1.

GRAMMAR 3
Present simple 3
Present Continuous 3
Present Perfect Simple 4
Present Perfect Continuous 4
Past simple 5
Past Continuous 5
Past Perfect Simple 6
Past Perfect Continuous 6
Used to, Would and Will 6
Auxiliaries 6
Future Simple 7
Be going to 7
Future Continuous 7
Future Perfect Simple 8
Future Perfect Continuous 8
Shall 8
Other ways to express the future 8
Time expressions (temporals) 9
Verbs with future implication 9
Adjectives and phrases expressing the future 9
Future in the Past 9
The passive voice 10
Passive voice: gerunds, infinitives and modal verbs 11
Reporting with passive verbs 11
Transitive and Intransitive verbs 11
2. VOCABULARY 12
Collocations and expressions 12
Prepositions 14
Phrasal verbs 16
 1. GRAMMAR

Present simple
We use the Present Simple for:
- facts or general truths
they say that opposites attract
- routines or habits (often with adverbs of frequency)
this student always sits at the back of the class
- permanent states
their childhood home remains empty
- timetabled events in the future
the meeting takes place tomorrow
- narratives (including stories, jokes, commentaries, etc.)
in this scene, Al Pacino gets out of the car and walks into the hotel
- news headlines
local woman wins lottery
- after the last time to show annoyances or regret about a past action
I told her that in confidence. That’s the last time I trust a friend with a secret!
Note: Some common time expressions that are often used with the Present simple are: every
day/week/month/summer, every other day, once a week/twice a month, at the weekend, in
January, in the morning/afternoon/evening, at night, on Tuesdays.
Remember
We often use adverbs of frequency with the Present Simple. They tell us how often sth
happens. They come before the main verb, but after the verb be.
I sometimes meet my friends at weekends
My grandfather rarely talks about his youth
Jane is never grateful for anything
Some common adverbs of frequency are always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, hardly
ever /seldom and never.

Present Continuous
We use the Present Continuous for:
- actions that are in progress at the time of speaking
my son is texting his friend at the moment
- actions that are in progress around the time of speaking
the bullies aren’t bothering her for the time being
- situations that are temporary
we are staying with relatives for a few days
- an annoying habit (often with always, continually, constantly and forever)
the brothers are always arguing
- describing what is happening in a picture
a couple are walking hand in hand down the street
 - plans and arrangements for the future
she’s meeting her auntie next weekend
- situations that are changing or developing in the present
people are becoming more and more dependent on social media
Note: Some time expressions that are often used with the Present Continuous are: at the
moment, now, for the time being, this morning/afternoon/evening/week/month/year, today.
Remember
Stative verbs are not usually used in continuous tenses because they describe states and not
actions. To talk about the present, we use these verbs in the Present Simple tense
Charlene adores reality television shows
The coffee brewing in the kitchen smells wonderful

Present Perfect Simple

We use the Present Perfect Simple for:
- something that started in the past and has continued until now
they have lived in the same house since they got married
- something that happened in the past but we don’t know exactly when
Helen has met her friend’s family
- something that happened in the past and has a result that affects the present
we are thrilled because we have become grandparents
- an action that has just finished
she has just phoned her mother
- experiences and achievements
she has organized several school reunions
- an action that happened several times or repeatedly in the past
she has visited her cousin several times this month
- superlatives and expressions the first / second time
this is the third time I’ve asked if you’re coming
Note: Some time expressions often used with the Present Perfect Simple are: already, ever,
for, for a long time, for ages, just, never, once, recently, since last Monday/June, so far, twice,
until now, yet.
Remember
We use have been when someone has gone somewhere and has now returned. We use have
gone when someone has gone somewhere and is still there.
Jim has been to school and now he’s on the bus home
Jim has gone to school and will be home at four o’clock

Present Perfect Continuous

We use the Present Perfect Continuous for:
- actions that started in the past and are still in progress or have happened repeatedly
until now
they have been getting a lot of friend requests recently
 - actions that happened repeatedly in the past and have finished recently but that have
results affecting the present
I’ve been updating the family tree so it includes the younger generation
- emphasising how long actions have been in progress for
her teachers have been following her progress for years
- a recent or unfinished action
she has been chatting with her friends online
Note: Some time expressions often used with the Present Perfect Continuous are: all
day/night/week, for years/a long time/ages, lately, recently, since. We can use How long…?
with the Present Perfect Continuous in questions and for (very) long in questions and negative
sentences.

