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underneath
1) If a person or thing is underneath something, they are directly below or beneath it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
His dog always lies underneath his desk as he works.
Used after a noun:
He keeps his money in a box underneath his bed.
Also used as an adverb:
e.g.
There is sandy soil in the garden with clay underneath.

2) Something that is underneath a layer of something, especially clothing, is covered by that layer. Used with verbs:
e.g.
It was cold so he wore a woollen singlet underneath his track-suit.
Also used an adverb:
e.g.
The car's paintwork was scratched, showing the primer underneath.

3) You use underneath when you are talking about feelings and emotions that people try to keep hidden. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He is a very gentle person underneath the tough exterior.
Also used as an adverb:
e.g.
He seemed calm but was really very angry underneath.
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unlike
1) You can use unlike to contrast the nature, situation, or behaviour of one person or thing with that of another person or thing. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He is a very careful driver, unlike his brother.

2) If one person or thing is unlike another, the two things or people are different. Used after 'be':
e.g
I used to think schoolteachers were somehow unlike other people.
Used after nouns:
e.g.
It was a book quite unlike any other book I'd read before.

3) If you describe someone's behaviour as being unlike them, you mean it is surprising because it is different from their usual behaviour.
e.g
It's so unlike him to be late for an appointment.
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until
1) If something happens until a particular time or event, it happens and then stops at the time mentioned. Used with verbs:
e.g.
They talked until dawn.

2) If something doesn't happen until a particular time, it does not happen before that time but happens or starts at that time. Used with verbs in the negative:
e.g.
He didn't start shaving until he was twenty.
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up
1) If you go up something such as stairs, a ladder, or a slope, you move higher. Used with verbs:
e.g.
The gears on a mountain bike are very useful when riding up a hill.
Also used as an adverb:
e.g.
They climbed up inside the lighthouse.

2) If you go up a road, you go along it towards one end of it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He turned left up a narrow back street.

3) Something that is situated up the road is further along it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
The hotel is just a couple of blocks up the road.
Also used as an adverb:
e.g.
There's a post office further up.

4) If you go up a river, you go along it towards its source. Used with verbs:
e.g.
The barge was towed up the river to the edge of town.
Used after a noun:
This book is about a voyage up the Amazon.
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up against
If you are up against something or someone that is hard to deal with, they are obstructing or opposing you. Used with verbs:
e.g.
During the experiment they came up against several unforeseen problems.
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upon
1) Upon is used in several of the same ways as on, but is a more formal word. See on.

2) You use upon between two identical nouns or numbers to emphasize that there are large numbers of the thing referred to; a literary use. Used after a noun:
e.g.
He sat there for hour upon hour trying to solve the problem.
Used with verbs:
e.g.
Crisis followed upon crisis.

3) If an event or time is upon you, it has just started affecting you; a literary use.
e.g.
The winter was upon them and the days grew shorter.
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up to
1) If you are up to a part of your body in an amount of a substance, it reaches that part of your body. Used with verbs:
e.g.
She was up to her knees in mud.

2) If something is up to a particular standard or amount, it has reached that standard or amount. Used after 'be':
e.g.
This piece of work is not up to the usual standard.
His temperature was up to 105 before the fever broke.

3) You say that something happens up to a particular date or event to emphasize that it happens until that date or event. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He continued working on the project up to the last minute.

4) If you say that it is up to someone to do something, you mean that it is their responsibility to do it. Used after 'be':
e.g.
It is up to the individual to decide what suits him best.

5) If you are up to doing something, you are well enough or capable enough to do it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
If you don't feel up to writing it alone, we can do it together.
It was a difficult game but the team were up to the challenge.

6) If you say that someone is up to something, you mean they are secretly doing something, probably something bad; an informal use. Used after 'be':
e.g.
I had no idea what he was up to, but I feared the worst.
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up until
You say that something happens up until a particular time or event to emphasize that it happens until that time or event.
e.g.
I had never experienced a powerful earthquake up until January 1995.
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via
1) If someone or something goes via a particular place, they go through there on the way to another place. Used with verbs:
e.g.
We have to fly to London via Hong Kong.
Used after a noun:
A flight to London via Hong Kong has been arranged for us.

2) If you do something via a particular means or a person, you do it by making use of that means or person. Used with verbs:
e.g.
I was able to make contact with him via the Internet.
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with
1) If one person or thing is with another, they are together in one place. Used with verbs:
e.g.
After his father died, his mother came to live with them.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
When I saw him he had his two sons with him.

2) If you do something with someone else, you both do it together or are both involved in it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He discussed the matter with his colleagues.
This company has collaborated with the University on various projects over a number of years.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
I wanted to maintain my friendship with her.

3) If you fight, argue, or compete with someone, you oppose them. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He disagreed violently with her over politics.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
He told me about a quarrel with his colleagues at work.

4) If you do something with a tool, object, or substance, you do it using that tool, object or substance. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He secured the door with a heavy padlock.
I write all my letters with a word-processor these days.

5) If someone stands or goes somewhere with something, they are carrying it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He stood at the bar with a drink in his hand.
They came back from their vacation with a bag full of new clothes.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
The news showed hundreds of men with weapons running through the streets.

