Idiomatic Expressions and How to Learn Them
  • Dulce1 August 2014
    English, as many other languages, has idiomatic expressions that have to be learned on an individual basis.
    Idiomatic expressions, also called idioms, occur when the words that compose a phrase or sentence have meanings that are different from their dictionary definitions.
    An example is when you hear "When I saw the man mistreating the dog, I lost my head."
    In the sentence above lost my head doesn't mean that the person actually lost his or her head, but got very angry.
    Other examples of idiomatic expressions include:
    go fly a kite = stop annoying a person, go away
    get cold feet = cancel a plan, such as a wedding, for fear of the consequences
    gain the upper hand = win an advantage
    split hairs = to argue over things that are not very important
    A good way to learn idioms is to write each one down on a separate section in your notebook.  Be sure to include the meaning, a brief translation and more than one sentence that features the expression in context. Also make sure to review these sentences periodically and create new sentences so you are sure you have learned them by heart!

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