Expressões com a palavra AFRAID

The word afraid is a very common word and you learn it in the first stages of your studies in English. afraid is an adjective and it refers to the feelings of fear, reluctance, apprehension, etc. When you're afraid of something, you don't wanna talk about it, approach it or deal with it. You just want to avoid it. Today we're touching on a couple of very simple expressions containing the word afraid. I hope you like it.

Suppose you're talking to a friend and he's asking you a favor you might not be able to do. So he says: Can you do me this favor? and you answer: I'm afraid not. That's a way of saying no when you actually wanted to be able to say yes. So maybe you wish you could do him this favor, but there's something about it that keeps you from doing it. So that's why you answer it in such a way. Now, the opposite can happen. Imagine you're talking to someone else and the conversation is really pleasant. When you look at your watch, you see it's too late and you need to go. So the person you're talking to asks: do you have to go? And you say: I'm afraid so. That's a way of regrettably saying yes. It's like you wish you could say no, but unfortunately you have to say yes. I hope you get the idea. Now let's move on to the other expression with the word afraid: afraid of one's own shadow.

When you're afraid of your own shadow, you're easily frightened, suspicious or maybe even paranoid. So imagine you've experienced a very traumatic experience like an armed robbery and now every time you leave home, you're afraid of your own shadow. Take a look at this example: She's always having panic attacks, she's the kind of person who's afraid of her own shadow. I hope this is useful. Talk to you next time!