English Grammar

Prévia do material em texto

TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 
CONTENT PAGE 
American English vs. British English 3 
Capital letters 5 
Punctuation rules 6 
Punctuation exercise 10 
Plural forms 11 
Articles rules 13 
Articles exercise 1 17 
Articles exercise 2 19 
Prepositional collocations 20 
Prepositions exercise 1 25 
Prepositions exercise 2 30 
Prepositions exercise 3 32 
Prepositions exercise 4 35 
Logical connectors (table) 36 
Logical connectors exercises 43 
Subject-verb agreement 53 
Inversions 57 
Advanced structures 61 
Subjunctive 63 
Verbs as objects 65 
Adjectives and adverbs 68 
Countable and uncountable nouns 72 
Relative clauses 77 
False cognates 81 
Vocabulary 1 86 
Vocabulary 2 92 
Vocabulary 3 99 
 
 
 
 
 
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AMERICAN ENGLISH VS. BRITISH ENGLISH 
 
 
Some spelling differences between American and British English 
 
 
-or vs. -our -ze vs. -se / -zation vs. -sation 
American British American British 
color colour analyze analyse 
favor favour apologize apologise 
favorite favourite criticize criticise 
flavor flavour jeopardize jeopardise 
honor honour epitomization epitomisation 
labor labour memorization memorisation 
neighbor neighbour organization organisation 
behavior behaviour valorization valorisation 
 
 
 
-ll vs. -l -og vs. -ogue 
American British American British 
enrollment enrolment analog analogue 
fulfill fulfil catalog catalogue 
skillful skilful dialog dialogue 
 
 
 
-er vs. -re -e vs. –oe or -ae 
American British American British 
center centre encyclopedia encyclopaedia 
kilometer kilometre fetus foetus 
meter metre maneuver manoeuvre 
semester semestre medieval mediaeval 
theater theatre archeological archaeological 
 
 
 
dropped -e -ense vs. -ence 
American British American British 
aging ageing defense defence 
judgment judgement license licence 
sizable sizeable offense offence 
 
 
 
other 
American British 
jewelry jewellery 
draft draught 
pajamas pyjamas 
plow plough 
program (verb and noun) programme (noun) / program (verb) 
tire tyre 
check (verb and noun) cheque (noun) / check (verb) 
practice (verb and noun) practise (verb) / practice (noun) 
percent per cent 
 
 
 
 
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-l vs. –ll 
base form American British 
(stress on the 1st syllable) 
counsel counseling counselling 
equal equaling equalling 
model modeling modelling 
quarrel quarreling quarrelling 
signal signaling signalling 
travel traveling travelling 
(stress on the last syllable) 
excel excelling excelling 
propel propelling propelling 
 
 
base form American (regular) British (irregular) 
dream dreamed dreamt 
leap leaped leapt 
learn learned learnt 
 
 
base form American (irregular) British (regular) 
fit fit fitted 
forecast forecast forecasted 
wed wed wedded 
knit knit knitted 
light lit lighted 
strive strove strived 
 
 
 
Some lexical differences between American and British English 
 
 
American British American British 
apartment flat line queue 
airplane aeroplane mailbox, post office box pillar-box 
billboard hoarding main street high street 
bus coach mall shopping centre 
candy sweets movie theater cinema 
cell (cellular) phone mobile phone pants trousers 
chapstick lip balm parentheses brackets 
checkers draughts parking lot car park 
checking account current account pedestrian crossing zebra crossing 
diaper nappy potato chips potato crisps 
downtown the town centre quotation marks inverted commas 
editorial leading article raincoat, overcoat mackintosh 
elevator lift raise in salary pay rise 
eraser rubber round-trip ticket return ticket 
faucet tap savings account deposit account 
be fired (from a job) be sacked shrimp prawn 
flashlight torch sidewalk pavement 
football American football soccer football 
freeway motorway stove cooker 
garbage, trash rubbish subway tube, underground 
garbage can dustbin truck lorry 
gas or gasoline petrol tuxedo dinner jacket 
German shepherd Alsatian (dog) vacation holidays 
high school secondary school washroom, bathroom toilet 
holiday bank holiday yard garden 
license plate number plate zip code postal code 
 
5 
 
 
CAPITAL LETTERS 
 
Capital letters are used to give emphasis to or call attention to certain words. 
 
1. The first word of every sentence, in fact, the first word in writing of any kind should begin 
with a capital; as, "Time flies." "My dear friend," 
2. Use a capital letter for the personal pronoun 'I': “What can I say?” 
3. Use a capital letter to begin a sentence or to begin speech: “The man arrived. He sat down.”; 
“Suddenly Mary asked, ‘Do you love me?’ " 
4. Use capital letters for abbreviations and acronyms: “G.M.T. or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)”; 
“N.A.T.O. or NATO or Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)” 
5. Use a capital letter for days of the week, months of the year, holidays, seasons: “Monday, 
Tuesday “; “January, February”; “Christmas, Armistice Day”; “Summer, Autumn” 
6. Use a capital letter for countries, languages & nationalities, religions: “China, France”; 
“Japanese, English”; “Christianity, Buddhism” 
7. Use a capital letter for people's names and titles: “Professor Jones, Dr Smith, King Henry 
VIII” 
8. The titles of honorable, state and political offices begin with a capital; as, "President, 
Chairman, Governor, Alderman." 
9. All assumed names (noms-de-guerre), as well as names given for distinction, call for capitals, 
as, "The Wizard of the North," "The Northern Gael," "Poor Robin," etc. 
10. Use a capital letter for trade-marks and names of companies and other organizations: 
“Pepsi Cola, Microsoft Corporation, Toyota”; “the United Nations, the Red Cross” 
11. Use a capital letter for planets, places and monuments: “London, Paris, Asia, the Middle 
East, the North Pole”; “the Eiffel Tower, St Paul's Cathedral”; “Jupiter, Mars” 
12. Use a capital letter for names of vehicles such as ships, trains and spacecraft: “the Titanic, 
the Orient Express, Challenger 2, the Enterprise” 
13. Such words as river, sea, mountain, and cardinal points, when used generally are common, 
not proper nouns, and require no capital. But when such are used with an adjective or 
adjunct to specify a particular object they become proper names, and therefore require a 
capital, as in "Mississippi River, North Sea, Alleghany Mountains," "The North fought 
against the South." 
14. Words derived from proper names require a capital such as "American, Irish, Christian, 
Americanize, Christianize." 
15. The names of political parties, religious sects and schools of thought begin with capitals 
such as "Republican, Democrat, Catholic, Presbyterian, Muslim, Buddhist, Rationalists." 
16. Terms which refer to great events in the history of the race require capitals: "The Flood, 
Magna Charta, Declaration of Independence, The Civil War, The Middle Ages, The Black 
Death". 
17. When relative words such as father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, etc., precede a 
proper name, they are written with capitals, as in “Father Abraham, Brother John, Sister 
Jane, Aunt Eliza.” 
18. Use a capital letter for titles of books, poems, songs, plays, films etc: “War and Peace, The 
Lion King, Gone With The Wind, The Remains of the Day.” 
19. In the Roman notation numbers are denoted by capitals, as in “I, II, III, V, X, L, C, D, M.” 
20. The names applied to the Supreme Being begin with capitals: "God, Lord, Creator, 
Providence, Almighty, The Deity, Heavenly Father, Holy One." In this respect the names 
applied to the Savior also require capitals: "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Man of Galilee, The 
Crucified, The Anointed One," as well as the designations of Biblicalcharacters such as 
"Lily of Israel, Help of Christians, Prince of the Apostles, Star of the Sea." Pronouns 
referring to God and Christ take capitals, as in "His work." 
21. Expressions used to designate the Bible or any of its particular divisions begin with a capital, 
as "The Sacred Book, Holy Book, God's Word, Old Testament, New Testament, Gospel of 
St. Matthew." 
22. The names applied to the Evil One require capitals: "Beelzebub, Prince of Darkness, Satan, 
King of Hell, Devil, Incarnate Fiend, Tempter of Men, Father of Lies, Hater of Good." 
 
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PUNCTUATION RULES 
 
 
 
Apostrophe ( ’ ) 
 
a) An apostrophe indicates the omission of a letter or number in contractions. shouldn’t / doesn’t / 
can’t / o’clock / the gold rush of ‘49 
b) An apostrophe ‘s’ form the plural of letters, figures, symbols, and words. Writers should cross their 
t’s and dot their i's. / Count to 100 by 5’s. / Try to cut down on the number of and’s you 
use in your writing. / We were happy in the 60’s. (apostrophes in decades are optional) 
An apostrophe is used to indicate the possessive case, except for personal pronouns. 
c) If the word (either singular or plural) does not end in an ‘s’ or ‘z’ sound, add the apostrophe ‘s’ (‘s). the 
girl’s dress / yesterday’s problem 
d) If the singular ends in an ‘s’ or ‘z’ sound, add the apostrophe ‘s’ (‘s) unless the second ‘s’ makes the 
pronunciation difficult; in such cases, add only the apostrophe. Lois’s coat / Charles’s dog / St 
James’s / boss’s decision, but Moses’ story / Aristophanes’ comedies 
e) If the plural does not end in an ‘s’ or ‘z’ sound, add the apostrophe ‘s’ (‘s). children's, Frenchmen's, 
media's 
f) If the plural ends in an ‘s’ or ‘z’ sound, add only the apostrophe (s’). ladies' dresses (dresses for 
ladies) / boys’ shoes (shoes of the boys) / five dollars’ worth / bosses' 
g) In compound words, make only the last word possessive. brother-in-law’s books (singular 
possessive) / mothers-in-law’s books (plural possessive) / someone else’s book 
h) In nouns of joint possession, make only the last noun possessive. Jane and Alice’s book (the same 
book belongs to both) 
i) In nouns of individual possession, make both nouns possessive. Jane’s and Alice’s books (each one 
owns a different book) 
j) Although singular in other respects, the United States, the United Nations, the Philippines, etc, have a 
plural possessive apostrophe: eg, Who will be the United States' next president? 
k) Notice the difference: people's = of (the) people, but peoples'= of peoples 
l) Do not use the apostrophe ‘s’ (‘s) in Achilles heel 
 
 
 
Brackets ( [ ] ) 
 
Brackets are used to set off editorial corrections or additions to quoted matter. The Cardinal sent a 
message to his trusted subordinate in Rome [Bishop Francetti] to ask for further information. 
/ On his desk he found a note: ‘Do not try to find me for i [sic] will be far away when you read 
this.’ (A bracketed sic tells the reader that the error appears in the original and is not a misprint.) 
 
