Phrasal Verbs and Idioms for English Speaking | Lesson 2 – Elementary Level

• Ex: We should definitely dress up to go to the theater.
• Ex: You don’t have to dress up for Mike’s party.

• Ex: We waited for hours and then the train arrived at last.
• Ex: Now that I am sixteen, at last I can drive my parents’ car.

• Ex: George is late for class as usual. This seems to happen every day.
• Ex: As usual, Dora received first prize in the swimming contest. It’s the third consecutive year that she has won.

• Ex: Will you please try to find out what time the airplane arrives?
• Ex: I’ll call right now to find it out.

• Ex: The teacher told us to look at the blackboard and not at our books.
• Ex: I like to walk along a country road at night and look at the stars.

An adverb phrase such as all over can be put between the verb and preposition, as in the second example, however, the idiom cannot be separated by a noun or pronoun.

• Ex: He’s spent over an hour looking for the pen that he lost.
• Ex: So there you are! We’ve looked allover for you.

This idiom can also be spelled alright in informal usage.

• Ex: He said that it would be all right to wait in her office until she returned.
• Ex: Do you want me to turn off the TV? Alright, if you insist.

• Ex: She knew all along that we’d never agree with his plan.
• Ex: You’re smiling! Did you know all along that I’d give you a birthday present?

• Ex: Karen’s health seems to be improving little by little.
• Ex: If you study regularly each day, step by step your vocabulary will increase

• Ex: The hot weather tired out the runners in the marathon.
• Ex: Does studying for final exams wear you out? It makes me feel worn out!

• Ex: Jose didn’t know the answer when the teacher called on him.
• Ex: Last night several friends called on us at our home.
• Ex: Shy don’t we drop in on Sally a little later?

• Ex: When he spilled his drink on my coat, I said, “Never mind. It needs to be cleaned anyway.”
• Ex: So you weren’t listening to me again. Never mind; it wasn’t important.