochondriac .

He died of lung cancer / a heart attack / a brain hemorrhage / AIDS .

D-] What does the doctor prescribe ?

a-] Take one tablet three times a day after meals .

b-] Take a teaspoonful of medicine last thing at night .

c-] Rub this ointment on you and don’t spend too long in the sun without sun-cream .

d-] We’ll get the nurse to put a bandage on your wrist .

e-] You’ll need to have some injections before you go to the Africa .

f-] I’ll ask the surgeon when he can fit you in for an operation .

g-] You’ll have to have your leg put in plaster until the break mends .

h-] I think you should have total bed rest for a week .

E-] What might the doctor ask you ?

What would you say if the doctor asked you the following questions ?

Do you have health insurance ? Have you ever had any operations ?

Are you taking any medication ? Are you allergic to anything .

Food .

A-] Here  are some some types of meat :

‘Red meat’ : beef [ cow ] , lamb [ lamb ] , mutton [ sheep ] , venison [ deer ]

‘White meat’ : veal [ calf ] , pork , ham , bacon [ pig ] , chicken [ chicken ] , turkey [ turkey ] . Chicken , turkey and duck are sometimes referred to as ‘poultry’ .

‘Fish’ : cod , hake , plaice , mackerel , herring , sardine , trout , salmon .

‘Seafood’ : prawns , shrimps , crab , lobster , crayfish , squid , cockles , mussels , oysters .

‘Vegetables’ : cabbage , cauliflower , broccoli , spinach , cucumber , leeks , mushrooms , courgettes , [ Am. Eng. : zucchini ] , aubergines [ Am. Eng. : egg plants ]

‘Spices’ : curry [ a mixture of spices such as cumin , cardamom , coriander , paprika , turmeric , ginger ] , cinnamon , nutmeg .

‘Herbs’ : parsley , rosemary , chives , sage , thyme , tarragon , oregano .

B-] Flavors and tastes – adjectives and some opposites :

- ‘sweet’ X ‘bitter’ [ sharp / unpleasant ] , sour [ e.g. unripe fruit , lemon ]

- ‘hot , spicy’ [ e.g. curry ] X mild , bland [ rather negative ]

- ‘salty’ [ a lot of salt e.g. cheese ] X sugary [ a lot of sugar e.g. sweets ] , sickly [ too much sugar ] .

- ‘savory’ [ pleasant , slightly salty or with herbs ]

- ‘tasty’ [ has a good taste / flavor ] X tasteless [ no flavor at all ] , delicious .

C-] General appearance , presentation and quality :

These chips are terribly ‘greasy’ , oily [ too much oil , fat ]

This meat is ‘over-cooked’ , ‘overdone’ , ‘under-cooked’ , ‘underdone’ .

British cooking can be very ‘stodgy’ [ heavy , hard to digest ]

This chicken’s ‘done to a turn’ . [ just perfect , not overdone ] .

These pistachio nuts are terribly more-ish . [ informal ; you want to eat more ]

D-] Ways of cooking food – verbs :

- boil , fry , bake , roast , grill  , stir-fry .

Lamb chops are nice ‘barbecued . [ over hot coals , usually outdoors ]

Have you ‘seasoned’ the stew ? [ added herbs , spices , salt , pepper ]

E-] Courses and dishes :

In the UK a meal in a restaurant would typically be three courses : a ‘starter’       [ light snack / appetizer ], a main course [ the most important / substantial part of the meal ] , followed by a ‘dessert’ [ sometimes called a sweet / pudding / after ,  especially at home ] .

Clothes .

A-] Here are some items of clothing or parts of them which are perhaps less familiar :

- ‘dressing-gown’ , ‘cuff’ , ‘buckle’ , ‘hem’ , ‘braces’ , ‘mittens’ , ‘collar’ , ‘cardigan’ , ‘zip’ , ‘sleeves’ , ‘slippers’ , ‘laces’ , ‘sole’ , ‘heel’ .

B-] Verbs associated with clothing :

Can I ‘try on’ these grey shoes in the window ?

I love ‘dressing up’ for parties as I normally wear jeans .

The skirt is too tight and too short – it needs ‘letting out’ and ‘letting down’ .

The dress is too loose and too long – it needs ‘taking in’ and ‘taking up’ .

He ‘changed out of’ his weekend clothes into his uniform .

Sally usually doesn’t ‘suit’ people with ginger hair .

Her black bag ‘matches’ her shoes .

Those shoes don’t ‘fit’ the boy any more . He’s ‘grown out’ of them .

C-] Adjectives for describing people’s clothing :

How things fit : ‘baggy’ , ‘loose’ , ‘tight’ , ‘cloth-fitting’ .

