Mastering English Phrases and Conditionals
Common English Phrases and Their Meanings
Difference
Makes no difference to
Mind
They had in mind
Held – Was held in such high regard
Come – Always come naturally to
Misinformed – To have been misinformed about
Event
Unlikely event of her party winning
Let – Not to let her children watch
Illegal – Make it illegal to drive
Time – Tom had left on time
Thorough – To be a thorough revision of
Gradual – Was a gradual rise in
Consequence – Was of no consequence
Any – To mention any of
Could – Was sorry that he could not
Sight – Lose sight of
Matter – No matter how hard I
Across – Comes across to his boss as
Reference – Made no reference to
To – Any objection to John’s joining
Resulted – Illness resulted in this abandoning
Had – No sooner had the tennis players gone
Off – Would have to be put off
But – No choice but to
Rather – Would rather not be
Eye – Being in the public eye
On – Insisted on speaking
From – Apart from the lack
Worth – Makes the album worth listening
Only – Not only was the hotel a long
High – Was high time she left
Clearly – Explain the main point clearly enough
Soon – As soon as we receive
Up – Hadn’t put up
Caused – Delay was caused by the
For – If it weren’t for Sarah’s
Exception – With the exception of Leo came
Due – Was due to start
Unaware – Parents were unaware of
Commonly – As it’s commonly believed
Mood – In the mood to go
Else – Somewhere else to
Failed – Failed to realize the significance
Any – Was there any increase in
Wishes – Wishes he had written to
Time – It’s time we went
Being – Not being able to
Touch – Stayed in touch
High – High time you bought
Understanding ‘Wish’ and ‘Must/Need’
- I wish I could get a job abroad.
- I wish I wasn’t so bad at sport.
- I wish I hadn’t lost my favorite scarf.
- I wish I could…
- You must have passed…
- Don’t need to…
Mastering Conditional Sentences
Using ‘Provided’ and ‘As Long As’
I’ll lend you the money provided you pay it back next week.
I’ll lend you the money as long as you pay it back next week.
Expressing Hypothetical Situations
If it hadn’t been for your help, I would have given up years ago.
But for your help, I would have given up years ago.
If you had not helped me, I would have given up years ago.
Using ‘Were To’, ‘Happened To’, and ‘Should’
If they were to offer you the job, would you accept?
If they happened to offer you the job, would you accept?
If they should offer you the job, would you accept?
Using ‘Unless’, ‘Only’, and ‘Stay’
We’ll go away unless the weather is bad.
We will only go away if the weather improves.
We will stay at home if the weather is bad.
Using ‘Don’t’, ‘Or’, and ‘Want’
If you don’t hurry up, you will be late.
Hurry up, or you’ll be late.
If you don’t want to be late, hurry up.