FROM GOOD TO GREAT 🇬🇧 | 13 EVERYDAY Expressions to Make You Sound Natural in English

Hi there. This is Harry. Welcome back  to advanced English Lessons with Harry,  

where I try to help you to get a better  understanding of the English language,

So what have I got for you  in today's lesson? Well,  

in today's advanced English lesson, we're  looking at expressions using the verb.

Come so advanced English lesson with expressions  using the verb come, I've got 13. Yeah, 13.

Unlucky for some they say the number 13, but 13  

particular expressions with the verb come.  And as always, I'm going to give you the  

expression. I'll explain it and I'll give  you an example. Okay. So let's get started.

Number one

To come to your senses. Well, this is an  expression we often hear from different  

people when they're talking to somebody who  perhaps has got a little bit out of control,  

or perhaps they're getting a little bit excited,  

or perhaps they've made a really wrong  decision. And their friend says, look,  

I really think you should go away. Sit down  and think about this for a little bit longer.

Yeah. And when you've come to your senses,  

then perhaps you might see things a little more  clearly. So let me give you an example of that.

perhaps perhaps your son or daughter going through  a difficult time at university and they come into  

you one day and they just drop that bombshell. I'm  dropping out of college. I'm going to get a job.

I'm going to save up, and I'm  going to travel the world. Boom!

The bomb explodes and you look at your partner,  

and he or she looks at you thinking,  what are we going to do now? So

You might say, look, okay, we hear you. Yeah,  

there's obviously something going on, but  we need to understand what's happened.

So why don't you try to

think about it for a day or so, and.  And we'll sit down and we'll have a

Conversation. And when you've come to your senses,  

perhaps you'll understand that this is  a little bit of a knee jerk reaction.

Let's talk it out. And if you still  think the same way, then well, of course.

There are decisions to be made  and will always back you up. You  

will always support you. So. But  when you've come to your senses,  

would be a better time to think about it.  So to come to your senses means when you've.

Stop the emotions, or you've dropped the  emotions and you begin to think about something.

And in the real world, you're not getting carried  

away and you're not in a fantasy  world. So to come to your senses.

Number two. Now, this is a very,

nice expression here. Comes what? So there's a

Beatles songs, which has the title. Here  comes the sun, here comes the sun that, that,

Become someone to do.

as a really, really beautiful sound.  And if you if you're not a Beatles fan,  

you might have heard the song that quite  a few people had a cover version of it.

But you you should download it on Spotify  somewhere, see what you think about it. Okay,  

so when we use it as an expression, here  comes what? So we can say things like,

Here comes trouble. I usually say that  when my grandchildren arrive. Yeah,  

they come running into the  house, running around, you

Shouting, screaming up. Here comes trouble. Yeah.

Oh, here comes the sun. As the sound from the

Beatles. When you open their curtains or  the blinds in the morning and the sun is  

beginning to peep out, and we've  got the smell of summer or late  

spring and we can say, yeah, here comes the sun.

Or here comes the postman. Yeah.

Here comes the bride.

So you can use it in lots and lots  of different ways. So that means  

something is about to or has just arrived. Yeah.

Now number three so we can say something  has come open. So perhaps something that  

you had locked but it's broken. It has  come open. Something has come undone.

Or something has come loose. Okay, so it's  all about something that you thought was  

properly secured and tied, but now it isn't.  So, for example, to come open. Oh, maybe the.

roof rack that you have in the car.

You're going on a holiday and you're  taking the skis and all the equipment  

and the roof rack. And just as you're driving  off, you hear something flapping in the wind,  

and you stop the car because  the roof rack has come open. You  

haven't closed it properly. Okay. Now  we could also come undone. But often,

children's shoe laces.

Come undone because they don't know how to tie  them tightly and properly. And so they're running  

around in the park and you call them and said,  look, be careful. Your shoelaces come undone.  

You'll trip up and you'll hurt yourself. So let  me tie it properly for you. So to come undone

or something has come loose. Perhaps  it's the belt around your trousers,  

or the belt around your skirt, or  your dress that has come loose.

And if you're not careful, it'll fall off  or it will drop and you won't hear it,  

and then you will lose it. Okay. So to  come open, come undone or come loose. As  

when something that was tied or used to tie  something is no longer as tight as it was,  

and as a danger that something will  fall off, drop off, or indeed be lost.

Okay,

Number four to come and go. Well, lots of  things come and go. The seasons come and  

go. Unfortunately, the years they come and  go so quickly. So we often use it in that  

way. Are the seasons, the years they  come and go. And before you know it,  

the kids have gone from 6  or 7 to 16 or 17, 26, 27.

Where did all those years go?  Yeah, they come and go so quickly.

Or indeed in a workplace, you might have a lot  

of turnover of staff and you're  talking to your colleagues and.

say, how long have you worked here? Oh,  I've been here about six years. But, you

a lot of our staff have only  been here 6 or 9 months.

