Prepositional Words and Phrases

DROP

Drop around: come for a casual visit.

e.g. You must drop around some time and have a drink with us.

Drop behind: fail to keep up with a schedule.

e.g. I dropped behind in my work because of my ill health recently.

Drop by: visit.

e.g. I hope you can drop by and see our new granddaughter.

Drop it on: give some bad news.

e.g. I’m sorry I’ve to drop some bad news on you.

ABIDE

Abide by: follow a set of rules.

e.g. We must abide by all the instructions from the Mayor.

Abide with: stay with someone.

e.g. She is your wife; you must abide with her no matter what.

EASE

Ease of: relieve or reduce someone of something.

e.g. The doctor eased me of my back pain with some medication.

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!

Ease up on: treat gently.

e.g. Come on! Ease up on the gas! We’re going too fast!

MOVE

Move ahead: advance beyond.

e.g. If you wish to move ahead in you career, you need a higher degree.

Move along: continue to move.

e.g. Come on! Move along; there's nothing to see here

Move around: walk around a bit here and there.

e.g. Can you sit still, instead of moving around?

Move aside: step out of the way.

e.g. Please move aside so that the crowd can get through.

Move away: withdraw from someone or something.

e.g. Let's move away from those smokers.

Move back: move back and away.

e.g. Please move back! We need more space here.

Move on something: do something about something.

e.g. This is an issue we must move on.

e.g. You must move on this matter and give it your top priority.

Move up: advance; go higher.

e.g. She is trying to move her son up the social ladder/

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Correct Use of Phrasal Verbs

The use of prepositions is one of the difficult aspects of learning English. A preposition is a functional word that appears before nouns and relates to some other constructions in the sentence.

A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and one or more prepositions that functions as a single unit of meaning. Phrasal verbs are commonly used in writing. As an ESL learner, learn some prepositional phrases:

FROWN

Frown at: scowl at someone or something.

e.g. She frowned at my cat and gave her a kick.

Frown on: show disapproval.

e.g. His parents frown on everything he does.

DRINK

Drink down: consume something by drinking it.

e.g. He drank down the medicine, and felt better.

Drink in: absorb sight or information.

e.g. He was standing on the beach, trying to drink in the beauty around.

 e.g. It would take time to drink in the significance of the message.

Drink under the table: be able to drink more alcohol that someone else.

e.g. I bet I can drink you under the table.

Drink up: consume all of something.

e.g. Do you think you can drink up this bottle of wine?

HOLD

Hold no brief for: tolerate someone or something.

e.g. I hold no brief for that kind of behavior.

Hold off: delay; restrain.

e.g. The air strike might hold off the enemies for some time.

Hold one's end up: carry one's share of the bargain or burden.

e.g. We expect you to hold your end up and keep your promise to back us up.

e.g. With only that much money left, I don't know how long we could hold out.

Hold still for something: put up with something.

e.g. It is not easy to hold still for that kind of rude remark.

GROUND

Ground in: instruct.

e.g. We should ground our children in love and compassion as they grow up.

Ground on: form a foundation for.

e.g. His intelligence was grounded on reading books on wisdom.

DANCE

Dance on air: be very happy.

e.g. When she heard the good news, she was dancing on air.

Dance to another tune: change one,s manner, act very differently.

e.g. What I'm going to tell you will make you dance to another tune.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© 2018 by Stephen Lau

More American Idioms for You

Come to light: become known.
e.g. It came to light that he was the real benefactor. 

Buy a pig in a poke: buy something without seeing it.
e.g. Buying on line is sometimes like buying a pig in a poke.

On one's mind: currently thinking.
e.g. What's on your mind? You seem deep in thoughts.

By leaps and bounds: rapidly.
e.g. Our profits increased by leaps and bounds; thanks to your contribution.

Eat like a horse: eat a great deal.
e.g. At the party, he didn't do much, except eating like a horse!

Come what may: no matter what might happen.
e.g. I'll be back by nine, come what may.

Break the ice: start a social conversation.
e.g. After some moments, the shy girl finally broke the ice and participated in the conversation.

By the seat of one's pants: by luck, with little skill.
e.g. I finally finished my high school by the seat of my pants.

Get down to brass tacks: get down to practical matters.
e.g. The Congress should get down to brass tacks, and start discussing the debt crisis.

Grind to a halt: slow down to a stop.
e.g. The tour bus ground to a halt, and the tourists got out and stretched their legs.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Better English for You

Slang and Colloquial Expressions

Slang and Colloquial Expressions

Spread oneself: spare no expense.

e.g. The farmers' market has many good stuffs, but don't spread yourself.

Standing on one's head: doing something easily.

e.g. It's no big deal! I can do it standing on my head.

Put one's feet up: take a break; rest.

e.g. I'll call it a day. I'm going to put my feet up.

Put one's shirt on: wager everything.

e.g. We have to put our shirt on this project; we've no other option.

Make a dead set at: very determined to.

e.g. He made a dead set at getting that house on the market.

Jolly well: most certainly.

e.g. "Do you want another drink?" "Jolly well!"

Long in the tooth: very old.

e.g. "How old is he? " "I don't know, but he's long in the tooth

Keep early hours: go to bed early.

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

Look alive: hurry up.

e.g. Look alive! We don't want to miss our flight.

Make it snappy: be quick.

e.g. Common on, make it snappy! We don't have all the time in the world!

Hold one's horse: wait a minute; not immediately.

e.g. Dinner is ready, but hold your horse; wait for the host to come down!

