Search this site

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'square up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This is a post all about the phrasal verb 'cut in'; have you heard of this phrasal verb before and do you know what it means? In this post, I will explain six different ways that 'cut in' is used in modern English including to talk about dancing, interrupting conversations and painting, as well as two ways it can describe socially unacceptable behaviour. As per usual, for each use I will provide you with lots of natural example sentences to show you how people use it and by the end of the post you will have hopefully gained a lot of new knowledge! So, let's get started and see what 'cut in' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'cut in' mean? The phrasal verb 'cut in' has six main meanings in English.... To interrupt To start functioning To move in front of another vehicle To join a queue in the middle To include someone in something To paint the edges of a wall Keep reading to learm more about each of these.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one Cut In - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'cut' and 'in' Cut In - Meaning 1: To interrupt Cut In - Meaning 2: To start functioning Cut In - Meaning 3: To move in front of another vehicle Cut In - Meaning 4: To join a queue in the middle Cut In - Meaning 5: To include someone in something Cut In - Meaning 6: To paint the edges of a wall Please don't forget to like or comment if you enjoyed the post. I would really appreciate your feedback! Thank you. James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS CUT IN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Cut in / Cut in Separable? Sometimes The aim of this blog post is to explain to you how to use the phrasal verb 'cut in' and to help us to get started with this, we need to firstly consider the two individual words on their own.... Cut - The verb 'to cut' is an irregular one whose most common and well-known meaning is 'to use a sharp implement or tool to separate something or break its surface'. In addition to this, it has a number of other meanings, many of which follow logically from this main meaning, and these include 'to reduce', 'to edit' and 'to stop something'. In addition, it is one of those confusing verbs that does not change its form in the past tense (cut, cut, cut), so context is key when using this verb. My mum used to cut my hair when I was young. Kim fell over and cut herself. You need to cut the sausages into small pieces. The management team are looking to cut costs next year. John cut the engine and got out of the car. In - This little two-letter word is one of the most common in English and functions as the natural opposite of the particle 'out'. It appears in a lot of different phrasal verbs, often adding the idea of a movement inside or towards something when it does. It can also add more figurative meanings to phrasal verbs, including involvement or participation (join in), incorporation (fit in) and completion (fill in). Now that we have covered the basic information, let's move on to the different was to use the phrasal verb 'cut in'.... MEANING 1: To interrupt Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To interrupt, to interject, to butt in Separable? No Usually, on phrasal verb explanations, I like to start with the literal meaning or usage of the phrasal verb in question but this time there isn't really one worth writing about. Instead, we will start with perhaps the most common one, which is 'to interrupt someone'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Conversation Discussion Chat I don't know about you, but I hate it when I am trying to have a conversation with someone and another person interrupts and completely breaks the flow of what we were saying. When this happens, we can of course use the verb 'to interrupt'; however it is also common to use 'cut in' to describe this annoying behaviour. Typically, when a person does this, they would say "sorry to cut in" (unless they are very rude) and it is absolutely fine to use 'cut in' by itself in this way. If you want to specify the noun such as 'conversation' or 'discussion', then we need the extra preposition 'on' and the person would then say "sorry to cut in on your conversation". This phrasal verb usage is likely to have come from the idea that a conversation is something that two, or several, people are involved in, while those not participating in it are on the outside. When someone cuts in on a conversation, they force their way into it from outside. Example sentences.... I was explaining what had happened when Sarah cut in and changed the subject. “That’s not what I said,” my colleague cut in angrily. Sorry to cut in, but I think there’s something you should know. Sandra kept cutting in while I was trying to explain the problem. Before I could finish my sentence, Tom cut in with a question. Malcolm has an annoying habit of cutting in whenever someone else is speaking. Sorry to cut in on your conversation, but I need to speak to your sister for a moment. Jonathan cut in on our discussion to tell us that the meeting was about to start. Lily cut in on their conversation before they had a chance to reach a decision. A less common variation of this application is when someone forces their way into an activity that other people are doing. This is usually when the other people do not want the new person to participate or join them and it can carry the negative idea of the new person intruding or being unwelcome. Example sentences.... They were working on the project together, but their manager cut in on it and began making all the decisions. My little brother always tries to cut in on our games when my friends come over. I wish she wouldn’t cut in on everything we do; sometimes we just want to spend time together. Photo: Wix Media Lastly, there is also an old-fashioned usage of 'cut in' with the same idea of interruption that I want to make you aware of here and this one is to do with dancing. When two people are dancing together (like in the picture above) and another person comes and replaces one of the two people, we can say that he or she 'cuts in'. This was typically used when a man interrupted a dance that was in progress so that he could dance with the lady instead. To do this, he would usually ask "may I cut in?". Example sentences.... While they were dancing, another man cut in and took her partner’s place. I was dancing with Sophie when her boyfriend cut in. He waited until the next song before cutting in and asking her to dance with him. MEANING 2: To start functioning Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come on, to kick in, to activate Separable? No The next application of the phrasal verb 'cut in' means 'to start functioning' and is used to talk about machinery and mechanisms. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Motor Engine Generator Machine Heating / air conditioning If you live in a relatively cold country like the UK, you will almost certainly have a heating system in your house for the cold winter months. Likewise, those of you living in warmer climates will be used to having air conditioning in public buildings and even in your home. With both of these temperature regulation systems, it is common for there to be settings that cause them to be activated when the ambient temperature reaches a certain point. When these are activated in this way, we can say that they 'cut in'. For example, when the temperature in a home with central heating falls below 18°C, the heating may cut in automatically to keep the house warm and comfortable so you do not need to think about it. To clarify, we can use 'cut in' like this to talk about any time that a machine, mechanism or system starts working automatically because it is needed at that moment. In addition to the temperature examples above, it is common to hear this being used with motors and engines and other technical equipment. Note that we would not use 'cut in' for something that we manually activate. On a grammatical note, this usage is intransitive and therefore not separable. Example sentences.... The heating cuts in automatically when the temperature drops below 18°C. The backup generator cut in as soon as the power went off. You’ll hear a slight noise when the air conditioning cuts in. The cooling system will cut in if the engine gets too hot. The emergency brakes cut in when the system detected an obstacle. The fan keeps cutting in whenever the computer starts to overheat. A safety mechanism cut in and shut the machine down. The pump didn’t cut in when the water level rose. Once the pressure falls below a certain level, the compressor cuts in automatically. MEANING 3: To move in front of another vehicle Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To cut off, to cut up Separable? No This next application of the phrasal verb 'cut in' is one that is used to talk about driving, especially dangerous driving, and means 'to move in front of another vehicle'. For this one, I think that an example will be the most effective way to explain what 'cutting in' means. Imagine that you are driving a car along a main road or highway with several lanes. A car that is driving in the same direction as you in the next lane suddenly moves into your lane without leaving a safe distance between their car and yours, causing you to brake hard (and probably shout some naughty words at them). This very irresponsible and dangerous act is known as 'cutting in'. This usage is known all over the English-speaking world, however it is more common to use it in British, AU & NZ English. While this would also be understood in North American English, they are more likely to use 'cut off' to describe this. Moreover, in British English 'cut up' is also commonly used to describe this. Again, this is similar to the interruption example from earlier as this one also carries the idea of forcing yourself into something from the outside, but this time it is a traffic lane rather than a conversation. Example sentences.... A van cut in right in front of me, and I had to brake hard. The taxi driver cut in without indicating and nearly caused an accident. A lorry suddenly cut in and forced us to slow down. Louise cut in too sharply after overtaking the car. I was driving along the motorway when a sports car cut in in front of me. The driver cut in before he had properly cleared the other vehicle. Someone cut in at the last second, so I had to slam on the brakes. He has a bad habit of cutting in as soon as he overtakes someone. The motorcyclist cut in between the two cars with barely any room to spare. As with the previous examples, this one is also intransitive and not separable, therefore you cannot say "the car cut me in". If you do want to specify the car or driver who was the victim of this bad driving, you would need the additional preposition 'on'.... Example sentences.... A car cut in on me as I was approaching the junction. The driver cut in on us so sharply that we had to swerve to avoid him. Did you just see that motorbike cut in on the yellow car? What an idiot! If you want to see exactly what I am talking about, here is a short video showing a car cutting in on another car on a roundabout in the UK (red and blue car). MEANING 4: To join a queue in the middle Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To push in, to queue jump, to jump the queue / line Separable? No For this fourth application of the phrasal verb 'cut in', we are moving from one socially unacceptable behaviour to another as this one means 'to join a queue in the middle'. The word 'queue' is a funny one in English as it is pronounced like the letter 'q' (/kjuː/) and is used in British English to talk about a line of people waiting for something. In American English, the word 'line' is used instead here, although the word 'queue' is used on both sides of the Atlantic in digital and technical contexts. Have you ever been in a situation in which you have been waiting patiently in a queue (or line) for a few minutes when another person walks up to the queue and joins it in the middle, in front of you and other people who are waiting, instead of joining at the back? When someone does this, we use 'cut in' to describe this disrespectful and annoying behaviour. Example sentences.... We’d been waiting for twenty minutes when a man cut in ahead of us. Don’t cut in; everyone else has been waiting their turn. Anne cut in near the front of the queue and pretended not to notice the people behind her. I saw two teenagers cut in while everyone else was waiting patiently. Excuse me, you can’t just cut in. The back of the queue is over there. A woman cut in in front of me at the supermarket checkout. People were getting annoyed because several others had cut in. If you cut in, someone will probably tell you to go to the back of the queue. He cut in halfway along the queue because his friends were already standing there. For those of you learning American English, you should note that this one is more common there than in British English and it is particularly common to say 'cut in line'. Also, when a person cuts in like this, an American English speaker is likely to say "hey, you cut in!", while in British English someone may say "you pushed in!" or "you jumped the queue!". Example sentences.... A kid cut in line in front of us. Everyone got annoyed when he cut in line. You can’t just cut in line just because your friend is up front. MEANING 5: To include someone in something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To include Separable? Yes The next of our applications of the phrasal verb 'cut in' is one that is much more positive and socially acceptable than the previous two and means 'to include someone in something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Profit Share Game With this application of 'cut in', we are focussing on the idea of things that people do together and there are two main areas in which this application is used: making money and games. When we use 'cut in' to talk about making money, we are referring to profits and money that is earned through a business endeavour. If a business makes a profit and there is more than one person involved in it, the profits may be shared between those people. We can use 'cut in' here to talk about when a person is allowed to be included in this group and can therefore receive a share of the profits Grammatically speaking, this usage is unlike the others that we have covered as it is transitive and separable. The name of the person who is allowed to be included (or their pronoun) goes between the words 'cut' and 'in'. Also, you should note that the additional preposition 'on' is required here to state what the person is allowed to be included in, giving us the structure 'to cut someone in on something'. Example sentences.... If the deal goes through, we’ll cut you in for ten per cent of the profits. The business owner agreed to cut me in if I helped him find a buyer. They made a fortune from the deal but refused to cut us in. I’ll cut you in on the profits if you help me get the business started. She wanted to be cut in on the deal before she agreed to invest. Why should we cut him in when he hasn’t contributed anything? They promised to cut her in on any money they made from the project. He only agreed to provide the information after they offered to cut him in. The three partners agreed to cut the new investor in on future profits. Less commonly, you can also hear 'cut in' being used to talk about games, particularly card games and those involving gambling. For instance, if someone cuts you in on a game of cards, they allow you to participate and include you in the next game. With both of these two examples of allowing people to be included in games and profits, we are again returning to this core idea of entering something from the outside, with this particular example being when a person requires permission to be able to enter or be included. Example sentences.... Can you cut me in on the next game? We’ve got room for one more player, so we can cut you in. They were playing poker, and I asked them to cut me in. If you’re starting another round, cut me in this time. Jake arrived halfway through the card game, so we cut him in at the start of the next round. “Are you playing for money?” “Yeah. Want us to cut you in?” MEANING 6: To paint the edges on a wall Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To paint Separable? No We've now come to the final meaning of the phrasal verb 'cut in' and this one is a simple one as it just means 'to paint the edges on a wall'. If you have ever painted a wall in your house before, you will know that the first thing that many people do when they start painting is to use a brush to paint around the edges of the wall. This includes along the ceiling, around the windows and door frames and along the skirting boards / baseboards. We refer to this initial painting around the edges of the wall simply as "cutting in". Once the painter has finished the cutting in, he or she may then start using a roller to paint the larger sections in the middle of the wall. Of course, the order is not set in stone and you can do the cutting-in after painting the middle of the walls if you so wish. Like the majority of other applications, this one is intransitive and not separable. It is also common to hear someone refer to this using the noun 'cutting in' (as I already have done). Example sentences.... Cut in around the edges of the wall before you start using the roller. I’ve cut in around the windows, so I’m ready to roll the walls now. Use a small brush to cut in along the ceiling. She spent ages cutting in around the door frames. You don’t need masking tape if you’re confident cutting in with a brush. I did the cutting-in first and then used a roller to paint the rest of the wall. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'cut in' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'cut in' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pay off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This is a post all about the phrasal verb 'pay off' - what it means in English and how to use it. This commonly used phrasal verb has at least three different meanings that can be used to talk about things as diverse as debts, results and bribery. In the post, I will explain how each application is used and give you lots of examples so that, by the end of it, you will be an expert in all things to do with 'pay off'. So, let's get started and find out what it means.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'pay off' mean? The phrasal verb 'pay off' has three main meaning in English.... To finish paying for something To have good results To pay someone to be quiet or to leave Keep reading to learn how to use each meaning..... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Pay Off - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'pay' and 'off' Pay Off - Meaning 1: To finish paying for something Pay Off - Meaning 2: To have good results Pay Off - Meaning 3: To pay someone to be quiet or to leave Pay Off - Bonus: The noun 'pay-off' Please don't forget to like or comment if you enjoyed the post! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you. James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PAY OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Paid off / Paid off Separable? Yes When you read the words 'pay' and 'off', what do you understand by them? Do you know what the verb 'to pay' means and what significance 'off' has in phrasal verb constructions? Let's first take a minute to look at these two words individually and find out.... Pay - The verb 'to pay' is surely one that you are very familiar with and will probably understand as meaning 'to give money in exchange for goods or a service'. While this is absolutely correct, did you also know that 'to pay' can also be used for non-monetary giving? For example, we can pay attention or pay heed, or we can can pay our respects to someone when they die and in all of these it carries an idea of giving something. In addition, it can also be used to talk about something having either good or bad consequences. 'To pay' is a slightly irregular verb and takes 'paid' as its post simple and past participle forms. Let me take you out for dinner; I will pay! We can't afford to pay our bills this month. The company paid for me to do a training course in marketing. Please pay careful attention to what I am about to tell you. You will pay for what you have done! I will not forget this. Crime doesn't pay. Off - The prepositional particle 'off' is one that frequently occurs in phrasal verbs and can add many different meanings to the verb that it is paired with. Some of its more relevant meanings for the phrasal verb 'pay off' are finishing something (finish off, polish off), cancellation (call off), separation (cut off) and a successful outcome (come off). Let's now move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pay off'.... MEANING 1: To finish paying for something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To clear, to pay up, to settle, Separable? Yes As I mentioned earlier in the Basics section, the verb 'to pay' is primarily used for exchanging money for a product or service and this first application of the phrasal verb 'pay off' is linked to this as it means 'to finish paying for something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Debt Mortgage Credit card Loan To give you some clarification on this first meaning of 'pay off', you should know that we tend to use it when talking about something that is repaid in instalments over a period of time. This is typically a credit agreement like a credit card or mortgage, or it could be a debt that you owe to a company or individual and which you cannot afford to pay all in one single payment. Once the final payment has been made and the remaining amount to pay is zero, we can say that the amount or the debt "has been paid off". This can be a really great feeling, especially if you have been making payments over a long period, as you feel a huge sense of financial freedom 😁 On a grammatical note, this usage is a separable one and the loan, debt or amount to be paid can either go between 'pay' and 'off' or after them. Example sentences.... It took us nearly twenty years to pay off our mortgage. Abigail borrowed £2,000 from her parents but paid it off within six months. I'm trying to pay my credit card debt off before Christmas. Mike finally paid off his student loan last year. We still owe quite a lot on the car, but we should pay it off by next summer. They used their savings to pay their debts off. How long did it take you to pay off that loan? Once Lucy has paid the mortgage off, she'll have much more money to spend each month. I've been paying off my debts little by little for the past two years. MEANING 2: To have good results Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be worth it, to bear fruit Separable? No Let's now move on to the second meaning of the phrasal verb 'pay off', which is a really nice and positive one that means 'to have good results'. This second application is a very frequently used one that is heard particularly often in reference to work, both in the employment sense and the sense of putting effort into something. If you work hard at something and you get good results as a consequence, you can say that "your hard work has paid off". For example, if you spend many hours, days, weeks and months setting up and launching a new business, which then makes you rich, your efforts have paid off. Likewise, if you spend a lot of time studying English phrasal verbs and then you impress a native speaker with your advanced knowledge and vocabulary, you can say that your hard work has paid off. I definitely recommend doing the second one, by the way 😜 Unlike the first application, this one is not a separable usage. Example sentences.... All the hard work finally paid off when my sister passed her exams. Keep practising; your efforts will pay off eventually. Kevin's decision to learn German really paid off when he was offered a job in Berlin. We spent months preparing for the launch, but it paid off in the end. Tracey's been training every day and all that hard work is starting to pay off. Their investment in new technology has already paid off. Studying a little every day can pay off in the long run. The team's patience paid off when they scored in the final minute. I wasn't sure whether the changes would work, but they really paid off. MEANING 3: To pay someone to be quiet or leave Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bribe Separable? Yes We are returning to the idea of paying money for our third and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'pay off' as this one means 'to pay someone to be quiet or to leave'. For this final application, we can divide it into two main sub-meanings: the formal one and the informal one. We will start with the formal one which is one that you typically find in business English. In a company or organisation when an employee is no longer required or needs to be made redundant in order for it to save money, the company may pay the no-longer needed person the rest of what they have earned and discharge them from the organisation. In such cases, we can say that the company paid the employee off. It may seem to you that this meaning is the same as 'to make someone redundant' but you should note that there is a slight difference between them. When we use 'to make someone redundant', the focus is on the idea that the person's job or position has disappeared and is no longer required but with 'pay someone off', the focus is more on the idea that the company pays the person and terminates their contract. Example sentences.... The company paid off twenty workers when the factory closed. Several employees were paid off after the company decided to cut production. They paid Tim off after his position was made redundant. The firm is planning to pay off some of its workers at the end of the month. When the shipyard downsized, hundreds of workers were paid off. Marina was paid off after fifteen years with the company and received a redundancy payment. Now, let's turn our attention to 'pay off' in the informal sense, which is one that tends to be used for slightly naughtier or illegal reasons. If, for any reason, someone wants another person to be quiet about something and not say anything about it, they may offer them some money in exchange for their silence. When they commit this sort of bribery, guess what phrasal verb we can use to describe it....correct it's 'pay off'. This is not only used when you want another person to stay quiet about something; it can be used to describe any time that a person is bribed with money to persuade them to not do something, such as cause problems, reveal information or continue bothering someone. For instance, an office worker who discovered the CEO of the company having a romantic affair with their secretary may be offered some money by the CEO to keep quiet about what they saw. If the office worker accepted, you could say that the CEO paid them off. Likewise, someone who is being threatened or blackmailed may pay the person off to leave them alone....this usage is classic TV series or movie material! On a grammatical note, this usage is separable and it normally requires a person or subject that often goes between 'pay' and 'off'. Example sentences.... The CEO tried to pay the office worker off so that she wouldn't tell anyone what she had seen. The businessman paid off a witness to keep him quiet. They offered to pay him off if he agreed to leave them alone. Jeremy thought he could pay them off and make the problem disappear. The company was accused of paying off people who knew about the scandal. They tried to pay the journalist off before she published the story. You can't just pay me off and expect me to forget what happened. Someone had clearly paid him off to keep his mouth shut. They eventually paid the man off to stop him causing trouble. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'pay-off' Did you know that the noun 'pay-off' also exists and has at least two distinct meanings.... A reward - A 'pay-off' can mean a reward for something or the positive benefit that someone receives after an investment, hard work or a big effort. It is often preceded by an adjective and is derived directly from the second phrasal verb meaning that we looked at earlier. Example sentences.... Winning the competition was a wonderful pay-off for all her hard work. The financial pay-off could be huge if the project succeeds. After years of training, Martin finally got the pay-off he had been hoping for. A job termination or bribe - This one links back to the usage of 'pay off' meaning to pay someone to leave a company or as a bribe to stop someone doing or saying something. Example sentences.... The witness was offered a large pay-off to keep quiet. The chief executive received a £2 million pay-off when he left the company. They suspected that someone had given the official a pay-off. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'pay off' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'pay off' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'square up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. Have you ever heard the English phrasal verb 'square up' before and wondered what it means? Would it surprise you to learn that it has at least four different meanings in English and that it can be used to describe things as varied as tidiness, fighting and payments? In this blog post, I will explain each of these different meanings for you, as well as the general idea that links them all together. Also, I will provide you with lots of example sentences for each one so that you can start using 'square up' confidently and accurately like a native speaker. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'square up' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'square up' mean? The phrasal verb 'square up' has four main meanings in English.... To arrange or place something in a straight line To prepare to fight someone To face a difficult situation To pay someone the money that you owe them Continue reading to learn more about each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one Square Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'square' and 'up' Square Up - Meaning 1: To arrange or place something in a straight line Square Up - Meaning 2: To prepare to fight someone Square Up - Meaning 3: To face a difficult situation Square Up - Meaning 4: To pay someone money that you owe them Please don't forget to like or comment if you enjoyed the post! I would really appreciate your feedback! Thank you. James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS SQUARE UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Squared up / Squared up Separable? Sometimes The phrasal verb 'square up' is made up of the two words 'square' and 'up', so to begin let's first consider what these two little words mean on their own. Square - I imagine that when you see the word 'square', the first thing that comes to your mind is the noun 'square' as in the shape with four equal sides. It may surprise you to know that the verb 'to square' also exists and that it has several meanings, although none of them are particularly common. When used as a verb, 'to square' can mean 'to position something at right angles', 'to pay a bill or money that is owed', 'to be consistent with something else' and 'to multiply a number by itself'. This is not the last time that will see some of these meanings as they will appear later in the post when we cover the meanings of the phrasal verb 'square up'. The carpenter squared the edge of the wooden beam. The girl's statement does not square with her boyfriend's. I'll square the bill with you next week. What do you get if you square the number 5? 25 Up - The particle 'up' wins the (non-existent) award for being the commonest particle in phrasal verb application. As a result, it can add many different ideas or meanings to the verb that it is attached to and these include a literal upwards meaning (go up) or an increase (rise up), as well as ideas like a movement towards something (come up), division (break up), preparation (set up), completion (eat up) and closure (lock up). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'square up'.... MEANING 1 To arrange or place something in a straight line Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To level up, to arrange, to organise Separable? Yes The first meaning of the phrasal verb 'square up' is more or less a literal meaning of the combination of the two words and means 'to arrange or place something in a straight line'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Table Chair Furniture Tiles This first application is a great one for all of those among you who like things to be neat, tidy and well-ordered. It is typically used to talk about objects with straight edges that we can move and position. When you square something up, you simply move it so that it is in a straight line or at the correct angle, often aligned with other similar objects (like the containers in the picture above). We get this meaning from the base idea of the verb 'to square', meaning to position something in a straight line or at a right angle to something. The addition of the particle 'up' here is to convey the idea of a finished or completed action. For example, if you square up some chairs and table, they will all end up in the correct position and in alignment with one other and most importantly, will look tidy and organised. This usage is a separable usage and can be used both ways. Remember that the pronouns 'it' or 'them' must always go between 'square' and 'up'. Example sentences.... Square up the table with the wall before you move the other furniture. Can you square up those boxes so they’re all in a straight line? He squared up the picture frame before stepping back to look at it. We need to square up the shelves before we screw them into place. Square the cabinet up with the edge of the worktop. The tiles aren’t quite straight, so we’ll need to square them up. He carefully squared up the boards before fixing them together. Could you square those chairs up with the tables? I squared everything up so that the edges were perfectly aligned. MEANING 2: To prepare to fight someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To face off, to confront, to stand up to Separable? No Things are going to get interesting for this next application of the phrasal verb 'square up' as it means 'to prepare to fight someone'. Whether you are cat owners or not, you will undoubtedly be familiar with the sight of two enemy cats standing close to one another and making loud aggressive noises in an effort to scare the other one away. If these noisy endeavours are not successful, the next thing that usually happens is that they start fighting. When cats engage in this pre-fighting behaviour, we can say that they are "squaring up". Of course, this phrasal verb usage is not just limited to cats and can be used to talk about other animals and especially humans. When we talk about people or animals squaring up, we are essentially describing the positions that they adopt when they face another person and prepare to fight. If you think back to the previous application, it is probable that this usage comes from getting your body into an aligned position with your opponent to make you as prepared as possible to fight. Example sentences.... The two men squared up outside the pub. They squared up, but fortunately someone stepped in before a fight started. Kevin took off his jacket and squared up, ready for a fight. For a moment, it looked as though the cats were going to square up. The boys were squaring up in the playground when a teacher intervened. The two boxers squared up in the centre of the ring. You should note that when using this application that if you want to specify the other person who you or the subject are planning to fight, we use the particle 'to', giving us the structure 'to square up to someone'. One important distinction to make here is that when we use 'square up' without 'to' it implies that both people are prepared to fight. For instance if you are referring to boxers at the start of a fight, you would say that they are squaring up as they are both preparing themselves for combat. However, when you use 'square up to', the implication is often that one person (or animal) confronts another in an aggressive way, often when the other person does not want to fight. Lastly, on a grammatical note this second application is not separable. Example sentences.... Kevin squared up to the man who had pushed him. The two players squared up to each other after the tackle. The school bully squared up to me and told me to get out of his way. The brave teenager squared up to a much bigger man outside the station. Why are you squaring up to me? I’m not looking for a fight. Darren was thrown out of the pub after squaring up to another customer. MEANING 3: To face a difficult situation Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To face up to, to cope with, to deal with Separable? No The third of the four usages of the phrasal verb 'square up' is a rarer one that means 'to face a difficult situation'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Difficulty Issue Problem Responsibility Challenge In the last section, I explained how 'square up' can often be used to talk about preparing for a physical fight and you could definitely say that a fight counts as a difficult situation. However, while the last section was quite fight-specific, in this one we can use it to talk in a broader way about any type of situation that is challenging or difficult. Like with the previous application, we also need the additional particle 'to' here to specify the difficult thing. The idea this time is that if you 'square up to something', you face this difficult thing with the intention of handling or dealing with it. Again, it is all about being as prepared and ready as possible for something. Example sentences.... We need to square up to the problems facing the business. Sooner or later, he’ll have to square up to the consequences of his decision. The government must square up to the challenges posed by an ageing population. Cathy finally squared up to the fact that the project was failing. The company has been slow to square up to its financial difficulties. It’s time we squared up to the reality of the situation. My Dad refused to square up to his responsibilities and kept blaming other people. They eventually squared up to the difficult decisions that had to be made. We can’t keep ignoring the issue; we need to square up to it. MEANING 4: To pay money that you owe Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To pay (off), to pay up, to settle up, to balance Separable? No We are going to end the post with the fourth and final application of the phrasal verb 'square up', which is to pay someone the money that you owe them. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Bill Debt Meal Restaurant I often think about how much society has changed over the past few decades with the spread of the internet and the digital world and how it has had such a big effect on almost every area of our lives. One area where this is evident is paying money as in many countries, most payments are now done digitally or even with your phone instead of with traditional cash. Regardless of how you pay however, the use of the phrasal verb 'square up' to describe making a payment has not changed and can be used for any of these: new or old. This informal application of the phrasal verb 'square up' is generally used for money that you owe another person or business, especially when you are settling a bill or a debt. Normally, I would not use it for instant transactions like paying for goods in a shop or in an online purchase. Instead, I would use it in instances where there is a record or account of what I have bought, when there is a period of time between ordering or receiving the thing and paying for it. This may be just a short gap of an hour or so like paying your bill in a restaurant or a longer gap like paying a company invoice 30 days after it was issued. There are two extra particles that we can use with this usage depending on what we are saying. If we are talking about paying a person what we owe them, we say "square up with someone" and if we are talking about what we are paying for, we use "square up for something". This usage is not separable. Example sentences.... We squared up with the landlord before we moved out. I’ll square up with you when I get paid on Friday. Have you squared up with the restaurant yet? Let’s square up before we leave. Mike still needs to square up for the drinks he ordered last night. We can square up at the end of the week. Sarah squared up with the hotel before checking out. Don’t worry about paying me now; we can square up for it later. Everyone squared up before heading home. I need to square up with Tom for my share of the taxi fare. Once we’d squared up, we left the pub. The underlying idea behind this usage is that an account becomes aligned again once money has been paid that was owed for a period of time. While we are on this subject, there is also another way that 'square up' can be used to talk about them and this is when there are discrepancies on accounts and numbers do not correspond. When this happens, it is possible to say that the "accounts do not square up". Example sentences.... The accounts don’t square up, so there must be a mistake somewhere. The figures still didn’t square up, even after we checked all the invoices. Everything finally squared up once we found the missing payment. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'square up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'square up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'set down' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. In this instalment of Phrasal Verbs Explained, I will be explaining the phrasal verb 'set down'. This often overlooked phrasal verb is quite a formal one and has two main ideas at its core. In the post, I will explain five different ways that you can use it, ranging from putting something on a surface to establishing rules, and for each of these I will give you lots of example sentences to show you how to use it in a natural way. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'set down' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'set down' mean? The phrasal verb 'set down' has 5 main meanings in English: To put something on a surface To record something in words To establish rules To allow a passenger to alight To land an airplane Keep reading to learn more about how to use each of these.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Set Down - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'set' and 'down' Set Down - Meaning 1: To put something on a surface Set Down - Meaning 2: To record something in words Set Down - Meaning 3: To establish rules Set Down - Meaning 4: To allow a passenger to alight Set Down - Meaning 5: To land an airplane Please don't forget to like or comment if you enjoyed the post! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you. James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS SET DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Set down / Set down Separable? Yes 'Set' and 'down' are two extremely common words in the English language, each one with many meanings and when we put them together to form the phrasal verb 'set down' we get a completely new collection of meanings. Before we look at the various ways to use the phrasal verb, let's first just take a moment to consider the two words individually.... Set - Did you know that 'set' is the word in the English language with the highest number of meanings and applications? That's right, more than 'get', 'take' and 'put'! 'Set' is a very diverse word and can be used as a verb, adjective and noun with many different meanings in each of these word classes. For the purposes of this article, let's just focus on its use as a verb, in which case some of its most common meanings include 'to put in a place', 'to establish' and 'to prepare'. It is an irregular verb and both of its past tense forms are also, confusingly, 'set'. James set his things on the desk. I didn't set the rules, so don't shout at me. The sprinter is aiming to set a new world record in his race this week. We have set the table ready for dinner. Down - Unsurprisingly, the particle 'down' can often be used in phrasal verbs in a literal way to talk about a downwards movement or a decrease (go down, fall down). In addition to this however, it can add a range of different meanings to the phrasal verbs that it appears in and these include stopping an activity (shut down), recording something (note down), control or restriction (hold down) and a negative change in emotions (let down). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'set down'.... MEANING 1: To put something on a surface Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To put down, to put, to place, to set Separable? Yes As per usual, we will start by looking at the literal phrasal verb meaning, or the closest one to it, which in this case it is 'to put something on a surface'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Bag Book Box Furniture You may note as we go through this post that there is often a lot of overlap between the verbs 'to set' and 'to put' and this first application is a prime example of this. If you set something down, you place or put it on a surface so that you are no longer holding or carrying it. The surface tends to be the ground, the floor, a table or a kitchen top. Remember that we use 'ground' when it is outside and 'floor' when it is inside a building. 'Set down' is not as common as 'put down' to express this idea and it can often imply a more careful deliberate action than 'put down', which is very general. In addition, 'set down' sounds a bit more formal or old fashioned to my ears. It is a separable phrasal verb usage and we tend to use it slightly more commonly in the separated way. Examples of usage.... Jean set down her cup on the table and answered the phone. Nik set the box down carefully beside the door. Set that tray down on the counter, please. Violet set her handbag down on the chair next to her. The waiter set down the plates and went back to the kitchen. I set my coffee down on the desk while I looked for the documents. Poppy set the shopping bags down on the floor for a moment. My Dad slowly set the glass down on the table. Set it down over there and give me a hand with this. SET DOWN TO MEAN SIT DOWN? One thing that I discovered whilst researching this article is that in some regional US dialects 'set down' can also be used to mean 'sit down'. It is not standard US English though, which is probably why I've never heard of it but it makes complete sense as to why they would use it that way because when you sit, you are literally setting yourself down. MEANING 2: To record something in words Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To write down, to set out, to record Separable? Yes The second of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'set down' that we will look at is 'to record something in words'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Experience Thoughts Ideas Theory Findings / Results You may remember from the Basics section where I wrote that one of the ideas inherent in the particle 'down' is to record something. This is perfectly exemplified in the common phrasal verbs 'write down' and 'note down' that you are likely to know already and which both mean to record something in writing. Another less common synonym for this is 'set down', which means the same thing. If you set something down, you essentially just write or type it, so that it is transferred from what someone says or thinks to something that is recorded for others to read. Again, this is definitely a lot more formal than 'write down' or 'note down' and may not be one that you are likely to hear in everyday conversations with friends or family etc. As with the previous application of 'set down', this one is also separable and is commonly used both ways. Examples of usage.... Valerie set down everything she could remember about the incident. My ex-boyfriend set his thoughts down in a letter. The witness set down the events exactly as she remembered them. I decided to set my ideas down before the meeting. Linda carefully set down everything that had happened that morning. The author sets down his memories of childhood in the first chapter. He set his experiences of travelling through Europe down in a journal as he went. Before you forget, set down the main points you want to discuss. The researcher set down her observations at the end of each day. MEANING 3: To establish rules Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To set out, to establish, to lay down Separable? Yes We are going to stay with the same idea of writing and recording information for our third meaning of the phrasal verb 'set down' as this one means 'to establish rules'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Rules Principles Guidelines Regulations Rules and regulations are essential tools that exist in society to ensure that people are safe and that we have order in our daily lives. As societies and technology evolve, new and updated laws have to be passed by governments and to do this somebody needs to write these and record them. When these new rules and regulations are established, we can say that they are "set down". We can therefore treat this third application as an extension of the previous one as it again just writing something down in order to record it. However, this time we are talking about an official record of something that will be registered in a formal or legal document. This application of 'set down' is not only used for national laws that are set by governments and it is just as common to hear it being used to talk about officially establishing rules in companies, organisations and committees, as well as requirements, conditions