An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'cut up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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. How well do you know the English phrasal verb 'cut up'? In this article, I will be explaining its five different meanings for you, which include some that are used in American English, some in British English and some that are used everywhere in the English-speaking world. In addition, I will provide you with lots of example sentences for each different application of 'cut up' to show you the different ways that each one is normally used by native speakers. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Cut Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'cut' and 'up' Cut Up - Meaning 1: To cut something into pieces Cut Up - Meaning 2: To be physically injured Cut Up - Meaning 3: To be emotionally upset Cut Up - Meaning 4: To drive in a dangerous way Cut Up - Meaning 5: To misbehave I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS CUT UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Cut up / Cut up Separable? Yes As per usual on Phrasal Verbs Explained, let's start things off by taking a look at the individual words that form the phrasal verb that I will be explaining, which in the case of 'cut up' are the words 'cut' and 'up'..... Cut - The irregular verb 'to cut' is one that has a variety of different meanings in English, with perhaps the most common of these being 'to use something sharp to break the surface of something or to separate it from something else'. In addition to this, we can use the verb 'to cut' to mean 'to reduce or stop something', 'to delete something' and also even 'to record music', among other less common meanings. The grass in the garden is very long; I think I will cut it today. Sarah has had her hair cut very short. The local council has cut funding for youth services. The band cut their new record in a studio in the Scottish Highlands. Up - The prepositional particle 'up' is the one that is the most common in phrasal verb constructions and can add a variety of different meanings to a phrasal verb, depending on the context. Perhaps most obviously, when 'up' appears in a phrasal verb it can give the idea of an upward movement or an increase ( go up ), however it can also add such diverse meanings as completion (eat up), preparation ( set up ), appearance ( show up ) and ending ( break up ). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'cut up'.... MEANING 1: To cut something into pieces Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To chop up, to slice up, to cut Separable? Yes Our first meaning of the phrasal verb 'cut up' is one that will hopefully be nice and simple for you and means 'to cut something into pieces'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Food Vegetables Meat Tree Paper Did you know that in English, it is perfectly acceptable and correct to say that someone can cut a tree down and then cut the same tree up?! It sounds completely wrong because once you cut a tree down, it is impossible for it to go back up again and of course that is not what we mean when we say this. What we actually mean is that once the tree has been cut down, it is then cut into small pieces or logs. The word 'up' in the instance above does not refer to an upwards movement but rather it signifies the result of a cutting action and we can therefore use 'cut up' to describe when we cut anything into smaller pieces. This may be a parent cutting up their child's food to make it easier for them to eat or somebody cutting up a piece of paper into smaller pieces to make something out of them. Note that there is a distinct difference between 'cut' and 'cut up' in this context. If you use 'cut' on its own, it normally refers to one slice or cutting action. In contrast, 'cut up' would mean that the cutting action is repeated until the task is finished and the original item is divided into many pieces. This application is separable, with the direct object (the item being cut) going either between 'cut' and 'up' or after them with no change in meaning. My mum cut the vegetables up before adding them to the soup. Please could you cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Martin cut up the paper so the kids could use it for crafts. The chef cut the fruit up and arranged it on a platter. Would you mind cutting up the meat for the baby? The carpenters cut up the old carpet to make it easier to remove. I cut the apples up and put them in the bowl. The butcher cut up the whole fish for his customer. MEANING 2: To be physically injured Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be cut, to be injured Separable? Yes Let's now move onto our second meaning of the phrasal verb 'cut up', which is a painful one as it means 'to be physically injured'. You may or may not be aware that if you 'cut yourself' in English, it means that you injure yourself in such a way that your skin is broken and you bleed. For example, it is common to cut yourself when shaving or when cutting up food in the kitchen (a nice link back to the previous application there 😉). If you have been unlucky enough to be in a situation in which you sustain several cuts to your body or more, e.g. a fight or a car accident, then you could say that you are " cut up ". Note that we mainly use this application in a passive sense to talk about the result of a painful experience in which a person has been cut many times. It is not typically used in an active sense e.g. you do not cut someone up in this way, as if you do, it will likely be understood to mean cut into small pieces as in the first application. Sometimes, we add the extra word 'all' to form the expression 'all cut up', to intensify how badly injured a person is. The little boy fell into the bushes whilst playing and got cut up by the thorns. Susie's arms were badly cut up after climbing over the fence. The boxer’s face was all cut up by the end of the fight. I got cut up when I fell off my bike on the gravel road. Ben's hands were all cut up from working with broken glass. Jane came back cut up and bleeding after the accident. The soldier has been cut up by flying debris. MEANING 3: To be emotionally upset Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To be upset, to be distressed Separable? Yes For our third application, we are moving from physical pain to mental distress as it means 'to be emotionally upset' and is primarily a British English usage. Much like with the previous application, for this one we are concerned with the after effects of a negative experience, however this time it is something that makes us sad, emotional or very hurt. If you are 'cut up' emotionally, then you are mentally distressed in a way that is stronger than being upset and is often heard in reference to people who experience romantic loss and heartache. For example I might be upset if my partner forgets our wedding anniversary but I would be 'cut up' if my partner left me for another person. If we think back to the first application of 'cut up', it is a bit like our inner peace or happiness has been cut into lots of different pieces and is usually used to describe a deep or intense emotional upset. As with the second application, we also do not usually use this application in an active sense as it tends to be used more as a way of describing the state of a person's emotions following a traumatic experience. Becci was really cut up about not getting the job. Alan’s still cut up over the way the relationship ended. I would be so cut up if I found out that she was cheating on me! I was pretty cut up when I heard about his terminal illness. Natasha's parents were deeply cut up after the accident. John sounded really cut up on the phone after the argument with Jo. Marcia got very cut up about her crush not texting her back. MEANING 4: To drive in a dangerous way Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To cut off Separable? Yes Our next application of the phrasal verb 'cut up' is another one that is mainly used in British English and means 'to drive in a dangerous way'. I should state here before we go any further that 'cut up' is not used to talk about dangerous driving in general, but rather it refers to something specific that drivers of vehicles do that is both dangerous and irresponsible. Have you ever been in a situation when you have been in a car on a dual carriageway or multi-lane freeway, either as a driver or a passenger, and a car driving in front of you in another lane has suddenly moved sideways into your lane so that you have to apply the brakes very quickly to avoid an accident? If so, then you have experienced being 'cut up' by another driver as this is precisely what it is. To give you a better idea of what cutting up is, check out this video, which shows a classic example of someone doing it... For those of you who are more familiar with American English, 'cut off' would be the equivalent used instead. The car suddenly cut me up on the motorway, forcing me to brake hard. A van cut up the motorcyclist as it changed lanes. Nicholas was fined for cutting up another driver at the junction. Don’t cut people up like that; it’s extremely dangerous. The taxi cut us up just before the roundabout. Sandra accused the lorry driver of cutting her up in traffic. Another car cut him up while overtaking, almost causing an accident. I can't stand it when drivers cut you up without indicating. MEANING 5: To misbehave Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To misbehave, to play up, to act up Separable? No We now come to our fifth and final application of the phrasal verb 'cut up' for this one we are going to switch to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean as this one is an American usage that means 'to misbehave'. To clarify, what I mean by 'to misbehave' is to act or behave in an unacceptable way, often by breaking rules. Specifically, when someone 'cuts up', it means that they misbehave, usually by being silly, noisy or disruptive in order to attract attention to themselves or make others laugh. As you can imagine, it is often used to refer to naughty and excited school children when they are not listening and preventing their teacher from teaching them. Typically, this usage implies harmless behaviour, which is annoying for those who have to deal with it. Unlike many of the other applications we have looked at, this usage is not separable and does not take a direct object. Some of the kids were cutting up in the back of the classroom. Joseph kept cutting up during the meeting and couldn’t stay serious. If you don’t stop cutting up, you’ll be sent out of the room. The boys were just cutting up and laughing instead of doing their work. Taylor was cutting up at lunch with her friends Mary-Sue and Keisha. The audience started cutting up when the comedian forgot his jokes. They've been cutting up all afternoon instead of practising. Stop cutting up and pay attention to what I am saying! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'cut up'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'cut up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'go in' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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 common phrasal verb 'go in'. In the post, we will look at all of the different meanings and applications of it in English, including everything from simply entering somewhere to criticising someone or something. I will explain how to use each one in a natural way with the help of lots of example sentences and so at the end of the post, you should hopefully feel nice and comfortable with using this useful phrasal verb. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Go In - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'go' and 'in' Go In - Meaning 1: To enter Go In - Bonus: Go in vs Go into Go In - Bonus: Some extra meanings of 'go in' used literally Go In - Meaning 2: To mentally absorb something Go In - Bonus: The idiom 'to go in one ear and out the other' Go In - Meaning 3: To enjoy doing something Go In - Meaning 4: To participate in a group activity Go In - Meaning 5: To attack or criticise someone harshly I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GO IN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Went in / Gone in Separable? No At the beginning of each phrasal verb post, I like to break down the chosen phrasal verb into its constituent words and look at what each one means on its own. Whilst I am sure that all of you reading this will be very familiar with the words 'go' and 'in', let's just briefly consider them from the perspective of the phrasal verb 'go in'.... Go - The verb 'to go' is one of the most common verbs in the English language and it's main meaning is to refer to movement from one place to another, away from where the speaker is. It can be used to talk both about leaving somewhere and travelling to somewhere. In addition, 'to go' has a wide variety of other uses and applications, like forming the 'going to' future tense, talking about where something belongs or fits and to fade or no longer work properly. 'To go' is highly irregular, with perhaps the most illogical past tense form in the entire English language: 'went' 🤷‍♂️ We are going to London to watch a show in the West End. Kathy went to the shops with her daughter. Come on, it's late. Let's go home. Mark is going to get a new job next year. The black book goes on the top shelf, next to the picture. I am getting old and my hearing is going. In - Like the verb 'to go', you will all have no problem understanding the prepositional particle 'in' as it is so common in English. We typically use 'in' to talk about being or moving towards the interior of something and its use in phrasal verbs can often reflect this in a literal sense (move in, walk in). Aside from this, 'in' can also add ideas such as participation (join in), submission (hand in), confinement (lock in) and compliance ( give in ) to phrasal verbs. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'go in'.... MEANING 1: To enter Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To enter, to go into, to access, to get in Separable? No Let's start the meanings of the phrasal verb 'go in' with the most obvious of all of its applications, i.e. to enter a place, which is essentially a literal meaning of the two words combined. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Room House / Apartment Office Building Sea / Water / Lake For this first usage, we are perhaps most concerned with nouns for internal spaces that we can enter such as a house, a building or a room. When you 'go in' one of these*, you simply enter it from the outside. Note that 'go in' is only used when the speaker is outside of the internal space and 'come in' would be used if they were inside it and another person was entering. It’s beginning to rain; let’s go in! Pam opened the door and went in. I knocked the door but no one answered, so I went in. The lights were on inside the house, so Ash decided to go in. We were freezing cold, so we went in to warm up. Luke hesitated for a moment by the door and then went in. If the door is unlocked open, just go in and take a seat. You should note that we do not only use 'go in' to talk about entering internal spaces and we can also in fact use it with nouns for environments like river, ocean or forest. The water looks cold, but I’m going in anyway. The sea is too rough right now; don’t go in! The forest was dark, yet the hikers still went in. *Go in vs Go Into Something that can be confusing for learners of English is the distinction between 'to go in' and 'to go into' as they both technically mean the same thing but are used differently. We tend to use both of these when we talk about entering somewhere, with the focus for 'go in' being on the movement, while for 'go into' the focus is the destination. For example, if you want to talk about the action of entering a house but you do not need to mention the word 'house' as it is obvious from the context, you would use 'go in'. However, if you want to specify the noun  for the place that you are entering, then ' go into ' sounds better. Everyone is already inside; are you going in? The house was empty, so Lucy went in and closed the door behind her. Are you going into the house ? John went into his office  and slammed the door shut. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Some additional uses of 'go in' used literally There are also some other instances of when you might hear 'go in' in a literal sense that are slightly different to the meaning that I explained above...... Photo: Pexels The sun  - We use 'go in' to talk about the sun when it goes behind a cloud, making the day feel cooler and slightly darker. This is a particularly British usage (we have a lot of clouds) and the opposite phrasal verb for when the clouds move away and the sun is visible once again is ' come out '. It was lovely and warm until the sun went in. A household object - When we talk about household objects, such as plates, boxes or cutlery and where they are kept in the house, we use 'go in' to say that something is always kept in an internal space like a drawer or cupboard. The knives and forks go in the cutlery drawer, next to the sink. Cooking ingredients - If you enjoy cooking, you may often hear 'go in' being used to talk about when specific ingredients are added to a cooking mixture. First add the flour and stir for 2 minutes and then the peppers and tomatoes go in. Work / School - If you are ever sick and you cannot go to work or school, you might use 'go in' to say that you are not going that day. As with the previous uses, we would only use this when the place is known from the context. I feel so sick today and can't work, I'm not going to go in. MEANING 2: To mentally absorb something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To absorb, to understand, to stick Separable? No For our second meaning of 'go in', we are not going to move too far away from the 'entering' idea that we just looked at in the previous section as this one means 'to mentally absorb something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Information Fact Words Advice First of all, if you are not sure about the verb 'to absorb', let me explain what it means, which is 'to gradually take something in', like a sponge does with water. When used with information, the water is the information and the sponge is our brain absorbing and holding it. We use 'absorb' in this way to say that we have learned and understood something and 'go in' functions here as a direct synonym of it as it means the exact same thing. Linking back to the previous application, essentially the information that we are learning here is entering our brains via our senses. The other key idea to note here with 'go in' is that the information is understood, retained and not forgotten again. You will often hear native speakers using this particular application in a negative sense when information does not go in. For example, when you are reading a book and you have to read the same page three or four times as you are not concentrating properly or the subject is difficult to process and the information is just not going in. Note that you do not need to use 'my head' or 'my brain' with this application as 'go in' on its own will be completely understood in the context. I hear what you’re saying, but it’s not really going in. Nothing was going in because I was too tired. The teacher kept explaining it, but it just wouldn’t go in. I’ve read this paragraph three times, and it still isn’t going in. The instructions weren’t going in at all, so I asked my friend to explain them to me. The information went in eventually, but it took a while. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to go in one ear and out the other' This is a good point in the article to introduce you to a nice little idiom featuring 'go in' that exists: 'to go in one ear and out the other'. If something goes in one ear and out the other, it means that the person hears it but either forgets it again straight away or does not pay any attention to it. It is something that many frustrated parents use to talk about their teenage children! It's always the same with Pete; you tell him something important and it goes in one ear and out the other again! MEANING 3: To enjoy doing something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To enjoy, to like, to care for, to be fond of, to be partial to Separable? No The third of our applications of 'go in' is a rarer meaning than the first two and means 'to enjoy doing something'. For this application, we require the additional preposition 'for', giving us the following construction: 'to go in for something' We use this particular application to talk about when we have a hobby or a pastime that we enjoy doing on a regular basis and it is often used to talk about someone's personal preferences in these areas. Typically, activities that are used with this application are things like running, cycling, playing chess and fishing as well as nouns like parties, horror movies or photography. It can be used to talk in both a positive and negative sense about what you do and don't usually enjoy doing, however I would say that you typically hear it more in a negative sense. This is particularly so if you make an exception to something that you don't normally like, e.g. you don't normally like horror movies but you enjoyed one that you watched or you don't usually enjoy parties but you had a great time at one last week. Lucy really goes in for yoga and meditation. I don’t usually go in for extreme sports but I am tempted to try abseiling. My brother’s never gone in for formal parties; he's more of a stay-at-home kind of guy. My parents used to go in for long-distance running. I don’t usually go in for reality TV but this show is a bit different to the usual rubbish. Nikki’s started going in for photography lately. Ben doesn’t go in for junk food anymore now that he is a gym junkie. I’ve never really gone in for competitions but I thought I would enter this one. Do you go in for team sports or prefer solo activities? MEANING 4: To participate in a group activity Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To participate Separable? No This next application of 'go in' is a great one for all of you who enjoy taking part in group activities as that is exactly what it means: 'to take part in a group activity'. As with the previous application, we need another preposition to bring this meaning to life but this time we are swapping the word 'for' with 'on', giving us the construction.... 'to go in on something' We can use 'to go in on something' in two different ways and therefore I have split this application into separate sub-sections; 'to jointly participate in a plan or action' and 'to share the cost of an investment or action with others'. Firstly, let's consider joint participation in a plan or action of some kind. We would typically use this application in business English when people collaborate with one another. This could be for many reasons, such as to initiate a plan, start a business or embark on a research project. When you go in on something in this sense, it means that you achieve or create something together with the help of other people and it is not just you on your own. Peter went in on the business as a silent partner. I’ll go in on the proposal if you promise to handle the budget. Several teams are planning to go in on the research project. Lorraine went in on the plan despite the risks. The second of our sub-applications of 'go in' is one that also involves co-operation between people, however this one is specifically about money. For this one, we are talking about when people each contribute a portion of the cost of something, so that they have enough between them to buy it. You are most likely to hear this in an office or work environment when an employee celebrates a big birthday or leaves the business and all of his or her colleagues go in on a present and card for them. This could also be used for when people jointly invest in something and each contribute some of the funds. We should go in on a joint birthday gift for Brian instead of buying separate ones. The whole family went in on renting a beach house for the summer. Do you want to go in on half of the bill with me? My colleagues went in on a lovely farewell present for me. MEANING 5: To attack or criticise someone harshly Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To attack, to criticise Separable? No We have now reached our fifth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'go in' and this one is 'to attack or criticise someone or something harshly'. Like with the previous application, we also require the additional preposition 'on' here. If you go in on someone or something, then you criticise them and give lots of negative feedback, which are often unfair or too harsh. When talking about going in on someone, it can also mean to shout aggressively at someone when they have done something wrong. As far as I know, this is quite a new and modern usage of 'go in on' and is still relatively rare, however I do hear it more and more in informal spoken English, so if you do want your English to sound as up-to-date as possible, you should try and use it 😃 Roger's manager went in on him for missing the deadline. People online went in on the brand after the scandal came out. The teacher went in on the class for not preparing for the exam. Commentators went in on the referee’s decision, which they called stupid! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'go in'. If you enjoyed this post (and if it went in ok 😉), please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'go in'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'run down' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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 'run down' and its different uses and meanings in English. In it, I will explain 5 different ways that it can be used by native speakers, ranging from being used in a literal sense to finding something that you have spent a long time looking for. As per usual, I will provide you with lots of example sentences for each application so that you can impress your friends and colleagues with your superb phrasal verb skills! So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Run Down - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'run' and 'down' Run Down - Meaning 1: Literal Run Down - Meaning 2: To hit somebody with a vehicle Run Down - Meaning 3: To gradually reduce something Run Down - Meaning 4: To criticise someone unfairly Run Down - Meaning 5: To find someone or something Run Down - Bonus: The adjective 'run-down' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS RUN DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Ran down / Run down Separable? Sometimes How well do you know the words 'run' and 'down' on their own? Before we dive into the meanings of the phrasal verb 'run down', let's first just briefly consider the meaning of its two component words and what they bring to the phrasal verbs that they appear in.... Run - The verb 'to run' is one that you will surely have used many times in your English conversations. Its most well-known meaning is 'to move on your feet at a speed that is faster than walking' and is something that I try and do several times a week to stay fit. We do not just use it for this though and it can also be used to mean 'to flow' when talking about a liquid like water, 'to operate' when talking about a machine and 'to manage' when talking about a business. As with most of the commonest verbs in English, it is irregular. I run 10km at least once a week to keep fit. John heard someone running through his garden at 4am this morning. The water from the flood ran along the street. We need to get this machine running again as we are losing money. Sarah runs a cosmetics business. Down - You will surely all know the prepositional particle 'down' and that its primary function is to talk about a movement in a downwards direction or a decrease. These ideas can be carried across into phrasal verbs like ' go down ' or 'fall down', however in addition to this, 'down' can introduce a number of other ideas and concepts into a phrasal verb. These include reduction (slow down), defeat ( take down ), control ( hold down ) and recording information (write down). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'run down'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To flow down Separable? No Our first one application of 'run down' is not technically a phrasal verb meaning as it is just the literal meaning of the two words combined but I wanted to include it on here to help you to recognise it and distinguish it from its other meanings. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Stairs / Steps Hill / Mountain Slope Street Literally, when we combine these two words we get the idea of running (moving faster than walking) in a downwards direction. This may be down a slope, a hill or it may be down some steps from a high position to a lower one. The elevator wasn't working, so I ran down the stairs. The surfers decided to run down the sand dune and into the sea. The cows began to run down the steep hill when the storm approached. The hikers were forced to run down the side of the embankment to reach the stream. The thief jumped off the ledge and managed to run down the slanted roof before falling to the ground. You should know that English speakers (confusingly) also use the words 'up' and 'down' to talk about a movement along something, especially a street or a road, when there is no upward or downward movement at all. For example, you could say that you "walked up a road" or "walked down a road" and in both cases 'up' and 'down' mean the same thing; it is a purely metaphorical usage because there is often no elevation involved. We just do it some reason 🤷 The athlete decided to run down to the end of the field. I saw you the other day running down the road past the museum. As I mentioned in the Basics section earlier, we can also use the verb 'to run' to talk about a liquid that flows like water. In a literal sense, we can therefore use 'run down' to talk about when a liquid moves in a downward direction from a higher place to a lower one. Of course, it is equally possible to use this application with the metaphorical 'down' that we just talked about too. Tears began to run down Sarah's cheeks. The water just ran down to the bottom of the hill, taking everything in its path with it. Blood was running down Peter's leg. Without proper gutters, rainwater will run down the side of the house. Water was running down the street when the drains were blocked. MEANING 2: To hit somebody with a vehicle Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To run over, to hit, to knock down, to knock over Separable? Yes The second of our applications of 'run down' is the first proper phrasal verb meaning and means to 'to hit somebody with a vehicle'. To explain further, we can use this application of 'run down' to describe whenever a car, bicycle, van, bus etc. collides with a person or animal on the road, usually knocking them to the ground. When 'run down' is used in this sense, we cannot directly infer if the victim was killed, injured or was ok and this typically comes with extra information from the speaker. ISN'T 'RUN DOWN' THE SAME AS 'RUN OVER'? Some of you reading this may be familiar with the phrasal verb 'run over', which can also be used to mean the same thing, however there are some subtle differences to be aware of..... Firstly, 'run over' to is more common than 'run down' when talking about hitting someone with a vehicle Secondly whilst both are used to mean to be hit by a vehicle, 'run over' carries the idea that the vehicle hit and drove over the unlucky person, while 'run down' implies more that they were just knocked to the ground in the collision. Lastly, 'run down' can be used when a driver intentionally hits someone with a car and it is often associated with careless or irresponsible driving, whilst 'run over' does not usually carry this concept of a deliberate action. The police say a motorcyclist has run down a pedestrian on the crossing. The truck ran down a cyclist at the J1 intersection. By the time they called the police, the driver had already run down three people. Sue was reversing and almost ran down a child that was running behind the car. Leon might run someone down if he keeps texting while driving. Karen would have run Terry down if he hadn’t jumped out of the way at the last minute. As with 'run over', it is also common to use 'run down' in the passive voice to talk about the victim of this type of incident, especially when we don't know who the driver was. When doing this, we can use either the auxiliary verbs 'to be' or 'to get'. Unfortunately, a woman was run down outside the supermarket yesterday. Several cyclists have been run down in that area already this year. Phil was distracted and nearly got run down when crossing the street. MEANING 3: To gradually reduce something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To use up, to reduce, to wear down Separable? Yes The third and middle meaning of 'run down' that we will cover means 'to gradually reduce something' and can be used to talk about both a reduction in the quantity and the quality of something. When we run something down, we simply use something and do not refill, replenish or repair it, therefore allowing the number or quality of it to decrease. On a grammatical level, when we do this, we are using the verb transitively (with a direct object) and it is separable. You should note that we can also use 'run down' in an intransitive way (without a direct object) to describe when something gets lower or reduces through usage over time and in these instances, 'run down' is not separable. There are several key sub-applications that we have with this meaning and so, to make this easier to explain and for you to understand, let's consider the different ones.... Batteries - For many people, a nightmare scenario is when the battery symbol on their cellphone goes from 🔋 to 🪫. In other words, the power in their battery decreases to empty or 'runs down'. This doesn't just have to the battery on a cellphone however and it can be applied to anything with a battery or level that reduces with usage. My phone's battery ran down completely during the concert. If you leave your car headlights on overnight, you will quickly run down the battery. Continuous video streaming can run the battery down very quickly. Business - It is also possible for someone to run a business or organisation down, meaning that they reduce its size, importance or stock levels. There are many reasons why this may happen, which range from bad management or mistakes causing it to happen, to more intentional reasons like the business is closing. Note that this usage is almost always used in the transitive sense and therefore takes a direct object and is separable. The management's plan is to run the old factory down over the next two years and move production overseas. The company had been running down for a long time before it finally went bankrupt. Instead of investing in new products, the survey revealed that many firms were simply running down their existing stock. The new owners acquired the rival company only to deliberately run its operations down. This government has systematically run down public services since it took office 3 years ago. The property business could be sold or run down, depending on market conditions. Quality - It is also possible to use 'run down' to describe when the quality or condition of something gets worse. Most frequently, this is heard in relation to areas and places like cities and districts within them. It is not heard so often in this way, however the adjectival form 'run-down' that comes from it is and we will look at that at the end of the post. The landlord let the apartment building run down because he didn't want to pay for maintenance. After the original owner passed away, the once-beautiful estate was allowed to completely run down. The government was accused of deliberately letting the railway network run down before they sold it off. You shouldn’t run your car down like that; regular oil changes are important. MEANING 4: To criticise someone unfairly Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To criticise, to denigrate, to disparage, to put down Separable? Yes Let's now move on to our fourth meaning of 'run down', which is to criticise someone or something unfairly. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person / People or their pronouns Work Company / organisation If you are a person who creates things for people to use and enjoy, criticism is unavoidable. Sometimes this can be good in the sense of constructive criticism, sometimes this can be bad and sometimes it can be unfairly bad. In this third case, when a person or something is criticised negatively in a way that is unkind or too strong, we can use this application of 'run down'. Note that we can use this application for anything that can be criticised, including people, companies or organisations and work. Consider the following scenario in which 'run down' could be used.... During a staff meeting, a colleague of mine kept criticising my work, saying that it looked “unprofessional,” even though it was perfectly good. His comments weren’t helpful and not true; he just wanted to make her look bad. In this situation, we could say that person's colleagues was purposely trying to run their work down, even though there was nothing wrong with it. On a grammatical note, this usage is also separable and the person or thing being 'run down' can go between 'run' and 'down' or after it. The only exception here is if it is a pronoun (me, him etc), in which case it must go between and not after. Lisa always runs other people down to make herself feel superior. Don’t run me down just because I have a different opinion to yours. Bill ran Carmen down in front of everyone instead of giving constructive feedback. They keep running that company down even though they know nothing about it. I hate it when people run others down for trying something new. Megan felt hurt because her friends ran her down over her outfit. Stop running his ideas down; at least he’s contributing, which is more than you! You shouldn’t run yourself down; you’ve done a wonderful job. MEANING 5: To find someone or something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To find, to locate, to hunt down, to track down Separable? Yes We have now come to our fifth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'run down', which is a rare one and means 'to find someone or something, typically after a long search'. To give you more clarity with this, we typically use 'run down' in this sense when we have spent a long period of time looking for, tracking or even hunting something and we eventually locate it. We can use this application to describe two things: to physically chase or search for someone until they are caught and to find someone through a process of enquiry and information seeking rather than physically running after them. The detective managed to run down the crucial witness after a month of searching for him. The police finally ran down the criminal in a nearby alley. It has taken me all morning to run that specific report down in the archives. The hounds were able to run down their prey after a three-hour chase. Photo: Pexels THE ADJECTIVE RUN-DOWN So now that you have read all of the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'run down', you should now have excellent knowledge of it, however to truly become an expert in all things to do with 'run down', you should also be aware of the following adjectival uses.... The most common way to use 'run-down' as an adjective is in reference to the condition of something and this is typically to talk about an area of a city (or sometimes an entire city). If an area of a city is very poor with little investment, high crime and poverty, you can say that it is 'run-down'. They lived in a run-down neighbourhood near the old train tracks. The park has become run-down after years of neglect. The town centre looks run-down compared to how it used to be. Likewise, if you do not look after your physical health properly, do not eat well, sleep enough and rest, you may be prone to more illnesses and infections than if you were healthy. In these situations, you can say that you are 'run-down' or feeling 'run-down'. Jo’s been working too much lately and looks really run-down. After the flu, Shaun felt weak and run-down for weeks. A good night’s sleep should help you feel less run-down tomorrow. Lastly, you can also use 'run-down' to describe something that has been allowed to almost be reduced to nothing like a phone battery or stock levels in a business. My car has a run-down battery and the nearest town is 50km away. The run-down stocks will be an issue if the next shipment is delayed. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'run down'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'run down'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'turn in' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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. How well do you think you know the phrasal verb 'turn in'? Would you be surprised to learn that it has at least 6 different meanings in English, including 3 that are mainly used in American English? My aim in this post is to explain these different uses and applications to enable you to understand them well and know when to use them. I will also provide you with lots of example sentences to help with this. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Turn In - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'turn' and 'in' Turn In - Meaning 1: To point inwards Turn in - Meaning 2: To go to bed Turn In - Meaning 3: To deliver someone to the police Turn In - Meaning 4: To submit something 🇺🇸 Turn In - Meaning 5: To return something 🇺🇸 Turn In - Meaning 6: To produce good results 🇺🇸 I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TURN IN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Turned in / Turned in Separable? Sometimes To begin our exploration on the phrasal verb 'turn in', lets first familiarise ourselves with its component words 'turn' and 'in' and what they mean on their own.... Turn - As a learner of English, I am sure that you will already be familiar with the verb 'to turn' as it is a very common verb in English and has various different meanings. Generally speaking, it is mainly used to talk about a change of some sort, which can be anything from the direction of a movement or a change in the direction that something faces, to changes in seasons and in people's moods. Unlike many common verbs in English, 'to turn' is regular and takes the standard '-ed' ending in both past tense forms. I turn my head to look at what was happening. The car turned right at the traffic lights. The roast chicken was turning on the grill. I am turning 21 next year. The atmosphere at the party turned ugly when an argument began. In - The prepositional particle 'in' is another word that you will be very familiar if your English is good enough to understand this blog post. 'In' appears in many different phrasal verbs and often (logically) adds the idea of a movement from the exterior to the interior of something (go in, throw in). Additionally, 'in' can also add others ideas to phrasal verbs like completion (fill in), interruption (cut in) and inclusion (join in). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'turn in'.... MEANING 1: To point inwards CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To point inwards Separable? Yes For our first application of the phrasal verb 'turn in', we have the literal meaning of the combination of these two words, which is 'to point inwards'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Feet Toes Knees Legs Hips To arrive at this first meaning, we are simply integrating the idea of a change in the direction that something faces that we get from the verb 'to turn', with the idea of a movement towards an interior or central space that we get from the particle 'in'. This is not a hugely common application in English and tends mainly to be used with feet, toes and other body parts. For example, if someone turns their feet in, they point the front ends of each foot towards the centre of their body, while leaving the back ends of the feet in the same place (like in the photo above). As such, this usage can often be heard in a medical context, particularly with children who can suffer from this kind of problem. Other times that you may come across this application would be when doing physical exercise like yoga and stretching or when having physical therapy. The doctor explained that it is common for a child's feet to turn in slightly when they first start walking. Since Ellie's right foot tends to turn in, she sometimes trips over her own toes while running. To target the muscles on the outside of your leg, stand upright and turn in your toes before leaning forward. Make sure you don't let your knees turn in during the squat and keep them aligned over your ankles. Adrian made a big effort to keep his feet straight, as they naturally wanted to turn in whenever he relaxed. Whenever a person's body parts are in this position, you can use the adjectival form 'turned-in' to describe this. Note that we only tend to use the hyphenated (turned-in) form when it comes before the noun and the hyphen (-) is not required if the noun comes after it. Despite his turned-in feet, Malcolm was surprisingly agile on the football pitch. Unlike the open posture of ballet, this contemporary routine requires a closed, turned-in leg position. The first thing that I noticed as I watched myself run was how my feet were slightly turned in. MEANING 2: To go to bed Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go to bed, to retire, to hit the sack, to hit the hay, to bed down Separable? No Next on our journey through the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'turn in', we are going to be transported to the end of the day as the second meaning that we will look at is 'to go to bed'. This one is quite a nice and simple usage as it is really just a synonym of 'to go to bed' and tends to be used at the end of the day rather than when you go for an afternoon nap or snooze. It's almost like it is used by people as a way of declaring an official end to the day. This usage is quite an informal one and according to some sources is a little old-fashioned. Personally, I don't use this one often but I do hear it from time to time. On a grammatical note, this usage is not separable and we do not use it with reflexive ('self') pronouns as this might lead to confusion with another application that we will look at shortly. I’m exhausted; I think I am going to turn in! The couple usually turn in around 10 pm on weekdays. After the long hike, we were all ready to turn in. Rosie turned in right after dinner because she wasn’t feeling well. It was getting late, so Matt decided to turn in for the night as had to be up early for work the next day. I think we should turn in soon; we have an early flight tomorrow. The children were told to turn in once the movie ended. I turned in earlier than usual and still somehow woke up tired. MEANING 3: To deliver someone to the police Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To deliver, to surrender, to give up, to inform on, to denounce, to grass up Separable? Yes Our third meaning of 'turn in' that we will look at is perhaps the most commonly used of all of its different applications and means 'to deliver someone to the police'. I imagine that most of you reading this are good law-abiding citizens and therefore have never been involved in any criminal activities or know any criminals. However, if you did know any criminals or learned that someone you knew was accused of a crime, you may, as a responsible citizen, want to report them to the police. By doing so, you would be 'turning that person in' because you would be informing the police about who committed the crime and possibly even where they could find the criminal. You can use 'turn in' to talk about physically taking the offender to the police and handing them over or simply giving the police or the authorities the information that they need to catch and punish the criminal. Grammatically speaking, this is a separable usage, with the criminal or wrongdoer going either between 'turn' and 'in' or after, without making any difference to the meaning. Remember that if you are using a pronoun (him, her) to refer to the criminal, this must go between 'turn' and 'in'. Kelly decided to turn in her brother when she learned he was wanted for theft. Bob urged his friend to turn the criminals in before things got worse. The gang member was turned in by an anonymous person. The gangsters threatened to turn him in unless he confessed the truth. A worried neighbour turned the fugitive in after recognising him from a poster. In the previous section where I explained that 'turn in' can mean to go to bed, I mentioned that you cannot use that application with a reflexive ('self) pronoun. This is because if you do, it might confuse a native speaker as we typically use this third application with a 'self' reflexive pronoun to talk about when somebody goes to the police or the authorities to admit a crime or wrongdoing that they have done. In these cases, the '-self' pronoun always goes between 'turn' and 'in'. The suspect turned himself in after seeing his face on the front of every newspaper. After days on the run, Joe finally turned himself in to the local police station. Marco's parents convinced him to turn himself in and cooperate with the investigation. MEANING 4: To submit something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To hand in, to submit, to give in Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'turn in' is one that is common in American English and is one that I think logically follows the third one, which is 'to submit something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Application Essay Paper Thesis When I say 'submit something' here, what I actually mean is to formally give a document or a request to an authority, teacher or organisation so that it can be evaluated and assessed. This is normally so that a decision can then be made about it or somebody can act upon it. For example, you might turn in your history essay just before the deadline or a team of auditors may turn in their audit report to the CEO of a business when they have finished the audit. As you can see in the list of commonly used nouns above, the type of nouns that are typically used with this application tend to be formal or procedural documents, ranging from job applications to academic essays. You will have noted that this usage is primarily American English, however due to how common American English is around the world and in the media, I am confident that it would be understood by most, if not all, English native speakers. In British English, whilst we do understand and infrequently use this, we would be more inclined to say 'hand