English idioms to know

English idioms to know

THE NATURE OF THINGS
as such – in or by its nature; considered alone; (in) itself [also means in that capacity or function]
to consist of – to be made (up) of; to be composed of; to comprise
in itself – standing or taken alone or separately; viewed or considered by itself as a thing isolated or apart from other things
in the nature of – being similar in type or character to; rather like
in (its) own right – because of what it is as such or in itself and independent of any other relationship
in the shape of – specifically; in the form of; in particular; namely (followed by details of something general)
of (its) own accord – spontaneously; as a result of one’s own action, will or decision and not because of some outside influence or action.

CONNECTION
according to – following; corresponding to; in relation to; as said by; depending on
in accordance with – following the terms or requirements of; (acting) in conformity with; as stated by; in line with
as to – about; regarding
(got) to do with – connected with; related to
hand in hand – working together or as a team; in conjunction with; as a complement to
in conjunction (with) – operation, functioning, working, acting or planning together; in collaboration
in connection (with) – about, concerning, relation or relevant to
to refer to – to have connection with; to direct attention to [also means to formally transfer from one authority to another]
in terms of – by taking as an example of; concerning; with regard to
on behalf of – as representative or spokesman for
(in) touch with – in contact by the spoken or written word
to be in touch – to be in contact
to get in touch – to make contact
to keep or stay in touch – to continue contact
to lose touch – to lose contact
out of touch – not in contact
with regard to – concerning; regarding; in connection with; in terms of; referring to.

CAUSE AND EFFECT
to arise from – to originate from; to be due to; to be caused by
to bring about – to cause; to make (something) happen; to give rise to
to give rise to – to cause; to bring about
to have an effect or impact on – to affect; to influence
to result in – to be (or have as) the result [Note: to result from means to be (or have as) the cause]
to stem from – to originate from; to be caused by
to trigger off – to cause or bring about (an important or serious effect, often negative, sudden or violent) [also to spark off; to touch off




PRIORITIES
above all (else) – most importantly (of all)
all important – most important; urgent or necessary
first and foremost – firstly and most important
(the) first step – the first stage, or part, of some process or series of actions
last but not least – introducing the next item on the list, which, although the last, is not less important than the others
to take (first) place – to be (the most) important; to have (top) priority.



PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE
to aim at – to plan to, or to try to, reach or hit an objective, goal or target
the aim of the exercise – the purpose or objective of this activity, which may not immediately be clear or apparent [also the point or object of the exercise]
to arrange (for) – to fix or make practical plans for something to happen or to be done
game plan – carefully thought out general strategy for achieving a target and the tactics and methods to be used
to go ahead – to make progress; to move forward; to start or continue from a static or waiting position
to go for (it) – to be very enthusiastic and positive in feeling and action, usually about some specific thing or goal [informal]
in order to – with the purpose or aim of doing or causing smth; so as to
to make up one’s mind – to decide
a means to an end – way or method of getting to an objective
on purpose – not by accident or chance, but by or with some intention; deliberately
to put together – to assemble or fit together pieces or parts to make a whole
to set up – to establish; to found; to organize; to put in a position or condition to operate; to begin doing or making; to arrange
to tackle – to take firm direct and positive action in dealing with a threat or obstacle
to take action (on) – to act, either in response to or as a result