Phrase Mix

It's supposed to clear up by Friday.

It's been raining for a few days. You're making small talk with a coworker. She says that she hopes it doesn't rain on the weekend because she has plans to go out with a relative who is visiting. You heard from the weather report that the rain will end on Thursday or Friday, so you say this.

So have you done your taxes yet?

The deadline for filing your tax return is April 15. Today is April 11, but you have been procrastinating and haven't sent yours in yet. So you've been thinking about taxes all weekend. You run into your neighbor and make small talk with her. This is one of the questions you ask her.

The average life expectancy there is something crazy like 82 years.

You read an article about a small island where people live a long time. You're describing this place to a coworker who didn't read the article.

So, yeah. Anyway...

You're on a first date at a restaurant. You were telling a story about the town you grew up in. Now your story's done and you don't have anything else to talk about. Awkwardly, you say this.

This guy is taking up the whole armrest!

You're on an airplane, sitting next to a stranger. He's big. His arm is on the armrest between you. You think this to yourself.

Take a few days to think it over.

You're planning on starting a business, and you've asked a friend to be your business partner. You know that this is a big decision. You say this to give your friend some time to decide.

I'll call you next week and we can settle on the time and place.

You're planning to meet a woman who you met on an online dating site. You've e-mailed each other and decided to meet next Wednesday, but you haven't picked the time or location. You write this to say that you'll call her to decide on the specifics.

It's crazy how quickly it caught on!

You're talking with a friend about a song that was just released over the weekend, but it's already extremely popular on the internet.

Great job today, guys. Keep up the good work.

You are a coach for your daughter's soccer team. Your team won a match and everyone played well. You want to make everyone feel proud and encourage them. You say this.

It's made a noticeable difference.

You are discussing your exercise routine with a friend who's also interested in exercise. You recently started doing a new type of weight lifting exercise. Your friend asks you if it's been successful. Positively, you respond like this.

Which would you recommend?

You're shopping for a laptop computer at a store. The salesperson has shown you two computers within your price range. You say this because you want to know which one he thinks is better.

I just caught the tail end of it.

Your favorite soccer team played yesterday. You weren't able to watch most of the game, but saw the last few minutes. Now a coworker is asking you if you saw it. This is your answer.

Take a moment to answer those questions on page 13 if you haven't done so already.

You're a teacher. You're teaching your class with a textbook. Some of the students are moving quickly through the textbook, while some are moving more slowly. You want to tell the slower students to answer some questions. You say this.

When I was growing up, the other kids used to give me a hard time because of my weight. But I just tried to ignore them.

I knew you'd give me a hard time about it!

What are you doing up at this hour?

You wake up in the middle of the night because you hear some noises. You go to see what the noise is, and find your daughter awake in the kitchen and making a snack. You ask this because you want to know why she's awake now.

Thanks for coming. Let's go ahead and get started.

You're leading a meeting at work. You say this to start the meeting.

Can I get by?

Excuse me. Can I slide past you?

They did just a phenomenal job on this event.

In a meeting for the entire staff, the Marketing Director is complimenting how well her employees put together an event. She says this because she is extremely pleased.

I stepped in a big puddle on the way over here, and now my feet are soaking wet.

It snowed yesterday. Today the snow has partially melted and turned to slush. You just walked to your child's daycare center, and your feet got wet from some water on the street. You're talking with one of the other mothers at the daycare and tell her this.

I don't see what the big deal is.

Lots of people are talking about the new iPad tablet computer device. You go to a store with your girlfriend to try one out but you aren't impressed by it. You don't understand why everyone is so excited. You say this to your girlfriend express your disappointment.

Images on this site may not be used without my express written permission.

You have a website where you post photographs that you've taken. You don't want people to take your photos and use them on other web sites without asking you, so you write this at the bottom of the page.

I saw you checking out that lady in there.

When you were at a restaurant with your dad, an attractive woman was sitting at a table nearby. You noticed that your father was looking at her a lot. After you leave the restaurant, you say this to tease him for looking at the woman.

You have to keep plugging away, you know?

A friend of yours is an actor. He auditioned to get a part, but he didn't get it. Now you're trying to cheer him up with some friendly advice. You say this.

I'm sure we can come to an agreement.

A villain on a TV show wants to make the hero do something, so he has kidnapped the hero's girlfriend. The villain threatens the hero by saying this.

Move over! You're taking up the whole bed.

Chega pra la, vc esta tomando a cama toda

We all had to huddle together for warmth.

