Colloquial Expressions

Language is forever changing. What is currently acceptable or popular may be replaced by something else in years to come, and the use of slang is a strong testament to that. Slang is just an alternative way of saying something. It is sometimes hard to identify what is slang and what is not. Slang and colloquial expressions are often acceptable in informal writing because they are used in communication in movies, newspapers, radio, television, and other mass media The more you learn, the more you will know when to use or not to use them in your formal writing. No matter what, knowing these common everyday expressions is a plus for all ESL learners.

By a long chalk: by a great amount.

e.g. He lost his re-election by a long chalk.

Get wise to: discover; realize.

e.g. Soon you’ll get wise to what is really happening under the roof.

Go the whole hog: go through thoroughly.

e.g. The prosecutor went the whole hog when he inspected the murder weapon.

Alive and kicking: in good health.

"How is your grandmother doing?" "Very much alive and kicking."

For a song: very cheaply.

e.g. I got that piece of antique for a song.

Head above water: out of debt.

e.g. Nowadays, it is not easy to keep your head above water.

Mean-green: money.

e.g. Can I borrow a little mean-green from you?

All that jazz: all that sort of thing; etcetera.

e.g. He was telling everyone about his success in real estate investment and all that jazz. Well, we all heard that before.

In a jiffy: soon.

e.g. The manager will see you in a jiffy.

Next to nothing: hardly anything.

e.g. “Did she leave you anything at all?” “Well, next to nothing.”

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Idioms and Slang

Hard stuff: whisky or any liquor.

e.g."Would you like a Coke?" "I'd prefer some hard stuff."

Make one's pile: make one's fortune.

e.g. Real estate is where he makes his pile.

Half-baked: silly.

e.g. What do you take me for? A fool half-baked!

Keep early hours: go to bed early.

e.g. If you want good health, keep early hours.

Go under: fail.

e.g. I am sorry to say that all your proposals have gone under.

Hook on to: attach oneself to.

e.g. Don't hook on to your computer all day.

.

Hook it: depart immediately.

e.g. Come on, hook it; our parents will be back soon.

Can't complain: okay.

e.g. "How are things going with you?" "Can't complain."

What gives?: what happened?

e.g. "Hey, guys, what gives?" "We just had an argument; now it's okay."

e.g. "Where's your purse? What gives?"

Heads up: look around; be careful.

Pooped: exhausted.

e.g. I was pooped after working for nine hours in the yard.

Hard at it: busy.

.e.g. "Are you working on the project?" "You bet! I'm hard at it."

AMERICAN IDIOMS

SLANG AND COLLOQUIAL EXPRESSIONS

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions join unequal elements in a sentence or a clause that cannot stand by itself.

e.g. When we arrived at the station, the train had left.

e.g. We will not succeed unless we get your support.

e.g. His parents worked hard so he might have a good future.

e.g. I will help you as long as you ask me.

e.g. I will help you whenever you ask me.

e.g. I will help you provided (that) you ask me.

e.g. I will help you if you ask me.

e.g. I will not help you even you ask me.

e.g. Although I am your brother, I will not help you.

e.g. You will stay here till everything is done.

e.g. He behaved as though he were better than you.

e.g. Though he had lost his fortune, he remained cheerful.

e.g. Since spring is coming, we have to prepare the garden.

e.g. Because spring is coming, we have to prepare the garden.

Stephen Lau  

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Confusing Vocabulary

Writing is made up of words. The first requirement of writing English is to learn some English words every day to build up your vocabulary -- you may have to know at least a few thousand words before you can write effectively.

Learning vocabulary may look daunting to you (you may not know the word daunting, but most probably you can still guess that it means something like "difficult"; that is how you learn a new work  by relating it to the context in a sentence), but you have to learn it cumulatively, that is, learning a few words every day. 

Advance / Advancement

Advance, as a verb, means going forward or making progress; advancement means promotion.

e.g. With the advance of winter, days are growing shorter.

e.g. To seek advancement in your career, you need to work extra hard or get a higher qualification.

Observable / Observant

Observable: can be seen or noticed; observant: quick to pay attention.

e.g. The solution to the problem is observable to many scientists.

e.g. To be a good scientist, you must be observant of all the relevant details and data.

Noteworthy / Noticeable

Noteworthy means deserving attention; noticeable means easily seen.

e.g. The candidate's accomplishments are noteworthy.

e.g. The flaws in the Governor's character are easily noticeable to the public.

Pretense / Pretension

Pretense is to make believe; pretension is a claim

e.g. She makes no pretense to like her mother-in-law. (She does not pretend that she likess her mother-in-law)

e.g. He made no pretension to that award. (He never claimed that he received that award)

All / All of

All is used for amount, quantity, distance, and length of time.

e.g. all the money, all the way, all day, all night,

All of is used when a simple pronoun follows.

e.g. all of it, all of you, all of us.

All and all of may be used when it refers to number.

e.g. All or all of the employees are satisfied with the new policy.

e.g. All or all of the children in the family have gone to college.

Ingenious / Ingenuous

Ingenious is clever; ingenuous is natural, free from deceit.

e.g. I must say that was an ingenious way to fund the project.

e.g. The Mayor's response to the questions from the reporter was sincere and ingenuous.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Slang and Colloquial Expressions

Easy on the eye: good looking.

e.g. I say, your girlfriend is easy on the eye.

Act your age: behave yourself according to your age..

e.g. You’re almost an adult. Come on, act your age, and stop behaving like a spoiled brat!

Go: attempt.

e.g. Have a go at doing this on your own.

Easy mark: a likely victim.

e.g. If you are so unsuspecting, you may become an easy mark for swindlers.

