如何巧學善用英語成語
在任何語言學習中最困難的一個方面就是，要能理解並運用大量成語。接下來，小編給大家準備了,歡迎大家參考與借鑑。
英語有15000多個成語，而且本族語使用者常常在不自覺的情況下頻繁使用它們。這就造成了與本族語使用者的溝通不暢。
What is an idiom? An idiom is a group of words which, when used together, has a different meaning from the one which the individual words have. For example:
什麼是成語呢?一個成語就是一組詞，當結合在一起使用時，其意與單個詞語所表達的意思均不相同。例如：
-How do you know that Sid and Nancy have separated
你怎麼知道席德和南希分手了?
-I heard it on the grapevine.
我是從小道訊息聽到的。
Of course, the second speaker does not mean he heard the news about John by putting his ear to a grapevine! He is conveying2 the idea visually of information spreading around a widespread network, similar to a grapevine.
當然，第二個談話者並不是說，他把耳朵貼在葡萄藤上才聽到這個關於約翰的訊息的!他只是在形象地表達一種意味，即這個訊息通過一個類似葡萄藤的巨大網路傳播開來。
We use idioms to express something that other words do not express as clearly or as cleverly. We often use an image or symbol to describe something as clearly as possible and thus make our point as effectively as possible. For example, "in a nutshell" suggests the idea of having all the information contained within very few words. Idioms tend to be informal and are best used in spoken rather than written English.
我們使用成語是要表達其它詞語無法如此清晰或如此巧妙表達的東西。我們經常會運用比喻和象徵以便儘可能清晰地描述事物，因而可以儘可能有效地闡述我們的觀點。比如，“in a nutshell”表明的意思是，用很少幾個詞來涵蓋所要表達的全部意思。成語往往是非正式的，最好用於口語，而不要用在非書面表達中。
One of the best ways to learn an idiom is by looking at the context3 in which it is used. This can be done by concentrating on the rest of the sentence and try to guess the meaning. Many idioms are not that difficult to understand when considered in their context. For example:
學習成語的最好方法之一是檢視它所在的上下文。而這可以通過通讀句子其它部分來實現，並試著猜測其意。當把許多成語放在上下文中考慮，理解起來就不那麼難了。例如：
We are going to have a surprise party for Tom tomorrow. It's a secret so please don't let the cat out of the bag.
明天，我們要給湯姆舉辦一個驚喜聚會。這是一個祕密，因此請不要洩露祕密。
'Let the cat out of the bag' is an idiom. Imagine you don't know what this idiom means; by looking at the words preceding4 it should be easy to guess that the speaker does not want you to tell Tom about the surprise party. Therefore, 'let the cat out of the bag' must mean something like' reveal5 a secret' or 'tell a secret'.
“Let the cat out of the bag”是一個成語。設想你不知道這個成語的意思;如果看看之前的單詞，就會很容易地猜出，講話者是不想讓你跟湯姆談及驚喜聚會的事情。因此，“let the cat out of the bag”一定是“揭露祕密”或“洩露祕密”之類的意思。
Other examples:
其它例子：
He was on the carpet last week for being late to work three times.
上星期，他由於遲到三次而受到批評。
It was a very long report. It took me three hours to wade6 through.
那是一個很長的報告。我花了三個小時才總算讀完它。
Let's call it a day. I'm very tired and I think we have covered the main points of the meeting already.
我們今天就到此為止。我很累，而且我認為，我們已經處理了這次會議的主要問題。
擴充套件：中國人最易犯錯的16句英語
1. I very like it
I like it very much.
2. 這個價格對我挺合適的。
The price is very suitable1 for me.
The price is right.
Note：suitable***合適的、相配的***最常見的用法是以否定的形式出現在告示或通知上，如：下列節目兒童不宜。The following programme2 is not suitable for children在這組句子中用後面的說法會更合適。
3. 你是做什麼工作的呢?
What’s your job?
Are you working at the moment?
Note：what’s your job這種說法難道也有毛病嗎?是的。因為如果您的談話物件剛剛失業，如此直接的問法會讓對方有失面子，所以您要問：目前您是在上班嗎?Are you working at the moment?接下來您才問：目前您在哪兒工作呢?Where are you working these days?或者您從事哪個行業呢?What line of work are you in?順帶說一下，回答這類問題時不妨說得具體一點，不要只是說經理或者祕書
4. 用英語怎麼說?How to say?
How do you say this in English?
Note：How to say是在中國最為氾濫成災的中國式英語之一，這決不是地道的英語說法。同樣的句子有：請問這個詞如何拼寫?How do you spell that please?請問這個單詞怎麼讀?How do you pronounce this word?
5. 明天我有事情要做。I have something to do tomorrow?
Sorry but I am tied up all day tomorrow.
用I have something to do來表示您很忙，這也完全是中國式的說法。因為每時每刻我們都有事情要做，躺在那裡睡大覺也是事情。所以您可以說我很忙，脫不開身：I’m tied up.還有其他的說法：I’m I can’t make it at that time. I’d love to, but I can’t, I have to stay at home.
6. 我沒有英文名。I haven’t English name.
I don’t have an English name.
Note：許多人講英語犯這樣的錯誤，從語法角度來分析，可能是語法功底欠缺，因為have在這裡是實義動詞，而並不是在現在完成時裡面那個沒有意義的助動詞。所以，這句話由肯定句變成否定句要加助動詞。明白道理是一回事，習慣是另一回事，請您再說幾話：我沒有錢;I don’t have any money.我沒有兄弟姐妹;I don’t have any brothers or sisters.我沒有車。I don’t have a car.
7. 我想我不行。I think I can’t.
I don’t think I can.
Note：這一組然是個習慣問題，在語法上稱為否定前置，這就是漢語裡面說“我想我不會”的時候，英語裡面總是說“我不認為我會”。以後您在說類似的英語句子的時候，只要您留心，也會習慣英語的說法的，
8. 我的舞也跳得不好。
I don’t dance well too.
I am not a very good dancer either.
Note：當我們說不擅長做什麼事情的時候，英語裡面通常用not good at something，英語的思維甚至直接踴躍到：我不是一個好的舞者。