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Lesson 08 / Plan
5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.
Arrange appointments, consider options, and change plans as needed.
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.
Let us set up a meeting for Friday.
Let us set up a meeting for Friday.
Can you set up a call with the whole team?
Can you set up a call with the whole team?
The meaning in the lesson is to arrange for a meeting to take place. The phrase also has other meanings.
We will put off the picnic until Sunday.
We will put off the picnic until Sunday.
Do not put it off again. We need to decide today.
Do not put it off again. We need to decide today.
To postpone is to still intend to do it at another time; different from "call off" which is cancel.
Cambridge Dictionary · put off
They called off the football match because of the storm.
They called off the football match because of the storm.
The trip is too expensive. We should call it off.
The trip is too expensive. We should call it off.
“Call off” is to cancel an event or plan; not just rescheduling.
Cambridge Dictionary · call off
I need to think over your suggestion before I answer.
I need to think over your suggestion before I answer.
That sounds interesting. Let me think it over.
That sounds interesting. Let me think it over.
Used when you want to consider carefully before deciding. The past tense of “think” is “thought”.
We need to work out the total cost of the trip.
We need to work out the total cost of the trip.
I cannot work out how to get there by bus.
I cannot work out how to get there by bus.
Here it means calculating or finding a solution, not in the sense of exercising.
The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 115, 102, 19, 131, 140. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.
One step forward every day
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Sentences using suggestions are counted as needing more practice. Review schedule based on each phrase's meaning.
OBSERVE · UNDERSTAND · MATCH
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.
Two friends choose a date for a meeting.
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It's raining; Hạ moved her picnic plans to a sunny day.
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The rain was very heavy; The two friends packed a picnic basket and canceled the outing.
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Hạ ponders between two options for a weekend getaway: the beach and the mountains.
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Two friends use a calculator and coins to calculate the cost of the trip.
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Choose a phrase to begin.
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Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.
The forecast is bad. Shall we put off the picnic?
The forecast is bad. Shall we put off the picnic?
Yes, until next Sunday. I do not want to call it off completely.
Yes, until next Sunday. I do not want to call it off completely.
I will think over the travel plan and message everyone.
I will think over the travel plan and message everyone.
“Put off” postpones a plan; “call off” cancels it. If you postpone, give the new time when you know it.
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.
Monday’s theatre rehearsal has been moved to Tuesday. An outdoor concert has been cancelled with no replacement date.
Describe the rehearsal change.
The rehearsal has been put off until Tuesday.
The rehearsal still happens on Tuesday, so “put off until Tuesday” describes postponement rather than cancellation.
Correct: They called off it yesterday.
They called it off yesterday.
“It” replaces the event and goes between “called” and “off”; “yesterday” still dates the cancellation.
Write the concert announcement clearly.
We have called off the outdoor concert; it will not take place.
“Called off” and “will not take place” both confirm cancellation without promising a replacement date.
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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