ABBREVIATIONS ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE

 

ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE UNIT 100 ABBREVIATIONS

 

A Letters or words? Most abbreviations are spoken as individual letters. EU: European Union UN: United Nations PM: Prime Minister MP: Member of Parliament BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation ID: identification, e.g. Do you have an ID card? PC: personal computer CV: curriculum vitae [a history of your job experience] ISP: Internet Service Provider Occasionally abbreviations are spoken as words, e.g. AIDS /eɪdz/ and PIN /pɪn/ [personal identification number, especially used with a bank/credit card] Language help   We use the verb stand for to ask about the meaning of an abbreviation. A: What does EU stand for? B: European Union. B Written forms only Some abbreviations are written forms only, but pronounced as full words. Mr Scott (mister Scott)                       St Mark’s Church (Saint Mark’s Church) Mrs Bryant (misses Bryant)                Dean St (Dean Street) Dr Chapman (doctor Chapman) C Abbreviations as part of the language Some abbreviations (from Latin) are used as part of the language. D Shortened words Some common English words can be shortened, especially in spoken English. In some cases, the shorter form is more common and the full form sounds quite formal, e.g. refrigerator, influenza, gymnasium and veterinary surgeon. phone (telephone)                 fridge (refrigerator) maths (mathematics)            exam (examination) board (whiteboard/smartboard/blackboard)        plane (aeroplane) case (suitcase)                        photo (photograph) ad/advert (advertisement)     flu (influenza) [illness like a cold but more serious] gym (gymnasium)                  lab (laboratory) [special room where scientists work] bike (bicycle)                          sales rep (sales representative; syn salesperson) TV/telly (television)               vet (veterinary surgeon) pUaper (newspaper) EXERCISES 100.1 Are these sentences correct or incorrect? If a sentence is incorrect, change it to make it correct. 1 ISP stands for Internet Service Player. Incorrect. _____ It’s Internet Service Provider._____________ 2 BBC stands for British Broadcasting Company. ______________________________________ 3 MP stands for Minister of Parliament. ______________________________________ 4 PC stands for personal computer. ______________________________________ 5 UN stands for Unified Nations. ______________________________________ 6 ID stands for identification. ______________________________________ 7 CV stands for curricular vitae. ______________________________________ 100.2 What abbreviations in written English are often used for these words or phrases? 1 Mister ______ Mr ________________ 2 for example _______________________ 3 and so on  _______________________ 4 Street _______________________ 5 in other words _______________________ 6 Saint _______________________ 7 Doctor _______________________ 100.3 Rewrite this note, making it more informal by using short forms where possible. 100.4 Complete the sentences with suitable words, shortened words or abbreviations. 1 It was a warm day, so I put the milk and butter in the _______ fridge _______. 2 He didn’t want to walk, so he went on his __________________. 3 If you go to Mediterranean islands, __________________Sardinia or Corsica, it’s a good idea to hire a car. 4 If you want to apply for the job, you’ll need to send your  __________________with a letter of application. 5 The dog was sick, so we had to take her to the  __________________. 6 In that shop on the corner you can get books, pens, writing paper, __________________. 7 I took my large bag with me on the plane, but I didn’t have a  __________________. 8 When I sold my CDs, I put an  __________________in the paper and had three replies the same day. 9 If you use the cashpoint, remember you’ll need your  __________________ number. 10 What does MP __________________for? 11 We did some experiments in the chemistry __________________. 12 My uncle is a sales __________________. 100.5 Here are some more abbreviations. What does each one stand for, and where will you see them? PTO ____________________________ IMO ____________________________ RSVP ____________________________ DOB ____________________________ asap ____________________________ PS ____________________________

ANSWER KEY