1 Talking about your Work A: What do you do?

? To ask about someones job, you can ask one of the following questions: What do you do? What do you do for a living? Where do you work? Note the prepositions in these answers. I work in the pharmaceutical industry. I work for Toyota. I work with disabled children. At the moment, Im working on a design project. I work in /at a bank.

Here are some other useful verbs and phrases for talking about your job. I run / manage the accounts department. I deal with enquiries from customers. Im in charge of / Im responsible for quality control. I supervise / oversee the workers on the factory floor. I lead / Im in charge of a small team. B: Collocations with work. The is never used before work. The following verb/preposition combinations are often used before the noun work. I leave for work / go to work at seven every morning. I start work at half past seven. I usually go / get to work by train. Lee is out of work at the moment. Hes looking for work. Its difficult to find work in this town. Hannah wants to go back to work when her baby is six months old. I finish work at half past four. John is off work. Hes got a really bad cold. Please stop chatting and get on with your work.

C: Hours of work When you start a new job, you will need to find out the hours of work. Some jobs require you to do shift work. That means that sometimes you will have to work evenings or work nights. People working in retail often have to work weekends. Many lawyers and businesspeople dont have fixed/ regular hours. They often have to work long hours / work late. Some of them even work around the clock. They have to work 24 / 7 to please their bosses. (Working 24 / 7 means working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

Exercises 1.1 a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. 1.2 a. Write a preposition in each space. Would you like to work _____ animals? Which company do you work _____? Do you work _____ marketing? What are your hours _____ work? What are you working _____at the moment? How many people are you in charge _____? How do you get _____ work? How long has your husband been _____ of work? Correct the phrases in italics. I work on a language school in Oxford. I responsible for keeping the computers in operation. I usually go work by car. I sometimes have to work lately, but I rarely have to work weekend. I work with a science company. At the moment Im working in a machine to detect bird flu. I start the work at eight oclock and finish at five. I work fix hours. Im out work. Ive been looking work for about three months, but I cant find anything. The only work available is shift works in factories, but I dont want to work in evenings. I work on a supermarket. I lead the customer service desk. My job is to deal of customers problems. I supervise to a small team of workers. I just work morning. Im off the work at the moment, because Ive been really ill. In my last job, I worked 7 / 24, and it was really stressful. Its quite boring at home, and Id like to go back work, but my doctor says I should stay at home for at least another month. I work on a school. Im not a class teacher. I work for the children who have learning difficulties and find it difficult to get out with their work. Rewrite the sentences using the word in brackets.

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1.3

a. Michaela isnt working at the moment. (off) __________________________________________________________________________________ b. David works 24 / 7. (clock) __________________________________________________________________________________ c. I lead a large team of research scientists. (charge) __________________________________________________________________________________ d. Many mothers return to work after having children. (back) __________________________________________________________________________________ e. My wife goes to work at half past six in the morning. (leaves) __________________________________________________________________________________

Answers 1.1 a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. 1.2 a. Write a preposition in each space. with for in of on of to out Correct the phrases in italics. I work in a language school in Oxford. I m responsible for keeping the computers in operation. I usually go to work by car. I sometimes have to work late, but I rarely have to work weekends. I work in / for a science company. At the moment Im working on a machine to detect bird flu. I start work at eight oclock and finish at five. I work fixed hours. Im out of work. Ive been looking for work for about three months, but I cant find anything. The only work available is shift work in factories, but I dont want to work evenings. I work in / at a supermarket. I run / manage the customer service desk. My job is to deal with customers problems. I supervise a small team of workers. I just work mornings. Im off work at the moment, because Ive been really ill. In my last job, I worked 24 / 7, and it was really stressful. Its quite boring at home, and Id like to go back to work, but my doctor says I should stay at home for at least another month. I work in / at a school. Im not a class teacher. I work with the children who have learning difficulties and find it difficult to get on with their work. Rewrite the sentences using the word in brackets. Michaela is off work at the moment. David works round the clock. Im in charge of a large team of research scientists. Many mothers go back to work after having children. My wife leaves for work at half past six in the morning.

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1.3 a. b. c. d. e.