 
 
Colon ( : ) 
 
A colon is used to direct attention to what is to follow. 
a) A colon may introduce an appositive. Poetry may be divided into three classes: narrative, lyric, 
and dramatic. / All of his energy was directed toward his chief goal: graduation from 
college. / She has always cared about one person: herself. 
b) A colon may introduce a quotation. The advertisement for the Hawaiian trip read as follows: 
“Visit six islands and learn for yourself what Paradise of the Pacific means.” / Kennedy 
eloquently reminded us: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do 
for your country.” 
c) A colon may separate two independent clauses when the second clause explains the first. Not all of 
the students agreed to participate in the public demonstration: several preferred to write 
letters to the newspaper editor. / There is only one way for the country to avert financial 
catastrophe: the government must declare a period of great austerity. 
d) A colon is used to list items. They brought presents: gold, frankincense and oil at $35 a barrel. 
e) Do not use a colon after a linking verb or a preposition. (incorrect: *Present at the meeting were: 
Mr. Jones, Mr. Osgood, and Ms. Smith.) 
 
 
7 
 
 
Comma ( , ) 
 
a) A comma may separate independent clauses that are connected by a coordinate conjunction (and, but, 
for, or, nor). We left the house early to drive to the airport, but heavy traffic caused us to 
miss our plane. / 
Note: The comma is often omitted from a compound sentence if its clauses are very short. I called and 
she answered. 
b) A comma follows an introductory subordinate clause or phrase. Although they had only two weeks 
to travel, they managed to see many villages in Mexico. / Because the road was in such 
bad condition, we decided to take the train. / Hoping to finish all the typing that had 
accumulated, the secretary decided to work overtime for several hours. / After hiking for 
three hours, we stopped to rest. / In the middle of the first semester, he began to 
understand the principles of economics. 
Note: The comma is often omitted following a very short introductory phrase. At work he was friendly 
and industrious. / On August 2nd he invaded. / Next time the world will be prepared. 
c) Commas set off nonrestrictive clauses, phrases, or appositives within a sentence. The new church, 
which was built with donated funds, will open next week. / Carl Sandburg, the biographer 
of Lincoln, won the Pulitzer Prize. 
d) Commas separate words, phrases, or clauses in a series. We gave them food, clothing, and shelter 
for the night. / At the beach they learned to swim, to fish and to water ski. / I saw the 
celebrity when he arrived at the hotel, when he went shopping downtown, and when he 
entered the restaurant that evening. 
e) If there is no conjunction with coordinate items, a comma separates each item. He was living in a 
small, dark room. / Did you read about her happy, short life? / It was a cold, windy night. 
f) Commas are often used preceding a direct quotation. He said, “I have found the key.” 
g) A comma sets off a contrasted element. The boy’s uncle, not his aunt, will meet you at the 
airport. 
h) Commas set off geographical names. Leningrad, Russia, used to be named St. Peterburg. / Los 
Angeles, California, was considered as the site for the 1984 Olympics. 
i) Commas set off items in dates and addresses. The convention was to be held on March 18, 2005, 
in Houston, Texas. / Address the letter to Mr. F. J. Barnes, Denver, Colorado. 
j) Commas set off parenthetical expressions. As a matter of fact, I never expected him to complete 
his studies. / The house is, for the most part, very satisfactory. / “If you leave this 
afternoon,” he said, “you will arrive in plenty of time. 
k) Commas set off direct address. Come inside, Michael, and join us. / You see, my friends, the 
problem is not a simple one. 
l) Commas set off interjections. Well, I decided to try to turn the boat around. / Oh, how beautiful 
the tropical sunset is! 
m) Commas are used whenever it is necessary to prevent misreading. In the morning, light began to 
flood our room. / The problem is, is there time to shower before lunch? / Inside, the old 
house was still in good condition. / As soon as she entered, the room seemed more 
cheerful. / Before eating, the dog barked three times. 
n) Commas are used after last names when the normal order of the name is reversed. Kennedy, 
Howard J. 
o) Commas are used to precede the last three digits in numbers of 1,000 and higher. 1,200 / 15,000 / 
750,000 / 45,000,000 
 
 
 
Dash ( – ) 
 
a) The dash may be used in pairs for parentheses, but not more than one pair per sentence, ideally notmore than one pair per paragraph. It should be used sparingly, especially as a substitute for other 
marks of punctuation. 
b) The dash is used to introduce an explanation, amplification, paraphrase, particularization or correction 
of what immediately precedes it. The boy – he had been out playing in the snow – ran into the 
house crying bitterly about something. 
c) It alternates informally with a colon before an enumeration. There are three qualities in people 
that I hate – deceit, dishonesty, and dullness. 
d) It alternates informally with a semicolon between two independent clauses. He claimed that he was 
too ill to attend the meeting – the truth is, he didn’t want to go. 
e) It alternates informally with a comma, but it marks a greater break in continuity than a comma does. 
- with a group of items that already have commas within them. Three books – Shakespeare’s 
‘Plays’, the Bible, and Walt Whitman’s ‘Leaves of Grass’ – have strongly shaped the 
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poet’s work. / He stood up – small, bent, and frightened – waiting for us to speak 
first. 
- before an appositive. He is now faced with an important decision – a decision that can 
affect his entire future. / One food grown in Southeast Asia – rice – is of the highest 
quality. 
f) A dash is often preferred before a summarizing pronoun used as an appositive. Da Vinci, Rembrandt, 
Cezanne, Picasso – all have the quality of greatness in their paintings. / The white sand, 
tall palm trees, and rolling surf – all these combine to make Hapuna Beach my favorite 
vacation spot. 
 
 
 
Exclamation mark ( ! ) 
 
An exclamation mark is used after a forceful or emotional statement and sometimes after a command. 
Listen to me! / Watch out! / Shut that door! 
 
 
 
Hyphen ( - ) 
 
a) Hyphenate a combination of two or more words used as a single adjective modifier immediately before 
a noun. a well-known actor / a devil-may-care attitude / an eighteen-year-old daughter. 
The hyphen is omitted if the first word of a compound adjective is an adverb ending in ‘-ly’ or if the 
combination is a proper noun with a fixed meaning. a generally accepted rule / New England 
schools 
b) Use a hyphen to hyphenate compound numbers between twenty and one hundred. thirty-five / 
sixty-three / ninety-nine 
c) Place a hyphen between the numerator and denominator of a fraction unless either part contains a 
hyphen. two-thirds / five eights / twenty-two sixteenths. In an expression such as one half of 
and in a fraction intended as merely roughly approximate, the hyphen is generally omitted. About 
three fourths of the students attended the game. 
d) Hyphenate a compound noun in which the second element is a preposition or adverb. take-off / kick-
off / runner-up / hanger-on 
 
 
 
Parentheses ( ) 
 
a) Parentheses are used to enclose figures. The treaty stipulated that the countries would (1) 
cease fighting, (2) respect each other’s boundaries, and (3) resume trade. 
b) Parentheses are used to set off parenthetical, supplementary, or illustrative material. He said (and we 
assumed that he was sincere) that he would attend the ceremony without fail. / As we 
drove down the mountain road (could this truly be called a road?), our brakes began to 
smoke. 
c) If a whole sentence is within parentheses, the period should be inside. 
d) Brackets, not parentheses, should be used for interpolations in direct quotations: ‘Let them [the 
poor] eat cake.’ To use parentheses implies that the words inside them were part of the original text 
which is being quoted. 
 
 
 
Period ( . ) 
 
a) A period is used at the end of a statement or command. He is a student. / Take this medicine 
three times a day. / The government has promised to reduce inflation. 
b) Periods should not be used in abbreviations. etc, eg, ie, UN, US, NATO 
c) Use plenty. They keep sentences short. This helps the reader. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
9 
 
 
 
Question mark ( ? ) 
 
a) A question mark is placed at the end of a question. Is it time for the train to arrive? / Did you see 
the eclipse? 
b) Except in sentences that include a question in quotation marks, question-marks always come at the end 
of the sentence. Thus: Where could he get a drink?, but ‘Where could he get a drink?’, he 
wondered. 
 