and procedures that are stipulated in contracts and formal documents. Again, this is a separable phrasal verb but you should note that there is a tendency to not use this in separable way, especially if the direct object is long and consists of many words. Examples of usage.... The agreement sets down the responsibilities of both parties. The law sets down strict rules for the handling of personal data. Our employee code of conduct sets down acceptable standards of behaviour. These regulations set down the minimum safety standards that employers must follow. The government has set new guidelines down for the industry. The constitution sets down the basic principles of the political system. The policy clearly sets down what staff members should do in an emergency. The rules were set down many years ago and are now being reviewed. We have to follow the procedures set down by the company. MEANING 4: To allow a passenger to alight Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To let off, to let out, to drop off Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'set down' is a primarily British English usage that means 'to stop a vehicle and allow a passenger to alight'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Bus Train Taxi Passenger Driver To alight - to get out of or off a vehicle, so that you are on the ground. To clarify, 'set down' can be used in British English to describe when a vehicle carrying passengers stops so that people can get off or out (remember 'on' for larger public transport like planes, trains and buses and 'in' for cars). For this application we need to rewind back to the first application of putting something on a surface as the core idea of that is that you once you do this, you are no longer carrying the object. The idea is essentially the same with this application as the vehicle is carrying the passengers and when they have been set down, they are no longer on or in it. As with the previous meanings of 'set down', this one is more formal than alternatives like 'drop off' and 'let off' and is also not as frequently heard in everyday speech. It is a separable usage and remember the golden rule that pronouns (me, him, us etc) must always go between the verb and particle. Examples of usage.... The taxi set us down outside the hotel. Could you set me down at the next corner, please? The driver set the passengers down outside the station. The coach sets down passengers at several stops along the route. We were set down just outside the city centre. The bus stopped to set down a few passengers. Drivers are not allowed to set passengers down here. Paul asked the driver to set him down near the theatre. The minibus will set you down directly outside the terminal. MEANING 5: To land an airplane Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To land, to put down Separable? Yes We've now come to final meaning of 'set down' and it is another one that is consistent with the others that we have looked at in the post and is 'to land an airplane'. I'm sure that you can probably work this one out but this meaning is once again linked to the idea of placing something on a surface. The difference this time however is that a plane can weigh up to 700,000kg and you need a lot of skill and training to be able to place it safely on an airport runway. I don't hear this particular application being used very often as you are more likely to hear 'to land' or even 'to put down' being used as an alternative instead. Interestingly, this usage is ergative, which means that it can be used both transitively and intransitively (with or without a direct object). See the examples below.... Examples of usage.... Intransitive (without a direct object): The small plane set down safely in a field. The helicopter set down on the roof of the hospital. Our aircraft set down just before midnight. Transitive (with a direct object): The pilot set the plane down safely despite the strong winds. Amelia managed to set the helicopter down in a small clearing. The crew set the aircraft down on a remote airstrip. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'set down' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'set down' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'take away' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This post is all about the common phrasal verb 'take away' and in it I will explain five different ways that you can use it in English. For example, did you know that we can use it to talk about subjects as diverse as mathematics and buying food and eating it elsewhere?! In the post, I will explain each of the different ways that we use it in everyday modern English and also provide you with lots of examples for each one to ensure that by the end of the post you have a good understanding of when and how to use it. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'take away' is all about. Grab a drink and get comfortable as it is a long post.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'take away' mean? The phrasal verb 'take away' has five main meanings in English: To remove something To buy food and eat it elsewhere To subtract To devalue or detract To learn something Keep reading to learn more about how to use each one in a natural way.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Take Away - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'take' and 'away' Take Away - Meaning 1: To remove something Take Away - Meaning 2: To buy food and eat it elsewhere 🇬🇧 Take Away - Meaning 3: To subtract Take Away - Meaning 4: To devalue or detract Take Away - Meaning 5: To learn something Take Away - Bonus: The noun 'takeaway' part 1 Take Away - Bonus: The noun 'takeaway' part 2 Take Away - Bonus: The idiom 'take it away!' Please don't forget to like or comment if you enjoyed the post! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you. James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TAKE AWAY: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Took away / Taken away Separable? Yes As you can see in the table above, when we combine the two words 'take' and 'away' to form the phrasal verb 'take away', we get a a surprising number of meanings, but what do these two little words mean on their own and what does each one bring to the phrasal verbs that it appears in? Take - The verb 'to take' is one the most commonly used and versatile verbs in the English language. It has lots of different meanings which include 'to transport something with you', 'to remove something', 'to steal' and 'to acquire something'. It has many more meanings that that but those are some of the most common and are the most relevant for the phrasal verb 'take away'. As with many common verbs in English, 'to take' is irregular. I am taking my cat to work with me tomorrow. Who has taken my keys? They were on the table a minute ago? Sorry, I think I took your keys by mistake. Away - The prepositional particle 'away' is one that we do not see all too often in phrasal verb constructions. Its core meaning is 'a separation or movement from a particular place, person or thing' and this idea is often applied literally in phrasal verbs (walk away, fly away). In more idiomatic phrasal verbs meanings it can add different meanings like removal or discarding (throw away), continuous activity (chat away) and gradual disappearance (wear away). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to learn what meanings the phrasal verb 'take away' has.... MEANING 1: To remove Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To remove, to get rid of, to confiscate, to revoke Separable? Yes We will begin the post with the literal meaning of the combination of these two words, which is 'to remove something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Plates Toys Cellphone / Mobile Pain Doubt Worry Let's first just think about this in the simplest terms. I think that you can probably work this one out yourselves but when we combine the idea of 'taking' something and combine it with the idea of 'away', we arrive at the meaning of removing something from the place that it was, so that it is no longer there. I have a good example of this from yesterday. My cats, Arthur and Henry, were in the garden acting in a strange way and when I went outside to find out why, I noticed that they were chasing a small bird that had fallen out of a tree. In order to save the bird, I needed to take both of the cats away (remove them) from where thery were in the garden, so that the bird could escape back to its home in the trees. Luckily, no cats, birds or humans were hurt and everyone lived happily ever after. The core idea of 'take away' is clear in the example above: I took the cats away from the specified place so that they were no longer there. Other examples of this could include when someone leaves some old unwanted furniture outside their house so that someone takes it away and when a server in a restaurant comes and takes your empty plates away from the table when you have finished your meal. Example sentences.... Please take those empty boxes away. Alan took the dirty plates away after dinner. Can you take this chair away? We don’t need it anymore. The workers took away all the rubbish this morning. Jennifer took the old furniture away when she moved out. Someone has taken away the ladder that was outside. All of the examples that we have looked at until now have included taking something from a place, but now let's add the human element to it. If we want to talk about when a person no longer has something because it has been taken from them, we can just 'take away' with the preposition 'from' with the following structure: take something away from someone. This is typically used when someone has something in their possession and another person takes it from them, meaning that they no longer have it. As this tends to be when the person did not choose to no longer have the item, it is often said with an element of anger, frustration or bitterness. It is common to hear this used with children and teenagers, for example you make take a child's toy away if they have been naughty, or a teacher may take a student's phone away if they are playing with it in class. Example sentences.... The teacher took the phone away from Tom during the lesson. Leo's parents took his games console away from him for a week as a punishment. The police took the knife away from the man. Rosalind took the matches away from the child before he could light them. The nurse took the empty medicine bottle away from the patient. I had to take the remote control away from my son because he kept changing the channel. In addition to solid, tangible objects, we also use this application of the phrasal verb 'take away' with abstract or non-physical things. When used this way, 'take away' carries the idea of doing something to eliminate something or get rid of it. This includes things like freedom, atmosphere and doubts, as well as things that people can feel like pain, tiredness and emotions. Example sentences.... The medicine took the pain away almost immediately. Nothing could take away Emma's fear of flying. A good night’s sleep should take away some of the tiredness. The apology didn’t take away the embarrassment of what had happened. The new evidence took away any doubt about who was responsible. My colleague's explanation took away some of my concerns about the project. By adding too much water, it has taken away a lot of the flavour from the dish. They took away my freedom when they put me in prison but they didn't take away my desire for revenge. Lastly, we can also talk about taking people away and we can do this for both very positive and very negative reasons. Sometimes, if a person dies, particularly if it is suddenly or at a young age, you may hear their surviving partner or family using take away' as a euphemism to express that the person has died. Again, this goes back to the idea that something is taken from you against your will and you no longer have it in your life. Example sentences.... My wife was taken away from us far too soon. We were devastated when our son was taken away from us at such a young age. She was taken away from her family after a short illness. On a more positive note, Did you now that a common meaning of 'away' when it is used as an adverb is 'on holiday / vacation' since it implies that you are not at home. Therefore, in British English if you 'take someone away', it can mean that you take them on holiday (vacation) with you. The implicit meaning here is that the person taking the other away organises the holiday and invites the other person. Example sentences.... I’m taking my wife away for the weekend. He took his girlfriend away for her birthday. We’re taking the kids away during the school holidays. Davina wants to take her parents away for a few days. Are you taking her away for your anniversary? They took the whole family away for Christmas. Let's move on to the next application now and I promise they are all much shorter from now on 😀 MEANING 2: To buy food and eat it elsewhere Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? British English, Australian English, Ireland, NZ, South Africa Potential synonyms To take out, to carry out Separable? Yes The second of our meanings of the phrasal verb 'take away' is one that is common in British English and means 'to buy food and eat it elsewhere'. If you have ever been to the UK, you will no doubt have noticed that in most towns and cities there are a lot of Indian and Chinese restaurants that offer a service where you can order the food in the restaurant and take it with you to eat somewhere else once it is ready (typically your home). When we do this, we say that we are taking the food away, as we are literally removing it from the restaurant before we eat it. In addition, this is very common in certain fast food restaurants (I'm sure you know which ones I am talking about) and when you are ordering food in one of these, you will always be asked if you are eating in (staying in the restaurant to eat) or taking away. This application is a separable one, however, it is fairly common to use the following structure: food / drink + to take away. One important point to note here is that although I have stated British English above, 'take away' is not commonly used in Scotland as they tend to use 'carry out' (link here) instead. In North American English, the standard term for this style of dining is 'take out' (link here) or sometimes also 'food to go'. Example sentences.... We ordered some pizzas to take away. Can I get this coffee to take away, please? I didn’t have time to eat there, so I took the food away with me. You can eat here or take your food away. We decided to take the burgers away and eat them in the park. I’ll have a chicken curry to take away, please. They bought some sandwiches to take away and ate them on the train. Is that to eat in or take away? I’d like two portions of fish and chips to take away, please. BONUS: The noun 'takeaway' part 1 When talking about this action of buying food in a restaurant and taking it away to eat, we often use the noun 'takeaway' to describe the meal itself. For example, if you and your partner are both too tired to cook one evening, one of you may suggest "getting a takeaway" instead. You should note that this is also used when the food is ordered online or over the phone and it is delivered to the person's house. We had a takeaway last night because neither of us felt like cooking. Shall we get a takeaway tonight? We ordered a Chinese takeaway and watched a film. MEANING 3: To subtract Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To subtract, to minus, to take off, to deduct Separable? Yes The third of the five meanings of the phrasal verb 'take away' is one that will be useful for all of you mathematicians out there and means 'to subtract'. To subtract: to remove one number or amount from another to see what is left afterwards. You may recall that I have stated in other blog posts that I am not naturally good at maths*. I used to enjoy it at school but it didn't come naturally to me like reading and languages. Now, whenever I hear the phrasal verb 'take away' being used to talk about maths, it takes me straight back to my classroom struggles at school as this was how we used to refer to subtraction. If you are doing a calculation and you need to remove one number from a larger number in order to find out what the difference is, we can use the phrasal verb 'take away' to express this. To give you an example, you would say "five take away three equals 2" (5 - 3 = 2). Again, this application links back to the core idea of removal that we have already looked at in the post. It is very common when talking about school maths at basic levels, however if you were talking to a serious