nota: 'A' precedeix els sons consonàntics i 'an' precedeix els sons vocàlics. Sempre cal fixar-se en els sons inicials d'una paraula i no les lletres escrites (p.e., 'a university' i 'a unit', però 'an umbrella' i 'an underpass'; 'a horse' però 'an honorary member').

nota: (Haliotis tuberculata).

Developers are abandoning C++ in favour of Java
The young mother was charged with abandoning her baby
Australia is threatening to abandon the trade talks
Abandoning pets is both cruel and illegal

Even if you find a great paediatrician, you cannot abdicate responsibility for your childrens' health.
Edward VIII became the first English monarch to abdicate the throne voluntarily.

If Queen Elizabeth abdicates then Prince Charles will become King.

Peter swore blind that he was abducted by aliens.

The government has claimed that Syria is abetting the insurgency in Iraq.

He was a medical student though, inevitably, his studies were in abeyance during the war.

He abhors discrimination and greed.

I can't abide stupidity
My father simply can't abide coffee. Even the smell of it makes him feel nauseous.

nota: Quan significa 'tolerar', el verb 'abide' s'utilitza gairebé sempre en sentit negatiu (és a dir 'I / he / she can't abide').

While you are living in my house you will abide by my rules, is that clear?

70% of people in rural areas of the developing world live in abject poverty
All international efforts to end the slaughter in the Middle East have ended in abject failure

nota: Amb el sentit de 'llastimós' o 'profund', aquest adjectiu es refereix a coses negatives (per exemple: 'abject poverty', 'abject failure').

French politicians would like an abject apology from Donald Rumsfield for his comments regarding 'old Europe'
Bill Clinton offered an abject apology for the Monica Lewinsky scandal

Able-bodied and disabled athletes compete side by side in the London Marathon.
Able-bodied drivers who park in spaces reserved for the disabled should be heavily fined.

A lot of Europeans think that the United States should abolish the death penalty
Most students would like to see tuition fees abolished
The Russian government is planning to abolish export taxes on silver

The shuttle launch was aborted due to a short circuit in the main engine
If the timeout interval expires before the connection is established the connection attempt will be aborted
The weather deteriorated badly and the expedition had to be aborted
They aborted their attempts to reach the summit of Mount Everest when the weather took a turn for the worse.

The mental anguish suffered by women who abort their babies is well documented.
If you encounter an error, you may wish to abort the program.

nota: En anglès, l'expressió 'to have an abortion' és més freqüent que el verb 'to abort', almenys en el parlar quotidià.

The program aborts if a function throws an exception that is not listed.

She had an abortion because she didn't think she could cope with a baby

Executive aspirations abound among women professionals.

Is John about? I need to speak to him.

nota: Aquesta paraula també s'escriu 'abridgment'.

nota: Aquesta paraula també s'escriu 'abridgement'.

nota: Abreviatura de 'abdominal muscles'.

I seem to have become very absent minded recently. I can never remember what I'm supposed to be doing when.
My husband is very absent minded. He is forever forgetting where he put his car keys.

He absent-mindedly kicked the leaves out of the way as he strolled down the street.

Do you think we should go for a drink? Absolutely!

nota: L'adverbi 'absolutely' es pot utilitzar per mostrar-se molt d'acord amb una cosa.

The man was absolved of murder as his wife reappeared.

Three councillors voted 'no', four voted 'yes' and two abstained.

The coyote pups are born in the spring when food is abundant.

The new system helps the job seeker to accelerate the process of finding a job.

When the officer tried to stop the vehicle, the suspects accelerated and sped off.

Do you accept credit cards?
Manchester United have accepted Real Madrid's offer of £25 million for David Beckham
She challenged me to a rematch and I accepted
You must accept our terms and conditions before you proceed.
When they told me that I had breast cancer it was a really big shock. I couldn't accept it.
Why can't people just accept me for who I am?

If money is tight and you can't afford a whole new outfit, you could always just accessorise an existing one with a new scarf, belt or handbag.

