An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'take out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. I'm sure many of you will already be familiar with the phrasal verb 'take out', especially if you have spent time in the USA and eaten fast food there. Do you know the other meanings of 'take out', though? For instance, did you know that 'taking someone out' can either mean something very nice or very horrible, depending on the context? Or, did you know that someone can take something out on you, which may also take it out of them. I appreciate that this is very confusing, but don't worry as in this post, I will explain to you all of the different ways that 'take out' is used by native speakers, with lots of examples in context to help you understand and learn them. So, without further ado, let's get started.... PS Don't forget to leave a comment at the end with your own sentence using 'take out'! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Take Out - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'take' and 'out' Take Out - Meaning 1: To remove something from an internal space Take Out - Meaning 2: To buy food and eat it elsewhere 🇺🇸 Take Out - Bonus: The noun 'takeout' Take Out - Meaning 3: To take someone somewhere for pleasure Take Out - Meaning 4: To enter into a financial agreement Take Out - Meaning 5: To kill someone Take Out - Meaning 6: To treat someone badly because you feel bad Take Out - Meaning 7: To make you feel very tired I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TAKE OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Took out / Taken out Separable? Yes Before we look at the meanings of the phrasal verb 'take out', let's first take a moment to consider the meanings of the individual words 'take' and 'out' on their own. Firstly, we have the verb 'to take', which is frequently found near the top of the lists of the most common verbs in the English language and which you will certainly be familiar with. The verb 'to take' has a lot of different meanings and uses in English, however the most relevant meanings for the purposes of this post are perhaps 'to remove something' and 'to carry something with you'. In addition to 'take' we have the prepositional particle 'out', which is normally used to refer to either being on, or moving towards, the exterior of something. When used in phrasal verbs, 'out' often adds the idea of movement away from the interior of something, as well as the ideas of resolution and exclusion, among others. Now that we have considered its constituent words, let's move on to the reason you are here and the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'take out'.... MEANING 1: To remove something from an interior space Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To extract, to remove, to extricate Separable? Yes I always like to try and start these lists of phrasal verb meanings with one that is nice and simple and this post is no different. The first meaning of 'take out' that I will explain to you is 'to remove something from an interior space'. As I mentioned above, one of the principal meanings of the verb 'to take' is to remove something from a place and when we combine this with the meaning of 'out', as in moving from an interior space to an exterior one, it gives us the nice literal meaning of removing something from an interior space. This literal meaning of 'take out' can be used in many different areas of life. You can use it to describe actions as diverse as removing the trash from your house, removing the batteries from a device when they have run out and having a dentist extract a tooth from your mouth. Regardless of the situation or circumstances, the general idea is that something is removed from an internal space, so that it is no longer there. If you can remove it or extract it from an interior place, you can take it out. In order to clean the fridge properly, I had to take out all of the food so that it was empty. John went to the dentist last week and had five teeth taken out. We will carry out the operation today and then you will have to come back in two weeks so that we can take out the stitches. Take your thumb out of your mouth when you are speaking! I can't understand what you are saying! As I was taking the clean clothes out of the washing machine, I noticed that they had all turned pink. MEANING 2: To buy food and eat it elsewhere Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To take away, to carry out Separable? Yes If you have ever spent time in the USA, then you may be very familiar with this next meaning of 'take out', which is 'to buy food and drink from somewhere and then go somewhere else to consume it'. It literally means that you are taking the food out of the restaurant. This is an application that you will hear mostly in fast food establishments where this usage originated and where customers are asked if they are eating in or taking out as standard. However, since the Covid-19 pandemic it has become more and more popular with traditional restaurants too (although perhaps not the 5-star ones). You should note that this is more of a North American usage and in the UK and Australia 'take away' is used instead (also carry out in Scotland), however 'take out' is absolutely fine in these countries and will be understood very well. BONUS: The noun 'takeout' You should note that the noun 'takeout' or 'take-out' also exists, which derives directly from this usage of the phrasal verb 'take out'. As a noun, 'takeout' can refer either to the food that is bought from an establishment and eaten somewhere else, or to the restaurant itself where the takeout food is purchased. Ok, so one burger and fries. Are you eating in or taking out? We bought some takeout food and went and ate it next to the river. MEANING 3: To take someone somewhere for pleasure Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To escort, to treat Separable? Yes Did you know that when functioning as adjectives, the particles 'in' and 'out' can be used to mean if a person is at home (in) or not at home (out). From this particular usage of the word 'out', we get our third meaning of the phrasal verb 'take out', which is 'to take someone to a place, for pleasure or fun'. This usage of 'take out' is all about treating someone or doing something nice for them. Normally, the person who takes out the other person will organise and invite the lucky recipient and, more often than not, will pay for them too. Most commonly, this application of 'take out' is used with bars and restaurants but can also apply to the theatre, cinema, museum or any other place where you may go for pleasure. It is important to note that we do not tend to use 'take out' for any overnight trips or holidays to a different place as 'take away' would be used here instead. My son is taking me out to London for the day tomorrow. Roger took Lisa out to the cinema last night. Can you babysit next Friday night for me? It's John's birthday and I would love to take him out for a meal as a present. MEANING 4: To enter into a financial agreement Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To buy, to enter into (a contract) Separable? Yes Do you own a car, motorbike or other vehicle? If you do, there is a very good chance that you have had to buy insurance for it at some point and this brings us to the next meaning of 'take out', which is 'to enter into a financial agreement with a company'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Mortgage Insurance Loan Policy To clarify, if you enter into a financial contract with a company, for example by agreeing with them to supply you with a loan or a mortgage, then you can say that you 'take out' a loan or a mortgage with them. I'm not sure exactly where this comes from, however one possible suggestion would be that in the past, if you wanted to 'take out' a financial policy or agreement with a bank, you would need to go to the bank to sign the documents and take a copy of them out with you to keep at home as your own personal record of the transaction....who knows? It's possible I guess! This also covers when you buy an insurance or any other type policy with a company as well and in this instance you say that you 'take out insurance'. It is a legal requirement to take out home insurance when you buy your new house. I tried to take out a mortgage with my bank, however the application was declined as I did not have enough money. We took a car insurance policy out with a company, which has since gone bankrupt. MEANING 5: To kill someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To kill, to murder, to injure Separable? Yes So, as we established earlier in the post, if a person offers to take you out, then it is usually a good thing and you should definitely agree. However, if someone looks at you with an angry look on their face and threatens to take you out, then you should probably think twice before agreeing as it is more likely that they want to kill you or do you harm, which is the next meaning of 'take out' that we will look at. In addition to killing or murdering someone, 'take out' can also be used to mean 'to injure someone to the point that they cannot fight you back or will no longer pose a problem to you. This usage may have originated from the idea that someone is 'in' a fight or a game, and once injured or hurt, they are then forced 'out' as they are no longer to compete. Luckily for most people, the chances of someone threatening to take you out in this way are extremely small, however it is something that you may come across whilst watching English-language TV shows and movies. Moreover, this usage is a relatively informal one and not one that you are likely to hear in official or formal situations. 'Take out' can also be used to talk about destroying things rather than killing people and this is perhaps most commonly heard when talking about warfare and the military. Grammatically speaking, this application of 'take out' is often used in the passive sense with the verb 'get'. For example, if someone gets taken out by someone or something, it means that they are killed or prevented from continuing in a competition or fight. One of the most important aspects of this computer game is to take out as many enemy spies as possible. The boxer took his opponent out in less than five rounds. The army has taken out all of the enemy's ships. I almost got taken out by a falling tree as I was cycling home during the storm last night. MEANING 6: To treat someone badly because you feel bad Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Separable? Always Have you ever been in a bad mood and then shouted at someone or treated them badly because of it? If you have, then you might say that 'you took your bad mood out on them' as the next meaning of 'take out' is to treat someone badly because you are feeling bad. For this usage, we require the additional prepositional particle ' on ' and the construction is as follows: 'to take something / it out on someone'. We tend to use this application of 'take out' when there is a specific reason why we are in a bad mood. This could be anything from feeling tired, having a bad day at work, having an argument with somebody or feeling disappointed about something. Whatever the cause of our ill temper, the result is always the same, i.e. we behave horribly towards someone else, although it is not their fault. People are not the only victims of this negative treatment though, as it is also possible to take a bad mood out on objects or things, normally by abusing them or even breaking them as a way of getting rid of the negative emotion. When the England team lost the football game, John took his bad mood out on his friends. I'm sorry for yesterday. I was in a bad mood and I took it out on you. I understand that you have had an argument with your boss, but I will not tolerate you taking it out on me! Sarah had a bad day at the office yesterday and so she took it out on the punching bag in the gym later that evening. MEANING 7: To make you feel very tired Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To tire out, to exhaust, to wear out, to drain, to sap Separable? Always For the final usage of 'take out', we are looking at a more idiomatic meaning, which is 'to make you feel very tired or exhausted'. For this we need the additional preposition ' of ', giving us the following set structure: 'to take it out of someone'. If something takes it out of you, it takes away all of your energy and makes you feel very tired and exhausted. This can be used for anything that tires you out, from looking after children to speaking a foreign language for a long period of time. Don't use this for when you feel a little bit tired though, it should be reserved for really tiring activities that make you want to lie down and sleep for a few hours afterwards! It was Freddy's first day at school today and he was so tired when he came home; it really took it out of him. I love looking after my grandchildren but it takes it out of me! John has been training for the marathon this week and it has taken it out of him. Photo: Pexels Well this brings us to the end of the post. I sincerely hope that it hasn't taken it out of you! Before we finish, let's quickly recap the different meanings of 'take out' to ensure that they stick in your memory.... Firstly, we have the literal meaning, which is to remove something from an inside space. If you go to a restaurant, buy some food and then take it somewhere to eat it, you are taking it out. If someone takes you out, it can mean either that they take you somewhere for pleasure or that they want to kill you or remove you from a competition. We also use 'take out' with insurance policies, mortgages and financial agreements when we first agree to them. If someone has a bad day, they may treat you badly as a result and take it out on you and lastly, if something makes you feel very tired, it takes it out of you. Now it is YOUR turn. Leave a comment below with your own sentence using 'take out' or any questions or comments that you have....don't be shy! Sign up below to receive weekly phrasal verb posts straight into your inbox and be the first to access each blog post as soon as it is published! Lastly, 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 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. 'Come down' is a common phrasal verb in English with a variety of different meanings. For example, you can come down with a cold, possibly whilst you're coming down from a weekend of partying. Alternatively, you may hear an an English speaker say that they are coming down to your city or that they will come down on you like a ton of bricks. If these all seem a little strange to you, do not worry as in this post I will outline and explain all of the different ways that this versatile little phrasal verb is used in English. So, without further ado, let's get started....don't forget to leave a comment at the end! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Come Down - The Basics: Key information the words 'come' and 'down' Come Down - Meaning 1: To decrease Come Down - Meaning 2: To fall and hit the ground Come Down - Meaning 3: To be removed or dismantled Come Down - Meaning 4: To travel to a place Come Down - Meaning 5: To stop feeling happy or high Come Down - Bonus: The noun 'comedown' Come Down - Meaning 6: To feel the first symptoms of an infection Come Down - Meaning 7: To be the most important factor Come Down - Meaning 8: To punish someone Come Down - Bonus: The idiom 'To come down on someone like a ton of bricks' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS COME DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Came down / Come down Separable? No Let's begin by considering the meanings of the individual words 'come' and 'down'. The verb 'to come' is one that you will certainly be very aware of as an English learner. It is primarily concerned with movement, specifically towards where the speaker is, was in the past or will be in the future. 