Common Expressions with “Imagine” in English

Common Expressions with “Imagine” in English (with Meanings & Examples)

The verb imagine means to form a picture or idea in your mind. We use it to talk about possibilities, beliefs, unreal situations, surprises, and even mistakes. It’s an extremely common verb in everyday English — and it appears very often in stories, conversations, and Cambridge exam texts. In this lesson, you will learn some of the most useful common expressions with “imagine” in English, with clear meanings and natural examples.

Hardly imagine

Meaning: almost impossible to imagine.

• People today can hardly imagine life without the internet.
• I can hardly imagine you getting up at five o’clock every day.

Easy/difficult to imagine

Meaning:

Easy to imagine = seems realistic or believable

Difficult to imagine = seems unrealistic or hard to believe

• It’s easy to imagine her as a teacher — she’s very patient.
• It’s difficult to imagine my life without my dog.

I’ve always imagined…

Meaning: a long-held belief or idea about something.

• I’ve always imagined Italy as a very romantic country.
• She’s always imagined herself working with children.

Be imagining things

Meaning: to believe something that is not really happening.

• Did someone call my name, or am I imagining things?
• At first, I thought I was imagining things, but then I heard it again.

Real or imagined

Meaning: whether something truly exists or only exists in the mind.

• Fears, real or imagined, can be very powerful.
• The problems, real or imagined, were stopping him from acting.

Imagine that!

Meaning: used to express surprise or amazement.

• She won the lottery. Imagine that!
• One day, people might live on Mars. Imagine that!

You can’t imagine…

Meaning: used to emphasise strong feelings (surprise, happiness, annoyance, etc.).

• You can’t imagine how tired I am.
• You can’t imagine how happy she was to see him.

Imagine my surprise…

Meaning: used to describe a surprising or unexpected situation.

• Imagine my surprise when I saw my old teacher on the plane.
• Imagine his surprise when he found out he’d got the job.

Naively imagine

Meaning: to believe something in a simple or unrealistic way.

• He naively imagined that learning English would be easy.
• She naively imagined everything would be the same when she moved back.

Imaginary number (Maths)

Meaning: a number that involves the square root of a negative number.

• In mathematics, imaginary numbers are used in complex equations.

Important grammar point

The verb imagine is usually followed by -ing, not by to + verb:

✅ Can you imagine living in another country?

❌ Can you imagine to live in another country?

More examples:

• I can’t imagine working without coffee.
• She imagined herself living by the sea.

We use imagine to talk about dreams, fears, mistakes, surprises, and possibilities — in other words, about half of everyday life. Once you start noticing these expressions, you’ll hear them everywhere in films, books, and real conversations.

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