Sport

play a sport

Do you play any other sports besides tennis and golf?

hate sport

I hated sports when I was at school. I just couldn’t do anything well.

take up a sport

You’re not getting enough exercise. Why don’t you take up a sport?

watch sports

I prefer watching sports to taking part.

a popular sport

Baseball is a popular sport in Japan.

a contact sport

There’s a high risk of injury with contact sports like rugby.

a dangerous sport

Motor racing is an exciting but highly dangerous sport.

an indoor sport

Squash is an indoor sport.

a spectator sport

Basketball is a spectator sport, but fishing isn’t. Who would pay money to watch somebody fish!

a team sport

The Olympic Games include team sports like football and hockey and individual ones such as the discus and the javelin.

sports events

Sports events are often sponsored by big companies, like Nike and Adidas.

a sport center

I work in a large sports center. I’m a swimming instructor.

sports equipment

Our sports shop stocks a wide range of sports equipment and sportswear.

sports coverage

Sports coverage in the local newspaper is good.

sports facilities

The council is hoping to find extra money to improve sports facilities for youngsters living in inner-city areas.

Notes   

Note these expressions:

• The school is keen to involve more young people in sport.
• I believe that killing animals for sport is morally wrong, and should be banned.

Note these noun + preposition + sport expressions:

• My husband is a sports fanatic, but I’m afraid I don’t share his love of sport.
• My brother is very athletic. He seems to have a natural talent for sport.

Note these expressions:

• Banning boxing would only drive the sport underground. (people would do it illegally)
• Golf is a sport with a very clean image. (players do not behave badly or take drugs)

Skiing and ice-skating are referred to as ‘winter sports’, but we don’t talk about ‘summer sports’.

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Team

play in a team

Smith played in the first team for eight years and captained it for two years.

make the team

He’s been picked for the Olympics. It’s the third time he’s made the team.

be dropped from a ...

He wasn’t playing very well, so the manager dropped him from the team.

support a team

Which football team do you support?

teams take part in

Sixteen teams will take part, but only four will go through to the second round.

teams lose

My team lost in the final – they were easily beaten.

teams celebrate

The team celebrated their victory by opening bottles of champagne.

a strong team

We have a strong team and therefore a good chance of winning the game.

the defeated team

Some of the players from the defeated team were in tears at the end of the game.

teams are evenly - matched

The two teams are evenly – matched. I think it’s going to be a very close game.

the winning team

The delighted supporters of the winning team ran onto the pitch at the end of the match.

team captain

Hussain, the team captain, was injured in the game against Australia.

team spirit

They’ve got real team spirit. a real desire to work together.

team sports

I much prefer to play team sports like football and basketball.

team mates

The goalkeeper apologized to his teammates for the mistake that lost them the game.

team effort

It was a real team effort. Everyone contributed to the success of the event.

Notes   

Note these expressions:

• He was a member of the British Olympic team.
• Ferguson coached the team to their second league championship in three years.

When a team plays in their own stadium, they are the ‘home team’. The other team is the ‘away team’.

We talk about teams in areas other than sport:

• Medical teams are traveling to the disaster area to care for the wounded.
• Rescue teams are still working to free those trapped in the collapsed building.
• Mr. Jones will be joining our sales team as from next Monday.
• A team of experts has been called in to investigate the cause of the accident.
• I’m part of a team of scientists involved in cancer research.

 

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Game

play a game

It’s important that you play the game according to the rules.

win or lose a game

If we lose this, we’re out of the championship.

make up a game

He’s always making up new language games for his students to play in class.

miss a game

Roberto Carlos is still injured and will miss tonight’s game.

abandon a game

When the rain started we had to abandon the game.

a quick game

There’s time for a quick game of cards before the train leaves.

a physical game

American football is a very physical game, so injuries are quite common.

a clean game

It was a tough but clean game. There was no dirty play.

a tiring game

Squash is a tiring game which requires high levels of fitness and stamina.

the object of a …

The object of the game is to get rid of all your cards before your opponent does.

coverage of a

You can see live coverage of the game against Sweden on Channel 2.

the rules of a …

The referee is the person who should know all the rules of the game.

the result of a …

With both teams playing well, it is difficult to predict the result of the game.

preparation for a …

They’ve been training hard in preparation for tonight’s big game.

a team game

I hated team games like football when I was at school.

a board team

Board games like chess keep children amused when the weather is bad.

a party team

Musical Chairs is a well-known party game.

a card game

I won £500 in a card game but lost it all at the roulette wheel.

a computer game

The problem with computer games like Tetris is they can be highly addictive.

Note   

Note these expressions:

• The game ended in a draw.
• Computer games provide endless hours of fun.
• The game involved throwing metal horseshoes at a stick.
• Roulette is a game of chance, whereas chess is a game of skill.
• I can’t seem to get the hang of this game. (be able to play it)
• Don’t take it so seriously! It’s just a game!

