2018 March (Written) Flashcards
You find out that your son hasn’t pooped in 3 days. You tell him what he should do to fix it.
You have to eat a lot of fiber when you’re constipated.
You have to (do something)
This is a very straightforward way to give someone advice. You use this phrase when you definitely know more about something that the people who are listening:
│ A: I’ve never eaten that before. Do you eat it raw?
│ B: No, you have to cook it.
│ The bottom line is that you have to reduce your calorie intake to lose your weight.
You can also use “You have to ___” when you’re excited about something and you want to share it:
│ You have to try this! It’s delicious!
If you use “You have to ___” to share an opinion, you might come across as rude. For example, don’t use this phrase when giving friends advice about their relationships, job, etc.
eat fiber "Fiber" is something that's contained in certain foods. It's a part of a plant that your body can't digest. Some foods that contain fiber include: · vegetables · apples · beans · oatmeal
Fiber is supposed to be good for you because it keeps your digestion regular. In other words, when you eat plenty of fiber, you use the bathroom at normal times each day.
When you’re talking about food, you can say that something “has fiber”:
│ Beans have a lot of fiber.
(someone) is contipated
When someone has trouble with making bowel movements (pooping), they are “constipated”. When you’re constipated, you don’t poop as often as usual.
“Constipated” is an adjective:
│ He’s constipated.
The noun form of “constipated” is “constipation”:
│ One of the side effects of the medicine she takes is constipation.
We use this word when talking to a doctor or nurse, and also when talking about this condition in regular conversation.
You’re talking about a basketball team with your coworkers. This team used to be very good. Recently, they’ve lost a few games. You don’t think that they’re going to be a very good team any more. You give you opinion this way.
They’ve lost it, if you ask me.
if you ask me
Use this expression when you want to share your opinion, but no one has directly asked you what you think.
When you use “If you ask me” at the beginning of a sentence, it can sound very bold:
│ If you ask me, the real problem is the way that the media has handled this.
But when you use it at the end of a sentence, it doesn’t sound quite as bold.
(someone) has lost it You can use the phrase "\_\_\_ has lost it" to talk about someone who used to be really good, but isn't as good any more. This phrase is useful for talking about people like: · musicians · athletes · writers · artists
When you use this phrase, “it” means the person’s skill, talent, or creativity.
There’s also a completely different meaning of “___ has lost it”. It can mean that someone has gone crazy:
│ A: What’s wrong with him lately?
│ B: I don’t know, but he’s completely lost it.
You ran into a friend from college on the street and made small talk for a few minutes. Now you’re leaving. You say this.
All right man, take it easy!
All right
This is an expression that people use near the end of a conversation. For example, if you’re visiting someone and you think that it’s time for you to leave, you can say:
│ All right, well I guess I should be going.
“All right” can be said in response to something that another person says. For example:
│ A: Guys, let’s call it a day.
│ B: All right, we’ll pick it back up in the morning.
But you can also say “all right” on its own to show that you’re ready to end the conversation, eve if no one else has said anything.
man
Guys sometimes call their friends “man”. For example, if you see that your friend is calling, you can answer your phone with:
│ Hey man, what’s up?
Calling people “man” sounds friendly but kind of tough as well. It’s causal English, so use it with guys that you know well.
Take it easy!
This is a casual expression to use when you’re saying goodbye to someone:
│ A: OK, see you later.
│ B: All right. Take it easy.
Who uses “Take it easy!”? Men use it more than women. It tends to be used by slightly older people, like people in their 30’s to 60’s.
You’re selling a product on your website. This wee, you’re having a sale so you’re selling the products for a really low price. You don’t want to sell too many at that low price, or you’ll lose money. Under the price on the website you write:
*Limit one per customer.
Limit (some number) per customer
When stores have great sales or discounts, they sometimes limit how much of something each customer is allowed to buy. When they do this, they write something like this on their signs and advertisements:
│ Limit 3 per customer
If you describe the limit in a sentence, you say it like this:
│ There’s a limit of 3 per customer.
(some number) per (something) Use "\_\_\_ per \_\_\_" to talk about a ratio, which is the relationship between numbers. For example: │ I earned fifty dollars per day. │ We made two per person. │ The speed limit is 35 miles per hour.
Your friend is upset because he fell for a scam and lost $4,000 dollars. He’s angry with himself because he thinks he should have known it was a trick. You agree that he should have known that, but you don’t think he should be so angry at himself. You make this to observation.
Yeah, well hindsight is 20/20.
Hindsight is 20/20.
This is a saying which means that “It’s easy to know the right thing to do after something has happened, but it’s hard to predict the future.”
Let me explain why this phrase has that meaning. First, “hindsight” means “thinking about things after they’ve happened”. You can use it like this:
│ In hindsight, I realize that she was probably right.
