Lesson 36 – Changes

To talk about making small changes, you can say make adjustments, make alterations, or make modifications. More informally, you can say make tweaks – “We made a few tweaks to the website.”

To talk about bigger changes, you can use the verbs “transform” and “revolutionize”:

• The internet has revolutionized the way people communicate.

• The city transformed the vacant lot into a playground. (you usually “transform” one thing “into” something else)

When you put on different clothes, you change your clothes. When you remove a baby’s dirty diaper and put on a clean one, you change the baby’s diaper. When you reverse a decision or opinion, then you change your mind. And when you introduce a different topic of conversation, then you change the subject. When you change your religion, then we often use the verb convert – I converted to Christianity; my brother wants to convert to Islam.

Other verbs used for changes are “turn,” “become,” and “get.” Let’s look at their different collocations.

Use turn with colors:

• Bananas turn black if you put them in the refrigerator.

You can also use turn into as a less formal expression for “transform into”:

• Our living room couch turns into a bed.

Use become with emotions and states of being, including comparative adjectives:

• My sister became angry when she found out I’d broken her computer.

• It’s becoming apparent/clear that the treatment isn’t working.

• The band’s music became popular among teenagers.

• It’s becoming more difficult to separate one’s personal and professional life.

You can also use become with professions: My brother became an actor.

The word get can be used as a less formal alternative to “become” with emotions and comparative adjectives (but NOT with professions or states of being).

• I’m getting excited about my upcoming trip to Spain.

• It’s getting more expensive to rent a place in this neighborhood.

• Will it ever get easier for me to understand movies in English?

We also use the word go in a few specific collocations involving changes:

• go bald = lose your hair

• go blind = lose your ability to see

• go deaf = lose your ability to hear

• go crazy/insane = lose your mental control

Quiz

Complete the sentences with make, turn, change, become, get, or go:

(note: you may need to change the form of the verb: makes, made, making, etc.)

1. After losing his job, George decided to _____________ a consultant.

2. Daniel is embarrassed that he's starting to __________ bald, so he often wears a hat.

3. Her face _________ red when she gets embarrassed.

4. He's not going to ___________ his mind. He seems pretty firm in his decision.

5. I like to experiment in the kitchen - I __________ tweaks to the recipes in the cookbook.

6. I'll be ready in 10 minutes - just let me ___________ my clothes.

7. I'm ___________ annoyed with my bank's terrible customer service.

8. My conversations with my sister always ___________ into arguments.

9. We have fewer funds available than we expected, so we need to ____________ some adjustments to the budget.

10. If you want to ____________ better at playing the piano, you should practice more.

Quiz Answers

1. After losing his job, George decided to become a consultant.

2. Daniel is embarrassed that he's starting to go bald, so he often wears a hat.

3. Her face turns red when she gets embarrassed.

4. He's not going to change his mind. He seems pretty firm in his decision.

5. I like to experiment in the kitchen - I make tweaks to the recipes in the cookbook.

6. I'll be ready in 10 minutes - just let me change my clothes.

7. I'm getting annoyed with my bank's terrible customer service.

8. My conversations with my sister always turn into arguments.

9. We have fewer funds available than we expected, so we need to make some adjustments to the budget.

10. If you want to get better at playing the piano, you should practice more.