Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Yesterday, we were invited to a club that plays get along with dar se bem com algum
Brazilian funk music, but Emily's been there pick up pegar, buscar (algum)
already, and she said it wasn't very fun.
take after tomar conta de, cuidar de
look after tomar conta de
Idioms:
7 -Flop Falhano.
9 How was your weekend? Como foi o teu fim-de-semana? ou Como foi seu fim de
semana?
22 Maybe some other time Fica para a prxima. Traduo literal Pode ser alguma
outra vez.
25 On leave De licena.
26 On the other hand, Por outro lado. Traduo literal Em cima da outra mo,
29 Rain or shine D por onde der. Traduo literal Chova ou faa sol.
30 Save the day Resolver ou evitar uma situao desastrosa. Trad. literal Salvar o
dia.
1. The best of both worlds means you can enjoy two different opportunities at the same time.
By working part-time and looking after her kids two days a week she managed to get the best of both
worlds.
2. Speak of the devil this means that the person youre just talking about actually turns up at that
moment.
Hi Tom, speak of the devil, I was just telling Sara about your new car.
I let the cat out of the bag about their wedding plans.
10. To kill two birds with one stone to solve two problems at once.
By taking my dad on holiday, I killed two birds with one stone. I got to go away but also spend time with
him.
They really cut corners when they built this bathroom; the shower is leaking.
To add insult to injury the car drove off without stopping after knocking me off my bike.
13. You cant judge a book by its cover to not judge someone or something based solely on
appearance.
I thought this no-brand bread would be horrible; turns out you cant judge a book by its cover.
14. Break a leg means good luck (often said to actors before they go on stage).
Break a leg Sam, Im sure your performance will be great.
15. To hit the nail on the head to describe exactly what is causing a situation or problem.
He hit the nail on the head when he said this company needs more HR support.
To test your new-found knowledge here are some sentences to practice with. Fill in the blank!
B) His birthday was supposed to be a surprise! I cant believe you _____. Now he knows!
C) Ha! John has been promising to paint the house for five years. Maybe when _______.
D) Yeah, itll _______. I need to sign some papers at Jennys school anyway so ill pick her up for you too.
F) Im sorry I cant come into work today. Im ________. I have a sore throat and runny nose.
G) They tried ________ when installing the pipes for the house and now we have leaks only one month after
purchasing it!
H) We missed our flight to Paris because the connecting flight was late and to ______ they made us pay for
a new ticket as if it was our fault!
J) Jane is just never on time to work, its really annoying. O wow, ______ here she comes
K) So were going to London, then Munich, then we will fly out of Athens, right? Great. Im so glad to be
traveling with someone I _______ with.
L) Wow, she found her dream man and has now landed an amazing job. She really does have ______.
M) OK, she might not be the most attractive but _________. Im sure she is a sweetheart.
N) I have been trying to figure this out for ages. Thanks so much, youre right. You _______.
O) I cant believe that was our test. I think it was easier than some of our homework! It was a ______.
So how did you do? Dont forget to try and use these idioms and phrases when practicing your English. And
do let us know if you need further clarification on commonly used idioms by leaving a comment below.
Want to learn more? Visit our website to start learning English online today!
1. Piece of cake No, when someone says that the assignment they just finished was a piece
of cake, it does not mean that their professor gave them a red velvet cupcake for their midterm
paper, what piece of cake actually means is that something is very easy to complete.
2. Costs an arm and a leg It would be a strange world we lived in if buying that fancy shiny
purse literally required us to chop off our body parts to give as tribute to the Louis Vuitton gods.
When something costs an arm and a leg it actually means that something is very expensive.
3. Break a leg Oh, look, another idiom about legs. Youre about to take your dreaded
calculus final and before you head into your classroom your roommate texts you, Break a
Leg! Why, you think in your head, would he ever wish that upon me? I thought we were cool
with each other. Well, your roommate surely doesnt want your bones to break while walking to
your seat in the exam room thats for sure. Break a leg actually means good luck!
4. Hit the books If youre a student in an English speaking environment youre probably
going to be hearing this phrase a lot. Before you imagine students running into their campus
library and punching, kicking and wrestling apart the complete works of Shakespeare, we
would just like to say that hit the books actually means to study. There there, you can still
punch books in your spare time if you want, we wont judge you.
