Learning English

6 Minute Vocabulary

Someone, anyone, no one, everyone mean the same as somebody, anybody, nobody, everybody. They all mean one person, no person or all people:

• Is there someone at the door? No, there’s no one.

Something, anything, nothing and everything mean one thing, no thing and all things:

• Is there anything I can do to help?

Somewhere, anywhere, nowhere and everywhere mean one place, no place and all places:

• I’ve looked everywhere and I can’t find it.

The word else is often used after these words to mean other:

• Do you want to invite anyone else?
• There’s nowhere else to go.

Anyone, anything and anywhere sometimes have a different meaning:

• Ask anyone. (any person, it doesn’t matter who)
• She’ll eat anything. (any thing, it doesn’t matter what)

Notice that only no one is two words. And no one, nobody and nothing always have a positive verb:

• No one answered the phone.
• Nothing has happened since you left.

All these words take a singular verb:

• Everyoneis watching TV.

We use they, their and them with everyone:

• Is everyone happy with their seats?

All these words are often used before adjectives and infinitives:

• Is there anything interesting on TV?
• It’s raining and there’s nothing to do.

Session 3

timelapse
a technique where a video is made by speeding up a series of still images

loftiest
tallest

turning heads
making people notice (something)

shot up
(here) grew very quickly

construction
building

assembled
made something by putting pieces together

production line
lines of workers and machines in a factory

slotted together
connected pieces by putting them into slots (long holes)

flexible
able to move and bend without breaking

dubbed
called

vanity project
project that someone does because it makes them look good

the bigger they are, the harder they fall
when an important person or thing fails, it is very difficult for them

pie in the sky
something that you hope will happen, but is not likely to happen in reality

the sky's the limit
there is no limit

Session 4

chat up
speak to someone you don't know to try to make them interested in you

broke the ice
(here) said something casual to start a conversation

cheesy
not very impressive; a bit silly

Session 5: Drama - The Importance of being Earnest: Part 3

income
money someone gets from work or from investments

late
(here) dead

gentlemen
(here) old-fashioned word meaning 'men from higher classes of society'

Sussex
a county in the south of England

handles
parts attached to a bag or other object so that you can hold it

cloakroom
place in a theatre, restaurant and previously in railway stations, where you can leave coats, bags and other small items.

bewildered
confused

decent
socially acceptable

ensure
to make certain that something happens

acquire
to get

marry into
(phrasal verb) to become a member of a family or group by marrying someone who already belongs to it. (Here Wilde is comparing the cloakroom with a family)

form an alliance
become connected

put up with
(phrasal verb) to continue to accept a person or situation that is unpleasant

tragedy
a very sad event or situation

Hertfordshire
a county in the south of England, near to London