phrasal verb · informal
give someone a hard time
UK/ɡɪv ˈsʌmwʌn ə hɑːd taɪm/US/ɡɪv ˈsʌmwʌn ə hɑrd taɪm/give·SOME·one·a·HARD·TIME
to criticize someone or make life difficult for someone (often in a teasing or annoying way)
Examples
“Don't give me a hard time — I was late because of traffic.”
“They used to give him a hard time at school for being quiet.”
“Parents sometimes give teenagers a hard time about grades.”
Band 8 sentence
“Although intended as a joke, the manager's comments gave several employees a hard time and lowered morale.”
Collocations
- give someone a hard time about something
Word family
Common mistakes
give someone hard time→give someone a hard time
make someone hard time→give someone a hard time
Say it for a higher band
5tease→6criticise→7+give someone a hard time
Synonyms
tease
Easily confused
tease
“They teased him about his accent.”
Related words
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In give …
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