ADJ

basic, essential
I need to buy a few basic things like bread and milk

VERB + THING

make
He makes things out of wood

ADJ

swimming, tennis, etc.
breakfast, lunch, etc.
He hadn't washed up the dinner things yet

VERB + THING

get together, pack
Come on kids, get your things together?we're going
put on, take off
Hang on a second?I'll just take off my painting things (= clothes)
clear away/up, put away, tidy away/up
Clear your painting things (= materials) away

VERB + THING

hear, know, notice, see
I can't see a thing without my glasses
miss
I'm going to arrive early, because I don't want to miss a thing
do
She's tricked you, and you can't do a thing about it
eat
I haven't eaten a thing all day
say
Nobody said a thing when he appeared with a wig on
mean
Fame and fortune don't mean a thing if you don't have happiness

ADJ

good, great, positive
It's a good thing you remembered to turn off the gas! The best thing would be to apologize straight away. If she works hard she's capable of great things. Try to look on your rejection as a positive thing
lovely, nice, wonderful
bad, negative
Too much studying can be a bad thing. It's no bad thing to express your anger
appalling, awful, dreadful, horrible, terrible
That was a horrible thing to say to her
amazing, curious, exciting, extraordinary, funny, interesting, remarkable, startling, strange, striking, surprising, weird
The amazing thing is, he wouldn't accept any money!
ridiculous
frightening, worrying
annoying
foolish, silly, stupid
I admit it was a foolish thing to do
bloody (taboo), damn/damned
crucial, key, main, important, vital
The key thing is to remain calm
little, the slightest, small, trivial
I give thanks for every little thing. He loses his temper at the slightest thing. It's such a small thing to ask
easy
Apologizing is never the easiest thing to do
hard
brave, dangerous, risky
natural
Entertaining people is the most natural thing in the world for her
close, close-run
I managed to get on the train, but it was a close-run thing (= I almost missed it)
rare
everyday
She helped with the everyday things like shopping and cooking
usual
I did my usual thing of losing my keys
nearest, next best
He's the nearest thing to a film star I've ever met. I wanted to be a musician, but teaching music is the next best thing
real
It's just a practice, not the real thing
the whole
Let's forget the whole thing
last
The last thing she wanted was to upset her parents

QUANT

loads, lots, plenty
I've got loads of things to do today

VERB + THING

do
He has a funny way of doing things. It's impossible to get things done when you're looking after a baby
make up, say
Who's been saying things about me?
be hearing/imagining/seeing
There's nobody at the door?you must have been imagining things!

THING + VERB

go on, happen, occur
There are some weird things going on in that house. A funny thing happened to me this morning …

PREP

~ about
The best thing about Alan is he's always honest

PHRASES

among/amongst other things
Amongst other things, I have to deal with mail and keep the accounts
have better things to do
I've got better things to do than stand here chatting all day!
kind/sort of thing
They go canoeing, climbing, that sort of thing
know/learn/teach sb a thing or two
Jack knows a thing or two about kids?he's got five
no such thing
There's no such thing as ghosts (= they don't exist)
such a thing/a thing like that
People defraud their companies every day, but Mike would never do such a thing!
a thing of the past
Books may one day become a thing of the past

VERB + THING

think over/through
She's taken a few days off to think things over
look at, see
Try to look at things from my point of view
discuss, talk over, talk through
We arranged to meet and talk things over
explain
accept
You should suggest changes, rather than accept things as they are
change
arrange, deal with, handle, look after, run, sort out
Who's going to look after things while you're away? I want to get things sorted out before I go away
straighten out
mess up, spoil
patch up
They patched things up a week after their quarrel
speed along/up
It might speed things up if you phone them
delay, hold up, slow down

THING + VERB

stand
As things stand at present, he seems certain to win
be going
He asked me how things were going
change
go (according) to plan, go well, work (out)
I just don't know if things are going to work out
get better, improve, look up
We were in trouble but now things are looking up
look bright/good/ promising/rosy
There was a week to go to the deadline and things were looking good
look bleak/grim
Things looked bleak for the future of the factory
be in/ get into a mess, get out of hand, get/run out of control, go wrong
get worse, go downhill
turn out
I'm sure things will turn out OK
come to a head
Things came to a head when money was found to be missing from the account
get to sb
Try not to let things get to you

PHRASES

all/other things being equal
All other things being equal, the bigger fighter should win
all things considered
All things considered, I think we've done a good job
get/keep things going/moving
They hired temporary staff to keep things going over the summer
get/put things straight
I marched into his office to get a few things straight
have/keep things in hand/under control
He offered to help, but she assured him she had things in hand
have things on your mind
We chatted about school, but I could tell she had other things on her mind
let things slide/slip
She'd started the term studying hard, but now was beginning to let things slip
let things take their course/happen
Don't worry about it?just let things take their course
make things better, easier, difficult, worse, etc.
Her apology only served to make things worse
put things right
He apologized, and asked for a chance to put things right
things to come
The pay cut was just a taste of things to come

ADJ

proper, right
He did the right thing and went back to his wife. I did all the right things but I couldn't get the engine to start
wrong
She always manages to say the wrong thing
logical, obvious, prudent, sensible
Calling a doctor seemed the logical thing to do
decent, done, honourable
He did the decent thing and resigned. It's not the done thing to ask someone how much they earn
very
Iced tea? the very thing!

VERB + THING

do
say

PHRASES

just the thing, not quite the thing
It wouldn't be quite the thing to turn up in running gear

ADJ

little, old
The baby's a pretty little thing
silly
poor
You must be starving, you poor thing!