Common Phrases and Collocations 2

"Have"  and "Make" are rich verbs in English and there are a lof of colocations with them. See some common ones:

Have a look
Have a good time
Have a go
Have a try
Have an argument (with someone over/about something)
Have a word with someone
Have something to do

Make an appearance
Make an apology
Make a mess of something
Make an appointment
Make an assumption
Make a choice
Make a decision
Make a difference
Make a date
Make a discovery
Make a mistake
Make a profit
Make a start
Make a fool of someone/oneself
Make the most of something
Make a promise
Make sense of
Make sure of something
Make do with

Common Phrases and Collocations 1

 
As I said before collocations help you improve your English and make it sounds much better. Here there is a list of some common ones:


Break a promise
Break the ice

Change your mind

Draw a conclusion

Do someone good
Do someone a favor
Do yourself justice
Do something for a living

Find it difficult to do something
Find difficulty in doing something
Finf fault with

Get a move on
Get the impression

Give a description
Give birth to
Give a choice
Give an example
Give a hand
Give the impression
Give someone a call
Give someone the sack
Give your word

Some common Verbal Collocations

Here you find a short list of some verbal collocations to help you keep them in mind.

HAVE

have a bath
have a drink
have a good time
have a haircut
have a holiday
have a problem
have a relationship
have a rest
have lunch
have sympathy

DO

do business
do nothing
do someone a favour
do the cooking
do the housework
do the shopping
do the washing up
do your best
do your hair
do your homework

MAKE

make a difference
make a mess
make a mistake
make a noise
make an effort
make furniture
make money
make progress
make room
make trouble

TAKE

take a break
take a chance
take a look
take a rest
take a seat
take a taxi
take an exam
take notes
take someone's place
take someone's temperature

BREAK

break a habit
break a leg
break a promise
break a record
break a window
break someone's heart
break the ice
break the law
break the news to someone
break the rulescatch a ball
 

CATCH

catch a bus
catch a chill
catch a cold
catch a thief
catch fire
catch sight of
catch someone's attention
catch someone's eye
catch the flupaysavekeeppay a fine
 

PAY

pay attention
pay by credit card
pay cash
pay interest
pay someone a compliment
pay someone a visit
pay the bill
pay the price
pay your respectssave electricity
 

SAVE

save energy
save money
save one's strength
save someone a seat
save someone's life
save something to a disk
save space
save time
save yourself the trouble

KEEP

keep a diary
keep a promise
keep a secret
keep an appointment
keep calm
keep control
keep in touch
keep quiet
keep someone's place
keep the changecomegogetcome close
 

COME

come complete with
come direct
come early
come first
come into view
come last
come late
come on time
come prepared
come right back
come second
come to a compromise
come to a decision
come to an agreement
come to an end
come to a standstill
come to terms with
come to a total of
come under attackgo abroad
 

GO

go astray
go bad
go bald
go bankrupt
go blind
go crazy
go dark
go deaf
go fishing
go mad
go missing
go on foot
go online
go out of business
go overseas
go quiet
go sailing
go to war
go yellowget a job
 

GET

get a shock
get angry
get divorced
get drunk
get frightened
get home
get lost
get married
get nowhere
get permission
get pregnant
get ready
get started
get the impression
get the message
get the sack
get upset
get wet
get worried

Collocations - o que são? Para que servem?

 

Collocations são palavras que sempre aparecem juntas e não há como explicar o porque desta junção - "do my bed" ou "make my bed"? O correto é "make my bed". Agora como explicar? Elas simplesmente precisam desta "combinação" e muitas vezes não é possível associar tal junção em outras formações. Quando você conhece a combinação correta seu inglês soa mais natural - se você usa a combinação errada, isso parece estranho para um nativo.

Estas combinações acontecem em qualquer língua. A língua portuguesa não é diferente e vamos encontrar vários exemplos:  

Esta cerveja esta estupidamente gelada.

