English
Vocabulary
in Use




pre-intermediate &
intermediate











Stuart Redman



P U B L I S H E D B Y T H E P R E S S S Y N D I C A T E O F T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A M B R I D G E
The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom
C A M B R I D G E U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK
40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011–4211, USA
477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia
Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain
Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa
http://www.cambridge.org

© Cambridge University Press, 1997, 2003

This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without
the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 1997
New edition 2003
Third printing 2004

Printed in Dubai by Oriental Press

Typeface Sabon 10/12pt System QuarkXPress® [OD&I]

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 0 521 01171 X paperback
Contents

Introduction
Using this book

Learning




vi
1
1 Learning and revising with this book
have a routine, revision, say the word aloud
2 Keeping a vocabulary notebook
record, the most important thing is …
3 Using a dictionary
look up a word, guess the meaning
4 English language words
5 Classroom language

Word formation
adjective, phrasal verb, question mark
board pen, share a book, swap places
6 Prefixes
un-, in-, im-, dis-
7 Noun suffixes
8 Adjective suffixes
-ment, -ity, -ness, -tion
-able, -ive, -al, -y
9 Nouns and verbs with the same form
guess/to guess, kiss/to kiss, rest/to rest
10 Compound nouns
11 Compound adjectives

Phrase building
traffic light, tin opener, credit card, film star
easy-going, well-known, part-time
12 Collocation (word partners)
13 Idioms and fixed expressions
14 Verb or adjective + preposition
miss the bus, a soft drink, fast asleep
never mind, go ahead, take it in turns
depend on, belong to, interested in
15 Preposition + noun
by train, on the radio, in a hurry
16 Apologies, excuses and thanks
sorry I’m late, I got held up, thanks a lot
17 Requests, invitations and suggestions
18 Opinions, agreeing and disagreeing
Could you …? How about …? if you like
What do you think of …? a brilliant idea
19 Likes, preferences and interests
20 Frequently asked questions
I quite like, and that sort of thing, I’d rather
How’s it going? What’s the matter?
21 Common responses
I hope so, that sounds great, what a shame
22 Greetings, farewells and special expressions
Nice to meet you, see you soon, good luck
23 Phrasal verbs (1): form and meaning
24 Phrasal verbs (2): grammar and style
wake up, find out, run out of sth
take sth off, grow up, break down
25 Have and have got
26 Make, do and take
27 Give, keep, break, see
28 Leave, catch and let
have a rest, I’ve got a headache, have a look
make a mistake, do homework, take a photo
give sb a ring, break a record, I see
leave a message, catch a bus, let sb know
29 Get: uses and expressions
30 Go: uses and expressions
get dressed, get married, get on with
go for a drink, have a go, go deaf
31 The senses
it looks nice, it feels like wool, don’t touch
32 Partitives: a bag of …, a bit of …
a cup of coffee, a bit of luck, a pair of shoes

Parts of speech (special problems)
33 Uncountable nouns and plural nouns