Somebody, anybody, nobody, everybody 71

Every, some, any, no.

'Every', 'some', 'any' and 'no' can be used with 'one', 'body' and 'thing' to form compound pronouns, such as everyone, somebody, anything and nothing.

everyone / everybody
every person:

...Would everyone who wishes to attend the dinner let me know by Friday afternoon?
...Everyone has their own ideas about the best way to bring up children.
...I've received replies from everybody but Jane.
...Do you agree with the principle that everyone should pay something towards the cost of health care?
...Everyone knows who stole it, but they're all afraid to tell anyone.
...Everyone involved in the accident has been questioned by the police.
...Goodbye, everybody - I'll see you next week.
...I'm sorry, but you'll just have to wait your turn like everybody else.

somebody / someone
(used to refer to a single person when you do not know who they are or when it is not important who they are) :

...There's someone outside the house.
...Someone must have seen what happened.
...Eventually someone in the audience spoke.
...You'll have to ask someone else.
...We'll need a software engineer or someone (= a person with skill of or like the stated type) on the project team.

NOTE: This is not usually used in negatives and questions. See Note some or any? at some (unknown amount).

anything (pronoun)
any event, act or object whatever, or (especially in questions or negatives) something:

...If he eats anything with wheat in it he's very sick.
...Let me know if anything happens won't you.
...Is there anything I can do to help?
...I didn't know anything about computers till I started this job.
...Did you notice anything strange about him?
...I was looking for a birthday present for my mother but I didn't find anything suitable.
...Spending Christmas with him and his brother - I can't imagine anything worse!
...Was there anything else you wanted to say or is that it?
...Have you got anything less expensive?
...She could be anything (= any age) between 30 and 40.
..."What did you do at the weekend?" "I don't think we did anything much."

nothing (pronoun)
not anything

...There's nothing in the drawer - I took everything out.
...Nothing I could say would cheer her up.
...I have nothing new to tell you.
...There's nothing else (= no other thing) we can do to help.
...There's nothing much (= not very much) to do in our village.
...The story was nothing but (= only) lies.
...(US) The score is Yankees three, Red Sox nothing (= no points).
...He's a nothing, a low-down, useless nobody. (someone of no value or importance : noun [C] INFORMAL)

anyone
pronoun (ALSO anybody)

1- used in questions and negatives to mean 'a person or people':
...I haven't spoken to anyone all day.
...I haven't told anyone.
...Was there anyone you knew at the meeting?Has anyone seen my glasses anywhere?

2-any person or any people:
...Anyone can go - you don't have to be invited.
...Anyone could dress well with all that money.

no body (NO PERSON)
pronoun (ALSO no one),not anyone

...Is there nobody here who can answer my question?
...I saw nobody all morning.
...Nobody agreed with me.

'Every', 'some', 'any' and 'no' can also be used with 'where' to form adverbs such as everywhere, somewhere and anywhere.

everywhere (adverb) (semua tempat)
(US INFORMAL everyplace)
to, at or in all places or the whole of a place:

...His children go everywhere with him.
...Everywhere looks so grey and depressing in winter.
...I looked everywhere for my keys.
...Reasonable people everywhere will be outraged by this atrocity.
...We had to stay in the sleaziest hotel in town as everywhere else (= all other places) was fully booked.

somewhere (PLACE) adverb (satu tempat)
(US ALSO someplace) :in or at a place having a position which is not stated or not known:

He was last heard of living somewhere on the south coast.
You must have put their letter somewhere!.
[+ to infinitive] : I'm looking for somewhere to eat/stay.
Can we go somewhere else to talk - it's very noisy here.
Wouldn't you like to go to Disneyland or somewhere (= or to a similar place)?

NOTE: This is not usually used in negatives and questions. See Note some or any? at some (unknown amount).

anywhere : adverb (US ALSO anyplace) (mana2 tempat)
in, to or at any place or (especially in questions or negatives) some place:


I can't find my keys anywhere.
You won't find a prettier village anywhere in England.
Did you go anywhere interesting this summer?
Go anywhere in the world and you'll find some sort of hamburger restaurant.
Is there anywhere in particular you wanted to go to eat tonight?
I was wondering if there was anywhere I could go to get this mended.
There are quite a few words that they use in that part of the country that you don't hear anywhere else.
As a teacher you could expect to be paid anywhere (= any amount) between £7 and £15 per hour.
He charges anywhere from $20 to $50 for a haircut and blow-dry.
Is there anywhere to eat around here?
They live in some tiny little village miles from anywhere (= a very long way from any main towns or villages).

nowhere (adverb) (tidak ada tempat)

1- in, at or to no place; not anywhere:
These young people have nowhere (else) to go.
Nowhere does the article mention the names of the people involved.

