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Idioms
Idioms

Learn English meaning of 'idioms'

Date: Sep 20 2019

Themes: Hobbies, Travel

Grammar: Future Progressive Tense

Intro

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Learning a new language can be fun, but also incredibly difficult. There are always so many rules! The whole process can be really confusing. But one thing that every language has is idioms.

Idioms are phrases that describe something different than what the original words say. For example, a common idiom in English is “It’s raining cats and dogs.” Of course, cats and dogs are not actually falling from the sky. It just means that it is raining really hard.

Gary and Sara wonder where idioms come from. Find out more in today’s English lesson about language.

Dialog

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Gary

Gary

Sara_R

Sara_R

Gary:  About a week or two ago, I was watching a soccer game, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire game. It was so exciting!

Sara_R:  Where did that come from, “edge of my seat”? What is that?

Gary:  I don’t know. It’s this funny idiom, right?

Sara_R:  Idiom. What are other examples of idioms?

Gary:  “Don’t pull my leg.”

Sara_R:  Kick the bucket.”

Gary:  They’re so confusing sometimes. I bet a lot of non-native speakers think it’s just a silly sentence that someone has said, and…

Sara_R:  It’s probably very hard to understand.

Gary:  Yeah.

Sara_R:  And there are countless idioms.

Gary:  There really are. I try not to use them, but sometimes it’s the perfect way to describe how I feel.

Sara_R:  It’s true. And it’s a natural part of how we speak.

Gary:  It is! Wow. I’m going to be thinking about that much more often now.

Sara_R:  I will be on the edge of my seat.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Gary tells Sara that when he was watching a soccer game last week, he was on the edge of his seat. Gary uses an idiom without even realizing it! He thinks idioms can be confusing, but he admits he uses them a lot.

Sara is a little confused about what idioms are and where they come from. Together, she and Gary come up with a couple more idioms and realize that they use idioms every day. She just hopes non-native English speakers can understand her.

What is an interesting idiom from your country?

 

Comments

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leain

leain

China

There are many idioms in chinese too

06:01 AM Oct 17 2019 |

ml2000

ml2000Super Member!

Canada

A bad decision could cost you an arm an a leg. 

05:55 PM Sep 20 2019 |

ml2000

ml2000Super Member!

Canada

The standup was so funny that his comedy had me on the edge of my seat during his performance.  

05:30 PM Sep 20 2019 |

englishteacher24/7

United States

There are many idioms in American English. One main one is “Got your back” meaning someone will watch out for you (protect you) in some way.

04:19 AM Sep 18 2015 |

maybe_more

Ukraine

to hang noodles on someoneøs ears – meaning to lie or pull one’s leg

01:07 PM Sep 16 2015 |

1 person likes this

naira71

naira71

Azerbaijan

we have ineteresting idioms in my language but they can look funny


for example, we say-my eyes dont drink water from you what means  ,I comletely trust you

08:59 PM Sep 14 2015 |

NIJ321655

NIJ321655

United States

Idioms are cool.

04:46 PM Sep 14 2015 |

1 person likes this

rebel_rose

rebel_rose

Egypt

cool but i already know it

03:54 PM Sep 14 2015 |

Wuthering

United States

When Sara walks down the street , my head turns . lol …... I’m serious . 

03:03 PM Sep 14 2015 |

luisucab

luisucab

Venezuela

Spanish also has a lot of idioms. I thing that a good idea to know some idioms is watching tv such as tv series. However, It is very difficult to understand at the beginnig, but with a lot of practice you can start to get them. Internet is a good tool too, finding web pages like this one will help you to know about the language.

02:03 PM Sep 14 2015 |

NavidArash

NavidArash

Iran, Islamic Republic Of

When I began to learn English I wasn’t interested in learning idioms at all and sometimes I hated them so much because they made it more complex and difficult for me to understand an English context (I really didn’t get it what on earth cats and dogs were doing in the middle of a computer article?). But after a couple of years I felt the need of learning some basic idioms to improve my English fluency.


I became an English baby follower because it focuses on teaching idioms and informal phrases. And all thanks to the website I’ve learned a lot of idioms.


“I’ll be a monkey’s uncle” is the most funny idiom I’ve ever learned in English, It is used for expressing complete surprise or disbelief. it make me laugh whenever I hear it cos it sounds so funny and I can’t help laughing. the Persian equivalent of the idiom is “No Papa”. It is funny too but not as much as “I’ll be a monkey’s uncle”.

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