Lesson 349--talking about schedules

 

English has lots of ways to say that we are late.  My two favourite are behind schedule and playing catch-up.  Both of these expressions can be used when we are not on schedule.

examples

I was late for work this morning and have been playing catch-up all day.

Greg was two weeks behind schedule and his boss was very unhappy.

The product launch was way behind schedule and there was a lot of tension in the office.

Because Marion was always playing catch-up with her projects, she was fired.

Lesson 140--two great expressions with playing

Two great expressions with playing

 

 

 

1.  Playing a joke/trick on someone.

This means doing something to fool a person.

examples

I played a trick on my teacher by writing my report backwards.

My brother loves to play ticks on people.

Because they were twins, Maria and Antonella tried to play tricks on their teachers.

 

2.  Playing a prank on someone.

This also means to trick someone, but this also includes physical humour like unscrewing the lid of the salt shaker, exchanging salt for sugar.

examples

Martha played a prank on her brother.  She pretended to be a secret admirer on Facebook.

April first is the best day to play pranks on people.

 

note:  sometimes pranks are called practical jokes.