Idioms connected with the idea of richness and poverty

—   Hello, our dear friends. My name is James. This is Martin.

—   And this is our Chinese friend Lee.

—   We are glad to welcome you on our lesson.

—   Today we would like to start the lesson with two life situations.

—   Let’s listen to them and you’ll find out the topic of our lesson.

The first situation. Pay attention to Antonio.

—   Hello, Antonio. What are you doing here?

—   Hello, Daniel! Well… I’m here, because I want to buy a new house for me and my family.

—   Oh, it’s so cool! However, you don’t look happy. Is there a problem with that?

—   Yes, there is. I don’t have enough money to buy even this small house.

—   Oh, don’t worry. When you save money, you’ll be able to buy your dream house.

—   No, you don’t understand! My salary is so small. I need to save money during 50 years to buy the house of my dreams.

—   Well… in this case you need to change the job.

—   Yeah, Daniel! You’re right. Thanks.

—   No problem.

The second situation. Pay attention to Mr. Mills.

—   Hello, Mr. Mills. Do you want to buy this house?

—   Yes, I do! It’s so beautiful and large. And the yard is so admirable. I really like it.

—   Yes, the house is gorgeous, but the price is so high!

—   Oh, please! Don’t worry about the price. I have enough money to buy this house.

—   No, you don’t understand, Mr. Mills. The price is $50 million.

—   Really? It’s so cheap for such house. When can we do the paperwork?

—   Well… since the price is not a problem, let’s do everything right now.

—   Great!

Now let’s see how attentive you were.

We suggest you answer the questions:

1.     What do Antonio and Mr. Mills have in common?

And

2.     What’s the difference between these two men?

Let us help you with the answers!

1.     What do Antonio and Mr. Mills have in common?

The answer is: They both want to buy a new house.

2.     What’s the difference between these two men?

The answer is: Antonio doesn’t have enough money to buy a house, because he is poor. And Mr. Mills can afford to buy a very expensive house, because he is rich.

As you can understand, today in the lesson we will:

·        talk about richness and poverty;

·        learn some idioms connected with the idea of richness and poverty;

And

·        put the knowledge into a practice.

Let’s start with the meanings of the words: poverty and richness.

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money.

It’s a concept, which may include social, economic, and political elements.

Extreme poverty, absolute poverty, or destitution is stated as “a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information”.

It depends not only on income but also on access to services.

Richness is the quality of having a lot of something that is valuable or interesting.

We can also describe richness as “the possession of a large amount of money, clothes, food, property, or other valuable things”. The synonyms of this word are “wealth” and “fortune”.

—   We talked about the difference between the words «richness» and «poverty».

—   Now, boys and girls, let’s learn some idioms connected with the idea of richness and poverty.

1. He’s a multimillionaire. The translation is “Он является мультимиллионером”.

Let’s look at the example:

—   Mr. Smith, you were able to buy a cottage for your wife and a car for your daughter during one month? How is that possible?

—   Well, Mr. Harris, it’s not a problem for me, because I am a multimillionaire!

2. He’s a business tycoon. The translation is “Он является олигархом”.

For example:

—   Kyle, do you know that Mr. Anderson is the owner of the five largest companies in London?

—   Of course, I do. He’s a business tycoon.

3. He’s made of money. The translation is “Он богат”.

Let’s look at the example:

—   Cody, do you know that Jack wants to buy very expensive apartments?

—   Yeah, Ryan, I do. And last month he bought two cars. It seems like he’s made of money.

4. He’s a very wealthy person. The translation is “Он является очень богатым человеком”.

For example:

—   Alex, I don’t think that it’s a good idea to quarrel with Jack. He’s a very wealthy person. He can ruin your life.

—   Oh, please, Robert. I’m not afraid of him.

5. He’s quite well-off. The translation is “Он достаточно состоятельный”.

Let’s look at the example:

—   Kirk, I’m quite well-off. It’s not a problem for me to lend you some money.

—   Oh, Mark. You’re so kind. Thank you, I really appreciate that!

6. He’s comfortably well-off. The translation is “Он хорошо обеспеченный”.

For example:

—   Dad, can I take your car? I have a date tonight.

—   Oh, Alfred. No problem. You can take it for good. I’m comfortably well-off. I can buy another car.

7. He’s a bit hard up. The translation is “Он испытывает небольшие финансовые трудности”.

Look at the example:

—   Edward, we need to lend him money. He’s a bit hard up.

—   Sure, Andrew! Christian is a really good man, let’s help him a bit.

8. He’s on the breadline. The translation is “Он проживает за чертой бедности”.

For example:

—   Bobby, we need to help African children. They are on the breadline.

—   Yes, Dan, you’re right! Let’s send them $5 thousand.

9. He’s running into debt. The translation is “Он залезает в долги”.

Let’s look at the example:

—   Clark, did you hear the latest news about Rick? He ran into debt again!

—   Really? Well… I’m not surprised! He is just a loser.

10. He’s up to his ears in debt. The translation is “Он по уши в долгах”.

For example:

—   Carter, did you hear the news about Duncan? He wanted to take some money in credit, but the bank denied his request.

—   Of course! He’s up to his ears in debt. Who wants to give money to such people?

—   We’ve learnt some idioms connected with the idea of richness and poverty.

—   Now let’s put the knowledge into a practice.

Characterize the people. Use the idioms, which we’ve just learnt.

For example:

1. Mr. Brown is not a very rich man, but he earns enough money to travel abroad once a year.

The right variant is: He’s quite well-off.

2. My grandparents are retired people. They get little money and, as a result, they cannot even buy meat, eggs, butter, etc. They buy only essential goods.

Check yourselves.

The right variant is: They are on the breadline.

3. The Richards have sent their three daughters to college. That’s why they have some financial difficulties at this moment.

Let’s check.

The right variant is: They are a bit hard up.

4. Martin Fleming is a famous economist and business executive from America.  He has more money than he can spend.

Check yourselves.

The right variant is: He’s a business tycoon.

5. Joanne Rowling is the author of the much-loved series of seven Harry Potter novels. She was the first person to fall off of the Forbes billionaires list due to donating so much money to charity.

Let’s check.

The right variant is: She’s a multimillionaire.

6. Scarlett loses all her money at cards. That’s why the girl often borrows money from different people. She owes a lot of money to them.

Check yourselves.

The right variant is: She’s up to her ears in debt.

7. Mrs. Kelly is a very lucky person. She has a well-paid job. This month the woman has won the lottery twice.

Let’s check.

The right variant is: She’s made of money.

8. Mr. Grey had already paid the debt. But yesterday he borrowed money from his friend Ian again. He needed to buy a new fridge.

Check yourselves.

The right variant is: He ran into debt.

9. Veronica is a very rich person. She can buy everything she wants. The woman is a very popular lawyer in her country.

Let’s check.

The right variant is: She’s a very wealthy person.

10. The Morrisons have decent wages. The family can afford a trip to Egypt in a five-star hotel once a year.

Check yourselves.

The right variant is: They are comfortably well-off.

—   Now you know the idioms, which we can use when we talk about rich or poor people.

—   But remember! Whether you are rich or poor, you always should remain a human being.

—   That’s all for today.

—   We hope the lesson was interesting and useful for you.

—   See you soon, our dear friends.