in your element: meaning and explanation
If you are in your element, you feel very happy, comfortable or in control because you are doing the thing that you are best at.
Imagine someone who is quite shy and awkward, but who becomes incredibly calm and confident when they are playing the piano. When they are performing, they are in their element. They are doing what they do best.
Another example could be someone who is very skilled at organising things – when they are running a complicated project, they would be in their element.
People who are very talented swimmers or divers probably feel like they are in their element when they are in water.
Have a go at these micro-dictation exercises to hear this expression being used in context – how much can you understand?
Listening exercises
Dictation #1
Accent: Ireland
About the sentence
…When she’s giving a presentation…
Notice the important collocation to give a presentation. e.g. I’m giving the most important presentation of my life tomorrow and I haven’t even started writing it yet.
Dictation #2
Accent: North America
About the sentence
…I let my sister organise my wedding…
Notice the important verb pattern to let someone do something. e.g. Can you let me speak please? I’m fed up of being interrupted all the time.
A common mistake with this verb pattern is to use ‘to’ after the verb, i.e. to let someone to do something.
Dictation #3
Accent: England (RP)
Extra practice
Here are some questions/links to help you learn the new vocabulary:
- As a teacher, I feel like I’m in my element when students are asking me lots of tricky grammar questions. What about you – when do you feel like you are in your element?
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
I feel in my element when other people ask me for help in academic stuff. That means that they consider me a smart person and also helpful.
Hi Gabriela! Perfect example, well done 🙂
I guess you must be a teacher?
A friend of mine knows Bogota’s city like the back of his hand, and most of the time when he picks up a person, he feels like he’s in his element because he knows the best and fastest route to take them to their place. That skill has helped him to gain more and more clients.
Excellent example! One tiny change – ‘Bogota’s city’ sounds strange. I would say that he ‘knows Bogota’ or that he ‘knows the city of Bogota’.
I also feel I’m in my element when I’m teaching someone. Even though I’m a math teacher, I feel comfortable teaching subjects such as Portuguese or English
That’s great – it’s a very nice to feel like you’re in your element when teaching. Although it’s also good for students to keep you on your toes…do you know this idiom?