2017 August Flashcards
Your young child is playing with the door, opening and closing it. You’re worried that he’s going to hurt his fingers. You tell this to him.
Watch out! Your fingers are going to get caught in the door.
Watch out!
Yell this when you want someone to be careful. You can also say “Look out”. “Look out” seems to be more specifically for immediate danger, while “Watch out” can be for things that aren’t happening now. For example:
Watch out. You don’t know if he’s trustworthy or not.
(something) gets caught (somewhere)
When something “gets caught”, it means that it’s not able to move freely. For example, if you’re wearing headphones while you walk through a doorway, the wire might “get caught” on the doorknob. If you try to keep walking, the doorknob will pull the wire. Wires, clothing, hooks, ropes, and handles can all “get caught” on something. Here are some sentences that use “get caught”:
A: Pull it tighter.
B: I can’t! It’s caught on something.
Her shirt got caught on a nail that was sticking out and ripped a little bit.
“Getting caught” is very similar to “getting stuck”. However, “getting stuck” is a situation that’s a little harder to get out of. If your foot “gets caught” on a branch while walking in the woods, you can easily move your foot around and release it. But if your foot “gets stuck” between two branches, it might take more force to pull it out.
in the door
In this example, “in the door” means in the space between the door and the doorway. This is the way to talk about something that gets hurt or stuck by a closing door:
A: What’s wrong?
B: I slammed my thumb in the car door.
You’re driving somewhere with your son riding in the back seat. He’s misbehaving, and you want him to stop. You threaten to punish him like this.
Don’t make me pull this car over!
pull over
When you’re driving, to “pull over” means to stop your car on the side of the road. You might have to “pull over” when a police car stops you, when you have engine trouble, or when you need to look at a map. Here’s an example:
When there’s an ambulance or fire truck approaching, you’re supposed to pull over to the side of the road and let them pass.
You can use “pull over” by itself like in this example. Or you can use it with an object like this:
You’re supposed to pull your vehicle over to the side of the road.
Don’t make me (do something)!
This is a phrase that’s most often used by parents or teachers talking to misbehaving children. You say “Don’t make me (do something)!” to threaten some kind of punishment. For example:
Don’t make me come up there!
Don’t make me call your mother!
As you can see, the parent doesn’t directly state what the punishment is going to be; it’s just a vague threat of something bad that’s going to happen if the child continues to behave badly.
It’s Friday afternoon at work. A coworker asks what you’re planning on doing this weekend. You’re just going to watch sports at home, so this is your answer.
I’m just gonna kick back with a cold drink and watch the game. You?
watch (something)
You generally “watch” things that move, such as:
watching a movie
watching a bird flying through the sky
watching your children play
Read this lesson for a more in-depth explanation of the differences between “watch” and “see”:
Would you like to go see a movie together sometime?
(someone) is going to (do something)
You use “going to ___” to talk about what will happen in the future. “Going to ___” is more natural than “will” for most situations where you’re expressing someone’s plans to do something:
They’re going to meet us at the airport.
I’m just going to stay home and relax this weekend.
English learners often over-use “will” when “going to” would be more appropriate. In general, when you want to talk about something that you’ve already decided to do, use “going to”:
Next up is Steve. He’s going to walk us through the new home page redesign.
Starbucks announced that they’re going to offer free Internet access at all their locations.
We’re going to keep it to just close friends and family.
If you’ve just decided something and want to announce your decision, use “will”:
Fine! I’ll take it back!
I guess I’ll thaw this out.
kick back
“Kicking back” means “relaxing”. For example:
Just kick back and make yourselfat home.
It’s nice to kick back every once in a while, isn’t it?
People usually “kick back” by sitting on a comfortable chair and:
talking with friends
watching TV
reading
snacking
There are some activities that are relaxing but wouldn’t be described as “kicking back”, like doing exercise, getting a massage, or meditating.
“Kick back” is a casual expression.
a drink
The expression “a drink” usually – but not always – means an alcoholic drink.
Can I get you a drink?
To talk about a non-alcoholic drink, you can say “something to drink”:
Can I get you something to drink?
