Idioms & Phrases Exercises

Some proverbs/idioms are given below together with their meanings. Choose the correct
meaning of proverb/idiom. Choose E for none of these

1. To cry wolf 2. To have an axe to grind

a. To listen eagerly a. A private end to serve

b. To give false alarm b. To fail to arouse interest
c. To turn pale c. To have no result
d. To keep off starvation d. To work for both sides
e. None of these e. None of these

3. To end in smoke 4. To be above board

a. To make completely understand a. To have a good height

b. To ruin oneself b. To be honest in any business deal
c. To excite great applause c. They have no debts
d. To overcome someone d. To try to be beautiful
e. None of these e. None of these

5. To put one's hand to plough 6. To pick holes

a. To take up agricultural farming a. To find some reason to quarrel

b. To take a difficult task b. To destroy something
c. To get entangled into unnecessary c. To criticize someone
things d. To cut some part of an item
d. Take interest in technical work e. None of these
e. None of these

7. In summer, woolen goods are a drug 8. He works by fits and starts.

in the market.

a. Rarely available                            a. Consistently

b. Worthless products b Irregularly
c Commodities not in demand                    c. In high spirits
d Available at cheap rates d. Enthusiastically
 IDIOMS MEANING

A blessing in disguise A good thing that seemed bad at first

A dime a dozen Something common

Beat around the bush Avoid saying what you mean, usually
because it is uncomfortable

Better late than never Better to arrive late than not to come at
all

Bite the bullet To get something over with because it is

inevitable

Break a leg Good luck

Call it a day Stop working on something

Cut somebody some slack Don't be so critical

Cutting corners Doing something poorly in order to save

time or money

Easy does it Slow down

Get out of hand Get out of control

Get something out of your Do the thing you've been wanting to do

system so you can move on

Get your act together Work better or leave

Give someone the benefit of Trust what someone says

the doubt

Go back to the drawing board Start over

Hang in there Don't give up

Hit the sack Go to sleep

It's not rocket science It's not complicated

Let someone off the hook To not hold someone responsible for
something

Make a long story short Tell something briefly

Miss the boat It's too late

No pain, no gain You have to work for what you want

On the ball Doing a good job

Pull someone's leg To joke with someone

Pull yourself together Calm down

So far so good Things are going well so far

Speak of the devil The person we were just talking about

showed up!

That's the last straw My patience has run out

The best of both worlds An ideal situation

Time flies when you're having You don't notice how long something
fun lasts when it's fun

To get bent out of shape To get upset

To make matters worse Make a problem worse

Under the weather Sick

We'll cross that bridge when Let's not talk about that problem right
we come to it now

Wrap your head around Understand something complicated

something

You can say that again That's true, I agree

Your guess is as good as mine I have no idea

SENTENCE CORRECTION

Which of the phrases given below each sentence should replace the phrase printed in bold
type to make them grammatically correct? If the sentence is correct as it is, mark 'E' as the
answer.

1. The man to who I sold my house was a cheat.

A
to whom I sell
.

B. to who I sell

C
who was sold to
.

D
to whom I sold
.

E. No correction required
Answer: Option D

2. They were all shocked at his failure in the competition.

A. were shocked at all

B. had all shocked at
C. had all shocked by
D. had been all shocked on
E. No correction required

Answer: Option E

3. He found the gold coin as he cleans the floor.

A. as he had cleaned
B. while he cleans
C. which he is cleaning
D. while cleaning
E. No correction required

Answer : D

EXERCISE

1. Technology must use to feed the forces of change.

A. must be used to feed

B. must have been using to feed
C. must use having fed
D. must be using to feed
E. No correction required

2. What does agonise me most is not this criticism, but the trivial reason behind it.

A. most agonising me
B. agonises me most
C. agonising me most
D. I most agonised
E. No correction require

3. The solution that he worked out was not only correct but complicated.

A.was not only correct but also complicated.

B.was correct but complicated.
 C.was correct only but complicated.
D.No correction required

4. As there was no place in the first compartment, he shifted  to the second.

A.As there was no room in the first compartment, he moved

B.As there was no space in the first compartment, he shifted
C.As there was no seat in the first compartment, he moved
D.No correction required

5. Whether or not the rumors are true is besides the point.

A.the rumors are true are beside the point.

B.the rumors are true is beside the point.
C.the rumors are true are besides the point.
D.No correction required

6. The debris was removed from the building site and legally disposed of.

A.were removed from the building site and legally disposed.

B.were removed from the building site and legally disposed of.
C.was removed from the building site and legally disposed.
D.No correction required

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE

A sentence is written in active voice when the subject of the sentence is performing the

action.
A sentence is written in passive voice when the subject of the sentence has something done to
it by someone or something.
Ex.
Active voice: The cat was chasing the mouse.
In this sentence, 'the cat' is the subject, 'was chasing' is the verb and 'the mouse' is the object.

 Monkeys adore bananas.

 The cashier counted the money.
 The dog chased the squirrel

Passive voice: The mouse was being chased by the cat.

In this sentence 'the mouse' has become the subject which is having something done to it by the
cat.
 Bananas are adored by monkeys.
 The money was counted by the cashier.
 The squirrel was chased by the dog.

 HOW TO CONVERT ACTIVE VOICE INTO PASSIVE VOICE:

First move the object in the active voice to the subject position. Use the appropriate ‘be’ verb 
(is/am/are/was/were/has been/have been/shall be/will be)

Active Voice Passive Voice

He teaches English. English is taught by him.