'To come' is also regularly combined with particles, giving a large number of common phrasal verbs and expressions. It is an intransitive verb and does not take a direct object and this equally applies when it is part of a phrasal verb. As such, it is usually used for meanings where there the active agent initiating or causing the action is not specified. You will undoubtedly also be very familiar with the preposition particle 'down', which normally functions as an adverb and adjective in English. Commonly, it refers to movement towards the ground or a lower place, but it also has many other applications in English and, notably for this post, can be used to refer to things in written form, things that fall onto the ground and also movement towards a more southernly place. As an adjective, 'down' can mean sad or depressed and this is a theme that we will explore later in this post. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's check out the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'come down'... MEANING 1: To decrease Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reduce, to decrease, to lower, to drop, to go down, to dwindle Let's start the meanings of 'come down' with a nice and easy one, which is 'to decrease', and is specifically used to talk about prices and levels. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Inflation Price Level Cost This meaning of 'come down' is a combination of the movement aspect of the verb 'to come' with the particle 'down', providing us with the concept of decreasing. As I mentioned, this application is normally used with levels, specifically when referring to ones that can fluctuate (go up and down) over time. We don't tend to use 'come down' in situations where one person is involved and actively causes the decrease to happen, but rather when it occurs organically or naturally, such as levels of inflation in the economy or a person's heartbeat after jogging for twenty minutes. I am a diabetic and my sugar levels were very high earlier today, but luckily they have come down to normal levels again now. Is there any chance that the wholesale price of gas will come down again this summer? The levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have gradually been coming down over the last two decades. During an economic recession, it is normal for the prices of many commodities to come down. MEANING 2: To fall and hit the ground Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To fall, to collapse, to tumble, to crash The next meaning of 'come down' is another nice and easy one and is quite similar to the previous one, except that now we are talking about physical things falling, rather than prices and levels. To clarify, this meaning is 'to fall and hit the ground' and is again derived from the same meanings of the words 'come' and 'down' as the first meaning. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Rain Snow Sleet Hail Airplane Tree Building As you can imagine, we can use this application of 'come down' with reference to anything that falls and lands on the ground, whether that be from a previously standing position or from the sky. As such, we often use this for the weather, specifically with rain and snow, especially in the UK! However, aside from that, this meaning of 'come down' is typically used when something falls to the ground because it is broken or damaged in some way and for this we can talk about fallen trees, an aircraft that crashes or collapsing structures. Again, similar to the first meaning, there is generally no direct human intervention involved or implied when something 'comes down'. A lot of snow came down overnight and many of the roads are blocked this morning. It is autumn and the leaves are coming down off the trees. A number of trees came down in the storm last week but luckily they did not land on any power lines. The airplane came down in the field and somehow the pilot and all of the passengers miraculously survived. MEANING 3: To be removed or dismantled Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To remove, to demolish, to take down One of the many meanings of the particle 'up' is to describe something that has been erected or is hanging on a wall. For example, if your Christmas tree is up, then it is standing in your house and if a picture is up on the wall, then it is hanging on the wall in an elevated position. As you will be aware, 'down' functions as the opposite of 'up' and therefore if a structure is no longer standing or if something is no longer hanging in an elevated position, we can say that it has 'come down'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Building Structure Decorations Picture Poster This usage of 'come down' can be used to refer to any objects that are placed in a high position and subsequently removed, as well as for structures that are built and later dismantled. Unlike the previous two examples, there is human intervention with this usage, however grammatically we tend to omit the person or people who perform the action, which is inferred from the context. It is the January 5th today, so the Christmas tree and decorations will all have to come down tomorrow. I really dislike those curtains. They need to come down soon! The telecom mast came down last year as the company wanted to replace it with a newer one. MEANING 4: To travel to a place Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To travel, to head, to go down, to go Every once in a while, friends of mine from Scotland contact me to tell me that they are coming down to England on a trip and they want to know if I will be available to meet up with them. The reason that they say they are coming down is because the next meaning of 'come down' is to travel in a southwards direction to a place. Interestingly, the opposite of this is 'come up', so if I ever go northwards to Scotland, I tell them that I am coming up to see them. Of course, we are not all geography experts, so this isn't a hard and fast rule, however most people have at least a basic idea of the locations of their major cities and tend to apply this usage naturally as they imagine their up or down movements on a map. To note, for this usage we only use 'come down' when we are talking to someone who is at the destination. For example, when my friends tell me that they are visiting me, they say that they are coming down to England because I am in England, however when they tell their friends who are in Scotland about their trip, they say instead that they are going down to England (unless the friends in Scotland are travelling with them). My parents are coming down to London this weekend to see me. John came down to Florida for a few weeks last summer and we met up. The next time you come down, please can you bring me some scotch whisky. My parents are going to come down with me to Melbourne next week. MEANING 5: To stop feeling happy or high Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To crash, to sober up As we are on the subject of trips to places, do you ever feel sad, low or a bit depressed after returning from a holiday or vacation? I often do and at such times I might say that I am coming down from the high of my holiday, because the fifth meaning of 'come down' that we will consider is 'to stop feeling happy or high'. To clarify, when used in relation to people, the noun 'a high' is used to mean a very happy and exciting moment and if you are 'on a high', you are feeling happy or pleased about something for example, your favourite football team has won the cup or you have had a job promotion. Moreover, if you use the adjective 'high' to describe a person, it means that he or she is under the influence of drugs and therefore is not able to think or act properly etc. Do you know the famous English expression "what goes up must come down"? Well, based on the premise of this, when someone is high, be it naturally or from drugs, they must eventually come down again, which generally means feelings of sadness and depression that are associated with being 'down'. Although this is used for people like us who often feel sad after vacations and holidays, this application of 'come down' is in fact primarily used to talk about people when they stop feeling the effects of drugs and alcohol, which can often be quite serious and damaging to their mental health. It was such a great weekend and it took me a long time to come down from it. If you're coming down, you should drink lot of water and practice breathing exercises. John came down from the marijuana and immediately wanted to smoke some more. BONUS: The noun 'comedown' The noun 'comedown' also exists and this is derived directly from this application of the phrasal verb 'come down' and means the period of sadness and depression following the end of a happy occasion or, more commonly, from stopping taking drugs. MEANING 6: To feel the first symptoms of an illness Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To fall ill Don't you just hate it when you are feeling fine one minute and then the next minute you can feel a tickle in your throat and the first signs of an illness are appearing. When this happens, you can say that you are coming down with an infection as the sixth meaning of 'come down' that we will consider is 'to feel the first symptoms of an infection'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Cold Cough Flu Virus Infection Bug For this usage, we require the additional preposition ' with '. This is the only meaning of the construction 'to come down with ' in English and the word order of this is fixed and cannot be changed. As you have probably gathered, this application of 'come down' is all about the initial period of an illness or a disease, when the symptoms first start to show and you go from being well to being ill. We only use it for infectious diseases such as coughs, colds and the flu that tend to be short-term and we do not use it for other types of diseases such as cancer. I'm not going to come with you to the cinema tonight as I think I am coming down with a cold and I want to stay at home and rest. We were supposed to go on holiday to Spain last week but the whole family came down with Covid the day before we were due to fly, so we had to postpone it. Lisa has come down with a nasty bug and won't be in the office today. MEANING 7: To be the most important factor Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To depend on, to hinge on We all have to make difficult decisions at times in our lives. Usually, when making these tough decisions, we have to identify what the most important factor is and then base our decision on it accordingly. This is where our seventh meaning of the phrasal verb 'come down' is required as it means 'to be the most important factor'. For this usage, we require the additional preposition ' to ' and, as with the previous one, the word order is fixed and cannot be changed. As I stated earlier, "to come down to " normally applies to decision making, for example "what I decide to wear tomorrow will come down to what the weather is like" however we can also use it for situations, particularly problems and questions, where one factor is more important than the others. I'm not sure whether or not to sell the house. It all comes down to how money we will make if we do. The government are currently working out if they need to increase their expenditure but it will all come down to how effective the spending will be. Our problem essentially comes down to the fact that we don't communicate enough. In penalty situations, the result of the football game will come down to whichever team has the best goalkeeper. MEANING 8: To punish someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To punish, to castigate, to chastise, to discipline The final meaning of the phrasal verb 'come down' that we will look at is 'to severely punish someone' and for this we require the additional preposition ' on '. If someone comes down on you, it means that they punish you in some way for something that you have done wrong. Usually, we add an adverb such as 'hard' or 'soft' to describe if the punishment was severe or light. BONUS: To come down on someone like a ton of bricks A nice idiom to be aware of with this application is 'to come down on someone like a ton of bricks', which means to severely punish someone. If he finds out what you have done, he will come down hard on you! Regardless of what she does, Roger always comes down soft on his daughter. The authorities came down on the criminals like a ton or bricks. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of the post, so let's quickly recap the different meanings.... Firstly, we can use 'come down' to talk about a reduction in levels and prices. A second meaning is to describe something that falls to the ground, is removed from an elevated place or is dismantled. If someone visits you from a place more northern than where you are, you can say they are coming down to see you and if you have taken drugs or have had a natural high and the good positive feelings start to fade, you can also say that you are coming down. Lastly, we can come down with an illness, meaning that we start to feel ill and somebody can come down on us, which means to punish us! Now it is YOUR turn. Leave a comment on the blog post with your own sentence using 'come down', comments or suggestions....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 'back 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. If you are a regular user of computers, which many of you probably are, then the phrasal verb 'back up' is a phrasal verb that you are sure to recognise. However, do you know its other uses and meanings outside of the world of IT? For example, have you ever backed a friend or colleague up when they needed it or have you ever had a problem in your house caused by water backing up? Don't worry if not as in this post I will outline the different ways to use this "supportive" little phrasal verb and explain to you how to use it like a native speaker. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Back Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'back' and 'up' Back Up - Meaning 1: To support someone Back Up - Meaning 2: To confirm that something is true Back Up - Meaning 3: To make a copy of a computer file Back Up - Meaning 4: To move backwards Back Up - Meaning 5: To gradually collect or accumulate I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS BACK UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Backed up / Backed up Separable? Yes To start the post, let's first look at the individual words 'back' and 'up' and what they mean on their own... The English word 'back' will most likely be most familiar to you as an adverb and a noun; giving the idea of a reversing action or a return when used as an adverb and referring to the rear part of something, most commonly the part of the human body between the buttocks and the neck, as a noun. It may surprise you to learn that the verb 'to back' also exists in English and means to give support to something, such as an idea, a project, a plan, a cause or a political candidate or party. As well as that, it has a second, less common, meaning, which is 'to reverse or go backwards'. Regular visitors to my website will be well aware of the usage of the prepositional particle 'up', which is used in phrasal verb constructions to add the idea of an increase or a movement towards a higher place, as well as the ideas of preparation, improvement and readiness, among others. Ok, so now we have looked at the basics, let's take a look at the various meanings of the phrasal verb 'back up'.... MEANING 1: To support someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To support, to help, to back Separable? Yes As we have just established, the main meaning of the verb 'to back' is to give support to something and this first meaning of 'back up' is very much linked to it as it also means to support, however it tends to be used slightly differently. When we 'back' something, we are saying that we agree with it and therefore support it in a passive way. However, with 'back up' we tend to take it one step further and give our support in a more active way, even being willing to take over from the person that we are backing up if necessary. An example of this to illustrate it would be if a person wants to confront their boss at work but they don't feel comfortable doing it on their own, so they ask some colleagues to go with them to give them support in case they need it. In other words, to back them up. Here, we would not tend to use the verb 'to back' as we want the supporting person to be actively involved if possible. From this meaning, we also get the noun 'backup' (or back-up), which refers to extra resources, equipment or people that can be called on for support when we need it. For example, the police always request backup in American TV shows and movies when they have a serious crime to deal with. Going back to the phrasal verb 'back up', in addition to people, it can also be used for giving support to proposals and ideas. To clarify, if a proposal or an idea is put forward, it often requires some sort of action to confirm or support the idea and for this we can also use 'back up'. I knew that the teacher was going to shout at me, so I made my friend come into the office with me to back me up. The employee was backed up by his company during the court trial. Don't worry Sergeant Smith, backup has been requested and will be with you shortly. I took an extra pen into the exam for backup in case the ink ran out on the first one. Your ideas are very promising, but they will need to be backed up by some positive actions before we can provide you with finance. MEANING 2: To confirm that something is true Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To corroborate, to confirm, to support, to substantiate Separable Yes Let's continue with the theme of support for the next meaning of 'back up', which is 'to confirm that something is true'. To give you an example, when I was younger, I was falsely blamed for taking my sister's chocolate bar from the fridge and eating it (shocking, I know!). She thought it was me and was very angry with me, despite my assurances to her that I hadn't taken it. Thankfully, my Dad backed me up by telling her that it wasn't me. He knew that it was my brother who had taken it and therefore was able to confirm the truth. Of course, the example that I have just given you is a typical one that occurs in everyday life, however this application is also regularly used in the fields of science, research and criminal investigations. In all of these areas, in which hypotheses, theories and suspicions are routinely checked and tested, evidence is often required to confirm that they are true and the phrasal verb 'back up' is always used in these situations. Grammatically, you may often see this application being used in the passive form (backed up by...), especially in the fields of science, research and statistics. John, please can you back me up and tell Lisa that what I am saying is true. When the teacher accused me of bullying another student, my best friend backed me up and said that I had not. The witness' statement backs up what the victim said. The team of scientists were overjoyed when the results of their recent experiment backed up the theory that they have been working on for several months. These things do not exist and this has been backed up by science many times over the years. MEANING 3: To make a copy of a computer file Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To save, to make a copy Separable? Yes Along with receiving telephone calls from call centres trying to sell you something and siblings blaming you for stealing chocolate bars, one of the most annoying things that can happen to you is when you work very hard on something for a long time on your computer and then you lose all your work because you DIDN'T SAVE IT 🤬. This annoying occurrence brings us to the next meaning of the phrasal verb 'back up', which is 'to make a copy of a computer file'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Data Files Work Apps Device Computer As you can probably guess, this usage of 'back up' is a relatively new one due to its link to computers, however it is quite widespread in modern English as IT is now an integral part of daily life, whether that be in our personal or working lives. It is common to hear this application of 'back up' used with nouns such as 'work' and 'files' as well as 'computers' and 'devices'. Grammatically, this application of 'back up' is separable and you can 'back up your files' or 'back your files up' without any change in meaning. My computer battery has just died, but luckily I had just backed up my work when it did, so hopefully I haven't lost anything. Don't forget to back up your work before you log out. She wasn't able to back up her files, so she lost them all when she shut her computer down. It is important to back up your computer on a regular basis. MEANING 4: To move backwards Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere, more common in American English Potential synonyms To reverse, to go back Separable? Yes You may remember from earlier on in the post that I mentioned that another, less common, meaning of the verb 'to back' is 'to move backwards' or 'to reverse' and this fourth meaning of 'back up' derives directly from that as it means exactly the same, i.e. to move backwards. I would say though that 'back up' is actually used more commonly than just 'back' on its own when talking about reversing. Most commonly, this application of 'back up' is used with cars as another way to say 'reverse' and this in particular sounds quite American to my ears, although you do still hear it used in this way in British English. When used with a vehicle, it is a separable usage with the vehicle either going between 'back' and 'up' or after them. It is also possible to use 'back up' to talk about a person physically moving backwards, however this is normally only by a few footsteps. When used this way, we do not normally separate the phrasal verb as there is no direct object (vehicle). Furthermore, it is often used as an imperative to ask people to move backwards. I backed the car up a few metres in order to let the other cars pass. As Roger was backing the lorry up, he accidentally knocked over the signpost on the side of the road. Backing up a car is one of the things that you will be instructed to do on your driving test to prove that you are a competent driver. I was too close to the fire, so I backed up a few paces to where it was cooler. Back up a bit please! These people need to get past. MEANING 5: To gradually collect or accumulate Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To build up, to accumulate, to collect, to gather Separable? No Our final meaning of 'back up' is one that can be heard being used in a few different areas of life to talk specifically about things that flow and it means 'to gradually collect or accumulate'. The first thing to mention here is that this application of 'back up' is all about a process that takes place over time. It starts when there is a small amount of something and then over time more and more of it collects until there is so much of it that there is a negative consequence. Let's take a look at some commonly used nouns with this usage of 'back up'.... Water - The nature of water and liquids in general is that they flow, whether that be down a river or along a pipe. Whenever there is a situation where the flow of water is blocked or obstructed in some way, it tends to accumulate behind the blockage, leading to problems once the accumulation is too big. This can often be heard when talking about water pipes in a building, sewers or also natural waterways such as rivers and streams. Traffic - We often talk in English about the flow of traffic on our roads and highways. Like with water, whenever there is a blockage on the road, such as a car accident, then the traffic backs up behind it and a traffic jam forms. This is one that I am sure most of you know all too well. Work - Although there isn't a physical flow with work like there is with water and traffic, there is still the idea of a flow of jobs and emails coming into a business and then leaving again once completed. As such, we can also use 'back up' with work to describe when we have too much work to do and cannot do it all straight away, meaning that there will be a delay due to the acculmuation of tasks that have to be done. It is quite common to hear this usage in a passive sense, i.e. to say that you are 'backed up'. Another noun that can be used here is backlog. Hopefully you have got the main idea of this meaning of 'back up' from the examples given! Due to a blockage in the pipe, the sewer was backed up and a specialist company had to come and resolve the issue. Try and avoid the M5 motorway if possible as there has been an accident and the traffic is beginning to back up. We are really backed up at the moment, so it may take a little longer than usual to receive a response from our team. Photo: Pexels This brings us to the end of the post, so let's quickly recap the different meanings of 'back up' to ensure that they stick in your memory... So firstly we had the idea of 'back up' used as a form of support, both by actively supporting someone in a situation and then by confirming that something is true. If you back up your files on a computer, it means that you have a copy of them in case you lose them in the future. 'Back up' can also be used to mean to reverse a vehicle or to move back a few paces and lastly, it can be used to describe something that accumulates so much that it causes a problem! Now it is YOUR turn. Leave a comment on the blog post with your own sentence using 'back up' or any questions or comments that you have....don't be shy! Sign up below to receive weekly phrasal verb emails and be the first to access each blog post as soon as it is published! Lastly, 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 'carry on' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This post focuses on the phrasal verb 'carry on', which has a surprising number of meanings in English. In this post, I will explain each one and give you lots of example sentences to enable you to master them and impress your English-speaking friends with your amazing phrasal verb skills! So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Carry On - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'carry' and 'on' Carry On - Meaning 1: Literal meaning Carry On - Meaning 2: To continue Carry On - Bonus: Is 'carry on' a separable phrasal verb? Carry On - Bonus: What is we want to use 'carry on' as an imperative? Carry On - Meaning 3: To misbehave Carry On - Meaning 4: To behave like nothing has happened Carry On - Meaning 5: To have an illicit sexual relationship Carry On - Bonus: More example sentences with 'carry on' Carry On - Bonus: Further questions for writing and speaking practice Carry On - Bonus: Carry On Movies  I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be most grateful. Thank you! 😊 James Photo: Pexels THE BASICS CARRY ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Carried on / Carried on Separable? Sometimes Before we carry on with the meanings of 'carry on' (do you see what I did there 😉), let's first take a moment to consider what the individual words 'carry' and 'on' mean on their own. Firstly, we have the base verb 'to carry', which means to hold or support something or someone and transport it (or them) from one place to another. It is a regular verb that is also very frequently found in phrasal verb constructions such as carry on, carry out and carry off. I can't walk anymore, can you carry me? John carried his baby son home from the hospital. Sarah couldn't wave to her friend as she was carrying bags of shopping Who wants to help me to carry this sofa into the other room? Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'on', which is a word that you will all be familiar with as it is extremely widespread in English, with a huge number of different meanings and applications. When used in phrasal verbs, 'on' can convey various meanings, such as continuation ( keep on ), support (count on) and beginning (set on), among others. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's "carry on" with the post and look at the different meanings of this nice and useful little phrasal verb.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bring on, to take on Separable? Yes We are going to start with a rarer meaning of 'carry on', which is the literal meaning of the two words combined i.e. 'to move or transport something with you whilst getting or moving on to something'. From my perspective as a native speaker, I would say that the use of this literal version in English is mainly limited to when we are getting on to public transport and are carrying, holding or transporting something in our hand, pocket or baggage. If you have ever flown on an airplane, you may recognise the term 'carry-on luggage', to describe the bags or small suitcases that you are permitted to take with you to your seat or into the cabin. You should note that this only applies to public transport that we travel on . As English learners, you will know that English prepositions are rarely logical 😵‍💫, and public transport is a good example of this. In many other languages, the preposition 'in' is (logically) used to talk about most forms of public transport, however English is different and we tend to use 'on' for many of these (despite being physically inside!). To help you with this, I have included the table below, which shows which preposition we use for common types of transport: ​ON IN Bus Car Train ​Train carriage Airplane ​Airplane cabin Boat / Ship ​ Tram ​ Subway ​ As a general rule, if you can stand up and walk around on a mode of transport, we use 'on'. If we are not able to stand up and walk around, we say 'in'. You may have also heard the common variation 'to carry onto' being used here. This does mean the same thing, however it simply adds additional emphasis to the movement from the start and end points. Photo: Pexels From June 2024 all aeroplane passengers will be able to carry two-litre bottles of liquids on planes in their hand luggage. John's leg was broken, so his friends had to carry him onto the airplane. (the use of onto emphasises that his friends carried him from the ground up the steps and onto the plane). Passengers are only allowed to carry on one bag and one personal item. Luke carried his backpack on the bus because there was no room underneath in the hold. You’ll need to carry that fragile item on the train yourself. MEANING 2 : To Continue Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage ​Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To continue, to persevere, to keep, to keep on, to keep going, to go on Separable? Sometimes Some of you may be familiar with the expression featured in the photo above "keep calm and carry on" as it is one that often appears on t-shirts, mugs and internet memes. To clarify, in case you are not sure, it simply means 'to keep calm and continue' as this second meaning of 'carry on' is exactly that: 'to continue'. This second application is very common in spoken language and so if you have heard 'carry on' being used before by a native speaker, it is probable that it is this one. Grammatically, when used this way, 'carry on' is normally followed by a dynamic (action) verb, which needs to be in the 'ing' progressive form. Alternatively, it can also be followed by the preposition 'with' + a noun or a pronoun such as 'it' or 'this'. It is not usually followed by a 'to infinitive'. The President carried on answering the diplomat's questions until the end of the meeting. The team have to carry on playing even if it rains or snows. Despite the power cut, we carried on working as we wanted to get the job finished. The horror movie was so scary that I couldn't carry on watching it and had to leave the room. Do you want to carry on with the work tomorrow as it is getting late now? Ok everyone, we will have to carry on with this tomorrow as we are out of time. From my perspective as a native speaker, I would say that 'carry on' is less formal than continue and I would therefore recommend avoiding it in formal writing and official documents. In spoken English however, 'carry on' is perfectly acceptable to use in a business or work environment and is very common in both British and American English. John, can you please carry on working on the project this week because we need to present it to the board of directors next week. Lisa will be leaving the company at the end of the month but she has promised to carry on updating the website until her last day. IS 'CARRY ON' A SEPARABLE PHRASAL VERB? 