‘Seek’ is a more formal way of saying ‘look for.’ The simple past tense version is ‘sought.’ We can seek a person, we can seek assistance, advice, revenge and a range of other things.

Examples:

• Many people in the world are seeking refuge in another country.
• She sought refuge from the storm.
• Did you seek advice on which course to study?

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
severely restrict, restriction to, restricted by, restricted from
security for, national security, threat to security, security alert
actively seek
select few, carefully select, selection of
the site of, the site where

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the various forms as sometimes they are different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct form of the word.

1. I don’t know how the burglar got in; all of the doors and windows were _______________ closed.  (site, secure)
2. There’s a great _______________ of phones at the new shop. (select, secure)
3. If you don’t know what do to, you should  _______________ advice.  (seek, restrict)
4. Some areas are  ______________ to adults only.  (restrict, seek)
5.  _______________ of the crime has been roped off by police. (select, site)

Answers (in the wrong order below)
5. site   3. seek    1. securely    4. restricted    2. selection

In its original Middle English meaning over 500 years ago  ‘conclude’ meant ‘to convince.’ The meaning today has evolved into ‘to decide something based on the evidence.’

Examples:

• There was no traffic on the road, so I concluded that it must have been a holiday.
• The government has injected a billion dollars into higher education, so we can conclude that they are prioritising it at the moment.

The other meaning of ‘conclude’ is ‘to end.’

Examples:

• The party concluded with celebratory fireworks.
• He concluded by wishing everyone well on their journey home.

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
community of
complexity of, the complexity involved, complex procedures
conclusion of, conclude the proceedings, conclusive proof
conduct research, conduct oneself

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the various forms as sometimes they are different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct form of the word.

1. 1. Look at the time! We’ll have to _______________ the meeting now. (conclude, complex)
2. 2. Does anyone still use desktop _______________ these days?  (computer, conclude)
3. 3. As you move through your university course the degree of _______________ increases. (computer, complex)
4. 4. The ______________ rallied to help the flood victims.  (conduct, community)
5. 5. Who is going to _______________ the next training session? (community, conduct)

Answers (in the wrong order below)
5. conduct   3. complexity   2. computers   1. conclude    4. community

SUBLIST 2, Card 2

A ‘category’ is a group.

Examples:

• A category 5 hurricane recently affected Mexico.
• She is entering a talent contest in the 15 – 18 year old category.
• Consumers fall into several different categories.
• I need to work out how to categorise this information.

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
aspect of
assistance with, assist with, assist someone
category for
chapter of
commission to

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the various forms as sometimes they are different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct word and the correct form of the word.

1.How would you _______________ this? Is it fact or fiction?  (category, commission)

2.Many people can’t find full time jobs so they work on a _______________. (assist, commission)

3.Which ______________  of the IELTS test worries you the most?  (aspect, chapter)

4.Could you _______________ us with the arrangements for tomorrow? (assist, categorise)

5.Which _______________ are you up to in the book? (aspect, chapter)

Answers (in the wrong order below)

5. chapter   3. aspect   2. commission   1. categorise    4. assist

 

SUBLIST 2, Card 1

‘Affect’ is often confused with ‘effect;’ even by native speakers.  ‘Affect’ is generally used as a verb while ‘effect’ is usually used as a noun.

Examples:

• She was badly affected by the heat.
• The heat had a bad effect on her.

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
achievement of, fail to achieve, easy to achieve, ,achievable goal
administer fairly, administrator of, administrative assistant
seriously affect, likely to affect
entirely appropriate, culturally appropriate, appropriate for, behave appropriately, dress appropriately

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the various forms as sometimes they are different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct word and the correct form of the word.

1.Being over-polite is _______________ in some cultures. (appropriate, affect)

2. Who will be _______________ the test tomorrow? (appropriate, administer)
3. Getting the IELTS score that I need will be one of my biggest ______________ .  (administer, achieve)
4. How do the new laws _______________ you? (affect, acquire)
5. Large businesses seem to grow by _______________ smaller businesses. (acquire, achieve)

Answers (in the wrong order below)

5. acquiring   3.  achievements   2. administering  1. appropriate  / inappropriate   4. affect

 

SUBLIST 1, Card 12

‘Vary’ has a similar meaning to ‘different.’ If things vary from one another, they are different.

Examples:

• Children of the same age vary in height and ability.
• Plane fares vary according to the season.
• Tests can have varying levels of difficulty.

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
source of, source material
specifics of, specifications for
structure of, structurally sound
theory of, theory about, theorise about
vary from, variety of, variation in

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the various forms as sometimes they are different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct form of the word.

1.They decided to use a Call Centre instead of employing more staff locally. Do you understand the _______________ behind that? (theory, specific)

2.Before you buy a computer, you need to decide on the _______________ that will suit your needs. (theory, specific)

3. The building will be demolished because it is not _______________ sound.  (structure, vary)
4. Where is the ______________ of the river Nile?  (structure, source)
5. 5. My writing results are so _______________ ; one day I get an A and next day I get a C. I don’t know why! (vary, structure)

Answers (in the wrong order below)
4. source   3. structurally   2. specifics / specifications  1. theory  5. varied / variable

 

SUBLIST 1, Card 11

 

The word ‘sector’ is frequently used incorrectly by language learners. Generally speaking when we talk about the economy, we think of two main sectors; the government sector and the business sector; or the private sector and the public sector.