5. Let the cat out of the bag Why would someone put their cat in a bag? What did the cat
ever do to them? Our last idiom actually means to disclose a secret that was supposed to be
kept, well, as a secret. The next time someone lets the cat out of the bag do not immediately
pick up your phone and call animal cruelty control.
6. Hit the nail on the head This idiom has to do with doing or saying something that is
precisely right. If you dont understand this, just think about that sweet feeling you get when
you swing a hammer at a nail and hit it perfectly.
7. When pigs fly So, have you ever seen a pig fly before? Never? Me neither. This idiom
basically means that something will never happen, like fat little pink mammals soaring toward
the sun!
8. You cant judge a book by its cover How many awesome books do you think youve
never read in your life just because the cover did not catch your eye? This idiom does not only
apply to books however, but can be used for everything in general. Essentially it means that
you should not decide upon something based just on outward appearances.
9. Bite off more than you can chew Imagine your waiter brings you the biggest juiciest
hamburger from your favorite American restaurant. In your hunger, you grab it quickly and take
a giant bite out of it. Unfortunately, the bite youve taken is too big, and you end up looking like
an idiot trying to shove this bite down your throat while drinking water and trying not to choke.
That is the most literal sense of the meaning, but in general it just means to attempt to take on
a task that is too much for you to handle.
10. Scratch someones back We all know how difficult it is to scratch that itch on your back
that your hand just arent flexible enough to reach, so why would you want to scratch some
random persons smelly back? Because if you do, they may eventually be willing to scratch
your own smelly back when you need it! What this idiom means is to help someone out with
the assumption that they will return the favor in the future!
Thats all for now, be sure to keep checking our blog for more idioms in the future! (No that
wasnt an idiom, seriously, check our blog out, and let the cat out of the bag!)
Cara-de-pau
Que cara-de-pau! Sem convite, ele entrou na livraria durante o lanamento de um livro
e pegou uma taa de vinho.
What a cheek! Without an invitation he went into the bookstore during a book launch
and got a glass of wine.
TIPS & NOTES
The term cara-de-pau (plural: caras-de-pau) is used to refer to people who are open and feel
no shame or embarrassment, especially about something most people find shocking, and they
dont care about what other people think.
Referncia: Break the Branch? Quebrar o Galho Common, Everyday Words and
Phrases in Brazilian Portuguese de Jack Scholes, Disal Editora, 2008. Leia a resenha e
compre seu exemplar na Disal.
Observe com ateno as mudanas que voc deve fazer na letra Y final das palavras da
lngua inglesa. Em caso de dvida com relao a algum vocbulo que no consta da tabela a
seguir, sempre consulte um bom dicionrio de ingls.
Sufixos -ed, -er, -est, -able, -ment, -age, -ly, -ous. Excees: PAY PAID, SAY SAID,
LAY LAID
TRY TRIED
EASY EASIER
BUSY BUSIEST
MARRY MARRIAGE
HAPPY HAPPILY
RELY RELIABLE
Vogal + Y (Acrescente sufixo)
PLAY PLAYED
GAY GAYER
GRAY GRAYEST
ENJOY ENJOYMENT
Gerndio (Acrescente ING)
TRY TRYING
STAY STAYING
Plural dos substantivos e 3a. pessoa do singular do presente
STORY STORIES
TRY TRIES
Vogal + Y (Acrescente S)
TRAY TRAYS
PLAY PLAYS
SKY SKIES CU
Grupo 2. Substantivo singular que termina em som sibilante -s, -se, -ss, -sh, -ge, -ch,
-dge, -x > plural em -es ou -s.
SINGULAR PLURAL SIGNIFICADO
Nos meus tempos de aluna, eu usei uma estratgia para lembrar destas palavras: criei frases
contendo os termos acima. Veja alguns exemplos: Half a loaf for my wife; A thief with a knife
took his life away; A dwarf with a scarf at the wharf. Seja criativo e invente as suas tambm!
Garanto que voc no ter dificuldades para lembr-las depois!