'Carry on' is a separable phrasal verb, however English speakers tend not to separate it very often. If the object of the verb is a pronoun, then the pronoun always goes between 'carry' and 'on'. In this case a verb in the continuous 'ing' form is not required. I have temporarily stopped doing yoga but I intend to carry it on after my holiday The most common pronoun with 'carry on' tends to be 'it', but others may be possible depending on the context. Apart from this, there is no difference in meaning if you use it separably or not; this is just at the speaker's discretion. I want to carry on learning English until I can speak like a native speaker. Do you want me to carry on writing this report? We will carry this conversation on later this evening. She first started taking acting lessons when she moved to Los Angeles but she hated it and had no intention of carrying it on. WHAT IF WE WANT TO USE 'CARRY ON' AS AN IMPERATIVE? If you want to tell someone to continue what they are doing in the form of a command, "carry on!" is the more natural way to do this. Native speakers will often say this rather than "continue!", which sounds a bit colder and more formal. Alternatively, 'keep going!' is another natural sounding synonym to 'carry on' that you could use to sound like a native. MEANING 3 : To Misbehave Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To act up, to play up, to misbehave, to conduct Separable? No For those learners who want to go the extra mile* to learn as much English as humanly possible, there are another three, rarer meanings of carry on that I want to make you aware of in this post. The first of these means to behave (or to misbehave) in a way that other people disapprove of. This application is very informal and is often used to describe people who are a bit too emotional, who talk too much or who get too drunk. Regardless of the particular activity, the idea behind it is that the speaker who is talking about the action is a bit irritated or annoyed by the person's behaviour. Sometimes, the behaviour isn't even specified; the use of 'carrying on' is just used to imply that the speaker disliked the person's behaviour and the listener is free to use their imagination and fill in the gaps! From a grammatical perspective, this usage is always used in the progressive form. She drank too much wine and started carrying on in front of my family. I was so embarrassed! Stop carrying on like a spoilt child and act your age! The neighbours were carrying on loudly all night, and no one could get any sleep. The children were carrying on so much at the restaurant that other diners began to leave. * To go the extra mile is an idiom meaning to make an extra effort in order to do or achieve a goal MEANING 4 : To behave like nothing has happened Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To behave Separable? No In the last section, we looked at how 'carry on' can mean to misbehave or act in a way that people may disapprove of, however in some contexts it can also serve as a synonym for the verb 'to behave'. Specifically, we often use it to describe when a significant change occurs in someone's life but they ignore it and continue to behave in the same way as they did before, often not acknowledging the change or life event. This application in fact links back to the continuation theme application from earlier in the post as what the person is doing is simply continuing the way that they acted or behaved before the life changing event....or that is what they want everyone else to think! Typical examples of when native speakers would use this would be after receiving a diagnosis of a serious illness, after the death of a close relative or friend or after something stressful or unpleasant happens in general that would ordinarily be very stressful for the majority of people. Conversely, it is also possible to use it for good news, such as winning the lottery, although this is much rarer. When used this way carry on is normally followed by conjunctions 'like', 'as if' or 'as though'. Every time my husband and I have an argument, he carries on the next day as if nothing has ever happened, even if we haven't resolved the problem. Helen has recently been given some very bad news, however she carries on as if nothing ever changed. Simon and Doug carried on as if they hadn't just received terrible news. Jamie carried on as though he hadn't been insulted moments before. Susan carried on like nothing had changed at work, even after the big announcement about her promotion to CEO has been announced. MEANING 5: To have an illicit sexual relationship Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To have an affair, to see one another, to be unfaithful Separable? No The fifth and final meaning of 'carry on' that I want to make you aware of is to have a sexual relationship with someone, normally when it is forbidden or secretive. This is especially true if one or both of the people involved are already in a relationship with someone else or are married. Again, like with some of the other applications of 'carry on', this one is normally used to use in progressive or continuous (ing) tenses. We normally also need the preposition 'with' to say the name of the other person involved in the illicit relationship. Roger has been carrying on with Helen for several years now and they don't realise that everyone in the village knows about it, including Roger's wife and Helen's husband! We found out last week that Alan has been carrying on with his secretary for years. The gossip spread quickly when people discovered Linda had been carrying on with a married man. Photo: Pexels BONUS: More example sentences with 'carry on' If you can memorise some of the sentences below and use them in a conversation, it will help your English to come across as more natural and like that of a native speaker: If you carry on behaving like that, you will be in trouble (parent to child). I wish I'd carried on.... We didn't like the look of the restaurant so we carried on down the road to the next one. If I'd carried on learning [language] and not stopped, I would be fluent by now. At one point it was so hard and I thought I couldn't carry on but somehow I found the strength. We want to carry on the the traditions of our parents and grandparents. To get there, carry on down this road for [distance] and then turn left / right.... Photo: Pexels BONUS: Further questions for speaking & writing practice If you have a conversation with a shy person, what is the best way to carry it on when the other person stops speaking? Do you regret not carrying on learning something when you were younger e.g. a language or a musical instrument? Is there something that you started learning or doing when you were younger and had no intention of carrying on with it but which you are still learning or doing today? Photo: Wix Media BONUS: Carry On Movies The Carry On movies were a series of 31 British comedy movies that were made between 1958 and 1992. Each movie had a different theme e.g. Carry on Doctor and Carry on Camping, with a separate storyline to the others, but many of the same actors starred in the films. Much of the comedy in the films was tongue-in-cheek* and involved sexual innuendo, word play and mocking traditional British institutions and customs. Some of the humour in the films is now a little outdated but despite this, they continue to be loved and laughed at by many people to this day. To learn more about these, visit this link: https://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/group/carry_on/ * Tongue-in-cheek means to come across as serious whilst making a joke 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. 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 'carry on'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get over' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. 'Get over' is a common phrasal verb in English with a variety of different meanings. In this post, I will explain the different meanings that it has and how they are used by native speakers, including getting over an illness, getting over a message, getting something over with and even not being able to get over something. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Get Over - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'get' and 'over' Get Over - Meaning 1: To cross something from one side to the other Get Over - Bonus: How is 'get over' different from 'go over'? Get Over - Meaning 2: To recover from something Get Over - Meaning 3: To overcome something Get Over - Meaning 4: To be very surprised Get Over - Meaning 5: To communicate a message successfully Get Over - Meaning 6: To do something unpleasant but necessary Get Over - Bonus: The expression 'get over yourself!' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GET OVER: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Got over / Got over - Gotten over Separable? Sometimes The phrasal verb 'get over' is formed of the hugely common verb 'to get' and the prepositional particle 'over' and before we look at the different meanings of this phrasal verb, let's first look at these individual words. You do not need to have had much contact with the English language to know that the verb 'to get' is very common. Indeed, I know from my students that it is a very frustrating word for English learners as it has such a lot of different meanings and uses....I think even native speakers are confused by it sometimes! We don't have the time to cover all of the meanings of 'to get' here, however some of its relevant meanings for the purposes of this post are that 'to arrive' and 'to become'. The particle 'over' can be used as a preposition, adverb and adjective and is often used to describe moving across from one side of something to the other, often with the idea of moving above it. Moreover, as an adjective, it can be used to mean 'finished' or 'complete' and gives the idea that something is now in the past. So, now we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the meanings of the phrasal verb 'get over'... MEANING 1: To cross something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To cross, to go over, to come over, to surmount Separable? No Ok, let's begin with a nice and easy meaning of 'get over', which is 'to cross something from one side to the other'. This is normally by moving across its surface or in the air above it. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Bridge River Wall (Finish) Line Fence Hill / Mountain This movement could take the form of climbing, walking or even driving, the main idea is that you move from one side of it to the other. HOW IS 'GET OVER' DIFFERENT FROM 'GO OVER'? Whilst 'get over' is broadly similar in meaning to the phrasal verb 'go over' (link here ), it is used slightly differently. We use both of them to talk about moving from one side of something to the other, but with 'go over' the focus is on the movement from A to B, especially when the movement is easy or problem-free. However, with 'get over', the focus is more about the destination and tends to be used when there is a difficulty, problem or challenge to reach it. As such, 'get over' is commonly used with nouns such as wall, river, finishing line (of a race) and mountain; all of which could potentially be difficult or challenging to cross. Furthermore, It often appears in questions and negative statements.   We mostly use this application of 'get over' to talk about when when you or other people are crossing from one side of something to the other, so grammatically, this does not take a direct object and is therefore not used separably. However, if we are talking about a person carrying or taking something across, then we are able to use it separably as the thing being carried is a direct object. Again, we would only tend to use 'get over' when there is some sort of challenge or difficulty involved as 'take over' or 'carry over' would normally be used here. You may have also heard someone being told in English to 'get over here' or 'get over there' as these imperative forms of 'get over' are used quite often to tell someone to move to a different place. This can often be considered as quite rude or severe though, so hopefully it wasn't aimed at you! I'm not sure how my dog got over the garden fence. The explorers looked up at the mountain and tried to figure out a way to get over it. A car had broken down in the middle of the bridge and we weren't able to get over it, so we had to turn back and go a different way. The sprinter developed an injury during the race and sadly wasn't able to get over the finishing line on his own. Some of the other athletes picked the injured athlete up and got him over the line. The police were puzzled as to how the criminals had managed to get the drugs over the border. John, get over here and show me what I need to do. MEANING 2: To recover from something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To recover, to recuperate, to get better Separable? No For those of you who are regular visitors to this website, you may remember a post that I've recently written about the phrasal verb 'go through' (link here ). If you have read this, you will hopefully know that one of its meanings is to suffer a traumatic or negative experience. This second meaning of 'get over' is like a part two of that meaning as it means 'to recover from something traumatic'. As with 'go through', this application of 'get over' is used when we experience something traumatic that causes physical or mental suffering, typically with relationship break-ups, grief following the death of a loved one and physical injury or illness. 