An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'shut 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. In this post I will explaining the phrasal verb 'shut up'. I imagine that many of you will be very familiar with 'shut up' as it used a lot as a command to ask someone to be quiet, however you may be surprised to learn that it has 3 separate meanings in English! As we go through the post, I will explain each of these, including the extremely common 'shut up!' that I am sure many of you will have heard before. Additionally, I will provide you with lots of example sentences for each usage to show you how native speakers use them in every day English! So, let get started and see what 'shut up' is all about.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Shut Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'shut' and 'up' Shut Up - Meaning 1: To stop talking Shut Up - Bonus: Shut Up! How to use it as a command Shut Up - Meaning 2: To close a business Shut Up - Meaning 3: To lock in an enclosed space Shut Up - Bonus: Some extra information about 'shut up' - The idiom 'to shut up shop' - STFU ! - The variation 'shaddap' 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 SHUT UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Shut up / Shut up Separable? Yes Before we look at the different ways to use 'shut up' in English, let's first consider its component words 'shut' and 'up' and what they mean on their own.... Shut - The verb 'to shut' is a moderately common verb in English, whose primary meaning is similar to that of the verb 'to close', i.e. to block or cover the opening to something so that it cannot be entered or accessed from outside. In addition to this, 'to shut' can also be used to mean to stop something operating, typically a business. To shut is an irregular verb and its past tense forms confusingly do not change or add '-ed' at the end. John shut his eyes during the scary parts of the movie. Please shut the door when you leave. Make sure you shut the all of the windows before you go out. The shopkeeper shut the shop early on Christmas Eve. Up - For those of you who are regular visitors to my website and have good knowledge of phrasal verbs, you will know that 'up' is used a LOT in phrasal verb constructions. In fact, I would say that it is the most common of all prepositional particles that feature in them. It is often included to add the literal sense of a movement upwards or increase (go up, walk up) to the base verb. In addition to this, 'up' can be used in phrasal verbs to add more abstract ideas like completion (fill up), preparation ( set up ), appearance ( turn up ) and ending (wrap up), among others. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's now move on to the meanings of the phrasal verb 'shut up'.... MEANING 1: To stop talking CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To hush, to be quiet Separable? Sometimes We'll begin our journey through the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'shut up' with the one that many of you are sure to know, which is 'to stop talking or making a noise'. We can use this first application in a number of different ways, so I will go through each one separately, starting with talking about yourself. If you are ever in a situation in which you are talking a lot or you feel like the other person or people around you want you to be quiet, you can use 'shut up' to express the idea that you will be quiet. As with all of this first application, this is a fairly informal usage but since we are talking about ourselves, it isn't considered to be offensive in any way. You look tired; if you want me to shut up, please tell me and I will! I realised that I had already said too much, so I quickly shut up before I could say anything else! Don't you dare tell me to shut up! If you don't shut up soon, I am going to get very angry. Let's imagine that the positions have swapped and you are now in a situation in which another person is talking too much. When this happens, we can use 'shut up' to refer to stopping the other person talking or making noise. In such cases, the phrasal verb becomes transitive (and separable), with the direct object being the person who is talking, singing, whistling etc. You should note that we do not just use this application for loud or talkative people but also for animals (barking dogs etc), objects and sounds (music, washing machines etc.) that make a lot of noise. Often, we can use this application to talk about simply telling someone to be quiet (more about this later), however it also serves to describe doing something to ensure that the talking or the noise stops. For example, this might be giving a child something that they keep asking for so that they stop, or signalling to someone in a conversation that they need to be quiet as they are saying things that the other people are not supposed to know. Sally tried to shut the kids up during the movie by giving them sweets. The mayor raised his hand to shut the crowd up. I ended up telling him something shocking just to shut him up. They played music to shut the protesters outside up. My neighbour yelled at my dog to shut him up; I am not happy! He slammed the door to shut up the noise from the hallway. Turning off the engine shut the rattling sound up. Give him a biscuit; it’ll shut him up for five minutes. I didn’t agree with the protestor, but I just nodded to shut her up. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Shut up! - How to use it as a command As I mentioned earlier, we can use 'shut up' to tell someone to be quiet and it is frequently used to do this. First of all though, please note that this is very informal and impolite. You can really offend someone if you tell them to 'shut up!', especially if you don't know them very well. It is often used in a less offensive way between people who do know each other well and have a good relationship; often the tone and delivery is very important here. Shut up! You have no idea what you're talking about! Can you shut up a minute while I do this! Can you all please just shut up! I am sick and tired of your moaning! Lastly, there is another way to use 'shut up' as a command but in a much less offensive way. Namely, this is when one person tells another something shocking or surprising and the person receiving the news then says "shut up!" as a way of expressing their disbelief. Typically, when used this way, the word 'up' is lengthened by the speaker to sound like 'uuuuuup', or sometimes both even words are extended: "shuuuuut uuuuup!". John and Marie are in a relationship?! Shut up! No way! Shut up! You're not moving to New York?! MEANING 2: To close (business) Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To close, to shut Separable? Yes Our second application of the phrasal verb 'shut up' is one that is mainly used to refer to businesses and shops and means 'to close'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Shop / store Business Organisation Factory To clarify, with this usage we can talk about when a business or shop closes both temporarily (e.g. at the end of the day) and permanently. It is much more common to hear it being used with the former, i.e. to close temporarily and when it is used this way, it can either be to mean that the business is closed to customers or that the building is closed and locked, so that no one can enter it. Most commonly, we use it in reference to shops and business that close overnight and therefore need to be locked and secured while no employees are on site. On a grammatical note, this is a separable usage with the direct object (the