An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'set off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. 'Set off' is a common English phrasal verb that is used by people in many different areas of modern life, ranging from holidaymakers to accountants and even fashion designers. In this post, I will take you through all of its different applications in English and tell you how you should use them, with lots of examples to help your understanding. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Set Off - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'set' and 'off' Set Off - Meaning 1: To begin a journey Set Off - Meaning 2: To activate something Set Off - Meaning 3: To cause someone to react Set Off - Meaning 4: To start a chain of events Set Off - Meaning 5: To improve the appearance of something Set Off - Meaning 6: To balance one thing against another 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 SET OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Set off / Set off Separable? Sometimes Before we delve into the different meanings of 'set off', let's take a moment to consider the individual meanings of the words 'set' and 'off'. It may surprise you to know that the word 'set' is the word with the highest number of meanings in the English language, with a total of 430 different meanings and senses! That is a crazy amount and I highly doubt that most English native speakers know them all and are able to use them. When used as a verb, 'set', unsurprisingly, has a large number of meanings, however the one that is most relevant for the purposes of the phrasal verb 'set off' is 'to cause something to be in a specified condition' e.g. " he set the house on fire ". In this example sentence 'to set' is the causing action and the condition is 'on fire'. The prepositional particle 'off', like most prepositions in English, has a wide variety of different meanings and uses. When used in phrasal verb constructions it can often provide ideas of separation, departure and finishing, among many others. One meaning of 'off' to note here is that when used as an adjective, it can describe someone that has is about to start, or has just started on a journey, for example if you hear " the horses are off ", it means that the horses in a race have just started running. In another example, if someone says ' I'm off to work ", it means that they are about to leave the house to go to work in the next minute. Now that we have covered the basics, let's have a look at the different meanings of 'set off'... MEANING 1: To begin a journey Photo: Wix Media CEFR English Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To set out, to depart, to leave, to head off, to embark Separable? No The first meaning of 'set off' that we will look at is 'to begin a journey', or alternatively 'to depart' or 'to leave'. This usage of 'set off' is a very common in spoken English and is slightly informal in register. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Journey Trip Adventure Voyage For this application of 'set off', we combine the sense of the verb to 'to set', meaning 'to cause something to be in a specified condition, with the adverbial meaning of the particle 'off', meaning 'to be moving away from a place'. Therefore, when we use 'set off' in this way, we are saying that we are going to move away from a place, or in other words depart or leave. This usage is very similar to the phrasal verb 'set out' (link here ) and perhaps slightly more commonly used. Grammatically, this application of 'set off' is inseparable and does not take a direct object. 'Set off' is often followed by additional prepositions 'on' or 'for'; ' on ' is used to specify the type of journey and ' for ' is used to specify the destination. What time are you setting off tomorrow morning? I'm sorry, you've just missed John. He set off for work five minutes ago. When I set off on this hike earlier this morning, it was freezing cold. Look at the time! We'd better set off for the airport soon or we will be late for the flight. MEANING 2: To activate something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common British or American? Both Potential synonyms To trigger, to activate, to detonate Separable? Yes The second meaning of 'set off' is 'to activate' something and is used specifically with certain nouns such as 'bomb' and 'alarm'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Alarm Bomb Detector Sprinkler Gun Firework Like with the previous examples, this application of 'set off' links back to the meaning of the verb 'to set' that is 'to cause something to be in a specified condition' and the specified condition this time is 'activation mode'. In simple terms, 'to set off' is to cause something to activate. As I mentioned above, 'set off' is used with specific nouns, which are all generally devices or equipment that are inoperative for most of the time and need to be activated in some way in order to become operative. These typically include fire alarms, smoke alarms, burglar alarms, metal detectors, bombs and guns, all of which must be triggered or 'set off' in order to fulfil their function. If you have read my post on the similar phrasal verb 'go off' (link here ), you may remember that these are very similar in meaning. It is worth noting however that 'set off' is used when there is some kind of known intervention, often human, and in sentences the person who activates the alarm is the subject, whilst the activated device is the object. On the other hand, we use 'go off' to describe when these devices are activated without human intervention or we do not know what caused the device to be activated. In 'go off' clauses therefore the activated device is the subject. Someone set the fire alarm off in our building at 3am this morning, so we all had to get up and wait outside until the fire department had checked everything was ok. Make sure you remove your belt when you go through security at the airport or you will set off the metal detector. The hunter accidentally set off his gun whilst he was cleaning it, but luckily the bullet did not hit anything. MEANING 3: To cause someone to react Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To trigger Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'set off' is to cause someone to react in a certain manner, which is usually emotional in nature and lasts for a period of time. This meaning is actually very similar to the previous meaning that we have just looked at but rather than a device, the thing that is being activated is a person's emotion or reaction. This application is most commonly used with crying, laughter or making someone angry. For example, if you watch a sad movie that makes you cry, you can say that it '"sets you off crying". Alternatively, if someone makes you laugh uncontrollably, you can say that they "set you off laughing". As you can see from these examples, the gerund ('ing) form of the verb is normally used after 'set off', but this is not always necessary if the action is already clear from the context or situation. In addition to laughing and crying, 'set off' in this sense can be used to describe a human action that is activated or triggered and continues for a period of time such as coughing, singing, sneezing or talking. Grammatically, this application of 'set off' is separable. As this always refers to the actions or emotions of a person, we tend to mostly use this with indirect personal pronouns (me, him, her etc.) and these must always be placed between 'set' and 'off'. Helen watches this movie all the time even though she knows that it will set her off crying at the end. All of the smoke in the bar set me off coughing and I had to leave. Don't set me off again! I've only just stopped laughing from last time. Why did you have to bring that subject up?! You've set him off now, he won't stop talking about this for ages. MEANING 4: To start a chain of events Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To spark off, to trigger, to bring about Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'set off' is really just another sub-meaning of the ones that we have already covered. As per the previous two meanings, it also means 'to trigger' something and in this case it is an event or, perhaps more commonly, a series of events. This usage is really all about the principle of cause and effect as if something makes an event or a chain of events happen, we can say that it "sets if off". It is likely that you will come across (link here ) this particular application in the news and in current affairs in English. Grammatically, this application of 'set off' is separable, with the triggered event serving as the direct object. I think in terms of usage however, we tend to place the direct object after the phrasal verb more often. When the Prime Minister refused to authorise the new law, it set off a chain of events, which eventually led to his resignation. The decision by the judge to release the murderer set off a large number of riots all over the country. A discovery of a few old coins in the car park set off a series of events that culminated in a buried treasure being found underneath it. MEANING 5: To improve the appearance of something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium British or American? Both Potential synonyms To go with Separable Yes For this fifth meaning of 'set off', we are moving away from the 'triggering' sense of the last few usages as this one means 'to improve or embellish the appearance of something'. In other words, 'to make something look more attractive or beautiful by adding decorative elements to it'. It is worth noting here that this embellishment is normally done by adding some form of contrasting colour or object. When something 'sets something else off', it makes it more attractive or appealing to the eye and can even make the item or colour seem more evident or outstanding. As you can probably imagine, this application of 'set off' is used a large amount in the worlds of interior design, art, fashion and the hair & beauty industry where making something look attractive to people is the prime objective. Although I've written here that this usage of 'set off' is to make something appear more visually attractive, it can also be used with flavour in food, where one ingredient can be added to a dish that has a very different taste and yet complements the taste of the original dish. The artist's decision to add a hint of purple to the picture was a very smart one as it sets the green off wonderfully. That hat really sets off the colour of your hair, you should buy it! The lace around the rim of the hat really sets if off. It's amazing how just a small amount of cinnamon in this apple tart really sets off the flavour of the apples. MEANING 6: To balance one thing against another Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To offset, to make up for Separable? Yes The sixth and final meaning of 'set off' that we will cover in this post is 'to balance one thing against another, often so that the effect of the first thing is reduced or eliminated'. To get an idea of this, you should imagine a weighing scale (like in the gif above), on one side of which is a heavy weight. In order to reduce the effects of this heavy weight (the imbalance), a weight must be added to the other side to either lessen or remove the imbalance. This principle is known as 'setting off one thing against another'. While this of weighing scale is used less and less in the modern world, this application of 'set off' continues to be used in modern life, particularly when talking about money and finance. You may also be familiar with the verb 'offset', which is derived from this application of 'set off' and is probably now more widely used than its phrasal verb synonym. Grammatically, this usage of 'set off' is separable, however it tends to be more frequently used inseparably. The additional preposition against is usually used. Any future debts will be set off against the profits of the company. If you rent your property out, the money that you spend on maintenance and repairs should be set off against your rental income. 