Tuesday, December 1, 2009

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS - 2

Rack and ruin
If something or someone goes to rack and ruin, they are utterly destroyed or wrecked.
Rack your brain
If you rack your brain, you think very hard when trying to remember something. ('Rack your brains' is an alternative.)
Rags to riches
Someone who starts life very poor and becomes rich goes from rags to riches.
Rain on your parade
If someone rains on your parade, they ruin your pleasure or your plans.
Raining cats and dogs
When it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining very heavily.
Raise eyebrows
If something raises eyebrows, it shocks or surprises people.
Rake over old coals
(UK) If you go back to old problems and try to bring them back, making trouble for someone, you are raking over old coals.
Rake someone over the coals
(USA) If you rake someone over the coals, you criticize or scold them severely.
Zigged before you zagged
If you did things in the wrong order, you zigged before you zagged.
Zip your lip
If someone tells you to zip your lip, they want to to shut up or keep quiet about something. ('Zip it' is also used.)

IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS

A little learning is a dangerous thing
A small amount of knowledge can cause people to think they are more expert than they really are.eg. he said he'd done a course on home electrics, but when he tried to mend my table lamp, he fused all the lights! I think a little learning is a dangerous thing
A long row to hoe
Something that is a long row to hoe is a difficult task that takes a long time.
A long row to hoe
Something that is a long row to hoe is a difficult task that takes a long time.
A bit much
If something is excessive or annoying, it is a bit much.
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link
This means that processes, organisations, etc, are vulnerable because the weakest person or part can always damage or break them.
A day late and a dollar short
(USA) If something is a day late and a dollar short, it is too little, too late.
A fool and his money are soon parted
This idiom means that people who aren't careful with their money spend it quickly. 'A fool and his money are easily parted' is an alternative form of the idiom.
About as useful as a chocolate teapot
Someone or something that is of no practical use is about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
Zero hour
The time when something important is to begin is zero hour.
Zero tolerance
If the police have a zero tolerance policy, they will not overlook any crime, no matter how small or trivial.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

IDIOMS

Read from the same page
When people are reading from the same page, they say the same things in public about an issue.
Recharge your batteries
If you recharge your batteries, you do something to regain your energy after working hard for a long time.
Red carpet
If you give someone the red-carpet treatment, you give them a special welcome to show that you think they are important. You can roll out the red carpet, too.
Red rag to a bull
If something is a red rag to a bull, it is something that will inevitably make somebody angry or cross.
Reds under the bed
An ironic allusion to the obsession some people have that there are reds (communists) everywhere plotting violent revolution.
Reduce to ashes
If something is reduced to ashes, it is destroyed or made useless. His infidelities reduced their relationship to ashes.

Monday, August 24, 2009

vocabulary part 02

Cogent = සිතට කාවදින, විශ්වාසය ඇති කරවන

Spectacular = විශිෂ්ට

Imposter = ප්රතිරූපකයා

op⋅pose = විරුද්ධ වෙනවා

Weed=වල් උදුරනවා, වැදගැම්මකට නැති තැනැත්තා, වල් පැළෑටිය




Wednesday, August 19, 2009

When do we use "being" and "been"?

"Being" is present tense. "Been" is the past participle of "be".
*He is being given an award.
*The award has been given for many years."

*Are you being served?
*I have been served.

You are "being" very annoying by posting this question under the wrong category. What kind of human "being" would do such a thing? However, I digress. Are you being served?

Being is the Present Continuous of the form to be. This is used for actions occuring right now that are still going on as in:
Why are you being so silly?
He's being a total idiot.
Been is the past participle of to be, used in the Present Perfect tense, which describes actions in the past that continue into the present:
I've been living in Africa for the past 17 years.
That child has been crying all morning!
In both the above examples the action started some time back and is still going on.

How to use "Being"

It appears that the writer is incorporating an elliptical clause--
"This is a page (which is) being posted back to itself."
The writer has dropped the 'which is' and left the main verb there.

If you said only "This is a page posted back to itself,"
you leave out the idea that someone is doing the posting, I think.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Vocabulary - part 01

encroach - අයුතු ලෙස අල්ලා ගන්නවා
mischief - අනාදරය, අලාභය
claim - n. අයිතිය, අයිතිවාසිකම
v. අයිතිය කියා පානවා, අයිතිවාසිකම් කියනවා
mad - උම්මත්තක, සිහි විකල
fudge - n. හෑල්ල
v. බොරු ප්‍රබන්ධ කරනවා