(1) poor/dry/acid/sandy/fertile, etc. soil
(2) the study of rocks and soils
(3) soil erosion

(1) There are excellent facilities for sport and recreation.
(2) I'm not interested in sport.
(3) the use of drugs in sport

(1) Buying a house can be a very tiresome business.
(2) The children were being very tiresome.
(3) ...the tiresome old lady next door...

(1) Her voice awoke the sleeping child.
(2) His speech is bound to awake old fears and hostilities.
(3) It took her some time to awake to the dangers of her situation.

(1) ...a book that takes on the feel of an epic.
(2) I felt for my wallet and papers in my inside pocket...
(3) She felt something being pressed into her hands...

(1) Which way is south?
(2) warmer weather coming from the south
(3) He lives to the south of (= further south than) the city.

(1) ouch! That hurt!
(2) She was barefoot and stones dug into her feet. 'ouch, ouch,' she cried.
(3) ouch, you stepped on my foot.

(1) Once the skyscraper were in sight, I knew I was near the city.
(2) The skyscraper dwarfed all of the surrounding buildings.
(3) The skyscraper stands 500 feet.

(1) ...the sixth round of the World Cup.
(2) ...the sixth of December.
(3) The company yesterday shed a sixth of its workforce.

(1) There used to be a telephone box on the corner of the street.
(2) There is a telephone box on the corner.
(3) Scotland's most famous telephone box is still a lure for visitors.

(1) When you want to skip you use a skipping rope.
(2) I like to play with my doll and my skipping rope.
(3) Jump - ropes. skipping rope can be a great cardiovascular workout.

(1) You can contact us by e-mail...
(2) Do you want to send an e-mail?...
(3) Jamie e-mailed me to say he couldn't come...

(1) She works in a bank. She did when I last saw her, anyway.
(2) It's too expensive and anyway the colour doesn't suit you.
(3) It's too late now, anyway.

(1) This young man is wearing a limp grey sweater.
(2) Ann, put on your sweater; you're so cold you have gooseflesh on your arms.
(3) She is good at knitting a sweater.

(1) a simple solution
(2) The answer is really quite simple.
(3) This machine is very simple to use.

(1) She began to cry.
(2) It was beginning to snow.
(3) I was beginning to think you'd never come.

(1) In case the tax payer has more category of income, state them separately.

(1) The old age of an eagle is Better than the youth of a sparrow.
(2) The sparrow whizzed up into a tree.
(3) Jack sparrow : And that was without a single drop of rum!

(1) to work for a business/political/voluntary organization
(2) the World Health organization
(3) He's the president of a large international organization.

(1) The plane was spinning out of control.
(2) a spinning ice skater
(3) My head is spinning (= I feel as if my head is going around and I can't balance) .

(1) She's a wonderful singer.
(2) an opera singer
(3) My mother was a singer in a dance band.

(1) ok. Now, let's talk some business.
(2) His doctor wouldn't ok the trip.
(3) I shouted out "I'm ok"

(1) He's a really successful man─you can't argue with that.
(2) He was too tired to argue the point (= discuss the matter) .
(3) a well-argued article

(1) Their house is very similar to ours, but ours is bigger.
(2) No, those are Ellie's kids. ours are upstairs.
(3) He's a friend of ours.

(1) His invention was not commercially successful.
(2) The product is not yet commercially available.
(3) Their more recent music is far too commercial.

(1) after an hour I went home (= when an hour had passed) .
(2) after winning the prize she became famous overnight.
(3) They arrived shortly after 5.

(1) Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.
(2) I have $100m hidden away where no one will ever find it.
(3) The room was quiet; no one volunteered any further information.

(1) a federal republic
(2) a federal law
(3) state and federal income taxes

(1) a relevant suggestion/question/point
(2) These comments are not directly relevant to this enquiry.
(3) Do you have the relevant experience?

(1) I lost my umbrella, but claimed it at the lost property office.

(1) The rain prevented them from eating outdoors.
(2) They both have a love of the outdoors.
(3) Come to Canada and enjoy the great outdoors .

(1) How do you spell your surname?
(2) I thought her name was Catherine, but it's Kathryn spelt with a ‘K ’.
(3) I've never been able to spell.

(1) peasant farmers
(2) ...the peasants in the Peruvian highlands...
(3) Chinese peasants farm their own plots.

(1) pale pink roses
(2) She went bright pink with embarrassment.
(3) the pink pound (= money spent by homosexuals as an influence in the economy)

(1) She still owes her father £3 000.
(2) She still owes £3 000 to her father.
(3) The country owes billions of dollars to foreign creditors.

(1) They were photographed separately and then as a group.
(2) Last year's figures are shown separately.
(3) Cook each vegetable separately until just tender...

(1) What a splendid idea!
(2) We've all had a splendid time.
(3) splendid scenery

(1) Colin had been put into a bath and been scrubbed from head to foot.
(2) Living with my parents is doing my head in.
(3) Ethiopia, for instance uses the equivalent of just twenty kilos of oil per head a year.

(1) I'm not used to eating so much at lunchtime.
(2) I found the job tiring at first but I soon got used to it.
(3) used cars