Style : ‘long-sleeved’ , ‘sleeveless’ , ‘V-neck’ , ‘round-neck’ , ‘pleated’ .

How people look : ‘elegant’ , ‘smart’ , ‘scruffy’ , ‘chic’ , ‘trendy’ , ‘messy’ ,     ‘old-fashioned’ , ‘fashionable’ , ‘well-dressed’ , ‘badly-dressed’ .

D-] Materials which clothes are often made of :

A ‘silk’ shirt feels soft and light but also warm . ‘Cotton’ shirts are cool but they need ironing . ‘Velvet’ skirts are rich and warm for winter parties . Jeans are usually made of ‘denim’ . ‘Suede’ is a kind of ‘leather’ but it isn’t shiny . ‘Nylon’ ,

‘polyester’ and ‘lycra’ are ‘artificial fibers’ .

We get ‘wool’ from sheep ; ‘woolen’ clothes keep you warm when it’s cold . All the above words for materials except ‘wool’ and ‘woolen’ can be nouns or adjectives .

E-] Adjectives used to describe the patterns on materials :

-‘pin-striped’ , ‘spotted’ , ‘plain’ , ‘striped’ , ‘checked’ , ‘flowery’ , ‘tartan’ .

Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 17 ]

17- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment .

The six senses .

A-] The five senses are ‘sight’ , ‘hearing’ , ‘taste’ , ‘touch’  and ‘smell’ . What is sometimes referred to as a ‘sixth sense’ [ for extrasensory perception] is a power to be aware of things independently of the five physical senses , a kind of supernatural sense . The five verbs referring to the senses are modified by an adjective rather than an adverb .

e.g. He ‘looks’ dreadful’ . The trip ‘sounds’ marvelous . The cake ‘tastes’ good . It ‘felt’ strange . The soup ‘smelt’ delicious .

B-] Sight :

e.g. Yesterday I ‘glanced’ out of the window and ‘noticed’ a man ‘observing’ a house opposite through a telescope . I thought I ‘glimpsed’ a woman inside the house . Then I ‘saw’ someone else ‘peering’ into the window of the same house . I ‘gazed’ at them wondering what they were doing . Suddenly the first man stopped ‘staring’ through his telescope . He went and hit the other one on the head with the telescope and I realizes that I had ‘witnessed’ a crime .

C-] Hearing :

Scale of loudness : noiseless , silent , quiet , noisy , loud , deafening .

D-] Taste : sweet [ honey] , salty [crisps] , bitter [ strong coffee ] , sour [ vinegar ],

spicy [ Indian food ] .

If you say something tastes ‘hot’ , it may mean ‘spicy’ rather than ‘not cold’ . Food can be tasty but ‘tasteful’ refers to furnishings , architecture or a style of dressing or behavior . The opposite of both is ‘tasteless’ .

E-] Touch :  She nervously ‘fingered’ her collar . He ‘stroked’ the car and ‘patted’ the dog . She ‘tapped’ him on the shoulder . He ‘grasped’ my hand and we ran . She ‘grabbed’ her briefcase and ran to the bus stop . The thief ‘snatched’ her handbag and disappeared into the crowd . ‘Press’ the button . Please ‘handle’ the goods with great care .

F-] Smell : Here are some adjectives to describe smells :

‘stinking’ , evil-smelling’ , ‘putrid’ , ‘aromatic’ , ‘pungent’ , ‘musty’ , ‘fragrant’ ,

‘sweet-smelling’ , ‘perfumed / scented’ .

G-] Sixth sense : Different phenomena which a person with sixth sense may experience . ‘telepathy’ [ experiencing someone else’s feeling even though you are apart ]

‘premonition’ [ knowing something is going to happen before it occurs ]

‘intuition’ [ instinctive understanding ]

‘déjà vu’ [ an inexplicable feeling that you have already been somewhere or experienced something ]

What your body does .

A-] Verbs connected with the mouth and breathing :

‘breathe’ : A nurse gave the old man artificial respiration and he started ‘breathing’ again .

‘yawn’ : If one person ‘yawns’ everyone seems to start too .

‘cough’ : It was so smoky in the room that he couldn’t stop ‘coughing’ .

‘sneeze’ : Dust often makes me ‘sneeze’ .

‘sigh’ : She ‘sighed’ with relief when she heard the plane had landed safely .

‘hiccup’ : Holding your breath and swallowing can help you stop ‘hiccupping’ .

‘snore’ : She ‘snored’ all night with her mouth wide open .

B-] Verbs connected with eating and digestion :

‘burp’ : He patted the baby’s back to make it ‘burp’ after its feed .

