Phrase Mix 8. believable VS plausible, will 和 be going to 的区别, prior VS before, choosy VS picky, able to 和 can 区别. plans 和 a plan 区别.

1. I'm notorious for forgetting birthdays. Your sister emailed to remind you of your mother's birthday because you usually forget. You're explaining to your friend why your sister emailed you. You say this to make a joke about your forgetfulness. (someone) is notorious for (doing something) To be "notorious" means that you are famous or well-known for doing something bad. For example: Blackbeard was a notorious pirate who raided ships in the early 18th century off the east coast of the United States. The word "notorious" doesn't quite fit with the idea of someone who forgets birthdays, like in the example above. But people sometimes call themselves or other people "notorious" as an exaggeration. It's said as kind of joke. Arnold is notorious for yelling at employees and throwing things around when he gets in a bad mood. Thanks, but I would have remembered 我记得呢, 我记得呢, 你不说我也记得! Your sister emails you to remind you that your mother's birthday is in 2 days, because you sometimes forget birthdays. You want her to know that you didn't forget about it this time. You write back and saying this. (someone) would have (done something) Whenever you hear "I would have ___", you can always imagine that the sentence ends with "...if ___". For example: I would have remembered even if you hadn't emailed me. "I would have ___" is used to talk about something that didn't really happen, but you're imagining how things would be different if something different had happened in the past (like if your sister hadn't reminded you of your mom's birthday). It doesn't matter whether the action would have happened in the past or in the future. You use "would have (done)" to talk about something that's about to happen: A: Don't forget, we have a meeting this afternoon at two. B: Don't worry, I would have remembered! But you would also say the same thing if your sister mentions that she remind you of your father's birthday six months ago: I would have remembered that too! A note on pronunciation: "would have" is usually pronounced "would've", which might also sound like "would of". Some English speakers who don't write very well even make the mistake of writing "would have" as "would of". You wouldn't happen to know anyone who does, would you? You have an old Volkswagen car that has some engine trouble. You're looking for a mechanic to fix it. You call one auto repair shop, but they don't work on that kind of car, so you ask them this. Use the phrase "happen to ___" to talk about something that doesn't seem very likely. One way this is useful is for asking questions, even though you don't think the listener will know the answer: Do you happen to know a guy by the name of Fred Breedlove? In this example, you ask "Do you happen to..." because you think that the listener probably doesn't know this person. You would ask this question if this person was from the same town as Fred, or went to the same large university as Fred, or worked at the same large company. You can also use "happen to ___" to ask questions politely, even when you do think the listener's answer will be "yes": Excuse me, would you happen to have a pen I could borrow? "Have", "see", and "know" are the most common verbs that follow "happen to". You wouldn't happen to (do something), would you? This is a very polite way of asking a question. Use it when the listener might not have an answer for you, or might not want to give an answer. In the example above, you're asking the mechanic for the name of another mechanic who works on the kind of car you have. He might not know of a good answer, and even if he does know he might not want to tell you because the other mechanic is his competitor in a way. So it's good to ask in a polite way. A: Hi, I have a problem with my '79 Volkswagen bus. Do you work on those? B: No, I'm sorry, we don't. A: Oh, OK. Thanks anyway. You wouldn't happen to know anyone who does, would you? 2. That makes me think he has something to hide. Your sister is telling you about her husband, who's been coming home late recently. Your sister confronted him, and he got angry about it. You think that he probably got angry because he's doing something wrong. You say this about your suspicions. that makes me think (clause) This phrase is used when you're trying to make guesses about something, or when you're trying to figure out what something means. When you find evidence or a fact that brings you to a certain conclusion, you say "that makes me think ___":    Hmm... his office light is still on. That makes me think he might still be around here somewhere. (someone) has something to hide When a person "has something to hide", it means that they have done something wrong that they don't want people to know about. "Having a secret" has a neutral meaning, but "having something to hide" carries a negative connotation. Some other examples include: Why don't you want to show it to me? Do you have something to hide? Go ahead. I've got nothing to hide. 3. Prior to that, I spent two years as an administrative assistant at a recruiting agency. You're