Phrasal Verbs and Idioms for English Speaking | Lesson 10 – Elementary Level

• Ex: Please make sure that you turn off the radio before you go out.
• Ex: Could you make certain of the time? I don’t want to miss that TV show.

Both now and then and once in a while can be preceded by the adjective every. Another idiom with the same meaning and form is every so often.

• Ex:  I don’t see him very often, but (every) now and then we arrange to have lunch together.
• Ex: Gary gets a cold (every) once in a while even though he takes good care of himself.
• Ex: Every so often my brother and I get together for a camping trip.
• Ex: I like to sleep late in the morning from time to time.

• Ex: Jerry tried hard to get rid of the stain on his shirt, but he never succeeded.
• Ex: The stain was so bad that Jerry finally had to get rid of his shirt.

• Ex: I play tennis with my father every other Saturday, so I usually play twice a month.
• Ex: There were twenty problems in the exercise, but the teacher told us only to do every other one. Actually, doing ten problems was difficult enough.

For the first definition, adverbs such as well and poorly are often used.

• Ex: That striped shirt goes well with the gray pants, but the pants go poorly with those leather shoes.
• Ex: Eda went with Richard for about six months, but now she is going out with a new boyfriend.

• Ex: The food served in that four-star restaurant is truly first-rate.
• Ex: The Beverly Hills Hotel provides first-rate service to its guests.

This idiom is commonly used in discussion of one’s home town, state, or country.

• Ex: What country in South American does she come from? She comes from Peru.
• Ex: I just learned that he really comes from Florida, not Texas.
• Ex: Where did this package come from? The mail carrier brought it.

The adjective excellent can also be used.

• Ex: On our last trip, it rained the entire time, so we didn’t make good time.
• Ex: We made excellent time on our trip to Florida; it only took eighteen hours.

For the second definition, the passive forms to be mixed up or to get mixed up are often used.

• Ex: You should mix up the ingredients well before you put them in the pan
• Ex: The teacher’s poor explanation really mixed the students up.
• Ex: The students think it’s their fault that they are mixed up so often.

• Ex: Who is going to see about getting us a larger room for the meeting?
• Ex: I’ll see to arranging music for the wedding of you attend to the entertainment.

• Ex: Charlie didn’t make out very well on his final examinations. He may have to repeat one or more classes.
• Ex: How did Rachelle make out on her acting audition in Hollywood yesterday?

• Ex: He knows many passages form Shakespeare by heart.
• Ex: Do you know all the idioms you have studied in this book by heart?