What I often see in student writing is an ‘s’ on the end where there shouldn’t be one. For example, we do not talk about the business sectors because we think of business as being one sector, not many.

Examples:

• Do you think that the government sector should pay for education?
• There have been significant pay increases recently in the private sector.

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
role model, role in
section of, section off
sector of, business sector, government sector
significance of, significant changes
similarity to, similar to

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the various forms as sometimes they are different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct word and the correct form of the word.

1.Do you think TOEFL and IELTS are _______________ to one another? (similar, section)

2.What _______________ of the test is easiest for you? (section, sector)

3.What is your ______________ on the committee?  (similar, role)

4.Would you prefer a job in the private _______________ or with the government? (significant, sector)

5.Her results were _______________ better after completing the IELTS course. (significant, role)

Answers (in the wrong order below)
4. sector   3. role   2. section  1. similar   5. significantly

SUBLIST 1, Card 9

When should you use ‘percent’ and when should you use ‘percentage?’ We use ‘percent’ when it involves a specific number. (We cannot say 15 percentage.)

Examples:

• Fifteen percent of whales are infertile.
• Over 80 percent of students passed with a good mark.
• A small percentage of whales are infertile.
• A large percentage of the students passed with a good mark.

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
occurrence of, reoccurrence of, occurs when, recurrent payments
percentage of
period of, period with, periodic occurrence
policy change, policy document
principle of

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the different forms if they seem to be different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct word and the correct form of the word.

1.For many people it is a matter of ______________. (principle, period)

2.If there is a ______________ of leaking water during storms, we’ll have to call a plumber.  (principle, occur)

3.Testing is held _______________. (period, occur)

4. Close to 90 _______________ of the population support the leader. (percent, policy)

5.Have you seen the _______________documents? (percent, policy)

Answers (in the wrong order below)
4. percent   3. periodically 2.reoccurence  1. principle   5. policy

 

To ‘legislate‘ means to introduce new laws. ‘Legislation’ is the new laws that are introduced.

Example of today’s usage:

• The government should introduce new legislation to control the use of weapons.
• In the 1970s the government legislated to ensure that women had equal pay to men for equal work.

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
labour of love, labourious work
legality of, legal advice, legal counsel, legally bound
legislation for, new legislation
the majority of, major problem
methodical approach

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the different forms if they seem to be different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct form of the word.

1.The _______________ of the staff are not happy with the wages offered. (labour, major)

2.Some people think drugs should be _______________ to reduce drug-related crime.  (legal, major)

3.The government passed new _______________ related to visas. (legislate, legal)

4.When you do a research project, you have to be ______________ in your planning. (legislate, method)

5.Some countries use cheap ______________ from other countries to do a lot of undesirable work. (labour, method )

Answers (in the wrong order below)
4. methodical   3. legislation 2.legalised   1. majority   5. labour

 

SUBLIST 1, Card 7

The word ‘involve‘ dates back to the 14th century. It originally meant ‘to roll into’ or to ‘mix together.’ Today the meaning is similar ; it means to include  something or be a result of something.

Example of today’s usage:

• My new job involves a lot of travel.
• She is involved in a long and nasty court case.

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
indication of, indicative of
individually wrapped
interpretation of, misinterpretation of
involvement of, involvement with
issue of, issue with

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the different forms if they seem to be different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct word and the correct form of the word.

1.These days glasses are _______________ checked for hidden cameras as part of the test security.  (indicate, individual)

2.Have you had any ______________ yet of whether you were accepted into the program? (indicate, issue)

3.It is believed that the company managers were _______________ in fraudulent activities. (interpret, involve)

4.New driver licences are ______________ for 10 years. (issue, individual)

5.I must have _______________ that because I don’t understand. (interpret, involve)

Answers (in the wrong order)
4. issued     2. indication    1. individually     3. involved   5. misinterpreted

SUBLIST 1, Card 6

The current meaning of the word ‘income‘ dates back to the 16th century. It means money that comes into your possession on a regular basis. So it could be money from your job, or money from bank interest, from having tenants in your house or from investments, and so on. Before the 16th century it literally meant to ‘come in’ or to ‘arrive.’

Example of today’s usage:

• Most of my current income is from my job, but I also get around $10000 a year from investments in the stock market.

Note that it only used as a noun and an adjective. Also it is not countable (so we cannot add an ‘s’)

Collocations: When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
have to refinance
to function properly, function with, function without
identification card, identifiable features, identifiable by

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the different forms if they seem to be different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Complete the sentences below with the correct word and the correct form of the word.

1.Many families have a problem when their ______________ doesn’t keep pace with their expenditure. (income, finance)

2.A recipe is very similar to a _______________.  (function, formula)

3.Children today are so involved with technology that some are socially _______________. (formula, function)

4.If you listen to the ______________ news everyday your ability to hear numbers will improve. (identify, finance)

5.Solving climate change problems requires much more than just _______________ the causes. (identify, income)

Answers (in the wrong order)
2. formula    5. identifying   3. disfunctional / dysfunctional  1. income   4. financial