10 Common Expressions in English
10 Common Expressions in English
By: Kevin
3 Feb 2013Free Transcription Powered by www.TranscriptionHUB.com
Valen: Hi there, my name is Valen and this is a lesson on very common English expressions. We are going to go through ten really-really common English expressions that you will hear in everyday conversation.
Okay, so in no particular order, we are going to start with one that you will hear a lot, this expression is âtwenty four sevenâ. Okay, when someone says âtwenty four sevenâ, what they mean is because there is twenty four hours in a day and seven days a week, is they mean every minute of every day, so an example is, âyou can access our website 24/7â.
So I wrote it down just because sometimes you will see it written this way, âtwenty four sevenâ or numerically like this â24/7â. And what it means is âyou can access our website, any minute of any day, all the timeâ. So if someone says, âoh I work 24/7â, they are probably exaggerating and what they mean is they feel like they work every minute of every day. â24/7â.
Okay, so our next expression is âget the ball rollingâ. And now what this expression means is to start something. So, if you were going to start a project and someone said, âlets get the ball rollingâ, what they mean is letâs start now. This is a pretty simple one, pretty sure you follow it, so letâs get the ball rolling, lets start now - âGet the ball rollingâ.
Our next expression is âtake it easyâ. âTake it easyâ; so if someone says to you, âI donât have any plans this weekend, I think I will take it easyâ, what they mean is relax, this is a simple one too. I am going to take it easy, I am going to relax - so âtake it easyâ.
Okay, the next one. âSleep on itâ. If someone says, âI will sleep on itâ, what they mean is, I am going to take sometime to think about a decision; so if someone says, âI will get back to you tomorrow, I am going to sleep on itâ, I will write that down. âI will get back to you tomorrow, I have to sleep on itâ, what they mean is, I am going to think about my decision and talk to you tomorrow. âSleep on itâ, think about my decision and get back to you.
âIâm brokeâ - a really common one. So, âI am brokeâ, doesnât actually mean, you are broken, its means you have no money. I am broke, I have no money. This is a really common expression that you will hear all the time.
âSharpâ. Okay, if someone says to you, âThe meeting is at 7 oâclock sharp!â what they mean is that the meeting is at exactly 7 oâclock. When someone says âsharpâ, what they mean is, donât be late, the meeting will start at exactly 7 oâclock. Something special here is âsharpâ, the meeting is at 7 oâclock sharp; if someone says that to you it means âbe on time, it will start exactly at 7 oâclockâ.
âLike the back of my handâ. So what this means is the back of your hand is something thatâs very familiar to you, you know it well, you see it all the time. So if I said âI know this city like the back of my handâ, it means I know this city very well, I am very familiar with it - very common expression, âlike the back of my handâ. You know, you can also say, âhe knows this city like the back of his handâ, same idea, you know something very-very well, itâs very familiar to you. âLike the back of my handâ.
Okay so, here is another one that uses the word âhandâ, if you say âgive me a handâ. So if someone says to you, âdo you want to give me a handâ, it means do you want to help me. So for example somebody is carrying something and they say, âoh, would you give me a handâ, they donât want you to put out your hand, they want you to help them. âWould you give me a hand, would you help me?â âGive me a handâ.
âIn agesâ, whatâs an example of this one. Okay. âI havenât seen him in agesâ; so what this means is âin agesâ, for a long time, so I havenât seen him in ages, I havenât seen him for a long time; so âin agesâ means for a long time.
Okay, our last one. âSick and tiredâ - okay so âsick and tiredâ means I donât like or I hate. So for example if you said, âI am sick and tired of doing homeworkâ that means you donât want to do your homework anymore, you donât like it. So âsick and tiredâ.
So those are ten really common English expressions. âSick and tiredâ, âbrokeâ, âin agesâ, âgive me a handâ, know something âlike the back of your handâ, âsharpâ so be there at 7 oâclock sharp, âsleep on itâ, âtake it easyâ, âget the ball rollingâ and â24/7â. Those were ten common expressions you will hear in everyday English conversation.
So take the quiz below and test your knowledge of English expressions and visit us at www.engVid.com.