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

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'put down' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. 'Put down' is a common phrasal verb in English with A LOT of different meanings. We can happily put down a baby but putting down an animal will make us very sad. Moreover, you can easily put down words, music or a telephone but sometimes putting down a book is difficult and if somebody puts you down, you may put it down to jealousy! If all of this seems strange to you, read the article and all of it will become clear! 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) Put Down - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'put' and 'down' Put Down - Meaning 1: To stop holding or carrying something Put Down - Meaning 2: To record something in musical or written form Put Down - Meaning 3: To add something to a list Put Down - Meaning 4: To criticise someone Put Down - Meaning 5: To attribute something to something Put Down - Meaning 6: To kill an animal humanely Put Down - Meaning 7: To put a baby to bed Put Down - Meaning 8: To pay a deposit Put Down - Meaning 9: To reduce prices Put Down - Meaning 10: To repress a rebellion Put Down - Meaning 11: To land an airplane 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 PUT DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 11 Past tense forms Put down / Put down Separable? Yes To begin, let's consider the words 'put' and 'off' and what they mean on their own, as this can be very helpful to understand some of the phrasal verb meanings that we will look at in this post. As a learner of English, I am sure that you are very familiar with the verb 'to put' as it is one of the 30 most common verbs in the language and is used frequently by native speakers. The verb 'to put', like most common English verbs, has a wide variety of different meanings and uses, however perhaps the main meaning is 'to place or move something into a specified position'. Another meaning of 'to put' that is highly relevant for the phrasal verb 'put down' is 'to write something'....more on this to come later 😀 The prepositional particle 'down' is all about the idea of moving lower or being in a lower position ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ and it's inclusion in phrasal verb constructions often adds this idea to the verb. Moreover, 'down' can also add the ideas of reduction, defeat and failure to phrasal verbs. A meaning of 'down' as an adverb that is relevant for 'put down' is 'in writing' or 'on paper'. So, now that we have looked at these two innocent little words, let's take a look at all of the different meanings they create when we combine them together....there are a lot of them! MEANING 1: To stop holding or carrying something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To set down, to place, to put Separable? Yes Let's start things off with a nice easy meaning, which is 'to stop holding something in your hands or carrying something'. Most of the time, when we hold something in our hands and we stop holding it, we tend to place it either on a surface in a lower position or on the ground, so the direction of the 'putting' action is downwards and so 'put down' has developed to encompass this idea. We can use 'put down' to talk about any object that we physically stop holding or carrying, however one collocation that is particularly common is with the noun 'telephone'. 'To put the (tele)phone down' is a synonym of the phrasal verb 'hang up' (link here ) and actually just means to end a phone call. This meaning originally derived from the old style of landline phones with which people stopped holding the receiver and placed it down on the phone in order to end a phone call, however this usage has survived until today and is still heard today with smartphones. Another great usage to know with this meaning of 'put down' is with books. If someone is reading a book that they find highly enjoyable and don't want to stop reading, they may well say that they 'can't put it down'. Put down the gun, John. I've put my car keys down somewhere in the house and I can't find them anywhere! Helen put her handbag down on the counter and paid for her coffee. Roger said goodbye to Lisa and put the phone down. This book is so good, I've been reading it all morning and I just can't put it down . MEANING 2: To record something in written or musical form Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To write, to record, to get down Separable? Yes As I mentioned earlier, one of the main meanings of the verb 'to put' is 'to write something' and this is very relevant for this second meaning of 'put down' as this is 'to record something in writing'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Word Sentence Paragraph Vocals Song / Track 'Put down' can be used as a synonym of the verb 'to write' and a direct object such as 'words' or 'sentences' is always required as this usage is transitive. Aside from writing, this meaning also extends to music and if you 'put down' some music, it means that you record music, normally in a studio. It is possible to 'put down' an entire song or just an element of a song, such as the vocals or the drums. Lastly, you may have come across the expression 'to put down in words', which is a fairly common way to mean 'expressing your thoughts or feelings in written form'. I put down a few paragraphs this morning and now I don't know what to write. It's very difficult to put down in words everything that I am feeling at the moment. The singer went into the studio last week and put some vocals down on a new song that he is working on. We've put down a