20 English Idioms To Sound Like A Native English Speaker
20 English Idioms To Sound Like A Native English Speaker
A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the
individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light ).
Today, I will show you 20 idioms that you can use to sound like a native English speaker.
This lesson is going to help you improve your vocabulary. But suppose you want to
improve your listening and pronunciation skills even further. In that case, I highly
recommend the particular method of combining reading books with listening to the
audio book version on Audible.
It sounds weird, reading and listening simultaneously, but it's such an effective method.
For example, take a book that you have already read in English or a book that you
would like to read.
I've got lots of recommendations for books and audio books down below. And as you
read that book, listen to the audio book version at the same time. Reading alone will
not help with your pronunciation, or you're listening, for that matter.
English is not a strictly phonetic language; the way a word is spelt or written in En glish
might not give you any indication as to how that word is pronounced. That's why
pronunciation in English is so hard for my students.
But if you listen to a word as you read it, your brain will start making connections. And
the next time you see that word, you'll know exactly how it's pronounced, how it's
supposed to sound.
And the next time you hear that word, you'll know how it's spelt, how it's written. It's
such an effective method,
I think we have a song called a Drop In The Ocean, I used to really like that when I was
at school. A drop in the ocean means a very small, or insignificant part of something big
or whole.
For example, the government's pledge to increase health funding by 100 million is a
drop in the ocean compared to the billions that need to be spent.
Number two is a lovely one, I think they're all lovely actually because I chose that
myself for you.
That's a good one to use in your next fight with someone who has lost your trust.
Oh, I've been bending over backwards trying to solve his problems and he hasn't given
me the time of day. To give someone the time of day, is to give someone the proper
attention.
Number six, to bite off more than you can chew.
I was working; I had a YouTube channel, I was doing projects, I'd taken on extra work. I
bit off more than I could chew, and I suffered the consequences, but it was worth it. I'm
okay now, actually homework here. Have you ever bitten off more than you could
chew?
Let me know about the situation in the comment section down below. Maybe you were
studying and working simultaneously; perhaps you were trying to maintain a long -
distance relationship whilst doing an internship; I don't know, let me know.
Oh, number seven is a good one. It's by the skin of one's teeth,
It means to only succeed something by a very narrow margin, by the enamel on your
teeth, but we say skin; we don't usually say the skin of teeth. But for this particular
saying, we do. So, an example, I think I might have passed that exam by the skin of my
teeth, only just.
And in the end, when a wolf did come, he called for help, and no one came because
they always thought that he was crying for help when he didn't need it. An example, My
new flatmate is always crying wolf.
It means to leave out all of the unnecessary details and get to the point. An example, To
cut to the chase, I'm not comfortable working alongside John anymore.
A piece of cake
This means really easy. That pop quiz was a piece of cake.
Number 16 is, pull yourself together.
This means to stay neutral and to not take sides. For example, I'm sitting on the fence
on this one, I don't want to offend anyone.
For example, I asked you to keep that information to yourself, I can't believe you've
sold me out like that.