Speak English Around Town Lesson 15 Idioms, Proverbs, Expressions MCQ Test

LESSON 15 – Complimenting a Meal

COMPLIMENTING A MEAL 

Lori and Jane compliment Lisa on the delicious dinner she prepared. At the end of the evening, Mike and Lori thank her.

Jane: Lisa, this shrimp dish is out of this world!

Lori: Yes, it’s delicious. You really outdid yourself!

Jane: You can always count on Lisa to serve a great meal.

Lisa: Help yourselves to more.

Kyle: I don’t want to make a pig of myself.

Lisa: It’s going to go to waste if nobody eats it.

Kyle: I’d hate to see it go to waste! I’ll take a second helping.

Jane: Kyle, save some room for dessert!

Kyle: (patting large stomach): Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of room in here!

(two hours later)

Mike: We’d better hit the road. Thank you for a lovely time.

Lori: Dinner was delicious. You and Todd really knocked yourselves out. It was a real treat.

Lisa: It was our pleasure.

Lori: We look forward to having you over soon.

Language Lens: Reflexive Pronouns

Use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and the object of the sentence or clause are the same. In other words, the subject of the sentence or clause does something to itself or for itself.

These are the reflexive pronouns:

Singular:
me – myself
you – yourself
he – himself
she – herself
it – itself
one – oneself

Plural:
we – ourselves
you – yourselves
they – themselves

Compare when to use a reflexive pronoun with when to use a regular pronoun:

=> Reflexive pronoun: the subject and object are the same person

Lisa(subject) bought Lisa(object) a present. => Lisa bought herself a present.

=> Regular pronoun: the subject and object are different people

Lisa(subject) bought Larry(object) a present.
=> Lisa bought him a present.

Expressions with -self / -selves

Here are some common expressions with reflexive pronouns:
◼ behave oneself: I hope the baby will behave herself at the restaurant.
◼ by oneself – note the two different meanings:
          1: alone. Tim has no plans for Easter. He’ll be home by himself.
          2: without help. Billy can tie his shoes by himselfl
◼ cut oneself: I cut myself while chopping onions.
◼ enjoy oneself: Enjoy yourselves on your trip to China!
◼ hurt oneself: Isabella hurt herself at the playground.
◼ look at oneself: Look at yourself in the mirror.
◼ tell oneself: Tiffany told herself everything would be okay.
◼ kill oneself: Joel is killing himself by working 100 hours a week.

Reflexive pronouns can also be used for emphasis:
◼ Now you want me to go to the training program? Yesterday you yourself said it would be a waste of time!
◼ Our boss made us work on Christmas day. He himself took the day off.
◼ These cookies are delicious! Did you make them yourself?
◼ You don’t have time to fix my computer? Then I’ll do it myself.

Note: Do not assume that if a verb takes a reflexive form in your native language, it is also reflexive in English.

Warning: The reflexive pronoun “myself” is often used incorrectly. People use it instead of the pronouns “me” or “I.” You’ll even hear native speakers make this mistake. Here are a couple of examples of what to say and what not to say:

SAY: Please give the book to Paul or me.
NOT: Please give the book to Paul or myself.

SAY: Either Evan or I will give the speech.
NOT: Either Evan or myself will give the speech.

IDIOMS

• (to) count on

→ to rely on; to depend on

Example: Our flight leaves at 6 a.m. tomorrow, and I’m counting on you to wake me up!

• (to) go to waste

→ to be thrown out; to be wasted

Example: After the Thanksgiving dinner, we sent our guests home with some leftover turkey so it wouldn’t go to waste.

• (to) have someone over

→ to invite someone to one’s house

Example: Sandra promised to have us over for dinner later this month.

• (to) help oneself

→ to take; to serve oneself

Example: Help yourself to another piece of cake.

• (to) hit the road

→ to leave; to get going

Example: We promised our babysitter we’d be home by midnight, so we’d better hit the road now.

• It was a real treat

→ we had a very nice time

Example: Thanks for having us over for dinner. It was a real treat.

• (to) knock oneself out

→ to make a big effort; to do more than necessary

Example: Teresa made handmade gifts for all 20 people at her office. She really knocked herself out.

• (to) make a pig of oneself

→ to overeat; to eat too much

Example: May I have another piece of pie? I don’t mean to make a pig of myself, but it’s delicious!

• out of this world

→ delicious

Example: If you go to Cafe Felix, be sure to order the apple pie for dessert. It’s out of this world!

• (to) outdo oneself

→ to do more than expected; to do a great job

Example: Danny outdid himself with his high school science project. He built a powerful robot.

• (to) save (some) room for dessert

→ to not eat too much of the main course so as to be able to eat dessert

Example: The waitress gave us dessert menus and said, “I hope you saved room for dessert!”

• second helping

→ a second portion; seconds

Example: There’s still some lasagna left. Who’d like a second helping?

• thank you for a lovely time

→ thanks for having us to your house ( an expression used by guests to thank their hosts as they leave)

Example: “Thank you for a lovely time.” – “Thank you for coming. It was great seeing you.”