in a job interview. You're describing your work history. You started by explaining your current job. You say this to explain the job you had before that one. prior to (something) "Prior to" means "before". But it sounds more formal. People use "prior to" in business situations, in a courtroom, and so on. There are some other differences between "prior to" and "before as well. You can say: Before you go, can you take a quick look at this email I'm sending to Tracy? But you can't replace "before" with "prior to" in that sentence. You have to follow "prior to" with a noun: Please call to confirm your flight details prior to departure. "Prior to departure" means "before you leave". The phrase "prior to ___" can also include a verb with the "-ing" ending: Prior to meeting Vick, I had never even seen an opera, much less known an actual opera performer. spend (time) as You use the word "spend" with an amount of time because we think of time as being very valuable, just like money. To "spend time ___ing" means to use your time to do it: We spent the first month just debating what to call ourselves. People use the phrase "spend (time) as ___" to express how long they did a certain job for. You use this phrase when you're describing your past jobs, but usually not to describe your current job. administrative assistant An "administrative assistant" used to be called a "secretary". In recent years, the word "secretary" isn't used much because it seems old-fashioned and sexist (meaning that it seems disrespectful to women). An administrative assistant helps busy and important people in a company to schedule their meetings, send letters and packages, and other things. a recruiting agency A "recruiting agency" is a company that finds employees for other companies. If you need to find a certain kind of employee, but it takes too long to find people like that, you can hire a recruiter to find the right person for the job. Recruiters will often call people who are already working at other companies, and will try to convince those people to change their jobs. There's also another word for recruiting agents. People call them "headhunters 猎头". "Headhunter" is also a word to describe members of native tribes in places like South America who kill their enemies and take their heads. So, as you might expect, the word "headhunter" is not a very positive way to refer to a recruiter! 4. I didn't raise you to be a picky eater! You bought a jar of peanut butter, but your daughter complained because it wasn't the kind that she wanted. You try to teach your kids not to complain about things like that, so you say this. raise (a child) To "raise a child" means to help the child grow from a baby to an adult. Raising children includes feeding them, clothing them, giving them an education, and so on. When parents are raising their children, they have certain ideas for how they want the kids to grow up to be. For example, you may want your child to be honest. So you teach him honesty. To explain this idea, you say that you "raised him to be honest". a picky eater Being "picky" means that there are a lot of things you don't like. Picky eaters have foods that they won't eat. The word "picky" has a negative feeling. There's another word, "choosy 挑剔的", which carries a more positive feeling. I'm sorry. I don't set the rules; I just enforce them. You work at a nightclub. The club has a strict dress code. A group of people want to get in, but one of them is wearing shorts. You can't let them in because of the club's rules. One of the people in the group is asking you to make an exception. You say this because you're not allowed to make this decision. set the rules 制定规则 To "set the rules" for something means to decide what the rules are going to be: These days, the power of the Internet is empowering consumers to set the rules. enforce 落实 rules To "enforce" a rule means to make sure that people follow it. People who "enforce" rules include police officers, teachers, HR staff at a company, store employees, and so on. 5. It just wasn't very believable. You watched a movie. You weren't able to enjoy it because you thought the characters and the setting were too unrealistic. You're discussing the movie with your friend, and you say this. just (not)(adjective) "Just not" expresses the feeling that, even though you want something to be true, it's not true in reality. There's a phrase that was made famous by the TV show "Sex and the City", and later used as the title for a movie: He's just not that into you. Being "into" someone means that you like them a lot. This sentence was told to a woman who was worrying about why a man who she'd gone on a date with hadn't called her back. When she heard "He's just not that into you," it convinced her to stop worrying about it. (a story) (is) believable (不用于描述真实发生的事情, 而是用来描述电影、电视、小说等知道是编的, 但是仍然觉得可信的. ) The word "believable" can be used to describe a story that's realistic enough for you to accept. When you see or hear it, it makes you feel like it could be real (although you know that it's not real). "Believable" is mostly used to talk about stories like movies, TV shows, and books. The opposite of "believable" is "not believable". You've probably heard the word "unbelievable", but that word means "amazing" or "wonderful", so its different from "not believable". People don't use the word "believable" to talk about stories, explanations, or descriptions of real events. When someone describes a real-life event and you think that it might be true, you say that it "seems plausible 可能的, 可信的": That seems plausible. When it seems like it probably isn't true, you say that it's "not plausible": Yeah, he says that they agreed to pay him five thousand dollars, but that just doesn't seem plausible 不太可能的, 不可能会发生的. 