phrasal verb · neutral
turn sour
UK/tɜːn ˈsaʊə/US/tɝːn ˈsaʊər/turn SOUR
speakingtask2
to go bad (food) or for a relationship/plan to deteriorate
Examples
“The milk turned sour after a day in the heat.”
“Their friendship turned sour after the business dispute.”
“Negotiations turned sour and talks were suspended.”
Band 8 sentence
“What started as a promising partnership quickly turned sour when trust broke down.”
Collocations
- turn sour quickly
- relationship turned sour
Word family
turns sour verb (3rd sg)turned sour verb (past/p.p.)turning sour verb (gerund)
Common mistakes
turn bad→turn sour
become souring→become sour
Say it for a higher band
5go bad→6go wrong→7+turn sour
Synonyms
go bad
deteriorate
Easily confused
turn into
“The meeting turned into a heated argument.”
go bad
“If you leave bread out it will go bad.”
Related words
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In turn …
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