LANGUAGE AND USE
Manage English Idioms - die - do- draw - drop
The English language, as we have mentioned in previous articles is especially rich in idiomatic expressions. Anyone who wants to achieve a high level of proficiency in English should study them in detail and be ready to use them naturally to speak or write in different situations. This time we will make a presentation of the most common idioms with die, do, draw and drop to include in your vocabulary and that of your students.
DIE
When some kind of sound dies away it becomes gradually fainter till it is inaudible.
e.g. The soldiers stayed in their hiding place till the sound of their enemies footsteps had died away.
Riots, fires or excitement die down when they become gradually calmer and finally disappear.
e.g. As soon as the revolt had died down, the police went back to their headquarters.
If customs, races, species of animals, etc. die out they become extinct.
e.g. Whales would have died out long ago if governments had not issued fishing restrictions.
DO
Do is widely used in English as part of idiomatic expressions. We have organized groups to study those idioms:
e.g. I copied it much better than you did.
There are two issues worthwhile mentioning here. First we should make sure do refers back to the previous verb in the sentence.
e.g. We requested a written contract and they accepted to do so.
In this sentence do has no connection with request. We should end the sentence after accept.
And the second issue is never to use do when the preceding verb is to have or to be. This mistake is easily made when there is a past participle.
e.g. If you have felt embarrassed, as I have done, you know what you have to do now.
To do the sights: to go sightseeing.
e.g. They did Madrid in three days.
- to do your hair: to wash or comb your hair.
e.g. Priscilla is having her hair done at the hairdresser’s right now.
- to do an essay, a book, a report, etc: to write.
e.g. I have to do an essay for tomorrow, Mum. Can you help me?
- to do a room: to clean and tidy.
e.g. The maid will do your room right away, Sir.
- a car does 190 km an hour: to go at a top speed of.
e.g. No way, my car will never do 200 km an hour!
- to do 40 km a day: to travel a distance of.
e.g. I do 50 km a day to go to work.
- to do the books: to be in charge of the accounts in a company.
e.g. My husband is not a graduated accountant but he still does the books in his firm.
- to do your teeth: to brush.
e.g. Don’t go to bed if you still haven’t done your teeth!
- to do a house or a room: to paint.
e.g. When the decorator arrives, tell him to start doing the living room, please.
- to do a play: to produce, write or act in a theatre play.
e.g. Tim Williams is about to do a new horror play.
e.g. But he did tell you the truth; I can swear!
Do is often used instead of please to make an offer or instruction more polite:
e.g. “Do take one.” for “Please, take one.”
- to do up: to button up or close a zip.
e.g. I’ll help you do up your shirt, honey; and then you try putting on your sweater on your own. You are a big boy now!
e.g. Do up your zip before going out. It’s freezing cold!
- to do up: to pack.
e.g. All set to go to the party! There’s only one thing left, we have to do up the present.
- to do up: to tie.
e.g. Can you do up my shoelaces please, Miss Nelson?
- to do up: to redecorate.
e.g. I need to have my house done up. Do you know anybody you can recommend to do the job?
- To do away with: to abolish.
e.g. The president has announced that he wants to do away with the regulations restricting drinking hours.
If you do well, you make progress whereas if you do good to someone, you help them or do something of benefit to them.
e.g. I’m so glad. Brad is finally doing really well at school. His report card was much better than last term.
e.g. After his wife’s death, he turned to doing good to children in the streets and he opened a home to house homeless kids.
When we speak about the desired effect of something, we can use the expression do the trick.
e.g. If he keeps on misbehaving in class, we’ll talk to his father. That will certainly do the trick.
Another useful expression is nothing doing which denotes refusal or some other kind of failure.
e.g. I’ve already asked him three times but nothing doing. We’ll have to find another way out. (but he refused to fulfill our request)
Can do with is a good synonym for need in positive contexts.
e.g. I could do with a glass of coke. I’m rather thirsty.
If you want to express the idea that you will have to exist without something you can use the expression do without it.
e.g. I’m really sorry but I didn’t go to the supermarket today and there’s no more beer. We’ll have to do without it.
DRAW
If you draw back, you retire or recoil.
e.g. Don’t tell me you want to draw back now; we have already launched the campaign.
When you draw up a vehicle you stop it at a certain place.
e.g. The van drew up at the curb and two armed men got out.
You draw up a plan, contract or agreement when you make it.
e.g. Both associates signed the lease they had drawn up.
DROP
The basic meaning of drop is to let something fall as in:
e.g. She accidentally dropped the glass and it broke.
But in combination with other words drop can convey many other different ideas.
If you drop somebody, you end up a relationship with that person.
e.g. After the team found out that he had cheated, they dropped him from the group.
When you drop a project, you give it up – you stop working on it.
e.g. They dropped the housing project because of legal issues.
If you wish to say that someone has fallen asleep, you may also say that they have dropped off.
e.g. My mother never gets to the end of a film; she always drops off by the middle of them.
If you write a short letter or e-mail, you drop a line.
e.g. Wait for my e-mail. I’ll drop you a line as soon as I have news.
You drop in when you pay an informal visit to somebody.
e.g. I’m so glad you’ve dropped in for a cup of tea.
You drop out when you retire from a scheme or a plan.
e.g. We will have to cancel the excursion to the mountains because many people have dropped out.
The noun drop-out is commonly used to refer to a person who lacked the energy or stamina to carry on with a plan or project they had started.
e.g. We have already had four drop-outs in the course, there are twelve students left in the class.
