The Phrasal Verb 'Put Forth' Explained
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An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'put forth' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native.
This post is all about the phrasal verb 'put forth'. This phrasal verb is a rarer one that can sometimes seem a little outdated, however it is still used by many native speakers and could be useful to know if you enjoy books and and movies set in the past. In this post, I will explain exactly how to use the four different applications of 'put forth' and provide you with lots of example sentences for each one, so that you can use them confidently and naturally in your English conversations. So, let's make a start and find out what 'put forth' is all about....
QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'put forth' mean?The phrasal verb 'put forth' has four main meanings in English:
Keep reading to learn how to use each of these different meanings.... |
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one)
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THE BASICS
PUT FORTH: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 4 |
Past tense forms | Put forth / Put forth |
Separable? | Yes |
The phrasal verb 'put forth' is formed by combining the verb 'to put' with the prepositional particle 'forth'. Before we look at the different meanings that it has as a phrasal verb, let's first consider the individual words and learn what they bring to the phrasal verb table....
Put - The verb 'to put' is an extremely common and versatile irregular verb in English that has a large number of different meanings. The most common of the meanings of 'to put' is 'to place something in a specific place or position'. In addition to this, we can also use the verb 'to put' to mean 'to cause something to be in a state or condition' and 'to express something with words', among other meanings. As mentioned, the verb 'to put' is irregular and its past tense forms are (confusingly) 'put' and 'put'.
Jenny put her keys on the table.
The little girl put her fingers in her ears.
John put his life at risk by trying to rescue his dog from the canal.
This will put pressure on the government to act.
She put the words so eloquently that everyone was impressed.
Forth - This rare little prepositional particle is another one that we do not see so often in phrasal verbs. It is quite an old-fashioned word and is relatively uncommon in modern English but it does survive in a number of phrasal verbs and expressions, as well as in works of literature. As a word, it means 'forward' or 'away from a place' and we can often find these meanings transferred to phrasal verbs. Moreover, 'forth' can also add the ideas of producing something (bring forth), clear presentation (set forth) and to appear (come forth).
So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'put forth'....
MEANING 1: To propose something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To put forward, to propose, to suggest, to float |
Separable? | Yes |
We will start the meanings of the phrasal verb 'put forth' with the most common and practicable one in everyday life, which is 'to propose something'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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We use this first application of the phrasal verb 'put forth' to describe any situation where you have something in your head that you wish to communicate to people so that they may consider, discuss or make a decision about it.
As I mentioned in the Basics section, the word 'forth' is a synonym of 'forward' and with this application it is like we are literally bringing the information forward out of our head and putting it in front of other people to think about.
As you can see from the list above, this is used mainly for nouns to describe things that are intellectually generated and is one that is frequently heard in both business and academic English, as well as in politics.
For those of you who love your grammar, this application of 'put forth is separable and is used both separably and inseparably by native speakers.
The committee put forth several new proposals during the meeting.
Claire put forth an interesting theory about language learning.
The researchers have put forth a number of possible explanations.
The finance director put forth a strong argument in favour of the changes.
Eleanor put her ideas forth clearly and confidently.
The history professor put his theory forth in a very persuasive way.
The team put several suggestions forth at the conference.
He put the proposal forth for further discussion.
In addition to this, we can also use 'put forth' in this way to talk about making information public or circulating it among people, so that it is well known. Using it this way is somewhat rare these days and can sound a little old-fashioned.
The organisation put forth a public statement after the incident.
The renowned scientist first put his findings forth in the 1990s.
The newspaper put forth several serious allegations against the company.
The author put her views on education forth in a widely discussed article.
MEANING 2: To make an effort
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To make an effort, to exert |
Separable? | ?? |
For our second application of the phrasal verb 'put forth', we have a rarer meaning, which is 'to make an effort'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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As you can see from the list of commonly used nouns above, this application of 'put forth' is used specifically with nouns that involve physical activity, rather than intellectual things like in the previous application.
Although it may not appear so at first, this application is in fact very similar to the first one as it refers to bringing something that is inside you out and putting it forward into the world. Instead of ideas or words though, it is physically doing something using effort or energy. For instance, when you put effort 'forth', it means that you make an effort to do something or when you put forth some energy, it means that you physically work hard on something.
This application of 'put forth' is not so common in everyday English and instead you are far more likely to encounter alternatives like 'make an effort' and 'use energy' in conversations with native speakers. However, this application is certainly still used and it is possible that you will come across it in books and literature, academic writing and older English.
Lastly, while this application is separable, we tend to use it far more in the inseparable form.
The team put forth a tremendous effort during the final match.
You need to put forth more energy if you want to improve.
The company has put forth considerable resources to solve the problem.
Louise always puts forth a lot of effort in her work.
The army put forth all its strength to defend the city.
Sam put a great deal of effort forth to complete the project.
MEANING 3: To produce leaves or shoots
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To grow |
Separable? | Yes |
The third meaning of the phrasal verb 'put forth' is my personal favourite as it is all about growth and new life and means 'to produce leaves or shoots'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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You have probably realised already but if not, let me start by saying that this application is all about plants and flowers and is not really used outside of this field (excuse the pun).
When we talk about a plant that puts forth leaves, we simply mean that it grows new leaves. As such, this application is one that can be heard most often in the spring season when certain trees put forth new leaves each year after the winter. It's use is not limited to just leaves though and we can use this to talk about anything that grows out from a plant.
The core idea here is that a plant causes something to grow outwards from it. You should note that this application of 'put forth' is used most commonly in the literary world and in writing about nature and gardening. Outside of these areas, its usage is quite rare.
Again, this is a separable application, but we tend to use it more inseparably in modern English.
The trees began to put forth new leaves in early spring.
The plant has started to put forth shoots after the heavy rain last week.
Roses usually put forth flowers in late May.
The young vine quickly put forth new growth.
After a few warm days, the bushes put forth some fresh buds.
The tree put new leaves forth after the long dark winter.
The plant put several shoots forth within a few days.
The geranium flower put fresh buds forth.
MEANING 4: To depart from a port or harbour
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Rare |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To set forth, to set out, to depart, to leave |
Separable? | No |
We have now come to our fourth and meaning of the phrasal verb 'put forth', which is used specifically for ships and boats and means 'to depart from a port or harbour'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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In keeping with the other applications of 'put forth' that we have already looked at, this one is yet another that is quite old-fashioned. You are therefore most likely to come across it in old books and movies or ones that are set in the past or in the fantasy genre.
Alternative phrasal verbs to this application of 'put forth' that are used by native speakers in modern everyday English would be 'set out', 'set off' and 'head out'.
Unlike the previous applications, this one is inseparable as it does not take a direct object, i.e. a ship just 'puts forth' and you cannot 'put forth something else'.
The ship put forth from the harbour just before sunrise.
Several fishing boats put forth despite the bad weather.
The fleet put forth at dawn and headed south.
The explorers put forth from the coast in search of new land.
The vessel finally put forth after weeks of delay.
The sailors put forth into the open sea.
At first light, the king’s ships put forth from the port.
The small boat put forth quietly under the cover of darkness.
We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'put forth' more confidently and naturally.
Please feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'put forth' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media.
You can also check out my new downloadable PDF "40 B2-Level Phrasal Verbs That Native Speakers Use Daily", which looks at 40 essential common phrasal verbs that are in use in daily English speech with examples, common mistakes and exercises that you cannot find on this website. You can find it here. |
Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊
THE END
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