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    Really Useful English Idioms
    Really Useful English Idioms
    Really Useful English Idioms
    Ebook165 pages53 minutes

    Really Useful English Idioms

    By Darcy Vallance

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Do you want to understand and use more idioms in English? This easy-to-use ebook presents common idioms used in English today. Short texts, funny cartoons and clear definitions help you understand the idioms and see how to use them. Quick review exercises help you remember them. This practical and entertaining ebook is suitable for intermediate and advanced learners.

    Features
    Over 140 of the most common English idioms.
    Short texts show how the idioms are used in everyday English.
    50 entertaining illustrations help you understand.
    Clear and accurate explanations help you learn.
    Quick review exercises help you remember.
    A reference section with 150 extra examples.
    Suitable for intermediate and advanced learners.
    Topics include friends and family, work and business, dating and romance, thinking and learning, and much more.

    The author
    D'Arcy Vallance has written more than 40 educational books, mainly for learners of English, including business and vocational English, school and university courses, grammar books and videos. He has many years experience of teaching and training in Europe, Asia, the Middle-East and Latin America.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDarcy Vallance
    Release dateOct 20, 2011
    ISBN9781466062948
    Really Useful English Idioms

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    Reviews for Really Useful English Idioms

    4.5/5

    39 ratings8 reviews

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    • 3/5
      nice drawings, useful learning, interaction needs more to be perfect
    • 5/5
      The examples where to use the idioms were very clear
    • 5/5
      True to its name- this is a really useful book written in an easy-to-recall format with beautiful illustrations. Clearly one of the best books on English idioms out there!
    • 5/5
      Excellent and most useful for English language lovers to talk intelligently. Love this book ?
    • 5/5
      If you read this book once, you would read it again for sure. Highly recommended.?
    • 5/5
      I really want to say "thank you" to you. This is a very interesting book and you are one of the best.
    • 4/5
      Thanks for this book. It was fun . I learned a lot.
    • 5/5
      Funny and accurate images matching the idioms...I would strongly recommend it to English students who want to improve their knowledge.

      1 person found this helpful

    Book preview

    Really Useful English Idioms - Darcy Vallance

    Introduction

    What is an idiom?

    An idiom is a phrase with a special meaning, like 'over the moon' or 'pulling your leg'. 'I'm over the moon' means I'm very pleased. 'I'm just pulling your leg' means I'm joking.

    When you see or hear an idiom, you may know all the words in it (over, moon, pull etc.) but you may not know what the idiom means.

    Why are idioms useful?

    Idioms are very common in spoken English and informal written English, so it is important - and fun - to learn some of them.

    In spoken English, they are used in most situations, from friendly conversations to business meetings.

    In written English, they are especially common in newspapers because the writers want to make the headlines and articles interesting and lively.

    What will I learn from this book?

    You will not learn old-fashioned idioms like 'raining cats and dogs'! You will learn idioms that are frequently used in modern everyday English. This book concentrates on about 130 of the most commonly used idioms.

    They are presented in short, entertaining texts and funny cartoons, so you can easily see the meaning of each idiom and how it is used.

    At the end, there's also an alphabetical list of idioms with more examples.

    How to use the book

    Enjoy the texts and cartoons, learning as you read. Each text contains three or four idioms in bold letters. Definitions below each text help you to check your understanding.

    When you finish a chapter, review questions help you to remember the idioms that you have learned. Think about the questions, then check your answers - just click Answers.

    ----- -:- -----

    1

    People

    Types of people

    Does it matter if someone says you're no rocket scientist? Yes, it does! This phrase means not very intelligent.

    What if a newspaper describes a politician as a dark horse? This means nobody knows much about him.

    And a party pooper? This means a person who spoils enjoyable activities by refusing to join in. This idiom is also useful in apologies: 'I'm sorry to be a party pooper, but I have to go home now.'

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    no rocket scientist

    - not very intelligent person

    dark horse

    - secretive person

    party pooper

    - person who spoils fun

    He was no rocket scientist with computers.

    ------- -:- -------

    Brains and beauty

    A Hollywood actress once met the British philosopher, Bertrand Russell. Whereas he was quite ugly, she turned heads wherever she went. She was rather full of herself and said to Russell, 'They say I'm the most beautiful woman in the world, and I hear you're the smartest man. Imagine if we had a child with your brains and my beauty.'

    Russell, who was never lost for words, replied, 'Imagine if it had my beauty and your brains.'

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    turn heads

    - attract a lot of attention

    full of yourself

    - too pleased with yourself

    lost for words

    - not knowing what to say

    Her car turned almost as many heads as she did.

    ------- -:- -------

    Larger than life

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