6. What are you doing here 问你是在做什么, 其实问的是为什么? This question means "Why are you here?" But "Why are you here?" sounds rude and accusatory (it sounds like you're accusing the person of doing something wrong). You ask "What are you doing here?" when you see someone that you didn't expect to see in that place. This phrase is pronounced with stress on the word "you": What are you doing here? If you give this sentence the wrong intonation, it can sound rude as well. Use a high intonation for "you" and remember to smile! What (is) (someone) doing (description)? When you use "What are you doing" to mean "why", there are several different descriptions that you can add to the end of the phrase. You can add location words like "here" and "there": What were they doing there? Or phrases that describe the location and start with "in", "on", "at", "behind", and so on: What's she doing at the meeting? You can also describe what someone is doing at the time: What are you doing talking on the phone 你在打什么电话啊? We need your help! Now you see what I go through every day! Your co-worker covered for you while you were on vacation. Now you've come back, and he's complaining about how difficult the work was. You want to joke about your job being difficult, so you say: Now you see what I go through every day! go through (something) People use the phrase "go through ___" to describe negative experiences. "Go through" means to experience something negative or difficult. Some examples include: go through a divorce, go through a tough time, go through a period of weak sales, go through childbirth. There are some other totally different meanings of "go through". One is to search and examine things in a list or a collection: We should sit down and go through the details later this week. Another meaning of "go through" is to use a person or agency to do something for you instead of doing it directly yourself: Are you going through 通过 a recruitment agency? It's best to remember each of these meanings separately. go through (a person or agency) When you want to do something, but you can't do it yourself, you "go through" another person or organization. Here are some examples of situations where that happens: You go through an employment agency to get a job. You go through a recruitment agency to hire someone for a job. You go through a travel agent to buy a plane ticket. You go through a website to buy things online. Your friend works at a software company and needs to hire a programmer. She's been searching for someone for a few months, but hasn't found any qualified people. You want to know how she's been looking for candidates, so you ask this. Although, on the other hand, you might be better off waiting until the last minute. Your sister is going to come visit you, but hasn't bought her airplane tickets yet. She wants to get the cheapest tickets possible. You just advised her that she ought to go ahead and book her flight soon. But now you're remembering that there are also good deals on plane tickets in the last few days before the flight. You say this. (someone) (will be/might be/would be) better off (doing something) "Be better off ___ing" is a phrase that's used to express a better choice. You can use it to describe the choice that you think someone should take: A: Maybe we can try to sell it? B: I think we'd be better off just throwing it away. What's the story? You and your friend were supposed to meet someone at 8:00 for dinner, but she's 20 minutes late. Your friend called her and they talked for a few minutes. You ask this because you want to know what they said. This is a question for use in casual conversation between friends or with work colleagues that you know well. It means "What's going to happen?" or "What is the plan?" You can use this phrase when you're dealing with groups of people, and you want to figure out where to go and what to do. 7. We were able to raise just under fifteen thousand dollars. You were in charge of planning an event to raise money for a charity. Now the event is over, and you're talking to a friend about how it went. You're telling him about the amount of money you made. be able to (do something) (able to 和 can 的区别) "Be able to" means "can". But you can't use "can" with "might". So instead you say "might be able to". You also use "be able to" when talking about things that you successfully did in the past: I was able to contact Jesse, and he said he would send them to us right away. Were you able to find out how much it costs? And you use "be able to" with other modals like "should", "will", "may", etc." He should be able to help you. I won't be able to finish it until some time next week. raise (an amount of money) To "raise money" means to get money from investors or donors. Investors are people who lend you money to get a piece of your business, so that they can earn more money later. Donors are people who give their money for a charity, a school, etc. You can use the phrase "raise money": We're raising money for cancer research. Or you can state the amount of money: We're hoping to raise $100,000 for cancer research. 