If money is tight and you can't afford a whole new outfit, you could always just accessorize an existing one with a new scarf, belt or handbag.

A lot of student accommodation in the UK is very expensive but also very basic.
The Irish Tourist Board can offer visitors a wide range of accommodation, from 5 star hotels to bed and breakfasts and youth hostels.
Public sector workers such as nurses, teachers and firemen are having difficulties finding affordable accommodation in the centre of London.

nota: En l'anglès britànic la paraula 'accommodation' s'utilitza en singular i pot significar o bé allotjaments per a viatgers o turistes (una cambra d'hotel o una pensió) o bé allotjaments més permanents (un pis o una casa).

Click here for information on accommodations - hotels, motels and condos - in the New York Metropolitan area.
Our company offers luxury accommodations at the Grand Geneva Resort.

nota: En l'anglès americà la paraula 'accommodation' s'utilitza en plural per a significar allotjaments per a viatgers o turistes (per exemple, una cambra d'hotel, una pensió etc).

His career has accorded him a wealth of honours.
The prime minister accorded him a hearty welcome.

My mother has accumulated a lot of junk over the years.

It's amazing how many junk emails have accumulated in my mail box over time.

Many people wonder if it isn't impossible to achieve peace in the Middle East now
What on earth do the voters in California hope to achieve by calling another election?
Your donation could help thousands of disadvantaged children to achieve their true potential.
Our scholarships help students to achieve their dreams
He planned to run his own business by the time he was 18 and in 1989 he achieved that goal
Surgeons have managed to achieve a 79% success rate in bone marrow transplants

The president acknowledged that he had misled family and staff regarding his relationship with Lewinsky.

Lionel Messi is widely acknowledged as being one of the best football players in the world.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following people in making this project a success.

I was talking to somebody else when she came into the room so I could only acknowledge her. I went over to talk to her properly later.

nota: Aquesta paraula també s'escriu 'acknowledgment(s)' en anglès americà.

Simon Swanson acted the role of Macduff in Macbeth.

I'll try to upload some photos soon but my camera is out of action at the moment so it might be a couple of weeks before I manage it.

Jones is to undergo shoulder reconstruction surgery that will keep him out of action for the rest of the season.

Will the African Union ever take action against Zimbabwe's Mugabe?

nota: Avui dia, les actrius prefereixen el terme 'actor' i no pas 'actress'. El terme 'actor' referent a una actriu és molt més usual avui dia en el món anglosaxó. Exemple: Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie are all famous actors.

Would you Adam and Eve it!

nota: Believe > Adam and Eve.

They adapted the book for the big screen.

It's amazing how quickly kids adapt.

nota: Aquesta paraula també s'escriu 'adaptor'.

nota: Aquesta paraula també s'escriu 'adapter'.

If you want to add your website to our webring, please follow the instructions below
I would like to add that I was not the only one to suggest this
If you add two and two together you should end up with four!

His addled brain often makes fantastic leaps of logic.

nota: Amb el significat 'podrit' aquest adjectiu s'usa només per a referir-se als ous (addled eggs).

He admitted that it was his idea to blow up the embassy
We all knew that he was guilty, the real question was whether or not he would admit it

nota: Es pot dir 'to admit to (something)' o bé 'to admit (something)' (per exemple: 'He admitted to killing Josie' o 'He admitted killing Josie').

Can a nightclub refuse to admit someone if they have had far too much to drink already?
Pubs will be fined heavily for admitting underage drinkers

Peter was admitted to hospital overnight complaining of pains in his chest
Janet was admitted to hospital with pneumonia
The doctors took a number of x-rays and scans and then admitted her

Joshua and Sarah chose to adopt a baby rather than start IVF treatment.
Chris adopted a dog from his local animal shelter.

The European Union and the United States are expected to adopt a common position on the need to ban nuclear weapons.

At a meeting in Kinross, Roseanna was adopted as the candidate for Perthshire South and Kinross by local party members.

We offer support groups for families thinking of adopting.

nota: Es pot dir 'adopted son/daughter' o 'adoptive son/daughter' en anglès amb el significat 'fill/a adoptiu/va'. El primer és més habitual que el segon.

