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to count on: to trust someone in time of need
- I can count on my parents to help me in an emergency.
- Don't depend on Frank to lend you any money; he doesn't have any.
to make friends: to become friendly with others
- Patricia is a shy girl and doesn't make friends easily.
- During the cruise Ronald made friends with almost everyone on the ship.
out of order: not in working condition
- The elevator was out or order, so we had to walk to the tenth floor of the building.
- We couldn't use the soft drink machine because it was out of order.
to get to: to be able to do something special; to arrive at a place, such as home, work, etc. for the second definition, do not use the preposition to with the words home or there.
- The children got to stay up late and watch a good movie for the family.
- I missed the bus and couldn't get to the office until ten o'clock.
- When are you planning to get home tonight?
few and far between: not frequent, unusual, rare
- The times that our children get to stay up late are few and far between.
- Airplane travel is very safe because accidents are few and far between.
to look over: to examine, to inspect closely
Go over is different from the other forms because it is not separable.
- I want to look my homework over again before I give it to the teacher.
- The politician went over his speech before the important presentation.
- You should never sign any legal paper without checking it over first.
to have (time) off: to have free time, not to have to work
The related form to take time off is used when someone makes a decision to have free time, sometimes when others might not agree with the decision.
- Every morning the company workers have time off for a coffee break.
- Several workers took the afternoon off to go to a baseball game.
to go on: to happen; to resume, to continue
- Many people gathered near the accident to see what was going on.
- I didn't mean to interrupt you. Please go on.
- The speaker kept on talking even though most of the audience had left.
to put out: extinguish, to cause to stop functioning
To put out has the same meaning as to turn off (Lesson 1) for a light fixture.
- No smoking is allowed in here. Please put out your cigarette.
- The fire fighters worked hard to put the brush fire out.
- Please put out the light before you leave. Okay, I'll put it out.
all of a sudden: suddenly, without warning
- All of a sudden Ed appeared at the door. We weren't expecting him to drop by.
- All at once Millie got up and left the house without any explanation.
to point out: to show, to indicate, to bring to one's attention
- What important buildings did the tour guide point out to you?
- The teacher pointed out the mistakes in my composition.
- A friend pointed the famous actor out to me.
to be up: to expire, to be finished
This idiom is used only with the word time as the subject.
- "The time is up," the teacher said at the end of the test period.
- We have to leave the tennis court because our hour is up; some other people want to use it now.
to be over: to be finished, to end
This idiom is used for activities and events.
- After the dance was over, we all went to a restaurant.
- The meeting was through ten minutes earlier than everyone expected.
on time: exactly at the correct time, punctually
- I thought that Margaret would arrive late, but she was right on time.
- Did you get to work on time this morning, or did rush hour traffic delay you?
in time to: before the time necessary to do something
- We entered the theater just in time to see the beginning of the movie.
- The truck was not able to stop in time to prevent an accident.
to get better, worse, etc.: to become better, worse, etc.
- Heather has been sick for a month, but now she is getting better.
- This medicine isn't helping me. Instead of getting better, I'm getting worse.
to get sick, well, tired, busy, wet, etc.: to become sick, well, tired, busy, wet, etc.
This idiom consists of a combination of get and various adjectives.
- Gerald got sick last week and has been in bed since that time.
- Every afternoon I get very hungry, so I eat a snack.
had better: should, ought to, be advisable to
This idiom is most often used in contracted form (I'd better).
- I think you'd better speak to Mr. White right away about this matter.
- The doctor told the patient that he'd better go home and rest.
would rather: prefer to
- Would you rather have the appointment this Friday or next Monday?
- I would just as soon go for a walk as watch TV right now.
to all it a day/night: to stop working for the test of the day/night
- Herb tried to repair his car engine all morning before he called it a day and went fishing.
- We've been working hard on this project all evening; let's call it a night.
To figure out: to solve, to find a solution ; to understand
- How long did it take you to figure out the answer to the math problem?
- I was never able to figure it out.
to think of: to have a (good or bad) opinion of
This idiom is often used in the negative or with adjectives such as much and highly.
- I don't think much of him as a baseball player; he's a slow runner and a poor hitter.
- James thinks highly of his new boss, who is a kind and helpful person.
to be about to: to be at the moment of doing something, to be ready
This idiom is often sued with the adverb just.
- I was just about to leave when you telephoned.
- Oh, hi, John. We're just about to eat dinner.
to turn around: to move or face in the opposite direction ; to completely change the condition of
- The man turned his car around and drove back the way he came.
- The company has been very successful since the new business manager was able to turn it around.
to take turns: to alternate, to change people while doing something
- During the trip, Darlene and I took turns driving so that neither of us would tire out.
- I have to make sure that my two sons take turns playing the video game.
to pay attention (to): to look at and listen to someone while they are speaking, to concentrate
- Please pay attention to me while I'm speaking to you!
- You'll have to pay more attention in class if you want to get a good grade.
to brush up on: to review something in order to refresh one's memory
- Before I traveled to Mexico, I brushed up on my Spanish; I haven't practiced it since high school.
- In order to take that advanced mathematics class, Sidney will have to brush up on his algebra.
over and over (again): repeatedly
- The actress studied her lines in the movie over and over until she knew them well.
- Children have difficulty remembering rules, so it's often necessary to repeat them over and over again.
- Time and again I have to remind Bobby to put on his seatbelt in the car.
to wear out: to use something until it has no value or worth anymore, to make useless through wear
- When I wear out these shoes, I'll have to buy some that last longer.
- What do you do with your clothes after your wear them out?
to throw away: to discard, to dispose of
- I generally throw away my clothes when I wear them out.
- Don't throw the magazines away; I haven't read them yet.
to fall in love: to begin to love
This idiom is used with the expression at first sight to indicate a sudden interest in love.
- Ben and Sal fell in love in high school, and got married after graduation.
- Have you ever fallen in love at first sight?