Idioms | englishcourse

IDIOMS

According to O’Dell and McCarthy (2010), your knowledge of idioms is an indicator that you have a truly advanced level of English.

VOCABULARY WORDS: IDIOMS AND PHRASAL VERBS

SITES TO LEARN MORE IDIOMS OR ABOUT IDIOMS

1. ENGLISH IDIOMS: https://www.ef.com/wwen/english-resources/english-idioms/

2. 40 POPULAR IDIOMS AND THEIR MEANINGS: https://www.bkacontent.com/40-popular-idioms-and-their-meanings/

3. ENGLISH IDIOMS FROM A-Z: https://7esl.com/english-idioms/

4. HOW TO USE IDIOMS: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235984603_How_to_use_idioms

5. Idioms and language users : the effect of the characteristics of idioms on their recognition and interpretation by native and non-native speakers of English

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277872357_Idioms_and_language_users_the_effect_of_the_characteristics_of_idioms_on_their_recognition_and_interpretation_by_native_and_non-native_speakers_of_English

CLICK on some images that will take you to other sites or books with information of the IDIOMS.

IDIOMS

Idioms are a combination of words that has afigurative meaning owing to its common usage. An idiom's figurative meaning is separate from the literal meaning.

Al igual que los phrasal verbs, las expresiones idiomáticas son parte fundamental en el proceso comunicativo dentro del idioma ingles. En el inglés real, la correcta interpretación y uso de estas expresiones nos brindará confianza y seguridad de expresión y entendimiento.

El desconocimiento de ellas, nos podría dejar un mal sabor de boca al intentar interactuar con nativos de este idioma. Procura utilizar alguna estrategia que te permita recordarlos y así poder utilizarlos.

Por último recuerda que los significados de las palabras cambian una vez que se mezclan con otras para formar nuevos, de allí su dificultad e importancia.

IDIOMS 1

IDIOMS 3

IDIOMS 5

IDIOMS 2

IDIOMS 4

Work expressions

Videos about Idioms and Phrasal verbs.

The more you practice, the more you master them.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Idioms in context. Some expressions we may need.

After watching the video with the chapter one “Hans picks up Andre at the airport terminal”, answer and complete the following exercises so that you can reflect on what you learned in the video.

Exercise 1. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate idiom.

The basket player ________________ the whole bottle of water in a flash.
I really need to ____________ after sitting in the car for more than three hours.
The young girl ____________ when her mother left her pre-school for the first time.
I don’t want to go over again to his apartment because it’s a ____________.
He just arrived in the country, so I think he is still suffering from __________.
I was ______________ the window because there were too many people in the car.
The customer continued to _______ the waitress until she brought him the bill.
The student kept __________ even though the teacher had told him to be quite.
He’s a __________ because his parents have never disciplined him.
I _____________ a $100 bill while I was vacuuming my car this morning.
What happened when you went for an interview at that company? _________
He was ___________ after he spent most of the evening in the bar with his friends.
The man who sat next to me on the bus had ______. The smell was terrible.
It took him a long time to ___________ his divorce.
Gabriela arrived home _________ even though she almost got hit in the crosswalk.

Exercise 2. Complete the following text.

Dialogue 1: Hans picks up Andre at the airport terminal

Hans: how was the flight?

Andre: don’t ask!

Hans: come on, what happened? F___ me in!

Andre: I was sitting in the window seat when this h__________ football player sat down next to me. I’m not exaggerating; the guy took up a seat and a half. I was literally p______ u__ a_______ the window for the whole flight.

Hans: oh, man. That sounds terrible!

Andre: no kidding! I decided it was probably best to try and get some sleep, but I couldn’t because he kept b__________ on and on. The only moment I could escape him was to get up and s_______ my l_____ for a few minutes. The moment I’d sit back down, he’d start r_______ o__ at the m______ again.

Hans. What a nightmare! No wonder why you look so tired.

Andre: hold on. I’m just getting started. He kept ordering more and more b_____. He was constantly p_________ the flight attendants for scotch until finally he was completely b_______. He didn’t stop g______ d_______ drinks until we were at least had way through the flight. Oh and I almost forgot, he had the worst B.O. God, it was a__________.

Hans: well, on the b______ s____, at least you got here s____ and s______.

Andre. I’m still not finished yet. There was this young couple and their son sitting across the aisle. What a s_____ b____ that kid was! When he wasn’t running up and down the aisle, he was f_______ food all over the place. When somebody finally told him to s_____ d____, he b_____ i____ t_____.

Hans: that’s unbelievable! You’re going to need at least week to recover from that flight, never mind the j__ l___.

Andre: hopefully, I’ll g___ o____ everything faster than that.

Hans: here’s the car. Why don’t we put your bags in the trunk? Let me help you. They look pretty heavy.

Andre: thanks… what’s the apartment you found us like? I hope it’s not a d___.

Hans: I think you’ll like it. It’s right downtown. The apartment building is fairly is fairly new so everything is clean. It even has a nice swimming pool that we’ll be able to use in the summer. It took me a while to c____ a______ an affordable two-bedroom that we’d be comfortable in.

Andre: thanks for f______ it for us. It sounds great. I’m sure that I’ll feel right at home. I can’t wait to get there and p___ t___ f_____ b_____ me.

Hans: ok, let’s get in the car.