The child is eating bananas. Bananas are being eaten by the child.

She is writing a letter. A letter is being written by her.

He was writing a book. A book was being written by him.

I have finished the job. The job has been finished by me.

I sent the report yesterday. The report was sent yesterday.

Somebody had stolen my purse. My purse had been stolen by somebody.

Changes of Pronouns :
 Active Voice Passive Voice

I me

we us

you you

he him

she her

it it

they them

An imperative sentence does not have a known-subject. It reflects a message conveyed to the
listener in the form of an advice, a request or a command. The listener of the sentence is assumed
to the subject, who is not directly mentioned in the sentence. Hence, imperative sentences in
Passive Voices also do not have a mentioned-subject in the sentence.

Read the following examples for better understanding:

Passive Voice for Imperative Sentences

Active Voice Passive Voice

Respect the elders. Let the elders be respected.

Finish the task. Let the task be finished.

Do not waste the time. Let the time not be wasted.

Close the door. Let the door be closed.

Wash the shirts. Let the shirts be washed.

Repair your camera. Let your camera be repaired.

Open the window. Let the window be opened.

Help the children. Let the children be helped.

 Throw the ball. Let the ball be thrown.

Collect nice books. Let nice books be collected.

Questions in the Passive :

If the question in the Active Voice begins with a Helping verb the Passive voice must also begin
with a suitable helping verb. Supposing the question begins with ‘Wh or How’ form (what,
when, how ...) the Passive Voice must begin with the same.

Active Voice Passive Voice

Are you writing a letter? Is a letter being written by you?

Is she beating the child? Is the child beaten by her?

Will you accept the position? Will the position be accepted by you?

Who broke the window? By whom was the window broken?

Why did you write such a letter? Why was such a letter written by you?

Why was such a letter written by you? Where can this box be hidden by you?

FROM PASSIVE TO ACTIVE

Examples of Passive 

Voice Subject Verb Object

writes a letter.
Active: Rita

Passive: A letter is written by Rita.

Active: Rita wrote a letter.

Passive: A letter was written by Rita.

Active: Rita has written a letter.

 Passive: A letter has been written by Rita.

Active: Rita will write a letter.

Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.

Active: Rita can write a letter.

Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.

is writing a letter.
Active: Rita

Passive: A letter is being written by Rita.

Active: Rita was writing a letter.

Passive: A letter was being written by Rita.

Active: Rita had written a letter.

Passive: A letter had been written by Rita.

Active: Rita will have written a letter.

Passive: A letter will have been written by Rita.

Active: Rita would write a letter.

Passive: A letter would be written by Rita.

Active: Rita would have written a letter.

Passive: A letter would have been written by Rita.

EXERCISES

 The hunter killed a deer

 The Prime Minister will survey the tsunami-affected areas.
  He was driving a brand–new car.
 The author has written a special edition for children.
 He will be pardoned by the government.
 She does not like tea.

In each question below, there is a sentence of which some parts have been jumbled up.
Rearrange these parts to produce the correct sentence. Choose the proper sequence.

Examples
Extremely /a / grief /it /is /that matter / unkindly /animals /are / of exploited.
Ex:  It is extremely a matter of grief, that animals are exploited unkindly.

(a) Killed /they are /beaten/ chained /and/ mercilessly/ trained.

(b) their/ heed/ but/ hears/ and/ pays/ nobody /to/ cries.
(c) friends/ auxiliaries/ animals/ necessary/ are our /and /survival /for our
(d) animal /matters /our vision /a world /should be /where /welfare

Answer:
(a) They are beaten, chained, trained and killed mercilessly.
(b) But nobody hears and pays heed to their cries.
(c) Animals are our friends, auxiliaries and necessary for our survival.
(d) Our vision should be a world where animal welfare matters.

Exercise

1.  When he
P : did not know
Q : he was nervous and
 R : heard the hue and cry at midnight
S : what to do

The Proper sequence should be:

A. RQPS B. QSPR C. SQPR D. PQRS

2. It has been established that

P : Einstein was
Q : although a great scientist
R : weak in arithmetic
S : right from his school days

The Proper sequence should be:

A. SRPQ B. QPRS C. QPSR D. RQPS

3. Then
P : it struck me
Q : of course
R : suitable it was
S : how eminently

The Proper sequence should be:

A
SPQR B. QSRP C. PSRQ D. QPSR
.

4.I read an advertisement that said

P : posh, air-conditioned
Q : gentleman of taste
R : are available for
S : fully furnished rooms

The Proper sequence should be:

A. PQRS B. PSRQ C. PSQR D. SRPQ

5.Since the beginning of history

have managed to catch
P:
Q : the Eskimos and Red Indians
R : by a very difficulty method
S : a few specimens of this aquatic animal

The Proper sequence should be:

A
QRPS B. SQPR C . SQRP D. QPSR
.
6. As a disease
 
P : and breaks up marriages
Q : accidents and suicides
R : alcoholism leads to
S : affecting all ages
 
The Proper sequence should be:

A. SRPQ B. RPSQ C. SRQP D. RQPS

7. It is easy to excuse
 
P : but it is hard
Q : in a boy of fourteen
R : the mischief of early childhood
S : to tolerate even unavoidable faults
 
The Proper sequence should be:

A. RPQS B. QRSP C. QRPS D. RPSQ

8. The majestic mahogany table

 
P : belongs to an old prince
Q : which has one leg missing
R : who is no impoverished
S : but not without some pride
 
The Proper sequence should be:

A. PQSR B. QRSP C. PRSQ D. QPRS

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