look: give attention to what one is seeing; turn the eyes and see in a certain direction.
Look at that cute baby!
see: use the power of sight.
See! Here she comes!
watch: look at some activity or event; keep one's eyes fixed on something.
The boys watched television all the afternoon.
gaze: look at something for a long time, in surprise or admiration.
She gazed at him in disbelief when he told her the news.
stare: look at something for a long time with the eyes wide open.
She was staring into space.
gawk = gawp: stare impolitely.
Many people gathered to gawp at the crashed car.
gape: look at something with one's mouth open.
She gaped at him in surprise.
glance: have a quick look at something.
She glanced at her watch.
scan: look quickly at something without careful reading.
He scanned the newspaper over breakfast.
glare: stare angrily or fiercely.
She didn't answered, but just glared silently at me.
peer: look very carefully, as if not able to see well.
He peered at me over his spectacles.
peep: look quickly and cautiously.
He was caught peeping through the keyhole.
observe: watch carefully.
The police observed the man entering the bank.
glimpse: have a passing view of something or someone. Usually used in the expression to catch a glimpse of.
He could catch a glimpse of the president among the crowd.
spot: recognize someone suddenly among many others.
He was spotted by the police boarding a plane for Berlin.
behold: old use of the verb to see.
Behold the king!
view: (technical) look thouroughly; regard, consider.
That film hasn't been viewed by the censor yet.
sight: see for the first time.
The men in the ship finally sighted land.
leer: look in an unpleasant way, suggesting ill will or lust.
The man leered at the young girl.
blink: shut and open the eyes quickly.
How long can you stare without blinking?
wink: close one eye briefly, as a signal to somebody.
He winked at me to show that he was just joking.
frown: look in a worried or angry way, moving down the eyebrows together.
He read the telegram, frowning at its contents.
scowl: frown angrily.
She was very angry and scowled at him while she talked.
squint: look with eyes half shut or turned sideways, or through a narrow opening.
She squinted through the letter-box and saw an envelope.
peek: look quickly and secretively.
She found her brother peeking at her diary.
ogle: look or stare (at a woman) suggesting sexual interest.
Most women hate being ogled at.
goggle: look with the eyes wide open in surprise or shock. (old-fashioned)
People were goggling at her as if she were from another planet.
eyeball: look directly or closely.
Francis eyeballed a beautiful woman at the party.
take a gander at something: (informal) look at something.
cast an eye on/over something: look at something, examine something.
browse: look through the pages of a book or magazine; look at the goods in a shop without really wanting to buy anything.
Sheila spent all the afternoon browsing the boutiques.
scrutinize: examine thoroughly and carefully.
John scrutinized the painting at the museum.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:
Down, down, down. There was nothing else to do, so Alice soon began talking again. 'Dinah'll miss me very much to-night, I should think!' (Dinah was the cat.) 'I hope they'll remember her saucer of milk at tea-time. Dinah my dear! I wish you were down here with me! There are no mice in the air, I'm afraid, but you might catch a bat, and that's very like a mouse, you know. But do cats eat bats, I wonder?'
And here Alice began to get rather sleepy, and went on saying to herself, in a dreamy sort of way, 'Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?' and sometimes, 'Do bats eat cats?' for, you see, as she couldn't answer either question, it didn't much matter which way she put it. She felt that she was dozing off, and had just begun to dream that she was walking hand in hand with Dinah, and saying to her very earnestly, 'Now, Dinah, tell me the truth: did you ever eat a bat?' when suddenly, thump! thump! down she came upon a heap of sticks and dry leaves, and the fall was over.
Alice was not a bit hurt, and she jumped up on to her feet in a moment: she looked up, but it was all dark overhead; before her was another long passage, and the White Rabbit was still in sight, hurrying down it. There was not a moment to be lost: away went Alice like the wind, and was just in time to hear it say, as it turned a corner, 'Oh, my ears and whiskers, how late it's getting!' She was close behind it when she turned the corner, but the Rabbit was no longer to be seen: she found herself in a long, low hall, which was lit up by a row of lamps hanging from the roof.
There were doors all round the hall, but they were all locked; and when Alice had been all the way down one side and up the other, trying every door, she walked sadly down the middle, wondering how she was ever to get out again.