few tracks on the album but we are still writing the others. MEANING 3: To add something to a list Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To enter, to record, to add, to list Separable? Yes We have just talked about 'put down' meaning to record information in written form and this next meaning is an extension of that as it means 'to add something to a list'. In other words, if you 'put something down' on a list, you simply add it as an item. Of course, there are many types of lists that exist such as shopping lists, to to-do lists, lists of invitees to social events and waiting lists and 'put down' can be used for each and every one of these. It can be used in a slightly more idiomatic way too, as if you 'put your name down' on a list, it doesn't just mean that your name is included but can often also mean that you agree to take part in something or agree to do a particular job. I've made a list of what I want for Christmas and I've put down everything that I can think of. The doctor has put my name down on the waiting list for an operation, so hopefully it will happen soon. I hope you don't mind but I've put your name down as a reference for my next job. I've put my name down to do the raffle competition at this year's village fete. MEANING 4: To criticise someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To insult, to criticise, to denigrate, to disparage, to slight Separable? Yes When used in phrasal verb constructions, the particle 'down' can often have quite negative connotations and this next meaning is a clear example of that. The reason for this is that to 'put someone down' means 'to criticise' or 'to insult' someone, or in other words, to say something horrible about them. Grammatically, this usage of 'put down' is normally used separably, with the person who receives the insult or criticism going between the words 'put' and 'down', either their name or the direct object pronoun (me, him, her etc). You should also note that the noun 'put-down' also exists and this just means an insult or a criticism. My husband always puts me down in front of our friends. Tim tried to put Lucy down but she quickly shut him up. Lisa was sick and tired of constantly being put down by her manager, so she quit her job. John wasn't sure what he had done to deserve such a vicious put-down from Roger. MEANING 5: To attribute something to something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To attribute to, to ascribe, to blame on, to chalk up to Separable? Yes From now on, we will be looking at some more advanced usages of 'put down' and for this next meaning one', we require the additional preposition ' to '. Imagine that you have recently started having severe headaches and at about the same time, you also started to get very stressed in your job. As both things started happening at the same time, you would probably put the headaches down to the stress. In other words, you think that the headaches are caused by the stress, but of course you don't know this for sure. So, to confirm, this fifth meaning of 'put down' is 'to attribute something to a probable cause' and you should note that the construction of this is as follows: to put + result + down to + probable cause Most of the time, this application is used to talk about negative things and situations and what we think is the cause of them but of course this can be used for positive situations too, albeit less commonly. Notably, I often hear people using this in a past tense form to talk about when they believed one thing was the cause of a problem in the past but now they know what the real cause was and that their original assumption was wrong. My teenage son has been acting strangely recently and I just put it down to his hormones but I've since found out that he has been taking drugs. I put my constant tiredness down to being so busy all the time but it turns out that I had a vitamin deficiency. He's still making lots of mistakes in his job role but he is still quite new, so let's put it down to inexperience . MEANING 6: To kill an animal humanely Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To destroy, to put to sleep Separable? Yes As an animal lover with pets of my own, this meaning of 'put down' makes me sad as it means 'to kill an animal in a humane way'. Firstly, let's be clear that 'put down' does not mean to kill an animal in general, but rather to kill an animal that is old, very sick or dangerous. The act of 'putting down' is usually carried out by a vet or professional and is done humanely, i.e. in a way that causes the animal the least amount of suffering possible, thankfully. A more pleasant euphemistic synonym for this application of 'put down' is 'to put to sleep'. Grammatically, this application is often used in a passive way, usually in the causative form with 'have' or 'get'. Our dog was very sick, so we had to have her put down, so that she wouldn't suffer anymore. The governor ordered the vet to put the dangerous animal down, to ensure that it couldn't hurt anyone else again. We had to get our rabbit put down yesterday and I am devastated. MEANING 7: To put a baby to bed Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To put to bed, to lay down Separable? Yes As you will undoubtedly know, the meanings of individual English phrasal verbs can be extremely diverse and this is quite evident when considering this next meaning which is all about babies. The difference between putting down an animal and putting down a baby is enormous and you don't want to mix these up as 'to put down a baby' simply means 'to put a baby to bed'. Alternatively, this can also be used for any situation where you lay a baby down so that it goes to sleep. I think that this usage is quite self-explanatory as it often stopping holding the baby and placing it down on a bed or in a cot. On a grammatical note, this application is transitive and takes a direct object, which is always the baby. It is therefore also separable and usually a word such as 'baby' will go between 'put' and 'down' or alternatively the name of the child. Shhhh! Be quiet, I've just put the baby down. Most days, Lisa puts the baby down for a nap at about 2pm, at which time she does the housework. Putting a baby down for a sleep is not always easy when your house is as noisy as mine. MEANING 8: To pay a deposit Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To pay a deposit, to make a down payment Separable? Yes If you are ever in a situation where you want to buy something expensive like a house or a nice car, it is likely (unless you're very rich) that you will not have enough money to pay for it all and you may therefore need to make a deposit payment, with the intention of paying the rest of the money over a period of time in the future. This action of paying a deposit, or a down payment, to secure a sale is also known as 'putting down' a deposit. Nous commonly used with this application.... Money Deposit Funds Payment To clarify, this eighth meaning of 'put down' is to make a deposit payment. It is normally used with large purchases that people cannot afford to make at one time. Grammatically, this is separable, with the money or deposit being the direct object of the verb. The additional preposition ' on ' is often used to specify the item being purchased. John put a deposit down on his new house and took out a mortgage to pay for the rest of it. I've put down £500 on a new car and it is being delivered next week! If I put down some money as a deposit, my company will reimburse me. MEANING 9: To reduce prices Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reduce, to slash, to lower, to knock down, to mark down, to cut Separable? Yes This ninth meaning is primarily British usage and means 'to reduce', specifically when talking about prices. When a business, company or shop puts down its prices, it lowers them, therefore making them more desirable to its customers. Sadly, this is not something that we are seeing much of at the moment as usually companies are forced to put their prices up instead. We have decided to put down our prices on some of our high end products. The government is forcing energy companies to put down their prices as many people are not able to afford them at present. I refuse to put my prices down any further! MEANING 10: To suppress a rebellion Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To suppress, to repress, to quash, to quell, to subdue, to stop Separable? Yes The penultimate meaning of 'put down' that we will consider is a rarer one that means 'to suppress a rebellion'. Despite being a more infrequent usage, this is still one that you may come across in English and it is therefore useful to know. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Rebellion Riot Coup To explain this application further, it is used whenever a group of people rebel against authority in some way and the rebellion is limited, suppressed or stopped. This can often be heard in conjunction with nouns such as riot and coup and it normally involves an element of force from the authorities, police or armed forces to make it stop. The riots were quickly put down by the well-trained army. Security forces put down the coup within hours. MEANING 11: To land an airplane Photo:Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To land, to touch down Separable? Yes Well done if you have made it this far! We are now onto our final meaning of the phrasal verb 'put down', which is 'to land an airplane'. On a grammatical note, this usage of 'put down' can be used both transitively and intransitively (with and without a direct object). Used intransitively, the airplane is the subject and 'put down' is used as a synonym of the more commonly used verb 'to land'. Often, here we use the additional preposition ' in ' to specify the name of the city or country where the plane 'puts down'. For transitive uses, the pilot is the subject and the plane then becomes the direct object of the verb. The plane put down in San Francisco twenty minutes earlier than scheduled. The pilot put the aircraft down on the wrong runway, nearly causing a serious accident. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'put down'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'put down'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'call on' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This post is all about the English phrasal verb 'call on', however as I am feeling generous this week, I have also included the variant form 'call upon' for you, so you get two for the price of one! In this post, I will explain all of the different meanings of 'call on' and 'call upon' and how native English speakers use them in everyday language. In the post, I use 'call (up)on' to refer to both verbs as in most cases they mean the same thing. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Call On - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'call', 'on' & 'upon' Call On - Meaning 1: To formally ask someone to do something Call On - Meaning 2: To invite someone to speak Call On - Meaning 3: To make use of an ability you possess Call On - Meaning 4: To visit someone 🇬🇧 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 CALL (UP)ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Called (up)on / Called (up)on Separable? No Let's begin this post by considering the different meanings of the individual words 'call', 'up' and 'upon', which all make up our phrasal verb of choice. Firstly, we have 'to call', which is a frequently used verb in English, with several distinct but related usages, such as giving someone or something a name, telephoning someone or shouting loudly to get someone's attention. Another less common usage of 'to call', which is highly relevant for the phrasal verb 'call (up)on' is 'to make a request or a demand'. Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'on', which you will certainly be very familiar with already. 'On' can be used in a huge variety of different ways in English and functions as an adverb, a preposition and even as an adjective. When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'on' can often add the ideas of progression and continuation. Last but not least, we have the prepositional particle 'upon'. This is formed by the combination of the particles 'up' and 'on' but actually serves as a more formal synonym for 'on'. 'Upon' is an older English term that is being gradually replaced by 'on', but can still be heard today, especially in formal language and also in place names in the UK, for example Shakespeare's birthplace is the town of Stratford-upon-Avon (Avon is the name of a river). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the meanings of call (up)on.... MEANING 1: To formally ask someone to do something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To ask, to request, to demand Separable? No The first way that the phrasal verb 'call on' and its variant 'call upon' are used in English is 'to formally request someone to do something'. This is often when the request is made publicly, either physically in front of people or broadcasted via tv, radio or the internet. Have you ever been to a wedding in an English-speaking country? If not, I'm sure as an English learner you will have certainly seen weddings on English language TV or movies. If you have, you may have heard the bride or groom say the following words during the ceremony as part of their vows.... Photo: Pexels "I call upon these persons here present to witness...." Now, the wording above probably seems strange to you and that is because it is archaic, old-fashioned English that is no longer used anymore outside of formal situations and ceremonies. What the person is actually doing is just requesting that all of the guests witness the vows that he or she is making. As weddings are traditional ceremonies, much of the language used in them has been preserved from older English and so 'call upon' tends to be used here rather than 'call on', although 'call on' is being used more and more, especially in more modern ceremonies. In addition to weddings, 'call (up)on' is often used by people who have an audience or following to ask for some type of change from a government or an organisation. As the nature of these requests can often be urgent or desperate, it is common for them to become demands or orders, depending on the level of influence that the person has. In these situations, 'call on' is perhaps used more than the more formal 'call upon', although you can still hear both. I call upon all persons here present to witness that I, John Smith, take thee, Lisa Jones, to be my lawful wedded wife. The Head of the National Education Committee has called on the government to act urgently in order to resolve the matter. The councillors called on the city mayor to resign and step down, however he refused to do so. The government is calling on all doctors to reconsider their planned strike next week. MEANING 2: To invite someone to speak Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To ask, to invite Separable? No The next meaning of 'call (up)on' derives directly from the first usage that we have just looked at and this is 'to invite or to ask someone to speak'. This application of 'call (up)on' is again a formal usage that you tend to hear more in official and ceremonial environments, especially in a courtroom or at a ceremony, event or business meeting when someone is asked to make a speech. As this is a formal usage, you are far more likely to hear the traditional English variation 'call upon', although 'call on' is used more and more in modern English, which is a trend that I do not think will end anytime soon. For this particular usage, it is quite common for it to be used in the passive sense, i.e. to be called (up)on. I now call upon the CEO to address the board and outline the agenda for this AGM. I'd like to call upon the headteacher of the school to say a few words. The court now calls upon the witness, Mr. Steven White, to provide us with a detailed description of what he saw on the evening of the crime. During the inquest, the Prime Minister was called on to speak several times. MEANING 3: To make use of an ability that you possess Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To activate Separable? No Imagine that you have a superpower, such as flying or being invisible, but this superpower is not one that you use all the time, it is rather just used when you 'activate' it in times of need. To describe this activation of your superpower, you could say that you 'call (up)on it', which is kind of like saying that you request for it to work. Sadly, in reality nobody has such a superpower (that I know of), however we do all have individual talents and abilities that we can use from time to time and for this we would say that we 'call (up)on' them we need them, which is the third meaning of this phrasal verb. The talents and abilities that a person can call (up)on are generally something that a person