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 'set 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 'set 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 'look into' 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. How well do you know the phrasal verb 'look into'? If this is a completely new one for you, then you are in luck as it is a nice and easy phrasal verb with only two meanings. In this post, I will explain both of these useful meanings for you and provide with lots of example sentences to show you how they are used by native speakers. So, without further ado let's get into it.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Look Into - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'look' and 'into' Look Into - Meaning 1: To look inside something (literal) Look Into - Bonus: What if we add an extra preposition? Look Into - Bonus: Don't confuse 'look into' with 'look in' Look Into - Meaning 2: To investigate Look Into - Bonus: Typical example sentences of 'look into' 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 LOOK INTO: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 2 Past tense forms Looked into / Looked into Separable? No As a starting point for this post, let's take a look at the basics and consider the individual component words 'look' and 'into'. Firstly, we have the super common verb 'to look', which has a number of meanings in English, depending on which prepositional particle it is combined with. For this particular phrasal verb, we mean in the sense of directing our eyes in a direction in order to see something. Why are you looking at me like that? John looks around the room. Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'into', which I know from my experience with English learners is not the easiest preposition to understand. All you need to remember with 'into' is that is describes a movement to an end point which is inside  something. This "movement and entry" meaning of 'into' is often also conveyed in the phrasal verbs that it features in (go into). Alternatively, it can also be used in phrasal verbs to give the ideas of a change of state (turn into) and collision (crash into), among others. Now that we have looked at the basics, let's take a look at the different meanings of our chosen phrasal verb 'look into'.... MEANING 1 : To look inside something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To look at, to look, to peer into, to stare into Separable? No The first of the two meanings of 'look into' is the literal meaning of the combination of the two words, which is simply 'to look inside something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... House Room Window Eyes Hole To clarify, when we use 'look into' literally, it means to look with our eyes towards the interior or inside of something. The speaker is normally (but not always) on the outside or exterior. As such, it is possible to use it with all nouns for things that have a physical inside space, like a house, a hole or a box. Interestingly, we often use it with the noun 'window' despite the fact that a window is just glass and does not have an interior space. What we in fact mean when we say this is that we are looking into the building or room behind the glass. A robin was sitting on a tree and looking into my house. The curious cat looked into the box as he knew a mouse was hiding inside it. Ashley looked into the cave but couldn’t see anything in the darkness. The child looked into the aquarium and watched the fish swimming around. I looked into the room and saw that nobody was there. The police looked into the bag and found it was empty. There are also certain nouns in English with which we often use the particle 'in' but which do not have a physical interior space such as light, darkness and future. You should know that we commonly also use this literal application of 'look into' to refer to these nouns too. When I looked into her eyes, I knew she was telling the truth. Looking into the future, the outlook for treatment of the disease is very good. As I looked into the darkness, I thought I could see a pair of eyes looking at me. WHAT ABOUT IF WE ADD AN EXTRA PREPOSITION? It is common to combine 'to look into' with an additional preposition such as down, up or back, in order to add extra spatial information to what you are saying. The additional particle needs to go between look and into, e.g. 'to look up into' or 'to look down into'. Photo: Pexels Photo: Pexels The cat is looking down into the drain. She looked up into the night sky and was amazed by the amount of stars that she could see. The scientist was looking down into the volcano. I stood on my doorstep and looked back into my house one more time. DON'T CONFUSE 'LOOK INTO' WITH 'LOOK IN' Due to their similarity and closeness in meaning it can be very easy to confuse these two phrasal verbs. In some situations this is not a problem because ' look in' can mean the same as 'look into' but ' look in' is used more commonly by native speakers to say that they are searching for something in a place or inside an interior space e.g. in a bag or a in a room. LOOK IN: I can't find my keys! I've looked in my bag and in my room and they are definitely not there! In the above example, it would be incorrect to say "I've looked into my bag and my room " because this would only mean that you looked with your eyes and but did not search inside the room for the keys. In short, 'look into' is for looking with your eyes, whilst 'look in' is often used for searching. MEANING 2: To investigate Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potentia, synonyms To investigate, to scrutinise, to explore Separable? No So now we come to the second and most common meaning of 'to look into ' , which means 'to investigate or to examine information about a particular situation or problem in order to establish what caused it or what needs to be done to resolve it'. Nouns commonly used with this application: Matter Issue Claim Complaint Possibility Situation This application is very used all the time in business English when a problem has occurred and the employees in the company want to understand what happened and why. Furthermore, it is also something that you may hear the police or other authority figures say when investigating an alleged crime and they want to learn as much information as possible as they can about it. We promised the unhappy customer that we would look into the issue that they raised. The school is looking into reports of bullying. The team of top scientists has been looking into the effects of climate change on biodiversity in the region and will publish their findings next week. The IT team looked into the system crash to find out what caused it. Victoria promised to look into the matter and take appropriate action. The police are looking into the robbery that happened at the palace last night. Additionally, this application of 'look into' can simply just be used to talk about researching options for things or learning about a subject before making a decision. For example, if you want to go on holiday to Australia, you may look into different types of accommodation and flights. Alternatively, if a business wants to replace part of their IT infrastructure, they will probably look into different options before making a decision on the most suitable one. They're looking into new ways to reduce energy consumption. We need to look into our options before making a final decision. In terms of formality, I would say that 'look into' is less formal than ' investigate' , however 'look into' is frequently used in business English for things such as establishing what has caused a particular issue to arise. ' Investigate' tends to be used by the police when or in large scale formal investigations, however it is normally possibly to use these words interchangeably without causing any problems. Photo: Pexels BONUS: More example sentences of 'look into' 'LOOK INTO' FOR BUSINESS USE: I don't have an answer right now. Can I look into it and come back to you? The [noun] is being looked into. The company is looking into the possibility of [verb + ing]....... I need you to urgently look into the matter and give me your feedback. 'LOOK INTO' FOR PERSONAL USE: When I looked into his eyes, I knew he...... When I looked into the mirror*, I..... As his mother looked into the room, she..... The police are looking into the matter. After looking into it, we decided..... *With a mirror, it is also possible and common to say "look in a mirror". Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on it and reading it. I hope that you found it useful and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'look into'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'bring up' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This post is all about the phrasal verb 'bring up', which has very varied and diverse meanings, especially compared to some of the recent phrasal verbs that I have covered such as ' look at ' and ' take over '. In this post we will consider the different meanings that it has and also look at some common expressions that it is used in. So let's not beat around the bush* any longer and let's get started.... *'To beat around the bush' is an idiom that means to talk about things that are not important and not get to the point. TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Bring Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'bring' and 'up' Bring Up - Meaning 1: Literal Bring Up - Meaning 2: To raise a child Bring Up - Bonus: The noun 'upbringing' Bring Up - Bonus: Some common expressions with 'bring up' Bring Up - Meaning 3: To introduce a topic into a conversation Bring Up - Meaning 4: To vomit Bring Up - Meaning 5: To cause to appear on a screen Bring Up - Meaning 6: To come to a sudden stop Bring Up - Bonus: The idiom 'to bring someone up short' Bring Up - Meaning 7: To update or improve Bring Up - Bonus: To bring up the rear I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS BRING UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Brought up / Brought up Separable? Yes As I mentioned at the beginning, 'bring up' is a phrasal verb with very diverse meanings and consists of the verb 'to bring', meaning to take something to a place with you, and the prepositional particle 'up', meaning a movement in the direction away from the ground or towards the sky ↑. I know from experience of teaching English that the verb 'to bring' can often be confused with the related verb 'to take'. The difference between these two verbs is mainly to do with the position of the speaker and the direction of movement. Both verbs can mean to carry something to a place. If the object is carried towards them, we use 'to bring' and if the object is carried away from where they are when they are speaking, we use 'to take'. Can you bring me some water please? (Here the speaker is not moving and wants the water to come to them, where they are speaking.) I will take some sandwiches with me to work tomorrow. (Here, the speaker is going to move from where they are speaking to go to work and the sandwiches will go with them.) The above is just a brief overview of the differences between these two verbs and more detailed explanations are available elsewhere online. I just wanted to make you aware of the main differences here before we look at the phrasal verb meanings. So, without further ado, let's check them out.