common time idioms and phrasal verbs

[dorax]

Well, I'm continuing with my next list of expressions. My question is, are any of them not as frequent in English? Are any of them rare expressions or outdated?
1. short on/of time
2. pressed/ pushed/ strapped for time
3. at the eleventh hour
4. in the nick of time
5. in the middle of something
6. time flies (when you’re having fun)
7. put off
8. get around to
9. hold up
10. fit in
11. wind up
12. beat the clock
13. a race against time
14. in the blink of an eye
15. here today, gone tomorrow

Thanks in advance!

 

[jutfrank]

I'm not sure I understand what you're doing. Are you creating a list of vocab to teach? To whom? What level?

Are you asking which ones are good for teaching and which ones aren't?

 

[dorax]

I'm not sure I understand what you're doing. Are you creating a list of vocab to teach? To whom? What level?

Are you asking which ones are good for teaching and which ones aren't?

First of all, I need and want to know for myself the most well-known and frequently used idioms and phrasal verbs. Last year, I taught almost all of them (at B1-B2 level), thinking they were the correct and most commonly encountered ones. However, I recently realized that things might not be as I read in the textbooks or some websites. So, I decided to ask you, if you don't mind, since you are native speakers and use idioms and phrasal verbs daily. Your help is valuable.

P.S. As for the lists, I thought it would be more practical and perhaps easier to learn and remember them this way.

 

[emsr2d2]

In order for us to know whether we'd use them and/or if they're useful, you'd need to show us them in complete sentences. For all we know, you're learning this long list but not using the phrases correctly.

 

[dorax]

In order for us to know whether we'd use them and/or if they're useful, you'd need to show us them in complete sentences. For all we know, you're learning this long list but not using the phrases correctly.

Of course. I'm providing my example sentences below. However, in this way we limit the expressions to just one context, whereas you might possibly use them somewhere else more.

1. Mothers tend to be short on/of time and don't always have the opportunity to go out shopping.

2. Sorry I can’t stay and chat; I’m pressed/ pushed/ strapped for time today.

3. I handed my report in at the eleventh hour.

4. I stayed up all night, but I was able to finish my history class essay in the nick of time.

5. I can’t talk right now; I’m in the middle of something. Can I call you back in an hour?

6. I can’t believe it’s been 3 years since I last saw you. How time flies!

7. She put off writing her essay until the last minute.

8. I finally got around to cleaning the garage.

9. Traffic held us up, and we were late for the appointment.

10. I’ll try to fit in a visit to the gym this afternoon.

11. Let's wind up the meeting so we can all go home.

12. They were set a strict deadline and had to work hard to beat the clock.

13. It’s going to be a race against time to get all these cupcakes iced ready for the party.

14. I feel like my teenage years passed in the blink of an eye.

15. The high street is full shops that are here today, gone tomorrow.

 

[jutfrank]

I'm not keen on 3 or 15 but the others are all decent examples. Did you create them yourself or get AI to do it?

Be advised that there are tools that can tell you the frequencies of any given words or phrases as well as provide authentic examples of use. One such tool you might want to try is Sketch Engine, which I highly recommend you play around with. if you need advice on how to get the most out of it, let me know.

 

[dorax]

I'm not keen on 3 or 15 but the others are all decent examples. Did you create them yourself or get AI to do it?

Be advised that there are tools that can tell you the frequencies of any given words or phrases as well as provide authentic examples of use. One such tool you might want to try is Sketch Engine, which I highly recommend you play around with. if you need advice on how to get the most out of it, let me know.

So, the examples are used in everyday English (except for 3 and 15), but are all bolded expressions in them common in English as well?

I didn't do them with AI for sure, I think I took most of them from online dictionaries.

I immediately searched for Sketch Engine, which you suggested. I watched videos too. I saw that it shows you the frequency of certain words and authentic examples, but I couldn't find somewhere to enter a phrase, like I want, and see how common it is.

 

[emsr2d2]

Of course. I'm providing my example sentences below. However, in this way we limit the expressions to just one context, whereas you might possibly use them somewhere else more.

Of course some phrases can be used in more than one context, but at least we can see you're familiar with at least one correct context. I know you said in another thread that you were interested in AmE, but I'm going to give you my opinion on each as a BrE speaker.

1. Mothers tend to be short on/of time and don't always have the opportunity to go out shopping.

I'd change "Mothers" to "Parents", because it's not only mothers who do the shopping in modern families, but yours is grammatically correct. Of those options, I'd use "short of time". In real life, I'd say "Parents tend to be very busy and don't always have time to go shopping".

2. Sorry I can’t stay and chat; I’m pressed/pushed/strapped for time today.

I'd use "pushed" as my first choice. I might use "pressed". I'd use "strapped" in a different phrase - "strapped for cash" (short of money). Remember not to put a space on either side of a slash mark.

3. I handed my report in at the eleventh hour.

I'd say "at the last minute/second".

4. I stayed up all night, but I was able to finish my history class essay in the nick of time.

I'm not keen on this one. It sounds as if you finished it seconds before you handed it in, at which time you were presumably at school. The opening makes it sound as if you finished the essay while still at home.

5. I can’t talk right now; I’m in the middle of something. Can I call you back in an hour?

Yes.