8. I'm amazed at how well it turned out, given the circumstances. You were planning an event to raise money for a charity. While you were planning the event, one of the other planners quit and you didn't have much time to work on it because you were busy. The event has happened, and it was pretty successful. You say this while talking to your friend about it later. Use this phrase to express your surprise and amazement about some quality of a thing: I was amazed at how easy it was to make. I'm totally amazed at how you've been able to make connections with so many influential people in just a few months. In spoken English, you may sometimes hear people leave out the "at": I'm just amazed how quickly you were able to pick that up. (something) turned out well The phrase "it turned out well" means "it was good at the end". You use this phrase to judge a project, an event, or anything that you make. You say "it turned out well" when you think that the end result is good. Sometimes people use this phrase when a project seemed to be going badly while it was in progress: I was worried there for a little while, but overall I think it turned out really well. given the circumstances 综合考虑, 说起来的话 You add "given the circumstances" to a sentence when there are problems with something that make it difficult. When you're making a decision about it, you want to consider those problems. So if you're judging how good something was, "given the circumstances" means that you don't want to use a really strict standard for judging it. For example, if you and your wife are trying to save up money but only one of you works, you can say: I think we're doing pretty well given the circumstances. This means that you aren't saving a lot of money, but you are saving a lot for a couple with only one income. "Given the circumstances" can come at the beginning of a sentence or at the end. 9. If you show the kids respect, they'll return the favor. You're a teacher. You're explaining to a young first-year colleague how you manage your classes. This is the advice you give to the new teacher. show (someone) respect "Respect" is the feeling that a person is good, wise, intelligent, or cool. When you "respect" someone, you feel this way about them. But to "show respect" means to be polite to someone, and treat them like a valuable person. You can "show respect" to a person by not interrupting someone while they're talking, letting them make their own decisions, asking them polite questions about themselves, and so on. return the favor 回报, 以牙还牙, 以德报德, 投桃报李 When someone does something nice for you, and you do something nice back to them, you call that "returning the favor": You've helped me out so much, so I just wanted to return the favor. But the phrase "return the favor" now has a wider meaning than just doing something nice in return to a person. Now it can have a more general meaning of "doing the same thing back to someone that they do you". It's mostly used with positive actions, but it can also be used with some negative actions too in an ironic way. For example, if you're playing chess with someone and they take one of your pieces, you can say this when you take one of theirs: Allow me to return the favor. 10. I'm pleased to announce that Carlos Turner has been promoted to Northeastern Regional Manager 区域经理. You have given one of your employees a promotion. You're writing an email to everyone in your division of the company to announce this and congratulate him. This is how you start your message. I'm pleased to announce that (clause) This is a very formal phrase that you use when making announcements to large groups. You can use this in writing, or when speaking on stage in front of an audience. You can imagine the president of a country using this phrase when giving a speech: My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to announce that today, due to our efforts, a nuclear showdown has been averted with North Korea. This phrase is used in business settings for formal announcements that are sent out to the company about new employees, promotions, good quarterly results, awards, and so on. (someone) has been promoted to (job title) When you give someone a promotion (which is a job with a higher title or pay), you shouldn't say "I promoted Carlos..." That sounds too self-centered, like you're trying to take the spotlight away from this person. It's better to say "Carlos has been promoted..." In this way, you can describe a person's promotion without saying who did it. In general, when you don't want to say who did an action, you say "___ was ___ed". regional manager A "region" is a certain area of a country, continent, or of