You can also use the word “beverage”, although it’s too formal for most situations.
the game
When there’s an important sports game on TV that everyone knows about, sports fans usually call it “the game” (instead of “a game”):
A: Do you want to come with us?
B: I can’t. The game is coming on in a few minutes.
You?
After you answer someone’s question, you can ask them the same question by simply adding “You?” to the end of your answer. For example:
A: Where you from?
B: I’m from Kyoto. You?
A: Bangalore.
You can also ask someone “You?” after a statement that you make:
I’m from Boston. You?
Asking “You?” is rather casual. Some other similar phrases that are less casual are:
And you?
What about you?
You and your husband are moving across the country. You’re going to move first, and your husband is going to come a few weeks later. You’re explaining your plan to a friend on the phone and you explain this.
He’s going to hang back for a few weeks to tie up a few loose ends.
(someone) is going to (do something)
You use “going to ___” to talk about what will happen in the future. “Going to ___” is more natural than “will” for most situations where you’re expressing someone’s plans to do something:
They’re going to meet us at the airport.
I’m just going to stay home and relax this weekend.
English learners often over-use “will” when “going to” would be more appropriate. In general, when you want to talk about something that you’ve already decided to do, use “going to”:
Next up is Steve. He’s going to walk us through the new home page redesign.
Starbucks announced that they’re going to offer free Internet access at all their locations.
We’re going to keep it to just close friends and family.
If you’ve just decided something and want to announce your decision, use “will”:
Fine! I’ll take it back!
I guess I’ll thaw this out.
hang back
To “hang back” means to not go somewhere or not participate. For example:
A: We’re going out tonight. Do you want to come?
B: No, I’m not feeling well. I think I’ll hang back this time.
“Hang back” is a casual expression. It’s not really slang, but it’s not extremely common either.
a few (of something) "A few" is a number that's not specific, but it usually means somewhere between 3-10. It's a little less formal than "several" and also sounds like a slightly lower number. Here are some examples:
You may want to consider hiring a personal trainer for a few sessions.
That’s a very generous offer. Um, let me think it over for a few days and get back to you.
tie up (some / a few) loose ends "Loose ends" are things that haven't been finished or taken care of yet. For example, when you're moving, some loose ends might include:
selling your car
cancelling your bills
cleaning out your old house
returning things that you borrowed from your friends and neighbors
To “tie up” loose ends means to finish or take care of them.
It might help to imagine each responsibility as a string that’s hanging loose. When you finish a responsibility, it’s like tying up the string.
You’re taking a tour of a zoo. You’re visiting the gorillas. The tour guide talks about why the number of gorillas in the world is decreasing.
Their natural habitat is being destroyed, little by little.
(do something) little by little
Use the phrase “little by little” to describe something that happens slowly. Another way to say this is “gradually”, but “gradually” is more formal. “Little by little” can be used for both positive and negative things:
We’re starting to get the hang of it little by little.
She’s losing her memory little by little. Soon we’re going to have to move her into a nursing home.
There are actually a lot of phrases like this that express doing something slowly and steadily. Here are a few:
bit by bit
inch by inch
day by day
one by one
(an animal’s) natural habitat is being destroyed
An animal species’ “natural habitat” is the area and environment that the animal usually lives in. For example, some animals live in rainforests, others live in grassy plains, others live in deep ocean waters, and so on.
These days, a lot of animal species are in danger because humans are destroying the animals’ natural habitats. This happens when people build homes and farms, release pollution, and so on.
You’re on an airplane that is about to land soon. The flight attendant is making announcement. She says this.
Seat backs and tray tables must be placed in their upright and locked positions.
seat backs and tray tables
These terms are pretty much only used in airline announcements.
“Seat backs” are the back part of a seat.
“Tray tables” are the little folding tables that are connected to the back of each seat. They’re called that because you’re supposed to use them for holding a food tray.
place (something) in a position
“Place” is very similar in meaning to “put” but usually sounds more formal.
an upright position
Being “upright” means standing up. For example, a person that is “upright” is standing on two legs.
The word “upright” is more formal than the phrase “standing up”.