 
 
Quotation marks ( “ ” ) 
 
a) Use single quotation marks to enclose a quotation within a quotation. She replied, “Look for the 
letter that ends ‘Most sincerely yours.’ ” 
b) Use quotation marks to set off titles of poems, songs, and of articles, short stories, and other parts of a 
longer work. The class like the story “A Rose for Emily”. / “Get Me to the Church on Time” is 
a song from the musical play “My Fair Lady”. 
c) Use quotation marks to set off words used in a special sense. What he calls “stylish” I would 
consider to be very out of date. / The professor referred to the student as a “frisky colt”. 
d) Always place a comma or period inside quotation marks. “If you try again,” she said, “I think you 
will succeed.” / Although he told us that he is “restless,” I think a more appropriate word 
would be “lazy.” / He said, “The note read ‘No milk today.’ ” 
e) Always place a colon or semicolon outside quotation marks. I looked blankly at my music 
instructor when he said “Andante”; I did not understand the meaning of the term. / He 
gave us what he called his “recipe”: think well, listen carefully, speak cautiously. 
f) Place a question mark, dash, or exclamation mark inside the quotation when it applies only to the 
quotation. Place it outside the quotation when it applies to the whole statement. He asked, “Will you 
be ready to recite tomorrow?” / Did you hear her say, “I overslept yesterday”? / He cried 
out, “I will never agree to that!” / I can’t describe the horror of that “unfortunate 
incident”! 
g) Use a comma to separate an opening quotation from the part of the sentence that follows unless the 
quotation ends with a question mark, exclamation mark, or dash. “This case is closed,” he said 
firmly. / “Is it time to eat?” she asked. / “I can’t believe it!” he exclaimed. “Our house 
can’t have burned down!” / “You’ve misunderstood –“ he began. “I meant something quite 
different.” 
h) When a quotation is interrupted by explanatory words (for example, ‘he said’), use a comma after the 
first part of the quotation. In choosing the punctuation mark to place after the explanatory words, 
follow letters d), e), f) and g) above. “I have been told,” he said, “of the dangers of skiing.” / 
“You follow directions well,” the supervisor said. “Your first two weeks with us have been 
very satisfactory.” / “Michael was an imaginative tour leader,” the girl said; “every day 
brought some new adventure.” 
i) Do not use quotation marks in indirect speech. He said that I should wait for him at the corner. 
 
 
 
Semicolon ( ; ) 
 
a) Use a semicolon to separate items in a list when the items already contain commas. The capitals of 
the South American countries are: Argentina, Buenos Aires; Bolivia, Sucre; Brazil, Brasília; 
etc. / They agreed on only three points: the ceasefire should be immediate; it should be 
internationally supervised, preferably by the AU; and a peace conference should be held, 
either in Geneva or in Ouagadougou. 
b) Use a semicolon to separate independent clauses with no connecting conjunction. The work in the 
office was quite simple; she had merely to answer the phone and do a little typing. / The 
debate was drawing to a close; each team gathered together to prepare its final remarks. 
c) Use a semicolon with conjunctive adverbs (eg, however, therefore, moreover, otherwise). The 
bookkeeper had checked all her figures very carefully the night before; however, when the 
accountant came he found several mistakes in her records.d) Use a semicolon with coordinate conjunctions when the clauses already contain commas. Mr. Jones, 
the owner of the largest factory in town, is setting up another factory in the next town; 
and, for all we know, he may try to run both of them himself. 
 
 
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PUNCTUATION – exercise 
 
 
Include capital letters and the correct punctuation in the passage below. Use: 
period ( . ), comma ( , ), question mark ( ? ), dash ( – ), apostrophe ( ‘ ), quotation 
marks ( “ ” ) and parentheses (). 
 
 
in his first term lulas reluctance to share power with other parties led to a congressional 
vote-buying scandal that nearly destroyed his presidency this time he has given five plump 
ministries controlling 44% of the federal investment budget to the centrist party of the brazilian 
democracy movement pmdb the largest in congress luciano dias of the brazilian institute of 
political studies sees in this the start of a durable centre-left alliance that could realign the 
countrys politics 
 
but this core is surrounded by a messy periphery in all eight substantial parties and 
nearly all the smaller ones in congress support the government many of them attracted by the 
hope of jobs and pork lula should be able to count on at least 60% of the lower house and a 
narrow majority in the senate that plus his popularity 48% of brazilians rate his government as 
good or excellent mean that he is as strong as any brazilian president can hope to be with the 
weakening of the pt and the humbling of its former chiefs his personal power has grown 
 
but what will he do with this power his ambition does not seem to have kept pace with 
mr palocci at his elbow lula might have scaled back the ruinously expensive pension system 
brought sanity to labour-market regulation and simplified a fiendishly complex tax code instead 
he seems more inclined to husband his political capital than to spend it 
 
 
Adapted from "Lula opts for a quiet life” – The Economist print edition – Apr 4th 2007) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
11 
 
 
 
PLURAL FORMS 
 
 
1. Write the words below in the correct column (singular or plural). Then write the 
respective singular or plural form of each word. 
 
 
1. alumnus 8. criteria 15. hypothesis 22. oasis 
2. analysis 9. curriculum 16. means 23. phenomena 
3. axis 10. data 17. media 24. referendum 
4. bacteria 11. diagnosis 18. metamorphosis 25. stimulus 
5. basis 12. emphasis 19. metropolis 26. strata 
6. campus 13. focus 20. millennium 27. syllabus 
7. crisis 14. forum 21. momentum 28. thesis 
 
 
 
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL 
1. 15. 
2. 16. 
3. 17. 
4. 18. 
5. 19. 
6. 20. 
7. 21. 
8. 22. 
9. 23. 
10. 24. 
11. 25. 
12. 26. 
13. 27. 
14. 28. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2. Write the respective plural form of each of the words below. 
 
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR PLURAL 
1. church 13. cargo 
2. woman 14. echo 
3. foot 15. embargo 
4. mouse 16. hero 
5. child 17. volcano 
6. ox 18. appendix 
7. diary 19. bureau 
8. spy 20. matrix 
9. leaf 21. aircraft 
10. life 22. series 
11. loaf 23. species 
12. wife 
 
 
 
PLURAL FORMS OF NATIONALITIES 
 
When the word ends in -man or -woman, there are three options: 
1) pluralize to -men or –women 
2) use the root alone preceded by ‘the’ 
3) use the root and add ‘people’ 
Dutchman – Dutchmen 
Dutchwoman – Dutchwomen 
the Dutch Dutch people 
Englishman – Englishmen 
Englishwoman – Englishwomen 
the English English people 
Frenchman – Frenchmen 
Frenchwoman – Frenchwomen 
the French French people 
Irishman – Irishmen 
Irishwoman – Irishwoman 
the Irish Irish people 
Scotsman – Scotsmen 
Scotswoman – Scotswomen 
the Scots / the Scottish Scottish people 
Welshman – Welshmen 
Welshwoman – Welshwomen 
the Welsh Welsh people 
 
 
Several peoples have names that are simple nouns and can be pluralized by the addition of 
either -s or -ish (the later case often calls for the elimination of terminal letters so the 
pluralizing suffix can be connected directly with the last consonant of the root): 
Dane Danes the Danes / the Danish Danish people 
Finn Finns the Finns / the Finnish Finnish people 
Spaniard Spaniards the Spaniards / the Spanish Spanish people 
Swede Swedes the Swedes / the Swedish Swedish people 
 
 
Names of peoples that end in -ese take no plural: 
Chinese the Chinese / Chinese people 
Japanese the Japanese / Japanese people 
 
 
Other names of peoples that have no plural form include Swiss and Québécois, although the 
latter is interchangeable with Quebecer, which pluralizes as Quebecers. 
 
13 
 
 
 
ARTICLES – RULES* 
 
 
 
‘A’, ‘An’ and ‘One’ 
 
1 • Use ‘a’ before words that begin with a consonant sound. Some words 
start with a vowel letter but begin with a consonant sound, so use ‘a’ 
before these words, too. 
• Use ‘a’ with abbreviations said as words. 
• a university; a European citizen; a 
one-parent family 
 
• a NATO general; a FIFA official 
2 • Use ‘an’ before words that begin with a vowel sound. 
• Use ‘an’ before words that begin with a silent letter ‘h’. 
 
• Use ‘an’ with abbreviations said as individual letters that begin with A, 
E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S, or X. 
• an orange; an Italian; an umbrella 
• an hour; an honor; an honest 
person; an heir 
• an MP; and FBI agent 
 
3 • Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before singular countable nouns. Do not use ‘a’ or ‘an’ 
with plural nouns or with uncountable nouns. Sometimes either 
‘a’/’an’ or ‘one’ can be used. Using ‘one’ gives a little more emphasis 
to the number. 
• Use ‘one’ rather than ‘a’/’an’ to emphasize that it is only one thing or 
person rather than two or more. 
• Use ‘one’, not ‘a’/’an’ in the pattern ‘one… other/another’. 
• Use one in certain specific phrases to mean a particular even though 
unspecified moment. 
• We’ll be in Australia for one/a 
year. / Wait here for one/a 
minute, and I’ll be with you. 
 
• Are you staying just one night? 
 
• Close one eye, and then the other. 
• One evening, while he was 
working late at the office… 
4 • Do not use ‘one’ to mean ‘any one of a particular type of thing’. 
• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’, not ‘one’, in number and quantity expressions. 
 
• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’, not ‘one’, to mean ‘for each’ or ‘per’. 
• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ rather than ‘one’ in the pattern ‘a/an… of’. 
• I really need a cup of coffee. 
• three times a year; half an hour; a 
day or so; a few; a little 
• 50 cents a liter; 80km an hour 
• She’s a colleague of mine. / That’s 
an uncle of Bill’s. 
 
 
 
 
 
‘A’, ‘An’, ‘The’ and zero article: the only one 
 
5 • Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ with a singular noun to describe someone or something 
or to say what type of thing someone or something is. 
• Use ‘the’ to say that someone or something is unique: there is only 
one or it is the only of its kind. 
• English has become an 
international language. 
• English has become the 
international language of business. 
6 • Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to say what a person’s job is, was, or will be. 
 
• Use ‘the’ or no article to give a person’s job a title or a unique 
position. 
 
• Use zero article after ‘the position of’, ‘the post of’, ‘the role of’. 
• She was a company director when 
she retired. 
• She’s been appointed (the) head 
of the company. / I’m a production 
manager at Fino. 
• Dr. Simons has taken the position 
of Head of Department. 
7 • Use ‘the’ before a superlative adjective. 
 
