執筆者 Modern English | 2016年02月20日 | Phrases
“How is your father? I heard he was sick.” “Yes, but he’s on the mend.” “Mend” can mean to fix something: “I mended the hole in my sock.” It can also mean to heal: “It takes a long time for a broken bone to mend.” When someone is getting better after an injury or...
執筆者 Modern English | 2016年02月13日 | Phrases
“I don’t think Sylvia will ever forgive me.” “Don’t worry. If she loves you, you’ll find a way to work it out.” “I can’t do this math problem in my head. I need to work it out on paper.” The “it”...
執筆者 Modern English | 2016年02月06日 | Phrases
“Did you find out if you passed the exam yet?” To find out something is to learn or come to know it. We often use “find out” when we actively seek out information: “Go and find out if the mail has come.” But it can also be more...
執筆者 Modern English | 2016年01月30日 | Phrases
“I actually already have this book, but oh well—it’s the thought that counts.” Sometimes we receive a gift that we didn’t really want, but we appreciate it anyway. In these cases we say, “It’s the thought that counts.” We...
執筆者 Modern English | 2016年01月23日 | Phrases
“I hate to tell you this, but we’re out of gas.” “I hate to tell you” is a phrase we can use to prepare someone for bad news. It’s not pleasant to give someone bad news, so this set phrase assumes the speaker doesn’t enjoy...
執筆者 Modern English | 2016年01月16日 | Phrases
“The lines were long, but the kids loved the theme park. On the whole we had a great time.” “There were a few awkward sentences but on the whole the book is very well written.” “On the whole” is used to make a generalization about...