This means that you didn’t think she was right in the past, but now that you think back on it you realize that she was right.
“20/20” means “perfect vision”. Eye doctors measure people’s vision using two numbers. If the first number is low, your vision is good. If it’s high, you aren’t able to see well. I have 200/20 vision, so I really need to wear my glasses. But 20/20 is the lowest score and means that you’re able to see perfectly. “20/20” is pronounced “twenty twenty”.
So when you put those together, “Hindsight is 20/20” means that you can easily tell what you should have done in the past, but it’s harder to decide what to do in the future.
When people use this phrase, they usually want to express one of these ideas:
· You shouldn’t worry about your past decisions, because you can’t change them now.
· Don’t criticize what I did, because I made the best decision I could at that time.
Yeah, well (sentence)
This phrase is a way of agreeing while also disagreeing. When you say “Yeah, well…”, it means that you can’t disagree with the actual statement that someone just made, but you don’t agree with their overall idea. For example:
│ A: I beat you!
│ B: Yeah, well, I’ll get you next time.
You are responsible for processing employees’ reimbursement requests at your company. You need for everyone to send their requests to you by December 8th. You write an e-mail to all the employees. After the introduction, it says this.
All reimbursement request must be submitted by Dec. 8th.
(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.
reimbursement
Sometimes your company pays for things that you do. For example, your company might pay for your lunch if you’re eating out with a client. If you have a company credit card, you can pay with that. But if not, you usually pay with your own money and then get reimbursed by your company. The money that you get back from your company is called a reimbursements.
Other things that you might be able to get reimbursed for include:
· travel that you do for work
· supplies that you buy
· classes that you take which increase your job skills
submit a request
A “request” is a formal document that you fill out and give to a company, a school, a government agency, etc. to ask for something.
In the example above, a “reimbursement request” is a document you fill out to ask your company to pay you back.
To “submit” a request means to give or send it to the people who need to receive it. You can also use “submit” for things like:
· homework assignments
· applications
· proposals
· contest entries (like your artwork or a video you made)
(something) must be (done) by (a date)
Use “must” to tell people things that they have to do. “Must” is more formal than “have to” and is also stronger. It gives the impression that you are really serious and won’t allow anyone to disobey you. Teachers, politicians, and other authority figures use it a lot It’s also common in written instructions, like in the example above. Another example is:
│ All visitors must present a valid I.D. before entering.
This is something that you might read on a sign in the lobby of an office building. It means that you have to show your license, passport, or other ID card to the guard before you can go in.
“Must” is also often used when giving deadlines. When you’re doing this, use the phrase, “___ must be ___ed by ___”:
│ All applications must be completed by November 30th.
You’re waiting for a package to be delivered to you at work. You need to get it as soon as possible, so you checked with the receptionist. She said that no packages have come for you.
I’m expecting something to come in today or tomorrow.
I’m expecting (something) to (happen)
“Expecting ___” is used to talk about things that you think are going to happen in the future. Use “expecting ___” when there’s something that you will be surprised about it if it doesn’t happen. For example:
│ Hey, where’s Sammy? I was expecting him to be here.
You can talk about objects or events that you’re expecting:
│ I’m expecting a package.
│ They’re expecting rain tomorrow.
│ I’m expecting a phone call.
Or you can use the phrase “expecting ___ to ___” to talk about actions that you expect:
│ I’m expecting them to get back to me with an answer by the end of the week.
come in
“Come in” is a phrase that’s used to describe things being delivered to a business or workplace. This can be used for packages, letters, and other deliveries:
│ A shipment of paper come in this morning.
But it can also refer to money, sales, or information:
│ The results of our quarterly review came in yesterday.
│ Over 7 million dollars in revenue has come in since the product launched.
today or tomorrow
This is a really simple phrase, but just notice that “today or tomorrow” is a better and more natural phrase than “in the next day” or “in the next two days”. It’s also better than “tomorrow or today”.
You are a receptionist in an office. An employee at the company asks if a package has come for her. No packages came while you were there, but you were gone for a couple hours. You say this because it’s possible that it came while you were out.
Not that I know of.
Not that I know of.
Use this phrase when you want to answer “no” to someone’s question, but you’re not 100% sure that “no: is really the correct answer.
Simply answering “no” makes it seem that you’re completely sure that “no” is the correct answer. But if you answer “I don’t know:, it seems like you don’t have any answer at all. “Not that I know of” falls in between. Another example:
│ A: Have any customers complained about the new application form?
│ B: Not that I know of.
Another version of this phrase “none that I know of”. For example:
│ A: Are there any good Indian restaurants around here?
│ B: None that I know of.
You go to an art show. You really like the art, and the artist is there. You walk up to him and tell him this.
I love your work.
