Casual Phrases

noun chance is a noun that refers to a possibility of something happening without planning or design.

adverb by chance is an adverb because it modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb by indicating that something happened unexpectedly or without planning.

preposition by is a preposition that shows the relationship between 'chance' and the action being described.

• By chance, I happened to run into my old college professor at the conference.
• I saw my ex-girlfriend at the mall by chance.
• I found this cool vintage jacket at the thrift store by chance.
• By chance, the two rival gangs ended up sitting at the same table and surprisingly got along.

noun a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea; 'way' is a noun in 'by the way' referring to a method or manner of doing something

adverb an adverb modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb; in this case, 'by the way' is used as an adverb to introduce a new topic or add additional information in a conversation

preposition a preposition shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence; 'by' is a preposition in 'by the way' indicating the manner or method of something

• By the way, I wanted to remind you about the upcoming meeting scheduled for next Monday.
• Oh, by the way, did you hear about the new restaurant that just opened up downtown?
• By the way, have you seen the latest episode of that show everyone's talking about?
• By the way, the way you handled that situation was really impressive.

noun a phrase used to express boredom or indifference

• The lecture on quantum physics was rather ho hum, lacking any engaging content.
• I find long meetings to be quite ho hum, don't you?
• The party last night was so ho hum, I wish we had gone somewhere more exciting.
• Her performance in the play was ho hum, lacking the passion and energy we were expecting.

noun a relaxing or enjoyable time spent resting or doing leisure activities

verb to relax or take it easy, typically after working hard

• After a long day at work, it is important to find time to kick back and relax.
• Let's kick back and watch a movie tonight.
• I'm just gonna kick back and chill for a bit.
• Sometimes you just need to kick back and let things fall into place.

noun an informal term for 'nowhere'

adverb in no way or manner; not at all

• The experiment results were not reproducible nohow.
• I can't seem to get this computer to work nohow.
• I ain't gonna do that nohow.
• No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to make things work nohow.

adjective of average or fair quality; neither very good nor very bad

adverb to a moderate extent; not very well or not very much

• The results of the experiment were only so so, not meeting our expectations.
• I'm feeling so so about going to the party tonight.
• The movie was just so so, nothing special.
• Her performance in the play was so so, lacking the passion we were looking for.

verb to find or encounter something unexpectedly or by chance

• During my research, I happened to stumble upon a rare manuscript in the library archives.
• I was just browsing the internet and stumbled upon this cool new website.
• I was walking through the park and totally stumbled upon this hidden gem of a coffee shop.
• Sometimes in life, we stumble upon unexpected opportunities that can change our path.

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, in this case, the action of taking it easy

adverb a word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb, in this case, 'easy' is modified by 'take' to indicate the manner in which the action is being performed

pronoun a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse, in this case, 'it' refers to a previously mentioned subject

• I advise you to take it easy and not rush into any decisions.
• Hey, just take it easy and relax, everything will work out.
• Dude, chill out and take it easy, no need to stress.
• Sometimes in life, you just have to take it easy and go with the flow.

verb to consider something as unimportant or insignificant

• He tends to think nothing of spending large sums of money on luxury items.
• She thinks nothing of staying up late to finish her work.
• They think nothing of ditching their plans last minute to go to a party.
• The CEO thinks nothing of making important decisions without consulting his team.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action or state of being

adjective a word that describes or modifies a noun

pronoun a word that takes the place of a noun

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence

• It is important for all team members to be cool with the new project timeline.
• Hey, are you cool with going to the concert next weekend?
• I'm totally cool with skipping class and hanging out instead.
• She needs to learn to be cool with unexpected changes in plans.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

adjective describing the quantity or number of something

• A good many people attended the conference last week.
• There were a good many students at the party.
• I know a good many folks who would love to join us.
• She has a good many tricks up her sleeve when it comes to negotiating.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

