Useful Expressions and Idioms. My Boss Hit The Ceiling When I Told Him I

 

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSION “ My My boss hit the ceiling when I told him I‟d lost the documents.” documents.”  

The idiomatic expression “hit the ceiling” means to get ver . Other  ver y angr y and upset  upset  expressions for sudden anger include “go ballistic” and “blow a fuse.”  fuse.”  “I‟m dying to  to see the new movie.”  movie.”  “Dying to” + ver ver b means you want to do some someth thin in g ver ver y much.  It does not mean you are literally going to die. “Going to the World Cup Final was a dream come true.”  true.” 

 If something is “a dream come true,”  it means it was an experience that you r eall y wanted wanted it    –  – and th en i t h appened. to h appen  appen  appened.  “My heart sank when I saw my test grade –  I got a 54.”  54.” 

This expression means that you star ted to fe f eel sad, disappoin ted, or di scour aged. aged.  “We were on pins and needles waiting to hear if we won the contest.”  contest.” 

 If someone is “on pins and needles,” it means they are anxious and i n su suspe spen n se se,, usually waiting to know some important information. i nformation. “I‟m kicking myself for not booking the flight yesterday –  the price just went up $200.”  $200.” 

 If you do somethi omethi ng you r egre gr et (you wish you had acted differently), you can say “I’m kicking myself for… (the action)”  After   After this expression, we use the -ING form of the verb. “I was shaking like a leaf after I heard an explosion on the train.”  train.” 

We can say someone is shaki ng l ik e a leaf  leaf if they are extr emely mely af r aid or nervous. nervous.  “I‟m pumped about the concert this weekend –  it‟s gonna be awesome!”  awesome!” 

 If you are pumped, it means you are ve verr y exci exci ted   for something (usually something in the  for  future that you are really looking forward to). “I  was floored by all the help we received after our son was in a serious accident.”  

To be “floored”  means sur pri pr i sed and/or and/or over over whelme whelm ed (usually in a good way). “It drives me up the wall when people answer their cell phones in English class.”  class.”  “Drives me up the wall” is an idiomatic expression that means it makes you annoyed. Other  expressions for annoying situations include “drives me crazy”  or “drives me nuts.”  

 

This is a story about the daily life of  New York Nate, who lives in the United States; and London Laura, who lives in England. As you can see, they have very similar lives... but the t he vocabulary words they use are very different!  New York Nate lives in an apartment , and London Laura lives in a flat.  Every morning, when getting dressed, New York Nate puts on a pair of pants - whereas London Laura puts on a pair of  trousers. Both New York Nate and London Laura have  babies, but New York Nate needs to change change the baby's diaper, and London Laura needs to change the baby's nappy.  When it's time to go to work, New York Nate takes the subway and London Laura takes the   underground (which is also called the tube). After getting off at the right stop, New York   Nate walks along the sidewalk and London Laura walks along the pavement to reach their  offices.  New York Nate works on the first floor of the building, and London Laura works on the ground floor. This means they don't need to take the elevator (for New York Nate) or the   lift (for London Laura). At work, both Nate and Laura need to send some important documents to a client - but New post. During York by mailfrench and London Laura sendschips. them by the the day,same New York Nate Nate sends snacksthem on cookies, London Laura eats fries, and potato things, but she calls them biscuits, chips, and crisps. 

This isn't a very healthy diet, is it? i t? Both Nate and Laura get stomachaches, so on the way wa y home from work New York Nate stops at the drugstore or pharmacy and London Laura stops at the chemist's shop to pick up some medicine. After work, Nate and Laura go shopping. They drive to the mall, and New York Nate puts his car in the parking lot, whereas London Laura puts hers in the car park. Both of them buy a lot of stuff, so New York Nate puts his purchases in the trunk , and London Laura puts hers in the boot.  On the way home, New York Nate stops to fill up the car with gas - and London Laura fills up her car with petrol . At the station, New York Nate sees a truck , and London Laura sees a lorry.  They both get home late, and New York Nate needs to take out the garbage or trash; London Laura also needs to take out the rubbish. It's dark outside, so New York Nate takes a flashlight, and London Laura takes a torch.   It's been a long day, and New York Nate thinks he's going to go crazy; London Laura thinks she might go mad.  It must be time for a vacation for New York Nate... and a holiday for London Laura!

 

Don't Make These 15 Common Mistakes in Spoken English “Everybody are happy.”  happy.” 

Words like everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody are actually singular, not plural. Even though “everybody” refers to a lot of people, it takes the singular s ingular verb – so – so the correct sentence is “Everybody is happy.”  problem.”   “I‟ll explain you the problem.”

