Pearson Brown English Lesson -Idioms "See"

Remember that when we say ‘I see’ we can mean ‘with my eyes’ but we can also mean ‘I understand’.

* I’m not very happy with your decision.
* I see. Is there anything I can do to persuade you?

If you don’t understand the reason for doing something, you ‘can’t see the point’.

* I can’t see the point in studying for this exam. I’ll just fail anyway.
* He refuses to come to the meeting. He said he couldn’t see the point.

If you communicate some information with no possible doubt, you ‘make yourself clear’.

* I thought I had made myself clear. I need the report by lunchtime.
* I couldn’t have made myself clearer. Everybody understood.

If you try to understand how a different person sees a situation, you try to see it from their ‘point of view’.

* Try to see this from my point of view. I must have delivery by Friday or my production line will close down.
* We must ask everyone concerned for their point of view before we decide.

If you are aware of all the facts behind a decision, you take it with your ‘eyes wide open’.

* There’s no use complaining now. We took that decision with our eyes wide open.
* Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards. (Benjamin Franklin)

If you persuade somebody to change their mind and agree with your point of view, they ‘see reason’.

* He argued and argued but finally he saw reason.
* The workers asked for a 20% pay rise but finally they saw reason and accepted 3%.

If you are obsessed with yourself and your own problems, you ‘can’t see past the end of your nose’.

* She’s so self-obsessed. She can’t see past the end of her nose.
* It must have been obvious that I couldn’t cope but he couldn’t see past the end of his nose and didn’t offer to help.

If you are unaware of a problem, you need to ‘open your eyes’.

* Open your eyes. Nobody here likes you.
* He’s too self-satisfied. He needs to open his eyes and take a good look at himself.

If somebody is pretending to be what they are not and you are aware of this, you have ‘seen through them’.

* He claimed to have worked in Tokyo but I saw through him the minute we started talking about Japan.
* Most people see through his lies pretty quickly.

If you find out some information that really surprises you and change the way you feel, it is an ‘eye-opener’.

* I thought he was a good salesperson but seeing him with a customer was a real eye-opener. He was useless.
* I thought I knew a lot about it but talking to Jenny was a real eye-opener. I learned so much.

When you look back on an event ‘in hindsight’, you can often learn from it.

* In hindsight, I wouldn’t have started the negotiation so aggressively.
* I should have done things differently in hindsight.

Some racehorses wear ‘blinkers’ on their eyes to stop them from looking around and make them concentrate on the racetrack in front of them. When people don’t consider all the possibilities, they are said to be ‘blinkered’.

* They’re a bunch of blinkered old men and won’t consider any new ideas.
* He never listens to anybody else. He’s blinkered.

When you are told or read something which enables you to understand something you didn’t previously understand, you ‘get the picture’.

* Thanks for telling me that. I get the picture
* So he’s the boss’s son? I get the picture. I wondered how someone so young was doing that job.

If you understand what somebody is explaining to you, you ‘see what they mean’.

* OK. I see what you mean. There’s no need to say any more.
* He was trying to explain something to me but I just didn’t see what he meant.

If there was a misunderstanding and it is now all explained, you ‘cleared it up’.

* I’m glad we’ve cleared up the misunderstanding about payment terms.
* We need to clear up this misunderstanding at once.

Exercises:

http://www.business-english.com/seeidioms/exercise1.swf
http://www.business-english.com/seeidioms/exercise2.swf
http://www.business-english.com/seeidioms/exercise3.swf
http://www.business-english.com/seeidioms/exercise4.swf
http://www.business-english.com/seeidioms/exercise5.swf

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Strong Collocations 3

1 We need to carry out a detailed ______ of the project before we go any further.
amount
analysis
alarm
alternative
ambition

2 The news of the merger and the threat of job losses has caused considerable ______ among the work force.
allusion
allowance
alarm
applause
application

3 If we let the unions decide everything, there will be complete ______ . It just won't work.
amount
analysis
anarchy
alternative
ambition

4 I think he had been very unhappy for some time. He suddenly exploded with pent-up ______ and was completely out of control.
amount
analysis
anarchy
anger
ambition

5 David has a different way of looking at the world. He always sees things from an unusual ______ .
amount
analysis
anarchy
anger
angle

6 Deborah and Simon can't stand each other. There is deep ______ between them.
animosity
analysis
anarchy
anger
angle

7 Everybody knows already but there will be a formal ______ later this morning.
animosity
announcement
anarchy
anger
angle

