An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get by' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my blog all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in. This week's post is another phrasal verb featuring the ever-popular verb 'to get'; namely 'get by'. In this post, we will look at what native speakers mean when they use 'get by' in a literal sense, as well as its different figurative meanings, including to do the minimum possible required to succeed and to have just enough of something to manage. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'get' and 'by' Meaning 1: To move past something Meaning 2: To survive with the minimum possible Meaning 3: To satisfy the minimum requirements Meaning 4: To go unnoticed Bonus: Some golden oldies songs featuring 'get by' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GET BY: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Got by / Got by / Gotten by Separable? No The phrasal verb 'get by' is made up of arguably the most popular verb amongst English native speakers, 'to get', and the prepositional particle 'by'. As we have seen in previous posts, the verb 'to get' has a wide range of different uses in English, however the meaning that is most relevant for the different usages of 'get by' is 'to move to and arrive at a different place or position'. The particle 'by' can be used both as a preposition and an adverb in English and the prepositional meaning which we are interested in for this post is 'movement past something'. Now, with the two elements of this phrasal verb explained, the first of the meanings should be an easy one to understand so let's go.... MEANING 1: To move past something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Separable No Potential synonyms To move past, to get past Following on from the previous section, this first usage of 'get by' is the literal meaning that is produced when we combine the two forms of 'get' and 'by', outlined in the previous section, i.e. to move past something so that you are on the other side of it. This is generally only ever used for physical movement and not in a symbolic or metaphorical way. In general, we use 'get by' in situations where it is difficult to move past something as there is some sort of obstruction, or in other words, when something is blocking your path. In contrast, if there is no obstacle present or we can move past something easily and without restriction, then native speakers are more likely to use another relevant verb of movement such as go, walk or drive. The verb 'to get' in this case implies an element of difficulty to the action. As such, here are some typical situations in which we use 'get by' in this way.... When a road is blocked by a car or another kind of obstruction and you cannot easily drive past it. When a person is blocking a path that you are walking on and you need to walk past them. When a road has been closed by authorities and you need to turn onto it in order to reach your destination. If you park your car here, you will make it difficult for other cars to get by. Sorry, do you need to get by? The police have sealed off the road where I live and will not let me get by to go home. MEANING 2: To survive with the minimum possible Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Separable No Potential synonyms To make do, to cope, to make ends meet The second meaning of 'get by' is 'to survive or manage with the minimum possible amount of something'. When we use 'get by' in this sense, the key idea is that we have only a small amount of something and it is just enough to meet our requirements. In other words, the amount that we have allows us to manage in the given situation, however if we had more of it, either the situation would be better or our lives would be more comfortable. 'Get by' can often have negative connotations, especially when talking about money, as it is often used when talking about financial difficulties, or in extreme cases poverty and deprivation. If we want to express or quantify the small amount that we have, we require the extra preposition 'on' to do this. Alternatively, we can also use 'to get by with' when specifying something that we have, which enables us to do something, but is not ideal for the job (i.e. there are better alternatives in existence). Aside from money, other common nouns which can be used with 'get by' when they are in short supply are sleep, food and knowledge. It is also commonly used in the expression 'get by on my own', meaning to manage without the help of other people, although it will not be easy. I don't earn a lot of money but I get by! It is said that Margaret Thatcher got by on four hours sleep a night. It was a tough situation but I got by with a little help from my friends and family. MEANING 3: To satisfy the minimum requirements Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Separable No Potential synonyms To scrape by For our third meaning of 'get by', we do not have to make such a big leap from the second meaning that we have just looked at, as it means 'to satisfy the minimum requirements of something'. This is very much the same idea as the second meaning, but the focus here is that we achieve a certain requirement such as an examination pass, with the lowest possible mark. For example, if you needed a score of 50% in an exam in order to pass it and you got a score of 51%, you could say that you got by with 51%. Conversely, if you scored less than the requisite 50% mark, then you failed and 'get by' cannot be used here. As per the example above, this is commonly used with examinations and tests, however it can also be used for any other area where minimum requirements must be met in order to quality for something e.g. sports. I got by with low passes in my exams, so I can go to university but I won't be able to go the university or my choice. MEANING 4: To go unnoticed Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Separable Yes Potential synonyms To get past, to sneak by, to sneak past Our fourth and final usage of 'get by' is one that links back to the literal usage that we covered earlier on in the post. The idea of this is more of an extension of the first meaning because it means 'to move past something or someone without being seen or noticed'. This usage is a good synonym of the phrasal verb 'to sneak past', as it essentially means to move past a person or group of people unnoticed, in order to get to where you want to be. This is something that you often see in action movies where the protagonist has to sneak past some people to get to the place where he or she can save the day! 'Get by' is used intransitively in this sense when the speaker is talking about 'getting by' a person without them being seen or noticed, however it can also be used transitively with a direct object when we want to talk about moving an object or another person past someone without being seen. Lastly, we can also use this meaning of 'get by' when talking about something passing checks or verifications without being noticed or spotted, typically when the thing in question would not normally 'get by' if it were spotted. If you want to get into the club, you are going to have to get by the bouncers. The visitor to the prison tried to get the cigarettes by the prison guards. Although there was an error on my passport application, it still managed to get by the verification checks. Photo: Pexels Before I finish this post, here are a couple of golden oldies featuring our phrasal verb of choice 'get by' for reference...enjoy! 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 by'. 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 by'. 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 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. The subject of this post is the phrasal verb 'turn up'. I have recently done a post about its phrasal verb opposite, ' turn down ', so if you can remember the different meanings of that, then you should find some of the meanings of 'turn up' nice and simple as they are just the reverse. You will note that I said 'some' of the meanings as there are others that are completely unrelated to ' turn down ' - that would be too easy! So without further ado, let's have a look at them.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'turn' and 'up' Meaning 1: Literal Meaning 2: To increase the intensity of something Meaning 3: To arrive unexpectedly Meaning 4: To be found Meaning 5: To become available unexpectedly Meaning 6: To fold or modify clothes Meaning 7: To turn onto a different road or path Bonus: Some common idioms featuring 'turn up' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TURN UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Turned up / Turned up Separable? Sometimes The phrasal verb 'turn up' consists of the verb 'to turn' and the prepositional particle 'up' and so before we start exploring the meanings of the phrasal verb, let's first look consider each of these words on their own. The verb 'to turn' is a common verb with various meanings, including to change direction, to move in a circular path and to transform from one thing into another. It is a commonly used verb in English and you will find it regularly appearing in a lot of different phrasal verbs because we often require extra directional or spatial information to clarify the action of 'turning' e.g. 'turn around', 'turn over' or 'turn back'. John turned right and then left. The world won't stop turning if you take a day off work. Turn the key to unlock the door. The leaves on the trees turn red in autumn. In conjunction with 'turn', we have the prepositional particle 'up', meaning in the direction away from the ground or towards the sky ↑. 'Up' is frequently used in phrasal verb constructions and can add different ideas, such as to move in an upwards direction (climb up), increasing ( go up ), preparation (warm up) and sudden changes (wake up), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the real reason that you are here, i.e. the different meanings of 'turn up' as a phrasal verb.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo : Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To turn, to face up Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'turn up' that I want to cover is the literal meaning, which you have probably guessed, is simply to turn or rotate something so that it is facing upwards. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Face Head Hood / Collar Card / Paper As this one is quite self-explanatory, I don't want to spend too much time on this, but I do want to give you some typical examples of usage, which are turning your head up, so that you are looking in the direction of the sky and turning playing cards up, so that the face of the card is visible. In both of these examples however, it should be noted that other synonyms are often used, such as 'look up' turning your head and 'turn over' for the cards. Lucy turned her face up to feel the warmth of the sun. Michael turned up his collar to protect himself from the cold wind. As the rain started falling, Natalie turned up her hood to stay dry. Adam turned up the brim of his hat to get a better view. The tarot reader asked me to turn up two of the cards that facing down on the table. MEANING 2: To increase the intensity of something Photo : Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To increase Separable? Yes This next meaning of 'turn up' is one of the most commonly used meanings of this phrasal verb and means to increase the intensity of something such as the volume, temperature or power of a device. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Volume Sound Heating / Temperature Television / Radio Music It may be quite obvious to you, but just in case it is not, this meaning is derived from when we turn a dial to a higher number on a device (up), thus increasing its level of output or energy. As you can imagine, it is often used to refer to household appliances and machines that have settings that can be made more or less intense (turned up or down). For this meaning, 'turn up' is used transitively, meaning that it requires a direct object, which is the noun or pronoun whose intensity we want to increase. The direct object noun can either be placed between 'turn' or 'up' or after them, without changing the meaning 😊 I was so cold in my house, so I turned up the central heating. Please can you turn the television up as I can barely hear it. Elizabeth turned up the heater because the room was too cold. Harry turned up the brightness on his phone so that he could see his screen better. I LOVE THIS SONG! Although we can and do use 'turn up' to describe the action of increasing the intensity of many different nouns, the most common usage is probably with the noun 'volume'. For this reason, if you hear a native speaker say "turn it up", it is highly likely that what they actually mean is "turn the volume up" or "make it louder and this is usually when he or she likes a song that is being played! I love this song! Turn it up! Can you turn up the volume a bit. I can barely hear it! MEANING 3: To arrive unexpectedly Photo : Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage ​Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To show up, to arrive, to appear Separable? No So, now we are on to our first truly idiomatic meaning of 'turn up', which is to arrive or to appear somewhere, often (but not always) at an unexpected time or in an unexpected manner. In other words, we can use 'turn up' as a synonym for the verb 'to arrive', but we tend to use it more when there is something unplanned or surprising about the arrival. Examples of this unconventional arrival could be the following.... the person arrives unexpectedly, without forewarning or invitation the person arrives earlier or later than planned or requested there is something funny, surprising or unexpected about the person when they arrive Although I have specifically stated a person in the examples above, it is also absolutely fine to use this with objects when talking about deliveries etc. All of the guests turned up for the party, bar one. My parents turned up just as I was about to leave the house to go shopping. Lisa's car broke down on her way to work and she eventually turned up there at 11am. John mistakenly thought that the party was fancy dress, so he turned up wearing a Superman outfit, much to everyone's amusement. My neighbour turned up on my doorstep last night in floods of tears as her dog was missing. MEANING 4: To be found Photo : Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be found, to show up Separable? No This third meaning of 'turn up' simply means to be found. This often refers to when we unexpectedly find something that was previously hidden or lost. When we use 'turn up' in this way, it is usually because we have given up on finding the lost item and don't think we will ever see it again. Of course, we can use the verb 'to find' as a synonym here, however 'turn up' adds an extra layer of nuance in the form of unexpectedness or surprise. Sometimes, it can also be used to convey a bit mystery to the reappearance of the lost item. Alternatively, if something is lost, but we are confident that we will find it again at some unknown point in the future, it is equally common to say that "it will turn up". By using 'turn up' rather than 'find', we are saying that we are perhaps not actively going to look for the missing item and it will magically appear in the future. We thought we had lost our cat Arthur when he disappeared. Thankfully he turned up at the house again a week later and we still have no idea where he had been. The stolen car turned up abandoned on a roadside 10km away from where it had been stolen. I've lost my favourite socks. They must be in the house somewhere but I'm not worried as they are bound to turn up. MEANING 5: To become available unexpectedly Photo : Pexels CEFR Language Level ​C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To become available Separable? No For this fourth meaning of 'turn up', we are staying with the familiar theme of something happening unexpectedly , however this time we are talking about unforeseen opportunities or situations that arise when you are looking for something. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Job Opportunity Romance Car Apartment / House As you can see from the list above, this application is used with nouns for things that we have to search for in our lives and are not always available when we want them. Regardless of what the noun itself is, the main point here is that when the opportunity of finding one arises, it is unexpected in some way. This is often as it is when we have started to lose hope of success and are thinking about giving up. Moreover, if we want to offer some encouragement to someone who is having difficulty finding a job for example, we can say that "something will turn up". Equally, when talking about a time in the past when a new unexpected opportunity arose, we can say that something "turned up". My son has been looking for a job since graduating from uni and he has had no luck so far, but I'm sure something will turn up soon. They say that the love of your life normally turns up when you least expect it. That book I’d been looking for finally turned up in a second-hand store. A great job opportunity turned up just when Patricia was about to give up searching. After weeks of searching, a rental apartment finally turned up in Louise's budget. Something interesting always turns up when you're not looking too hard. MEANING 6: To fold or modify clothes Photo : Pexels CEFR Language C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To fold up, to unfold Separable? Yes This next meaning of 'turn up' is specific to clothing and logically links back to the literal meaning of the phrasal verb that we looked at earlier in the post. This meaning specifically means to fold parts of clothes, normally the bottoms of trouser legs, upwards in order to make them shorter, so that they fit the owner better. The part of the garment is literally turned upwards. In everyday speech it is normal to use this in a passive sense and say that you are "getting something turned up" when the garment to be modified is with the tailors. In addition to this, if something is already folded downwards such as the corner of a piece of paper or a collar on a garment, we also say that we "turn it up" when we unfold it. I have sent my new suit to the tailors to get it turned up before the wedding next week. There was a chill in the air and so I turned up the collar on my winter coat. Before sewing, Sally pinned the skirt where she wanted to turn it up. My grandmother taught me how to turn up a pair of pants properly. She turned up the hem of her dress to make it more suitable for summer. He had to turn up his trousers because they were too long for him. MEANING 7: To turn onto a different road or path Photo : Pexel CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms Turn on(to), turn down Separable? No The last meaning that I want to bring to your attention is one that I also looked at in my post about the phrasal verb 'turn down' (link here ) as it means the same thing, which is to turn from one road or path onto another and then continue straight along it (confusing, I know!). Native speakers, typically British ones, use both 'turn up' and 'turn down' here interchangeably and there is no discernible difference in meaning that I am aware of; it is just the speaker's choice. It can also be noted that it can be used both for travel by vehicle as well as on foot. By contrast, you are more likely to hear American native speakers and those from other English speaking nations using a synonym like 'turn on' or 'turn onto' here. We turned up the road towards the church and realised that it was the wrong road You need to turn up that narrow track after the second gate. He turned up the hill and disappeared into the fog. They turned up the side street to avoid the traffic on the main road. Just turn up the next road on your left; it's a shortcut to the beach. Beth turned up a quiet little alleyway she hadn’t noticed before. Turn up that gravel path and you’ll see the cabin at the top. After the petrol station, turn up the next street on your right. Photo : Pexels COMMON IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS WITH 'TURN UP' It would be rude of me to finish this post without also giving you some common expressions in which the phrasal verb 'turn up' is used, so here are a few for you.... To turn your nose up at something = This idiom means to show disapproval of something or to refuse something in a judgemental way, often when the person believes that something is not good enough for them. It is often used in reference to snobby or arrogant people but can also be used for fussy cats like mine who occasionally turn their noses up at the food they are given to eat. My cat Henry will eat anything but my other cat Arthur only likes one type of cat food and turns his nose up at anything else. The snobby lady turned her nose up when she was offered the cheap wine. A turn up for the books! = This is an idiomatic expression in British English and is used to describe a very unexpected but pleasing surprise. The roots of this idiom can be traced back to betting on horses as the records of bets were kept by people called bookmakers (colloquially known as bookies) in 'books' and if something unexpected (that word again!) happened, then some lucky gamblers would be very happy! I can't believe I got the job out of 100 applicants; what a turn up for the books! To turn up out of the blue = This expression is very common when talking about someone or something which appears or arrives completely unexpectedly, almost as if they suddenly appear out of the blue sky or from the blue ocean. It is possible to use "out of the blue" on its own without 'turn up' and the meaning would be more or less the same. After signing up to a family tree website, a cousin who I had never heard of before suddenly turned up out of the blue. 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 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 'turn 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 'see through' 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. In this post, we are looking at the phrasal verb 'see through', which may seem like quite a straightforward phrasal verb, but in fact it has some interesting uses that you may not be aware of. For each separate application, I will give you a detailed explanation of how to use it and lots of examples to aid your understanding. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'see' and 'through' Meaning 1: Literal Meaning 2: To understand someone's hidden intentions Meaning 3: To persevere with something and finish it Meaning 4: To support someone in a difficult time I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS SEE THROUGH: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Saw through / Seen through Separable? Yes Before we start our exploration of the phrasal verb 'see through', let's first consider what the words 'see' and 'through' mean on their own. Our focus verb this week is the verb 'to see', which is a sensory verb, meaning 'to perceive something with your eyes' and I'm sure it will be extremely familiar to most readers. In addition to this sensory meaning, it also has a second meaning in English, which is to understand something after consideration or reflection; possibly as we can see something clearly in our mind once we understand it. The meaning of 'see' that we are interested in for this phrasal verb however, is the first meaning of visual perception. The preposition that is keeping 'see' company in this post is 'through', which is one of those annoying English words with a lot of unnecessary letters (thru is also a less common variant of through and should be limited to informal use only). The main meaning of 'through' is to pass into something on one side of it and out on the other side. In other words, to pass into and out of the interior of something, ending up on the other side of it to the where you started. Ok, so now we have covered the basics, the first meaning should be pretty obvious.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To look through Separable? No After looking at the words 'see' and 'through', it will probably come as no surprise to you that the literal meaning of these words combined is simply 'to see through the middle of something to what is on the other side of it'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Shirt / Top / Dress / Fabric / Material Window Cloud Gap / Crack / Hole This application is used for both materials and substances that are so thin that light pass through them, as well as for surfaces and objects that have physical holes or cracks in them, allowing us to see to the other side. In this sense the modal verb 'can' is normally used to express the possibility of 'seeing through' something. I love this dress but in very bright sunlight you can see through it, so I only wear it on dreary or rainy days. The car accident was caused by the driver not being able to see through the tinted windows. The curtains were so thin that I could easily see through them. Can you see much through the binoculars? This paper is so thin that when you put it on top of another sheet, you can see through it. Native speakers also often add the word 'right' between 'see' and 'through' to emphasise when something can be seen through very easily or clearly. This crack in the wall is getting bigger, you can see right through it and into the garden now! That fish is astonishing! You can see right through it! If we want to insert a direct object into our sentence and talk about who or what we can see on the other side of the transparent surface, we just insert it into the middle of 'see' and 'through', as per the examples below.... I knew that he was coming as I could see him through the window. Now that your clothes are wet we can see your underwear through them! SEE-THROUGH AS AN ADJECTIVE In addition to the phrasal verb 'see through', we also have the adjective form 'see-through', which is derived from the literal form of this phrasal verb. As you can probably guess, if something is 'see-through', it is transparent or in other words, you can see right through it! This is most commonly used to talk about items of clothing but other nouns that you may hear it with are floor, ceiling and display. MEANING 2: To understand someone's hidden intentions Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To realise, to get the measure of someone Separable? No This second meaning of 'see through' is a slight departure from the literal meaning that we have just looked at, as it does not really involve our eyes at all. The meaning here is 'to understand or realise what a person's hidden intentions are'. Nous commonly used with this application.... Lies Mask Facade Deception Disguise Pretence This meaning is all about deception and pretence. It should only ever be needed if a person is not being genuine or sincere, perhaps because they want to gain something from us or from the relationship. If and when we realise that the person's intentions are not sincere and we understand the true reality of the situation, we can say that we 'see through' them. In addition to seeing through a person, it is also common to use nouns like 'words', disguise', 'pretence', 'lies', 'deception' and 'facade'. The jury immediately saw through the defendant's story in court. I could see through him from the very start. I can't believe that you couldn't!! Lisa saw right through John's clever disguise! Stacey pretended to be nice, but I could see through her fake smile. I saw through John's lies the moment he started making excuses. The boss quickly saw through their plan to manipulate the project deadlines. Kelly thought she could fool me, but I saw through her tricks right away. The teacher saw through her student's excuse for not doing the homework. The suspect tried to act innocent, but the detective easily saw through his act. The audience quickly saw through the politician's empty promises during the debate. MEANING 3: To persevere with something and finish it Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To persevere, to persist, to stick with, to stick something out Separable? Yes In this third meaning we need to change our word order from 'see through something', with the direct object following the verb, to 'see something through', with the direct object now being placed firmly in the middle of the phrasal verb construction. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Project Job / Task Problems / Issues This change of word order and direct object placement gives us a brand new meaning, which is to 'persist or persevere with something until the end'. This is typically used in situations in which you start something that turns out to be more difficult than you originally anticipated and en element of perseverance or persistence is required in order to finish it. Examples of this could be a difficult work project, a romantic relationship that is not going well or a demanding job that you have started. The majority of the time when using 'see something through', the difficult job or situation has already previously been mentioned in the conversation, so we normally only require the pronouns 'it' or 'them'. Also, it is quite common to follow this usage up with the words 'to the end' or 'to completion'. Despite all the challenges, Lucy was determined to see the project through to the end. It won’t be easy, but if we stay focused, we can see this task through . Once I commit to something, I always see it through, no matter how difficult it gets. We need a strong leader who can see this initiative through successfully. I know this is a tough challenge, but let’s see it through together. He had doubts at times, but his passion for the work helped him see it through. My wife and I have been having problems for some time now but we have agreed that we will see them through for the sake of our children. I experienced so many problems when designing my website and I almost gave up but thankfully I persevered and saw it through and now I am a very proud website owner. Lisa has handed in her notice today and will leave at the end of this month but she has promised to see the finance project through to completion before leaving. MEANING 4: To support someone in a difficult time Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To support, to help through, to get through Separable? Yes Our fourth and final meaning of 'see through' is to help and support someone through a difficult period until they are ok again. This is quite similar to the previous meaning that we have just looked at, however rather than seeing something through, in this case the direct object changes from a situation or problem to a person and we see someone through instead. The idea here is that the problem or negative situation is something that will pass with time, however it will be very difficult (or impossible) without other people who support us and help us through to the other side. This support could come in many forms but typically would be giving money, providing emotional support or some other help that we may require until the negative or difficult situation has passed. Alternatively, if we say that something "sees us through", it means that we have enough of it to last for a particular period of time, especially if this period is difficult or challenging in some way. Typically, this could be money, food or something else which we don't want to run out of before we can obtain more of it. I wasn't able to work when I was at university but thankfully my parents paid for my accommodation and saw me through. Hibernating mammals need to store as much fat as possible to see them through the winter. Jenny's best friend saw her through the toughest moments of her life. The charity organisation sees many struggling families through difficult situations. Mel's wife saw him through his illness with unwavering love and care. David's family saw him through his financial struggles with their constant support. 