MILI B1 EN - YLagadic: Nov

A. The Most Common 30+ Business Idioms

1. Hand in hand
2. Same boat
3. Multi-task
4. Cut corners
5. Between a rock and a hard place

I suppose some people buy the New York Times to read about technology or international news. Others enjoy reading about science or health, sports or politics. Then there is the group that turns first to the editorials or the classifieds, the fashion section, real estate pages or even the job market listings. Still others enjoy the crosswords and the daily bridge tips. But my main reason to read the New York Times is the business section, several pages of up-to-date articles about the latest news from the business world. In doing so, I have come to notice the word choices in the business articles and how these go hand in hand (together; along with) with the goal of my company TalktoCanada. We help with online teaching of English to a myriad of students all over the world. I’ve finally narrowed the top 33 business idioms down that I continually see in the New York Times. I realize that if you study and learn these idioms, you are well on your way to understanding business English. In starting TalktoCanada about 7 years ago, I am reminded daily of the rewards and challenges of owning a large and growing business. Maybe you are in the same boat (in the same situation) as I am and you also own a business or you are thinking of starting one. Maybe you work in a business or deal with businesses on a daily basis in the course of your workday. Well, I’ve learned to multi-task (do many things at once) along the way as there is seldom enough time to get everything done. One thing I promise myself is that I will not cut corners (do something the cheapest or easiest way) or sacrifice quality in what is provided to our students. Even at times when I’ve been between a rock and a hard place (a dilemma; two possibilities that are not good), I will always put our students and staff first.

6. Start-up
7. Blow you away
8. Ahead of the game
9. Go for broke
10. Game plan
11. Go down swinging
12. A long shot

Some of the start-ups (new businesses aimed at new markets) that are surfacing around the world will just blow you away (affect intensely; overwhelm). The products and services seem way ahead of the game (successful). Many of these entrepreneurs decided to go for broke (wagering everything) after developing a strong game plan (the strategy of reaching an objective). When faced with opposition, they were determined to go down swinging (keep trying until the end) even when others said it was a long shot (something that will probably not succeed but is worth trying).

13. Trade-off
14. Fall through the cracks
15. Burn out (rate)
16. Miss the boat
17. Land on your feet

You see, I think the trade-off (to lose something in return of gaining something) of owning your own business is that you have more control of your business. Sure there are a lot of things, many almost overwhelming at times that might fall through the cracks (to be forgotten; to fail) and the burn out rate (physical or mental exhaustion) is quite high. But, if you’re like me, you don’t want to miss the boat (miss an opportunity) so you’ll do everything in your power to land on your feet (to do well; to succeed).

18. Take the bull by the horns
19. On the same page
20. See eye to eye
21. Think out of the box
22. Give and take
23. Meeting someone halfway
24. Cut to the chase
25. Shot (shoot) from the hip
26. Bent over backwards
27. Water over the bridge
28. Win-win situation

I’ve learned to be adaptable. There are times when I need to take the bull by the horns (to confront a problem head on) and just do it. There are times when I must move more slowly and make sure everyone else is on the same page (have the same understanding or knowledge) and that we all see eye to eye (to be in agreement) as we move together. There are other times when the same practices are important to continue and then there are times to think out of the box (to think differently from a new perspective) for new innovation. I have learned the gentle art of give and take (free flowing of ideas and conversation; making a deal by trading) and the importance of meeting someone halfway (compromise). You might have similar stories of how you had to cut to the chase (to focus on what’s important) or how you shot from the hip (impromptu, spontaneous, spur of the moment reaction or decision) or bent over backwards (try hard to please; go out of the way) in your workings with others. And, when there are disagreements, you may have put these aside and considered them water under the bridge (something that has happened and can’t be changed) so you could have a win-win situation (a situation in which everyone participating come out on top; everyone wins or gets what they want).

29. Ball rolling
30. On the right track
31. Screw up
32. In the loop
33. Ahead of the curve

Well, it’s great that you have decided to study English. Communication is one of the keys to success in business. It helps to get the ball rolling (a situation in which everyone participating came out on top; everyone won or got what they wanted) and to keep you on the right track (to continue on the right path or process) so there’s less chance of a screw up (not doing well; a mistake). When everyone is in the loop (understands what’s happening), the business has more of a chance to be ahead of the curve (doing better than expected).

B. Adverbs and Adjectives

Adjectives describe or modify nouns.

Noun = shoes

His shoes are red.

There are three shoes.

The shoes are shiny.

Adverbs describe or modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

He ran quickly.

He ran very quickly.

She is really busy.

She is not worried.

Adjectives can usually be made into adverbs by adding “ly” to the end.

Quick => Quickly

Beautiful => Beautifully

Sneaky => Sneakily

Expensive => Expensively

Construction

General Rule Adverbs are usually very easy to construct: we simply add the ending ly to the adjective.

Example:: loud → loudly

Exceptions in the construction

For true, due, and whole, we remove the e before adding ly.

Example:

true → truly
If the last letter of the adjective is y, it becomes an i when we add ly.

Example:

happy → happily
If an adjective ends with a consonant + le, the le is removed before we add ly.

Example:

sensible → sensibly
If an adjective ends with ll, we simply add a y.
(but: If an adjective only ends with l, then we still add ly.)

Example:

full → fully
(but: final → finally)

Adjectives ending in ic

For adjectives with the ending ic, we construct the adverb using ally (exception: public → publicly).

Example:: fantastic → fantastically

Irregular Constructions

The adjectives difficult, good and public, as well as all adjectives that end in ly, have irregular adverb constructions. For the former three adjectives, the adverbs are constructed in this way:

Irregular Adverbs

adjective => adverb

good => well

fast => fast

hard => hard

little => little

C. List of Common adjectives and adverbs

We'll review the list and you'll come up with sample sentences using these adverbs and adjectives

Link to the worksheet:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8g3yDGyanyycTd4Y3lhTzNsMVk/view?usp=sharing

D. Exercises

Directions: read each sentence and determine whether the adverb or adjective should be used.

Adjectives: modify or describe nouns and pronouns. Ex: The green house is pretty.

Adverbs: modify or describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Ex: I ran quickly by the very old dog.

1. The students were very quiet / quietly when they entered the circus tent.