Phrasal Verbs and Idioms for English Speaking | Lesson 11 – Elementary Level

• Ex: There was a large sign outside the door that said, “Danger! Keep out!”
• Ex: I’ve told you to keep the dog out of the house.

• Ex: Please be sure to keep the children away from the street!
• Ex: The signs on the burned-out house said, “Keep Away! Danger Zone.”
• Ex: It’s important for your health to stay away from dangerous drugs.

• Ex: It is very easy to find fault with the work of others, but more difficult to accept criticism of one’s own work.
• Ex: Mrs. Johnson is always finding fault with her children, but they really try to please their mother.

The second definition is most often used in a question as a form of greeting.

• Ex: I don’t care whether we go to the reception or not. It‘s up to you.
• Ex: Hi, George. I haven’t seen you in a while. What have you been up to?

• Ex: Speaking in front of a large audience makes many people feel ill at ease.
• Ex: My wife and I were ill at ease because our daughter was late coming home from a date

• Ex: A noun or pronoun must separate the two parts of this idiom.
• Ex: You’d better do the letter over because it is written so poorly.
  Ex: Jose made so many mistakes in his homework that the teacher made him do it over.

• Ex: The police are looking into the matter of the stolen computers.
• Ex: The congressional committee will check into the financial dealings of the government contractor

• Ex: You should take hold of the railing as you go down those steep stairs.
• Ex: The blind man took hold of my arm as I led him across the street.

This idiom is followed either by the –ing form of a verb (a gerund) or by the preposition with.

• Ex: I didn’t get through studying last night until almost eleven o’clock.
• Ex: At what time does your wife get through with work every day?

• Ex: Mr. Lee’s doctor told him to cut down on eating fatty foods from now on, or else he might suffer heart disease.
• Ex: I’m sorry that I dropped by at a bad time. From now on I’ll call you first.

• Ex: Steve keeps track of all the long-distance telephone calls related to his business that he makes from his house.
• Ex: With seven small children, how do the Wilsons keep track of all of them?

This idiom can also be used with get instead of be.

• Ex: Paula and Leanne were carried away by the sad movie that they saw together.
• Ex: James got carried away with anger when his roommate crashed his new car into a telephone pole.