Verb Combinations I Flashcards
To study and learn various verb combinations (phrasal verbs, collocations, common expressions and idioms).
to cut a long story short
a phrase used when you want to quickly finish a story
e.g. … so, to cut a long story short, they fell in love and got married
to cut corners
to do sth (especially sth connected with building) in the easiest, quickest, cheapest way you can - (often ignoring rules and regulations and often with the result that what is produced is badly made)
e.g. I want this to be the best and most impressive building in the city, so do not cut corners.
to cut short
to stop sth (e.g. a holiday) earlier than planned
e.g. On hearing that war had broken out, the Prime Minister cut short his holiday and returned home.
to draw sb’s attention to sth
(formal) to make sb notice sth
e. g. I’d like to draw your attention to clause 34 in the contract.
to draw a crowd
to attract a crowd
e.g. Te street performers drew a large crowd.
to draw the curtains
to close the curtains
e.g. It was dark. She got up and drew the curtains.
to hold a meeting
to have a meeting
e.g. Our last staff meeting of the year will be held on December 18.
to hold a number of
(for place / thing) to have enough space for a number of people
e.g. The new Mega cinema can hold up to 700 people.
to hold sb responsible (for) sth
to consider sb responsible for sth
e.g. If we don’t get this contract, I’ll hold you personally responsible.
to jump on the bandwagon
to do what other people are doing because it is fashionable / likely to be successful
e.g. Why jump on the bandwagon just because other people dye their hair pink?
to jump the queue
to go to the front of a queue without waiting your turn
e.g. He was surprised that no one said anything about the man who had just jumped the queue.
to jump to the conclusion that
to decide that sth is true before you are in possession of all the facts
e.g. Don’t jump to the conclusion that he is unfriendly, just because he is on the quiet side.
to keep abreast of
to keep informed about the latest ideas / news / developments
e.g. I buy the Daily Trader magazine to keep abreast of the latest developments in the stock market.
to keep sth at bay
to keep sth away to stop it from bothering you
e.g. Keeping yourself occupied will keep boredom at bay.
to keep sb in the dark
to deliberately not tell sb about sth
e.g. I would rather know than be kept in the dark.
to lose touch
to stop visiting / writing / speaking to sb
e.g. We used to see each other fairly regularly, but after he moved we lost touch.
to lose track of time
to forget what time it is
e.g. He couldn’t believe it was 10 o’clock; he had been so engrossed in the film that he had totally lost track of time.
to lose your way
to get lost
e.g. He would never get there on time. He was late when he left home and now he had lost his way.
to meet one’s death
to die
e.g. He met his death in a duel.
to meet sb’s demands
to do what sb wants
e.g. I have no intention of meeting such unreasonable demands.
to meet with sb’s approval / disapproval
(formal) to be approved of / disapproved of
[Note: to meet with little / no success: to be unsuccessful]
e.g. The Minister’s plan to abolish the tax met with widespread approval.
to raise the alarm
to warn people about danger / to contact the fire services / the police
e.g. An old lady saw the bag, thought it looked suspicious and raised the alarm.
to raise one’s voice to sb
to shout at sb because one is angry
e.g. Don’t raise your voice to me.
to raise public awareness of sth
to improve people’s knowledge about / of sth
e.g. We must raise public awareness of the problems facing refugees.
to run a temperature
to have a high temperature
e.g. You don’t look very well. Are you running a temperature?
sth runs in the family
if a particular characteristic, skill, disease, etc runs in a family, many members of that family have it
e.g. Asthma runs in our family. My grandfather, my father and both my brothers suffer from it.
to run rings (a)round sb
to beat an opponent very easily
e.g. They’ll run rings round such a poor team.
to stand empty
to be vacant (for buildings)
e.g. The castle stood empty for centuries.
to stand to do sth
to be in a position where you are likely to do sth, (e.g. to win, earn or lose money)
e.g. If this deal comes off, we stand to make a lot of money.
to throw a party
to have a party
e.g. The college is throwing a party next Friday to mark the end of term.
to throw a punch
to punch (hit) sb e.g. So who threw the first punch, then?