In good nick: in good condition.

e.g. If I were you, I would buy this car; it's in good nick.

Talk through the back of one's neck: talk nonsense.

e.g. Look what he's doing: talking through the back of his neck.

Tall order: a challenging demand.

e.g. To finish the project in a week is certainly a tall order for me.

In a jiffy: soon.

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

Stand to reason: be logical.

e.g. It stands to reason that the Mayor should resign now that he has admitted his wrongdoing.

Shoot: speak out.

e.g. "I've something I'd like to say to you, but I'm afraid. . ." "Shoot!"

In the picture: informed.

e.g. Thank you for putting me in the picture; now I know what's going on.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

A Better and Happier You in 2019

A Better and Happier You in 2019

There is an old Latin axiom: “nemo dat quod non habet” — meaning, one cannot give what one does not have.

If you don’t have the wisdom to know your real self, you won’t have the wisdom to understand others, especially who they are and what they need. In order to understand others to have better human relationships, you must first and foremost have the wisdom attained through asking self-intuitive questions throughout your life.

Then, with mindfulness, you observe with a nonjudgmental mind what is happening to you, as well as around you. Gradually, you will be able to see things as what they really are, and not as what they may seem to you: anything and everything in life follows its own natural cycle, just as the day becomes night, and the night transformed into dawn. With that wisdom, you may become enlightened, which means you begin to know your true self—what you have and what you don’t have, and you were created to be who you are, and not what you wish you were or want to become. Knowing what you have, you can then give it to others. It is the giving, rather than the receiving, that will make you become a better and happier you in 2019.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

My New Book on the Miracle of Living

ANYTHING IS EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING IS NOTHING, NOTHING IS EVERYTHING by Stephen Lau

This newly published book is about the miracle of living.

“Anything” may be “everything” to you, but not to others, and vice-versa. That may explain the some of the difficulties in human relationships. Life is difficult because it is all about you, and not about others. Let go of “anything is everything” to you if you focus more on others as well.

“Everything is nothing” is a universal truth: nothing lasts, no matter how we wish they were permanent. Many of us are reluctant to accept this universal truth of the impermanence of all things in this world.

“Nothing is everything” is enlightenment of the human mind, which is profound understanding of the ultimate truths of self, of others, and of the world around.

This 100-page book explains with many real-life examples to illustrate the perceptions of “anything is everything”, “everything is nothing”, and “nothing is everything”—based on the ancient Chinese wisdom and the Biblical wisdom.

Get the wisdom to live your life as if everything is a miracle.

Click here to get your paperback copy.

Click here to get your digital copy.

Here is the outline of the book:

INTRODUCTION

ONE: ANYTHING IS EVERYTHING

The Meanings and the Interpretations

A Frog in a Well

Human Wisdom and Spiritual Wisdom

Oneness with All Life

Love and Forgiveness

Gratitude and Generosity

Sympathy and Empathy

Compassion and Loving Kindness

TWO: EVERYTHING IS NOTHING

Understanding Is Everything

The Mind and the Ego

Attachments and Illusions

Control and Power

Detachment and Letting Go

Impermanence and Emptiness

THREE: NOTHING IS EVERYTHING

The Paradox

The Way

The Miracle

The Enlightenment

APPENDIX A: TAO TE CHING

APPENDIX B: MINDFULNESS

APPENDIX C: MEDITATION

APPENDIX D: WORDS OF WISDOM

APPENDIX E: ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Words Frequently Misused

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. 

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.

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 collected.

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.

Deplete / Replete

Deplete means to empty; replete means to be filled with.

e.g. My illness might have depleted me of energy and strength.

e.g. Your garage is replete with garden tools.

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 likes her mother-in-law.)

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

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.

Prepossessing / Preposterous

Prepossessing means very attractive or impressive; preposterous means absurd or contrary to reason.

e.g. She had put on a prepossessing dress to impress the audience.

e.g. You look preposterous in that ridiculous outfit!

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

American Idioms

Act one’s age: behave maturely

e.g. Stop behaving like a teenager! Act your age.

Play the field: date many different people at the same time

e.g. He wanted to play the field while he was still young.

Plead/take the Fifth (the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution): not to incriminate oneself

e.g. After consulting with his lawyer, he decided to take the Fifth.

Call someone on the carpet: scold or reprimand

e.g. If you late for work one more time, the manager will call you on the carpet.

Full of crap: talking nonsense all the time

e.g. I don’t like your friend; he’s full of crap.

Lead someone astray: cause someone to do something wrong or illegal

e.g. If you are always in the company of lawbreakers, you  may be easily be led astray.

Pass the hat: collect money for

e.g. He is always passing the hat for something.

Pop the question: propose to marry

e.g. Now that you’ve got the ring; when are you going to pop the question?

No can do: impossible

e.g. He asked me for more money. I told him no can do.

Bag your face: shut up!

e.g. You and your loud mouth! Go and bag your face!

One’s days are numbered: about to die or to be dismissed

e.g. The manager doesn’t like her.  I would say her days are numbered.

Occur to someone: come to mind

e.g. It never occurred to me that I would fail my driving test.

Live beyond one’s means: spend more than one can earn

e.g. You are in debt because you are living beyond your means.

Pain in the neck: annoyance

e.g. You are pain in the neck, always complaining about this and that.

Over the hump: overcome the most difficult part

e.g. We are now over the hump; the rest may not be that difficult.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau