Vocabulary in use vocabulary reference and practice Third Edition Elementary Michael McCarthy Felicity O’Dell

o’clock
now.
I got up 
four hours ago
,
 at
6 o’clock. 
An hour ago
it was 9 o’clock.
A
two years 
for two years 
2014–2016 
from 2014 to 2016 
2014 
 2016 
last year 
/
 last week 
/
 last Saturday
next year 
/
 next week 
/
 next summer
It is July 
now
. 
Last
month it was June.
Next
month it will be August.
When we talk about time in general, we 
talk about 
the past
, 
the present
and 
the 
future
. 
In the past
people didn’t have television. 
People may travel to Mars 
in the future
.
Frequency adverbs
B
It 
always
snows in Russia in winter.
It 
oft en
rains in the UK.
The Ancient Romans 
never
went to America or Australia.
Expressions
Notice the use of 
a
in these expressions of frequency.
once
[
one time
] 
a week
: I go swimming 
once
a week
, every Saturday.
twice
[
two times
] 
a day
: I clean my teeth 
twice a day
.
three times a year
: I see my uncle 
three times a year
.
four times a month
: I play football 
four or five times a month
.
I’ll be with you 
in a moment
[
a very short time
].
Nora’s in Paris 
at the moment
[
now
].
See you 
soon
[
in a short time
]!
We met 
recently
[
not long ago
].
C
always
usually
oft en
sometimes
now and then
occasionally
not oft en
rarely
never
JANUARY
M T W T F S S
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30 31

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Exercises
111
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
Fill the gaps with a preposition from the opposite page.
1
the past, Rosa worked in many different countries. Rosa worked in Hong Kong
2
three years, 
3
2008 
4
2011. 
5
the moment she 
is working in Tokyo. She will stay there 
6
two more years.
Draw lines to match the centuries to their time. 
1 the 19th century
2 the 22nd century 
the past
3 the 18th century 
the present
4 the 21st century 
the future
5 the 20th century
Are these sentences true about you? If not, write them out correctly. Use other frequency 
adverbs from B opposite.
1 I always go swimming on Fridays.
I sometimes go swimming on Fridays.
2 I usually go to school / work by bus. 
3 I occasionally watch TV. 
4 I rarely drink milk. 
5 I often wear a hat.
6 I rarely eat chocolate.
7 I always go to bed at 10.
8 I never go to the theatre.
Read the sentences and answer the questions.
1 Matthew will get his exam results very soon.
Do you think Matthew will get them next year, next month or tomorrow?
Probably tomorrow
2 Alice and Adam met for the first time recently.
Do you think they first met last year, six months ago or a week ago?
3 I’ll help you in a moment.
Do you think I’ll help you next week, in two hours or in a few minutes?
4 It’s 6 o’clock now. 
Two hours ago it started to snow. What time was it then?
Look at the table and write sentences using expressions like 
once a week
,
three times a month
, etc.
John plays tennis twice a week.
play tennis
practise the piano
have a business 
meeting in Germany
John
Mondays and 
Thursdays
Saturdays
the first Friday every
month
Julia and Alexa
Tuesdays, Fridays and 
Saturdays
every morning and 
every evening
once in January, March, 
May, July, August and 
December every year
52.1
52.2
52.3
52.4
52.5
In

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112
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
Places
53
General place words
Come 
here
, please. [
to me, to where I am
]
Have you been to Lima? I’m going 
there
in April. [
not here, another place
]
Max is coming 
back
from Portugal in May. [
to here again, to this place
]
There are books and papers 
everywhere
in my room. [
in all parts / all places
]
(See 
Unit 42: Come / came / come
.)
Prepositions
Luke is 
in the kitchen
, making dinner.
There are two restaurants 
in the village
.
Samantha lives 
in Seoul 
/
 South Korea 
/
 Asia
.
I’ll meet you 
at the station
.
I always sit 
at the front of the class
.
I like that photo 
on the wall
. 
Don’t put your books 
on the chair
. I want to sit 
on it
!
Positions 
the 
top
of the mountain 
the 
middle
of the road 
the 
bottom
of the glass
A
B
C
the 
front 
of the car 
the 
side 
of the car 
the 
back
of the car
in
at
on
the 
beginning
of the motorway
the 
end
of the motorway
Left and right
This is his 
left 
hand. This is his 
right
hand.
In York Street, there is a cinema 
on the left 
and a restaurant 
on the right
.
Home and away
Is Eleanor 
at home
[
in her house / flat
]?
No, sorry, she’s 
out
[
not here for a short time, e.g. at the shops or at work
].
No, sorry, she’s 
away
[
not here for a longer time, e.g. on holiday
].
No, sorry, she’s 
abroad
[
in another country
].
D
E
left 
right

