Vocabualary practice

BLOCK I

1. Telling the time. Learn how to do it correctly.

past 3.00 – it’s three o’clock sharp 3.05 – it’s five minutes past three 3.10 – it’s ten minutes past three 3.15 – it’s a quarter past three 3.20 – it’s twenty minutes past three 3.25 – it’s ….. 3.30 – it’s half past three to 3.35 – it’s twenty-five minutes to four 3.40 – it’s twenty minutes to four 3.45 – it’s a quarter to four 3.50 – it’s ten minutes to four 3.55 – it’s five minutes to four 4.00 – it’s four o’clock sharp

Remember:

• We can say quarter past / to six or a quarter past / to six. We don’t say fifteen past six. For other times, we say minutes: nineteen minutes past six not nineteen past six.

• We can also say the time like this: six fifteen, two thirty, ten forty, six nineteen, etc. but for 6.05 we say: six oh five not six five.

• In American English: 10.05 – five after ten.

2. Tell what’s the time:

a) in words

9.30, 7.10, 5.00, 10.20, 4.05, 5.45, 11.15, 2.34, 3.52, 8.02 a.m. / p.m.

b) write the time in figures

a quarter past three, half past five, a quarter to six, twenty-five to nine, twenty to eleven, ten to four, five to nine, twenty-three minutes to six, twenty-five to two.

3. Put these words in order.

a minute a year a day a week

an hour a second a month

4. Read the following dates.

9.05.1945 24.08.1991 28.06.2010

22.01.2001 4.07.1776 31.12.1805

5. Complete the text with at, on, in.

There’s one bus from London which gets here … ten o’clock … the morning and then another which gets in … four o’clock … the afternoon. That’s … weekdays, but … the weekend the timetable is a bit different. … Sunday there are still two buses but the second one arrives … five thirty; … Sunday there is just the one bus … two o’clock. And … the winter, the service doesn’t run at all … Sundays.

6. Fill in the gaps with age, era, spell, time.

1. The Minister said that before the new law came into force there would be a ….. of six months when people could hand in firearms without being prosecuted.

2. The twenty first century will be seen by historians as the …. of electric cars.

3. These factories mark the beginning of a new …. of industrial development of the country.

4. For a ….. I thought I would never find a job, but then I was lucky.

5. We had a very cold …… in February when all the pipes froze up.

BLOCK II

1. Replace the underlined time expressions with the more ‘approximate’ time expressions.

1. I went to the library three days ago.

2. This dictionary isn’t great but it’ll be OK until I’m more advanced.

3. I haven’t been to the cinema for the last three months.

4. And I haven’t been to a concert for three or four years.

5. I went to Egypt with my parents but that was ten years ago.

2. Cross out incorrect answers.

1. The teacher told us to finish our work by / until Monday.

2. We can’t leave by / until the others get back.

3. I’ve been in the army for / since I was eighteen.

4. They’ve worked here for / since / during six months.

5. I visit my uncle every week for / since / during the winter.

6. I was at university for / since / during four years.

7. She’s going back to France in / after three months’ time.

8. He left the office during / throughout the lunch break.

9. It was hot during / throughout August; we didn’t have one day under 30 degrees.

10. I booked a table in the restaurant by / for next Saturday.