A palara "estúpidamente" tem o significado de "muito" e para qualquer estrangeiro soaria estranho, mas para nós, nativos, ela combina perfeitamnete com a palavra "gelado(a)".

Agora, vamos pensar assim: se estupidamente, neste exmplo, siginifa "muito" então eu posso falar assim:

Este carro é estupidamente lindo.

Neste caso nós entenderíamos, mas seria estranho. Daí a importância de conhecermos a combinação correta.

O problema é que muitas vezes somos influenciados pela lingua materna e fazemos combinações baseados naquilo que já conhecemos e isso nos leva a deduções ou combinações estranhas ou até mesmo erradas .

Por exemplo:

Maria casou-se com João.

Quando passamos a frase para o inglês, geralmente aparece assim:

Mary got married with John.

Influenciados pelo português e desconhecendo a preposição que combina com o verbo "get married" muitas vezes cometemos este erro. 

Sabemos que o verbo "get married" combina com a preposição "to" e o correto seria:

Mary got married to John.

outro exemplo que induzem a erro:

amigo intimo = close friend

Então quando digo que alguém é apenas um conhecido eu digo "far friend"?

Infelizmente não. As vezes isso acontece porque deduzimos assim: "close" quer dizer "perto" e "far" quer dizer "longe". Então é só inverter, mas não é bem assim que a coisa funciona.  Para descrever um conhecido usamos "acquaintance". Precisamos entender que "collocations" simplesmente existem da forma que são e não há nenhuma explicação para essa junção e nunca podemos usá-las como referência pra outras. O que devemos fazer é observar em conversas e leituras como as palavras se juntam e passar  a usá-las da mesma forma.

idioms and expressions with the letter "J"

"J"
Jaywalk:
Crossing the street (from the middle) without using the crosswalk.

Joshing Me:
Tricking me.

idioms and expressions with the letter "I"

"I"

Icing On The Cake:
When you already have it good and get something on top of what you already have.

Idle Hands Are The Devil's Tools:
You are more likely to get in trouble if you have nothing to do.

If It's Not One Thing, It's Another:
When one thing goes wrong, then another, and another...

In Like Flynn:
To be easily successful, especially when sexual or romantic.

In The Bag:
To have something secured.

In The Buff:
Nude.

In The Heat Of The Moment:
Overwhelmed by what is happening in the moment.

In Your Face:
An aggressive and bold confrontation.

It Takes Two To Tango:
A two person conflict where both people are at fault.

It's A Small World:
You frequently see the same people in different places.

Its Anyone's Call:
A competition where the outcome is difficult to judge or predict.

Ivy League:
Since 1954 the Ivy League has been the following universities: Columbia, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Yale, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Harvard.

idioms and expressions with the letter "H"

"H"

Haste Makes Waste:
Quickly doing things results in a poor ending.

Hat Trick:
When one player scores three goals in the same hockey game. This idiom can also mean three scores in any other sport, such as 3 homeruns, 3 touchdowns, 3 soccer goals, etc.

Have an Axe to Grind:
To have a dispute with someone.

He Lost His Head:
Angry and overcome by emotions.

Head Over Heels:
Very excited and/or joyful, especially when in love.

Hell in a Handbasket:
Deteriorating and headed for complete disaster.

High Five:
Slapping palms above each others heads as celebration gesture.

High on the Hog:
Living in Luxury.

Hit The Books:
To study, especially for a test or exam.

Hit The Hay:
Go to bed or go to sleep.

Hit The Nail on the Head:
Do something exactly right or say something exactly right.

Hit The Sack:
Go to bed or go to sleep.

Hocus Pocus:
In general, a term used in magic or trickery.

Hold Your Horses:
Be patient.

idioms and expressions with the letter "G"

"G"

Get Down to Brass Tacks:
To become serious about something.

Get Over It:
To move beyond something that is bothering you.

