IDIOMS AND PHRASAL VERBS

IDIOMS AND PHRASAL VERBS

Idioms are expressions with two or more words that have a meaning that is different from the meanings
of the individual words. For example, spill the beans means to reveal something. As you can see the
meaning of this idiom is different from the meaning of the individual words- spill/beans. However some association of idea with the idioms and their meanings cannot be denied. Some such idioms are:
Out of the blue: unexpectedly after a long time

Last nail in something or somebody's coffin: something that makes the end or failure of an organization Fly off the handle: get angry

There are innumerable idioms in English that start with some verbs. For example:
Call
Call it a day:
Call a spade a spade
Call the shots
Pull
Pull a fast one
Pull the rug out from under somebody's feet
Pull the strings

There are some idioms that are associated with colour terms. For example,

Out of the blue
Green with envy
Go blue in the face
Bolt from the blue
In black and white

Other common idioms in English are the phrasal verbs. Phrasal verb is a group of words with a combination of a verb and a preposition or adverb, or both. For example, give up
(verb preposition).

Some common phrasal verbs in English are formed with the verbs make, give, look, take and get.
Combining with prepositions or adverbs.

Make
Make out (understand)
Make up (prepare)

Give
Give in (agree, admit, offer for judgment)
Give up (not try, to stop doing something)

Look
Look after (to take care of something or someone)
Look forward to (to fell excited and happy about something that is going to happen)

Take
Take off (succeed, leave, copy)
Take over (start doing a job or something or responsibility that was carried out by someone else before,
get control)

Get
Get through (to succeed in talking with someone on the phone)
Get away (to escape from something or somewhere when it is difficult to do so)

A good dictionary will help you immensely in learning phrasal verbs. Look up the main verb in the
dictionary to find the meaning of the phrasal verbs and their usage.