2- not in a successful or a winning position:
The horse I bet on finished nowhere.

Pronouns such as somebody, nothing and everything usually take a singular verb, even though they may seem to refer to more than one thing.

...Don't touch that computer: somebody is using it.
...Don't worry. Nothing has happened.
...Is everything ready for the party?
...Everybody has arrived.

However, after everyone/everybody, we use they/their/them, even though the verb is singular.

Everyone has to take their shoes off before they come in.
Could everybody please put their names on the list?
Everybody enjoyed themselves at the party.

Somebody, someone, something, somewhere

These words refer to a person, thing or place, without identifying which person, thing or place.

somebody / someone: an unidentified person

something: an unidentified thing

somewhere: an unidentified place

Alice says 'there's something I want to ask you.' She is saying that she has a question, but she hasn't yet identified the topic of the question.

When she says: 'There's somebody else, isn't there?' this is a positive statement, followed by a question tag. Alice is saying that she believes that Paul is seeing another woman, but she doesn't know who.

More examples:

Somebody called yesterday, but I don't know who it was.

He had something to eat before he went home. Have you seen my phone?

I put it down somewhere and now I can't find it.

Business vocabulary 153

a-Economic and business terms

economies of scale
the more units of something you buy, the cheaper it becomes per unit

They benefited from economies of scale when they opened their second shop and were able to buy in even bigger quantities from their supplie

a budget
the amount of money a business (or person) plans to spend on something

We've got a budget for our wedding but we've already spent almost all of it on her dress.
The firm has drawn up a budget for the coming financial year.
Libraries are finding it increasingly difficult to remain within (their) budget.
an annual budget of £40 million
An extra £20 million has been budgeted for schools this year.
a budget holiday/hotel/price :very cheap

overspend or go over budget
spend more money than you planned to

We need to keep a tight hold on our marketing spending or we'll go over budget.
We need to keep a tight hold on our marketing spending or we'll overspend.
The council seems likely to overspend this year.
The hospital has already overspent (on) its drugs budget.
We're expecting to have a £5 million (budget) overspend this year. (uk)

break even
the point where the amount you pay out in expenses is covered by the amount of money you get for things you have sold (i.e. you haven't made a profit or a loss)
...To break even is to earn enough money to pay for expenses, without any profit

We need to sell 100 family cars or just three sports cars to break even.
After paying for our travel costs, we barely (= only just) broke even.
After a bad year in 1995, the company just about broke even in 1996.
We'd have to sell 2000 copies of the book to break even.

make a loss
when your expenses are more than your sales

When they started in business they made a loss for two years. But finally, things started to change for them last year.
loss-making businesses/companies (not making a profit/adjective)Toyota to make first loss since 1941

make a profit
when a business is able to cover all its expenses from sales and still have extra money left over

The restaurant has been making a profit for years and it's still doing very well.
She makes a big profit from selling waste material to textile companies
You don't expect to make much profit within the first couple of years of setting up a company.
A year ago the Tokyo company had a pretax profit of 35 million yen

non-profit(-making) :
describes an organization which does not make a profit, usually intentionally.

Charities are non-profit-making organizations and get tax relief.


money-spinner
something that is very popular and easy to sell (a business or product that makes a lot of money for someone)

During the World Cup, having a stall that sells flags from different countries is a real money spinner.
Cookery books are becoming a real money-spinner for the publishing industry.

a cash cow
a product that makes a lot of money (often easily) for a company (business or a part of a business that always makes a lot of profit )

Making the film cost us millions. But at least we've got the DVD, dolls and clothes cash cows to help us cover those enormous costs.
The British newspapers are the group's biggest cash cow, earning nearly 40% of group profits.

mass market
things that are sold in large numbers to a lot of people (A product that is designed for the mass market is intended to be bought by as many people as possible, not just by people with a lot of money or a special interest)

Our family cars are aimed at the mass market, while our sports cars are more for the niche market.
Advances in microchip technology have made these cameras smaller and cheaper and affordable to the mass market.