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take up, to bring, to take Separable? Yes To start things off, let's consider the literal meaning of the phrasal verb 'bring up', which is commonly used by native speakers to express the idea of transporting something to a place that is relatively higher than where they are. This application is typically used when someone is upstairs in a house or building or in a higher physical position than the person who they are talking to and they want him or her to bring them something. Could you bring up the boxes from the basement? I've asked Mike to bring up my suitcase to the attic. Linda brought up the laundry basket from the ground floor. The waiter brought up the food to our hotel room. We need to bring up the chairs from the storage room for the party. On a grammatical note, one thing to note here is that we normally insert the object pronoun such as me, him, her, them etc. between 'bring' and 'up'. I think this literal meaning is quite easy and straightforward to understand, so we'll move on to the next meanings but before we go, here are a couple of examples to illustrate usage.... Can you bring me up some water when you come to bed? As it is your birthday tomorrow, I will bring you up some breakfast in bed. MEANING 2: To raise a child Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To raise, to rear Separable? Yes The first non-literal meaning of 'bring up' that we will consider is similar to the common phrasal verb ' grow up ', but while 'grow up' simply refers to the process of growing from a child to an adult, we use 'bring up' to talk about how our parents (or primary caregivers), actively look after and teach a child during the growing up process. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Son / Daughter Child / Children Kid Grandson / Granddaughter / Children This can be used to talk about where we lived during our childhood, as well as the beliefs and values that we were taught during this time. It is used by native speakers commonly in both an active and a passive sense alike. In the active sense, we are talking about the parents or caregivers who are the subjects of the verb and in the passive sense we talk about ourselves or other people and what was taught and experienced during the growing up process. My parents brought me up to always say please and thank you and to treat everyone with respect. He was brought up in an orphanage and never knew his birth parents. Lisa managed to bring up four children all by herself after her husband tragically died. Mary worked hard to bring up her children on her own. John and Sue brought up their kids to be kind and respectful. Parents should bring up their children with good values. My friend was brought up in a strict household. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'upbringing' Did you know that there is a noun that is derived from this application of 'bring up'? The noun 'upbringing' is used to refer to how a person was treated, educated and shaped when they were growing up, or in other words, how they were brought up. I had a very strict upbringing and so I have tried to be a little more relaxed with my own children. What was your upbringing like? Kathy's strict upbringing instilled in her a strong sense of discipline and responsibility. Despite his humble upbringing, Jason worked hard and became a successful entrepreneur. BONUS: Some common expressions with 'bring up' In addition to the noun 'upbringing', there are also a couple of other expressions that feature this usage of 'bring up' that I want to make you aware of.... Were you brought up in a barn? This rhetorical question is a variation of " Were you born in a barn ?" and is used to criticise someone who leaves a door open in a room, particularly if it is cold or draughty. Were you brought up or dragged up? This is another rhetorical question which can be aimed at someone who doesn't behave well, implying that their parents did not teach them how to behave properly when they were growing up. Both of the above expressions are normally used in a humorous way and are not meant to cause offence, however it could be offensive if said in an unfriendly way, or if you do not have the right sort of relationship with the person, so I would recommend only using this with people with whom you have a good relationship. MEANING 3: To introduce into a topic into conversation Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To introduce, to raise, to mention Separable? Yes Our next meaning of 'bring up' is very different to the previous one that we've just looked at and means 'to introduce a topic or subject of discussion into a conversation'. Nous commonly used with this application.... Subject Topic Point Argument Issue The idea behind this is that the person who brings the subject up, does so intentionally, i.e. the subject did not enter into the discussion by chance but because somebody wanted to discuss it. (By the way, if a subject enters into a conversation naturally, then the phrasal verb 'come up' (link here ) would be applicable.) This can be heard often in business English, especially in reference to meetings and agendas for subjects that need to be discussed. It is also equally common to use it outside of the business world, when talking about general conversations or discussions. I've made a note of the issue and I will bring it up at the next management meeting. Why did you have to bring that up in front of my parents?! You know their views on the subject! I didn't want to bring up the funeral yesterday as I could see that you were already upset. Anna brought up an interesting point during the debate. I didn’t want to bring up the argument from yesterday, so I kept quiet. Nick always brings up politics at family dinners. The teacher brought up the importance of time management. Let’s not bring up that embarrassing story again! MEANING 4: To vomit Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To vomit, to puke, to throw up, to barf, to be sick, to cough up Separable? Yes Out fourth application of 'bring up' means 'to vomit or to be sick'*. Although this is not the most pleasant of meanings, it happens to us all at some point and is therefore worth covering! Nouns commonly used with this application.... Food / Drink Alcohol Blood Bile Phlegm When we use this application of 'bring up', the focus is not so much on the vomiting action itself, but rather on what is being expelled from the stomach and could be for example blood, poison or something that you have swallowed that you should not have. It is also possible to use 'bring up' in this sense with coughing, for example with phlegm. We can also use the more specific phrasal verb 'to cough up' here as a synonym. The baby brought up some milk after feeding. Kate had food poisoning and kept bringing up her dinner. After drinking too much, Jack ran to the bathroom to bring up his drinks. The motion sickness made Marianne bring up her breakfast. The dog was very sick and was bringing up lots of blood but luckily it was not life-threatening and he has made a full recovery now. My 3-year old son swallowed a small toy part but he brought it up again shortly afterwards before any harm was done. *As a side note, don't forget that 'to be sick' in English can mean to have an illness or disease and also to vomit. The context is key here to understand which one we mean. Meaning 5: To cause to appear on a screen Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To open Separable? Yes Our next meaning of 'bring up' is one that has become MUCH more widespread over the last few decades as it is used particularly with IT and computers and means 'to cause something to appear on your screen'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Document Spreadsheet File Picture Website Menu Results This application is normally used when we click on something to open it, such as a document or web page, but is also used extremely commonly when talking about the results of a search on a search engine (naming no names, you know the ones I'm talking about!). If you right click with your mouse, it will bring up a menu. Can you bring up the results of the test on your screen for me? When I looked up the question online it brought lots of irrelevant results up. Press this button to bring up the settings menu. Can you bring up the document on your laptop? MEANING 6: To come to a sudden stop Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop, to halt, to pull over Separable? Yes This sixth meaning of 'bring up' is a rarer one than some of the meanings that we have already covered and means 'to cause a vehicle to come to a sudden stop'. This is especially used for cars, but could be used for all types of vehicles, including boats, where it is specifically used for dropping an anchor in order to stop it. They decided to bring up the ship in the harbour for the night due to the bad weather. The driver brought up the car just before the red light. IDIOM ALERT: The idiom 'to bring someone up short' I think that this is a good time to introduce an idiom with 'bring up' that is linked to this particular meaning. The idiom 'to bring someone up short' is a fairly common expression that is used to express when someone stops what they are doing because something has surprised or shocked them. I was having a productive day yesterday until an email from my boss brought me up short. MEANING 7: To update or improve Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To update, to modernise, to improve Separable? Yes This seventh and final meaning of 'bring up' that I wanted to include in the post is when it is used to describe the process of updating or improving something. This is typically expressed by way of two different set expressions: 'to bring someone up to date' and 'to bring someone up to speed'. When we use it to talk about updating (bring up to date), we can mean updating a machine, a product, a building or anything else which can be modernised so that it is as current as possible. Moreover, we can also use it to mean updating a person (bring up to speed), so that they have all of the most recent information about a given topic or situation. A third, rarer, set expression exists with this application, which is 'to bring something up to standard'. This can also be used in reference to improving something (often, incidentally, by modernising it) so that certain standards are met. The interior designers are planning to bring the interior of the castle up to date. I had a meeting with Roger earlier and he brought me up to speed with everything that I missed whilst I was on holiday. The teaching in the school was very poor, so a team was sent there to bring it up to standard. Can you bring me up to date on the latest project developments? The company is bringing its software up to date with new features. Kelly brought the team up to date on the changes in the schedule. I need to bring my knowledge up to date with the latest technology trends. The teacher brought the students up to date on the recent discoveries in science. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to bring up the rear' Before I finish the post, I just want to give you a bonus expression featuring our phrasal verb of choice 'bring up'. The expression in question is 'to bring up the rear' and is quite appropriate to have at the end of this post as it means to be the last one of a group or category. This is most often used when talking about the last people in a queue, line or group of people who are going somewhere. The slowest hikers brought up the rear of the group. In the marathon, Jamie struggled but managed to bring up the rear. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on it and reading it. I hope that you found it useful and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'bring up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it with your English-learning friends. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'look at' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. The focus of this post is the phrasal verb 'to look at', which is one that I find that I use a LOT on this blog and so I thought it would be a good idea to give it its own dedicated blog page. In this post we will explore the main meanings of 'look at' and also some typical situations in which it is used by native speakers with lots of example sentences showing how it is used. So without further ado, let's go..... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Look At - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'look' and 'at' Look At - Meaning 1: Literal Look At - Bonus: 'Look at' with adverbs Look At - Meaning 2: To examine something Look At - Bonus: To have a look at or take a look at something Look At - Meaning 3: To consider something Look At - Meaning 4: To view from a different perspective Look At - Bonus: Some additional uses of 'look at' 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 LOOK AT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Looked at / Looked at Separable? No As is customary on Phrasal Verbs Explained, let's start the post by considering the basics.... In this case, we have the main verb 'to look' followed by the prepositional particle 'at'. The verb 'to look' is a very common verb which can be used either to talk about viewing something with your eyes or to talk about how something is perceived when somebody views it. In the first case, the prepositional particle 'at' is required to specify the person or object that we are viewing. 'At' is a preposition with many uses in English, but the meaning that is relevant here is "towards or in the direction of something". See the below examples.... Photo: Pexels The lady looked at the apple. Photo: Pexels The apple looked very fresh. One thing I notice with students is that they often confuse the verb 'to look' with other verbs of vision, such as 'to see' and 'to watch'. If you find it difficult to distinguish between these different verbs, I have put together the table below, which will give you some basic information regarding the differences.... Verb Meaning Example To see ​To perceive or notice something with your eyes. The action is passive. ​I can see a spider on the wall. To look To move or direct your eyes in a direction in order to see something. The action is active. I looked at the spider on the wall. To watch To focus on something and follow it with your eyes for a period of time. This is normally something that moves or changes. The action is active. I watched the spider walking across the wall. Now that we have covered the basics, the first meaning that we will look at should be a piece of cake..... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To glance, to peek, to view, to gaze, to stare, to check out Separable? Only with certain adverbs As you may have seen in the examples in the green table in the last section, we use the preposition 'at' after look, to specify the thing that we focus on with our eyes. This can be used either for when we direct our eyes and attention from one thing to another or it can be used just to talk about focusing on something with our eyes. It is possible to use 'look at' for both short and long periods of time. For short periods of time, potential synonyms could be verbs such as 'to peek' or 'to glance' and for longer periods of time the verbs 'to gaze' or 'to stare' could possibly be used. Regardless of the duration, a key element of 'look at' is that the person or object that we are viewing does not move and we do not need to follow it with our eyes; in that case we would then use the verbs 'to watch' or 'to observe'. Therefore, we do not say " I looked at a movie " or " I looked at the TV ", but rather " I watched a movie " or " I watched TV ". Literally speaking, if you say " I looked at the TV ", it will probably be understood by a native speaker to mean that you are looking at the TV equipment and not watching the programme or movie. Look at these old school photographs! How young do we look?! Helen was looking at her phone and so did not see the hole in the road. What are you looking at? Photo: Pexels BONUS: 'Look at' with adverbs You may have seen in the tables above that 'look at' can sometimes be used separably. It should be noted that the object always follows 'at' and cannot be placed between the two words, however there are certain adverbs that we can insert between 'look' and 'at' to modify them. Some of the most common examples of these are: directly, closely & carefully. Alternatively, it is also possible to place these adverbs at the end of the sentence and sometimes before 'look at', but I personally think that inserting the adverb between them sounds better and would help to elevate your sentence. If you look directly at the sun, you will damage your eyesight. Look carefully at the picture and tell me what you can see. MEANING 2: To examine something Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere ​Potential synonyms To examine Separable? Only with certain adverbs Our next meaning of 'look at' is very much linked to the literal meaning that we have just considered and for all intents and purposes means the same thing. The only difference in this meaning is that we use 'look at' to describe when we carefully and methodically examine something. This is usually with the intention of determining the cause of a problem, finding out the nature of something (what it is) or checking something, such as a document, in order to make sure that it is all correct and in order. As you can imagine, we normally reserve this usage of 'look at' for experts or professionals within a particular field, such as doctors, lawyers or teachers. Your ankle looks really sore, you should get a doctor to look at it. There is something wrong with my car and I've taken it to the garage, so that a mechanic can look at it. I have asked my boss to look at the report I've written before I submit it to the shareholders. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To have a look or to take a look at something There are a couple of common variations of this usage of 'look at', which I want to make you aware of. In both cases 'look' is used as a noun and alternative verbs are used: To take a look at something To have a look at something Both of these variations mean the same thing and are also often used to mean 'to examine something' in the same way as described above. Leave this with me, I will take a look at it later today and give you my feedback. Would you mind having a look at my resume? I'm not sure if I have included everything I need. You should note that it is also possible to use these in the literal form, especially when asking someone to direct their attention to something. Come here and take a look at this!! You won't believe it! Have a look at this and tell me what you think! MEANING 3: To consider something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To consider, to think about Separable? With certain adverbs The next meaning of 'look at' is to consider or think about something. This is a usage that I use a great deal on this blog, since the whole aim of the blog is to consider and explore phrasal verbs and their meanings and usage. Additionally, I think that it is a further progression of the two meanings that we have already covered in this post. When we use 'look at' in this way, we are talking about directing our thoughts or attention to a particular topic or issue, rather than our eyes. We often use it, like I do on this blog with different phrasal verb meanings, to take something in particular and think about it carefully in order to discuss or write about it. Alternatively, it can also be used to talk about when we consider specific problems or issues and how they can be resolved or when you have to make a decision and are considering different options. One particular way that 'look at' is used here is when we want to give an example in order to justify or support something that we are saying. We often give our initial opinion and follow this by saying " look at XYZ for example". In today's post, we are looking at 'to break down '... We are aware of the problem and we are looking at ways in which we can resolve it as quickly as possible. I looked at Cambridge University as an option for my degree but the entry requirements were too high. John should definitely be the person who gets the manager's job. Look at how good he is at interacting with the other members of the team, for example! MEANING 4: To view from a different perspective Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere ​Potential synonyms To view, to see Separable? No The last usage of 'look at' on this post is one that does not differ too much from its other usages and is used to talk about viewing something from a different perspective to our own, or from a particular viewpoint. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Perspective Point of view We often use this to "put ourselves in someone else's shoes", in other words, to see something from a different person's perspective in a given situation. Moreover, we can also use it to talk about our own perspective at a different time in our lives, in which case we would often use the 3rd conditional due to the hypothetical nature of the statement. Look at it from my perspective! If you looked at it from Helen's point of view, you might think differently! If I had known this when I was younger, I would have definitely looked at things differently! Photo: Pexels BONUS: Some additional meanings of 'look at' Before finishing this blog post, I want to make you aware of some additional uses of 'look at' that are commonly used by native speakers in everyday English. Not much to look at - If somebody uses the expression that someone or something is "not much to look at", they mean that the person or thing is boring, plain, ugly or lacking beauty. As you can imagine, this can be quite offensive, especially if used to talk about a person, however sometimes it is used to say that something is not aesthetically pleasing but has some other positive qualities. My house is not much to look at from the outside but the inside is breathtakingly beautiful! Look at you ! - This short expression is often used to convey surprise at how someone looks or is dressed, usually in a positive way. Wow, look at you Lisa, all dressed up like that. You look beautiful! Would you look at that! - This short expression, which is more common in American English, is used to convey surprise about something negative that has happened. Would you look at that! My car has two flat tyres, how has that happened? 