Language Activator – Die

die/ pass away/ drop dead/ kick the bucket

die

(intransitive verb)

to stop being alive, as a result of old age or illness

.No wonder your plants always die – you don’t water them enough

die of

.His son died of liver cancer three years ago

die in your sleep die while you are sleeping

.In the spring of her 93rd year, Miss Grantley died in her sleep

die a natural death/die of natural causes die as a result of illness or old age

.The autopsy said he had died of natural causes, but his family is not convinced

pass away

(intransitive phrasal verb)

to die – use this when you want to avoid using the word ‘die’, because you think it might upset someone

.Have you heard? Carl passed away last night

drop dead

(verb phrase)

spoken if someone drops dead, they die very suddenly and unexpectedly, especially when they are in the middle of doing something

.McSherry dropped dead of a heart attack in the middle of a baseball game

kick the bucket spoken informal also snuff it British

(verb phrase not in progressive)

to die – use this humorously when you are not being serious

.When I kick the bucket you’ll be able to live on my life insurance

:Practice

:Fill in the blanks with appropriate words

.N1. I feel like I’ve done everything I wanted to – I might as well ————- it

.N2. One of their neighbors just dropped ————- on the tennis court

.N3. My wife had just ——— away, and I didn’t want to be around people

.———–N4. I want to see Ireland again before I

.N5. Many people are worried about growing old and ————- alone

:Answers

Snuff/ dead/ passed/ die/ dying