Advanced English Phrasal Verbs: Health

Getting an illness

COME DOWN WITH smth - to get an illness, especially one that is not very serious and is passed from one person to another.
Ex. I think I'm coming down with something - I feel really hot.


GO DOWN WITH smth (BrE, informal, not for talking about yourself) - to get an illness, especially one that is not very serious and is passed from one person to another.
Ex.  Almost everyone in the office went down with flue.


PICK UP smth / PICK smth UP - to get an infectious disease.
Ex. Charles may have picked up malaria when he was in Africa.
Synonyms: catch, contract (formal).

PASS ON smth / PASS smth ON - to give an illness or a disease to someone else.
Ex. I hope you don't pass it on to me. I'm feeling bad enough as it is.
Synonyms: give, transmit (formal).

FLARE UP - (of an illness) to return or become worse.
Ex. You should take some pills on holiday, in case the infection flares up again.

       FLARE-UP (noun, countable) - when an illness that you had before suddenly comes back or
becomes worse.
Ex. A flare-up of her arthritis had kept her in bed.

BREAK DOWN - to become mentally ill because you can't deal with all your problems or there is too much pressure on you.
Ex. When her husband died, she broke down completely and had to be looked after by her son.

     (NERVOUS) BREAKDOWN (noun, countable, usually singular) - when you become mentally
or physically ill because because you can't deal with all your problems or there is too much      pressure on you.
Ex. Mary needs to relax more, or  she'll end up having a nervous breakdown.

CRACK UP (informal) - to become mentally ill and unable to deal with your life or work.
Ex. I've left my car keys in the car. I must be cracking up.

 Symptoms

THROW UP smth / THROW smth UP / THROW UP (informal)  -  bring food or drink up from your stomach and out through your mouth, because you are feeling ill.
Ex. My stomach clenched and I threw up my dinner.
Synonym: vomit.

PASS OUT - to become unconscious, usually for a short time.
Ex. Firemen rescued the two workers who had passed out after breathing in smoke.
Synonym: faint.

BLACK OUT - to suddenly become unconscious.
Ex. I felt as if I was suffocating, as if I was going to black out.
     
        BLACKOUT (noun, countable) - when you suddenly become unconscious.
Ex. You'll have to go to the doctor if you keep having these blackouts.

SWELL UP - (of a part of one's body) to become larger and rounder than usual, because of an illness or injury.
Ex. His ankle is swollen up, but it's not broken.
Opposite: go down.

PUT OUT smth / PUT smth OUT - to injure (shoulder, back, neck etc.), especially by stretching or twisting too much.
Ex. Catherine put her back out trying to carry a box of books up the stairs.

BREAK OUT IN (a sweat / a rash / spots etc.) - to suddenly start having on your skin.
Ex. I woke up feeling terrible and found that I had broken out in hundreds of tiny red spots. I keep breaking out in a sweat.

BLOCKED-UP (adj) - (of a nose) filled so that you are unable to breethe normally.
Ex. My nose is blocked-up.

BUNGED-UP (adj, BrE, informal) - (of a nose or ear) filled so that you are unable to breethe or hear normally
Ex. My nose is completely bunged-up.

Getting rid of an illness

FIGHT OFF smth / FIGHT smth OFF - try hard to get rid of an illness or an unpleasant feeling.
Ex. If you take extra vitamin C, it will help your body to fight off colds.


SHAKE OFF smth / SHAKE smth OFF  - to get rid of an illness or something that is causing you problems or is having a bad effect on you.
Ex. I've had this flue for weeks - I just can't seem to shake it off.


THROW OFF smth / THROW smth OFF (BrE) - to succed in getting rid of an illness that is not very serious.
Ex. She's taken a long time to throw off the illness, and she's still not fully fit.


GET OVER smth -get well again after an illness.
Ex. He's still trying to get over that bout of flue he had.

PULL THROUGH - to succeed in staying alive and gradually get better after you have been seriously ill or injured.
Ex. Both the boys have serious injuries, but we're confident that they will pull through.