(something) must be (done)
This is a form that people use for giving formal instructions. It means that everyone has to do this. For example:
Seat backs and tray tables must be placed in their upright and locked positions.
All reimbursement requests must be submitted by Dec. 8th.
You’re at a party. You were talking to one person (Karen), but then another friend of yours (Jeff) comes over to talk to you. You’ve been speaking with Jeff for a few minutes, and you suddenly notice that Karen is uncomfortable because she doesn’t know him. Realizing your error, you say this.
How rude of me! Karen, this is my friend Jeff.
How (adjective) of (someone)
You use this phrase to sort of pretend to be shocked by something. When you’re really shocked, you say things like “Oh my God!” and so on. But when you want to show other people that you’re shocked or moved in a mild way, you can describe the situation like this:
How nice of you!
How stupid of me!
How horrible of him!
The basic meaning of this phrase is “What (someone) did is so (adjective)”. So “How rude of me!” means “What I did was so rude!”
(name), this is (relationship)(name)
This is a polite way to introduce two people to each other. First you say the first person’s name. You start with the person you were just talking to. In this example, you were talking to Jeff but you said “How rude of me!” to Karen, so you start:
Karen,
Then you say “this is” and then describe the relationship:
this is my sister’s husband
this is my colleague
this is the president of the University
And finally you say the second person’s name. In casual situations, you can give just a first name. In more formal situations, you give first and last name.
You met someone at a party and were talking with them for a few minutes. Now she has signaled that she’s going to end the conversation and go talk to other people. You say this to say “goodbye” to her politely.
OK. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you.
Well
There are several uses for the word “well”. One important use is to show that you are ready to finish a conversation. The end of a conversation might go something like this:
A: Well, I look forward to working with you.
B: Yeah, me too.
A: See you around.
B: Bye.
Some other examples of “well” used to end a conversation are:
Well, it’s nice to have you back.
OK. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you.
It was a pleasure meeting you.
This is a polite phrase that you say to someone that you’ve just met for the first time at the end of the conversation. It’s a bit formal. Some more casual phrases that mean mostly the same thing are:
It was nice to meet you.
Nice meeting you.
How do you decide when to use a more formal phrase or a more casual one to say goodbye to a person you just met?
If you made a lot of jokes with this person during your conversation, you might use the casual version.
If you met at a formal occasion where you were all wearing suits or nice dresses, you might use the formal version.
If you want to impress the other person because they’re more powerful and important than you, you can use the more formal version.
If you think you’re going to speak with this person again soon, like when you’ve been introduced to a new coworker, use the more casual version.
Remember that these are phrases that you say at the end of the conversation. At the beginning of a conversation, there are phrases that sound similar but are a little different:
Nice to meet you.
Pleased to meet you.
“Pleased to meet you” sounds too formal and old-fashioned to me, but some people might use it.
OK.
One of the ways that English speakers use “OK” is to signal a change in the flow of conversation.
For example, before you begin a meeting everyone might be making small talk and chatting about different topics. To start the serious business part of the meeting, you can start with “OK”.
You can also use “OK” when you want to:
start a new topic of conversation
announce a decision
OK, let’s shoot for next Wednesday.
ask other people to make a decision
OK, who wants pancakes?
end a conversation
OK. Well, it was a pleasure meeting you.
Your shoulder hurts sometimes. It hurts badly when you raise your arms up. You say this to describe the pain to your doctor.
I get this sharp pain in my shoulder whenever I raise my arm.
sharp pain
“Pain” can describe any time a part of your body hurts, but there are different kinds of pain. A “sharp pain” doesn’t last a long time, but it is quite painful. You might feel a sharp pain if you break a bone, or if someone punches you in your face.
Other kinds of pain include:
a dull pain is not as strong as a sharp pain. You might feel this if you have a tooth ache, for example.
a burning pain is strong but might be spread out over a large area
a throbbing pain is what you feel when something hurts really badly and you can feel the blood pumping through it. You might feel this right after you have badly hurt yourself.
soreness is a light kind of pain that you feel in your muscles. You might feel this after you exercise too hard.
this (person/thing)
In the example above, the speaker uses “this” instead of “a”. There’s a small difference between the two. When you say “this ___” it sounds like you’re talking about one specific thing. “A ___” is more general.
