The Common Sense School

Thursday, 14 April 2016

Adjective + preposition (1)

Unit 129 - I E G - Adjective + preposition (1)

129.1

1. I went out in the cold without a coat.        That was silly of you.

2. Sue offered to drive me to the airport.        That was nice of her.

3. I needed money and Ian gave me some.        That was generous of him.

4. They didn’t invite us to their party.        That wasn’t very nice of them.

5. Can I help you with your luggage?            That is very kind of you.

6. Kevin didn’t thank me for the present.        That wasn’t very polite of him.

7. They’ve had an argument and now they refuse to speak to each other.

                            That’s a bit childish of them.

129.2

1. We’re all excited about going on holiday next week.

2. Thank you for all your help. You’ve been very kind to me.

3. I wouldn’t like to be in her position. I feel sorry for her.

4. What have I done wrong? Why are you annoyed with me?

5. Why do you always get so annoyed about little things?

6. I wasn’t very impressed by the service in the restaurant. We had to wait ages before our food arrived.

7. John isn’t happy at college. He says he’s bored with the course he’s doing.

8. I had never seen so many people before. I was astonished by the crowds.

129.3

1. I was delighted with the present you gave me.

2. It was very nice of you to do my shopping for me. Thank you very much.

3. Why are you always so rude to your parents? Can’t you be nice to them?

4. It was a bit careless of you to leave your door unlocked when you went out?

5. They didn’t reply to our letter, which wasn’t very polite of them.

6. We always have the same food everyday. I’m fed up with it.

7. I can’t understand people who are cruel to animals.

8. We enjoyed our holiday, but we were a bit disappointed with the hotel.

9. I was surprised by the way he behaved. It was completely out of character.

10. I’ve been trying to learn Spanish but I’m not very satisfied with my progress.

11. Linda doesn’t look very well. I’m worried about her.

12. Are you angry about what happened?

13. I’m sorry for what I said. I hope you are not angry with me.

14. The people next door are furious with us for making so much noise last night.

15. Jill starts her new job next week. She’s quite excited about it.

16. I’m sorry about the smell of paint in this room. I’ve just redecorated it.

17. I was shocked at what I saw. I’d never seen anything like it before.

18. The man we interviewed for the job was intelligent but weren’t very impressed by his appearance.

19. Are you still upset with what I said to you yesterday?

20. He said he was sorry about the situation but there was nothing he could do.

21. I felt sorry for the children when we went on holiday. It rained every day and they had to spend most of their time indoors.

Tuesday, 12 April 2016

Noun + preposition (reason for, cause of, etc.)

Unit 128 - I E G - Noun + preposition (reason for, cause of, etc.)

128.1

1. What caused the explosion?                What was the cause of the explosion?

2. We’re trying to solve the problem.    We’re trying to find a solution to the problem.

3. Sue gets on well with her brother.     Sue has a good relationship with her brother.

4. Prices have gone up a lot.                    There has been a big increase in prices.

5. I don’t know how to answer your question.

I can’t think of an answer to your question.

6. I don’t think that a new road is necessary.

I don’t think there is any need for a new road.

7. The number of people without jobs fell last month.

                                        Last month there was a fall in the number of people without jobs.

8. Nobody wants to buy shoes like these anymore.

                                        There is no demand for shoes like these anymore.

9. In what way is your job different from mine?

                                      What is the difference between your job and mine?

128.2

1. On the wall there were some pictures and a map of the world.

2 Thank you for the invitation to your party next week.

3. Since she left home two years ago, she has had little contact with her family.

4. I can’t open this door. Have you got a key to the other door?

5. The cause of the fire at the hotel last night is still unknown.

6. I wrote to Jim last week, but I still haven’t received a reply to my letter.

7. The two companies are completely independent. There is no connection between them.

8. Jane showed me some old pictures of the city as it looked 100 years ago.

9. Carol had decided to give up her job. I don’t know her reason for doing this.

10. It wasn’t a bad accident. The damage to the car wasn’t serious.

128.2

1. There are some differences between British and American English.

2. Everything can be explained. There’s a reason for everything.

3. If I give you the camera, can you take a photograph of me?

4. Money isn’t the solution to every problem.

5. There has been an increase in the amount of traffic using this road.

6. When I opened the envelope, I was delighted to find a cheque for £500.

7. The advantage of having a car is that you don’t have to rely on public transport.

8. There are many advantages in being able to speak a foreign language.

9. When Paul left home, his attitude towards his parents seemed to change.

10. Bill and I used to be good friends but I don’t have much contact with him now.

11. There has been a sharp rise in the cost of living in the past few years.

12. I’m sorry I haven’t written to you for so long. The reason for this is that I’ve been ill.

13. What was Emma’s reaction to the news?

14. Ken showed me a photograph of the house where he lived as a child.

15. The company has rejected the worker’s demands for a rise in pay.

16. What was the answer to question 3 in the test?
17. The fact that Jane was offered a job has no connection with the fact that her cousin is the managing director.

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Wednesday, 6 April 2016

By

Unit 127 - I E G - By

127.1
1. We hadn’t arranged to meet. We met by chance.
2. I didn’t intend to take your umbrella. I took it by mistake.

3. I didn’t put the pullover in the washing machine. I washed it by hand.

4. If you haven’t got any cash, you can pay by cheque.

5. The two cities were connected by satellite for a television program.

6. I never suspected anything. It was only by chance that I found out what had happened.

127.2
1. Liz usually goes to work by bus.
2. I saw Jane this morning. She was on the bus.

3. How did you get here? Did you come by train?

4. How did you get here? Did you come on the train?

5. I decided not to go by car. I went on my bike instead.

6. I didn’t feel like walking home, so I came home in a taxi.

7. Sorry we are late. We missed the bus, so we had to come on foot.

8. How long does it take to cross the Atlantic by sea?

127.3
1. ‘War and Peace’ is a book by Tolstoy.
2. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is a play by Shakespeare.

3. Ulysses is a novel by James Joyce.

4. Yesterday is a song by Paul McCartney.

5. Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso.

127.4
1. Who is that man standing by the window?
2. I managed to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.

3. The plane was badly damaged by lightning.

4. These photographs were taken by a friend of mine.

5. These photographs were taken with a very good camera.

6. I don’t mind going by car but I don’t want to go in your car.

7. Shall we get a taxi or shall we go on foot?

8. What’s that music? I know it’s by Beethoven but I can’t remember what it’s called.

9. There was a small table by the bed with a lamp and clock on it.

10. Our team lost the game because of a mistake by one of our players.

127.5
1. Clare’s salary was £1,000 a month. Now it is £1,100.
Her salary has increased by £100 a month.

2. My daily newspaper used to cost 50 pence. From today it costs 60 pence.

The price has gone up by 10 pence.

3. There was an election. Helen ot 25 votes and Norman got 23.

Helen won the election by 2 votes.

4. I went to Kate’s house to see her but she had gone out five minutes before I arrived.
I missed her by 5 minutes.