English Vocabulary: Adjectives, Verbs, and Phrases

English Vocabulary Review

Adjective Opposites and Translations

Work and Employment Vocabulary

Key terms related to employment:

• Dismissal/Firing: be dismissed/sacked, be made redundant, be out of work
• Leaving/Starting: resign from a job, join a company (unirse), set up a company (crear una empresa)
• Management: run a business (manejar un negocio)
• Salary/Income: earn a good living, earn a high/low salary, earn a lot of money, earn a weekly wage (ganar salario semanal)
• Work Schedule: to work flextime (horario no definitivo), work shifts, work long hours (nonstop), work full-time, work part-time, work for yourself, overtime (horas extras)
• Actions: go into business (entrar en el negocio), be on sick leave (estar licenciado por enfermedad), be promoted (ser ascendido), be/go on strike (estar de huelga)

Colleagues and Roles:

• a colleague: colega
• a recruit: becario
• Waiter: camarero
• Waitress
• Baker: panadero
• Civil servant: funcionario
• Childminder: niñero
• Dustman: basurero
• Librarian: bibliotecario
• Plumber: fontanero
• Surgeon: cirujano

Verbs of Looking

Different ways to look at something:

• Gaze: look somewhere long time with interest
• Glance: short look at something = glimpse
• Stare: look long time at something thinking
• Peer: look at something difficult to see

Phrasal Verbs with 'Give'

Common expressions using the verb *give*:

• Give up: darse por vencido
• Give out: repartir
• Give in: ceder
• Give a piercing scream: dar un grito penetrante
• Give a broad smile: dar una amplia sonrisa
• Give a tender kiss
• Give a deep sigh: dar un profundo suspiro
• Give a blank look: dar una mirada en blanco
• Give my best regards
• Give full details
• Give great pleasure: dar un gran placer
• Give a nasty shock: dar un golpe desagradable
• Give an impressive performance
• Give a lengthy speech: dar un discurso largo

Phrasal Verbs with 'Turn'

Turn Usage Examples

• Turn back: volver
• Turn out: acudir
• Turn over a page
• Turn off: stop something working
• Turn up: increase the volume
• Turn into: change into

Collocations with 'Do' and 'Make'

H4: Actions with 'Do'

Use do for:

• Homework, course
• Exercise, housework
• Nothing, good, harm, to do a job
• To do with animals

Note: Could do with means 'le vendría bien'.

H4: Actions with 'Make'

Use make for:

• Effort, progress, sure, decisions
• Make up my mind, make a speech, make a mess
• To make a living: ganarse la vida (buena vida)