The Weekly Column

Article 15, June 2000

TEACHING IDIOMS

Whenever you ask higher level students what they would like to do more work on, the answer is invariably idioms, and phrasal verbs in particular. What is an idiom and why do they cause so many problems for students? An idiom can be defined as a phrase which has a different meaning from the meaning of its separate components. One of the characteristics of idioms is that you cannot normally change the words, their order, or the grammatical forms in the same way as you can change non-idiomatic expression. In other words, idioms are basically fixed expressions.

Sometimes the meaning of the idioms can be guessed from the meaning of one of the words but usually the meaning is completely different, which is why they are so tricky for students.

Care needs to be taken when writing idioms as many of them are only used in informal language. On the other hand, there are other expressions that are literary or old-fashioned and unsuitable for use in everyday language, except perhaps as a joke.

Grouping idioms according to topic can not only make them easier for students to learn. It also make it easier for teachers to relate the exercises to topic-based units in course books and the following matching activities were designed with these aims in mind. As a follow-up, you can arrange the students in groups and invite them to write dialogues incorporating as many of the idioms as they can. This can even be made into a competition, with a prize being awarded to the group who manage to include the highest number. (Further suggestions as to how the material can be exploited in class can be found in "Red Herrings" published by English Experience).

MOUTH IDIOMS Match the idioms on the left with the explanations on the right. There are more explanations than you need so make sure you select the right ones!

1. You took the words right out of my mouth.	a. I felt anxious.
2. The trouble with you is that you're all mouth and trousers.	b. I felt hungry.
3. Why are you so down in the mouth today?	c. I felt passionate.
4. I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.	d. I felt thirsty.
5. I had my heart in my mouth.	e. It created a bad impression.
6. It left a nasty taste in my mouth.	f. I gave me an upset stomach.
7. It made my mouth water.	g. I was born into a rich family.
8. Stop putting words in my mouth.	h. I was born with a speech impediment.
9. Since I came to London, I've been living from hand to mouth.	i. Life has been a struggle.
10. You look as if butter wouldn't melt in your mouth.	j. Life has been easy.
	k. Somehow you knew what I was going to say.
	l. Stop misquoting me.
	m. Support your words with actions
	n. You're all talk and no action, aren't you?
	o. You're not as harmless as you seem to be, are you?
	p. You're ruled by your heart and not your head.
	q. You're very miserable, aren’t you?

ANSWERS: 1-k 2-n 3-q 4-g 5-a 6-e 7-b 8-l 9-i 10-o

HEAVEN AND HELL IDIOMS Match the idioms on the left with the explanations on the right. There are more explanations than you need so make sure you select the correct ones!

1. Living with you is heaven on earth.	a. Having good intentions isn't enough.
2. I'd move heaven and earth to get that job.	b. I'm not going to let anything stand in my way.
3. I'm determined to succeed come hell or high water.	c. I don't care what happens to you.
4. As far as I'm concerned, you can go to hell.	d. I think you've got a really good chance.
5. You haven't got a hope in hell.	e. It's going to cost a great deal of money.
6. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.	f. Living with you is everything I've always wanted.
7. I'm afraid there's going to be hell to pay!	g. Living with you is unbearable.
8. You scared the hell out of me.	h. There's going to be a lot of trouble.
9. What you're asking for is pennies from heaven.	i. Whatever happens, I won't give up.
	j. What you're asking for is a miracle.
	k. What you're doing is begging.
	l. You gave me an awful fright.
	m. You've got no chance at all.
	n. You helped me to overcome my fear.

ANSWERS: 1-f 2-b 3-i 4-c 5-m 6-a 7-h 8-l 9-j

BLACK AND WHITE IDIOMS Match the idioms on the left with the explanations on the right. There are more explanations than you need so make sure you select the correct ones!

1. I want your promise in black and white.	a. Don't be so pessimistic!
2. Why are you giving me such black looks?	b. Fortunately I'm no longer in debt.
3. Why do you always look on the black side?	c. I'm different to all the rest and they disapprove of me.
4. You're the kind of person who'll swear black is white to get what you want!	d. I'm happy to say that I've found another job and I'm no longer unemployed.
5. I'm not as black as I'm painted.	e. I'm not as bad as people say.
6. I'm the black sheep of my family.	f. I didn't tell you the truth but for a good reason.
7. It's time you waved the white flag.	g. I think you'd better admit defeat.
8. You're bleeding me white and I can't take any more!	h. It's time you stood up for yourself.
9. It was only a white lie so I hope you'll forgive me.	i. Please put it in writing.
10. Thankfully I'm now in the black again.	j. What on earth have I done to upset you?
	k. Why are you always criticising me?
	l. You're constantly insulting me and I've had enough.
	m. You're making me spend all my money on you.
	n. You're prepared to use any means possible to achieve your ends.

ANSWERS: 1-i 2-j 3-a 4-n 5-e 6-c 7-g 8-m 9-f 10-b

Questions or comments about this week's article? Why not post them on our Discussion Forum!