Andre: will it take long to get to the apartment?

Hans: don’t worry. We’ll get there i__ n__ t____.

The CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY Online will help you to find definitions and more. Check that it also has a TESAURO SMART section. This section provides some other words or expressions that contribute to our vocabulary.

Good luck!

PRACTICE EXERCISE

Use the CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY and do the followign exercises.

Fill in the gaps.

HAIR IDIOMS

KEEP / TURN / STAND / LET / MAKE

1. I'm sorry I have crashed your car, but _________ your hair on! It's not the end of the world.
2. The exam is over now, and it all end very well. Thus, you can _________ your hair down and relax.
3. When the president of our firm was kidnapped, he didn't _________ a hair. He was brave.
4. I was listening to bus drivers speaking on the news, and some of the stories they were talking about _________ my hair _________ on end!

LOSE IDIOMS

TOUCH / NERVE / GRIP

1. When my mother realized that she was beginning to lose her _________, she sold her company and began spending time with the family.
2. I would like to drive, but every time I have to pass the driving test I lose my _________ and can't do anything but fail.
3. He used to be an excellent barrister, but because he lost a prominent murder case, he felt that he was losing his _________.

MAKE IDIOMS WEATHER / SCENE / MOUNTAIN

1. He didn't mean to hurt you. You are making a _________ out of a molehill.
2. My sister has to write a short story for next week. I thought it was a simple task, but she seems to be making heavy _________ of it.
3. Two hotel guests were making a _________ in the hotel lobby. It was most embarrassing for the manager.

COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING IDIOMS AS IN THE EXAMPLE 5.

1. as bald as _________
2. as black as _________
3. as busy as _________
4. as cold as _________
5. as cool as a cucumber.
6. as deaf as _________
7. as flat as _________

a pancake
a post
a cucumber
a bee
a coot
coal
ice

Watch this video, then go to the exercises below.

EXERCISE 1

COMPLETE THE SENTENCES.

We were only in the city for one day, so we didn’t have the chance to _______
You should_________ that beautiful girl over there. I think she likes you.
We had to walk home because the car ________ gas on the highway.
I don’t want to study with that teacher because I heard his class is ______.
He knows that town ________ because he went to high school there.
He went on a _________ after she got her first paycheck from that job.
I’m bored. Why don’t we go to the amusement park for ________?
I was a little scare when I realized that I was on the ____________.
I like ___________ along my favorite Street and look in the store windows.
She spent __________ while on a two-week vacation in the south of France.
I had __________ when I took a university exam for the first time.
I could just ___________ for forgetting my girlfriend’s birthday.
The beautiful park you are looking for is _________ to the public library.
___________, you don’t want to eat dinner in that restaurant.
The underground gas explosion ____________ a whole of the city.

EXERCISE 2

COMPLETE THE DIALOGUE

Wandering around the city

Andre and Ming-Jung leave school after their English placement test

Andre: So, how’d your placement test go?

Min-Jung: all right I guess. I was a b_______ of n______ during the test. I’d be amazed if I managed to answer many of the questions correctly. I could just kick m_______ for getting so anxious.

Andre: I’m sure you did fine. I was a little k______ up too. For some reasons I had a k_______ in my s_______ while the instructor was assessing me. I should’ve just relaxed. There really wasn’t anything to get tense about.

Min-Jung: How about a c_______ of place? Do you want to w______ through downtown with me?

Andre: Yeah I like to do that. I don’t know my way a________ yet. It’ll give me a chance to explore the city.

Min-Jung: Great! We can t____ in the s_____ together. Have you gone in that direction before? I wonder what’s down that way?

Andre: I think we should go up the street. My roommate told me that the neighborhood to the east of the school is kind of down-and-o____. We don’t want to end up on the w_____ side of the t_______.

Min-Jung: that’s good to know. Let’s p____ it s_____ today.

Andre: as f___ as I k_____, the shopping district is up this way. Let’s go there. That way, if we g_____ off the b_______ path, we won’t get ourselves into trouble.

(They walk around the shopping district for an hour)

Min-Jung: there sure is a lot to see. I don’t think I’ll run out of things to do in my free time. I’ll have to be careful, though.

Andre: what do you mean?

Min-Jung: I could easily spend a b______ in some of these stores. I’d hate to w____ out my savings on a s______ s_____.

Andre: you should try to keep your spending in check. You don’t want to r___ up a h_____ bill while you are here. T_____ it from me, paying off a big credit card debt is such a d_____. I had to do it once before. I never want to do it again. … Hey, did you notice the park that we passed a few minutes ago?

Min-Jung: you mean the one across the street from the train station?

Andre: no, the big park that was kitty-c______ to the hotel.

Min-Jung: oh that one. Yeah it looked beautiful, why? Do you want to get away from all these shoppers for a while?

Andre: yeah, I wouldn’t mind t_____ a b______ from the crowds. Let’s go to see what that park has to offer.

Min-Jung: oh, why don’t we s______ through the park and then c_____ o____ what’s on the other side? I don’t think we’ve been over there.

Andre: sounds like a plan. Wow! We are c______ a lot of g______ this afternoon.

Min-Jung: that’s for sure. I’ll know downtown like the b___ of my h____ by the time we’re finished today.

IDIOMS ​3

IDIOMS 3