mathematician or scientist, they would be more likely to use a more formal verb like 'to subtract' or 'to deduct'. Example sentences.... If you take away five from twelve, you get seven. Ten take away three is seven. What do you get if you take away six from twenty? Take away four from nine and you’re left with five. If we take away 20 from 100, we get 80. Fifty take away fifteen equals thirty-five. *math in American English MEANING 4: To devalue or detract Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To detract, to devalue Separable? Yes We are going to stay with the same core idea of 'removal' for our fourth meaning of the phrasal verb 'take away' as this one means 'to detract from' or 'to devalue'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Work Achievement Success Performance Significance Appeal To detract = to make something seem less valuable or important To devalue = to reduce the perceived value of something This application is a bit similar to the previous one with calculations, but rather than removing one number from another, we are instead talking about reducing the value, effectiveness, quality or enjoyment of something, so that it is not perceived by people to be as good or as valuable as it was before. Generally, we use this application with abstract nouns such as success, performance or experience. If something happens that can result in a person not enjoying something as much or it reduces how effective of important something is, we can say that "it takes away from it'. For example, if you watch a movie and it is a brilliant movie but one actor's performance is very bad, you could say that "the actor's performance took away from the movie", meaning that it reduced how much you enjoyed it. Likewise, if you enjoy the ambiance of a house but don't like the cheap furniture, you could say that "the cheap furniture takes away from the ambiance of the house". The best way to explain this one is if you think of a meal at a restaurant that you enjoyed very much, however you had to wait a long time for the food to come. As a result, you gave the experience 8/10, however if the food had come more quickly, you would have given the experience 10/10 but the long wait took away from this. Example sentences.... The poor ending took away from an otherwise excellent film. The noisy crowd took away from our enjoyment of the concert. The constant interruptions took away from the effectiveness of the presentation. A spell of bad weather took away from what would otherwise have been a perfect weekend. This controversy has taken away from the success of the event. Excessive special effects actually take away from the story. For the optimists among you, you should also note we often use this in the negative sense, to express that something bad or negative does not devalue or detract from the overall achievement, result or experience of something. Example sentences.... His lack of experience doesn’t take away from his ability to do the job well. The disappointing result doesn’t take away from what the team achieved this season. A couple of negative reviews shouldn’t take anything away from your achievement. MEANING 5: To learn something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To learn Separable? Yes We are now at the fifth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'take away', which means 'to learn something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Information Message Lesson Idea Point I have purposely left this particular usage of 'take away' until last as the idea of it is not just learning something, but rather leaving someone with a lasting memory of something at the end of it (which I hope you will have after this article). For instance, if you go on a course to learn something new, the information that you retain and remember once the course has finished is what you take away from it. It may not always be something that is taught to you in an educational or pedagogical way; it could just as easily be a lesson that you learned through a life experience. The key idea is that the information or message that you remember after the experience or lesson is over is what you take away from it. Example sentences.... The main thing I took away from the course was the importance of good communication. What did you take away from the meeting? I took away a lot of useful information from the workshop. There are several important lessons we can take away from this experience. One thing I’ve taken away from working abroad is the importance of being flexible. I hope everyone takes something useful away from this phrasal verb post. BONUS: The noun 'takeaway' part 2 A second way that we can use the noun 'takeaway' is in reference to this particular application of the phrasal verb as it is used to mean the information or message that is learned by a person at the end of something. A common collocation that you may come across with this is 'key takeaway', which refers to what the teacher or course instructor is most keen for the students to learn. My main takeaway from the meeting was that we need to communicate better. The biggest takeaway from the course was the importance of planning ahead. What was your key takeaway from the presentation? Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'take it away' I must apologise as I was lying to you a minute ago when I said that the previous application was the last one as there is a common idiom that we use with 'take away' that deserves its own little explanation here: 'take it away'. The expression 'take it away' is used as a form of command to tell someone that they can start a performance or start speaking in a presentation. The history of this expression goes back to the early 20th century and came from the idea that a performance would take the audience away on a kind of musical trip. It soon crossed over onto radio and has evolved over the years now to include presentations and speeches. Example sentences.... And now, please welcome our band. Take it away, guys! “Are you ready to play?” “Absolutely.” “Great — take it away!” Now we’ll hear from our correspondent in Paris. Take it away, James. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'take away' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'take away' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'go over' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. 'Go over' is a common phrasal verb in the English language with a range of different meanings, including to cross something from one side to the other, to exceed a limit and to describe how something is perceived by an audience. Read on to find out all of its different meanings, as well some idiomatic expressions that it can be found in.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'go over' mean? The phrasal verb 'go over' has six main meanings in English.... To move across from one place to another To change allegiance To examine or check something carefully To revise or rehearse something To be received or perceived by people To exceed a limit Keep reading to learn how to use each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Go Over - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'go' and 'over' Go Over - Meaning 1: To move across from one place to another Go Over - Meaning 2: To change allegiance Go Over - Meaning 3: To examine or check something carefully Go Over - Bonus: The idiom 'to go over something with a fine-tooth comb' Go Over - Meaning 4: To revise or rehearse something Go Over - Meaning 5: To be received or perceived by people Go Over - Meaning 6: To exceed a limit Go Over - Bonus: The idiom 'to go over someone someone's head' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GO OVER: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Went Over / Gone Over Separable? No Before we start looking at the meanings of the phrasal verb 'go over', let's firstly have a look at the words 'go' and 'over' and their individual meanings. The verb 'to go' is one of the most common verbs in the English language and is all about movement, specifically from one place to another. In addition to this main meaning, it can also be used to mean 'to leave' and 'to become' and is commonly used to form the 'going to' future tense construction, e.g. "I am going to watch this movie tonight". The prepositional particle 'over' is an interesting one as it has several distinct meanings, depending on what word class it is used as. As a preposition it tends to mean 'above' or 'in a higher position than', as an adverb it is first and foremost used to mean 'across' or 'movement across' and as an adjective it means 'finished' or 'ended'. Moreover, in American English 'over' can also be used as an adverb to mean 'repeatedly' or 'again'. So now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the various meanings of 'go over'.... MEANING 1: To move across from one place to another Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come over, to go across, to head over, to pass over This first meaning of 'go over' is a literal meaning of the verb 'to go' and the adverb 'over' combined, meaning 'to move across from one place to another'. Broadly speaking, there are two main ways that this literal form of 'go over' is used.... The first is simply moving from a start point and across something to arrive at the desired end point. The list of things that could be crossed is extensive but typically includes roads, fields, bridges and rivers. We do also use 'go over' to talk about when we go to a different country, especially when a sea or an ocean lies between the countries and this is typical when talking about travel from the UK or Europe to the USA or vice versa. The second way that 'go over' can be used literally is with the idea of moving past something by going above it, thus incorporating the prepositional meaning of 'above' that 'over' possesses. For this second variation, typical examples could be when a person goes over a hill or when something moves through the air and it goes over something such as an airplane, a superhero or something that has been thrown. In order to go over the bridge by foot, you must pay a small fee of $2. John went over the field to get his horse from the other side. Steven has gone over to the USA to study at Yale for a year. I miss him terribly! We went over the English Channel when we were going to France on the airplane. Sarah is no longer allowed to play football with her brothers as every time she kicks the ball, it goes over the fence. MEANING 2: To change allegiance Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come over, to switch For the second meaning of 'go over', we are going to continue with the theme of an across movement from a start point to an end point, however this time the movement is abstract rather than physical, as it means to change allegiances from one side to another. For those of you who are unsure of the word 'allegiance', it means 'loyalty or support given to a particular cause, person, group of people or belief' and this could be used with political parties, sides of an argument or debate or even a sports team. When a person decides, for whatever reason, to change side or allegiance, we can say that they 'go over' to the other side. This is a similar usage to the phrasal verb 'come over' (link here), however with 'go over' the perspective is from the starting point where the person leaves and with 'come over' the perspective is from the end point. John left the Left Party a long time ago and went over to the Green Party, despite them being much less popular. Louise was offered a large amount of money to go over to their rival basketball team, however her allegiance to her home team was too strong and she turned it down. MEANING 3: To examine or check something carefully Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To examine, to check, to go through The next meaning of 'go over' is 'to examine or to check something carefully', normally a document, essay or some kind of written work. Typically, you would use 'go over' in this sense when you have created a document or completed a form and you want somebody else to check it for you, to ensure that there are no mistakes and that everything is correct and suitable. This usage of 'go over' comes from the idea of moving your eyes across a document from above and thus includes the idea of movement from 'to go' and 'across and above' from 'over'. I've finished the report and I've asked my boss to go over it before I submit it to the customer. I can't believe that I did not see that spelling mistake on the website. I went over it four or five times before I published it! IDIOM ALERT - To go over something with a fine-tooth comb Photo: Pexels This particular usage of 'go over' where we check a form of written work or document has given rise to a common idiom that is used in everyday English: 'to go over something with a fine-tooth comb'. This idiom is used to mean that you will search for something or examine something as thoroughly and carefully as possible. A variation of this idiom that may also hear is 'to go through something with a fine-tooth comb'. The board has been over the plans with a fine-tooth comb and has decided to give the project the green light. When I lost my gold bracelet, we went over the house with a fine-tooth comb but we weren't able to find it anywhere. It turned out that it was in the car! MEANING 4: To revise or rehearse something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate ​Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To revise, to repeat, to practise, to rehearse Our fourth meaning of 'go over' is primarily to do with the idea of repetition and is used to mean 'to revise' or to 'rehearse'. Once again, this application takes the idea of movement from 'go' and combines it with the idea of repetition from the adverbial usage of 'over'. This usage is actually quite similar to the one that we just looked at in the last section, as it also involves looking at something. This time, however, we are not looking at it to make sure that it is correct, but rather we are looking at it again, either to revise something and learn it, such as before an exam, or to practise or rehearse something, like when you are preparing for a performance or speech. This could also be used with the idea of discussing something for another or a second time, especially if the subject in question is one of disagreement or contention. Let's go over our lines one more time before the performance. I want to make sure that I know them perfectly! He's gone over the practice questions so many times, I don't think it will be possible for him to fail! Oh not this subject again! We've gone over this so many times and I do not want to discuss it anymore. MEANING 5: To be received or perceived by people Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come across, to come over The fifth meaning of 'go over' mean 'to be received' or 'perceived' by an audience and is used specifically to talk about performances, demonstrations, speeches and multimedia - in other words for anything which has an audience. When we talk about how something 'goes over', we are specifically talking about how it is perceived by an audience and accordingly this will be followed with a adverb such as well or badly. If we want to specify the audience who are perceiving or receiving the performance, we need the additional preposition 'with'. This application is very similar in meaning and usage to the phrasal verbs 'come across' (link here) and 'come over' (link here). The singer's comeback performance went over really well with the audience and her singles and albums streams and downloads have increased dramatically as a consequence. The minister's speech last night did not go over well. MEANING 6: To exceed a limit Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To run over, to exceed Last but not least, we have our sixth and final meaning of 'go over', which is to exceed a set or expected limit. For this usage, we are again taking the idea of movement from the verb 'to go' and combining it with the prepositional meaning of 'over' to mean 'more than'. The idea here is that something moves past a limit or deadline and this can be applied to time and speed limits and also physical capacities. It is very common to use 'go over' in the business world to talk about meetings and engagements that continue on after the intended finishing time. Alternatively, if you go over the speed limit in your car, your speed exceeds the highest permissible speed on that particular road and if you spend more than the agreed amount on your credit card, you go over your limit. The meeting was scheduled to finish at 2pm, however it went over and it did not finish until nearly 4pm. Lisa lost her driving license last year as she went over the speed limit multiple times. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Idiom 'To go over someone's head' Before I finish this post, there are two more idioms with 'go over' that I want to tell you about and these are very interesting as they are actually the same idiom, just with two separate meanings. The idiomatic expression in question is 'to go over someone's head'. The first meaning of 'to go over someone's head' is frequently used in the business world and means 'to ask permission or to obtain authority from someone who is higher up in the organisational hierarchy than the person you would normally ask'. In other words, instead of asking for permission from your boss, you ask permission from your boss' boss. I needed emergency authorisation to take time off for a family emergency and I knew my boss wouldn't allow me to have the time off, so I went over her head and asked the MD instead. The second meaning of 'to go over someone's head' is used to describe when someone does not understand something because it is too complicated for them or they lack the requisite basic knowledge to comprehend it. Typical examples of when this can be used would be when someone tries to explain something technical to someone without any technical knowledge and when someone from another country does not know a cultural reference from the country that they are in and therefore does not grasp the intended meaning. I told John a joke about social media and he didn't laugh or find it funny. It went over his head because he doesn't use social media and didn't understand the reference. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'go over' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'go over' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pull in' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This week's post on Phrasal Verbs Explained is all about the wonderful phrasal verb 'pull in'. This often-neglected phrasal verb is one that can be used to talk about a range of different topics which include fishing, driving and earning money. In the post, I will explain all five of its meanings for you and for each one I will also give you lots of example sentences to show you how and when to use them and by the end of the post your knowledge of all things to do with with 'pull in' will be expert level. So, let's make a start and find out exactly what the phrasal verb 'pull in' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'pull in' mean? The phrasal verb 'pull in' has five main meanings in English.... To move something towards you To stop a vehicle To arrest someone To attract people To earn money Keep reading to learn how to use each one! TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Pull In - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'pull' and 'in' Pull In - Meaning 1: To move something towards you Pull In - Meaning 2: To stop a vehicle Pull In - Meaning 3: To arrest someone Pull In - Meaning 4: To attract people Pull In - Meaning 5: To earn money Please don't forget to like or comment if you enjoyed the post! Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you. James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PULL IN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Pulled in / Pulled in Separable? Yes To start, I have a simple question for you: how well do you know the words 'pull' and 'in' by themselves? Let's take a moment to briefly consider what they mean and their significance in phrasal verbs.... Pull - The verb 'to pull' is a common regular verb in English whose primary meaning is to cause someone or something to come towards, or to follow behind you. This is often by using your arms and hands or by using something powerful. Alternatively, it can also just be when caused by a force such as attraction. 'To pull' is featured in a lot of different phrasal verbs, many of which are to do with driving and vehicles as you will see later in this post. You need to pull the string to turn the light on The horses pulled the cart along the road. I was pulled towards the light by an invisible force. In - The prepositional particle 'in' is one that we regularly see in phrasal verbs and can be used to add a variety of different meanings and ideas to them. Many of these ideas are derived directly from the core meanings that we get with the word 'in' and these include a movement inside (go in), joining something (chip in) and filling a hole or space (fill in). In addition, 'in' can also add other ideas to phrasal verbs like restriction (hem in), remaining at home (stay in) and focus (zoom in on). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull in'.... MEANING 1: To move something towards you Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reel in, to draw in Separable? Yes The first of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull in' that we will look at is the most obvious one and is simply just the literal meaning of the two words combined: 'to move something towards you'.... Nouns commonly used with this application.... Rope Cable Catch Net Stomach Date Meeting We can essentially divide this first application into two parts; physical objects and time. If we first consider physical objects, we are concerned here with the idea of physically pulling something so that is moves closer us. In addition, this can also be someone or something that is pulled by a force from the exterior of something to the interior. When I think of this literal usage, the first thing that comes to mind is boats, particularly fishing boats. If a fisherman (or woman) catches a fish on the line, they will then need to use the rod to pull the fish towards (and into) the boat and for this we can use 'pull in'. Another common phrasal verb for this specific action is 'reel in'. It can work the other way around too. I remember once when I was younger and I was too scared to jump into a swimming pool. A friend of mine who was already in the pool grabbed my hand and pulled me in. I forgave him as I ended up having a great time! Aside from these watery examples, we can use 'pull in' with most nouns that we use 'in' with, particularly if they refer to a physical place e.g.a building or a room. Example sentences.... The fishermen pulled in their nets and checked what they had caught. Claire pulled in the fishing line slowly. We pulled the cable in through the open window. I pulled the blanket in so that it wasn't hanging over the edge of the bed. Joe grabbed Kelly's arm and pulled her in through the doorway. Natasha opened the door, took his hand and pulled him in. It is also possible to use this first application with certain body parts, namely arms, legs and stomachs. For example, if your arm or your leg is extended and is blocking somewhere, you may pull it in towards the rest of your body to clear the way. Also, if you think that you look fat or overweight, you may pull in your stomach to make you look a bit thinner, especially when someone is taking a photo of you (I used to do this when I was younger as I was a bit overweight). Example sentences.... Alex pulled his legs in to make room for the lady to get past. Henrietta pulled in her stomach as she posed for the photograph. The gymnast pulled his arms and legs in to achieve maximum speed. The other thing that we can use this first application of 'pull in' with is time. Sadly, we are not able to control or change time itself, however we can use 'pull in' to refer to when we bring the date of something forward so that it is closer to now. For example, if a work project becomes more urgent, your boss may pull in the deadline date by a month e.g. from August to July. Likewise, if you need to update dates on a system and you amend them to a date that is closer to the present time, you can say that you are pulling the dates in. Example sentences.... We've pulled in the deadline by two weeks. They've pulled in the launch date from October to September. The delivery date has been pulled in by a week. MEANING 2: To stop a vehicle Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - To stop a vehicle Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere, common in British English Potential synonyms To arrive, to come in, to draw in, to park up Separable? No Let's move on now to the second of our five meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull in' and this one is used to talk about vehicles stopping. Like the previous application, this one can also be divided into two sections: trains and other road vehicles. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Train Car Driver Bus Firstly, let's focus on trains. We use 'pull in' to describe when trains arrive at a station, slow down and stop at a platform. If you have read my post about 'draw in' (link here), you may remember that we can also use this phrasal verb to describe the same thing, however you should know that 'pull in' is the more common of the two in everyday speech. On a grammatical note, this usage is intransitive and there is no direct object and therefore it is not a separable usage. Note that if you want to specify the destination or end point where the train stops, 'in' becomes 'into'. Example sentences.... The train pulled in five minutes late. Our train pulled in just after nine o'clock. The train was just pulling in as we reached the platform. We watched the train pull in to the station. As the train pulled in, everyone picked up their bags. The train pulled into the station right on time. Let's now turn our attention to cars and other road vehicles. When we use the phrasal verb 'pull in' with these, the meaning changes slightly as it means to move to the side of a road and stop. In addition, it can also be used to describe when a car is driven into a parking space and parked there. Note that this usage with cars is primarily British English. Can you pull in just after the traffic lights? The driver pulled in at the side of the road to check the map. I pulled in to let the ambulance pass. The taxi pulled in outside the hotel and we got out. Lesley pulled in behind a parked car and switched off the engine. The gates were open, so I pulled in and parked next to the house. MEANING 3: To arrest someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potental synonyms To arrest, to take in Separable? Yes Our next application of the phrasal verb 'pull in' is one for all of the naughty people out there as it is a fairly informal way of saying 'to arrest someone'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person Criminal Suspect Police To clarify, if the police pull a person in, it means that they arrest them and take them to the police station to be questioned about a crime that they are suspected of committing. It doesn't mean that the suspect did commit the crime, just that the police believe that they did and want to speak to them more. As you may have noticed already, this is a separable usage and is comparable to the phrasal verb 'take in', however I would say that 'take in' is more common and more formal. Note that when the focus of the sentence is on the criminal, it is common to use the passive voice (get taken in / be taken in) with this application. Hopefully this application of 'pull in' will never be one that affects you personally, however it may be one that you come across in movies, TV series and books. Example sentences.... The police pulled him in for questioning. They pulled in two suspects in connection with the robbery. The police pulled the suspect in after receiving a tip-off. Detectives pulled him in for questioning but released him later that day. They've pulled in several people in connection with the attack. The police pulled the suspect in as soon as they had enough evidence. He was pulled in by the police after witnesses identified him. I got pulled in by the police to answer some questions. If you pull someone in for this, you'd better have enough evidence to support it. MEANING 4: To attract people Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To attract, to draw in Separable? Yes For the first three applications of 'pull in', we've looked at various ways that we can use it to talk about physical force to move something to a desired place. However, for this fourth usage it's more of an idea of an invisible, non-physical force as it means 'to attract people'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... People Crowds Spectators Visitors Tourists Customers Let me first of all clarify that when I use the verb 'to attract' here, it is not in the sense of sexual attraction (although it could be in some cases). Instead, we are talking about attracting people to go to or to visit somewhere, usually in large numbers. Typically, we use this application with public events like concerts and sporting meets. For example, recently I was lucky enough to go and watch the European Athletics Championships, which was so much fun. There were a lot of people there, however it was the first night of the games and there were quite a lot of empty seats. As the week went on, I noticed on TV that there were more and more people attending and by the final weekend the event had pulled in a huge crowd and there were barely any empty seats. In addition to public events, something else that is often used with this application is shopping and sales. For example, Black Friday often pulls in a huge number of shoppers looking for bargains and good deals to malls and stores. The key idea with this application is that something attracts large amounts of people like a magnet. It is a separable phrasal verb but we don't tend to use it separably very often. Examples sentences.... The new exhibition is pulling in huge crowds. The festival pulled in thousands of visitors last year. The restaurant's new menu has pulled in more customers. The sale pulled in hundreds of shoppers over the weekend. The band pulled in a large crowd despite the bad weather. The event pulled in people from all over the country. The new attraction is pulling in more tourists than expected. Their social media campaign helped pull in younger customers. What can we do to pull more visitors in? MEANING 5: To earn money Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To earn Separable? Yes Show me the money! This last application of 'pull in' is all about the thing that makes us get up and go to work every day: money. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Money Profits Pounds / Dollars / Euros etc. Salary Income Revenue We can use the phrasal verb 'pull in' to talk about money when a person or a business earns, obtains or gains a notable or large amount of it. It is usually followed by the specific amount of money e.g. $100,000. Grammatically, it is technically a separable phrasal verb, however we almost never use it this way. It is similar to the phrasal verb 'bring in' but the with 'pull in' there is more of an emphasis on the large or surprising amount that is earned. Example sentences.... Carrie pulls in over £80,000 a year. His business pulls in a lot of money. The company pulled in record profits last year. The film pulled in millions at the box office. James pulls in a decent salary from his teaching work. The restaurant pulls in thousands of pounds every weekend. Their online shop pulled in more than $100,000 in sales last year. The event pulled in nearly £50,000 in ticket sales. We expect to pull in double that amount next year. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'pull in' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'pull in' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'calm down' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. I am sure that many of you reading this will be familiar with the English phrasal verb 'calm down' and perhaps think that you already know what it means. Regardless of whether or not this is true, I challenge you to read this article because in it, I will explain the different situations and contexts in which it can be used. You may be surprised at what you learn! In addition, I will give you lots of example sentences in context to illustrate each of its two meanings. So, let's make a start and learn what the phrasal verb 'calm down' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'calm down' mean The phrasal verb 'calm down' has two main meanings in English.... To become less angry or excited To become quieter or less busy Keep reading to learn more about how to use these in a natural way.