Let’s say that someone says, “The name Barcelona rings a bell but I can’t remember where it is”, would you understand what they mean? Stay around if you do not know what it means. Another way of saying this idiom is to use it with the word ‘any’ in it. Such as, “Does it ring any bells?”

Let’s look at a longer example and see if you can guess the meaning of the expression by reading around it.

Henry: Mary, Tom is off on holidays. Isn’t he? Rita was telling me that Tom told her that he might be going somewhere sunny. Do you know anything more about it?
Mary: Now that you bring it up, Tom saying that he wanted go somewhere warm does ring a bell. He was speaking fondly of Copacabana. I have a feeling that that’s where he went.
Henry: Lucky guy! I would love to be there with him right this instant. Ipanema would be lovely too.
Mary: I know I’ve heard of Copacabana but Ipanema doesn’t ring any bells though.
Henry: Doesn’t it? It’s another famous tourist destination in Brazil.

Can you guess its meaning now? It simply means that something reminds you of something or is familiar. In other words, when someone tells you something or you see something, it reminds you of something or it is familiar to you.

Here’s another example:

Phil: Cherry, are you familiar with these travel procedures?
Cherry: I’m afraid they don’t ring any bells at all. I might have to ask Karen to show me how to do it.

Well, it’s now your turn to add some examples below…

The full version of this idiom is ‘being all ears‘ and it is often used in conversation. Have you come across it before?

See if you can guess the meaning from the following dialogue…

Tim: Mike, I’ve got some good news to tell you.
Mike: Go on. I’m all ears.
Tim: I just heard that we’ll have a holiday tomorrow.
Mike: That’s great news!

In this situation, Mike is telling Tim that he’s ready to listen to what Tim is going to tell him. In other words, you can use it to express the idea that you have now started to pay attention to what the other person is going to say.

Photo Credit: Agastecheg

We’ll now look at some examples for using the ‘all ears’ idiom.

1. Children, I want you to be all ears to what I’m about to say, because it’s really important.
2. When it comes to money, Jerry is all ears.

Conversation example
Sandy: Toni, I’ve got some news about Mary.
Toni: About Mary? Tell me, I’m all ears.
Sandy: When Mary came running yesterday with a big grin on her face, I was all ears. You know, I could tell she was about to tell us something big.  Then she surprised us all by saying that she’s getting married!
Toni: Wow! It’s fantastic news, but I still can’t believe it. Is she getting married soon?
Sandy: Yes.  Next month in Hawaii!
Toni: Oh, I’m so happy for her.

Now it’s your turn to think of some examples for this idiom…good luck!

Students of spoken English often wish for a more complex vocabulary, believing that by using long words in their conversation, others might consider them as being ‘well educated’, and perhaps even a little ‘intelligent’.

Maybe this is true with certain people, but we would like you to consider the argument for striving for ‘simplicity’ and ‘ease of understanding’.

Getting others to understand your ideas, thoughts and feelings is not an easy thing to do; even for native speakers.  By keeping things simple, clear and precise, we encourage greater understanding.

Here’s a quote from the chapter ‘The Case for Short Words’ from Richard Lederer’s book ‘The Miracle of Language’ (page 34).  It gives us some good advice:
“Here is a sound rule: Use small, old words where you can.  If a long word says just what you want to say, do not fear to use it.  But know that our tongue (spoken English) is rich in crisp, brisk, swift, short words.  Make them the spine and the heart of what you speak and write.  Short words are like fast friends.  They will not let you down.”

When considering ‘keywords’ that best express your ideas, thoughts and feelings, try giving preference to ‘small, old words (well known and commonly used words)’, and strive for better understanding.

Photo Credit:  Sebastian Fissore

This idiom is a commonly used one.  Perhaps you have heard it before.  Do you know its meaning? If someone told you the sentence, “Oh, I’m over the moon today”, what would they mean?

For those of you who are not sure about the meaning, it means that that person is so happy (very happy, overjoyed).

Here are some examples…

I got my exam result this morning.  You know, I’m simply over the moon about it.  I can’t wait to tell my parents the good news.

Vincent is over the moon these days.  He just bought a new house.

Here’s a conversation example…

Photo Credit: A. Feldmann

Sheila: Jane, I’ve got some good news to tell you.

Jane: Really? I can’t wait.