I love (something)
Depending on where you’re from and your culture, “love” might seem like a really strong word. In English, people use “love” to describe how they feel about things that they like such as art, music, products, and so on:
│ I love your shirt!
│ I absolutely love my new phone.
(someone’s) work
The art that an artist has done is called his or her “work”. You might have heard the word “artwork”. And maybe you’ve heard that phrase “a work of art”:
│ The Louvre in Paris has over 35,000 works of art.
“Works” of art mean pieces or items of art. You can count them like in the example above. But when you’re talking about the art that a particular artist has done, you call it their “work” (singular):
│ His work isn’t that innovative.
│ Even some of her earlier work was really ingenious.
“Work” can refer to any kind of art form: music, acting, paintings, novels, and many others.
You are an artist, and you’re having an art show at a gallery. You say this to explain the ideas behind your art to one of the people who came to the show.
I was going for something abstract and kind of edgy.
kind of (adjective/adverb)
“Kind of” means “a little” or “somewhat”. People often use it in spoken English:
│ I’m kind of shy when it comes to the opposite sex.
│ It kind of took me by surprise.
You can use “kind of” before an adjective (“kind of shy”) or before a verb (“kind of took me by surprise”).
Another phrase with a similar meaning is “somewhat:
│ Most students find that university courses are somewhat more difficult than the classes that they took in high school.
“Somewhat” is more formal. Use “kind of” for most situations “somewhat” when discussing academic topics or in writing.
The pronunciation of “kind of” sounds like “kinda”.
I was going for (something)
To “go for ___” means to try to do something. This phrase is often used when talking about what you wanted to do with art, fashion, parties that you organized, or other tings that you made:
│ I was going for a really simple, elegant feel.
You use “I was going for…” when you’ve already made the thing that you’re talking about. If you haven’t made it yet, you can say “I’m going for…” instead. For example, when you’re shopping for clothes you can say:
│ I’m going for a trendy look, but not too trendy.
abstract (art)
Art that isn’t clearly a picture or painting of something is called “abstract”. Abstract art usually includes shapes, colors, and lines organized in some kind of pattern. It’s usually hard to tell what the art is “supposed to be” a picture of. Abstract art first started to become popular in the early 1900’s.
The word “abstract” means “not directly connected to real things”. So a person’s ideas can be abstract as well. Abstract ideas are things like “love”, “society”, “economics”, “evil”, and so on. They’re not things that can be seen or felt directly.
The opposite of “abstract” is “concrete”. Things that can be called “concrete” include:
· concrete objects
· a concrete plan
(something is) edgy
Being “edgy” means that something is a little dark, rough, and aggressive. This word is used to describe different kinds of art and fashion. Here’s a little more explanation:
· an “edgy” movie might have some scenes of sex or violence in it.
· “edgy” clothes are really fashionable and new.
· “edgy” art might be a little difficult to look at.
The basic meaning of “edgy” comes from being on the edge of something. So in the example above, an “edgy” piece of art might mean something that’s shocking and hasn’t been done before.
You’re a makeup artist. You’re putting eye makeup on a customer, and explaining what you’re doing. You say:
First I’m applying a bit of eyeshadow.
fist
In this example, the speaker uses “first”. Here’s difference between “first” and “at first”:
· “First” is used to explain the order of doing things.
│ First chop the onions, green peppers, and carrots. Put them all in a bowl and the oil, garlic, soy sauce, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
· “At first” is most often used to express the difference between how something used to be and how it is now:
│ At first I was nervous, but as time went on I got more and more comfortable, to the point that now I actually enjoy it.
apply (makeup)
To “apply” makeup means to put it on someone (yourself or someone else).
The word “apply” sounds technical, so you would use it in situations like when you’re giving someone instructions. And employee at a department store might use “apply” when talking about cosmetics in order to sound professional.
In normal speech, use “put on” instead of “apply”:
│ First I’m putting some eyeshadow on you.
You can also “apply” things other than makeup:
· Apply a cream or ointment to a cut on your skin.
· Apply sunscreen.
· Apply glue to something that you’re trying to stick together.
· Apply a wood-sealing liquid to the wood on your porch.
a bit of (something)
“A bit” means the same thing as “a little”. It’s just a bit more formal.
│ It’s a bit cold out.
“A bit of” something means “some”:
│ I had a bit of money after selling my company, so I invested it in stocks.
eyeshadow
Eyeshadow is a type of makeup. It’s a powder that people use to color their eyelids. Here are a few other types of makeup:
· Eyeliner is used to draw a dark area around your eyes.
· Mascara is put on your eyelashes to make them look longer.
· Lipstick makes your lips look a different color.
· Lip gloss makes your lips look shiny.
You’re grocery shopping with your son. You want to get pasta sauce, but it’s in a part of the store that you’ve already been to. You ask your son this.
