with Speak Method
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Grammar and Idioms | For Young People |
| Learn the Idioms |
| make
yourself at home: my house is your house |
| help yourself: get something for
yourself, feel free to get things for yourself (while at another's
house) |
| cheer (a person) up: do something
nice, meant to make the person feel better |
| give
it a rest: stop talking about something (usually something where
there is disagreement) |
| give
me a break: exclamation--you think something is untrue or unfair
or you think too much is expected of you |
| stand
a chance: to have a chance |
| don't
stand a chance: to not have a chance |
| one thing after another: usually
negative, means that things happened close together in time which leads
to frustration, used after "it's" or "it was" |
| good for you: speaker is
congratulating the other person or approving of the other person |
| sticking
to: to continue with or stay with something |
| Come in. Make yourself at home.
I have to finish cooking. If you would like some water, please help yourself. It's on the counter. Thanks for cheering me up. I needed to laugh after such a hard day. When I was sick, I decided to cheer myself up by watching some good, new movies. Your sister's sad about her friend moving to another city. Why don't you go cheer her up? "Would you two give it a rest? You've been arguing all day." "I don't want to talk about work anymore. Let's give it a rest." My manager said they aren't giving raises because no one is performing any better than last year. I said, "Give me a break. I know our profits are going up." "Give me a break! I'm already behind in my work as it is--I don't have time to do anything else." I think I stand a chance of getting that job. The other applicants didn't look very qualified. I don't stand a chance of winning the competition. There are 1,000 people competing! I had such a hard day. It was one thing after another! I'm ready to watch some TV. I'm glad you finally broke up with
your girlfriend. It was one thing
after another with her. You're sticking to the new diet? Good for you! |
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| More Idioms |
| it just
so happens: introductory remark used, positively or negatively,
to get the listener's complete attention |
| [something]
leaves a lot to be desired: a polite way of saying you don't
like something |
| to come
across as (something): to seem to be a certain way, used to
describe people |
| knock
on wood: means that you give yourself luck (or someone else),
often used when people make a positive statement and
fear that the opposite could happen (people sometimes knock on
something
wooden when saying this),
comes from old
times when people believed spirits lived in wood and would come to you
if you knocked. |
| to
let someone/something get to you: to allow someone/something to
upset you |
| over
(my/your/his/her) head: too hard to understand, one doesn't have
the knowledge to understand |
| little
did (a person) know: the phrase is used to create suspense
before a previously unkown idea/fact is expressed |
| paid off: a reward was received for effort |
You're looking for new teachers? It just so happens that I'm looking for work and I'm a great teacher. They are forcing us to move from the apartment building. I said to the landlord, "It just so happens, I know a very good lawyer." It's been raining for 4 days. This weather leaves a lot to be desired. I decorated the living room, but our old, plastic Christmas tree leaves a lot to be desired. He comes across as sarcastic, but he's actually very nice. My old manager came across as a tyrant, and that's exactly what she was. I caught a cold, then a flu, and then I had a backache for a week. Hopefully, that's the end of my ill health--knock on wood! Our company's stock went up by 2.5%. It could go up more--knock on wood! Don't let the new manager get to you. I don't think he will last long here. My son knows more about computers than I do. He says things that are over my head all the time. Everyone was behaving strangely all day. Little did I know, they were planning my surprise birthday party. His persistence eventually paid off. His sales improved and his company began to do well. |
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