'Price' words and expressions

asking price
the amount of money you want when you sell something, (especially in a situation when you might agree to a lower price later) "the amount of money someone wants when they sell something, especially a building or a piece of land"

The asking price for the car was £10,000 but she ended up getting it for £8,500.
The asking price for the flat was £89 500.

a price war
when different companies compete with each other by lowering prices / a situation in which different companies compete with each other by lowering prices:

The supermarkets started a price war on bread last month. Each week the cost of a loaf gets lower and lower.
A supermarket price war has led to lower profit margins.

a price tagnoun (ALSO price ticket)
a sticker or piece of paper on something in a shop that tells you how much something costs

These shoes are gorgeous. I don't think I want to look at the price tag!
How much is it? - I can't find the price tag.
These suits have designer names and a price ticket to match.
The price tag for restoring the building will be around $150 million

be price-conscious (adjective)
be aware of how much things cost and avoid buying expensive things

My mum's very price-conscious. She buys practically all of our clothes in the sales
price-conscious shoppers

Vocabulary

let's get cracking (informal) : let's start (to start doing something quickly)

Get cracking (= Hurry), or we'll miss the train.
I'd better get cracking with these letters before I go home.
Let's get cracking! We've only got two days to finish
Get cracking! We're leaving in 5 minutes.

demand (noun)
something that people want to buy

There's an increasing demand for cheap housing. (NEED [U,no plural] a need for something to be sold or supplied )
They received a final demand for payment. (REQUEST [C] a strong request)
Good teachers are always in demand. (in demand wanted or needed in large numbers)

demand (verb)

1-I demanded an explanation.
[+ that] The survivors are demanding that the airline pays them compensation (ASK to ask for something in a way that shows that you do not expect to be refused)

2-This job demands a high level of concentration. (NEED to need something such as time or effort )

state : (formal) say : verb [T] SLIGHTLY FORMAL to say or write something, especially clearly and carefully:

Our warranty clearly states the limits of our liability.
[+ (that)] : Union members stated (that) they were unhappy with the proposal.
[+ question word] : Please state why you wish to apply for this grant.
Children in the stated (= named) areas were at risk from a lack of food, the report said.

inversely related : berlawanan
as one thing goes up, another thing goes down

Sometimes it seems that press coverage of an event is inversely proportional to its true importance (= the more important the event, the less attention is paid to it).

in the balance
something will be decided soon - one way or another (If a situation is in the balance it has reached a stage where it will soon be decided one way or another)

The game hung in the balance until the last minute when an exciting point decided it.


rash
hasty, sudden : (adjective) done suddenly and without thinking carefully

a rash decision/promise
That was a rash decision - you didn't think about the costs involved.
[+ to infinitive] : I think it was a bit rash of them to get married when they'd only known each other for a few weeks.

Obligation and permission 101

When we want to talk about what we are obliged to do (or what we must do), we can use the verbs 'must' or 'have to'.

To talk about what we are permitted to do (or allowed to do), we can use the verbs 'let', 'can' or 'be allowed to'.

Must and Have to:

Must and Have to are both used to talk about rules or obligations.

1. Must and have to are both followed by the base form of the main verb:

She must give money to her parents every month.
They have to get a visa before they go on holiday to the USA.

Air travel vocabulary 2 (157)

Here is some vocabulary about airports and air travel.

Beginning and ending your journey:

a departures board
a noticeboard in an airport that tells passengers information about their flight

a boarding pass (boarding card/uk)
a piece of paper or card that is given to a passenger at check-in. A passenger must have one to be allowed to go onto the plane.

passport control
the place in the airport where your passport and boarding card are checked before you go to the departure lounge

a lounge
a room in a hotel, airport, theatre, etc. where people can relax or wait

an airport lounge

a final call
an announcement that's made over the airport's loudspeaker system to let passengers know that the flight is almost ready to go.

baggage reclaim
part of the airport where you go to collect your luggage after you arrive at your destination airport. Usually there is a 'carousel' - a continuous moving strip of material that goes round in a circle with passengers' bags on it

I reclaimed my suitcase from the left luggage office.

Types of flights:

a short-haul flight
a flight that takes a short time (up to about three hours), compared to a long-haul flight

a long-haul flight
a flight that takes a long time (over seven hours), compared to a short-haul flight

a domestic flight
a flight between two airports in the same country

an international flight
a flight between two airports in the different countries

a red-eye (flight)
a flight that leaves late at night and arrives early the next morning

We caught the red-eye from LA and got to New York at five this morning.
There's a red-eye flight to Los Angeles leaving at 10pm. [always before noun]
We took the red eye from Seattle to New York.

