PhraseMix Articles

24 phrases for describing your health problems and symptoms in English

Being able to explain how you feel in English is extremely important if you live or travel in an English-speaking country. You need to be able to tell a doctor exactly how you feel. For example, is your pain sharp, dull, excruciating? Is it a burning pain, or do you feel sore? All of these...

English expressions for talking about the beach

It's summertime, and for a lot of people that means it's time to take a vacation at the beach. (Notice that we often call it "the beach" unless you're talking about a specific one.) Here are some phrases that you can use to talk about all the things that go on at the beach.

• build a sandcastle
• ...

English phrases for talking about sports

I have to admit that I'm not much of a sports fan myself. But here are a few phrases that are so common that even I know them:

• They have the home team advantage.
• They're tied for third.
• They had a 20-game winning streak.
• This is their fifth straight losing season.
• The season kicks off in...

Your morning routine

Here are some phrases that describe what you do every morning:

• I'm up bright and early.
• I'm up at the crack of dawn.
• I wake up to an alarm.
• I'll usually hit "snooze" a few times.
• I roll out of bed at about 8:00.
• I tend to sleep in.
• I've got to have my coffee first thing in the morning.
• Then I...

How to talk to young children in English

Do you know these English phrases for talking with young children? Words that English speakers use with kids have a lot of repetition ("no-no", "pee-pee", etc.) and often end in the "i" sound ("doggie", "yucky", etc.)

Here are some common examples of things people say to young children.

• Good...

Phrases using "adjust"

• adjust the temperature
• adjust your attitude
• adjust the settings
• adjust your mirror
• (your eyes) adjust to the light/dark
• adjust your package

Phrases using the word "foreign"

• A foreign language is a language which is not someone's native language.
• A foreign country is a country that is not one's own.
• A country's foreign policy is how that country acts toward other countries.
• Foreign currency is another country's money.
• Foreign exchange rates are...

Study and use

When have you made the fastest improvements in your language learning? I was thinking about this recently. I remembered that I've improved the fastest when I was:

1. Studying the language every day by looking up new words, drilling with lists, and reading explanations of grammatical structures
2. ...

What's the difference between a 'phrase', an 'idiom', a 'phrasal verb', a 'saying', an 'aphorism', etc.?

What is difference between a "phrase" and an "idiom", and what are "proverbs" and "phrasal verbs"?

I don't think it's very important to know the differences between these. The important thing is to learn as much as you can, whether it be idioms, phrasal verbs, or whatever.

- "Phrase" can really...

The key to understanding natural spoken English

Today a friend told me a story. She was doing translation work at a booth in a restaurant trade show. She was translating for the CEO of a company that made high-quality kitchen knives.

This CEO had studied English, but hadn't gotten many chances to use English in real situations. So he was able...