what you say to someone when they thank you 

don't mention it •    

that's all right/that's OK • 

you're welcome • 

my pleasure/not at all • 

 think nothing of it/it was nothing • 

no problem • 

  sure

die

a ceremony for someone who has died: funeral  

 a ceremony at which someone who has died is buried or burned
 

burial when someone's body is put into the ground
 

cremation when someone's body is burned 

hearse a large car that takes the body to the funeral 

coffin a box in which someone is buried or carried to  

 the funeral
 

grave the place where someone is buried
 

graveyard/cemetery an area where dead people are buried
 

undertaker someone who arranges funerals
 

the mourners the people at a funeral

Borrow - lend -rent-hire- lease-let

borrow

If you borrow something (from somebody), you take it for a period of time, then you give it back. He borrowed £50 from me last year, and still hasn't paid a penny of it back. Can I borrow your bike 

lend

If you lend/(US also) loan something to somebody, or lend/loan somebody something, you give them something for a period of time, then they give it back. I can't remember who I lent/loaned those books to. Dad lent/loaned me the car for the weekend.  

loan verb = lend something valuable, or in an official way.The artist's family has loaned several famous paintings to the local museum.

loan noun = money you borrow, usually from a bank. How much interest are you paying on your loan

If you borrow money to buy a house, this loan is called a mortgage 

lease

If you lease something, you make an agreement to rent out property or equipment for a particular period of time. For example, a photocopier, a building, land or a car. We leased our photocopiers from Modern Office Supplies. They have leased a printer to us for five years.

A lease is a legal agreement, which gives details of how much rent you must pay for a particular period of time. When does the lease on your studio run out  

let
If you let property, somebody pays you in order to use it over a long period.
For example, let a house or flat. They went abroad and let their house to a Japanese family.

There's a section in the paper with flats to let.

rent

If you pay someone to allow you to use something, you rent (v) it. For example, a room, a house/flat/apartment, a bike/boat/car/van, a TV/computer/video, a film/movie. I rented a flat above a shop for a while. How much is it to rent a TV Let's rent a movie tonight.

Your rent (n) is the amount of money you must pay each week or month to live somewhere. Rents in Paris are extremely high.

If you rent out something that you own, you allow someone to pay you money so that they can use it. They rent out a couple of rooms in their apartment. She rents out boats to tourists during the summer season.

hire

If you hire (UK) something, you pay money to use it for a short period of time. For example, you can hire a bike, a car or a suit. You should hire a car while you're in France.  

They've hired suits for the wedding. Have you got any boats for hire

Hire purchase (HP) (UK) means you take something home from a shop and pay for it in small payments over a period of time.

You can also hire (employ) someone to do a job (esp. US). I've hired a gardener to help out in the summer. I can't believe the cost of hiring a lawyer. They hired a private detective to find out who was stealing from the company.

If you hire out something, you allow someone to use something after they have paid you money. Several places now hire out bikes to tourists during the summer season.

If you hire out someone, you arrange for someone to work for someone else. She knew of a detective agency that also hired out security guards. He decided to go freelance and hire himself out as a computer programmer

charter

If you charter a plane, boat, yacht, train or coach, you hire it for private use. They chartered a yacht to take them round the Mediterranean

A charter flight is a special holiday flight arranged by a travel agency, and usually bought together with hotel accommodation

dates

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written form	spoken form
July 18 1999	UK July the eighteenth, nineteen ninety-nine US July eighteenth, nineteen ninety-nine
18 July 1999	the eighteenth of July, nineteen ninety-nine
18/07/99 or 18/7/99 or 18.7.99 (UK)	the eighteenth of the seventh, ninety-nine or eighteen, seven, ninety-nine
07/18/99 or 7/18/99 (US)	seven, eighteen, ninety nine

Sometimes when writing the full date, people use the forms 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 18th, 31st etc. This is becoming old-fashioned

Eye, eyesight and seeing

Your ability to see is called your eyesight, sight or vision 

Airline pilots need to have good eyesight
After his car crashed, Sam lost the sight of his left eye
Sarah's over 70 and she's still got perfect vision 

Some common problems with eyesight 

I'm getting long sighted (UK)/far-sighted (US) - I can't read a newspaper if it's too close to me
She's so short sighted (UK)/near-sighted (US) she can't find her glasses if she takes them off
Alice is blind/has lost her sight and needs a guide dog to help her
Drivers may be temporarily blinded/dazzled by the lights of approaching cars
For years he's suffered from poor eyesight
Those exposed to the gas complained of headaches and blurred vision
I wear contact lenses but I always carry a spare pair of glasses  

student

In British English, a student usually means someone who has finished school and is studying at university • We met when we were students.  

