These two words are practically the same but are used in different situations, there are also differences between British (GB) and American (US) English.

In American English ill is unusual unless it is used in a formal setting.

The British tend to use ill in the sense of ‘unwell‘ after a verb (predicative position):

• – Mary wasn’t at school last week because she was ill. (GB)

Americans use sick:

• – Mary wasn’t at school last week because she was sick. (US)

Before a noun (attributive position) most British people prefer to use sick, as do the Americans.

• – I took special leave from work to look after my sick mother.
• – My girlfriend went to London to visit her sick uncle who had been off work for six months.

Sick is also used to mean vomit (throw up the contents of the stomach through your mouth)

• – I must have eaten something bad yesterday, I was sick three times last night.
• – I feel sick. Where’s the bathroom?

It is used to refer to sickness associated with travel in general: travel sick, by boat – seasick, by car –car sick

 Languagewell offers:

More vocabulary lessons

• He is 60 if he is a day
• That will be the day

Expressions with LUCK

• With any luck
• One for luck
• Luck of the draw
• Take Pot Luck
• By a stroke of luck
• Be out of luck
• Beginners luck (beginner’s luck)

• Stay – correct use in English language

• Play, Do or Go with sports
• take LEAVE, maternity leave etc
• Hard up, broke, penniless

 Expressions with parts of the BODY

• Eye – expressions with eye
• Finger – expressions with finger
• Place – your place or mine?
• Life is not a bed of roses

• Expressions with THINK 1
• Expressions with PULL 1
• Expressions with PULL 2
• Expressions with PULL 3
• Expressions with CRY
• Expressions with LOVE 1
• Expressions with LOVE 2
• Expressions with JUMP 1
• Expressions with JUMP 2
• Expressions with SIT 1
• Expressions with SIT 2
• Expressions with SIT 3
• Expressions with ACT 1
• Expressions with ACT 2
• Expressions with ACT 3
• Expressions with BOOK 1
• Expressions with BOOK 2
• Expressions with BOOK 3
• Expressions with BOOK 4
• Expressions with DARK
• Expressions with FALL 1
• Expressions with FALL 2
• Expressions with FALL 3
• Expressions with FALL 4
• Expressions with HALF 1
• Expressions with HALF 2
• Expressions HALF 3
• Expressions with HALF 4
• idioms with ICE
• Expressions with JOB
• Expressions with KILL
• Expressions with LIFE
• Expressions MAN
• Expressions with ORDER
• Expressions with PAPER
• Expressions with QUESTION
• Expressions with REASON
• Expressions with SHAKE
• Expressions with THROW
• Expressions with USE
• Expressions with VERY
• Expressions with WAIT

Words often confused

• Near or nearby?
• Borrow or lend?
• Price or prize?
• Remember or remind?
• Raise or rise?
• Fit or suit?
• Sensible or sensitive?
• Practise or Practice?
• Expressions with TAKE
• Take or Last?
• Ill or sick?

Other Expressions:

• A fishy story
• A Red Herring
• Board – a magical word

Test meaning of idiomatic expressions pull one’s finger out, pull the plug, pull strings

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Choose the right idiomatic phrase to complete these sentences with the right meaning

Look at this  for the English language and grammar exercise and tests or go   directly to the Phrasal Verb Index to practise more with verbs like THINK ,LET , CALL or PULL. If you want more   vocabulary lessons you will find them here.

Idioms: pull down, pull back, pull away, pull ahead, pull together

Pull down

– to break in pieces and destroy (building)

• – They pulled down the abandoned factories to build a new hospital

Pull back

– to leave an advanced position to go back (army)

• – in the chess game Smith pulled his Queen back to defend his King
• – the army will have to pull back because they are too exposed to the enemy’s tanks

pull away

1 free oneself, escape

• – the man was able to pull away from the attacker who was holding him

2 start to move off

• – I got onto the train just as it was pulling away from the station

pull ahead

– get in front by moving faster

• – on the highway the Ferrari easily pulled ahead of the Opel Astra
• – on the penultimate length Michael Phelps pulled ahead of the other swimmers

pull together

1 work to achieve a common effort

• – all the students pulled together to raise money for a boy who needed an operation

2 control your feelings

• – don’t get so excited! Pull yourself together or we’ll have an accident
• – stop acting like a baby! Pull yourself together!

3 cause improvement through proper organization

• – the business coach succeeded in pulling the department together to work as a team

 Idioms: Pull your weight, pull a fast one, pull your socks up

Look at the meaning of these English expressions with PULL

pull your weight

– do your share of the work, do your job

• – All the group contribute and work hard except for Rafa who doesn’t pull his weight.

pull your socks up

– do better, improve

– Sue, I spoke to your teacher today. She says that if you don’t pull your socks up you won’t pass your exams in June.

pull a fast one

– trick as a joke or criminal act

• – The woman asked me to change two 5 euro notes for a 10 euro note. Later I noticed the note was false, she had pulled a  fast one on me.

PULL means bring something in your direction, it’s usually the opposite of PUSH. There are more expressions or idioms with PULL here;

pull out all the stops

– work as hard as possible, use all that is necessary to complete

• – If you’re going to win this match you’ll have to pull out all the stops. Improve your first service and attack the net.

pull a few strings

– try to use important contacts to improve things

• – He got the job because his father knows all the bosses and he pulled a few strings. It’s not what you know, but who you know!

pull the plug

– withdraw support, stop work on a project

• – The school has to reduce costs by 25% so they have pulled the plug on the plan to get a native English teacher
• – The shoe company pulled the plug on the sponsorship of the basketball team. The players will have to pay for the transport.

pull the rug out from under you

– surprise so that the “normal” is changed, make something unstable

• – The bosses pulled the rug out from under James, now he can’t select his own staff.

PULL means bring something in your direction, it’s usually the opposite of PUSH. There are more expressions or idioms with PULL here;

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pull your finger out

– make an extra effort, go faster

• – If you want to finish the project by Friday you’ll need to pull your finger out

pull my leg

– joking with, fool, kid

• – You’ve won the lottery? Come on, you must be pulling my leg I don’t believe you

pull a face

– wrinkle your face, react with a sad/bad face

• – I don’t want you to pull that face Mark, you have to eat your vegetables

pull the wool over my eyes

– trick someone, hide the truth

• – He was in serious financial problems but he pulled the wool over my eyes, so I knew nothing.
• – Have you given me all the information or are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes?

PULL means bring something in your direction, it’s usually the opposite of PUSH. There are more expressions or idioms with PULL here;

Expressions with CRY: crybaby, cry on shoulder

This is a short exercise to practise the vocabulary in the lesson about CRY expressions

Here’s a link to phrasal verbs with CRY, including cry out against, cry off and cry down.   There are more lessons with other verbs in the Phrasal Verb Index   it includes run and  think. If you want you can  practise by doing these exercises.

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Here are a few expressions with CRY, we’ve also got a few phrasal verbs like cry off, cry out against and cry down

crybaby

– person (esp child) who cries or complains too readily with little /without cause; a person without confidence

• My younger brother is a crybaby, you just touch him and he starts crying.
• The football coach is like a crybaby, he’s always complaining about refereeing decisions or the weather. he never accepts that his team don’t play well enough.

in full cry

– eagerly demanding;shouting, complaining and protesting. Animals in hot pursuit

• The workers were in full cry over the company’s plans to relocate.
• When the wolves smelt the injured deer they went in full cry to catch it.

cry over spilt milk

– waste time being sorry for something bad that cannot be repaired

• Yes, we should have won the game but we didn’t. There’s no point in crying over spilt milk, now we have to prepare for the next match.

a far cry from

– very different from (something)

• This weather is a far cry from what we had last week.
• Sophie is a successful model now, she’s a far cry from the shy little girl I knew at school

cry for the moon

– to ask for the impossible

• It’s very difficult to get a pay increase these days, you might as well cry for the moon.

cry on (someone’s) shoulder

– get consolation from someone.

• I’ll be your friend forever! You know you can always cry on my shoulder if you need me.

cry to sleep

– cry until one falls asleep.

Little Mary was very upset because Ann told her she wasn’t her best friend any more. She couldn’t stop crying and eventually cried herself to sleep.

cry wolf

– raise a false alarm

• When the firemen arrived at the house there was no fire, someone had cried wolf. They were not happy!
• Mummy! Mummy! come quickly, Jimmy’s fallen out of bed. … ” Jimmy is fine. Please don’t cry wolf Emily. Another time it may be true and I won’t believe you.

Here’s a link to idioms and  phrasal verbs with CRY, including cry out against, cry off and cry down.   There are more lessons with other verbs in the Phrasal Verb Index   it includes run and  think. If you want you can  practise by doing these exercises.

put your thinking cap on

– help someone to come up with an idea/solution/ suggestion

• Thanks for coming. As you know next year it’s Mum and Dad’s 50^th wedding anniversary. I think we should put our thinking caps on to come up with a good way of celebrating it.
• How about organising a trip to Australia, they’ve always wanted to go there? ….

unthinkable

– inconceivable.

• 50 years ago it was unthinkable that there would be a common currency in many European countries.
• When the modern Olympics was started it was unthinkable that there would be women boxers.
• At the moment it seems unthinkable that there will be a woman president of the USA.

think well/highly/ better/ little/ poorly of 

– have a good/ bad etc opinion of sbdy/sthng

think better of someone

– have a higher opinion of someone.

• When I first met James he seemed very self-opinionated and snobbish. But now I’ve come to think better of him, he’s a great team player and is a good motivator of the new recruits.

think nothing of

– consider to be unimportant, regard as usual, or easy:

• He thinks nothing of walking 5 km to work and back everyday.
• Graham, thanks so much for taking my mother to hospital and visiting her every day.
• Hey, think nothing of it. Any of your friends would have done the same if they could.

If you want to learn about  More expressions with THINK you will find such expressions as think ahead and think back. You could also try out your knowledge with Exercise: expressions and phrasal verbs with THINK1. You could learn about Phrasal verbs with THINK 1 and Phrasal verbs with THINK 2