Basic English words

My son's teacher says that his work is often rather careless. He made a careless remark about her appearance that really upset her. I tackled him about his careless work and frequent absences. He's very careless with his money.

He's usually fairly cheerful. You're in a cheerful mood this morning. She manages to stay cheerful despite everything. She's not her customary cheerful self today. She tends to adopt a falsely cheerful tone when she's upset about something.

I'm determined to get this piece of work done today. She's determined to make a success of this project. He was determined to find out the truth. Several publishers rejected her book, but that just made her all the more determined.

It's not fair on Joe (= it is not right) to make him do all the work! It's not fair that she's allowed to go and I'm not! She's scrupulously fair with all her employees (she treats them all equally). I'm willing to do my fair (= equal) share of the work.

Her friends take advantage of (= benefit unfairly from) her generosity.

We glimpsed the ruined abbey from the windows of the train. This biography offers a few glimpses of his life before he became famous.

I only caught a fleeting glimpse of the driver of the getaway car, but I know I would recognize her if I saw her again. He caught a glimpse of her face.

He's very gentle with his kids. You can actually accomplish a lot more by gentle persuasion. A bit of gentle coaxing is all that's required and he'll come, I'm sure.

You seemed a bit hesitant about recommending that restaurant - is something wrong with it? She gave me a hesitant smile.

I wonder what it was about her upbringing that made her so insecure. He still feels insecure about his ability to do the job.

Christmas is such a joyful time of year. I don't have very much to feel joyful about/over at the moment.

He's a very likeable sort of bloke.

It's hard work teaching a class of lively children. They take a lively interest in their grandchildren. There was some lively discussion at the meeting. These debates have made a successful series, mostly because of well-chosen speakers and lively topics.

Do you feel/get nervous during exams? I was too nervous to speak. She's always been nervous around dogs. I was very nervous about driving again after the accident. He had/was of a nervous disposition.

He's very passive in the relationship. Traditionally in many professions women have been confined to more passive roles.

There have been persistent rumours that the principal might take early retirement. Be persistent - don't give up. He has been a persistent critic of the president. She is a persistent offender and has been arrested five times this year for shoplifting.

She’s one of the most self-confident young women I’ve ever met. At school he was popular and self-confident, and we weren't surprised at his later success.

I had a headache and I wasn't feeling very sociable. I'm going to make an effort to be a bit more sociable. I shall be a bit more sociable when my exams are over. The sociable behaviour of lions is considered atypical of the cat family.

If a man was unfaithful to me I'd leave him no matter what the circumstances.

The company's shares are now virtually worthless. He said the jewels were worthless fakes. She was criticized so much by her employers that she began to feel worthless.