常见习语及中国学生易范的英语错误

Mistakes
Bored/boring
I feel bored.
This movie is boring.
Scared/scary
I feel Scared
This book is scary.
“Play" is for children only unless it refers to a game, music, or a sport.
The kids went outside to play.
We (adults) went outside to have fun.
"It's a pity" is generally very serious
"That's too bad."
"That's a shame."
"That sucks.
Horrible/horrifying
Horrible means very bad, awful
Horrifying means scary, terrifying "Have a try" is not used in English
"Try it."
"Give it a try."
"Give it a go."
Funny/"I feel funny"
Funny means humorous.
"I feel funny" means I feel strange, uncomfortable.
"Lovers"
Be careful when using "lovers" to describe a couple—it can often mean that the two are having sex or are even having an affair with someone else.
Snake/snack
Both can be eaten, but they don't sound alike. You (had) better verb (not TO verb)
Wrong: You had better to wear more clothes.
Right: You had better wear more clothes. More+er, Most+est
Only use "more (adj.)" or "(adj)+er". "More (adj)+er" is incorrect.
The same pattern applies to most (and less, and least)
Cannot vs can not
Usually "cannot" is the correct way to express "to be unable to" "can't"
Blacker vs tanner
People become tanner when they are exposed to the sun's rays.
How to say
Instead of asking "How to say...", you should ask:
How do I say...
How do you say...
How does one say...
What should i say...
Playground/grassland
A playground is a place where small children play.
A grassland is a place with very tall grass where wild beasts live. (use "lawn" instead) Introduce you (introduce to you)
"I will introduce you" means I will introduce you to someone else.
"I will introduce to you ____" is the correct way to express it.
Accompany
(verb) with (person) is the best way to express this unless it is a formal situation
Keep somebody company is also another use China(r) Idea(r) Umbrella(r) the(r)
Don't add an "r" sound at the end of words like this
Naughty
For small children, "naughty" means misbehaved
For older children or adults, naughty means "mildy rude or indecent, especially because related to sex."
Class 5
To hit the nail on the head
To be absolutely right.
From head to toe
From the top of one's head to one's feet. Achilles' heel
A small but fatal weakness
Hot potato
A problem that is so controversial or sensitive that those handling it risk unpleasant
consequences
Gun control is a political hot potato in America.
Not so hot
Not very good.
The service here is not so hot. This restaurant is highly overrated.
Have a chip on one's shoulder
A habitually hostile or combative attitude. Eye candy
Something that is intended to be pleasant to look at but has no real meaning
A lot of these books are little more than eye candy: cute photos with one-line
captions and that's about all.
Let the cat out of the bag
To reveal a secret or a surprise by accident.
When Bill glanced at the door, he let the cat out of the bag. We knew then that he
was expecting someone to arrive.
It's a secret. Try not to let the cat out of the bag.
Bully
n 1. A person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people.
v 2. To treat in an overbearing or intimidating manner.
A miss is as good as a mile
Something that you say which means that failing to do something when you almost
succeeded is no better than failing very badly I've tried to reassure him that he only failed by three percent but the way he sees it, a miss is as good as a mile.
Play hard to get
To pretend that you are less interested in
someone than you really are as a way of making them more interested in you, especially at the start of a romantic relationship (often in
continuous tenses)
Why don't you return any of his calls? Are you playing hard to get?
Play it by ear
To decide how to deal with a situation as it develops rather than planning how you are going to react
I'm not sure how long I'll stay at the party. I'll just play it by ear.
A carrot-top
A person with red hair; a redhead.
Carrot-and-stick
Combining a promised reward with a threatened penalty
He took a carrot-and-stick approach to the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders.
Worth one's salt
Efficient and capable.
To keep one's shirt on
To remain calm or patient
The plane doesn't land for another hour, so keep your shirt on.
To lose one's shirt
To lose everything one has or owns.
Every dog has its day
Everybody succeeds sometimes.
Between a rock and a hard place
Confronted with equally unpleasant alternatives and few or no opportunities to evade or circumvent them.
Double-cross
To betray by acting in contradiction to a prior agreement
Double agent
A person pretending to work as a spy for one government while actually working as a spy for another government.。