Get Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed:
Someone who is having a horrible day.

Get Your Walking Papers:
Get fired from a job.

Give Him The Slip:
To get away from. To escape.

Go Down Like A Lead Balloon:
To be received badly by an audience.

Go For Broke:
To gamble everything you have.

Go Out On A Limb:
Put yourself in a tough position in order to support someone/something.

Go The Extra Mile:
Going above and beyond whatever is required for the task at hand.

Good Samaritan:
Someone who helps others when they are in need, with no discussion for compensation, and no thought of a reward.

Graveyard Shift:
Working hours from about 12:00 am to 8:00 am. The time of the day when most other people are sleeping.

Great Minds Think Alike:
Intelligent people think like each other.

Green Room:
The waiting room, especially for those who are about to go on a tv or radio show.

Gut Feeling:
A personal intuition you get, especially when feel something may not be right.

idioms and expressions with the letter "E"

"E"

Eighty Six:
A certain item is no longer available. Or this idiom can also mean, to throw away.

Elvis has left the building:
The show has come to an end. It's all over.

Ethnic Cleansing:
Killing of a certain ethnic or religious group on a massive scale.

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining:
Be optomistic, even difficult times will lead to better days.

Everything But The Kitchen Sink:
Almost everything and anything has been included.

Excuse my French:
Please forgive me for cussing.

Cock and Bull Story:
An unbelievable tale.

Cock and Bull Story:
An unbelievable tale.

idioms and expressions with the letter "F"

"F"

Feeding Frenzy:
An aggressive attack on someone by a group.

Field Day:
An enjoyable day or circumstance.

Finding Your Feet:
To become more comfortable in whatever you are doing.

Finger lickin' good:
A very tasty food or meal.

Fixed In Your Ways:
Not willing or wanting to change from your normal way of doing something.

Flash In The Pan:
Something that shows potential or looks promising in the beginning but fails to deliver anything in the end.

Flea Market:
A swap meet. A place where people gather to buy and sell inexpensive goods.

Flesh and Blood:
This idiom can mean living material of which people are made of, or it can refer to someone's family.

Flip The Bird:
To raise your middle finger at someone.

Foam at the Mouth:
To be enraged and show it.

Fools' Gold:
Iron pyrites, a worthless rock that resembles real gold.

French Kiss:
An open mouth kiss where tongues touch.

From Rags To Riches:
To go from being very poor to being very wealthy.

Fuddy-duddy:
An old-fashioned and foolish type of person.

Full Monty:
This idiom can mean either, "the whole thing" or "completely nude".

Funny Farm:
A mental institutional facility.

idioms and expressions with the letter "D"

"D"

Dark Horse:
One who was previously unknown and is now prominent.

Dead Ringer:
100% identical. A duplicate.

Devil's Advocate:
Someone who takes a position for the sake of argument without believing in that particular side of the arguement. It can also mean one who presents a counter argument for a position they do believe in, to another debater.

Dog Days of Summer:
The hottest days of the summer season.

Don't count your chickens before they hatch:
Don't rely on it until your sure of it.

Don't Look A Gift Horse In The Mouth:
When someone gives you a gift, don't be ungrateful.

Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket:
Do not put all your resources in one possibility.

Doozy:
Something outstanding.

Down To The Wire:
Something that ends at the last minute or last few seconds.

Drastic Times Call For Drastic Measures:
When you are extremely desperate you need to take extremely desperate actions.

Drink like a fish:
To drink very heavily.

Drive someone up the wall:
To irritate and/or annoy very much.

Dropping Like Flies:
A large number of people either falling ill or dying.

Dry Run:
Rehearsal.

idioms and expressions with the letter "C"

"C"


Can't Cut The Mustard :
Someone who isn't adequate enough to compete or participate.

Cast Iron Stomach:
Someone who has no problems, complications or ill effects with eating anything or drinking anything.

Charley Horse:
Stiffness in the leg / A leg cramp.

