Phrasal expressions Flashcards
SORT OF, KIND OF
[In un certo senso, circa, abbastanza]
Kind of and sort of are very common expressions in speaking. They soften other words and phrases so that they do not appear too direct or exact. Kind of is more common in American English. Sort of is more common in British English:
* He’s kind of jealous that they have become such good friends.
* She’s spent the whole year sort of travelling around the world
* She’s spent the whole year sort of travelling around the world.
* Is he your boyfriend? Kind of, it’s complicated
AT ALL
[Per niente, per nulla, del tutto, affatto]
We use it with questions and negatives to add emphasis, but not with affirmative statements:
* She was not at all frightened.
* Were you at all upset by Kevin’s behaviour?
We often use at all at the end of a question to make the question sound more polite:
* Would you like any desserts at all?
We can use *not at all *as a polite response to questions:
* Do you mind if I sit here? No, not at all
ON ONE’S OWN
[Da solo, solo soletto]
If you do something on your own, you do it without any help from other people.
* You did this on your own?
* He lives on his own.
* I need some time on my own.
IN TERMS OF
[In termini di]
If you talk about something in terms of something or in particular terms, you are specifying which aspect of it you are discussing or from what point of view you are considering it.
* In terms of profit, the publisher made $15.3 million last year.
* Our goods compete in terms of product quality and reliability
A NUMBER OF
[Alcuni, diversi, parecchi]
An unspecified number of; several or many
* There were a number of people in Cairo who would believe it.
* He has broken the rules** a number of** times.
SUCH AS
[Come, come per esempio, come ad esempio]
* People such as your friend John make me angry
* We have questions, such as how it happened.
* She has lots of good qualities, such as intelligence and wit
SUCH A(N)
[Così. del genere, tale]
You use such before noun groups to emphasize the extent of something or to emphasize that something is remarkable.
- I have never seen such an amazing cake!
- It was such a pleasant surprise.
- He had such a way with the ladies.
- She had such a strange sense of humor.
SO THAT
We use so that to talk about purpose. We often use them with modal verbs (can, would, will, etc.)
- I’ll go by car so that I can take more luggage.
- We left a message with his neighbour so that he would know we’d called.
So that can also mean ‘with the result that’:
* The birds return every year around March, so that April is a good time to see them.
* Chop the half onion thinly and fry under low heat so that it becomes soft and translucent.
* A singer’s job is to interpret a story so that people feel it.
A GREAT/GOOD DEAL
a large amount/quantity
* A great deal of my time is spent preparing students for exams
* This product has excited a great deal of media interest
* She spends a good deal of her time in China
AS IF/AS THOUGH
We use as if and as though to make comparisons. We use as if and as though to talk about an imaginary situation or a situation that may not be true but that is likely or possible. As if is more common than as though. As if and as though commonly follow the verbs feel and look.
- She felt as if all her worries had gone
- It looks as if they’ve had a shock.
- he looked as though he’d seen a ghost
- She moved her lips as if to smile
AND SO ON / AND SO FORTH
You use and so on or and so forth at the end of a list to indicate that there are other items that you could also mention
* The patient can have apples, apple juice, apple sauce, and so forth.
* He preaches around fifty sermons a year, without counting funerals and so on.
* Don’t store credit card information and so forth on your hard drive
