Idioms (Knowing and Understanding)

-

Knowing

  • He knows the system inside out.
  • When it comes to geography, he certainly knows his stuff.
  • That book title has a familiar ring to it. I think I read it a long time ago.
  • I'm not sure if I know her, but the name rings a bell.

Not Knowing

  • I haven't got/ don't have a clue how to use this camera.
  • I haven't got/ don't have the faintest idea where she lives.
  • I haven't got/ don't have the foggiest idea what this switch is for.
  • I can't for the life of me remember her first name.
  • I'm a bit out of touch with computers these days.
  • I'm sorry, that name doesn't ring any bells with me.

1. Try to guess the meaning of the previous Idioms.

Coming to conclusions

  • I didn't actually know where you were staying, but Mark said you were with a relative. So I put two and two together and guessed it was that aunt of yours in Manchester.
  • I'm sorry, I got the wrong end of the stick. I thought you were complaining about something.

2. Try to guess the meaning of the previous Idioms.




3. Write sentences that mean the opposite of these sentences. Use idioms and make any other necessary changes.
  • Yes, that name is very familiar to me. I think I've met her several times.
  • I'm really up to date with TV soap operas these days. I watch them every day.
  • She knows absolutely nothing when it comes to the history of this area.
  • I correctly interpreted what she was trying to tell me and it solved a big problem.
  • No, sorry, her name means nothing to me. I may have met her, I just can't remember.

4. Let's write or speak!
Make a role playing game in which someone ask to other person about some information and use the previous Idioms to answer the questions.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Alexander Graham Bell (Use of English)

-
Read the text below and choose word from each space. Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell 1.___ born in Scotland in 1847. His father, an expert on speech, 2.____  a way of teaching how words 3.___ be pronounced. He translated the 4.___ of words into straight or curvy lines. Alexander 5.___ to be a teacher and, when his mother went deaf, he started to be 6.___ in how deaf people communicate. In 1870, because his children were in poor health, Alexander and his family moved to the United States. He hoped that a warmer 7.___ would be better for the whole family. It was while he was teaching deaf children there 8.___ he invented a new machine. It was very 9.___ to the human ear itself, and Bell discover it could carry human speech 10.___ a wire from one place to another. It was not long before the telephone was a part of 11.___ our lives! 1. A.was   B.is   C.has   D.had 2. A.grew   B.built   C.developed   D.worked 3. A.ought   B.should   C.might   D.would
Read more

Computers (Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Simple)

-
Computers Since computers were first introduced to the public in the early 1980's, technology  has changed  a great deal. The first computers were  simple machines designed for basic tasks. They  did not have  much memory and they  weren't  very powerful. Early computers were often quite expensive and customers often  paid  thousands of dollars for machines which actually  did  very little. Most computers  were  separate, individual machines used mostly as expensive typewriters or for playing games.  Times  have changed . Computers have become  powerful machines with very practical applications. Programmers have created  a large selection of useful programs which do everything from teaching foreign languages to bookkeeping. We are still playing video games, but today's games  have become  faster, more exciting interactive adventures. Many computer users  have also got  on the Internet and have begun  communicating with other computer users around the world. We have start
Read more

How the recycling symbol was created (Reading)

-
Image
Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap. How the recycling symbol was created  Gary Anderson designed a symbol which we see everywhere nowadays I studied engineering at the University of Southern California at a time when there was a lot of emphasis in the United States on training young people to be engineers. That said, I eventually switched to architecture. I just couldn't get a grasp on electronics and archircture seemed more concrete to me. It was around that time that I saw a poster advertising a design competition being run by the Container Corporation of America. The idea was to create a symbol to represent recycled paper. One of my college requirements had been a graphic design course so I thhought I'd give it a go. It didn't take me long to come up with my design: only a day or two. 1.___. But I already had arrows and angles in my mind because on my course I'd done a present
Read more