Can you go grab a jar of pasta sauce from the next aisle?
grab (something) from (somewhere)
In casual English, you can sometimes use the word “grab” to mean “get”. It means that you want someone to get it and bring it to you.
Here are some other examples of “grab” used in this way:
│ I’m headed out to grab some lunch. You want me to pick you up something?
│ Jason, go grab your sister. I need her help with this.
Use “from ___” to tell where the thing that’s being grabbed is:
│ Can you grab my screwdriver from the drawer in the basement?
One other point: “grabbing” something means that you get it quickly. If it’s going to take a long time to get something, don’t use the word “grab”.
a jar of (something)
A jar is a glass bottle with a wide opening at the top. Pasta sauce is sold in a jar in the U.S.
the next aisle
An aisle is a space in between rows of things, like between seats or shelves. Most stores have aisles with different types of items on each aisle.
In the example above, “The next aisle” means “the aisle next to this one”. It doesn’t necessarily mean the one that you’re gong to next.
go (do something)
In casual speech, you say “go (do something)” to mean “go (somewhere) and (do something)”. For example:
│ Do you want to go see a movie?
This means to go to a movie theater and watch a movie.
│ Could you go find me a screwdriver somewhere?
This means to go to the place where tools are kept and find a screwdriver for the speaker to use.
You’re are talking to a child and explaining why there are different seasons. This is how you begin your explanation.
The Earth’s axis is tilted.
The Earth’s axis
An “axis” is an imaginary line that something turns around. For example, a wheel has an axis which is the middle of the circle.
The Earth’s axis is an imaginary line through the middle of the Earth from North to South. The Earth spins around this line.
“Axis” is a technical and mathematical term, so it’s most often used with other technical words. Here are some examples:
· In math, you can talk about a horizontal (side to side) axis or a vertical (up and down) axis.
· The action of turning around an axis is called is “rotation around an axis”. “Rotation” is a more technical word for “turning in a circle”.
(something) is tilted Something that is "tilted" isn't straight up and down. It leans to the side a little bit. Thins that can be tilted include: · someone's head · a picture frame · an airplane that's flying in the air
Notice that “tilted” is different from “crooked” or “curved”. These words both also mean “not straight”, but in different ways:
· “Crooked” means that something bends in different directions at sharp angles, like a tree branch.
· “Curved” usually means that something bends smoothly in different directions, kind of like the letter “S”.
· When something is “tilted”, it can still be straight, but it’s just not pointed directly upwards.
You and a friend are talking about soccer. You start discussing a player who used to be really, really good but is now a little too old. You say this.
He’s past his prime now, but he was a great player at his peak.
(someone/something) is past (his/her/its) prime
Something that is “past its prime” is no longer as strong as it used to be.
You can use “past its prime” to talk about people who aren’t as healthy and strong as they were in the past. You can also say that a country or city is “past its prime” when it is used to be economically strong but is now poor and run-down:
│ People say that Detroit is long past its prime, but some still hold out hope that the city will revive itself.
If something is still young, strong, and healthy, you say that it is “in its prime”:
│ In his prime, he was one of the strongest players in the league.
at (his/her/its) peak
The phrase “at its peak” is very similar in meaning to “in its prime”. But the “peak” of something is the very highest level of performance, while the “prime” is a longer period of generally good performance. An athlete’s “prime” might last several years, but their “peak” might only be a single season.
The “peak” of a mountain is the very top. It’s the highest point on the mountain. So you can imagine that, if a person’s skill or strength was recorded on a graph, the highest point of the graph will look like the peak of a mountain. This is why we call this point a “peak”.
Some other phrases that include “peak” used in this way include:
· To “reach a peak” means to gain the highest level that you’ve ever achieved at something.
· “Peak performance” is the highest level a person is able to perform at.
· “Peak production” is the fastest speed that a factory, industry, farm, etc. can make something.
a great player The adjective "great" is often used to describe "players" in sports. Other common adjectives used with "player" include": │ a star player │ a valuable player │ a dominant player
You went by your coworker’s office to talk with him about a problem you’re having, but he said he was too busy to talk to you. You’re a little annoyed, but you say this to respond politely because you’re at work.
OK, Sorry to bother you.
sorry to bother you
To “bother” someone means to annoy them or take up their time. So the phrase “Sorry to bother you” is an apology for using up some of a person’s time.
Here are some situations in which you can say “Sorry to bother you”:
When you ask someone a question that they don’t know the answer to, you can respond with “OK, Sorry to bother you.”
│ A: Do you know where the nearest subway station is?
│ B: Sorry, I’m not from around here.
│ A: OK. Sorry to bother you.
You can also introduce a question with this phrase. Especially when you’re talking with someone who’s important and busy in a business situation, you can start your question like this:
│ Sorry to bother you. Can I ask you a quick question about the budget report you sent me?