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 'see through'. 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 'see through'. 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 'follow 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. The phrasal verb that we are looking at in this post is 'follow up', which is one that is used frequently by people in business English and by people in their daily working lives. In the post, I will explain the two main ways that it is used by English speakers and provide you with lots of example sentences to show you the kinds of contexts in which we use it. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'follow' and 'up' Meaning 1: To learn more about something Meaning 2: To do something additional Bonus: 'Follow-up' as a noun and an adjective I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS FOLLOW UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 2 Past tense forms Followed up / Followed up Separable? Yes In order to get the best understanding of the ways that we use 'follow up' in English, let's first consider the individual words 'follow' and 'up' and what they mean on their own. I am sure that you are all familiar with 'to follow' but if you need a reminder, it is a verb that means 'to move or travel behind someone / something, taking the same path or route'. We can also use it in a temporal sense to mean 'to come next after something at a future point in time'. It has some less frequently used meanings too, which include 'to obey orders and instructions' and 'to watch something closely over a period of time'. In fact, I'm sure many of you follow people and accounts on social media in this way. Unlike many of the base verbs in phrasal verbs, 'to follow' is regular. Please follow me to the interview room. The jealous husband followed his wife in his car to see where she was going. My cat follows me every time I leave the house. King Charles III followed Queen Elizabeth II as the monarch of the United Kingdom. Which book follows this one in the series? Soldiers in the army are trained to follow orders. I've been following this story on the news for the past few days. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'up', which is perhaps the most commonly used particle in phrasal verb constructions and in its purest sense is used to add ideas of an upward movement or increase to the base verb. Additionally, 'up' can be used to add less obvious ideas to phrasal verbs, which include completion (eat up), creation ( set up ), unexpected events ( turn up ) and improvement (cheer up). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the two ways that we use 'follow up' in English.... MEANING 1: To learn more about something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To find out Separable? Rarely The first of the applications of 'follow up' that we are going to consider in the post is 'to take action in order to learn more about something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Report Story Lead Enquiry At it's core, this application of 'follow up' is one that is just the simple act of seeking more information about something. This is typically when you receive some news or information about a subject or situation and you then contact the people involved in order to obtain more information about it. Most of the time however, we use follow up when we need to take further action in order to gather extra information on a subject or matter, as outlined below. Some typical situations in which this can be demonstrated include the following.... When the police contact people from whom they have received tips and information about crimes that have been committed. When companies collect sales leads at trade shows and exhibitions and contact the potential new customers afterwards. When journalists receive information about news stories and need to contact the people involved in order to gain more information for their articles. Often, with this application we add the extra preposition 'on' to specify the thing that we are learning more about. It is also possible to use the additional preposition 'with' to state the person who you need to contact to ask questions and get information from. I'll follow up on that sales lead and see what more information I can find out. We need to follow up on this report with some deeper research. Don't pay that bill, you should follow it up with the company first and question why it is so high. He promised to follow up with the client to clarify their requirements. The team followed up on the complaint to ensure it was properly resolved. With this first application, although it can be used separably, I would say that 9 times out of 10 we use it in an inseparable way. As I mentioned before, this application is one that is used a lot in the world of work and tends not to be used so much in informal everyday English apart from perhaps to talk about issues or problems that people are experiencing with companies, businesses or services that they pay for. Christine called the customer to follow up on the service request. We need to follow up on that missed deadline and find out what went wrong. The doctor scheduled an appointment to follow up on the patient’s test results. Please follow up on that issue and let me know what happens. MEANING 2: To do something additional Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To add Separable? Yes The second of our two meanings of 'follow up' has some overlap with the first and means 'to do something additional to what we have already done'. To clarify this usage, instead of trying to learn more information, in this application our main objective is rather to continue something that has already started by doing something else that will increase the first action's effect or help it succeed in some way. For example, if you work in an office and you speak to customers on the phone, you may sometimes need to follow up a phone call by sending an email to confirm the details that were discussed during the call. In this example, the communication was started with the phone call and now you add to it by sending an email to clarify, confirm or prompt the other person to act in some way. Another example is when you are applying for a job. Firstly, you send the job application to the company and then you may follow it up with an email to the hiring manager to say thank you or to give additional information about your application. You should note that this application is frequently used in a separable way. The direct object of the 'following up' action is the original first action, which typically goes between 'follow' and 'up'. In order to state the second action, we use the additional preposition 'with'. I sent the customer an email last week and I plan to follow it up with a phone call tomorrow. The manager asked us to follow our initial report up with a more detailed analysis. The company launched a successful campaign last year and are now following up with a nationwide rollout. George followed up his presentation by sending a summary document to all attendees. We should follow our conversation up with a formal proposal. Lucy followed her application up with a thank-you email to the hiring manager. To ensure nothing was missed, I followed up the meeting with a checklist. This application of 'follow up' is not just heard in the business world however and you may often hear it in reference to your favourite singers and authors or to anyone who publishes things for people. If a writer publishes a book and then sometime later puts out a sequel, it is possible to say that they followed the first book up with the second. It is often used in this way when the first published item is famous, renowned or notable in some way. In 1987, Michael Jackson followed his album Thriller up with the album Bad. In a shock move, the romance author followed up her last book with a horror novel about vampires. Lastly, we can use 'follow up' in this way to talk about a situation when you perform one action directly after another or in a series of actions, usually to maximise its impact. When used this way, it can often be heard in reference to sport and competitions. The boxer followed up his sidestep with a series of undercuts. The chef followed up the starter of chicken and lentil kebabs with a main course of satay chicken. Photo: Pexels 'FOLLOW-UP' AS AN ADJECTIVE AND A NOUN If you have ever heard 'follow up' being used in either of the applications that we have already discussed, it is possible that it was as either an adjective or a noun as both of these are used equally as much as their phrasal verb cousin. AS AN ADJECTIVE.... When we use the adjective 'follow-up', it is usually placed before a noun such as 'phone call' or 'meeting' to describe a further action that is connected to a previous one. For example, you might make a follow-up phone call to a customer after you send them an email, or perhaps you have a follow-up meeting with a customer to discuss if all of the actions in your first meeting have been completed and the customer is satisfied. The doctor scheduled a follow-up appointment for the next week. Jill sent a follow-up email to clarify her earlier message. We conducted a follow-up survey to assess customer satisfaction. The follow-up interview provided more detailed information. AS A NOUN.... We tend to use the noun 'follow-up' for a further action that we take linked to a previous action, much like the phrasal verb usages that we have already considered. We typically use this in the same way as the adjective form but as we already know the context, we drop the noun and the word 'follow-up' becomes the noun instead. The manager called me in for a follow-up after our initial meeting. Did you receive a follow-up to the application you submitted? The doctor said I’ll need a follow-up in three months. Jo's presentation was impressive, and the follow-up was even better. 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 'follow 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 'follow 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 'get 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. Today we are looking at another phrasal verb with the extremely common verb 'to get', namely 'get out'. It is likely that you are already familiar with this phrasal verb as it is frequently used by native speakers and in this post we will look at the various different meanings that it has in English, as well as the numerous expressions in which it makes an appearance. So without further ado, let's get started.... MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'get' and 'out' Meaning 1: To leave an enclosed or internal space Meaning 2: The imperative 'get out!' Meaning 3: To remove something Meaning 4: To become publicly known Meaning 5: To say something Meaning 6: To go places and enjoy yourself Meaning 7: To avoid a job, duty or task Meaning 8: To feel the benefit of something Bonus: Common idioms featuring 'get out' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TAKE OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Got Out / Got Out / Gotten Out Separable? Sometimes By way of an introduction to 'get out', let's first examine the words that it consists of and what they mean individually.... As a result of its many different meanings and high frequency of use, the verb 'to get' is one of the verbs that causes English learners the most headaches. You only need to listen to a conversation between native speakers for a couple of minutes to realise just how common it is. Luckily, we can forget about most of the meanings for this post as the relevant one for the phrasal verb 'get out' is 'to reach or arrive at a particular place'. What time will we get to London? Sarah got home late last night. The prepositional particle 'out' also has many meanings in English and can be used to express a large amount of different ideas and concepts. In this post we will focus on just one, namely 'to move from inside something to outside of it'. which leads us nicely to the first meaning of 'get out'.... MEANING 1: To leave an enclosed or internal space Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To leave, to vacate, to exit, to go out Separable? No If you are ever in a situation where an English-speaking person approaches you and tells you to 'get out!', you can be sure that they want you to leave the room or building. This is because perhaps the most common meaning of the phrasal verb 'get out' is this first one, which is 'to leave an enclosed or internal space'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... House / Room / Building Car Way Debt Road In this initial application, 'get out' is more of a literal meaning of the combination of 'get', referring to reaching or arriving at a place, and 'out', in the sense of no longer being inside something. In other words, it means to leave somewhere enclosed and end up outside of it. When used in this way, 'get out' tends either to be used in affirmative sentences with a modal verb, such as 'have to' or 'need to', or with 'let's' when offering a suggestion. I don't think that this building is very safe, let's get out of here. You shouldn't be in this room. You need to get out now! The teacher told me to get out of the classroom. It was too hot in that pub; I had to get out get some fresh air. Moreover, in negative sentences, it is often used to express when we are not able to leave somewhere or have difficulties leaving and is therefore often found in collocation with 'can't' or 'couldn't'. Helen has accidentally locked herself in her bathroom and can't get out. Arthur the cat got in the box and refused to get out of it again! My grandfather finds it difficult to get out of the bath. When I was younger, I was locked in my bedroom and I couldn't get out. Just to make things a bit more complicated, the use of 'get out' is not just limited to places that we are physically inside, but can also be used for any nouns with which we use the preposition 'in' without physically being inside them, such as way, road, trouble or debt. You need to follow these steps if you want to get out of debt. I will get of your way and let you do your work. How are you going to get out of this terrible situation? Please get out of the road. It's not safe to play there. Photo: Pexels THE IMPERATIVE GET OUT!! Moreover, as you can see from the examples above, 'get out!' is very useful in its imperative form and is therefore used very commonly in certain situations. However, I do think that this imperative form is somewhat negative in nature and can often come across as rude, impolite or even threatening. Nonetheless, sometimes it is necessary to use it, in order to prevent a problem or dangerous situation from happening as no other expression works as well in these situations. Get out of my way! What are you doing in my house? Get out or I will call the police! Get out right now! I don't want to see you here ever again! Get out of my pub! MEANING 2: To remove something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Advanced ​Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To remove, to pull out, to take out Separable? Yes This second meaning of 'get out' is actually very similar to the first meaning and is just a change in perspective from ourselves to something else. In the previous meaning, we talked about how it means to leave or exit an interior space and for this one we are removing something else from an interior space, i.e. an object or thing which we want to move so that it is no longer inside something. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Nouns for food and drink Phone Books Plates / Glasses Photos Firstly, on a grammatical note, the main difference between this meaning and the previous one is that it is transitive and therefore needs a direct object, which needs to be placed between 'get' and 'out'. We tend to use this application for two reasons, with the first one being to remove something or someone from an internal space as we do not what it or them to be in there. Again, this usage stretches to cover any nouns for which we use the preposition 'in' and does not only refer to enclosed places or spaces. Can you get the spider out of the bath please? I've dropped my wedding ring down the sink and I can't get it out! The dog fell into the swimming pool and the lifeguard had to jump in and get it out. A wasp landed in my glass of wine and I was not sure how to get it out. Other, less obvious, things that you may want to get out from somewhere are ideas and songs from your head or stains and dirt from clothes and surfaces. Ever since you told me that story, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. This is song is too catchy. I can't get it out of my head!! Despite several washes, I have been able to get these grass stains out of my favourite jeans. Karen scrubbed the wall to get the dirt marks out. Furthermore, we can also apply this usage to people and 'get someone out'. Here, the direct object is a person, in which case it is used to mean either of the following... to help someone who is trapped or stuck in something to escape. to enable someone to escape from somewhere such as prison or captivity. Roger got Helen out of the bathroom by breaking down the locked door. Sarah believes that her husband was wrongly jailed and has been trying to get him out for years. Help, I'm locked in the bathroom. Can someone please come and get me out! The second reason that we use this application is in order to take something out of storage in order to use or consume it. The wine glasses are in that cupboard. Could you get them out for me? Can you get the ice cream out of the freezer please, I really want some. Andrew, would you mind getting the extra chairs out of the cupboard so that our guests can sit down. The cats need to go to the vets later, so I've got the carrier out of the cupboard. Is anyone hungry? I'll get some snacks out if you are. Whenever I visit my parents, they always get the photos of when I was a child out to show to my partner. Photo: Pexels EXTRA INFORMATION TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE It is also possible to use a reflexive pronoun ('myself, yourself, etc.) as the direct object when talking about physically removing ourselves from an interior space or, perhaps more commonly, from a situation that we are in. I don't know how long it is going to take for me to get myself out of debt. Lisa got herself out of a toxic relationship last year and is now much happier. MEANING 3: To become publicly known Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To publish, to spread, to leak Separable? Yes The next meaning of 'get out' that we will consider means 'to become known'. This is not in the sense of becoming famous, but rather when secret or previously private information becomes known to people. Nouns commonly used with this application.... News Story Information Details Secret I think logically this application makes sense as we are talking here about private or censored information, which has 'escaped' and is 'out' of its imaginary confinement, meaning that it is now free and available to everyone. It is very common for this usage of 'get out' to be heard with the word 'word' instead of 'information'. Another way that you might come across this usage is in the construction 'it got out that...'. See the below examples. Somehow the secret about Helen's private party has got out and now everybody wants to come. We need to keep this from the press. If word gets out about this, it will destroy our reputation. Despite our best efforts to keep it a secret, the news of our engagement eventually got out. Once the truth got out, the company had no choice but to issue a public apology. Ryan was furious when he realised that his personal information had got out. Rumours about the celebrity breakup got out before the couple could make an official statement. The politician tried to cover up the scandal, but the word got out to the press. MEANING 4: To say something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To say, to speak, to spit out, to utter Separable? Yes Our fourth meaning of 'get out' is 'to say something' and is actually often used when we are not able to speak. When we use this application, we are referring specifically to language and the words that we use. 'To get words out' is just a lengthy way of saying 'to say'. We tend to use this application when the words that we are trying to say are difficult for some reason, meaning that we struggle to say them or we are not able to say them at all. This could be because you are physically unable to say the words due to a medical condition or it could be through stress or worry that you may offend someone or cause an argument. In spoken English, you are likely to hear this usage in the expressions 'get the words out' or the simpler version 'get it out'. Ben was so shocked by the news that he could barely get any words out. Emma took a deep breath and finally got the words out. I was struggling to get the words out through my tears. It was difficult, but he managed to get out the right words and his Mum hugged him. I knew Steve had something to say, but he just couldn’t seem to get it out. Becky stammered a few times before finally getting it out. Mike tried to explain, but he couldn’t get it out properly. I wanted to tell him the truth, but I just couldn’t get it out. Photo: Pexels EXTRA INFORMATION TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE If we are ever in a situation where we want someone to give us information that is secret or withheld and the person is unwilling to give it, we can say that ' we are unable to get it out of them '. We only tend to use this expression when the information is not given freely by the person to begin with and so we need to encourage or pressure them to share it with us. The detectives questioned the suspect for six hours about who committed the crime but they were unable to get it out of him. My brother refused to tell me what my parents had got me for my birthday but I got it out of him in the end. MEANING 5: To go to places and enjoy yourself Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go out Separable? No This next usage of 'get out' means to leave your house in order to go to places and have enjoyable experiences. It is quite similar to the phrasal verb 'go out', meaning to leave your house and / or socialise with people, however whilst we can use 'go out' to talk about specific times e.g. " I go out every Friday night ", we cannot use 'get out' here. The reason being is that this application of 'get out' is normally used to talk in a general way, rather than about specific instances. In other words, we use it to refer to the idea of going out to different places, rather than a specific time when you go to the cinema or to the beach. In terms of usage, this application of 'get out' tends to be used mostly in negative sentences and occasionally in questions. Moreover, from this, we get the common expression " I don't get out much ", which is often used in a humorous way when someone does something embarrassing or awkward in a social situation and they want to be self deprecating. Moreover, it is also quite common to add the additional words 'and about', giving us ' to get out and about' , which gives the added implication that the person moves around from place to place. Ever since I've had a baby, I've not got out much. You need to stop playing computer games and get out and about a bit more! After being stuck inside all week, I finally got out for a walk. Beth doesn’t get out much because of her busy work schedule. I need to get out of the house and clear my head. We decided to get out and explore the city over the weekend. It’s important to get out and about and meet new people. Now that the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, everyone is eager to get out again. If it's nice, I might get out for a walk later. MEANING 6: To avoid a job, duty or task Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To avoid, to shirk Separable? No I've purposely left these last two meanings of 'get out' to the end as they both require the additional preposition 'of' to achieve their meaning. Nouns & gerunds commonly used with this application.... Meeting Job / Work Housework / Chore Party Going / Working / Doing The first of these two means 'to avoid doing a job, duty or task that you are supposed to do'. This could be work, a social engagement, an event that you have been invited to or an action that you have to carry out. The idea here is that another person wants (or expects) you to do something, but you don't want to, so therefore you need to find an excuse for not doing it. On a grammatical note, this application of 'get out of' is either followed by a noun or by the a verb in its gerund ('ing) form. I'm so sorry that I can't come to your party tomorrow. I have an important work meeting and I can't get out of it. Is there any way you can get out of going to the the theatre tonight? Peter always finds a way to get out of doing the housework. Natalie pretended to be sick to get out of going to the meeting. I can’t believe you managed to get out of that boring family dinner! Bill tried to get out of paying the bill, but they caught him. Trudie made an excuse to get out of helping with the project. I wish I could get out of working this weekend but there's no way I'll be able to. Richard used a fake emergency to get out of a date that wasn't going very well. MEANING 7: To feel the benefit of something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced ​Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To get pleasure from, to take pleasure in, to delight in Separable? Always This final usage of 'get out' that we will cover also requires the additional preposition 'of' and means to feel the benefit of doing something'. In other words, to obtain something good or positive as a result of performing an action. Another way that we could say this is 'to get something out of something'. Most frequently, this refers to a good feeling, burst of energy or pleasure that we get after performing an action. Some people, including me, get this from doing exercise, while others may get a lot out of giving presentations at work or helping to look after sick people. I don’t think Andrew got much out of the book because he wasn’t really paying attention while reading it. I still do yoga every day because I get a lot out of it. I quit my part time job as I stopped enjoying and apart from the extra money, I wasn't getting much out of it. This pleasurable sensation is sometimes called a 'buzz' or a 'kick', which gives us the common expressions 'to get a kick out of something' and 'to get a buzz out of something, which both mean 'to get a good feeling as a consequence of doing something'. My boss is so rude and horrible to all of us. I swear he gets a buzz out of it. I get a kick out of teaching English and watching their skills improve. My mum volunteers with a charity for elderly people and she really gets a kick out of helping them. In addition to positive feelings, this application of 'get out' is also used to talk about benefits and positive things that we get after as a result of doing something. These can range from knowledge and skills to confidence and peace of mind and I sincerely hope that you English learners get a lot out of my posts! Amy really got a lot out of that leadership seminar; it really boosted her confidence and skills. You’ll get more out of the course if you actively participate in discussions. I always get a sense of peace out of meditation—it helps me relax. They got so much out of their trip to Japan, both culturally and personally. Photo: Pexels IDIOM ALERT! COMMON IDIOMS FEATURING 'GET OUT' Before we wrap up this blog post, there are a few very common expressions with 'get out' that I want to cover..... To get something out of the way - We use this expression when we have to do something unpleasant, boring or stressful in the future and we want it to be over, so that we can stop worrying about it. It could also be used in situations when we are looking forward to something and we want the time to pass quickly between now and then. Examples of this could be when you have a work meeting planned, which you are worried about and you want it to be over so that you can relax. Another would be that you are going on holiday next week, so you just want this week at work to pass quickly. I just need to get today out of the way and then I can go on vacation! Sandra can't wait to get her Dad's funeral out of the way, so she can begin to move on. To get out of hand - If a situation gets out of hand, it means that it has become difficult to control or it has become uncontrollable. The party was going well until a few people got too drunk and things started to get out of hand. A get-out clause - This is something that is often written into official agreements and contracts with the purpose of allowing someone to get out of doing something if a certain situation occurs. This is often used in business English but has also found its way into colloquial everyday English too. Is there a get-out clause in this contract? 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 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 'get 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 'bring up' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences 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. This post is all about the phrasal verb 'bring up', which has very varied and diverse meanings, especially compared to some of the recent phrasal verbs that I have covered such as ' look at ' and ' take over '. In this post we will consider the different meanings that it has and also look at some common expressions that it is used in. So let's not beat around the bush* any longer and let's get started.... *'To beat around the bush' is an idiom that means to talk about things that are not important and not get to the point. TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'bring' and 'up' Meaning 1: Literal Meaning 2: To raise a child Bonus: Some additional information for you Meaning 3: To introduce a topic into a conversation Meaning 4: To vomit Meaning 5: To cause to appear on a screen Meaning 6: To come to a sudden stop Meaning 7: To update or improve Bonus: To bring up the rear I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS BRING UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Brought up / Brought up Separable? Yes As I mentioned at the beginning, 'bring up' is a phrasal verb with very diverse meanings and consists of the verb 'to bring', meaning to take something to a place with you, and the prepositional particle 'up', meaning a movement in the direction away from the ground or towards the sky ↑. I know from experience of teaching English that the verb 'to bring' can often be confused with the related verb 'to take'. The difference between these two verbs is mainly to do with the position of the speaker and the direction of movement. Both verbs can mean to carry something to a place. If the object is carried towards them, we use 'to bring' and if the object is carried away from where they are when they are speaking, we use 'to take'. Can you bring me some water please? (Here the speaker is not moving and wants the water to come to them, where they are speaking.) I will take some sandwiches with me to work tomorrow. (Here, the speaker is going to move from where they are speaking to go to work and the sandwiches will go with them.) The above is just a brief overview of the differences between these two verbs and more detailed explanations are available elsewhere online. I just wanted to make you aware of the main differences here before we look at the phrasal verb meanings. So, without further ado, let's check them out.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take up, to bring, to take Separable? Yes To start things off, let's consider the literal meaning of the phrasal verb 'bring up', which is commonly used by native speakers to express the idea of transporting something to a place that is relatively higher than where they are. This application is typically used when someone is upstairs in a house or building or in a higher physical position than the person who they are talking to and they want him or her to bring them something. Could you bring up the boxes from the basement? I've asked Mike to bring up my suitcase to the attic. Linda brought up the laundry basket from the ground floor. The waiter brought up the food to our hotel room. We need to bring up the chairs from the storage room for the party. On a grammatical note, one thing to note here is that we normally insert the object pronoun such as me, him, her, them etc. between 'bring' and 'up'. I think this literal meaning is quite easy and straightforward to understand, so we'll move on to the next meanings but before we go, here are a couple of examples to illustrate usage.... Can you bring me up some water when you come to bed? As it is your birthday tomorrow, I will bring you up some breakfast in bed. MEANING 2: To raise a child Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To raise, to rear Separable? Yes The first non-literal meaning of 'bring up' that we will consider is similar to the common phrasal verb ' grow up ', but while 'grow up' simply refers to the process of growing from a child to an adult, we use 'bring up' to talk about how our parents (or primary caregivers), actively look after and teach a child during the growing up process. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Son / Daughter Child / Children Kid Grandson / Granddaughter / Children This can be used to talk about where we lived during our childhood, as well as the beliefs and values that we were taught during this time. It is used by native speakers commonly in both an active and a passive sense alike. In the active sense, we are talking about the parents or caregivers who are the subjects of the verb and in the passive sense we talk about ourselves or other people and what was taught and experienced during the growing up process. My parents brought me up to always say please and thank you and to treat everyone with respect. He was brought up in an orphanage and never knew his birth parents. Lisa managed to bring up four children all by herself after her husband tragically died. Mary worked hard to bring up her children on her own. John and Sue brought up their kids to be kind and respectful. Parents should bring up their children with good values. My friend was brought up in a strict household. Photo: Pexels SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR YOU.... Did you know that there is a noun that is derived from this application of 'bring up'? The noun 'upbringing' is used to refer to how a person was treated, educated and shaped when they were growing up, or in other words, how they were brought up. I had a very strict upbringing and so I have tried to be a little more relaxed with my own children. What was your upbringing like? Kathy's strict upbringing instilled in her a strong sense of discipline and responsibility. Despite his humble upbringing, Jason worked hard and became a successful entrepreneur. In addition to this useful noun, there are also a couple of other expressions that feature this usage of 'bring up' that I want to make you aware of.... Were you brought up in a barn? This rhetorical question is a variation of " Were you born in a barn ?" and is used to criticise someone who leaves a door open in a room, particularly if it is cold or draughty. Were you brought up or dragged up? This is another rhetorical question which can be aimed at someone who doesn't behave well, implying that their parents did not teach them how to behave properly when they were growing up. Both of the above expressions are normally used in a humorous way and are not meant to cause offence, however it could be offensive if said in an unfriendly way, or if you do not have the right sort of relationship with the person, so I would recommend only using this with people with whom you have a good relationship. MEANING 3: To introduce into a topic into conversation Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To introduce, to raise, to mention Separable? Yes Our next meaning of 'bring up' is very different to the previous one that we've just looked at and means 'to introduce a topic or subject of discussion into a conversation'. Nous commonly used with this application.... Subject Topic Point Argument Issue The idea behind this is that the person who brings the subject up, does so intentionally, i.e. the subject did not enter into the discussion by chance but because somebody wanted to discuss it. (By the way, if a subject enters into a conversation naturally, then the phrasal verb 'come up' (link here ) would be applicable.) This can be heard often in business English, especially in reference to meetings and agendas for subjects that need to be discussed. It is also equally common to use it outside of the business world, when talking about general conversations or discussions. I've made a note of the issue and I will bring it up at the next management meeting. Why did you have to bring that up in front of my parents?! You know their views on the subject! I didn't want to bring up the funeral yesterday as I could see that you were already upset. Anna brought up an interesting point during the debate. I didn’t want to bring up the argument from yesterday, so I kept quiet. Nick always brings up politics at family dinners. The teacher brought up the importance of time management. Let’s not bring up that embarrassing story again! MEANING 4: To vomit Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Rare Separable Yes Potential synonyms To vomit, to puke, to throw up, to barf, to be sick, to cough up Separable? Yes Out fourth application of 'bring up' means 'to vomit or to be sick'*. Although this is not the most pleasant of meanings, it happens to us all at some point and is therefore worth covering! Nouns commonly used with this application.... Food / Drink Alcohol Blood Bile Phlegm When we use this application of 'bring up', the focus is not so much on the vomiting action itself, but rather on what is being expelled from the stomach and could be for example blood, poison or something that you have swallowed that you should not have. It is also possible to use 'bring up' in this sense with coughing, for example with phlegm. We can also use the more specific phrasal verb 'to cough up' here as a synonym. The baby brought up some milk after feeding. Kate had food poisoning and kept bringing up her dinner. After drinking too much, Jack ran to the bathroom to bring up his drinks. The motion sickness made Marianne bring up her breakfast. The dog was very sick and was bringing up lots of blood but luckily it was not life-threatening and he has made a full recovery now. My 3-year old son swallowed a small toy part but he brought it up again shortly afterwards before any harm was done. *As a side note, don't forget that 'to be sick' in English can mean to have an illness or disease and also to vomit. The context is key here to understand which one we mean. Meaning 5: To cause to appear on a screen Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To open Separable? Yes Our next meaning of 'bring up' is one that has become MUCH more widespread over the last few decades as it is used particularly with IT and computers and means 'to cause something to appear on your screen'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Document Spreadsheet File Picture Website Menu Results This application is normally used when we click on something to open it, such as a document or web page, but is also used extremely commonly when talking about the results of a search on a search engine (naming no names, you know the ones I'm talking about!). If you right click with your mouse, it will bring up a menu. Can you bring up the results of the test on your screen for me? When I looked up the question online it brought lots of irrelevant results up. Press this button to bring up the settings menu. Can you bring up the document on your laptop? Meaning 6: To come to a sudden stop Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop, to halt, to pull over Separable? Yes This sixth meaning of 'bring up' is a rarer one than some of the meanings that we have already covered and means 'to cause a vehicle to come to a sudden stop'. This is especially used for cars, but could be used for all types of vehicles, including boats, where it is specifically used for dropping an anchor in order to stop it. They decided to bring up the ship in the harbour for the night due to the bad weather. The driver brought up the car just before the red light. IDIOM ALERT! I think that this is a good time to introduce an idiom with 'bring up' that is linked to this particular meaning. The idiom 'to bring someone up short' is a fairly common expression that is used to express when someone stops what they are doing because something has surprised or shocked them. I was having a productive day yesterday until an email from my boss brought me up short. MEANING 7: To update or improve Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To update, to modernise, to improve Separable? Yes This seventh and final meaning of 'bring up' that I wanted to include in the post is when it is used to describe the process of updating or improving something. This is typically expressed by way of two different set expressions: 'to bring someone up to date' and 'to bring someone up to speed'. When we use it to talk about updating (bring up to date), we can mean updating a machine, a product, a building or anything else which can be modernised so that it is as current as possible. Moreover, we can also use it to mean updating a person (bring up to speed), so that they have all of the most recent information about a given topic or situation. A third, rarer, set expression exists with this application, which is 'to bring something up to standard'. This can also be used in reference to improving something (often, incidentally, by modernising it) so that certain standards are met. The interior designers are planning to bring the interior of the castle up to date. I had a meeting with Roger earlier and he brought me up to speed with everything that I missed whilst I was on holiday. The teaching in the school was very poor, so a team was sent there to bring it up to standard. Can you bring me up to date on the latest project developments? The company is bringing its software up to date with new features. Kelly brought the team up to date on the changes in the schedule. I need to bring my knowledge up to date with the latest technology trends. The teacher brought the students up to date on the recent discoveries in science. Photo: Pexels IDIOM: TO BRING UP THE REAR Before I finish the post, I just want to give you a bonus expression featuring our phrasal verb of choice 'bring up'. The expression in question is 'to bring up the rear' and is quite appropriate to have at the end of this post as it means to be the last one of a group or category. This is most often used when talking about the last people in a queue, line or group of people who are going somewhere. The slowest hikers brought up the rear of the group. In the marathon, Jamie struggled but managed to bring up the rear. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on it and reading it. I hope that you found it useful and have been able to learn something new. 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 'bring 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 with your English-learning friends. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'take 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. In this post we are looking at the phrasal verb 'to take over', which is commonly used in business English and in the workplace. There are several different meanings that we will look at in this post, however as you will see, the overall themes of this phrasal verb are replacement and control. So without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'take' and 'over' Meaning 1: Literal meaning Meaning 2: To take control Meaning 3: To become the most important or most dominant Bonus: Extra tips to sound like a native speaker I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TAKE OVER: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Took over / Taken over Separable? Yes Our nominated phrasal verb this week consists of the extremely common verb 'to take' followed by the particle 'over'. The verb 'to take' is a widely used English verb which has various meanings, but the meanings that are significant for the idiomatic meanings of the phrasal verb 'take over' are... To voluntarily get or acquire possession of something. To carry or transport something from one place to another. John took the flowers off the table. Can everyone please take a copy and pass them on. My Mum is taking me to the airport today. Please could you take this carton to the warehouse. Like 'take', the prepositional particle 'over' also has a few different meanings in English, including to move across or above a surface (preposition / adverb) and to be finished (adjective). Both of these are relevant to the meanings of the phrasal verb, which we will look at now. When used in phrasal verbs, the particle 'over' can convey different meanings, such as transfer (hand over), excess (boil over), overcoming ( get over ) and thoroughness (read over). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'take over'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bring over, to take, to take across, to deliver, to transfer Separable? Yes The phrasal verb construction 'take over' is used regularly by English speakers in a literal sense to mean taking something or somebody from one place to another, which the speaker perceives as being across from where they are. The meaning of 'take' which applies here is the meaning 'to carry something or someone from one place to another' and the preposition 'over' then adds a directional element to mean across from where the speaker is. Typical examples of this literal usage could be.... To take a document across an office to another person. To give someone a lift in your car from one place to another. To take something and deliver it somewhere. The main idea here is that someone takes someone or something to another place, which is perceived by the speaker to be across or over from where they are. If the speaker perceives that the other place is below or above them (e.g. on a different floor in a building), it is more likely that they will use "take down" or "take up" instead. In some situations, the verbs 'to deliver' and 'to transfer' both serve as synonyms of this application. When used in this way, it is very common to use it separably with the direct object between 'take' and 'over'. Also, don't forget the preposition 'to' is required to state the end destination. John left his book here when he went back to Australia, so I said I would take it over with me the next time I go. Can you take this file over to the CEO's office and ask her to sign it for me. I am taking Lisa over to her mum's house today as her car isn't working. Sally asked me to take the books over to the library before it closed. I'll take the food over to Grandma's house this evening. They took the supplies over to the shelter after the storm. I've already taken the package over to the post office, so don't worry about it. MEANING 2: To take control Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take charge of, to take control, to take on Separable? Sometimes The first of the idiomatic meanings of 'take over' in this post is certainly the most commonly used among native speakers and means to take or to assume control of something from another person or entity. In the business world the phrasal verb 'take over' is commonly used to talk about when one company purchases or acquires another company and therefore takes control of it. It is also very common to use the noun 'takeover' here instead of the verb. You may have heard the term 'acquisition' before, which is a synonym of the noun 'takeover'. Company X has recently taken over company Y and as a result the share price has gone through the roof. Company Z has recently been taken over and many of its employees have been made redundant. Despite the shareholder's attempts to stop it, the company takeover is still going ahead this month. We also use 'take over' to talk about when one employee in a business assumes another person of authority's job role, in other words they assume a role of responsibility or control from another person. A similar phrasal verb that can be used here is "to take on", however "take over" indicates that the person's new role is one of authority and control e.g. a manager or a director. Don't forget that the preposition 'as' is required here to say what the new role is. A third variation of how 'take over' can be used in the world of business is specifically to do with shift work. In businesses and organisations which operate around the clock (24/7) and in which employees do shift work, we can use 'take over' to talk about when one person's shift ends and another employee starts their shift and replaces them. For this usage, the preposition 'from' is required to talk about the person who you are replacing. Roger is leaving the company next month and so Helen is taking over his role as head of Finance. John starts his shift at 7pm, so he will be taking over from Tim who finishes then. Away from the business world, 'take over' is also used in other contexts and situations to mean to take control of something. Examples could include when one country invades another country and takes control of it or when a person's emotions become too intense and they can no longer control themselves from breaking down or crying. After the accident I was so scared but then my adrenaline took over and I did what I had to do to make sure that everyone was safe. In addition to the usage above, we can also use 'take over' to mean that something or someone becomes dominant in a situation. Good examples of this would be when someone dominates a conversation or when a bossy person starts to give out orders and take control in a situation. This gives us a nice segue into the third meaning, which is very similar. As soon as Helen joined the conversation, she completely took over and nobody else was able to say anything! MEANING 3: To become the most important or most dominant Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To dominate, to become dominant Separable? No So, we have already considered how 'take over' is commonly used to mean 'to take control' and this second meaning is actually very similar to it. Here, 'take over' means to become the most important or dominant in a given category or group. This usage is often seen when talking about lists of the best, worst, biggest, smallest, richest etc and can therefore be seen across many different subject areas as diverse as sport, music and business. 'Take over' is used specifically to talk about when there is a change and someone or something new is in first position, effectively taking over first place in the list. Again, the prepositions 'as' and 'from' are required here in the same way as the first usage above. India will soon take over from Japan as the world's third largest economy. I remember when Manchester United took over as the top football team in the country. Melbourne has recently taken over Sydney as Australia's most populous city. Photo: Pexels EXTRA TIPS TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER An alternative synonym to this second meaning of 'take over' is the verb 'to overtake'. One of the main uses of this verb is to talk about when something takes over something else to become the first in its category, as discussed above. Unlike 'take over' though, when we use 'overtake' we need to have a direct object to state who or what was previously in front and has now been overtaken. The preposition 'as' is still required here but 'from' is not required as we have a direct object. India will soon overtake Japan as the world's third largest economy. Melbourne has recently overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city. The second main use of 'overtake' is used when driving and means to move past a car that is in front of you by driving around it, normally because it is going too slowly. Again, this carries the same meaning as the third meaning of 'take over' i.e. to move past something and be in front of it. The car in front was driving very slowly, so I decided to overtake it. The rules of overtaking in Formula 1 racing are being reviewed. 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 'take 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 'take 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

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'turn' 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. The phrasal verb 'turn down' is a commonly used phrasal verb that has several idiomatic meanings used in everyday English. In addition, there are also some specific situations in which we can use it. We will look at all of them in turn over the course of this post, so let's not put it off any longer and let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'turn' and 'down' Meaning 1: To reduce the intensity of something Meaning 2: To refuse or reject Meaning 3: To decrease Bonus: The noun 'downturn' Meaning 4: To fold or face downward Bonus: Some additional meanings Bonus: Turndown service I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TURN DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Turned down / Turned down Separable? Yes Although I am sure that you are already familiar with the phrasal verb 'turn down', it is always a good idea to look at the individual words as a starting point, as these can often help us understand some of the idiomatic meanings of phrasal verbs. Firstly, we have the verb 'to turn'. This is a verb with a few different meanings, including to move in a circular path, to change direction or to change and become something else. I think that the overarching (main) idea of the verb 'to turn' though is a change of position or state. Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'down', which can be used as an adverb and a preposition and broadly means be in, or to move towards, a lower position or place ⬇️ (from a higher one). So, now that we are familiar with the words, let's check out the different meanings that we have in English when we combine these two words to get the phrasal verb 'turn down'.... MEANING 1: To reduce the intensity of something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reduce, to lower, to decrease Commonly used with Volume, heat, music, television Our first meaning of the phrasal verb 'turn down' is to reduce the intensity of the output of an item of equipment, such as a television, a heating system or a radio. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Volume Heat Music Television Lights When we turn something down, we ultimately want the amount of energy produced by the equipment to be lower, for example because a television is too loud, an oven is too hot or a light is too bright. As you may have already worked out, this meaning of 'turn down' originated from the action of adjusting switches or controls by turning them from a higher setting or number to a lower one. 'Turn down' is a separable phrasal verb and is used very commonly in separable form by native speakers, often with the pronoun 'it' when we have already mentioned the equipment. Note that there is no change in meaning between the separable and inseparable form. Your music is so loud! Can you turn it down please? It was like a sauna in here earlier, so I turned the heating down. Bring the liquid to the boil, then slightly turn down the heat before adding the pasta. John turned down the brightness on his phone to save battery. MEANING 2: To refuse or reject something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Separable Yes Potential synonyms ​To refuse, to reject, to decline Used commonly with Invitation, application, offer, job Another extremely common meaning of 'turn down' is one that you are likely to come across in everyday English and means to refuse, reject or not accept something. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Invitation / Invite Application Offer Job Broadly speaking, there are two different ways in which 'turn down' can be used here. The first is when you actively decide to refuse something such as an invitation or an offer. An example of this could be that you are offered a job, however it is in another city and you are not prepared to move house, so you decide to not accept the job, or in other words, you turn it down. Other situations in which this meaning is commonly used would be when you do not accept an invitation to a party, social event or an offer of a place at a university. The second way that 'turn down' is frequently used in English as a way of rejecting something is in the passive sense, i.e. when you apply for something and your application is rejected or turned down. Using the example of a job application again, imagine that you apply for the job of your dreams, however you receive a response from the company advising you that your job application has not been successful. In other words, your application has been turned down. Hopefully you will never be in the above situation, but if you are, it is worth remembering that 'turn down' is quite informal and companies are more likely to say that your " application has not been successful " in their communication to you (as in the above example). Other synonyms that companies may use as an alternative to "turned down", could be "rejected" or "denied". We are more likely to use "turn down" when telling our friends and family about it in a more informal setting. Remember that in the passive form, it is not possible to use 'turned down' separably. Unfortunately I have to turn down the kind invitation to your wedding as I will be on vacation on that date. I turned down the offer of a job promotion as I didn't want the extra stress that it would bring. Our application to build an extension on our house has been turned down by the planning office. Eleanor turned down the job offer because the salary wasn’t high enough. Roger asked Lisa out on a date, but she turned him down. The company turned down our proposal for a business partnership. I regretfully had to turn down the invitation because I was too busy. The bank turned down Nigel's loan application due to bad credit. Photo: Pexels EXTRA TIPS TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER When using "turn down" in the passive sense, as mentioned above, it is also very common to use the construction 'to get turned down' instead of the more standard 'to be turned down'. This is common usage among native speakers in spoken English, although I would say that this is perhaps even more informal than 'be turned down'. My army application got turned down because I am not fit enough! What will you do if the application gets turned down? MEANING 3: To decrease Photo: Freepik CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​to decline, to decrease Separable? No A much rarer meaning of 'turn down' is used specifically to mean a decline or a decrease in the rate of something. This is most frequently used to talk about the stock market, but can also be used to talk about birth and death rates, rates of diseases (e.g. Covid-19) or rates of unemployment. Generally speaking, it could be used with anything that can be plotted on a line graph (showing a decline). Please note that this usage of 'turn down' is not separable. Investors will lose money if the market turns down. The stock market turned down sharply in the wake of the disappointing earnings report. Shares of the company turned down following the news of regulatory issues. After several months of growth, the tech sector began to turn down due to economic uncertainty. Investors panicked as the index turned down amid rising inflation concerns. Photo: Pexels THE NOUN 'DOWNTURN' The reason that I wanted to include this rarer usage of 'turn down' on this post is because it also has a corresponding noun, 'downturn', which is used much more commonly in everyday English than its verb counterpart. Like the verb, 'downturn' is commonly used by native speakers to describe declines in activities and rates, especially across the business and economics world. In the year 2020 there was a sharp downturn in the world's major economies as the Covid pandemic struck. MEANING 4: To fold or face downward CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To fold, to fold over, to turn over, to face downward Separable? Yes This fourth usage of 'turn down' means to fold something, i.e. to bend something, such as paper or cloth, so that a part of it rests on top of the other. 'Turn down' can be used as a synonym of 'fold' specifically when we are folding the top part of piece of paper in a downward direction, so that it covers a part or all of the top surface. This could be done to hide what is on the paper or to act as a marker. A prime example of this is when people turn down the top corner of a page in a book that they are reading, so that they know which page they last read. This isn't such a common usage, but it is still worth being aware of it. Another way that 'turn down' is used is when you turn something over, such as a piece of paper or a playing card, so that the detail or the information on it is now facing downwards and is not visible to people. This is used a lot in card games. It is also common to use 'turned down' in an adjective form to describe cards that are facing downwards. I hate it when people turn down the page corners of their books! Why can't they use a bookmark?! All of the cards must be turned down at the start of the game. James turned down the pages of the book to mark his place. The waiter turned down the edges of the tablecloth to keep it neat. Photo: Pexels SOME ADDITIONAL MEANINGS FOR YOU.... An extra way that native speakers use the phrasal verb 'turn down' that you may hear in everyday conversation is when giving directions or talking about a journey. Often when referring to roads and streets, native speakers will use the prepositions 'up' and 'down' to talk about a movement along them (as far as I know, there is no difference between them, it is just something that we do 🤷‍♂️). When talking about turning from one road onto another and also sometimes then driving along it, it is very common to hear native speakers say things like " turn down that road " or " turn down the first road on the left for 100 metres ". Photo: Pexels HAVE YOU EVER HAD TURNDOWN SERVICE? Before ending this post, I just want to make you aware of one last usage of 'turn down' that you may come across , especially when staying in hotels. Turndown service is where hotel staff enter a guest's room whilst they are out and prepare it for them by making the bed and sometimes even leaving a mint or small chocolate on the guest's pillow. The end result is that the bed is nice and fresh for the guest when they come to sleep in it that evening. 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 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 'turn 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 'go on' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences 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. 'Go on' is a really common phrasal verb in English. and we use it in a lot of different ways. During my research for the post I realised just how many uses that it has, so it is no surprise that it is one of the most common phrasal verbs in everyday use in the English language. This is a long post, so please stick with it and hopefully you will learn some new ways to use this versatile little construction. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'go' and 'on' Meaning 1: Literal Bonus: Going on stage or on a sports field Meaning 2: To continue Bonus: The imperative 'go on!' Meaning 3: To happen Meaning 4: To talk a lot Meaning 5: To pass (time) Meaning 6: To start working Bonus: A couple of additional uses I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GO ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 9 Past tense forms Went on / Gone on Separable? No To begin with, let's take a look at the words which make up the phrasal verb 'go on', as this can often provide valuable insight into the more abstract and figurative meanings of a phrasal verb. Firstly, we have the super common verb 'to go', meaning to travel or move to another place. In addition to it's main usage denoting movement, 'to go' can also be used to mean to leave, to change state and to suit something, among many others. In addition, we also use the verb 'to go' to form the 'going to' future tense. Besides its large number of meanings and functions in English, it is worth noting that 'to go' is one of the most irregular verbs in the English language. I am going to Spain tomorrow. Who is going to the party? This bus goes from Edinburgh to Glasgow. It's time for me to go home now. Sue went crazy when she saw the mess in her kitchen. That coat goes well with your shoes. Then, we have the preposition 'on', which, when used as an adverb and preposition, means to be physically in contact and supported by something. In phrasal verb constructions, 'on' can add various different meanings and nuances and these include continuation ( carry on ), progress (move on), motivation (cheer on) and connection (turn on). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the real reason that you are here, which is the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'go on'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To get on, to travel on, to ride Separable? No For the first meaning of 'go on' in this post, we are focussing on the literal meaning that we get when we combine these two words, which is to travel to a place whilst being on something, e.g. a bus or train. Nous commonly used with application.... Bus / Train / Airplane Fairground ride / Roller coaster Diet Internet / Website / Radio / TV Journey / Trip Holiday / Vacation / Sabbatical This literal application of 'go on' is used specifically to talk about being 'on' something as it moves from one place to another. This may be a form of public transport like a bus or an air plane (not a car though as we travel in a car), or it can also be used for something that moves but does not travel to a different place such as a fairground ride or a roller coaster. The kids were excited to go on the boat trip. John isn't driving to work tomorrow; he is going on the train instead. We went on the roller coaster even though it looked scary. I don’t think I’ll go on the Ferris wheel—I’m afraid of heights. GO ON vs GET ON You should note that when talking about a physical movement to an end point or destination that is on something, we use 'get on' to describe this transitional action. Consider the examples below: My car has broken down , so I have to go on the bus to work tomorrow. I have broken my leg, so I found it very difficult to get on the bus. In the first example 'go on' is used as the person is talking about travelling on the bus for the entire journey from their home to their work. In the second option 'get on' is needed as the person is referring to the physical movement from the street onto the bus. We tend to use 'go on' to refer to the state of being on something, rather than the movement from the ground on to it. We can also use this literal application of 'go on' for nouns that do not move but for which we use 'on', such as the radio, television, the internet. The charity workers are going on local radio to promote their next event. I remember the first time I went on this website. Additionally, it should be noted that 'go on' is often also used to talk about a change of state or to start an activity e.g. 'to go on a diet' or 'to go on holiday'. That's it, I've put on too much weight, so I am going on a diet after Christmas. When do you go on holiday to Portugal? My grandparents go on a day trip to the south coast every year. We are going on a journey tomorrow. Photo: Pexels GOING ON STAGE OR ON A SPORTS FIELD There are a couple of specific situations in which 'go on' is used literally by native speakers and the meaning of this is often derived from the context. The first means to go on to a stage to begin a performance, so it is used to talk about actors, musicians, comedians or anyone giving a performance on a stage. This is used specifically for when someone's performance begins and not for when someone just walks onto a stage for non-performance purposes. Whilst you can use the full expression 'go on stage', when the context is known, it is possible to drop the word 'stage', leaving just 'go on. I go on in 5 minutes, so I don't have time to talk. What time do you go on this afternoon? The second situation is when a sports player goes on to a field in order to start playing a game. This is more common when they join after the game has started in order to replace another team member, as a substitute. This is commonly used with team games such as football, rugby and American football. The substitute striker went on in the 88th minute and scored the winning goal. MEANING 2: To continue Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To continue, to keep on, to keep going, to persist, to carry on Separable? No The first idiomatic usage of 'go on' in this post is one of the most common usages that we will look at and means 'to continue'. Sometimes, this can be to talk about a state or specific action which continues in the same way as before, without specifying what the state or action is. In these cases we often add the words 'in this way' or 'like this/that' after 'go on'. I haven't had a job for several months now. I can't go on like this for much longer! How much longer do you think we can go on in this way? The people are in a desperate situation and they cannot go on like that for much longer. After a short break, the meeting went on as planned. Alternatively, it is also very common to specify what the action is that will continue. This is often, but not always, after a temporary pause in the action. On a grammatical note, when stating the action that is continuing, you need to use the 'ing' progressive form when it is a verb. If the thing that is continuing is a noun, we need the additional preposition 'with'. I intend to go on learning Mandarin until I am completely fluent. Are you just going to go on working there for the rest of your life? I've injured my knee and I need to rest but I intend to go on running when it is better. Please go on with your story; I want to hear what happens next. He paused for a moment, then went on speaking. The teacher went on with her explanation, even though some students looked confused. Photo: Pexels THE IMPERATIVE 'GO ON!' 'Go on' is commonly used as an imperative to ask someone to continue what they are saying, especially if the person pauses what they are saying temporarily or if they are taking a long time to say it and the other person is impatient to hear the information. Moreover, 'go on!' is also used extremely commonly by native speakers as a way of encouraging someone to do something, particularly if the other person expresses doubts or is reluctant in some way. MEANING 3: To happen Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To happen, to take place Separable? No This next meaning of 'go on' means 'to happen' or 'to take place' and is really commonly used, so I am sure that you will have heard it many times in conversations. This usage of 'go on' is often used in the progressive or continuous form, however it is also possible to use it with simple and perfect aspect tenses. Moreover, I think that this version of 'go on' is used most commonly in question form. From my own personal perspective, I think we tend to use 'going on' a lot more when we are describing a present situation that is in progress, whereas we tend to use 'happen' more to talk about future plans or something that happened in the past. This isn't a set rule though and we frequently do use happen and 'go on' interchangeably in all of these situations. What's going on here? This place is a mess, what has been going on? I'm not sure what is going on outside but it doesn't sound good. A lot has gone on since you left. I have no idea what’s going on in that meeting. Strange things went on in that abandoned house. There’s always something exciting going on in the city. A huge argument went on between them last night. Nobody knew what was really going on behind the scenes. There’s a festival going on downtown this weekend. One last point to note here is that in informal American English, 'what's going on?' is often used as informal greeting, particularly among young people and means 'how are you?' or 'how are things?'. MEANING 4: To talk a lot Photo: Pexel ​CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To ramble, to prattle, to babble, to harp on, to bang on Separable? No For this fourth usage of 'go on', we are looking specifically at a usage which is very common in British English and means to to talk a lot, especially if the person is talking about one particular subject which happens to be quite boring. If we want to say that the person talks a lot in a dull or boring way in general as part of their character, we can just say that the person 'goes on', which expresses this feeling very neatly. If the person talks about a particular subject that is boring, then we need the additional preposition 'about + the subject'. If you want to add extra emphasis to how boring the person is, we can repeat the word 'on' ad infinitum , however an extra one or two times is normal. I, personally, tend to use this verb to describe a conversation where the person talks so much that it is not enjoyable and all you want is for it to stop. Gosh! Professor Smith goes on in his lectures, doesn't he! My Dad was going on about politics again last night. Helen was going on and on and on about her new boyfriend and i couldn't get a word in edgeways.