Post on 29-Jan-2015
description
English exspressions, idioms, proverbs
Università del Salento
Corso di Informatica 2010-2011Prof.ssa: Mirto MariaStudente: Valentina Mi
Sommario
Obiettivo presentazioneDA MODIFICARE – INTEGRARE- ECC. Imparare divertendosi. Uno dei modi usati da tante persone in tutto il mondo per imparare l'inglese è quello di coniugarlo con la passione per la musica (ma anche prov. Espressioni idiomatiche, ecc.) Tante persone cercano infatti, attraverso l'apprendimento e la comprensione delle proprie canzoni preferite di decodificare i meccanismi di una lingua come l'inglese
A proverb is a short well-known expressionthat states a general truth or gives advice.
IdiomsAn idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning of the words of which it is made. An idiom is generally a colloquial metaphor — a term requiring some foundational knowledge, information, or experience where conversational parties must possess common cultural references. Therefore, idioms are not considered part of the language, but part of the culture. Nevertheless idioms often are useless beyond their local context, some idioms can be more universal than others, can be easily translated, and the metaphoric meaning can be deduced.
Expressions with run, look and catch
Expression Meaning Italiano
Look on the bright side Be cheerful/optimistic Vedere il bello della vita, vedere tutto rosa
Never look a gift horse in the mouth
Be ungreatful for what you are given
A caval donato non si guarda in bocca
Look down your nose at
Feel superior to Guardare qn dall’alto in basso
Expression Meaning Italiano
Look like a drowned rat
Be completely soaked Essere bagnato come un pulcino, essere bagnato fradicio
Catch someone’s eye 1. To establish eye contact with someone; to attract someone's attention2. To appear and attract someone's interest
Attirare l’attenzione di qn, dare nell’occhio
Catch somebody red-handed
Apprhend sb in the act of doing sth
Prendere, catturare sul colpo
Expression Meaning Italiano
Run a business Manage a company Condurre/amministrare un’azienda
Run off with To steel sth and take it away
Correre via dopo aver rubato qc, andarsene di corsa
Run out of Have no more left Rimanere senza
Run short of Have an insufficient supply of
Rimanere a corto di
Idioms connected with aspects of people’s personalityIdiom Meaning Italiano
A new broom A new person in charge who make changes
Un nuovo direttore o una persona con delle responsabilità che apporta subito dei cambiamenti
A wet blanket Someone who does not want to join in and spoils the fun for everybody else
Guastafeste
A stuffed shirt A pompous, self-opinioned person
Essere un pallone gonfiato
A couch potato S/o who like to sit in comfort and do nothing
Sedentario, pantofolaio
Expression Meaning Italiano
A fair wheater friend S/o who stands by you only when things are going well
Chi è amico solo quando le cose vanno bene, un amico inaffidabile, un opportunista
A noisy parker A gossip who wants to know everything that happens to other people
Qn a cui piace spettegolare/sparlare su qn
An armchair critic S/o who expresses opinions about things they know very little about
Critico incompetente
A rolling stone S/o who doesn’t like to stay in one place
Una persona a cui non piace stare nello stesso posto; un vagabondo
PROVERB: A rolling stone gathers no mossA rolling stone gathers no moss:
1- A person who never settles in one place will never be successful
2- A person who does not keep active will grow mouldy
Pietra mossa non fa muschio:
1- Chi cambia continuamente attività non fa fortuna
2- Chi non è attivo, vive nell’ozio o sta sempre nello stesso luogo “fa la muffa”
Expressions with timeExpression Meaning Italian
For the time being As a temporary measure
Per il momento
Time will tell Sth you will only know in the future
Kill time To pass the time; to spend the time doing sth that is not important while you’re waiting for sth else to happen
Ingannare il tempo, ammazzare il tempo, passare il tempo
Just in the nick of time
With only seconds to spare; at the precise moment
Proprio nel momento giusto
Do time To spend time in prison
Buy Time Delay things (an event/a decision)
Guadagnare tempo
Expressions with Book Expression Meaning Italiano
To throw the book at someone
To punish sb who has committed an offence as severely as possible
Incriminare/accusare qn; farla pagare cara
To turn over a new leaf To change Girare pagina, cambiare
To do something by the book
Following rules and instructions in a very strict way
Correttamente, secondo le regole
To take a leaf out of someone’s book
To copy somebody’s behaviour and do things in the same way that they do because they are successful
Seguire l’esempio di qn
To be in someone’s good/bad books
To say that sb is pleased/annoyed with you
Andare a genio a qn; (essere nel libro nero di qn); essere nelle grazie di qn
Expressions with doExpression Meanings
Do wonders for Help significantly; improve a situation drastically
Fare miracoli
Do the donkey work Being responsable for all the hard work
Fare il lavoro più ingrato, faticoso
Do more harm than good
Cause more problems rather than improving the situation
Fare più male che bene
There’s no harm in trying (Prov.)
used to say that something seems reasonable
Tentar non nuoce
Different ways of looking at somethingVerb Meaning
Glimpse A look at sb/sth for a very short time, when you do not see the person or thing completely
occhiata, sguardo veloce intravedere, vedere di sfuggita
Gaze To look steadily, intently, and with fixed attention
sguardo m. fisso; fissare con ammirazione, contemplare
Stare To look at sb/sth for a long time
Fissare qn, qc
Glance To look quickly at sb/sth.
Occhiata, sguardo rapido
Blink Close the eyelids rapidly.Es: in the blink of an eye = very quickly
battito m. di ciglia;in the ~ of an eye in un batter d'occhio
Weep Cry Piangere
Wink Close one eyelid only strizzare l’occhio, sbattere le ciglia, ammiccare
Glare Look in an angry way To stare fixedly and angrily
Peep To look quickly and secretely at sth
Sbirciare
Peer Look closely at (as if trying to see more clearly)
Fissare qc da vicino
Expressions with light and darkLight at the end of the tunnel
A sign that a difficult period will finish
Vedere la luce in fondo al “tunnel” , un periodo difficile che sta per finire
Keep someone in the dark
Withold information from s/o
Non dire i dettagli su qc intenzionalmente
Make light of something
Not take sth seriously Non prende qc seriamente
Go out like a light Fall asleep immediately
Addormentarsi di colpo
A leep in the dark A risk with unknown consequences
Un salto nel buio
Expression Meaning Italiano
The bright lights The excitement and entertainment of the city
Agitazione, intrattenimento, divertimento della città
Come to light Be revealed Essere rivelato
See the light Understand and realise you have been wrong.
“Aprire gli occhi su qc”, accorgersi
A dark horse A mysterious person; a person who doesn’t tell other people much about oneself, and who surprises people by having interesting qualities.
Una persona misteriosa. Qn che non parla molto di se stesso, ma sorprende gli altri avendo delle interessanti qualità