Tiredness and energy · Feelings and energy
run out of steam
lose energy
To gradually lose the energy or enthusiasm to continue.
This vs that
I ran out of steam halfway through the project.
The long day exhausted me.
Hear it in real life
Are you still going to finish painting the flat tonight?
I might, but I’m starting to run out of steam.
I ran out of steam halfway through the last chapter and had to take a break.
Which sounds natural?
Psst — which one would you actually say?
The native version is shorter and sounds natural in everyday speech.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: I ran out from steam halfway through the report.
Say: I ran out of steam halfway through the report.
The idiom uses 'of', not 'from'.
Say it together
Whole chunks natives use with it.
run out of steam halfway through ___
I ran out of steam halfway through the report.
She ran out of steam halfway through cooking dinner.
Phrases to borrow
More for talking about tiredness and energy.
I could do with a rest
I've been working all day; I could do with a rest.
I don't have the energy for ___
I don't have the energy for another argument.
Tiredness and energy words
Feelings and energy · Tiredness and energy: the words around “run out of steam”.
More connectionsMore tiredness and energy words2
More tiredness and energy words
Your turn: say it out loud
I started to run out of steam.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
run out of steam
lose energy
“I ran out of steam halfway through the last chapter and had to take a break.”
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