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Gateway B2 Units 12 Gateway online

Culture What is verbing?

1 READING What do you think verbing means? Read the first paragraph of the magazine article and find the answer.

2 READING Read the rest of the article and choose the best option to complete the sentences.

Language is constantly changing. New words emerge while old


words gain new meanings. So, when we need information online
and use an Internet search engine, we say: Wait a moment, Ill
just google that for you. We take a noun or a company name
(Google) and transform it into a verb (to google). This is called
verbing and we can easily do it in English.

But google isnt the only example. Today, we can skype friends
and family, just as we xeroxed (photocopied) or hoovered
(cleaned with a vacuum cleaner) in the past. Think of other
examples related to technology; we dont only send somebody
a text message, now we just text them. We bookmark websites
and friend somebody on Facebook. And if you lose interest
in them, you can just unfriend them. We write blogs but, of
course, we can also blog. But this process can also happen in
reverse, where verbs become nouns like the tweets you send
on Twitter but this is not so common.
This happens so much with technology because we need new
terms for actions that didnt exist before. But in what other
areas is verbing popular? You can skateboard, snowboard and
rollerblade so some sports verbs were also originally nouns.
In the world of work nowadays, you can say this is going to
impact (on sales) meaning it is going to have an impact.
When somebody starts something, they can say I actioned it
and if they are on holiday, they are also vacationing.
Is this useless jargon or a more efficient way to say things?
Perhaps it is both. But it is not just a recent thing. Just think
of the parts of the body which are now verbs. You can hand
somebody something or even eye somebody up. I wonder...
does verbing also occur in your language?

1 Verbing is the best example / just an example of how language is changing.


2 Turning a company name into a verb is nothing / something new.
3 To blog something means to create a new blog / to add something to a blog.
4 There is a lot of verbing in technology because these terms are new / difficult to understand.
5 Most / Some sports are both nouns and verbs in English.
6 The author gives / doesnt give a strong opinion about verbing.

This page has been downloaded from Gateway Online: www.gateway-online.net


Written by Ben Goldstein. Copyright Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011.
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Gateway B2 Units 12 Gateway online

3 WRITING Look at the sentences. Rewrite them so that the noun in italics is used as a verb.
1 I wanted to send you a text message but I didnt have any battery.

2 I decided to mention your website in my blog.

3 Can you send me that document by email, please?

4 I need to search on Google for the address.

5 We can talk via Skype any time because I have Wi-Fi in the office.


4 Speaking Work with a partner. Repeat the sentences and then make some examples of your own with other words from the
article.

over to you!

5 SpeakingWork with a partner. Can you think of any examples of verbing in your language? Why do you think verbing might
be more common in English?

6 Work with a partner. Think about your own language. Can you think of any other words that have been taken
Project
from English and reinvented?
e.g. in Spanish: to text textear,
to google googlear,
to send a tweet twitear





This page has been downloaded from Gateway Online: www.gateway-online.net


Written by Ben Goldstein. Copyright Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011.
PHOTOCOPIABLE 2/2
Gateway B2 Units 12 Gateway online
Culture What is verbing?

Teachers Notes
Key
Activity Skimming and scanning for information
Inferring meaning from context Rewriting 1 Verbing means taking a noun and using it as a verb. e.g.
sentences Comparing verbing in English and I cleaned the carpet with a hoover I hoovered the
students own language. carpet.

Language Verbs created from nouns Words 2 1 just an example


connected with technology and sport language 2 nothing
Present and past tenses. 3 to add something to a blog
4 new
To use: After Students Book unit 2 in class, as self- 5 Some
study or as a homework activity. 6 doesnt give
Preparation: Make one copy of the worksheet for 3 1 I wanted to text you but I didnt have any battery.
each student. 2 I decided to blog your website
3 Can you email me that document, please?
Procedure 4 I need to google the address.
This worksheet can be given as homework or be done 5 We can skype any time because I have Wi-Fi in the
in pairs in class. office.

1 Give a worksheet to each student. Ask them to look at 4 It is relatively easy to make this jump from noun to verb
the illustration and explain that verbing is connected in English because the infinitive does not take a separate
with the words illustrated. Elicit any ideas before the ending as is the case in many romance languages. The
students read the first paragraph. Ask the students to Spanish verb to action would be 'accionar' (the ar
read the first paragraph and check their answers. ending marks the verb).

2 Ask the students to scan the whole text carefully and 5 Students own answers
answer the questions. Students can check answers first 6 Students own answers
in pairs and then as a whole class. If they are working at
home, tell students to use a monolingual dictionary to
help with vocabulary. Then ask students opinion about
verbing. Can they understand why some people might
be against it?
3 Next, ask the students to rewrite the sentences. Go
through an example of the transformation task if
students need it.
4 Encourage the students to think of other nouns that are
used as verbs. Prompt them with verbs such as those
related to the body: elbow, knee, hand. Do some mimes
so that students may guess the word.
5 Ask the students to try and think of similar examples in
their own language and discuss possible reasons why
verbing is more common in English.
6 It is unlikely that students will think of these words
off the top of their heads, so it may be best to set the
final project question for homework. Many languages
like Spanish incorporate many English-based words;
especially in the worlds of business and technology,
which sometimes adopt English root words directly
(upgrade, mouse, etc.)

This page has been downloaded from Gateway Online: www.gateway-online.net


Written by Ben Goldstein. Copyright Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011.
PHOTOCOPIABLE

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