is able to do but does not do often or has not done for a long time. As such, the range of these skills is almost limitless and can range from songwriting skills, to keeping calm in high pressure situations or speaking a foreign language. In addition to talents and abilities, 'call (up)on' can also be used in this way with strength and energy, especially in times of need. Whilst filming the movie, the actress called on her ability to improvise in the moment. Despite swearing to never do it again, the psychic decided to call on her ability to see into the future one more time. In order to pass this exam, I had to call on every last bit of my memory. Jane will need to call on every ounce of strength that she has to get through this next challenge. MEANING 4: To visit someone Photo: Pexel CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To visit, to pop in, to drop by, to call in Separable? No Our final usage of 'call (up)on' is a bit of a departure from the usages that we have considered so far as this one means 'to visit someone'. In general, this tends to be used when the visit is unplanned, short or both. This is a primarily British English usage that is commonly used in everyday spoken language and is more informal than the verb 'to visit'. Due to the 'visiting' aspect of this application, it is used most often to describe visiting someone at their home, however it can also be used for visits to see people in hospital or any other place where they are staying for a period of time. Due to the more informal nature of this meaning, 'call on' is almost always used here as 'call upon' in this situation would sound overly formal. It is also possible to use the variation 'to call in on someone' here (just to make it a bit more complicated), which means the same thing but can also imply that the visit was very short e.g. you go to someone's house to check that they are ok and leave after 5 or 10 minutes. One last thing to note here is that to 'call on' someone can often be used when talking about door to door salespeople, who visit potential customers at their houses in order to sell them something. In this sense, it is quite negative in nature. We called on my Dad on our way back from our holiday. John called on his best friend last night but nobody was at home. I am going to call in on Lisa in the hospital later to make sure that she is ok. 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 'call on'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'call 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 'pull up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. In this article, we are looking at the phrasal verb 'pull up', which has a surprising number of uses and meanings in the English language. You may need to pull up if you are driving your car, doing some gardening, sitting down with a group of people or showing information on your computer screen. If you go to the gym, you may regularly do pull-ups or someone may even tell you to pull your socks up! If all of these seem strange to you, don't worry as in this post we will look at all of the different meanings of this tricky phrasal verb. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Pull Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'pull' and 'up' Pull Up - Meaning 1: Literal Pull Up - Meaning 2: To uproot 🇬🇧 Pull Up - Meaning 3: To slow down and stop Pull Up - Meaning 4: To move a chair closer Pull Up - Meaning 5: To reprimand someone Pull Up - Meaning 6: To suddenly stop what you are doing Pull Up - Meaning 7: To show information on a screen Pull Up - Meaning 8: To make an airplane move upwards Pull Up - Bonus: The idiom 'to pull your socks up' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PULL UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Pulled up / Pulled up Separable? Yes The phrasal verb 'pull up' is comprised of the verb 'to pull' in combination with the prepositional particle 'up' and before we look at the different meanings of this phrasal verb, let's just take a quick look at the meanings of the two individual words. The verb 'to pull' is a widely used English verb, whose main meaning is to apply a force to something in order to bring it closer to you, most commonly with your hands or arms. Photo: Pexels Less commonly, it can also be used to mean 'to make something move with you or behind you', such as a horse pulling a cart. The idea of force or exertion is often an underlying theme with this verb. 'To pull' is a frequent base verb in phrasal verb constructions, normally in situations describing movement or stopping a movement. The prepositional particle 'up' is perhaps the most commonly used particle in phrasal verb constructions and can add many different elements of meaning, depending on the context, typically ranging from the ideas of movement in an upwards direction and increases to improvement and readiness. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the meanings of 'pull up'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To lift up, to raise up Separable? Yes Having just considered the words that make up the phrasal verb 'pull up', the literal meaning of these words should be very easy for you to work out , i.e. to pull something or someone in an upwards direction. This is quite similar to the verb 'to lift' or 'to lift up', however 'to pull up' is used more specifically when you are in a higher position than the thing that you want to lift and the lifting motion is towards you. The sailor decided it was time to leave, so he pulled up the boat's anchor. After the cow fell down the slope, the farmer had to pull it up the hill using a rope. What about pull-up as a noun? If you are someone who goes to the gym regularly or who enjoys working out, you may have heard the term 'pull-up' being used in reference to an exercise. Although we do not use the phrasal verb 'to pull up' so much in this context, it has produced the name of a type of exercise called a 'pull-up', which involves using your arms to lift yourself upwards, normally towards a metal bar (like in the gif above). How many pull-ups can you do in one go? I hate doing pull-ups because they hurt my shoulders so much! MEANING 2: To uproot Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To uproot, to weed Separable? Yes Before we start considering the more idiomatic meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull up', I want to consider this next application as it is very much linked to the literal meaning of 'pull up'. This usage is definitely one for the gardeners among you as it is 'to pull a plant and its roots up from the ground, so that no part of it remains in the earth'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Plant Flower Bush Shrub Weed Tree A common expression that you may hear for this action is 'to pull a plant up by the roots'. This is similar to the synonym verb 'to uproot', however 'uproot' is often used when animals and wind cause a plant to be removed from the ground and I think 'pull up' retains the exclusive sense of being pulled in an upwards direction out of the ground by a person's hands. We've pulled up all of the weeds in the garden and now it looks so much better! He pulled up the rose plant by the roots as he wanted to move it to a different part of his garden. MEANING 3: To slow down and stop Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop, to halt, to pull over, to bring to a stop Separable? Yes Now we have reached the part of the article where we can say goodbye to the literal and logical meanings of 'pull up', because from now on most of them are a bit more idiomatic. This includes our next meaning, which is 'to slow down and stop'. This meaning is perhaps the most commonly used and is the one that I, as a native speaker, think of first when I hear 'pull up'. With this application, we are talking solely about bringing a vehicle that is in motion to a stop, particularly with cars, buses, trains and airplanes. We do not use it to talk about people slowing down and stopping moving...however we do use it for humans in a slightly different sense, which we will look at later on in the article. Normally, this application of 'pull up' is followed by a preposition that denotes where the vehicle stops, such as on (the side of the road), at (the traffic lights), in front of, behind etc. However, sometimes you may also hear 'pull up to' something and this means to stop next to something or very close to it, as referenced in the song below.... On a grammatical note, in the table above, I have stated that this application of 'pull up' can be used separably, which is true, although I think that the majority of the time we tend to use it without a direct object (e.g. car, bus) as this is usually determined from the context. John pulled up on the side of the road when he noticed smoke coming from his car's engine. The police car pulled up to the group of teenagers. Helen arrived at the train station just as her train was pulling up. The fishermen pulled their boat up to a little island where they knew there would be a lot of fish in the water. MEANING 4: To move a chair closer Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To join Separable? Yes If you're ever in a situation in an English-speaking environment where you ask to join a group of people who are sitting down, they may respond to you by saying 'pull up a chair', which is essentially a way of saying 'yes' to your request. The reason for this is that another usage of 'pull up' is 'to bring something closer to you or to a specific place in order to sit down on it'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Chair Seat Pew Stool As you can imagine, this application of 'pull up' is principally used with nouns for items that you typically sit on, such as chairs, stools and seats but it could feasibly be used for any object that you can move and subsequently sit on. In many cases, it often serves as a figurative form of invitation to join someone or a group and participate in what they are doing. This could be anything from a business meeting to eating a meal or watching a movie with a group of people. Photo: Pexels Another common idiomatic expression in British English that you may come across is 'pull up a pew', which again means the same thing, i.e. 'sit down and join us'. For those of you who do not know, a pew is a long seat, similar to a bench, that is specifically found in churches and places of worship. Due to their size, they are not so easy to move and are rarely found anywhere outside of a place of worship, hence the figurative sense! Hi Lisa, do you want to sit with us for lunch? Pull up a chair and join us! I want to show you something at my desk. Pull up a chair next to me and I can show it to you. Q: Is this seat free? A: Absolutely, pull up a pew! MEANING 5: To reprimand someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reprimand, to rebuke, to castigate Separable? Yes When someone makes a mistake in their work or does something wrong, it is likely that they will be reprimanded for their mistake, or in other words, they will be 'pulled up on it'. The reason for this is that the next meaning of 'pull up' is 'to rebuke someone when they have made a mistake', or in other words to criticise or shout at them. This is not only limited to mistakes and can also be used for people's