6) Someone or something with a particular feature or possession has that feature or possession. Used after a noun:
e.g.
The new tax only affects people with incomes over $50,000 a year.
He saw an old man with a white beard sitting on the bench.

7) Someone with an illness has that illness. Used after a noun:
e.g.
a child with a high temperature.
Used with verbs:
e.g.
Bill was in bed with 'flu last week.

8) If something is filled or covered with a substance or with things, it has that substance or those things in it or on it. Used after an adjective:
e.g.
The old building was infested with rats and mice.
The streets were littered with debris after the typhoon.
Used with verbs:
e.g.
Fill the tank with gasoline.

9) If you are, for example, pleased or angry with someone or something, you have that feeling towards them. Used after an adjective:
e.g.
He was satisfied with the outcome of the election.
She became rather annoyed with her son.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
...their dissatisfaction with society.

10) You use with to indicate what a state, quality, or action relates to, involves, or affects. Used after an adjective:
e.g.
We need a teacher who is good with children.
He has always been careless with money.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
They have had trouble with their neighbours.
He was able to use his skill with computers in his new job.
Used with verbs:
e.g.
We must combine theory with practice.
He asked the company to provide him with an assistant.

11) If you part with, dispense with, or finish with something, you no longer have it or use it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He was very reluctant to part with his motorcycle.

12) If you side with, hold with, or agree with someone or something, you support them.
e.g.
Most people sided with the government on this issue.
He doesn't hold with capital punishment.
They can never agree with each other on anything.

13) You use with when indicating the manner of an action or the feeling that someone has when they do something.
e.g.
He agreed to the proposal, with some reluctance.

14) You use with when indicating a sound or a gesture that is made at the same time as an action.
e.g.
He got up with a sigh, and prepared to start the day.
She dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

15) You use with when indicating the feeling that makes someone have a particular appearance or type of behaviour.
e.g.
He went pale with fear.
She was shaking with anger.

16) You use with when mentioning the position or appearance of someone or something at the time when they do something, or what someone or something else is doing at that time.
e.g.
He lay with his head against the back of the seat.
She walked up the road with the dog trotting behind her.

17) You use with when mentioning a current situation that is a factor affecting another situation.
e.g.
He has been unable to sleep properly with all the pressures on him.

18) You use with when making a comparison between the situations of different people or things.
e.g.
It's different with each individual.

19) If something increases or decreases with a factor, it changes as that factor changes.
e.g.
The chance of getting a free meal from your employer increases with status.

20) If something moves with a wind or current, it moves in the same direction as the wind or current.
e.g.
He shut off the engine and let the boat drift with the tide.

21) If someone says they are with you, they mean that they understand what you are saying; an informal use.
e.g.
Sorry, I'm not quite with you.
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within
1) If something is within something else, it is contained inside that thing: a formal use. Used with verbs:
e.g.
The generator was installed within the laboratory grounds.
After a noun:
e.g.
The books and periodicals within the library are arranged by subject.
Also used as an adverb:
e.g.
... a box with dials on the outside and a complex assembly of gear wheels mounted within.

2) You use within when you are describing something that exists or happens among members of a group or as part of the workings of an organization. Used after a noun:
e.g.
There has been some discontent within the local community.
Used with verbs:
e.g.
There are some advantages to working within an existing organization.

3) You can say that someone has a feeling within them when they have this feeling but have not expressed it; a literary use. Used with verbs:
e.g.
A deep melancholy existed within him.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
He could not deny the anger within him.
Also used as an adverb:
e.g.
His outward self was apparently not affected by the turmoil within.

4) If something happens within a particular period of time, it happens before the end of that period.
e.g.
You must use this product within one week of purchase.

5) If you are within a particular distance of a place, you are less than that distance from it.
e.g.
He lives within walking distance of the nearest station.

6) If something is within sight, within earshot, or within reach, you can see it, hear it, or reach it.
e.g.
They were almost within reach of their goal.

7) If something is within a particular limit or set of rules, it does not go beyond it or is not more than what is allowed.
e.g.
It is important to keep spending within budget limits.
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without
1) If someone or something is without something, they do not have it. Used with verbs:
e.g.
He couldn't read the warning label on the bottle without his spectacles.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
He takes his coffee without sugar or milk.

2) If one thing happens without another thing, or if you do something without doing something else, the second thing does not happen or occur.
e.g.
We were refused permission to see him without an appointment.
The storm broke without warning.

3) If you do something without a particular feeling, you do not have that feeling when you do it.
e.g.
He described the incident without emotion.

4) If you do something without someone else, they are not in the same place as you or are not involved in the same action as you.
e.g.
I much prefer to go shopping without the children.

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worth
1) If something is worth a particular amount of money, it can be sold for that amount or brings someone that amount. Used after 'be':
e.g.
The house was worth over sixty million yen.
Used after a noun:
e.g.
He is negotiating a contract worth millions of dollars.

2) If something is worth a particular activity or effort, it is likely to be useful or interesting. Used after 'be':
e.g.
You may be wasting your time, but it's worth a try
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END of Chapter Twelve