Children and parenting · People and relationships
throw a tantrum
show angry distress
To show uncontrolled anger, usually by shouting or crying.
This vs that
The child threw a tantrum.
He lost his temper.
Hear it in real life
Why did you leave the restaurant so quickly?
The little boy at the next table was throwing a tantrum.
The toddler threw a tantrum because we wouldn't buy him another toy.
Which sounds natural?
Psst — which one would you actually say?
Throw a tantrum is the ordinary phrase for this kind of noisy, uncontrolled anger.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: The child did a tantrum in the shop.
Say: The child threw a tantrum in the shop.
The natural verb with tantrum is throw.
Say it together
Whole chunks natives use with it.
throw a tantrum over ___
He threw a tantrum over having to turn off the television.
The child threw a tantrum over a broken biscuit.
Phrases to borrow
More for talking about children and parenting.
have children of your own
You understand parents better when you have children of your own.
get a child to ___
It took ages to get the child to sleep.
Children and parenting words
People and relationships · Children and parenting: the words around “throw a tantrum”.
More connectionsMore children and parenting words8
More children and parenting words
Your turn: say it out loud
He threw a massive tantrum.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
throw a tantrum
show angry distress
“The toddler threw a tantrum because we wouldn't buy him another toy.”
heytardy