Mastering English Idioms, Phrasal Verbs, and Connectors

Common English Idioms

• Break the ice: Romper el hielo
• Break a promise: Romper una promesa
• Break a record: Batir un récord
• Break someone's heart: Romper el corazón a alguien
• Break the law: Infringir la ley
• Break the news: Dar la noticia
• Break a habit: Dejar un hábito
• Speak one's mind: Hablar claro
• Like talking to a wall: Como hablarle a la pared
• Straight from the horse's mouth: De primera mano
• Don't breathe a word: No decir ni una palabra
• Get a word in edgeways: Decir apenas algo
• I'm all ears: Soy todo oídos
• Beat about the bush: Andarse con rodeos

Essential Phrasal Verbs

Stand

• Stand by: Apoyar
• Stand up to: Hacer frente
• Stand up: Levantarse
• Stand in for: Sustituir
• Stand for: Significar
• Stand out: Destacar

Come

• Come round: Venir a visitar
• Come through: Sobrevivir
• Come apart: Deshacerse
• Come down on: Regañar
• Come up with: Proponer
• Come across: Encontrar

Bring, Put, and Go

• Bring back: Devolver
• Bring down: Reducir
• Bring out: Sacar al mercado
• Bring up: Sacar (un tema)
• Put down: Humillar
• Put forward: Proponer
• Put off: Aplazar
• Put up: Construir
• Put up with: Aguantar
• Have a go: Intentar
• On the go: Ocupado
• Go broke: Arruinarse
• Go mad: Volverse loco
• Go bald: Quedarse calvo
• Go from bad to worse: Ir de mal en peor

Word Formation and Derivatives

Suffixes and Roots: Creation, obedience, graceful, disastrous, kindness, complicated, imaginative, punishment, possibility, recognizable, confident, experimental, agreement, driver, friendship, happiness, careful.

Prefixes and Variations: Reviewed, insane, mispronouncing, co-operate, enabling, bilingual, overcrowded, prejudge, premature, disappear, overdone, encourage.

Word Families: Enjoyment/able/ably, originate/original/originally, play/player/playful/playfully, use/user/useful/usefully, devote/devotion/devoted/devotedly, secure/security/secured/securely.

English Connectors

Addition and Causality

Addition: In addition, what’s more, besides, furthermore, moreover.

Causality: Because, for, because of (debido a), since (puesto que), as (puesto que), due to / owing to (debido a).

Sequence and Logic

Logical flow: Consequently (por consiguiente), definitely (sin duda), probably.

Time markers: Before, after, when, whenever, while, until, suddenly, then, recently, afterwards, soon afterwards.

Purpose and Conclusion: In order to, so that (de forma que), likewise (igualmente), in conclusion, in short.