toda la gramatica online en: www.inglessencillo.com
toda la gramatica online en: www.shertonenglish.com

The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts

Human Odyssey: The Germanic Runes

The Germanic Runes are letters which were based on an ancient European alphabet. First evidence of the runic language appeared on stone monuments around north-western Europe at 150 BC.

However, Germanic mythology takes the origins of this language back even further. These pagan runes were known as ‘the Elder Futhark’ and legend says was written by the God Wodan (as early as 250 BC). The myth states that he hanged himself from a great tree for nine days and nine nights, entering a trance-like state where the mysteries of the cosmos were revealed to him.

In the minds of the Germanic people, these runes were far more than just a language. In old English, the word rune means ‘mystery’, and each symbol was said to represent a sound that resonated with the ‘other world’.

Each rune contained a mystery, which legend says could unlock a magical effect. By etching a rune onto an item, such as a sword, armour or wand, the pagans claimed it would become enchanted with great power.

This mysterious language was used by the Pagans for nearly a thousand years before being replaced by Latin when Europe was Christianised at 700 AD.

APRENDER EN INTERNET

www.whatisgrammar.com

English as a Second Language Podcast

speaking activities / intermediate

wordreference.com

linguee.es/español-ingles/traduccion

thefreedictionary.com

dictionary.com

www.busuu.com (aprende idiomas online)

es.pons.eu / traduccion de texto

diccionario.reverso.net/espanol-ingles

¿Donde puedo examinarme del FIRST en españa y cuando de forma oficial? www.britishcouncil.org/spain

Para mas informacion sobre como aprender inglés y clases, ponerse en contacto con el autor

Free: Isaac Asimov’s Epic Foundation Trilogy Dramatized in Classic Audio

Isaac Asimov’s Favorite Story “The Last Question” Read by Isaac Asimov— and by Leonard Nimoy

Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific creators in science-fiction history, wrote or edited more than 500 books in his lifetime, including the high-profile ones we all recognize like I, Robot and the Foundation series (hear a version dramatized here). But which piece of this massive body of work did Asimov himself consider his favorite? Always a fan of clarity, the man didn’t leave that issue shrouded in mystery: the honor belongs to “The Last Question,” which first appeared in the November 1956 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly. It’s now available in Isaac Asimov: The Complete Stories, Vol. 1.

“Why is it my favorite?” Asimov later wrote. “For one thing I got the idea all at once and didn’t have to fiddle with it; and I wrote it in white-heat and scarcely had to change a word. This sort of thing endears any story to any writer.” But it also had, and continues to have, “the strangest effect on my readers. Frequently someone writes to ask me if I can give them the name of a story, which they ‘think’ I may have written, and tell them where to find it. They don’t remember the title but when they describe the story it is invariably ‘The Last Question.'”

Connectors and linkers

El uso adecuado de conectores es muy valorado por los examinadores. Pero, ojo, puede ser una arma de doble filo ya que si están bien colocados y en armonía con el registro de tu texto, mejoran sin duda la cohesión del mismo; sin embargo, pueden comprometer en gran medida la coherencia y cohesión si se incluyen erróneamente o hay una sobrecarga de linkers. Quizás por insistir machaconamente en la conveniencia de utilizar connectors, l@s alumn@s se obsesionan tanto que los incluyen sí, pero sin orden ni concierto, y el resultado es que a veces hay tal saturación que en un párrafo se encuentran casi más conectores que ideas desarrolladas. Por tanto, recuerda que vale más un texto con ideas que tengan sentido y presentadas con un orden lógico que otro que carezca de sentido por muchas linking words que tenga.

Dicho esto, en este listado tienes algunas sugerencias de connectors, linkers ylinking words ( Fuente: © Bon’s tips ):

1. CONSTRUIR LA REDACCIÓN

a) Introducción
b) Primer párrafo

At first sight A primera vista

First of all Antes que nada

In the first place En primer lugar

To start with Para empezar

c) Segundo párrafo

In the second place, En segundo lugar,

Second, Segundo,

Secondly, En segundo lugar,

Third, Tercero,

Thirdly, En tercer lugar,

d) Conclusión

Finally, Por último,

In conclusion, Para concluir,

Lastly, Por último,

2. AÑADIR INFORMACIÓN

and eventually, y finalmente,

apart from + noun aparte de + sustantivo

besides , además, "encima". Ojo al utilizar besides como adverbio. Haz clic aquí para verlo.

in addition to + noun además de + sustantivo

in addition, además,

moreover, además,

furthermore asimismo

also también

on top of that, además,

what's more, además; lo que es más,

another point is that habría que añadir que

3. EXPRESAR SIMILARIDAD

Similarly, Igualmente, de forma similar,

Likewise, Asimismo, del mismo modo,

In the same way, Del mismo modo,

In the same manner, De la misma manera,

In a similar way, De forma similar,

4. ESTABLECER UN CONTRASTE

however, sin embargo

instead of en vez de

neverthelesss, no obstante

on the contrary, por el contrario

whereas / while mientras

though / although aunque

On the one hand, On the other hand, Por una parte, Por otra parte,

Conversely A la inversa, por el contrario

5. EXPLICAR CAUSAS

because of + noun A causa de + sustantivo

due to + noun Debido a + sustantivo

due to the fact that + sentence Debido a que + oración

for this/that reason Por esta/esa razón

on account of + noun A causa de + sustantivo

6. EXPLICAR RESULTADOS

as a result Como resultado, en consecuencia

consequently En consecuencia

therefore Por lo tanto

7. EXPRESAR ALGO DE OTRA MANERA

in other words, en otras palabras,

in short, en resumen,

that is (to say), es decir,

8. EXPRESAR HECHOS

actually En realidad

as a matter of fact De hecho

in fact De hecho

really En realidad

9. EXPRESAR UNA OPINIÓN PERSONAL

as far as I’m concerned por lo que a mí respecta

from my point of view desde mi punto de vista

I agree / disagree estoy de acuerdo / no estoy de acuerdo

in my opinion en mi opinión

in my view en mi opinión

I think (that) Creo que

it is true that es verdad que

personally personalmente

to be honest, para ser honesto

to tell the truth, a decir verdad

10. MODIFICAR LO QUE SE ESTÁ DICIENDO

above all sobre todo

at least al menos

basically básicamente, fundamentalmente

especially especialmente

essentially esencialmente, básicamente

in general en general

By and large, Por lo general,

Generally speaking, En general,

in particular en particular

more or less más o menos

on the whole en general

to a certain extent hasta cierto punto

11. PONER EJEMPLOS

,and so on. etcétera

and so on and so forth etcétera, y así sucesivamente

for example, por ejemplo,

for instance, por ejemplo,

such as tal(es) como

12. RESUMIR LO QUE SE HA DICHO

All in all, En conjunto, resumiendo

In brief, En resumen

In conclusion, Para concluir

In short, En resumen

On the whole, En general

To sum up, Para resumir

13. SECUENCIAR LA NARRACIÓN

after that después de eso

all of a sudden de repente,

finally finalmente

first of all en primer lugar

in the end al final

in the meantime, mientras tanto

meanwhile mientras tanto

next luego

suddenly de repente,

then entonces, después

while mientras

Haz clic aquí para ver más.

Recomiendo este vídeo-tutorial sobre cómo utilizar los elementos cohesivos en un escrito (aquí los denomina "transition words and phrases").

Linking expressions exercises

> Aunque se den traducciones aproximadas de los conectores al español, muchas veces se nos escapan matices que es conveniente conocer para poder utilizar estos elementos cohesivos de manera precisa. En esta web podrás encontrar un valioso material que te guiará en este propósito. Además trata otros aspectos importantes de la expresión escrita, tales como el estilo, la puntuación y la gramática. ¡Está genial, no te lo puedes perder!

Más enlaces útiles:

Linking words 1

Linking words 2

Linkers in context

Mapa de las segundas lenguas mas habladas en el mundo.

Download comics, magazines, newspapers, ebooks and films in German, French, English, Italian and Spanish.

GAMES:

travel-pursuit

sesamestreet.org

www.duolingo.com
www.busuu.com/inglés/a1
Iscollectible: Ejercicios y gramatica para imprimir varios idiomas

How to Play Chess for Beginners

chess24.com/english

MIS ESCRITOS:

The dreaded asteroid 'Apophis' Earth approaches

The dreaded asteroid 'Apophis' Earth approaches. In Egyptian mythology, 'Apophis' was a god who personified the forces of evil and posed a threat to the order. Represented as a huge snake that lived in the waters of Nile, the Egyptians believed that eclipses were his doing. 'Apophis' is also the name that was named an asteroid more than 300 meters in diameter that scientists study with great interest because, according to his calculations, there is a risk, albeit remote, that hitting earth in the next decades. More likely it is to cause damage to communications satellites orbiting 36,000 kilometers away.
In the last hours, the asteroid is approaching Earth at a distance that is allowing astronomers to collect new data to study and calculate the best path in order to find out how much a threat to our planet. The time of closest approach, about 14.5 million kilometers, will occur during the night of Wednesday to Thursday, without imposing any danger to Earth. (By way of comparison, the moon is about 385,000 kilometers away from Earth).
Visits in 2029 and 2036
According to calculations of scientists, '99942 Apophis ', which was discovered in 2004 and was formerly known by the name MN4 '2004', rub our planet on April 13, 2029, reaching some 30,000 kilometers away, but discarded which may cause a collision with the Earth at that time. However, it will be a real danger for geostationary satellites, which orbit at that distance.
More worrying seems the approach to our planet that the asteroid will in 2036. It is still early to know what his career that year and so far, they can only give probabilities. The chances of occurrence of an impact with Earth is very low, but still can not rule out a shock.
In 2004, when the asteroid was discovered, it was estimated that there was a 2.7% chance of a collision with Earth in 2029. However, the measurements were carried out subsequently discarded impacts that might occur.
Protecting the Earth
During its approach to Earth, the last weekend, the Herschel telescope of the European Space Agency (ESA) for two hours captured new images of 'Apophis', which revealed that this celestial body is larger than previously calculated. It was thought that was 270 meters in diameter. According ESA is 325 meters, a 20% more.
If an asteroid that size slammed into Earth, causing damage would be equivalent to the explosion of 25,000 atomic bombs of Hiroshima.
Fortunately, the impact of large celestial objects on Earth is a very rare phenomenon, but represents a real threat to our planet. Well aware of the dinosaurs, which became extinct 65 million years since the fall of a large meteorite.
Therefore, space agencies permanently monitor the cosmos to locate and track asteroids that could pose a danger to our planet.
'Apophis' is now considered one of the most disturbing objects in the medium term, as in 2029 and 2036 will occur the following approaches to Earth. Although it hits the Earth, could cause major economic losses by destroying orbiting satellites thousands of miles from Earth.
Russia is one of the most active countries in preparing a plan for the possible threat of 'Apophis'. In the coming years plans to send a satellite to this asteroid for more accurate tracking of his career and has also raised a landing on its surface.
Furthermore, the mission 'Don Quixote' of ESA focused on the study of 'Apophis' to develop solutions that enable deflect the trajectory of an asteroid impact and avoid both the Earth as damage to communications satellites.
The approach to Earth 'Apophis' Wednesday will be a good opportunity for astronomers to better assess the risk that this celestial object will in the future for our planet.
On 15 February, astronomers will have the opportunity to observe much more closely to another asteroid. D414 is '2012 ', a celestial object is 57 meters in diameter, according to calculations of scientists, will be located just 34,500 kilometers away from our planet.

