Common Idioms - Cost a Bomb

Meaning – to be very expensive

• I haven’t surveyed the property market in Singapore, but I know it costs a bomb! After all, land is more precious than gold in that island capital.

Grammar - Adverbs of Manner and Place

Grammar Builder Book 3

The rules are:

1. Adverbs are used to describe verbs. Most adverbs are formed by adding the ‘ly’ behind adjectives. However, some adverbs have the same form as adjectives.
• Sam did badly in his exams.
• Sarah carried the heavy books across the room clumsily.

Grammar Builder Book 3

• Alex arrived really late for the meeting.                                                                       (adj)

• Alex came late for the meeting.                                                                    (adverb) 

Grammar Builder Book 3

Grammar Builder Book 3

2.   We cannot place an adverb between the verb and its object when the sentence has an object.

    Eg. Jennifer crossed the road.

                                  (object)

• Jennifer crossed carefully the road.      (Wrong)
• Jennifer crossed the road carefully.      (Correct)
• Carefully Jennifer crossed the road.      (Correct)
• Jennifer carefully crossed the road.      (Correct)

3. Adverbs of place are usually in these ways:

a)    after the main verb

·         Anna ran outside to play with her friends.

                   (adverb)

                               

b)    after the object in a sentence (if there is one)

·         We posted our postcards overseas yesterday.

                       (object)           (adverb)

Grammar Builder Book 3

Common Idioms - Come to Light

Meaning – To be revealed or discovered

·       The robbery only came to light when the manager opened the shop for business on Monday morning.

·        David’s secret affair with the company secretary came to light when one of the colleagues bumped into them in a restaurant a few days ago. 

Phrasal Verbs - Drag (Drag On V Drag Sth Out)

Drag on – to continue for a long time in a boring or tiring way

·        The meeting dragged on for hours before the board of directors finally came to a decision.

Drag (sth) out – to make sth go longer than necessary

• I fail to understand why they want to drag out that unpleasant discussion.

Proverbs and Sayings: Jack of All Trades (and Master of None)

Jack of All Trades and Master of None

Meaning: Used to refer to somebody who knows a little about many things but is not very knowledgeable or skillful in any of them.

• Jack can fix almost anything in the house. Unfortunately, he’s a Jack of all trades and master of none. That’s why it’s very hard for him to hold down a job.

Jack of All Trades

Meaning: Used as a compliment to emphasize a particular person’s wide range of skills.

• I have a friend who is a bit of a Jack of all trades. He can do plumbing, electrical work and carpentry. In fact, he's the first person I call whenever I need anything fixed in my house. 

Similes with As - As Brown As A Berry

Meaning – very brown, suntanned

• After spending a week in Spain, my relatives came home as brown as berries. I wouldn’t be surprised if they spent most of their days at the beach.

Common Idioms - Come to Blows

Meaning : to begin fighting with fists or weapons

• It’s no secret that James and Ben dislike each other, but no one ever expected them to come to blows over a parking space.  

Homonyms - Rear (As a Verb and Adjective)

1.   (adj) – at the back of sth

·         Did you realize your rear tyre was flat?

·         John’s poor dog is walking with a slight limp as it has injured one of its rear legs.

2.   (verb) – to care for young animals or children until they are able to care for themselves

·         Sam has always said that if he owned a farm, he would plant vegetables and rear chickens. That way, he’d never run out of food!

Homophones - Lessen V Lesson

Lessen (verb) – make less strong

• Do you have any pain killers that could help lessen the pain?
• Moderate exercise and a healthy diet can help lessen the risk of heart disease.

Lesson (noun)

• There are many lessons to be learnt from this economic crisis.
• I’m glad John looks forward to his guitar lesson every Friday.

Similes with As - As Bright As a Button

Meaning: clever, lively

• My young nephew is as bright as a button. He could count and identify colours even when he was barely two years old!

Confused and Misused Words - Intense V Intensive

Intense (adj)   

1.          very strong

·        Many people recently fell sick from the intense heat.

·        John suddenly felt an intense pain in his back and groaned loudly.

2.          very serious (for people)

·         Ashley’s very intense for a teenager. It’s no wonder she takes everything so seriously.

Intensive (adj) – involving a lot of effort or activity in a short span of time

• After 3 months of intensive Mandarin lessons, I was ready to take a break.
• In a desperate attempt to lose weight, Sam signed up for an intensive weight loss program.

Homonyms: Novel (As a Noun and Adjective)

1.              (noun): a long printed story

·                    Carol loves to stay home and curl up with a good novel                            when she is not spending time with family or friends.

2.              (adj) : new and original (used for ideas and suggestions)

·                    That’s such a novel idea! What made you think of it?

Proverbs and Sayings - Ignorance is Bliss

Meaning – It is often better not to know something if the truth is unpleasant.

• Those closest to Sally have long suspected her boyfriend of cheating on her. Some have even tried to warn her, but she wouldn’t listen. I suppose she thinks ignorance is bliss.  

• It puzzles me why John refuses to see a doctor about the numbness he’s experiencing in his leg. After all, the doctor might be able to treat it fairly easily. I suppose he thinks ignorance is bliss.