One time you went on a camping trip with some friends and it got much colder than you expected at night. Now you're telling a story about the trip, and you explain how you all slept in your tent.

The deadline is coming up at the end of this month.

Talk about something that is going to happen soon with the phrase "___ is coming up":

From now on, you need to bring any discrepancies to my attention immediately.

There was an error in the records showing how much money one client owed your company. One of your employees found out about the problem but didn't tell you about it for a few days. He should have told you about it as soon as he found out, so you yell at him.

OK, well, I'll let you get settled in.

There's a new employee working under you. It's her first day at work. You've been explaining things to her for a while. Now you need to go back to your office to do some work. You say this so that you can leave.

I was completely oblivious!

Two of your friends have been secretly dating each other. Finally they tell you about it, and you're really surprised because you didn't suspect it. You say this.

Even an extremely modestly priced home in this area costs 150K at the bare minimum.

You and a friend are talking about why you've decided to rent a house instead of buying one. You explain like this.

That kind of behavior is not appropriate in public.

You and a friend saw a teenage couple making out on the street. You say this to your friend because you don't think they should do that.

OK, so for the sake of discussion, let's say that the flight is a thousand bucks each.

You and your boyfriend want to go on an overseas trip together. You're debating whether you can afford it. You don't agree on how much plane tickets will cost, but you want to continue to think about the other expenses. You say this.

How could you buy them without consulting with me?

You and your husband were thinking of going on an overseas vacation. Today he bought plane tickets for both of you. You're upset because he didn't call you before he bought them, and you don't like some of the flight details. Annoyed, this what you ask him.

We disagree over whether or not to send her to private school.

You and your wife have different opinions about where your daughter should go to school. Your wife thinks she should go to a public school, but you would prefer a private school. You say this when describing this disagreement to your wife's parent.

I'm very sorry that it didn't meet your standards.

You are a waiter at a nice restaurant. A customer complains that her food wasn't good, but she's already eaten all of it. You want to apologize, but you can't bring her another meal, so you say this to smooth things over.

This was literally the best meal I've ever had.

You ate dinner at your friend's parents' house. The food was very, very good. After eating, you say this.

I didn't raise you to be a picky eater!

You bought a jar of peanut butter, but your daughter complained because it wasn't the kind that she wanted. You try to teach your kids not to complain about things like that, so you say this.

It was a great deal. It seemed like a no-brainer.

You bought airplane tickets for you and your wife to go to Germany on vacation. You bought them because the tickets were really cheap. Now your wife is angry because you didn't ask her first. You offer this explanation for why you bought the tickets.

Look, they're in season now.

You bought some strawberries in the spring. They look really good. Now you're taking them out of the grocery bag, and you show them to your daughter.

Yum! I could smell your cooking from down the street!

You come home after work, and your wife is cooking fish. You were able to smell it before you even came in the door. When you come in, you say this.

What's the deal with this soup?

You come home and your wife is watching TV. You see that there's a pot of cold soup on the stove, but you don't know whether it's good to eat or whether it needs to be thrown out. You ask this to find out.

The pain was just unbearable!

You got your wisdom teeth removed last week and had to stay home because of the pain. Now you're back at work, and making small talk with your boss like this.

Time Warner Cable's customer service leaves much to be desired.

You have had a bad experience when you called your cable TV provider to get help with a problem. You're on an Internet forum where people are discussing their experiences with cable companies. You leave this comment.

You'd never guess they were related.

You know two guys who are brothers but don't look or act the same at all. You're talking about them with a friend who just met them. You say this during your conversation.

No offense, but I just don't see what the point of those is.

You see that your friend has a tablet computer. You don't like tablet computers because you don't think that they're useful for anything. You want to tell your friend your opinion, you say this because you know that it might annoy him for you to criticize his device.

I came this close to packing up and moving out to Hollywood to pursue an acting career.

You wanted to be an actress when you were younger. Now, its many years later. You're telling your niece the story of why you stopped acting. In part of the story, you say this.

I was having a conversation with Sarah, and this guy came up and said 'Hi' to her.

You went to a party and were talking to an acquaintance (Sarah). Someone that she knew said hello and started talking to her. Now it's after the party, and you say this while telling your boyfriend about the situation.

Thank you so much. I was at my wits' end trying to figure that out!

You were having a problem with your computer. A co-worker fixed it for you. You're really grateful because the problem was very frustrating. You say this.

What can I say? It's a guilty pleasure.

You were watching a cheesy TV drama. Your sister saw you watching it and laughed at you. You know that the show is silly, but you like it anyway, so you say this.

