Society
when the cat's away, the mice will play
people misbehave without authority
This means people may behave badly or ignore rules when the person in charge is absent.
Hear it in real life
Why is the office so quiet today?
The supervisor's away, so when the cat's away, the mice will play.
The kids waited until their dad left before turning the living room into a football pitch. When the cat's away, the mice will play.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: When the cat's away, the mouse will plays.
Say: When the cat's away, the mice will play.
The proverb uses plural “mice” and the base verb “play” after “will.”
Build it
How it fits in a sentence.
when the cat's away, the mice will play
Your turn: say it out loud
The kids waited until their dad left before turning the living room into a football pitch. When the cat's away, the mice will play.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
when the cat's away, the mice will play
people misbehave without authority
“The kids waited until their dad left before turning the living room into a football pitch. When the cat's away, the mice will play.”
heytardy
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