Page 129 - English Vocabulary In Use upper intermediet and advance

Possession, giving and lending

Possession

All his possessions were destroyed in the terrible fire. [everything he owned; always
plural in this meaning]
Don't leave any of your belongings here; we've had a few thefts recently. [small&
things, e.g. bag, camera, coat; always plural]
Estate in the singular can mean a big area of private land and the buildings on it, or all of
someone's wealth upon death.
She owns a huge estate in Scotland. [land, etc.]
After his death, his estate was calculated at £3 million. [all his wealth]
Property (uncountable) is used in a general sense for houses, land, etc.
He's only fourteen; he's too young to own property.
A property (countable) is a building, e.g. house, office-block.
She's just bought a very nice property near the town-centre.

Words for people connected with ownership

The proprietor of this restaurant is a friend of mine. [used for shops, businesses etc. The
owner would be less formal]
The landlord/lady's put the rent up. [owner of rented property]
Do you own this house? No we're just tenants. [we rent it]

Giving

The river provides the village with water / provides water for the village. (or supplies)
Would you like to contribute / donate something to the children's hospital fund?
Jakes Ltd. supplies our school with paper and other items. [often for 'selling' contexts]
It gives me pleasure to present you with this clock from us all.
The school restaurant caters for 500 people every day.
That uncle of mine that died left £3,000 to a dogs' home.
When she died she donated all her books to the library. [for large gifts to institutions]
You've been allocated room 24. Here's your key.

Lending, etc.
We've decided to hire/rent a car. Can you recommend a good car-hire/car-rental firm?
-
[rent and hire are both commonly used]
We'd like to rent a flat in Oxford for six months. [not hire]
We've hired the lecture-room for a day. [not rent; short, temporary arrangements]

Remember: when you lend, you give, when you borrow, you receive.
That step-ladder you lent me last week, could I borrow it again?
I'm trying to get a loan from the bank to buy a boat.

124 English Vocabulary in Use