Idioms 1
to enter or to board a vehicle.
To ________ is used for cars; to _______ is used for all other forms of transportation.
to get in/to get on
to start or cause to function (also: to switch on)
- Please _______ the light; it's too dark in here.
to turn on
to try to find, to search for
o He's spent over an hour _____ the pen that he lost.
to look for
to wear formal clothes, to dress very nicely.
- We should definitely ________ to go to the theater.
to dress up
to leave or to descend from a vehicle.
To _________ of is used for cars; ________ is used for all other forms of transportation.
to get out of/ to get off
to cause to stop functioning (also: to switch off, to shut off)
flow, such as electricity, water, gas, etc.
- Please _______ the light when you leave the room.
to turn off
acceptable, fine; yes, okay
o He said that it would be ________ to wait in her office until she returned.
all right
finally, after a long time.
- We waited for hours and then the train arrived ____________.
at last
to place on oneself (usually said of clothes)
E.g.: Mary _________ her coat and left the room.
to put on
very soon; immediately (also: at once)
- Dad says that dinner will be ready _______, so we'd better wash our hands and set the table.
right away
gradually, slowly (also: step by step)
o Karen's health seems to be improving _________.
little by little
as is the general case, as is typical.
- George is late for class _________. This seems to happen every day.
as usual
to remove (usually said of clothes)
E.g.: John _______ his jacket as he entered the office.
E.g. 2: ______ your sweater ______. The room is very warm.
to take off
to lift form the floor, table, etc., with one's fingers
- Harry _________ the newspaper that was on the front doorstep.
to pick up
don't be concerned about it; ignore what was just said
o When he spilled his drink on my coat, I said, "__________. It needs to be cleaned anyway."
never mind
get information about, to determine.
- Will you please try to ________ what time the airplane arrives?
to find out
to telephone (also: to give some one a call)
To call can be used instead of _________, as in the first example below.
E.g.: I forgot to ____________ Mr. Jones yesterday. I'd better call him now.
to call up
eventually, after a period of time
- If you study English seriously, __________ you'll become fluent.
sooner or later
to choose, to select
o Ann ___________ a good book to give to her brother as a graduation gift.
to pick out
give one's attention to; to watch.
- The teacher told us to _______ the blackboard and not at our books.
to look at