• student accommodation Children who go to school can be called schoolchildren, schoolboys or schoolgirls • A group of schoolchildren got on the bus.  

The children at a particular school can be called its pupils • Pupils at the school were sent home early. 

 In American English, student is the usual word for anyone who is studying at school or college. 

GRAMMAR To say that someone is studying at a particular university, use at •  

She's a student at York University. A student of literature, law etc studies that subject, but it is more usual to say 'a literature/law student'.

COMMON JOURNALISM LANGUAGE

broadcast journalism

news on television or radio

 

print journalism

written news in newspapers, magazines, etc.

 

online journalism

news on the internet

 

citizen journalism

a new expression describing the kind of journalism based on images, audio and reports sent in to news groups by ordinary members of the public who witnessed events

 

independent media

media groups which are not controlled by the government

 

broadsheets

newspapers (traditionally larger in size) which generally contain serious reports and analyses of news 

 

tabloids

newspapers (usually smaller than broadsheets) which contain lighter stories and focus more on entertainment and gossip  

 24hour news channels

stations which provide news all day and night

 

rolling news

non-stop news

breathe

to breathe in: inhale formal
to breathe out: exhale formal
to breathe noisily: sniff, snore when sleepingsnort, sigh
to breathe with difficulty: gasp, pant, wheeze, be short of breath, be out of breath
to be unable to breathe: choke, suffocatebreathe

restaurant

he person who serves you in a restaurant: waiter, waitress, server American English, waitperson American English 

the person who cooks your food: chef
 

the person who welcomes the guests

maitre d', host/hostess American English
 

a list of the food: menu also bill of fare formal 

a list of wines and alcoholic drinks: wine list also drink list American English
 

a piece of paper that shows the amount you have to pay for your meal: bill British English/check American English
 

extra money you leave for the waiter or waitress: tip/gratuity formal
 

money that the restaurant charges for service: service charge, cover charge, corkagerestaurant

head

turn your head  

shake your head =move it from side to side, especially to show disagreement

nod your head =move it up and down, especially to show agreement  

raise/lift your head =look up  

bow/bend/lower your head =look downwards  

hang your head =look downwards, especially because you are ashamed

 cock your head =hold your head at an angle 

scratch your head somebody's head aches  

somebody's head throbs =it aches badly  

from head to foot/toe =over your whole body

bald head =one with no hair on it  

the crown of your head =the top of the back of your head  

head injury

hold

tight/firm hold on something 

tighten your hold on something  

loosen/release your hold on something 

 have/keep hold of something =be holding something 

get/take hold of something =start holding something catch/grab/seize hold of something =take hold of something quickly and firmly 

 lose your hold on something =accidentally let go of something

proud, arrogant, conceited, big-headed, vain

Proud is a fairly general word used to say that someone is pleased with themselves, pleased with what they have achieved, or pleased with something or someone connected with them such as their school or their family • His proud parents watched the presentation. • I'm very proud of my students. • She was proud to be in the team. 

Proud is usually neither approving nor disapproving, although you can say someone is too proud, meaning that they will not admit they are wrong or need help. 

Arrogant is a disapproving word meaning that someone thinks they are better than other people • He was so arrogant he thought he could not possibly lose. • the arrogant way she dismisses my opinions 

Conceited and big-headed are disapproving words meaning that someone thinks they or their achievements are better than they really are 

Conceited is fairly formal and big-headed is informal. 

Vain is a disapproving word meaning that someone thinks they are very special, especially because they are very proud of the way they look.

married

single not married
 

divorced if you are divorced, you have officially ended your marriage to someone
engaged if you are engaged to be married, you have formally agreed to marry someone in the future
 

widowed if you are widowed, your husband or wife has died
be living together to be living as a couple in the same house without being married
 

spouse formal the person you are married to
 

partner your husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend
 

marital status whether you are single or married - used on official formson

very good: excellent, fantastic, wonderful, great, terrific, neat American English,  

superb, amazing, outstanding, brilliant, impressive, fine, first-class, out of this world
 

of good quality: high quality, top quality, superior, deluxe, classy
 

morally good: decent, virtuous, respectable, honourable British English/honorable American English, upright, beyond reproach

newspaper

the press newspapers in general 

 the media newspaper, TV, and radio  

tabloid a newspaper that does not contain much serious news, and mainly has short articles and photographs  