thing that is shut) able to go between 'shut' and 'up' or after them. I need to shut up the shop at six. Let’s shut up for the night and go home. George shut the café up early because it was so quiet. We shut up the office over the holidays. Can you shut the store up while I run to the bank? The bartenders shut the pub up after last orders. I’ll shut the place up while you lock the back gate. Patty stayed late to shut up and set the alarm. As I mentioned, we can also use this application of 'shut up' to talk about when a business or organisation closes permanently. You should note though that this is quite an old-fashioned usage and one that was heard more in British English in years gone by. Nowadays, it is more common to use the phrasal verb 'shut down' or 'close' when talking about a permanent closure. They were forced to shut up the factory during the strike. The owners decided to shut up the shop at the end of the year. The war shut many small businesses in the region up. Rising rent levels finally shut the bookstore up. MEANING 3: To lock in an enclosed space Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To coop up, to lock up, to shut in Separable? Yes We have now come to our third and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'shut up', which again is another one that involves the idea of closure and means 'to lock in an enclosed space'. With this application, if someone or something is 'shut up', they are put and kept in an internal space like a room, cage or a container. Furthermore, the person or thing that is 'shut up' is usually prevented from being able to leave or escape the confinement. Of course, this does sound like quite a negative and unpleasant situation for the people or things involved and that is true most of the time. However, you should note that we can also use it to describe less unfortunate situations. For example, if someone has been working in an office all day and has not left, you may hear them say that they have been " shut up in the office all day ". Of course, they were able to leave it if they wanted but it conveys the idea that they were so busy that they did not have a chance to leave. On a grammatical note, this usage is often used in a passive sense. When used in an active way, it is also separable. Claire was shut up in her room for over a week when she got Covid-19. The police shut the criminal up in a safe house until the trial. The children were shut up indoors all day because of the bad storm. Terry felt shut up and isolated in his small apartment. The farmer shut up the livestock for the night. The files were shut up in a locked cabinet and forgotten about. Mary lived shut up from the world, rarely seeing visitors. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Some extra information about 'shut up' As a final note in our exploration of the phrasal verb 'shut up', I just want to make you aware of some additional uses of it that you may come across in your English reading and conversations.... The idiom 'to shut up shop' This informal idiomatic expression is one that is found mainly in British English and links directly back to the second application that we looked at in the post as it means 'to close a business or to stop working'. This can either be at the end of a working day or permanently and the context is key here to determine this. After years of declining sales, the family decided to shut up shop and retire. The café shuts up shop at 6pm during the winter months. STFU! Acronyms are a very common form of expressing certain words and expressions in a quick way on the internet and via messaging apps and 'shut up' has its very own! You may have seen 'STFU' in online comments or chats before and it simply means shut up with some rude words in the middle (this is a respectable website, so I will leave it to your imagination). Nevertheless, this acronym is very rude and offensive, so I would avoid using it if I were you! The variation 'shaddap!' Lastly, you may at some point or another come across the rather strange looking word 'shaddap'. It is actually just a very informal and casual form of the command 'shut up!' for when you want someone to stop talking and it is often used humorously. It originates from the way that some speakers pronounce 'shut up' in certain accents. It was brought into mainstream focus in the early 1980s by a song called "Shaddap You Face" which was inspired by the way that the singer's Italian grandparents spoke. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'shut up'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'shut up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pull back' 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. Are you familiar with the English phrasal verb 'pull back'? Do you know any of the ways that it can be used or the meanings that it has? In this post, I will explain all of these meanings for you, starting from its most literal use through to less well-known and specialised ones. In addition, I will provide lots of example sentences for each one to show you the kinds of situations in which native speakers use them. So, without further ado, let's begin.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Pull Back - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'pull' and 'back' Pull Back - Meaning 1: To pull something in a backwards direction Pull Back - Meaning 2: To withdraw Pull Back - Meaning 3: To move away from fighting Pull Back - Meaning 4: To close the gap with a leader Pull Back - Meaning 5: To decrease 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 PULL BACK: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Pulled back / Pulled back Separable? Yes Before we get started with our exploration of what the phrasal verb 'pull back means', I would first like to quickly consider the individual words 'pull' and 'back' as this may help you with your understanding of the phrasal verb meanings. Pull - The verb 'to pull' is is a common regular English verb, whose main meaning is the idea of exerting or applying a force to move something towards oneself. It does have other meanings too, which include 'to attract', 'to cancel' and 'to injure a muscle'. In addition, 'to pull' is used in a large number of phrasal verbs, often involving a movement of some sort. The horses pulled the carriage across London. The moon pulls the oceans on Earth towards it, causing tides. My last show pulled a large crowd. The TV company has pulled the series due to low ratings. John pulled a muscle in his leg when he was running. Back - As a word, 'back' is extremely versatile and can be used as an adverb, adjective, verb and noun, each often with the core ideas of reversing and returning. We don't often see it in phrasal verb constructions but when we do, it can convey several different ideas depending on the context. These include concepts of 'returning' ( come back , go back), responding (call back), delay ( hold back ) and reversal (put back). So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the real reason that you are here, which is of course the meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull back'.... MEANING 1: To pull something in a backwards direction Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To yank back, to tug back, to haul back Separable? Yes There are some phrasal verbs used in everyday speech that do not have literal meanings and there are some that do. 