Learn these four English idioms: butterflies in your stomach, have a ball, in the blink of an eye and not my cup of tea. Learn the meaning of these useful idioms and master them by studying and reading aloud the example sentences. Also read the Idioms in Use text, which contains all four target idioms in a natural context. Leave a comment below and practice the idioms that you learned. Learn more by visiting me at www.SirEnglish.com

7. Choose only two of the four phrases to make a good
sentence. Write down your answer before moving
ahead to check your answers.

8. • If I have a ball,
• I am very interested in something.
• If I have butterflies in my stomach,
• I enjoy myself very much.
Choose two phrases to make a good sentence

9. • If I , I enjoy myself very
much.
Answer

10. • Someone that does something very quickly
• is an example of having butterflies in your
stomach.
• Someone that feels nervous or excited about
something
• is an example of being having a ball.
Choose two phrases to make a good sentence

11. • Someone that feels nervous or
excited about something is an
example of having
Answer

12. • because he didn’t like or wasn’t interested in
something.
• because he was enjoying himself very much.
• Roy had butterflies in his stomach
• Harry said, “That’s not my cup of tea”
Choose two phrases to make a good sentence

13. • Harry said, “That’s
” because he didn’t like or
wasn’t interested in something.
Answer

14. • If something is done in the blink of an eye,
• it makes you nervous or excited.
• it happens very quickly.
• If something is not you cup of tea,
Choose two phrases to make a good sentence

15. • If something is done
, it happens very quickly.
Answer

16. Replace the phrases in bold with one of the idioms
from this section. Write down each sentence before
moving ahead to check your answers.

17. • You two go to the museum without me. Walking around those places
for hours and hours is not interesting for me.
• The football match started and very quickly the player scored an
incredible goal after just 10 seconds!
• Even the best musicians in the world get nervous or excited before a
big performance.
• Tom, this a great party. Everyone’s enjoying it very much!
Sentences with normal phrases
Replace the phrases in bold with an idiom from this section

18. Answers
Sentences with idioms
• You two go to the museum without me. Walking around those places
for hours and hours is not my cup of tea.
• The football match started and in the blink of an eye the player scored
an incredible goal after just 10 seconds!
• Even the best musicians in the world get butterflies in their stomach
before a big performance.
• Tom, this a great party. Everyone’s having a ball!

19. Example Sentences
butterflies in your stomach
to feel nervous or excited about something
have a ball
to enjoy yourself very much
in the blink of an eye
happening very quickly
not my cup of tea
something that you don’t like or aren’t interested in
Read the sentences containing the idioms that we studied. Think about the meaning of the idioms as
you read aloud. Train your brain to master these idioms.

20. Norman: I feel quite nervous about going on
stage for the first time as an actor.
Graham: Don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal to
have butterflies in your stomach. I was
exactly the same when I started 20 years ago.

21. Have a great time on your trip to Brazil, and
don’t forget to send us a postcard. I hope you
have a ball!

22. Things were going so well at university, then
in the blink of an eye my grades got worse
after failing two important exams.

23. Usually, sci-fi movies aren’t my cup of tea, but
this one was really interesting. I think you
should go and watch it.

24. If you get butterflies in your stomach before
an important presentation, you should try to
feel the emotion, not try to fight it. Then it
won’t affect you as much.

25. Wife: How are the children? Are they behaving
themselves?
Husband: Don’t worry, they’re having a ball.

26. The demolition team arrived, and in the blink
of an eye the giant tower fell to the ground.

27. I asked the girl to go ice-skating with me, but
it isn’t her cup of tea. I’ll have to think of
something else to do on our first date.

28. The nasty witch uttered some strange words,
and in the blink of an eye the prince was
turned into a frog.

29. Gemma: What did you think of the CD I lent
you?
Lisa: I listened to it, but that music isn’t my
cup of tea. I prefer something a bit more
relaxing.

30. I tried snowboarding for the first time last
week and had a ball. I didn’t realise it was so
much fun.

31. When I think about graduating from university
and going off into the working world, I get
butterflies in my stomach.

32. I used to get butterflies in my stomach
before school tests, but now I’m used to
them. I still don’t like them very much, though.

33. Policeman: Tell me what happened.
Victim: I got out of my car, and in the blink of
an eye the thief snatched my keys, jumped
into my car, and sped away down the road.

34. Mary and I are taking a few months off work
to go travelling around South America. We’re
going to have a ball exploring all the amazing
countries.

35. Paul knows that reading books isn’t my cup of
tea, so why did he buy me a whole pile of
novels for my birthday?

36. Idioms in Use Set Thirteen
Read this short passage aloud. Think about the meanings of the idioms
as you read. This will train your brain to master these idioms.
Situation: A man is talking about going skydiving for the first time.
Extreme sports aren’t my cup of tea, but my friend Ken persuaded me
to go skydiving with him. I thought, “Well, we only live once. Let’s try
it!” Surprisingly, I wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be. Of course, I
had butterflies in my stomach, but there was no great fear or worry. I
felt real excitement about jumping out of a plane and falling down to
Earth. As soon as I jumped out of the plane, I was amazed at the
wonderful view. Then, in the blink of an eye, we were back on solid
ground. It all happened so quickly, but I had a ball. I loved it so much
that I’m going to do my second skydive next month!