Past simple
We use the Past Simple for:
- actions that started and finished in the past
the boys became friends at primary school, back in 1970
- past routines and habits (often with adverbs of frequency)
in the 70s, children usually walked to school
- past states
the school stood at the end of their street
- actions that happened one after the other in the past, for example in a narrative
we met outside the cinema and discussed which film to watch
Note: Some time expressions often used with the Past Simple are: yesterday, last
week/month/summer, a week/month/year ago, twice a week, once a month, at night, on
Sundays, on Tuesday mornings.

Past Continuous
We use the Past Continuous for:
- actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past
Pete was chatting with his friends until late last night
- two or more actions that were in progress at the same time in the past
as she was checking her email, she was deleting all the spam
- giving background information in a story
people were holding street parties to celebrate a national holiday
- an action that was in progress in the past and was interrupted by another action
we were enjoying the performance when someone’s mobile phone rang
- temporary situations in the past
Ken’s son wasn’t talking to him at the time
- actions in the past that were annoying (usually with always/forever/continually…)
the eldest son had a short fuse and was always taking his anger out on his siblings
Note: Some time expressions often used with the Past Continuous are: while, as, all
day/week/month/year, at six o’clock yesterday, last Monday/week/month, this morning.
Past Perfect Simple
We use the Past Perfect Simple for
- an action or situation that finished before another past action or situation
Jen had asked permission before she borrowed her mum’s book
Note: Some time expressions often used with the Past Perfect Simple are: before, after, when,
already, for, for a long time/ages, just, never, once, since 1999/last night, yet.

Past Perfect Continuous

We use the Past Perfect Continuous for:
- actions that started in the past and were still in progress when another past action
started or when something happened
Ian had been searching for years when he finally found his long lost brother
- actions that were in progress in the past and had an effect on a later action
Dave was frustrated because he had been searching for his passport all morning
Note: Some time expressions often used with the Past Perfect Continuous are: all
day/night/week, for years/a long time/ages, since. We can use How long…? with the Past
Perfect Continuous in questions and for (very) long in questions and negative sentences.

Used to, Would and Will

We use used to + bare infinitive for:
- actions that happened regularly in the past but no longer happen
we used to call home from public phone boxes
- states that existed in the past but no longer exist
there used to be two postal deliveries every weekday
We use would + bare infinitive for regular actions in the past that we no longer do. We do not
use it for past states.
their grandmother would welcome them with a hug whenever they came to visit
We can use will + bare infinitive for:
- talking about expected behaviour in the present
every morning she will feed the cat before leaving the house
- expressing annoyance about something (the will is stressed in these sentences)
you will always interrupt me when I’m trying to say something!

Auxiliaries
We can often use only the auxiliary
- when the main verb is understood, to avoid repeating the whole verb
I love nature walks, as do my children
- when the main verb is understood, to avoid repeating the whole verb the auxiliary can
also be a different tense from the main verb
they made up and after they had, they became good friends
We can often use the auxiliary with the main verb
 - for emphasis
I did feel sorry for the lost child

Future Simple
We use the Future Simple for:
- decisions made at the time of speaking
this message is urgent so I’ll answer it immediately
- predictions
technology will get smarter in future
- promises
I’ll show you how to install that software
- threats
I’ll turn off your tablet if you don’t help me right now!
- talking about future facts
this new course will help you make the most of your tablet
- offering to do something for someone
I’ll book the tickets for you online
- asking someone to do something
will you send me the link, please?