Suddenly she came upon a little three-legged table, all made of solid glass; there was nothing on it except a tiny golden key, and Alice's first thought was that it might belong to one of the doors of the hall; but, alas! either the locks were too large, or the key was too small, but at any rate it would not open any of them. However, on the second time round, she came upon a low curtain she had not noticed before, and behind it was a little door about fifteen inches high: she tried the little golden key in the lock, and to her great delight it fitted!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Sunday, July 4, 2010
English phrasal verbs with "off"
There are many phrasal verbs in English that use the word "off". Here are some of the more common.
Break off= end: "Talks have broken off between the union and management."
Bring off = succeed in something difficult: "The new management brought off an amazing recovery in the company's fortunes."
Call off = cancel: "The proposed merger has been called off."
Cut off = disconnect: "Their electricity was cut off when they didn't pay the bill."
Lay off = make workers redundant: "The car manufacturer laid off 5000 workers."
Live off = get money from another source: "He invested the money and lived off the interest."
Pay off = settle your debt: "She saved money every month and finally managed to pay off her student loan."
Put off = (1) postpone: "They put off the decision for another month."
= (2) dissuade: "Falling prices put me off investing in the English property market."
Take off = do well: "Business has really taken off!"
Write off = accept a loss: "We'll never get the money back – I think we should write it off."
Break off= end: "Talks have broken off between the union and management."
Bring off = succeed in something difficult: "The new management brought off an amazing recovery in the company's fortunes."
Call off = cancel: "The proposed merger has been called off."
Cut off = disconnect: "Their electricity was cut off when they didn't pay the bill."
Lay off = make workers redundant: "The car manufacturer laid off 5000 workers."
Live off = get money from another source: "He invested the money and lived off the interest."
Pay off = settle your debt: "She saved money every month and finally managed to pay off her student loan."
Put off = (1) postpone: "They put off the decision for another month."
= (2) dissuade: "Falling prices put me off investing in the English property market."
Take off = do well: "Business has really taken off!"
Write off = accept a loss: "We'll never get the money back – I think we should write it off."
English phrasal Verbs using "out"
There are many phrasal verbs in English that use 'out'. Here is a small selection of some of the more common ones.
back out = decide not to do something you first intended to do: "We can't back out of the holiday now – we've already paid for it!"
break out = escape: "The prisoners managed to break out."
bring out = make more noticeable: "The lemon brings out the taste of the strawberries."
check out (1) = look at: "You've got to check out this new website – it's really useful."
check out (2) = investigate: "The police are checking out his story."
cut out = eliminate: "He's cut out all the fat from his diet and he's a lot slimmer."
eat out = eat in a restaurant: "Do you fancy eating out tonight?"
hand out = distribute: "The teacher handed out the English books to the students."
fill out = complete a form: "You need to fill out all the sections on this form."
make out = see well: "I can't make out the name on this envelope. Is it Jones or James?"
pass out = faint: "It was so hot in the room that she passed out."
put out = inconvenience someone: "Thanks for your offer of letting us stay. Are you sure that we won't be putting you out?"
stand out = be easily distinguishable: "With the way he dresses, he always manages to stand out!"
take out = withdraw money: "I've taken out a lot of money from my account recently."
work out (1) = calculate: "We've worked out our profit margin."
work out (2) = get better: "Everything worked out well in the end."
work out (3) = understand: "I really can't work it out. Why did she leave such a well-paid job?"
back out = decide not to do something you first intended to do: "We can't back out of the holiday now – we've already paid for it!"
break out = escape: "The prisoners managed to break out."
bring out = make more noticeable: "The lemon brings out the taste of the strawberries."
check out (1) = look at: "You've got to check out this new website – it's really useful."
check out (2) = investigate: "The police are checking out his story."
cut out = eliminate: "He's cut out all the fat from his diet and he's a lot slimmer."
eat out = eat in a restaurant: "Do you fancy eating out tonight?"
hand out = distribute: "The teacher handed out the English books to the students."
fill out = complete a form: "You need to fill out all the sections on this form."
make out = see well: "I can't make out the name on this envelope. Is it Jones or James?"
pass out = faint: "It was so hot in the room that she passed out."
put out = inconvenience someone: "Thanks for your offer of letting us stay. Are you sure that we won't be putting you out?"
stand out = be easily distinguishable: "With the way he dresses, he always manages to stand out!"
take out = withdraw money: "I've taken out a lot of money from my account recently."
work out (1) = calculate: "We've worked out our profit margin."
work out (2) = get better: "Everything worked out well in the end."
work out (3) = understand: "I really can't work it out. Why did she leave such a well-paid job?"
