iota (n)

1. The heiress reportedly gave not even an iota of her huge inheritance to charity.
2. Teachers are often confused when students pay for a course and don't show an iota of interest in class.
3. Unfortunately, they lost everything; they don't have an iota left of what they used to own.
4. The cops don't have an iota of doubt the suspect committed the crime.
5. The hosts were shocked that the guests didn't show even an iota of appreciation.

An iota means a very small amount of something and is often used in a negative sentence structure to mean "not even a little bit".

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GR - embedded questions part 3

This is the third and last part of our GrammarReminder series on embedded questions. If you haven't yet, please check out part 1 to review how to embed information questions and part 2 for how to embed yes/no questions. The examples below are to provide you with more practice.

1. Where is the nearest subway station?
as an embedded question: Do you know where the nearest subway station is?
2. What's the best way to go downtown?
as an embedded question: Could you tell me what the best way is to go downtown?
3. Where can we catch the bus?
as an embedded question: I'm not sure where we can catch the bus?
4. How did they find the place?
as an embedded question: Let me ask them how they found the place.
5. Have they been here before?
as an embedded question: I'm not sure if they've been here before.
6. Does he usually get to work on time?
as an embedded question: I'll ask his supervisor if he usually gets to work on time.
7. Did they tell you where they went?
as an embedded question: I don't remember whether or not they told me where they went.

8. Is she looking for a new job?

as an embedded question: Do you know whether she's looking for a job or not?

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bang for your buck

1. He thinks staying at a youth hostel will give him the best bang for his buck.
2. Are you sure you're getting the most bang for your buck at that store?
3. Which school do you think will give me more bang for my buck?
4. You can get a lot of bang for your buck if you get a coupon booklet.
5. How much bang do you think we'd get for our buck if we started shopping at Costco?

Getting the most bang for your buck means getting the most value for your money. 

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Be/run out of steam

1. The kids are sound asleep. After an exciting day at Six Flags, they are completely out of steam.
2. We had to move a lot of heavy boxes and by noon, we had completely run out of steam.
3. I'm having a tough week of back-to-back meetings and presentations. I have a feeling I'll run out of steam before the week's over.
4. You need to slow down! You don't want to run out of steam so quickly.
5. If it gets to be too much or you run out of steam, give me a holler, ok? [A holler is a yell or a call]

To be out of steam or run out of steam means not to have energy left to do things.

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GR - embedded questions part 2

In part 2 of this GrammarReminder series on embedded questions, let's review how to embed yes/no questions. To see how to embed information questions, check out our post on August 23, 2011.

To embed yes/no questions, we also need to switch the subject and the verb. In addition, we have to add the words "if" or "whether (or not)". If and whether mean the same in this situation.

A quick note: "or not" is optional; if you do use it though, it can go right after whether or at the end of the sentence.

like this:
1. Are you at home right now?
as an embedded question: Could you tell me if you are at home right now?
2. Is he the President?
as an embedded question: I don't know if he is the President.
3. Did they enjoy the party?
as an embedded question: I'm not sure whether or not they enjoyed the party.
4. Has she been to Canada?
as an embedded question: Do you know whether she's been to Canada?
5. Should we get food and water for the trip?
as an embedded question: I'm not sure if we should get food and water for the trip.

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Slip one's mind

1. Sorry, I wasn't able to call you; it completely slipped my mind.
2. Write it down. It might slip your mind.
3. Tom didn't make it to the party. It probably slipped his mind. That guy is so forgetful.
4. Remember and don't let it slip your mind, alright? We're expecting you there.
5. He had meant to stop by the store, but he was too exhausted and it completely slipped his mind.

When something slips your mind, you simply forget about it.

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GR - embedded questions part 1

In this three-part series of GrammarReminder, we're going to practice embedded questions. These are questions that become part of (embedded into) a larger sentence. This is one of those grammar points that really stands out if you don't say it correctly, so let's learn how to say it right! Ready?


The rule is simply to switch the position of the subject and the verb so the question essentially becomes a sentence. The embedded question can either be part of a statement or a question, as you'll see in the following examples.


like this:
1. Who is he?
as an embedded question: Do you know who he is?
2. Where are they from?
as an embedded question: I'm not sure where they're from.
3. How does he get to work?
as an embedded question: I'll ask him how he gets to work. [The auxiliary verb "does" disappears because we normally don't use it in an affirmative sentence.]
4. What time did they arrive?
as an embedded question: Could you tell what time they arrived? [The auxiliary verb "did" disappears, and we simply use a verb in the past tense.]
 5. Where have you been?
as an embedded question: Please tell me where you've been.


Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3, which will review how to embed yes-or-no questions and provide more examples. Have you signed up for our email updates? Simply scroll down the right margin, enter your email address, and get our lessons automatically delivered to your inbox!


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out of the question

1. Their mom said watching another movie was out of the question. It was time for bed.
2. He wanted to get a motorcycle, but his wife said it was out of the question.
3. Her parents want her to marry the guy, but she's told them it's absolutely out of the question.
4. Going on vacation right now is out of the question for him. He has so much work to do.
5. I know you want to buy a house, but it's just out of the question right now. We simply can't afford it.

When something is out of the question, you're saying a firm "no" to it, and you don't even want to consider or think about it.

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splurge (v)

1. She loves to splurge when she's out shopping.
2. They had reservations at a cheap motel, but they decided to splurge at the last minute and checked into a fancy one, instead.
3. Let's splurge on a nice dinner and try that new sushi place on 5th Avenue. It's pricey, but it's supposed to be excellent.
4. He splurged and decided to rent a Ferrari.
5. He decided to splurge on a nice pair of speakers for his new entertainment center.

When you splurge, you spend a lot of money, often unnecessarily and often to treat yourself or to make yourself feel good.

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skimp (v)

1. You shouldn't skimp on sleep. You need at least 8 hours a night.
2. He's skimping on groceries so he can save money to go on vacation.
3. You don't have to skimp on sugar; we still have a lot of it. Besides, I like my cake extra sweet.
4. The company's going through tough economic times; we're told to skimp on our use of office supplies.
5. There was a band, circus performers, and a lot of food. They don't believe in skimping when it comes to throwing a party for their kids.

When you skimp, you limit your spending or the energy and attention you put into something.

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Have your work cut out for you

1. You can start the report tomorrow. You already have your work cut out for you today.
2. Alright folks, let's get started. We have our work cut out for us.
3. The boss wants me to finish the project by Friday, and I haven't even started yet. I definitely have my work cut out for me this week.
4. Hey guys, let's quit messing around. We have our work cut out for us. If we don't focus, we'll never get out of here.
5. Don't bother him right now. He's working on deadline, and he has his work cut out for him.

When you have your work cut out for you, you have a lot of work to do that's probably difficult and you know exactly how much and how challenging it is.

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What you get yourself into

1. He didn't know what he was getting himself into when he started a business.
2. What did we get ourselves into? We didn't know it was going to be this stressful.
3. My friend knew what I was getting myself into when I decided to join the program, but I didn't. I wish I had listened to him.
4. Do you know what you're getting yourself into? It's going to be a lot of work.
5. Please be aware of what you're getting yourselves into. We're going to need a 100 percent commitment from you.

What you get yourself into is the tough or unpleasant situation that you put yourself in.

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Be in for something

1. Get some rest tonight. We're in for a busy day tomorrow.
2. The kids can't wait. They know they're in for a fun weekend at Disney World.
3. Have you seen the syllabus? I think we're in for a tough semester.
4. We're in for some heavy thunderstorms tonight as the storm moves into our area.
5. Her guests are in for a delicious dinner; she's an excellent cook.

When you are in for something, you can expect that thing to happen.

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debunk (v)

1. They continue to insist their restaurant serves the best pasta even though their claim has been debunked twice by food critics.
2. The 12-year-old's science experiment debunked the commonly-accepted idea that toilet bowls always have more bacteria than the kitchen tap.
3. The news article debunked the manufacturer's claim that the new kitchen gadget was the best thing on the market.
4. Members of political parties are constantly debunking statements made by the opposition.
5. People who don't care about saving the environment are often quick to debunk concerns about global warming.

To debunk a statement or a claim is to expose the fact that it's false or grossly exaggerated.

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Weigh in on something

1. The president attended the meeting to weigh in on the proposed projects.
2. Could you weigh in on our idea for the party? We'd like to know what you think.
3. Tom loves to weigh in on everything his brother does.
4. Everyone weighed in on her new tattoo. Most of them were positive though.
5. Millions of people logged in to the White House's website and weighed in on the President's decision.

When you weigh in on something, you give your opinion or tell people what you think about something.

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