Robert Davidson, ESL Teacher

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November 30, 2016: Well, I've just updated the Second Edition in a big way, and this is the final edit: you'll now find it exclusively on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IW7QHA0 -- You don't need a Kindle Reader for this book -- all eBooks on Amazon can be viewed on any device: PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Samsung, Android, etc.! Just download the appropriate app here for free: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html…

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PHRASAL VERBS, PART 4:
Phrasal verbs using the verb, “GET”:

Many phasal verbs using “get” have an obvious meaning, but not all:

get across: to communicate effectively

I tried to get across to Buddy how important the contract was for us. (to make him understand)

*

get along / get on: do well / like each other

I'm getting along just fine in my new job. (doing well)

I'm getting on just fine in my new job. (doing well)

Bud and Sue get along very well. (like each other)

My boss and I get on quite well. (like each other)

*

get a move on: to start or proceed, to put effort into something

Let’s get a move on painting the bedroom today.

*

get away with (something): do something without being noticed or punished

I often get away with parking illegally downtown.

*

get into (something): to physically or emotionally involve oneself with something

When I wasn’t looking, the cat got into the can of tuna on the counter.

I can really get into this music!

*

get on with (something): to continue doing something unfinished

Well, let’s get on with the job evaluation.

*

get over (something): to physically or emotionally conquer a difficulty

It was three weeks before Lisa fully got over her flu.

It took Brian many years to get over his divorce.

And more lightly:

I can’t get over how you ate that entire huge pizza!

Buddy couldn’t get over how boring the movie was.

*

And three idioms:

get this party started: to begin something, to move into action

As the battle began, the commander told his troops, “Let’s get this party started!”

*

get this show on the road: to begin something, to move into action

When the sales manager finished his presentation, he said, “OK, let’s get this show on the road!”

*

"get out!" : to express disbelief or amazement by pretending to tell the speaker to leave

When Josh told Susan he had received a scholarship to Oxford, she said, “Oh, get out!” (She is expressing joy for Josh by pretending not to believe him.)

THIS WEEK'S THING: 9 JANUARY, 2015
(Each week I’ll post one of the “110 Things” here from my e-book)

8) Silent consonants: Certain consonants in English words are sometimes unpronounced – below are the words with silent-consonant most commonly mispronounced by ESL students:
silent B: climb, debt, doubt, subtle, thumb (“klim”, “det”, “dout”, “sut-əl”, “thum”)
silent C: muscle, scissors (“məs-əl”, “sis-ers”)
silent D: Wednesday (first “d” is silent: “Wens-day”)
silent K: knife, knock, knot (“nif”, “nok”, “not”)
silent L: calf, half, salmon (“kaf”, “haf”, “sah-mən”)
silent M: mnemonic (“neh-mahn-ik”)
silent P: corps, coup, pneumonia, pseudo, psychology, psychiatrist, psychic, receipt (“kor”, “ku”, “nu-mon-yə”, “su-do”, “si-kol-o-gy”, “si-ki-a-trist”, “si-kik”, “re-seet”)
silent S: aisle, island (“i-əl”, “i-land”)
silent T: ballet, buffet, castle, gourmet, listen, soften (“bal-ay”, “bu-fay”, “kas-əl”, “gor-may”, “lis-en”, “sof-en”)
silent W: answer, sword, whole (“an-ser”, “sord”, “hol”)

The most common mispronunciations here are:
Debt: pronounce it “det”, not “deb-t”
Muscle: pronounce it “mus-el”, not “muskel”
Wednesday: pronounce it “Wens-day”, not “Wed-nes-day”
Knife: pronounce it “nife”, not “k-nife”
Salmon: pronounce it “sah-mon”, not “sal-mon”
Island: pronounce it “i-land”, not “ize-land”
Answer: pronounce it “an-ser”, not “an-swer”
Sword: pronounce it “sord”, not “sword”

THIS WEEK'S THING: 8 DECEMBER, 2014
(Each week I’ll post one of the “110 Things” here from my e-book)

79) “Photograph” and “Photographer” – Mistaking German for English: A fotograf in German and other languages, including Slovak, is a photographer in English, the person who creates photos with a camera. A photograph is the image created:
“The photographer took my photograph.”
“The photographer took my photo.”
(And note that a photograph is taken, not made – see point #49.)
(Also note that while photograph has its accent in the first syllable, photographer has it accent on the second syllable – see point #13.)

THIS WEEK'S THING: 1 NOVEMBER, 2014
(Each week I’ll post one of the “110 Things” here from my book)

82) Mistaking German for English: “Factory” and “Fabric” – In German, a place of manufacture is a FABRIK, and the Slovak word, FABRIKA, is derived from this -- other Slavic languages have similar derivations.
The correct word in English is FACTORY. “Fabric” in English means cloth or textiles.
“This textile FACTORY produces many kinds of FABRICS.”