In this sentence, there are two objects –  objects – the the direct object (the problem) and the indirect object (you). After explain, we need to use to before the indirect object –  object – the the person to whom we are doing the explaining. Also, it’s more common to put the direct object first, so the correct sentence is  is “I‟ll explain the problem to you.”  “I have the possibility to study in Canada next year.”  year.”  

With “have,” we use opportunity, not possibility –  possibility – so so the correct sentence is “I have the The word opportunity to study in Canada next year.” possibility is more used with “There is…,” for example, “There’s a possibility I may study in Canada Canada next year.”  year.”  li ke tomatoes.”  “I think she doesn‟t like tomatoes.” 

Although there’s no specific grammar rule here, it’s more common to say “I don‟t think sshe he likes tomatoes.”  “If I will see John later, I‟ll give him the message.”  message.” 

Although both events are technically in the future, this sentence should be in the  the  first conditional  form –  conditional form –  “If I see John later, I‟ll give him the message.”  “Do you want that I make breakfast?”  breakfast?” 

“That” is not normally used after “want.” The correct sentence is: “Do you want me to make breakfast?”  car.”  “I‟m thinking to buy a new car.” 

“To + infinitive” is not used after “think,” “t hink,” so the correct sentence would be: “I‟m thinking of  buying a new car” or “I‟m thinking about buying a new car.” 

 

“They enjoyed the baseball game despite of the rain.” rain.”  

“Despite” and “in spite of” mean the same thing, and many English learners confuse them. After “despite,” we never use “of.” The correct sentence would be “They enjoyed the baseball game despite the rain” or “They enjoyed the baseball game in spite of the rain.”  ten-years-old “My ten-yearsold daughter loves to dance.”  dance.”  

When an age comes after “is,” then you say “years old”: “My daughter is ten years old.” But when an age comes before the person (or object) as an adjective, then you say year, not years   –  “My ten ten-year-old -year-old daughter loves to dance.”  “Our house is near to the beach.”  beach.” 

“Near” and “close to” mean the same thing, but “to” is never used after “near.” The correct sentence is “Our house is near the beach” or  “Our house is close to the beach.”  “I like very much soccer.” soccer.”  

We don’t normally put “very much” between a verb (like) and its object (soccer). (s occer). The correct “I like soccer very much.” sentence would be,common in really spokenlike English, it would  probably be more to say “I like soccerHowever, a lot” or “I soccer.”   “Gary gave to Joan the keys.” keys.”  

Like “explain” in the example above, “give” has two objects –  – the the indirect object (Joan) and the direct object (the keys). We can say this sentence two ways: “Gary gave Joan the keys”  or  “Gary gave the keys to Joan.”  “She asked me where do I work.” work.”  

This is one of the most difficult parts of English –  English  –  reported speech speech.. In reported questions, we do not use the auxiliary verb do/does/did –  do/does/did – so so the correct sentence is, “She asked me where I work.”  “They left without say goodbye.” goodbye.”  

When you use a verb after conjunctions and prepositions like after, before, since, when, while, without,  without, instead of, and in spite of, it is generally in the -ing form. So the correct sentence is “They left without saying goodbye.”  “I need to finish this project until Friday.”  Friday.” 

Use until to talk about a situation that will continue up to a certain moment, for example: “I’m staying in the  the city until June.” Use by to talk about a single action or event that will wil l happen before a future moment. By is often use with deadlines, so the correct sentence is, “I need to finish this project by Friday.” 

 

Think about / Think of   The two most common prepositions used after the verb “think” are “about” and “of.” They

are very similar, but there is a small difference. Usually Usuall y when you “think of something,” it is a brief moment –  moment – just just a few seconds. It is also al so used for opinions. When you “think about something” you are considering it for a longer time – like –  like a few minutes or more. Every time I hear this song, I think of my mother. (thinking for a few seconds)  seconds)  What do you think of my new haircut? (opinion)  (opinion)  I’m  thinking about moving to a different city. I’m (considering)  (considering)  I still get angry when I think about all the rude things my sister said to me. (thinking for a few minutes or more)  more)   Common error: Don‟t use “think to” for “considering.”  I’m  thinking to do an intensive English course in Canada.   I’m

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I’m  thinking about doing an intensive English course in Canada. I’m

Think over / Think through 

Use the prepositions “over” and “through” when you need to consider a topic carefully carefull y or  think about it for a longer time (hours, days, or weeks). 

 

I’m not sure sure which course I want to take. Let me think it over for a while.

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I’ll need some time to  to  think through your proposal. Can I call you back next nex t week?