COMO APRENDER

VIDEOS

EXTRA ENGLISH EPISODE 1 HECTOR’S ARRIVAL, WITH SUBTITLES

Sitcom divertida con la que aprender inglés para principiantes.

lista de episodios para ver on-line

LEER Y ESCRIBIR

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OTROS IDIOMAS

Mis anotaciones de estudiante

Apuntes scaneados inglés y alemán vol.1.5 y vol 2.1

Material inglés y alemán B1.1 EOI

Material inglés y alemán B1.2.1 EOI

Material inglés y alemán B1.2.2 EOI

Apuntes scaneados Inglés y Alemán B2-C1 vol. 2.6 (2016)

Exámenes certificación de la EOI A1-B2

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

VOCABULARY

Gramatica y tabla de ejercicios Aulafacil

Aulafacil: Inglés infantil 1

Aulafacil: Inglés infantil 2

Aulafacil: Inglés con videos básico (A1)

Curos completo English KET (A2)

Curso completo English PET (B1)

curso completo english FIRST (B2)

curso completo english PROFICIENCY (C2)

UDEMY: Especialidades: English

The 10 Best Sites for Taking Free English Courses

Ejercicios para practicar inglés On-line

www.ejerciciosinglesonline.com

www.curso-ingles.com/aprender
www.mansioningles.com

www.speaktome.es/ejercicios-de-ingles-gratis

www.vitutor.com/ejercicios_ingles.

aprendeinglessila.com/mejores-paginas-webs-ejercicios-de-ingles.

GRAMMAR

Irregular verb groups

List of irregular verbs from VICTOR somolinos vega

Para descargar directo

es.bab.la/conjugacion de verbos varios idiomas

https://vykthors.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/the-tenses-2.jpg

CONDITIONAL

ejercicios 1

ejercicios 2

ejercicios 3 conditionals

ejercicios 4 conditionals and more

ORTHOGRAPHY, DIALECTS & EXPRESSIONS

VOCABULARY

Euroresidentes: inglés: preguntar por el aspecto fisico de alguien.

Euroresidentes: inglés

PRONUNCIATION

IDIOMS

SLANG

English Slang Words: Body Parts

Why Learn English Slang Words?

“Slang” is a type of informal English. It is different from place to place – American slang is different from British slang and Australian slang, although some words may be the same. Even inside one country, slang is often different from region to region, and depending on the context.

It’s good for English students to learn some common slang words in English – not necessarily to use them (most of these words are not appropriate in professional situations, and some can be offensive) – but more so that you can understand when you hear the word in movies, songs, and in informal conversations between native English speakers.

Here are some American English slang words for parts of the body:

Head

nut, noodle, dome, noggin

Brain

gray matter, smarts

Face

mug

Nose

schnozz, honker, beak
(these words all refer to a BIG nose)

Eyes

peepers, baby blues
(“baby blues” is only for blue eyes)

Teeth

choppers

Mouth

trap, pie hole
(The expressions “Shut your trap!” and “Shut your pie hole!” are very rude ways to tell someone to stop talking)

Chin

A “double chin” is an extra layer of fat around a person’s neck, so that it looks like they have two chins.

Heart

ticker
(usually when talking about the health of the heart; for example, an old man might say: “My doctor says my ticker’s still going strong!”)

Breasts

boobs, cans, girls, jugs, tits, rack, ta-tas, twins
(Boobs, girls, and twins are typically used by women. Boobs, cans, jugs, tits, rack, and ta-tas are typically used by men)

Muscular Arms

guns

Hands

paws, mitts

Stomach (general)

tummy, abs

Fat Stomach

gut, belly, beer belly, pot belly, spare tire, love handles (fat on the sides of the stomach and/or back), muffin top (when the front and sides of your stomach hang over the waist of your pants)

Muscular Stomach

six-pack, washboard abs

Navel

belly button

Intestines

guts

Penis

dick, cock, manhood, family jewels, weenie, wee-wee
(these last two are usually used with children)

Vagina

pussy, cooter, cooch, vag, vajayjay, snatch, girly bits

More Polite Words for the Genital Region

nether regions, private parts, genitals, private

Bottom

rear end, behind, butt, booty, fanny, tush, tail, buns, duff, heinie, glutes (referring to the muscles of your bottom), ass, arse

Feet
dogs

Toes

tootsies

Más de 200 expresiones en inglés y su traducción para que no te quedes sin saber qué decir

In for a penny in for a pound- De perdidos al río (UK)
In for a dime in for a dollar – De perdidos al río (US)
In the altogether- En pelotas
Indeed- Ya lo creo
Inside out- Del revés
Is cutting edge- Es el último grito/moda
Is giving him hell- Le hace la vida imposible
Is water under the bridge- Es agua pasada (cuando se hacen las paces por ejemplo)
It gives me the goosebumps/It gives me creep- Me pone la piel de gallina
It sounds Greek to me- Me suena a chino
It turns out that- Resulta que…
It’s a rip off- Es una estafa
It’s bullshit- Es una mierda
It’s finger licking good- Está para chuparse los dedos
It’s high time/About time- Ya es hora / Ya va siendo hora
It’s in the lap of the Gods- Que sea lo que Dios quiera
It’s my treat / It’s on me- Invito yo
It’s not a big deal / It’s not that of a big deal- No es para tanto
It’s on the house- Invita la casa/por cuenta de la casa
It’s raining cats and dogs- Llueve a cántaros
It’s up to you- Como tú quieras / Depende de ti (en tono amable)
It’s worthless- No vale nada
I’ve enough on my plate- No puedo más (en la vida)
Just in case- Por si acaso / Por si las moscas
Keep an eye on…- Vigila a…/Echa un ojo a…
Keep dreaming- Sigue soñando
Keep it up- Sigue así
Keep you hair on!- ¡Cálmate!
Kind of/Give or take- Más o menos
Kiss and make up- Borrón y cuenta nueva
Last but one- Penúltimo
Last night- Anoche
Lest you forget- Para que no (te) olvides
Like father, like son– De tal palo, tal astilla
Like water off duck’s back - Palabras necias, oídos sordos – British
Long story short…- Resumiendo…
Long time no see!- ¡Cuánto tiempo!
Look out!- ¡Cuidado!
Make my day- Alégrame el día
Make up your mind- Decídete / Decide tú
Make yourself at home- Estás en tu casa (expresión de cortesía)
Maybe- Tal vez/A lo mejor
Me neither- Yo tampoco (informal)
Meanwhile/In the meantime- Mientras tanto
Mind the gap- Cuidado con el hueco
Mofo- Modo abreviado y vulgar (más aún) de decir motherfucker
Moreover- Además
Much to my dismay- Para mi desgracia
My bad- Culpa mía (USA)
My goodness!- ¡Madre mía!
Never again- Nunca más
Never mind- No importa (tono amable)
New brush sweeps clean but old broom knows all the corners- Mejor malo conocido que bueno por conocer – British
No bother- No te preocupes / no es molestia
No brainer- Sin duda
No way- Ni hablar / De ninguna manera
No wonder- No me extraña
No worries– Sin problema / no te preocupes
Nor/neither do I- Yo tampoco
Not a chance / No way in hell- Ninguna posibilidad / Ni de coña
Not at all/You’re welcome/It’s Ok- De nada (tras agradecimiento)
Not Bad- No está mal
Not for nothing- No es por nada
Not half!- ¡Ya lo creo! / ¡Por supuesto! (Do you fancy a beer? not half – ¿te apetece una cerveza?, ya lo creo)
Not my bussiness- No es asunto mío
Not my cup of tea- No es lo mío – British
Not worth a penny/red cent- No vale un duro
Not worth a shit- No vale una mierda
Off the top of my head- Así, de cabeza…
Oh dear!- ¡Oh Dios! / ¡Dios mio!
Oh my Gosh- Forma políticamente correcta de decir “Oh my God”
On one hand… on the other hand- Por un lado … por otro lado
On the face of it- Según las apariencias
On your bike!- Vete por ahí /no me cuentes milongas/no me cuentes historias
Once in a lifetime- Una vez en la vida
Once in a while/from time to time- De vez en cuando
Out of the blue- Como caído del cielo
Over and over again- Una y otra vez
Paint from the same brush- Distinto perro, mismo collar – British
Pardon my French- Perdón por lo que voy a decir/acabo de decir (palabras malsonantes)
Peanut bladder– (Vejiga del tamaño de un cacahuete)… para los que no paran de ir al baño
Phony baloney- Cuento chino
Piece of cake!- ¡Está chupado!
Piss off- Mandar a la mierda a alguien o cabrear alguien
Pleasure/Bless you- Jesús (para cuando alguien estornuda)
Point taken- Te entiendo (el punto de vista)
Raining cat and dogs- Lloviendo a cantaros
Really?- ¿En serio?
Rings a bell– Me suena
Say when- Cuando sirves algo dices “say when” para que te digan cuando parar
See you anon- Te veo luego
Seen- Ya/’aham’ (forma de asentir en UK)
Shake/show a leg!- ¡Espabila! / ¡levántate! / ¡muévete!
Shame on you!- Vergüenza debería darte
She turns me on- Me pone (cachondo, a tono…)
Shoot the breeze- Darle a la lengua
Shut the fuck up!- ¡Cállate de una puta vez!
Shut up!- ¡Cállate!
So bad/badly- Mucho / Un montón (I love you so bad)
So do I- Como yo / Yo también
So long- Hasta la vista
Some other time- Otra vez será
Speaking of which- Hablando de lo cual…
Start froom scratch– Empezar de cero
Stick someone’s nose up at someone- Mirar por encima del hombro – British
Stop Messing around- Deja de hacer el tonto
Such is life/That’s life/Life’s like that- Así es la vida
Suck it up- Te aguantas / Te jodes
Take it easy- Tómatelo con calma
Talking of the devil- Hablando del rey de Roma
Thanks in advance- Gracias por adelantado
That’s quite dodgy- Eso es muy cutre
That’s the straw that brokes the camel’s back- Esta es la gota que colma el vaso
That’s what I mean - A eso me refiero
That’s what matters/That’s all that matters- Eso es lo que cuenta
The more the merrier- Cuanto más, mejor
The seal is broken- Me estoy meando. Lo usan sobre todo las chicas
The sooner the better- Cuanto antes, mejor
Think twice- Piénsalo dos veces
This is my bread and butter- Con esto me gano la vida
This is not rocket science- No es tan difícil (si alguien está intentando hacer algo fácil y no sabe cómo)
To ask for the moon- Pedir peras al olmo
To bang/screw [alguien]- Tirarse a alguien
To be a bellend - Ser un capullo
To be a cunt - Ser un capullo/gilipollas – British
To be a dickhead - Ser un capullo/gilipollas (se pronuncia dicked)
To be between the devil and the deep/between a rock and a hard place- Estar entre la espada y la pared
To be caught between a rock and a hard place - Entre la espada y la pared – British
To be down to fuck- Querer un polvo
To be high/stone- Estar colocado/ciego/borracho
To be on the ball- Estar en la onda/al día
To be/sit on the fence- Dudar
To be over the moon- Estar feliz, contento
To be such a [adjetivo]- Ser un auténtico [adjetivo]
To be wasted/blackout/legless- Estar bastante borracho
To be/feel under the weather- Sentirse mal/enfermo
To blackmail- Chantajear
To call it a day- Dar algo por terminado
To cheat on- Poner los cuernos
To chew the carpet- Tragarse el orgullo
To clutch straws- Agarrarse a un clavo ardiendo
To cut the cheese- Tirarse un pedo
To do [alguien]- Liarse (con alguien, plan folleteo)
To feel blue– Estar deprimido, de capa caída…
To get along- Llevarse bien
To get by- Para ir tirando/Para arreglárselas
To get frisky- Ponerse juguetón (en sentido sexual)
To get laid- Acostarse, tener sexo con alguien, echar un polvo
To get rid of [algo/alguien- Librarse de [algo/alguien]
To get the hang of it- Pillarle el truco
To give somebody a lift- Llevar a alguien (en coche, en moto…)
To go all out- Hacer todo lo posible / Darlo todo
To hang around- Andar por ahí
To hang up- Colgar (teléfono)
To have a blast- Pasarlo bien / divertirse / pasarlo pipa
To have a bone to pick (with someone)- Tener cuentas que ajustar (con alguien)
To have a finger in every pie- Estar en misa y repicando / Intentar estar en todo a la vez
To have a thing about [something]- Estar loco, obsesionado por algo
To have an argue- Tener una discusión
To have forty winks- Dar una cabezadita
To have the face…- Estar de morros
To keep at bay- Mantener a raya
To make a point- Querer dejar clara una cosa
To make do- Conformarse
To make out- Enrollarse (pareja)
To make out- Entender
To murder something- Modo informal de decir que te apetece comer o beber algo
To run an errand- Hacer un recado
To see eye to eye with somebody- Tener el mismo punto de vista / Ver de la misma manera
To set the (whole) world on fire- Comerse el mundo
To shag/press- Follar – British
To snog- Morrearse
To sow your wild oats- Ir de flor en flor
To spoil [somebody] rotten- Malcriar/mimar/consentir a alguien
To sum up…- En resumen…
To take [something] with a pinch of salt- Coger algo con pinzas (sobre algo que te han dicho)
To tan somebody’s hide- Darle una paliza a alguien
Toff/Posh- Pijo
Train bound for- Tren con destino a..
Upside down- Boca abajo / patas arriba / del revés / invertido (dado la vuelta)
Watch out!- ¡Cuidado!
We’re even- Estamos en paz
What a drag!- Vaya coñazo
What a horse’s ass- ¡Vaya imbécil!
What a palaver!- ¡Menudo follón!
What a pity- Qué pena
What a rip off!- ¡Vaya/menuda estafa!
What a shame!- ¡Qué vergüenza!
What the fuck?- ¿Qué cojones…?
What does it have to do with…- Qué tiene que ver esto con…
What were you up to?- ¿Qué estabas haciendo?
Whatever- Lo que sea (resignado)
Who is this?- ¿Quién es? (al responder una llamada de teléfono)
Who on earth….?- ¿Quién coño…?
Without any doubt- Sin ninguna duda
You and what army?- ¿Tú y cuantos más?
You are on your own- Estás solo en esto
You never know- Nunca se sabe
You rock!- ¡Tú molas!
You’ve got another thing coming- Lo tienes claro (connotación irónica)
You’re fit- Estás en forma / Estás bueno – British
You’re hot- Estás bueno/a
You’re on thin ice- Te la estás jugando