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 'look at'. 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 'look at'. 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 'take over' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. In this post we are looking at the phrasal verb 'to take over', which is commonly used in business English and in the workplace. There are several different meanings that we will look at in this post, however as you will see, the overall themes of this phrasal verb are replacement and control. So without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Take Over: The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'take' and 'over' Take Over - Meaning 1: Literal meaning Take Over - Meaning 2: To take control Take Over - Meaning 3: To become the most important or most dominant Take Over - Bonus: The verb 'to overtake' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TAKE OVER: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Took over / Taken over Separable? Yes Our nominated phrasal verb this week consists of the extremely common verb 'to take' followed by the particle 'over'. The verb 'to take' is a widely used English verb which has various meanings, but the meanings that are significant for the idiomatic meanings of the phrasal verb 'take over' are... To voluntarily get or acquire possession of something. To carry or transport something from one place to another. John took the flowers off the table. Can everyone please take a copy and pass them on. My Mum is taking me to the airport today. Please could you take this carton to the warehouse. Like 'take', the prepositional particle 'over' also has a few different meanings in English, including to move across or above a surface (preposition / adverb) and to be finished (adjective). Both of these are relevant to the meanings of the phrasal verb, which we will look at now. When used in phrasal verbs, the particle 'over' can convey different meanings, such as transfer (hand over), excess (boil over), overcoming ( get over ) and thoroughness (read over). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'take over'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bring over, to take, to take across, to deliver, to transfer Separable? Yes The phrasal verb construction 'take over' is used regularly by English speakers in a literal sense to mean taking something or somebody from one place to another, which the speaker perceives as being across from where they are. The meaning of 'take' which applies here is the meaning 'to carry something or someone from one place to another' and the preposition 'over' then adds a directional element to mean across from where the speaker is. Typical examples of this literal usage could be.... To take a document across an office to another person. To give someone a lift in your car from one place to another. To take something and deliver it somewhere. The main idea here is that someone takes someone or something to another place, which is perceived by the speaker to be across or over from where they are. If the speaker perceives that the other place is below or above them (e.g. on a different floor in a building), it is more likely that they will use "take down" or "take up" instead. In some situations, the verbs 'to deliver' and 'to transfer' both serve as synonyms of this application. When used in this way, it is very common to use it separably with the direct object between 'take' and 'over'. Also, don't forget the preposition 'to' is required to state the end destination. John left his book here when he went back to Australia, so I said I would take it over with me the next time I go. Can you take this file over to the CEO's office and ask her to sign it for me. I am taking Lisa over to her mum's house today as her car isn't working. Sally asked me to take the books over to the library before it closed. I'll take the food over to Grandma's house this evening. They took the supplies over to the shelter after the storm. I've already taken the package over to the post office, so don't worry about it. MEANING 2: To take control Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take charge of, to take control, to take on Separable? Sometimes The first of the idiomatic meanings of 'take over' in this post is certainly the most commonly used among native speakers and means to take or to assume control of something from another person or entity. In the business world the phrasal verb 'take over' is commonly used to talk about when one company purchases or acquires another company and therefore takes control of it. It is also very common to use the noun 'takeover' here instead of the verb. You may have heard the term 'acquisition' before, which is a synonym of the noun 'takeover'. Company X has recently taken over company Y and as a result the share price has gone through the roof. Company Z has recently been taken over and many of its employees have been made redundant. Despite the shareholder's attempts to stop it, the company takeover is still going ahead this month. We also use 'take over' to talk about when one employee in a business assumes another person of authority's job role, in other words they assume a role of responsibility or control from another person. A similar phrasal verb that can be used here is "to take on", however "take over" indicates that the person's new role is one of authority and control e.g. a manager or a director. Don't forget that the preposition 'as' is required here to say what the new role is. A third variation of how 'take over' can be used in the world of business is specifically to do with shift work. In businesses and organisations which operate around the clock (24/7) and in which employees do shift work, we can use 'take over' to talk about when one person's shift ends and another employee starts their shift and replaces them. For this usage, the preposition 'from' is required to talk about the person who you are replacing. Roger is leaving the company next month and so Helen is taking over his role as head of Finance. John starts his shift at 7pm, so he will be taking over from Tim who finishes then. Away from the business world, 'take over' is also used in other contexts and situations to mean to take control of something. Examples could include when one country invades another country and takes control of it or when a person's emotions become too intense and they can no longer control themselves from breaking down or crying. After the accident I was so scared but then my adrenaline took over and I did what I had to do to make sure that everyone was safe. In addition to the usage above, we can also use 'take over' to mean that something or someone becomes dominant in a situation. Good examples of this would be when someone dominates a conversation or when a bossy person starts to give out orders and take control in a situation. This gives us a nice segue into the third meaning, which is very similar. As soon as Helen joined the conversation, she completely took over and nobody else was able to say anything! MEANING 3: To become the most important or most dominant Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To dominate, to become dominant Separable? No So, we have already considered how 'take over' is commonly used to mean 'to take control' and this second meaning is actually very similar to it. Here, 'take over' means to become the most important or dominant in a given category or group. This usage is often seen when talking about lists of the best, worst, biggest, smallest, richest etc and can therefore be seen across many different subject areas as diverse as sport, music and business. 'Take over' is used specifically to talk about when there is a change and someone or something new is in first position, effectively taking over first place in the list. Again, the prepositions 'as' and 'from' are required here in the same way as the first usage above. India will soon take over from Japan as the world's third largest economy. I remember when Manchester United took over as the top football team in the country. Melbourne has recently taken over Sydney as Australia's most populous city. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The verb 'to overtake' An alternative synonym to this second meaning of 'take over' is the verb 'to overtake'. One of the main uses of this verb is to talk about when something takes over something else to become the first in its category, as discussed above. Unlike 'take over' though, when we use 'overtake' we need to have a direct object to state who or what was previously in front and has now been overtaken. The preposition 'as' is still required here but 'from' is not required as we have a direct object. India will soon overtake Japan as the world's third largest economy. Melbourne has recently overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city. The second main use of 'overtake' is used when driving and means to move past a car that is in front of you by driving around it, normally because it is going too slowly. Again, this carries the same meaning as the third meaning of 'take over' i.e. to move past something and be in front of it. The car in front was driving very slowly, so I decided to overtake it. The rules of overtaking in Formula 1 racing are being reviewed. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'take over'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'take over'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'let 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. 'Let down' is a phrasal verb with several meanings that can be applied to very different areas of life. You may already be familiar with its most common meaning, 'to disappoint someone', which we will look at in detail in this post, as well as the other meanings of let down'. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Let Down - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'let' and 'down' Let Down - Meaning 1: To disappoint someone Let Down - Bonus: The noun 'letdown' Let Down - Meaning 2: To lower something Let Down - Bonus: The idiom 'to let your hair down' Let Down - Meaning 3: To be a reason that something fails Let Down - Meaning 4: To make an item of clothing shorter Let Down - Meaning 5: To deflate 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 DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Let down / Let down Separable? Yes Before we look at 'let down's different meanings, let's first consider the meanings of the individual words 'let' and 'down'. 