Bazillion: a great number of.

e.g. The national debt is now in bazillion dollars, and the Congress needs to do something about that.

No way: not at all.

e.g. “Are you going to give him a hand?” “No way; he’ll be on his own.”

Beat: broke, no money.

e.g. Without a job, we are beat, no copper and no bread.

Chip on one’s shoulder: a grudge against.

e.g. She still has a chip on her shoulder: your infidelity some years ago. 

Ace someone out: win out over someone.

e.g. I plan to ace him out in the first round of the competition.

Ask me another: I don't know.

e.g. "Does your daughter want a baby?" "Ask me another!"

No two ways about it: no other alternative.

e.g. The man had to file for bankruptcy; no two ways about it. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Expressions Commonly Confused By ESL Learners

EXPRESSIONS COMMONLY CONFUSED BY ESL LEARNERS

DRIFT

Drift apart: separate slowly.

e.g. He drifted apart from his friends and lived a secluded life.

Drift back: go back to someone or something slowly.

e.g. He drifted back to her former girlfriend, and they were married.

Drift off to sleep: fall asleep gradually.

e.g. He sat on the sofa, and finally drifted off to sleep.

ARGUE

Argue about: dispute or quarrel with someone over.

e.g. They often argue about racial injustice over the dinner table.

Argue against: make a case against someone or something.

e.g. My wife and I often argue against what is best for our child.

EASE

Ease someone of something: to relieve or reduce someone of something.

e.g. The doctor eased me of my back pain.

Ease off: diminish; let up doing something.

e.g The rain has eased off; we'd better leave now.

e.g. Come on, he's just a kid. Ease off!

DIFFER

Differ about: disagree about.

e.g  We differ about who should be the next president.

Differ from: be different from

e.g. How does this one differ from that one?

Differ in: be different in a specific way.

e.g. This one and that one differ in color.

Differ with: disagree with.

e.g. I differ with you on many things.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Learning Vocabulary

Learning vocabulary may look daunting to you (you may not know the word daunting, but most probably you can still guess that it means something like "difficult"; that is how you learn a new work  by relating it to the context in a sentence), but you have to learn it cumulatively, that is, learning a few words every day. 

Corporal / Corporeal

Corporal means related to the body; corporeal means bodily and not spiritual.

e.g. Corporal punishment is no longer acceptable in schools.

e.g. We should be more concerned with our spiritual rather than our corporeal welfare.

Forbear / Forebear

Forbear means to tolerate, refrain from; forebear means an ancestor

e.g. You have to forbear from asking too many questions.

e.g.  He always takes pride in that Charles Dickens was his forebear.

Adverse / Averse

Adverse means unfavorable; averse means opposed to.

e.g. We managed to survive in these adverse economic conditions.

e.g. He was averse to giving financial aids to the poor.

Everyday / Every day

Everyday is an adjective.

e.g. This is an everyday event.

e.g. This happens in every day.

e.g. Every day somebody is killed on the road.

Indispensable / Indisputable

Indispensable means absolutely necessary; indisputable means factual, without a doubt, and not arguable.

e.g. Air is indispensable to life.

e.g. It is indisputable that the verdict of the judge is final.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Parallel Structure of an Effective Sentence

An effective sentence has to be parallel in structure in order to give the balance to the sentence. Therefore, when composing your sentence, be mindful of its parallel structure.

e.g. The story is about stealing money from a bank and how you hide it. (not parallel)

e.g. The story is about stealing money from a bank and hiding it. (improved; it is about stealing and hiding money)

e.g. My computer knowledge is better than you. (it does not make sense)

e.g. My computer knowledge is better than yours. (your computer knowledge)

e.g  I like him more than her. (correct: it means I like him more than I like her)

e.g. I like him more than she. (correct: it means I like him more than she likes him)

e.g. He promised his mother to finish his homework, to clean the house, and going to bed early.

e.g. He promised his mother to finish his homework, to clean the house, and to go to bed early.(improved)

e.g. I had decided to leave the country rather than staying behind.

e.g. I decided to.leave the country rather than to stay behind. (improved)

e.g. Rather than staying behind, I had decided to leave the country. (improved)

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

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The Right Choice of Words

Adherence / Adhesion

Much more: especially in a positive sense; much less: not to mention in a negative sense.

e.g. I would help a stranger in need, much more if he is my son.

e.g. She wouldn't even look at me, much less talk to me.

Dutiable / Dutiful

Dutiable: subject to imported tax; dutiful: showing respect and obedience.

e.g. Tobacco is often dutiable in most countries.

e.g. He is my dutiful son.

Adherence: following faithfully (metaphorically); adhesion: sticking to (literally).

e.g. No matter what may happen, our company will demonstrate to our shareholders our adherence to the project.

e.g. You can use this glue to strengthen the adhesion of these two pieces of material.

Defer / Infer

Defer: give way or yield to; infer: conclude.

e.g. He is a good kid: he always defers to his parents' wishes.

e.g. We can infer from your statement that you don't like this policy.

Aside / A side

Aside is an adverb meaning apart from, in addition to, to one side; a side means on each side.

e.g. Aside from money, he also needs a place to stay.

e.g. We need to put aside some money in case of emergency.

e.g. Please stand aside so that others can move in.

e.g. The passengers sat four a side.

Irritable / Irritant

Irritable means easily made angry; irritant means causing anger or discomfort.

e.g. He has a short temper and is easily irritable.

e.g. Nobody likes him because of his irritant behavior.

Accountable to / Accountable for

Accountable to: responsible to someone; accountable for: responsible for something

e.g. The Manager has to be accountable to the Board; he has to be accountable for all his business decisions. 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau