Search results for 'tag:Phrasal verbs tag:Learn English' matching tags 'Phrasal verbs' and 'Learn English'

Re: Softness and weakness

anon1 — Wed, 21 Jul 2004 19:34:56 GMT

1) Softness does indeed mean weakness here. Consumer spending in the US has recently weakened/softened.

2) I wouldn't completely agree with your answer.

Those higher prices, by eroding households' disposable income, have accounted for at least some softness in consumer spending of late, a softness which should prove short-lived.

You could rewrite that sentence as....

Those higher prices, by eroding households' disposable income, have *caused* at least some softness in consumer spending of late, a softness which should prove short-lived.

Here's another "accounted for" example....

Her rotten childhood accounted for her being mean and miserable in her late 20s.

Using GuruNet.com
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phrasal verb:

account for

To constitute the governing or primary factor in: Bad weather accounted for the long delay.
To provide an explanation or justification for: The suspect couldn't account for his time that night.

The American HeritageÂ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright Â© 2003 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
~~~~~~~~~~~

I wouldn't use Greenspan's gobblygook as a way to learn English. He is often purposefully obtuse and turgid in his language.

Re: Got and Gotten

advoca — Sat, 11 Oct 2003 03:04:20 GMT

Here is some advice on the use of got and gotten.

Got is the past tense and past participle of get.

You use have got to say that someone has a particular thing, or to mention a quality or characteristic that someone or something has.
Iâve got a coat just like this.
She hasnât got a work permit.
Have you got any ideas?.
Every city has got its good and bad points.
The policeman asked, âHave you got any identification?â

In informal spoken American English, people sometimes just use âgotâ.

Got a coat just like this?
Sheâs not got a work permit.
Got any ideas?
The policeman asked, âGot any identification?â

You use have got to when you are saying that something is necessary or must happen in the way stated.

I'm not happy with the situation, but I've just got to accept it.
Thereâs got to be a degree of flexibility.
Youâve got to do what youâre told.
Heâs got to work harder if he wants to learn English.

In spoken American English, gotten is often used as the past participle of âgetâ. It is used to mean âobtainedâ, âreceivedâ, âbecomeâ, or âcaused to be'â

He could have gotten his books without anyone seeing him.
Heâd gotten some dust in his eyes.
His leg may have gotten tangled in a harpoon line.
I had gone to work and gotten quite a lot done.

It is also used in many phrasal verbs and phrases.

No one had gotten around to cleaning up the mess.
He must have gotten up at dawn.
We should have gotten rid of him.
She had gotten married and given birth to a child.

WARNING: You do not use have gotten to mean âpossessâ. For example, you should not say âI have gotten a headache,â or âHe has gotten two sistersâ.

You also do not use have gotten to mean âmustâ. For example, âI had gotten to see the Head Teacher,â does not mean âIt was necessary for me to see the Head Teacher.â It means âI had succeeded in seeing the Head Teacher.â.

In both British English and formal American English, the past participle of âgetâ is got, not âgotten.â

Now here is some advice to students. Do not worry yourself about trying to understand when to use got and when to use gotten when you want to use the past participle of get. Americans will understand you if you use âgotâ instead of âgotten,â and everybody else will understand you if you use gotten instead of got.

Re: Phrasal Verb of the day

maj — Sun, 25 May 2003 19:01:01 GMT

sorry I posted before finishing... so everybody has to learn English at some point.

Re: Phrasal Verb of the day

chris — Sun, 25 May 2003 18:22:36 GMT

Malta has two official languages, Maltese and English. Maltese is a mixture of Italian and Arabic - not the easiest language to learn and is extremely consonantal.

Kids in Malta learn English and Maltese, Italian through television and school and have to choose either French or German in secondary school.

I'm not Maltese and therefore can only speak English and a little broken French and German.

With only one university in Malta, children are pushed to study hard from an early age and language acquirement is becoming increasingly important.