'To let' is an irregular English verb and primarily means 'to allow or permit something', or 'to not prevent something from happening'. It is used in a wide number of common expressions and therefore will be a verb that I'm sure many of you will be very familiar with. The prepositional particle 'down' is the natural opposite of the particle 'up' and is most frequently used to refer to something in a lower position relative to the speaker, or to describe movement towards this lower position. As such, in phrasal verb constructions 'down' can often add the ideas of moving downwards or decreasing. If you have read my post about the phrasal verb 'let up' (link here ), you may remember that it can be used literally to mean 'to allow someone to go up to a higher place'. We can also apply this same logic to 'let down' and it can mean 'to allow someone to go down from a high to a lower place', e.g. down some stairs or to a lower part of a building, however this usage is quite rare and so I only just wanted to briefly mention it here. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's look at the meanings of 'let down'.... MEANING 1: To disappoint someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To disappoint, to fail someone Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'let down' is to disappoint someone and is a common usage that you may hear in many popular songs and on popular TV shows. Although 'to let down' does mean 'to disappoint' and most of the time can be used interchangeably with it, there are some subtle differences in meaning and usage.... If you let someone down', you fail to do something that people expect you to do or hope that you do. This could be anything from just a small unfulfilled promise to not choosing the career that your parents hoped that you would. The verb 'to disappoint' could also be used in most of these cases, however 'to disappoint' refers more to a person's sad feeling when something doesn't go their way. So, in a nutshell 'let down' is more a failure to do something that was promised or expected and 'disappoint' is more to describe how you feel emotionally after someone lets you down. On a grammatical level, 'let down' is separable and can be used both ways, however it must always be used separably with indirect object pronouns (me, him, her, them etc.). Lastly, a common collocation that exists is 'to let someone down gently', which means to give a person bad news in a nice, gentle or kind way. Are you able to babysit my children tonight? My usual babysitter has let me down and I don't know who else to ask. I feel like I have let my parents down by not going to university. The company's supplier let us down at the last minute, so they had to try and find someone else who could supply the goods. We are not able to to go to John's party tonight. I know he really wants us to be there, so we will let him down gently. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'letdown' In addition to the phrasal verb 'let down', there is also the noun 'letdown', which is used to describe the action of letting someone down or disappointing them and is a synonym of the noun 'disappointment'. The noun is usually used to refer to a disappointing situation, but it can also be used to describe a person, although this can often be a little insulting. We tried out the new Italian restaurant in town last night but it was a letdown. We won't go back there again! Roger thinks that he is a letdown in his parents' eyes but it's not true; they are very proud of him. MEANING 2: To lower something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To lower Separable? Yes The next meaning of 'let down' is to lower something from a high position to low position or to the ground, usually in a slow and careful manner'. In other words, this is to move something towards the ground or in a downwards direction. Often, with this sense of 'let down', the subject is the person who is carrying out the action and the item being lowered or 'let down' is the object. As I wrote, this application of 'let down' is normally used to describe the act of slowly and carefully lowering something or someone and as such, it is often used in situations with ropes and some types of machinery. In addition to the this, 'let down' can also be used to talk about when something that is restricted, bound or tied in a high place is untied or released. Typical examples of this are 'letting sails on a boat down' and 'letting your hair down'. Again, this application of 'let down' is separable and is fine to use both separably and inseparably, however I think that we tend to use it more in an inseparable way. The firemen arrived and carefully let the cat down from the tree in a basket tied to a rope. The rock climber got stuck halfway up the mountain and asked the crew to let him down. As the wind was increasing, the sailors decided to let down the sails. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to let your hair down' One of the examples that I gave for this meaning of 'let down' was to untie your hair, so that it is free to hang down around your face. While this is used in everyday speech, 'to let your hair down' has also become a very popular idiom meaning 'to relax and have fun'. For this idiom, only the separable usage works. Lisa is determined to forget about work and let her hair down this weekend. You need to stop stressing and go out and let your hair down for a change. MEANING 3: To be a reason for something to fail Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To detract Separable? Yes The next meaning is a primarily British usage of 'let down' and is used to give a reason for why something fails or, less commonly, does not do as well as expected'. This is a similar kind of idea to the first meaning of disappointment that we looked at, however in this sense there is no element of disappointment, but rather the idea that one thing causes something to fail or not be as good or successful as it was expected to be. This can be used to describe anything for which there is an element of judgment or evaluation from other people, so therefore it could be as diverse as a painting, a candidate for a job, an outfit or the decor of a building. Often, we use this application of 'let down' separably, however sometimes we can use the unseparated construction "something is let down by something" - see below. He is a really good looking guy but unfortunately his personality lets him down. The house itself was perfect and the only thing that let it down and stopped us from buying it was that there was no garden. If there is one that thing that this car model is let down by, it is the high petrol consumption. MEANING 4: To make an item of clothing longer Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To lengthen Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'let down' is a useful one for anyone who enjoys sewing and needlework as it means 'to make a garment or item of clothing longer'. This is normally done by unfolding the excess material of a garment that is normally folded over at the bottom of it. It is often used with trousers and skirts that are not long enough. As with the other meanings of 'let down', this application can be used both separably and inseparably and with this one, I would say that both are equally as common as the other. I need to let these new trousers down as they are too short. That skirt is far too short, it needs letting down! MEANING 5: To deflate Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To deflate Separable? Yes This fifth and final usage is another primarily British usage of 'let down' and it means 'to deflate something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Tyre (Tire) Balloon Ball Airbed The idea behind this meaning comes from another phrasal verb, namely 'to blow up' (check it out here ), one of the meanings of which is to 'inflate something'. The opposite of 'up' is of course 'down' and rather than 'blow down' (which doesn't exist), we use 'let down'. We can only use 'let down' for when something deflates with human intervention or action, rather than bursting and this is why the verb 'let' is used as this often implies an idea of intentionally allowing something to deflate and making it happen. Grammatically, this is no different to the other applications of 'let down' and can be used both in a separable and an inseparable way. Someone has let the tyres down on my bike! How am I going to get to work now?! We need to let down the airbed and put it away before the guests arrive. 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 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 'let down'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'turn' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. The phrasal verb 'turn down' is a commonly used phrasal verb that has several idiomatic meanings used in everyday English. In addition, there are also some specific situations in which we can use it. We will look at all of them in turn over the course of this post, so let's not put it off any longer and let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Turn Down - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'turn' and 'down' Turn Down - Meaning 1: To reduce the intensity of something Turn Down - Meaning 2: To refuse or reject Turn Down - Bonus: To get turned down Turn Down - Meaning 3: To decrease Turn Down - Bonus: The noun 'downturn' Turn Down - Meaning 4: To fold or face downward Turn Down - Bonus: To turn down a road Turn Down - Bonus: Have you every had turndown service in a hotel? I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TURN DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Turned down / Turned down Separable? Yes Although I am sure that you are already familiar with the phrasal verb 'turn down', it is always a good idea to look at the individual words as a starting point, as these can often help us understand some of the idiomatic meanings of phrasal verbs. Firstly, we have the verb 'to turn'. This is a verb with a few different meanings, including to move in a circular path, to change direction or to change and become something else. I think that the overarching (main) idea of the verb 'to turn' though is a change of position or state. Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'down', which can be used as an adverb and a preposition and broadly means be in, or to move towards, a lower position or place ⬇️ (from a higher one). So, now that we are familiar with the words, let's check out the different meanings that we have in English when we combine these two words to get the phrasal verb 'turn down'.... MEANING 1: To reduce the intensity of something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reduce, to lower, to decrease Separable? Yes Our first meaning of the phrasal verb 'turn down' is to reduce the intensity of the output of an item of equipment, such as a television, a heating system or a radio. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Volume Heat Music Television Lights When we turn something down, we ultimately want the amount of energy produced by the equipment to be lower, for example because a television is too loud, an oven is too hot or a light is too bright. As you may have already worked out, this meaning of 'turn down' originated from the action of adjusting switches or controls by turning them from a higher setting or number to a lower one. 