CLEAR UP - (of an illness or infection) to get better or disappear.
Ex. Keep taking the antibiotics and the infection should clear up within a week.

HEAL UP / OVER - (of a wound or injury) return to a healthy, normal condition.
Ex. Apply a little antiseptic and the wound will probably heal up all by itself. The bird's beak appeared to have been broken and then healed over.

GO DOWN - (of a swelling) to disappear.
Ex. If you rest your leg,  the swelling should go down soon.


Sources:
1. M. McCarthy, F. O'Dell. English Phrasal Verbs in Use.
2. M. McCarthy, F. O'Dell. English Phrasal Verbs in Use. Advanced.
3. Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
4. Longman Phrasal Verbs Dictionary.

Advanced English Idioms: Health

 

Here are the idiomatic expressions that might help you speak about feeling well or unwell and getting better after a disease. There are also informal idioms to say someone is mad and to mean 'die'.

 

 

 

  Idioms to say you are  well

AS FIT AS A FIDDLE / AS FIT AS A FLEA (BrE)
perfectly well

Ex. My grandmother is 89, but she is as fit as a fiddle.

Russian equivalent: здоров как бык. Дословный перевод:  "здоров как скрипка", "здоров как блоха".

AS RIGHT AS RAIN
perfectly well

Ex. She'll be as right as rain in a couple of days.

Russian equivalent: в полном порядке, в полном здравии. Дословный перевод: "в порядке как дождь".

IN THE PINK

'in very good health' or 'in very good condition both physically and emotionally'

Ex. Ruth looks very well - she's certainly in the pink.

Russian equivalent: здоров как бык, цветет и пахнет.

Idioms to say you are unwell

OFF-COLOUR

slightly ill

Ex. I'm feeling a bit off-colour today.

Russian equivalent: не в форме, недомогающий

UNDER THE WEATHER

ill

Ex.  I'm feeling a bit under the weather - I think I've caught a cold..

Russian equivalent: больной, неважно себя чувствующий.

 LIKE DEATH WARMED UP (UK) /  LIKE DEATH WARMED OVER (US)

extremely ill

Ex. He shouldn't be working when he's so ill - he looks like death warmed up!

Russian equivalent: краше в гроб кладут. 

GREEN AROUND THE GILLS 

(looking) ill and pale

Ex. Matt was out drinking last night and he is a bit green around the gills this morning.

 BE OFF ONE'S FOOD

not want to eat, usually because you are ill

Ex. The god is off it's food this week.

Russian equivalent: нет аппетита.

Idioms to say you are getting better

ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY

getting better

Ex. The doctor says she's on the road to recovery.

Russian equivalent: идти на поправку

ON THE MEND

getting better after an illnes or a difficult period

Ex. He's had flue, but he's on the mend.

Russian equivalent: идти на поправку.

  Informal idioms to say someone is mad

NOT ALL THERE
slightly stupid or strange

Ex.  In American teen slang, Vini is a ‘space’— a dreamer, someone not all there.

OFF ONE'S TROLLEY
 mad, insane

Ex. ‘She went off her trolley in Margate after drinking that stuff,’ Otley went on, ‘singing, dancing, roller-skating — turning cartwheels on top of the cliffs.

NOT RIGHT IN THE HEAD
 not completely sane

Ex. 'You have just proved you're not right in the head'.

Russian equivalent:  не в своем уме.

A BASKET CASE
 (of a person or thing) regarded as useless or unable to cope

Ex. 'Ask me to read in front of people now, and I become a basket case'.

Russian equivalent:  ненормальный, псих.

 

OFF ONE'S ROCKER
mad 

Ex.When I got back home, my friends thought I was off my rocker.

AS NUTTY AS A FRUITCAKE
 completely mad

Ex. 'He was a man who was a wise as a venerable oak to some and as nutty as a fruitcake to others'.

