Learn new expressions in English with these exercises:
If you get discouraged, you 'lose heart'.
- When I saw how good the other contestants were I began to lose heart a bit.
- Don't lose heart. We can still do well.
At the moment you feel disappointed or discouraged your 'heart sinks'.
- My heart sank when I saw how much work was left to do.
- Her heart sank when she heard the bad news.
If you really really want to do or have something, you 'set your heart on' it.
- I've set my heart on getting a Ferrari before I am thirty.
- She set her heart on getting that job so she's very disappointed.
If you find encouragement from something, you 'take heart'.
- I took heart from your words of encouragement.
- We should take heart from our improved performance in Italy.
If you cannot refuse somebody something, even though you know it is not a good idea, you 'didn't have the heart to say no'.
- She really wanted to borrow it and I didn't have the heart to say no.
- When he pleaded with me, I didn't have the heart to say no.
If something will make you very sad, it will 'break your heart'.
- It breaks my heart to sell my car but it's become too unreliable.
- It breaks my heart to leave here. I've really enjoyed it.
If you care a lot about something, it is 'a subject close to your heart'.
- Fighting world hunger is a subject close to my heart.
- Punctuality is a subject close to my heart.
If somebody is very kind and generous to others, they have 'a heart of gold'.
- He appears bad –tempered but he's got a heart of gold.
- Under that gruff exterior lurks a heart of gold.
If you are no longer motivated to do something, your 'heart is not in it'.
- I'm going to give up this job. My heart is not in it any more.
- She went through the motions but her heart just wasn't in it.
Your truest inner feelings are your 'heart of hearts'.
- In my heart of hearts, I never really wanted to leave here.
- I'm happy in my management job but in my heart of hearts I'd rather still be a researcher.
If you change your mind, you 'have a change of heart'.
- We weren't going to give him the promotion but then we had a change of heart.
- After a change of heart, she finally agreed to move to Berlin.
If you are well-intentioned, your 'heart is in the right place'.
- He is a bit rude sometimes but his heart is in the right place.
- She makes a lot of mistakes but her heart is in the right place and she always does her best.
If you memorize something word by word you learn them 'by heart'.
- I've decided to learn the English irregular verbs by heart.
- There is no need to tell me about it. I've read so much about it that I know all the details by heart.
If you have an intimate discussion about your true feelings, you have a 'heart-to-heart' talk.
- Something is bothering him. I'm going to have a heart-to-heart talk with him and find out what it is.
- We need to have a heart-to-heart discussion and clear the air between us.
'At heart' can mean fundamentally, in one's deepest feelings.
- He is a good all-round manager but at heart he's an engineer.
- I want you to know that we have your best interests at heart in sending you to Berlin for a year.
exercise 1
exercise 2