'Pull back' is one of those that appears in the second category and the first application that we will look at in this post is when it is used in its literal sense, which is 'to pull something in a backwards direction'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person Curtain Cover Hood Reins The great thing with literal meanings of phrasal verbs is that they do not need much explanation as the meaning is clear. However, you should note that when used literally 'pull back' can have two meanings: it can can either mean to pull something in a backwards direction, towards the speaker, or to pull something back tp the place where it originally was. Let's focus first on the idea of pulling something in a backwards direction as this is the one that you tend to hear much more than the other. For this we need to define 'backwards' as the opposite direction to that which we are facing or moving in. Consequently, when we use 'pull back' in the literal sense, it is often to mean to pull something in the direction towards oneself, as people are typically facing forwards most of the time. As a result, we can often use 'pull back' to talk about when horse riders pull the reins towards them to try and slow the horse or when a pilot of an airplane pulls the stick towards them to make it fly higher. Often, we add the additional preposition 'on' here (see below). The rider pulled back on the reins to slow his horse. Startled by the heat, Elaine quickly pulled her hand back from the stove. The fisherman pulled back the net after it got caught on a rock. Billy gently pulled back the child from the edge of the sidewalk. Furthermore, we can also use this application of 'pull back' to talk about moving something to expose what is underneath it. This is perhaps heard the most with 'curtains' as when you open them, you pull them back to the position that they were previously in before it was dark. Other nouns that are common in this sense are 'sheet' or 'cover', as when you pull back the sheet or cover on something (e.g bed), you expose what is underneath it. I'm going to pull the curtain back to let more light into the room. The mechanic pulled back the hood to inspect the car's engine. When the man pulled back the hood on his coat, I realised it was my cousin! Jane pulled back the bedsheets and found her cat hiding there. Of course, it is also possible to use this to talk about pulling, hauling or tugging something back to the place where it was originally. This is however not heard so much as it is not such a common action in modern life. The farmer pulled the trailer to the field opposite and now he has to pull it back. The contestants of the game had to pull the vehicle from the castle to the lake and then pull it back to the castle again. MEANING 2: To withdraw Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To pull out, to back out, to withdraw Separable? Yes Our second meaning of the phrasal verb 'pull back' is an American usage primarily that means 'to withdraw' and is often heard in business and professional English. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Deal Transaction Enterprise Support Merger This application is usually heard in situations when a person or a business was originally planning to do something like invest in something, enter into a contract with someone or proceed with a transaction. However, after their initial agreement, they then change their minds about it as they realise that it could have negative consequences in the future, it s risky or it is not a good idea in general. This mind-changing is known as 'pulling back', or in British English it would be more common to say 'pulling out'. To understand how we arrive at this meaning, we need to imagine our intentions or plans as things that are moving forwards into the future. When we change our mind and decide not to proceed with them, we are stopping that forward movement towards the future and therefore pulling it back towards us. The company decided to pull back its expansion plans due to rising costs. Investors began to pull back after the market showed signs of instability. The firm pulled back from the deal when the risks became clearer. Several venture capital funds pulled back their support for early-stage startups. The retailer pulled back on international operations to focus on its core market. After regulatory pressure increased, the bank pulled back from high-risk lending. MEANING 3: To move away from fighting Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To pull out, to retreat, to withdraw Separable? Yes Our third meaning of 'pull back' is one that is similar in meaning to the previous one, but this time instead of business transactions, we are thinking about soldiers and armies instead. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Army Soldier Troops Men Units Quite simply, when an army general or high ranking officer pulls back his or her troops, it means that they order them to move away from where any fighting is taking place, or away from the frontline. This may just be to a safe place that is nearby or it may be to move back completely to the army base or even their home country. We can use this application both with and without a direct object. The following example sentences are all with a direct object (army, troops etc) with the subject of the sentence being the person or organisation that orders the pulling-back action to occur. When used this way, it is separable and the direct object can either go between 'pull' and 'back' or after them. The general ordered the troops to pull back before nightfall. Commanders decided to pull their units back after securing the objective. The military pulled back its frontline units to regroup and resupply. After deciding that war was not the answer, the President demanded that all troops on the frontline be pulled back. In contrast, when the army or the soldiers become the subject of the sentence and nobody is ordering them to 'pull back' but it is their decision to do so, we can use it in intransitively (without a direct object) - see below. When used like this it is not separable. The army pulled back from the border to avoid further escalation. The soldiers pulled back to a defensive position outside the city. After heavy resistance, the forces were forced to pull back temporarily. The peacekeeping contingent pulled back as negotiations resumed. Troops began to pull back once civilians had been evacuated from the area. MEANING 4: To close the gap with a leader Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To claw back, to catch up Separable? Yes Are you a sports fan? If you are, then this next application of 'pull back' is one that could prove to be very useful for you when talking about your favourite sports in English as it means 'to close the gap with a leader'. Firstly, for clarification purposes when I say "close the gap", what I mean is to make the gap or the difference between the scores in a game smaller. We normally use this application in a game or match between two different opponents, teams or sides (not usually more unless it is in reference to a specific competitor in a race). As the game progresses, one of the two players or teams will naturally score more points than the other and will therefore be in the lead. Once this initial lead has been established, we can use 'pull back' to describe when the team who is losing scores points or goals and closes the gap in the scores. To use another very common phrasal verb, they catch them up. To give you an example, let's imagine a football game between Liverpool FC and Arsenal Photo: Wix Media FC. 30 minutes into the game, Liverpool are winning 3-0 but then in the next 30 minutes Arsenal score 2 goals and Liverpool don't score any, making the score 3-2. At this point, you could say that Arsenal are pulling it back because they have closed the gap from 3 goals at the beginning to 1 goal. You should note that we can also use it describe when the losing team or player ends up winning the match, so in the case of the above if Arsenal scored another 2 goals and Liverpool none, we could say that "Arsenal pulled back from 3-0 down to win the game 4-3". Note the use of 'from' to highlight the score and 'down' to indicate that the team being discussed were losing (we use 'up' for the team when they are winning). The home team pulled back just before halftime, making the score 2–1. After a slow start, the runner pulled back two seconds on the leader in the final lap. The team conceded a goal early but pulled back with a goal in the 70th minute. Despite trailing most of the game, they pulled back to within one point late in the fourth quarter. Amelia was behind after the first round but pulled back in the second to stay in contention. The underdogs pulled back from a three-goal deficit to win the match, thrilling the crowd. Solomon fell behind early in the race but steadily pulled back as the finish approached. MEANING 5: To decrease Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To drop, to dip Separable? No Lastly, we come to our fifth and final meaning of 'pull back', which is a rarer one that most of you will probably not need in your everyday English, meaning 'to decrease'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Stock / share Price Index Market For this usage, we are focussing specifically on the mysterious and arcane world of stocks and shares. If a price or the value of something in the stock market drops or decreases, it is often described as 'pulling back'. Likewise, we could also use this to describe currencies as these are also things that constantly rise and fall in value. Unlike, most of the other applications of 'pull back', this one is not separable as it is used to describe something that is not directly caused by a person's actions (although it does happen indirectly as a result of people's actions). Technology stocks pulled back after reaching record highs last week. The market is expected to pull back slightly following the central bank’s announcement. Shares pulled back in afternoon trading as investors locked in profits. After a strong rally, the index pulled back by two percent. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'pull back'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'pull back'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'live up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This article is all about the phrasal verb 'live up' and its different meanings. This is not one of the most commonly used phrasal verbs in English, however it is definitely one that will help to elevate your English and make it sound more natural, so if you can master these, you will definitely impress people! In the post, I will explain its two distinct meanings and, as per usual, I will give you lots of example sentences in context. So, without further ado, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'live up' has to offer.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Live Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'live' and 'up' Live Up - Meaning 1: To meet expectations Live Up - Meaning 2: To have a partying lifestyle Live Up - Bonus: An additional note on usage 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 LIVE UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 2 Past tense forms Lived up / Lived up Separable? Sometimes The phrasal verb 'live up' is formed of two very common words in English: the verb 'to live' and the prepositional particle 'on'. As a first step in our exploration of the phrasal verb 'live up', let's first familiarise ourselves with these two words and what they mean on their own. Live - The verb 'to live' is verb that you will all know as it is one of the first verbs that English students learn to describe the place where their home is. In addition to the meaning of where someone calls home, we can also use the verb 'to live' to talk about the state of being alive (and not being dead). Note that the word 'live' also exists as an adjective (music, tv, etc) and for this that the pronunciation changes to a long 'i' sound, like with the pronoun 'I'. I live in the countryside but I want to live in the city. John has lived in Edinburgh for over 20 years. Where do you live? William Shakespeare lived from 1582 to 1616. I will never forget this experience as long as I live! Up - The prepositional particle 'up' is one that is regularly found in phrasal verb constructions and can add different ideas and elements to the main verb. These include a literal upward movement or increase (climb up, go up ), completion (eat up), preparation ( set up ), connection (hook up) and collection (save up), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'live up'.... MEANING 1: To meet expectations Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To meet expectations Separable? No We are going to start off the meanings of the phrasal verb 'live up' with the most common of the two, which is 'to meet expectations'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Expectations Hype Reputation Standard Promise It may surprise you to know that for this first application of 'live up', we need the additional preposition 'to' in order to make it make sense, giving us the structure ' to live up to something '. Note that this word order is fixed and this is therefore not a separable usage. One of the most natural things about being human is that we all want and desire things. Another aspect of our nature is that we also expect things, or in other words, we believe or think that something will happen or will be a certain way in the future, e.g. I expect that in the summer, the weather will be hot. When we combine these two elements, we arrive at the idea of wanting to have or do something and expecting it to be good and it is in these situations that we can use 'live up to'. To clarify further, if there is something that you were looking forward to, such as going out to a nice restaurant for a meal or watching a new movie and the experience ended up being as good as you thought it would be, you could say that " it lived up to your expectations ". We can use this application for almost anything that we expect to be good in the future. This may be because people have recommended it, you have heard good things about it or maybe because you liked something similar in the past like a movie or a book in a series and you therefore think that the next one will be good. Of course there are times that we set our expectations of something too high and things are not as good as we expect them to be. In these situations, native speakers frequently use this application of 'live up to' in the negative to express this. The new Iphone has lived up to my expectations so far. The hotel lived up to the reviews we read online; it was fantastic! Our cleaner promised us excellent service, and he really lived up to it. The house is spotless! The movie lived up to the hype surrounding it; I really enjoyed it! The new vacuum cleaner didn’t live up to my expectations. Unfortunately, this course has not lived up to what was advertised. The restaurant was expensive and it definitely didn’t live up to its reputation. The live music event never really lived up to the excitement that people were expecting. In addition to expecting something to be enjoyable, we can also use 'live up to' to describe when someone or something achieves the high standards that people expect. This