¡APORTES DE NUESTROS VIAJEROS EN LOS COMENTARIOS!

– María
Safe and sound – sano y salvo

– Rachel
Knock something in the head / Nip something in the bud – Cortar algo de raíz (algún problema)
You run the show – Eres el jefe (sentido coloquial)

– Alejandro
Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t’ – Más vale malo conocido que bueno por conocer.

– Skog
To be spaced/spacing out – Tener la cabeza en las nubes/ Estar en Babia

-Evf
Dont pull my leg – No me tomes el pelo

– Alvaro
To do (someone) a solid – hacer un favor (a alguien)

– Walter
Pull your socks up – Mueve el culo!

¿Conoces alguna otra expresión coloquial que quieras compartir con nosotros?

---------------Phrasal verbs----------------

"Un verbo preposicional (llamando también phrasal verb o multi-word verb, o MWV ) es, en inglés, un verbo compuesto formado por la combinación de un verbo y una partícula gramatical, es decir, un adverbio o una preposición, o incluso por un verbo seguido por un adverbio y una preposición"

Una vez que ya sabemos de qué se trata, aquí tienes una lista de los 150 Phrasal Verbs más comunes y esenciales junto con su traducción y un ejemplo para que lo veas mas claro. Deja de tener miedo a la parte más “complicada” del inglés, en la práctica está la maestría.

1. Get on

Subir/montarse

The bus was full.We couldn’t get on.

El autobús estaba completo, no pudimos subirnos.

2. Drive off

Marcharse (en un vehículo) de algún lugar

A woman got into the car and drove off.

Una mujer se subió al coche y se marchó.

3. Come back

Volver a algún lugar.

Sally is leaving tomorrow and coming back on Saturday.

Sally se va mañana y vuelve el sábado.

4. Break down

Dejar de funcionar , dejar de operar. (romperse)

Sorry I’m late.The car broke down.

Siento llegar tarde. El coche dejó de funcionar (se rompió)

5. Look out

Ser cuidadoso, estar atento, permanecer atento.

Look out!There’s a car coming

Presta atención!, Viene un coche.

6.Take off

Despegar

It was my first flight.I was nervous as the plane took off.

Fué mi primer vuelo. Estaba nervioso hasta que el avión despegó.

7. Get on

Ponerse, Llevarse (bien/mal) con alguien, llevar algo (¿cómo lo llevas? how do you get it on?)

How was the exam?how did you get on?

¿Qué tal el examen? ¿Cómo te fué?

8. Get by

Apañárselas

My french isn’t very good, but it’s enough to get by.

My francés no es muy bueno, pero es suficiente para apañármelas.

9. Run away (from)

Escaparse, huir, alejarse.

Why did you run away from me?

¿Por qué huiste de mí?

10. Keep up (with)

Llevar el ritmo

You’re walking too fast. I can’t keep up with you.

Estás andando muy rápido. No puedo llevar tu ritmo

11. Look up (at)

Fijarse en algo

We looked up at the plane as it flew above us.

Nos fijámos en el avión hasta que nos pasó por encima.

12. Look forward (to)

Estar pendiente/emocionado por algo que va a pasar, esperar algo, mirar hacia adelante

Are you looking forward to your holiday?

¿Tienes ganas de tus vacaciones?

13. Get in

Entrar

How did the thieves get in?

¿Cómo entraron los ladrones?

14. Let yourself in

Dejar entrar a alguien

Here’s a key,so you can let yourself in.

Aquí tienes una llave, así que puedes entrar por ti mismo.

15. Dive in

Bucear, zambullirse, sumergirse.

Sally walked up to the edge of the pool and dived in.

Sally caminó por el borde de la piscina y se sumergió.

16. Move in

Mudarse, avanzar.

I’ve got a new flat.I’m moving in on Friday

Tengo un piso nuevo, me mudo el viernes.

17. Check in (hotel,airport)

Presentar documentos, registrarse.

As soon as I got to the airport,I checked in.

Tan pronto como llegué al aeropuerto, me registré (hice el check in)

18. Walk out

Irse de algún lugar de repente.

He just stood up and walked out.

El tan solo se levantó y se marchó.

19. Lock out

Quedarse encerrado, no poder entrar

I had no key,so i was locked out.

No tenía llaves, así que no pude entrar.

20. Climb out

Salir/subir con dificultades.

She swam up and down the pool,and then climbed out.

Ella nadó de un lado a otro de la piscina y entonces se salió.

21. Check out

Comprobar algo, pagar la cuenta, registrar la salida (hotel)

(at a hotel)What time do we have to check out?

(en un hotel) ¿A qué hora tenemos que dejar la habitación?

22. Drop/call in

Visitar/encontrarse a alguien sin tener intención previa de hacerlo.

I dropped in to see Chris on my way home.

Me encontré con Chris en mi camino a casa.

23. Join in

Tomar parte en algún tipo de actividad que se está llevando a cabo.

We’re playing a game. Why don’t you join in?

Estamos jugando. ¿Por qué no te unes?

24. Plug in

Conectar algo a otra cosa (ejemplo conectar a la electricidad).

The fridge isn’t working because you haven’t plugged it in.

La nevera no está funcionando porque no la has conectado.

25. Fill in (U.K) – Fill out (U.S.A)

Escribir, rellenar un formulario o documento.

Please fill in the application form and send it to us.

Por favor rellena el formulario y envíanoslo.

(Aquí hago un inciso, podemos ver lo complicado que puede resultar el idioma español a un angloparlante con este ejemplo: send it to us = envíanoslo; imagina lo que debe significar para ellos el cambiar una frase simple con palabras básicas por una conjugación tan “enrevesada”)

26. Take somebody in

Engañar, ser engañado.

The man said he was a policeman and I believed him. I was completely taken in.

El hombre dijo que era policía y lo creí. Estaba totalmente engañado.

27. Eat out

Comer fuera.

There wasn’t anything to eat at home, so we decided to eat out.

No había nada en casa para comer, así que decidimos salir a comer fuera.

28. Drop out

Dejar de hacer algo justo antes de terminar.

Gary went to university but dropped out after a year.

Gary fué a la universidad pero dejó de ir después de un año.

29. Get out

Evitar hacer algo, no tener que hacer algo nunca más.

I promise i’d go to the wedding. I don’t want to go, but I can’t get out of it now.

He prometido que iría a la boda. No quiero ir, pero ahora no puedo echarme atrás (la traducción literal sería “no puedo evitar ir” o “no puedo no ir” lo cual sería una redundancia, una traducción más correcta sería utilizar la expresión “no puedo echarme atrás” desde mi punto de vista).

30. Cut something out

Recortar algo de un periódico o una revista, especialmente fotos o imágenes.

There was a beautiful picture in the magazine, so I cut it out.

Había una bonita imagen en la revista, así que la recorté.

31. Leave something out

Omitir algo, no incluirlo

In the sentence “She said that she was ill”,you can leave out the word “that”

En la frase “She said that she was ill”, puedes quitar la palabra “that”

32. Cross/rub something +out

Dibujar una línea alrededor para incluir o excluir algo.

Some of the names on the list had been crossed out

Algunos de los nombres en la lista fueron seleccionados/rodeados (por una línea).

33. Go out

Que algo se apague por si sólo, hacer un esfuerzo, salir, pasar de moda.

Suddenly all the lights in the building went out.

De repente, todas las luces del edificio se vinieron abajo.

34. Put out(a fire,a cigarette,a light)

Extinguir, apagar algo.

We managed to put the fire out.

Logramos apagar el fuego.

35. Turn out (a light)

Apagar (luces)

I turned the lights out before leaving.

Apagué las luces antes de irme.

36. Blow out

Apagar (normalmente fuego, velas), reventar algo (explosión), vaciar.

We don’t need a candle.You can blow it out.

No necesitamos una vela. Puedes apagarla.

37. Work out

Hacer ejercicio físico.

Rachel works out at the gym three times a week.

Rachel hace ejercicio en el gimnasio tres veces por semana.

38. Work out

Desarrollarse, progresar, elaborar.

Good luck for the future.I hope everything works out well for you.

Buena suerte en el futuro. Espero que todo mejore/progrese para ti.

39. Work something out

Calcular, pensar acerca de un problema y hallar la respuesta.

345 x 76?I need to do this on paper.I can’t work it out in my head.

¿345 x 76? Necesito un papel. No puedo calcularlo (hallar la respuesta) mentalmente.

40. Carry out (order,

experiment,survey)

Hacer algo y finalizarlo (cumplir con algo, alguien).

Soldiers are expected to carry out orders.

De los soldados se espera que cumplan las órdenes.

41. Fall out (with somebody)

Dejar de ser amigos.

They used to be very good friends.I’m surprised to hear that they have fallen out

Solían ser buenos amigos. Me sorprende escuchar que han dejado de serlo.

42. Find out + THAT/WHAT/WHEN/WHO etc.

Recoger/tener/descubrir /recopilar algo de información, hechos, situaciones.

The police never foun out who committed the murder.

