Study these to understand English better.

Have you ever talked to someone and heard a phrase that didn’t particularly make sense?

Like, you just didn’t understand why they said it or why they’re doing the thing they said.

For example, it’s late at night and your friend, out of nowhere, tells you that he’s going to hit the hay.

You think to yourself, “Why would this fool hit the hay? And why would he do it this late at night?”

Well, your friend isn’t actually hitting hay. He just used an idiom to express something else.

Idioms are phrases that have figurative or nonliteral meanings. So, when people use idioms, they don’t mean what they’re saying.

Idioms are used often in English and it’s important to know and understand them because it’ll prevent misunderstandings.

Here are 12 common English idioms:

1. “Piece of cake" means something was easy.
2. For example: “That test was a piece of cake.”
3. “Raining cats and dogs” means raining hard.
4. For example: “There was a flash flood yesterday because it was raining cats and dogs.”
5. “Hit the nail on the head" means being exactly right.
6. For example: “You hit the nail on the head when you solved that mystery.”
7. “Hit the hay” means going to bed.
8. For example: “I am tired. I’m going to hit the hay.”
9. “Cost an arm and a leg” means really expensive.
10. For example: “That fancy dinner cost me an arm and a leg!”
11. “Cut to the chase” means get to the point.
12. For example: “Can you cut to the chase? I have to go soon.”
13. “Kill two birds with one stone” means get two things done at once.
14. For example: “You can kill two birds with one stone if you come with me.”
15. “Spill the beans” means to reveal a secret.
16. For example: “Hey, spill the beans! Who did you see yesterday?”
17. “Under the weather” means not feeling well.
18. For example: “I’m feeling under the weather and can’t come in today.”
19. “Once in a blue moon” means rarely or not often.
20. For example: “You should come to this concert because they perform once in a blue moon.”
21. “Hit the books” means to study.
22. For example: “I can’t come to the concert because I have to hit the books. I have an exam tomorrow.”
23. “Call it a day” means to stop working.
24. For example: “Let’s call it a day. We’ve been working since 9 this morning.

Final Thoughts

Learning English can be hard.

But if you put in the work and practice daily, your knowledge of the language will build and compound.

And one of the best ways to practice daily is with grammar lessons and questions because they’ll provide hands-on practice for skill and knowledge development.

If you think this can help you, check out my grammar workbooks here.