is most commonly found in a work scenario when an employer expects its employees to perform or to work to a high standard. Sandra consistently lives up to the high standards expected of a senior manager. The quality of Martin's work has lived up to the company’s strict standards. Katy's performance lived up to the high standards of the company. Michelle felt like she hadn’t lived up to the standards she set for herself. MEANING 2: To have a partying lifestyle Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To party, to enjoy yourself Separable? Always The second and final of the two applications of the phrasal verb 'live up' is the least common of the two and means 'to have a partying lifestyle'. Like with the previous application, we cannot simply use 'live up' on its own, however this time instead of adding a second preposition, we add the word 'it', giving us the expression ' to live it up '. Again, note that the word order in this expression is fixed and does not change. If someone 'lives it up' or 'is living it up', it means that he or she is leading a lifestyle of partying, socialising and generally having fun in a carefree way. Typically, this application is used to describe young people who move to big cities and enjoy all of the lifestyle opportunities that are available to them there. I don't know about you, but I certainly miss those days! We can also use it to talk about having fun just for a short period of time like a night or a vacation, although it is rarer to do this. In his twenties, Peter lived it up, going to clubs every night and worrying about nothing but fun. The two friends moved to the city to live it up, partying hard and avoiding any long-term commitments. After making quick money, Emma lived it up, spending her nights at exclusive parties and festivals. Roger was known for living it up; late nights, loud music, and zero concern for tomorrow. We’re only in Paris for three days, so let’s live it up while we can. After finishing her exams, Rachel went out with friends to live it up all weekend. Photo: Pexels BONUS: ONE LAST NOTE ON USAGE Lastly, there is one more time that you may see 'live up' being used, which is not technically a phrasal verb usage but I want to make you aware of it in case you come across it. You may sometimes hear a native speaker saying someone "lives up the road" or "lives up the street". What they actually mean when they say this is that someone lives along the street or in a place close by that can be reached quickly. My best friend has recently moved up the road, so we see a lot more of each other now. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'live up'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'live up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'break 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 post is all about the wonderfully diverse phrasal verb 'break off'. Is it one that you are familiar with and do you know the different ways to use it? In this post, I will explain all of its different applications, from physically separating something to playing snooker, and I will give you lots of example sentences in context to show you how we use each one. So, without further ado, let's make a start..... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Break Off - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'break' and 'off' Break Off - Meaning 1: To separate something by force Break Off - Meaning 2: To end a relationship Break Off - Meaning 3: To stop speaking Break Off - Meaning 4: To begin a game of snooker 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 BREAK OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Broke off / Broken off Separable? Yes The phrasal verb 'break off' is formed of the verb 'to break' and the prepositional particle 'off' and so before we look at the different meanings of 'break off', let's first take a moment to consider the individual meanings of 'break' and 'off' on their own. Break - The verb 'to break' is a common verb whose primary meaning is 'to stop something from working or functioning as normal'. This could be damaging part of it or also to separate a part of it using force. In addition to this, 'to break' has many other meanings in English, which include 'to interrupt something', 'to become public' (news) and 'to disobey a law or rule'. As with many common verbs in English, 'to break' is an irregular verb. The thieves broke a window to enter the shop. Photo: Wix Media Be careful with this; I don't want you to break it! Susan has broken her leg in a skiing accident. People who break the law will be punished. The news broke about the birth of the new princess this morning. Off - The prepositional particle 'off' is a word with many different meanings and uses in English and functions as the natural opposite of the particle 'on'. When used in phrasal verbs it can add various ideas to the main verb like separation or disconnection ( cut off ), stopping (turn off), departure ( set off ) and decrease ( fall off ), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the wonderful phrasal verb 'break off'.... MEANING 1: To separate something by force Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To tear off, to rip off, to separate, to divide, to sever, to detach Separable? Yes I will begin my explanation of the phrasal verb 'break off' with the easiest and most common of its different applications, which is 'to separate something by force'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Piece / Bit Bread Chocolate Handle When this first meaning of 'break off' is used in English, it is to describe when a piece of something becomes physically removed or detached from its larger, main part. This is typically done by a force of some kind. We arrive at this meaning by combining the literal meanings of the two words: using force to separate something from 'to break' with the idea of separation that we get from the particle 'off', underlining this idea. This application of 'break off' can be used in two different ways: when the breaking action is intentional and we state what caused the breaking off action and intransitively and when the action is unintentional and we talk about how something is separated from the whole by force but we don't say who or what did it. Let's first consider when we break something off intentionally, which is the most common of the two varieties. This is typically used when you use your hands to separate something such as piece of bread from a loaf or a square or two of chocolate from a bar. On a grammatical note, this is a transitive usage with a direct object (the thing that is separated) and is therefore separable, however most people tend to use it in the inseparable way: break off + object + from whole .... Josh broke off a branch from the tree. My sister broke off a piece of chocolate and handed it to me. The angry little boy broke off part of the toy by pulling too hard. Workers started to break off chunks of ice from the frozen pipe. Libby, please can you break off some bread and pass the loaf on to your friends. The intruders broke the handle off while trying to force the door. Here are some examples of 'break off' used without a direct object when we do not say who or what caused the 'breaking off' action or it is not the focus of what we are saying.... A large branch broke off from the tree during the storm. Pieces of rock broke off and fell into the water below. One of the wheels broke off while the car was driving on the highway. Several tiles have broken off from the roof as a result of the high winds. Ice broke off the edge of the glacier and fell into the valley below. A button broke off Millie's coat. Part of the statue broke off after many years of erosion. MEANING 2: To end a relationship Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To break up, to split up, to separate, to end Separable? Yes Our second application of the phrasal verb 'break off' is another fairly common one that means 'to end a relationship'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Relationship Friendship Engagement Romance Contact You may be familiar with the phrasal verb 'break up' to mean 'to end a romantic relationship' but did you know that we can also use 'break off' to mean the same thing? You should note however that whilst these two phrasal verbs have similar meanings, they are used slightly differently by speakers. Firstly, we can use 'break off' to mean to end any relationship, whether that be a romantic one, a friendship, a business arrangement or even stopping contact with another person. It is mainly used to talk about romance though. 