Welcome to
ESL Printables, the website where English Language teachers exchange resources: worksheets, lesson plans,  activities, etc.
Our collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If you want to download you have to send your own contributions.

 


 

 

 

ESL Forum:

Techniques and methods in Language Teaching

Games, activities and teaching ideas

Grammar and Linguistics

Teaching material

Concerning worksheets

Concerning powerpoints

Concerning online exercises

Make suggestions, report errors

Ask for help

Message board

 

ESL forum > Ask for help > Going back to work    

Going back to work



Urpi
Peru

Going back to work
 
Hi lifesavers:
Well I found this expression on a dialog "NOTHING I CAN PUT MY FINGER ON" I looked it up in the dictionary but it says that it only can be used in neg. I CAN �T... is it considered negative because of the NOTHING ... and what is the real meaning of the expression?
Thanks.
Have a nice week.

5 Apr 2010      





lshorton99
China

�I can �t put my finger on it � means you can �t understand/work out exactly what is wrong or has changed.

For example:

�Something �s wrong at work. I can �t put my finger on it but people are actiing differently � - you can �t give exact details of what is different but you know something is.


�She looks different - nothing I can put my finger on but there is a change � - again, you can �t say definitely something like �she �s changed her hair � or �she �s lost weight � but there is something barely discernable that is different. �

Nothing counts as negative, by the way!

hope that helps!

5 Apr 2010     



Redbull
Thailand

I can�t quite put my finger on it�
Meaning you not sure of whats it is you looking for

not something I can feel or touch in the mind or maybe i just can �t see it.

you just can �t quite put you finger on the problem to be solved.
hope this helps you friend.

REDBULL GIVES YOU WINGS YOU KNOW Wink

5 Apr 2010     



Lina Ladybird
Germany

I think lshorton �s answer is brilliant, because it explains exactly what this expression means. Thumbs Up

5 Apr 2010