Sheila: I’ve just been promoted! I’m now the head of the Sales Department at our headquarters.

Jane: Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.  You must be over the moon!

Sheila: Thanks.  Yes.   I guess I am over the moon.  You know, I’ve waited for this to happen for so long.  I still can’t believe that it’s finally happened.

Extra idiom practice…

There is a similar idiom which can be substituted for this one in sentences.  Can you guess it?

It’s ‘on cloud nine‘.  In fact, you can put ‘on cloud nine‘ in all of the above examples and still keep the original meaning.

Well, it’s now your turn to add some examples.  You’ve got two idioms to practise this time.  Keep them coming!

It’s possible that you’ve heard this idiom in the news in recent times… Have you heard it before? If you have heard it before, do you know what it means?

Photo Credit: Sanja Gjenero

We’ll give you an example… see if you can work out the meaning.

“The President elect, Mr. Obama and his new administration team, would have to hit the ground running when he takes office this month, in order to tackle the enormous challenges facing the US right now.”

Have you guessed the meaning now? For those who are not sure, ‘hit the ground running’ means, to start working on something (activity, task, project) immediately and successfully.

Let’s look at some examples…

“Tom, I’m going to have to hit the ground running when I start the new term at school.  We have so many important exams coming up in this term.”

“If you want to do well in your new job, you need to hit the ground running, from the first day at work.”

Conversation example

Jill: Mum, would you like to go shopping with me this moring?

Mum: I’d love to, Jill, but I’m afraid I can’t.  I’m going to have to hit the ground running on this project this weekend, to have any chance of finishing it by Monday.

Jill: What a pity! I was really hoping that you’ll go with me.

Mum: I’m really sorry.  I’ll try and make it up to you next week.

Well, it’s now your turn…  See if you can make your own examples and add them to the comments section below!

Out of the blue is a commonly used idiom. Do you know it?
It’s used to describe an event that happened (or is happening) unexpectedly, without warning or preparation.

Photo Credit: Christian Sherratt

Here are some examples:

“Out of the blue, my parents decided to buy me a brand new car for my birthday.  I’m so happy.”

“I hate it when out of the blue, things start going wrong.”

Conversation example

Jim: Melissa, you’ve been a good secretary at our company for two years now.  Unfortunately, I have to let you go. We’ll pay you 2 months salary.

Melissa: Do you mean that you’re firing me?

Jim: Yeah, I’m afraid so. Out of the blue, our company lost millions of dollars this week in the global financial crisis.  This has forced us to fire most of the staff.

Melissa: This is terrible! You know I really love this job.  This whole thing is out of the blue for me. I still can’t believe it.

Jim: I know…I’m really sorry.

See if YOU can create some examples like these…  after you have created them, you can write them in the comments section below!

People often use idioms in spoken English.  If you can learn to understand their meaning and learn how to use them, it can really boost your spoken English skills.

What’s an idiom?

First of all, you may be wondering…what’s an idiom? Well, an idiom is a phrase (group of words) where the exact meaning is not easily understood from the words used. We’ll show you what we mean with an example…

Photo credit: Hannah Boettcher

Example: ‘Cost (someone) an arm and a leg‘. Can you guess the meaning of this idiom?

Let’s imagine that your friend is showing you his new mobile phone (cell phone).

You: “How much did you pay for it?”
Your friend: “It cost me an arm and a leg!”
Is the meaning clearer to you now? When you look up the meaning of the idiom in a dictionary, you’ll find that it means ‘very expensive‘.  Did you guess it right?

You can also use this idiom in a sentence like this:
“The trip to Paris is going to cost me an arm and a leg.  I’ll have to save up for it!”

How to learn idioms…

Three things to remember when learning idioms:

1. Learn the meaning of the new idiom in English that you already understand – this helps you to get the full and actual meaning of the idiom, without an approximate translation.
2. Learn how to use the idiom in a particular situation (look at an example) – if you don’t know how to use the idiom, it’s useless to you.  It’s better not to use it if you can’t use it well.
3. Start using the idiom in conversation with others as soon as possible- ‘use it or lose it!’ – if you don’t start using it immediately you’ll soon forget it, and all the time you spent learning it would have been wasted.

