Vocabulary: Idioms & Phrases for Safety

• Do things by the book: To follow the rules exactly.

• Cut corners: To skip steps or do something poorly in order to save time or money (often dangerous).

• Follow the correct procedure: To do the necessary steps in the right order.

• Become second nature to: When a skill or habit becomes so familiar that you do it automatically without thinking.

• Err on the side of caution: To be especially careful rather than taking a risk.

• Better safe than sorry: It is wiser to be careful now than to regret taking a risk later.

Grammar: The Passive Voice We use the passive voice when the focus is on the action or the receiver of the action, rather than who performed it. Form: Verb "to be" (or "get") + Past Participle (V3)

• Tenses: The verb "to be" changes based on the tense.

  • Present: Smokejumpers are dropped into danger zones.

  • Past: She was interviewed on television.

  • Present Perfect: That has been known to happen.

• With Modals: Modal + be + Past Participle.

  • You might be carried away by the wind.

• Infinitives & Gerunds:

  • Infinitive (to be + V3): The fire needs to be assessed.

  • Gerund (being + V3): The job involves being trained.

• The "Get" Passive: Used mostly in informal spoken English to describe things that happen to someone, often by accident.

  • We get dropped in with tools. You can get injured.