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ENGLISH PROVERBS AND IDIOMS:

“READY TO USE THEM?”
I. INTRODUCTION

Idiomatic expressions play an important part in the lexical content. To have a good
command of idiomatic expressions will enable students to communicate in colloquial
situations.
Idioms are an essential part of the English language and Students have to learn in
which situations it is appropriate to use them.
Even though there are many idioms and proverbs in which there is an exact
correspondence between English and Spanish, there is also a big number in which there is
not any lexical correspondence even if the idea they convey is the same.

To begin with, we should shorten the enormous amount of idioms and proverbs and
focus on those which are closer in meaning and lexical form to those of their mother
tongue.
In order to classify proverbs we will focus on different aspects such as rhythm,
structure, those with a parallel sequence and topic.
Students will elicit the meaning from context, situations or pictograms and finally
they will try to find another expression in the language with a similar meaning.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. To find links between cultures and languages, discussing what makes them
different/ similar and why.
2. to make a selection of proverbs and idioms unravel their meaning and discuss
possible similarities in their mother tongue and English
3. to create awareness and reflection on diversity “ How aware am I of my own
language?”
4. To develop knowledge about their own culture and language.
5. To learn about proverbs, how they work and their cultural significance
6. To learn about the difference between proverbs and clichés
7. To share , study and interpret proverbs
8. To act out a proverb in a real situation.

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III. COMPETENCES

1. SOCIAL COMPETENCE
a. To be able to use idioms a proverbs in an appropriate context to
communicate in colloquial situations

2. LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE
a. To stimulate reflection on their own language and culture by comparing
with a second language

3. ORAL COMPENTENCE
a. To be able to communicate in a colloquial situation.

PROVERB’S DEFINITION

“Out of the frying pan and into the fire!” or “ A stitch in time saves nine” or “ Look before you
leap”. Traditional proverbs like these, which convey cultural knowledge and wisdom, are often
closely tied to a culture’s values and everyday experience and their meanings are not always easy
for us today. In these activities you will learn about proverbs: how they work, how they differ
from idioms, how to interpret them and how they can be culturally and personally significant.

Proverbs are popular sayings which contain advice or state a generally accepted truth.
Because most proverbs have their origins in oral tradition, they are generally created in such a way
as to be remembered easily and tend to change little from generation to generation, and
sometimes their specific meaning is no longer relevant. For instance, the proverb “penny wise,
pound foolish” is a holdover from when America was a British colony and used the pound as
currency.
Proverbs function as “folk wisdom,” general advice about how to act and live. And because
they are folk wisdom, they often strongly reflect the cultural values and physical environment
from which they arise. For instance, island cultures such as Hawaii have proverbs about the sea,
Eastern cultures have proverbs about elephants, and American proverbs, many collected and
published by Benjamin Franklin, are about hard work bringing success. Proverbs are used to
support arguments, to provide lessons and instruction, and to stress shared values.

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ACTIVITY 1

1 .PROVERBS AND THEIR RHYME

1. Proverbs are created to be remembered easily, so they tend to have a rhyme. In

this activity you will have to find the word that rhymes, that is, that has the same sound
as in the first part of the proverb. Choose one word from the box below.

1. MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN …………….

2. LET BYGONES BE …………………
3. ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS ……………..
4. A STITCH IN TIME SAVES ………………
5. BIRDS OF A FEATHER FLOCK …………………
6. A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND …………………
7. EARLY TO BED AND EARLY TO RISE MAKES A MAN HEALTHY,
WEALTHY AND ………………..
8. OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF …………………
9. TWO IN DISTRESS, MAKES SORROW ………………..

LESS, NINE, INDEED, WISE, MIND, BYGONES, WELL, TOGETHER,

SHINES,

2. Match the English proverb with their Spanish correspondence

A. OJOS QUE NO VEN CORAZÓN QUE NO SIENTE nº 8

B. MÁS VALE PREVENIR QUE CURAR nº __
C. BORRÓN Y CUENTA NUEVA nº __
D. HACER DE TRIPAS CORAZÓN nº __
E. LO QUE BIEN EMPIEZA BIEN ACABA nº ___
F. DIOS LOS CRÍA Y ELLOS SE JUNTAN nº ___
G. MAL DE MUCHOS CONSUELO DE TONTOS nº ___
H. LAS PENAS CON PAN SON MENOS PENAS nº ___
I. A QUIEN BUEN ÁRBOL SE ARRIMA BUENA nº ____
SOMBRA LE COBIJA

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ACTIVITY 2

DO’S AND DON’T’S

Proverbs often contain advice and therefore give lots of natural practice in “do’s and
don’t’s”. Decide if the imperative is affirmative or negative

1. Make / Don’t make hay while the sun shines

2. Look / Don’t look before you leap
3. Put / Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
4. Practise / Don’t practise what you preach
5. Let / Don’t let bygones be bygones
6. Count / Don’t count your chickens before they hatch

ACTIVITY 3

UNIVERSAL TRUTHS

This activity practises “WILL + VERB “ used to describe a habit ( often an annoying
one) or a universal truth. Complete the blank with the appropriate verb in brackets.

7. When the cat’s away, the mice will ………………… ( come out, play, hunt
8. Love will find a ………………….. ( path, road, way )
9. Boys will ………………….. ( be, see, hit ) boys.

ACTIVITY 4

LOVE AND TIME

The following proverbs are either about love or time. Choose words from the box
below to fill in the blanks.

