Friday, 3 May 2013

Phrasal Verb - Sneak up on

Phrasal Verb - sneak up on

Definition:
Suddenly and stealthily (like a ninja!) appear very close to someone, usually in order to scare them

Rules:
Transitive, Inseparable

Examples:
"AH!! Don't sneak up on me! you scared me!"
__________________
"He snuck up on me, and I dropped my coffee on the floor :("

Thursday, 2 May 2013

Phrasal Verb - Shut up

Phrasal Verb - Shut up

Definition:
Stop talking, stop making noise

Rules:
Both transitive and intransitive (mostly intransitive), separable

Examples:
"Will you please... shut...up!!"
________
"Please shut your dog up, he's yapping all night, and I can't sleep!"
_________
"Shut up talking about your ex! I don't want to know!"

Idioms: Take advantage of/make the most of


Commonly mistaken idioms!
Take advantage of / Make the most of

In spanish, (and probably other languages too... Perhaps you can correct me) this has just one translation, (Aprovechar) causing a bit of confusion for English students. Both of these can be used to describe "making good use of something" but the difference is that only "Take advantage of" can also be used in a negative/exploitative way

Take advantage of (Mostly used to describe exploitation)




Definition:

1.To put to good use
2. To profit selfishly by; exploit

Examples:

"We need to take advantage of his knowledge, we can learn a lot from him!" (good way)

"He took advantage of the old man, because he was naive and rich" (bad way)

"Her hands were busy so her boyfriend took advantage"
_____________________________________________________________________

Make the most of


Definition:
1. to put to good use; use something in a good way:

Examples:
"It's a sunny day! I need to make the most of the sun, because it's gonna rain soon probably!"
______
"Make the most of your life, travel as much as you can!"


Phrasal verb - Back off/back away

Phrasal verb - Back off/back away

Definition:
To retreat, withdraw from a position

Rules:
Intransitive, Inseparable

Examples:
The gorilla backed off when the duck (or is that a goose?) started running!
_______
"EEEYYYYYYYY" (poke poke poke poke)
"Back off!!! I'm not in a good today!"
_______
"I think we'll have to back away from this business deal, we're not in a position to accept any new business right now. Sorry"

Phrasal Verb - Pump Up



Phrasal verb - Pump up 

Definition
Give energy to someone/something

Rules:
Transitive, separable

Examples:
"The band really pumped the audience up for a really energetic show"
________________
"I drank Red Bull, now I'm all pumped up... let's do something!"

English Expressions - "to not give a fuck/shit"

English Expressions - Not give a fuck/shit
(Very informal!)

Definition:
Not care about something/someone, something doesn't have any importance to you

Examples:

"You really don't give a fuck about me"
___________
"I broke up with my boyfriend! :'("
"Pshhh I give a fuck!" (with sarcasm)
___________
As always... be creative with your expressions!
"To be honest, I don't give 2 fucks about politics"
___________
"I could not give a single tiny fuck about this class, it's boring"

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

Phrasal verb - Break up (with)

Phrasal verb - Break up (with)

Definition:
End a relationship

Rules:
Transitive, Inseparable

Examples:
"Why is he lying on the floor?"
"He and Ann broke up"
"Her?"
_________
"I broke up with my girlfriend yesterday"
_________
"Are still with that guy?"
"No, we broke up"
"Good, he was a bastard!"