Essential English Idiom - Lesson 3

Lesson 3 

to point out: to show, to indicate, to bring to one's attention (S)

- What important buildings did the tour guide point out to you?

- The teacher pointed out the mistakes in my composition.

- A friend pointed the famous actor out to me.

to be up: to expire, to be finished

This idiom is used only with the word time as the subject.

- "The time is up," the teacher said at the end of the test period.

- We have to leave the tennis court because our hour is up; some other people want to use it now.

to be over: to be finished, to end (also: to be through)

This idiom is used for activities and events.

- After the dance was over, we all went to a restaurant.

- The meeting was through ten minutes earlier than everyone expected.

on time: exactly at the correct time, punctually

- I thought that Margaret would arrive late, but she was right on time.

- Did you get to work on time this morning, or did rush hour traffic delay you?

in time to (do something): before the time necessary to do something

- We entered the theater just in time to see the beginning of the movie.

- The truck was not able to stop in time to prevent an accident.

to get better (worse, etc.): to become better, worse, etc.

- Heather has been sick for a month, but now she is getting better.

- This medicine isn't helping me. Instead of getting better, I'm getting worse.

to get sick (well, tired, busy, wet, etc.): to become sick, well, tired, busy, wet, etc.

This idiom consists of a combination of get and various adjectives.

- Gerald got sick last week and has been in bed since that time.

- Every afternoon I get very hungry, so I eat a snack.

had better (d o something): should, ought to, be advisable to

This idiom is most often used in contracted form (I'd better).

- I think you'd better speak to Mr. White right away about this matter.

- The doctor told the patient that he'd better go home and rest.

would rather (do something): prefer to (also: would just as soon (do something) as (do something else))

- Would you rather have the appointment this Friday or next Monday?

- I would just as soon go for a walk as watch TV right now.

to call it a day/night: to stop working for the rest of the day/ night

- Herb tried to repair his car engine all morning before he called it a day and went fishing.

- We've been working hard on this project all evening; let's call it a night.

to figure out: to solve, to find a solution (S); to understand (S)

- How long did it take you to figure out the answer to the math problem?

- I was never able to figure it out.

to think of: to have a (good or bad) opinion of

This idiom is often used in the negative or with adjectives such as much and highly.

- I don't think much of him as a baseball player; he's a slow runner and a poor hitter.

- James thinks highly of his new boss, who is a kind and helpful person. 

to be about to do something: to be at the moment of doing something, to be ready

This idiom is often used with the adverb just.

- I was just about to leave when you telephoned.

- Oh, hi, John. We're just about to eat dinner.

to turn around: to move or face in the opposite direction (S); to completely change the condition of (S)

- The man turned his car around and drove back the way he came.

- The company has been very successful since the new business manager was able to turn it around.

to take turns (doing something): to alternate, to change people while doing something

- During the trip, Darlene and I took turns driving so that neither of us would tire out.

- I have to make sure that my two sons take turns playing the video game.

to pay attention (to): to look at and listen to someone while they are speaking, to concentrate

- Please pay attention to me while I'm speaking to you!

- You'll have to pay more attention in class if you want to get a good grade.

to brush up on something : to review something in order to refresh one's memory

- Before I traveled to Mexico, I brushed up on my Spanish; I haven't practiced it since high school.

- In order to take that advanced mathematics class, Sidney will have to brush up on his algebra.

over and over (again): repeatedly (also: time after time, time and again )

- The actress studied her lines in the movie over and over until she knew them well.

- Children have difficulty remembering rules, so it's often necessary to repeat them over and over again.

- Time and again I have to remind Bobby to put on his seatbelt in the car.

to wear out: to use something until it has no value or worth anymore, to make useless through wear (S)

- When I wear out these shoes, I'll have to buy some that last longer.

- What do you do with your clothes after you wear them out?

to throw away: to discard, to dispose of (S)

- I generally throw away my clothes when I wear them out.

- Don't throw the magazines away; I haven't read them yet.

to fall in love: to begin to love

This idiom is used with the expression at first sight to indicate a sudden interest in love.

- Ben and Sal fell in love in high school, and got married after graduation.

- Have you ever fallen in love at first sight?

to go out: to stop functioning; to stop burning; to leave home or work (also: to step out)

- The lights went out all over the city because of an electrical problem.

- The campers didn't have to put out the fire because it went out by itself.

- Gary isn't here right now; he went out to the store for a moment.

- I have to step out of the office briefly to pick up a newspaper.

out of the question : impossible, not feasible

- Stephen told Deborah that it was out of the question for her to borrow his new car.

- Don't expect me to do that again. It's absolutely out of the question.

to have to do with : to have some connection with or relationship to

- Ralph insisted that he had nothing to do with breaking the window.

- What does your suggestion have to do with our problem? 

to wake up : to arise from sleep, to awaken (S)

Compare wake up and get up as used in the first example.

- Marge woke up this morning very early, but she did not get up until about ten o'clock.

- My alarm clock wakes me up at the same time every day.

to be in charge (of something): to manage, to have responsibility for

- Jane is in charge of the office while Mrs. Haig is on a business trip.

- Who is in charge of arrangements for the dance next week?

as soon as: just after, when

- As soon as it started to snow, the children ran outside with big smiles on their faces.

- I'm busy now, but I'll meet you as soon as I've finished this work.

to get in touch with: to communicate with, to contact

- You can get in touch with him by calling the Burma Hotel.

- I've been trying all morning to get in touch with Miss Peters, but her phone is always busy.

to have a good time: to enjoy oneself

- We all had a good time at the class reunion last night.

- Did you have a good time at the park? I really enjoyed it

in no time: very quickly, rapidly

This idiom can be used with the idiom at all to add emphasis to the certainty of the statement.

- Mac said that he'd be ready to leave in no time.

- We thought that the meeting would take two hours, but it was over in no time at all.

to cut down on: to reduce, to lessen (also: to cut back on)

- In order to lose weight, you have to cut down on your intake of sugar.

- The doctor told me to cut back on exercise until my back injury heals.

quite a few : many

- Quite a few students were absent yesterday, in fact, more than half of them were not there.

- We did not expect many people to attend the affair, but quite a few of our friends actually came.

used to: formerly did, had the habit of

This idiom is used to indicate a past situation, action, or habit that does not exist in the present. The idiom is always followed by a simple verb form.

- I used to live in New York, but I moved to California two years ago.

- Kim used to smoke cigarettes, but she stopped the habit last month.

to be used : to be accustomed to

This idiom refers to a situation, action, or habit that continues in the present. The idiom is always followed by a noun or gerund phrase.

- He is used to this climate now, so the changes in temperature do not affect him much.

- I am used to studying in the library, so it's difficult for me to study at home now.

to get used (to something): to become used to, to become adjusted to

This idiom describes the process of change that allows some one to be used to a situation, action, or habit.

- It took Yoshiko a long time to get used to the food that her American host family served her.

- Mark can't seem to get used to wearing contact lenses, recently he's been wearing his glasses a lot.

back and forth : in a backward and forward motion

- The restless lion kept pacing back and forth along the front of its cage.

- Grandmother finds it relaxing to sit in her rocking chair and move back and forth.