View Single Post
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 02-Nov-2006, 19:43
MikeNewYork's Avatar
MikeNewYork MikeNewYork is offline
VIP Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Country: USA
Posts: 6,094
Current Location: New York
First Language: American English
Member Type: Academic
Thanks: 0
Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts
MikeNewYork is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: Idioms, phrasal verbs and meanings...

Quote:
Originally Posted by tangelatm View Post
Hi!
Could you please help me with the following:
Are the following phrasal verbs?
1. He got the moon back where it belonged.(to get sth back = to restore?)
2. He couldn’t get the books back by the end of the week. (get back sth or get sth back = if you get something back, something that you had before is given to you again – Cambridge Phrasal Verbs Dictionary- aren’t the verbs in 1 and 2 one and the same?
3. Their fathers got out into the middle of the lake.
4. She doesn't get out so much now that she's got the baby.(= to go out to different places and meet people in order to enjoy yourself – Cambridge Phrasal Verbs Dictionary)
Aren’t the two verbs in 3 and 4 similar in meaning?
Are the following idioms:
3. He took a long walk later that night. (to take a walk?)
4. Is ”to come to a conclusion” an idiom? My sentence reads: “They came to the conclusion that they already had a telephone network.”
What infinitive forms should I bracket in the following examples, given that my student are not familiar with the passive voice and the sentences below appear in some jokes (I insist on practising tenses – here, the past tense- in “friendlier” contexts, and jokes have proved to be an appealing alternative – my kids simply love them!)
5. The sidewalk was sheeted with ice. (to be sheeted?)
6. The doctor was completely overwhelmed with embarrassment. (to be overwhelmed?)
7. Willie was astounded (to be astounded?)
What does “as it is” mean in:
8. As it is, he naturally takes us for old friends. (“the way things stand’?)
9. I was down to my last nickel. (is the verb a phrasal one or an idiom “to be down to” and what exactly does it mean – I haven’t found it in any dictionary…)
Thank you for your kind support,
A teacher of English lost in translation ,
Angela
After scanning your list, the only one that approaches a phrasal verb is #9. That use of "was down" is a bit idiomatic in meaning.

Don't look for phrasal verbs unless you find [verb + preposition/adverb] that have a strange meaning.
Reply With Quote