Types of seats on a plane:

a window seat
a seat next to the window

an aisle seat
a seat next to the aisle (the walkway between rows of seats)

Would you like an aisle seat or would you prefer to be by the window?

an economy seat
a seat in the economy class part of the plane (in the back part of the plane, where the seats are smaller and closer together than in other parts of the plane)

a first-class seat
a seat in the first-class part of the plane (in the front part of the plane, where the seats are bigger and spaced further than in other parts of the plane)

Vocabulary:

shortly : soon
We will shortly be arriving in King's Cross Station.

descent (noun)
a plane's movement down (towards the destination airport)

The plane began (to make) its final descent into the airport
The plane is making its final descent into the airport.

local time
the official time in a country or an area (e.g. When it's 9.20 pm local time in Beijing, it's 1.20 pm in London)

honeymoon
holiday a couple take after they've just been married

Where are you going on your honeymoon?
They are honeymooning in the Bahamas.
We went to Hawaii on our honeymoon.
This resort is popular with honeymooners.

track events / field event
sport events which take place on the running track of a stadium (e.g. 1000 metres, hurdles, relay race)

High jump and javelin throwing are field events.

some local colour
the special or unusual features of a place, especially as described or shown in a story, picture or film to make it seem more real

Air travel vocabulary 50

Here is some vocabulary about airports and air travel.

Parts of an airport:

a duty-free shop
a shop in an airport where you don't have to pay taxes on the goods you buy

a departure lounge
the part of an airport where you wait until you get on the plane

a gate
the place in the airport where you go to get onto your flight

a runway
the part of an airport, like a road, which planes use when arriving or departing from an airport

a control tower
the building in an airport which tells planes when it is safe for them to take off and land

Air travel jobs:

the cabin crew
the people who look after passengers during a flight

a pilot
a person who flies a plane

a baggage handler
a person who is responsible for your luggage, after you check-in, and takes it to the plane

an immigration officer
a person who checks your visa and passport when you go into a country

Things you find on a plane:

a cockpit
the place where the pilots sit to control the plane

a galley
the area on a plane where the cabin crew prepare meals and store duty-free goods etc

a trolley
a small cupboard with wheels. Cabin crews use trolleys to take food and drink to passengers during a flight

a seatbelt
a safety feature on planes to secure passengers in their seats

an overhead locker
a storage area above passengers' heads in a plane

a tray-table
a small table that is stored in the back of the seat in front of you on a plane

an oxygen mask
a piece of safety equipment which passengers put over their nose and mouth to help them breath if there is an emergency on a plane

hand luggage (uncountable)
small bags or suitcases which passengers carry with them onto the plane


checked baggage/luggage (uncountable)
large suitcases or bags which passengers don't carry with them onto the plane but which are put in the hold (the storage area of a plane)

Verbs about air travel:

to check in
to show your travel documents to the airline staff in the airport so that you can begin your journey

Passengers are requested to check in two hours before the flight.

to board/to embark
to go onto a plane at the beginning of the journey

At London airport she boarded a plane to Australia.
Will passengers waiting to board please go to the ticket counter?
The plane is now boarding at gate 26.

We embarked at Liverpool for New York.
You'll be asked for those documents on embarkation.

to take off
to start flying in the air

The plane took off at 8.30 a.m.
Night take-offs and landings are banned at this airport

to taxi
to move a plane slowly along the ground before or after flying

After a half-hour delay, our plane taxied to the runway for takeoff.

to cruise
to fly at a steady speed

The plane is cruising at 500 miles per hour.

to land
to bring a plane down to the ground

We should land in Madrid at 7am.
You can land a plane on water in an emergency.

to fasten/unfasten a seatbelt
to secure two parts of your seat-belt together/to untie your seatbelt

Fasten your seat belts.
Make sure your seat belt is securely fastened

to approach (the runway)
to fly at slow speak towards the runway

If you look out of the window on the left of the bus, you'll see that we're now approaching the Tower of London

to declare
to give information about goods or money you are bringing into a country

Nothing to declare.
Goods to declare.
Have you got anything to declare?

Vocabulary:

a standstill:
a stop or an end

a designated area:
a place that is signed for a particular purpose (for example, a designated smoking area)

a terminal building:
the part of an airport where planes arrive or depart from

a message:
text information to or from a mobile phone

to confiscate:
to take something away from someone as a punishment for doing something wrong

His passport was confiscated by the police to prevent him from leaving the country.
There was a record number of confiscations by customs officers last year.