You use “this ___” instead of “a” or “the” when you’re introducing something specific that you’re going to talk about. It’s usually used at the beginning of a story or explanation. For example:
Amy and I were sitting there talking and this guy I know walked by.
I’ve had this song stuck in my head for two days!
Today I was talking with this girl at work who just got back from maternity leave.
In all of these examples, the speaker will continue by telling a story about that topic.
People only use “this ___” in this way in casual spoken English.
a pain in (a body part)
When you want to explain where you feel pain, you say that you have “a pain in ___”. For example:
I had a horrible pain in my lower back.
I have a pain in my ankle.
Of course, you can also say “my ___ hurts”:
My head hurts.
This is a more casual way way to explain your pain.
(something happens) whenever (someone does something)
Use “whenever” to talk about something that happens again and again in similar situations. For example:
He likes to stop by our office whenever he’s in New York.
Individuals should be supported to make their own decisions whenever possible.
You could use “when” in each of these situations, but when you use “whenever” it sounds like it happens almost every time. If you use “when”, it sounds like something might happen in that situation, or might not. So, for example:
I get a sharp pain in my shoulder when I raise my arm.
If you say this, the doctor might ask, “Does it hurt every time?” But if you used “whenever”, the doctor would already know that it was every time.
You get a phone call while you’re on the line with someone else. You answer it, but you want to finish the other conversation first.
Rina, let me call you right back.
Let me (do something) When you see or hear the words "Let me...", you may think that the speaker is asking for permission, but that's not true. This phrase is used in both casual and formal situations to announce what you're going to do:
Let me give you a few examples.
This is more confident-sounding than “I’d like to ___”. It’s more polite than “I’m going to ___.”
(name), (sentence)
You can say a person’s name to get their attention in a phone conversation or a face-to-face conversation. For example:
A: …and then I told her that if they weren’t going to pay for me to fly, I wasn’t —
B: Selena, hold on a second. Someone else is calling me.
call (someone) right back
Calling someone “right back” means calling them very soon after they called you.
You can call someone “right back” if you missed their call, or if you spoke to them but had to stop the call before your conversation was completely finished.
You can also say “call (someone) back”, which sounds slower than calling them “right back”:
Rina, let me call you back later this afternoon.
You went on a trip with a group of friends for 4 days. You had a lot of fun and didn’t sleep much, so you were tired at the end of your trip. You went to sleep soon after you returned home. You say this while talking to one of your friends who was on the trip.
I went straight to sleep as soon as I got home.
go straight (somewhere) "Go straight \_\_\_" is usually used to talk about going to a place without stopping or going somewhere else first:
I went straight home after work.
But it’s also used in the phrase “go straight to sleep”, which means to go to sleep immediately after something. Parents use this phrase when they’re punishing their young children:
If you don’t behave yourself, you’re going straight to sleep after dinner. Do you understand me?
go to sleep
When you’re talking about sleeping, there are several stages:
When you’re awake and then start sleeping, it’s called “going to sleep”.
After you have gone to sleep, we say that you “are asleep”.
Then you “wake up”.
Once you wake up, you “are awake”.
There are other actions that have similar stages. For example, you “put on” clothes, then “wear” them, then “take them off”.
(do something) as soon as (something happens)
The phrase “as soon as” expresses something that happens immediately after something else:
He called as soon as he heard the news.
I went straight to sleep as soon as I got home.
Another way of expressing a similar idea is “when”:
I’ll start dinner when I finish writing this e-mail.
But you use “as soon as” to emphasize that you’re doing it as quickly as you can. So this phrase is useful in situations where you’re making an excuse for being late.
You’re at the beach with your family. You’ve gone in the water and were surprised by how shallow it was. You tell your wife, who hasn’t gone in the ocean yet, about it.
