Topics in English
Phrase: Types of Phrase Clause and Types of Clause explained Essay: How to write the major types of essay Nouns, Adjectives and Examples of Nouns formed from Adjectives Homonyms - Meaning and Examples of Homonyms Idioms and Examples of Idioms Synonyms: Meaning and Examples of Synonyms Figures of Speech: Meaning, Examples and Types of Figure of Speech Relative pronouns and Compound Relative Pronouns explained with Examples Transitive and Intransitive Verbs explained with Examples Phrase explained with examples Essay: Formal, Semi-Formal and Informal Essays explainedAcademic Questions in English
Peter and Paul are always fighting _____.
The young lady _____ tears when she heard about the disaster.
The man is consistently assertive while his son is rather _____.
From the options below, which word correctly fills the gap and is also opposite to the underlined word.
The plural form of advice is _____.
Idioms are best defined as _____.
Her followers on social media considered her to be reprobate unlike her twin sister whom many see as being _____.
From the options below, which word correctly fills the gap and is also opposite to the underlined word.
Words with same spelling, same sound and different meanings are referred to as _____.
A man who writes a book is called an author. A woman who writes a book is called an _____.
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You may have heard a statement that reads below:
You will notice that the phrase “put behind bars” does not have a literal meaning with regards to its intended or real meaning. (What I'm trying to say here is: "put behind bars means something entirely different from the words it contain).
If we were to interpret the above phrase, it will mean something entirely different and this is what idioms are all about.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning does not relate to the individual words it contains.
Sometimes, an idiom can be very difficult to guess by mere looking at the meanings of the individual word it contains.
The idiom “put behind bars” in the above expression will mean “imprisoned”. The expression can therefore be interpreted as:
Note: As a student, you may write an English examination where you will be requested to provide the correct answers to idioms present within a sentence.
You can attempt WAEC Questions for English, 1990 here. You can read on various Nouns formed from Adjectives here.
The table below shows some frequently used idioms with their respective meanings:
IDIOMS |
MEANINGS |
|
To blow one’s trumpet |
To praise oneself |
|
To burn a hole in one’s pocket |
To spend all one has |
|
To go in with somebody |
To support somebody financially |
|
To make mountain out of a mole hill |
To exaggerate things |
|
To get off the beaten track |
To look for new methods |
|
To shed crocodile tears |
To cry insincerely |
|
To buy a pig in a pork |
To buy what one has not seen before |
|
To hold one’s peace |
To raise no objection |
|
To have a close shave |
To have a narrow escape from something bad |
|
To turn in one’s coat |
To change one’s principle |
|
To be in the red |
To be bankrupt (penniless or without any money) |
|
To take heart |
To have courage |
|
To nip in the bud |
To stop something from happening |
|
To go back a long way |
To have known each other for a long time |
|
To sit on the fence |
To be neutral |
|
To shift one’s ground |
To change one’s position |
|
To have words with somebody |
To quarrel with somebody |
|
To be in the wood |
To be in danger |
|
To bank on somebody |
To rely on somebody |
|
To let the cat out of the bag |
To reveal a secret |
|
To throw in the towel |
To surrender |
|
To tread on somebody’s toe |
To offend somebody |
|
To bury the hatchet |
To stop fighting |
|
To be a cog in the wheel |
To be a disturbance for progress |
|
To take the bull by the horns |
To face a difficult situation boldly |
|
To be in the driving seat |
To be in control of a situation |
|
To be above board |
To be honest and clever |
|
To strike a chord with someone |
To make someone feel sympathy with what one is saying |
|
To stick out one’s neck |
To do something that could bring problem |
|
To bite the dust |
To be defeated OR To fall down dead |
|
To add fuel to flames |
To do something that makes people react more fiercely |
|
To leave no stone unturned |
To do everything necessary to achieve something |
|
To leave someone in the lurch |
To abandon someone in a difficult situation |
|
To bide one’s time |
To wait for a good opportunity |
|
To draw the line at something |
To refuse to do something |
|
To take a dim view |
To hate |
|
To go the full distance |
To continue to partake in sports until it ends |
|
To the gallery |
To be praised and loved |
|
To put someone in a family way |
To make someone pregnant |
|
To line someone’s pocket |
To make money dishonestly |
|
To clip someone’s wing |
To reduce someone’s power |
|
To be a wet blanket |
To be a person who discourages |
|
To hold out an olive branch |
To clamor for peace |
|
To be born in blue blood in one’s vein |
To be born into a wealthy family |
|
To throw some light upon |
To explain |
|
To stand on one’s own leg |
To be independent |
|
To take the law into one’s hand |
To try to get revenge or satisfaction by force, without any recourse to the law courts |
|
To have a whale of a time |
To enjoy oneself very much |
|
To break the ice |
To lead the way when others are hesitant to come forward |
|
To turn a new leaf |
To change one’s mode of life |
|
To bring to light |
To reveal |
|
To be in someone’s debt |
To be grateful to someone for his/her help |
|
To cook the books |
To illegally or dishonestly alter facts or figures |
|
To be behind bars |
To be in prison |
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Amazing facts in English
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NOTABLE POINTS IN English
Homonyms are words with the same spellings, same sounds but different meanings.
Below are some sentences containing homonyms with their respective meanings
- Keen
We have a keen match against Ronaldo’s team and Messi seems to be keen.
Keen: An involvement of people competing very hard for something.
Keen: Very interested in something.
- Tear
Regardless the tear you shed, Mr. Frank will still tear your examination scripts.
Tear: The drop of liquid that comes out from a person's eye when they cry.
Tear: To damage something by pulling or cutting it apart.
- Jot
There isn't any jot of truth in what he said, so I didn't jot anything down.
Jot: A very small amount of somethin
Jot: To write something quickly
Certain words in English language appear to be similar but are quite different in meaning.
The table below shows some examples
|
Childlike |
Childish |
|
Stimulus |
Stimulant |
|
Destructible |
Destructive |
|
Negligible |
Negligent |
|
Comprehensible |
Comprehensive |
You can check out the difference in meanings of the words above.
Note: Synonyms are different words with similar meanings. Please read on synonyms here.
Some words always exist in the plural form. Examples of such words are:
Possessive adjective tells you the owner of a thing. For instance;
This is his car.
“His” in the above statement is describing him as the owner of the car; and this makes “his” a possessive adjective.
That is your bag.
“Your” is a possessive adjective in the above statement.
Note: An adjective is a word that describes a noun.
Possessive pronouns show possession. A possessive pronoun will always correspond to with each of the personal pronouns. For Instance
I own the book. (“I” is a personal pronoun)
The book is mine. (“Mine” is the possessive pronoun)
She owns a car. (“She” is a personal pronoun)
The car is hers. (“Hers” is the possessive pronoun)
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