Word Perfect [antikvár]

Introduction Word Perfect is intended for intermediate and advanced level students of English who wish to acquire a level of vocabulary through which they can express themselves naturally in contemporary English. The book aims to increase students' ability to express thoughts and feelings, by providing a range of alternative words and expressions suitable for use in particular contexts. Such a range of expression is clearly essential to achieving fluency in any language. Organisation Word Perfect consists of 50 units which bring together words and expressions of similar meaning, of opposite meaning, or which are related in some other way. For example, the unit entitled "Important/Triviar includes adjectives of similar meaning to 'important' such as "essentiaV and 'crucial\ adjectives of opposite meaning, such as 'triviaV and 'minor', as well as related nouns, verbs and expressions such as '?7 priority', 'to stress', 'to play down', and 'so what?' Each entry is followed by a definition and by examples which show the use of the word or phrase in context. Where a word has several different meanings, only those meanings related to the 'theme' of the unit are included. By grouping words together in this way, Word Perfect clarifies many areas of common confusion, and enables students to differentiate between words and phrases of related meaning, and to discriminate in terms of the appropriate context for use. The 'reference' section of each unit is followed by a variety of practice exercises, the majority of them in the style of the Cambridge First Certificate and Proficiency examinations. These include multiple-choice, sentence-transformation, gap-fill and word-building exercises. Students can check their answers by referring to the answer key at the back of the book. The units are grouped together into six sections: Behaviour; Feelings and States of Mind; Characteristics; Thought, Knowledge and Ability; Communicating; and Doing and Causing. These sections are meant more as a guide to where a particular 'subject' or notion can be found than as a strict categorisation. The book also contains an index for easy reference, and an appendix of irregular verbs. Ensuring accuracy Each entry in Word Perfect includes the information which students need to be able to use the new items of vocabulary accurately. This information includes: Prepositions Knowing which preposition to use with a particular adjective, noun or verb is frequently a nightmare for non-native speakers of English. Word Perfect aims to solve this problem by indicating those prepositions which are most commonly used with a particular entry, and which students are therefore most likely to hear and need to use. Verb patterns Another common problem is knowing what type of grammatical construction follows a particular verb. Word Perfect tells the student whether a verb is followed by a direct object, by a gerund or infinitive, by a 'that' clause, or by a combination of two or more of these features. For example: to ignore (s.o./sth) - direct object to feel like {sih/doing sth) - direct object or gerund to manage {to do sth) - infinitive to ensure (that - 'that' clause Countable or uncountable? Whether a noun is countable or uncountable is indicated by the use or omission of the indefinite article ('a' or 'an') in the entry. For example: a rip-off - countable an apology - countable guilt - uncountable In some cases, a noun may have both countable and uncountable functions, and this is shown by its inclusion in both forms. For example: luxury - uncountable a luxury - countable