'Getting over' something is a process that happens over a period of time, from a few days to many years and, in some cases, it can never happen at all. You may also be familiar with the imperative expression "get over it!", which is used as a way of telling someone to accept a situation and stop worrying or being sad about it. Alternatively, "you'll get over it" is a frequently used and often sarcastic expression to say to someone who is overreacting about something that their problem is not very important. It took me a few months to get over my ex-girlfriend and move on. I've been sick with a really bad cold recently and I am still getting over it. John has never gotten over the death of his mother when he was a child. Get over it, Lisa! That was 2 years ago! It is time that you moved on with your life. MEANING 3: To overcome something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To overcome, to surmount, to master Separable? No For the next meaning of 'get over', we are going to keep to a similar sort of idea as the previous usage as this one is 'to overcome' something. More often than not, this meaning of 'get over' is used with fears and if we can 'get over' a fear of something, it means that we are no longer scared or afraid of it. For example, when I was younger I had a mild fear of spiders but then I lived with someone who was TERRIFIED of them and so every time a spider appeared in the house, I had to remove it. By doing this, I quickly got over my fear and now they do not bother me...that is a true story, by the way! In addition to fears, 'get over' is also used with finding solutions difficulties and problems., however less frequently so. This usage is also inseparable and we cannot add a direct object between the words 'get' and 'over' here. When I was a child I was petrified of the dark, but I got over my fear when I became a teenager. Getting over a phobia of something takes a lot of mental will power but it is possible! How are you going to get over this issue at work? MEANING 4: To be very surprised by something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be amazed, to be shocked, to be surprised, to be flabbergasted Separable? No Ok, for this next usage we need to switch things up a little bit as this one only exists in a negative form with the modal verb 'can'. If you hear a native speaker say that they can't get over something, it is possible that they are talking about not being able to recover from something, but it is generally more likely that they are saying that they are very surprised by something. This is quite a strange and idiomatic usage (as is normal for English) and I think it was probably originally used in the sense that someone was shocked by something very bad and then found it difficult to recover (as per meaning 2). However, the usage has changed over time to now mean only shock or surprise at anything, whether it be good or bad, and that they find it hard to believe. I can't get over how much you look like your Dad! You've grown so much since I saw you last year, I can't get over it! Sarah couldn't get over how rude the waiter was to her in the restaurant. She was speechless! MEANING 5: To successfully communicate something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To communicate, to get across, to come over, to convey Separable? Yes Have you ever been in a situation in which you have needed to communicate a message to someone in a particular way? If you have, you were probably hoping to get the idea of the message over in the correct way. Or, in other words, you wanted the person to understand the message in the way that you intended. The reason for this is that the next meaning of 'get over' is to successfully communicate a message, an idea or some information to another person or group of people. Unlike the other applications of 'get over' that we have considered so far, this one can be used separably and does take a direct object, which is usually the idea, message or information that you want to convey. The company is desperate to get the idea over to its customers following their last desperate advertising campaign. Despite making a few mistakes, the politician managed to get his message over to the audience during his speech. Did I get my point over ok? Additionally, we can also use 'get over' to mean to send something to someone, such as an email, report or document. This is often used in a work or office environment. I will finish this report and get it over to you before lunchtime. When do you think you can get that email with the monthly figures over to me? MEANING 6: To do something unpleasant but necessary Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To finish, to end, to complete Separable? Yes For our final meaning, we require the additional preposition ' with ' as 'to get something over with ' means to finish doing something that is unpleasant, yet unavoidable. Whether it be work, a confrontation, something frightening or stressful or even a trip to the dentists, we can use 'get it over with ' to express that we must do something undesirable and so it is just best to do it immediately or as quickly as possible, so that it is done and we can forget about it. This usage combines the meaning of 'get', as in to arrive, with the meaning of 'over', as in to finish or complete something and so literally means 'to arrive at a point when something is finished', i.e. the unpleasant thing. This is a set expression and should always follow the same word order, with the horrible but necessary activity placed between 'get' and 'over'. A frequently used variation of this expression is 'to get something over and done with ', which means the same thing. Come on Doctor, I know that this will be painful, so can we please get it over with . I just want to get this week at work over with as quickly as possible as I am going on holiday next week. Let's get this over and done with so that I can go home and forget about it. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The expression 'get over yourself!' As is customary at the end of a post, I like to end things, where possible, with a useful idiom featuring the phrasal verb in question and this post is no different. If someone tells you 'to get over yourself', they are not asking you to somehow climb over yourself, but rather to stop being conceited, vain or pretentious. In other words, stop behaving like you are better or more important than other people. Hopefully nobody will ever say it to you, but I think we all know someone to whom this idiom could be applied! Oh stop acting like you're the King of England and get over yourself! Get over yourself, John and stop complaining! Photo: Pexels This brings us to the end of the post. So, to recap, we can use the phrasal verb 'get over' to express climbing or crossing something from one side to the other; we 'get over' something traumatic or an illness and if we are lucky we can 'get over' our fears and no longer be scared of something. If we can't get over something, then we find it very surprising or hard to believe and if we get something unpleasant over with , we do it quickly so that we can forget all about it. Lastly. I hope I have been able to get the meanings of this lovely phrasal verb over to you in a satisfactory way and that you have learnt something new today. Now it is YOUR turn. Leave a comment on the blog post with your own sentence using 'get over'....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get by' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my blog all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in. This week's post is another phrasal verb featuring the ever-popular verb 'to get'; namely 'get by'. In this post, we will look at what native speakers mean when they use 'get by' in a literal sense, as well as its different figurative meanings, including to do the minimum possible required to succeed and to have just enough of something to manage. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Get By - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'get' and 'by' Get By - Meaning 1: To move past something Get By - Meaning 2: To survive with the minimum possible Get By - Meaning 3: To satisfy the minimum requirements Get By - Meaning 4: To go unnoticed Get By - Bonus: Some golden oldies songs featuring 'get by' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GET BY: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Got by / Got by / Gotten by Separable? No The phrasal verb 'get by' is made up of arguably the most popular verb amongst English native speakers, 'to get', and the prepositional particle 'by'. As we have seen in previous posts, the verb 'to get' has a wide range of different uses in English, however the meaning that is most relevant for the different usages of 'get by' is 'to move to and arrive at a different place or position'. The particle 'by' can be used both as a preposition and an adverb in English and the prepositional meaning which we are interested in for this post is 'movement past something'. Now, with the two elements of this phrasal verb explained, the first of the meanings should be an easy one to understand so let's go.... MEANING 1: To move past something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To move past, to get past Separable? No Following on from the previous section, this first usage of 'get by' is the literal meaning that is produced when we combine the two forms of 'get' and 'by', outlined in the previous section, i.e. to move past something so that you are on the other side of it. This is generally only ever used for physical movement and not in a symbolic or metaphorical way. In general, we use 'get by' in situations where it is difficult to move past something as there is some sort of obstruction, or in other words, when something is blocking your path. In contrast, if there is no obstacle present or we can move past something easily and without restriction, then native speakers are more likely to use another relevant verb of movement such as go, walk or drive. The verb 'to get' in this case implies an element of difficulty to the action. As such, here are some typical situations in which we use 'get by' in this way.... When a road is blocked by a car or another kind of obstruction and you cannot easily drive past it. When a person is blocking a path that you are walking on and you need to walk past them. When a road has been closed by authorities and you need to turn onto it in order to reach your destination. If you park your car here, you will make it difficult for other cars to get by. Sorry, do you need to get by? The police have sealed off the road where I live and will not let me get by to go home. MEANING 2: To survive with the minimum possible Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To make do, to cope, to make ends meet Separable? No The second meaning of 'get by' is 'to survive or manage with the minimum possible amount of something'. When we use 'get by' in this sense, the key idea is that we have only a small amount of something and it is just enough to meet our requirements. In other words, the amount that we have allows us to manage in the given situation, however if we had more of it, either the situation would be better or our lives would be more comfortable. 'Get by' can often have negative connotations, especially when talking about money, as it is often used when talking about financial difficulties, or in extreme cases poverty and deprivation. If we want to express or quantify the small amount that we have, we require the extra preposition 'on' to do this. Alternatively, we can also use 'to get by with' when specifying something that we have, which enables us to do something, but is not ideal for the job (i.e. there are better alternatives in existence). Aside from money, other common nouns which can be used with 'get by' when they are in short supply are sleep, food and knowledge. It is also commonly used in the expression 'get by on my own', meaning to manage without the help of other people, although it will not be easy. I don't earn a lot of money but I get by! It is said that Margaret Thatcher got by on four hours sleep a night. It was a tough situation but I got by with a little help from my friends and family. MEANING 3: To satisfy the minimum requirements Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To scrape by Separable? No For our third meaning of 'get by', we do not have to make such a big leap from the second meaning that we have just looked at, as it means 'to satisfy the minimum requirements of something'. This is very much the same idea as the second meaning, but the focus here is that we achieve a certain requirement such as an examination pass, with the lowest possible mark. For example, if you needed a score of 50% in an exam in order to pass it and you got a score of 51%, you could say that you got by with 51%. Conversely, if you scored less than the requisite 50% mark, then you failed and 'get by' cannot be used here. As per the example above, this is commonly used with examinations and tests, however it can also be used for any other area where minimum requirements must be met in order to quality for something e.g. sports. I got by with low passes in my exams, so I can go to university but I won't be able to go the university or my choice. MEANING 4: To go unnoticed Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To get past, to sneak by, to sneak past Separable? No Our fourth and final usage of 'get by' is one that links back to the literal usage that we covered earlier on in the post. The idea of this is more of an extension of the first meaning because it means 'to move past something or someone without being seen or noticed'. This usage is a good synonym of the phrasal verb 'to sneak past', as it essentially means to move past a person or group of people unnoticed, in order to get to where you want to be. This is something that you often see in action movies where the protagonist has to sneak past some people to get to the place where he or she can save the day! 'Get by' is used intransitively in this sense when the speaker is talking about 'getting by' a person without them being seen or noticed, however it can also be used transitively with a direct object when we want to talk about moving an object or another person past someone without being seen. Lastly, we can also use this meaning of 'get by' when talking about something passing checks or verifications without being noticed or spotted, typically when the thing in question would not normally 'get by' if it were spotted. If you want to get into the club, you are going to have to get by the bouncers. The visitor to the prison tried to get the cigarettes by the prison guards. Although there was an error on my passport application, it still managed to get by the verification checks. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Some classic old songs featuring 'get by' Before I finish this post, here are a couple of golden oldies featuring our phrasal verb of choice 'get by' for reference...enjoy! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'get by'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'get by'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'make 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. This article is all about the phrasal verb 'make up', which is definitely one that you will have come across before as it is super common. It may be that you are already familiar with one or more of its different meanings, however in this post we will look at all of them, including inventing stories, making a decision and applying cosmetics. So, without further do, let's get started. TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to one) Make Up - The Basics: Key information and the words 'make' and 'up' Make Up - Meaning 1: To make peace after an argument Make Up - Meaning 2: To invent a story or information Make Up - Bonus: Some well known expressions featuring 'make up' Make Up - Meaning 3: To constitute a whole Make Up - Meaning 4: To compensate for something Make Up - Bonus: To make it up to someone Make Up - Meaning 5: To prepare something from ingredients or parts Make Up - Meaning 6: To apply cosmetics Make Up - Meaning 7: To decide Make Up - Bonus: I'm really made up for you I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback as to how useful it is and 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 would be most grateful. Thank you! 