Page 165 - English Vocabualry In Use 3 (Upper Intermediate)

79 Multi-word expressions

A Learning and remembering multi-word expressions

Fixedexpressions,alsoknownasidioms,oftenhavemeaningsthatarenotclearorobvious.For
example,theexpressiontofeelundertheweather,whichmeans‘tofeelunwell’,istypical.The
wordsdonottelluswhatitmeans,butthecontextusuallyhelps.

Thinkofmulti-wordexpressionsasunits,justlikesinglewords;alwaysrecordthewholeexpression
inyournotebook,alongwithinformationongrammarandcollocation,e.g.Thistinopenerhasseen
better days.[it is rather old and broken down; usually of things, always perfect tense form]

Multi-wordexpressionsofthistypeareoftenratherinformalandincludeapersonalcommenton
thesituation.Theyaresometimeshumorousorironic.Aswithanyinformalwords,becarefulhow
youusethem.Neverusethemjusttosound‘fluent’or‘goodatEnglish’.Inaformalsituationwitha
personyoudonotknow,don’tsay:

‘Howdoyoudo,MrsWatson?Dotaketheweightoffyourfeet.’[sit down]

Insteadsay:‘Dositdown’or‘Haveaseat.’

B Organising multi-word expressions

Multi-wordexpressionscanbegroupedinavarietyofways.Itisprobablybesttousewhicheverway
youfindmostusefultohelpyourememberthem.

Grouping by grammar
get (hold of) the wrong end of the stick [misunderstand]
pull a fast one [trick/deceive someone] verb+object
poke your nose in(to)[interfere]
be over the moon [extremely happy/elated]
feel down in the dumps [depressed/low] verb+prepositionalphrase

be in the red [have a negative bank balance]
Grouping by meaning,e.g.expressionsdescribingpeople’scharacter/intellect

He’sasdaftasabrush.[verystupid/silly]
Shetakesthebiscuit./ˈbɪskɪt/[istheextreme/theworstofall]
They’reapainintheneck.[anuisance/adifficultperson]
LittleSam’sasgoodasgold.[behavesverywell-usuallyusedaboutchildren]

Grouping by a verb or other key word, e.g.expressionswithmake
Whydoyouhavetomakeamealoutofeverything?[exaggeratetheimportanceofeverything]
Ithinkweshouldmakeamove.It’sgoneteno’clock.[go/leave]
Mostpoliticiansareonthemake.Idon’ttrustanyofthem.
[wantingmoney/powerforoneself]
I’mafraidI’mmakingheavyweatherofmyessay.[makingslowanddifficultprogress]

C Grammar of multi-word expressions

Itisimportantwhenusingtheseexpressionstoknowjusthowflexibletheirgrammaris.Someare
morefixedthanothers.Forinstance,barkingupthewrongtree[bemistaken]isalwaysusedin
continuous,notsimpleform,e.g.Ithinkyou’rebarkingupthewrongtree.
(NOTIthinkyoubarkupthewrongtree.)

Agooddictionarymayhelp,butitisbesttoobservethegrammarinrealexamples.
NotehowUnits89-94groupexpressionsindifferentways.

Formoreinformationonmulti-wordexpressions,seeEnglishIdiomsinUseby
MichaelMcCarthyandFelicityO’Dell.

164 English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate