Noun | Verb Forms | Example |
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Progress | Progress - Progressed - Progressing Noun: a progress report | Do you think you could progress any further today? Things have progressed nicely. We should be finished soon. How are you progressing with your work?
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Project Projection | Project - Projected - Projecting | Things are definitely looking up. We project a sharp rise in sales over the next six months. The Marketing Department projected an 80% increase in website traffic. Newspapers are projecting a fall in revenue for the corporation.
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Action | Action - Actioned - Actioning | We need to action this new ruling immediately We have actioned the decisions made at last week’s meeting. It is time we started actioning these plans. We made them a month ago!
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Engineer | Engineer - Engineered - Engineering | If we change our approach, we can engineer an entirely different outcome. The whole plot was engineered very well. He was accused of engineering the entire criminal enterprise.
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Tender | Tender - Tendered - Tendering | If you want to secure the contract, you’ll need to tender your proposal before the end of the month. The failure of the project was my fault, so I felt I had no choice but to tender my resignation. We had been looking to take over that company for a while, so as soon as we secured the necessary finance, we tendered an offer for it. There was a delay in tendering my resignation, because the system was down and my email didn’t send!
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Pepper | Pepper - Peppered - Peppering Expression: a salt and pepper beard - a beard with black and white through it | Please don’t pepper my steak. I don’t like peppered food. The Editor found lots of errors peppered throughout the document. They fired their automatic rifles at the building, peppering the walls with bullets.
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Switch | Switch - Switched - Switching | Switch the computers off when you’re finished. We were spending too much in Shop A, so we switched to Shop B. Now we’re saving so much money! I’m switching electricity suppliers next month. This one is far too expensive!
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Sleep | Sleep - Slept - Sleeping Noun: a sleepover - staying the night in a (friend’s) house | I sleep better when it’s raining. I love the sound of it against the windows. We slept outside under the stars. It was very romantic. He got fired for sleeping at his desk. He was the least productive employee of all.
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Train | Train - Trained - Training | I train regularly to ensure I stay fit and healthy. She trained under the best people in the country, so she was the best person for the job. They started training their staff as soon as the new software was installed.
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Stop | Stop - Stopped - Stopping | Every time I drive to my parents' house, I stop at the Motorway Services to pick up some doughnuts. After months of rejection, he stopped asking the girl out for dinner. He was wasting his time. I’m stopping (i.e. cancelling) my subscription to the TV service at the end of the month. I’m not happy with it.
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Drink | Drink - Drank - Drinking | I drink coffee every morning. It helps me wake up. They drank so much wine at the wedding that the hotel ran out. The bill was enormous! He was tired of drinking every weekend. His health was deteriorating rapidly.
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Lure | Lure - Lured - Luring | The killer was said to lure his victims into his car. She lured him to the party, but made a fool of him when he arrived. The woman accused the man of luring her into his house.
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Mutter | Mutter - Muttered - Muttering | I always mutter to myself when I’m nervous. I think it helps me stay calm. “When I’m in charge, I’ll show them what I can do,” he muttered. When the teacher shouted at my daughter, she started muttering under her breath.
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Dress | Dress - Dressed - Dressing Phrasal Verb: Dress(ing) up Noun: A dressing down - a severe reprimand | Dress nicely if you’re going for that interview. The clothes make the man, they say. Dressed in a pinstripe suit and wearing a gold watch, he looked like a bit of a gangster! I don’t care what you’re dressing yourself in. Just hurry up and get ready!
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Divorce | Divorce - Divorced - Divorcing | I’ve decided to divorce myself from these proceedings. My services are no longer required. His parents divorced when he was very young, but he still gets on well with both of them. Nowadays, children talk about divorcing their parents. It’s ridiculous!
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Fool | Fool - Fooled - Fooling | I think we could fool our boss by pretending we got that work done. The blacked-out windows fooled me enough so that I slept late into the morning. You’re not fooling anyone with your bravado. We know you’re afraid.
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Contract | Contract - Contracted - Contracting Contract - Contracted - Contracting *Note that the emphasis on the syllable can vary, depending on accent. Pronunciation is optional. Noun: a contract killing | I can’t take on any more work. I’m contracted to another company for the next six months. My mother contracted malaria on her vacation, but she recovered. If you don’t wear a mask, you risk contracting COVID-19.
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