Weekly English lesson – fire idioms



On our sister site Rich Reads, there's a great exercise for fire idioms. Scroll down to Learn English Online (Newest Links) for the link "Fire Idioms".

More idioms

Take a look at English idioms using hot and English idioms using cold for some more idioms to do with temperature.

Extra exercise

Put the words into the gaps below to make common expressions.

blaze
burning
ice
fire
red
spark

a ——– desire
——– hot
as cold as ——–
a bright ——–
a roaring ——–
a ——– of glory



Answers to last week's vocabulary quiz



Did you miss our quiz on dream and sleep idioms last week?

Which of the expressions mean that you sleep well, and which mean that you sleep badly?

Here are the answers:

sleep well

get a good night's sleep
get back to sleep = go back to sleep after being awake: "I woke up at 4 am, but I got back to sleep."
get off to sleep = manage to fall asleep: He's finally managed to get off to sleep."
sleep in = sleep late: "I like to sleep in on Sundays."
sleep it off = sleep to feel better: "If you have a headache, try to sleep it off."
sleep like a log = sleep very well: "I slept like a log last night."
sleep soundly = sleep without waking: "He sleeps soundly most nights."
sleep through something = not to wake up even though there's lots of noise: "He didn't hear the storm and slept through it."

sleep badly

be a light sleeper = be easily woken: "I'm such a light sleeper that I wake up at least three times a night."
have a sleepless night = not sleep much, or at all: "I feel awful – I had a sleepless night worrying."
have nightmares = have bad dreams: "She often wakes up in the middle of the night with nightmares."
not sleep a wink = not sleep at all: "I didn't sleep a wink the night before the exam."
sleepwalk / sleep talk = either walk or talk in your sleep: "As a child he sleepwalked a lot."
toss and turn = to not be able to sleep because you keep changing position: "He was so worried about the meeting that he tossed and turned all night."

Filed under: Weekly English lesson


Weekly English lesson – too much / many



When can you use too much, and when can you use too many?

Here's a handy explanation and exercise from our sister site Rich Reads.

Go to Learn English Online (Newest Links) on the right of the page, then scroll down to the link "Too much or too many".

Extra exercise

Add much or many to the expressions below.

1. Too —— of a good thing.

2. —– hands make light work.

3. Don't read too —– into it.

4. The difference between the two? They're —– of a —–ness!

5. Too —– cooks spoil the broth.

Filed under: Weekly English lesson


Weekly English lesson – dream and sleep idioms



Over on our sister site Rich Reads, there's a great exercise on dream and sleep idioms. Go to Learn English Online (Newest Links) and click on "Dream and Sleep Idioms".

Extra exercise

Which of the following phrases mean that you sleep well, and which mean that you sleep badly?

be a light sleeper
get a good night's sleep
get back to sleep
get off to sleep
have a sleepless night
have nightmares
not sleep a wink
sleep in
sleep it off
sleep like a log
sleep soundly
sleep through something
sleepwalk / sleep talk
toss and turn

(Answers next week!)

Filed under: Weekly English lesson


Get your English fit for summer – part 5



When you're on holiday, you might want to find out about places of interest from the Tourist Information Centre.

Here are some ways you can ask questions to get information.

Do you have any information about … (local places of interest)?
Can you recommend … (places to see in the area)?
Are there any … (special events planned this week)?
What are the … (opening times of the X museum)?

If you're not sure about how best to ask questions, take a look at our page on direct and indirect questions.

You can also say what you're looking for.

We're interested in … (local museums and art galleries).
I'd like to get … (some walking maps of the area).
We need to find … (some activities for the kids).
We've been told you … (can organise day tours of the area).

Some useful vocabulary for places of interest

opening times = when a place is open or closed
admission cost = how much it costs to get in a place
special deals = offers, reductions: "The waxwork museum has a special deal for adults accompanying more than two children."
wheelchair facilities = special arrangements for wheelchair users, such as special ramps
guided tour = a tour of a place with a guide to explain

Filed under: General English


Weekly English lesson – punctuation



When do you use a full stop, comma or colon? Brush up on your punctuation here, then head over to our sister site Rich Reads for a useful exercise. Go to the Newest Links section on the right hand side, then scroll down to see the link "Punctuation".

Filed under: Weekly English lesson


Weekly English lesson – make and do



When do you use "make" and when do you use "do"?

Have a look at our page on make and do, and then head over to our sister site Rich Reads for an exercise. Scroll down to Newest Links (on the right of the page) for the link "Make and Do collocations."

Extra exercise
Can you complete these expressions with make or do?

Fake it til you ——– it!
——– the right thing.
Don't just stand there! ——– something!
Go ahead punk, ——– my day!
Kiss and ——– up.

Filed under: Weekly English lesson


Get your English fit for summer – Part 4



The travel and tourism industry employs many people in different roles. Decide which categories the following jobs come into: hotel staff, restaurant staff, transport staff, or tourist industry staff.

baggage handler
barman
cabin crew
captain
chambermaid
chef
guide
holiday rep
maitre d'
receptionist
pilot
porter
travel agent
waiter
waitress

Filed under: English vocabulary


Weekly English lesson – places of work



On our sister site Rich Reads, there are a couple of exercises on talking about your job. Under "Most popular English pages this month" there's a link "Work prepositions" with exercises on how to use in / for / at and places of work.

Extra exercise
Have a look at our page on work idioms, then fill in the gaps in the sentences below.

1. We're burning the ——– at both ends to finish the project.
2. Daniel's a ——– and a shaker in the publishing world.
3. She works her fingers to the ——– to make ends meet.
4. My new colleague helped me in the first week by showing me the ——
5. If you want to get ahead, you'll need to go the extra ——- to prove yourself.

Filed under: Weekly English lesson


English weekly lesson – "un"



One of the easiest ways to expand your vocabulary is by using prefixes and suffixes to make new words.

We have two pages on the site which help you with your word-building:
a page on prefixes
and a page on suffixes.

On our sister site Rich Reads, scroll down to Newest Links (on the right of the page) for the link "Words starting with un" for a great exercise.

Extra exercise

How many new words can you make using prefixes and suffixes?

ie. happy = happiness / unhappy

photograph
employ
legal
freeze
govern

Filed under: Weekly English lesson