Prefer, would rather, had better
Prefer and would rather can be used interchangeably. As you indicate, Omar, when we are talking about general preferences, prefer is followed by verb-ing, thus:
• I prefer listening to music to watching TV.
• I'd rather listen to music than watch TV.
'd rather
However, when we are talking about specifics, would rather is used as an alternative to would prefer to followed by an infinitive. Would rather is very common in spoken English and is often abbreviated to 'd rather. It is used in this form with all personal pronouns:
I'd / you'd / he'd / she'd / we'd / they'd rather…
Study these examples:
• Would you like to go out for dinner tonight? ~ No, I think I'd rather eat at home / I'd prefer to eat at home.
• Would you rather drink beer or wine with the curry ~ I'd rather drink beer. What about you?
• They'd rather have the strawberries by themselves, but I'd prefer to have them with cream.
Note that would rather is followed by a bare infinitive without to, whereas prefer requires to + infinitive. Would rather (but not would prefer to) is also followed by a past tense when we want to involve other people in the action, even though it has a present or future meaning. Study the following:
• Shall we go out for dinner tonight? ~ No, I'd rather we ate at home, if you don't mind.
• Shall I write to Harry and tell him that we've sold the car? ~ I'd rather you didn't.
• My mother would rather we caught the bus, rather than walk home after the party.
Rather than means instead of and can be used in combination with would prefer to and would rather. Study the following and note the intricacies of the verb forms:
• Rather than lose precious sleep discussing it now, I think we should go to bed and talk about it in the morning.
• My mother would prefer us to email each other once a week, rather than spend half an hour on the phone every night.
• My mother would rather we emailed each other once a week instead of spending half an hour on the phone every night. In fact, she insists on it. So we'd better do that, I suppose.
'd better
Note that 'd better, which is similar structurally to 'd rather, is used to suggest necessary action. In this case however, 'd is the abbreviated form of had, not would. Like 'd rather, 'd better is followed by the bare infinitive without to. Study the following:
• We'd better not be late for the Ambasador's party. It would be unforgivable to arrive late.
• You'd better phone him and tell him that you're not going.
• They'd better buy me a Christmas present or I shall never forgive them.
Note that it is sometimes slightly threatening in tone, as in the last example. Had better is always more urgent than should or ought to and has the same force as I would advise you strongly to…. or We must / we mustn't….
• I prefer listening to music to watching TV.
• I'd rather listen to music than watch TV.
'd rather
However, when we are talking about specifics, would rather is used as an alternative to would prefer to followed by an infinitive. Would rather is very common in spoken English and is often abbreviated to 'd rather. It is used in this form with all personal pronouns:
I'd / you'd / he'd / she'd / we'd / they'd rather…
Study these examples:
• Would you like to go out for dinner tonight? ~ No, I think I'd rather eat at home / I'd prefer to eat at home.
• Would you rather drink beer or wine with the curry ~ I'd rather drink beer. What about you?
• They'd rather have the strawberries by themselves, but I'd prefer to have them with cream.
Note that would rather is followed by a bare infinitive without to, whereas prefer requires to + infinitive. Would rather (but not would prefer to) is also followed by a past tense when we want to involve other people in the action, even though it has a present or future meaning. Study the following:
• Shall we go out for dinner tonight? ~ No, I'd rather we ate at home, if you don't mind.
• Shall I write to Harry and tell him that we've sold the car? ~ I'd rather you didn't.
• My mother would rather we caught the bus, rather than walk home after the party.
Rather than means instead of and can be used in combination with would prefer to and would rather. Study the following and note the intricacies of the verb forms:
• Rather than lose precious sleep discussing it now, I think we should go to bed and talk about it in the morning.
• My mother would prefer us to email each other once a week, rather than spend half an hour on the phone every night.
• My mother would rather we emailed each other once a week instead of spending half an hour on the phone every night. In fact, she insists on it. So we'd better do that, I suppose.
'd better
Note that 'd better, which is similar structurally to 'd rather, is used to suggest necessary action. In this case however, 'd is the abbreviated form of had, not would. Like 'd rather, 'd better is followed by the bare infinitive without to. Study the following:
• We'd better not be late for the Ambasador's party. It would be unforgivable to arrive late.
• You'd better phone him and tell him that you're not going.
• They'd better buy me a Christmas present or I shall never forgive them.
Note that it is sometimes slightly threatening in tone, as in the last example. Had better is always more urgent than should or ought to and has the same force as I would advise you strongly to…. or We must / we mustn't….
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