Russian equivalent:  

ONE SANDWICH SHORT OF A PICNIC
stupid, lacking intelligence

Ex. I wouldn't trust her. She is one sandwich short of picnic

GET A SCREW LOOSE
silly, eccentric

Ex. He wears a heavy jacket in the middle of summer. He's got a screw loose.

Russian equivalents: не в себе; не в своем уме; не все дома; "с приветом", чокнутый, придурковатый, псих, ненормальный, шарики за ролики; съехавший с катушек; спятить.

  Informal idioms that mean 'die'

POP ONE'S CLOGS
die

Ex.  I think I'll leave all my money to charity when I pop my clogs.

BITE THE DUST
be killed

Ex. 'I'm not going to talk baby talk to Annie and teach her the Disney world of violence with no consequences, where the bad guy always bites the dust and the good guy lives happily ever after.'

GIVE UP THE GHOST
die

Ex.  'The tulips almost got to flowering but then seemed to give up the ghost, go pale and slowly fall over.'

FALL OFF ONE'S PERCH 
die (BrE, old-fashioned)

Ex.  By the time I fall off my perch Britain may well be a republic.

KICK THE BUCKET

die

Ex. 'But in spite of the fact, when he kicks the bucket ..., it is going to be one of the biggest funerals in the Bahamas.'

Sources:
1. F. O'Dell, M. McCarthy. English Idioms in Use.
2. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/
3. http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/.
4. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/
5. http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

 

Advanced English Collocations: Big

What Collocates with 'Big'?

The word 'big' may create a lot of trouble for non-native speakers of English. Mistakes might be made in two ways:
- the word 'big' is used with the nouns it doesn't go with;
- unsuitable words are used where the word big would be most appropriate.

Here is a list of words that can't go together with 'big' and require other adjectives to express a large degree or amount :

 NO 'BIG' FOR

VARIETY

RANGE

IMPORTANCE

PERCENTEGE

EXPERIENCE

PROGRESS

AMOUNT

NOISE

TRAFFIC

Here you can find an infographic to illustrate this.

Here are some of the most frequent collocates for the word 'big':

'BIG' GOES WITH

DEAL

DIFFERENCE

PROBLEM

QUESTIONS

PART

PICTURE

THING

TIME

DAY

MONEY

GAME

STORY

MISTAKE 

TROUBLE

NEWS

And here is an infographics I've made to illustrate this:

Advanced English Collocations: Personal Finances

Here are some useful collocations that deal with managing your finances.

1. GETTING MONEY

- source of income

- to supplement your income
- steady income
- earn a good salary

- make big money
- make a small fortune
- seriously rich

2. SPENDING MONEY

- to spend a fortune

- to run up a big (large / huge / high) bill.
- waste / squander money
- throw money around
- throw money at smth
- donate money to

- to put down a deposit on (a new car / home etc.)

3. BORROWING MONEY FROM PEOPLE OR BANKS

- to borrow heavily

- to be heavily (deeply) in debt

- debt-ridden

- to get (slip) into serious debt

- to run up huge (big / crippling / enormous / high / large / massive / substantia) debts 

- outstanding (unpaid) debts

- a bad debt (that can't be repaid)

- to run up an overdraft

- to exceed (go over) an agreed credit limit

4. REPAYING  DEBTS

- to clear (meet / pay back / pay off / repay / settle) debts

- to make a payment (of $20) to one's account

- to pay back a loan

 5. NOT REPAYING DEBTS

- to default on repayments

- to call in a loan

6. CANCELLING SMB'S DEBTS

 - to write off (wipe off / wipe out / cancel) smb's debt

7. FINANCIAL CRIMES

- credit-card fraud

- identity theft

- to falsify records

- to make fraudulent claims

8. IMPROVING YOUR FINANCIAL CIRCAMSTANCES

- to stay (keep) afloat

- to cut down on luxuries  

- to open a current bank account

- an interest-free overdraft

Below  are some infographics on the topic.
1) MONEY: Verb-Noun Collocations

 2) PRICES: Collocations

3) 'Debt Collocations', which I've made with Realtime Board.