the world. The "regional manager" is someone in a company who's in charge of a region: I'm the regional sales manager for our Asian offices. Pay up 付钱, 支付, 还钱, 给钱! You made a bet with your friend about a baseball game. You just won the bet, so you shout this to get him to pay you the money he owes you. This is a phrase that you say to make a friend pay you after you win a bet. If you used it with people you don't know well, or with your friends in other situations, it might seem rude. But it's a perfect phrase for friendly bets. 11. What was I looking for again? A coworker comes to your office to ask a question. You were supposed to search for some information for her on your computer, but you got sidetracked. You forgot what you were looking for. You say this to yourself. What are you looking for? There's an old rule that some English teachers might try to enforce, which says that you shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition like "for". According to this rule, you're supposed to say or write: For what are you looking? But this is really strange and old-fashioned. You can use it in extremely formal writing, or maybe as a joke. What was I (doing) again? When you've forgotten what you were doing or saying, you use this phrase. It expresses to the listeners that you're trying to remember what to do. Some examples include: Now, what was I searching for again? Oh yeah, last quarter's budget. What were we talking about again? You can also use the phrase "What was (something) again?" with a noun or a noun phrase to ask about things that you've forgotten and need to remember again: What was his name again? What was the address of the restaurant again? When people use this phrase, the question is directed at themselves but of course they also want other people to hear it as well. 12. There's so much to do there. You used to live in New York. Someone you just met is asking you about living there. You offer this astute observation. there's (so much/a lot/nothing/etc.) to do People use the phrase "There's so much to do" in two situations: When talking about a place that has a lot of fun activities available. I love Paris. There's so much to do there. When talking about the amount of work that they have to do. Wow, there's so much to do today! I don't know where to start. You can use several different words in the phrase to describe how much there is to do. For example, "there's nothing to do" is a complaint that kids sometimes make when they're bored.    This is boring! There's nothing to do. We've been absolutely overwhelmed with orders. The small company you work for was featured in an article in the New York Times. Since then, thousands of new customers have started to contact you and buy your products. The number of orders that customers have made is so high that it has been difficult to send out everyone's orders fast enough. You tell a business contact this. (be) overwhelmed (with something) To be "overwhelmed" means to get so much of something that it becomes a problem. You can become "overwhelmed" with things like e-mail messages, job applications for a position that you're hiring for, parenting responsibilities, homework, etc. For example: I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. I've got school, band practice, work, not to mention spending time with my boyfriend. I just can't handle it all! You state the thing that is overwhelming you with the phrase "overwhelmed with ___": It's easy to get overwhelmed with the amount of work here if you don't have an organized system for handling it all. You may also hear "overwhelmed by ___". This is more often used to express a positive emotional feeling when something makes you so happy, thankful, or proud that you just can't believe it: I've been overwhelmed by all the support and help my fans have given me. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Italian countryside. 13. Oh my God, that's wonderful! Your sister told you that she's going to have a baby. You say this because you're happy and you want to congratulate her. "Wonderful" is an ungradable adjective, which means that it sounds strange to use words like "very" or "a little" with it. That's because "very" is already part of the meaning of the word "wonderful". Some other ungradable adjectives include: enormous, exhausted, horrible, amazing, delicious, gorgeous. When someone tells you good news, you might expect to say "congratulations". This would be the polite way to react if a coworker or not-very-close friend said that they were going to get married. But with someone really close like a close friend, "Congratulations" is too distant 冷漠, 疏远. So a more excited response like "Oh my God!" is better. This one is ancient! You want to buy a new phone. You say this to explain to your husband why you want a new one. The word "ancient" describes things that are thousands of years old. Some examples of "ancient" things include: the Egyptian pyramids, the redwood trees in California that are over a thousand years old, old religious stories from thousands of years ago. Because the word "ancient" has such an extreme meaning, people often use it to exaggerate about how old something is. In this example: Look at that phone — that thing is ancient! ...the phone is only a few years old, but that seems very old because new phones are coming out so quickly. These days, people actually use "ancient" quite often to talk about technology that's old and out-of-date. What a great turnout! If a lot of people show up to your event or party. 