We’ll be looking at some of the commonly used idioms, in a series of articles about idioms.  Keep visiting the site for more idioms…

While you’re here, see if you can add another short dialogue that uses the idiom, ‘cost (someone) an arm and a leg‘, in the comments section below…

Hangman is a great way to help you with your vocabulary.  This particular website http://www.hangman.no/ has some useful features.

Here’s how it works:
FIRST, select English (the British Flag)…then
PLAY GAME allows you to play the game under a particular subject like ‘Movie Hero’s’, ‘Musical Instruments’, ‘Cartoon Hero’s’, ‘Frequently Misspelled Words’ etc.  There’s also a ‘Two Player Game’ where you can type a word to be guessed by your partner.  Also, you can use a ‘play code’ to play a ‘word list’ that has been prepared in advance by yourself or a friend (see below).
CREATE WORDLIST allows you to create your own word list and save it.  The programme will give you a ‘play code’ that you can use when you go to the site; or you can give it to someone so that they can play your word list.
ENTER CODE allows you to enter the ‘play code’ to play a saved ‘wordlist’.

The aim of the game is to guess the word (or words), by choosing the correct letters. If you choose a letter that is not in the word, you get one step closer to being ‘hung’ (not nice!). You have a total of 10 guesses.
So, let’s begin the game. You need to type a letter from your computer keyboard (we suggest you begin with the vowels (a e i o u); but really, it’s up to you how you play).  If the letter is correct, it will be entered on one of the ‘dashes’ at the bottom of the screen, just above ‘Guess a Letter’.  If the letter is incorrect, you will take one step to being ‘hung’.

‘Hangman’ can help you to:
   Review new words
   Remember ‘spelling rules’
   Enlarge your Vocabulary
   Understand some ‘Cultural Aspects’ and…
   Have Fun with English!

Some learners try to improve their vocabulary by having a list of words to learn for the day. We have known some that even try to learn words from the dictionary, starting from the letter ‘A’! It is possible to learn some words if you use this approach, but it certainly is not the best way to learn. “Is there any other way?”, you might ask. As a matter of fact, there is…we call this as ‘learning in context’. “What does that mean…you might ask? Well, learning in context means learning a new word when you are reading or listening.There are many advantages for this way of learning.

1. You have a NEED to know the meaning

If you happen to come across a new word in the middle of your story or article, you really want to know the meaning of it. Otherwise, you cannot fully understand or follow the story. This creates a desire or interest in finding out the meaning of the word. You want to find out the meaning of the word, at any cost. Learning that takes place under such conditions is long lasting and effective. Imagine you came across the simple word ‘patient’ in the middle of your story.

Example:

“Lily was a patient when she met Dr. Fred. He came across as a genuinely caring person, who truly sympathised with her in this situation. Her broken leg gave her an opportunity to think about the things that really matter in life”.

In our example, you want to know the meaning of all of the words in these sentences, because you really want to understand the story and the characters in the story.

2. You can learn the meaning ‘in context‘

If you have a good dictionary, try flipping through the pages of the dictionary and you’re sure to find that there are many meanings listed under most of the words. Some words even have 25 different meanings! Can you believe that? Maybe that makes you say, “Oh, my God! How can I learn so many words?” Well, like anything difficult, you should approach it step-by-step. The best way to get through all of the meanings is to learn them in their context. When you learn them in context, you can know the meaning of the word in that sentence. In the above sentences, the in context, meaning of the word patient is, someone who is ill in hospital.

3. You get an example sentence of how to USE it

Just learning words separately, doesn’t help you to learn how to use the word. After all, that is the reason why you want to learn new words in the first place. When you learn in context, this problem is solved, because you get given an example sentence, right in front of your eyes! If you want to be a good learner, then you will write down your new sentence and the example in your vocabulary notebook, to be practised later.

4. You can try to guess the meaning of the new word which is a good way to approach learning a new word

You can also learn to guess the meaning of the word this way, by reading or listening around the word you don’t know. In our example, we can guess the meaning from the phrase ‘her broken leg’ and from the name of one of the characters, Dr. Fred. When you try to guess first and then look up the meaning in a dictionary, the time you are spending with the word increases, which helps you to remember the word better. Also, this method of learning a new word helps you to learn the word faster, because your brain becomes more active in the learning process.

What do you think? Do you learn words in context or do you prefer to just learn a list of words? Feel free to give your own comments about this topic.