Yeah. They seem to come and go  so frequently these days. Well,  

you know, young people, they like to have  a lot of experience. And they think having  

3 or 4 jobs on their CV by the time that  25 is an absolute must. So they come and  

go with regularity. So to come and  go means changes here. And there.

Number five to come of age. Well, in lots of  

societies that there's a  specific age, some societies 18.

When I was growing up, it was 21. When  you came of age, it means that you were,

decided to be of an age when  you could be trusted or indeed,  

for example, in most European countries, 18  you come of age and you're allowed to vote.

So they give you the responsibility of  

casting your vote in general or  local or presidential elections.

In the UK and Ireland. Also, people came of  age, usually at 21 and there was a special  

party. They were presented with the keys  of the house or some special celebration.  

So they came of age a little bit later.  So it often depends on the traditions.

To come of age means to be of an age when you  can be trusted, or when you're given more.

Responsibility or indeed, for example,  to buy drink or alcohol or to drive a  

car or get a license. And so  this is when you come of age.

Number six to come a long way. Well,  usually this refers to progress,  

or technology has come a long way. I remember,  and I do. I remember when we first introduced  

technology and I had this little bleeper, and  that was the only way that the office could get  

in contact with you. But it was all just a little  message to get to a phone and phone the office.

So it wasn't really technology in  that sense, but we can say today,  

25 or 30 years after emails and messages were

invented, that technology has come  a long way, meaning it has developed

Or individuals. He's come a long way. Remember  a few years ago, a breakup of that relationship.  

Wasn't sure about his job. Look at him  now. Couple of kids. He's got promoted,  

so he's come a long way. So things develop, things  get better, things improve to come a long way.

Number seven to come clean. When we come clean,  we have to admit to something. Yeah, okay. Perhaps  

we're hiding a little secret. Perhaps we did  something, and we don't want anybody to know  

what we did. And then somebody says, come on,  come clean. Oh, no. It was you. So maybe you were  

playing a trick or a prank on somebody, and nobody  can understand who did it and why they did it.

So people are asking. Come on.  It must have been you. That's  

the sort of thing that you would do.  Come on, come clean. Admit it. Okay.

Or the police when they're

Questioning a suspect who's been involved,  perhaps in a robbery, or they think he's  

been involved in a robbery. They give him one  opportunity to come clean. It's best if you  

come clean. If we find out later on that it  was you, then we are going to get very, very

Strong and come down on you very forcefully.  Yes. So come clean now. It would be better.  

Okay. So to come clean means to admit to own  up to a mistake or something that you have done

When somebody has something coming to them.  Okay. Now, this usually could be a warning

perhaps somebody is a little bit arrogant  and people don't like the way he's behaves  

and he's constantly acting in this  arrogant way, talking down to people,  

boasting, bragging. Somebody might say, he  has something coming to him. Some day he'll  

find out that he's not the big shot, that  he's not the big noise that he thinks he is.

So when they have something coming to  them, usually it means they're going  

to have a shock or a bad surprise. That's  something people will stand around and laugh

Or it could be somebody really bad. Yeah. So the,

police don't know.

who exactly committed these crimes but  they have this suspicions. Yeah. So they

Arrest this guy and they take him in for  questioning, and they can't find any evidence  

that will support their belief that this guy  committed all of these crimes. But they have  

the suspicions and they say, you have something  coming to you. The first mistake you make. We'll  

be there watching you. Okay. So when somebody has  something coming to them, it's usually bad news.

It means something's going to happen.

Number nine to come to life.

Somebody wakes up. They've been sleeping  for a couple of hours in the afternoon,  

and they finally wake up and say, well, what's  for dinner? Or what are we going to do now? And,  

the parents say, I see you've finally come to  life. You've been sleeping most of the day.

Or somebody may be,

Describing the city or the town in which they  live in, and they might be using this expression  

to describe what happens at the weekends.  The city really comes to life on a Friday.

from Monday to Thursday, it's like  any city. It's pretty easy going,

But on a Friday it really comes to life.

All those nightclubs open up, the  restaurants are open. There's a real buzz

at a great place to be. It comes  to life, but not till about 9:00  

on a Friday evening. And then it's  like that for Friday and Saturday.

Number ten come to pass when something comes to  

pass. This is a no dish expression,  and when something comes to pass,  

it means it happens. Yeah, it came to  pass one day means it happened one day. So

after many, many years of, one,

party being in charge in the government  and the country, then there was a sudden  

change at the election, the party from  the left to the party from the right.

Took control. So this change came to pass as  

a result of mistakes that the  previous government had made.

