50 Commonly Used English Phrases
| No. | Phrase | Meaning | Sentence Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | In a hurry | In a rush | She left home in a hurry. |
| 2 | On time | Punctual | The bus arrived on time. |
| 3 | By mistake | Accidentally | I called the wrong number by mistake. |
| 4 | All of a sudden | Suddenly | All of a sudden, it began to rain. |
| 5 | At once | Immediately | Please come here at once. |
| 6 | In fact | Actually | In fact, he knows the truth. |
| 7 | As usual | Normally | She was late as usual. |
| 8 | From time to time | Occasionally | He visits his village from time to time. |
| 9 | In advance | Before time | Book the tickets in advance. |
| 10 | At present | Now | She is busy at present. |
| 11 | In public | Openly | Do not argue in public. |
| 12 | On purpose | Intentionally | He broke the glass on purpose. |
| 13 | By chance | Accidentally | I met my teacher by chance. |
| 14 | At least | Minimum | Bring at least two notebooks. |
| 15 | In trouble | In difficulty | The boy is in trouble. |
| 16 | Under pressure | Stressed | She works well under pressure. |
| 17 | In charge of | Responsible for | He is in charge of the office. |
| 18 | In need of | Requiring | The patients are in need of help. |
| 19 | In spite of | Despite | He succeeded in spite of failures. |
| 20 | In the meantime | Meanwhile | Wait here; in the meantime, I’ll call him. |
| 21 | At the moment | Right now | She is sleeping at the moment. |
| 22 | In the end | Finally | In the end, they agreed. |
| 23 | On the way | While going | I met him on the way home. |
| 24 | At home | Inside the house | She stayed at home today. |
| 25 | In front of | Before | The school is in front of the park. |
| 26 | At night | During night | We travel at night. |
| 27 | In the morning | Early hours | I exercise in the morning. |
| 28 | At work | Working | He is at work now. |
| 29 | On duty | Officially working | The nurse is on duty. |
| 30 | In bed | Sleeping/resting | She is still in bed. |
| 31 | In common | Shared | They have many habits in common. |
| 32 | At risk | In danger | The village is at risk of flooding. |
| 33 | Out of control | Not manageable | The fire got out of control. |
| 34 | In favour of | Supporting | I am in favour of this plan. |
| 35 | Against the rules | Not allowed | This is against the rules. |
| 36 | In search of | Looking for | They went in search of food. |
| 37 | In the middle of | During | She called me in the middle of class. |
| 38 | At the same time | Simultaneously | They spoke at the same time. |
| 39 | In a way | Partly | In a way, he is right. |
| 40 | On average | Usually | She scores well on average. |
| 41 | At a distance | Far away | I saw him at a distance. |
| 42 | By hand | Manually | This letter is written by hand. |
| 43 | On foot | Walking | He goes to school on foot. |
| 44 | In short | Briefly | In short, the plan failed. |
| 45 | For example | For instance | Many fruits, for example, apples, are healthy. |
| 46 | In detail | Fully | Explain the topic in detail. |
| 47 | At any cost | No matter what | Finish the work at any cost. |
| 48 | In the beginning | At first | In the beginning, it was difficult. |
| 49 | In the long run | Over time | Hard work pays in the long run. |
| 50 | At the end of the day | Finally | At the end of the day, family matters most. |
Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan is a teacher, bilingual writer and artist with over two decades of experience in teaching English language and literature. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of English at NSS College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Her blog, ashlit.in brings together academic resources, creative writing in Malayalam and English, and visual art. The platform features lecture notes, study materials, poems, reflections, short prose, and a curated collection of her paintings. Through this space, she seeks to foster learning, creativity, and meaningful engagement with literature and the arts.
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