Business English Lesson2

7/28/2019 Business English Lesson2

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Time Idioms

There are a lot of idioms talking about time as if it were money.

You can spend time.

I spent 3 hours doing that.You can waste time.

I wasted an hour waiting for her.Time can be a waste.

It's not worth going. The whole exhibition is a waste of time.You can value time.

I value every minute I get to spend with my baby.You can run out of time.

I didn't get the project finished as I would have liked. I ran out of time.You can spare time.

Can you spare me a few minutes?Time can be precious.

I travel a lot so the time I spend at home is very precious to me.You can afford time.

We can't afford to spend any more time on this. We have a lot to cover today.You can save time.

I've already dug out the old files to save time today.You can be short of time.

We're short of the time we need to do a good job on this.You can have plenty of time.

We have plenty of time to worry about this later.War Idioms


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There are a lot of expressions used in business which are borrowed from the army and fromwar. Here are some examples:

You can 'gain ground' on your competition.

We've gained ground in the Japanese market. We now have a 20% marketshare, up from just 7% last year.

You ' don't give up without a fight.'

I don't think we should just withdraw the product because we have such apoor share of the market. Let's not give up without a fight. Let's try someother marketing strategies.

You may need to 'reinforce' your marketing position.

Our sales team is doing badly against the competition. We may need toreinforce the team with some new recruits.

You can 'join forces' with another company.

In China, we've decided to join forces with a local company and set up a jointventure.

If you receive a lot of enquiries, you can say you are 'bombarded' with them.

After our last radio campaign, we were bombarded with calls to our customerlines.

If you don't want your boss to notice you, it's a good idea to 'keep your head down'.

The boss is very angry. It would be a good idea to keep your head down for afew days.

You can 'set your sights on ' an objective.

I've set my sights on being the next sales manager.Often different departments of a company have a 'battle' over budgets.

There isn't much money and Accounts and Marketing are having a big battleover the advertising budget.

Some people seem to do things which make them look bad

they are 'their own worstenemy'.

He's always irritating the boss by being late for meetings. He's his own worstenemy.

Most companies set 'targets' for their employees.

Our target this year is to increase sales by 10%.


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You can 'capture' a larger share of a market.

We need to capture more of the youth market.When businesses fail because of a poor economy, they can be said to be 'casualties'.

They were a casualty of the last recession.If there are a lot of potential problems in doing something, it can be described as a'minefield'.

The workers are very unhappy and so are the customers. Taking over thatcompany would be a real minefield.

Heart Idioms

Learn new expressions in English with these exercises:

If you get discouraged, you 'lose heart'.

When I saw how good the other contestants were I began to lose heart a bit. Don't lose heart. We can still do well.

At the moment you feel disappointed or discouraged your 'heart sinks'.

My heart sank when I saw how much work was left to do. Her heart sank when she heard the bad news.

If you really really want to do or have something, you 'set your heart on' it.

I've set my heart on getting a Ferrari before I am thirty. She set her heart on getting that job so she's very disappointed.

If you find encouragement from something, you 'take heart'.

I took heart from your words of encouragement. We should take heart from our improved performance in Italy.

If you cannot refuse somebody something, even though you know it is not a good idea, you'didn't have the heart to say no'.

She really wanted to borrow it and I didn't have the heart to say no. When he pleaded with me, I didn't have the heart to say no.

If something will make you very sad, it will 'break your heart'.

It breaks my heart to sell my car but it's become too unreliable. It breaks my heart to leave here. I've really enjoyed it.

If you care a lot about something, it is 'a subject close to your heart'.


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Fighting world hunger is a subject close to my heart. Punctuality is a subject close to my heart.

If somebody is very kind and generous to others, they have 'a heart of gold'.

He appears bad tempered but he's got a heart of gold. Under that gruff exterior lurks a heart of gold.

If you are no longer motivated to do something, your 'heart is not in it'.

I'm going to give up this job. My heart is not in it any more. She went through the motions but her heart just wasn't in it.

Your truest inner feelings are your 'heart of hearts'.

In my heart of hearts, I never really wanted to leave here. I'm happy in my management job but in my heart of hearts I'd rather still be

a researcher.

If you change your mind, you 'have a change of heart'.

We weren't going to give him the promotion but then we had a change ofheart.

After a change of heart, she finally agreed to move to Berlin.If you are well-intentioned, your 'heart is in the right place'.

He is a bit rude sometimes but his heart is in the right place. She makes a lot of mistakes but her heart is in the right place and she always

does her best.

If you memorize something word by word you learn them 'by heart'.

I've decided to learn the English irregular verbs by heart. There is no need to tell me about it. I've read so much about it that I know all

the details by heart.

If you have an intimate discussion about your true feelings, you have a 'heart-to-heart'talk.

Something is bothering him. I'm going to have a heart-to-heart talk with himand find out what it is.

We need to have a heart-to-heart discussion and clear the air between us.'At heart' can mean fundamentally, in one's deepest feelings.

He is a good all-round manager but at heart he's an engineer. I want you to know that we have your best interests at heart in sending you

to Berlin for a year.

Documents

Business English Lesson2