Special problems you need to know

1. lay and lie

‘Magna Carta (1215) laid the foundation of present personal liberty…’

Verbs that are easy to confuse

Infinitive Simple past Past participle

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lay (=’put down flat’) laid laid

lie ( =’be down’) lay lain

raise ( = ‘put up’) raised raised

rise ( = ‘go up’) rose risen

Exercise 1. Complete the sentences by choosing the correct verb from the list below. Supply the correct tense of the verb:

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lay lie rise raise

1. He … the fallen child to its feet.

2. He … his coat over a chair.

3. The sun … in the east.

4. There was a book … on the table.

5. In the end she … to an important position in the firm.

6. She … her finger to lips as a sign for silence.

7. The river is … after the rain.

8. They … an injured woman on the grass.

9. He … on the floor reading a book.

10. Their voices … higher and higher with excitement.

11. The price of bread has … by 15 %.

12. They just … on the bench all day.

2. but = except

‘She had been ….fed noth­ing but water and black bread, …’

But means ‘except’ after words like no all, none, every, any, and everything, everybody, nothing, no one, anywhere etc., or after question-words like who?, where?, what?

Exercise 2. Read the following sentences, study carefully the examples with ‘but’, and make up sentences of your own.

a. There’s no one here but me.

b. He eats nothing but hamburgers.

c. You can come any day but Thursday.

d. This car has been nothing but trouble.

e. Who else but George would have played a trick like that?

f. I’ve finished all the jobs but one.

g. Everybody’s here but George.

3. A large number of and a large amount of

‘…the authorities cannot hold a per­son for a large amount of time…’

‘…during which time a large number of peers entered and left the House,…’

Remember that a large (small) number of and a large (small) amount of have the same meaning, but a large (small) number of is used before plural countable nouns and a large (small) amount of is used before uncountable nouns.

Exercise 3. Choose the correct answer.

1. Only _________of the breeds of cattle have been brought to the US.

1. a small amount

2. a little amount

3. a small number

4. a little number

2. You will just need _________ of clothing to go to college because the life-style is very informal

1. a small amount

2. a large amount

3. a large number

4. a little number

3. There are __________of Japanese restaurants in Moscow.

1. a little number

2. a large number

3. a large amount

4. a small amount

4. The lab has ___________ of equipment.

1. a large number

2. a little number

3. a large amount

4. a little amount

4. without any

‘...the bill received royal assent without any further ado.’

Remember that any (anything) is used after words that have a negative meaning: for example never, hardly, without, refuse, doubt.

Exercise 4. Read the following sentences, and study carefully words in bold. Make up some sentences of your own with any after negative words..

a. Suddenly and without any warning, the army opened fire.

b. There was hardly any (=very little) rain.

c. You never gave me any hope.

d. She refuses to have anything to do with her family now.

e. I doubt that there’s anything we can do now.

5. ‘recount n re’count v

Some two-syllable words in English have the same for the noun and the verb. The stress is on the first syllable of the word when it is a noun and the second syllable when it is a verb, e.g. They had to recount the votes. The defeated candidate demanded a recount. Here are some other words like this.

conduct import protest recount contest

permit export insult progress transfer

record suspect subject present transport

Exercise 5. Cirle the stressed syllable in each of the underlined words.

1. The reporter was accused of unprofessional conduct.

2. The government is to conduct an enquiry into the incident.

3. The rules of the club do not permit smoking.

4. You can’t work here without a work permit.

5. She was found dead in her apartment, and the police suspect murder.

6. The police have arrested two suspects.

7. They refused to buy the company’s goods in protest against the way it treated its workers.

8. There was a large crowd in the square, protesting against the war.