• Use ‘the’ if there is only one of a particular thing. 
 
 
• Use ‘the’ to generalize about things that are ‘the only one’.• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to describe a particular instance. 
• He is the finest young player 
around at the moment. 
• the sun; the world; the North 
Pole; the jet age; the international 
market; the travel industry 
• the weather; the climate; the 
human race; the atmosphere; the 
sea; the public; the environment; 
the sky; the ground; the wind; the 
future; the past 
• What are your plans for the 
future? BUT She dreamed of a 
future where she could spend 
more time painting. 
 
 
 
 
* Source: Advanced Grammar in Use. Martin Hewings. Cambridge University Press. 1999. 
 
www.AtualidadesConcursos.com.br
14 
 
 
 
‘A’, ‘An’ and ‘The’: things already known 
 
8 • Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ when it is not expected that the listener or reader will 
be able to identify the thing or person mentioned. 
 
• Use ‘the’ when it is expected that the listener or reader will be able to 
identify the thing or person mentioned. 
• Helen’s just bought a house on 
Wilson Street. / There’s a bus 
coming. 
• Helen’s just bought the house on 
Wilson Street. (= the house for 
sale which was previously 
mentioned)/ The bus is coming. 
(= the bus we are waiting for) 
9 • Use ‘the’ when it is clear from the situation which person or thing is 
meant. 
• What do you think of the table? 
(=the table I’m looking at) / This 
tastes lovely. What’s in the sauce? 
(= the sauce on my plate) 
10 • Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ for the first time someone or something is mentioned. 
After that, use ‘the’. 
 
• Use ‘the’ even if the thing or person has not been mentioned before, 
provided that the listener or reader understands what is being 
mentioned from the context. 
• Notice that fictional writing will often mention something for the first 
time with ‘the’ to build up suspense. 
• Dorothy took a cake and an apple 
pie to the party, but only the apple 
pie was eaten. 
• We had a good time on holiday. 
The hotel was comfortable, and 
the beach was really close. 
• The woman opened the gate and 
looked fearfully at the house… 
 
 
‘A’, ‘An’, ‘The’ and zero article: things in general 
 
11 • Use zero article in generalizations of plural countable nouns or 
uncountable nouns. 
 
 
• Use ‘the’ with plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns to refer to 
something specific. 
• Before you put them on, always 
check your shoes for spiders. / I’m 
studying geography at university. / 
I can smell smoke! 
• The books you ordered have 
arrived. / All the information you 
asked for is in this file of papers. 
12 • Use ‘the’ with singular countable nouns in generalizations about a 
class. 
 
 
• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to mention an unspecified example. 
• The novel is the most popular 
form of fiction writing. / The 
customer has a right to know 
where products are made. 
• Reading a novel is a good way to 
relax. / When the phone rang, I 
was busy serving a customer. 
13 • Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ for definitions. • A Geiger counter is a device for 
detecting and measuring the 
intensity of radiation. / A 
corkscrew is a gadget for getting 
corks out of bottles. 
 
 
‘A’, ‘An’, ‘The’ and zero article: people and places 
 
14 • Use zero article before the names of particular people. 
 
 
 
• Use ‘the’ when there are two people with the same name in order to 
specify which one is being referred to. 
• Use ‘the’ to emphasize that a person is probably know by everyone. 
 
• Use ‘the’ with an adjective to describe a person or their job. 
 
 
• Use ‘the’ to refer to a family as a whole. 
 
• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to mean that someone else has (or does not have) the 
particular qualities of the person named. 
• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to refer to a painting by a famous artist. 
• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to name someone who is a stranger. 
• Use ‘the’ with special names, titles and epithets. 
• Use ‘the’ with adjectives that define a group or class of people. 
• President Obama is to make a 
statement later today. / The name 
of Nelson Mandela is known all 
over the world. 
• That’s not the Stephen Fraser I 
went to school with. 
• Do they mean the Ronald Reagan, 
or someone else? 
• the late Buddy Holly / the artist 
William Turner / the actor Harrison 
Ford / the writer Sally Morgan 
• The Robinsons are away this 
weekend. 
• Jane plays well, but she’ll never be 
a Steffi Graf. 
• a Van Gogh, a Picasso 
• There’s a Peter on the phone. 
• Alexander, the Great 
• the rich, the blind, the disabled 
 
 
15 
 
 
 
15 • Use zero article to mention institutions such as hospital, university, 
prison, school, college, or church (also bed) being used for their 
intended purpose. 
 
 
 
 
• Use articles to mention institutions such as hospital, university, prison, 
school, college, or church (also bed) as particular places or buildings. 
• They say he’ll stay in hospital for 
six weeks. / Sue’s at university 
studying French. / School should 
be a place where children are 
taught to enjoy learning. / She 
usually stays in bed till late at the 
weekend. 
• Tom’s mother goes to the hospital 
to see him every day. / Frank 
works as a security guard at a 
university. / They’re building a 
school at the end of our street. / I 
finally remembered I’d left my 
keys on the bed. 
16 • Use ‘the’ to refer to cinema, opera or theater in general or to refer to 
a building where this type of entertainment takes place. 
 
• Use zero article to refer to a form of art. 
• I try to go to the cinema at least 
once a week. / We usually go to 
the cinema on New Street. 
• Not many children enjoy opera. 
17 • Use zero article with the names of countries, states, or cities. 
• Use ‘the’ with the names of countries that contain the words ‘united’, 
‘union’, ‘kingdom’, ‘republic’ or names that give the idea of a group. 
• Brazil, California, Mexico City 
• the Soviet Union / the United 
States / the Bahamas 
18 • Use ‘the’ to express the plural of nationalities. • the French / the Spanish / the 
Brazilians / the Japanese / the 
Greeks / the Danish 
 
 
‘A’, ‘An’, ‘The’ and zero article: holidays, times of the day, meals, etc. 
 
19 • Use zero article with the names of holidays, special times of the year, 
or with the names of months and days of the week. 
• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ if interested in the day of the week, for example, not a 
particular day. 
• Use the to specify a specific day, date or holiday. 
 
• Either ‘the’ or zero article is used with ‘winter’, ‘summer’, ‘spring’, ‘fall’ 
(‘autumn’), and ‘New Year’ (= the holiday season). 
 
 
• Use ‘the’ if it is understood which summer, winter, etc. is meant. 
 
 
• Use in ‘the’ New Year to mean the beginning of the following year. 
• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to describe the features of a particular moment. 
• Easter / Ramadan / New Year’s 
Day / September / Monday 
• They arrived on a Saturday as far 
as I can remember. 
• They arrived on the Saturday after 
my birthday party. 
• In (the) summer I try to spend as 
much time in the garden as I can. 
/ In Scotland, they really know 
how to celebrate (the) New Year. 
• When are you going to university? 
In the fall. / I first went skiing in 
the spring of 2002. 
• I’ll see you again in the New Year. 
• That was a winter I’ll never forget. 
20 • Use ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ in the usual way to refer to the morning, 
afternoon or evening of a particular day. 
 
 
• Use zero article with ‘at night’ and ‘by night’. 
• Use zero article with ‘midnight’,’ midday’ and ‘noon’. 
• I woke up with a sore throat, and 
by the evening my voice had 
disappeared. / I’ve had a terrible 
morning. 
• I don’t like driving at night. 
• If possible, I’d like it finished by 
midday. 
21 • Use zero article to refer to meals. 
 
 
• Use ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ to describe a particular meal.• Use ‘a’ or ‘an’ to refer to a formal meal on a special occasion. 
• What have we got for dinner? / I 
don’t like drinking coffee at 
breakfast. 
• We didn’t get up until 10 in the 
morning and had a late breakfast. 
/ The dinner we had at Webster’s 
restaurant was marvelous. 
• We’re having a dinner to welcome 
the new manager. 
 
 
‘The’ and zero article: comparative and superlative forms 
 
22 • Use ‘the’ with the superlative degree. • the tallest building in town 
23 • Use zero article with the comparative degree. 
• Use ‘the’ with the comparative degree for double comparatives. 
 
• Use ‘the’ with the comparative degree if the adjective is being used as 
a noun. 
• this is more expensive than that 
• The more I study, the more I 
learn. 
• I have two books. The better is 
the most expensive one. 
 
www.AtualidadesConcursos.com.br
16 
 
 
 
 
‘The’ and zero article: time and space 
 
24 • Use ‘the’ for compass directions (‘north’, ‘south’, ‘east’, ‘west’) if they 
follow the prepositions to, in, on, at, or from. 
• Use zero article if the compass direction immediately follows an action 
verb that indicates movement (e.g. fly, go, look, move, sail, travel, 
turn, walk). 
• to the west, in the north, from the 
south, on the east coast 
• go west, fly south, move north, 
sail south 
25 • Use ‘the’ with large periods of historic time or with important historic 
events or dates. 
• the 1900s, the Stone Age, the 
Dark Ages, the Cambrian Period, 
the French Revolution, the 
Industrial Revolution 
 
 
 
Specific uses 
 
26 • ‘The’ is often used with nouns before a phrase with ‘of’. 
 
