English Idioms

Mend Fences

Meaning:

• Repair or improve a relationship with another person

Frequency of Use: Medium

1. People should mend fences with family if there are problems.
2. If you have an argument with a friend, try to mend fences by talking about the issue between you.
3. How did you mend fences with your boss at work?
4. Why haven’t you mended fences with your neighbor? You can’t let the problem with your dogs get into the way of your friendship.

1. Whenever you have problems with a family member, what is your process to mend fences with the person?
2. Describe a time when you had a problem at work and what you did to mend fences if that was possible.

A few days ago, you needed some money to buy a gift for a friend, and you didn’t have enough to get anything significant. You wanted to ask your sister for a loan, but she wasn’t home. However, you noticed some money on your sister’s dresser in her room, and you took it, but you thought if you left a note, that would be sufficient until you paid her back. You then went to the store and purchased the gift for your friend. Unfortunately, when your sister came home, she blew up and yelled at you, saying that she was even thinking about calling the police. You tried to calm her down by telling her you would repay her the following week, but she said she needed the money that evening for an activity with friends and a computer program for school, and she was going to post something on social media about your actions.

So, what are you going to do to mend fences with your sister?

Sometimes, learners know the meaning of an idiom, but they don’t know how to use it correctly in conversation or writing. Thus, this activity checks your grammatical accuracy with the idiom so you become more confident in using it.