'Break up', on the other hand, tends to be used only in the context of a romantic relationship. Moreover, we typically use 'break off' in this sense to talk about when someone decides to end a relationship in a deliberate or abrupt manner. Sometimes, it is both people in the relationship who make the decision together but most of the time it is used for when one person alone decides. Grammatically, this usage is technically separable, however we tend to use it more in the unseparated way with the construction: break off + relationship / friendship etc. The only exception to this would be when we are using the pronoun 'it', which always needs to go between 'break' and 'off'. One final distinction to make between the two here is that 'break up' does not take a direct object, whereas 'break off' does. For example, if a couple decides to separate, you would say that "they broke up". However, it would be incorrect to say "they broke off" because you need a direct object and therefore need to say "they broke off their relationship" or "they broke it off". Leanne broke off the relationship after months of arguing. Adam decided to break off his engagement to Emma as he didn't love her anymore. Lesley and Alex broke off their romance when they realised they wanted different things. Sandra broke it off as soon as she found out the truth. Joseph was afraid to break off things completely. My parents agreed to break off their relationship amicably. The model broke off the affair with the politician before it became public. Jonathan finally broke off contact with his former partner. MEANING 3: To stop speaking Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To cut off, to pause Separable? No Is it just me or do you also find it really annoying when someone is speaking to you and saying something interesting and then they suddenly stop, leaving you waiting in suspense? It is in these frustrating situations that you can use our third meaning of 'break off', which is 'to stop speaking'. Firstly, let me clarify that 'break off' does not mean to stop speaking completely like you have lost the ability to talk but rather when you are in the middle of a conversation with someone and then stop speaking, often in a sudden or unexpected way. When we use this application of 'break off' it is usually when there is some sort of interruption, hesitation or emotional impact on the speaker. It might be that the person speaking is talking about something that makes them sad, so they stop speaking to prevent them from crying, or it may be that the person is talking to you and they see something more interested on their cellphone during the conversation that steals their attention. Carl broke off in mid-sentence when he realised what he’d said. Michelle broke off abruptly as someone entered the room. The speaker broke off, clearly unsure how to continue. My Dad started talking about his deceased brother, then broke off and looked away. Jenny broke off to answer the phone, leaving me in suspense about what had happened at her birthday party. Tim broke off suddenly, leaving an awkward silence. You should note that we can also use this application of 'break off' to talk about when we stop doing something in an abrupt or sudden way, however this is much less common. Regardless of the action, the action that is 'broken off' is always known in the context as it will have been mentioned or implied before. The factory workers broke off when the alarm sounded. Mike broke off what he was doing to answer the door. Jessica broke off halfway through the task when she felt unwell. MEANING 4: To begin a game of snooker Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To break, to start Separable? No We have now come to our fourth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'break off', which is one for those of you who enjoy playing cue sports like snooker or pool and means 'to begin a game'. If you are familiar with playing snooker, pool or billiards then you will know that at the beginning of each game, the balls are all placed in a triangular formation. To start the game, one of the two players then hits the white ball into the triangle to scatter the balls. This action is known as 'breaking off'. From my own personal experience, I have never known this action described as 'breaking off' but rather just 'breaking' on its own, so you if you do enjoy playing these sports, you should know that both of these terms can be used 😃 One other thing to note is that the noun 'break-off' also exists to refer to the first shot that starts the game. The defending champion broke off with a cautious safety shot. Peter won the toss and broke off first. The referee asked the players who would break off the frame. Margaret prefers to let her opponent break off. Higgins broke off aggressively in the deciding frame. After a short delay, the match resumed and Allen broke off. Whoever breaks off sets the tone for the game. If you are interested in snooker, here is a video that shows you the best way to break off: Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'break off'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'break off'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'come back' 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. Do you know all of the different ways to use the phrasal verb 'come back'? Did you know that there are at least 5 different ways to use it in English? Don't worry if you didn't because in this post, I will give you clear and details explanations of these meanings and applications and provide you with lots of example sentences in context to show you how they are used naturally by native speakers. In addition, we will also look at the noun 'comeback' and some well-known expressions that the phrasal verb 'come back' appears in. So, without further ado, let's dive into the wonderful world of the phrasal verb 'come back'.