‘chew’ : My granny used to say you should ‘chew’ every mouthful ten times .

‘rumble’ : It’s embarrassing if your stomach ‘rumbles’ during an interview .

‘swallow’ : Take a drink of water to help you ‘swallow’ . the pills .

‘suck’ : Sometimes in the airplane , you are given a sweet to ‘suck’ – it can stop your ears popping !

‘lick’ : The cat ‘licked’ the bowl clean .

‘bite’ : Don’t ‘bite’ that hard sweet – you’ll hurt your teeth .

C-] Verbs connected with the eyes and face :

‘blink’ : She ‘blinked’ several times to try and get the dust out of her eye .

‘wink’ : He ‘winked’ at me across the room to try to make me laugh .

‘frown’ : Why are you ‘frowning’ ? What’s the problem ?

‘grin’ : She was so delighted with the present that she ‘grinned’ from ear to ear .

‘blush’ : He ‘blushed’ with embarrassment when she smiled at him .

D-] Verbs connected with the whole body :

‘perspire / sweat’ : When it’s hot , you sweat / perspire . [perspire is more formal ]

‘tremble’ :My hands ‘tremble’ when I’ve been drinking too much coffee .

‘shiver’ : Look at him! He’s so cold that he’s ‘shivering’ !

‘shake’ : She laughed so much that her whole body shook .

Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment [ 16 ]

16- ] Spelling & Vocabulary Enrichment 

5-] Belief and opinion .

A-] Verbs connected with beliefs and opinions :

- You know ‘think’ and ‘believe’ .

- I’m ‘convinced’ we’ve met before . [ very strong feeling that you’re right ]

- I’ve always ‘held’ that compulsory education is a waste of time . [ formal , used for very firm beliefs ; ‘maintain’ could be used here ]

-She ‘maintains’ that we’re related , but I’m not convinced . [ formal ; insist on believing , often against the evidence ; ‘hold’ could not be used here ]

- I ‘feel’ she shouldn’t be forced to do the job . [ strong personal opinion ]

- I ‘reckon’ they’ll get married soon . [ informal ; usually an opinion about what is likely to happen / to be true ]

- I ‘doubt’ we’ll ever see total world peace . [ I don’t believe]

- I ‘suspect’ a lot of people never even think about pollution when they’re driving their own car . [ fairly formal ; have a strong feeling about something negative ]

B-] Phrases for expressing opinion :

- ‘In my view’ , ‘In my opinion’ , we ‘haven’t made any progress’ . [fairly formal]

- She’s made a big mistake ‘to my mind’ . [fairly informal]

- ‘If you ask me’ , he ought to change his job . [ informal ]

- Note how ‘point of view’ is used in English .

From a teacher’s ‘point of view’ , the new examinations are a disaster .  [ how teachers see things , or are affected ]

C-] Prepositions used with belief and opinion words :

Do you ‘believe in’ life after death ? What are your ‘views on’ divorce ?

What do you ‘think of’ the new boss ?

Are you ‘for’ or ‘against’ long prison sentences ? [ neutral / informal ]

I’m ‘ in favor of’ [ opposite 'opposed to’ ] long prison sentences . [ formal ]

I have my ‘doubts about’ this plan .

D-] Beliefs , ideologies , philosophies , convictions :

Ideologies                            beliefs                              convictions

   /        \                                  /          \                                   /                \

Left-/right-wing              philosophies                          religious    morals

   /                \                         /                    \                         /                   \

socialist   conservative    intellectual   personal      Muslim      pacifist

                                            /                     \

                                        Darwinist         vegetarian

E-] Some adjectives for describing people’s beliefs and views , in pairs of similar , but not exactly the same meaning :

fanatical / obsessive , eccentric / odd , conservative / traditional  , middle-of-the-road / moderate , dedicated / committed , firm / strong .

5-]Pleasant and unpleasant feelings .

A-] Happiness and unhappiness :

You feel :

‘ecstatic’ : when you experience an intense and overpowering feeling of delight .

‘content[ed] when you are satisfied with what you have . Notice that ‘content’ is ore a noun .You can say ‘She is content’ or ‘She is contented’ but only ‘a contented person’ .

‘cheerful’ when life is looking bright and positive .

‘grateful’ when someone has done something thoughtful for you .

‘delighted’ when something has happened that gives you great pleasure , when you hear news of someone’s good fortune , for instance .

‘miserable’ when everything seems wrong in your life .

‘discontented’ when your life is not giving you satisfaction .

‘fed-up’ l ‘sick’ and ‘tired’ when you have had enough of something disagreeable . You could ‘be fed-up’ with someone’s rudeness , or ‘sick [and tired]’ of someone’s behavior .

