Activities

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Contextualizing

Learning how to use idioms in context is important. Of course, idioms are not always easy to understand. There are some resources which can help understanding the definition of some idioms; how ever, the main purpose of this lesson is to help you understand when to use them.

You might wonder how to recognize an idiom while reading a book, online or perhaps watching TV. Here are a few tips on how you to spot them:

Idioms don’t literally mean what they say. That’s right, the actual meaning of the words don’t necessarily indicate the meaning of the idiom. Let’s take a look at a few:

“Remember my son, the early bird catches the worm.”

This idiom means that it’s important to get up and get to work in order to succeed in life. Of course, early birds probably catch worms as well! However, the meaning has little to do with the words. 

Idioms can seem out of context. You can be sure you’ve spotted an idiom if you notice an expression that is out of place. For example, let’s imagine that you’re in a business meeting and someone says:

“Well, it’ll be smooth sailing after this quarter.”

If you’re in a business meeting, you don’t expect to be talking about sailing on the open sea. This is an example of something out of context. It doesn’t fit in. That’s a sure sign that it might be an idiom. Make sure to use idioms according to the place and the situation. There are idioms which are appropriate for work and other formal situations, and there are also informal idioms which can be used in a more lose conversation with your friends at a party.