'Turn down' is a separable phrasal verb and is used very commonly in separable form by native speakers, often with the pronoun 'it' when we have already mentioned the equipment. Note that there is no change in meaning between the separable and inseparable form. Your music is so loud! Can you turn it down please? It was like a sauna in here earlier, so I turned the heating down. Bring the liquid to the boil, then slightly turn down the heat before adding the pasta. John turned down the brightness on his phone to save battery. MEANING 2: To refuse or reject something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To refuse, to reject, to decline Separable? Yes Another extremely common meaning of 'turn down' is one that you are likely to come across in everyday English and means to refuse, reject or not accept something. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Invitation / Invite Application Offer Job Broadly speaking, there are two different ways in which 'turn down' can be used here. The first is when you actively decide to refuse something such as an invitation or an offer. An example of this could be that you are offered a job, however it is in another city and you are not prepared to move house, so you decide to not accept the job, or in other words, you turn it down. Other situations in which this meaning is commonly used would be when you do not accept an invitation to a party, social event or an offer of a place at a university. The second way that 'turn down' is frequently used in English as a way of rejecting something is in the passive sense, i.e. when you apply for something and your application is rejected or turned down. Using the example of a job application again, imagine that you apply for the job of your dreams, however you receive a response from the company advising you that your job application has not been successful. In other words, your application has been turned down. Hopefully you will never be in the above situation, but if you are, it is worth remembering that 'turn down' is quite informal and companies are more likely to say that your " application has not been successful " in their communication to you (as in the above example). Other synonyms that companies may use as an alternative to "turned down", could be "rejected" or "denied". We are more likely to use "turn down" when telling our friends and family about it in a more informal setting. Remember that in the passive form, it is not possible to use 'turned down' separably. Unfortunately I have to turn down the kind invitation to your wedding as I will be on vacation on that date. I turned down the offer of a job promotion as I didn't want the extra stress that it would bring. Our application to build an extension on our house has been turned down by the planning office. Eleanor turned down the job offer because the salary wasn’t high enough. Roger asked Lisa out on a date, but she turned him down. The company turned down our proposal for a business partnership. I regretfully had to turn down the invitation because I was too busy. The bank turned down Nigel's loan application due to bad credit. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To get turned down When using 'turn down' in the passive sense, as mentioned above, it is also very common to use the construction 'to get turned down' instead of the more standard 'to be turned down'. This is common usage among native speakers in spoken English, although I would say that this is perhaps even more informal than 'be turned down'. My army application got turned down because I am not fit enough! What will you do if the application gets turned down? MEANING 3: To decrease Photo: Freepik CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​to decline, to decrease Separable? No A much rarer meaning of 'turn down' is used specifically to mean a decline or a decrease in the rate of something. This is most frequently used to talk about the stock market, but can also be used to talk about birth and death rates, rates of diseases (e.g. Covid-19) or rates of unemployment. Generally speaking, it could be used with anything that can be plotted on a line graph (showing a decline). Please note that this usage of 'turn down' is not separable. Investors will lose money if the market turns down. The stock market turned down sharply in the wake of the disappointing earnings report. Shares of the company turned down following the news of regulatory issues. After several months of growth, the tech sector began to turn down due to economic uncertainty. Investors panicked as the index turned down amid rising inflation concerns. Photo: Pexels THE NOUN 'DOWNTURN' The reason that I wanted to include this rarer usage of 'turn down' on this post is because it also has a corresponding noun, 'downturn', which is used much more commonly in everyday English than its verb counterpart. Like the verb, 'downturn' is commonly used by native speakers to describe declines in activities and rates, especially across the business and economics world. In the year 2020 there was a sharp downturn in the world's major economies as the Covid pandemic struck. MEANING 4: To fold or face downward CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To fold, to fold over, to turn over, to face downward Separable? Yes This fourth usage of 'turn down' means to fold something, i.e. to bend something, such as paper or cloth, so that a part of it rests on top of the other. 'Turn down' can be used as a synonym of 'fold' specifically when we are folding the top part of piece of paper in a downward direction, so that it covers a part or all of the top surface. This could be done to hide what is on the paper or to act as a marker. A prime example of this is when people turn down the top corner of a page in a book that they are reading, so that they know which page they last read. This isn't such a common usage, but it is still worth being aware of it. Another way that 'turn down' is used is when you turn something over, such as a piece of paper or a playing card, so that the detail or the information on it is now facing downwards and is not visible to people. This is used a lot in card games. It is also common to use 'turned down' in an adjective form to describe cards that are facing downwards. I hate it when people turn down the page corners of their books! Why can't they use a bookmark?! All of the cards must be turned down at the start of the game. James turned down the pages of the book to mark his place. The waiter turned down the edges of the tablecloth to keep it neat. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To turn down a road An extra way that native speakers use the phrasal verb 'turn down' that you may hear in everyday conversation is when giving directions or talking about a journey. Often when referring to roads and streets, native speakers will use the prepositions 'up' and 'down' to talk about a movement along them (as far as I know, there is no difference between them, it is just something that we do 🤷‍♂️). When talking about turning from one road onto another and also sometimes then driving along it, it is very common to hear native speakers say things like " turn down that road " or " turn down the first road on the left for 100 metres ". Photo: Pexels BONUS: Have you ever had turndown service in a hotel? As a final point, I just want to make you aware of one last usage of 'turn down' that you may come across , especially when staying in hotels. Turndown service is where hotel staff enter a guest's room whilst they are out and prepare it for them by making the bed and sometimes even leaving a mint or small chocolate on the guest's pillow. The end result is that the bed is nice and fresh for the guest when they come to sleep in it that evening. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'turn down'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'turn down'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'hang 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. 'Hang up' is an English phrasal verb that you will probably have heard before if you have ever had a telephone conversation with an English speaker. In this post, we consider this telephonic usage of 'hang up' and how the meaning can change, depending on the construction. In addition to that, we will also look at its other meanings and how they are used in everyday English by native speakers. Read on to find out more.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Hang Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'hang' and 'up' Hang Up - Meaning 1: To hang something on a hook Hang Up - Meaning 2: To end a phone call Hang Up - Meaning 3: To stop doing an activity Hang Up - Meaning 4: To have emotional problems Hang Up - Bonus: To have a hang-up about something Hang Up - Bonus: A song to end the post 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 HANG UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Hung up / Hung up Separable? Yes Before we get started with the meanings of the phrasal verb 'hang up', let's take a moment to consider the meanings of the individual words 'hang' and 'up'. Photo: Pexels 'To hang' is a reasonably common verb that means 'to be suspended from a high or elevated place, with the bottom part of the suspended thing being unsupported', much like the flowers in this image. Aside from this meaning, the verb 'to hang' can be found in different phrasal verb constructions and also has a second meaning involving a rather unpleasant way to die, which was often used as a punishment for crimes (thankfully) in the past. Interestingly, the verb 'to hang' has different past participles depending on which of these meanings you intend. The standard past participle that is necessary for this phrasal verb 'hang up' is 'hung', whereas for 'to hang' in the killing sense, the past participle is 'hanged'....this is something that even many native speakers do not get right. The prepositional particle 'up' is one of the most commonly used particles in phrasal verb constructions and can add different elements to the meaning, depending on the context. These can range from the idea of completion or readiness to the idea of being in an elevated position, which is certainly appropriate for this phrasal verb. So, now that we have considered the basics, let's look at the meanings of 'hang up'.... MEANING 1: To hang something from a hook Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To suspend, to hang Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'hang up' is 'to hang something on a hook' and is more or less a literal combination of the verb 'to hang', with the particle 'up' adding the idea of the item being suspended in an elevated place (as hooks tend to be). Nouns commonly used with this application.... Coat Jacket Clothes Picture As you would expect, this application of 'hang up' is used with nouns for items that can be hung on hooks and typically includes clothes, coats, umbrellas, pictures and hats. Aside from hooks, we also use 'hang up' for when we hang clothes on hangers or anywhere else where they can be hung in an elevated position. This application of 'hang up' is separable and therefore it is possible to say that you " hang your coat up " or " you hang up your coat ", without changing the meaning. Give me your jacket, I'll go and hang it up in the study. The first thing that John does when he gets home is hang his hat and coat up by the front door. We hung up the wet clothes on hangers in the spare room and left them to dry. Lisa decided to hang her favourite painting up on the wall by her bed. MEANING 2: To end a phone call Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere British or American? To terminate a call, to end a call, to put