Elizabeth was top of her class in high school and a straight-A student. She was fortunate enough to be offered a position in all of her first choice universities: Harvard, MIT, Cambridge, and Oxford. But she struggled for a long time with the decision about which university to attend. Eventually, she chose to go to The University of Oxford because it had a program she was really excited about. Have you ever been faced with an important decision where you couldn’t make up your mind?
Transcript
Make up … your mind? You mean put lipstick on your brain?
No! To make up your mind just means to make a decision.
Let’s see how we can use this phrase naturally:
- A: What are you going to eat?
- B: Hmm. I can’t make up my mind! It all looks great!
- Make up your mind, Mary! We need an answer! Are you coming to the dance with me or Paul?
- I know it’s a good problem to have, but I’ve been offered two great jobs. I can’t make up my mind which one to take!
So, there we are: make up your mind or make your mind up. They both mean the same thing. Which do you prefer? I can’t make up my mind!
Practice
Read the questions below and see if you can come up with an answer using today’s idiom.
- Do you you ever have trouble deciding what to eat in your favorite restaurants? What about your friends or partner?
- Do you find it east to decide where to go on vacation? Why or why not?
- Have you ever been offered two jobs at the same time? Was it easy to make a decision about which to choose?
- Do you take a long time to get ready for a special event? Why or why not?
- Would you describe yourself as a decisive or an indecisive person? Explain.
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