More Speak English Like an American » Lesson 1: Gourmet International Gets New Competition
Example: Levi's has come out with a new line of "eco jeans" made from organic cotton.
Example: The stoplight at the intersection is broken. It's only a matter of time before there's an accident.
Note: You will sometimes see this expression as "it's just a matter of time before." Also, you may hear the variation "it's only a matter of time until."
Example: Apple entered the market for cell phones in 2007 with the iPhone.
Example: Mike is making money hand over fist by buying old apartment buildings, renovating them, and then renting them out.
Example: Our competitor's new cell phone offers more features than ours at a cheaper price. If we don't act quickly, they're going to eat our lunch.
Example: Our soccer team has lost four games in a row, but we're not ready to push the panic button yet.
Example: "Who told you that Jack is planning to leave the company?" - "I have my resources."
Example: The teacher said, "Out with it! Who drew this picture of me on the blackboard?"
Example: When Jeff Immelt became the head honcho of General Electric, he made some strategic changes at the company.
Example: Roy was going to get the client to sign the contract by hook or by crook.
Example: Larry doesn't like speaking in front of large groups, so he'll have to leave his comfort zone to make a speech at is daughter's wedding.
Example: I can't believe I'm cleaning everybody's old food out of the office refrigerator. This is not in my job description!
Example: You'd better stop dragging your feet and start working on your college applications. Otherwise, you're not going to get them in on time.
Choose the best substitute for the phrase or sentence in bold
Mark, Ron, and Steve work at Gourmet International, a small food company specializing in ethnic frozen foods. Mark, a marketing manager at the company, tells his boss Ron and his co-worker Steve that Grand Foods, a large food company, is going to start competing with them in the frozen Chinese meals market. Mark got his information from an ex-girlfriend. Ron tells Mark to call her back and see if she can give more details.
Mark: I just found out that Grand Foods is planning to come out with a line of gourmet frozen Chinese meals.
Ron: It was only a matter of time before a big company decided to enter the market.
Mark: That's true. We've been making money hand over fist with out frozen Chinese meals for the past two years!
Steve: They're going to eat our lunch! Mark: Our dinner, too.
Ron: Let's not push the panic button yet. Mark, how did you get this information?
Mark: I have my sources.
Ron: Out with it! Who told you?
Mark: An ex-girlfriend. She's the head honcho at Shop-Well.
Ron: Call her back and see what else she can tell us. We need to get this information by hook or by crook.
Mark: She's my ex.* It's very awkward!
Ron: Sometimes you have to leave your comfort zone.
Mark: I'll call her tomorrow, but this is not in my job description.
Ron: Don't worry about your job description. If you drag your feet on this, you're not even going to have a job! Call her back right now.
*ex - a former spouse or romantic partner (short for ex-husband, ex-wife or ex-boyfriend)
If you already speak some English and now would like to speak more like a native, “Speak English Like an American” will help you. One of the keys to speaking like a native is the ability to use and understand casual expressions, or idioms. American English is full of idioms. Speak English Like an American will help you understand and use idioms better. It contains over 300 of today's most common idioms.
Speak Business English Like An American covers over 350 idioms and expressions you're likely to encounter in today's business world. Familiarize yourself with all of them.
English idioms, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because idioms don't always make sense literally, you'll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning idioms is fun, especially when you compare English idioms to the idioms in your own language.