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Hello and welcome to AWL Important Words, the podcast that helps learners of English
master the Academic Word List. This is Bek ...
… and Jim. And we’ve got another important word for you today. Bek, what’s our word?
It’s appropriate: A-P-P-R-O-P-R-I-A-T-E. What do you know about this word Jim?
Well, the pronunciation is appropriate; /??pro?pri?t/; And this word can be both an adjective and
a verb. But today we’re only going to focus on the adjective form because in the Academic
Word List, APPROPRIATE is listed as an adjective. Do you know the definition of APPROPRIATE,
Bek?
I think something that is APPROPRIATE is suitable or acceptable for a particular situation.
You’re right. If something is APPROPRIATE, it’s correct or suitable for a particular
time, situation, or purpose.
How about if I give you example sentences. Do not hesitate to correct me if I’m wrong?
Go ahead.
This isn’t the appropriate time to discuss this problem. Is it right?
Yes, I think you mean to say that it’s not a good or suitable time to talk about this
problem, whatever the problem might be.
Yes. here is another example sentence almost similar to the previous example sentence.
Now that the problem has been identified, appropriate action can be taken. What do you
think of this sentence?
I think you wanted to say that now that people know what the problem is, they can take the
right sort of action to deal with it, right?
Yes, that’s what I wanted to say. Jim, could you please give us some more examples using
the word APPROPRIATE?
OK, here are a few more. - Jeans are not appropriate for a formal party.
- These clothes are not appropriate for a job interview.
- Is this movie appropriate for small children?
Did you notice, Bek, that in these examples, APPROPRIATE is used with the preposition FOR.
… appropriate for a formal party., appropriate for a job interview., OR appropriate for small
children.
So, what do you think? Are the sessions of the AWL Important Word Podcast appropriate
for children?
Absolutely. I’d say this podcast is appropriate for people aged 7 to 70. But I may be biased.
Well said, my friend! I just want to add one more example to your
example sentences. - In Uzbekistan, it is not appropriate to
ask challenging questions from your professors.
Oh, really? Why is that? In the U.S., professors like challenging questions from students.
I know! That was a big difference I discovered when I came to the U.S. to study. I guess
it's just our university culture.
Interesting. OK. So now how about some common collocations, or words that often go together
with APPROPRIATE. We often talk about: an appropriate response
an appropriate measure an appropriate method
an appropriate time an appropriate action
and appropriate clothing
Thanks! In my opinion knowing these combinations do help.
And for good measure, here are a few more example sentences:
- It’s now an appropriate time to make a speech.
- The manager should take appropriate action if the company has problems.
- The teacher’s role is to set appropriate tasks, and to provide feedback.
- The book was written in a style appropriate to the age of the children.
- I didn't think his comments were very appropriate at the time.
Thanks, Jim. These example sentence do indeed help. So, AWL Important Word lovers, today’s
word was APPROPRIATE. For more information about the word appropriate and its other forms
such as verb or an adverb, please find them in the learner dictionaries. You can find
the list of the learner dictionaries from our website: AWL Important Words.COM
And don’t forget to that you can download the transcript for this episode and previous
episodes as well. If you have any questions, or want to suggest an AWL word for us to cover
in an upcoming show, email us at awlimportantwords@gmail.com. We’d be happy to hear from you.
Yes, we would be indeed happy. And for now, bye!
Bye!