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Calm Down - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'calm' & 'down' Calm Down - Meaning 1: To become less angry or excited Calm Down - Meaning 2: To become less busy or less severe Photo: Pexels THE BASICS CALM DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 2 Past tense forms Calmed down / Calmed down Separable? Yes The phrasal verb 'calm down' is created by combining the verb 'to calm' with the prepositional particle 'down'. With this in mind, let's first take a minute to consider what these two words mean individually and what their significance is for the phrasal verb 'calm down'.... Calm - The verb 'to calm' is one that is used quite commonly in English (but surprisingly it is not as common the phrasal verb 'calm down'). It is derived directly from the adjective 'calm', which means 'free from anger or stress' when talking about a person and 'quiet' or 'peaceful' when talking about a place - both of these will feature later in the phrasal verb explanations. When we use the verb 'to calm' it is to talk about the process of becoming calm or causing something to become calm. It is a regular verb 😃 Sally tried to calm her children after the loud noise frightened them. My Dad's voice calmed me immediately. The teacher managed to calm the class before the lesson started. The crowd eventually calmed. You should note that while the sentences above are all perfectly fine to use, in most scenarios it would be more common and natural to use 'calm down' instead. Down - If you're capable of reading this article, then you will need no introduction to what the word 'down' means but just as a reminder, it is primarily used to describe 'a movement from a high place to a lower place' or 'a decrease'. When used in phrasal verbs, both of these literal ideas can be carried across (go down, fall down). In addition, 'down' can add the ideas of becoming quieter (settle down), stopping (shut down), defeat (bring down) and division (break down) among others to phrasal verbs. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'calm down'.... MEANING 1: To become less angry or excited Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To Separable? Yes The first application of 'calm down' that we look at in this post is when it is used to refer to people and this can be either to yourself or to other people. Are you the sort of person who gets angry easily or does it take something really bad for you to lose your temper? Either way, we are all human and anger is an emotion that we all feel from time to time. For this application of 'calm down' we are specifically talking about the process that we all experience of becoming calm again after feeling angry, stressed, panicked or upset. Furthermore, it can also be used to talk about when children, animals or even adults who are very excited and full of energy start to feel normal. The central idea with this application is that when you are experiencing these strong emotions, there is a lot of energy swirling around in your brain and so when you calm down, these energy levels go down and you feel calm again. Example sentences.... My boss eventually calmed down and apologised for shouting. Sophie needs a few minutes to calm down. The children calmed down once their parents arrived. I was furious at first, but I soon calmed down. Everyone calmed down once they realised there was no danger. My cats go crazy after dinner but they calm down again after half an hour or so. Note that 'calm down' is frequently used with the 'self' reflexive pronouns to describe when a person becomes calm again over a period of time. Example sentences.... I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Victoria went outside for a few minutes to calm herself down. Joseph couldn't calm himself down after the argument. You need to calm yourself down before you speak to him. My sister tried to calm herself down by focusing on her breathing. I had to calm myself down before going into the meeting. It is also likely that you will have heard or will hear in the future 'calm down' being used as an imperative to tell someone to stop being so angry or stressed about something. Just calm down for a minute and listen to me. Please calm down. We’re trying to help you. Calm down! Everything’s going to be fine. Try to calm down and think about this logically. Everybody calm down! We need to work out what’s happened. Calm down, both of you! Shouting isn’t going to solve anything. Lastly, you may have noticed that apart from the reflexive ('self) sentences above, none of the others were used separably. However, it is possible to use this phrasal verb application in a separable and transitive way by placing the name of the person or animal or the corresponding pronoun between 'calm' and 'down'. Remember that pronouns always go between the noun and particle like a pronoun sandwich. Example sentences.... I tried to calm him down, but he was still furious. She managed to calm the children down before bedtime. Can you calm her down? She’s really upset. His mother eventually calmed him down. The teacher tried to calm the students down after the argument. It took us nearly an hour to calm Ben down. MEANING 2: To become less busy or less severe Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To quieten down, to settle down Separable? Yes For the second of the two applications of 'calm down', we are going to stay with the same idea as the first one but this time we are thinking about non-living things and situations and therefore things that we have little or no control over. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Situation Work Rain / Snow / Wind / Storm In this second application, the main ideas are that something becomes less busy or it loses energy, with the end result in both cases being that something is calmer. Let's think about it from a work perspective; if you've even been at work and it is really busy for instance in your office job you have too many emails to answer and deadlines to meet or in a restaurant all of the tables are fully booked, you would use 'calm down' when it stops being as busy as you no longer feel such a high level of stress as a result. Example sentences.... The office usually calms down after about four o’clock. It’s been a hectic morning, but things are finally starting to calm down. The restaurant normally calms down after the lunchtime rush. Once the dinner rush was over, the restaurant calmed down considerably. The shop should calm down once the Christmas rush is over. Things tend to calm down in the office during August. Furthermore, 'calm down' can be used in this way to talk about tense or dramatic situations that become less so. For example, if there is a conflict of some sort, we can use 'calm down' when the levels of aggression become lower and the situation loses intensity. Example sentences.... The situation eventually calmed down after several hours of tense negotiations. The conflict calmed down once both sides agreed to stop fighting. Things calmed down after the police arrived and separated the two groups. Likewise, we can also use it with the weather. For example, as you will know it normally rains a lot in the UK and so when the rain becomes less intense or severe, we can say that it 'calms down'. Likewise, we can use it for wind, storm or snow. Example sentences.... The wind should calm down later this evening. The storm finally calmed down during the night. We waited for the weather to calm down before setting off. One last thing to note is that it is also possible to use this second application of the phrasal verb 'calm down' with illness and symptoms of them. Again, the idea is the same; when the symptoms of an illness ease or become less severe, we can say that it calms down. Example sentences.... My stomach finally calmed down after a few hours. The pain started to calm down after I took some painkillers. Her cough eventually calmed down, and she managed to get some sleep. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'calm down' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'calm down' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'throw off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This article is all about the phrasal verb 'throw off' and its different meanings in English. It is a versatile phrasal verb and you may be surprised to know that there are at least five different ways to use it, which range from quickly removing your clothes to confusing someone. In the post, I will go through each of the applications of 'throw off' systematically and explain each one for you, with lots of example sentences in context to show you how it is used. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'throw off' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'throw off' mean? The phrasal verb 'throw off' has five meanings in English.... Literal meaning To be rid of something that restricts you To evade someone who is following you To produce and release something To confuse Keep reading to learn how to use each of these.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Throw Off - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'throw' and 'off' Throw Off - Meaning 1:Literal meaning Throw Off - Meaning 2: To be rid of something that restricts you Throw Off - Meaning 3: To evade someone who is following you Throw Off - Meaning 4: To produce and release something Throw Off - Meaning 5: To confuse Photo: Pexels THE BASICS THROW OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Threw off / Thrown off Separable? Yes Before we get too involved in the phrasal verb 'throw off', let's start the post by considering the meaning of the individual words 'throw' and 'off'. Throw - 'To throw' is a common verb that can often cause pronunciation problems for English learners due to the 't-h-r' letter combination that it starts with. The main meaning of the verb 'to throw' is 'to make something move through the air using your arms and hands' and most of the time when you hear it, it it is likely to have this meaning. In addition, it also has some lesser used meanings which include 'to host an event like a party', 'to move quickly or carelessly' and 'to confuse'. The player threw the ball to his teammate. The winner is the competitor who can throw the discus the furthest. Jenny threw an egg at the politician. I'm throwing a party for my birthday next week. John threw his bags in the back of the car and quickly got in. I was thrown when I called Ben's number and someone else answered the phone. Off - The particle 'off' is one that is commonly found in phrasal verbs and is the opposite of the particle 'on'. It can be used to add many different meanings to a phrasal verb and these include detachment (pull off), removal (take off), delay (put off), gradual disappearance (ease off) and ending (turn off), among others. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'throw off'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To launch off Separable? Yes The first meaning of the phrasal verb 'throw off' that we will look at is the literal usage of the combination of the two words, which many of you will know already. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person Rock / Stone Rope When used literally, 'throw off' simply means to take something that is on a surface and throw it so that it is no longer on it. For example, a sailor might throw a rope off a boat in order to secure it to a cleat in the harbour or children may throw stones off a cliff into the sea below. In addition to throwing something with your arms, it can also be used to describe when a force causes someone or something to be thrown from a surface. Example sentences.... They threw the old furniture off the roof. Someone threw a bottle off the bridge. Luke threw the ball off the balcony. The children were throwing stones off the cliff into the sea. Maria threw the broken chair off the back of the truck. Don't throw anything off the roof; someone could be walking below. The force of the crash threw the rider off his bike. She was thrown off her feet by the explosion. One other notable sub-application of this literal usage is with horse riding as it is fairly common to use 'throw off' when talking about when a horse causes its rider to fall from its back through its sudden or wild movements. Moreover, when the rider is the focus or subject it is common to use the passive 'be thrown off' or 'get thrown off' forms. Example sentences.... The horse suddenly threw its rider off. Suzanna nearly got thrown off her horse when it suddenly stopped. The horse reared up and threw him off. MEANING 2: To be rid of something that restricts you Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To Separable? Yes This second application of the phrasal verb 'throw off' is the first proper phrasal verb meaning in the true sense and means 'to be rid of something that restricts you'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Clothes (coat, shoes etc) Cold / Cough Illness Shackles To be rid of something = To be free of something unwanted or unpleasant so that you no longer have it in your current situation or life. There are several different ways that this application can be used, so I will explain each of these individually for you. Something vital in our lives that can occasionally restrict us and be unwanted is clothing. We often use this application of 'throw off' with clothes to refer to when someone quickly, hurriedly or carelessly removes one item of clothing or all of them. This is similar to the phrasal verb 'take off', however while 'take off' is neutral, 'throw off' implies quick or thoughtless removal e.g. imagine you are at the beach and you are desperate to go swimming in the sea and so you throw your clothes off and jump straight in (I never do that as the water is always too cold for me to rush!). Example sentences.... Joe threw off his coat and sat down on the sofa. Natasha threw off her jacket as soon as she got inside. I threw off my shoes and jumped into bed. Martin threw off his wet clothes and grabbed a towel. The woman threw off her dressing gown and got into the shower. Another common area of life with which we use 'throw off' in this way is illness, particularly infectious diseases like coughs and colds that are not usually serious. If you throw off an illness, your body successfully fights it and you stop suffering from it. It is probably most common to hear this one being used when a person has a long-lasting illness that they are unable to 'throw off'. Example sentences.... I can't seem to throw this cold off. Kate has finally thrown off the flu and is feeling much better. It took Jim several weeks to throw the infection off completely. I've been trying to throw off this cough for days. Pippa rested for a few days and managed to throw off the virus. Tom returned to work after throwing off a nasty cold. Lastly, we can also just use this application of 'throw off' to describe becoming free of something that restrict or limits you or your life in some way. This could be something on a large scale like a government or dictator, or it could be something that affects your daily life such as people's high expectations of you or social conventions. You may also hear this being used in a slightly figurative sense with the word 'shackles' (a tool used to control slaves in the past - see the picture above). When we do this, the word 'shackles' is used metaphorically to mean 'restrictions'. Example sentences.... The country fought to throw off foreign rule. The rebels wanted to throw off the control of the government. The people eventually threw off their oppressors and gained their freedom. Abbie wanted to throw off the expectations that had shaped her life. The younger generation began to throw off traditional social conventions. The movement encouraged women to throw off the restrictions imposed on them by society. The country struggled to throw off the shackles of colonialism. Margaret was determined to throw off the shackles of tradition and live life on her own terms. MEANING 3: To evade someone who is following you Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To elude, to escape Separable? Yes I could really have included this third application of the phrasal verb 'throw off' in the previous one as it is very similar in meaning and is 'to evade someone who is following you'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Pursuer Person / Group Police To evade = To avoid or escape someone, often in a clever way. Apart from an unpleasant encounter that I had once with a very drunk man in France who decided for no reason that he didn't like me, I can say that I have been lucky in my life to have never had anyone following or chasing me in a serious way (I'll save the full story for another day 😉). One thing I will tell you now about that experience is that I was able to escape from the man after he started chasing me and so therefore I can say that "I threw him off". We can use this for anytime that a person or animal is being followed or chased and the target manages to evade the pursuer, however most commonly this is due to something clever or