Work

Before you start: if you haven't finished the practice and the checks in lesson 1, go back and do them now. Repetition is what makes vocabulary stick, and a language is built by regular work rather than by bursts of it.

Today's verbs are the ones that come up at work.

hand in — to submit something to someone in charge.

"Hey Tyler, could you hand in your monthly report today?"

carry out — to follow through, to complete an assignment, to proceed with a plan.

"We all have a lot of work to do if we want to finish this project on time. Management is confident that you will all carry out your responsibilities to the best of your abilities."

work on — to do work on something, to spend time on it.

"What are you working on?" — "I'm working on our new label design. It's taking longer than expected."

take over — to assume control. It can be peaceful or not: armies take over an enemy, large companies take over smaller ones. One side gives control, the other takes it.

"They are taking over the smaller companies."

call off — to cancel, to cause something to end.

"It's raining very heavily…" — "If this continues we'll need to call off the baseball game."

lay off — to lose your job temporarily, usually with the promise of being taken back later. Seasonal workers are often laid off.

"You're early today — shouldn't you be at work?" — "No, it's winter now, so I'm laid off until spring. I'm out enjoying the morning."

burn out — the result of too much work for too long without enough rest. It damages mental and physical health, and it applies to private life as much as to work.

"I can't handle this anymore, I'm so burnt out!" — "When did you last get a good night's rest?" — "I don't know. I'm up early every day, the kids need to get ready for school, I work two jobs…"

turn yourself in — to hand yourself over to the police.

"Did you see the news report about the murderer who turned himself in?"