noun
1 used instead of the name of an object
ADJECTIVE
▪ basic , essential
▪
I need to buy a few basic ~s like bread and milk.
VERB + THING
▪ make
▪
He makes ~s out of wood.
2 things objects/clothing/tools
ADJECTIVE
▪ breakfast , lunch , etc. (all esp. BrE )
▪
He hadn't washed up the dinner ~s yet.
▪ swimming , tennis , etc. (all esp. BrE )
VERB + THINGS
▪ get together , pack
▪
Come on kids, get your ~s together—we're going.
▪ put on , take off
▪
Hang on a second—I'll just take off my painting ~s (= clothes) .
▪ put away
▪ clear away , clear up , stow ( esp. AmE ), tidy away ( esp. BrE ), tidy up ( esp. BrE )
▪
Clear your painting ~s (= materials) away.
3 a thing (used with negatives) anything
VERB + A THING
▪ hear , know , notice , see
▪
I can't see a ~ without my glasses.
▪ miss
▪
I'm going to arrive early because I don't want to miss a ~.
▪ do
▪
She's tricked you, and you can't do a ~ about it.
▪ eat
▪
I haven't eaten a ~ all day.
▪ say
▪
Nobody said a ~ when he appeared with a wig on.
▪ mean
▪
Fame and fortune don't mean a ~ if you don't have happiness.
4 fact/event/situation/action
ADJECTIVE
▪ good , great , positive
▪
It's a good ~ you remembered to turn off the gas!
▪
The best ~ would be to apologize straight away.
▪
If she works hard she's capable of great ~s.
▪
Try to look on your rejection as a positive ~.
▪ beautiful , cool ( informal ), lovely ( esp. BrE ), nice , wonderful
▪ bad , negative
▪
Too much studying can be a bad ~.
▪
It's no bad ~ to express your anger.
▪ appalling ( esp. BrE ), awful , dreadful , horrible , terrible
▪
That was a horrible ~ to say to her.
▪ sad
▪ amazing , curious , exciting , extraordinary , funny , interesting , odd , remarkable , startling , strange , striking , surprising , weird
▪
The amazing ~ is, he wouldn't accept any money!
▪ frightening
▪ annoying
▪ foolish , ridiculous , silly , stupid
▪
I admit it was a foolish ~ to do.
▪ clever ( esp. BrE ), smart ( esp. AmE )
▪
That wasn't a very smart ~ to do!
▪ big , crucial , important , key , main , vital
▪
The key ~ is to remain calm.
▪ little , the slightest , small , trivial
▪
I give thanks for every little ~.
▪
He loses his temper at the slightest ~.
▪
It's such a small ~ to ask.
▪ easy , simple
▪
Apologizing is never the easiest ~ to do.
▪ difficult , hard
▪ brave , dangerous , risky
▪ sure ( esp. AmE )
▪
His new film seems like a sure ~ (= a certain success) .
▪ natural
▪
Entertaining people is the most natural ~ in the world for her.
▪ close ( esp. BrE ), close-run ( BrE )
▪
I managed to get on the train, but it was a close ~ (= I almost missed it) .
▪ rare
▪ everyday
▪
She helped with the everyday ~s like shopping and cooking.
▪ usual
▪
I did my usual ~ of losing my keys.
▪ nearest , next-best
▪
He's the nearest ~ to a movie star I've ever met.
▪
I wanted to be a musician, but teaching music is the next-best ~.
▪ first
▪
She said the first ~ that came into her head.
▪ next
▪
What's the next ~ you want me to do?
▪ last
▪
The last ~ she wanted was to upset her parents.
▪ real
▪
It's just a practice, not the real ~.
▪ the whole
▪
Let's forget the whole ~.
… OF THINGS
▪ loads ( esp. BrE ), lots , plenty , tons
▪
I have loads of ~s to do today.
▪
There are plenty of ~s to say about it.
VERB + THING
▪ do
▪
He has a funny way of doing ~s.
▪
It's impossible to get ~s done when you're taking care of a baby.
▪ make up , say
▪
Who's been saying ~s about me?
▪ be hearing/imagining/seeing
▪
There's nobody at the door—you must have been imagining ~s!
THING + VERB
▪ go on , happen , occur
▪
There are some weird ~s going on in that house.
▪
A funny ~ happened to me this morning …
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ about
▪
The best ~ about Alan is he's always honest.
PHRASES
▪ among other ~s
▪
Among other ~s, I have to deal with mail and keep the accounts.
▪ have better ~s to do
▪
I've better ~s to do than stand here chatting all day!