😊 James Photo: Pexels THE BASICS MAKE UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Made up / Made Up Separable? Sometimes The phrasal verb 'make up' is formed of the verb 'to make' and the prepositional particle 'up' and before we explore its different meanings, let's first take a look at these individual words to understand their meanings. The verb 'to make' is a very common verb and is often confused by English learners with the verb 'to do' as the two are quite similar and can often be translated into other languages as the same word. While both verbs have numerous applications in English, 'to make' primarily conveys the concept of creation and production, whereas 'to do' typically involves performing an action. This concept of 'to make' will be useful to keep in mind when we look at the different uses of 'make up' shortly. We are going to make a cake today. John made a lot of noise when he got home last night and woke his wife. Have the children made a mess in the living room? Next we have the prepositional particle 'up', which is typically used to denote a movement in the direction away from the ground or towards the sky ↑ or an increase of some sort. When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'up' can many different ideas or meanings, including completion, improvement, preparation and appearance among other things. When we combine these words, there is no literal meaning whatsoever, so let's now just move straight on to the different figurative meanings of 'make up'.... MEANING 1: To make peace after an argument Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reconcile, to make peace, to patch things up Separable? No Let's start off the meanings of 'make up' with some positive vibes. For this first application, we are going to need the additional preposition 'with' and the reason for this is that the construction 'to make up with someone' means to reconcile or become friends with them again following an argument or disagreement. 'Make up' is not just limited to friendships though, and is equally used to talk about romantic couples who have disagreements and / or break up and then make peace again afterwards. You should note that the use of this meaning is, however, limited to personal relationships where people's emotions are at play and is not really used to describe business or professional relationships. All John and Helen seem to do is break up and then make up the next day. I wish you and your brother would make up! She's deeply offended and refuses to make up with me. One expression that we often use in a tongue-in-cheek* way to talk about when people reconcile following a dispute or argument is "to kiss and make up". This is used regardless of whether or not the people in question are friends or in a romantic relationship. Oh my goodness, would you two just kiss and make up and end this ridiculous argument! MEANING 2: To invent a story or information Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere ​Potential synonyms To create Separable? Yes For our second usage of 'make up', we are entering into the realm of fantasy and fairy tales as the meaning is 'to invent or create something that does not exist by using the powers of our imagination'. These imaginary creations can range from stories, characters and people to excuses, lies and false information. The key idea is that it is created in our imagination and is not real. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Story Excuse Character Information Unsurprisingly, this meaning is used very commonly with children who tend to enjoy making up stories, characters and scenarios as part of their play activities. However, as you will know, adults are also very good at creating fictional information, excuses and lies and this usage of 'make up' can therefore be used with both innocent and immoral intent. Aside from the verb form, the past particle 'made-up' is also frequently used as an adjective (note the hyphen) to describe something fictional that someone has invented and as such, you will often hear such terms as "made-up story" and "made-up word", among many others. When I was a child, I used to make up imaginary friends because I was lonely. I didn't go to the party - I was too tired so I made up an excuse and said thatI was ill. Although the novel features made-up characters, the story is based on real life events. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Some well known expressions featuring 'make up' There are a couple of well-known expressions of this usage of 'make up' that I really like and want to make you aware of... You couldn't make it up - We use this expression when talking about things that happen in reality that are so strange or bizarre that a person would not be able to create them using their imagination. To make it up as you go along - This second expression is used for situations in which we do not know what we are doing and we just do things by instinct, without preparation or planning. We decide how to do it in the present moment (and hope for the best). MEANING 3: To constitute a whole Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To constitute Separable? No For our third meaning of 'make up', we need to make a 180 degree turn away from the poetic world of fantasy to the much more prosaic and serious world of data, statistics and facts. This meaning of 'make up' is 'to form or to constitute a whole and is used to talk about the different elements or things which combine together to form something bigger or complete. This meaning of 'make up' is commonly used in statistical information, especially when talking about percentages and fractions. It is estimated that the 100 most common words in any language make up about 50% of the words regularly used in it. Greyscale colours currently make up three quarters of cars produced worldwide. Furthermore, 'make up' is also used when we have already given percentages or proportions and we want to talk about the part that completes the remainder of the group. We can use 'make up' here, often with the 'the rest' or 'the remaining X%'. The three of us have all paid a quarter of the bill each, so if you could also pay a quarter and make up the rest, it would be great. In the English exam the weighting of the speaking section is 40%, the listening section is 30% and the reading and writing sections together make up the remaining 30%. Lastly, it is very common to use the passive form 'made up' with the additional preposition 'of' to express the different things which something consists of. Air is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, argon and small amounts of many other gases. All matter is made up of very small particles known as atoms. MEANING 4: To compensate for something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To compensate Separable? No Our next usage of 'make up' is one that is very common in the workplace. If you work for a company in the anglophone world and you need to take some time off e.g. for a doctor's appointment, your boss may authorise the time off but might also say that you need to make the time up. The reason for this is because the next usage of 'make up' means to compensate for something that is lost, lacking or missing. The example above with working hours is a very commonly used one in the English speaking world. Another typical way that this usage of 'make up' can be heard in English is when we have a target or required amount of something e.g. money and we do not have enough of it to reach the target amount. We can use 'make up' here to talk about the amount that is required in order to reach our target amount, i.e. the difference between how much we have and how much we need to have. A common expression featuring this usage of 'make up' that you may hear is 'to make up for lost time', which we use to describe when we do something more quickly, intensely or regularly, in order to compensate for not having done it in the past. For obvious reasons this is often used by middle-aged and older people, perhaps during or after a midlife crisis! Yes, you can have the time off this week to go to the funeral but can you please make the time up next week. Now that my injury has healed I'm training more than ever as I'm making up for lost time! Photo: Pexels BONUS: To make it up to someone If you are ever in a situation where an English speaker disappoints you in some way, it is likely that they will say sorry (especially British people as we apologise for everything) and that they will make it up to you. In the case of disappointing someone, as mentioned above, the idea here links back to the first meaning of making peace following an argument, but the focus here is that we are saying we will do something to remove the negative feelings caused by the disappointment (essentially apologising), with the end objective being reconciliation and peace. Note that the extra particle 'to' is required here to designate the person who we have disappointed and want to make happy again. I'm so sorry that I forgot your birthday. Let me make it up to you by taking you out for a meal. I can't be there this weekend but I will make it up to you, I promise! MEANING 5: To prepare something from ingredients or parts Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To prepare Separable? Yes The fifth usage of 'make up' means to prepare, build or create something by combining different ingredients or parts. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Dish Meal Medication Bed As you can probably imagine from the word 'ingredients', food is frequently used with this meaning of 'make up' and it is very common to use this with any dish or item that can be made by mixing and combining different ingredients together. Another example of where this meaning of 'make up' is in common usage is with material and fabric where we create garments or curtains. Moreover, we can also say that we 'make up a bed for someone' when we create a new, often temporary, bed for them using blankets etc. This is different to making a bed, where we arrange the blanket and pillows on an existing bed. Let me give you some tips on how to make up an amazing and tasty casserole. You can sleep here tonight, I will make up a bed for you in the spare room. MEANING 6: To apply cosmetics Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To do up, to put on one's face, to do your makeup Separable? Yes For our sixth meaning of 'make up', we are diving into the world of cosmetics. I'm sure that most of you reading will be familiar with the noun makeup, meaning cosmetic products that are used to add colour to the face and change or improve one's appearance. It may therefore come as no surprise to you that the noun makeup is derived directly from our sixth phrasal verb meaning, which is to apply cosmetics to the face and body. For this usage, reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself etc.) are required when talking about a person who is applying their own makeup. This is of course not the case for people who get their makeup applied by somebody else e.g. actors and celebrities. Although this usage is still used in everyday English, I would say that the construction 'to do your makeup' is perhaps more common than this phrasal verb form, but it is good to be aware of it nevertheless. Lisa made herself up and put on her best evening gown. MEANING 7: To decide Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To decide, to make a decision, to choose Separable? Yes This final meaning of 'make up' that I want to bring to your attention means to make a decision and is used in the construction "to make up your mind". This is actually more of an idiomatic expression than an entirely different meaning, but it is so common that I wanted to include it as a separate meaning of its own. The structure of this expression is flexible and 'mind' can be placed both in the middle of and after the phrasal verb 'make up', without changing the meaning. John took ages to make up his mind about what food to order at the restaurant. I've made my mind up about where I want to go to university. Photo: Pexels BONIS: I'm really made up for you! One extra thing to make you aware of before the end of this post is the expression "to be made up about something". This is a common idiomatic expression in British English to mean to be delighted or extremely happy about something, normally good news. That's amazing news! I'm made up for you. Roger is made up about his new work contract! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking and reading. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'make 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 'come over' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This week it is the turn of the phrasal verb 'come over', which is a fairly common phrasal verb that shares some of its meanings with the common phrasal verb 'come across' (link here ) . 'Come over' does also have some other meanings of its own that we will also cover in this post. and so, without further ado, let's take a look at them.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Come Over - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'come' and 'over' Come Over - Meaning 1: Literal Come Over - Meaning 2: To visit someone's house Come Over - Bonus: Come on over Come Over - Meaning 3: To be perceived Come Over - Meaning 4: To suddenly feel different Come Over - Bonus: The expression 'I don't know what came over me' Come Over - Meaning 5: To change sides I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback as to how useful it is and 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 would be most grateful. Thank you! 😊 James Photo: Pexels THE BASICS COME OVER: KEY INFORMATION ​Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Came over / Come over Separable? No Before we go any further, let's first consider the words which make up the phrasal verb 'come over'. This should hopefully give you some much needed logic to some of its idiomatic meanings that we will cover in the post. Our main verb is the extremely common verb 'to come', which is mainly used as a verb of movement to denote a movement towards the speaker or the place where the speaker is, was or will be. In this way, it functions as the opposite of the verb 'to go'. In addition to this, the verb 'to come' also has several other meanings, including to change into a different state and to happen. We then have the prepositional particle 'over', which has several different meanings, but the meaning that is relevant for this phrasal verb is to move across an area, normally from one side of it to the other. So now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of 'come over'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Separable? No ​Potential synonyms To come across As per usual, let's start by looking at the literal meaning of our chosen phrasal verb. When used literally, 'come over' means to physically move across an area or space, towards where the speaker is, or depending on the context, where the listener is. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Room / Office Road / Street Bridge Field In addition, it can also be used to say that someone is coming towards you, normally with the intention of speaking to you. This is very similar to the literal meaning of the phrasal verb ' come across ' but I would say that 'come over' is perhaps used more commonly by native speakers to express this particular meaning. A more advanced usage (C1) of this meaning of 'come over' is to travel over a long distance from one place to another, usually involving crossing a sea or an ocean. This is often used when talking about people visiting a far away country or emigrating from one country to another. Oh no! He's noticed that we're talking about him and he is coming over. Can you come over here for a second? I need your help. The teacher came over to our table to say hello. Paul saw me sitting alone and came over to talk to me. My parents came over to the UK in the 1960s and I was born here not long afterwards. When are you coming over to visit us in Australia? We miss you! MEANING 2: To visit someone's house Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Separable? No Potential synonyms ​To drop by, to visit The second meaning of 'come over' is not so different from the literal version that we have just considered, as it is an informal way to mean 'to visit somebody's house', with the idea that the visitor travels across an area to get to the speaker's (or possibly the listener's) home. This application is usually used when talking about somebody visiting you at your own home and is often expressed either as " come over to my house " or " come over to mine *". It is also absolutely fine to omit the 'to my house' or 'to mine' from the sentence as 'come over' on its own carries this implied meaning when used in the appropriate context. What are you doing later? Do you want to come over to watch a movie? I'll come over to yours next week and we can have catch-up! Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? Amanda usually comes over on Saturday nights to hang out. Thanks for coming over; it's been great catching up! I’m thinking of coming over later if that’s okay with you. * When talking about a person's house, it is normal for native speakers to use the possessive pronouns mine, his, hers, ours etc Photo: Pexels BONUS: Come on over Another variation of 'come over' that you may have heard before, especially in song lyrics, is 'come on over'. This is a common way of verbally inviting someone to join you where you are or to come to your house. Generally speaking, 'come on over' has the same meaning as 'come over', but we tend to use it when we are inviting someone to do something in the present, rather than at a point in the future. Moreover, I would say that it feels a little friendlier and softer than 'come over', which is also not hard or unfriendly. As such, 'come on over' is often used in an encouraging way, especially if the person being invited is reluctant to come for some reason. MEANING 3: To be perceived Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Separable? No Potential synonyms To come across, to seem, to be perceived Meaning number three of 'come over' means 'to be perceived' and again is very similar to the phrasal verb ' come across '. For this meaning, we are primarily concerned with how people, or the things that they say and do, are perceived or understood by others. It can be used to describe both how a person's behaviour and messages or information are interpreted and viewed by other people. When talking about how a person is perceived, we tend to use adjectives to describe a person's character or behaviour e.g. nervous, confident, shy and for this we require the extra word 'as'. Lisa came over as very self-assured in the interview but in reality she was very nervous. The politician comes over as weak and that is why people will not vote for him. She comes over a bit rude sometimes, but she's actually really kind. I don't want to come over as too eager, so I'll wait a bit before texting back. Conversely, when using 'come over' to describe how a message or information is perceived by people, we tend to use adverbs such as well, brilliantly and strongly. Did my speech come over well? Despite the social distancing during filming, the romantic scenes in the film came over brilliantly. The message didn’t come over clearly on the phone. As I mentioned, this application is a synonym of the phrasal 'come across' and whilst both of these are used fairly commonly in everyday English, I would say that 'come across' is used more frequently from my experience. MEANING 4: To suddenly feel different Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To suddenly feel, to be overcome with Separable? No The fourth meaning of 'come over' means to suddenly start to feel different to how you normally feel. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Feeling Chill Wave Sickness / Anger / Sadness / Happiness / Joy / Dizziness This can be in a physical way, for example when an English native speaker suddenly starts to feel sick, dizzy or faint, it is likely that they will use 'come over' to describe the sudden change. Furthermore, it can also be used for behavioural or emotional changes, for example when we begin to feel very angry or sad all of a sudden. Normally, with this application we talk about something that comes over us and therefore this is preceded by a noun. A strange feeling came over me as I walked into the old house. Suddenly, a wave of sadness came over her, and she started to cry. A chill came over Jerry when he heard the door creak open. Photo: Free Images As the singer stood on stage, a sense of calm came over him and his nervousness disappeared. An intense anger came over me when I saw what they had done. A feeling of guilt came over her when she saw the broken vase. A deep tiredness came over me after the long hike. A sense of joy came over the crowd as the band took the stage. BONUS: The expression 'I don't know what came over me' You may have heard a native speaker say "I don't know what came over me!", which is an expression that normally used in an apologetic way when we do not know why we started acting in a strange way. Alternatively, people often use "I don't know what came over him / her" to try and excuse the bad behaviour of another person and infer that they are not normally like that. I'm so sorry about my behaviour last night, I don't know what came over me! Jake was fine one minute and then suddenly he started shouting and screaming. I don't know what came over him! Alternatively, it is also possible for an adjective to follow 'come over'. When doing this, it is normal to include the word 'all' between the word 'over' and the adjective, perhaps to express that the feeling or emotion has taken over us entirely. I was fine one minute and then I came over all dizzy the next and had to sit down. She came over all sad in the middle of our conversation, so I hope I didn't upset her! Olive came over all faint when she saw the blood. I came over all emotional during the speech and had to stop myself from crying! Robert came over all shy when it was his turn to speak. I came over all nostalgic looking through those old photos. Katy came over all flustered when her crush complimented her. MEANING 5: To change sides Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To change sides Separable? No The fifth and final meaning of 'come over' is an uncommon one that means to change allegiance to change sides from one side to an opposing or rival one. Additionally, it is used when people change their views on a particular subject, often in quite a radical way. This is not such a commonly used form of 'come over' but nevertheless you may come across it in the realms of politics, sport (teams) and debates (ideologies and beliefs). This meaning is certainly the rarest out of the ones that we have looked at but I wanted to make you aware of it nonetheless. One expression that you may hear with this application is 'to come over to someone's way of thinking', which is used to describe when someone changes their opinion to agree with someone else's with whom they did not agree with previously. What has made you come over to our way of thinking? Several members of the opposition party came over to support the new bill. Alan used to play for our rivals, but he came over to our team last season. The general came over to our side after realising the truth about the regime. Some of the rebels eventually came over and joined the government forces. During the debate, a few audience members came over to our point of view. Padma finally came over to our way of thinking after hearing all the evidence. 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 over'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'come over'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'go through' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. 'Go through' is a common English phrasal verb with a lot of meanings that are in common usage in everyday speech. We can go through red lights, documents, traumatic events and competitions and sometimes we just don't go through with something. If all this sounds strange to you, read on and learn all the different ways that 'go through' is used in English! So, without further ado, let's get started....don't forget to leave a comment at the end! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Go Through - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'go' and 'through ' Go Through - Meaning 1: To physically move through something Go Through - Meaning 2: To suffer a negative experience Go Through - Meaning 3: To check something methodically Go Through - Meaning 4: To practise something Go Through - Meaning 5: To exhaust resources Go Through - Meaning 6: To be approved Go Through - Meaning 7: To proceed to the next stage of a competition Go Through - Meaning 8: To do something that you had threatened to do 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 THROUGH: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Went through / Gone through Separable? No The phrasal verb 'go through' is made up of the verb 'to go' and the prepositional particle 'through', so before we look at the meanings of the phrasal verb itself, let's take a moment to familiarise ourselves with the individual words. 'To go' is one of the most common verbs in the English language and its main meaning is the idea of movement, either from one place to another or simply leaving a place and starting a journey. In addition to this, it has a wide variety of less common uses and meanings and is used to form the 'going to' future tense. The particle 'through' is used to express movement from one side of something to the other, especially if it is an internal space. Furthermore, 'through' is also used with time, specifically the passage of time, and it also functions as a synonym of 'by' and 'as a result of', among other things. You may also have seen the alternative 'thru' used in English, which is an informal variation of 'through' and is only really used for "drive-thru' restaurants and in non-formal written communication. Now that we have looked at the basics, let's take a look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'go through'.... MEANING 1: To physically move through something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Langage Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To pass through, to get through Separable? No Let's begin things nice and easily with the literal meaning of the combination of the words 'go' and 'through', i.e. to move from one side of something to the other. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Door Window Tunnel Wall Room Most commonly you will hear this usage with everyday nouns such as 'door', 'window' and 'tunnel', as people or things regularly pass from one side of these to the other. We also use this for rooms, especially when moving from one room to another room or to a different part of a building, such as from the dentist's waiting room to the dentist's office or from the public area of an airport to the departures area via customs. Photo: Pexels One last usage that you may come across here concerns driving a car, as when a red traffic light is showing and a car does not stop and continues driving, we say that it 'goes through a red light'. Go through the door on your left and then follow the corridor until the end. John threw the cricket ball in the wrong direction and it went through the kitchen window. The doctor is ready to see you now, Mr. Smith. Please go through. I am just going through customs at the airport, so I will give you a call once I am on the other side and in the departure lounge. Roger was late for a work meeting and went through several read lights to try and get there on time. MEANING 2: To suffer a negative experience Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To suffer, to endure Separable? No It is an inevitable fact of life that our existence is not always a happy one and from time to time we all have negative experiences and periods of suffering. When these unavoidable situations occur, we can say that we 'go through' them, as the next meaning of the phrasal verb 'go through' is 'to experience unpleasant and negative situations'. As you would imagine, this application of 'go through' is used when talking about such things as disease, depression, abuse, death, grief and poverty, among other things. Moreover, it is used by speakers to label any period of suffering, trauma or severe unhappiness. This usage of 'go through' is quite strong in nature, so if you say you have gone through something, you want people to know that you have really suffered. For example, you would not use it for something trivial like losing your car keys or having a headache. Grammatically, this application of 'go through' does take an object, but it is not separable. One thing to note with this usage is that although the past participle form is 'gone through', native speakers do also regularly use 'been through' as an alternative, without any discernible change in meaning. To note, the phrasal verb 'be through' does not otherwise exist in English. Helen went through a lot in her childhood. How dare you judge me! You have no idea what I have gone through in my life. I went through a bout of depression last year but I am feeling much better now. She has recently been through a nasty divorce from her husband. MEANING 3: To check something methodically Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To examine, to check Separable? No Let's move on from the previous depressing usage of 'go through' to the next meaning, which is 'to check something methodically'. For this usage, we are thinking mainly about the actions of searching and sorting. Firstly, we use 'go through' when we want to check documents in a methodical and effective way from beginning to end, either to look for something in the document or to check for errors. Secondly, we can also use it for spaces such as rooms, drawers, wardrobes when we are are searching for something and we want to make sure that we have covered every single space in our quest to find it. Lastly, it is also possible to use 'go through' to mean to methodically check a set of items such as records or clothes etc, in order to to sort them into different categories. For example, if you have too many old clothes in your wardrobe, you might go through them one by one to decide which items you want to keep and which you want to throw away. As with the previous meaning, the past participle 'been through' is often used here in perfect tenses. Would you mind going through this document and checking for any errors before i submit it? I've gone through my bedroom several times and I cannot find my phone charger anywhere! Sarah went through a pile of her old clothes to decide which ones she wanted to keep. My mum has been through my entire wedding guest list to decide if she is happy with all of the guests that I have invited! MEANING 4: To practise something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To practice, to go over Separable? No Do you enjoy giving presentations? Some people love them and some people are terrified of them. Regardless of how you feel about them, it is always a good idea to practice for them in order to give the best presentation that you can. This brings me to our next meaning of 'go through', which is 'to practise something' and is normally used in preparation for a test, a presentation or a performance. The process of 'going through' something normally involves practising something from beginning to end, hence the idea of 'through'. As mentioned before, it can be used for presentations, speeches, exam revision, stories, excuses and anything else that may need a an element of practise before the real event. Another time that you may hear this is with actors who 'go through' their lines prior to a performance in order to practise and memorise them. Can we just go through the presentation one more time? I went through my wedding speech so many times the day before, so when I did it, it was perfect. Let's just go through our story one more time before we go to the police. It needs to be watertight! MEANING 5: To exhaust resources Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To use up, to get through Separable? No The next meaning of 'go through' that we will consider is one that we can all be guilty of occasionally and that is 'to use a lot of something'. Normally, this application of 'go through' is used for items that can be depleted or run out and typically includes food, resources and money. It can be applied both to a resource that we can use until it has all gone or to a resource that