CPE Use of English: Word Transformations

Although we were all egging her on

Although we were all encouraging her to climb up the tree, she refused. EGG

so my hands are tied

I don't make decisions here, so there's nothing I can do. HANDS

His name's on the tip of my tongue

I know his name but I can't quite remember it. TIP

You really put your foot in it when you asked

It was really embarrassing when your asked what her age was! FOOT

It's open to question whether

It's doubtful whether they'll sign the contract. OPEN

The Christmas break has given me a new lease of life

The Christmas break has made me feel more lively. LEASE

The new film bore no resemblance to the book

The new film was barely similar to the book I had read. BORE

He has fond memories of his grandmother

He remembers his grandmother with love. FOND

because I was down in the mouth

He tried to cheer me up because I felt sad. MOUTH

To such an extent were his ideas revolutionary that he was imprisoned

He was imprisoned for having such revolutionary ideas. EXTENT

He was at a low ebb

He was rather depressed because she had been fired. . LOW

Such was his fear of spiders that

He was so afraid of spiders, that he fainted whenever he saw one. FEAR

Jim has fallen behind

Jim is progressing too slowly with his school project. BEHIND

My financial problems are weighing on

My financial problems are putting pressure on me. WEIGHING

Paul did not take lightly being called shallow

Paul did not like it when you called him shallow. BEING

She just mouthed the words

She didn't really sing. She just opened and closed her mouth saying nothing. WORDS

She didn't mince her words

She didn't try to hide her feelings, but said his new plan was "silly" WORDS

I was at my wits end

Since my wife left me, I am about to lose my mind. WITS

We're short of time

We have very little time left. SHORT

Don't make light of it. It is serious

Don't treat it as unimportant. It's serious. LIGHT

He felt extremely tired after burning the midnight oil

He felt extremely tired after staying up very late to finish his school project. OIL

He was at a loose end

He had nothing to do so he decided to see a movie. END

He is never at ease in the presence of his teacher

He is never completely relaxed in the presence of his teacher. EASE

He takes pride in his achievements

He is proud of his achievements. TAKES

His efforts to set up a local youth centre finally bore fruit

His efforts to set up a local youth centre were finally successful. BORE

I can't make head or tail of his handwriting

His handwriting is illegible. I can't understand anything. HEAD

I can't keep track of how many girlfriends Bob has had

I can't really remember how many girlfriends Bob has had. TRACK

I have no sympathy for him

I can't sympathize with him. SYMPATHY

For all I know he may not be in town

I don't even know whether he's in town. ALL

That colour hair dye is not to my liking

I don't like that colour hair dye. LIKING

I took an instant liking to my new teacher

I liked my new teacher immediately. LIKING

I never allowed my mother in law to nose into affairs

I never allow my mother in law to interfere into my affairs. NOSE

you should shoulder the responsibility for

I think you should take the responsibility for what happened. SHOULDER

I went to the city centre with a view to buying new shoes

I went to the city centre because I wanted to buy new shoes. VIEW

I'm not in the right frame of mind to study now

I'm not in the right mood to study now. I'll take a walk first. . FRAME

I've decided to take a new leaf and get divorce

I've decided to change in my life and get a divorce. LEAF

I could have kicked myself for answering my teacher back

If only I hadn't answered my teacher back . KICKED

Were you to go back, you would find out the truth

If you went back, you would find out the truth. TO

Were it not for your advice I'd never get through this

If you weren't advising me, I'd never get through this. ADVICE

Please speak your mind

Please say what you really think about the plan, even if you disagree. SPEAK

So long as you pay in cash, you'll receive a discount

Providing you pay in cash, you'll receive a discount. AS

The recent poor examination results call into question

The recent poor examination results raise the issue of the effectiveness of our teaching methods. QUESTION

The school play is really dragging on

The school play has really lasted too long DRAGGING

The social unrest is not going to die down

The social unrest is not going to become less intense in just a few hours. DIE

The teacher turned a blind eye to his rude behaviour

The teacher ignored his rude behaviour. BLIND

The truth about the stolen money came to light in the investigation

The truth about the stolen money was revealed in the investigation. LIGHT

The washing machine reduced my silk shirt to tatters

The washing machine destroyed my silk shirt. TATTERS

The woman I had just met told me to call her by first name

The woman I had just met told me to use her first name when they spoke to her. BY

Food is in abundance

There is plenty of food. ABUNDANCE

These books just aren't in the same league

These books just aren't on the same level

They have eyes only for each other

They are very much in love with each other. EYES

They found faults with manager's decisions

They criticized the manager's decisions. FAULT

They took offence at her manner of speaking

They were offended by her manner of speaking. OFFENCE

It's open to doubt whether Tina will agree with the idea

Tina might not agree with the idea. DOUBT

I wanted to catch up with news

We went out together because I wanted to find out about her news CATCH

We'll have to give him the benefit of the doubt

We'll have to believe him, because we don't know if he really took the money. BENEFIT

I was at a loss for words

When I was awarded the first prize, I didn't know what so say. WORDS

don't forget to drop me a line

When you go abroad, don't forget to write to me (DROP)

Had it not been for her assistance

Without her assistance, I'd have failed. BEEN

but you have to toe the line

You may not like the school rules, but you have to obey to avoid trouble. TOE

You follow things through to the end

You never continue with sth until it is finished . THROUGH