Chew someone out:
Verbally scold someone.

Chip on his Shoulder:
Angry today about something that occured in the past.

Chow Down:
To eat.

Close but no Cigar:
To be very near and almost accomplish a goal, but fall short.

Cock and Bull Story:
An unbelievable tale.

Come Hell Or High Water:
Any difficult situation or obstacle.

Crack Someone Up:
To make someone laugh.

Cross Your Fingers:
To hope that something happens the way you want it to.

Cry Over Spilt Milk:
When you complain about a loss from the past.

Cry Wolf:
Intentionally raise a false alarm.

Cup Of Joe:
A cup of coffee.

Curiosity Killed The Cat:
Being Inquisitive can lead you into a dangerous situation.

Cut to the Chase:
Leave out all the unnecessary details and just get to the point.

Indefinite pronouns - exercises (exercícios sobre artigos indefinidos)

A - Insert "A" or "AN", if necessary:

1 - ____ uniersity
2 - ____ eye
3 - ____ car
4 - ____ houses
5 - ____ yellow coat
6 - ____ onion


B - Complete the sentenses with "A" or "AN" when necessary:

1 - She deserves better treatment because she is not ____ prisioner.

2 - The boys got ____ ant, ____ European bird and ____ milk.

3 - He always smokes ____ cigarrete with ____ coffee.

4 - For dinner I usually have ____ soup and ____ sandwich with ____ cheese, ____ tomatoes and _____ lettuce.

5 - They invest ____ millions of dollars on ____ oil.


C - In which sentences the use of the indefinite articles are used corrrectly:

1 - She has an interesting job.
2 - There is a hammer here.
3 - It's an article about famous cities.
4 - Ted is an European man.
5 - He gave me an information about it.

Indefinite Articles (artigos indefinidos)

Os artigos indefinidos em inglês são normalmente usados antes de um substativo no singular. São eles: "A"  ou "AN".

Exemplos:


This is a pen.
He is a doctor.
She is an engineer.

"A"  e "AN" significam "um", "uma" e não podem ser usados antes de plural ou substativos incontáveis. Nesses casos a palavra "some", que siginifica "algum(a)(s)" é frequentemente usada.

O uso do "A"  ou "AN" depende da pronúncia do substantivo que eles acoampanham:

* "A"  é usado antes de som consonantal:

a day
a car
a dog

"AN" é usado antes de som vocálico:

an apple
an elephant
an orange

Atenção:

Existem algumas peculiaridades sobre o uso destes artigos:

1 - Diante de palavras que se iniciam com a letra "H" a escolha entre "A"  ou "AN" dependerá da pronuncia - se o "H" tiver o som vocálico ("h" mudo) usamos "AN" e se o som for consonantal, usamos "A":

an hour                             a helicpter
an honor                           a hospital
an honest man                   a hand

2 - Palavras iniciadas pela letra "U' ou "E" precisam de atenção, pois em algumas palavras o som delas  é /iú/ e nestes casos usamos "A":

a university                     an uncle
a uniform                        an ugly boy
a unit                              an umbrella
a used car                      an unhappy girl
a European man             an elegant lady

3 - Palavras compostas iniciadas pela palvra "one" também usamos "A":

a one-dollar bill
a one-eyed man
a one-way street

Reflexive Pronouns (pronomes Reflexivos) x Reciprocal pronouns (pronomes recíprocos)

As pessoas se confundem quando fazem uso dos pronomes reflexivos e recíprocos em inglês devido a influência do português na hora de estruturar a sentença.

Meu intuito aqui é tentar ajudar a tirar essa confusão.


Então para diferenciar um do outro temos que saber a diferença entre eles.

Quando queremos mostrar que o sujeito da frase fez e recebeu a ação por si só faremos uso dos pronomes reflexivos (se você quiser recordá-los clique Aqui ).

Exemplo:

                                                     Eu me olhei no espelho.