 

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Race, competition, and match

win or lose a race

Lewis is in top form. He has won his last 10 races.

withdraw from a race

Two British athletes had to withdraw from the race because of injury.

take part in a race

More than 45 horses are expected to take part in this year’s big race.

finish a race

Not all the participants are expected to finish the race. It’s over 35 km long.

watch a race

Thousands of spectators turned up to watch the race.

be disqualified from a race

He was disqualified from the race for using drugs and banned from all competitions.

enter a competition

Enter our free competition and you could walk away with £500,000.

be knocked out of a competition

All the German teams were knocked out of the competition in the early stages.

hold a competition

A magazine is holding a competition to find Britain’s most intelligent person.

a round of a competition

My team was eliminated in the second round of the competition.

a qualifying match

Highlights of England’s qualifying match will be shown at 10:30 pm.

a knockout competition

Tennis tournaments like Wimbledon are knockout competitions.

a horse race

He spent all his money gambling on horse races.

a football match

The girls challenged us to a football match.

a 10-km race

It’s a 10-kilometer race from the harbor to the city center.

Notes   

Note these expressions:

• The race/competition is open to anyone over the age of sixteen.
• There’s only a week left until the big race/match.

We also use ‘competition’ in talking about business and employment:

• There’s fierce competition for jobs. There are too many people chasing too few jobs.
• There is now keen competition between universities to attract overseas students.
• We are facing stiff/intense competition from factories in the Far East.
• In the face of strong competition from big supermarkets, many small shops are going out of business.

 

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Victory

celebrate a victory

Champagne bottles were opened as the team celebrated their impressive victory over last year’s champions.

rob (someone)of victory

We were winning, but a couple of last-minute goals robbed our team of a certain victory. In the end, we lost 3-2.

lead (a team) to victory

Bobby Moore led the English team to victory in the 1966 World Cup.

sweep to victory

The Social Democrats swept to victory in the recent elections. They won by a huge margin.

a decisive victory

Brazil reached the final of the championship with a decisive 5-0 victory over Italy.

a dramatic victory

Manchester United snatched a dramatic victory over Bayern Munich in the closing seconds of the match.

a well-earned victory

Owen’s third goal secured a well-earned victory for England.

an easy victory

It was a surprisingly easy victory given the fantastic reputation of the other team.

a surprise victory

The newcomer pulled off a surprise victory against last year’s champion in the semi-final.

a narrow victory

It was a narrow victory, but that final goal secured our place in the final.

Notes   

Note the following adjective + preposition + victory expressions:

• The team is now certain of victory. I can’t see them losing the match now.
• The fans were jubilant at/over France’s victory in the final.
• We have prepared well for the match and are quietly confident of victory.

Note these ways of talking about winning easily:

• It was a pretty comfortable victory. The team didn’t have to work very hard.
• Scotland cruised to victory in the second half of the match.

Note these useful phrases:

• Our new player should improve our chances of victory against Spurs in next week’s match.
• The victory was sweet revenge for our defeat last season.

 

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Defeat

accept defeat

Borg accepted defeat gracefully and shook hands with McEnroe.

avenge a defeat

In next week’s match, the English hope to avenge their defeat by Wales in the same competition this time last year.

suffer a defeat

Without their best players, the team suffered a heavy defeat in the cup final. The final score was 4-1.

avoid defeat

We narrowly avoided defeat in the semi-final when the referee disallowed a French goal in the last minute of the game.

a heavy defeat

Glasgow Rangers suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of their oldest rivals, Celtic. They lost 5-1.

a shock defeat

The English team are still trying to recover from their shock defeat by Monaco.

a narrow defeat

It was such a narrow defeat. We lost the competition by just three points!

a humiliating defeat

The manager offered no excuses for his team’s humiliating defeat.

revenge for your defeat

The Swedish team are seeking revenge for their defeat in last year’s final.

the possibility of defeat

The manager refuses to entertain the possibility of defeat. He expects his players to win the match easily.

the jaws of defeat

We were losing, but our fans still hoped we could seize victory from the jaws of defeat.

a string of defeat

The recent string of defeats has led to calls for the manager’s resignation.

the disappointment of …

The team have clearly shrugged off the disappointment.

Notes   

Note these expressions:

• The team’s defeat in the first round of the competition came as a big shock to many of its supporters.
• The humiliating defeat by a third-division team led to the resignation of the manager.
• The manager blamed the referee for his team’s defeat in the final.

