Conversation Questions and Activities to Aid in the Learning of English
Arranged according to tense, topic, and levels of difficulty
By Prof. Mark McDowell, M.A. Mark’s ESL World ~ http://www.marksesl.com
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"You missed the lines in the parking space. You'll have to back up and try
again."
"The people waiting in line are too close to the door. We won't be able to
open it unless they back up."
back up (2. separable): drive a vehicle backwards (in reverse).
"You're too close! Back your car up so I can open the garage door."
back up (3. separable): confirm a story, facts, or information.
"If you don't believe me, talk to Dave. He'll back me up."
back up (4. separable): make a "protection" copy to use if there are problems
with the original.
"When my computer crashed, I lost many of my files. It's a good thing I
backed them up."
beg off (no object): decline an invitation; ask
to be excused from doing
something.
"At first Lily said she would be at the party. Later she begged off."
blow up (1. separable): inflate.
"We needs lots of balloons for the party. Will you blow them up?"
blow up (2. separable): explode; destroy by exploding.
A: "That old building really came down quickly!"
B: "That's because the construction company used dynamite to blow it up."
blow up (3. no object): suddenly become very angry.
"When I told Jerry that I'd had an accident with his car, he blew up."
bone up on (inseparable): review / study thoroughly for a short time.
"If you're going to travel to Peru, you'd better bone up on your Spanish."
break down (1. separable): separate something into component parts.
"We spent a lot of money at the supermarket. When we broke the total cost
down, we spent more on cleaning supplies than food."
break down (2. no object): stop working / functioning.