* Trevor just goes on and on about his new car; I’m so tired of hearing about it! Sally went on for hours about her vacation in Mexico. I wish Dan wouldn’t go on so much. My parents went on about politics until everyone else in the family was bored. My sister constantly goes on about her problems but never listens to mine. Pete went on at length about his childhood memories. My boss goes on forever in meetings, making them so long. * To not be able to get a word in edgeways is an idiom to mean that you cannot say anything during a conversation as the other person is talking too much. STOP GOING ON AT ME! 'To go on at someone' is a variation of this usage and is an informal way to mean to repeatedly criticise someone or to complain to someone many times about the way that they behave (in an effort to change their behaviour). It is also possible to repeat the word 'on' here for added emphasis. Again, this usage is mainly British. Lisa's keeps going on at her children to tidy up the house but she doesn't ever tidy it up herself. Our parents have been going on and on and on at us for months about when we are going to get married. MEANING 5: To pass (time) Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere ​Potential synonyms To pass, to go by, to wear on Separable? No Our fifth meaning of 'go on' is perhaps a variation of the second meaning that we looked at, i.e. to continue, however in this particular usage, we are concerned primarily with time , or more specifically, the passing of time. This form is often preceded in sentences with the word 'as' + the time reference. As the morning went on, the rain started letting up . The night went on, and the party got even livelier. There is no reason why the TV show continues to do so well as the years go on. As the years went on, they became close friends. As time goes on, you’ll start to feel better. The weeks went on, but we still hadn’t heard any news. Apart from time, we are also able to use this form of 'go on' with other nouns that describe something that happens over a period of time. This is often used when something lasts for a long period of time or for longer than it was expected to and can often be negative in nature, often inferring that the person was bored or wanted it to finish sooner. As the meeting went on, I became more and more tired. Quite a lot of people left the conference as it went on. The movie went on for nearly three hours! The meeting went on for much longer than expected. The father of the bride's speech went on and on and I think most people had lost interest in it by the time he had finished. MEANING 6: To start working Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come on, to turn on Separable? No So, moving on to our sixth meaning now....well done if you have made it this far! This next meaning of 'go on' is used particularly with electrical appliances and devices and simply means that they turn on, start working or become operational. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Light Heating Air conditioning Washing machine Appliance / Machine This is often (but not always) when they start working without human intervention e.g. automatically or from a timer. If we want to say that a person caused the device to start working, we tend to use 'turn on' more. In winter, the lights go on at 5pm every evening. The washing machine goes on every night as it is cheaper than during the daytime. The streetlights go on automatically at dusk. The heater went on as soon as the temperature dropped. As soon as I flipped the switch, the lights went on. The air conditioning goes on every morning at 9 AM. When the power came back, all the appliances went on at once. A COUPLE OF EXTRA SPECIFIC USAGES Do you think you have room in your brain for a few more uses of 'go on'? There are some other usages of 'go on' that I want to make you aware of. These are quite limited in their scope and so I don't think they need entire sections to themselves but definitely ones that you may come across in your interactions with English speakers. The first meaning is to do with information and if you have enough of it to be able to make a decision or take action about something. If we have a lot of information in order to make a decision we would say " we have a lot to go on " and if we do not have much information, we might say " we don't have much to go on ". Alternatively, we can use this when we are trying to work something out based on evidence or available information. The police didn't have much to go on but they arrested the suspected murderer nevertheless. Is that all of the information that we have to go on? There's a lot to go on here, so we should be able to come up with an answer once we have considered it all. The next meaning involves adding the extra preposition 'to', to give 'to go on to', which is used to talk about something that a person did after doing something else. This is often used to talk about people's careers or different achievements and accomplishments in their lives. It can also be used to talk about when people go to a second destination after they have been somewhere else first. After finishing his Masters degree in English, John went on to teach at his local university. We are going to Greece for a week and then going on to Italy for an extra few days to see friends The third and final additional meaning (and final meaning in this post) is used to talk about people's ages, especially when they act a lot older than they are in reality. For example, if someone talks about how old their child is, they might say " she's 10, going on 20 ", to mean that she acts a lot more like an adult than a normal 10-year old. This usage is always used in the 'ing' progressive form. My son is three years old going on thirty. 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. 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 'go 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 'put off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Freepik 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. The post this week is all about the phrasal verb 'put off' and in it we will look its three main meanings and explain they are used in everyday English. For each meaning, I will provide you with lots of example sentences in context to aid your understanding. So, let's not put it off any longer and let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'put' and 'off' Meaning 1: To postpone something Meaning 2: To make someone dislike something Meaning 3: To distract someone Bonus: 'Put off' with gerunds Bonus: Typical example sentences featuring 'put off' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PUT OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Put off / Put off Separable? Yes Unlike many phrasal verbs, 'put off' does not have a literal meaning in English, so before we look at its different idiomatic meanings, I think it is a good idea as a starting point to consider the two words which make up this common phrasal verb. Let's start with the verb 'to put', which means to move something to a place or into a particular position. I am sure that you are extremely familiar with this verb as it is in common use in everyday English, but nonetheless I have given you a couple of examples below to refresh your memory. Lisa put her drink on the table. Can you put your dirty clothes in the washing bin please. Photo: Freepik Accompanying our verb 'put' for this phrasal verb is the prepositional particle 'off', which, like a lot of English prepositions, has many different uses. The use that we are concerned with here for this phrasal verb is when off conveys the idea of moving away from something. Now that we have briefly looked at the constituent words of 'put off', let's move on to see what the different idiomatic meanings are in English and how native speakers use them. MEANING 1: To postpone something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate ​Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To defer, postpone, to delay, to put back, to hold off, to procrastinate Separable? Yes The first meaning that we are going to look at of 'put off' is the usage to mean to delay, postpone or push something that is planned back to a later time or date. As I mentioned above, this is normally used when something is planned and someone decides to delay or postpone it. This is commonly used with meetings, visits and appointments, so logically, this means that it is commonly used a lot in the business world. In terms of formality, it is less formal than 'postpone' or 'delay', but is still completely fine to use it in business English without sounding too informal. Photo: Pexels We also often use it when we are hesitating about doing something that we are don't want to do or are afraid to. For example, we may put off going to the gym or telling somebody something that they may react negatively to. I would say from my perspective as a native speaker that 'put off' tends to be used by native speakers when a decision has been made by someone to postpone something, rather than something being delayed due to something outside of a person's control. For example, we tend not to say that an airplane has been put off if it is late to depart, but rather that is has been delayed. To 'put off' is a separable phrasal verb and we frequently insert the direct object between 'put' and 'off' to express the thing that we want to move to a later time or date. It is also fine to add the direct object after 'put off', however it is less common to do so. Photo: Pexels John was very busy so he decided to put the appraisal meeting off until the next day. The customer visit has been put off until next month. We weren't ready to start the party at 7pm, so we put it off by an hour until 8pm. I've been putting off telling you this as I was worried about your reaction. Photo: Pexels PROVERB ALERT! A common proverb which exists in English is 'don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today'. You can probably understand its meaning, but just in case you are not sure, it means that we should not delay, postpone or put things off that we can do right now and there are certainly times when I wish I had taken this advice in the past. MEANING 2: To make someone dislike something Photo : Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To deter, to dishearten, to discourage, to dissuade Separable? Yes, with an object pronoun The second usage of 'put off' that we are looking at in today's post means to make someone dislike something, usually when they did like it to begin with. It is common to use this when we have a negative experience of something, which makes us not like it anymore. Examples of this could be if you eat some bad food, which then makes you sick and you no longer want to eat that food again or if you have a negative experience in a city or country which makes you no longer like it or want to visit there again. In both of these cases you started to dislike, or were put off, the food / country due to the negative experience and perhaps the reminder that they give you of it. When using 'put off' in this way, we often need to use a direct object, which is the person who starts to dislike or dislikes the item. For this we either need object pronouns (me, him, her etc.) or the name of the person. Photo: Freepik I can't drink beer anymore. I had a really bad experience with it, which put me off it for life. The high prices of train fares have put many commuters off taking the train to work and they are now commuting by car instead. In addition to using 'put off' to talk about disliking something that we once liked, we can also use it to talk about when we stop wanting to do something that we wanted to do beforehand. In this case, we are generally talking about being put off the idea of doing something. Helen wanted to go to university in the USA but was put off the idea when she learned how much it would cost. We thought about going to the new steak restaurant in town but we've been put off a bit by the bad reviews online. MEANING 3: To distract someone Photo: Wix Images CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To distract Separable? Yes The third and final meaning of 'put off' that we are looking at in today's post is when we use it to mean to distract someone or cause someone to stop concentrating on something. Imagine that you are trying to revise for an exam and you are concentrating very hard when suddenly a person in the next room starts playing some loud music. You become distracted by the music and you could then say that the music has put you off. This is a very common way to express that something has distracted you from doing something, especially in spoken English. Although this meaning can often be used interchangeably with 'distract', I would say that the meaning of 'put off' is slightly different as it doesn't just mean to cause you stop you concentrating on something, but can also mean to stop you being able to do something properly because something is diverting your attention and you can't focus. A great example of this happens to me whenever someone watches me type. I instantly start to make spelling mistakes, even though normally I am perfectly capable of typing the same words when nobody is watching me. This is because I know that they are watching, which puts me off. Note that we normally need to use this meaning separably, with the person who is distracted being inserted between put and off. Like with the previous meaning, this would either be the direct object pronoun (me, him, her etc.) or the name of the person. If we do use this version separably, it sounds wrong and unnatural, so try and avoid doing this. Can you please be quiet, you're putting me off my revision! The snooker player missed the winning shot and blamed the crowd, saying that their chattering put him off. Whenever somebody watches me type, it always puts me off and I start making a lot of mistakes. Photo: Pexels DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE GERUNDS! When we want to follow 'put off' with a verb to talk about an action, the verb needs to be in the gerund ( ing ) form. This applies to all three of the meanings that we have looked at above. I was put off smoking when I saw the damage it does to people as they get older. We put off calling the angry customer for an hour in order to let him calm down. Photo: Pexels SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER! TYPICAL WAYS 'PUT OFF' IS USED IN ENGLISH Memorise and use the sentences below in conversations to help your English come across as more natural and fluent.... Can we put off the [noun] until..... The [noun] has been put off until.... We have put this off for too long, we need to do it now. That has really put me off my food. I wanted to do it but I got put off by.... I did like him at first but seeing the way he treated his family really put me off him. Don't let one bad experience put you off! Has that put you off or do you still want to go ahead? His talking really puts me off my work. Stop laughing at me when I am doing my speech, it's putting me off! I have had to turn my phone off as the constant notifications kept putting me off! 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 'put off'. 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 'put off'. 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