Sheet, Blanket, Pillow, Mattress, Wardrobe, Alarm, Curtains

Expressions with sheet

change the sheets

clean / dirty sheets

Expressions with blanket

an extra blanket

a warm blanket

Expressions with pillow

prop (yourself) up with a pillow

cry into your pillow

Expressions with mattress

sleep on a firm mattress

It’s a very hard / soft mattress.

Expressions with wardrobe

open / close the wardrobe

hang (your shirt) in the wardrobe

a fitted wardrobe

Expressions with alarm

set the alarm (for 7 o’clock)

the alarm rings

the alarm goes off

hear the alarm

Expressions with curtains

open / close the curtains

draw the curtains (open or close)

Exercises:

verb and adjective collocations

1. I opened the wardrobe, chose a shirt, then tried to decide what tie to wear with it.

2. It was colder than usual, so I put an extra blanket on my bed.

3. My mother always changes the sheets on our beds on a Sunday, because Monday is her washing day.

4. I set the alarm for seven, but it didn't ring / go off. That’s why I was late for work.

5. Jack and Sue want to stay over on Sunday night. Could you put some clean sheets on the bed in the spare room?

6. The first thing I do when I get out of bed in the morning is to open the curtains, and see what the weather’s like.

7. All the bedrooms in our new flat have fitted wardrobes, so there’s plenty of storage space for our clothes.

prepositon focus

1. Can you hang these trousers in the wardrobe, please?

2. I prefer to sleep on a firm mattress. If it’s too soft, I find it gives me a sore back.

3. I propped myself up with a couple of pillows, so that I could read comfortably in bed.

4. When I went into her room, Farah was crying into her pillow. She was obviously still upset about splitting up from her boyfriend.

Notes

1.Note these expressions

1. I was so tired last night. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!

2. When my parents turned the lights out, I read my book under the blankets with a torch.

2.Note that we usually refer to an alarm clock as ‘an alarm’

Don’t forget to set the alarm. We have to be up early tomorrow.

3.Draw the curtains can mean either open or close them.