I'm sorry. I don't set the rules; I just enforce them.

You work at a nightclub. The club has a strict dress code. A group of people want to get in, but one of them is wearing shorts. You can't let them in because of the club's rules. One of the people in the group is asking you to make an exception. You say this because you're not allowed to make this decision.

If payment is not received by January 15th, you will be charged a $150 penalty.

You work in the management office of an apartment building. One of the tenants hasn't paid his rent yet for this month, and the payment is 10 days overdue. You're writing a letter to warn him to pay his rent. This is how you explain what will happen if he doesn't pay soon.

It's getting harder and harder to earn a living as a photographer these days.

You're a professional photographer. Websites that sell amateur photos for low prices are making it harder for you to make enough money. You say this while talking to an acquaintance who's not a photographer.

As a salesperson, you have to be able to relate to a wide range of people.

You're a salesperson. You're talking to someone you just met about your job, and why you like it. You say this.

There's a seating chart in the back of the roll book.

You're a teacher. You had to take a day off of work because of a family issue. You're writing a note for the substitute teacher, explaining what to do. One of your instructions is about where the students should sit:

Let's all take a step back and remember that it's about what's best for the kids.

You're a teacher. You're having a meeting with some colleagues to decide how to spend some money that's in the school's budget. People are getting really angry and emotional as they debate how to use the money. You say this to calm everybody down.

No, I'm self-taught.

You're an artist. You met someone who likes your work. She asks if you have any formal training in painting. In fact, you don't have any formal. You don't have any formal training so this is how you reply.

Some creepy guy was hitting on me.

You're at a dance club with your friend. She left to go to the bathroom, and while she was gone a guy started talking to you and asked you out on a date. You didn't like him. Now you're telling your friend about it.

I have a desk job at an insurance company.

You're at a party. Another guest at the party asks what you do. You answer.

No thanks. Sunscreen makes my skin feel all oily.

You're at a swimming pool with some friends. One of your friends tells you that you should put on sunscreen. You don't want to because don't like how it feels on your skin. You say this.

I do think that you sometimes come across as a bit aggressive.

You're evaluating one of your employees. He often seems angry when speaking to you and other employees. You criticize him in a very soft, polite way.

Can you squeeze one more in there?

You're going on a vacation with two of your friends. You're riding in your friend's car. He's putting suitcases in the trunk of his car, but there doesn't seem to be enough space. You're not sure if your suitcase will fit in there with all the others, so you ask this.

What do I owe you?

You're going to go to a concert with your friend. Your friend bought the tickets, and now he's giving them to you. You want to know how much they cost, so that you can pay him back. This is what you ask him

Your mind's always on food!

You're having a conversation about something with your boyfriend, and he interrupts to ask what's for dinner. You're annoyed that he always talks about food. You say this.

He could at least say 'hi' or something.

You're having after-work drinks with coworkers and complaining about the director of your department. You've complained that he doesn't acknowledge that you're there when you see him outside of the office. Now you're continuing to talk about it, and how you think he should act. You say this.

You've got to practice your pitch over and over until it's really tight.

You're having lunch with a junior salesperson who's just starting her first sales job at your company. You're give this advice to her on how to be successful as a salesperson.

But sometimes you'll be flipping through the channels and come across something really interesting.

You're in a conversation with a group of friends about your TV-watching habits. You like having cable on your TV because you can find interesting shows to watch. You explain this to your friends like this.

Next up is Steve. He's going to walk us through the new homepage redesign.

You're in charge of a meeting at work. One of your coworkers is going to give a quick presentation for everyone. You say this to introduce him.

Sylvia, where do you stand on this?

You're leading a meeting at work to discuss a major business decision. Most of the people in the meeting have given their opinions and there is some disagreement. You want to ask one of the people who hasn't given an opinion yet, so you ask this.

OK. Let's go with that then.

You're leading a meeting at work. You've been discussing a project that you're planning. Everyone in the meeting has agreed on a plan. You say something to end the discussion.

I feel like I've hit a plateau.

You're learning to play the guitar. For a while, you were getting better and better, but now you feel like your skill level isn't improving. You tell this to your friend who plays guitar.

Let's just weed out the ones that don't have a photo attached.

You're making a short film. You placed an ad for an actor on a website, and got a lot of responses. Now you need to go through the them, but that's going to take a long time. You want to get rid of some of them quickly. You give this task to your assistant director.

OK, let's shoot for Wednesday.

You're planning to meet a woman who you met on an online dating site. You've been e-mailing her, and she wrote back with her schedule. Today's Monday. She can't meet this week, but she can meet next week on Wednesday. You write this to agree to meet that day.

