When you decided to achieve something, e.g. enter a university
I set my sights on going to university
using exactly the same words
word for word
It's difficult to make someone change their way of doing things, especially if they have been doing it for a long time.
you can't teach an old dog new tricks
a lot of work to catch up
a lot of ground to make up
up to a satisfactory standard or quality
up to scratch
a bad memory
a memory like a sieve
You are giving advice to someone about something they know more about than you.
You're teaching your grandmother to suck eggs!
round the clock
burning the candle at both ends
to remind of something
jog my memory
to learn from a negative experience not to do something again
I've learnt my lesson
forgotten immediately
go in one ear and out the other
to make progress rapidly
in leaps and bounds
learn something so that you can remember it perfectly
learn off by heart
to show someone as a result of experience what not to do
The next time he arrives late, just go without him - that will teach him a lesson
be easily remembered
stick in my mind
working on and likely to achieve something
on track
At school, we were always taught to ???, so that we could repeat things from memory, and I still use that technique to help me remember new vocabulary.
learn by rote
to graduate with highest marks
with flying colours
being absent without permission
play truant