Summary of Essential English Vocabulary and Usage

## Introduction This study material helps a student who is not attending classes to practice everyday English listening, vocabulary in context, and phrase use. It focuses on understanding short spoken extracts, choosing correct words in sentences, and using useful phrases and phrasal verbs. The tasks are simple, practical and aimed at building confidence for real-life situations. ### What you'll learn - How to match short spoken descriptions to vocabulary items - How to choose correct adverbs and expressions in context - How to complete sentences using common phrases and phrasal verbs - How to recognize meaning from clues in sentences > Tip: Work through short listening or reading tasks daily. Repeat aloud to improve pronunciation and memory. ## Listening practice: matching short talks to key phrases ### Goal Identify what each short speaker is describing by choosing one of the target phrases. Target phrases: - come clean - do without something - get away with something - make a profit - stand out - social event - suspicion - unexpected consequences How to approach this task: - Listen once to get the general topic of each speaker. - On a second listen, pick keywords (feelings, actions, nouns) that point to one of the target phrases. - Eliminate options that don’t match the speaker’s tone or details. Example - Speaker says: “We sold all the handmade items for more than we paid — we actually earned money on this.” - Correct match: make a profit > Example definition: > "come clean": to admit the truth about something you have kept secret ## Completing sentences with target words/phrases ### Short practice items and how to solve them Read each sentence and think which word or phrase from the provided bank fits the meaning and grammar. Given partial sentences from your material (rewritten and completed): 1. The majority of my friends work in IT, but not all. (contrast phrase: "but not all") 2. My friend has an unusual business with llamas. She has photos of them everywhere! (topic: "business with llamas") 3. I tried to remember his name but my mind was blank. (phrase: "my mind was blank") 4. I can't work out the instructions. They don't make sense. (phrase: "don't make sense") 5. I don't want to go to the dinner tonight. I think I'll stay home. (common completion: "stay home") Practical tip: - Replace unknown vocabulary with simpler synonyms to check meaning first, then search for the correct phrase that fits form and register. > Definition: "work out": to understand something or find a solution ## Wordlist organization and common uses Below is a cleaned, organized selection of the most useful items from the supplied wordlist. This will help you spot patterns and use words correctly. Phrases with make / do | Make | Do | | --- | --- | | make a deal | do something by hand | | make a profit | do us good | | make something into something | do without | | make the difference | do us harm | Feelings and relationships - amusement, disbelief, relief, suspicion, lifelong friend, white lie Health and the natural world (selected) - diet, emergency services, infection, wound, expedition, landscape, dry land Phrasal verbs (common everyday use) - figure something out, get away with, let someone down, live up to, make up for Adverbs (common choices) - actually, approximately, certainly, completely, currently, eventually, fairly, honestly, luckily, mainly, properly, regularly > Definition: "suspicion": a feeling or belief that something may be true, often something bad, without proof ## Multiple-choice practice: choosing the correct adverb How to decide: read the sentence and choose the adverb that best matches meaning and register. 1. The sun will set at approximately / completely / mainly 6:45 p.m. this evening. - Answer: approximately (gives an estimated time) 2. I like living here, currently / mainly / regularly because it's close to my family. - Answer: mainly (gives the main reason) 3. I know I told you to leave