unexpected that the target does. It's the sort of thing that you see in Hollywood action and thriller movies all the time. On a grammatical note, this is a separable usage and can be used both ways, however don't forget that pronouns must always go between 'throw' and 'off'. Example sentences.... We took a different route to throw off anyone who might be following us. The thief ran through a crowded market to throw off the police. James Bond turned down several side streets in an attempt to throw off his pursuers. The spy changed trains twice to throw off the people following her. The suspect managed to throw off the police and disappear into the crowd. They deliberately took a longer route to throw off anyone who was following them. Alan thought he'd thrown off his pursuers, but they soon caught up with him. The fox suddenly changed direction to throw off the dogs chasing it. MEANING 4: To produce and release something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To give off, to give out, to emit, to produce Separable? Yes We are going to move away from the idea of being rid of something unwanted for our fourth application of the phrasal verb 'throw off', which is 'to produce and release something' . Nouns commonly used with this application: Light Sound Smell / Aroma / Scent / Stench / Odour Gas Smoke I need to state first of all that for this application, I am not referring to production in a business sense, but rather in the sense of producing and releasing something into the air that can be detected by the senses. This typically involves naturally occurring phenomena or machines to describe things like light, smells and sounds. For example, if you look into the sky on a clear night, you will see a huge number of stars all throwing off light into the universe. We also have our own star, the sun, which throws off enough heat and light to keep us alive. Some examples closer to home are that fires throw out smoke, flowers throw out scents and radiators throw out heat. The idea behind this is that the thing produced is created and then moves or spreads away from the source when we can then detect it. Example sentences.... The fire was throwing off a lot of heat. The candles threw off a soft, warm light. The engine throws off a considerable amount of heat when it's running. The burning wood threw off sparks into the night air. The chemical reaction threw off a small amount of gas. The factory chimneys were throwing off thick clouds of smoke. The old radiator throws off enough heat to warm the whole room. The flowers threw off a sweet scent that filled the garden. MEANING 5: To confuse Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To throw out Separable? Yes The fifth and final application of the phrasal verb 'throw off' that we will look at it is one that means 'to confuse'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person Data Figures We can use this last application to talk about both people, data and numerical calculations. When we use it to talk about people, it is to refer to when someone is confused, slightly worried or unsettled because something happens that they were not expecting. As a result, the person is not able to think clearly or act or perform as well as they normally would for a short period of time until the feeling of being 'thrown off' subsides. This can often be just seconds. For example, an actor on stage in a theatre may be thrown off if something happens that was not supposed to and they may temporarily forget their lines. Alternatively, if the interviewer asks you a question in a job interview that were you not prepared for, it can throw you off you and block your concentration, affecting how you answer. Examples in context.... His unexpected question threw me off, and I didn't know how to respond. The sudden change of plan threw everyone off. Don't let one difficult question throw you off during the interview. My boss's strange reaction threw me off for a moment. The interruption completely threw Alex off, and he forgot what he was saying. I was doing well in the presentation until a question from the audience threw me off. The confusing instructions threw us off, so we ended up doing the task incorrectly. The early goal seemed to throw the team off, and they struggled for the rest of the match. When we apply the phrasal verb 'throw off' to data and numerical calculations, it is used to mean that something causes the data or the total of the calculation to be skewed or wrong. For instance, if you are trying to add lots of figures together and you accidentally add an extra 0 to one of the numbers that you are adding, it will throw the total off and it will be wrong. Alternatively, if you are taking measurements using a device that is faulty, the measurements may be inaccurate, therefore throwing off the data. Example sentences.... One unusually large value threw off the average. A small error in the original figures threw off all our calculations. The missing data could throw off the results. Including those figures would throw off the final total. One incorrect measurement threw off the entire calculation. The unusually warm winter has thrown off the annual figures. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'throw off' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'throw off' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'sort out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pixels 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 featured phrasal verb in this post is 'to sort out', which is a relatively informal phrasal with a number of different meanings and usages. Across these different meanings there is a general theme though, which will hopefully help to help you understand and make sense of them. So, without further ado, let's take a look at them.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'sort out' mean? The phrasal verb 'sort out' has five main meanings in English.... To arrange into categories To resolve a problem To organise or arrange something To provide something for someone To punish someone Keep reading to learn the different ways that each one is used. TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'sort' and 'out' Meaning 1: To arrange into categories Meaning 2: To resolve a problem Meaning 3: To organise or arrange something Meaning 4: To provide something for someone 🇬🇧 Meaning 5: To punish someone 🇬🇧 Bonus: The noun 'sort-out' Bonus: Typical example sentences of 'sort out' Bonus: Don't confuse 'sort out' with 'sought' 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: Pixels THE BASICS SORT OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Sorted out / Sorted out Separable? Yes A great way to start our exploration of the phrasal verb 'sort out' is to consider the words 'sort' and 'out' and what they mean individually. Firstly, we have the base verb 'to sort', which can mean either 'to arrange something into categories' (think of a hat in a famous literary school for magicians) or to resolve a problem or difficulty. Photo: Pixels John sorted the playing cards into different suits. I need to sort all these old clothes before tomorrow. I have managed to sort the problem with the computer. How did you manage to sort that issue so quickly? Next, we have the prepositional particle 'out', which is a widespread and common word in English that can function as a preposition, adverb, adjective and even a verb! When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'out' can emphasise the ideas of movement to an external space (go out), exhaustion (run out), revelation (find out), removal (cut out), expansion (spread out) and exclusion (leave out), among other things. So, following that short introduction, let's take a look at the idiomatic usages of 'sort out' and how native speakers use it.... MEANING 1: To arrange into categories Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To sort, to arrange, to organise Separable? Yes As we have just seen in the previous section, one of the main meanings of the verb 'to sort' is to arrange something into categories or types and you'll be pleased to know that this first meaning of the phrasal verb 'sort out' means the exact same thing 😀. I sorted the playing cards out into different suits. John helped Helen sort out the clothes into colour groups. You will see from the examples above that it is perfectly fine to separate 'sort' and 'out' (like in the first example) with no difference in meaning. Moreover, don't forget that the preposition 'into' is also required to specify the end category or group. IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TO SORT OUT AND TO SORT? You may be wondering why native speakers add the extra word 'out' when 'to sort' alone means the same thing? While it is true that these two variations can be interchangeable with no difference in meaning, sometimes native speakers will add 'out' for extra emphasis. In other instances however, 'sort out' does have a different meaning to 'sort', which you should be aware of. In a situation where we want to separate or remove one type of item from the others, we would use 'sort out' rather than 'sort'. Photo: Pixels Imagine that you have some old clothes that you want to go through in order to decide which items you want to keep and which you want to throw away. In this instance you would say that you are sorting out the clothes that you no longer want. Using 'to sort' for this sounds incomplete as the particle 'out' adds the extra element or idea of separation. I need to sort out the clothes that I am taking on holiday with me. Lisa has finally sorted out which items she will donate to the charity shop. The librarian sorted out the returned books into their respective genres. Can you help me sort out the laundry into whites, colours, and delicates? We need to sort out these files into different folders based on the year. MEANING 2: To resolve a problem Photo: Pixels ​CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper intermediate ​Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To sort, to resolve Separable? Yes As I mentioned before, 'to sort' has two main meanings in English: the first is to arrange something and the second is to resolve a problem. Luckily for you English learners, the second meaning of 'to sort out' is also the same meaning as the second meaning of 'sort', i.e. to resolve a problem or issue. Nouns commonly used with this application: Mess Things Problem Issue IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'TO SORT OUT' AND 'TO SORT'? The short answer here is no. Both variations can be used interchangeably without any change in meaning, however like with the previous meaning, native speakers will often add the word 'out' for emphasis. From my own perspective, I think that 'sort out' is often used by native speakers when the problem or issue is a complicated or difficult one and we tend to use 'sort' more for issues that are easier or quicker to resolve. WHAT A MESS! We often use 'sort out' with the word 'mess', which can either mean an untidy physical space like a typical teenager's bedroom or a complex situation with lots or problems. We can therefore use 'sort out' to talk about tidying the messy, untidy space as well as to resolve a complicated issue. Photo: Pixels LOVE PROBLEMS! For the romantics among you, if native speakers want to talk about resolving problems in a relationship, we will often say that we need to 'sort things out'. From a formality perspective, I would say that this meaning of 'sort out' is very informal. We do use it in business English, however in more formal situations and on formal documentation it should be avoided and an alternative like 'to resolve' should be used instead. Did you manage to sort out the customer's problem? Helen, your bedroom is a terrible mess! Sort it out! John and Roger have sorted out their differences and they are now best friends again. Lisa and her husband are trying to sort things out. MEANING 3: To organise or arrange something Photo: Pixels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage ​Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To organise, to arrange Separable? Yes Our third meaning of 'sort out' is to organise or arrange something, such as an event or a party. The focus here is on doing what is necessary in order for the event to happen. Imagine that you are arranging a surprise birthday party for a family member and you need to book a DJ for the music, book a suitable venue for the party, organise the decoration of the venue and invite the guests. For all of these you could say that you need to sort them out.... We have managed to sort out a great venue for my daughter's party next week. I haven't sorted out a DJ or the decorations yet. I need to sort both of those out this weekend! This meaning is a definite variation of the previous idiomatic meaning of resolving a problem as here we are resolving the specific problem of something not yet being organised. MEANING 4: To provide something for someone Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced ​Usage Rare Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To obtain, to provide, to supply Separable? Yes In informal British English, it is also possible to use 'sort out' to mean to provide someone with something that they need. This is normally something that in not easy to obtain or could possibly even be something illegal. Since it is informal, I would not recommend using this in business English, where an alternative such as 'provide' or 'supply' would be much more appropriate. This is often followed by the preposition 'with' to talk about the item that is to be provided. I couldn't find any gym equipment anywhere but luckily my personal trainer was able to sort me out with some. The IT department were able to sort my manager out with a new printer. The mechanic sorted out a new car for my brother after he crashed his old one. MEANING 5: To punish someone Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To punish, to tell off, to admonish Separable? Yes The final meaning that we are looking at in this post is to 'sort someone out', meaning 'to punish someone' or 'to stop someone who is causing you a problem'. This is normally by using physical force but sometimes can be by shouting at them. I guess the ultimate aim of 'sorting out' in this sense is to make the person regret doing the wrong thing. Again, the underlying idea of this meaning is to resolve a problem but this time it is a problem that another person has caused or is causing you. This usage is also very informal and like with the previous meanings, it should be avoided when in formal situations or in business English. His parents will sort him out when he gets home. The coach promised to sort out any players who broke the rules during the game. Don’t worry about the bully; I’ll sort him out if he bothers you again. The gang leader sent his men to sort out anyone who didn’t pay their protection money. Photo: Pixels THE NOUN 'SORT-OUT' In British English it is also possible to use 'sort out' as a noun, in which case it is spelt sort-out, with a hyphen. We normally 'have a sort-out' when we are looking through our possessions in order to decide what to keep and what to throw away. It is an alternative way to say "to have a spring clean" if you are familiar with that expression. I have too much stuff in my bedroom. I really must have a sort-out! Photo: Pixels MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES WITH 'SORT OUT' If you can memorise some of the sentences below and use them in a conversation, it will help your English to come across as more natural: I need to sort out which [noun] I am taking on holiday with me. [Pronoun] is sorting out the issue. Do you think you can sort it out by [time] We are trying to sort things / it out. That cupboard is so full. It really needs sorting out. We've managed to sort out the problem. When I have a headache, paracetamol and fresh air really sort me out. Can you do this while I sort this customer out. I am going to have a sort-out at home this weekend. Photo: Pixels DON'T CONFUSE 'SORT OUT' WITH 'SOUGHT OUT' Before I finish the post, I just want to make you aware of one more thing. Make sure you that do not confuse 'sort out' with 'sought out', which is the past form of the phrasal verb 'to seek out'. The pronunciation of 'sought out' is exactly the same as 'sort out', so it is good to be aware that both of these exist. It is worth remembering that both past forms of sort out are sorted out, so if you do hear 'sought out' in a past context, you can be fairly sure it is the past of 'seek out'. Photo: Pixels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'sort out' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'sort out' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END