• The results of the study were unexpected, but go figure, that's science for you.
• I thought I had everything planned out perfectly, but go figure, something still went wrong.
• I was sure I would win the game, but go figure, I ended up losing.
• Life is full of surprises, so go figure, you never know what might happen next.

verb a word that expresses an action or state of being, such as 'could care'

adverb a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb, such as 'less'

pronoun a word that is used to replace a noun in a sentence, such as 'I'

• I could care less about the current political climate.
• I could care less about what she thinks of me.
• I could care less about that drama, to be honest.
• I could care less about climbing the corporate ladder.

noun a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence

• I observed that somebody’s hair is on fire and immediately called for help.
• Hey, did you see that somebody’s hair is on fire over there?
• Dude, somebody’s hair is on fire! Call 911!
• When she found out she had won the lottery, it was like somebody’s hair is on fire with excitement.

noun a state of tranquility or quiet

adverb used to express a wish for peace or farewell

• After discussing the terms of the agreement, we can now formally say peace out.
• Alright, I'm done here. Peace out!
• I'm gonna bounce, peace out!
• As the sun set behind the mountains, the world seemed to say peace out for the day.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action or state of being

adverb a word that modifies or describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb

pronoun a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence

article a word that is used to specify a noun

• The CEO is known to have somebody for lunch if they make a mistake.
• Don't mess up or the boss will eat somebody for lunch.
• Watch out, the teacher will have somebody for lunch if you're late again.
• In the competitive business world, you need to be on top of your game or someone will eat you for lunch.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action or a state of being

adjective a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun

adverb a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb

pronoun a word that takes the place of a noun

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence

conjunction a word that connects words, phrases, or clauses

article a word that specifies and limits a noun

• I'm not being funny, but your presentation could use some improvement in terms of structure and content.
• I'm not being funny, but your new haircut is not really flattering.
• I'm not being funny, but your taste in music is seriously questionable.
• I'm not being funny, but your excuses are getting old and it's time to take responsibility for your actions.

noun a place or state of torment and punishment in an afterlife

adverb used for emphasis or to express anger, frustration, or surprise

• What the hell were you thinking when you made that decision?
• Why the hell did you do that?
• Where the hell did you find that?
• She danced like the hell at the party last night.

noun a word used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence

preposition a word used before a noun or pronoun to show its relationship to another word in the sentence

• There are no prizes for guessing the correct answer in this academic competition.
• No prizes for guessing who ate the last slice of pizza.
• There are no prizes for guessing where we're going tonight - it's always the same bar.
• No prizes for guessing that she will be the first one to arrive at the party.

noun a word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea

verb a word that expresses an action or state of being

adverb a word that modifies a verb, adjective, or other adverb

pronoun a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence

preposition a word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence

interjection a word or phrase that expresses strong emotion or surprise

article a word that is used to specify a noun, such as 'a', 'an', or 'the'

• The speaker asked the audience member to please put a cork in it during the presentation.
• Hey, can you just put a cork in it for a minute? I'm trying to concentrate.
• Dude, seriously, put a cork in it. You're being so annoying.
• When her friend wouldn't stop talking about her problems, she wished she could just put a cork in it and enjoy the evening.

noun a word used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things

verb a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence

adverb a word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb

pronoun a word that can function by itself as a noun phrase and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g., I, you) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g., she, it)

preposition a word governing, and usually preceding, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element in the clause

interjection an exclamation, especially as a part of speech

• Please remain calm and composed, there is no need to lose your temper.
• Hey, keep your wig on! There's no need to get so worked up.
• Chill out, dude! Keep your wig on, everything will be fine.
• Don't let the situation ruffle your feathers, just keep your wig on and stay focused.

adjective feeling fear or apprehension

adverb in a fearful or apprehensive manner

• I'm afraid so, the project deadline cannot be extended any further.
• You asked if we could leave early today, but I'm afraid so, we have to stay until the end of the shift.
• You think we can get away with not paying for the meal? Afraid so, the waiter is coming this way.
• She asked if I still loved her, and I had to admit, afraid so, my feelings haven't changed.