Verb Combinations I

Question 1

to cut a long story short

Answer 1

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

Question 2

to cut corners

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

to cut short

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

to draw sb’s attention to sth

Answer 4

(formal) to make sb notice sth

e. g. I’d like to draw your attention to clause 34 in the contract.

Question 5

to draw a crowd

Answer 5

to attract a crowd

e.g. Te street performers drew a large crowd.

Question 6

to draw the curtains

Answer 6

to close the curtains

e.g. It was dark. She got up and drew the curtains.

Question 7

to hold a meeting

Answer 7

to have a meeting

e.g. Our last staff meeting of the year will be held on December 18.

Question 8

to hold a number of

Answer 8

(for place / thing) to have enough space for a number of people
e.g. The new Mega cinema can hold up to 700 people.

Question 9

to hold sb responsible (for) sth

Answer 9

to consider sb responsible for sth

e.g. If we don’t get this contract, I’ll hold you personally responsible.

Question 10

to jump on the bandwagon

Answer 10

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?

Question 11

to jump the queue

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

to jump to the conclusion that

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

to keep abreast of

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

to keep sth at bay

Answer 14

to keep sth away to stop it from bothering you

e.g. Keeping yourself occupied will keep boredom at bay.

Question 15

to keep sb in the dark

Answer 15

to deliberately not tell sb about sth

e.g. I would rather know than be kept in the dark.

Question 16

to lose touch

Answer 16

to stop visiting / writing / speaking to sb

e.g. We used to see each other fairly regularly, but after he moved we lost touch.

Question 17

to lose track of time

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

to lose your way

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

to meet one’s death

Answer 19

to die

e.g. He met his death in a duel.

Question 20

to meet sb’s demands

Answer 20

to do what sb wants

e.g. I have no intention of meeting such unreasonable demands.

Question 21

to meet with sb’s approval / disapproval

Answer 21

(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.

Question 22

to raise the alarm

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

to raise one’s voice to sb

Answer 23

to shout at sb because one is angry

e.g. Don’t raise your voice to me.

Question 24

to raise public awareness of sth

Answer 24

to improve people’s knowledge about / of sth

e.g. We must raise public awareness of the problems facing refugees.

Question 25

to run a temperature

Answer 25

to have a high temperature

e.g. You don’t look very well. Are you running a temperature?

Question 26

sth runs in the family

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

to run rings (a)round sb

Answer 27

to beat an opponent very easily

e.g. They’ll run rings round such a poor team.

Question 28

to stand empty

Answer 28

to be vacant (for buildings)

e.g. The castle stood empty for centuries.

Question 29

to stand to do sth

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

to throw a party

Answer 30

to have a party

e.g. The college is throwing a party next Friday to mark the end of term.

Question 31

to throw a punch

Answer 31

to punch (hit) sb
e.g. So who threw the first punch, then?