🗓️ Idiom: Find Common Ground (v)
💬 Meaning
- To discover shared ideas or goals between people who have different opinions.
- To agree on something, even if you disagree on other things.
🧠 Example Sentences
- In the negotiation, both sides tried to find common ground to move forward.
- Even with cultural differences, the teams found common ground through shared business values.
- It’s hard to agree on everything, but we found common ground on our main goals.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom comes from the idea of people standing on the same piece of land — “common ground” — when they agree. It was first used in English during the 1800s, especially in politics and public discussions. It described the moment when two sides with different views could agree on at least one thing.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
Despite their differences, the two managers were able to __________ on the project timeline.
Answer
find common ground
2. Choose the correct meaning of “find common ground”:
A) To find a new office
B) To agree on shared ideas
C) To fight over opinions
Answer
B) To agree on shared ideas
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“They finally agreed on something after a long discussion.” → Change the sentence using: find common ground
Answer
They finally found common ground after a long discussion.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
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