in' instead. Don’t forget to turn in your application before the deadline tomorrow. All students must turn in their Biology essays electronically. Alan turned in his resignation letter first thing this morning. The volunteers turned in their time sheets to the charity at the end of the week. We've been asked to turn in our evaluations after the workshop. They turned in the final draft to their supervisor for her approval. Dave turned in his proposal, hoping that it would be accepted. The team turned in the data that they had collected during the experiment. Each contestant must turn in their entry by noon. The interns turned in their weekly reports every Friday afternoon before going to the pub. MEANING 5: To return something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To return, to give back Separable? Yes Let's now move on to our fifth meaning of 'turn in', which is another mainly American usage to mean 'to return something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Keys Equipment Badge Book To clarify, what I mean by returning something is 'to give something back', normally that you have borrowed or caused to have been in possession of for a period of time. A classic example of this would be a library. To clarify, a library in English is a false friend in many languages and is not a place where you buy books but the place where you borrow them and is normally a variation of 'bibliotech' in many languages (for reference, you buy books at a bookshop or bookstore). After you have borrowed a book from a library, you will need to return it or 'turn it in' on or before the due date. In other words, you are simply giving back what belongs to them. Other situations in which you may hear or need to use this application of 'turn in' is in relation to equipment, particularly that which you may need to possess temporarily for your job e.g. keys to a building or a security badge to enable you to enter a department. When you no longer need the item or finish work for the day, you will need to turn it in to the company. Usually, with this application we turn an item in to a company, organisation or some form of authority. It is also possible to use it to talk about scenarios in which you find something that has been lost and you give it to the police or the central point of an organisation who can try and reunite it with its owner. Please make sure you turn in your badges when you leave the building. Kathy turned in the lost wallet to the reception desk. Everyone must turn in their equipment before the trip ends tomorrow. Please turn in your library books today; they’re overdue and will incur fines if left any longer. Becky turned in her badge and keys on her last day in her job. MEANING 6: To produce good results Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To achieve, to produce, to record Separable? No We are now on our sixth and final application of the phrasal verb 'turn in', which is our third American usage in a row and means 'to get good results'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Result Performance Work Score Profit For this usage, we can talk about producing or getting good results in various different areas of life, which include sport, work, business and artistic performances. Whenever someone does something that is particularly good, remarkable or worthy of applause, we can use 'turn in' to say this. As a result, it is often found in news reports on sport, business news and performance reviews. Normally with this application, we use the construction 'turn in + the good thing' e.g. result, performance or profit. Although it is separable, it is not typically used that way and I would avoid separating it in this case. As I mentioned at the beginning of the section, this is an American usage and not one that I am used to hearing or using as a British English speaker. However, I can understand it perfectly well when I do hear it being used. The pitcher turned in one of his best games of the season. The team managed to turn in a strong performance in the playoffs. Nadia turned in a flawless routine in the gymnastics competition. The sprinter is aiming to turn in an impressive time in the final. The company turned in solid earnings for the third quarter of the year. Tech stocks turned in strong gains across global stock markets today. The actor turned in a remarkable performance in the movie. The pianist attempted to turn in an emotionally compelling recital. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'turn in'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'turn in'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'stick up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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. Did you know that there at least 4 different ways to use the phrasal verb 'stick up' in English? In this post, I will be explaining all of these for you, from carelessly putting something somewhere to robbing a bank. For each application, I will give you lots of example sentences to show you in which contexts they are used. I will even give you a couple of bonus uses in noun and adjective form too. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Stick Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'stick' and 'up' Stick Up - Meaning 1: To put something in a high place Stick Up - Meaning 2: To point upwards above a surface Stick Up - Meaning 3: To defend someone or something Stick Up - Meaning 4: To steal at gunpoint 🇺🇸 Stick Up - Bonus: The adjective 'stuck-up' Stick Up - Bonus: The noun 'stick-up' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS STICK UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Stuck up / Stuck up Separable? Yes I know that you are here to learn the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'stick up', but how well do you know the individual words 'stick' and 'up' on their own? Let's take a quick look at them first before we continue on to the meanings of 'stick up'.... To stick - 'To stick' is a verb in English with several different meanings. The main meaning of 'to stick' is 'to attach to something, normally using something like glue or tape and is one that we will revisit later in this post. Another meaning that is directly linked to this is 'to become fixed or jammed in a particular position'. One other informal meaning of 'to stick' that is relevant for this phrasal verb is 'to put or place something somewhere, often in a careless or quick way'. 'To stick' is an irregular verb, with 'stuck' being the word for both past tense forms. I stuck the birthday card to the present. Help! I've accidentally glued my finger to the chair and now it's stuck to it and I can't move it. Are you going to stick with your choice or would you like to select something else? John stuck his keys on the table when got in from work. Up - Regular visitors to this website will know that the prepositional particle 'up' features in a lot of different phrasal verbs and perhaps most obviously, it can be used to add the idea of a physical movement to a higher place when it does (walk up, go up ). In addition, 'up' can add different meanings to a phrasal verb construction, including finishing (drink up), increase (mount up), improvement (brighten up), collection (round up) and preparation ( set up ). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'stick up'.... MEANING 1: To put something in a high place Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To put up Separable? Yes As per usual, let's start with the meaning of our phrasal verb that is closes to the literal meaning of the combination of the two words and in this case it is 'to put something in a high place'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Poster Notice Advertisement Picture For this first application, there are really two different sub-applications of it, which both have slightly different meanings based on the idea that we are taking from the verb 'to stick', but they are ultimately very similar. The first of these ideas goes back to the idea that we get from the verb 'to stick' of attaching or fixing something to a surface using glue or some other adhesive substance. If you stick something up, you are just sticking something to a vertical surface in a high or prominent position where other people can see it. This might be with glue, scotch tape or staples, the manner is not important - the idea is that you fix the thing in place using something in between it and the surface to hold it there. As I just mentioned, we stick things up on surfaces where they can be seen by people and that we want them to notice and see and therefore includes poster and advertisement. Chloe stuck up a poster on the bedroom wall. The students stuck up flyers around campus to advertise the charity event. I'ill stick a reminder note up above my desk so I don't forget. Nigel is going to stick a map up on the door for everyone to see. We've stuck decorations up all over the room in preparation for the party. The teacher proudly stuck up her students’ drawings on the bulletin board. Crystal stuck a sign up in the window announcing the sale. The coach sticks up the new schedule on the notice board every year. The other way in which this first application of 'stick up' can be used requires another meaning of the verb 'to stick', which is 'to put something somewhere in a quick or careless manner'. If you "stick something up", it can simply mean that you put it in a high or prominent place without much thought or care. This could be a physical object like a coat or a box or it could be a person's hand if they raise it quickly (a bit like an excited school child does when they know the answer to a question in class). Note that this second sub-application is used very informally and mainly used in spoken conversations. On a grammatical level, note that this first application of 'stick up' is separable and the direct object often tends to be placed between the words 'stick' and 'up'. Beth’s going to stick the boxes up on the highest shelf later. Jeremy often sticks his jackets up on that tall hook by the door. I’ll stick the spare towels up in the top closet when I put them away. Everything that gets donated to the charity gets stuck up on the high racks until sorting day. I didn't know what to do with the old armchair, so I just stuck it up in the attic until I make a decision. The children eagerly stuck their hands up when the teacher asked them a question. MEANING 2: To point upwards above a surface Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is is used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stick out, to protrude Separable? No Our second application of 'stick up' is another one that could also be considered a literal version of it and it means 'to point upwards above a surface'. Another meaning of the verb 'to stick', especially when used with a particle like 'out' or 'up' is 'to point or extend away from the surface of something'. It is a bit like the idea we have of when sticks and it stays in a position and does not move; we just use a prepositional particle to it to give some extra information. With that in mind, if we say something 'sticks up', it means that it extends or points upwards above the surface of something, which is otherwise flat. A classic example of this would be when people with short hair go to bed and wake up the next morning with a section of their hair pointing upwards where they have slept on it. In this case we would say " you have a bit of hair sticking up ". Likewise, if you are looking at a horizon, it might all be very flat and horizontal apart from a mountain or volcano that sticks up and breaks the horizon's flat line or you may have been unfortunate enough to step on a nail that is sticking up on the floor. Another way that you might sometimes come across this usage is in reference to plants when they start to grow. When they first appear above the ground, you can say that they are 'sticking up' out of the ground. This usage of 'stick up' is not separable since it does not take a direct object. If you want to talk about intentionally causing something to stick up e.g. hair, you might say " to make your hair stick up " instead. Peter's hair sticks up at the back no matter how much he brushes it. A few nails were sticking up from the old wooden floor. The corner of the carpet is sticking up again. Sandra's ears stick up slightly when she’s excited. Can you see that branch sticking up out of the water? The metal rod sticks up above the fence. Some rocks were sticking up through the snow. Your collar is sticking up on one side. Tiny sprouts are already sticking up from the soil. A piece of wire was sticking up from the ground and caught my shoe. MEANING 3: To defend someone or something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To defend, to support Separable? No We are now onto our third meaning of the phrasal verb 'stick up', which is 'to defend someone or something' and for this one, we will need the extra preposition 'for'. Bullying is a horrible thing for anyone to experience, whether that is at school or later on in life. Perhaps one of the reasons that it is so unpleasant is that the victim often feels quite isolated and alone, especially as other people do not want to become involved for fear of becoming a victim too. In these often lonely times, we need someone to 'stick up for us' or in other words, to defend us against the bullies. The reason that I use this example is because we often use 'stick up for' in situations when no other person will defend or support the victim. We do not only use it when someone is being bullied however as it can be used for when someone or something is being criticised or attacked by other people and you want to defend it. Donna always sticks up for her little brother when kids tease him. I really appreciated how you stuck up for me during the meeting, thank you. He’s sticking up for his principles, even though it’s unpopular. The girls stuck up for their friend when the rumours started spreading about her. I’ll stick up for the idea, even if nobody else will. I think it’s worth considering. Bill has always stuck up for his team, even in tough seasons. I believe that we should stick up for the new policy; it’s actually helpful. It meant a lot to me that you stuck up for my decision instead of doubting it. One last thing to mention here is that if someone is brave enough to defend themselves against bullies or criticism, then we can use the construction to stick up for + the reflexive 'self' pronoun. You need to stick up for yourself more often. Nadia tends to stick up for people who can’t stick up for themselves. How on Earth can I stick up for myself against those horrible people! MEANING 4: To steal at gunpoint Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To rob, to steal, to hold up Separable? No? Our fourth and final usage of the phrasal verb 'stick up' is an American one that means 'to steal at gunpoint'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Bank Store Person Firstly, if you're not sure what 'at gunpoint' means, it means under threat of being shot with a gun (literally when a gun is pointing at you). Essentially, if someone points a gun at you and demands that you give them your money or cellphone, then they are sticking you up. It is not just people who can get 'stuck up' however and this can also be used to describe the places where the money or goods are stolen from e.g. bank, store. You should note that this application is almost always used when thieves use a gun as a way of stealing and we do not typically use it to talk about "normal" stealing where a gun is not involved. On a grammatical level, it is separable and the noun can go either between 'stick' and 'up' or after them. Note that if you are using a pronoun (me, her etc.) then this must always go between 'stick' and 'up'. The thieves tried to stick up the corner store late last night. Philip was arrested after attempting to stick up a gas station. Two masked men stuck up the cashier and took all the money from the cash register. The gang planned to stick up a bank but were caught by the police beforehand. Eve told the police that someone had stuck her up in the parking lot. The gang stuck up the delivery driver and stole the packages. The suspect reportedly stuck a convenience store up with a toy gun. Paul bragged about sticking up three stores before being caught. The pair were charged with sticking up several tourists. A man tried to stick us up, but we managed to get away safely. STICK 'EM UP! One phrase that is often associated with this particular application of 'stick up' is 'stick 'em up!' (short for stick them up). This informal command is reportedly used by robbers to tell their victims to put their hands in the air whilst they point their guns at them. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The adjective 'stuck-up' In addition to the phrasal verb meanings of 'stick up' that we have looked at, we also have an adjective 'stuck-up', which is derived from it. We use the adjective 'stuck-up' to refer to people who are arrogant and snobby and therefore think that they are better than other people. The origin of this adjective comes from the idea that this type of person always has their nose pointed (or stuck) up in the air, almost like they are looking down on others. Tabatha seemed really stuck-up when we first met, but she’s actually quite friendly. Serge won’t talk to anyone outside his clique; he’s so stuck-up! The fashion models acted stuck-up at the party, as if no one else was worth their time. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'stick-up' Finally, you should know that the noun 'stick-up' also exists and this one goes back to our final phrasal verb meaning as it means a robbery. As with the phrasal verb application, the robbery also always involves a gun being used as a way of threatening the victims into handing over the goods or money. Note that this usage is very similar to the noun 'hold-up' and is very informal. As with this phrasal verb usage, this is primarily an American one. The robber was charged for his role in a stick-up downtown last week. Witnesses said the stick-up lasted less than a minute. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'stick up'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'stick up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pick on' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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 week on Phrasal Verbs Explained, we are looking at the phrasal verb 'pick on', which will be a nice and short phrasal verb lesson as it only has two meanings. In the post, I will explore both of these meanings and provide you with lots of example sentences for each one to show you in which situations and contexts you may come across it. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Pick On - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'pick' and 'on' Pick On - Meaning 1: To tease someone repeatedly Pick On - Meaning 2: To select someone or something I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PICK ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 2 Past tense forms Picked on / Picked on Separable? No If you are a regular visitor to this website, then you will know that at the start of each phrasal verb post, I take a short look at the individual words that form the phrasal verb that I am going to be explaining. This post is no different and so let's briefly review the individual words 'pick' and 'on' and what they mean on their own.... To pick - 'To pick' is a relatively common English verb with a couple of main meanings. The first of these is 'to choose or to select something' and the second is 'to remove something or a part of something from what it is attached to, normally with your hands'. This second meaning is perhaps most commonly heard in relation to picking flowers, fruit and berries. You will be pleased to know that, unlike many other common verbs in English, 'to pick' is regular and takes the standard 'ed' ending for both past tense forms 😀 You can pick any book you like from the shelf to read. Nikki picked the blue dress for the party. We spent the day picking apples at the orchard yesterday. Neil picked fresh flowers from the garden to give to his wife for her birthday. On - The prepositional particle 'on' is one that is found in a lot of phrasal verbs. In more literal phrasal verb applications, it is often used to talk about a movement on to something ( get on a bus) but more often than not its use in phrasal verbs is not literal. In these cases, it can add different ideas to the construction, including continuation ( carry on ), persistence ( keep on ), activation (turn on), focus (work on) and motivation (come on). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pick on'.... MEANING 1: To tease someone repeatedly Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bully, to tease, to harass, to victimise, to punish, to criticise, to persecute Separable? No There are only two different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pick on' and so if you have ever heard it being used, then there is a good chance that it will be this first application as it is the most common one and means 'to tease someone repeatedly'. The verb 'to tease' is one that you may already be familiar with. It means to make fun of someone, annoy them or laugh at them and it can be used in both a playful friendly way as well as a cruel and unkind way. In this application of 'pick on' it is the latter of these two that we are talking about, i.e. being cruel and unkind. If you pick on someone, you continually treat someone in an unfair and unpleasant way, which can be anything from criticising or insulting them to being physically violent towards them. Essentially, it is a form of bullying and so therefore this is something that you will hear being used to talk about schoolchildren or adults when they were at school in the past. Although we use it most commonly to talk about children and teenagers picking on one another, it is absolutely possible to use it for adults too as this still happens frequently i adult life as many of you will be aware, I'm sure. On a grammatical note, this usage is not separable and always follows the same set structure. We can also add the additional preposition 'for' to specify the reason that someone picks on someone else e.g. a bad haircut or being overweight. The older kids always pick on Sam because he’s quiet. Stop picking on your sister; you know she hates it! Amy felt like the teacher was picking on her all week for no reason. Tim's colleagues pick on him at work because he’s the newest employee. I was a goth at school and so I was picked on by the other kids for the way that I dressed. The school bully used to pick on me for my ginger hair until I punched him and then he quickly stopped. One other thing to note here is that when talking about being picked on, we do not always know (or care) who the bully in the situation is, especially if someone is picked on by a group of people rather than just one individual. in these cases, we tend to use the passive constructions 'to be picked on' and 'to get picked on' to describe this. Ben is always picked on at school. Amelia gets picked on whenever she speaks up in class. Lucas gets picked on for the way he dresses, but he doesn’t let it bother him. Yolande is getting picked on more than usual this week. PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE! If you've ever been in a situation in which you see a person being picked on by someone who is physically smaller or younger than the bully, you may have felt the urge to intervene as situations like that are particularly unfair. In moments like these, you might be tempted to say to the to bully " pick on someone your own size! ", meaning that you want them to leave the victim alone and to try and bully you instead (this is presuming that you are indeed the same size or bigger than the victim). It is surprising how many of these bullies don't actually have the courage to pick on someone their own size! 😂 Why don't you pick on someone your own size instead of picking on little kids! Try picking on someone your own size, you big coward! MEANING 2: To select something or someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To choose, to select, to focus on Separable? No Our second and final application of the phrasal verb 'pick on' means simply 'to select someone or something'. It is the rarest of the two meanings and is mainly heard in British English. You may be wondering what the difference is here between 'to pick' on its own and this application of 'pick on'. Whilst these two are certainly synonyms of one another, there are some small differences in usage and nuance to make you aware of. When we use 'pick on' in this sense, we are specifically talking about choosing someone or something from a group of options. While we can also use 'to pick' for this, 'pick on' would typically be used when the chosen person or thing receives special attention, treatment or focus as a result. This is often done in such a way that the other unselected options are ignored or forgotten about afterwards. Depending on the context, this can either be neutral or slightly negative in tone. The movie critic picked on one minor flaw and ignored the rest of the film. Marjorie always picks on the smallest details when she edits. The health and safety inspector picked on that one loose wire as a major safety concern. During the meeting, Joe picked on a single statistic to support his argument. The reviewers picked on the costume design rather than the quality of the acting. Alan tends to pick on wording instead of addressing the main issue. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'pick on'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'pick on'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get along' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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 instalment of Phrasal Verbs Explained is all about the lesser known phrasal verb 'get along'. As you will learn, 'get along' is a close cousin of the more famous phrasal verb 'get on' as it shares many similarities with it, however it also has its own meanings and uses and I will explain all of these to you over the course of the article. Furthermore, I will provide you with lots of example sentences in context to show how each application is used. So, without further ado, let's make a start and see what you can discover about the phrasal verb 'get along' today.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Get Along - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'get' and 'along' Get Along - Meaning 1: To leave or move from where you are Get Along - Meaning 2: To have a good relationship with someone Get Along - Bonus: Get along vs get on - what is the difference? Get Along - Meaning 3: To manage in a satisfactory way Get Along - Bonus: The idiom 'to get along on a shoestring' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GET ALONG: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Got along / Got along (UK) / Gotten along (US) Separable? No Before we begin our exploration of the phrasal verb 'get along', we should first spend a little bit of time looking at the words 'get' and 'along' as this can often provide us with some useful background information to help with our understanding of the phrasal verb meanings. To get - This verb will need no introduction as it is one of the most commonly used verbs in the English language and is perhaps the most confusing for English learners as its meanings are so numerous and diverse. The meanings of 'to get' include 'to receive', 'to understand', 'to become' and 'to arrive' to name just a few. To confuse things even more, it is irregular and even has two accepted past participle forms with 'got' being more common in British English and 'gotten' being more common in American English. What did you get for your birthday? I don't get the joke; why is it funny? You will get cold if you don't put some warm clothes on. When do you think you will get here? Along - 'Along' is a rarer prepositional particle that we do not see appearing in phrasal verbs very often. As a word, it tends mainly to be used to refer to a movement either in a line or from one end of something to the other. When used in phrasal verbs, 'along' can add this idea of movement in a direction to the base verb (go along), as well as ideas like progress ( come along ) and accompaniment (bring along). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'get along'.... MEANING 1: To leave or move from where you are Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere but more common in American English Potential synonyms To leave, to go, to move, to move along, to head off, to depart Separable? No As I mentioned in the Basics section, the prepositional particle 'along' is often used to refer to a movement of some sort and this is precisely what it means in this first application of 'go ahead', which is 'to leave or move from where you are'. Typically, this application is used to talk about when you are in a specific place and you need to move from there to go somewhere else. This is often when there is an element of urgency or hurrying involved. This usage sounds a little old-fashioned in modern English and is not as common as it used to be, however you can still here it in use in some parts of the UK and in the southern USA. I would say that you hear it most frequently in the expression "I / We had better be getting along", which is used by speakers to mean that it is time for them to leave. Look at the time! I'd better be getting along if I want to miss the rush hour traffic! We'd better be getting along as we have to be up early tomorrow. Furthermore, 'get along!' can also be used in an imperative way, that is to give someone a command, order or instruction. I seem to remember if a teacher ever caught us in the corridor at school when we were late for a lesson, he or she would tell us to " get along to class ", meaning to go there quickly, without delay. It is also still possible to hear the construction "get along with you!" to mean the same thing, but is also a little rare these days. Get along, now! You’ve got lots of work to do. Get along home before it starts to get dark. What are you doing loitering in the corridor? Get along to class! You may have noticed in the information table above that I stated that this application cannot be used in a separable way and while this is generally true, there is one way that we can use it separably. When being used in its imperative form, it is quite common for speakers to insert the reflexive 'self' pronoun between 'get' and 'along'. This doesn't actually change the meaning in any way but I think it can just soften the tone of what you're saying, especially if it is a recommendation and not an order. Get yourself along to the town hall today as there will be a charity event taking place there. Get yourselves along to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of my new novel. MEANING 2: To have a good relationship with someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere but more common in American English Potential synonyms To get on Separable? No We'll now move on from the rarest of the three meanings of 'get along' to the most commonly used one, which is 'to have a good relationship with someone'. For this application, we also need the additional preposition 'with'. If you get along with someone, it means that you like each other and you have a friendly and amicable relationship. Typically, you enjoy spending time with that person and do not argue or fight with them. We can also use this in the negative to describe when two people do not have a good or friendly relationship. As I mentioned above, we need the extra word 'with' if we want to specify the person with whom the good relationship exists. However, you should note that it is fine to use "two people get along" when we already know who the people are and therefore do not need to specify their names. On a grammatical note, I would say that this application tends to be used more in simple aspect tenses as it acts as more of a state verb to describe something that is unlikely to change much (although of course it can in this particular situation). Moreover, although I have stated that this application is used for two people, this is not always the case and it can be used for multiple people too. I get along well with my co-workers. My daughter gets along with everyone in her class. My brother and I got along when we were kids, but not so much now. Jake got along with his new teammates right away. Frank and Jim have always got along despite their different opinions. The two families had always got along well until the dispute over the land. I’m sure you will get along with her once you meet her in person. They will get along better after spending more time together. Photo: Pexels GET ALONG VS GET ON - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? For those of you who have a good knowledge of 'get' phrasal verbs, you may be wondering what the difference is with the phrasal verb synonym 'get on' here. Well, the short answer is nothing in terms of meaning; they both mean the same thing. The difference lies in where they are used. While British English speakers do use 'get along', we tend to use 'get on' more commonly to describe a friendly situation. American English speakers on the other hand do not use 'get on' as much and use 'get along' instead. MEANING 3: To manage in a satisfactory way Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere but more common in American English Potential synonyms To get on, to cope, to manage, to survive, to get by Separable? No We have now arrived at our third and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'get along', which is 'to manage in a satisfactory way'. This last application can be used in two ways: to talk about life in general and to talk about specific life situations. For life in general, we can use 'get along' to talk about managing to survive with enough money, food and basic necessities in a way that is satisfactory. It might not be leading a jet set lifestyle with a six-figure bank balance but it is sufficient for what we need. It is often used to highlight the fact that the person in question is independent and does not rely on other people for money etc. Alternatively, it can also be used to refer to when someone doesn't have problems in their life, typically caused by a lack of something. I get along just fine on my own, thank you. Rosie gets along without much money. I was getting along fine until my car broke down. Don’t worry, we will get along somehow. Secondly, we can also use 'get along' to talk about coping to managing ok in more specific or temporary situations in life. This is particularly used when there are difficulties or struggles involved in the situation or if it is something new like when a person moves house or starts a job. In these scenarios, it is common for another to ask the person " how are you getting along ?". I can get along without my phone for a few hours, no problem. I'm sure we will get along until the power comes back on. Kit will have to get along on instant noodles until payday. We’ll get along with just one suitcase between us for the weekend. We’ll just have to try and get along in this small apartment until we find something bigger. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to get along on a shoestring' To finish the post off, here is a nice little idiomatic expression for you that features the final application of 'get along' that we just looked at. To get along on a shoestring - We can use this expression to describe situations in which people have to live with a very small amount of money or a limited budget. It implies that someone does not have much money and most or all of it is spent on the basic necessities to live like rent / mortgage, food, bills etc. Like most students, I had to get along on a shoestring when I was at university. They’re going to have to get along on a shoestring until their new business starts making a profit. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'get along'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'get along'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'crack up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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 article is all about 'crack up', which is a very informal phrasal verb with a surprising number of meanings. In the article, I will explain the different meanings that it has in English, including some American uses that British speakers do not tend to say. For each different application, I will provide you with lots of example sentences in context to show you how to use it and impress all of your English-speaking friends and colleagues. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Crack Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'crack' and 'up' Crack Up - Meaning 1: To break something into pieces Crack Up - Meaning 2: To laugh a lot Crack Up - Meaning 3: To have a mental breakdown Crack Up - Meaning 4: To be reputed to be Crack Up - Bonus: The noun 'crack-up' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS CRACK UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings Past tense forms Cracked up / Cracked up Separable? Sometimes In this post, we will explore five different ways to use the phrasal verb 'crack up' with a bonus section at the end explaining how you can use it as a noun. First of all however, let's take a moment to consider the two lexical stars of the show, 'to crack' and 'up', and what they mean on their own. To crack - The verb 'to crack' is relatively uncommon in English and has a couple of meanings. The most common of these, and the one that has the most pertinence for the phrasal verb 'crack up' is 'to break without separating into separate parts', often caused by weakness or an impact. If something cracks in this way, a jagged line on its surface is normally visible and these are most commonly seen on windows, phone screens and walls. We can also use the noun 'crack' to refer to this line. In addition, 'to crack' can also mean 'to make a short, loud sound' and 'to hit a part of your body e.g. your head', among other rarer meanings. Elaine accidentally cracked the glass while washing the dishes. The ice on the lake began to crack under the weight of the ice skaters. I cracked my phone screen when I dropped it on the floor. The whip cracked loudly in the air. Dave almost cracked his head getting out of the car. Up - The super common prepositional particle 'up' is undoubtedly the one that is found most often in phrasal verbs and can be used to add various ideas to them, ranging from an upwards movement ( stand up ), to notions including preparation ( set up ), increase ( go up ), improvement ( look up ) and separation ( break up ). So, now that we have considered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'crack up'.... MEANING 1: To damage or break something into pieces Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To crack, to break up Separable? Yes Perhaps rather unexpectedly, we are going to start our exploration of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'crack up' with a rarer meaning, which is 'to damage something or to be broken into pieces'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Wall Surface Window / Screen Car / Airplane / Boat The reason for starting with this one is that it is perhaps the closest to the literal meaning of the combination of the two words, with the pairing of the idea of something cracking with the meaning of separation that we get from the word 'up'. Usually, we reserve the use of this application to talk about surfaces and physical objects that develop cracks and often (but not always) break into separate pieces as a result. On a grammatical level, you should note that this is typically used in an intransitive way (without a direct object) to talk about when damage occurs as the result of something like an accident or impact, without stating the agent or person who caused the damage. The ice started to crack up under the weight of the lorry. My grandmother's old vase cracked up when it fell off the shelf. John's windshield cracked up after being hit by a stone whilst he was driving along the main road. The wall outside our house cracked up badly during the earthquake. The frozen ground will crack up when the temperature rises. Personally, 'crack up' would not be my first choice in some of the example sentences above, as I would usually just use 'crack' on its own or in other cases 'break up' or 'smash'. Another way that 'crack up' is used in this way in American English is to describe damage that occurs to vehicles like cars, airplanes and trains occurs when they have been involved in an accident or collision. The boat cracked up on the rocks during the tsunami. . The plane cracked up on landing, but luckily nobody was seriously hurt It can also be used in some cases informally to mean 'to crash' or 'to collide' with something and here it implies a serious accident. I must admit that as a British English speaker, this is a completely new meaning for me but from what I understand from my research, this usage is one that you will still see in American newspapers and media, however it is becoming a bit dated, with verbs like 'to smash up' and 'to wreck' now replacing it. Note that when used to talk about an accident, it can be used both transitively (with a direct object) and intransitively (without a direct object), as I will show you in the sentences below.... The car cracked up on the highway and was found on the grass verge. The helicopter cracked up shortly after it took off. The old car has finally cracked up after years of rough driving. Billy cracked up his father’s truck trying to drive it in the snow. MEANING 2: To laugh a lot Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To burst out laughing, to be in hysterics, to fall about Separable? Yes We will move now from a usage of 'crack up' that I am not so familiar with to our second application, which I am VERY familiar with, and which means 'to laugh a lot'. To clarify, when I say 'to laugh a lot', I do not mean to laugh many times over a period of time but rather to laugh very hard or in an uncontrollable or enthusiastic way. When we use 'crack up' like this, we are talking about the kind of laughter that makes you want to pee yourself or that stops you breathing normally, i.e. when something is extremely funny. Furthermore, it is often when the laughter is sudden or spontaneous. Grammatically speaking, you should note that with this application, we can use it both transitively (to talk about moments when we start laughing) and intransitively (to talk about something that causes us to start laughing). For example, you can say that you always crack up when you watch a specific movie or that a scene in that particular movie always cracks you up. Moreover, it is a fairly informal usage that is mainly found in spoken English and casual writing. I always crack up when I watch that stand-up comedian. My teenage children crack up at the silliest things. The whole class cracked up when the teacher slipped on the loose mat. Kelly was cracking me up with her impressions of our boss. Margaret had cracked me up so much with her holiday stories that I couldn’t breathe. That joke cracked me up so much that I nearly cried. He's so funny, he really cracks me up! MEANING 3: To have a mental breakdown Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go mad Separable? No We've just looked at the positive application of 'crack up' and now I'm sorry that I have to bring down the mood as this next application is a very negative one and means 'to have a mental breakdown'. First of all, to clarify what I mean by the term 'mental breakdown', it is when a person becomes mentally or emotionally unwell due to having a lot of pressure and strain in their lives. This could often be work stress, worries about finances, coping with the strain of family, or often a combination of two or more of these. It is a form of mental illness and is characterised by different symptoms such as extreme anxiety, paranoia, insomnia (not being able to sleep) and neglecting your physical health and hygiene. If you say that a person 'cracks up', it is a very informal way of saying that they have developed some, or all, of these symptoms as a result of stress in their lives. Note that unlike the previous application, we do not tend to use this one in a transitive, separable way, so you would not typically say that something cracks a person up. If you did, it would be understood as it made him or her laugh (as in the previous application). Some people crack up under constant work stress. Deborah cracks up every time things get out of control at work. My sister’s cracking up trying to manage a stressful job, school, and family. Some of the contestants are cracking up under the pressure of the competition. After the scandal, the politician completely cracked up and was forced to go away to a retreat for several weeks to recover. Josie cracked up when her marriage ended. Pete cracked up from exhaustion after working nonstop for months. She’ll crack up if she doesn’t take a break soon. MEANING 4: To be reputed to be Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be reputed to be Separable? No We have now arrived at our fourth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'crack up', which is 'to be reputed to be'. For this one, let me first explain what I mean by 'to be reputed to be' as it may not seem clear to you at the moment. If you're not familiar with the verb 'to repute', you may at least know its noun 'reputation', which is definitely more widespread in English. In short, 'to repute' means 'to be thought of in a certain way by a lot of people'. It is quite an interesting verb as it is only really ever used in its passive form 'to be reputed to be...', which means 'to have a reputation as / for something'. For example, if a restaurant has a reputation for being very good, you could also say that "the restaurant is reputed to be very good". So, what about 'crack up'? Well, 'to be cracked up to be' is just a synonym of saying 'to be reputed to be' and means that people hold certain shared beliefs or opinions about something. Therefore, it can be used when you want to say if your own personal experience of something corresponded with its reputation or not. That new bar on George Street is cracked up to be really good. The new phone model is every bit as impressive as it’s cracked up to be. This book is exactly what it’s cracked up to be; a modern classic! I loved it! In the example sentences above, I have shown how this application of 'crack up' is used in a positive sense, but the majority of the time it is in fact used in a negative sense. When used negatively, it implies that something is not worthy or deserving of its good reputation...see the examples below.... The movie wasn’t all it was cracked up to be; it was actually pretty boring. Life in the city isn’t as wonderful as it’s cracked up to be. It's noisy, dirty and expensive. The restaurant wasn’t everything it was cracked up to be. We waited a long time for our food and my wife's main course was not cooked enough. Working from home isn’t as easy as it’s cracked up to be. It can get very lonely. The job sounded amazing, but it wasn't what it was cracked up to be and I left soon after starting. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'crack-up' So, now that you are familiar with the different ways that you can use 'crack up' as a phrasal verb, let me just briefly explain how we can use it as a noun. There are in fact two different meanings of its noun form and both of these are connected to the phrasal verbs meanings that we have already looked at.... Meaning 1 = a mental or emotional breakdown. This is quite a rare usage but I think you would understand it very well based on the phrasal verb meaning.... Neil's crack-up came after months of trying to hide his anxiety. Everyone thought Sue was fine until her sudden crack-up last year. Meaning 2 = A physical accident, crash or collision. As with the phrasal verb meaning, this is a very American usage. The pilot sadly died in the plane crack-up. Our car was badly damaged in the crack-up on the freeway. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'crack up'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'crack up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'draw out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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. In this post, I will be explaining the English phrasal verb 'draw out'. This may be a phrasal verb that you are already familiar with or it may be the first time that you have ever come across it. Either way, my aim in this post is to explain its different meanings for you, so that you know how to understand and use it effectively in your English conversations. I will also give you lots of example sentences to for each one. So, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Draw Out - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'draw' and 'out' Draw Out - Meaning 1: To draw something by hand Draw Out - Meaning 2: To prolong something Draw Out - Meaning 3: To withdraw money from a bank Draw Out - Meaning 4: To tempt someone or something from their hiding place Draw Out - Meaning 5: To encourage someone to talk Draw Out - Meaning 6: To become longer (days) 🇬🇧 Draw Out - Meaning 7: To depart from a train station Draw Out - Bonus: The adjective 'drawn-out' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS DRAW OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Drew out / Drawn out Separable? Sometimes As you know, in this post, I will be explaining the phrasal verb 'draw out', but how well do you know its individual component words 'draw' and 'out' on their own? Let's briefly look at them before we move on to the phrasal verb meanings.... To draw - 'To draw' is an interesting verb in English as it has several different meanings that all come from the same original idea. Perhaps the most well-known of all of these is 'to create a picture of something using a pen or a pencil'. This idea comes from the original meaning of 'to draw' of 'to drag' or 'to pull' as when you draw a picture, you are dragging the pen over the paper to create the line. In addition to this main meaning, 'to draw' can also mean 'to pull something in a specific direction' and 'to move a part of your body' in a particular way, among other meanings. 'To draw', like many other common English verbs, is irregular. I like drawing pictures. The artist drew the mountains with a pencil. The horse will draw the carriage along the street. I drew my legs up out of the way of the vacuum cleaner. Out - The prepositional particle 'out' is an extremely common word in the English language and features in many phrasal verbs. Arguably it's most common function in phrasal verbs is to give an idea of completion or exhaustion ( run out , tire out), however it can also add ideas like appearance ( come out ), elimination ( cut out ), expansion (spread out) and rejection (leave out). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'draw out'.... MEANING 1: To draw something by hand Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To draw, to sketch Separable? Yes As per usual on Phrasal Verbs Explained, let's start the meanings with the one that is closest to the literal meaning of the two words combined and that is 'to draw something by hand'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Design Idea Diagram Picture Map This may seem like a strange question but are you already familiar with the phrasal verb 'write out'? If not, it means to put all of the details of something into written form or to reproduce them in writing. Well, the same idea also applies with 'draw out', except that this time it is pictorial or illustrated form. If you draw something out, you simply draw a picture of something on a piece of paper (or other suitable surface). For example, maybe you have an idea of an outfit that you want to wear to a party, so you draw it out to see what it looks like on paper. Or, if you are trying to explain the directions to somewhere, you might find it easier to draw out a map instead. This application is separable and you can put the thing being drawn either between the words 'draw' and 'out' or after them without affecting the meaning. I would say that it is used more frequently in a non-separable way. The architect drew out the plans for the new building on a large sheet of paper. Michelle quickly drew a rough map out to show us how to get there. Carol drew out a sketch of the invention that she had in mind. The artist drew out the figure before adding any colour. I drew a simple diagram out to explain how the machine works. The teacher drew out a chart on the board to illustrate the process. Verity drew out the layout of the garden to show where each plant would go. Mike drew out the design carefully, ensuring that every line was precise. MEANING 2: To prolong something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To extend, to lengthen, to prolong, to protract, to drag out, to elongate Separable? Yes Our next meaning of 'draw out' is one that means 'to prolong something' or, in other words, to make something longer. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Meeting Conversation Negotiation Word With this application, we are not talking about making something longer in a physical sense, but rather in a temporal sense, so that it lasts for a longer time. It is normally used when something continues for longer than it normally does or than is expected or, in some cases, necessary. As you can see from the list of commonly used nouns above, it is often used in the world of business to talk about processes and meetings that go on for an extended period of time. The meeting was due to end at three, but the manager’s long explanations drew it out for another hour. Becky tried to draw out the conversation so she wouldn’t have to say goodbye. The negotiations were drawn out over several months before they reached an agreement. The politician tends to draw out his speeches, making them much longer than necessary. The director decided to draw out the suspense in the final scene to add impact. They’re only drawing out the inevitable by refusing to make a decision. Ben's slow responses drew out the interview far longer than expected. The lawyer’s questioning seemed designed to draw out the murder trial. One other way that 'draw out' can be used in this way is with words. If someone draaaaaaws ouuuuuuuut a word, they make it last for much longer than is normal. This may often be for a specific reason, such as for persuasion or emphasis. Imogen drew out the word "soooo" to show her disbelief. Luca always draws out her vowels when she's tired, making every sentence sound lazy. “Pleeeease,” Sally drew out the word, hoping to persuade her Dad. The teacher drew out the student’s name for emphasis: “Maaaark!” BONUS: THE ADJECTIVE 'DRAWN-OUT' Before we finish this section, I just want to make you aware that. we can also use the past participle form 'drawn-out' as an adjective to talk about something that lasts longer that usual or necessary. The management meeting was long and drawn-out. It was a drawn-out process but thankfully we reached an agreement in the end. MEANING 3: To withdraw money from a bank Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To withdraw, to take out Separable? Yes In many countries in the world, people are using paper money less and less in favour of electronic payments and this change directly affects our third meaning of 'draw out', which is 'to withdraw money from a bank'. Simply put, if you draw money out of a bank, building society, business or any other place where it can be stored, you take it out in order to spend it. If you remember in the Basics section, I explained how 'to draw' can mean 'to pull' and here you are literally pulling the money out of your bank, especially if you use an ATM. As I mentioned, in the UK and the USA less and less people (including me) carry physical money with them and tend to pay for everything on card or electronically, so there is a chance that this particular usage will become archaic soon. What is the situation in your country? Do people still mainly draw out money from banks and carry it in their wallets or is electronic payment now becoming the status quo? Let me know in the comments as I'd be interested to know! Lois went to the bank to draw out some cash for her weekend plans. Vincent drew out all his savings to pay for the new car. I need to draw a few hundred dollars out before the trip. They drew enough money out to cover the deposit. Sian drew out £200 from her account yesterday, leaving her balance at zero. Joe decided to draw out some cash rather than use his card. The company drew out funds from its reserve account to deal with the emergency. I’ll draw out a bit of money so we have some just in case. MEANING 4: To tempt someone or something from their hiding place Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To tempt out, to entice, to coax, to extract Separable? Yes The next way that we can use the phrasal verb 'draw out' is to talk about when a person or an animal is hiding somewhere as it means 'to tempt someone or something from their hiding place'. Henry, my cat I may have mentioned before on this website that I have two cats and when we adopted our second cat, Henry, he was an extremely shy little kitten (that's him in the picture on the right). The first thing that he did when he arrived in his new home was run away and hide behind the washing machine. I think he must have stayed there for 2 days. During this time, we tried desperately to draw him out from his hiding place by putting food and toys out and leaving him alone but none of these drew him out. It was in fact, Arthur, my other cat, who drew him out in the end! That story about Henry is a great example of when this application of 'draw out' can be used as we were trying to persuade him to leave his hiding spot by tempting him with things that he would enjoy and of course this is also something that can be used for hidden people. As a general rule, it normally involves doing something to encourage or tempt the hiding person or animal to leave the place that they are inside and to come out into the open. The park ranger left some food in the forest to draw out the shy fox from its den. Maggie tried to draw out the kitten that was hiding under her bed with a piece of string. The police used a negotiator to draw the suspect out from the building. The caterers hoped the smell of cooking would draw the campers out from their tents. A squeaky toy helped draw out the frightened dog from the corner. The exorcist used a clever trick to draw out the spirit, according to legend. One other rarer way that this application of 'draw out' can be used is to talk about non-living things and extracting or pulling them from the places in which they are situated. This may be as simple as drawing something out of your pocket or removing a fluid such as blood or oil. The nurse will draw out some blood with a syringe. Vernon drew out a hidden knife from his belt. Luke carefully drew out a splinter from his finger. The scientist tried to draw out the essential oils from the plant. The mechanic drew out the old fluid before refilling the tank. The dentist drew out the damaged tooth. Meditation can help draw out negative emotions. George drew out a folded letter from his pocket and handed it to Mildred. MEANING 5: To encourage someone to talk Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To elicit, to put at ease, to get someone to talk Separable? Yes Let's now move on to meaning number five of the phrasal verb 'draw out', which is a bit similar to the previous one and it means 'to encourage someone to talk'. For this application, we are mainly concerned with people who are shy or nervous and therefore do not want to talk to others and express their thoughts and feelings. If you are able to draw someone out, it means that you help them to speak more freely and be more open. This might be by making them feel relaxed and less nervous, gently or subtly asking them the correct sorts of questions or even giving them an alcoholic drink or two. The method is not relevant and does not dictate the use of the phrasal verb however, it is just used to express that we are able to make a shy or reserved person more talkative. The interviewer’s gentle questions helped to draw out the shy guest. Amelia tried to draw out her best friend, who usually kept her feelings to herself. The therapist slowly drew out the child, encouraging him to share his feelings. Steven's calm manner drew even the most reserved members of the group out. The teacher managed to draw the quiet student out during a class discussion. A good listener can often draw out people who are reluctant to speak. The journalist’s patience was the key to drawing out a powerful story from the witness. Diane used humour to draw her nervous interviewee out. MEANING 6: To become longer (days) Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To get lighter, to lengthen Separable? No The next application of the phrasal verb 'draw out' is one that it most commonly heard in British English to talk about days and it means 'to become longer'. You may be thinking that this is a strange usage as days are always 24 hours long, so I should point out here that we are thinking about daytime and nighttime and the hours of light and darkness. Wherever you are on Earth, unless you live near the Equator, you will experience 6-month periods from the middle of winter to the middle of summer when the days get longer and the nights get shorter, with the opposite happening in the six months from summer to winter. In this period when we head from winter to spring and the days are getting longer, we can say that " the days are drawing out ". This is particularly noticeable if you are far from the Equator, which is perhaps why we say it a lot in British English. Likewise, if you have read my post about the phrasal verb 'draw in' (link here ), you should know that we use this to talk about when the days get shorter. Note that this usage does not take a direct object and is therefore not separable. The days are starting to draw out now that the seasons are changing. You can tell winter is finally ending; the evenings are drawing out. As summer approaches, the days draw out and it stays light much later. The evenings have drawn out noticeably since last month. The days draw out so gradually that you hardly notice at first. By March, the days have really drawn out compared to January. It’s nice to see the evenings drawing out after those long dark winter nights. As the year progresses, the days draw out and the temperature begins to rise. MEANING 7: To depart from a train station Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To depart, to pull out, to pull off Separable? No We have now arrived at our final meaning of the phrasal verb 'draw out' and that is 'to depart from a station'. For this application, we are not talking about when passengers leave the station after arriving at their destination but rather when the trains leave the station. Quite simply, when a train draws out from a train station, it starts moving and heads away from it towards its next destination. Note that we can also use 'draw in' to talk about when a train arrives at a station. I would say that both 'draw in' and 'draw out' are both quite formal uses and can often come across as a bit old-fashioned but it's of course possible that you may hear them being used by native speakers still today in some situations and circumstances. On a grammatical level, like with the previous application, this one is also not separable and does not take a direct object. The train drew out of the station exactly on time. We waved as the train drew out, disappearing around the bend. The express drew out slowly, gathering speed as it left the platform. A whistle blew, and the locomotive drew out from the station amid clouds of steam. Passengers leaned from the windows as the train drew out into the night. The old engine drew out with a deep rumble that echoed down the tracks Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'draw out'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'draw out'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'turn over' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels 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. In this post, I will be explaining the phrasal verb 'turn over' and the various different uses and applications that it has in English. It may surprise you to learn that there are at least 8 different ways to use it, from simply turning something so that it faces the opposite direction to making money. Read on to learn what they all are, with detailed explanations of each one plus lots of example sentences.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Turn Over - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'turn' & 'over' Turn Over - Meaning 1: To change from one side to the other Turn Over - Bonus: The idiom 'to turn over a new leaf' Turn Over - Meaning 2: To change the television channel 🇬🇧 Turn Over - Meaning 3: To think carefully about something Turn Over - Meaning 4: To have a particular throughput Turn Over - Meaning 5: To make money Turn Over - Meaning 6: To give someone ownership of something Turn Over - Meaning 7: To make an engine run Turn Over - Meaning 8: To burgle 🇬🇧 Turn Over - Bonus: The noun 'turnover' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TURN OVER: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Turned over / Turned over Separable? Yes The words 'turn' and 'over' are two common words in English and before we look at the different meanings of 'turn over' as a phrasal verb, let's quickly consider what these two words mean as single lexical units.... To turn - This is a frequently used verb in English that has several different meanings, all of which indicate a change of some sort. It can mean to rotate or spin in a circular movement (like a carousel or the Earth), or alternatively it can be used to describe the movement of a person or object to face a different direction. Another key meaning of the verb 'to turn' is to change from one thing to another or to become another age when it is your birthday. The Earth turns on its axis. The record player was turning but no sound was coming from it. I turned to face the sun. Jack turned the car around the bend. The weather is turning and winter is on the way. My Dad is turning 60 tomorrow. Over - The prepositional particle 'over' is one that has multiple different meanings in English. These include to express being above something, moving above or across something and exceeding something, as well as being synonyms of the words 'during', 'finished' and 'about'...it's a confusing word! When used in phrasal verbs, the idea of a movement above or across something can often be found ( come over , run over ). Other ideas that 'over' can add to phrasal verb constructions include review ( go over ), change ( take over ) and falling (fall over). Now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'turn over'..... MEANING 1: To change from one side to the other Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To turn, to switch over Separable? Sometimes Let's begin our exploration of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'turn over' with a nice and straightforward one, which is 'to change from one side to the other'. I think that this application is more or less the literal meaning of the two component words as it means to turn something so that it faces the opposite side. Note that this is often when the item is facing upwards or downwards, rather than sideways, in which case the phrasal verb ' turn around ' would more likely be used. For example, if you have a mattress on your bed, it is a good idea to turn it over every few months so that a different side of it is facing upwards. Alternatively, if you are playing a game of cards, you may need to turn over a card to reveal what it is and to do this you simply turn it, so that the side with the number or person is now facing upwards and visible. Note that on a grammatical level, this application can be used both transitively (with a direct object ) and intransitively (without one). In other words, you can turn something over or something can turn over by itself. Susan turned over the pancake, so it could cook on the other side. I turned over the pillow to rest on the cooler side. The wind turned over the leaf, showing its lighter underside. The mechanic turned over the car part so that he could weld the bottom. Please turn the card over to see the instructions. The cat turned over and lay on its back in the sun. We are not just limited to objects with this application however, as it is also possible for a person to turn over, or more rarely unless you are a paramedic, to turn a person over. One way that this is used particularly commonly in an intransitive way when referring to people is to talk about when we turn over in bed. What this actually means is when you are asleep and facing one way and you move your body so that you are facing the other way. This could be from side to side or could be from your back or front to your side or any combination of these. I made my husband turn over in bed last night as his snoring was so loud. The nurse asked the patient to turn over onto his other side. As I was turning over in bed last night, I accidentally knocked the cat off the bed. One other common way that you may come across this first application of 'turn over' is in reference to books and pages. When you turn over a page, you simply move the page of a book that you have finished reading to the other side so that the writing on the reverse is visible instead. This usage is more common in British English than in American English. PTO A frequently used acronym for this usage exists, which is PTO, meaning "Please Turn Over" and you will often find this at the bottom of a document to advise the reader that the document continues on the reverse side. Billy turned over the page to continue reading the story. If you turn over to the next page, you will see a diagram explaining this model. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The Idiom 'To Turn Over A New Leaf' This is a good point in the post to introduce you to a common idiom featuring this application, which is 'to turn over a new leaf'. If someone turns over a new leaf, it means that they make a positive change in their life and start to behave in a better way by stopping their bad habits and activities. The reason that the word 'leaf' is included here and not 'page' is because 'leaf' is actually an old word meaning 'page'. It is not really used much nowadays apart from in this expression and in words like 'overleaf' (on the next page) and the phrasal verb 'leaf through' (to quickly look through the pages of a book or magazine). John has turned over a new leaf and has stopped all his criminal ways. She is very sorry for what she has done and promises to turn over a new leaf. Let's see whether or not she sticks to her promise! MEANING 2: To change the TV channel Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To change channel Separable? Yes Our second application of the phrasal verb 'turn over' is another simple one that is used primarily in British English and that is 'to change a television channel'. Quite simply, if you are watching a programme on TV, you may want to turn over to see what is on the other channels when it has finished. For this application, we are talking about watching terrestrial television with a live schedule of programmes and advertisements etc and not on-demand TV or streaming services. As a consequence of the changing nature of how we consume television these days, this usage is becoming rarer but can still be heard, especially among older people. Can you turn over? I want to see what else is on. I turned over to Channel 2 just in time for the movie to start. Don’t turn over just yet; I’m still watching this! Sam kept turning over the channels because nothing interesting was on. Turn over to the news; I think it’s about to begin. Paula turned over quickly when the adverts came on. If you don’t enjoy this show, just turn over and find something better. MEANING 3: To think carefully about something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To consider, to think, to mull over, to deliberate, to contemplate, to ponder Separable? Yes The first two applications of 'turn over' that we have looked at so far in this post have both been somewhat literal, however this third application is a bit more idiomatic in nature as it means 'to think carefully about something'. This time, if you turn something over, you think about it carefully or for a long period in your mind. In fact, this application is perhaps most commonly heard in the expression 'to turn something over in your mind'. Most of the time, this is used when someone has a difficult decision to make and needs a lot of time to think about it. Alternatively, we do also say this when something stressful or unpleasant has happened and you need time to think about it and process it afterwards. I think you can picture this a bit like a chicken that repeatedly turns over and over in an oven and which needs a certain amount of time to turn over before it is cooked and ready to eat. I’ve been turning the idea over in my mind all weekend and I'm still unsure. Ben lay in bed turning over everything that had happened that day. Kelly spends hours turning things over in her head before making a decision. After the meeting, I kept turning the discussion over in my mind. He often turns over the consequences before he acts. Madeline lay awake all night turning over what her boss had said. I’ve been turning your words over in my mind since yesterday. MEANING 4: To have a particular throughput Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go through Separable? Yes The next couple of applications of 'turn over' are ones that are used in business English, with this first one being heard in the retail (shopping) sector in particular as it means 'to have a particular throughput'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Stock Goods Products Staff / Employees Merchandise Firstly, if you are not sure about the word 'throughput', it means the amount of work, materials or people that pass through a system or organisation over a period of time. Essentially, it can be used for anything that can be processed by a business, whether that be stock that a business buys and sells or the number of people that it employs. If you want to talk about how high or low the throughput of a specific company, shop or organisation is, we can use this application of 'turn over' to do so. For example, if a shop buys and then sells a lot of stock over a weekly period, we can say that it turns over a lot of stock in a week. Likewise, in organisations which regularly have a high number of employees who leave and then need to be replaced, we can say that it turns over staff at a fast rate. This shop turns over stock so quickly that new products have to be put on display daily. We turn over seasonal items fast, especially around the Christmas holidays. Our clearance section turns over merchandise faster than any other department. High street stores have to turn over inventory rapidly in order to stay competitive. That distribution centre turns over more stock than any other facility in the region. Fast-food chains tend to turn over employees at a high rate. MEANING 5: To make money Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To make, to earn Separable? No Another way that you may hear 'turn over' in the world of business and commerce is this fifth application, which is 'to make money'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Money Profit Amount It is a cold hard fact that the sole aim of any business is to make money from its commercial activities. Any money that a company makes is known as revenue and when we talk about how much revenue a company makes, we can use this application of 'turn over'. As we use 'turn over' to talk about how much money a company makes, it is usually expressed either with an amount of money or with a description of the amount e.g. "a lot" or "twice as much". Furthermore, if the company is lucky enough to make a profit, i.e. it makes money after all of its expenses have been paid, we can also say that it "turns over a profit". Note that unlike the previous applications of 'turn over' that we have looked at, this one is not normally used in a separable way. The company turns over nearly $5 million USD a year. That small bakery turns over more money than you'd expect. Our online store now turns over twice as much as it did last year. They turned over a record amount in sales during the holiday season. The firm turns over huge profits thanks to its international exports. Last quarter, the business turned over £750,000 in revenue. Their new product line helped them turn over significant profit. Despite the recession, the retailer still turned over a healthy amount., The company expects to turn over even more next fiscal year. They’ve been turning over steady revenue since they expanded overseas. MEANING 6: To give someone ownership of something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To hand over, to relinquish Separable? Yes Our next application of 'turn over' is one that can be used in many different areas of life, from work to personal matters, and means 'to give someone ownership of something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Ownership Company / Business Land / Estate Keys Control Criminal To describe this meaning in another way, it is to transfer the control or possession of something to another person. This is often when the person receiving it has a legal right to it, either because they are entitled to it somehow or because they now own it. In addition, it is also possible to turn over the responsibility for something to someone else. Examples of when you may come across this application are when information or records are required to be turned over to the police for legal purposes, when a business owner retires and has to transfer ownership of it to someone else and when someone hands over the keys to a property when it has been sold. You may have noted that I included 'hand over' in the last example above as it functions as a synonym of 'turn over', however there are some differences in nuance between the two. Firstly, 'turn over' sounds a bit more formal and serious than 'hand over' and secondly, it often implies that the person turning over the item is only doing so because they have been ordered to do so or are legally required to and are not doing it voluntarily. 'Hand over', on the other errr hand, can often imply that something is given more willingly. Sir David turned the business over to his daughter when he retired. The land was turned over to the government after the dispute has been settled. The company will be turned over to new management next year. Under the court order, Fred was required to turn over all financial records. They turned over ownership of the property to the charity last month. The estate was turned over to the Duke's heirs following the reading of the will. The suspect refused to turn over the stolen items to the police. Poppy plans to turn over control of the company to a successor at some point next year. One other way that this application of 'turn over' is used in (almost) the same way is in relation to people. If you turn someone over, you are talking specifically about criminals and when someone delivers a person who is suspected of having committed a crime to the police or the authorities. For example, a criminal in custody may turn his fellow gang members over to the police, an illegal immigrant may be turned over to the immigration authorities by a member of the public or you may even turn yourself over if you feel guilty about a crime that you committed and feel like you should be punished for it. After hours of interrogation, the gang finally agreed to turn their leader over to the police. The group of neighbours caught the burglar and turned him over to the authorities. Rather than turning himself over to the police, Jeff tried to escape the country. The rebels refused to turn over the captured soldiers to the government forces when they were asked to do so. MEANING 7: To make an engine run Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To run Separable? No Next up, we have an application for all the petrolheads (car fanatics) among you as another meaning of the phrasal verb 'turn over' is 'to make an engine run'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Engine Motor Generator In basic terms, if an engine runs, it means that it is operating correctly and producing power, regardless of if the vehicle or machine that it powers is moving or stationary. We use 'turn over' to describe when we talk about making an engine start to run. When you insert a car key into the ignition and turn it, the starter motor physically rotates, typically causing the engine to start running. This process of activating the starter motor with the key is referred to as 'turning over'. This is not normally something that people need to think about until there is a problem and the engine fails to start. Usually, when this problem occurs, you hear a sound as you turn the key, indicating the engine is turning over, but the engine doesn't start. As a consequence, this application mainly tends to be used when there is a problem. The engine refused to turn over this morning as it was so cold. Victor tried to start the truck, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. After a few attempts, the motor finally turned over and started. Amy turned the key, but the engine didn’t even turn over. Once the fuel started flowing, the engine turned over smoothly. The boat’s engine turned over nicely after being repaired. Keep cranking it; the engine should turn over in a minute! It took a while, but eventually the generator turned over and began humming. MEANING 8: To burgle Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To burgle, to rob, to do over Separable? Yes We are going to end the phrasal verb meanings on a negative application (sorry), which is another British English usage, meaning 'to burgle'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... House / Apartment / Flat Home Building Shop Company For those of you who are not sure, the verb 'to burgle' means to illegally enter a house or property with the intention of stealing things or committing a crime. If someone turns over your home, it means that they burgle it, often searching through it, stealing things and making it very untidy in the process. Often, when talking about someone who has been the victim of this crime, it is common to refer to it in the passive sense with the verb 'to get', especially as we do not normally know who the criminals were. The thieves turned the whole house over whilst the family was away on holiday. We got home to find the place had been turned over by burglars. The shop was turned over during the night and the cash register was emptied. Burglars broke in and turned the office over, searching for valuables and cash. They turned over every drawer and cupboard in the place looking for jewellery. We got our house turned over last night but luckily nothing valuable was stolen. Someone turned our garage over and stole all my Dad's tools. They got their flat turned over whilst they were sleeping in bed. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun turnover Lastly, before we wrap up this post, let's just take a look at the noun 'turnover', which has a couple of different meanings.... Turnover as revenue : You will hopefully remember that earlier in the post I explained how we can use 'turn over' to talk about how much revenue a business makes over a period of time. We can also use the noun 'turnover' as a direct synonym of revenue here. Simply put, a company's turnover is how much money it makes from its activities during a specific period. The company reported an annual turnover of £5 million last year. We managed to double our turnover after we launched the new product line. It can also be used to mean the throughput of something, especially when talking about the number of employees that start working for and leave an organisation in a period of time. High employee turnover is causing major recruitment challenges for the company. Turnover as a food : Last but not definitely not least, it is also possible to eat a turnover. These are pastry snacks on which some fruit (most commonly apple) is placed on the pastry and one end is then turned over, enclosing it in its own little tasty pocket. Delicious! My Gran makes the best apple turnovers! They're so good! If you want to try and make an apple turnover, you can find the recipe here.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/apple_turnovers_21653 Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'turn over'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'turn over'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END