month1 Flashcards
You and your husband are moving across the country. You’re going to move first, and your husband is going to come a few weeks later. You’re explaining your plan to a friend on the phone:
He’s going to hang back for a few weeks to tie up a few loose ends.
- “___ is going to ___” is a basic way of talking about future plans. English learners often over-use “will” when “going to” would be more appropriate. In general, when you want to talk about something that you’ve already decided to do, use “going to”. If you’ve just decided something and want to announce your decision, use “will”
- To “hang back” means to not go somewhere or not participate
- “Loose ends” are things that haven’t been finished or taken care of yet
You’re exercising along with an exercise video at home. The teacher on the video is giving instructions for a stretching exercise. She says:
Kneel down on your hands and knees and arch your back.
Your friend did something funny, so you started laughing. She’s mad because she thinks that you’re making fun of her. You didn’t mean to make fun of her, so you say:
No, come on! I’m not laughing at you; I’m laughing with you
One of your friends is pregnant and about to have her baby. There’s going to be a party for her next week. You want to get her something expensive, so you’d like to get three or four friends to buy it for her together. You suggest to one friend:
Maybe a few of us can all chip in and get her something really nice for her baby shower.
- To “chip in” means to help with something that a group of people is doing. Sometimes “chipping in” means giving money. In the example above, the speaker wants her friend to “chip in” by giving some money for the gift.Someone can also “chip in” by volunteering their time or work
- ### get (someone) somethingThis means to buy a gift for someone
- ### A “baby shower” is a party that you throw for someone who’s going to have a baby. At a baby shower, you give the expecting parents things that they’ll need for their baby, like clothes, toys, bottles, etc.There are also “wedding showers”, which are parties for a woman who’s about to get marrie
You bought an office chair online. You thought that it would be sent to you completely built, but instead you were just sent a bunch of parts that you have to put together. You say to yourself:
I guess it requires some assembly.
Use “I guess…” to express that you’ve just started to think something.
You and a friend are talking about why you’ve decided to rent a house instead of buying one. You explain:
Even an extremely modestly priced home in this area costs 150K at the bare minimum.
You’re at a swimming pool with some friends. One of your friends tells you that you should put on sunscreen. You don’t want to because you don’t like how it feels on your skin. You say:
No thanks. Sunscreen makes my skin feel all oily.
In casual speech, putting “all” in front of an adjective can make it sound more negative. Use it to talk about things that you don’t like or that annoy you.
A friend of yours is an actor. He auditioned to get a part, but he didn’t get it. Now you’re trying to cheer him up with some friendly advice. You say:
You have to keep plugging away, you know?
To “plug away at” something means to keep working hard on it for a long time, without expecting a quick reward.
Your kitchen stove doesn’t work. You call your landlord to fix it. You explain the problem to him:
You can hear the gas coming out when you turn the knob, but it doesn’t ignite.
You’re talking to a new client. You need him to sign a contract before you can work with him. You hand him the contract and say:
Skim over it and let me know if you have any questions.
To “skim” something means to read it very quickly and incompletely. For example, if you “skim” a newspaper, you might read the headlines and a few sentences from some of the articles.
To “look over” something means to look at something to see if it’s OK. In other words, it means to “check” something.
“Let me know” means “tell me”. But “let me know” is a more polite and friendly expression.
“Let me know if you have any questions” is a common way to politely offer to answer someone’s questions about something. It’s also a good way to end a business email or telephone call when you’ve given someone information and don’t need to ask them for anything.
You’re showing your son how to change the oil in your car. You want to explain why you need to change it. You say:
Over time, crud starts to build up in the engine.
Use the phrase “over time” to describe how something changes, little by little, as time passes
Something that “builds up” becomes stronger or thicker over time by gradually adding more and more
“Crud” is kind of like “dirt”. But while “dirt” is technically stuff that comes from the ground, “crud” could be anything.
Your young child is playing with the door, opening and closing it. You’re worried that his fingers are going to get squeezed and hurt. You tell him:
Watch out! Your fingers are going to get caught in the door.
Watch out!
Yell this when you want someone to be careful. You can also say “Look out”. “Look out” seems to be more specifically for immediate danger, while “Watch out” can be for things that aren’t happening now
(something) gets caught (somewhere)
When something “gets caught”, it means that it’s not able to move freely.
You are introducing a speaker at a conference. She is a well-known writer who has won awards. You’re listing her accomplishments. You say one of the accomplishments on the list:
She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction.
Someone who gets an award is the “recipient” of the reward. The word “recipient” is pretty formal
“Numerous” is a formal way of saying “many” or “a lot”.
including (something)
Use this phrase to give examples of some of the things in a list. When you use “including ___”, you don’t need to list all of the items.
Your daughter is packing for a weekend vacation. She’s packed two large suitcases and a backpack.You think that’s too much. You say:
I find it hard to believe that you’re really going to need all that luggage for just 3 days.
I find it hard to believe that (clause)
Use “I find it hard to believe…” to complain about something that you don’t think is true
luggage
“Luggage” is stuff like suitcases, bags, and cases that you take with you when you travel somewhere.
The word “luggage” is uncountable, so people don’t normally say “luggages.