behaviour too, especially when they break rules. For this application of 'pull up', we require an additional preposition and for this you have the choice of THREE different words to choose from: on , about and over . Don't worry, whichever of these you choose will not affect the meaning. So, the structure of this particular usage of 'pull up' is.... To pull someone up on / about / over something Note also here that this is separable and the direct object (the person who has done something wrong) always goes between 'pull' and 'up'. This usage of 'pull up' is one that you commonly hear in the workplace, schools and in dealings with the police and other authority figures. Often, this is used for small errors and less significant mistakes that do not incur severe punishments and for which a verbal warning is sufficient. At other times, an experienced or naive person may be pulled up on something to ensure that they do not do it again. Lucy's teacher pulled her up about talking too much in class. I don't think John realises that what he is doing is not permitted. I will make sure that I pull him up on that, so that he is aware. The police stopped me in my car and pulled me up as my rear brake light was not working. Thankfully, I avoided a fine! Megan's parents have pulled her up on using swearwords so many times, but she doesn't seem to listen. MEANING 6: To suddenly stop what you are doing Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop, to interrupt Separable? Yes Earlier in the article, I explained how 'pull up' can be used to mean to bring a moving vehicle to a stop and that this usage could not be applied to humans but another usage could...well this is that usage! If a person pulls up, it does not mean that they stop moving, but rather that the action that they are performing, whatever that may be, is interrupted or stopped somehow. Like the first meaning that we looked it, there can an element of motion if the person is moving or walking but it can be for any action that is in progress at the time of the interruption. It's also very important to note that the interruption or disturbance to the action is almost always surprising or a shock, which is normally implied in this application of 'pull up'. There is also a fairly common expression that derives from this usage: 'to pull someone up short', which means 'to make someone stop what they are doing suddenly or abruptly'. For those of you who love grammar, it may interest you to know that this usage of 'pull up' is ergative. This means that it can be used both transitively and intransitively (with or without a direct object), with the subject of the intransitive verb becoming the direct object in an equivalent transitive sentence.... Transitive: The beautiful scenery pulled Linda up short. Intransitive: Linda pulled up short at the sight of the beautiful scenery. The sight of my mother standing at my front door pulled me up short. The runner suddenly pulled up and fell over onto the floor, screaming in pain. MEANING 7: To show information on a screen Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To open, to bring up Separable? Yes Well done if you have made it this far...we are nearly done I promise! For this next meaning of 'pull up', we are thinking about computers, smartphones and other devices with screens as this meaning is 'to make something appear on a screen'. If you pull something up on a screen, you open a file or programme in your computer so that it appears on the monitor. If you have read my article about the phrasal verb 'bring up' (link here ), this may sound familiar to you as this is actually a synonym of this particular application and both of these have exactly the same meaning. I would say however 'bring up' is perhaps more commonly used but it is nevertheless very useful to have this in your vocabulary too. Can you pull up the sales forecast spreadsheet for me so I can look at it quickly, please. I pulled up the results of the game on my screen. MEANING 8: To make an airplane move upwards Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To ascend, to climb Separable Yes The eighth and final meaning of 'pull up' that we will look at is quite a specialist niche usage for airplanes and means 'to make an airplane move in an upwards direction'. This usage is actually a shortened form of 'pulling up the nose' for when the pilot makes the nose of the plane point upwards. This is similar to the phrasal verb 'take off', but while 'take off' specifically describes when an airplane leaves the ground, 'pull up' is used to describe any time that the pilot makes the airplane go higher, whether that be during takeoff or in mid-flight. This is often used for when an airplane has to change its course or cannot land safely due to bad weather and the pilot must then pull up in order to circle around to try and land again. The was not able to land the aircraft due to the strong winds and so he pulled up in order to make a second attempt. BONUS: The idiom 'to pull your socks up' Before I finish this article, I want to make you aware of a nice idiom that exists featuring the phrasal verb 'pull up', which is 'to pull your socks up'. If someone tells you to pull your socks up, it means that you are not doing well at school or, sometimes, in a job and therefore you need to make more of an effort in order to get better grades or not lose your job! John doesn't work hard in class and next year he really needs to pull his socks up if he wants to pass all of his exams. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'pull up'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'pull 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