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Exercises
113
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
Fill the gaps with 
here
, 
there
, 
back
 or 
everywhere
.
1 Thanks for lending me your dictionary. I’ll bring it 
soon. (See 
Unit 44: Bring / 
brought / brought
.)
2 Come 
Emma! Don’t go near the road! (See 
Unit 42: Come / came / come
.)
3 This letter is for a teacher at the university. Can you take it 
. (See 
Unit 43: Take / 
took / taken
.)
4 I opened the washing machine too soon. Now there’s water 
!
5 I want to leave this letter in Nora’s office. Are you going 
?
6 I’m going to Italy tomorrow, but I’m coming 
on Friday.
Fill the gaps with the correct preposition.
1 My brother works 
Paris.
2 Why do you always sit 
the back of the class?
3 Let’s go and sit 
the sofa.
4 What time do you arrive? I’ll meet you 
the bus station.
5 There was a picture of an old man 
the wall. 
6 Do you usually study 
your bedroom or 
the living room?
Mark the positions on the bus and on the tree. 
1 the front of the bus
2 the side of the bus
3 the back of the bus
4 the middle of the tree
5 the top of the tree
6 the bottom of the tree
Fill the gaps with 
out
, 
away
 or 
abroad
.
1 I’d like to work 
and learn about a new country.
2 Is Lily here? No, she’s 
but she’ll be back in about five minutes.
3 I’m going 
tomorrow. I’m going to stay with my sister for a few days.
4 When we go 
we like to go 
and see new countries.
Answer these questions about yourself and about this book.
1 Are you studying English at home or abroad?
2 Are you going away this year?
3 What have you got in your left or right hand at the moment?
4 What is there at the end of this book?
5 Where is Unit 3 in this book? (beginning / middle / end?)
6 Where is Unit 36 in this book? (beginning / middle / end?)
53.1
53.2
53.3
53.4
53.5
back
in
abroad
the front of the bus

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114
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
Manner
54
Adjectives and adverbs can describe
 manner
, i.e.
 
how
we do something.
Fast and slow
A
Loud 
/laud/
 and quiet 
/kwa@t/
B
adjectives 
This is a 
fast
car.
This is a 
slow
car.
adverbs 
This car goes very 
fast
.
This car goes very 
slowly
.
adjectives 
The music is too 
loud
. 
It’s very 
quiet
here.
adverbs 
The children sang 
loudly
. 
The teacher speaks very 
quietly
. 
We can’t hear him.
Good and bad
C
adjectives 
She’s a 
good
driver.
He’s a 
bad
driver. 
adverbs 
She drives 
well
. 
He drives 
badly
.
Right and wrong
This sentence is 
right
. 
I like coff ee very much. 
[
✓
]
This sentence is 
wrong
. 
I like very much coff ee. 
[
✗
]
Expressions with 
way
D
E
He’s speaking 
in a friendly way
.
She’s speaking 
in an unfriendly way
.
You’re doing that 
the wrong way
.
Let me show you 
the right way
to do it.

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Exercises
115
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
Complete the sentences.
1 This train is 
slow
. It goes very 
.
2 He is a 
bad
singer. He sings very 
.
3 She is always 
loud
. She speaks very 
.
4 He’s a 
fast
swimmer. He swims very 
.
5 This girl is 
quiet
. She always speaks 
.
6 He’s a 
good
English-speaker. He speaks English 
.
Complete the sentences.
1 Please don’t play your music so 
– I’m trying to study.
2 Let’s take the 
train, not the fast one.
3 Katie is very 
at French but bad at German.
4 Why is Fiona behaving 
an unfriendly way?
5 I hope this is the
answer.
6 It is better to do something well than to do it 
.
7 The children are playing very 
– they know that grandma is asleep.
8 Did I do this exercise 
right way?
Are the definitions right or wrong? Use a dictionary.
word
definition
right (
✓
)
wrong (
✗
)
suddenly
very slowly
✗
sadly
in an unhappy way
strangely
not in a normal way
quickly
very slowly
easily
with no difficulty
Complete these sentences about yourself and your friends or family. 
1 My
well.
2 My 
badly.
3 I 
fast.
4 My 
slow.
5 My 
quiet.
6 I 
loudly.
7 My 
in a friendly way.
8 I 
the right way.