Boost Your English: Phrasal Verbs, Vocabulary & Idioms
Essential English Vocabulary & Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal Verbs
- Act on somebody’s advice
- Back something up (make a copy)
- Be up to sth (doing something)
- Break something up (change sth)
- Call for something (demand to happen)
- Come across sth/sb (discover by chance)
- Come round (visit in house)
- Cope / Deal with sth
- Die out (disappear completely)
- Dream sth up (think of a new idea)
- Fiddle with something (move w/o purpose)
- Get down to sth (go for it with intention)
- Go about doing sth (do purposeful things)
- Go for (take a break; go for a coffee)
- Hold down sth (to keep a job)
- Keep up with sth (make sth last min)
- Meet up with sb (to meet another person)
- Move on (to leave and go somewhere else)
Unit 2: Vocabulary
idealist – realist / optimist – pessimist
concerned about / worried about
inspired by / amused by
dedicated to / terrified of
discouraged by / focused on
influenced by / frustrated with
motivated by / opposed to
respected for / committed to
confused with / disappointed with
compatible with / differs from
singing up / turned him down
cut back / back up
chatting up / weed out
Brain & Mind Vocabulary
- Mind-boggling (Alucinante)
- Mind reader (Lector de mente)
- Brain drain (fuga de cerebros)
- Brainchild (creación)
- Brain damage (daño cerebral)
- Brainstorm (idea genial)
- Brain-teaser (rompecabezas)
- Brainwashing (lavado cerebral)
- Brain scan (tac cerebral)
Common Expressions with “Mind”
- Never mind (no importa)
- Bear that in mind (ten en cuenta)
- I wouldn’t mind
- Mind your language (Cuida lenguaje)
- Mind you…? (te importa…?)
- If you don’t mind… (si no te importa..)
Other Useful Words
Dismal (triste) / Devised (ideado)
Breakthrough (descubrimiento) / Premise
Get a joke (pillar la broma)
Written off (darse de baja)
Unit 2: More Vocabulary
texture – feel / staple – basic
insatiable – impossible to satisfy
viable – possible / outcome – result
yields – amount produced
prone – likely to get / maturity – adulthood
inexperience – Lack of experience
Describing Yourself
I am a person who:
- never gives up
- is coming up with new ideas
- works well under pressure
- works best in collaboration with others
- gets anxious about disruptions
Idioms & Expressions
Big fences make good neighbours / In danger of being fired (despedido)
The days of keeping up with the Joneses are numbered (follow masses)
There is a world of difference between sharing and hand-me-downs
Paying attention to what he was / cut energy consumption / cause harm to environment
Example Sentences
Your socks match your tie.
The colour doesn’t suit you at all.
These jeans don’t fit me anymore.
Married a few weeks after they met.
Who really does sth for others?
He set out to make as many friends as possible.
She put a cross next to the names.
Whatever she wears, she always looks great.
However hard I try, I always forget the…
We can meet whenever it suits you…
Whichever you buy, it will look good on you.
He’s willing to move wherever he can find work.
You need to send the CV to whoever is in HR.