Be going to
We use be going to for:
- future plans
my dad is going to upgrade his laptop
- predictions for the near future based on present situations or evidence
your phone battery is very low: it’s going to run out really soon
Note: Some time expressions that are often used with the Future Simple and be going to are:
this week/month/summer, tonight, this evening, tomorrow, tomorrow morning/afternoon/night,
next week/month/year, at the weekend, in December, in a few minutes/hours/days, on
Saturday.

Future Continuous
We use the Future Continuous for:
- actions that will be in progress at a specific time in the future
they’ll be taking part in a video conference at 10 o’clock tomorrow
- plans and arrangements for the future
the technology company will be launching the new product tomorrow
Note: Some time expressions often used with the Future Continuous are: this time next
week/month/summer, this time tomorrow morning/afternoon/night.
Future Perfect Simple
We use the Future Perfect Simple to talk about:
- something that will be finished by or before a specific time in the future
Fran will have uploaded the photos by now
- the length of time that an action will have lasted for at a point of time in the future
I will have had this phone for a month on Thursday and I’m still getting used to it
Note: Some time expressions often used with the Future Perfect Simple are: by the end of the
week/month/year, by this time tomorrow, by tomorrow night/10 o’clock/2025.

Future Perfect Continuous

We use the Future Perfect Continuous for:
- showing that something will continue until a particular event or time in the future
the boys will have been playing this game for a year when the new version comes out
- actions that will be in progress in the future and will have an effect on a later action
soon she won’t type at all because she will have been using the voice to text app for
months and will have mastered it

Shall
We use shall to:
- make a suggestion or and offer
shall we check flights online?
- to shoes determination
we shall do all we can to protect you from viruses
- state intentions
I shan’t call you if you don’t return my messages
Note: Shall is used with we and I for intentions and is considered more formal than will

Other ways to express the future

We use to be (just) about to to talk about the immediate future
Can I call you back? My battery’s just about to run down
We use to be (just) on the point/verge/brink of to talk about the immediate future
He’s just on the verge of fixing the software problem
We use to be due to to talk about formal arrangements
The technology company is due to launch the new console soon
We use to be to for formal announcements and obligations
The mobile phone operators are to reduce roaming charges
Time expressions (temporals)
When we use time expressions such as when, before, after, until, once, by the time… to talk
about the future, we use them with a present or present perfect tense, not a future tense. When
time expressions relate to Future in the Past, we use the Past Simple or Past Perfect.
When life is changing dramatically, you will remember the past with nostalgia
Once you have confirmed the booking, the company will send you an email

Verbs with future implication

We use verbs like intend, foresee, envisage, plan, anticipate, expect, look forward to, count
on, hope, fear, dread…
- to imply the future
she plans to upgrade her computer soon
- to imply the future and also give information about the event (whether it is positive or
negative)
she is looking forward to getting a smart TV

Adjectives and phrases expressing the future

We use some expressions, phrases and adjectives, to relate to the future. These include:
- neutral expressions and adjectives like in the offing, in the pipeline, on the horizon, on
the way, forthcoming, upcoming, imminent, ahead
an updated version of the phone is on the way
- expressions and adjectives that show the event is going to happen very soon like upon
us, on the verge of, fast approaching.
the holidays are fast approaching /are upon us
- expressions that show an event is very probable, like on the cards, be
bound/certain/sure to
these are signs that a solution is in the offing/on the cards
- in store to show that we do not know what to expect
this new game has a lot of surprises in store
- expressions and adjectives that show the event is negative like be looming, be
brewing, impending
the arrival of the credit card bill fills us with a sense of impending doom

Future in the Past

Future in the Past is used to express the idea that in the past you thought something would
happen in the future. To express the future from a point of view in the past, we use the
respective past tense.
- would is used to talk about offers and promises
she said she would text me
- was/were going to is used to talk about plans
he was deciding which content he was going to upload
 - would and was/were going to can be used to talk about predictions
he had no idea that his video would/was going to go viral

