Hello Aspirants.
Welcome to Online English Section with explanation in AffairsCloud.com. Here we are providing here some important idioms and phrases, which is BASED ON IBPS PO/CLERK/LIC AAO/RRB & SSC CGL EXAM and other competitive exams.
to wake up: to arise from sleep, to awaken
Compare wake up and get up (Lesson 1) as used in the first example.
- Marge woke up this morning very early, but she did not get up until about ten o’clock.
- My alarm clock wakes me up at the same time every day.
to be in charge of: to manage, to have responsibility for
- Jane is in charge of the office while Mrs. Haig is a business trip.
- Who is in charge of arrangements for the dance next week?
as soon as: just after, when
- As soon as it started to snow, the children ran outside with big smiles on their faces.
- I’m busy now, but I’ll meet you as soon as I’ve finished this work.
to get in touch with: to communicate with, to contact
- You can get in touch with him by calling the Burma Hotel.
- I’ve been trying all morning to get in touch with Miss Peters, but her phone is always busy.
to have a good time: to enjoy oneself
- We all had a good time at the class reunion last night.
- Did you have a good time at the park? I really enjoyed it.
in no time: very quickly, rapidly
This idiom can be used with the idiom at all to add emphasis to the certainty of the statement.
- Mac said that he’d be ready to leave in no time.
- We thought that the meeting would take two hours, but it was over in no time at all.
to cut down on: to reduce, to lessen (also: to cut back on)
- In order to lose weight, you have to cut down on your intake of sugar.
- The doctor told me to cut back on exercise until my back injury heals.
quite a few: many
- Quite a few students were absent yesterday; in fact, more than half of them were not there.
- We did not expect many people to attend to affair, but quite a few of our friends actually came.
used to: formerly did, had the habit of
This idiom is used to indicate a past situation, action, or habit that does not exist in the present. The idiom is always followed by a simple verb form.
- I used to live in New York, but I moved to California two years ago.
- Kim used to smoke cigarettes, but she stopped the habit last month.
to be used to: be accustomed to
This idiom refers to a situation, action, or habit that continues in the present.
The idiom is always followed by a noun or gerund phrase.
- He is used to this climate now, so the changes in temperature do not affect him much.
- I am used to studying in the library, so it’s difficult for me to study at home now.
to get used to: to become used to, to become adjusted to
This idiom describes the process of change that allows someone to be used to a situation, action, or habit.
- It took Yoshiko a long time to get used to the food that her American host family served her.
- Mark can’t seem to get used to wearing contact lenses; recently he’s been wearing his glasses a lot.
back and forth: in a backward and forward motion
- The restless lion kept pacing back and forth along the front of its cage.
- Grandmother finds it relaxing to sit in her rocking chair and move back and forth.