 
 
 
 
• Some nouns are commonly used in the pattern ‘the… of…’ to refer to 
a particular place, time, etc. (e.g. back, beginning, bottom, end, 
middle, side, top). 
• Pictures can help students learn 
the meaning of new words. / The 
disease could have killed off half 
of the population of the country. / 
He was woken up by the sound of 
gunfire. 
• In the middle of his speech he 
started to cough uncontrollably. 
27 • Use ‘the’ with ordinal numbers (except when listing ideas). • The fifth step is the hardest one. / 
First, I do not agree with the 
decision. Second, I have no funds 
to contribute. 
28 • Use ‘the’ with the word ‘same’. • This is the same as before. 
29 • Use zero article with the names of streets, avenues, roads, lanes, or 
boulevards. 
• Use zero article with the names of universities or colleges. (an 
exception is made when the name contains the word ‘of’) 
 
• Use zero article with the names of single lakes, mountains, islands, or 
canyons. 
• Use zero article with the names of stadiums, malls, or parks. 
• Use zero article with languages or religions. (an exception is made 
when the word ‘language’ is used) 
• Fifth Avenue / Penny Lane / 
Sunset Boulevard 
• New York University / Brown 
University / The University of 
California 
• Lake Michigan / Mount Fuji 
 
• Hyde Park, Central Park 
• Buddhism, Catholicism, 
Portuguese, the Portuguese 
language 
30 • Use ‘the’ with musical instruments. 
• Use ‘the’ to generalize about a class of animals. 
• Use ‘the’ to refer to inventions. 
 
• Use ‘the’ with the names of rivers, seas, oceans and deserts. 
 
 
• Use ‘the’ with the names of hotels, motels, theaters, bridges and 
buildings. 
• Use ‘the’ with the names of zoos, gardens, museums, institutes and 
companies. 
• Use ‘the’ with nouns for military institutions. 
• She plays the piano. 
• The lion is a ferocious animal. 
• The internet revolutionized 
communications. 
• the Amazon River / the Caspian 
Sea / the Pacific Ocean / the 
Sahara Desert 
• the Hilton Hotel / the Golden Gate 
Bridge / the Tower of London 
• the Busch Gardens / the 
Metropolitan Museum 
• the army / the navy / the air force 
/ the marines / the military / the 
fire department / the police 
31 • Use zero article with the names of diseases (except for ‘the measles’ 
and ‘the flu’). 
• cancer / tuberculosis / diabetes / 
arthritis / Alzheimer’s 
32 • Use zero article to refer to numbers on a list. • Step 5 is the hardest one. 
33 • Use zero article with expressions with ‘go’. • go to work / go to bed / go to 
school / go to college / go to jail 
34 • Use zero article with ‘next’ and ‘last’ to refer to specific times. • next month / last week / next 
Tuesday / last Christmas 
 
 
 
 
 
 
17 
 
 
 
ARTICLES – exercise 1* 
 
 
Write an article in the space provided. If no article is needed, write X in the space. 
 
1. I used to play ______ soccer for my high school team. 
2. He gave me ______ good advice. 
3. This is ______ difficult situation. 
4. Superman is ______ example of ______ fictional hero. 
5. I like ______ Indian food because it’s spicy. 
6. We had ______ bad weather last week. 
7. ______ anecdote is ______ type of illustration. 
8. We wrote ______ book about our travels in Guatemala. 
9. ______ food is necessary for ______ survival. 
10. ______ food we had at that restaurant was excellent. 
11. ______ most useful magazines are those that tell you how to do something. 
12. We have ______ need for ______ love. 
13. ______ fascinating place to visit is Samoa. 
14. All of ______ dogs in ______ neighborhood started to bark when ______ lights went out. 
15. Rosa bought ______ new white dress and hat for graduation. Unfortunately, ______ dress was too 
big. 
16. We saw ______ woman with ______ baby on ______ Main Street bus. ______ woman was frantic 
because ______ baby was sick and crying. ______ passengers could not believe it when ______ bus 
driver stopped ______ bus and asked ______ woman and baby to get off. 
17. Joyce hates ______ authority. 
18. Professor Remby is ______ authority on the Middle East. 
19. A parrot learns to speak through ______ imitation. 
20. That vase is ______ imitation of an antique French vase. 
21. ______ life is often difficult. 
22. John has had ______ difficult life. 
23. He considers his violin ______ valuable possession. 
24. She enjoys ______ atmosphere of gaiety and friendliness. 
25. ______ atmosphere at the party was lively and free. 
26. ______ distrust he felt after his friend abandoned him was understandable. 
27. He feels ______ distrust of people that is inexplicable. 
28. ______ popularity of that new song is due to its subject matter. 
29. That song has ______ popularity that is hard to explain. 
30. He felt ______ loneliness that almost overwhelmed him. 
31. ______ loneliness that she felt was overwhelming. 
 
 
*Sources: 
Advanced Language Practice. Michael Vince. Macmillan. 2003. 
Refining Composition Skills. Smalley, R., Ruetten, M. & Kozyrev, J. Heinle & Heinle. 2000. 
www.AtualidadesConcursos.com.br
18 
 
 
32. Helen does not like ______ cream cakes sold in ______ local bakery. 
33. ______ handball is fast becoming ______ popular sport worldwide. 
34. We could see that ______ Alps were covered in ______ snow. 
35. It is ______ long time since I met ______ lovely person like you! 
36. Diana has ______ degree in ______ engineering from ______ University of London. 
37. ______ problem for ______ today’s students is how to survive financially. 
38. ______ French enjoy spending holidays in ______ countryside. 
39. Please do not turn on ______ water-heater in ______ bathroom. 
40. Sue bought ______ Picasso I was telling you about ______ last week. 
41. I am going to stand for Parliament at ______ next election. 
42. When I left ______ station, I had to stand in ______ queue for ______ taxi for ______ long time. 
43. ______ happiness of the majority depends on ______ hard work for everyone. 
44. ______ most main roads in this part of ______ countryfollow ______ line of ______ roads built by 
______ Romans. 
45. Have you got ______ latest record by this band? 
46. If I had ______ time, I would like to take up ______ archery. 
47. We spent ______ pleasant evening having ______ drinks at ______ Robin Hood. 
48. ______ Nile flows right through ______ city. 
49. ______ summer I spent in ______ USA was one of ______ best in my life. 
50. She was ______ first woman to cross ______ Atlantic in ______ canoe. 
51. Go down ______ High Street and turn right into ______ Mill Road. 
52. Please let me carry ______ shopping. It is ______ least I can do. 
53. I do not like ______ milk in ______ coffee. 
54. At ______ end of ______ busy day, ______ sleep is ______ best tonic. 
55. ______ James Joyce I knew was not ______ novelist and was not ______ Irish either. 
56. We will go for ______ walk if ______ sun comes out. 
57. This is ______ last time I do you ______ favor. 
58. I am staying in ______ Hilton so you can leave me ______ message. 
59. Please watch ______ cabin attendant as she demonstrates ______ use of ______ oxygen mask. 
60. Paul spent ______ half of his life in ______ Far East. 
61. You have to use at ______ least ______ pint and ______ half of ______ milk. 
62. Dick has ______ sore throat and is taking ______ medicine. 
63. We arranged _____ accommodation on ______ outskirts of ______ city. 
64. There is ______ very difficult crossword in “______ Times”. 
65. Could you give me ______ information I asked for in ______ letter I sent you? 
66. I bought ______ jewelry for my sister by it was not ______ kind she likes. 
67. I always wanted to be ______ astronaut but ______ ambition wore off. 
68. ______ safety at ______ work is ______ major concern for us. 
69. And ______ last of all, do not forget to put ______ cat out for ______ night. 
 
 
 
 
19 
 
 
 
ARTICLES – exercise 2 
 
 
Write an article in the space provided. If no article is needed, write X in the space. 
 
 
 
Hunting for Liberia’s Missing Millions 
(Adapted from The New York Times May 30th 2010, by Doreen Carvajal) 
 
How much money did _____ Charles G. Taylor, _____ deposed president of Liberia, 
siphon out of his destitute, war-shattered country, and where is it? For almost seven years, 
since _____ international warrant was issued for his arrest, _____ search has stretched from 
_____ mangrove swamps and diamond fields of West Africa to _____ Swiss banks and _____ 
shell corporations — a state-of-the-art version of _____ sweeping asset hunts that have 
accompanied _____ fall of autocrats since _____ shah of Iran’s demise in the 1970s. 
 
_____ investigators have crawled in the dirt under porches and buildings in this 
impoverished capital to seek out financial records. They have _____ confronted bankers and 
_____ government officials on four continents. They have cross-referenced _____ mazes of 
documents charting _____ transfer of millions of dollars into and out of _____ dozens of 
accounts. But they have come up dry for any money in _____ Mr. Taylor’s name. In fact, four 
years ago, _____ Mr. Taylor was classified as “partially indigent” by _____ Special Court for 
Sierra Leone at The Hague, where he is charged with _____ instigating murder, _____ 
mutilation, _____ rape and _____ sexual slavery during intertwined wars in Liberia and Sierra 
Leone that claimed more than 250,000 victims from 1989 to 2003. That has left _____ donor 
nations — _____ United States being _____ largest — to cover his monthly $100,000 legal bill 
and the broader costs of his $20 million trial. 
 
But _____ investigators push on, and _____ review by _____ International Herald 
Tribune of _____ court transcripts, _____ bank records, and _____ newly available government 
receipts and _____ confidential prosecution memos indicates why they are reluctant to give up 
_____ hunt. Some of the records show how _____ country’s largest timber company sent 
_____ tax payments to _____ Mr. Taylor’s private account rather than _____ national treasury. 
Others trace huge payments made by _____ dominant cellphone company to people suspected 
of being Taylor cronies. Others depict _____ web of _____ front companies and _____ banks 
from _____ Hong Kong to _____ New York involved in _____ movement of millions of dollars 
into _____ Mr. Taylor’s accounts in _____ Liberia. 
 
