fixed / semi fixed expressions
Fixed Expressions:
There is a large class of expressions (phrases) in English which are fixed and cannot be changed for any reason. Some standard fixed expressions are given below:
Relating to places or institutions:
Pattern Underlying Meaning
go to bed to sleep
be in bed / stay in bed sleeping, resting
get out of bed get up
go to school / come to school to study
go to lunch / dinner to have lunch / dinner
be at lunch having lunch
be in class giving or having a lesson
go to church for worship
be at church worshipping in the church
be at home in one’s own house
go in(to) hospital for medical treatment
be in hospital receiving medical treatment (a patient)
be in office holding an official position
be out of office ceasing to hold that position
go to prison as a punishment
be in prison as a prisoner
go to university to study
be at university be a student
Relating to means of transport ( travel, send goods):
Pattern Example
by air Most mail goes by air from England to Hong Kong.
by bus We can go by bus to Wan Chai.
by car The best way to go to Clear water Bay is by car.
by ship / boat Most people travel by boat to Discovery Bay.
by land But you can now get to Lantau Island from Kowloon by land since they built the Tei Ma bridge.
by plane I don’t like to travel by plane in China as you miss seeing so much of the country.
by sea In the last century the only way to reach America from Europe was by sea.
on foot We can either get a taxi or go on foot as it’s not far.
Relating to means of dispatch (sending a message):
Pattern Example
by hand The exam paper has to be delivered by hand.
by letter You have to send a confirmation by letter-a fax won’t do.
by post I’ll send the cheque to you by post.
by radio Taxis usually communicate by radio, although many drives use mobile phones now.
by cable Some TV channels are are only available by cable.
by telegram You can send an urgent message by telegram.
Miscellaneous Phrases that begin with “at”
at sea — When the ferry is at sea you cannot go out on deck. She felt at sea on the first day of school. (= confused, perplexed)
at hand — The end of the world is at hand. (= near, close in time)
at least — We need at least $20,000 dollars for the furniture.
at work — Phone me at work later.
at war — When Britain and Germany were at war, Sweden remained neutral.
at last — After several attempts we at last got the operating system installed correctly.
at peace — Most of the countries of Western Europe have been at peace since 1945.
at sight — The horses went crazy at sight or smell of a bear.
at ease — I don’t feel at ease with this kind of music.
at heart — He likes living in the city, but at heart he’s still a country boy.
at length — He described his accident at length to everyone.
at once — Don’t leave it, do it at once.
at first — I didn’t like it here at first, but now I’ve grown to appreciate it.
at play — There must be an adult on duty when the children are at play.
at rest — His explanation did not put our minds at rest, and we weren’t satisfied.
at present — I’m living in Discovery Bay at present, but not for much longer.
Phrases that begin with “by”:
Phrase Example
by accident It wasn’t clear if the fire started by accident or on purpose.
by chance We met by chance several years later in Hong Kong.
by day Badgers don’t come out by day, they’re nocturnal.
by design It wasn’t done by design, it was unintentional.
by degrees You can only learn this by degrees, step by step, you can’t rush it.
by heart An actor needs to learn his lines by heart – you can’t read them during a performance.
by mistake I’m sorry, I put the memo in your pigeon hole by mistake – it’s for Mary.
by name The headmaster called out the wrong doers by name at the morning assembly.
by rights By rights this should be John’s job, but I’ll do it for now.
by sight I know Mr. Brown by sight, but we’ve never been introduced.
by surprise The police caught the burglar by surprise while he was trying to break in.
Phrases that begin with “in”:
in brief — In brief, the prosecution’s case is based on the fact that he lied.
in case — Take an umbrella in case it rains.
in common — He’s my brother, but we don’t have many interests in common.
in danger — We are in danger of losing the contract.
in debt — Most of the farmers are in debt to the banks.
in difficulties — Helicopters were scrambled after reports from a North Sea oil rig that it was in difficulties.
in due course — They will have an answer for you in due course, but you have to be patient.
in fact — I thought he was about 50, but in fact he’s only 45.
in half — If you divide the room in half, you would still be able to get all the desks in.
in general — The British are eating less food in general and less junk food in particular.
in love — She is secretly in love with another man.
in name — Gone are the days when this tournament was international in name only.
in need — The government thinks this is an opportunity to reassess how those most in need can be helped.
in order — They need a higher grade in order to be accepted on the course.
in particular — The British are eating less food in general and less junk food in particular.
in pieces — He knocked over the vase and it broke in pieces on the floor.
in private — I have something to tell you in private.
in reply — In reply to your question, the answer is yes.
in secret — They believe the government is carrying out research in secret.
in sight — When the island of Tioman came in sight the view was fantastic.
in stock — We don’t have this model in stock, but we can order it for you.
in turn — Let us consider each of those points in turn.
in time — You won’t understand it now, but in time you will.
in tears — The exhibition attracted a lot of people off the streets, many in tears and unable to speak.
in short — Good accommodation was in short supply.
Phrases that begin with “on” :
on business — He has gone to China on business.
on duty (off duty) — My brother is a policeman, and he usually has to be on duty at weekends.
on fire — Many people escaped to the roof because the middle floors were on fire.
on foot — We’ll go on foot as it’s not far.
on guard — There are always some police on guard outside the American embassy.
on holiday — They are on holiday in Chiang Mai just now, but they’ll be back next week.
on horseback — You can tour the Grand Canyon on horseback if you can ride.
on purpose — It was no accident, he fouled the other player on purpose.
on time — The trains usually run on time, although they might be late if there is a lot of snow.
on sale — You can still find pirated software on sale if you know where to go.
Phrases that begin with “out of” :
out of control — Some of the pupils in that school are just out of control.
out of danger — The typhoon has changed direction so it looks as if Hong Kong is out of danger.
out of date — You need to check the milk to see that it’s not out of date.
out of doors — In summer the children can play out of doors and have more things to do.
out of hearing — I could see they were talking about me but they were out of hearing so I don’t know what they were saying.
out of order — I’m afraid the lift is out of order so you’ll have to use the steps.
out of sight — They stood watching the plane until it was out of sight.
out of place — I feel out of place there, everyone seems to be dressed so formally.
out of reach — The price of a house in Central London is far out of reach of most ordinary workers.
out of stock — We are out of stock of this model just now.
out of turn — Government ministers who speak out of turn are likely to be reprimanded.
out of work — More than 7% of the work force is out of work now.
Phrases that begin with “within”:
within hearing — Don’t say anything about it while he’s within hearing.
within reach — The championship is now within reach for Liverpool if they can beat Manchester United.
within sight — I live within sight of the Kowloon coast and Hong Kong island.