Health, Fitness, Education, and Modern Life: Key Terms

Health and Fitness Vocabulary

  • Strenuous: Exhausting
  • Push yourself: To strive harder
  • Overdo it: To do too much
  • Aren’t into: Not interested in
  • Stay in shape: Maintain physical fitness
  • Sedentary lifestyle: Inactive way of life
  • Junk food: Unhealthy food
  • Balanced diet: Healthy eating plan
  • Nutrients: Nourishing substances
  • Skip: To miss
  • Crash diets: Extreme weight-loss diets
  • Body Mass Index (BMI): Measure of body fat
  • Set goals: Establish objectives

Phrasal Verbs

  • Work out: Exercise
  • Cut out: Stop consuming
  • Get round to: Finally do something
  • Put on: Gain weight
  • Stick to: Adhere to

Phrase Building

Take:

  • Take drugs
  • Take advantage of somebody/something
  • Take advice
  • Take it easy (relax)
  • Take part in
  • Take somebody/something for granted (underappreciate)
  • Take something seriously

Put:

  • Put pressure on somebody (pressure)
  • Put somebody/something at risk
  • Put something out of your mind
  • Put your arm around somebody
  • Put your hand up
  • Put your mind to something (concentrate)
  • Put yourself in my position

Education Vocabulary

  • Cram: Study intensely
  • Strong points: Strengths
  • Playing truant: Skipping school
  • Bother: Care, mind
  • Disruptive: Causing disturbance
  • Get stuck: Need help
  • Scrape through: Barely pass
  • Pass with flying colors: Pass easily
  • Revising: Studying
  • Hand in: Submit
  • Skipped class: Missed class
  • Mess around: Behave inappropriately

More Education Vocabulary

  • A-level: Advanced level
  • Boarding school: School with lodging
  • Campus: University grounds
  • Deadline: Due date
  • Degree: Academic qualification
  • Fees: Tuition costs
  • Lecture: Educational talk
  • Professor: University teacher
  • Pupil: Student
  • Secondary school: High school
  • Seminar: Small class discussion
  • Subject: Area of study
  • To apply for: To request admission
  • To bully: To intimidate
  • To expel: To dismiss from school
  • To graduate: To complete a degree
  • To retake: To repeat an exam
  • Undergraduate: University student

Idioms and Expressions: Head and Heart

  • It was too complicated for me to understand: It went right over my head
  • Wanted it very much: Set his heart on it
  • Do them very easily without thinking too much: Do them standing on his head
  • He suddenly felt extremely disappointed and upset: His heart sank
  • She didn’t have a real passion for it: Her heart wasn’t in it

Collocations with Prepositions

Noun + Preposition

  • Ella is in charge of making the costumes for the party.
  • I need some lessons on how to use the new software.
  • Since the smoking ban, there has been a decrease in the number of smokers.
  • She wrote a letter of complaint about the service.
  • There is a lack of good sports facilities in this area.
  • Do you have any suggestions for dealing with the situation?

In/On/Out of + Noun

  • In: Be in two minds (undecided), be in tears (crying), be in trouble (in a difficult situation)
  • On: Be on edge (nervous), do something on purpose (intentionally), be on one’s way (coming)
  • Out of: Be out of order (broken), be out of breath (gasping), be out of the championship (eliminated)

Material World Vocabulary

  • Splash out: Spend a lot of money
  • Designer labels or brands: Luxury brands
  • Junk: Trash
  • Window-shopping: Looking at goods without buying
  • Browsing: Looking around in shops
  • Unethical: Morally wrong
  • Exploit: Take advantage of
  • Advertisements: Commercials
  • Material possessions: Physical belongings
  • Bargains: Good deals
  • Eco-friendly: Environmentally friendly
  • Online auction sites: Websites for bidding on items
  • Making a purchase: Buying something

Money Vocabulary

  • Overdrawn: Negative bank balance
  • Well off: Having a lot of money
  • Broke: Having no money
  • Can’t afford: Unable to pay for
  • Money to burn: Excess money
  • In debt: Owing money
  • Owes: Has a debt to
  • Wealthy: Rich
  • Stingy: Miserly
  • Borrowed: Took money temporarily
  • Saving up: Accumulating money
  • Charge for: Demand payment
  • Waste: Squander
  • Lend: Give money temporarily
  • Overcharged: Charged too much
  • Clubbed together: Pooled money
  • Forked out: Paid a lot, often unwillingly
  • Sold out: All items sold
  • Down and out: Destitute, homeless

Common Expressions

  • Error and trial: Learning through mistakes
  • Sick and tired: Fed up
  • Cheap and cheerful: Inexpensive but good
  • Peace and quiet: Tranquility
  • Neat and tidy: Orderly
  • Now and then: Occasionally
  • Give and take: Compromise

Conditional Sentences

First Conditional: Things that might happen in the future. If + present + will. (If I study, I’ll pass)

Second Conditional: Less probable situations. If + past + would + infinitive. (If I had studied, I would have passed)

Third Conditional: Past events that did not happen. Past perfect + (would, could, might). (If I had studied, I would have passed)

Conditional Conjunctions

  • Even if: Regardless of whether
  • As long as: Provided that
  • Unless: Except if
  • Provided that: On the condition that

Wishes and Regrets

  • I wish / If only + past simple: A wish for the present
  • I wish / If only + past perfect: Regret about the past
  • I wish / If only + would: Complaint about others