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Lesson 34 / Nature
5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.
Observe the trees, wind and small changes in the garden.
Match words to pictures →Play What is She/He doing? →
A randomly assigned, fixed male or female synthetic voice for each phrase or sentence · Slow playback at 0.7× preserves pitch.
We dug up the potatoes together.
We dug up the potatoes together.
Dad helped me dig the old roots up.
Dad helped me dig the old roots up.
The meaning in the lesson is to dig the ground to bring things up. The past tense of “dig” is “dug”.
We need to pull up the weeds near the flowers.
We need to pull up the weeds near the flowers.
I pulled the little weed up with its roots.
I pulled the little weed up with its roots.
In the lesson, it means pulling up the tree; different from a stopped vehicle in a different sense of “pull up”.
Cambridge Dictionary · pull up
The small puddle dried up in the sunshine.
The small puddle dried up in the sunshine.
The pond may dry up if there is no rain.
The pond may dry up if there is no rain.
Emphasize that the water is gone; don't have to wipe an object with a towel.
The wind blew my hat away.
The wind blew my hat away.
Hold the paper so it does not blow away.
Hold the paper so it does not blow away.
The meaning here is that the wind makes things move. The past tense of “blow” is “blew”.
Spread out the cloth on the grass.
Spread out the cloth on the grass.
We spread the map out on the bench.
We spread the map out on the bench.
In the lesson, it means to open and spread out an object to make it wide or flat. The past is still “spread”.
The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 36, 100, 38, 12, 120. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.
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Sentences using suggestions are counted as needing more practice. Review schedule based on each phrase's meaning.
OBSERVE · UNDERSTAND · MATCH
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Read the picture descriptions for more context. Similar expressions are accepted when they fit the particular scene.
Hạ and Minh used a small shovel to dig up the potato.
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Hạ pulled up a small plant in the garden.
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Hạ observed a small puddle of water that had dried after a sunny day.
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Hạ's hat was blown away by the wind on the grass.
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Hạ spread a cloth on the grass to place her toys.
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Choose a phrase to begin.
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Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.
We need to dig up these old roots.
We need to dig up these old roots.
I can pull up the small weeds first.
I can pull up the small weeds first.
Then spread out the plants so they have room to grow.
Then spread out the plants so they have room to grow.
“Dig up” often involves removing something by digging; “pull up” stresses pulling a plant or object out. The method distinguishes the garden actions.
Try answering before revealing the suggested answer. This practice is not scored.
The answers below are models. Other answers can also work if they preserve the facts, meaning and structure requested in the task.
A gardener finds buried stones and small weeds. A spade is needed for the stones, but the weeds pull out easily.
Describe removing the buried stones.
Dig up the stones with a spade.
The buried stones require a spade, so “dig up” fits rather than pulling weeds by hand.
Correct: Pull up them before planting the seeds.
Pull them up before planting the seeds.
“Them” replaces the weeds, so use “pull them up”; keep the instruction to do this before sowing.
Give a spacing instruction for the new plants.
Spread out the plants so each one has room.
“Spread out” places the plants apart so each has space, rather than clustering them together.
The usage comparisons are checked against the Cambridge Dictionary entries linked beside the compared expressions. The additional conversations and exercises are written for this course.
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