EducationEnglish.Phrasal verbsCOMMUNICATION · A2–B1

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Lesson 122 / Wrapping up work

Closing time at the workshop.

5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.

Clear up a misunderstanding, hide a gift, handle leftovers and finish work.

After this lesson, you can

  • Use this lesson’s expressions to talk about the situation introduced above.
  • Distinguish “straighten out” and “left over” in context.
  • Use “hide away” in a sentence connected to your own situation.
Practice and check your answers →

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.

Phrase 1 / 5Understand context
Minh and a customer compare the order with the cards and resolve a flower-versus-star mix-up.
Minh and a customer compare the order with the cards and resolve a flower-versus-star mix-up.

straighten out

He straightened out the misunderstanding about the order.

Read the example again

He straightened out the misunderstanding about the order.

We can straighten this problem out together.

Read the example again

We can straighten this problem out together.

View meaning & usage

Resolve a misunderstanding

straighten out somethingstraighten something out

Here it means resolving a problem, not physically straightening an object. With a pronoun: “straighten it out”.

Cambridge Dictionary · straighten out

Haven't studied yet
Minh hides a wrapped gift behind folded fabric in a cupboard.
Minh hides a wrapped gift behind folded fabric in a cupboard.

hide away

He hid the gift away before his friend arrived.

Read the example again

He hid the gift away before his friend arrived.

We hid the box away in a cupboard.

Read the example again

We hid the box away in a cupboard.

View meaning & usage

Hide something out of sight

hide something awayhide awayhide it away

It can describe a person hiding or an object concealed. Here it is a hidden gift; the past is “hid”.

Haven't studied yet
Minh points to unused paper remaining beside the finished cards.
Minh points to unused paper remaining beside the finished cards.

left over

There is some paper left over after the workshop.

Read the example again

There is some paper left over after the workshop.

We can use the ribbon that is left over.

Read the example again

We can use the ribbon that is left over.

View meaning & usage

Remaining after use

be left oversomething left over

This describes what remains, not leaving a place. “Leftover” can also be an adjective before a noun.

Cambridge Dictionary · left over

Haven't studied yet
Minh puts damaged paper packaging into the workshop’s paper collection bin.
Minh puts damaged paper packaging into the workshop’s paper collection bin.

dispose of

He disposed of the damaged packaging properly.

Read the example again

He disposed of the damaged packaging properly.

Please dispose of the waste in the correct bin.

Read the example again

Please dispose of the waste in the correct bin.

View meaning & usage

Get rid of unwanted material

dispose of somethingdispose of it

Fairly formal. Keep “of”: not “dispose it”. Sort waste according to local rules.

Haven't studied yet
Minh finishes work and leaves his tidy workbench at five o’clock.
Minh finishes work and leaves his tidy workbench at five o’clock.

knock off

He knocked off at five and went home.

Read the example again

He knocked off at five and went home.

What time do you usually knock off?

Read the example again

What time do you usually knock off?

View meaning & usage

Finish work for the day

knock offknock off at a time

An informal way to say finish work. This sense takes no object and does not mean knocking something over.

Haven't studied yet

The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 123, 63, 78, 36, 73. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.

OBSERVE · UNDERSTAND · MATCH

Match phrases to pictures

Drag a wire from the dot beside a phrase to the dot beside its matching picture. You can also tap a phrase, then a picture. Drag again to change a pair before checking.

Read the picture descriptions for more context. Similar expressions are accepted when they fit the particular scene.

A conversation in context

Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.

  1. Mai

    We should straighten out the mistake before we knock off.

    Read the example again

    We should straighten out the mistake before we knock off.

  2. Alex

    Agreed. Is there any paper left over for a corrected label?

    Read the example again

    Agreed. Is there any paper left over for a corrected label?

  3. Mai

    Yes. I hid a spare pack away in the cupboard.

    Read the example again

    Yes. I hid a spare pack away in the cupboard.

Compare the uses

straighten out / left over

Here “straighten out” resolves a problem or misunderstanding; “left over” describes what remains. Do not treat “left over” in these patterns as a verb meaning leave a place.

Practice and check your answers

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 situation to apply what you have learned

A workshop resolves confusion about a parcel. Some ribbon remains after all packages are finished.

  1. Describe resolving the confusion.

    Show the answer and explanation

    They straighten out the misunderstanding about the parcel.

    “Straighten out the misunderstanding” resolves confusion about the parcel rather than straightens a physical object.

  2. Complete: There is some ribbon left ___.

    Show the answer and explanation

    over

    “Ribbon left over” is material remaining after packing; “over” does not mean physically above.

  3. Suggest a sensible use for the remaining material.

    Show the answer and explanation

    We can hide the spare ribbon away for the next workshop.

    “Hide… away for the next workshop” puts the spare ribbon away for later use, rather than uses it all now.

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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