The FDA seized a shipment of adulterated animal feed.

Manufacturers are advancing automation as a solution that will result in fewer jobs

Liberian rebel troops continued to advance on Monrovia this morning.
The team advanced to the semi-finals with a 3-0 win over Newcastle.
Jonathan advanced to the post of Vice President in just 4 years.

Advertise your property for free on our web site!

The company advertised in this week's Observer.

nota: Advice = consells; a piece of advice = un consell.

nota: 'Advil' (i 'Motrin') són noms comercials.

I would advise you to keep your mouth shut.

nota: Aquesta paraula també s'escriu 'advisor'.

nota: Aquesta paraula també s'escriu 'adviser'.

The car cost more than $100,000 but he can easily afford it.

Since peace was restored in 2001, many have returned, trying to start lives afresh.

Stop aggravating your brother!

Workersagreed to a series of pay cuts in an attempt to save their jobs

US and Europe agree to disagree on Iraq.
He tried desparately to bring me round to his way of thinking, but in the end we agreed to disagree.

Do you agree with smacking children?

In general I agree with you, but I have one or two further questions

Hot weather agrees with me more than cold weather.

The Kenyan was ahead of the Ethiopian with just 200 metres to go.
Why don't you go ahead and we'll catch up with you in a little bit?

We need to air this room out before the guests arrive.

nota: Avui dia l'expressió 'air hostess' es considera una mica passada de moda. L'expressió més habitual és 'flight attendant' (singular) o 'cabin crew' (plural). "Will members of cabin crew please take their seats as we are beginning our final descent into Heathrow").

nota: Avui dia l'expressió 'air steward' es considera una mica passada de moda. L'expressió més habitual és 'flight attendant' (singular) o 'cabin crew' (plural). "Will members of cabin crew please take their seats as we are beginning our final descent into Heathrow").

nota: Avui dia l'expressió 'air stewardess' es considera una mica passada de moda. L'expressió més habitual és 'flight attendant' (singular) o 'cabin crew' (plural). "Will members of cabin crew please take their seats as we are beginning our final descent into Heathrow").

The teacher popped out of the classroom for five minutes but he left the door ajar so that he could hear if his pupils misbehaved.
Having the window ajar allows steam to escape and fresh air to come in even when it's raining.

nota: Encara que, segons molts diccionaris anglesos, l'adjectiu 'ajar' no s'hauria de posar davant d'un nom ('ajar doors' / 'an ajar window'), l'evidència ens mostra que, de fet, alguns parlants nadius sí que el col·loquen així. Però, cal tenir en compte que, per a molts parlants nadius (potser la majoria), aquesta posició prenominal és 'una mica estranya' o, fins i tot, 'incorrecta'.

nota: 'AKA' s'utilitza molt sovint fora d'Internet, fins i tot en la llengua parlada.

The evidence vault is alarmed and has highly restricted access.

Peace is returning to the war-torn country, albeit slowly
The hotel is a good one, albeit part of a chain.
Many companies are already offering DSL, albeit in a limited fashion.

nota: 'Albeit' és una conjunció formal i bastant literària.

nota: Les 'ale' són cerveses d'alta fermentació. Això vol dir que la fermentació es produeix a la superfície del líquid mentre que les lager són cerveses de baixa fermentació i la seva fermentació es produeix al fons del dipòsit.

Was the government alerted to the September 11th attack before the event?
Mr Smith saw smoke coming from the house next door and went to alert his neighbour

He's doing 3 A-levels: maths, chemistry and physics

nota: Els 'A-levels' són uns exàmens que fan els alumnes anglesos (però no els escocesos), tradicionalment a l'edat de 18 anys, després d'un curs de 2 anys. Normalment, els alumnes estudien 3 o 4 assignatures.

nota: 'A-life' és una abreviació de 'artificial life'.

nota: Aquesta paraula també s'escriu 'alky'.

nota: Aquesta paraula també s'escriu 'alkie'.