🌟Phrasal verbs and idioms🌟


Such vocabulary items as phrasal verbs and idioms can appear in many different parts of the Olympiad. It's utterly important to learn their meanings and use them correctly in texts.


This is why I've compiled a set of books for guided practice! 🌟


1️⃣ A Good Turn of Phrase Series by James Milton and Virginia Evans
My personal favourite. You can say that my English Olympiad journey started with these books. The series includes a book on phrasal verbs and another one on idioms, and both are incredibly helpful for expanding your vocabulary. Plus, they jump to practice right away, without elaborating too much on the theory, which is really convenient.

2️⃣ English Idioms, Exercises on Idioms by Jennifer Seidl
This book also follows the less-theory-more-practice standard, yet I started solving it only closer to the second year of my English Olympiad participation. Every exercise is half a page long, yet each includes about six idioms to work with. Marvellous for speedily broadening your knowledge of set expressions.

3️⃣ The Ultimate Phrasal Verb Book by Carl W. Hart
I used this book every once in a while, though I'm not a fan of how it's structured. I don't really like it when the theoretical part is overwhelmingly large in relation to the practice, but that's my personal preference

4️⃣ The 'In Use' Series by Michael McCarthy and Felicity O’Dell
Many people consider this their holy grail, though I'm not sure if I can relate. But, in general, this series is really good for guided practice and self-study. Moreover, it's officially published under Cambridge and has separate books targeting idioms and phrasal verbs.


My biggest piece of advice to you is to avoid solving these books mindlessly. If you come across a phrasal verb or an idiom that you don't know, use a memorisation technique to ensure its remembrance. ❤️

⭐️ A little tip: creating phrasal-verb spidergrams (like the one I included in the comments) can be a wonderful way to note down this sort of vocabulary. 🌟

#books