Grammar: Confusing verb pairs

Elisa Moolecherry: Happy New Year! and welcome to our Business Spotlight podcast for the 3rd of January 2012. This is Elisa Moolecherry.

I imagine you want to start the new year by improving your business English. So today, we’ll take a look at easily confused verb pairs. In this exercise, you’re going to hear some sentences, and we’re going to give you two verbs to choose from. Choose the correct verb. Then we’ll give you the answer. Ready?

Elisa Moolecherry: “Come” refers to movement towards, or with, the speaker. “Go” refers to movement away from the speaker. Choose the correct verb.

1.    Will you join us for drinks at The Red Leaf? Please...
    “Come” or “Go” ?
+    Come.
Listen:  “Will you join us for drinks at The Red Leaf? Please come.”

Elisa Moolecherry: OK, next one. Here, “bring” refers to movement towards the speaker. “Take” refers to movement away from the speaker or their location. Choose the verb.

2.    I’m leaving for the airport. I’ve got my laptop and the projector. Is there anything else I need to...
     “Bring” or “Take”?
+     Take.
Listen to the sentence: “I’m leaving for the airport. I’ve got my laptop and the projector. Is there anything else I need to take?”

Elisa Moolecherry: “Borrow” refers to getting something from someone temporarily. “Lend” refers to giving something. Choose the verb here.

3.    I’m out of money. Have you got five pounds I can...
    “Borrow” or “Lend”?     
+    Borrow.
 Listen to the sentence: “I’m out of money. Have you got five pounds I can borrow?”

Elisa Moolecherry: “Remember” is when you think of something from the past. “Remind” is when someone tells you to think of something from the past. Choose the verb.

4.    Do you spell his name with a “P” or a “B”? I can never...
     “Remember” or “Remind”?
     Remember. Listen: “Do you spell his name with a “P” or a “B”? I can never remember.”

Elisa Moolecherry: “Look” refers to seeing something intentionally. “Watch” means to observe something.

5.   The football match has just started. Do you want to come and...
    “Look” or “Watch”?
    Watch.
Listen:  “The football match has just started. Do you want to come and watch?”

Elisa Moolecherry: Find more grammar exercises in Business Spotlight Plus workbook and on our website at www.business-spotlight.de. Now listen to this sentence: I hope you remember to come back next Tuesday, when we’ll bring you a new podcast! Thanks for listening!

• Exercise: Special verbs for presentations