If you found it useful you migh also be interested in another post 'Money Idioms' where quite a lot of idioms connected with the topic 'money' are explained and illustrated by examples.

Sources:
1. M. McCarthy, F. O'Dell. English Collocations in Use.
2. M. McCarthy, F. O'Dell. English Collocations in Use. Advanced.

Advanced English Collocations: Learning and Studying

Here you can learn some useful collocations to talk about classes, subjects, diplomas, learning progress etc.

1) Collocations with DO

2) Collocations with GET

 3) Informal Versus Formal Collocations

to get a place (at a university) - to secure a place
to go to lectures - to attend lectures 
the class will be - the class will be held
give essays - hand in essays
send in applications - submit applications
leave the course -  withdraw from the course

4) Collocations to Describe Student's Abilities and Progress

gifted children
natural talent
mental agility
proven ability
thirst for knowledge
a quick learner
to demonstrate an ability
to show considerable initiative
to show marked improvement
to achieve full marks
to win a scholarship

smb's attention wanders
smb's concentration wavers
there is room for improvement
to play truant

 
 Sources:
1. M. McCarthy, F. O'Dell. English Collocations in Use.
2. M. McCarthy, F. O'Dell. English Collocations in Use. Advanced.

Advanced English Phrasal Verbs Infographics: Come

Advanced English Phrasal Verbs Flashcards: Get

Phrasal Verbs: Get

Here are flashcards to practice translating phrasal verbs with 'get' from Russian into English. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to embed them here (it just didn't work this time), but I did add the link:
  Get Flashcards

Advanced English Phrasal Verbs: Money

Here are the phrasal verbs that may help you speak about having and repaying debts, saving and spending money, buying and selling.

Having Debts

RUN UP smth or RUN smth UP

do things that cause you to owe large amounts of money

Ex. I've run up such a huge bill (debt / overdraft) that I don't know how I'm going to pay it.

Repaying Debts

PAY BACK smth/smb or PAY smth/smb BACK 

 pay someone the money that you owe them.

Ex. Lend me ten pounds and I'll pay you back tomorrow.

SETTLE UP (with)

pay someone the money that you owe them.

Ex. Can you lend me another 20 pounds and I'll settle up with you next week. We settled up and checked out of the hotel.

PAY OFF smth or  PAY smth OFF  

 pay back all the money (mortgage, loan, overdraft) you owe. 

Ex. I won't pay off the mortgage on my house until 2021.

PAY UP 

 (informal) 

 give someone the money that you owe them, especially if you don't want to.

Ex. I owe my friend some money and he says I have to pay up by 30 April.

Getting Money from Banks or People

TAKE OUT smth or TAKE smth OUT

withdraw money from a bank

Ex. I took $ 100 out at the ATM yesterday.

GET smth BACK or GET BACK smth

have somehting returned to you.

Ex. Forget about your money. You won't get it back.

Saving Money / Spending Little Money

SAVE UP (smth) or SAVE (smth) UP

keep money so that you can buy smth with it in the future.

Ex. I'm saving up for a holiday.

SET / PUT ASIDE smth or SET / PUT smth ASIDE

keep smth, especially time or money, for one purpose and no other purpose.

Ex. You should have set aside some cash to pay household expenses.

       The money has been put aside for their retirement.

PUT smth BY 

(especially BrE)

save money so that you can use it later for a particular purpose.

Ex. Why don't you put by a little money each week? That way you'll soon be able to afford a motorcycle.

SAVE ON smth

spend less money on smth than you did before.

Ex. If I cycled to work I could save on petrol.

SKIMP  ON  smth

spend too little money on or use too little of

Ex. We should never skimp on healthy foods.

    

SCRIMP ON smth 

(AmE)

spend too little money for smth or buy smth that is very cheap.

Ex. Builders seem to scrimp on windows to keep costs down.

CUT BACK smth or CUT smth BACK or CUT BACK ON smth

reduce the amount of money that you spend or the amount of smth that you use

Ex. Since the children were born, we've really had to cut back our spendings.