La policía nunca descubrió quien cometió el asesinato.

43. Give/hand (things) out

Dar a cada persona, distribuir.

At the end of the lecture,the speaker gave out information sheets to the audience.

Al final de la conferencia/lectura, el ponente/orador hizo entrega de hojas de información al público.

44. Point something out (to somebody)

Poner atención sobre algo, fijarse en algo, señalar alguna información.

I didn’t realise I’d make a mistake until somebody pointed it out to me.

No me dí cuenta de que cometí un error hasta que alguien me lo señaló.

45. Run out (of something)

Acabar algo, quedarse sin algo importante, que algo se vacíe.

We ran out of petrol on the motorway

Nos quedamos sin gasolina en la autovía.

46. Sort something out

Encontrar una solución, poner algo en orden.

There are a few problems we need to sort out.

Hay algunos problemas que debemos solucionar.

47. Turn out to be

Tener razón.

Nobody believed Paul at first,but he turned to be right.

Nadie creía a Paul al principio, pero tenía razón.

48. Turn out+good/nice

Que algo mejore (únicamente el tiempo)

The weather wasn’t so good in the morning,but it turned out nice later.

El tiempo no era muy bueno esta mañana, pero ha mejorado después.

49. Turn out+that

Resultó ser que…

I thought they knew each other,but it turned out that they’d never met.

Pensaba que se conocían, pero resultó que ellos jamas se habían conocido.

50. Try out ( a machine, a system)

Probar algo para comprobar que todo está bien.

The company is trying out a new computer system at the moment.

La compañía está probando un nuevo sistema informático en estos momentos.

51. Go on

Algo que pasa/ocurre.

What’s all that noise?what’s going on?

¿Qué es todo ese ruido? ¿Qué está ocurriendo?

52. Call something off

Cancelar algo.

The open air concert had to be called off because of the weather.

El concierto al aire libre tubo que ser cancelado debido al tiempo.

53. Put something off

Retrasar algo, posponerlo.

The wedding has been put off until january

La boda se ha pospuesto hasta enero.

54. Put off (doing sthg)

Retrasar algo, posponerlo.

We can’t put off making a decision.we have to decide now

No podemos demorar más la decisión, tenemos que decidirlo ahora.

55. Put on

Vestir algo, ponerse algo.

My hands were cold,so I put my gloves on

Mis manos estaban frías, así que me puse los guantes.

56. Put on (weight)

Coger kilos, ganar peso.

I’ve put on 2 kilograms in the last month.

He cogido 2 kilos el mes pasado.

57. Try on (clothes etc)

Para ver si te quedan bien, para ver si te gusta como te queda algo.

I tried on a jacket in the shop,but it didn’t fit me very well.

Me probé una chaqueta en la tienda, pero no me quedaba muy bien.

58. Take off (clothes etc)

Quitarse, desvestirse

It was warm,so i took off my jacket

Hacía calor, así que me quité la chaqueta.

59. Be off (to a place)

Expresar que alguien estará en un lugar en un momento concreto.

Tomorrow i’m off to Paris.

Mañana estaré en París.

I’m off on holiday.

Me voy en vacaciones.

60. Walk,Run, Drive,Ride + off

Irse (caminando, corriendo, conduciendo… etc.)

Diane got on her bike and rode off.

Diane cogió su bicicleta y se fué.

61. Set off

Comenzar un camino/viaje/recorrido.

We set off very early to avoid the traffic.

Empezamos el camino muy temprano para evitar el tráfico.

62. Take off

Despegar del suelo (avión)

After a long delay the plane finally took off.

Después de un largo retraso, finalmente despegó el avión.

63. See somebody off

Acompañar a alguien al aeropuerto/estación para despedirte.

We went to the station with her to see her off.

Fuimos a la estación junto a ella para despedirnos.

64. Drive/Walk/Play + on

Continuar andando/conduciendo/Jugando.

Shall we stop at this petrol station or shall we drive on to the next one?

¿Deberíamos parar en esta gasolinera o deberíamos seguir conduciendo hasta la siguiente?

65. Go on

Continuar.

The show must go on.

El show debe continuar.

66. Go on/carry on + doing something

Continuar (hacciendo algo)

I don’t want to carry on working here.I’m going to look for another job.

No quiero continuar trabajando aquí. Voy a buscar otro trabajo.

67. Go on with/carry on with something

Continuar (haciendo algo)

Don’t let me disturb you. Please carry on with what you’re doing

No dejes que te interrumpa. Por favor continúa con lo que estás haciendo.

68. Keep on (doing something)

Hacer algo continuamente o repetidamente (siempre)

He keeps on criticising me.

Él continúa criticándome.

69. Get on

Hacer progresos

How are you getting on in your new job?

¿Cómo te vá haciendo progresos en tu trabajo?

70. Get on (with somebody)

Tener una buena relación.

Carlos y Sara don’t get on.They’re always arguing.

Carlos and Sara no se llevan bien. Están siempre discutiendo.

71. Get on (with something)

Continuar haciendo algo que tienes que hacer, normalmente después de un descaso o una interrupción.

I must get on with my work.

Debo continuar con mi trabajo.

72. Doze/drop/nod + OFF

Caer dormido.

The lecture wasn’t very interesting.In fact I dropped off in the middle of it.

La lectura no era muy interesante. De hecho caí dormido en la mitad.

73. Finish something off

Hacer la última parte de algo.

I’ll finish it off tomorrow.

Lo terminaré mañana.

74. Go off

Que algo explote.

A bomb went off in the city centre,but fortunately nobody was hurt.

Una bomba explotó en el centro de la ciudad pero afortunadamente nadie resultó herido.

75. Go off

Sonar, que algo suene.

Did you hear the alarm go off?

¿Escuchaste sonar la alarma?

76. Put somebody off (doing something)

Perder las ganas, hacer algo aunque no se quiera, disuadir, cansar.

We wanted to go to the exhibition,but we were put off by the long queue.

Queríamos ir a la exhibición, pero nos desanimó la larga cola.

77. Rip somebody off

Engañar a alguien (informal)

Did you really pay £1.ooo for that painting?I think you were ripped off.

¿De verdad pagaste 1000 libras por ese cuadro? Creo que te engañaron.

78. Show off

Tratar de impresionar a la gente con tu habilidad, conocimiento, etc, lucirse, exhibirse.

Look at that boy on the bike riding with no hands. He’s just showing off.

Fíjate en ese chico en la bici, conduciendo sin manos. Se está luciendo.

79. Tell somebody off

Regañar.

Clare’s mother told her off for wearing dirty shoes in the house

La madre de Clare la regañó por llevar zapatos sucios dentro de casa.

80. Put something up (on a wall)

Colgar, poner alguna cosa en algún sitio.

I put some pictures up on the wall

Colgué varios cuadros en la pared.

81. Pick something up

Recoger.

There was a letter on the floor.I picked it up and looked at it.

Había una letra en el suelo. La recogí y le eché un vistazo.

82. Stand up

Levantarse.

Alan stood up and walked out

Alan se levantó y caminó.

83. Turn something up

Elevar, subir.

I can’t hear the TV.Can you turn it up a bit?

No puedo escuchar la televisión. ¿Puedes subirla un poco?

84. Take down (from a wall etc.)

Bajar, quitar algo de algún sitio.

I didn’t like the picture,so I took it down.

No me gustaba el cuadro, así que lo quité.

85. Put something down

Soltar, dejar, depositar.

I stopped writing and put down my pen.

Dejé de escribir y solté mi bolígrafo.

86. Sit/Bend/Lie + Down

Sentarse, tumbarse, agacharse.

I bent down to tie my shoelace

Me agaché para atar mis cordones.

87. Turn something down

Bajar algo, reducir.

The oven is too hot.Turn it down to 150 degrees

El horno está demasiado caliente. Bájalo a 150º.

88. Knock/Blow/Cut + down

Demoler, tirar, echar abajo.

Some old houses were knocked down to make way for the new shopping centre

Algunas casas viejas fueron demolidas para crear un camino al nuevo centro comercial.

89. Be knocked down

Noquear, tumbar, golpear, dejar inconsciente.

A man was knocked down by a car and taken to hospital

Un hombre fue atropellado por un coche y lo llevaron al hospital.

90. Slow down

Reducir la velocidad, ir mas despacio.

You’re driving too fast.Slow down!

Vas demasiado rápido. ¡Ve mas despacio!

91. Calme down

Calmarse, calmar a alguien.

Calm down.There’s no point in getting angry

Cálmate. No tiene sentido enfadarse.

92. Cut down (on something)

Hacer algo menos de la costumbre

I’m trying to cut down on coffee.I drink for much of it.

Estoy intentando tomar menos café, bebo mucho.

93. Break down

Dejar de funcionar (máquinas, coches, etc.)

The car broke down and I had to phone for help.

El coche se estropeó y tuve que llamar por ayuda.

94. Close/ Shut + DOWN

Cerrar un negocio, apagar (máquina, coche, etc)

There used to be a shop at the end of the street;it closed down a few years ago

Solía haber una tienda al final de la calle; cerró hace algunos años.

95. Let somebody down

Defraudar a alguien porque no has hecho lo que esperaban de ti.

You can always rely on Pete.He’ll never let you down

Siempre puedes confiar en Pete. Nunca te defraudará.

96. Turn somebody/something down

Rechazar a algo o alguien.

I applied for several jobs,but I was turned down for each one.

Solicité varias ofertas de empleo, pero fuí rechazado en cada una de ellas.

97. Write something Down

Escribir algo en un papel porque quizás necesitas la información más tarde.

I can’t remember Tim’s address.I wrote it down,but I can’t find it.

No puedo recordar la dirección de Tim. La escribí pero no puedo encontrarla.

98. Go up/come up/walk up (to..)

Acercarse, acelerar el ritmo, acelerar.

A man come up to me in the street and asked me for money.

Un hombre se me acercó en la calle y me pidió dinero.

99. Catch up (with somebody)

Alcanzar una velocidad o nivel determinado.

You’re doing well.Keep it up!I can’t catch up with you

Lo estás haciendo bien. ¡Sigue así! No puedo alcanzarte

100. Set up (organisation,company,business,system,website etc)

Designar, elegir, seleccionar.

The government has set up a committe to investigate the problem.

El gobierno ha elegido un comité para investigar el problema.

101. Take up (a hobby,a sport, an activity)

Comenzar algo.

Laura took up photography a few years ago.She takes really good pictures.

Laura empezó con la fotografía hace unos años. Hace fotos realmente buenas.

102. Fix up (a meeting)

Organizar, arreglar.

We’ve fixed up a meeting for next Monday.

Hemos organizado una reunión para el próximo lunes.

103. Grow up

Crecer, hacerse mayor.

Sarah was born in Ireland but grew up in England.

Sarah nació en Irlanda pero creció en Inglaterra.

104. Bring up (a child)

Levantar, cuidar a un niño, hacerse cargo.

Her parents died when she was a child and she was brought up by her grandparents

Sus padres murieron cuando era una niña y sus abuelos se hicieron cargo de ella.

105. Clean/Clear/Tidy UP

Dejar algo limpio, recogido.

Look at this mess!Who’s going to tidy up (or to tidy it up)

Mira todo este desastre, quién va a recogerlo.

106. Wash up

Limpiar los platos y cubiertos después de comer.

I hate washing up

Odio lavar los platos.

107. End up (somewhere/doing something)

Terminar en algún lugar, o algo que se está haciendo.

There was a fight in the street and 3 men ended up in the hospital

Había una pelea en la calle y 3 hombres terminaron en el hospital.

108. Give up

Tirar la toalla, rendirse.

Don’t give up.Keep trying!

No tires la toalla. ¡Sigue intentandolo!

109. Give something up

Dejar de hacer algo.

Sue got bored with her Job and decided to give it up

Sue se aburrió de su trabajo y decidió dejarlo.

110. Make up something (active form)

Formar parte de algo.

Children under 16 make up half the population of the city.

Los niños menores de 16 años forman la mitad de la población de la ciudad.

111. Be made up of something (passive form)

Estar hecho de parte de algo.

Air is made up mainly of nitrogen and oxygen.

El aire está formado principalmente por nitrógeno y oxígeno.

112. Take up (space or time)

Usar el espacio o el tiempo.

Most of the space in the room was taken up by a large table

La mayor parte del espacio de la habitación estaba ocupado por una gran mesa.

113. Turn/Show UP

Llegar, aparecer, mostrar.

We arranged to meet Dave last night,but he didn’t turn up.

Quedamos con Dave anoche, pero no apareció.

114. Use something up

Usar la totalidad de algo hasta que no quede nada.

I’m going to take a few more photographs.I want to use up the rest of the film.

Voy a tomar algunas mas fotografías. Quiero acabar con el resto del carrete.

115. Bring up (a topic etc.) (Active form)

Introducir algo en una conversación, mencionar algo.

I don’t want to hear any more about this matter.Please don’t bring it up again

No quiero escuchar nada más de este tema. Por favor no lo menciones.

116. Come up (Passive form)

Introducir algo en una conversación.

Some interesting matters come up in our discussion yesterday

Algunos temas interesantes salieron en nuestra discusión de ayer.

117. Make something up

Inventar algo que no es cierto, contar mentiras.

What Kevin told you about himself wasn’t true.He made it all up.

Lo que Kevin te dijo de él no era verdad. Se lo inventó todo.

118. Cheer up

Alegrarse.

You look so sad!Cheer up!

¡Pareces triste, alégrate!

119. Cheer somebody up

Hacer que alguien se sienta mejor (más feliz)

Helen is depressed at the moment.What can we do to cheer her up?

Helen está deprimida. ¿Qué podemos hacer para alegrarla?

120. Save up (for something, to do something)

Guardar algo para otra cosa (por ejemplo guardar dinero para comprar algo)

Dan is saving up for a trip round the world

Dan está guardando dinero para un viaje alrededor del mundo.

121. Clear up

Que algo se aclare (para el tiempo)

It was raining when I got up,but it cleared up during the morning.

Estaba lloviendo cuando me levanté, pero se aclaró a lo largo de la mañana.

122. Blow up (Active Form)

Que algo explote.

The engine caught fire and blew up

El motor se incendió y explotó.

123. Blow something up (Passive Form)

Destruir algo con una bomba.

The bridge was blown up during the war

El puente fué destruido durante la guerra.

124. Tear something up

Despedazar, romper (en pedazos), partir (en pedazos).

I didn’t read the letter.I just tore it up and threw it away

No leí la carta. Tan sólo la rompí y la tiré.

125. Beat somebody up

Tumbar a alguien (a golpes), golpear con ánimo de hacer daño.

A friend of mine was attacked and beaten up a few days ago.

Un amigo fué atacado y golpeado hace unos días.

126. Break/Split up (with somebody)

Romper (con alguien)

I’m surprised to hear that Sue and Paul have split up.They seemed very happy together.

Estoy sorprendido de escuchar que Sue y Poul han roto. Parecían muy felices juntos.

127. Do up (a coat/a shoelace/buttons)

Abrochar, atar, amarrar.

It’s quite cold.Do up your coat before you go out

Hace frío. Abróchate el abrigo antes de salir fuera.

128. Do up (a room,a building)

Reparar y mejorar algo, renovar.

The Kitchen looks great now that is has been done up

La cocina se ve genial ahora que se ha renovado.

129. Look something up (in a dictionary/encyclopedia)

Comprobar algo, buscar algo para informarte.

If you don’t know the meaning of a word,you can look it up in a dictionary

Si no conoces el significado de alguna palabra, puedes buscarla en un diccionario.

130. Put up with something

Tolerar, soportar, aguantar algo.

We live on a busy road,so we have to put up with a lot of noise from the traffic.

Vivimos en una zona muy concurrida, así que tenemos que aguantar bastante ruido del tráfico.

131. Hold up (a person,a plan)

Retrasar a alguien o a algo.

Don’t wait for me.I don’t want to hold you up

No me esperes. No quiero retrasarte.

132. Mix up/get people mixed up (people,things)

Confundir a algo o alguien.

The 2 brothers look very similar many people mixed them up

Los 2 hermanos se parecen bastante, mucha gente los confunde.

133. Away

Lejos de casa.

We’re going away on holiday today

Nos vamos lejos de vacaciones hoy.

134. Away

Lejos de un lugar, de una persona.

The woman got into the car and drove away

La mujer entró en el coche y se marchó lejos.

135. Back

Volver a casa.

We’ll be back in 3 weeks

Volveré en 3 semanas.

136. Back

Volver a algún lugar, o volver con alguna persona.

After eating at a restaurant,we walked back to our hotel

Después de comer en un restaurante, caminamos de vuelta al hotel.

137. Get away

Escapar, salir de algún sitio con dificultades.

We tried to catch the thief,but he managed to get away

Intentamos atrapar al ladrón, pero logró escaparse.

138. Get away with something

Hacer algo malo sin ser descubierto.

I parked in a no-parking zone,but i got away with it

Aparqué en zona prohibida, pero me fui sin ser descubierto.

139. Keep away (from)

Mantenerse lejos.

Keep away from the edge of the pool.You might fall in

Mantente lejos del borde de la piscina. Podrías caer.

140. Give something away

Darle algo a alguien porque ya no lo quieres más.

Did you sell your old computer?No,I gave it away

¿Vendiste tu ordenador? No, lo doné/regalé.

141. Put something away

Poner algo en un lugar donde se guarda, normalmente fuera de la vista.

When the children had finished playing with their toys,they put them away.

Cuando los niños han terminado de jugar con sus muñecos, los guardan.

142. Throw something away

Tirar algo a la basura.

I kept the letter,but I threw away the envelope

Guardé la carta, pero tiré el sobre.

143. Wave/Smile/Shout/Write/Hit smbd + BACK

Devolver un saludo, una sonrisa.

I waved to her and she waved back.

La saludé y me devolvió el saludo.

144. Call/Phone/Ring somebody + BACK

Devolver una llamada.

I can’t talk to you now.I’ll call you back in 10 minutes.

No puedo hablar ahora contigo. Te llamaré de vuelta en 10 minutos.

145. Get back (to somebody)

Responder a alguien.

I sent him an e-mail,but he never got back to me

Le envié un e-mail, pero nunca me contestó.

146. Look back (on something)

Pensar sobre algo que ha pasado con anterioridad.

My first Job was in a travel agency.I didn’t like it very much but,looking back on it,I learnt a lot

Mi primer trabajo fue en una agencia de viajes. No me gustaba mucho pero mirando hacia atrás, aprendí mucho.

147. Pay back (money)

Devolver dinero.

If you borrow money,you have to pay it back

Si pides prestado dinero, tienes que devolverlo.

148. Pay somebody back

Devolver dinero a alguien

If you borrow me money, you have to pay me back.

Si me pides dinero prestado, me lo tienes que devolver.

149. Turn round

Cambiar de dirección, girarse

When I touched him on the shoulder,he turned round.

Cuando le toqué en el hombro, él se giró.

¡Hasta aquí la lista de 150 Phrasal Verbs! ¿Conoces más? ¿Crees que falta alguno esencial?

Genial.guru te presenta las expresiones idiomáticas más importantes en inglés con su traducción y ejemplo de uso.