 
 
 
www.AtualidadesConcursos.com.br
20 
 
 
PREPOSITIONAL COLLOCATIONS 
 
verbs 
 
followed by FOR followed by TO followed by WITH 
account FOR sth 
allow FOR sth (take into account) 
apologize TO sb FOR sth 
appeal FOR /AGAINST sth 
apply FOR sth (a job, a scholarship) 
blame sb FOR sth 
budget (resources) FOR sth 
buy sth FOR/FROM sb AT a place 
FOR a certain amount of money 
call FOR sth (request) 
care ABOUT/FOR sb/sth 
cater FOR sth 
charge sb FOR a service 
compensate FOR a damage WITH sth 
to fix it 
condemn sb FOR sth 
count FOR sth (make a difference) 
decide FOR sth (in favor of) 
earmark resources FOR a purpose 
exchange sth FOR sth else 
excuse sb FOR sth 
fetch sth FOR sb 
fight FOR sth/sb (defend) 
forgive sb FOR sth 
make/head FOR a certain direction 
mistake sb/sth FOR sb/sth else 
opt FOR sth 
pay FOR sth 
plead WITH sb TO do sth / FOR sth 
prepare FOR sth 
press FOR sth 
provide FOR sth 
punish sb FOR sth 
rebuke sb FOR sth 
search FOR sth/sb 
stand FOR sth 
substitute (sb/sth) FOR sb/sth 
vote FOR sb/sth (in favor of) 
wait FOR sth/sb 
work FOR/AT a company 
write sth FOR sb (in the person’s 
place or behalf) 
 
agree TO sth (say yes) 
answer TO sth 
apologize TO sb FOR sth 
appeal TO sb 
apply TO sth (request) 
apply TO sb (request or suit) 
associate sb/sth TO/WITH sb/sth 
attend TO sb/sth (give attention) 
attribute sth TO sth 
commit TO (doing) sth 
confess TO (doing) sth 
confide sth TO sb 
convert sb TO a religion 
devote TO (doing) sth 
drink TO sb/sth (pay homage to) 
give sth TO sb 
increase sth FROM a level TO 
another 
introduce sb TO sb else 
lend sth TO sb 
limit sth TO sth else 
lose TO another team 
object TO sth 
plead WITH sb TO do sth / FOR sth 
prefer sth TO sth 
prepare TO do sth 
press sb TO do sth 
pressurize sb TO do sth 
provide sth TO sb 
range FROM sth TO sth 
react TO sth (have a reaction) 
refer TO sth (make a reference) 
refer sb/sth TO sth (send) 
remind sb TO do sth 
resign TO (doing) sth 
resort TO sth 
restrict sth TO sth 
see TO sth (make sure it is done) 
subject sb TO sth 
succeed TO sb (be the next) 
suggest sth TO sb 
supply sth TO sb/sth 
write sth TO sb 
acquaint sb WITH sth 
agree / disagree WITH sb 
argue WITH sb ABOUT sth 
associate sb/sth TO/WITH sb/sth 
charge sb WITH a crime 
clash WITH sb (an adversary) 
coincide WITH sth 
collide WITH sth 
combine sth WITH sth 
compensate FOR a damage WITH sth 
to fix it 
comply WITH sth 
confront sb WITH sth 
confuse sb/sth WITH sb/sth else 
contrast (sth) WITH sth 
deal WITH sb/sth 
discuss sth WITH sb 
drink WITH sb (accompanied by sb) 
exchange sth WITH sb 
go WITH sth (match) 
ingratiate sb WITH sth 
inspire sb WITH sth 
interfere WITH sth (disturb) 
meet WITH sb/sth 
merge WITH sth 
overlap WITH sth 
plead WITH sb TO do sth / FOR sth 
provide sb WITH sth 
punish sb WITH a penalty 
quarrel WITH sb ABOUT/OVER sth 
react WITH sth (use sth) 
reason WITH sb 
replace sb/sth WITH sb/sth else 
rhyme sth WITH sth 
share sth WITH sb 
supply sb/sth WITH sth 
tamper WITH sth 
trust sb WITH sth 
 
 
followed by AT followed by IN followed by OF 
arrive AT a specific place or building 
arrive AT a specific time 
buy sth FOR/FROM sb AT a place 
gaze AT sb/sth 
glance AT sb/sth 
guess AT sth 
hint AT sth 
laugh AT sth (negative) 
laugh AT sb (neutral) 
live AT an addressmarvel AT sth 
preside AT / OVER sth 
smile AT sb 
value sth AT a price 
wait AT/ON a table (a waiter) 
work AT/FOR a company 
 
arrive IN a town, city or country 
believe IN sb/sth 
confide IN sb 
consist IN sth (contain sth) 
graduate FROM an institution IN a 
course 
implicate sb IN sth 
inspire sth IN sb 
interfere IN sth 
invest (sth) IN sth else 
involve sb IN sth 
live IN a house, a city, a country 
participate IN sth 
result IN sth (cause sth) 
specialize IN sth 
succeed IN sth 
accuse sb OF sth 
approve /disapprove OF sb/sth 
boast OF/ABOUT sth 
consist OF sth (compose sth) 
convict sb OF a crime 
dream OF/ABOUT (awaken) 
exonerate sb OF/FROM sth 
remind sb OF sb/sth 
suspect OF sb 
talk OF sth 
think OF/ABOUT sb/sth 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21 
 
 
 
followed by AS followed by OVER followed by BY 
condemn sth AS sth (negative) 
regard sb/sth AS sth 
preside AT / OVER sth 
prevail OVER sth 
quarrel WITH sb ABOUT/OVER sth 
increase BY (a percentage, a figure) 
multiply BY a number 
 
 
followed by UPON followed by AFTER followed by BETWEEN 
agree ON / UPON / ABOUT sth 
base sth ON/UPON sth 
comment ON / UPON / ABOUT sth 
concentrate ON/UPON sth 
decide ON/UPON sth (in relation to) 
disagree ON / UPON / ABOUT sth 
encroach ON / UPON sth 
hinge ON/UPON sth 
insist ON/UPON sth 
reflect ON / UPON sth (think) 
rely ON / UPON sb/sth 
 
look AFTER sb/sth (take care, attend 
to) 
name sb/sth AFTER sb/sth 
take AFTER sb (have similar attitudes 
or behavior) 
choose BETWEEN two options 
differentiate BETWEEN two elements 
range BETWEEN an initial point and a 
final point 
 
followed by FROM followed by ON followed by ABOUT 
bar sb FROM (doing) sth 
benefit FROM (doing) sth 
borrow sth FROM sb 
buy sth FOR/FROM sb AT a place 
choose FROM many options 
derive FROM sth 
deter sb FROM (doing) sth 
differ FROM sb/sth 
differentiate sth FROM sth else 
distinguish sb/sth FROM sb/sth else 
distract sb/sth FROM sth 
emerge FROM a situation, a position 
exempt sb FROM sth 
exonerate sb FROM/OF sth 
expel sb FROM sth or somewhere 
free sb FROM sth 
graduate FROM an institution IN a 
course 
hear FROM sb 
increase sth FROM a level TO 
another 
part FROM sb / a place 
prevent sb FROM (doing) sth 
profit FROM sth 
protect sb/sth FROM / AGAINST 
sb/sth 
refrain FROM doing sth 
resign FROM a position 
result FROM sth (be caused by) 
safeguard sth / sb FROM / AGAINST 
save sb/sth FROM sb/sth 
separate sth FROM sth 
stem FROM sth 
suffer FROM sth (a disease) 
transform sth FROM a state INTO 
another 
 
agree ON / UPON / ABOUT sth 
base sth ON/UPON sth 
blame sth ON sb 
call ON sb (exhort) 
center sth ON sth 
comment ON / UPON / ABOUT sth 
concentrate ON/UPON sth 
congratulate sb ON sth 
count ON sb/sth (rely on sb/sth) 
decide ON/UPON sth (in relation to) 
depend on sb/sth 
disagree ON / UPON / ABOUT sth 
encroach ON / UPON sth 
elaborate ON sth (give details) 
focus ON sth 
hinge ON/UPON sth 
impose sth ON sb 
insist ON/UPON sth 
live ON a source of income 
live ON a street, an avenue 
pride oneself ON sth 
reflect ON / UPON sth (think) 
rely ON / UPON sb/sth 
spend sth ON sth 
vote ON sth (in relation to) 
wait AT/ON a table (a waiter) 
 
agree ON / UPON / ABOUT sth 
argue WITH sb ABOUT sth 
boast ABOUT/OF sth 
care ABOUT/FOR sb/sth 
comment ON / UPON / ABOUT sth 
complain ABOUT sth 
disagree ON / UPON / ABOUT sth 
dream ABOUT (sleeping or awaken) 
forget ABOUT sth/sb 
grumble ABOUT sth 
hear ABOUT sth 
know ABOUT sth 
laugh ABOUT sth (neutral) 
protest ABOUT / AGAINST sth 
quarrel WITH sb ABOUT/OVER sth 
talk ABOUT sb/sth 
think OF/ABOUT sb/sth 
warn sb ABOUT sth 
worry ABOUT sth/sb 
write ABOUT sth/sb 
 
followed by AGAINST followed by INTO followed by OFF 
appeal AGAINST sth 
fight AGAINST sth/sb (combat) 
guard AGAINST sth 
insure sth AGAINST sth 
protect sb/sth FROM / AGAINST 
sb/sth 
protest AGAINST sth 
react AGAINST sth (disagree) 
safeguard sth / sb FROM / AGAINST 
vote AGAINST sth (not in favor) 
 
convert sth INTO/TO sth else 
divide sth into parts 
enter INTO a bargain, a contract 
instill sth INTO sb 
introduce sth INTO sth (implement) 
pressurize sb INTO (doing) sth 
separate sth INTO different groups 
transform sb/sth INTO sth 
 
live OFF a diet 
followed by THROUGH 
live THROUGH sth (survive) 
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22 
 
