Thames Water creditors to vote on emergency £2.4bn loan as cash runs low
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EN: The verb 'vote' can take prepositional phrases to specify the timing and the topic. Here, 'vote on Thursday' indicates the time, and 'vote on [something]' specifies the issue or proposal being decided.
The committee will vote on Friday on the new budget proposal.
EN: Prepositional phrases with 'of' can be used sequentially for different relationships: 'Creditors of Thames Water' indicates possession/association (who holds the debt), while 'loan of 2.4 billion pounds' expresses specification or amount.
Residents of the city protested against a tax increase of ten percent.
EN: Thames Water is the UK's largest water utility company, serving London and surrounding areas. Due to massive historical debts, aging infrastructure, and sewage pollution scandals, its financial instability has become a major national political and economic issue, often raising debates about the privatization of public utilities.
EN: The phrasal verb 'run out of' means to deplete or completely use up a supply of something (e.g., money, time, patience). It is followed by a noun or noun phrase.
We need to stop at the gas station because the car is running out of fuel.
EN: The preposition 'by' indicates a deadline or a point in time before or at which an action will happen. Here, 'by early 2027' means not later than the beginning of 2027.
Please submit your final report by next Monday.
EN: In corporate finance and business journalism, saying a firm might 'run out of cash' is a common way to describe impending insolvency or a liquidity crisis without using overly dense legal jargon.
EN: The verb 'give' is a ditransitive verb that can take two objects: an indirect object (recipient, e.g., 'Thames Water') followed by a direct object (thing given, e.g., 'three billion pounds'). Pattern: give + indirect object + direct object.
The bank gave the startup a substantial loan.
EN: The preposition 'at' is used to express rates, prices, speeds, or degrees (e.g., 'at an interest rate of...').
They borrowed funds at an interest rate of 5 percent.
EN: Thames Water is the UK's largest water utility company, serving millions of customers in London and the Thames Valley. An interest rate of 9.75 percent for a regulated utility loan is unusually high, reflecting the severe financial distress and high credit risk facing the company.
EN: First Conditional (Real Conditional): Used to express a realistic future condition and its likely result. The condition clause uses 'If' + present simple (passive here: 'is approved'), while the main clause typically uses modal verbs like 'will', 'should', or 'can' + base verb to show the predicted outcome.
If the proposal is accepted, we will start the project next month.
EN: Modal 'should' + 'be able to': 'Should' expresses high probability or expectation ('is expected to'), while 'be able to' indicates capability. Together, 'should be able to' means 'is reasonably expected to have the ability or capacity to do something'.
With this new software, the team should be able to finish the report faster.
EN: British English commonly uses the word 'autumn', whereas American English typically prefers 'fall'. In corporate and financial reporting, seasons (e.g., 'autumn 2027') or financial quarters are often used instead of exact dates to indicate target deadlines or funding runway periods.
EN: Past participle phrases (e.g., 'called We Own It') can act as reduced relative clauses, modifying the preceding noun without using a relative pronoun and auxiliary verb (short for 'which is called...').
A novel written by the young author won the annual prize.
EN: The modal verb 'could' is used here to express a tentative possibility in the future, meaning it is possible that the loan will add extra costs.
The unexpected tax changes could affect small businesses next year.
EN: We Own It is a prominent UK-based campaign organization that advocates against the privatization of public services, such as water, railways, and energy, pushing to return them to public ownership.
EN: Non-defining relative clause: 'who are known as...' is set off by commas to add extra, non-essential information about the subject 'the creditors'. It does not restrict which creditors are being talked about.
The manager, who joined the company last year, announced the new policy.
EN: Reporting verb + noun clause: The verb 'insist' is followed by a 'that'-clause functioning as its direct object, expressing the statement or claim being firmly made.
The scientists have insisted that the experiment is completely safe.
EN: In UK public utility debates, especially regarding Thames Water, there is widespread public anger over high executive bonuses and poor infrastructure management. When creditors form consortiums (such as 'London and Valley Water') and claim that 'customers will not pay', it reflects sensitive political pressure regarding water bill increases.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
to finish, exhaust, or use up the supply of something
the percentage of an amount of money that is charged by a bank or other financial institution for lending it
to provide the money needed for something, or to suffer bad consequences of an action