Think ahead / Think back   The preposition “ahead” is used for thinking about the future:  future:   

 

We need to think ahead at least five years if we want our company to have long-term

success. The preposition “back” is used for thinking about the past:  past:   

 

I like to think back on my college years; that was a great time ti me in my life.

Think up 

“Think up” is an expression that means me ans to imagine, invent, or create an idea. 

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We need to think up a way to distract Laura while we plan her surprise party. p arty.   I spent half an hour trying to think up a good excuse for why I was late to work.  

Let’s  think up some new strategies for increasing sales. Let’s

 

Think to  “Think to” is most frequently used with “myself” –  – when when you think about something, but you

don’t say it or share it with any a ny other person. “Think to myself” is often followed by a direct statement of the thought. 

 

Whenever I’m in a meeting at work, I think to myself,  “This is a huge waste of time.”  time.”  

“Didn’t think to” can also be used when something did not even enter your mind.  mind.   

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Sorry I didn’t see your message – I –  I didn‟t think to check my e-mail before I left the

house.   I’m annoyed because all my friends went to the movies and didn‟t think to invite me.

The difference between should, could, and would is difficult for many English learners –  learners  – this this lesson will help you understand when to use each one!

Use SHOULD and SHOULDN’T for advice

 

Here are some examples of using should and shouldn‟t to ask for and give advice and suggestions: “I’ve had a really bad headache for the past week.”  week.”   “That’s not good – you –  you should go to the doctor.”  doctor.”  “I want to make more friends, but I don’t know how.”  how.”   “First of all, you shouldn‟t spend so much time on the computer. You should go out and join a club or start playing a sport instead!”  instead!”   “I had a fight with my best friend. What should I do?”  do?”  “Hmm… I think you should call her and tell her you’re sorry.” sorr y.”  

Use COULD and COULDN’T for ability in the past

 

Could and couldn‟t are the past forms of  can and can‟t: 

When I was younger, I could run a mile in 7 minutes. Now it takes me 20 minutes! Yesterday, I couldn‟t find my wallet anywhere –  anywhere – but but this morning I found it. Last year, he couldn‟t speak English very well, but now he can. 

Use COULD for possibilities in the future

 

Here’s an example of could to talk about future possibilities: “Do you have any ideas for our publicity campaign?”  campaign?”  

 

“Yes, I’ve got a few ideas. I could put advertisements on Facebook and Google. We could  also give out pamphlets in i n our neighborhood. Maybe John could even contact local TV stations.”   stations.”

Use COULD to make polite requests      

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i n here.  here.   Could you please open the window? It’s hot in Could you turn the music down? Thanks. Could you make 10 copies of this report, please?

 

Use WOULD to talk about unreal or unlikely situations      

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If I were the president of my m y company, I would make a lot of changes. If people were more generous, there wouldn‟t be so much poverty in the t he world today. She would travel around the world if she had more vacation time.

 Note: In this case, would is often shortened to „d   

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If I were the president of my company, I‟d make a lot of changes.

Use WOULD YOU LIKE to make polite offers

 

Here are some examples of using would you like…? to make polite offers: “Would you like anything to drink?”  drink?”  “A soda would be great. Thanks!”  Thanks!”  “Would you like to join us for dinner?”  dinner?”  “I’d love to, but I actually have other plans tonight.”  tonight.”   “Would you like to see some pictures from my vacation?”  vacation?”   “Sure!”   “Sure!” Don’t use “to” after should, could, and would:  You shouldn’t to smoke.  smoke.  You shouldn’t smoke.  smoke.  We could to order pizza tonight. We could order pizza tonight. I would to buy a new car if I had the money. I would buy a new car if I had the money.

 

Quiz - Difference between Should, Could, and Would Question 1 Helen, _________ you come over here for a minute? I need to talk to you. A could B should C wouldn't Question 2 You _________ like my brother if you got to know him better. A couldn't B should C would Question 3 I __________ call you last night because I left my cell phone at home. A couldn't B shouldn't C wouldn't Question 4 When your father was a boy, he _________ play soccer for 5 hours straight without getting tired. A could B should C wouldn't Question 5 In my opinion, you _________ dye your hair blonde. You'd look great! A could B should C would Question 6 You really __________ stay up so late. I don't think you're getting enough sl sleep. eep. A couldn't B shouldn't C wouldn't Question 7 I __________ touch that equipment if I were you. It looks dangerous. A wouldn't B couldn't C shouldn't Question 8

 

 __________ I buy a DVD or a watch for my father's birthday birthday?? What do you think? A could B should C would Question 9 Joanna, _________ you like some chicken? A would B could C should Question 10 If it rains on the date of the wedding, we _________ have the ceremony inside the church instead of in the park. A could B shouldn't C