Note these useful expressions:

• I thought I could fix the radio myself, but I’ve finally had to admit defeat. (give up trying to do something)
• we’ll be back. We aren’t going to take defeat lying down. (won’t accept it easily)

 

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Prize

win a prize

Did you win a prize in the competition?

accept a prize

Mr. Liu can’t be here tonight, so his wife will be accepting the prize on his behalf.

share a prize

There’s more than one winner so the prize will have to be shared.

present a prize

The local Mayor will present the prizes at the school sports day.

claim a prize

The winning numbers of the lottery were announced a week ago, but no one has yet stepped forward to claim the £1 million prize.

award a prize

The Hamilton prize is awarded every year to the student who has shown most progress in mathematics.

first prize

The roses I entered in the gardening show took first prize in the flower section.

a major/top prize

At the Oscars, the film Gladiator carried off nearly all the major/top prizes.

the booby prize

I was last in the competition, so I got the booby prizes.

a fabulous prize

There are fabulous prizes to be won in this week’s competition – luxury cars, Mediterranean cruises, and many more.

a consolation prize

£300 goes to the winner, and five runners-up receive a T-shirt as a consolation prize.

the Nobel Prize for …

The Nobel Prize for Science was awarded to Dr. Wilson for his outstanding work in genetics.

prize winners

The prize winners each receive a year’s free admission to the leisure center.

a prize draw

Win a holiday for two in the Bahamas in our grand prize draw!

prize money

The tennis tournament offers nearly £5 million in prize.

Notes   

Note these expressions:

• There are hundreds of prizes up for grabs in our competition. (to be won)
• there are cash prizes of up to £500.

Note this common expression:

• There are no prizes for guessing who he is taking to the dance. (you can easily guess)

In the following sentences, we use ‘reward’ and not ‘prize:

• The salary rise was a fitting reward for all his hard work.
• You deserve a reward for being so helpful. Take the rest of the day off!
• I got no reward for all the extra hard work I did.
• You ‘win’ a prize, but you ‘get’ a reward.

 

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Strength

use your strength

By using all of his strength he managed to move the heavy wardrobe.

underestimate (his) strength

He might be small but don’t underestimate his strength. He’s tougher than he looks.

build up your strength

He’s on a special training program to help him build up his strength.

save your strength

He’s running slowly because he’s saving his strength for the last 100 meters.

gather/recover your …

I had to sit down to gather/recover my strength before I felt able to continue. I think I should go to the doctor. I don’t understand why I’m so short of breath these days.

superior strength

After an hour Sampras’ superior strength began to tell and he won the match quite comfortably.

full strength

The operation will leave you feeling weak, but you should be back to full strength in a month or so.

superhuman strength

Asterix is a cartoon character who gets his superhuman strength from drinking a magic potion.

physical strength

It’s not his physical strength that makes him such a great champion, but his inner strength that separates him from the other players.

a lack of strength

For a rugby player, he is quite small, but he uses speed to compensate for his lack of strength.

a feat of strength

My grandfather was a circus-strong man. He used to entertain people with his amazing feats of strength.

reserves of strength

She called up her last reserves of strength in an effort to get to the top of the mountain.

Notes   

Note these expressions:

• It took all my strength to open the door.
• I hit him with all my strength.

Note how we describe finding the strength to do something:

• I’m finding it difficult to summon up the strength to do the housework.
• He will have to call on all his strengths if he is to break Edwards’ world record.

 

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Energy and exercise

have energy

Children seem to have boundless energy. I don’t know where they get it from!

use up energy

You should go to the gym. You’ll use up energy – AND you’ll lose weight!

sap your energy

Running up the steep hill sapped my energy and I had to stop for a rest.

save your energy

I’m not being lazy. I’m just saving my energy for later.

give you energy

Bananas give you lots of energy. I always carry two or three in my bag.

run out of energy

After ten kilometres I was running out of energy fast and badly needed a rest.

a source of energy

Chocolate is a good source of energy.

a great deal of energy

Bringing up a young family requires a great deal of energy.

a burst of energy

With a sudden burst of energy, he ran up the stairs to the top floor.

strenuous exercise

Avoid strenuous exercise immediately after a meal. Wait at least an hour.

warm-up exercise

You can pull a muscle if you don’t do some gentle warm-up exercises.

regular exercise

I go jogging every day – the doctor told me that I needed regular exercise.

light exercise

After my injury, I can do a bit of light exercise such as walking, but I must avoid vigorous exercise such as running.

lack of exercise

Lack of exercise can lead to ill health.

a form of exercise

Walking is probably the most popular form of exercise.

the effect of exercise

We’ve been keen cyclists since we read about the beneficial effects of exercise.

Notes   

‘Energies’ means the interest and effort that we use to do things:

• She put/threw/channeled all of her energies into her work and has no social life as a result.
• She devoted all her energies to the care of her sick mother.

Swimming is considered the ‘best all-round exercise’.