▪ kind/sort of ~
▪
They go canoeing, climbing, that sort of ~.
▪ know/learn/teach sb a ~ or two
▪
Jack knows a ~ or two about kids—he has five.
▪ the next big ~
▪
Advertising on blogs is going to be the next big ~.
▪ no such ~
▪
There's no such ~ as ghosts (= they don't exist) .
▪ one ~ leads to another
▪
One ~ led to another and we ended up dating.
▪ such a ~/a ~ like that
▪
People defraud their companies every day, but Mike would never do such a ~!
▪ a ~ of the past
▪
Books may one day become a ~ of the past.
5 things general situation, as it affects sb
VERB + THINGS
▪ think over/through
▪
She's taken a few days off to think ~s over.
▪ look at , see
▪
Try to look at ~s from my point of view.
▪ discuss , talk over , talk through
▪
We arranged to meet and talk ~s over.
▪ explain
▪ accept
▪
You should suggest changes, rather than accept ~s as they are.
▪ change
▪ arrange , deal with , fix , handle , look after ( esp. BrE ), run , sort out , take care of
▪
I want to get ~s sorted out before I go away.
▪
Who's going to take care of ~s while you're away?
▪ straighten out
▪ work out
▪
I have to work ~s out my own way.
▪ mess up , spoil
▪ complicate
▪
Sorry, I didn't mean to complicate ~s.
▪ patch up
▪
They patched ~s up a week after their quarrel.
▪ speed along/up
▪
It might speed ~s up if you call them.
▪ hold up , slow down
THINGS + VERB
▪ stand
▪
As ~s stand at present, he seems certain to win.
▪ be going
▪
He asked me how ~s were going.
▪ change
▪ go according to plan , go to plan , go well , work , work out
▪
I just don't know if ~s are going to work out.
▪ get better , improve , look up
▪
We were in trouble but now ~s are looking up.
▪ look bright , look good , look promising , look rosy
▪
There was a week to go to the deadline and ~s were looking good.
▪ look bleak , look grim
▪
Things looked bleak for the future of the factory.
▪ be in a mess , get into a mess , get out of control , get out of hand , go wrong
▪ get worse , go downhill
▪ turn out
▪
I'm sure ~s will turn out OK.
▪ come to a head
▪
Things came to a head when money was found to be missing from the account.
▪ get to sb
▪
Try not to let ~s get to you.
PHRASES
▪ all ~s being equal , other ~s being equal
▪
All other ~s being equal, the bigger fighter should win.
▪ all ~s considered
▪
All ~s considered, I think we've done a good job.
▪ get/keep ~s going , get/keep ~s moving
▪
They hired temporary staff to keep ~s going over the summer.
▪ get ~s straight , put ~s straight , set ~s straight
▪
I marched into his office to get a few ~s straight.
▪ get ~s under control , have ~s under control , keep ~s under control
▪
He offered to help, but she assured him she had ~s under control.
▪ have ~s on your mind
▪
We chatted about school, but I could tell she had other ~s on her mind.
▪ let ~s slide , let ~s slip
▪
She'd started the term studying hard, but now was beginning to let ~s slip.
▪ let ~s run their course , let ~s happen , let ~s take their course
▪
Don't worry about it—just let ~s take their course.
▪ make ~s better, easier, difficult, worse, etc.
▪
Her apology only served to make ~s worse.
▪ put ~s right
▪
He apologized, and asked for a chance to put ~s right.
▪ ~s to come
▪
The pay cut was just a taste of ~s to come.
6 what is needed/socially acceptable
ADJECTIVE
▪ proper , right
▪
He did the right ~ and went back to his wife.
▪
I did all the right ~s but I couldn't get the engine to start.
▪ wrong
▪
She always manages to say the wrong ~.
▪ logical , obvious , prudent , sensible
▪
Calling a doctor seemed the logical ~ to do.
▪ decent , done ( esp. BrE ), honourable/honorable
▪
He did the decent ~ and resigned.
▪
It's not the done ~ to ask someone how much they earn.
▪ very
▪
Iced tea—the very ~!
VERB + THING
▪ do
▪ say
PHRASES
▪ just the ~ , not quite the ~
▪
It wouldn't be quite the ~ to turn up in running gear.
7 a person/an animal
ADJECTIVE
▪ little
▪
The baby's a pretty little ~.
▪ pretty , sweet
▪
Abby is just the sweetest little ~!
▪ old , young
▪ silly
▪ poor
▪
You must be starving, you poor ~!