Hi Tony. Any update on the status of the next shipment?

You're responsible for coordinating shipments of supplies to a factory for your company. One of your suppliers e-mailed you yesterday to say that their shipment might be delayed. Today you want to know the latest news, so you write an e-mail to the supplier which starts like this.

You look like you're about to nod off.

You're riding home from a concert with a friend. She looks really sleepy. You say this.

Pull up a little closer.

You're riding in the back seat of your friend's car. Your friend has stopped at an ATM machine so you can get some cash. The machine is too far away from the car, so you ask him to move the car closer to it.

Would it be possible to push our meeting back to 3:00?

You're scheduled for a meeting with a coworker at 2:00. You need to do something else at that time, so you send an email to move the time.

Over time, crud starts to build up in the engine.

You're showing your son how to change the oil in your car. You want to explain why you need to change it. You say this.

Excuse me. Can I slide past you?

You're sitting in the window seat in coach on an airplane. You need to go to the restroom, but the person sitting next to you is taking up too much space and you can't get out. You say this to him.

Would you mind being my guinea pig?

You're studying massage therapy. You're not professional at it yet, but you need to practice. You're talking with your roommate about your training, and you want to ask her to let you practice on her. You say this.

Well, hang in there.

You're talking on the phone with your sister, who's in medical school. She tells you about how hard her classes are and the number of hours she has to spend studying. You say this to encourage her.

I'm so out of touch with pop culture these days.

You're talking to a coworker and she mentions a popular TV show. You don't watch TV, so you've never heard of it. In fact, you don't know much about new TV shows, music, movies or politics, so you tell her this.

I made the equivalent of about three bucks an hour.

You're talking to a friend about a part-time job that you had when you were younger and lived in a different country. You tell her how much money you made, but it was in a different currency.

Skim over it and let me know if you have any questions.

You're talking to a new client. You need him to sign a contract before you can work with him. You hand him the contract and you say this

We have it so easy these days.

You're talking to your friend about your grandfather, who was a hard worker and woke up at the crack of dawn every day to work on a farm. You don't think that most people work that hard in the current generation, so you say this.

I don't like my personal information being out there for everyone to see.

You're talking with a coworker about social networking sites like Facebook. You don't like to use them because you're worried about your privacy. You say:

To be honest, I'm kind of looking to branch out into something different.

You're talking with someone you just met at a dinner party. You told this person about your job. He's interested in it, but you don't really like your current job. You want to move to a different field.

Oh my goodness. It was so moving, by the end I was tearing up.

You're talking with your friend about a book that you read. You say this because the book was very emotional and dramatic.

He just released it over the weekend.

You're telling your friend about a new song by an artist you both know, which was put up on YouTube on Friday. He doesn't know about it. You're explaining it, and you say this.

A fugitive has been apprehended after attempting to escape from a Durham county jail.

You're watching the news on TV. There's some news about a prisoner who escaped, but has now been caught again. The news anchor (TV announcer) says this.

People say that Detroit is long past its prime, but some still hold out hope that the city will revive itself.

You're writing an essay for school about the city of Detroit. The city used to be rich and full of people, but now it's poor. You're writing about people who are trying to improve the city. You write this.

We made tentative plans to meet next Wednesday.

You've been making plans to meet a woman that you met on an online dating site. You've both agreed that next Wednesday is the best day, but you haven't chosen the exact time or location. You think that there's a possibility that she might change the plans to a different day. Now you're telling your friend about this and you say this.

I'll give you a ring next week to work out the details.

You've been making plans to meet a woman that you met on an online dating site. You've both agreed that next Wednesday is the best day, but you haven't chosen the exact time or location. You're writing an email to her to confirm the day. You write this to say that you'll call her to decide on the details.

If anything comes up between now and then, just let me know.

You've been making plans to meet a woman that you met on an online dating site. You've both decided to meet next Wednesday. You want her to know that you're considering the plans to be definite, and not expecting for either person to change them. You write this to her.

It's more or less done.

You've been working on a cabinet that you're building yourself. Someone asks how it's coming along. You want to tell them that you're 90% finished with it.

I think I get the gist.

You've just started at a new job at a restaurant. A coworker has been training you in how to enter customers' orders into the computer system. She asks if you understood. You say that you mostly understood.

Worst case scenario, I can always move back in with my folks.

You've quit your job. You're talking about it with a friend, who's worried about you. But you're not worried. This is how you explain why.

Believe it or not, she made the first move.