PHRASAL VERBS, PART 3:
Phrasal verbs using the verb, “CATCH”:

Many phasal verbs using “catch” have an obvious meaning, but not all:

catch fire: to become extremely popular or well-known (more intensive than catch on below)

“News of the baby panda bear’s birth has really caught fire among the public.”

*

catch hell: to receive someone’s anger and its consequences

“You’re going to catch hell from your wife if she finds out what you did!”

*

catch on: to become popular

“This new line of clothing is really catching on!”

*

catch on: to realize, understand

“We'd better leave before they catch on to what we're doing.”

“I'm starting to catch on to how this software works.”

*

catch up: to reach the level of a competitor or an unrealized goal

“We’ve got a lot to catch up on if we want to win the Anderson account.”

*

catch up with: to get the latest information

“I’d like to catch up with you on the Anderson account.”

*

catch up with: earlier actions will return with negative results

“All his drinking and smoking is going to catch up with him someday.”

*

And one idiom:

catch someone with their pants down: usually formed in the past tense: to surprise in an embarrassing way

“Samsung believes its latest smart phone has caught Apple with its pants down.”

THIS WEEK'S THING: 18 SEPTEMBER, 2014
(Each week I’ll post one of the “110 Things” here)

6) Multi-syllable words which have an “r” should not necessarily be assumed to be pronounced phonetically. For example, the word, “tired”. Native English speakers pronounce this word as, “ti-erd”. But non-native speakers often mistakenly pronounce the word phonetically: “ti-red”.
Another example is “iron”, which is correctly pronounced “i-ern”. Non-native speakers invariably pronounce this word phonetically: “i-ron”. (A good example of this is how the Swedish rock group, The Cardigans, covered the Black Sabbath song, “Iron Man”: the female singer begins the song with, “Oh, I-ron Man!” and this mispronunciation of “iron” repeats throughout the song. It’s a great cover song, but the pronunciation of “iron” here sounds very odd and funny to native English speakers!)

PHRASAL VERBS, PART 2:
2) Phrasal verbs using the verb, “CALL”:

Many phasal verbs using “call” have an obvious meaning, but not all:

Call for: to demand or require

“You got the job? Well, that calls for a drink!”

*

Call in: to order aid or assistence

“After Hurricane Katrina, the National Guard was called in to restore order and assist civilians.”

*


Call off: to cancel

“When we saw the weather report, we decided to call off our trip.”

*


Call upon: to be asked or required for assistence

“William was often called upon to help his elderly parents.”

*


And two idioms:

Call it in: to do something in a lazy or half-hearted manner (as in not to appear in person for something important but instead make a phone call)

“John’s report is useless – clearly, he just called it in.”

*


Call someone on something: to accuse or question someone on their motives

“When I realized Jerry was lying, I called him on it.”

(And similarly, to call someone on the carpet):

“When I realized Jerry was lying, I called him on the carpet about it.”

THIS WEEK'S THING: 27 AUGUST, 2014
(Each week I’ll post one of the “110 Things” here)

61) “Look over” and “Overlook” – ESL students often say "overlook" when they mean to say "look over". These have opposite meanings: "look over" means to review or examine something, and "overlook" means to fail to see something or to choose not to see something:

“Can you look over these sales figures?”
“Let me look over the report before our meeting.”
“How could you have overlooked such an important deadline?”
“It was a costly mistake, Adam, but I'll overlook it this one time.”

A mnemonic:
The first word in "look over" is look: You are looking, seeing, examining closely.
"Overlook" begins with over: You are far above, unable to see details.

The popular American song from the 1920s, “I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover” played upon these words and may help you to remember the difference:

I'm looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before
One leaf is sunshine, the second is rain
Third is the roses that grow in the lane
No need explaining, the one remaining
Is somebody I adore
I'm looking over a four-leaf clover
That I overlooked before

PHRASAL VERBS, PART 1:
Phrasal verbs using the verb, “BRING”:

Many phasal verbs using “bring” have an obvious meaning, but not all:

bring about: to cause to happen
“A better plan could bring about real change.”

*

bring around: to influence someone’s opinion
“We were able to bring them around to our view.”

*

bring off: to accomplish something difficult
“James brought off the move without a hitch”
(“Without a hitch”: without any problems)

*

bring up: to mention or introduce a topic
“Do we really have to bring this up again?”

*

bring up: to raise and nurture children or animals
“Susan was brought up without a father.”

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