Free 500 frases en inglés realmente útiles (La serie completa) by Jenny Smith Page A

case.
    Example: After going on holiday to Italy it dawned on me that I never even ate a pizza the whole time I was there.

    Something is up: this means that something is wrong/different/strange about a situation.
    Example: I knew something was up because he’s usually quite unfriendly but this time he was quite nice. It turns out that he needs my approval to get the promotion.

    For something to drag on: this is when something lasts for too long.
    Example: I know everyone loves Lord of the Rings but I found that it drags on a bit.

    To spill the beans: to tell a secret. To give details on a private subject. This phrase is more common in British English.
    Example: Are you and John dating? Go on spill the beans!

    A hold up: a delay. When something delays something else.
    Example: I’ve been stuck in traffic for 2 hours, I have no idea what is holding everything up.

Part Three

    At first Johanna wasn’t too worried as she had plenty of money and she thought Mark was good for it . But slowly she started to wonder when and if she was ever going to get repaid. Also, she felt completely in the dark because Mark never tried to contact her or assure her that he was definitely going to pay her back. Then out of the blue Johanna lost her job and she had to live off her savings and then her credit cards. After a few months all of her credit cards were completely maxed out and she could no longer make ends meet . She tried to tell Mark about how serious her situation was but he kept on fobbing her off . In the end I decided to stop sitting on the fence and try to fix the situation. I rang him and told him to pay her the money or our friendship would be over. Even though he did return the money eventually, the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth so I tend to try to avoid him nowadays.

    Phrases:
    To be good for it: this means that you will definitely pay back a loan.
    Example: I usually don’t lend money to people but I know he’s good for it so I lent it to him.

    To be in the dark about something: to not know what is going on in a certain situation.
    Example: I have no idea what we are doing on my birthday, my wife has kept me completely in the dark about her plans. She says that it is going to be a surprise.

    Out of the blue: unexpectedly.
    Example: I hadn’t seen him for about 10 years and then he showed up out of the blue at my birthday party.

    To sit on the fence: this is when you do not take a position on either side of the argument. You do not take sides.
    Example: I hate that political party because they are always just sitting on the fence. They never take risks and stand for something they believe in.

    To fob someone off: to not give someone a direct answer. To give an excuse so as to avoid the real issue. This phrase is difficult to use.
    Example: Every time the journalist asked the politician about the economy he was just fobbed off with meaningless clichés.

    To make ends meet: to make enough money to live on/to pay the bills etc.
    Example: Minimum wage is just about enough to make ends meet.

    To max out credit cards: This is when you have completely used up all of your overdraft or are at the limit on your credit cards.
    Example: Recently, people are maxing out their credit cards in order to pay their mortgage.

    To leave a bad taste in one’s mouth: when something happens and it leaves you with a bad attitude towards that thing.
    Example: I used to like his films but after he made that really sexist film, it just really left a bad taste in my mouth and I didn’t want to see any of his later movies.

Reality TV! Reality?

Part One

    I’m not going to mince my words ; I absolutely hate Reality TV. I don’t know if you have it in your country but here in England, watching it is almost a national pastime . If you don’t know what reality TV is, it’s basically a type of fly on the wall documentary (and I use ‘documentary’ in the loosest sense of the word ) where you watch people going about their