Phrasal Verbs
To meet someone by chance; jemandem zufällig begegnen
to bump into
The first language learned from childhood; Muttersprache
mother tongue
(new) and not resembling something formerly known; original — neuartig
novel
To travel regularly between home and work; pendeln
to commute
What is the etymology of the phrase "donkey bridge"
donkeys don't like to get wet feet so people built bridges for them to get to the other side of a creek
To tolerate something unpleasant; etwas ertragen / hinnehmen
to put up with
To learn a language or skill informally, often without studying; aufschnappen / sich aneignen
to pick up something
(big) of considerable size, value, or importance — erheblich
substantial
An available position that needs to be filled; offene Stelle
(job) vacancy
What are the signal words for the present perfect? (JEANY)
Just, ever, always/already, never, yet
To manage without having something; auf etwas verzichten
to do without
Very high level of skill or control, especially in a language; eine ausgezeichnete Beherrschung (von)
an excellent command of
(small) so small or unimportant as to be easily disregarded — vernachlässigbar
negligible
befristeter und unbefristeter Arbeitsvertrag
temporary and permanent contract
Differences between:
- remember to do / doing something
- stop to do / doing something
What form do we use after prepositions? (to infinitive or -ing form?)
remember to do = Not forget to do something (future / responsibility); e.g. Please remember to lock the door.
remember doing = Have a memory of a past action: e.g. I remember locking the door.
stop to do/doing
After prepositions, we use the -ing form (gerund), not the to‑infinitive. e.g. I’m interested in learning English. She left without saying goodbye.
To have an argument and stop being friendly; sich zerstreiten
to fall out
To slowly become clear or understood; jemandem (allmählich) klar werden
to dawn on someone
(old) no longer in use; outdated — veraltet (two synonyms)
obsolete, antiquated
To be available to work if needed, often outside regular hours; Bereitschaftsdienst haben
to be on call
Two punctuation rules that are different from German
1. Comma before coordinating conjunctions in a compound sentence (FANBOYS).
2. No comma in a complex sentence when a dependent clause comes after an independent clause.
To think or talk about something for too long; über etwas grübeln / sich lange mit etwas beschäftigen
to dwell on something
Learning by repetition and memorisation without understanding; Auswendiglernen / reines Pauken
rote learning
(bad + good) causing harm or damage; adverse — schädlich
+ antonym
detrimental
beneficial
A period of time that a parent is allowed to be away from their job before and after the birth of a child; Elternschutz
parental leave
What are the uses of the present perfect simple? Give examples.
1. Life experiences I have been to NYC.
2. Past action relevant now There has been an accident.
3. Action started before now (still ongoing) I have lived in Berlin for 10 years.