Phrasal Verbs and Idioms for English Speaking | Lesson 12 – Elementary Level

Hyphens (–) separate the parts of this idiom when it precedes a noun form, as in the third example. The verb to update derives from this idiom.

• Ex: The president insisted that the company bring its aging equipment up to date.
• Ex: This catalog is not up to date. It was published several years ago.
• Ex: The news program gave an up-to-date account of the nuclear accident. The newscaster said that he would update the news report every half hour.

• Ex: Many people buy new cars when their old cars become out of date.
• Ex: I don’t know why Gene likes to wear out-of-date cloth. His clothes are so outdated that even his girlfriend hesitates to be seen with him.
• Ex: This book can’t be ordered any more because it is out of date.

• Ex: Daddy, could you please blow up this balloon for me?
• Ex: When the airplane crashed into the ground, it blew up immediately.
• Ex: The military had to blow the missile up in midair when it started to go the wrong way.

• Ex: Don’t stand too close to the gas stove. Your clothes may catch fire.
• Ex: No one seems to know how the old building caught fire.

• Ex: There was a large amount of wax on the table where the candles had burned down.
• Ex: The fire spread so quickly that the fire fighters could not prevent the whole block of buildings from burning down.

To burn up and to burn down (previous idiom) share the same definition but also have different definitions.

• Ex: She didn’t want anyone to see the letter, so she burned it up and threw the ashes away.
• Ex: It really burns me up that he borrowed my car without asking me first.
• Ex: Mike got ticked off that his friends never offered to help him move to his new apartment. He had to do everything himself.

• Ex: This light bulb has burned out. Could you get another one?
• Ex: Studying all day for my final exams has really burned me out.

• Ex: He is a hard worker, and I’m sure that he will make good in that new job.
• Ex: Alma has always made good in everything that she has done.

This idiom is almost always used with the pronoun subject it and is followed by a that clause.

• Ex: It stands to reason that a person without experience.
• Ex: It stands to reason that he isn’t going to pass the course if he never studies.

• Ex: An epidemic of measles broke out in Chicago this past week.
• Ex: If a nuclear war ever breaks out, it is unlikely that many people will survive.
• Ex: The news says that a large fire has broken out in a huge chemical plant

• Ex: As for the money, we will simply have to borrow some more from the bank.
• Ex: There is no doubt as to her intelligence; she’s the smartest one in the class.

• Ex: Don’t you feel sorry for someone who has to work the night shift?
• Ex: I helped drive Pierre around when he broke his foot because I took pity on him.