The passive voice

We use the passive when:
- the action is more important than who or what is responsible for it (the agent).
the luggage was searched by the security officer
- we don’t know the agent, or it is not important.
several people were injured in the demonstration
Note: when it is important to mention the agent in a passive sentence, we use the word by.
When we want to mention a tool or material in the passive sentence, we use the word with.
the political prisoner was visited by his country’s ambassador
the railway was built by prisoners
the demonstration was organised with a campaign on social media
The passive is formed with the verb be and a past participle. Notice how the active verb
forms change to passive verb forms.
Note: Sometimes the verb get replaces the verb be. This is more common in spoken English.
the activist got arrested during the demonstration

TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE

Present Simple make/makes am/are/is made

Present Continuous am/are/is making am/are/is being made

Past Simple made was/were made

Past Continuous was/were making was/were being made

Present Perfect Simple has/have made has/have been made

Past Perfect Simple had made had been made

Future Simple will make will be made

We change an active sentence into a passive sentence in the following way. The object of the
verb in the active sentence becomes the subject of the verb in the passive sentence. The verb
be is used in the same tense as the main verb in the active sentence, together with the past
participle of the main verb in the active sentence.
they were filming him → he was being filmed
When we want to change an active sentence with two objects into the passive voice, one
becomes the subject of the passive sentence and the other one remains an object. We choose
the object we want to emphasise. If the personal object remains an object in the passive
sentence, then we have to use a suitable preposition (to, for, etc.)
we presented them with the petition
 they were presented with the petition
the petition was presented to them

Passive voice: gerunds, infinitives and modal verbs

TENSE ACTIVE PASSIVE

Gerund making being made

Bare Infinitive make be made

Full Infinitive to make to be made

Modal can make can be made

the wealthy banker enjoyed being treated well

the incident had better be reported to the police
he wanted to be included in the campaign
any direct action must be carefully planned
Note: Some verbs have noun forms that can be used as the subject of a passive sentence, with
the addition of a new passive verb.
they’re closing the factory next month
the factory is being closed next month
the closure of the factory will be finalised by next month

Reporting with passive verbs

We often use verbs like believe, consider, know, expect, say, suppose and think in the passive
voice to report what someone has said. They can be used in an impersonal or a personal
passive structure.
We form the impersonal passive structure with it + passive verb + that + clause
It is believed that helping others is good for you
We form the personal structure with noun + passive verb + full infinitive
The protest is expected to be peaceful

Transitive and Intransitive verbs

Verbs are transitive if they are followed by an object and intransitive if they are not. Some
verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively. In a passive construction the object of
an active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb. It follows that only verbs used
transitively can be used in the passive. Intransitive verbs like die, seem, go, laugh, occur,
swim, wait, etc. are not used in the passive voice. There are also a few transitive verbs that are
not used in the passive voice: escape, elude, flee, get, have, like, resemble.
Avoiding the passive
Note: There is, generally speaking, no passive form for the Future Continuous, Present
Perfect Continuous and Past Perfect Continuous.
For example: ‘The pay rise has been being discussed for some time’ is not grammatically
incorrect, but it is awkward. Perfect continuous forms of the passive are sometimes heard, but
should be avoided. It is better to say: ‘the pay rise has been under discussion for some time’.
Other expressions that are useful include under review, under construction, in progress, under
suspicion, under scrutiny, under surveillance, under investigation and under arrest.
Often a noun is used instead of a passive construction in written English.
They talked about the abolition of the minimum wage
They talked about the minimum wage being abolished