Your cousin posted a video of her family at home. You’re watching it with your husband. Your cousin’s baby is holding a toy, and you think it’s really cute. You say:
Aw, look at the baby holding her stuffed bunny!
Aw!
This is a sound that people make when they see something really cute. People especially say “Aw!” when they see cute babies or cute animals.
a stuffed animal
“Stuffed animals” are soft toys that look like animals. Teddy bears are the most popular kind of stuffed animal, but stuffed bunnies are probably the second most popular.
You’re writing an essay for school about the city of Detroit. The city used to be rich and full of people, but now it’s poor. You’re writing about people who are trying to improve the city. You write:
People say that Detroit is long past its prime, but some still hold out hope that the city will revive itself.
People say that (clause)
This is an expression for introducing an idea that you’ve heard from several different places.
(something) is past its prime
Something that is “past its prime” is no longer as strong as it used to be.
If something is still young, strong, and healthy, you say that it is “in its prime”:
> In his prime, he was one of the strongest players in the league.### someIn formal English, “some” can mean “some people”### hold out hope that (clause)To “hold out hope” means to still hope for something, even though it doesn’t seem very likely to happen.### revive (something)To “revive” something means to bring it back to life, or to make it healthy again after it was sick.
One of the students at your English language school is moving back to his home country. Some of the students contributed to buy him a gift. On the card for the gift, you want to write a nice, friendly message. You write:
Keep in touch!
However, “Keep in touch!” is such a commonly-used phrase that it often doesn’t mean anything. If someone tells you to “Keep in touch”, they probably don’t actually expect you to call or email them. If you really do want to keep in touch with someone, you might need to say or write it in a different way like this:
> Let’s definitely keep in touch.
You’re having a conversation about something with your boyfriend, and he interrupts to ask what’s for dinner. You’re annoyed that he always talks about food. You say:
Your mind’s always on food!
Most of the time, when you say that someone’s mind is “always on” something, it’s a complaint. You want to say that they think about that topic too much.
You can also use the phrase “get your mind off of ___”:
> It’s nice to take some time off and get your mind off of work for a few days.
You’re a teacher. You’re teaching your class with a textbook. Some of the students are moving quickly through the textbook, while some are moving more slowly. You want to tell the slower students to answer some questions. You say:
Take a moment to answer those questions on page 13 if you haven’t done so already.
do so
This phrase refers to an action that you’ve just talked about in the last 1-2 sentences. It means “do that”.
You’re chatting with a group of friends about your body shapes. You want to explain how you got your shape, so you describe what your parents look like:
My mom is plump like me, but my dad is tall and wiry.
(someone) is plump
A “plump” person is a little bit round and fat, though not too fat.
(someone) is wiry
A “wiry” person is really thin, but strong.
You’re studying massage therapy. You’re not professional at it yet, but you need to practice. You’re talking with your roommate about your training, and you want to ask her to let you practice on her. You say:
Would you mind being my guinea pig?
Would you mind (doing something)?
“Would you mind ___ing?” is a polite way to ask someone to do something.
Use it when you expect the listener to say “yes” to your request.
being a guinea pig
A “guinea pig” is a kind of small, furry animal. At one time, scientists used guinea pigs for laboratory experiments. Today, we use the term “guinea pig” for a person who gets used to test something, like a new drug, product, or process:
You wanted to be an actress when you were younger. Now, it’s many years later. You’re telling your niece the story of why you stopped acting. In part of the story, you say:
I came this close to packing up and moving out to Hollywood to pursue an acting career.
came this close to (doing something)
This is an expression that people say while holding their thumb and index finger close together (like they’re holding a pea between them). It means “I almost (did something)”
pack up and move (somewhere)
“Pack up and move” describes moving somewhere suddenly
(go/move) out to (a place)
When people talk about going or moving somewhere far away to the east or west (but not overseas), they sometimes say “go out to ___” or “move out to ___”.
When you want to talk about someone going overseas, “go over to ___” is usually better. When someone goes to the north or south, “go up to ___” or “go down to ___” are common.
pursue a career
When you “pursue a career”, you try to work in a certain industry.
This phrase is usually followed by “in ___”:
You have a blog. It’s started to become really popular. A friend asks how it became so popular, but you didn’t do any advertisement for it. You say:
It’s mostly just spread through word of mouth.
(an idea) spreads through (something)
Use the verb “spread” to describe the way that an idea becomes more and more well-known.
The way that it spreads can be described with “through”:
> It originally spread through Twitter. Now it’s starting to get some attention from major TV talk shows.### mostly“Mostly” is a good word for conversation and casual English. A good alternative in more formal English is “primarily”:> It has primarily spread through word of mouth.### word of mouth“Word of mouth” is when people tell their friends, family, etc. about something and recommend it. Things that become popular this way are said to “spread through word of mouth”.“Word of mouth” is especially used to talk about things becoming popular without being advertised.
You’re at a fast food restaurant. One of the employees who has a very strong accent asks you a question. You ask her to repeat herself 2 times, but you still don’t understand. You say:
I’m sorry. I just don’t get what you’re trying to say.
Use the phrase “I don’t get ___” to talk about things that you don’t understand.You can follow “I don’t get ___” with a clause that starts with a question word like “what”, “why”, “how”, etc.:
