Learn more English in a Minute 

• Verbs to use with 'strategy' 
• Verbs to use with 'resource' 

Introduction 

You know what the word 'blue' means: it's the colour of the sky and the sea. But did you know that it can be used for more than simply describing colours? There are some English phrases with the word 'blue' – learn some of them here with Phil.

After the holiday was over, Amy got the blues – she didn't want to go back to school. 

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• After his driving test, Andy screamed until he was blue in the face, but it didn't change a thing – he had failed. 
• I love to drink tea – I only have coffee once in a blue moon. 

After the holiday was over, Amy got the blues – she didn't want to go back to school. 

1. Wake up early.
2. Brush your teeth.
3. Have breakfast.
4. Go to school.

1. Step one
2. Step two
3. Step three

establish a network 

If you establish a network, you create one, making the first links between different things

Paula established a network of contacts whose houses she could visit when she travelled to the UK. 

form a network

If you form a network, you create it in a way that can be visualised. 

• After Paula formed her network of contacts, she plotted their locations on a map. 

build up a network 

If you build up a network, you expand it, adding more elements and connections between them.    

• When Paula arrived in London, she met several new people and was able to build up her network of friends. 

run a network 

If you run a network, you manage or maintain the network, keeping the links strong or healthy. 

• When Paula returned home, she realised she had so many friends in the UK that she could run a network of places for her classmates to stay. 

Common collocations with 'resource' 

lack resources 
If you lack resources, you don’t have enough.   

• Schools in the poorer parts of the city lack resources. 

pool resources 
If you pool resources, you bring resources together so that everyone can use them. 

• Individually, the teachers didn’t have many materials, but once they pooled their resources, they had much more to choose from. 

allocate resources 
If you allocate resources, you decide where to use them and then move them.    

• The manager allocated more resources to the marketing team for the new campaign. 

draw on resources 
If you draw on resources, you use them when you need them. 

• We humans draw on resources from the Earth, like fossil fuels. 

conserve resources 
If you conserve resources, you protect and manage them carefully. 

• At home we turn off all the lights when we’re not in the room to conserve resources. 

use up resources 
If you use up your resources, that means there’s nothing left. 

• Baths use up a lot of resources. You need lots of water and then energy to heat it up. 

squander resources 
If you squander resources, you waste them in a reckless manner. 

• The government squandered resources on an ineffective programme. 

TRANSCRIPT 

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

Phil 
What's the saddest colour? Some people say it's blue, but are there any phrases we can use with 'blue'? 
 
Let's stay with sadness. If you've got the blues, then it just means you're feeling sad. Don't worry – everyone gets the blues sometimes. 
 
Just leave me alone – I've got a bad case of the blues. 
 
We've done sadness. Now, let's think about anger. If someone is screaming until they're blue in the face, they're angry but they're wasting their time. We use this phrase with people who are unhappy and complaining a lot. It means their complaints won't help. 
 
You can scream until you're blue in the face, but I'm not going to change your grade. 
 
Sadness and anger are negative. Hopefully they only affect you once in a blue moon. A blue moon is quite rare, so we use it to talk about things that almost never happen. 
 
If I oversleep, I'll be late. Luckily that only happens once in a blue moon. 
 
So, we've seen three phrases with 'blue'. Now, try to use them this week! 

Next 

Learn more phrases and grammar 

Meaning and use 

Adverbs give us more information about a verb. Adverbs of frequency tell us how often an activity happens. There are many adverbs to choose from. Here are some of the most common ones, listed from most frequent to least frequent 

I always walk to work.. 

They usually arrive late. 

My father often forgets his birthday. 

He sometimes wakes up early. 

I rarely drink tea in the morning. 

You hardly ever say you love me. 

Jenny never drinks coffee in the evening. 

Form 

Adverbs of frequency go before the main verb. 

subject + adverb + main verb 

I always eat breakfast. 

They sometimes take a taxi. 

They go after the verb ‘to be’. 

subject + to be + adverb + main verb 

Question 

For questions, the order is auxiliary + subject + adverb of frequency + verb. 

Do you always eat here? 

Does he usually do that? 

Take note: negative adverbs 

Negative adverbs such as never, seldom, rarely and hardly evercannot be used in negative sentences. The following sentence is incorrect, because it has a double negative. 

WRONG: The weather isn’t never sunny. 

CORRECT: The weather is never sunny. 

Spoken English 

Some people pronounce the /t/ sound in often; other people pronounce often with a 'silent t'. Both are acceptable.