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Come Back - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'come' & 'back' Come Back - Meaning 1: To return Come Back - Meaning 2: To remember something again Come Back - Meaning 3: To become fashionable again Come Back - Meaning 4: To reply to someone Come Back - Meaning 5: To recover Come Back - Bonus: The noun 'comeback' Come Back - Bonus: Common idioms featuring 'come back' 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 COME BACK: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Came back / Come back Separable? No If you're new to Phrasal Verbs Explained, I should explain that I like to start each phrasal verb post by looking at the individual words that form the phrasal verb that we will be looking at, which in this case are 'come' and 'back'. Come - The verb 'to come' is an extremely common irregular verb in English, so I imagine that you are already very familiar with it. It has a lot of different uses and meanings in English, but the main one is to talk about a movement towards where the speaker is, was or will be; in this sense it is the opposite of the verb 'to go'. Other notable meanings of 'to come' in certain contexts are 'to arrive' and 'to happen', among others. Due to how common it is, you can find 'to come' in a large number of phrasal verbs and expressions in English. Winter is coming, so I had better buy some warm clothes! How many people are coming to your party? My Dad came home late last night. What time do you plan to come tomorrow? The night had not yet come. Back - The prepositional particle 'back' is not one that we see often in phrasal verbs and its functions are fairly consistent when it does appear in them. One of the main ideas that it carries, which is key for this phrasal verb, is 'to return to a previous place or state' (go back). Moreover, other ideas that it can add are reversal (take back), remembering (look back) and delay ( hold back ). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's now move onto the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'come back'.... MEANING 1: To return Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To return, to recur, to get back Separable? No We will make a start in a nice and easy way with the most common and logical of all of the applications of the phrasal verb 'come back: 'to return'. This application is just a combination of the literal meanings of the verb 'to come' i.e. to move towards a place where the speaker is and 'back' to refer to a place that you have already been to. Note that as this is with the verb 'to come', we will only use it to talk about a return to the place where the person is speaking. If we are talking about returning to a different place, we would use 'go back' instead. We use 'come back' in this way to mean to return to a place all the time; in fact we say it more often than 'return', particularly in spoken and informal English. I’ll come back and see you after work Jeanette came back to the office to pick up her keys. When do you think you will come back from your trip? Pete came back late last night. Please come back and finish the form as soon as you can. They came back to the restaurant because they had forgotten to pay! We love it here and we are definitely going to come back next year. My cat came back safely after the storm. Don’t worry; I’ll come back soon and check on you. We've come back to the city where we grew up for Christmas. In addition to people and animals coming back to a place, there are other less obvious ways that we can use 'come back' to mean 'to return' that we will look at later in the post. One way that I want to make you aware of now is in reference to pain and discomfort. If you have a pain or illness that you suffer, which goes away and then happens again, you can say it 'comes back'. An example of this would be if you have a headache and take a tablet to make it go away. When the tablet stops working, the headache is likely to come back again. Caroline's knee pain came back when she started running again. Hugh's cough came back during the winter. The infection came back a few days after treatment ended. My allergy symptoms always come back in the spring. MEANING 2: To remember something again Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To remember, to recall, to remind Separable? No Another way that we can use the phrasal verb 'come back' in a sense of returning is our second application, which is 'to remember something again'. If something comes back to you in this sense, it means that you previously knew or were able to remember something but had forgotten it until the memory returned to your brain again. We can use this to talk about things from many years ago or just a few hours ago; the time span is not important here, just the fact that you are able to remember something again after a period of forgetting it. The resurfaced memory could be anything from a forgotten fact, a name, a memory of a childhood holiday or how to do something like change a lightbulb or make a cake. Sometimes, we add the additional word 'flooding' between 'come' and 'back' to add emphasis and describe when lots of memories of something come back to you at once, often triggered by something, a bit like water in a flood. The shopkeeper's name suddenly came back to me as I left the shop. Some of the details of that day are starting to come back now. Don't tell me; it'll come back to me in a minute. The memories came flooding back to me when I was listening to the song. I couldn’t remember the answer at first, but it came back to me later. Everything came flooding back once I saw the old photos. Annoyingly, the right words came back to me once I had finished the exam. The story slowly came back to him. After a couple of days in Paris, my high-school French started to come back. MEANING 3: To become fashionable again Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come back in, to resurge, to revive, Separable? No We will now move on to our third meaning of the phrasal verb 'come back', which is one for you if you like to keep up with the latest trends and means 'to become fashionable again'. There is a well-known saying in English that "fashion goes in circles" and the older you get, the more you realise that this is indeed true. What this expression means is that everything that is fashionable at one time stops being trendy for a period and then becomes fashionable again in some form or another at a future time. When this happens, we can say that the trendy thing has "come back", or "come back into fashion". When using this application, it can be in reference to anything from clothes, hairstyles, interior design, music styles and even colours. It just has to be something that used to be popular with people, stopped being popular for a time and then became popular again. Note that when talking about when something stops being trendy, we use the phrasal verb 'go out (of fashion)'. Baggy jeans have come back into fashion in a big way. Vinyl records are coming back among younger music fans. That weird hairstyle from the ’90s has come back. Retro sneakers came back in a big way last year but people are losing interest again now. Polaroid cameras are set to come back as a popular trend in the next few months. Vintage furniture has come back in modern interior design again. Minimalist design is finally coming back after years of bold styles. Thrift shopping has come back as a mainstream trend once more. MEANING 4: To reply to someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reply, to respond, to retort Separable? No Next, we have our fourth application of 'come back', which is one that means 'to reply to someone' and can be used in both a neutral and a negative sense. We mainly hear this application of 'come back' being used in a neutral sense in the world of business and professional English. We often use it instead of verbs like 'to reply' or 'to respond' to talk about receiving answers to questions and requests, particularly in email form. Of course, it isn't just in business English that we use this, however that is overwhelmingly where you hear it the most in this way. I emailed the Account Manager this morning, but she hasn’t come back to me yet. Please come back to me once you’ve checked the details on this. The MD said