Passive causative
We use the causative to say that:
- Someone has arranged for somebody to do something for them
The police had the activist’s background checked
- Something unpleasant happened to someone
The suspect had his phone tapped while under investigation
We form the causative with have + object + past participle. It can be used in a variety of
tenses. When we want to mention the agent, we use the word by.
We have had all of the workers’ papers processed
A boss used to have his letters typed by his secretary
The animal rights activists had the fur farm shut down
We can also use get + object + past participle. This structure is less formal.
The teacher got her work permit renewed as soon as it expired
We can also use get somebody to do something and have somebody do something to say we
ask someone or make someone do something
We got all our friends to sign the petition
We had all our friends sign the petition
We use get something done to mean finish doing something
After long discussions, they got the agreement signed
We use have something/someone doing to mean we start someone or something doing
something
Talk of food shortages had people panic buying
Other passive causative structures can be formed with need, prefer, want, would like + object
+ past or present participle
He prefers the orders to be dealt with immediately
We needed the computers (to be) checked for viruses
I want this report (to be) typed, please
Modal verbs

MODAL USE

Can To talk about general ability in the present and the future
For requests
For permission

Can’t To show that we are sure something isn’t true

Could To talk about general ability in the past (past form of can)
To talk about possibility
For polite requests
To make suggestions

May To talk about possibility in the future

For polite requests
May as well For polite permission
To suggest a criticism/give advice to say that there is no
better solution

Might To talk about possibility in the future as the past tense of may
To suggest a criticism/give advice to say that there is no
Might as well better solution

Must To say that something is necessary

To talk about obligation
To show that we are sure something is true
To recommend something

Mustn’t To talk about something that is not allowed

Should To give advice

To ask for advice

Would For actions that we did regularly in the past, but that we don’t
do now for polite requests

Needn’t To say that something is not necessary

Be able to To talk about general ability

To talk about a specific ability in the past

Have to To say that something is necessary

To talk about obligation

Mustn’t & don’t have to We use mustn’t to say that something is not allowed, whereas
we use don’t have to to show that there is no obligation or
necessity
Notes
With modal verbs that express probability, we can make the probability stronger by adding
well. So may well, might well, could well show something is more likely than may, might or
could alone.
Do not confuse may/might well with may/might as well. May/might as well mean we have
nothing to lose by doing something.
Ought to can also be used to give advice, but it is not usually used in the question form
Parents ought to be introduced to their children’s friends

Perfect Modal Verbs

PERFECT MODAL MEANING

Must have + past participle We are sure something happened in the past

Can’t have + past participle We are sure something didn’t happen in the past

May/might/could have + past It is possible that something happened in the past,

participle but we aren’t sure

Could/might have + past participle It was possible for something to happen in the
past, but it didn’t

Should/ought to have + past participle Something was the right thing to do, but we
didn’t do it.
We expected something to happen, but it didn’t.

Would have + past participle We wanted to do something, but we didn’t

Needn’t have + past participle It wasn’t necessary to do something, but we did

Expressing probability/possibility without modals

To express probability we can use the phrases in all likelihood/probability, the chances are
that, there’s every chance/likelihood that, there’s a (good) chance that, it’s (quite)
probable/likely/possible that, sth is likely to happen, sth will probably happen, etc.
To express negative probability we can use the phrases there’s little/no chance/likelihood that,
it’s just possible/very unlikely/quite unlikely/doubtful/inconceivable that sth will happen, sth
is (very) unlikely to happen, etc.
In all likelihood, the newborn baby will be given his grandfather’s name.
There’s a chance that we’ll miss the reunion due to unforeseen circumstances
They are unlikely to find out who their ancestors were because no records exist

Modals in clauses of concession

We use modals in certain clauses of concession, sometimes with inversion.
 Try as she might, she can’t communicate with her sister (however hard she
tries/although she tries hard)
Hard though it may be, you have to make new friends (although it is hard)
Strange as it may seem, those two very different people are twins (although it seems
strange)
She lost contact with her children, be that as it may, she is still their mother (although
this is true, it doesn’t change the fact that)

Negative forms
Note the difference in meaning between don’t have to and mustn’t. Don’t have to expresses a
lack of obligation, whereas mustn’t expresses strong prohibition.
You don’t have to wear a suit to the meeting, but you can if you want to
You mustn’t smoke in the station
Shouldn’t and oughtn’t can be used in questions to make a gentle suggestion.
Shouldn’t you invite your parents to the party?
Oughtn’t you to invite your neighbours, too?

