A mouthful of English

Verbs are often followed by complements – for example, I’m learning English , I have a cat , and I play baroque music . But depending on their meaning, they require different types of complements – some starting with a preposition, and some without it. As a result, we hear music but we listen to music ; we see things but we look at them . Prepositional verbs are followed by a preposition that depends on the verb: you agree with someone , you wait for a bus , and you laugh at a joke . However, these prepositions don’t occur when there is no object: ‘ Please wait, ’ ‘ Don’t laugh ,’ ‘ Do you agree? ’ She’s waiting for the bus. Not all verbs take prepositions: in English, you enter a building , you phone friends , and you discuss problems . On the other hand, some verbs can be used in more than one way: we may ask a question , but we ask for help ; we pay tax , we pay the rent , and we pay ten euros , but we pay for a coffee . What all this means is that, w

A phrasal verb , like make up or give away , is an idiomatic phrase consisting of a verb and a particle. The words in such phrases usually have different meanings in other contexts, but when they form a phrasal verb they mean something together. If you make up a story, you invent it; if you give a secret away , you reveal it. Children often take after their parents. There are lots of phrasal verbs in English. Every day we wake up and get up . We put on and take off coats, shoes or glasses. We switch on lights, the TV, and our mobile phones – and then we switch them off . The two parts of some phrasal verbs may appear together or separated in a sentence: Please turn off your mobile phone. Please turn your mobile phone off . But sometimes they have to be separated – when the object of the verb is a pronoun: You can’t use your mobile phone here. Please turn it off . Like many other words, some phrasal verbs have more than one meaning. If you pick up a l

In English we often use adjectives like bored and interested to say how we feel. A story, a situation, or another person can make us feel intrigued , embarrassed, or disappointed . We are often tired or stressed after a working week, and relaxed at the weekend. Surprised, depressed, amused, annoyed, and puzzled are other examples of –ed adjectives that express how people feel. They all come from verbs, and each of them has a relative – another adjective ending in – ing. The words in pairs like shocked/shocking and bored/boring look so similar because they come from the same verbs – shock and bore . Both confused and confusing come from confuse , although they have different meanings – which is confusing for some people. In such pairs, the –ing adjective describes what makes you feel in a certain way, while the –ed adjective describes how you feel. So, when something is interesting (it interests you), you are interested (you feel interested).