he’d come back with an answer by Friday. They promised to come back to us shortly after the meeting. Please could you come back to me later on that? In contrast, the negative way of using this application of 'come back' is usually heard more in spoken English. Typically, it is used to express when one person responds to what another has said in an angry, irritable or unkind way. This is something that you may hear in an argument between people or when one person is annoyed or frustrated with the other. Alternatively, you may also hear this when someone responds to what someone else has said very quickly or in a witty and humorous way. Again, this would be in the form of an argument or in a playful exchange of teasing comments and remarks (known as banter). He insulted Kelly, and she came back with an even sharper remark. Juli came back angrily, telling him to mind his own business and leave her alone. Billy came back with a sarcastic comment that silenced the room. The student came back with an irritated response. Ryan came back snapping that it wasn’t his fault. I expected an apology from Morgan, but she came back with attitude instead. Furthermore, when used in this negative, aggressive way, we sometimes add the additional preposition 'at', to specify the person who the negative response is aimed towards. Bella came back at her husband for questioning her honesty. Derek criticised Fi's work, and she understandably came back at him. I made a joke about Tom, and he immediately came back at me defensively. MEANING 5: To recover Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To recover, to rally, to revive, to rebound Separable? No We have now come to our fifth and final application of 'come back', which is 'to recover' and brings us full circle (a bit like fashion) back to the first application of 'to return' again 😊 To give you a bit more detail and be more specific, what I mean by 'to recover' here is to return to a normal, functional or desirable state or situation and it can be used to talk about people, things or situations. Of course, if something has to return to a good or positive state, we can infer that something has to go wrong or not go well with it before it gets better again and it is with this improving action that we use this application of 'come back'. There are several different situations in which this final usage of 'come back' can be applied, so I will outline them separately for you.... Perhaps one of the most frequent situations in which this application of 'come back' can be heard is when talking about games, competitions and sport. If a player or a team is losing a game or competition but is able to recover, take the lead and win, you can say that the player or team came back from a deficit. Birmingham City team came back from a two-goal deficit. The LA Lakers came back and won in overtime. Real Madrid is slowly coming back after a difficult season. The athlete is determined to come back better than before next year. Another situation where you can hear 'come back' in this sense is to do with health. I know that earlier in the post I explained that we can use 'come back' to talk about a recurring medical problem or symptom, however we can also use it in the exact opposite way to state that your good health has come back following a period of illness or injury. In addition, we can also use it in this way to talk about the condition of a financial economy or of a business. After the treatment ended, my health gradually started to come back. Seb's voice came back after a few days of rest. After the shock, Neil's confidence gradually came back. The economy is starting to come back following a bumpy year last year. The business came back after nearly closing down six months ago. Lastly, one that you are likely to hear a lot in English language popular music is when people sing about their lovers coming back to them, which is simply just a desire for their ex-partner, who they are no longer in a relationship with, to come back and get back together with them. Of course, it is not only famous singers who use this application and indeed anyone uses it, however I would say that due to its associations with pop songs, it can often sound a bit dramatic when used by us "normal" people. Juliet begged Romeo to come back to her. Terry left, but he eventually came back saying that he would never leaver her again. I don’t think I can trust you if you come back again. Don’t come back unless you’re serious this time! Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'comeback' Now you know all of the different ways to use the phrasal verb 'come back', but did you know that there is also a noun 'comeback', which is derived from it. Moreover, there are in fact two separate meanings of this noun, both of which come from different applications that we have looked at in the post.... The first of these links back to our fourth application about replying to someone, whereby a 'comeback' is used to mean a quick, witty or critical verbal response to what someone else has said.... Photo: Wix Media The comedian always has the perfect comeback when someone in the audience makes a rude comment That was a clever comeback; everyone laughed a lot. I wish I’d thought of a better comeback at the time. The other meaning that 'comeback' has as a noun links back to the fifth phrasal verb application and means a recovery and is used specifically to talk about sports performances and the careers of famous people, particularly pop music artists. You should also note that we often use the expression 'to make a comeback' here. The team made an incredible comeback in the final minutes of the match. That has to be one of the greatest comebacks in football history. After a decade away from the spotlight, the singer made a stunning comeback. Critics praised the band's comeback performance at the award show. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Idioms and expressions featuring 'come back' Before you click off the post and go about your daily lives, I just want to make you aware of a couple of useful expressions that exist featuring the phrasal verb 'come back' that you can use to really impress all of your friends and colleagues.... To come back to bite someone - We use this expression to talk about when you do something now that will have an unexpected negative repercussion or consequence for you in the future. In other words, a decision or action that you take now will cause unknown problems at some point for you later. He thinks he made a good choice but it will come back to bite him when he's older. I lied on my resume about knowing French, and it came back to bite me when I was assigned to the Paris office. To come back down to Earth - This idiom is used to talk about when people have to face reality after a period of great excitement or happiness or when someone is forced to see things as they really are, particularly if they are rude or arrogant. It didn't take us long to come back down to Earth after we got back from our holiday. Alan thought his startup would be worth millions in a month, but he soon came back down to Earth when the first three investors turned him down. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'come back'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'come back'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

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

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

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

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

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