6. I can’t believe it’s been 3 years since I last saw you. How time flies!

Yes, although most people I know wouldn't bother with "How", and would just say "Time flies!"

7. She put off writing her essay until the last minute.

Yes.

8. I finally got around to cleaning the garage.

Yes.

9. Traffic held us up, and we were late for the appointment.

I don't like this. I'd change the word order to something like "We got held up in bad traffic ...".

10. I’ll try to fit in a visit to the gym this afternoon.

Yes.

11. Let's wind up the meeting so we can all go home.

Yes, or "finish up".
I don't know if it's used the same way in AmE, but there's another BrE context for it, similar to "end up". For example, "I wound up playing Juliet in the school play because the girl who was supposed to play her broke her leg".

12. They were set a strict deadline and had to work hard to beat the clock.

Yes.

13. It’s going to be a race against time to get all these cupcakes iced ready for the party.

Yes.

14. I feel like my teenage years passed in the blink of an eye.

Yes.

15. The high street is full of shops that are here today, gone tomorrow.

Note the added word above. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Using the present tense at the start means that those shops really are "here today". They haven't gone yet so I probably wouldn't use the full phrase there. I'd probably set it in the past.
My local high street has been the setting for dozens of shops that were here today, gone tomorrow.

 

[emsr2d2]

One such tool you might want to try is Sketch Engine, which I highly recommend you play around with.

It's only fair to point out that that site is not free to use. There's a pricing tab at the top. On the home page (which you don't have to register for), I just tried to use its search box to look for a couple of really common phrases and it gave no results at all.

 

[dorax]

Of course some phrases can be used in more than one context, but at least we can see you're familiar with at least one correct context. I know you said in another thread that you were interested in AmE, but I'm going to give you my opinion on each as a BrE speaker.

I'd change "Mothers" to "Parents", because it's not only mothers who do the shopping in modern families, but yours is grammatically correct. Of those options, I'd use "short of time". In real life, I'd say "Parents tend to be very busy and don't always have time to go shopping".

I'd use "pushed" as my first choice. I might use "pressed". I'd use "strapped" in a different phrase - "strapped for cash" (short of money). Remember not to put a space on either side of a slash mark.

I'd say "at the last minute/second".

I'm not keen on this one. It sounds as if you finished it seconds before you handed it in, at which time you were presumably at school. The opening makes it sound as if you finished the essay while still at home.

Yes.

Yes, although most people I know wouldn't bother with "How", and would just say "Time flies!"

Yes.

Yes.

I don't like this. I'd change the word order to something like "We got held up in bad traffic ...".

Yes.

Yes, or "finish up".
I don't know if it's used the same way in AmE, but there's another BrE context for it, similar to "end up". For example, "I wound up playing Juliet in the school play because the girl who was supposed to play her broke her leg".

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Note the added word above. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Using the present tense at the start means that those shops really are "here today". They haven't gone yet so I probably wouldn't use the full phrase there. I'd probably set it in the past.
My local high street has been the setting for dozens of shops that were here today, gone tomorrow.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to each of my examples one by one. So, I assume that, apart from your grammatical or syntactical corrections, all the above expressions are quite common in English, or am I wrong?

 

[dorax]

It's only fair to point out that that site is not free to use. There's a pricing tab at the top. On the home page (which you don't have to register for), I just tried to use its search box to look for a couple of really common phrases and it gave no results at all.

Thank you for mentioning it. As I said, I couldn't make sense of it either; I got very confused even though I spent time on it. Maybe I don't know how to use it, or maybe it's not suitable for entire phrases.

 

[emsr2d2]

So, I assume that, apart from your grammatical or syntactical corrections, all the above expressions are quite common in English, or am I wrong?

It depends on what you mean by common. Would I say I hear at least one of those phrases at least once a day? No. Once a week? Again, probably not. However, would all the people I know understand them and feel they could use them without sounding unnatural or old-fashioned, if the context fitted? Yes.

 

[jutfrank]

It's only fair to point out that that site is not free to use. There's a pricing tab at the top. On the home page (which you don't have to register for), I just tried to use its search box to look for a couple of really common phrases and it gave no results at all.

Yes, you need an account, of course. They offer a free month's trial.

Maybe I don't know how to use it, or maybe it's not suitable for entire phrases.

Yes, it's suitable for entire phrases. As I said, I can help you use it if you like. It's up to you.

There are other online concordances available. I thought I'd recommend this one as it's simple and easy to use.

 

[dorax]

Yes, you need an account, of course. They offer a free month's trial.

Yes, it's suitable for entire phrases. As I said, I can help you use it if you like. It's up to you.

There are other online concordances available. I thought I'd recommend this one as it's simple and easy to use.

I didn't even know that something like a concordance existed. Of course, I'd like you to help me use it for entire phrases because, to me, who didn't know how to use it, it seemed difficult without being able to make sense of it. I would appreciate it.

 

[jutfrank]

I didn't even know that something like a concordance existed. Of course, I'd like you to help me use it for entire phrases because, to me, who didn't know how to use it, it seemed difficult without being able to make sense of it. I would appreciate it.

Sure. Contact me by PM and I'll do it there.