CONNOTATION

VS
DENOTATION
“You may live in a house, but we
live in a home.”

home

house
 SNAKE
DENOTATION: a limbless reptile with a
long, scaly body

CONNOTATION: evil
Give examples
English Idioms
 What are idioms?

 words, phrases, or expressions that

are not interpreted logically or literally
 unusual expressions that are either
grammatically incorrect or have a
meaning that cannot be comprehended
through contextual clues
He spilled the beans

He told the
secret
Get off my back!

Leave me alone!
 We were in stitches!

We were laughing very

hard!
He kicked the bucket!

He died
Go fly a kite!

Go away!
 She was dressed to kill

She was dressed in her finest

clothing
I’m at the end of my rope!
I am so-o-o frustrated!
You have to bite the bullet
You need to put up with this
difficult situation
Teachers always stick to their guns

Teachers never change their

opinions
 Money talks

Money influences a lot of

people.

Have
you
heard
about
that
new TV?
It’s Raining Cats and Dogs!!!!
It’s raining cats and dogs means:
a.
a. Cats and dogs are falling from
the sky.
b.
b. It’s raining very hard.

c.
c. It’s not raining much at all.
d.
d. The weather is horrible.

HINT: I can’t go outside because

it’s raining cats and dogs and I
would get soaked!
Michelle Gaines
SORRY, Try Again!

Michelle Gaines
CORRECT!

Michelle Gaines
SORRY, Try Again!

Michelle Gaines
SORRY, Try Again

Michelle Gaines
 Skeletons in Your Closet
Skeletons in your closet means:
a. Your closet is full of skeletons.
b. You are hiding something in your
closet.
c. You have secrets or something
c.
that you don’t want anyone to
know.
d. You are not afraid of anything.

Hint: Why shouldn’t you be able to answer

all of my questions? Don’t tell me you have skeletons
in your closet!
Michelle Gaines
Sorry, Try Again!

Michelle Gaines
Sorry, Try Again!

Michelle Gaines
CORRECT!

Michelle Gaines
Sorry, Try Again!

Michelle Gaines
Test your knowledge
 Match the common idiomatic expression
found in the sentence with its
corresponding meaning
Idiom A. Meaning
This idiom is used to say that
1. A penny for your
someone missed his or her chance
thoughts C at something.
2. Add insult to injury D B. idiom is used to say that two (or
more people) agree on something.
3. Once in a blue
C. This idiom is used as a way of
moon F
asking someone what they are
4. See eye to eye B thinking about.
5. Hear it on the D. To make a bad situation even worse.
grapevine E E. This means ‘to hear a rumor' about
something or someone.
6. Miss the boat A
F. When something happens very
rarely.
TEST 1 part 1/3

Choose the right answer.

1)
C
I don't trust Jack. I find him ………………
a) two-headed
b) three-eyed
c) two-faced

B
2) I entirely agree with you. You took the words out of my …………
a) head
b) mouth
c) hand

3)
A
When Dad is really angry, he has a face like …………
a) thunder
b) storm
c) cloud
TEST 1 part 2/3

4)
C on the cake is
Good news! I get the job and the ………
that I get a company car too.
a) cherry
b) cream
c) icing

5)
C
Don't mention that subject during the negotiations or you could be …………
on thin ice.
a) running
b) walking
c) skating

6) A
Don't expect any sympathy from him. He's as hard as …………
a) nails
b) hammer
c) stone
TEST 1 part 3/3

7)
A
I'm doing my driving test tomorrow. Keep your …………
crossed for me.
a) fingers
b) fists
c) toes

8)
B
Young people today tend to go ………… when they go out together.
a) French
b) Dutch
c) Danish

B
9) It's usually safe to invest in a …………-chip company.
a) golden
b) blue
c) white
Choose the appropriate idiomatic expressions to be used
in the following sentences. Write a piece of cake, odds
and ends, pros and cons or ups and downs in the
blanks provided.
1. The teacher asked us to talk about the ______ of
industrial development.
2. Don’t worry about the problems you have in your
business .You know there are always _____ in
business.
3. The police found nothing special in the house of the
criminal as he had taken all the important documents
with him leaving just _____.
4. If you think that doing this math problem is _____, just
try it.
Choose the appropriate idiomatic expressions to be used
in the following sentences. Write a piece of cake, odds
and ends, pros and cons or ups and downs in the
blanks provided.
1. The teacher asked us to talk about the
_____________
pros and cons of industrial development.
2. Don’t worry about the problems you have in your
business .You know there are always __________
ups and downs in
business.
3. The police found nothing special in the house of the
criminal as he had taken all the important documents
odds and ends
with him leaving just ___________.
4. If you think that doing this math problem is
piece of cake
__________, just try it.
Rubric for Group Presentation

CATEGORY 5 4 3 2 1

IDIOMS 13-15 10-12 7-9 4-6 1-3

SENTENCES CORRECTLY 1-2 misused 3-4 misused 5-6 misused 7 OR MORE

USES IDIOMS idioms idioms idioms misused idioms
IN A
SENTENCE
CONVENTION No error in 1-2 erros 3-4 errors 5-6 errors 7 or more
grammar

APPEARANCE Story is of Story is very Story is Story is very Story is

excellent quality satisfacory satisfacoty unsatisfactory disorganized

UNITY AND The group is well There is prepared The presentation There is Disorganized
PREPARATION prepared and with mior problem is adequate and 1 misunderstanding presentation
OF THE GROUP rapport is evident in the is not in the
among members presentation and cooperating presentation and
1 is not 3 members did
cooperating not cooperate
•www.funbrain.com/idioms/ has fun idiom games.
•www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6720/ has an a
to z list of idioms with categories and quizzes.
•www.idiomagic.com/dgl is a site about a software
program you can buy about idioms.
•http://a4esl.org/q/h/idioms.html is another idioms
review site .
•www.english-zone.com/idioms/ has practice quizzes.
•www.idiomsite.com/-history tells where specific
idioms originated.

Michelle Gaines