Expresiones idiomáticas con sus sinónimos	Traducción	Ejemplo
after all — despite, nevertheless	después de todo, al fin y al cabo	I knew it! After all, I was right!
all along — all the time	todo el tiempo	I knew about his little secret all along.
all ears — eager to listen	todo oídos	I am all ears.
all of a sudden — suddenly	de repente, de pronto	All of a sudden, he refused to pay.
all the same — no difference	da igual, lo mismo; de todos modos	If it’s all the same to you, let’s start at two.
all thumbs — clumsy	torpe	He can’t fix anything, he’s all thumbs.
apple of discord — subject of envy or quarrel	manzana de la discordia	This question is an apple of discord in our family.
as a rule — usually	como regla general	As a rule, we offer a 5% discount.
as far as I am concerned — in my opinion	en lo que a mí respecta	As far as I am concerned, both the book and the movie are good.
as for me/as to me — in my opinion	en cuanto a mí	As for me, you can rely on his support.
as well — also, too	también	He knows math, and physics as well.
at all — (not) in the smallest degree	en lo más mínimo, en absoluto	He doesn’t know French at all. I don’t like it at all.
at random — without order	al azar	He chose those places at random.
at this point — at this time	a estas alturas	At this point, we can’t turn back.
be about to — ready (to do)	estar a punto de	I was about to leave when you called.
be after someone — insist, press	estar tras alguien; insistir, presionar	His mother is always after him to study.
be all in — be extremely tired	estar hecho polvo	I’m all in, I’d better go to bed now.
be back on one’s feet — healthy again or better financially	recuperarse después de un tiempo difícil; ponerse de pie otra vez	He’s back on his feet after a long period of debt and unemployment.
beat around the bush — avoid giving a clear/definite answer	irse por las ramas	Stop beating around the bush! Get to the point!
be beside oneself — be very upset, nervous, worried, etc.	estar fuera de sí	She was beside herself with worry / with grief.
be better off — be in a better situation	estar en una mejor situación	He’ll be better off with a new job.
be broke — have no money at all	estar en bancarrota	I spent all my money, I’m broke.
be hard on something /someone — treat roughly	ser duro con algo/alguien	My son is hard on shoes, they don’t last long with him. Life was pretty hard on Tom.
be high on one’s list — be one of the most important things	encabezar la lista de los asuntos importantes	A new car is high on my list of priorities. A new TV is not high on my list.
be in charge of — be responsible for	estar a cargo de, ser responsable de	He is in charge of marketing.
be in the red — be in debt	estar en deuda, estar quebrado	Our sales were in the red last year.
be into smth. — be interested in	estar interesado/apasionado por algo	He is into computers. She is into sports.
bend over backwards — try hard	hacer todo lo que se pueda	I bent over backwards to help her.
be on one’s way	estar en el camino	I’m on my way.
be on the safe side — not to take any chances	para mayor seguridad	Take an extra key, just to be on the safe side.
be out of — be without	estar fuera de, estar desabastecido, no tener	We are out of bread, cheese, and sugar.
be out of shape — be physically unfit	no estar en forma / estar en mala condición física	He needs to exercise, he is out of shape.
be out of sorts — in bad humor	estar de mal humor	Leave him alone, he’s out of sorts today
be pressed for time / money — be short of; not have enough	estar presionado por tiempo/dinero (no tener suficiente tiempo/dinero por el momento)	I’m pressed for time now. We are pressed for money at the moment.
beside the point — off the point	ajeno a la cuestión, no va al caso	What I said to him privately is beside the point.
be to blame — be responsible for a mistake / something wrong	ser culpable	Who is to blame for this awful mistake? Tom is to blame for this mix-up.
be touch and go — be uncertain of the result	pender de un hilo	He was very sick, and for some time it was touch and go, but he is better now.
be up against — be opposed by, have problems, be in danger	enfrentar (a algo/alguien), encontrarse ante problemas	Our company is up against serious attempts of hostile takeover.
be up and around/about — able to be out of bed after an illness	volver a andar, recuperarse (después de una enfermedad)	He was sick for a month, but now he is up and around.
be up to one’s ears — very busy	estar muy ocupado	I’m up to my ears in work.
be up to something — do mischief	estar tramando algo	I have to check what the kids are up to.
be up to someone — be one’s own decision or responsibility	ser decisión de alguien, corresponderle a alguien	It’s up to you to decide. It’s up to you to close the office every day at 8 o’clock.
be used to — be accustomed to	estar acostumbrado a	I’m used to hard work. He’s used to heat.
big shot — important person	persona importante	He is a big shot around here.
bite off more than one can chew — try to do more than one can	sobrevalorar tus fuerzas («morder más de lo que puedes masticar»)	I couldn’t handle two jobs and family. I really bit off more than I could chew.
bite one’s tongue — stop talking	morderse la lengua, dejar de hablar	I almost told her, but bit my tongue.
bite the dust — die, be defeated	morder el polvo, morir	Many of them bit the dust in that war.
black sheep — a good-for-nothing member of the family	oveja negra	Their second son is the black sheep of the family, he is good for nothing.
blind date — a meeting of a man and woman arranged by friends	cita a ciegas	She refuses to go on a blind date again because she had bad experience.
blow it — lose the chance	perder la oportunidad	He understood that he blew it.
blow over — pass, end	pasar	Wait here till his anger blows over.
bottom line — main result/factor	resultado	The bottom line is, I don’t have enough money.
break into — enter by force	entrar por la fuerza, penetrar	The police broke into the robber’s house.
break one’s heart — hurt deeply	romper el corazón de alguien	The news of her death broke his heart.
break the ice — overcome shyness in making the first step	romper el hielo (superar la timidez y dar el primer paso)	The party was dull until someone broke the ice with a joke and we all laughed.
break the news — tell new facts	difundir la información	CNN is breaking the news right now.
bring home the bacon — earn the living for the family	proveer a la familia	He works very hard at several places to bring home the bacon.
brush off — give no attention to	no hacer caso	The boss brushed off my project again.
brush up on — review	repasar, refrescar la memoria	You need to brush up on the tenses.
by all means -definitely, certainly	definitivamente, por supuesto	Do you need my help? — By all means.
by heart — by memorizing	de memoria	Learn this poem by heart for tomorrow.
by hook or by crook — by any means possible	como sea	She will get what she wants by hook or by crook.
by the way — incidentally	por cierto	By the way, Ann is coming back today.
call a spade a spade — use plain, direct words	llamar a las cosas por su nombre	He always tells the truth and calls a spade a spade.
call it a day — consider work finished for the day	considerar el trabajo terminado	We’ve been working for 10 straight hours. Let’s call it a day.
call off — cancel	cancelar	The police called off the search.
carry out — fulfill	realizar, cumplir	She never carries out her plans.
carry weight — be important	tener peso en, influir, ser importante	His advice always carries weight here.
cast down — depressed, sad	desanimar	He was cast down by the bad news.
castles in the air — daydreaming about success	(construir) castillos en el aire	Instead of working hard, he spends time building castles in the air.
catch one’s eye — attract attention	llamar la atención	This picture caught my eye.
catch one’s breath — stop and rest	recobrar el aliento	I can’t run, I need to catch my breath.
catch someone off guard — catch someone unprepared	tomar por sorpresa	He caught me off guard with his question.
catch someone red-handed — find smb. in the act of doing wrong	sorprender a alguien con las manos en la masa	The manager caught the boy red-handed when he was stealing cigarettes.
catch up — become not behind	ponerse al día	He needs to catch up with the others.
close call — a narrow escape, a bad thing that almost happened	por poco sucede algo malo (escaparse por milagro)	The speeding car almost hit the man. That was really a close call.
come across — meet by chance	encontrar	I came across that article yesterday.
come down with — become ill	caer resfriado	I’m coming down with a cold.
come to one’s senses — start acting reasonably, intelligently	entrar en razón	He finally came to his senses, started to work hard, and passed his exams.
come true — become reality	volverse realidad	My dream came true when I met Pat.
come up with — suggest	proponer	Mike came up with a brilliant idea.
count on — depend on	contar con	You can always count on me for help.
cut corners — to take a short-cut; to limit one’s spending	buscar atajos, omitir procedimientos	He ran fast, cutting corners where he could. I have to cut corners this week.
cut down on — reduce	reducir el consumo	You have to cut down on chocolate.
cut out to be /cut out for it — have the ability to do something	estar hecho para (algún trabajo)	She isn’t cut out to be a surgeon. He’s cut out to be a leader.
do one’s best — try very hard	dar lo mejor de sí	I did my best to help him in his work.
do one’s bit — do what’s needed	aportar su granito de arena; hacer lo necesario	I’ll do my bit, you can count on me.
do over — do again	rehacer	This work is not good, do it over.
do someone good — be good for	beneficiar	Fresh air and exercise will do you good.
do something behind one’s back — do (harmful) things secretively	hacer algo a espaldas de uno	I hate people who do things behind my back. He did it behind my back again.
do without — live without	vivir sin, prescindir	I’ll have to do without a car for a while.
down to earth — practical	práctico, realista	He’s quiet, sensible and down to earth.
draw the line — fix a limit	trazar la línea, limitar	He drew the line for her at $100 a day.
dress up — put on the best clothes	ponerse la mejor ropa	What are you dressed up for?
drop off — deliver somewhere	llevar (a una persona a un lugar), dejar (a una persona en un lugar)	Can you drop me off at the bank?
drop out — quit (school)	abandonar	He dropped out of school last year.
duty calls — must fulfill obligations	el deber llama	He said, «Duty calls» and left for work.
easier said than done	es más fácil decir que hacerlo	It’s easier said than done, but I’ll try to do it.
eat one’s words — take back words	tragarse las palabras	He had to eat his words after her report.
even so — nevertheless, but	aún así	I work hard. Even so, I like my job.
every now and then -occasionally	de vez en cuando	Every now and then I visit my old aunt.
every other day — every second one	cada dos días; un día sí y un día no	She washes her hair every other day.
fall behind — lag behind	quedarse atrás	The little boy fell behind the older boys.
fall in love — begin to love	enamorarse	Tom fell in love with Sue at first sight.
fall out of love — stop loving	dejar de amar	They fell out of love and divorced soon.
false alarm — untrue rumor	falsa alarma	I heard he quit but it was a false alarm.
a far cry from something — very different, almost opposite (neg.)	muy lejos de ser algo, muy diferente a lo que creías	His second book wasn’t bad, but it was a far cry from his first book.
feel it in one’s bones — expect something bad to happen	tener una corazonada (presentimiento)	Something bad is going to happen, I feel it in my bones.
feel like doing something — want to do, be inclined to do smth.	antojarse de hacer algo, sentir ganas de hacer algo	I feel like going for a walk. I don’t feel like working now, I’m tired.
feel up to — be able to do	tener ánimo para hacer algo	I don’t feel up to cleaning the house.
few and far between — rare, scarce	muy pocos, escasos	Her visits are few and far between.
find fault with — criticize	encontrar fallos, criticar	He always finds faults with everybody.
find out — learn or discover	averiguar, descubrir	I found out that Maria left town.
firsthand — directly from the source	de primera mano	You can trust it, it’s firsthand information.
first things first — important things come before others	primero lo primero	First things first: how much money do we have to pay right away?
fly off the handle — get angry	perder los estribos	He flew off the handle and yelled at me.
follow in someone’s footsteps — do the same thing	seguir los pasos de otro	Igor followed in his father’s footsteps, he became a doctor, too.
foot in the door — a special opportunity for a job	tener un pie adentro (tener una oportunidad de trabajo)	Nina got a foot in the door because her friend works in that company.
foot the bill — pay the bill	pagar	Her father footed the bill for the party.
for good — forever	para siempre	After her death, he left town for good.
for the time being — at this time	por el momento, por ahora	For the time being, this house is all right for us.
frame of mind — mental state	estado de ánimo	I can’t do it in this frame of mind.
from A to Z — completely	conocer algo de pe a pa; de cabo a rabo	He knows this town from A to Z.
from now on — now and in the future	desde ahora, a partir de ahora	From now on, I forbid you to go there.
get a grip on oneself — take control of one’s feelings	obtener control sobre sí mismo	Stop crying! Get a grip on yourself!
get along with — have good relations	llevarse bien con	Ann gets along with most coworkers, but doesn’t get along with Laura.
get away with — not be caught after doing wrong	evitar el castigo, escapar de la justicia	The police didn’t find the thief. He got away with his crime.
get carried away — get too excited and enthusiastic about something	entusiasmarse	He got carried away with opening a store and lost most of his money.
get cold feet — be afraid to do	entrarle miedo a alguien	I wanted to try it but got cold feet.
get even with — have one’s revenge	desquitarse	I’ll get even with him for everything!
get in touch with — contact	contactar a alguien	Get in touch with Mr. Smith for help.
get lost — lose one’s way	perderse	She got lost in the old part of town.
Get lost! — Lay off!	¡Vete! ¡Desaparécete! ¡Lárgate!	I don’t want to see you again. Get lost!
get mixed up — get confused	confundir	I got mixed up, went the wrong way and got lost.
get off one’s back — leave alone	dejar a alguien en paz	Stop bothering me! Get off my back!
get on one’s high horse — behave haughtily towards someone	actuar como si fueras mejor que otras personas, ser engreído	Every time I ask her to help me with typing, she gets on her high horse.
get on (the bus, train, plane)	subir (el transporte)	I got on the bus on Oak Street.
get off (the bus, train, plane)	bajar (el transporte)	I got off the bus at the bank.
get out of hand — get out of control	salirse de las manos, fuera de control	If he gets out of hand again, call me right away.
get over — recover after an illness or bad experience	recuperarse después de una enfermedad o mala experiencia, superar	I can’t get over how rude he was to me. She got over her illness quite quickly.
get rid of — dispose of, discard	deshacerse	He got rid of his old useless car.
get together — meet with	reunirse	My friends and I get together often.
get to the bottom — know deeply	llegar al fondo de algo	He usually gets to the bottom of things.
get to the point — get to the matter	ir al grano	Get to the point!
Give me a break! — spare me	¡Dame un respiro! ¡Déjame!	Come on, stop it! Give me a break!
give someone a hand — help	dar la mano, ayudar	Can you give me a hand with cooking?
give someone a lift /a ride — take to some place by car	llevar a alguien en auto	Can you give me a lift to the bank? He gave her a ride in his new Porsche.
give someone a piece of one’s mind — criticize frankly	criticar, decir abiertamente lo que piensas	She lost my umbrella again, so I gave her a piece of my mind about her carelessness.
give up — stop doing something, stop trying to do something	rendirse	I gave up smoking. I gave up trying to fix my old car.
go back on one’s word — break a promise	romper la palabra/promesa	First he said he would help me, but then he went back on his word.
go for it — try to do a new thing	intentar algo nuevo	If I were you, I would go for it.
go from bad to worse — be worse	ir de mal en peor	His business went from bad to worse.
go out — go to parties, movies	salir (de fiesta, al cine, etc.)	Do he and his wife go out often?
go out of one’s way -try very hard	poner mucho esfuerzo, intentar mucho	He goes out of his way to please her.
go to one’s head — make too proud	subirse a la cabeza (éxito), sentirse demasiado orgulloso	His acting success went to his head.
go to pieces — get very upset, fall apart	derrumbarse, quedar deshecho	She went to pieces when she heard it.
go with the flow — lead quiet life	ir con la corriente	She always goes with the flow.
grow on someone — become liked	gustar poco a poco	When she knew him more, he grew on her.
had better — should	más vale que	You look ill, you’d better see a doctor.
have a ball — have a good time	pasarla bien	Yesterday we had a ball at the party.
have a bone to pick — complain or discuss something unpleasant	tener una cuenta que ajustar	Mr. Brown, I have a bone to pick with you. My mail was lost because of you.
have a word with someone — talk to	hablar con alguien	Can I have a word with you?
have words with someone — argue with someone about something	hablar muy seriamente con alguien /discutir	I had words with my coworker today because he used my computer again.
have it in him — have the ability	tener habilidades	Laura has it in her to be a good doctor.
have no business doing something — have no right to do	no es tu asunto, no tienes derecho de (estar aquí, hacer esto, etc.)	You have no business staying here without my permission.
have one’s back to the wall — be hard-pressed, on the defensive	estar entre la espada y la pared	I had no choice, I had my back to the wall.
have one’s hands full — very busy	estar muy ocupado	He has his hands full with hard work.
have one’s heart set on something — want something very much	querer algo demasiado, ansiar algo	She has her heart set on going to New York. He has his heart set on Betty.
have pull — have influence on	influir, pesar	Does he have pull with the director?
(not) have the heart — (not) have the courage to do smth. unpleasant	(no) atreverse a hacer algo desagradable; (no) tener corazón para	I don’t have the heart to tell him that he wasn’t accepted, he’ll be so unhappy.
high and low — everywhere	en todas partes (en el cielo y en la tierra, cuando se refiere a búsquedas)	I searched high and low for my lost cat.
hit the nail on the head — say exactly the right thing	acertar	You hit the nail on the head when you said our company needs a new director.
hit upon something — to discover	pensar en algo; descubrir	They hit upon gold. I hit upon a plan.
hold it against someone — blame somebody for doing something	guardar rencores en contra de alguien; culpar a alguien por algo	I lost his book, but he doesn’t hold it against me.
Hold it! — Stop! Wait!	¡Detente! ¡Espera!	Hold it! I forgot my key.
Hold on! — Wait!	¡Espera!	Hold on! I’ll be back in a minute.
hold one’s own — maintain oneself in a situation, behave as needed	mantenerse firme	He can hold his own in any situation. We need men who can hold their own.
hold up — rob using a weapon	asaltar, atacar	This bank was held up twice last year.