we use a lot of over a period of time, especially when this is not normal, in which case there can be a degree of surprise or moaning attached to it. My grandchildren have been staying with me this weekend and I have managed to go through 3 cartons of milk! It normally takes me a week for just one! I didn't realise London was so expensive. I went through all of my spending money in the first three days and I had to ask my parents to send me some more. You've gone through all of the bread, so if you want some, you will have to go and buy some more. MEANING 6: To be approved Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be approved Separable? No If you have ever been lucky enough to buy your own property, you will more than likely have experienced a waiting period whilst the the legal process was being completed, at which time you can say that the house sale has 'gone through'. That is because another meaning of the phrasal verb 'go through' is 'to be officially approved'. For this usage of 'go through', it is mainly focussed on situations where there is a process over a period of time before something is officially accepted. Unsurprisingly, this can often be a legal process involving lawyers. Typically, these types of situations include property sales, laws, business deals or plans and divorces, all of which require an element of negotiation, paperwork and time before they are accepted or approved, or go through. The sale of the house went through last month, so we are finally able to move to our new home now. The proposed law was opposed and did not go through in the end. Our divorce is due to go through next month, so I will be able to get married again after that. MEANING 7: To progress to the next round of a competition Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To progress, to move through, to get through Separable? No For some reason whilst preparing for this blog post I was not able to find this next usage of 'go through' in a dictionary, however it is most certainly used on a fairly common basis by native English speakers and it is 'to progress to the next round in a competition'. This application of 'go through' is in regular use for any competitions where there are rounds, typically with quarter finals, semi finals and a final. Unsurprisingly, it is also in common use when referring to sport. Oftentimes, we will specify what the next round is with the additional preposition ' to ', however this is not always necessary and 'go through' on its own can be sufficient. The winner of today's game will go through to the next round of the competition. Only the first two athletes in this race will automatically go through. England have gone through to the final of the World Cup after beating Italy in a tense match. MEANING 8: To do something that you had threatened to Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To proceed Separable? No For our eighth and final usage of 'go through' we need the additional preposition ' with '. If someone 'goes through with something', it means that they talk about doing something and then actually do it. This is often when the action is unpleasant or difficult in some way. Often, you hear it after people make threats and then carry out the threatened action. To make this a little clearer for you, let's look at an example.... John told me that he was going to steal some food from a shop. I didn't believe him, so I was very shocked when he went through with it and stole the food. Here is another example.... Helen always talked about ending her marriage to Roger but I didn't believe her as I thought she was joking. She did go through with it in the end and now they are divorced! I can't believe you went through with it! I didn't think you would! That is just a threat to make you worried. There is no way that he would actually go through with it. Do you think John will go through with it and take me to court? 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 through'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'go through'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'let off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website all about English phrasal verbs! Read on to learn more about the phrasal verb 'let off'.... How well do you know the phrasal verb 'let off' and the different meanings that it has in the English language? Have you ever needed to be let off public transport or have you perhaps been let off from a fine or punishment in your life? Maybe you enjoy letting off steam in the gym or fireworks on New Year's Eve? If some of these sound a little strange to you, don't worry as in this post I outline the different meanings of 'let off' and how they are used in English, so without further ado, let's get started. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Let Off - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'let' and 'off' Let Off - Meaning 1: To allow to disembark Let Off - Meaning 2: To not give someone a punishment Let Off - Bonus: The idiom 'to let someone off the hook' Let Off - Meaning 3: To be allowed not to do something Let Off - Meaning 4: To make something explode Let Off - Meaning 5: To release liquid, air or chemicals Let Off - Bonus: The idiom 'to let off steam' 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 LET OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Let off / Let off Separable? Yes In order to understand the meanings of the phrasal verb 'let off' as well as possible, we'll start by considering the meanings of the individual words 'let' and 'off'. The verb 'to let' is a common irregular verb in the English language, whose main meaning is the idea of permitting or allowing something to happen. While it does have other less common meanings, such as 'to rent out property', its other main function as a verb is in the contraction let's (let us), which is used to introduce a suggestion to do something that involves you and the people you are addressing. 'To let' features in several different phrasal verb constructions, which are all useful ones to have in your active English vocabulary. The prepositional particle 'off' is the opposite of the particle 'on' and has multiple meaning and uses in English, notably 'to not be supported or attached to something' and to 'move away from something or somewhere'. It is a common inclusion in phrasal verbs and is often used to add ideas of departure, separation and completion, among others. Now that we have looked at the basics, let's take a look at the individual meanings of the phrasal verb 'let off'.... MEANING 1: To allow someone to disembark Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To allow off Separable? Yes To start, let's think again about the individual meanings of the words 'let' and 'off' and consider what the literal meaning of 'let off' would be, which is 'to allow someone to disembark or leave something that they are on'. In the gif above, you can see Marge Simpson frantically running around on an airplane shouting "let me off" as she is asking - or demanding - permission to be able to disembark, perhaps because she is scared or has decided that she does not want to leave...I haven't seen the episode, so maybe you can tell me in the comments.... Anyway, back to the phrasal verb explanation....so, essentially this usage is a pure combination of the meaning of 'let' as in 'to allow' with the meaning of 'off', as 'in no longer being on something'. In terms of usage, this meaning can potentially be used with any surfaces or things that you are physically 'on' and for which you need permission to be able to leave or disembark. In reality, this is mainly used with forms of mass transport such as trains, boats and airplanes. You may also hear it, less commonly, with fairground ride such as big wheels or roller coasters. This meaning is separable and takes a direct object, which is the person or thing disembarking or leaving. The direct object can either go between 'let' and 'off' or after it, however when using an indirect personal pronoun (him, her, them etc.), this must go in between the two. A passenger fell ill on the bus, so the driver stopped in order to let him off. The ferry docked in Cherbourg to let passenger and cars off, before continuing on to St Malo. Paralysed with fear, Katherine pleaded with the roller coaster operators to let her off before it started. MEANING 2: To not give someone a punishment Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To get off, to pardon, to be lenient, to get away with, to absolve, to exonerate Separable? Yes If any of you readers are criminals or have criminal tendencies (which I hope is not the case), then this next meaning of the phrasal verb 'let off' will be a very positive one for you as it means 'to not give someone a punishment'. The idea here is that when someone commits a criminal offence or does something wrong that normally requires a punishment, they do not receive one and there is no retribution for their wrongdoings. This is of course great news for offenders but often very frustrating for victims. However, what is perhaps equally annoying for victims is when a criminal is found guilty of a crime but receives a lighter punishment than they deserve. The phrasal verb 'let off' can also be used in these situations, however it should be noted that the additional preposition ' with ' is required here to specify the lighter punishment that the offender receives. So, to summarise, the second meaning of 'let off' is to not receive a punishment at all, or to receive less punishment than you deserve! A notorious thief was caught by the police but then let off after he promised to never steal anything again. There was uproar in the court this morning when the killer was let off with a short prison sentence. There were fears that she would be let off lightly, however the punishment was severe. The traffic warden let me off with a fine of £10 as it was an emergency. Photo: Wix Media BONUS: The idiom 'to let someone off the hook' Photo: Wix Media Before we move on to the next meaning, I have a nice idiom linked to this meaning to share with you: 'to let someone off the hook'. This is a common idiomatic expression in English to mean to remove the blame from someone if they have been accused of a crime. For example, if John accuses Roger of stealing his wallet and then afterwards John finds the wallet under his bed, Roger has been let off the hook as it was clear that it was lost and Roger did not steal it. In some instances, it can also be used when someone is found to be guilty of a crime but receives no punishment or retribution for it. Additionally, we can also use 'let someone off the hook' to describe when someone helps us or allows us to avoid a responsibility or something that we do not want to do. The politician was accused of speeding in her car but has been let off the hook as there is not enough evidence to support it. Lisa has made some horrible comments about Helen recently but Helen is prepared to let her off the hook as she doesn't want to lose their friendship. I was supposed to be working an extra shift today but luckily my work has let me off the hook and I can rest instead! MEANING 3: To be allowed to not to do something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To excuse from, to relieve from, to exempt from Separable? Yes We all have duties, responsibilities and tasks in life that we have to do but don't always want to do, so once in a while it is really nice when someone tells us that we do not have to do them....or, in other words, that we are 'let off' from doing them. To clarify, this next meaning of 'let off' is 'to be allowed not to do something'. This usage is primarily British and again takes the meaning of 'let' as in 'to allow' with 'off' adding the idea of not doing something. Typically, this application of 'let off' is used with tasks or responsibilities that an authority figure, parent or boss expects you to do and it is these authority figures who perform the action of 'letting someone off' from a task or job. Another common way that this is used is when your boss or company management permits you to finish work earlier than normal, in which case you would say that you have been "let off work early". I normally have to do the washing up after dinner but my parents have let me off from doing it today as I have injured my hand. Lisa's mother is in hospital and her work has kindly let her off a couple of shifts, so she can care for her. It is the Scotland football game tomorrow and work are letting us off an hour early to watch it. MEANING 4: To make something explode Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To set off, to detonate, to discharge, to fire Separable? Yes For our next meaning of the phrasal verb 'let off', we are thinking specifically about things that explode and go bang as this meaning is 'to make something explode'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Firework Gun Rocket Hand grenade Firecracker Bomb This application takes the idea from the verb 'to let' as in to 'allow something' and combines it with the idea of moving away, release or departure that we get from the particle 'off'. In other words, we are permitting something to be released, in this case explosive energy. Thankfully, there aren't many things in life that do explode and most of the time we experience them second-hand via movies and tv. One common item that can be let off by normal people like us is a firework and every year many people all around the world let them off during times of celebration. Aside from fireworks, other nouns commonly used with this application of 'let off' are bomb, firecracker and gun. I couldn't sleep last night as somebody was letting off fireworks until 1am! Luckily, the terrorists plan to let off a bomb at rush hour was foiled by the emergency services. I am not sure whether or not John let off the gun on purpose. MEANING 5: To release liquid, air or chemicals Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To release, to leak, to emit, to give off Separable? Yes The fifth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'let off' is a slightly less frequently used one that means 'to release air, liquid or chemicals'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Steam Gas Water Oil Fart This is a usage that you may come across in a wide variety of areas of life as it is used to describe any escape or release of air, liquid or chemical from a container. This is regardless of whether it is intentional or unintentional e.g. a leak. I think that this is perhaps most commonly used with water as we use so much of it, however other common nouns that it is used with are steam, oil and air. 'Let off' can also be used to talk about flatulence, e.g. to let off gas or a fart. When ricotta cheese gets warm, it is normal for it to let off some water. The air pressure in my car tyres was too high, so I had to let off a bit of air from them. Plants often let off chemicals to attract bumble bees to them. Once the water is boiling, remove the lid to let some of the steam off. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to let off steam' Before I finish this post, I just want to make you aware of a super common idiom that exists with the phrasal verb 'let off'. 'To let off steam' means to get rid of negative energy or feelings by doing some physical activity or making a lot of noise. This ultimately comes from the idea of pressure building up inside you (like steam does in a sealed pan when boiled) and when you do something to relieve the pressure, you let off the 'imaginary' steam and you feel calm again. Q: Is John okay? A: He'll be fine, he was a bit angry, so he has gone for a run to let off steam. If you're feeling stressed, one of the best ways to let off some steam is to have a hard workout at the gym. 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 'let 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 'let 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