      The government is cutting back on the education budget.

Spending a Lot of Money 

  FORK OUT (smth) 

(informal)

spend a lot of money on smth, esrecially if you don't want to.

Ex. We had to fork out $ 900 to fix our car.

 SPLASH OUT 

(BrE informal)

spend a lot of money on smth which is very pleasant but which you don't need.

Ex. We splashed out on lots of furniture last month. I feel like splashing out a bit.

Shopping and Buying

SHOP AROUND

look at different shops and compare prices.

Ex. - Shall we buy the TV set here? - No, let's shop around a bit. they may be cheaper somewher else.

CLUB TOGETHER

( BrE)

put money together as a group to buy smth.

Ex. We clubbed together to buy her a leaving present.

STOCK UP (on smth)

buy a lot of smth, especially food and drink, for example if it's cheap or in order to keep it for when you need it later.

Ex. We need to stock up on wine  for Christmas.

LOAD UP (on smth)

get or buy a lot of smth that you want or need.

Ex. We should load up on fruit and vegetables not buy so much junk food.

 SNAP UP smth or SNAP smth UP

 (slightly informal)

buy smth quickly because it is very cheap or exactly what you want.

Ex. All the tickets for the game were snapped up in less than two hours. 

PICK UP smth or PICK smth UP

1) buy smth cheaply;

2) buy smth when you have gone to a place to do smth else.

Ex. 1) I picked up the vase for $5. It was a real bargain.

       2) If you are going into town, can you pick up a magazine for me?

Selling

SELL OFF smth or SELL smth OFF

sell smth at a low price because you don't want it or because you need some money.

Ex. They are selling off printers at half price at the computer store.

SELL OUT (of)

have no more of a particular product available to buy.

Ex. Most music stores have already sold out of Ice Cube's new album. The bakery is usually sold out of my favorite cake within two hours.

RIP smb OFF or RIP OFF smb 

(informal)

cheat smb by making them pay too much money for smth.

Ex. A lot of the taxi drivers here will try and rip you off if they think you are a tourist.

A RIP-OFF

(informal)

smth that is far too expensive.

Ex. A lot of those tourist shops are a real rip-off. You can get the same things in ordinary shops for half the price.

Asking for and Offering Discounts

BEAT smb/smth DOWN or BEAT DOWN smb/smth
(BrE)
force someone to reduce the price of smth.

 Ex.  He wants $ 7,000 for his car, but I'm sure I can bit him down a bit.

KNOCK smth OFF (smth) or KNOCK OFF smth

take a particular amount away from smth. especially a price (= deduct).

Ex. The dealer knocked 10 % off the price because I offered to pay cash. 

Sources:
1. M. McCarthy, F. O'Dell. English Phrasal Verbs in Use.
2. Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
3. Longman Phrasal Verbs Dictionary.

Advanced English Phrasal Verbs: Reading and Writing

Here  are some phrasal verbs that may come in handy while speaking about various ways of writing (as soon as you get the information, quickly, on an official document etc.) and reading (aloud, quickly, only parts of a book, carefully etc.), as well as about improving a piece of writing.

Writing

WRITE DOWN smth or WRITE smth DOWN

 write information on a piece of paper , in a book etc so that you will not forget it or so that it can be used later

Ex. I know I wrote that phone number down somewhere.

PUT DOWN smth or PUT smth DOWN

write something, especially a name or a sum of money, on a form or list

Ex. Could you just put down the titles and the names of the authors please?

NOTE DOWN smth or NOTE smth DOWN

write down information as soon as you get it, so that you will be able to use it later

Ex. I'd better note that down or I'll forget it.

Synonym: make a note of

JOT DOWN smth or JOT smth DOWN

write short, quick notes of facts or ideas so that you can use them later

Ex. Let me jot down your adress on this piece of paper.

SCRIBBLE DOWN smth or SCRIBBLE smth DOWN

write smth in a hurry with the result that it may be difficult to read

Ex. The lecture spoke so fast that I could only scribble down a few notes.