Neste exemplo, principalmente pelo uso do pronome "me", a confusão já está feita poque quando vamos passar a frase para o inglês pensamos logo no "ME" e a tendência é estruturarmos a frase assim:

I looked at me in the mirror [esta frase está errada, "ME" é um pronome objeto (clique aqui para revisá-los) que é usado quando temos uma outra pessoa como sujeito da frase e não nós mesmos].

Se o sujeito e o objeto são a mesma pessoa, então temos que fazer uso do pronome reflexivo. No português muitas vezes o pronome é o mesmo, apesar de ter funções diferentes, ja no caso do inglês ele é diferente:

A frase correta seria:   I looked at myself.

No exemplo abaixo vou tentar explicar o uso dos dois casos - pronome objetivo e subjetivo juntos:

João estuda comigo mas eu não gosto de estudar com ele e então só estudo comigo mesmo.

John likes to study with me but I don't like to with him, so I just study with myself.

Aconfusão fica um pouco maior quando aparece a seguinte frase:


Peter and Sarah se amam.

Neste exemplo o pronome "se" não é reflexivo porque não estamos dizendo que Peter ama ele mesmo e sim a Sarah e o mesmo acontece com a Sarah. Neste caso a ação do verbo é recírpoca, ou seja, o que um sente, o outro também sente, mas pelo outro.

Quando passamos este exmplo para o inglês muitos alunos escrevem assim:

Peter and Sarah love themselves.

Se usarmos o pronome reflexivo aqui mudamos completamnete o sentido. No exemplo acima estamos dizendo que o Peter ama ele mesmo e Sarah ama ela mesma - A açao não é recíproca e sim reflexiva.

Para mostrarmos que a açao do verbo é recíproca usamos os pronomes recíprocos:

EACH OTHER                       ONE ANOTHER

Dessa forma o correto seria dizer:

Peter and Sarah love each other.

Aqui sim - Peter ama sarah e Sarah ama Peter.

Agora analise o exemplo abaixo:

 
                                                        Ed and Sue Looked at themselves.
                                                (= Ed looked at Ed / Sue looked at Sue)

                                                       Ed and Sue looked at each other.
                                                (= Ed lookes at Sue / Sue looked at Ed)

RECIPROCAL PRONOUNS (PRONOMES RECÍPROCOS)

Nós usamos pronomes recíprocos quando cada um de dois ou mais sujeitos está agindo da mesma forma em relação ao outro. Por exemplo:

   John e Paul estão conversando um com o outro.

   John and Paul are talking to each other.
A ação é de "reciprocidade". 
 Existem apenas dois pronomes recíprocos, e ambos são duas palavras:
   
                       * each other
                       * one another  

  
Usarmos os pronomes recíprocos  quando há duas ou mais pessoas, coisas ou grupos envolvidos (por isso não podemos usar os pronomes recíprocos com eu, você [singular], ele / ela / ele), e eles devem estar fazendo a mesma coisa.

Olhe para estes exemplos: 

John and Mary love each other. Peter and David hate each other. The ten prisoners were all blaming one another. Both teams played hard against each other. We gave each other gifts. Why don't you believe each other? They can't see each other. The gangsters were fighting one another. The boats were bumping against each other in the storm.

João e Maria se amam. Peter David e se odeiam. Os dez presos foram todos culpando um ao outro. Ambas as equipes jogaram duro uma contra a outra. Nós demos presentes uns aos outros. Por que você não acreditam uns nos outros? Eles não podem ver um ao outro. Os bandidos estavam lutando entre si. Os barcos foram colidindo uns contra os outros na tempestade.

Você pode perceber que "each other" é mais usado que "one another". Isso porque, em geral, "one another" soa um pouco mais formal. Além disso, algumas pessoas dizem que devemos utilizar "one another" apenas para três ou mais pessoas ou coisas, mas não há justificativa real para isso.