“To make matters worse, one of the books I need is checked out.”

You have a big research paper due for school in 2 days, and you're worried that you won't be able to make the deadline. You're complaining to one of your classmates who you're working with. You've just listed two problems that are making it hard for you to finish your paper. Now you say:

To make matters worse, one of the books I need is checked out.

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“I didn't want to make her feel self-conscious.”

Today your daughter made a really funny mistake on her science homework. You wanted to laugh about it, but you didn't want to upset her so you stopped yourself from laughing. Now you're telling your husband about it and explaining why you did that. You say:

I didn't want to make her feel self-conscious.

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“Do you get what I'm trying to get across?”

You're reviewing a difficult writing assignment with a group of classmates. You asked a classmate to read your essay. Now she has finished reading it, and you want to ask her whether she understood it. You say:

Do you get what I'm trying to get across?

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“You want to meet up after class and go over it?”

You're a college student. You're talking with some classmates who you've spoken to before, about a difficult homework assignment. You've all started working on it, but you're not sure if you're doing it correctly. You want to review the assignment with these classmates, so you say:

You want to meet up after class and go over it?

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“What? You mean you don't want to pull an all-nighter?”

You're working on a project at work with a group of people. You're not finished with it, but everyone is tired and it's getting late, so someone suggests picking it back up the next day. You think that's a good idea, but you want to joke that everyone should stay all night to work on it. You say:

What? You mean you don't want to pull an all-nighter?

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“You've just got to force yourself to sit down and concentrate.”

Your son is getting bad grades in school and you want him to study harder. He complains that he can't focus on his homework and wants to know how he can become more focused. You don't think there's any special method except just trying harder. You say:

You've just got to force yourself to sit down and concentrate.

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“How can you concentrate with all that going on?”

Your teenage son is chatting with his friends and watching videos on his computer while he does his homework. You think it must be distracting for him and he won't be able to learn. You say:

How can you concentrate with all that going on?

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“Are you going to be able to make the deadline?”

Memorize

There is a school assignment due in two days. You are talking to your friend, who hasn't started working on the assignment. You are worried for your friend that she won't be able to finish it by the deadline. You ask her:

Are you going to be able to make the deadline?

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