A-D
TO ARISE
AROSE - means ‘happen’ or ‘occur’. We use it with abstract nouns "An opportunity arose and he decided to take the job in Brussels."
TO EAT
ATE -to put food into your mouth and then swallow it
Who ate all the cake?
TO LAY
LAID: to put something down somewhere
He laid the plate on the table.
If an animal lays an egg, an egg comes out of its body.
TO OVERTAKE
OVERTOOK - to go past something by being a greater amount or degree: Our US sales have now overtaken our sales in Europe.
to come from behind another vehicle or a person and move in front of them: Always check your rear view mirror before you overtake (another car).
TO SPIT
SPAT to force out the contents of the mouth, especially saliva:
He spat the meat out in disgust.
to rain very slightly: If it's only spitting (with rain), perhaps we don't need waterproofs.
TO BEAR
BORE - to accept someone or something bad.
The pain was too much to bear.
TO FORBID
FORBADE - to tell someone that they must not do something
The school forbids students from smoking.
TO LEAN
LEANT/LEANED - to move the top part of your body in a particular direction: Don’t lean out of the window.
TO PUT
PUT - to move something or someone into the stated place, position, or direction:
She put her bag on the table.
TO SWING
SWUNG
to move easily and without interruption backwards and forwards or from one side to the other, especially from a fixed point, or to cause something or someone to do this: He walked briskly along swinging his rolled-up umbrella.
TO COST
COST - to cause someone to lose something valuable His affairs cost him his marriage.
- the amount of money that you need to buy or do something
How much do these shoes cost?
TO GROW
GREW: to become bigger or taller as time passes
Children grow very quickly.
to increase
The problem grows every year.
TO MEAN
MEANT - to have a particular meaning
What does this word mean?
to have a particular result
These changes will mean better healthcare for everyone.
TO RING
RANG: to make a phone call to someone: I ring home once a week to tell my parents I'm okay.
to (cause to) make the sound of a bell: Anne's alarm clock rang for half an hour before she woke.
TO TEACH
to give someone knowledge or to train someone; to instruct:
She taught English to foreign students.
TO CREEP
CREPT - to move very quietly and carefully
I crept out of the room.
TO HIDE
HID - to put something in a place where no one can see it
I hid the money in a drawer.
- to keep a feeling or information secret
He couldn’t hide his embarrassment.
TO MEET
MET - to come to the same place as someone else I met an old friend at a party last Saturday.
- to see and speak to someone for the first time ‘This is Helen.’ ‘Pleased to meet you.’
TO SHAKE
SHOOK - to move backwards and forwards or up and down in quick, short movements, or to make something or someone do this:
The explosion shook buildings for miles around.
TO TEAR
TORE to pull or be pulled apart, or to pull pieces off: I tore my skirt on the chair as I stood up.
to move very quickly: He went tearing along the road after the bus.
TO DIG
DUG - to break up and move soil using a tool, a machine, or your hands: Digging in the garden is good exercise.
TO KNEEL
KNELT - to bend your legs and put one knee or both knees on the floor
She knelt down beside the child.
TO MAKE
MADE - to create something
They’ve made a movie about her life.
to perform an action
I need to make a phone call.
TO SHRINK
SHRANK - to become smaller, or to make something smaller: Your sweater will shrink if you wash it at too high a temperature.
TO TELL
TOLD to say something to someone, often giving them information or instructions: Tell me about your holiday then.