OX OXEN BOI
DEER /
DEER VEADO
DEERS
OFFSPRING /
OFFSPRING PROLE
OFFSPRINGS
SINGULAR PLURAL
-us
-i
alumnus, cactus, focus, fungus,
alumni, cacti, foci*, fungi*, nuclei, radii, stimuli
nucleus, radius, stimulus
-us -ora
corpus, genus corpora, genera
-is
-es
axis, analysis, basis, crisis,
axes, analyses, bases, crises, diagnoses, ellipses,
diagnosis, ellipsis, hyphotesis, oasis,
hyphoteses, oases, paralyses, parentheses,
paralysis, parenthesis, synthesis,
syntheses, synopses, theses
synopsis, thesis
-um -a
bacterium, curriculum, datum, bacteria, curricula, data, media*, memoranda,
medium, memorandum, stratum strata
-on -a
criterion, phenomenon criteria, phenomena
-a
-ae
antenna, formula, nebula, vertebra,
antennae*, formulae*, nebulae, vertebrae, vitae
vita
Ateno!
Preste bastante ateno a estes singulares e plurais:
Como voc viu, s vezes mais de uma forma de plural possvel. E no adianta perguntar
qual a mais certa ou a mais usada! A menos que esteja indicado, no faz diferena!
Consulte um bom dicionrio se ainda tiver dvidas sobre os plurais irregulares. E mais uma
coisa: pode ser que voc no use algumas das palavras acima no seu dia a dia, mas
importante conhec-las. Nunca se sabe quando vamos precisar delas
Contveis x Incontveis
Muitos substantivos so contveis, p. ex. book: a/one book, two books, three
books.
terrible traffic
trnsito terrvel
impossible behaviour
um comportamento impossvel
absolute chaos
um caos absoluto
lots of luck/stress
advice conselho(s)
information informao(es)
work trabalho(s)
bread po(es)
toast torrada(s)
soap sabonete(s)
hair cabelo(s)
paper papel(is)
furniture mvel(eis)
damage dano(s)
knowledge conhecimento(s)
progress progresso(s)
proof prova(s)
Referncia: Grammar No problem Christine House e John Stevens, Disal Editora, 2005.
Leia a resenha. Adquira seu exemplar com total conforto e segurana no site da Disal
Distribuidora.
WHAT A SHAME!
[Que pena!]
Embora a palavra shame sozinha signifique vergonha, a expresso What a shame! significa:
Que pena!
Como diferenciar?
Acredito que a soluo ideal seja memorizar a locuo como uma unidade, como se fosse
uma nova palavra que voc aprendeu. claro que quando digo memorizar no estou
sugerindo que voc saia decorando uma lista enorme de expresses com a dupla do x make.
No se trata disso. A palavra-chave nesses casos exposio, ou seja, estar o maior tempo
possvel em contato com a lngua por meio de livros, revistas, jornais, cinema, msica,
televiso, internet, documentrios, conversas etc., alm, claro, das aulas de ingls. De forma
gradual, indolor e quase imperceptvel, esse novo vocabulrio ser absorvido.
Exemplos
A relao a seguir no tem a pretenso de ser uma lista completa. Ela apenas um guia
bsico de referncia. Consulte sempre um bom dicionrio de ingls para esclarecer eventuais
dvidas. No caso da expresso em portugus fazer um curso, no h dvida: prefira take a
course.
DO
DO BUSINESS = negociar
DO THE DISHES = lavar loua
DO GOOD = fazer o bem
DO HARM = prejudicar
DO HOMEWORK = fazer o dever de casa
DO ONES BEST = dar o melhor de si
DO RESEARCH = fazer pesquisa
DO SOMEBODY A FAVOR = fazer um favor a algum
DO WELL = ter sucesso
MAKE
MAKE A DECISION = tomar uma deciso
MAKE A MISTAKE = cometer um erro
MAKE A NOISE = fazer um rudo
MAKE A PHONE CALL = dar um telefonema
MAKE A PROFIT = lucrar
MAKE A PROMISE = fazer uma promessa
MAKE A SUGGESTION = dar uma sugesto
MAKE AN ATTEMPT = fazer uma tentativa
MAKE AN EFFORT = fazer um esforo
MAKE AN EXCEPTION = abrir uma exceo
MAKE AN OFFER = fazer uma oferta
MAKE ARRANGEMENTS = organizar, planejar
MAKE COFFEE = fazer caf
MAKE FRIENDS = fazer amigos
MAKE LOVE = fazer amor
MAKE SOMETHING EASIER = facilitar
MAKE THE MOST OF = aproveitar ao mximo
The teaching staff have made an effort to understand our difficulties. (The Guardian)
Referncia
Guia Tecla SAP: Falsas gmeas, de Ulisses Wehby de Carvalho, Tecla SAP, 2014. Leia
a resenha.