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English in a Minute Series 4

Intermediate level

Verbs to use with 'way'

Episode 240827 / 27 Aug 2024

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Introduction

Collocations are words that commonly go together. Learn common collocations with 'way' here. Think of 'a way' as a path in front of you, and let nothing stand in your way of English proficiency! 

Common collocations with 'way'

stand in one's way 
If something stands in your way, your path is physically blocked. Metaphorically, this means something obstructs you from achieving something.

  • Can you stop standing in my way? I need to move past you.
  • Fear often stands in the way of us achieving our dreams.

lose one's way
If you literally lose your way, you're physically lost. Metaphorically, it means you're confused about what to do. 

  • I didn't take my map on the hike, so I lost my way about 2 hours in.  
  • Martha lost her way a bit after university and couldn't get settled in any job. 

find one's way
If you literally find your way, it means you were lost but now you're on the right path. This can be used metaphorically, too. 

  • Even without a map, I managed to find my way to the destination. 
  • After a few years of feeling lost, Martha finally found her way to her dream job. 

go out of one's way
If you go out of your way, it means you make a special effort to do something.

  • Mum always goes out of her way to help me when I need her..

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TRANSCRIPT

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.

Georgie
Is a lack of vocabulary standing in the way of your English proficiency? Let’s fix that.

We can think of ‘a way’ in a literal sense, as a path in front of you. If something stands in your way, the path is physically blocked. Metaphorically, this means something obstructs you from achieving something. 

Examples
Can you stop standing in my way? I need to move past you.

Georgie
If you literally lose your way, it means you’re physically lost, but when you find your way, you’re on the right path. Metaphorically, this means you’re confused about what to do, but then it becomes clear.

Examples
Martha lost her way a bit after university. But, once she became clear on her goals, she found her way to her dream job.

Georgie
Finally, if you go out of your way, it means you make a special effort to do something. 

Examples
Mum always goesout of her way to help me when I need her.

We hope you goout of your way to improve your English with our videos!

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