So when something comes to pass,  

it eventually happens. Okay. So you might  have had bad results in university and,

After 2 or 3 years, you realise that this  course isn't for you. So it came to pass  

that you just decided that you had had  enough. That really being a lawyer or an  

accountant wasn't what you were really cut out  for, and you wanted to do something different.  

You're not quite sure what. So you're going  to take some time out and make your mind up.

But it came to pass after that holiday,  had you sat down with your friends or your  

parents and then believed or realized that,  look, this is not for me. So to come to pass

Number 11. The best is yet to come, or  the worst is yet to come. So we can use  

this positively or negatively. The best is  yet to come, so perhaps it's a rock group,  

your favourite group, and they've  had some really great music, but you  

still think there's more. Wait for another  couple of years. The best is yet to come.

These guys really, really rock the great.

If you go to the concerts, it's a  wonderful experience. And they're  

young. They're right. Great material.  I think the best is yet to come. So  

let's wait. This is great, but I  think it's going to get even greater.

Or the worst is yet to come. Perhaps you're  talking about the economy and you're you're  

reading report after report about inflation  picking up inflation on the increase inflation  

and prices rising. Is it. Oh, this is just  the tip of the iceberg. The worst is yet to  

come. You wait. Yeah. Until the first quarter  of next year or the second half of next year.

Mark my words, the worst is yet to come.  So you're predicting or suggesting or you  

expect that worse is to follow what we've already

heard.

Number 12 to take something as  it comes. This is when you're  

relaxed. Yeah. I'll take it as it  comes. Meaning? Whatever will be,  

will be. Yeah. So I'm not going to get excited.  I'm not going to get depressed. I'm not going to  

get anxious. If it's going to happen, it's  going to happen. I'll take it as it comes.

Okay. So it could be to do with  the job. It could be to do with.

Exam. So.

Your friends are getting really, really  uptight about the exams and not quite sure, you

Did they do well? Did they do badly?  Will they have to repeat? And you said,  

look, what can we do? We've done  it now. We've we've done the work.

it's up to the examiners. It's up  to the the inspector to to mark us.

But look, I'm just going to take it as it  comes. If it's good, it's good. If it's bad.  

Well, I'll just have to try better the  next time. Let's take it as it comes.

And the last one, then

not to know whether you're coming or  going. So if somebody says to you,  

I don't know whether I'm coming or going,  it usually means that they're a little bit  

confused. And they may be a little  bit confused because they're really,  

really busy. They're up to their eyes.  They're snowed under with work and say,  

oh, this week, I don't know whether I'm coming  or going, really, that there's no end to it.

I'd really, really be happy when the  weekend arrives. So that's a really

good example of somebody saying, I don't know  whether I'm coming or going. I'm completely  

confused. You know, I'm very stressed. I need a  break. I can't wait for the weekend. Yeah. Okay.  

So when somebody is running around or appears  to be running around in circles doing this,  

doing that, not finishing this, not finishing  that little bit tetchy, a little bit annoyed.

So you can say, wow. Yeah. Have you seen  

Mark? He doesn't know whether  he's coming or going. He's had a,

a real row with the boss.

And then he's been late for  work a couple of days, and, you

That poor guy. I feel sorry for him. He  doesn't know whether he is coming or going,  

so he's a little bit confused and  he's not sure what's happening next.

Okay, so all of these are expressions  with come. We've got 13 of them. I'll  

run some through them with  you one more time. Quickly

Come to your senses. Look, just  think about it. Come to your senses.

That song that I butchered. Here comes  the sun. Here comes the sun. Yeah. Okay.

Something will come open. Come undone, come loose.

Something or people come and go.  They come and go all the time.

To come of age. Yeah. When you  reach a certain age of maturity.

Come of age. He has come a long way.  Really improved. He's come a long way.

To come clean means to admit  to own up to something that  

you did or you have done. To come clean.

To have something coming to you is a warning.  To have something come to you. Usually bad news.

To come to life will suddenly perk up. The dog has  

come to life after five years of being  very old. The dog seems to have found.

A new lease of life to come to life.

It came to pass. Yes. It happened  eventually. It came to pass. A little  

bit old fashioned. The best or the worst is  yet to come. The best is yet to come. Happy  

days. The worst is yet to come. Button  down the hatches. Problem is on the way.

Take something as it comes up.

I'm relaxed about it. Laid back.  I'll take it as it comes. And then  

finally. Not to know whether you  are coming or going. I'm up in the  

air. I'm chasing my tail. I don't  know whether I'm coming or going.

Now these are really, really good  expressions, advanced expressions.  

But try to practice them. Try to write  them down. Put them into sentences. Drop  

a few of them into your conversation. I'll be  amazed how quickly you can pick them up. Okay,  

and if you need any more help  www.englishlessonviaskype.com.  

Drop me a line. I'll give you some more  examples and help you as much as I can.

So this is Harry thanking you for watching. For  listening. As always, join me for the next lesson.