List of Idioms: A - M | Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) for GRE PDF Download

A

• able + infinitive: Tom is able to play the guitar with his toes.
• access to: Steve never has access to his dad's bank account.
• as: Tom acts as a scout for GQ here in South America.
• agree on + noun: We agreed on the plan.
• agree on + gerund: We agreed on going to town.
• agree to: We agreed to go away.
• aid + person/thing: The magnifying glass aided his search.
• allows for: Your schedule does not allow for much time.
• appeal to: He wants to appeal to my good sense.
• *as....as: She is as tired as I am.
• ask + infinitive: He asked to go home.
• ask + person + infinitive: He asked me to go home.
• *associate with: We never associate with Steve - he is far too tacky!
• *attribute to: His tackiness can be attributed to too many comic books as a child.

B

• *base on: I think that the movie Star Wars is based on a true story,
• begin + infinitive: It soon began to rain.
• boom in: There was a boom in the sale of yellow polka-dot bikinis as soon as Natalia Paris tried one on.
• built by: The Avro Arrow was built by proud Canadians.

C

• care about: Who cares about that?
• care for: I don't care for your tone.
• centers on + person/thing: The story centers on the struggle for meaning in a chaotic universe.
• choose + infinitive: I do it because I choose to do it.
• to be + composed of + thing: The atom is composed of various parts.
• consistent with: Your story is not consistent with Joel's story.
• contend that: Joel contends that you are lying.
• *consider + person/thing: I consider you a friend.
• continue + infinitive: If you continue to do that we will not be friends.
• contrast A with B: If you contrast Bill with you Bob, you find....
• convert to: The new device will convert matter to energy.
• *compare A to B: Caliban is compared to a beast in Shakespeare's The Tempest.
• (compare to stresses similarities).
• *compare A with B: Compared with you, I cannot sing well at all. (compare with stresses differences).
• *count on + person/thing: I count on you for the correct answers.
• to credit with: Columbus is credited with discovering the Americas.
• give credit for: I have to give you credit for working so hard.

D

• are in danger of + gerund: The robber was in danger of being captured.
• decide + infinitive: We decided to leave the party early,
• decide on + thing/person: We decided on the all-meat pizza.
• delighted by: Steve was delighted by the new findings.
• depend on: Steve depends on Joel for financial support.
• *different from: Canadians are very different from Americans.
• difficult + infinitive: Steve finds it difficult to dance to Latin music.
• disclose to + person/organization: Joel decided to disclose to the world the truth about Steve's crazy ideas.
• *distinguish between X and Y: I want to distinguish between London and Paris.
• *distinguish X from Y: If you distinguish London from Paris....
• draw on (take out): Unlike Felix, Steve can draw on funds from Joel's bank account.
• draw + thing: The tattoo artist drew a lovely flower on Joel's left bicep.
• to be drawn to + thing/person: Women are drawn to Steve's bulging muscles.
• *dream of/about: Natalia Paris often dreams about Steve.
• dwindle from: Mr. Bolton's bank account dwindled from one thousand dollars to less than half that in less than a week.

E

• easy to: It's easy to see why Mark is so popular.
• elect to: Mark will be elected to the Congress in 2016.
• elect + person: We elected Steve as our office "gopher".
• emerges from: The snail emerges from its shell.
• *enable + person + infinitive: My job enables me to travel.
• *encourage + person + infinitive: We encouraged him to paint.
• escape from: Steve wishes to escape from grinding poverty.
• to be + essential to + person/thing: Coffee is essential to me, especially in the morning.
• except for + person/thing: Everyone is here except for the teacher.
• except for + gerund: Except for being handsome, he wasn't very special.
• explain to: Juan explained to Steve the difference between salsa    and merengue.
• expose to: Steve is exposed to intense ridicule every day of his    life.

F

• fail to: We fail to see the humor in these sentences.
• flee from: Steve fled from their sharp criticisms.
• *forbid to: We forbid you to go.
• force + thing/person + infinitive: This mishap forces me to plan ahead.
• focus on + thing/person: I want to focus on our mutual problem.

G

• get credit for/give credit for: I have to give you credit for your good work.
• grow from: Joel predicts that Test Tutor will grow from a small company to a major multinational within five years.
• grow out of: Steve grew out of his overalls just last year.

H

• help + thing/person + infinitive: Music helps me to think.

I

• indicate that: Studies indicate that people with gray hair are smarter than the
• majority.
• indicate to + person: Steve's constant worrying over his gray hair indicates to me a serious
• self-esteem problem.
• inherit from: Steve inherits his gray hair from his mother's family.
• invest in: Steve should invest in hair dye.

L

• leads to: Lack of exercise leads to obesity.
• localized in:    The pain is localized in my left foot.

M

• Manage to:    You've managed to screw this up again, Steve.
• *make + thing/person + verb (simple form): Chocolate makes me think of Switzerland.
• *mistake + thing/person + for:    I'm sorry. I mistook you for someone else.