to an extent	Education in Britain is to a large extent free.
encourage to	He encouraged his son to study music.
reluctant to	Most people are reluctant to work on Sundays.
at the expense of	Quantity Is often maintained at the expense of quality.
put... before	He's far too serious - he always puts business before pleasure.
cooperation between	Wars could be avoided by better cooperation between governments.
responsible for	Who is responsible for this terrible mistake?
whatever next	"In this school the boys choose the lessons they attend." "Whatever next!"
soft on	"The courts are too soft on criminals these days."
help (your) self	Nobody passed the sandwiches so he helped himself.
under control	Good teachers can usually keep any class under control.
turn up	"She said she'd meet me here, but she didn't turn up."
be in	"Is John here?" "No, he won't be in until ten o'clock."
slip up/out	"He slipped out to the post office in his coffee break.
talk into	She didn't want to go to the party, but he talked her into it.
write out	The teacher told me to write out the exercise again.
not (my) day	"I've lost my wallet and missed my train." "It's not your day is it!"