Advanced Grammar
It’s high time he ___ (realise) the error of his ways.
realised (“It’s high time” + past)
Verb phrase for “to find meanings that are intended but that are not directly expressed in something said or written”?
read between the lines
Meaning of “brush up on”
To improve or refresh knowledge of something
Complete: “If I ___ (know) you were busy, I wouldn’t have called.”
had known
Combine: “He presented the results. They were the most innovative I’ve seen.”
He presented the results that were the most innovative I’ve seen.
Choose: “He prevented me ___ (to say / from saying) anything.”
from saying
Use “under sb's thumb” in a sentence.
He's got the committee firmly under his thumb - they agree to whatever he asks.
“If I had studied harder, I ___ (be) more confident now.”
would be (mixed conditional)
Error: “She said she will have finished by tomorrow.”
She said she would have finished by tomorrow.
Verb phrase for: "keep under careful observation"
keep an (a sharp) eye on sth/sb
Meaning of “hit it off”
To immediately like each other / get on well
Error: “If she would have warned me, I’d come earlier"
“If she had warned me, I’d have come earlier.”
Modals: “She ___ (must) told him earlier.”
She must have told him earlier
Formal alternative to “get to grips with”
come to terms with / master / grasp
Correct phrasal verb: “She decided to ___ the issue at the meeting.”
bring up
Inversion: “If she had known, she would have acted differently.”
“Had she known, she would have acted differently.”
Inversion: “If it were not for his help, I couldn’t have succeeded.”
Were it not for his help, I couldn’t have succeeded.
Use “no sooner … than” in a sentence.
“No sooner had he arrived than the meeting began.”
Meaning of “throw someone off”? Use in context.
To confuse or mislead someone.
Example: “His strange behavior threw me off — I didn’t know what to expect.”
Meaning difference: “If he took that job, he would move to London” vs “If he had taken that job, he would live in London now.”
First = present unreal possibility; second = unreal past affecting present (mixed conditional)