14. How can you concentrate with all that going on? Your teenage son is chatting with his friends and watching videos on his computer while he does his homework. You think it must be distracting for him and he won't be able to learn, so you ask him this. concentrate with (something happening) To "concentrate" is to focus or pay attention to something. Of course, it's harder to "concentrate" if you have sounds or pictures that take your attention. To talk about this, you say "concentrate with": It's hard to concentrate with all the noise in here. I'm more interested in having a really authentic local experience. Your friend is going on a trip to Italy and has signed up for a guided tour. Now you're each discussing your thoughts about tours. You told him that you don't like going on tours, and this is how you explain why. an authentic experience The word "authentic" is tricky. It means "real" but is used in certain situations. You use "authentic" to talk about international food, for example: Do you know of any good, authentic Vietnamese restaurants here in the city? I also use the word "authentic" to describe the kind of English sentences I try to write on this website: On PhraseMix.com, I try to teach authentic English that you can use in the real world. So an "authentic experience" is an experience that seems real and natural for that situation. People who want an "authentic experience" in a foreign country want to eat at the same restaurants that locals eat at, talk to locals who aren't paid to be tour guides, and see what life is like in that location. 15. We made tentative plans to meet next Wednesday. You've been making plans to meet a woman that you met on an online dating site. You've both agreed that next Wednesday is the best day, but you haven't chosen the exact time or location. You think that there's a possibility that she might change the plans to a different day. Now you're telling your friend about this and you say this. a tentative plan A plan that is "tentative" hasn't been completely decided yet. You might still change your plan later if it's "tentative". Some other things that you can describe as "tentative" are: reach a tentative agreement, come to a tentative conclusion. make plans (to do something) To "make plans" means to plan what you're going to do with someone on a certain day and time. This is the meaning of "plans" with an -s at the end. For example: Do you have plans for this weekend? The meaning of this is different from "a plan". "A plan" is an idea for how you're going to do something. Here's an example: Do you have a plan for what you'll do if you get laid off? Tell what you're going to do using "plans to ___": We made plans to meet in a Starbucks at 7:30. Tell when the plans are using "plans for ___": I don't have any plans for Thursday. Do you? 16. I'll call you next week and we can settle on the time and place. You're planning to meet a woman who you met on an online dating site. You've e-mailed each other and decided to meet next Wednesday, but you haven't picked the time or location. You write this to say that you'll call her to decide on the specifics. settle on (something) To "settle on" something means to finally make a decision after considering lots of different choices. You use "settle on ___" to talk about the topic you're deciding: Have you settled on 定下来了吗 where you're going for your honeymoon? Or you can also use it to talk about which one you chose: We settled on Bali for our honeymoon. In the U.S., it's common for people to make a general plan to meet people on a certain day or weekend, and then to choose the specifics later. "Settle on ___" is OK to use in written or spoken English. time and place "Time and place" is a common group of words to use together. You can also say "place and time". I'll (do something) (will 和 be going to 的区别) Use "will" to offer to do something, or when you've just decided to do something like in these situations and want to announce your decision, use "will":  Fine! I'll take it back! I guess I'll thaw this out. OK. Well, I'll take it. I'll keep an eye out for it. ("I'll" is short for "I will", of course.) When you've been planning to do something for a while, don't use "will". Say "I'm ___" or "I'm going to ___". We're going to keep it to just close friends and family. Is (someone) coming (going to 和 will 的区别)? You can talk about the future with " be ___ing". For example: Are you going? I'm staying here. Casey is running a half marathon next month. When someone has already decided on a future action, it's more natural to use this than "will". 