WRITE OUT smth or WRITE smth OUT (1)

write information, such as your name, the date etc on a document 

(e.g. a cheque,  a prescription) so that it can be used

Ex. She took the money, wrapped up the plates and wrote me out a receipt.

MAKE OUT smth or MAKE smth OUT

write all necessary information on an official document (e.g. a cheque, an application, a ticket)

Ex. If you have time to wait, we could make out your airline ticket now.

 FILL IN smth or FILL smth IN 

(especially BrE)

write all necessary information in the empty spaces on an official document or test

Ex. Please fill in the registration form and return it by 18 September.

FILL OUT smth or FILL smth OUT

write all necessary information in the empty spaces on an official document or test

Ex. Let's fill out this questionnaire together.

WRITE OUT smth or WRITE smth OUT (2)

Write something again in a better, neater or more complete way

Ex. Do your essay in rough first and then write it out.

WRITE UP smth or WRITE smth UP

write a report, article etc. in its final form

Ex. You have to write up your essay and submit it a week before the course ends.

Improving a Piece of Writing

CUT OUT smth or CUT smth OUT
remove a piece of writing

Ex. I've put a line through this sentence; you should cut it out.

TONE DOWN smth or TONE smth DOWN

make a piece of writing, a speech or a performance less offensive or less critical

Ex. This paragraph here is a bit strong - why not tone it down a bit?

TOUCH ON (UPON) smth

to mention a subject briefly when writing or speaking about smth

Ex. You only touch on the issue of government control. Surely that deserves a bit more space.

CROP UP 
(about a word, name or subject) appear in smth that you read, hear or see

Ex. Your point about crime crops up in several places - why not deal with it in just one paragraph?

SUM UP (smth/smb) or SUM (smth/smb) UP
describe briefly the most important points or characteristics of something or someone

Ex. It'd be a good idea to add a paragraph summing up your main points at the end.

SET OUT smth or SET smth OUT

explain ideas, facts or opinions in a clearly organised way.

Ex. I think you should try to set the whole thing out better!

Reading

READ UP ON smth

read a lot about a particular subject in order to learn about it

Ex. Can you all please read up on air pollution for next week.

READ OUT smth or READ smth OUT

read a list, results, a letter etc to someone, especially because they need the information that it contains

Ex. Jane, will you please read out the paragraph at the top of the sheet?

SKIM THROUGH (smth)

read the whole of smth quickly so that you get a general idea of what it is about

Ex. If there isn't enough time, you'll just have to skim through the text.

DIP INTO smth

read small parts of a book or magazine because you don't feel like reading the whole thing or 

because you are looking for a particular piece of information.

Ex. An encyclopedia is not the kind of book you read from cover to cover, but something you dip into when you need a particular fact.

LEAF / FLICK / THUMB THROUGH smth

turn the pages of a book, magazine etc. without reading much of it,

 looking for something interesting or useful

Ex. She flicked through the guidebook, looking for somewhere to visit in the afternoon.

READ THROUGH / OVER smth or READ smth THROUGH / OVER

read smth carefully, especially to check every detail or find any mistakes

Ex. Students are always advised to read through what they have written before leaving the exam room.

PORE OVER smth

read smth for a long time, very carefully, and with great interest

Ex. Ian pored over the letter and soon committed it to memory.

BURY ONESELF IN smth

give all your attention to smth that you are reading very carefully, 

often in order to avoid thinking about something or talking to someone

Ex. At breakfast Duncan buried himself in the newspaper and pretended to ignore her.

PLOUGH THROUGH smth (BrE) / PLOW THROUGH smth (AmE)

read all of something even though it takes a lot of time and is boring

Ex. As I ploughed through the book I began to wonder whether it was worth it.

Sources:
1. M. McCarthy, F. O'Dell. English Phrasal Verbs in Use.
2. M. McCarthy, F. O'Dell. English Phrasal Verbs in Use. Advanced.
3. Longman Phrasal Verbs Dictionary.
4. Longman Language Activator.