Need and dare

Need as a modal is used mainly in negative and question forms
Need you ask such a personal question?
You needn’t be so nosey!
We can also use need as an ordinary verb. It has affirmative, negative and question forms and
it is usually used in the Present Simple and the Past Simple. It is followed by a full infinitive.
We need to work at friendships
She needed to be honest with him
Dare as a modal is used mainly in negative and question forms.
How dare you speak to me like that?
She daren’t tell the truth for fear of the consequences
Note: I dare to say, or I daresay can be used to say you think something is true.
She’s heartbroken now, but I dare say she’ll get over it
We can also use dare as an ordinary verb. It has affirmative, negative and question forms and
it is usually used in the Present Simple and the Past Simple. It is followed by a bare or full
infinitive.
How did you dare (to) do it?
Anyone who dared (to) disrespect their elders used to be punished
 2. VOCABULARY

Collocations and expressions

EXPRESSION DEFINITION EXAMPLE TRANSLATION

Be a pain in the someone or sth that is that child is a real pain incordio /
neck very annoying in the neck fastidioso

Bite your tongue to stop yourself from I wanted to tell him morderse la
saying sth that you exactly what I thought lengua
would really like to say of him, but I had to bite
my tongue

Do/say sth behind do sth without them I dread to think what a las espaldas de
someone’s back knowing, in a way that they say about me alguien
is unfair behind my back

Get sth off your to tell someone about I had spent two months desahogarse
chest sth that has been worrying about it and I
worrying you or was glad to get it off my
making you feel guilty chest
for a long time

Give someone the to end your romantic my sister has finally romper / cortar
elbow relationship with given her no-good con
someone boyfriend the elbow

Have a chip on to seem angry all the He’s got a chip on his ser un rencoroso
your shoulder time because you think shoulder about not
you have been treated having been to
unfairly or feel you are university
not as good as other
people

Keep a cool head to stay calm in a I don't’ know how you tener la sangre
difficult situation manage to keep such a fría / mantener la
cool head in such a calma
hectic, stressful office

Keep to not allow someone to I always had the feeling a distancia / lejos
someone/sth at become too friendly she was keeping me at
arm’s length with you arm’s length

Put your foot in it to say sth by accident I really put my foot in it meter la pata
that embarrasses or - I asked her if Jane was
upsets someone her mother, but she said
Jane is her sister
Slap in the face an action that insults or it was a real slap in the bofetada
upsets someone face for him when she
refused to go out to
dinner with him

Back and forth moving first in one she swayed gently back de un lado para
direction and then in and forth to the music otro / de acá para
the opposite one allá

Back to front with the back part of you’ve put your jumper al revés
sth where the front on back to front
should be

Little by little slowly or gradually little by little, they poco a poco

realized they were
falling in love

More or less mostly the project was more or más o menos

less a success

Safe and sound completely safe and what’s important is that sano y salvo
without injury or we get everyone back
damage safe and sound

Time after time again and again time after time he una y otra vez
turned down request for
interviews

Touch and go if a situation is the doctor says that it’s situación

touch-and-go, it is touch-and-go whether impredecible
uncertain Mary will be okay

Wear and tear the damage that seat covers on buses desgaste /
happens to an object in take a lot of wear and deterioro por uso
ordinary use during a tear
period

Bring out the best to make someone's best a crisis can bring out the sacar lo mejor de
in someone qualities more best in people alguien
noticeable

Bury your head in ignore stressful you’ve got to face facts ignorar
the sand situations (figurative) here, you can’t just bury
your head in the sand

