Page 47 - English Vocabulary in Use (Pre & Intermediate)

20 Give, keep, break, catch, see

These common verbs have many different meanings (some of them in other parts of this
book). This unit looks at some important meanings of these verbs, and in some cases they
combine with specific nouns, e.g. give someone a ring, break the law, etc. You can learn
these as expressions.

Give
Pll give you a ring this evening. (= phone you this evening)
Could you give me a hand? (= help me)
Please give my regards to Paul. (= please say ‘hello’ to him from me) or
If you see Paul, please give him my regards.

Keep
The coat will keep you dry; the gloves will keep your hands warm. (= the coat/gloves will
help you to stay dry/warm) [keep + noun/pronoun + adjective]
I keep losing my glasses; I keep getting backache. (= I lose my glasses / get backache again
and again) [keep + -ing]
Please keep in touch. (= don’t forget to stay in contact, e.g. phone or write to me
sometimes)
The schoo! keeps a record (= clear written information) of the number of times that
students are absent.

Break

He broke the world record again. (= created a new record, e.g. He ran the 100 metres in
9.85 seconds, which is 0.1 seconds faster than anyone else.)
Most people break the law at some point in their life. (= do something wrong / against the
law)
In my first lesson with a new class, I usually do something to break the ice. (= to make
people feel more relaxed when they first meet strangers)

Catch
We can catch a bus down the road. (= take a bus/travel by bus)
How did you catch that cold? (= get that cold/virus)
Catch the ball and throw it to James.

See
A: This part of the picture doesn’t look right compared with the other part.
B: Yes, I see what you mean. (= I understand what you are saying)
A: Do you think we need to hire a car?
B: I don’t know. I’ll see (= I’ll ask and find out) what the others say.
I don’t/can’t see the point of practising six hours a day. (= I don’t understand the reason for
practising six hours a day; I think it’s crazy)

44 English Vocabulary in Use (pre-intermediate & intermediate)