17. OK, let's shoot for Wednesday. You're planning to meet a woman who you met on an online dating site. You've been e-mailing her, and she wrote back with her schedule. Today's Monday. She can't meet this week, but she can meet next week on Wednesday. You write this to agree to meet that day. shoot for (a day or time) 暂定, 目前打算, 现在的计划是 (shoot for to try to reach, gain, or accomplish; strive for. to try to achieve a particular thing. The media group is now shooting for annual growth rates of between 8% to 10%. It's worth taking chances when you're shooting for a chance of fame and wealth. ) Use "shoot for (a day or time)" when you're trying to plan when you're going to do something, but you're not 100% sure that the day or time you've decided will work. Here's an example for talking about when a long-term project will be finished: I'm shooting for early August. next (Monday/Tuesday/etc) Explaining what day you're talking about can be difficult. If today is Saturday July 24th, here's what you should call each of the days of the week: Sunday, 7/25: "Tomorrow". Monday, 7/26: "Monday" or "this Monday". Tuesday, 7/27: "Tuesday" or "this Tuesday". Saturday, 8/1: "next Saturday". Sunday, 8/2: "next Sunday". 18. He could at least say 'hi' 打个招呼 or something. You're having after-work drinks with coworkers and complaining about the director of your department. You've complained that he doesn't acknowledge that you're there when you see him outside of the office. Now you're continuing to talk about it, and how you think he should act. You say this. (someone) could at least (do something) In this type of sentence, "could" doesn't mean "was able to" like in this sentence: You could see Times Square from the window of his office. Instead, "could" is used as a suggestion. It means "He should say hi." The phrase "(someone) could at least (do something)" is used when you think someone is acting totally wrongly. In the example above, the speaker actually wants the director to be friendly and start a conversation if they see each other. But even if he doesn't act that friendly, she thinks that he should at least say "hi". So saying that someone "could at least ___" is a way to complain and tell what you think someone should do as the basic, minimum effort. Other versions of this are: He could say "hi" at the very least. At least he could say "hi". 19. OK, I'll let this one slide, but you'd better show up next time. You're going out for drinks this afternoon with a group of coworkers. You invited one coworker that you're friends with, but he said that he couldn't come because he was supposed to meet his girlfriend for dinner. You joke with him by saying this. let (it/this) slide 不追究, 放一马 When someone does something wrong, and you don't punish them for it, you can say that you "let it slide". For example, if you get caught for speeding by the police but they don't want to write you a ticket, they'll say: All right, I'll let it slide this time. (Or at least I imagine that's true, because it's never happened to me. I always end up getting the ticket...) In the example above, the speaker obviously doesn't have the authority to punish his coworker for not going out to drinks, so saying "I'll let this one slide" is a joke. You can use "let it slide" (when talking about a certain action) or "let this slide" (when talking about the overall situation). As you can see from the example at top, you can also say "let this one slide". 20. I've lived here for nearly 15 years, off and on. You moved to the U.S. after you graduated college, and you've mostly lived there since then. But you also spent a few years living in other places. Someone asks you how long you've been in the U.S., and this is your answer. (do something) off and on "Off and on" describes something that has continued to happen, but has not happened constantly. For example, if you dated someone, then broke up, then got back together, then broke up, and so on, you'd describe it: We dated off and on for about 3 years. It's not wrong to use "off and on" in written English, but a more formal way to express the same idea is "intermittently 断断续续的". I've been known to have 5 or 6 cups in a day. You told your friend that you were trying to cut down on caffeine, so you started talking about how much coffee you drink. Sometimes you drink 5-6 cups of coffee in one day. You say this to your friend. (something) has been known to (do something) Use the phrase "___ has been known to ___" to describe something that sometimes happens or has happened a few times in the past: They 've been known to rehearse 10 hours at a single stretch. I'm not sure if I trust you. You have been known to make promises and not follow through on them, you know. The phrase "__ has been know to ___" can either sound very careful, or sound funny and playful. So you could use it to carefully talk about mistakes your boss sometimes makes: She's been known to miss important client meetings from time to time. Or you could use it to joke about something embarrassing that you do a lot: Yeah, I've been known to buy a new pair of shoes every now and then. The joke here would be that you actually buy new shoes all the time, and it's funny that you're trying to sound like you don't do it a lot. have (a drink) English speakers often use the phrase "have ___" instead of "drink ___". For example: Do you want to have a glass of wine with me? You use "have a drink" when you're