ill at ease — uncomfortable	disgustado, incómodo	She felt ill at ease because of her cheap dress.
in advance — well before	de antemano	He told her about his plan in advance.
in a nutshell — in a few words	en breve, en pocas palabras	In a nutshell, my plan is to buy land.
in care of someone — write to one person at the address of another	(escribir) a alguien a la dirección de otra persona (al cuidado de)	I’m staying at Tom’s house. Write to me in care of Tom Gray, Chicago, Illinois.
in cold blood — mercilessly	a sangre fría	He killed her in cold blood.
in fact — actually, in reality	de hecho, en realidad	In fact, he works as a manager here.
in general — generally, generally speaking	en general	In general, he likes to be alone. He described the place only in general.
in one’s element — what one likes	estar como pez en el agua	He’s in his element when he’s arguing.
in other words — using other words	en otras palabras	In other words, you refused to do it for her.
in plain English — in simple, frank terms	sencillamente hablando	I didn’t really like the concert. In plain English, the concert was terrible.
the ins and outs — all info about	los pormenores	He knows the ins and outs of this business.
in someone’s shoes — in another person’s position	en los zapatos de alguién, en lugar de otra persona	I’d hate to be in his shoes now. He lost his job, and his wife is in the hospital.
in the long run — in the end	al final de cuentas	In the long run, it’ll be better to buy it.
in the same boat — in the same situation	en el mismo barco; en la misma situacion	Stop arguing with me, we’re in the same boat and should help each other.
in the clear — free from blame	estar fuera de sospecha	Pay the bill and you’ll be in the clear.
in time (to do something) — before something begins	a tiempo (para hacer algo)	I came in time to have a cup of coffee before class.
it goes without saying — should be clear without words	no hace falta decir nada	It goes without saying that he must pay what he owes right away.
It’s on the tip of my tongue.	está en la punta de mi lengua	His name is on the tip of my tongue.
it’s time — should do it right away	es hora	Hurry up, it’s time to go.
It’s worth it. / It’s not worth it. It’s (not) worth buying, visiting, watching, etc.	lo vale / no lo vale vale la pena / no vale la pena	Watch this film, it’s worth it. Don’t buy this coat, it is not worth it. This museum is worth visiting. This film is not worth watching.
it will do — it’s enough	es suficiente	Stop reading, it will do for now.
jump at the opportunity/chance — accept the opportunity eagerly	aprovechar la oportunidad	His boss mentioned a job in Europe, and Peter jumped at the opportunity.
just as soon — prefer this one	preferiría	I’d just as soon stay home, I’m tired.
just in case — to be on the safe side	por si acaso	Take an extra shirt, just in case.
Just my luck! — Bad / Hard luck!	¡Vaya suerte que tengo! ¡Qué mala suerte!	They lost my job application. Just my luck!
keep an eye on — take care of, watch, look after	estar pendiente; vigilar	Betty keeps an eye on my sons for me. I’ll keep an eye on you!
keep a straight face — not to laugh	mantener la cara seria	I tried to keep a straight face, but failed.
keep company — accompany	hacer compañía	She keeps me company quite often.
keep one’s word — fulfill a promise	mantener la palabra	You promised, now keep your word.
keep someone posted — inform	mantener a alguien al tanto / informado	Keep me posted about your plans.
keep your fingers crossed — hope that nothing will go wrong	cruzar los dedos	I have a job interview today. Keep your fingers crossed for me, will you?
kill time — fill/spend empty time	matar el tiempo	I went to the show to kill time.
(not) know the first thing about — not to have any knowledge about	no saber nada acerca de	I don’t know the first thing about nuclear physics.
know the ropes — be very familiar with some business	estar al tanto	He knows all the ropes in this company.
last-minute notice — little or no time to prepare for something	noticia de útimo minuto	His arrival was a last-minute notice, we didn’t have time to prepare for it.
lay one’s cards on the table — be frank and open	poner las cartas sobre la mesa; ser sincero y abierto	Finally, we asked him to lay his cards on the table and tell us about his plans.
lay one’s life on the line — put oneself in a dangerous situation	poner la vida en juego, arriesgar la vida	He laid his life on the line to fulfill this task, but nobody appreciated his efforts.
lead a dog’s life — live in misery	llevar una vida de perros	He leads a dog’s life.
lead someone on — make someone believe something that isn’t true	engañar, hacer a alguien creer que es cierto	They suspect that you are leading them on. You led me on!
leave it at that — accept reluctantly	dejar las cosas como son	Leave it at that, what else can you do?
leave word — leave a message	dejar un mensaje	He left word for you to meet him at the airport at 6.
let bygones be bygones — forget and forgive bad things in the past	lo pasado, pasado está	Why don’t you let bygones be bygones and forget about what he said?
let go of — release the hold	soltar, dejar ir	Let go of my hand or I’ll call the guard.
let (it) go — forget bad experience, return to normal life	dejarlo ir, superar malas experiencias	He’s still in despair and can’t let (it) go. You can’t change anything, so let it go.
let one’s hair down — be relaxed and informal with other people	soltarse la melena, echarse una cana al aire, relajarse	She is always so formal. She never lets her hair down.
let someone down — disappoint, fail someone	quedar mal con alguien, decepcionar a alguien	Don’t let me down this time!
let someone know — inform	notificar, informar	Let me know when you find a job.
like father, like son — be like one’s parent in something	de tal palo, tal astilla	Paul won a prize in a chess tournament. Great! Like father, like son!
little by little — step by step	poco a poco	Little by little, he got used to Tokyo.
look for — search for	buscar	What are you looking for?
look forward to — expect with pleasure	esperar con impaciencia	I’m looking forward to your letter. Mary is looking forward to the party.
look out — be careful, watch out	tener cuidado	Look out! The bus is coming!
look up — check with /in a dictionary or a reference book	buscar (información en un diccionario, Internet, etc.)	If you don’t know this word, look it up in the dictionary.
lose one’s temper — become angry	perder la paciencia, enojarse	He loses his temper very often.
lose one’s way — get lost	perder el camino, perderse	I lost my way. Can you help me?
lose track of — not to know where someone or something is	perder el hilo/la pista	I lost track of him years ago.
lucky break — a lucky chance	golpe de suerte	He got his lucky break when he got this job.
make a living — earn money to provide for life	ganarse la vida	He works hard. His family is big, and he has to make a living somehow.
make allowance for — take into consideration when judging	tener en cuenta	Don’t criticize him so hard, make (an) allowance for his inexperience.
make a point of — be sure to do something intentionally	poner empeño en (hacer algo); hacer algo intencionalmente; tender a/intentar	Make a point of asking about his wife. Make it a point to be here by 10.
make ends meet — to have and spend only what one earns	llegar a fin de mes; sobrevivir con pocos ingresos	His doesn’t get much money. I wonder how he manages to make ends meet.
make friends — become friends	hacer amigos	Anton makes new friends easily.
make fun of — laugh at, joke about	burlarse de	He made fun of her German accent.
make no bones about it — say/do openly, without hesitation	no darle más vueltas, no andar por las ramas	I’ll make no bones about it: I don’t like your attitude to work.
make room for — allow space for	liberar espacio para	We can make room for one more dog.
make sense — be logical	tener sentido	What you say makes sense.
make the most of smth — do the best in the given situation	sacar lo mejor de	Let’s make the most of our vacation.
make up — become friends again	reconciliarse	I’m tired of fighting. Let’s make up.
make up for smth — compensate	recompensar	I’ll make up for the time you spent on it.
make up one’s mind — decide	tomar una decisión	When will you go? Make up your mind.
make yourself at home — be comfortable, feel at home	siéntete como en tu casa	Come in please. Make yourself at home.
man of his word — one who keeps promises, is dependable	el hombre de palabra	You can depend on his promise to help. He’s a man of his word.
mean well — have good intentions	tener buenas intenciones	He meant well, but it turned out that he spoiled a couple of things for me.
might as well — a good idea	podrías aprovechar y hacerlo (es buena idea hacer algo)	I might as well telephone him now.
missing person — someone who is lost and can’t be located	persona desaparecida	The little boy disappeared. The police registered him as a missing person.
meet someone halfway — compromise with others	encontrar un término medio	He’s reasonable and tries to meet his coworkers halfway, when possible.
never mind — it doesn’t matter	olvídalo, no importa	Thank you. — Never mind.
not to mention — in addition to	sin mencionar	We have three dogs, not to mention two cats.
no wonder — not surprising	no es una sorpresa	He ate three big fish. No wonder he’s sick.
now and again — occasionally	de vez en cuando	I meet them now and again at the bank.

