P.1 - Adult

Read the following article on the recent bushfires in Australia and then mtach the key-words to their meanings:

'She's got a short fuse'

As February is the shortest month of the year we thought we'd give you some idioms that use the word 'short':

to be caught short

To have a sudden need to go to the toilet:

'I went to the toilet before we left because I didn't want to be caught short on the journey.'

to be a bit short

To not have enough money:

"The prisoner managed to break ___ of prison."

As you know, a phrasal verb is a verb and a preposition used together. In the English language there are hundreds of phrasal verbs and no short-cut to learning them; however, the more you practise them, the easier they become to understand.

"This shirt costs $50."

"This shirt is costing $50."

Which is correct? Why?

The first sentence - "This shirt costs $50" - is correct because the price of the shirt is fixed; it's a fixed state and therefore we use a state verb, costs.

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks"

Here are some idioms that all use the word new. Read them through and then complete the exercise below them:

Turn over a new leaf

To start behaving in a better way:

'I heard that's she's turned over a new leaf and stopped drinking alcohol.'

A past participle indicates past or completed action or time. It is often called the 'ed' form as it is formed by adding d or ed, to the base form of regular verbs, however it is also formed in various other ways for irregular verbs. Here we review your knowledge of irregular past participle verbs.

An example of an irregular past participle verb is sung:

'EC Malta language school'