Weekends and Favourite Pastimes. British and American Weekends.
(Vocabulary List)
to work a five-day week
on weekdays/ on working days/ at (on) weekends/ on days off
to take an extra day off on Friday or Monday to make a long weekend
on Friday morning/ on Saturday evening, etc.
Tired
to be/to feel tired=(completely) exhausted=worn out=run down=weary=knackered (BrE)=beat (AmE)
Free time and hobbies
free time=spare time=leisure time
habit/hobby/pursuit/interest/pastime
to be in the habit of doing smth
to get into the habit of doing smth≠to get out of the habit of doing smth
to really love smth/to absolutely adore smth/to spend a lot of time doing smth/to be quite good at smth/to be really into smth/to enjoy smth more than just about anything else
Hobbies dancing/playing the piano (the guitar)/collecting postcards (stamps, shells and rocks, etc.) /drawing/knitting/sewing/doing flower-arranging/doing gardening/going shopping, etc. |
When the weekend comes
the weekend arrives=comes=comes along
to spend all week waiting for the weekend
to look forward to the weekend/to look forward to the freedom of the weekend
the weekend is a chance to relax=wind down=let loose
the weekend is a chance to be at home with ones family/to spend time on a sport or hobby/to go out somewhere
the weekend is a chance to go home and admire the contrast between the hustle and bustle of Minsk and the peace of ones hometown
to try hard to have a good time/to enjoy oneself/to have time to please oneself/to make the most of ones weekends/to go wild
to never do anything particularly special with the weekend when it finally arrives/to never plan what to do a long time before the weekend starts/ to never have an opinion about what to do and to just wait to see what your friends suggest
to end up staying in being very lazy and doing nothing ( I usually end up )
my weekends tend to be very busy/relaxing
to spend the day/the weekend submerged in doing smth
When you stay at home | When you go out |
to stay in | to go away for the weekend |
to watch TV | to go out for the day |
to listen to music=to take in some music | to go out for a meal/a drink |
to surf the Internet= the net | to go out to lunch/dinner |
to play computer/board games | |
to play chess/draughts, etc. | to go to the cinema=the pictures=a movie (AmE) |
to read an awful lot of books | to go to the theatre/the ballet/the opera |
to chat on the phone with friends/parents | to go to a concert/a gig |
to relax and do nothing | |
to have a lie-in | to go to a club = to go clubbing=to go roundthe clubs |
Food | to go to a restaurant/a café |
to have a leisurely breakfast | to go to a bar for the happy hour |
to have a continental breakfast | to go to church |
to get an enormous pile of newspapers delivered | |
to read the Sunday papers over a cup of coffee/ over breakfast | |
to sit in the garden over a cup of coffee | to go for a walk in the park |
to have Sunday lunch | to go for a run |
to have brunch | to go for a swim in the lake |
to invite friends to Sunday tea | to go for a drive in the car |
to have friends (over/round) for dinner | to go for a bike ride |
to get a takeaway | to go for an outing in the country |
to cook an enormous meal for the children | |
Sunday lunch induces in most people the state of inertia | to go on a trip to /a journey to |
to go on a tour to /an excursion to | |
Housework | to go on a visit to |
to clean=to do=to tidy up the flat | to go on a picnic to the woods |
to do housework=to do ones household chores | |
to do the main share of the housework | to go shopp ing≠ window-shopp ing |
to do odd jobs around the house | to go swimm ing/ sunbath ing |
to help parents with stuff in the house | to go camp ing /hik ing /fish ing /sail ing/ boat ing |
to catch up with all the jobs you are busy to do during the week | to go skat ing/ ski ing /climb ing |
to do the shopping | to go horse rid ing |
to do the cooking | to go sightsee ing |
to do the washing= to do the laundry=to wash ones clothes | |
to do the washing-up=to do the dishes=to wash the dishes | Sport |
to do the ironing | to keep fit |
to do the vacuum-cleaning=to run the vacuum-cleaner over the floor=to vacuum-clean the carpets | to do sports |
to do the dusting=to dust the furniture | to play tennis/badminton/golf/ football |
to sweep/to wash the floors | to do plenty of running/swimming/tennis |
to set=to lay the table (for dinner) | to meet up for a game of football |
to empty the bin | to go to the gym for a work-out |
mow the lawn | to be a keen sportsman |
to wash/clean ones car | |
Friends | |
to go out on the town | |
to go out with your boyfriend/girlfriend | |
to hang out with smb | |
to hang around the park | |
to walk around the city | |
to go over to smbs house | |
to stay out late /out until midnight | |
to walk the dog/to take the dog for a walk |
When the weekend comes to an end
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to be the climax of the weekend
to spend Sunday evening at home/to quiet down a bit/its time to get ready for Monday-another week
weekends flash past=go by like lightning
Time passes at different speeds according to what you are doing.
The realization that the weekend is over casts a slight melancholy on the evening.
The realization that there is another busy week ahead casts a slight melancholy on the evening.
In general people tend to be very busy at the weekend and often finish it more tired than they began it.