 
 
adjectives 
 
 
followed by TO followed by WITH followed by FOR 
able TO do sth 
acceptable TO sb 
accustomed TO (doing) sth 
addicted TO sth 
allied TO / WITH sth / sb 
analogous TO / WITH sth 
attentive TO sth 
beneficial TO / FOR sb / sth 
close TO sb/sth (next to) 
connected TO sb/sth (joined together 
contrary TO sth 
detrimental TO sth / sb 
detrimental TO sb/sth 
equal TO sth / sb 
essential TO/FOR sb/sth 
fair TO sb 
familiar TO sb 
favorable TO sb / sth 
geared TO sth (directed for a specific 
purpose) 
good TO people, animals (kind to) 
grateful TO sb 
immune TO sth 
impervious TO sth 
indifferent TO sb/sth 
inferior TO sth / sb 
kind TO sb 
liable TO sth (likely to suffer from 
sth) 
married TO sb 
native TO sth 
necessary FOR sth / TO do sth 
next TO sth 
open TO sth 
opposed TO sth / sb 
possible FOR sb TO do sth 
preferable TO sth 
prepared FOR sth / TO do sth 
prone TO (do) sth 
receptive TO sth 
related TO sth 
relevant TO sth 
responsive TO sth 
similar TO sth / sb 
subjected TO sth 
subordinate TO sb / sth 
used TO (doing) sth 
vulnerable TO sth 
 
acquainted WITH sth 
allied TO / WITH sth / sb 
analogous TO / WITH sth 
angry AT / WITH sb 
annoyed WITH sb ABOUT/AT/BY sth 
beset WITH sth (jewelry) 
beset BY / WITH (afflicted by 
problems) 
bored AT / BY / WITH sth 
burdened WITH sth (carrying sth 
heavy) 
bursting WITH sth 
charged WITH sth (a crime) 
cluttered WITH sth 
combined WITH sth 
compatible WITH sb/sth 
connected WITH sth / sb (related) 
content WITH sth 
crammed WITH sth 
disappointed ABOUT / AT / BY / 
WITH sth 
dissatisfied WITH sth 
equipped WITH sth 
faced WITH sth 
familiar WITH sth 
filled WITH sth 
fraught WITH sth 
good WITH people, animals (able to 
deal with) 
incompatible WITH sb/sth 
jammed WITH sth 
mad AT/WITH sb/sth (angry) 
obsessed WITH sth 
packed WITH sth 
patient WITH sb ABOUT sth 
pleased ABOUT / WITH sth 
preoccupied WITH sth / sb 
racked WITH sth 
safe WITH sb (protected by sb) 
satisfied WITH sth 
synonymous WITH sth 
 
adequate FOR sth 
basic FOR sth 
beneficial FOR/TO sb/sth 
charged FOR sth (a service) 
early FOR sth 
earmarked FOR sth 
eligible FOR sth 
essential FOR / TO sth / sb 
famous FOR sth 
geared up FOR sth (ready for sth) 
indispensable FOR sth 
late FOR sth 
liable FOR sth (legally responsible for 
sth) 
necessary FOR sth / TO do sth 
perfect FOR sth / sb 
possible FOR sb TO do sth 
prepared FOR sth / TO do sth 
ready FOR sth 
responsible FOR sth 
safe FOR sb 
sorry FOR sth / ABOUT sb 
suitable FOR sth 
useful FOR sth 
 
 
 
 
 
followed by ON followed by UPON followed by AGAINST 
based ON/UPON sth 
conditional ON/UPON sth 
contingent ON/UPON sth (dependent 
on sth) 
dependent ON/UPON sb/sth 
keen ON sth 
 
based ON/UPON sth 
conditional ON/UPON sth 
contingent ON/UPON sth (dependent 
on sth) 
dependent ON/UPON sb/sth 
 
prejudiced AGAINST sth 
 
 
 
 
23 
 
 
 
followed by ABOUT followed by BY followed by AT 
angry ABOUT sth 
annoyed ABOUT / AT / BY sth 
anxious ABOUT sth 
certain ABOUT sth 
concerned ABOUT sb / sth 
disappointed ABOUT / AT / BY / 
WITH sth 
enthusiastic ABOUT sth 
excited ABOUT sth 
happy WITH / ABOUT sth 
mad ABOUT sb/sth (in love) 
miserable ABOUT sth 
optimistic ABOUT 
patient WITH sb ABOUT sth 
pessimistic ABOUTpleased ABOUT / WITH sth 
right ABOUT sth 
serious ABOUT sth 
sorry ABOUT sb 
upset ABOUT sth 
worried ABOUT sth / sb 
wrong ABOUT sth 
 
annoyed ABOUT / AT / BY sth 
baffled BY sth 
beset BY sth (afflicted by problems) 
bewildered BY/AT sth 
bored AT / BY / WITH sth 
burdened BY sth (having many 
problems) 
detained BY sth 
disappointed ABOUT / AT / BY / 
WITH sth 
distressed BY sth 
plagued BY sth 
racked BY sth 
shocked BY sth 
surprised AT / BY sth 
 
angry AT / WITH sb 
annoyed ABOUT / AT / BY sth 
bad AT sth (lacking ability) 
bewildered AT/BY sth 
bored AT / BY / WITH sth 
disappointed ABOUT / AT / BY / 
WITH sth 
good AT sth 
mad AT/WITH sb/sth (angry) 
surprised AT / BY sth 
 
 
 
followed by FROM followed by OF followed by IN 
absent FROM sth 
derived FROM sth 
descendent FROM sth / sb 
different FROM sth / sb 
excluded FROM sth 
free FROM / OF sth 
independent OF / FROM sth / sb 
indistinguishable FROM sth / sb 
missing FROM sth 
prohibited FROM sth (doing) 
remote FROM (far off) sth 
safe FROM sb/sth (protected against 
sb/sth) 
separate FROM sth 
afraid OF sth / sb 
ashamed OF sb/sth 
aware OF sth 
capable OF (doing) sth 
characteristic OF sth / sb 
composed OF sth 
conscious OF sth 
devoid OF sth 
deprived OF sth 
fond OF sb 
full OF sth 
independent OF / FROM sth / sb 
indicative OF sth 
irrespective OF sth 
jealous OF sth / sb 
reminiscent OF sth 
respectful OF sb/sth 
typical OF sth / sb 
wary OF sth 
 
absorbed IN sth 
deficient IN sth 
disappointed IN sb 
engrossed IN sth 
experienced IN sth 
implicated IN sth 
inherent IN sth / sb 
instrumental IN sth 
interested IN sth / sb 
rich IN sth 
shrouded IN 
specialized IN sth 
 
 
nouns 
 
followed by IN followed by OF followed by FOR 
decrease IN 
experience IN 
improvement IN 
increase IN 
influence IN/ ON / OVER / UPON 
interest IN 
practice AT / IN 
(take) pride IN 
cause OF 
components OF 
example OF 
form OF 
group OF 
method OF 
native OF 
(take) notice OF 
origin OF 
part OF 
price OF 
quality OF 
supply OF 
 
admiration FOR 
cause FOR 
craving FOR 
credit FOR 
cure FOR 
demand FOR 
desire FOR 
disregard FOR 
(be in the) mood FOR 
provision FOR 
reason FOR 
recipe FOR 
respect FOR 
responsibility FOR 
room FOR 
solution FOR / TO 
sympathy FOR 
 
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24 
 
 
 
followed by ON followed by TO followed by WITH 
authority ON 
ban ON 
comment ON 
effect ON / UPON 
expert ON / IN 
influence IN/ ON / OVER / UPON 
(make) profit ON 
reliance ON / UPON 
restriction ON 
tax ON 
access TO 
alternative TO 
approach TO 
attention TO 
attitude TO 
exception TO 
solution FOR / TO 
threat TO 
witness TO 
 
contrast WITH sb/sth 
in dispute WITH sb 
(have an) encounter WITH sb 
(have a) link WITH sb/sth 
(have a) quarrel WITH sb 
(have a) relationship WITH sb 
 
followed by OVER followed by IN followed by AT 
(have) advantage OVER 
(be in, have) authority OVER 
(have) control OVER 
(be in) dispute OVER sth 
influence IN/ ON / OVER / UPON 
 
specialist IN adept AT 
practice AT / IN 
 
followed by UPON 
effect ON / UPON 
influence IN/ ON / OVER / UPON 
reliance ON / UPON 
 
 
 
preceded by ON preceded by FOR preceded by BY 
ON approval 
ON average 
ON a regular basis 
ON behalf of, the contrary, loan, the 
market (for sale), its merits, offer, 
purpose, good terms, the verge of 
ON the market 
FOR fear of 
FOR the foreseeable future 
FOR life 
FOR long 
FOR the time being 
BY accident 
BY chance 
BY coincidence 
BY mistake 
BY rights 
BY surprise 
BY the time 
 
preceded by IN preceded by UNDER preceded by AT 
IN advance 
IN answer to 
IN any case 
IN the balance 
IN the beginning (initially) 
IN charge of 
IN collaboration with 
IN comparison with 
IN comfort 
IN (good, bad) condition 
IN decline 
IN demand 
IN dire straits 
IN dispute 
IN distress 
IN earnest 
IN the end (finally) 
IN favor of something 
IN favor with someone 
IN fear of 
IN harmony 
IN jeopardy 
IN all likelihood 
IN practice 
IN recognition of 
IN response to 
IN short 
IN (high, low) spirits 
IN (the early, the late) stages 
IN theory 
IN time 
IN trouble 
IN turn 
IN one way or another 
UNDER age 
UNDER the circumstances 
UNDER control 
UNDER cover of 
UNDER the impression (that) 
UNDER the influence of 
UNDER a law 
UNDER an obligation 
UNDER pressure 
UNDER repair 
UNDER stress 
UNDER suspicion 
 
AT the (first/second) attempt 
AT the beginning of 
AT the end of 
AT fault 
AT first sight 
AT large 
AT length 
AT any rate 
 
preceded by OUT OF preceded by WITH 
OUT OF breath 
OUT OF control 
OUT OF danger 
OUT OF doors 
OUT OF focus 
OUT OF luck 
OUT OF the ordinary 
OUT OF pocket 
OUT OF practice 
OUT OF all proportion 
OUT OF reach 
OUT OF stock 
OUT OF work 
WITH the exception of 
WITH intent to 
WITH regard to 
WITH a view to 
preceded by WITHOUT 
WITHOUT a chance 
WITHOUT delay 
WITHOUT a doubt 
WITHOUT exception 
WITHOUT a word 
 
preceded by BEYOND 
BEYOND belief 
BEYOND a joke (sth that has become 
serious) 
BEYOND repair 
BEYOND the shadow of a doubt 
 
others 
 
AFTER all AT all ABOVE all 
25 
 
 
PREPOSITIONS – exercise 1* 
 
Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition. 
 
verbs 
 
1. Do you agree __________ me that this scheme will not work? 
2. We do not always agree __________ everything. 
3. The two countries were unable to agree __________ a common strategy. 
4. He agreed __________ our proposals. (= said yes) 
5. Police have appealed __________ the public __________ information about the crime. 
6. Fletcher applied __________ the post of Eliot’s secretary. 
7. The questions on this part of the form only apply __________ married men. 
8. He apologized profusely __________ the damage he had caused. 
9. He apologized __________ his colleagues. 
10. I very much (dis)approve __________ these new tests. 
11. She is always arguing __________ her mother __________ money. 
12. We are due to arrive __________ Rome __________ 10 o’clock. 
13. The novels are all loosely based __________ the author’s life. 
14. You have got to believe __________ yourself, or you will never succeed. 
15. We both benefited financially __________ the arrangement. 
16. I do not blame Jack __________ the mistake. 
17. Whenever something goes wrong, everyone blames it __________ me. 
18. He openly boasted __________ his talents. 
19. She borrowed $50 __________ her mother. 
20. We have budgeted $10,000 __________ advertising. 
21. He bought a car __________ his daughter __________ a friend. 
22. I bought it __________ $25. 
23. The UN has called __________ both sides to observe the ceasefire. (= formally asked) 
24. Farmers are calling __________ larger government subsidies. (= asking strongly) 
25. She has not yet been formally charged __________ the offense. 
26. We do not charge __________ delivery. 
27. She had to choose __________ giving up her job or hiring a nanny. 
28. They often clash violently __________ rival gangs. 
29. His car nearly collided __________ a bus. 
30. People were commenting __________ her gifts and abilities. 
31. The company will compensate you __________ the losses you have suffered. 
32. He compensated his homely appearance __________ great personal charm. 
33. The advantages of the scheme more than compensate __________ the risks associated with it. 
34. She complained bitterly __________ the lack of help she received. 
35. He concentrated mainly __________ the flying and spoke very little. 
36. He was roundly condemned __________ his mistake. 
37. He confided his money __________ his brother’s safe-keeping. 
38. She congratulated me warmly __________ my performance. 
39. Their conversation consistedalmost entirely __________ gossip. (= was composed) 
40. The beauty of Venice consists largely __________ the style of its ancient buildings. (= depends) 
41. This sofa converts __________ a bed. (= change something) 
42. I have converted __________ decaffeinated coffee. (= change or make someone change their mind) 
43. This topic is dealt __________ at greater length in the following chapter. 
44. We are still trying to decide __________ a venue. 
45. The outcome seems to depend __________ the type of soil used. 
46. It is not always possible to differentiate __________ the two diseases. 
47. These features clearly differentiate this product __________ other similar ones. 
48. The children divided __________ three teams. 
49. We dream __________ buying our own house. (= we would like it to happen) 
50. I dreamed __________ you last night. (I was asleep) 
51. Let us drink __________ your success in your new job. 
 
 
*Sources: 
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Longman. 1995. 
Oxford Collocations Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2002. 
Random House Dictionary. Random House, Inc. 2010. 
www.AtualidadesConcursos.com.br
26 
 
 
52. The world is only slowly emerging __________ recession. 
53. The government is encroaching __________ the rights of individuals. 
54. This is not the place to enter __________ a detailed discussion of economic policy. 
55. She decided to exchange free lessons __________ free accommodation. 
56. At the end of the game players traditionally exchange shirts __________ each other. 
57. I cannot excuse them __________ treating their animals so badly. 
58. Marty’s bad health exempts him __________ military service. 
59. Recent medical evidence has exonerated Dr. Lamont __________ all blame. 
60. They are committed to fighting __________ racism and __________ equal rights. 
61. Oh yes! I almost forgot __________ the party. 
62. She never forgave him __________ losing her ring. 
63. They succeeded in freeing their friends __________ prison. 
64. They gazed __________ the mighty peaks. 
65. The firm gives a generous discount __________ companies that place large orders. 
66. That tie goes well __________ that shirt. 
67. Mitch graduated __________ Stanford with a degree __________ Law. 
68. The farmers are always grumbling __________ the weather. 
69. The city needs to be guarded __________ attack. 
70. Have you heard __________ Sarah lately? 
71. I have heard __________ this sort of thing before. 
72. Last month the reward was increased __________ $20,000 __________ $40,000. 
73. The budget has increased __________ more than a third in the last year. 
74. He insists __________ speaking to your personally. 
75. They instilled good manners __________ their children at an early age. 
76. New technology is rapidly being introduced __________ factories. 
77. She introduced me __________ her neighbors. 
78. There are too many outsiders interfering __________ local politics. (= meddling) 
79. You must not interfere __________ her work. (= disturb) 
80. People are being encouraged to invest __________ pension plans. 
81. He knows a lot __________ early music. 
82. Young offenders just laugh __________ this sort of sentence. 
83. I have lent my car __________ George for the weekend. 
84. The teaching of history should not be limited __________ dates and figures. 
85. They lived frugally __________ a diet of porridge and lentils. 
86. I challenge anyone to try to live __________ the state pension. 
87. She lived __________ two world wars. 
88. He has been living __________ that house for eleven years now. 
89. When I first met them, they lived __________ Main Street, __________ 72 Main Street. 
90. Don’t worry. I’ll look __________ the kids tomorrow. 
91. The visiting side lost __________ the home team. 
92. We made __________ St. Louis as fast as possible. (= headed) 
93. Our company is to merge __________ a big German car manufacturer. 
94. I am sorry. I mistook you __________ George. 
95. I named my son __________ my father. 
96. He wrote a petition objecting __________ the scheme. 
97. This is where sociology overlaps __________ economics. 
98. They will have the opportunity to participate actively __________ the decision-making process. 
99. How much did you pay __________ your new car? 
100. He had failed to prepare adequately __________ the task before him. 
101. You have to be prepared __________ take risks in this kind of work. 
102. They could find no clergyman who would agree to preside __________ the funeral. (be in charge of) 
103. The president found himself presiding __________ the worst economic depression in the history of 
the US. (= be in charge of a situation without having control over it) 
104. The party will continue to press __________ a new electoral system. 
105. Katie pressed me __________ stay a little longer. 
106. They would have enjoyed the party more if they had not been pressurized __________ going. 
107. Normally apathetic members were pressurized __________ vote. 
108. His view eventually prevailed __________ theirs. 
109. They took action to prevent the disease __________ spreading. 
110. No one can prevent you __________ attending this meeting. 
111. The school prides itself __________ its academic records. 
112. He profited greatly __________ his schooling. 
113. The new measures are designed to protect the public __________ people like these. 
114. They are protesting __________ the proposed agreement. 
27 
 
 
115. He provided us __________ a lot of useful information. 
116. The scheme was intended to provide financial help __________ unemployed workers. 
117. They will be severely punished __________ their crimes. 
118. Offenders will be punished __________ a $1,000 fine. 
119. He wished he had not quarreled __________ Tania __________ money. 
120. There were 120 students whose ages ranged __________ 10 and 18. 
121. The university reacted unfavorably __________ the proposals. 
122. She rebuked herself sharply __________ her stupidity. 
123. The term ‘alexia’ is used to refer __________ any acquired disorder of reading. 
124. She paused to reflect __________ what she had achieved. 
125. I refrained __________ laughing. 
126. Many of her books are regarded __________ classics. 
127. You can safely rely __________ his judgment. 
128. She looked at her watch to remind him __________ the time. 
129. Mrs. Nolan always reminded Marie __________ her own mother. 
130. Please remind me __________ buy stamps. 
131. We replaced the old television set __________ a newer one. 
132. When polite requests failed, Paul resorted __________ threats. 
133. I am restricting myself __________ one glass of wine a day. 
134. This move will inevitably result __________ the loss of a lot of jobs. 
135. These problems result __________ past errors. 
136. “House” rhymes __________ “mouse”. 
137. We must take steps to safeguard our environment __________ these threats. 
138. They saved the paintings __________ destruction. 
139. Police are still searching __________ the missing child. 
140. They separated the boys __________ the girls. 
141. I separated the documents __________ two files. 
142. She had to share the bedroom __________ her sister. 
143. She turned and smiled __________ me. 
144. The company spent a lot __________ advertising. 
145. P.S. stands __________ “postscript.” 
146. Bill substituted __________ Larry who was off sick. (Bill went to work, Larry did not) 
147. She has succeeded __________ a difficult career. 
148. She suffers __________ asthma. 
149. He refused to supply the police __________ information. 
150. Jenni really takes __________ her mother. 
151. We often talked __________ the war. (formal) 
152. They just do not see the point in tampering __________ a system that has worked fine so far. 
153. I still do not know what he really thinks __________ it. 
154. The place was transformed