‘depressed’ when you are miserable over a long period of time . Depression is considered ab illness in some severe cases .

‘frustrated’ when you are unable to do something that you want to do .

‘confused’ / ‘mixed up’ when you cannot make sense of different conflicting feelings or ideas : mixed up is more colloquial .

B-] Excitement , anger and anxiety :

You feel :

‘excited’ when you are expecting something special to happen , e.g. before a party.

‘inspired’ when you are stimulated to create deeds or words . You might feel ‘inspired by’ a really talented musician to learn how to play a musical instrument.

‘enthusiastic’ when you have very positive feelings about something , ‘enthusiastic about’ e.g. a new project .

‘thrilled’ [ informal ] when something extremely exciting and pleasing happens . She was ‘thrilled’ when the film star kissed her .

‘cross’ [ informal ] when you are angry or bad-tempered . It is often , though not exclusively , used about small children . Stop getting so cross with me .

‘furious / livid / seething with someone about something when you are extremely angry ; livid and seething are informal ; ‘in a rage/ fury’ also mean furious or violently angry .

‘anxious’ when you are afraid or uncertain  about the future . I am so anxious about the results of my exams that I can’t sleep .

‘nervous’ when you are afraid or anxious about something that is about to or may happen . I feel ‘nervous about’ going to the dentist . Feeling nervous is a little bit like feeling excited but it is a negative feeling whereas excitement is positive .

‘apprehensive about’ , e.g. an important meeting ; when you are slightly nervous or anxious about something in the future .

‘worried about’ , e.g. an operation; when anxious thoughts constantly go through your head .

‘upset about’ , e.g. a quarrel ; when something unpleasant has happened to disturb you . It often combines feelings of both sadness and anger .  

Likes , dislikes and desires .

A-] Words and expressions relating to liking :

- I ‘quite liked’ Ahmad when we first met .

- Although lots of my friends found him attractive , I didn’t ‘fancy’ him at all .

-I was more ‘tempted’ by his sports car than by him at first .

- I really ‘enjoyed’ spending time with him .

- He ‘fascinated’ me with his stories of his travels .

- Something mysterious about his also ‘attracted’ me .

- Moreover , we were both very ‘keen on’ sailing .

- Soon she realized she had ‘fallen in love’ with him .

- His sense of humor really ‘appealed to’ me .

- I was also ‘captivated by’ his smiling eyes .

- I absolutely ‘adore’ him .

- I can’t understand why I didn’t ‘fall for’ him the moment we first set eyes on  each other .

- He is a very ‘caring’ person , ‘fond of’ animals and small children .

- He is always ‘affectionate’ and ‘loving’ towards me and ‘passionate about’ me and the cases he believes in and the people he ‘cares for’ .

- I hope we’ll always ‘worship’ each other as much and be as ‘devoted to’ our life together as we are now .

B-] Words and expressions relating to disliking :

- ‘Loathe’ , ‘detest’ , ‘despise’ , ‘hate’ , ‘cannot stand’ and ‘cannot bear’ are all stronger ways of saying dislike and they are all followed by a noun or an ‘-ing’ form .

e.g. I loathe , detest , despise , hate , cannot stand ,cannot bear bad-mannered people .

- ‘Repel’ , ‘revolt’ , ‘appall’ and ‘disgust’ are all strong words used to describe the effect of which something detested has on the person affected .

e.g. His paintings ‘disgust’ me . I was ‘revolted’ by the way he spoke . We were ‘appalled’ by the conditions in the refugee camp . His behavior ‘repels’ everyone.

C-] Words and expressions relating to desiring :

‘Desire’ is used either as a formal verb to express a sexual wish for someone or else it is quite a formal word for wish . e.g. He ‘desired’ her the moment he saw her .

I have a strong ‘desire’ to see the Himalayas before I die .

- ‘Look forward to’ means think about something in the future with pleasant anticipation . The opposite of ‘look forward to’ is ‘dread’ .

e.g. I am looking forward to going to Fiji but I’m dreading the flight .

- ‘Long for’ means to wish for something very much .

e.g. After this long , cold winter , I’m longing for spring .

- ‘Yearn for’ is a more poetic way of saying ‘long for’ .

e.g. He will never stop ‘yearning for’ his country , although he knows he can never return .

D-] Ways of addressing loved ones :

- ‘dearest’ , ‘sweetheart’ , ‘darling’ , ‘love’ , ‘dear’ , and ‘pet’ .

‘Pet’ is used mainly to children . It’s best for you , however , to keep such words for people you have a close relationship with .