I walked quite a way out, but it was still only about waist deep.
quite a way (in a direction)
This casual expression means “quite far” or “pretty far”. You use it with a direction word like one of these:
quite a way up
quite a way down
quite a way away
(This sometimes becomes “quite a ways away” in casual speech, although that’s ungrammatical.)
(water) is waist deep
To explain how deep some water is in a pool, ocean, lake, etc., English speakers sometimes explain what part of their body the water reached to. To do this, they use the expression “___ deep”:
Don’t be scared. It’s only waist deep.
Aside from “waist deep”, we also use the expressions:
ankle deep
knee deep
chest deep
neck deep
out (from the shore)
When someone is swimming in the ocean, a lake, etc., you explain where they are by saying how far “out” they are from the shore:
She was swimming about twenty yards out, and suddenly I saw her start to splash and wave her arms.
You use the same phrase when someone is riding in a boat:
To catch the really big fish, you have to go a few miles out.
The topic of Korean politics came up at a dinner with co-workers. One of your coworkers said that he doesn’t know much about the topic. So you’re explaining some basic facts about Korea to him, and this is one thing you tell him.
All Korean men are required to serve in the army.
(someone) is required to (do something)
If you “are required” to do something, that means that you have to do it:
All members are required to attend.
Borrowers are required to provide proof of their income.
This is a formal phrase. A more casual version is:
All Korean men have to serve in the army.
serve in (the military) The job that members of the military do is called "service". We say that they "are serving their country" because "service" is a kind of work that you do in order to help other people in your society:
It’s important that we honor those who serve their country.
To specify which part of the military a person works in, use the phrase “serve in ___”:
I served in the Self Defense Force for twelve years.
We also use the word “serve” to describe other jobs that help society, but some use “on” instead of “in”:
He served on the New York Police force for over 30 years.
the army
There are different types of military forces. In the United States, we have:
the Army, which fights battles on the ground.
the Navy, which operates in the ocean
the Marines, who are trained to fight between the ocean and the land.
the Air Force, which does attacks from the air.
But when people are speaking in general about all of these groups, they usually call them “the military” (which is the correct term) or “the army” (which is incorrect but often used as a general term for all military branches).
You’re shopping for a new laptop computer at a store. The salesperson suggests getting a computer that’s really nice but costs a lot of money. You don’t want to spend that much money, so you say this.
It’s a little out of my price range.
a little (adjective) When you describe something as "a little \_\_\_", it actually means "a little too much". For example, if a woman is trying to decide whether to go out with an old man, she can say:
He’s a little old.
This means “He’s a little too old for me to date.”
out of (someone's) price range A person's "price range" is the amount that they can spend, or want to spend, for something. You usually talk about your "price range" when you're thinking of buying things like computers, clothes, cars, and so on.
When something is “out of” your price range, it means that it costs more money than you want to spend. If you want to express the opposite idea, of things that you can buy, you say:
That’s within my price range.
You and your family are having a yard sale to get rid of old stuff. Your wife suggests that you sell an old baseball mitt, but you don’t want to sell it because it’s the one you used as a kid.
Hey, come on! That has sentimental value to me!
come on
You say “come on” to someone when you’re trying to convince them in a friendly and casual situation. “Come on” means something like “Don’t worry about it; just do it.” Here is another example:
Come on! Tell me what she said!
Come on, stay for one more round.
You can also say “Come on!” when a person does something that you don’t like, and you want them to stop. For example, if you and your partner were teasing each other, and he gets angry at you, you can say:
Come on! I was only joking.
Hey
You say “Hey” at the beginning of a sentence in casual English when you want to get someone’s attention. For example:
Hey, Hitomi, can you hand me that box over there?
It’s common to say “Hey” before you ask someone a question, or when someone has done something that’s wrong or unfair:
Hey, you’re taking up the whole bed!
Use “hey” with people you know or are familiar with. When you’re talking to people you don’t know as well, “Excuse me” is more polite.
(something) has sentimental value to (someone)
An object that you associate a lot of memories and emotions to “has sentimental value”. Some things that might have sentimental value include:
jewelry that you inherited from someone in your family
old photographs
an award that you won as a child
When an object has sentimental value, you want to keep it safe.