 broadsheet British English/ 

 quality paper American English a newspaper that mostly contains reports about serious news  

journalist/reporter someone whose job is writing articles for newspapers  

headline the title of a newspaper report, written in big letters article a piece of writing about something in a newspaper  

column  an article that appears regularly in a newspaper, in which someone writes about their opinions  

editorial a piece of writing in which the newspaper gives its comments on recent events  

the front page which has the main news stories  

the back page which has the less important news, and news about sport 

the sports/television/fashion/arts etc page

ask

request to officially ask for something
 

consult to ask someone for advice
 

demand to ask for something very forcefully
 

nag/pester to keep asking for something many times, in an annoying way
 

beg/plead to ask for something in an anxious or urgent  way, because you want it very much
 

question/interrogate to ask someone questions - used especially about the police or the army
 

grill informal to ask someone a lot of difficult questions
 

cross-examine to ask someone questions in court - used about lawyers
 

poll to ask a lot of people for their opinion about something

Ten Expressions to Use In Speaking And Writing

   1. Bye

   2. Goodbye

   3. Bye for now

   4. See you! / See ya

   5. Be seeing you

   6. See you soon

   7. I'm off.

   8. Cheerio

   9. Catch you later

   Good night   .10 

 How To Use These Phrases in Your English

o	Phrase 1 is the most common phrase that British people say. Note: we don't often say 'Bye-bye'. This sounds rather childish.
o	Phrase 2 is a little more formal.
o	Phrases 3, 4, 5 and 6 are quite informal and friendly. They mean that you expect you will see the other person again soon.
o	Phrase 7 is short and not very polite. You are saying that you are leaving without a farewell greeting.
o	Phrase 8 is a little old fashioned but quite informal.
o	Phrase 9 is also very informal and says that you expect to see the other person again soon.
o	We only say phrase 10 at night.

intelligent

similar words: clever especially BrE/smart especially AmE good at learning or understanding things quickly
 

bright intelligent - used especially about young people
 

brilliant a brilliant scientist, writer, student, historian etc is extremely intelligent and does very good work
 

brainy informal very intelligent and good at studying 
 

gifted a gifted child is extremely intelligent
 

wise a wise person has a lot of experience and knowledge, and can give good advice
 

cunning/crafty good at using your intelligence to trick people
 

intelligent people: genius someone who is extremely intelligent and has great ideas
 

intellectual someone who is well-educated and interested in art, science, or literature at a high level
 

intelligentsia a country's intellectuals, considered as a single group

colour

a particular kind of colour: shade, hint, hue
 

words for describing dark colours: dark, deep, rich
 

words for describing light colours: light, pale, soft, pastel
words for describing bright colours: bright, brilliant, vivid, garish disapproving, gaudy disapproving
 

having a lot of colours: colourful, multicoloured British English/multicolored American English

Utensils and equipment

a knifea basic, hand-held tool for cutting food a peelera hand-held tool specially designed for removing the skin from vegetables such as potatoes a spatula a thin tool – sometimes made of wood – which is used to remove food from a pan a strainer / sievea tool used to remove water from food. It's bowl-shaped, with lots of holes to let the water run through a saucepan a basic metal pan that is often used to cook food in hot water a lidthe cover of a saucepan a frying pana shallow pan that is often used to cook food in a little hot oil a wok a deep pan that is often used in East Asian countries as a frying pan a cooker the machine which provides the heat for cooking; it is powered by electricity or gas an ovena part of a cooker. It is the box-shaped part of the cooker, which you open like a cupboard, and put food inside to cook it at a high temperature a hobthe top part of the cooker, where you cook with saucepans and frying pans

Cooking

to peel a vegetable to remove the skin from vegetables, such as potatoes to chop an onion to use a knife to cut some food into small pieces to slice a cucumber to cut food in a careful way so that you make thin pieces to dice a carrot to cut food into small cube-shaped pieces to boil an egg to cook food in very hot water; the water is bubbling strongly to simmer to cook food in hot water, but below boiling temperature (100 degrees C) to bake a cake to cook food in an oven to fry a sausage to cook food in hot oil, usually in a frying pan or wok to roast some beef to cook meat, with a little oil, at a high temperature in an oven

Miscellaneous:

ingredients the different types of food that you need to cook a dish a recipe the instructions for how to cook something an apron an item of clothing that you wear to protect your clothes a cook a person who prepares food and makes the dinner etc. a chefWe use this word to refer to a professional cook who works in a restaurant

Vocabulary

spuds potatoes    slang/colloquial