USEFUL AND FREQUENT IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS USING “RUN”



(1)        run (v./trans):  operate, manage


Examples -


            run a company

            run an economy

            run a department


            Sue ran the billing department for ten years before she retired.

            They are good salesmen, but they have no idea how to run the company.



(2)        run (v./intrans):  function



Examples -


            My car isn’t running very well.

            Things aren’t running as well as we’d expected.




(3)        run into: [1]  encounter or meet,  usually unexpectedly


Examples -


            run into a problem

            run into a situation

            run into some information

            run into a friend

            run into your boss


Note    You can only “run into” someone you already know.

            When you make someone’s acquaintance for the first time, use “meet.”


Examples –


I met my best friend over 20 years ago.

                                                      First-time meeting


I ran into my best friend downtown the other day.

                                                      Unplanned meeting


I’m meeting my best friend for lunch tomorrow at noon.

                                                      Planned meeting




(4)        run out of: [2] deplete, finish a supply



Examples -


            run out of ideas

            run out of solutions

            run out of time

            run out of money

            run out of gas

            run out of paper



§  I had hoped to explain the proposal in more detail, but we ran out of time.  We’ll have to
provide the details at the next meeting.


§  I was copying the article when the copy machine ran out of paper.   What an inconvenience!




(5)        in the short run -  short-term

            in the long run  -   long term



Examples -


In the short run my English will be good enough.

In the long run, however, I’ll really need to   improve if I want to get where I’d like to go.



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[1] “Run into” is a phrasal verb – an idiomatic expression.  Remember to stress the preposition
[particle]  in a phrasal verb.  The preposition or particle in run into is “into.”   With ordinary
verbs – such as run  - stress the verb itself.  For example:  “He ran for half an hour to get some
exercise.”  BUT  “He ran into an old friend while he was visiting L.A.”

[2] “Run out of” is a phrasal verb with two prepositions [particles].  When a phrasal verb has two
prepositions, stress the first one.


Two other common three-word phrasal verbs are:  (i)  talk out of  and (ii) look down on.  Talk out
of  means to convince someone to refrain from acting, or to convince someone not to take an
action.  For example: “ I was thinking about buying a new laptop, but my friend talked me out of
it.  He told me I should wait because the prices would be coming down soon.  I took his advice, and
decided to wait a few more months until prices drop.”  Look down on means to consider oneself
superior.  It has a very unpleasant connotation.  For example:  “John is an educational snob.  He
looks down on anyone who hasn’t spent many years in well-known universities.”  Another example:
“Mary made a lot of money in the stock market and has become a ridiculous snob.  Now she looks down
on people without a lot of money.”


In each of the above three-word phrasal verbs, stress the first of the two prepositions.  Stress
out in the expression talk out of.  Stress down in the expression look down on.