For A1-A2 Levels

Please, review the vocabulary related to the topic. It will help you feel more confident when role-playing and – if you find any words that are entirely new to you, make sure you write them down and use them in the Conversation Club meeting.

Part 1: Destruction!

• What (if anything) burns you up when you drive? How about your partner? Do they get burned up by the same things?
• What home remedies did your parents give you when you were burning up with fever as a child?

Phrasal Verbs

BURN DOWN = BURN UP

1. When someone uses fire to destroy a structure or when a house, building or other structure is completely destroyed as a result of fire.
The firemen burned down an old house to practice fighting fires. A lot of buildings were burned down in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

BURN UP

To use all the fuel in a machine.
Please don’t burn up all the fuel in the lawnmower cutting the front yard.

To feel hotter than usual or to have a bad fever:
“You’re burning up!” she said, touching his forehead Man, I’m burning up in this sun!

To be extremely angry.
It really burns me up when people don’t say excuse me when they bump you in passing.

Part 2: Interruptions

1. What can we say if we need to break in during a formal business meeting? And what should we say if the context is informal?
2. When was the last time you had to pull over during a long journey? Why did you need to do it?

Phrasal Verbs To Use  

BUTT IN / BREAK IN = To interrupt a conversation or activity.
It is rude to butt in when two people are having a discussion. ‘I don’t want to interfere,’ Mrs Hendry broke in”

PULL OVER = To drive your vehicle to the side of the road to stop. To be PULLED OVER refers to when you are told to stop by the police We pulled the car over to check the tires.

What would your boss do if you broke in during an important presentation? READ MORE ABOUT POLITE INTERRUPTIONS

Vocabulary To Use:

Each phrasal verb is marked S for separable or I for inseparable Notice that most of the phrasal verbs are separable and used in informal situations. LEARN MORE HERE

• to lay out – S – spend a sum of money.”look at the money I had to lay out for your uniform”

• to splash out – I – spend money freely. “if you’re really ready to splash out, book into one of the six private penthouse suites”

• to fork out – S – pay money for something, especially reluctantly.”my car had been towed away and I had to fork out 70 quid