Essential English Vocabulary, Prepositions, and Business Terms

Essential English Vocabulary and Idioms

• Out of the blue: From nowhere
• Cold feet: To get nervous or back out
• Tip of my tongue: Almost remembered
• Over the moon: Very happy
• In deep water: In a lot of trouble
• Walk out on / Bail out / Pull out: To dump or abandon
• Be on board: To be in agreement
• Pull your socks up: To get serious or get your act together
• Waste of space: Useless
• Put your foot in it: To say something embarrassing
• Go blank: To become speechless
• To snipe: To look for the negative side
• Time flies: Time goes by very fast
• Slaving away: Working very hard
• Snowed under: Having a lot of work
• Keeping our heads above water: To survive
• Tighten our belts: To economize
• Things have picked up: Things have improved
• Little sleepy village: A place where nothing happens
• Tied up: Having a lot of commitments
• Bite off more than you can chew: Taking on more than you can manage
• Dash off: To go quickly

Common English Prepositions

• At: Full speed, regular intervals, at someone's disposal
• On: On duty, on show, on a knife edge
• In: In tears, in common, in advance
• By: By the look of things, by heart, by chance

Adverbs and Adjectives Collocations

• Intensifiers: Bitterly disappointed, highly unlikely, perfectly clear, sorely tempted, virtually impossible
• Verbs and Adverbs: Accurately predict, distinctly remember, eagerly await, fully understand, sincerely hope
• Deeply: Embarrassed, distressed, ashamed
• Wildly: Confident, happy, indifferent
• Virtually: Impossible, identical, indestructible
• Perfectly: Safe, right, clear
• Supremely: Optimistic, inaccurate, ambitious
• Sorely: Missed, needed, tempted
• Deliberately: Misleading, obstructive, rude
• Infinitely: Better, superior, preferable
• Other: Conscientiously, fatally, interminably, scream hysterically, gaze longingly, love passionately, break deliberately, work conscientiously, apologize profusely

Economic Graphs and Trends

• Growth: Growth or negative growth
• Stability: Remain stable, steady, or steadily
• Movement: Downturn, decline, increase
• Peaks and Drops: Peak, shoot up (increase suddenly), drop, level off (stabilize)
• Trends: Pick up a little, substantial (important), increase steadily or gradually, plummet (fall vertically), bottom out (significant change in curve), fluctuate, fall slightly