Come to the to help someone out of i was about to drop a salir al rescate
rescue a bad situation huge tray of dishes
when brad came to my
rescue

Fall on deaf ears if a suggestion or their appeals to release hacer oídos

 warning falls on deaf the hostages fell on deaf sordos
ears, no one listens to it ears

Get behind a support a cause if you promise not to respaldar /apoyar

cause (informal) change your mind, i’ll
get behind your efforts
to clean the park

Turn your back to stop being involved the country cannot dar la espalda a
on someone/sth in something afford to turn its back alguien / algo
on tourism

Spare no effort to achieve something she spared no expense no escatimar

by working as hard as in decorating her office esfuerzos
possible or spending as
much money as is
necessary

Jump on the to join an activity that after a couple of seguir al rebaño

bandwagon has become very politicians won
popular or to change elections by promising
your opinion to one that to cut taxes, most of the
has become very othersjumped on the
popular so that you can bandwagon.
share in its success

Get hold of to find someone or where can i get hold of ubicar a/pillar a
someone obtain something some stamps?

Get in touch with seeing someone or we got in touch after ponerse en

someone communicating with college contacto con /
someone regularly contactar a

Touch base with to talk briefly with i'll touch base with him ponerse en
someone someone later to tell him about contacto con
the meeting

Put me in touch informal (connect: with you've never met jeff poner en
with someone [sb] else) before, but i can put you contacto
in touch.

Make contact to succeed in she finally made contact ponerse en

with someone communicating with with him in italy contacto con
someone or something, alguien
especially by speaking
or writing to them

Keep me in the keep someone informed I really want to know mantener

loop (informal) what happens so keep informado
me in the loop
Prepositions

(Be) beside extremely upset he was beside himself fuera de sí

yourself when he found out his
dog had died

(Be) in if you are in someone’s he’s in Melanie’s bad estar en la lista

someone’s bad bad books or black books because he negra
books books, they are angry arrived two hours late
with you

(Be) in tune understand or agree with much of his success estar en armonía
with them, and if you are out comes from being in con alguien
of tune with them, you tune with what his
do not customers want

(Be) on the to think in a similar way what makes the problem en la misma
same and to understand each worse is that Howard onda
wavelength other well and Tina are not on the
same wavelength about
how to deal with it

(Be) sth at heart in essence Tyler makes a lot of en el fondo / por

mistakes, but he is a naturaleza
good person at heart

Against your in opposition to wishes Abby was taken to the contra tu

will cabin in the woods voluntad
against her will

At ease relaxed he felt completely at estar relajado /

ease tranquilo

Stuck in a rut too fixed in one I need to change jobs - atrapado en la

particular type of job, after 15 years here I feel rutina
activity, method and I’m stuck in a rut
needing to change

Out of character completely different or it would be very out of impropio

differently from the way character of her to lie
someone usually
behaves, or from the
particular qualities that a
person, place… has

On edge nervous and not relaxed is sth wrong? you seem con el alma en
a bit on edge this vilo / en ascuas /
morning de los nervios

Ahead of the more advanced that a la vanguardia

curve others

At your if you have information he has all the latest al alcance de la

fingertips at your fingertips, you statistics at his mano
can get it and use it very fingertips
easily

Behind the if someone or sth is while the company’s desfasado

times behind the times, they products were
are old-fashioned exceptional in quality,
its marketing had fallen
behind the times

By all accounts as said by most people by all accounts, San según se dice
Francisco is a city that’s
easy to fall in love with

Within reach close enough to be medicines should not be al alcance

reached stored within reach of
children

Up and running if sth, especially a the engineer soon got en marcha / en

system or a machine, is the air-conditioning up funcionamiento
up and running it is and running again
operating

Outside the box to think imaginatively the leader told his team creativo /
using new ideas instead he wanted them to come original
of traditional or expected up with ideas that were
ideas outside the box