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The English language, as we have mentioned in previous articles is especially rich in idiomatic expressions. Anyone who wants to achieve a high level of proficiency in English should study them in detail and be ready to use them naturally to speak or write in different situations. This time we will make a presentation of the most common idioms with die, do, draw and drop to include in your vocabulary and that of your students.
DIE
When some kind of sound dies away it becomes gradually fainter till it is inaudible.
e.g. The soldiers stayed in their hiding place till the sound of their enemies footsteps had died away.
Riots, fires or excitement die down when they become gradually calmer and finally disappear.
e.g. As soon as the revolt had died down, the police went back to their headquarters.
If customs, races, species of animals, etc. die out they become extinct.
e.g. Whales would have died out long ago if governments had not issued fishing restrictions.
DO
Do is widely used in English as part of idiomatic expressions. We have organized groups to study those idioms:
- To avoid repetition.
e.g. I copied it much better than you did.
There are two issues worthwhile mentioning here. First we should make sure do refers back to the previous verb in the sentence.
e.g. We requested a written contract and they accepted to do so.
In this sentence do has no connection with request. We should end the sentence after accept.
And the second issue is never to use do when the preceding verb is to have or to be. This mistake is easily made when there is a past participle.
e.g. If you have felt embarrassed, as I have done, you know what you have to do now.
- Substituting another verb.
To do the sights: to go sightseeing.
e.g. They did Madrid in three days.
- to do your hair: to wash or comb your hair.
e.g. Priscilla is having her hair done at the hairdresser’s right now.
- to do an essay, a book, a report, etc: to write.
e.g. I have to do an essay for tomorrow, Mum. Can you help me?
- to do a room: to clean and tidy.
e.g. The maid will do your room right away, Sir.
- a car does 190 km an hour: to go at a top speed of.
e.g. No way, my car will never do 200 km an hour!
- to do 40 km a day: to travel a distance of.
e.g. I do 50 km a day to go to work.
- to do the books: to be in charge of the accounts in a company.
e.g. My husband is not a graduated accountant but he still does the books in his firm.
- to do your teeth: to brush.
e.g. Don’t go to bed if you still haven’t done your teeth!
- to do a house or a room: to paint.
e.g. When the decorator arrives, tell him to start doing the living room, please.
- to do a play: to produce, write or act in a theatre play.
e.g. Tim Williams is about to do a new horror play.
- For emphasis
e.g. But he did tell you the truth; I can swear!
Do is often used instead of please to make an offer or instruction more polite:
e.g. “Do take one.” for “Please, take one.”
- In prepositional idiomatic expressions.
- to do up: to button up or close a zip.
e.g. I’ll help you do up your shirt, honey; and then you try putting on your sweater on your own. You are a big boy now!
e.g. Do up your zip before going out. It’s freezing cold!
- to do up: to pack.
e.g. All set to go to the party! There’s only one thing left, we have to do up the present.
- to do up: to tie.
e.g. Can you do up my shoelaces please, Miss Nelson?
- to do up: to redecorate.
e.g. I need to have my house done up. Do you know anybody you can recommend to do the job?
- To do away with: to abolish.
e.g. The president has announced that he wants to do away with the regulations restricting drinking hours.
If you do well, you make progress whereas if you do good to someone, you help them or do something of benefit to them.
e.g. I’m so glad. Brad is finally doing really well at school. His report card was much better than last term.
e.g. After his wife’s death, he turned to doing good to children in the streets and he opened a home to house homeless kids.
When we speak about the desired effect of something, we can use the expression do the trick.
e.g. If he keeps on misbehaving in class, we’ll talk to his father. That will certainly do the trick.
Another useful expression is nothing doing which denotes refusal or some other kind of failure.
e.g. I’ve already asked him three times but nothing doing. We’ll have to find another way out. (but he refused to fulfill our request)
Can do with is a good synonym for need in positive contexts.
e.g. I could do with a glass of coke. I’m rather thirsty.
If you want to express the idea that you will have to exist without something you can use the expression do without it.
e.g. I’m really sorry but I didn’t go to the supermarket today and there’s no more beer. We’ll have to do without it.
DRAW
If you draw back, you retire or recoil.
e.g. Don’t tell me you want to draw back now; we have already launched the campaign.
When you draw up a vehicle you stop it at a certain place.
e.g. The van drew up at the curb and two armed men got out.
You draw up a plan, contract or agreement when you make it.
e.g. Both associates signed the lease they had drawn up.
DROP
The basic meaning of drop is to let something fall as in:
e.g. She accidentally dropped the glass and it broke.
But in combination with other words drop can convey many other different ideas.
If you drop somebody, you end up a relationship with that person.
e.g. After the team found out that he had cheated, they dropped him from the group.
When you drop a project, you give it up – you stop working on it.
e.g. They dropped the housing project because of legal issues.
If you wish to say that someone has fallen asleep, you may also say that they have dropped off.
e.g. My mother never gets to the end of a film; she always drops off by the middle of them.
If you write a short letter or e-mail, you drop a line.
e.g. Wait for my e-mail. I’ll drop you a line as soon as I have news.
You drop in when you pay an informal visit to somebody.
e.g. I’m so glad you’ve dropped in for a cup of tea.
You drop out when you retire from a scheme or a plan.
e.g. We will have to cancel the excursion to the mountains because many people have dropped out.
The noun drop-out is commonly used to refer to a person who lacked the energy or stamina to carry on with a plan or project they had started.
e.g. We have already had four drop-outs in the course, there are twelve students left in the class.
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