talking about the experience of drinking something, or you're talking about drinking in a social situation. If you're describing what you drank in a scientific- or medical-sounding way, you would use the verb "drink" instead of the phrase "have a drink". For example, if you got sick while on vacation in a foreign country, you might describe what made you sick: I drank some fruit juice with ice in it on the second day, and I think that the ice is what gave me the stomach virus. cups (of coffee) "Coffee" is a liquid, so you can't count how much of it you've had. The way that English speakers count coffee is to say how many cups they've had. Hot tea is counted in the same way. Cold drinks are counted by how many "glasses" or "bottles" you've had. Beer is counted with "beers": I'm totally not drunk! I only had, like, two beers! (number) in a day If the speaker had said "5 or 6 cups a day", it would have sounded like that was how much she drank every day. But since she said "5 or 6 cups in a day", the sentence means that there are some days when she drinks 5 or 6 cups. On most days she probably drinks less. 21. It's about time 早就该了! There was a broken light on the first floor of your apartment building that hadn't been fixed for two weeks. A neighbor tells you that it's been fixed. You say this because you're happy that it's finally being taken care of. You say "It's about time!" when something finally happens that you think should have happened a long time ago. When you use this, you sound like you're annoyed by how long something took. Here's an example: A: Pete finally sent me the files I've been waiting for. B: It's about time! When you pronounce this, put stress on both "about" and "time": It's about time! People don't usually use this phrase in written English. 22. I've had this presentation looming over me for weeks now. You have an important presentation for school that's due this week. You've been thinking and worrying about the presentation for three weeks. You say this while talking to your boyfriend about the pending presentation. (someone) has had (something) looming over (them) When something "looms" over you, it means that it's floating or hanging ominously. It feels threatening and makes you worry that something bad is going to happen. The best example of this is when dark clouds are floating in the sky. You can describe it this way if you write a story about a scene: There were dark clouds looming overhead. People also use "looming over" to talk about a bad event that they know is going to happen in the future: My 40th birthday is looming right around the corner. I'm not looking forward to that! What was it that you wanted me to look at? Your roommate wanted you to look at something on YouTube, but you were in the middle of writing something important so you wanted to finish it. Now you're finished writing it, and you want to know what your roommate was trying to show you. What was it that you (said)? When someone tells you something or asks a question, but you weren't able to pay close attention to it because you were busy or distracted, you can ask this question. There are a few versions of this question: What was it that you were saying? What was it that you were asking? What was it that you wanted to talk to me about? Notice that the phrase always ends with a verb that's continuous and past (were saying, were asking, wanted). 23. If I HAD to pick something, I'd say it's that I have trouble saying 'no' to people's requests. You're at a job interview and have been asked to described one of your weaknesses. You have to answer, but you want your answer to make you sound impressive. You want it to sound like this weakness is not really a problem. So you say this. If I had to (say something), I'd say (clause) 一定要说的话 Use this phrase when someone is asking you to give an opinion about something that you don't really want to answer, but someone is making you answer. You can use this phrase with different words that mean "say". For example: If I had to guess, I'd say that there's probably 2 more weeks' worth of work left to do. If I had to choose one, I'd say the Civic is probably a slightly better value for the money. When you use this phrase, you sound like you're being careful. Well, let me see... I have water? Sprite? beer? You have visitors at your house. You offered them something to drink. They asked what you have. This is your response. I ended up spending the night in a cheap hotel. You're telling a story about a silly mistake you made when you left your keys at work and couldn't get into your apartment. You've described what happened, and now you want to explain the result of this event. (someone) ended up (doing something) 最终的结果是, 反正最后 When you're telling a story about something that happened, sometimes you don't want to tell everything that a person did. You just want to tell what happened last. To express this, you say that someone "ended up ___ing". For example: We had a great time sitting around talking, and we ended up going to bed at about four in the morning. Jason looked for a job for about 6 months, and he finally ended up taking a job waiting tables at a sushi restaurant downtown.