[General] trying to learn new vocabulary

[forum_mail]

Howdy,

Could you please take a look at my sentences? I'm trying to learn new vocabulary, and here are the results:

1. At weekend I really like to use my free time in the morning and lie in a bit longer in the morning.
2. My laptop has gone off because I couldn’t plug in the charger anywhere.
3. Finally, I have cleared away the desk and put all the books in the drawers.
4. She has spilled the tea over the new carpet and couldn’t wipe it up.
5. Before you invite anybody, you’d better tidy your room up.
6. The lecture was so boring that I dropped off in the middle of it.
7. Don’t turn over, I’m waiting for the news.
8. Do you want anything from the green grocer’s? I’ll pop out and buy a few things.

As for examples 2, 3 & 4 I'm not sure whether the present perfect tense is used correctly and what the difference would be if I used simply the past simple tense. If somebody could explain me that, I'd be most obliged! Thank you.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by forum_mail

Howdy,

Could you please take a look at my sentences? I'm trying to learn new vocabulary, and here are the results:

1. On the weekend, I really like to use my free time in the morning to sleep a bit longer xxx.
2. My laptop ran down [or "has run down" or "had run down"] because I couldn’t plug in the charger anywhere.
3. Finally, I have cleared xxx the desk and put all the books in the drawers.
4. She xxx spilled the tea on the new carpet and couldn’t wipe it up.
5. Before you invite anybody, you’d better tidy your room up.
6. The lecture was so boring that I dropped off in the middle of it.
7. Don’t turn it off, I’m waiting for the news.
8. Do you want anything from the green grocer’s? I’ll pop out and buy a few things.

As for examples 2, 3 & 4 I'm not sure whether the present perfect tense is used correctly and what the difference would be if I used simply the past simple tense. If somebody could explain me that, I'd be most obliged! Thank you.

It just depends on your meaning. Participles place events inside a sequence. Simple tenses don't. So in 2, 3, and 4, it depends on the bigger picture of what you're trying to say.

[I edit copy and have tutored college writing.]

[forum_mail]

thanks!

but why can't I say lie in ?

[forum_mail]

anyone? :>

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by forum_mail

thanks!

but why can't I say lie in ?

You can, but it will make some readers think of pregnant women and hospitals:

lying-in hospital - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about lying-in hospital
Lying-In Hospital
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Lying-In_Hospital

I'd use "sleep late" or "sleep in." "Sleep a bit longer" is good. If you're not actually sleeping, you might decide you want to tell the reader what you are doing.

[forum_mail]

hmm... that's strange... 1st of all, it's really hard for me, cause when I learn a new word (in this particular case it's "to lie in") I assueme that the book which I'm currently using gives me vocabulary which is used by native speakers... and all of a sudden you guys say that "to lie in" is not actually used in the sense the book says it is...

here's also an entry from Longman Dictionary:

lie in
[British English] an occasion when you stay in bed longer than usual in the morning

[philpet]

Originally Posted by forum_mail

hmm... that's strange... 1st of all, it's really hard for me, cause when I learn a new word (in this particular case it's "to lie in") I assueme that the book which I'm currently using gives me vocabulary which is used by native speakers... and all of a sudden you guys say that "to lie in" is not actually used in the sense the book says it is...

here's also an entry from Longman Dictionary:

lie in
[British English] an occasion when you stay in bed longer than usual in the morning

Depends in which country you plan on doing your "lie-in" in... it sounds like British English but not necessarily American English usage. In the USA we have our "sit-ins" to protest something by sitting around disrupting business. There have also been "lie-ins" to lay across a road or entrance to disrupt.

If I am going to hide to wait for someone to walk by in order to do them harm or mischief, I will "lie-in" wait for them. If I'm spending more time in bed in the moring, I'm "sleeping in." If I'm awake during that time I'm just spending more time resting in bed.

[janetlalbag]

Elaboration is a simple yet effective tool if you want to increase your vocabulary. It is particularly useful for improving your word retention skills.

When you attach familiar information to an unfamiliar word, that's elaboration. The more you elaborate on a word, the more you can remember what it means. There are many kinds of elaboration you can use to learn words faster, but we will only discuss the two most effective kinds: related words and usage examples.

Related words
Related words are simply words that have some kind of connection with each other. The two most significant kinds of related words are those that have the same meanings, or synonyms, and those that have the opposite meanings, or antonyms. For example, take the wordstrong. One of its synonyms is powerful, and an antonym is weak.

Another kind of related word, which is less common, is the homonym, which is a word that is identical in spelling and pronunciation, but different in meaning. For example, the wordmatch could mean either: a partner; a competition; or that thing we use to light a fire.

Usage examples
Learning a word involves seeing that word as it is used in different sentences and in varying contexts. The more examples you see, the faster you can learn a word. If you seriously want to increase your vocabulary, you can even try using vocabulary-building software which will show you many different examples of a word in action. There are many other sources of usage examples. You can try the dictionary or the Internet. If you read a lot, you may also see other examples of a word's usage in books.

After looking at the examples provided by vocabulary software or dictionaries, it is time to create your own usage example. If you use a word in a context that is more familiar to you, then it is easier to remember that word and retain it in your long-term memory.

More tips can be found at www●vocabularylearningresources●net