odds and ends — a variety of small unimportant things or leftovers	restos, pedacitos	I needed to buy some odds and ends for the kitchen.
off the cuff — without preparation	de improviso, sin preparación previa	Off the cuff, I can give you only a rough estimate.
off the point — beside the point	no va al caso, fuera de la cuestión	What I think about him is off the point.
off the record — not for the public, unofficially	extraoficialmente	Strictly off the record, I think the director is going to get married soon.
once and for all — decidedly	de una vez por todas	You must quit smoking once and for all.
on credit — not pay cash right away	a crédito	He bought a car on credit.
on edge — nervous, irritable	nervioso, irritado	He’s been on edge ever since she left.
on guard — on the alert	en guardia, alerta	He’s cautious and always on guard.
on hand — available	a la mano	Do you have a calculator on hand?
on one’s own — alone, by oneself	por su cuenta, independientemente	She likes to live and work on her own.
on one’s toes — alert, attentive, prepared for difficulties	alerta	He was on his toes and produced a very good impression on them.
on purpose — intentionally	a propósito, intencionalmente	I didn’t do it on purpose, it just happened so.
on second thought — after thinking again	pensándolo bien	I’d like to sit on the aisle. On second thought, I’d like a window seat.
on the alert — on guard	alerta, en guardia	He’s cautious and always on the alert.
on the carpet — called in by the boss for criticism	llamar al despacho del director, llamar la atención, criticar	Yesterday the boss called her on the carpet for being rude to the coworkers.
on the go — busy, on the move	en marcha, en movimiento	He is always on the go.
on the off chance — unlikely to happen, but still	es poco probable pero	On the off chance that you don’t find him at work, here’s his home address.
on the other hand — considering the other side of the question	por otro lado	I’d like to have a dog. On the other hand, my wife likes cats better.
on the spot — right there	en el mismo sitio	I decided to do it on the spot.
on the spur of the moment — without previous thought / plan	en la euforia del momento	He bought this car on the spur of the moment, now he regrets it.
on time — punctual	a tiempo	Jim is always on time.
out of one’s mind — crazy	loco, fuera de sí	If you think so, you’re out of your mind.
out of one’s way — away from someone’s usual route	desviado del camino, fuera del camino	I can’t give you a lift to the bank, it’s out of my way today.
out of the question — impossible	fuera de la cuestión	Paying him is out of the question!
pack rat — a person who saves lots of unnecessary things	acumulador obsesivo	Why does she keep all those things she never uses? — She is a pack rat.
pay attention — be attentive	prestar atención	Pay attention to his words.
pick a fight — start a quarrel	empezar una pelea/discusión	He often tries to pick a fight with me.
pick up — take, get	elegir, recoger	I’ll pick you up at 7.
play one’s cards right — choose the right steps in doing something	jugar bien sus cartas	If you play your cards right, he’ll agree to your plan.
potluck supper — a surprise meal, where nobody knows what dishes other guests will bring	una cena en grupo donde cada quien trae lo que quiere	You know what happened at our last potluck supper? Everybody brought macaroni and cheese, apples, and beer!
pull oneself together — brace oneself, summon your strength	sobreponerse	Stop crying and complaining! You have to pull yourself together now.
pull the wool over someone’s eyes — deceive, mislead someone	engañar	Are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes? It won’t do you any good.
put a damper on — discourage	poner un freno a	She always puts a damper on my plans.
put in a word for someone — say positive things about someone	defender a alguien con palabras, decir algo bueno acerca de alguien	I’d be very grateful if you could put in a word for me when you speak to him.
put off — postpone	posponer	Don’t put it off till tomorrow.
put one’s foot down — object strongly	oponerse fuertemente	Her father put his foot down when she said she wanted to marry Alan.
put one’s foot in it — do the wrong thing, make a fool of oneself	meter la pata; decir /hacer algo estúpido	He put his foot in it when he told the boss his daughter wasn’t pretty.
put up with — accept, tolerate	aguantar, tolerar	I can’t put up with your bad work!
quite a bit of — much, a lot of	mucho	I had quite a bit of trouble with that car.
quite a few — many, a lot of	muchos	He wrote quite a few good stories.
rack one’s brain — try hard to think	esforzar el cerebro	He racked his brain to solve the puzzle.
read between the lines — find or understand the implied meaning	leer entre líneas	His books are not easy to understand; you have to read between the lines.
remember me to — say hello to	enviar saludos	Please remember me to your family.
right away — immediately	de inmediato	It’ very important to do it right away.
ring a bell — remind someone of something familiar /half-forgotten	se parece a algo, luce familiar	Annabel Lee? Yeah, it rings a bell, but I can’t place it right now.
rock the boat — make the situation unstable	causar problemas, desestabilizar una situación	Peter always rocks the boat when we discuss company’s spending policy.
rub shoulders with — meet with	codearse	He doesn’t rub shoulders with the rich.
rub someone the wrong way — irritate, annoy, make angry	irritar, molestar a alguien	His remarks rub many coworkers the wrong way.
run into — meet by chance	encontrarse a alguien por casualidad	I ran into an old friend yesterday.
save face — try to change the negative impression produced	rescatar la reputación	He said a stupid thing and tried to save face by saying he misunderstood me.
save one’s breath — stop useless talk	ahorrarse las palabras	There’s no use talking to him about his spending habits, so save your breath.
scratch the surface — study something superficially	no profundizar en el tema, estudiar de manera superficial	He examines all the facts closely, he doesn’t just scratch the surface.
see about — make arrangements for	ocuparse de	I have to see about our plane tickets.
see eye to eye — agree	compartir un mismo punto de vista con alguien	We don’t see eye to eye any longer.
serve someone right — get what someone deserves	recibir lo que uno se merece	It serves him right that he didn’t get this job, he despised all other candidates.
serve one’s purpose — be useful to someone for his purpose	servir al propósito de alguien, ser útil para el propósito de alguien	I doubt that hiring this man will serve your purpose.
show promise — be promising	mostrar esperanza	This young actor shows promise.
show up — appear	aparecer	I waited for hours but he didn’t show up.
size up — evaluate someone	evaluar	It took me 5 minutes to size up that man.
sleep on it — postpone a decision till next morning	posponer algo hasta la mañana siguiente	Don’t decide now, sleep on it.
a slip of the tongue — a mistake	error, equivocación, lapsus	It was just a slip of the tongue!
slip (from) one’s mind — forget	olvidar	It slipped my mind what she asked me.
smell a rat — suspect something	sospechar algo	I’m not sure what it is, but I smell a rat.
so far — up to now	hasta ahora	So far, I have read 3 books by King.
so much the better — it’s even better	aún mejor	If he can pay cash, so much the better.
spill the beans — tell a secret	soltar la sopa, decir un secreto	Who spilled the beans about our plan?
stand a chance — have a chance	tener una oportunidad	He doesn’t stand a chance of getting it.
stand out — be noticeable	destacarse	He stands out in any group of people.
stand to reason — be logical	ser lógico	It stands to reason that he apologized.
straight from the shoulder — speak frankly	sin rodeos, abiertamente	Don’t try to spare my feelings, give it to me straight from the shoulder.
take a dim view of something — disapprove of something	tener una opinión negativa acerca de algo	My sister takes a dim view of the way I raise my children.
take a break — stop for rest	tomar una pausa	Let’s take a break, I’m tired.
take advantage of — use for one’s own benefit, to profit from	aprovecharse de	We took advantage of the low prices and bought a computer and a monitor.
take after — be like one of the parents	parecerse a los padres	Tom takes after his father in character, and after his mother in appearance.
take a stand on something — make a firm opinion/decision on smth.	tomar una posición firme respecto a algo	People need to take a stand on the issue of nuclear weapons.
take care of — look after, protect, see that smth. is done properly	cuidar de	Can you take care of my dog while I’m away? Tom takes good care of his car.
take hold of something — take, hold	tomar, sujetar	Take hold of this rope and pull.
take into account — consider smth.	tomar en cuenta	You must take into account her old age.
take it easy — relax, be calm	no te preocupes	Take it easy, everything will be OK.
take (it) for granted — accept as given	dar por sentado	Mother’s love is always taken for granted by children.
take one’s breath away	dejarlo a uno sin aliento	That great view took my breath away.
take one’s time — do slowly	tomarte tu tiempo, hacer algo despacio, sin prisa	Don’t hurry. Take your time.
take one’s word for it — believe	creer en la palabra de alguien, creerle a alguien	Take my word for it, he won’t go there.
take pains — try hard to do it well	esmerarse	He took pains to make his report perfect.
take part in smth. — participate in	tomar parte, participar	Mary is going to take part in the show.
take place — happen	tomar lugar, suceder	The accident took place on Oak Street.
take someone’s mind off things — distract from fixed ideas/thoughts	distraer a alguien de sus pensamientos	Go to a concert or a movie to take your mind off things.
take steps — take action /measures	tomar medidas, actuar	We need to take steps against it.
take the words right out of one’s mouth — say the same before somebody else says it	quitar las palabras de la boca (decir algo que quería decir otra persona)	I was about to say the same! You took the words right out of my mouth.
take time — take a long time	tomar tiempo	It takes time to get used to a new place.
take time off — be absent from work	tomar un día libre	He took time off to attend the wedding.
take turns — alternate doing something one after another	cambiar turnos, hacer algo por turnos	We went to Minsk by car. We didn’t get tired because we took turns driving
talk back — answer rudely	replicar, responder insolentemente	Don’t talk back to the teacher!
talk it over — discuss	discutir	I’ll talk it over with my family.
tell apart — see the difference	distinguir	Can you tell the twins apart?
That’s just the point. — That’s it.	Este es el punto.	That’s just the point! I hate this job!
the writing on the wall — a sign of future events (usually, trouble)	premonición (de algo malo)	The plane crashed. Tim said he saw the writing on the wall about this flight.
not think much of — think low	tener un concepto bajo de alguien	I don’t think much of her cooking.
think over — consider carefully	pensar en detalle, considerar	Think over your answer. Think it over carefully.
till one is blue in the face — try hard	esforzarse demasiado	I repeated it till I was blue in the face!
to make a long story short — in short	en pocas palabras	To make a long story short, we won.
to say the least — to make the minimum comment about smth.	para no decir más	The film was boring and long, to say the least.
try on — put on new clothes to test them for size or look	probarse (la ropa)	Try on this leather coat, it’s very good. She tried it on, but it didn’t fit her at all.
try one’s hand at something — try	probar algo, probar suerte con algo	I want to try my hand at painting.
turn on / off — switch on / off	encender/apagar	Turn on the radio. Turn off the water.
turn out to be — result/end this way	resultar	He turned out to be a very good actor.
turn over a new leaf — make a fresh start in life, work, etc.	empezar de nuevo, hacer borrón y cuenta nueva	He promises to turn over a new leaf and quit alcohol for good.
turn the tide — reverse the course of events	cambiar el curso de los eventos	The new evidence turned the tide, and the defendant was acquitted of charges.
twist one’s arm — make to agree	retorcer brazos, obligar a alguien a hacer algo en contra de su voluntad	They twisted his arm to sell the house.
under the weather — feel ill	resfriado	I’m a little under the weather today.
up-and-coming — showing promise of future success	prometedor	He is an up-and-coming young lawyer who might help you with your case.
up in arms — hostile to, in strong protest against something	protestar, estar en contra	The employees are up in arms about the new retirement rules.
up in the air — undecided	colgado en el aire, indefinido	My vacation plans are still up in the air.
up to par — equal in standard	adecuado y normal	His behavior isn’t up to par.
used to — did often in the past, but not now	solía (hacer algo)	I used to play the piano when I was in school (but I don’t play it now).
walk on air — be very happy	estar en las nubes, estar muy feliz	He got the job and is walking on air now.
waste one’s breath — speak uselessly, to no purpose	esforzarse en vano	Don’t waste your breath trying to make him do it, he won’t change his mind.
watch one’s step — be careful	tener cuidado, ser cauteloso	Watch your step!
watch out — look out, be careful	tener cuidado	Watch out for that car! Watch out!
wet blanket — a kill-joy, who spoils everybody’s fun	aguafiestas	Remember what a wet blanket he was last time? Please don’t invite him again.
What’s the matter? — What is it?	¿Qué pasa?	What’s the matter? What happened?
which way the wind blows — what the real situation is	cuál es la situación real (en qué dirección sopla el viento)	He knows which way the wind blows and always acts accordingly.
white lie — unimportant lie	mentira piadosa	A white lie is told to spare your feelings.
word for word — in the same words	literalmente	Tell me word for word what he said.
would rather — prefer	preferir	I’d rather stay at home today.