You've told your friend before about a girl in one of your classes who you really like. Today she asked you out on a date, so you told your friend that you're going out with her. Then you say this.

You're cutting it awfully close.

Your brother has been visiting you, and now he's about to fly back home. His flight is leaving in less than two hours, but he hasn't left your house yet. You're worried that he'll miss his flight, so you say this.

You may be wondering why I called this meeting.

Your company has just made some big changes to how it is organized. Not all employees know about the changes yet. You call a quick meeting to tell the people who work under you. You didn't explain what the meeting was about when you invited everyone, so when it starts you say this.

Aw, look at the baby holding her stuffed bunny!

Your cousin posted a video of her family at home. you're watching it with your husband. Your cousin's baby is holding a toy, and you think it's really cute. You say this.

You owe me one.

Your coworker asked you to cover his shift on Saturday at your part-time job. You don't want to work on Saturday, but you agreed. Your coworker is happy, but you want to remind him that you might ask him to do the same thing one day, so you say this.

That's unlike him. He's usually so clean-cut.

Your coworker came to work looking really scruffy. His hair is messed up, his clothes are wrinkled, etc. He doesn't usually look this way, so you're worried about him. When someone comments on how he looks, you say this.

People will say almost anything to get out of jury duty.

Your coworker got a notice in the mail saying that he had to go to court to serve on a jury. He doesn't want to stay for a whole trial, so you have a conversation about different ways to avoid it.

What's with the yawning? Were you out all night partying?

Your coworker is yawning and looks tired. You are friends with this person, so you want to tease him. You smile and ask this.

I find it hard to believe that you're really going to need all that luggage just for 3 days.

Your daughter is packing for a weekend vacation. She's packed two large suitcases and a backpack. You think that's too much. You say this.

She kind of perked up when I mentioned Hannah's name.

Your dog has another neighborhood dog that she's friends with. You set up a time with your neighbor for the dogs to play together. Your dog was excited about it when you came. You're telling this about your neighbor.

How'd you manage to pull that off?

Your friend got four free front-row tickets to a big rock concert. You're surprised that he was able to get them, so you ask this.

Yeah, overall I'd say I am.

Your friend has asked you whether you are satisfied with your job. There are some parts of your job that you don't like, but you say this because you like most of it.

I wouldn't sign up for a tour unless it was somewhere that's really hard to get around in as a foreigner.

Your friend is going on a trip to Italy and has signed up for a guided tour. Now you're each discussing your thoughts about tours. You say this because you don't like guided tours.

I don't see that happening any time soon.

Your friend is writing a message on her mobile phone. It takes a long time for her to write it and there are a lot of spelling mistakes. She says that she wants a mobile phone that she can just speak into and it will type the message perfectly. You don't think that's possible, so you say this.

He really resembles George.

Your friend recently had a baby, and she's showing you pictures of him. You think the baby looks like his father, so you tell your friend this.

Make sure they're cooked all the way through.

Your husband cooked pork chops for dinner. You're worried that they might not be cooked enough, so you tell him this.

You can hear the gas coming out when you turn the knob, but it doesn't ignite.

Your kitchen stove doesn't work. You call your landlord to fix it. You explain the problem to him like this

I forgot to charge it.

Your mobile phone doesn't work because the power is low. You want to make a call, so you ask your friend to borrow his phone. He asks why you can't use your own phone. You answer like this.

You can't just sit around feeling sorry for yourself forever.

Your roommate broke up with his girlfriend two weeks ago. Since then, he's been at home every day and seems depressed. You don't want to see him being depressed any longer. So you say this to try to encourage him to go out and have fun with other people.

You'll pass a coffee shop on your right. Right after that, veer off to the left and you'll see it on the left side of the street.

Your sister and her husband are visiting you from out of town. Your brother-in-law wants to go to a drug store and needs directions. You're telling him how to get there. You say this as part of your directions.

All that hard work and determination really paid off.

Your sister won a prize in a ballroom dancing competition. You're really excited and happy for her because she's been practicing hard for it for years. You congratulate her, and then you say this.

I would lean toward staying in Spain.

Your wife and her sister are debating about a family vacation that they're planning. Your wife wants to stay in Spain during the whole trip, but her sister wants to go to France as well. They ask you to give an objective opinion. You're happy with both plans, but you like the plan to stay in Spain a little better. You offer this opinion.

You ought to go ahead and book it soon.

Your younger sister is coming to visit you. She hasn't bought her plane tickets yet, and she's waiting to get the best price. You think it's cheaper to buy your tickets early, so this is how you advise her.