8 I don't know what she earns exactly but I do know it is a vast ______.
amount
allowance
alarm
alternative
ambition

9 In the factory, men are getting paid more than women and we need to do away with this ______.
animosity
announcement
anomaly
anger
angle

10 I expect you to give me a straight ______ to this.
animosity
announcement
anomaly
answer
angle

11 In costing this, I think we need to make generous ______ for the probable delays in getting planning permission.
allusion
allowance
appetite
applause
application

12 I think we should look round for a feasible ______ .
allusion
allowance
alarm
alternative
application

13 I think you need to make a full ______ to her for your sexist behaviour.
animosity
announcement
anomaly
answer
apology

14 He made an emotional ______ to keep his job but he'd made too many mistakes and I had to let him go.
appeal
announcement
anomaly
answer
apology

15 We didn't think she would come and so we were delighted when she put in an unexpected ______ at our party.
appeal
appearance
anomaly
answer
apology

16 He seems to be devoured by overwhelming ______ .
allusion
allowance
alarm
alternative
ambition

17 Microhard seem to have a healthy ______ for taking over innovative companies.
appeal
appearance
appetite
answer
apology

18 In his speech he made a flattering ______ to your work.
allusion
appearance
appetite
applause
application

19 The announcement was made to deafening ______ .
appeal
appearance
appetite
applause
apology

20 If you want the job, you're going to have to put in a formal ______ .
appeal
appearance
appetite
applause
application

Answer:

1 analysis
2 alarm
3 anarchy
4 anger
5 angle
6 animosity
7 announcement
8 amount
9 anomaly
10 answer
11 allowance
12 alternative
13 apology
14 appeal
15 appearance
16 ambition
17 apetite
18 allusion
19 applause
20 application

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Strong Collocations 2

1 I'm an ______ admirer of your work.
ardent
triumphant
stale
considerable
cast-iron

2 This new process is a ______ advance in technology.
ardent
significant
stale
considerable
cast-iron

3 He knows the interviewer already and that will give him an ______ advantage over me.
ardent
significant
unfair
considerable
cast-iron

4 I wouldn't upset him. He can be a ______ adversary.
ardent
significant
unfair
dangerous
cast-iron

5 He gave me some ______ advice and I took it.
ardent
significant
unfair
dangerous
blunt

6 We know very little about this. We need to bring in an ______ adviser to help us.
outside
significant
unfair
dangerous
blunt

7 I don't like this at all. It's a really ______ affair.
outside
ugly
unfair
dangerous
blunt

8 It's not a very challenging job. I only have to deal with ______ affairs.
outside
ugly
everyday
dangerous
blunt

9 They don't always agree but I think there is a bond of ______ affection between them.
outside
ugly
everyday
deep
blunt

10 It seems no time at all since I started work and here I am at ______ age.
outside
ugly
everyday
deep
retirement

11 That type of behaviour was possible in a ______ age but we are more tightly regulated these days.
bygone
ugly
everyday
deep
retirement

12 I don't trust him. I think he has a ______ agenda.
bygone
hidden
everyday
deep
retirement

13 We cannot tolerate this sort of ______ aggression from a competitor in one of our key markets.
bygone
hidden
naked
deep
retirement

14 We have a ______ agreement with them and we must respect it.
bygone
hidden
naked
binding
retirement

15 I think they must be providing them with some kind of ______ aid. But I don't know what.
bygone
hidden
naked
binding
covert

16 I agree with the ______ aims of what you are trying to do but not with some of the details.
broad
hidden
naked
binding
covert

17 I'm sure he's got the job. He's walking around with a ______ air.
broad
triumphant
naked
binding
covert

18 You need to open the windows and get rid of the ______ air in here.
broad
triumphant
stale
binding
covert

19 The problems in Tokyo have caused ______ alarm on Wall Street.
broad
triumphant
stale
considerable
covert

20 He definitely wasn't there. He has a ______ alibi.
broad
triumphant
stale
considerable
cast-iron

Answer:

1 ardent
2 significant
3 unfair
4 dangerous
5 blunt
6 outside
7 ugly
8 everyday
9 deep
10retirement
11bygone
12hidden
13naked
14binding
15covert
16broad
17triumphant
18stale
19considerable
20cast-iron