Verbal Idioms - To Be Hard on Someone

Meaning – to treat someone severely or harshly

Ø     Many people thought Jim was being hard on his son for not finishing first place in the swimming competition.

Ø    Our basketball coach is being hard on us because he believes we aren’t putting in enough effort on the court.

Idiomatic, Identical Pairs - All in All

Meaning – after taking everything into consideration.

Ø     All in all, the organizers have done a great job organizing the Beauty Fair this year.

Ø     All in all, I'm proud to say that you’ve made huge progress in your work in the last three months.

Homonyms - Deal (As a Noun and Verb)

1.   (noun) – agreement

Ø     Sally was delighted she managed to get a good deal      (= paid a low price) on her new house.

Ø     Our company may lose this client if the deal is unsuccessful.

2.   (noun) – amount

Ø      Eric spends a great deal of his time travelling around the world every year.

Ø      A great deal of time and effort has gone into packing and transporting these items from China to Malaysia. 

3.   (verb) – to do business.

Ø    We only deal with companies that are willing and able to pay in cash.

Ø     William is only comfortable dealing with people he is familiar with.

Idiomatic Pairs of Nouns - Hook, Line and Sinker

Meaning – completely.

Ø     My dad didn’t think his friend would fall for his story, but he fell for it hook, line and sinker.

Ø     The con artist was so convincing that the crowd fell for the  scam hook, line and sinker.

Homonyms - Catch (As a Verb and Noun)

(verb)  

1.  to grab hold of someone or something

Ø     Our cheeky dog managed to run out of the house before any of us could catch it.

Ø     Sarah was very lucky Tim managed to catch her before she collapsed onto the floor.

2.  notice

Ø     James was furious when he caught his girlfriend going through his belongings.

Ø     This beautiful painting caught my attention just as I  was about to leave the gallery.

3.  travel

Ø     Sarah always catches the 8am bus to work.

Ø     Randy is rushing to catch the last train home.

4.  become sick or infected

Ø     Sam was really annoyed that he caught the cold just as he was about to go on holiday.

Ø     A lot of children at school recently caught measles.

5.  be in time

Ø     We got home in time to catch the men’s Wimbledon   finals.

(noun)

1.  a hidden disadvantage

Ø     The job offer sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch?

2.  the amount of fish caught

Ø     The fishermen were delighted with their catch that day.

3.  used to refer to a person being considered as a suitable partner or spouse

Ø     Kelly’s new boyfriend’s a good catch. It’s no wonder she’s all smiles (= to look happy) lately.

Words from The Same Family - Belief v Believe

Belief (noun)

1.  the feeling of being certain that something exists or holds true.

Ø      His battle against leukemia has only strengthened his belief in God.

Ø      Recent events have shaken the public’s belief in (= caused the public to have doubts about) politicians.

2.  something that one believes.

Ø     Despite being a multicultural country, all religious and political            beliefs are respected equally in Malaysia.

Ø     Her strong belief in hard work has enabled her to become a successful entrepreneur.

Believe (verb) – to think that something is true, real or correct.

Ø      Strangely, none of our relatives believed us when we told them we were planning to start our own business.

Ø      I believe Sarah’s travelling alone this time.