to be about to: to be at the moment of doing something, to be ready (often used with the adverb just) Examples of TO BE ABOUT TO I was just about to send you the email you requested. I am about to lock the doors and turn the lights off in the shop.

at first: at the beginning, originally Examples of AT FIRST At first, I didn’t know what to think about Jamie, but now I think she’s pretty cool. She consulted, at first, with a general practitioner, but then she decided to see a specialist.

to throw away: to discard, to dispose of Examples of THROW AWAY We’re having leftovers tonight because George can’t bear to throw away food. I didn’t want to throw away the old suit because it might have been possible to donate it to a homeless shelter.

to get to: to be able to do something special; to arrive at a place, such ashome, work, etc. for the second definition, do not use the preposition to withthe words home or there. Examples of GET TO “I need you to get to it!” the coach yelled, trying to motivate his team. Nicholas hoped…

to grow out of: to outgrow, to become too old for; to be a result of Examples of TO GROW OUT OF Mom knew I was going to grow out of my adolescent crabbiness. She bought her friend’s baby bigger shoes, that she wouldn’t grow out of so quickly.

to miss the boat: to ​lose an ​opportunity to do something by being ​slow to ​act Examples of TO MISS THE BOAT There were ​tickets ​available last ​week, but he ​missed the ​boat by ​waiting till today to ​try to ​buy some. The precious metals market was looking up several months ago, but unfortunately most…