Describing people

To talk about people's appearance or personality you can use:
be + adjective

Verb:To be + Adjective
I'm slim
He's well-built
She's matronly
You're handsome
We're extroverted
They're shy

To talk about physical characteristics you can use:
have got + (adjective) + noun

Verb:Have got (Adjective)+ Noun
I've got hazel eyes
He's got a shaved head
She's got gorgeous black hair
You've got a five o'clock shadow
We've got green eyes
They've got long legs

To ask about someone's appearance you can use:
do + look like?

Verb:To do + Look like?

What do I look like?
What do you look like?
What does he/she/it like?
What do they like?

Some adjectives have a negative connotation (or feeling) and some are more neutral:


Negative = Neutral
fat = plump or large
skinny = slim
spinster = single


To ask about someone's personality you can use:
be + like?

Verb:To be + Like?
What am I like?
What are you like?
What is he/she/it like?
What are we like?
What are they like?

Vocabulary:

a five o'clock shadow:
is a kind of beard or moustache (but not a full beard or moustache) that a man gets if he doesn't shave for a day or two

matronly (adj): an older woman who is plump

bald (adj):a person with no hair. A person can have a shaved head if s/he is bald or if s/he has hair but chooses to shave it off

Business vocabulary 2

a- Career stages

get a junior position / be in a junior position:
have a job with few responsibilities or power which usually involves doing mainly unskilled jobs

...She left school with no qualification so was lucky to get a junior position in an IT firm.

get work experience / go on work experience:
a short-term (often unpaid) job that young people or students take so that they can get experience of working in an office or company

...He's got some work experience at a newspaper over the summer. He hopes it will help him get a job in journalism when he graduates.
...1-the experience that a person already has of working:Please list your educational qualifications and work experience.
...2-a period of time in which a student temporarily works for an employer to gain experience:Many firms understand that giving work experience to students from colleges and schools will benefit everyone in the long term.

get a permanent position / get a permanent contract / be made permanent:
have long-term employment with a company

...After working on 3 short-term contracts they finally made him permanent last week.
...Are you looking for a temporary or a permanent job?

be promoted / get promoted / get a promotion: move further up in a company to a more senior role. NOTE: The opposite is demote.

...She's delighted. She got the promotion. She's a manager now.
...If I'm not promoted within the next two years, I'm going to change jobs.
...She's just been promoted to senior sales rep.
...If Coventry City win this match, they'll be promoted to the Premier League.
...Did Steve get/Was Steve given the promotion he wanted?
...She was promoted to division manager last year
...She's been recommended for (a) promotion.

retire: stop working when you are old.

...She worked for years as a teacher but now she has retired. She spends most of her time with her grandchildren.

b-Employee relations

a union:
an organisation which employees (but not usually managers) can belong to. A union uses its strength, by having a lot of members, to talk to management to try to improve pay and working conditions for employees

...The unions are in discussions with the government about how the anti-smoking laws will affect workers in pubs and restaurants.

strike / go on strike:
refuse to continue working because of a disagreement with an employer about working conditions, pay or job losses etc.

The unions threatened to strike if the management don't offer a better pay deal.

work-to-rule:
when workers carefully obey all the rules and instructions given to them about their jobs, but don't do anything extra or outside those rules (as they usually do).

They're not going on strike but are going to work-to-rule if the management decides to go ahead with the job cuts.

c-Types of work and ways of working

a freelancer: a person who does short pieces of work for different organisations rather than being continuously employed by one company

We'll get some freelancers in to help us with this project so that we'll make the deadline.

a job for life:
working for the same company all your working life.

The days of having a job for life are over now. Most people work for 8 - 10 companies during their working life.

in-house:
work that is done inside a company, rather than it being out-sourced.

We still produce the company newsletter in-house but we out-sourced the printing. It's much cheaper than doing the printing ourselves.

out-source:
work that is done for one company by another one rather than it being done in-house.

The company decided to out-source its IT so that it could concentrate on its key business area – marketing.

Vocabulary

a right handful :someone who is difficult to manage or control

turned up : arrived

took him to task about it : talked to him about it, blamed him for it or gave him into trouble about it

asserting your authority : showing that you have power

notes : written details about a lecture or lesson that you use to help you study or remember

in the process : while doing something else