Out of your not having the I was out of my depth in fuera de lugar /
depth knowledge, experience the advanced class, so I fuera de alcance
or skills to deal with a moved to the
particular subject or intermediate class
situation

On the brink of if sth is teetering on the what we are seeing now a punto de
brink of a bad situation, is a country teetering on
it is likely that the the brink of civil war
situation will happen
soon

Off limits if an area of land is the town was off limits prohibido
off-limits, you are not to students at the
allowed to enter it boarding school

In its infancy to be very new and still the system is still in its en sus comienzos
developing infancy
Phrasal verbs

Chill someone calm someone down and my friend was upset relajarse / calmarse
out relax someone and uptight so I told
him to chill out

Come between get in the way of sth a brick came separar /

between the wooden interponerse entre
building and the
store

Drift apart gradually become less sometimes friends distanciarse

friendly or close to will drift apart over
someone time

Do someone’s make someone feel getting up at four desorientar / irritar /

head in extremely annoyed, o’clock every frustrar
irritated or frustrated morning was doing
my head in

Egg someone on encourage or dare the fans cheered for alentar a

someone to do sth that is their favorite team,
unwise egging them on

Fall out with have an argument with if you do not stop pelearse con /
someone and stop being gossiping, all your alejarse de
friends friends are going to
fall out with you

Fit in with be socially compatible his lifestyle doesn’t encajar con

with fit in with the group

Get sth out of sth benefit from sth what do you hope to conseguir algo de
get out of this otra cosa
experience?

Go back x years to have known each Dave and I go back conocerse desde
other for a long time twenty years hace x años

Lead someone mislead someone, I thought he loved engañar a / darle

on especially romantically me, but he was just esperanzas falsas a
leading me on

Let someone fail to support or help you had better get decepcionar
down someone in the way the straight A’s in school
had hoped - don’t let me down

Settle down start a more stable life, I wanted to get sentar cabeza /
living in one place married, but he asentarse
wasn’t ready to
 settle down

Stick up for sth defend or support sth or when the bullies defender a
someone came around, he
stuck up for his little
sister

Stress someone make someone feel alex has an exam estresarse / estar
out extremely stressed and tomorrow and he’s tenso
under pressure really stressing out

Wind someone tease or irritate someone don’t do that, you sacar de quicio /
up know it wind me up molestar

Work up the build up the mental took me a year to armarse de coraje

courage strength to do sth scary work up the courage
to talk to her

Come down to be dependent on what this strike ser esencialmente /

comes down to is a reducirse a
failure to
communicate with
your staff

Come out of develop as a result of Let’s hope that salir de/surgir de

something good can
come out of this

Cut back on reduce Now that I am recortar gastos en

unemployed we are /reducir gastos en
going to have to cut
back on our
spending

Do away with put an end to To improve the Eliminar algo /

overall quality of acabar con algo
our milk, we wanted
to do away with the
use of antibiotics on
our cows

Face up to confront and deal with You need to face up enfrentar /confrontar
to reality, and deal
with the matter
swiftly

Fall back on use as a source of help whenever I’m in Contar con el apoyo
trouble, I know that de /apoyarse en
I can always fall
back on my friends
Get away with escape consequences The murderer got salir impune de /
away with his salirse con la suya
hideous crime

Run up against encounter The explorers ran up enfrentar/afrontar

against some serious
problems when the
weather suddenly
worsened

Meet up get together with I’ll meet up with Verse con/ reunirse
someone at a you again tonight con
prearranged place and
time

Get in with become friendly with/ He got in with a bad Juntarse con /
start to associate with crowd and started reunirse con
skipping school

Drop in visit someone (informal) I just dropped in to pasar / venir / caer /

tell you about the dejarse caer
party on Saturday

Catch up talk to someone and find Mira slowed down alcanzar

out the latest news and so that her younger
gossip sister could catch up

Band together unite, form a group The inhabitants Unirse / aliarse /

banded together to juntarse
fight the insect
invaders