LOVE (x3), LOVER, LOVES, TIME (x3)

10. ………………… IS MONEY

11. TRUE …………….. NEVER RUNS SMOOTH
12. ALL THE WORLD ……………….. A ……………..
13. ……………… AND TIDE WAIT FOR NO MAN.
14. THERE’S NO ………………….. LIKE THE PRESENT.
15. ……………………. IS BLIND
16. …………………. MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND.
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ACTIVITY 5

As you can see in the activities 2, 3 and 4 some English proverbs don’t have the
Spanish equivalent, the word-for-word translations rarely coincide although the concepts
are virtually identical.
Work out with your classmate the Spanish equivalent for the proverbs in activities
2,3 and 4 or a similar expression in Spanish.

1. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
6. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
7. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
9. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
10. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
11. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
12. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
13. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
14. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
15. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
16. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

ACTIVITY 6
Match the proverb with its definition on the right.
A. IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO DECIDE IF A
THING IS GOOD OR BAD JUST BY HOW IT
APPEARS AT FIRST OR BY ITS OUTWARD
APPEARANCE.

1. DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY B. WHEN A BAD THING HAPPENS THERE IS

ITS COVER ALWAYS A POSITIVE ASPECT TO IT.
2. WHEN IN ROME, DO AS THE
ROMANS DO C. IF YOU DON'T SEE SOMEONE FOR A LONG
3. EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER TIME YOU LIKE THEM BETTER.
LINING.
4. ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART D. WHEN YOU ARE IN A STRANGE PLACE
GROW FONDER (TEMPORARILY) IT IS BETTER TO FOLLOW THE
5. HALF A LOAF IS BETTER LOCAL CUSTOMS.
THAN NO BREAD
E. YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
GOT EVEN IF IT IS LESS THAN WHAT YOU WANT

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ACTIVITY 7

WHAT’S THE ANIMAL?

Fill in the blanks with the name of an animal. Then suggest a situation in real life which
might illustrate each proverb.

1. DON’T PUT THE CART BEFORE THE …………………..

2. YOU CAN’T TEACH AN OLD …………………… NEW TRICKS.
3. A ………………….. IN THE HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH
4. DON’T COUNT YOUR ……………………. BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED.
5. WHEN THE ……………………. IS AWAY THE ……………….. WILL COME OUT
6. DON’T LOOK A GIFT ……………………… IN THE MOUTH.
7. …………………….. OF A FEATHER FLOCK TOGETHER.
8. LIKE A ……………………… IN A CHINA SHOP.

, , x2 , x2 , , ,

ACTIVITY 8

PARALLEL STRUCTURES

Proverbs have their origin in oral tradition. They spread from one generation to the
other by word of mouth. Proverbs function as “folk wisdom”, general advice about how to
live and act. They should be usually easy to remember. There are different ways to stick
proverbs to our memory. Proverbs often make use of grammatical and rhetorical devices to
make them memorable such as alliteration, rhyme, parallel structures, repetition of key
words.
These proverbs have a parallel structure, or the structure is repeated twice. Match
the first half of the proverb with its ending.

1. WHERE THERE’S A WILL A. OUT OF MIND

2. A PENNY SAVED IS B. GOOD NEWS
3. ONE TODAY IS WORTH C. TWICE SHY
4. NOTHING VENTURED D. WHAT YOU GET
5. OUT OF SIGHT E. IT POURS
6. IT NEVER RAINS BUT F. NOTHING GAINED
7. GREAT TALKER S ARE G. THERE’S A WAY
8. NO NEWS IS H. TWO TOMORROWS
9. ONCE BITTEN I. LITTLE DOERS
10. WHAT YOU SEE IS J. A PENNY GAINED

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In pairs, work out the meaning of the previous proverbs and exchange information
with the rest of the class.

ACTIVITY 9

COMPARATIVES OR SUPERLATIVES( PARALLEL STRUCTURES)

Fill in the blanks. Each missing word will be of the same class as its counterpart in the
first part of the proverb

1. BLOOD IS THICKER THAN ………………….

2. LEAST SAID, SOONEST …………………….
3. HALF A LOAF IS BETTER THAN NO ………………………
4. BETTER LATE THAN ……………………..
5. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN…………………….
6. BETTER SAFE THAN ……………………….
7. A PENNY SAVED IS A PENNY ……………………
8. ONE MAN’S MEAT IS ANOTHER MAN’S ……………………..

ACTIVITY 10

Each picture represents one of the proverbs you have been studying in this unit.
Write the proverb next to the picture.

1. ……………………………………………………………………………………

2. ……………………………………………………………………………………

3. …………………………………………………………………………………….

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4. …………………………………………………………………………………………..

5. ……………………………………………………………………………………………

6. ……………………………………………………………………………………………

7. …………………………………………………………………………………………..

8. ………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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1. As you shall make your bed, so shall you..........mess it up

2. Better to be safe than....................punch a 5th grader
3. Strike while the................................bug is close
4. It's always darkest before.............daylight savings time
5. You can lead a horse to water but.......................how?
6. Don't bite the hand that.........................looks dirty
7. A miss is as good as a...................................Mr.
8. You can't teach an old dog new..........................math
9. If you lie down with the dogs, you'll.....stink in the morning
10. The pen is mightier than the............................pigs
11. An idle mind is.........................the best way to relax
12. Where there's smoke, there's.......................pollution
13. Happy the bride who......................gets all the presents
14. A penny saved is.....................................not much
15. Two's company, three's..........................the musketeers
16. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and....you have to blow your nose
17. Children should be seen and not..........spanked or grounded
18. When the blind leadeth the blind..........get out of the way
19. Better late than.....................................pregnant

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