This list has been compiled of the most fixed expressions and idioms in the English language--with 1,157 items. The reason that we have posted this list is to get our current and potential students to start thinking like a linguist, so that they can have an easier time translating things, and more productive study time when they sit down to complete their assignments. This list has been compiled for the sake of students who are enrolled through Level 3 of a Broad Sky Alternative Language Academy program. Though this list in no way should be thought of as a complete list of idioms and fixed expressions, it should however be thought of as a reference tool for a student trying to classify his/her native language, and as an aid to help said student break down said language into the most basic parts of usage. What we mean by basic parts of usage is essentially, all the different situations that a speaker of any language will generally find him/herself in when speaking whatever language on a daily basis. Though this list has been written in English, it needs to be clarified that it has been compiled as a template for all languages. Though for some English (in this list, American) idioms, there may not be an exact equivalent item that can be translated perfectly, there is almost always something that is close enough.
To our readers: When you sit down to take a look at this list, you ought to do so carefully, and consider how we as speakers of American English both think, as well as talk, about the every day situations that happen around us. You will notice that for most of these phrases, 1. there are multiple ways of saying the same thing, and 2. it is a constant puzzle to match the phrase with the right preposition. Not sure what a preposition is? Well, to give a quick clarification, a preposition can be looked at as 1. a word that connects two nouns, as well as 2. a word that indicates the position of a particular noun in relation to another noun. While you yourself are probably already a master of "just knowing" when to use a particular preposition, you will find that when you sit down and think about many of the fixed expressions that appear on this list, the particular preposition used in the expression is often arbitrary, or just random. Yet you will notice that the phrase by itself is just a very common phrase that you already had memorized. Yet, when you are forced to look at an expression such as "on foot", you will perhaps puzzle over why it is considered an acceptable part of speech, but it is not grammatical. Shouldn't it be "on feet" as opposed to "on foot"? The reality is that such expressions are "just that way", and there is no real way to translate them literally. They are called "fixed expressions" for a reason.
So, without further ado, we ask you to use this list to start thinking about how you will translate your everyday life from English, into whatever other language you are learning. We guarantee that if you even learn as much as a third of the fixed expressions on this list by the time you are in Level 3, you will be well on your way to having a great and deep understanding of your respective foreign language of study. Embrace, cherish, and add on to this list!