the phone down on someone Separable? Yes The second meaning of 'hang up' is perhaps the most commonly used of all its meanings and means 'to end a telephone call'. Photo: Pexels This usage may not seem obvious or logical at first, however it becomes clearer when you consider that this application has been in use since the time when telephones were first invented and people had to literally hang the phone's receiver* on the telephone in order to end a call. Despite the fact that our telephones have changed dramatically over time and we no longer have to physically hang up a receiver to finish a call, this application continues to be used extensively in modern English. * receiver = the part of the telephone that you speak into and sound comes out of. In addition to just ending a phone call, 'hang up' develops a more negative connotation when the additional preposition ' on ' is used with it. If you hang up on someone, it means that you end a call abruptly, usually without saying goodbye and without the other person expecting it. This is often done out of anger or frustration with the person to whom the speaker is talking and can also be considered rude or insulting by the person who has been hung up on . Grammatically speaking, it is possible to use this application of 'hang up' separably, however it is more common for native speakers to say " hang up the phone " than " hang the phone up ". This is even more the case with the additional 'hang up on variant'. This number is not recognised. Please hang up the phone and try again. I need to speak to you, please don't hang up! How rude! John has just hung up on me in the middle of our conversation. Sorry, I didn't mean to hang up on you. MEANING 3: To stop doing an activity Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potental synonyms To retire Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'hang up' is an informal one that means 'to retire from, or stop doing, an activity that you do regularly'. This usage is typical for talking about sports or physical activities that someone regularly does and for the meaning to be realised, the word for a garment or accessory that is associated with the sport or activity in question is required after 'hang up'. For example, if a football player goes into retirement, you can say that " he or she has hung up their football boots ". The same can be said for dancing shoes for ballerinas, boxing gloves for boxers and wetsuits for surfers. The idea here is that the person who is retiring hangs up the accessory for the last time (presumably on a hook) and will not use it again. After a successful career spanning more than 30 years, the jockey has decided to hang up his riding boots. The drummer hung up his drumsticks a few years ago as he wanted to concentrate on different things. I don't think Helen will ever hang up her nurses uniform. She just loves being a nurse too much. MEANING 4: To have emotional problems Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be preooccupied with Separable? No The fourth and final meaning of 'hang up' means 'to have an emotional or psychological preoccupation with something'. For this usage, we need the passive construction 'to be hung up on something', with the additional preposition ' on '. If you are 'hung up on something', it means that you spend a lot of time worrying or thinking about a certain thing, usually in a negative way. It is also possible to be hung up on someone and this is normally always romantic or sexual in nature. An alternative to 'to be hung up on something' is 'to be hung up about something'. John is completely hung up on perfection and getting every detail correct. Don't get hung up on the future. Whatever happens will happen. I went out on a date with Helen last night, but it appears that she is still hung up on her ex. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To have a hang-up about something If you are hung up on or about a certain thing and have worries about it, it can also be said that you have a 'hang-up' about it. A hang-up is an informal noun to describe when you have a preoccupation or problem that makes you feel embarrassed, stressed or worried about a certain thing. It is also used in the plural form 'hang-ups' and this can either mean that the person has one recurring problem or several. Roger has a severe hang-up about his age. He's worried that he's getting too old to be a parent. Why do you have so many hang-ups about your body? You look really good! Photo: Pexels BONUS: A song to end the post Lastly, before I finish the post, here is a song that you may know by Madonna that features a couple of different ways to use 'hang up'....can you identify them? 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 'hang 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 'hang 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 'give 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 is a post about the super common phrasal verb 'give up'. I imagine that many of you will already be familiar with this phrasal verb from its links with stopping smoking etc, however there is a lot more to it than that. In this post, I will guide you through its different meanings and provide you with lots of different examples to aid your understanding and learning. So, without further ado, let's make a start. TABLE OF CONTENTS (click to jump to each one) Give Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'give' and 'up' Give Up - Meaning 1: To surrender something Give Up - Meaning 2: To stop doing something Give Up - Meaning 3: To stop trying to do something Give Up - Meaning 4: To abandon hope Give Up - Meaning 5: To surrender to the police Give Up - Bonus: To give it up for.... 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 GIVE UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Separable? Yes Past tense forms Gave up / Given up As per usual in each post on Phrasal Verbs Explained, we'll start by looking at the individual words that make up the phrasal verb 'give up'. Firstly, we have the common verb 'to give', which means to freely or willingly offer or provide something to someone. Implicit in the meaning of the verb 'to give' is that the person who gives no longer has something or is without something once the action is complete. This is an idea that will recur in the idiomatic meanings that we will look at in this post, so it is worth remembering this. My fiancé gave me a diamond ring and asked me to marry him. No, I don't have your key. I gave it to you. Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'up', which primarily means a movement in the direction away from the ground or towards a higher position. When used in phrasal verbs, 'up' can also carry abstract meanings such as completion, readiness and improvement, among other things. So, now that we have considered the word themselves, let's dive into the figurative meanings of the phrasal verb 'give up'... MEANING 1: To surrender something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere ​Potential synonyms To relinquish, to renounce, to cede, to hand over, to sign away, to part with Separable? Yes Normally on this blog, I like to start by considering the literal meaning of the combination of the two words (if one exists). As you can imagine though, the combination of the meanings of the words 'give' and 'up' does not really provide us with a very concrete meaning that is applicable to our daily lives in the modern world. However, if we take a look into the past, then the literal meaning of 'give up' becomes much clearer.... Let's go back in time to the Middle Ages and consider the life of a typical farmer in Northern Europe. At this time, a strict social hierarchy existed, with three social classes: the upper class or nobles at the top, the middle class with doctors and merchants etc in the middle and the lower class or peasants at the bottom. This latter class is the one in which a farmer would have fallen into. Work on the farms was very tough and farmers worked long hours all year to grow crops until harvest time, when they had to surrender a large proportion of their hard earned produce to the landowners. In other words, they had to GIVE the crops to the higher classes, which in the social hierarchy, is very much in the direction UP and this is potentially how the phrasal verb 'give up' came to mean 'to surrender something'. If we fast forward back to the present day, we no longer use 'give up' to talk about surrendering something to a higher power, but rather when we decide to surrender something in general. In other words, we decide that we do not want to (or cannot) own something anymore and therefore make it available for other people, regardless of their position in the social hierarchy. This meaning is often (but not always) used when we give something up against our will i.e. when we do not want to part with it but we must for some reason. Often, the nouns that we use with this application of 'give up' are for things that are very important to us, such as houses, jobs and even children. For this reason, it can often convey a negative and strong feeling. I had to give up my house when I lost my job as I could no longer afford the mortgage repayments. Janet was only 15 years old when she fell pregnant and had to give her baby up as she was not in a position to be able to care for it. When we moved into our new apartment there was a no pets police, so sadly we had to give our cats up. Helen gave up her job to look after her sick mother. It is worth remembering that the focus of this usage is not that we are giving something to another person (in the sense of the verb 'to give'), but rather the idea that we no longer have something because we surrendered it or let somebody else have it. Another noteworthy noun that is often used with this application of 'give up' is 'time'. People say that they give up their time when they agree to either spend it doing something for another person or doing something they do not want to do. I choose to give up my time at weekends to help out at my church. Sarah gave up her Saturday mornings to teach her friend's son French. On a grammatical note, it is very common for native speakers to use 'give up' separably in this context, however it should be noted that there is no change in meaning if used separably or inseparably; it is purely personal choice. Have you ever had to give up anything against your will? Tell me in the comments here . MEANING 2: To stop doing something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To quit, to stop, to eschew Separable? Yes In the previous section, I explained how 'give up' can mean 'to stop owning or having something' and for this second usage, we will continue with this theme of stopping. This next meaning of 'give up' is probably the most commonly used by native speakers and it is 'to stop doing something that you regularly do in your life i.e. a habit'. This is often a permanent stop, but can equally refer to a temporary pause of a habit for a limited period of time. Actions commonly used with this application.... Smoking Eating meat Drinking alcohol Gambling Photo: Pexels This application of 'give up' is perhaps most commonly used when someone stops smoking (they give up smoking), but you are also likely to hear it with regard to stopping other long-term habits, for example when a person becomes vegetarian (they give up eating meat) or decides to stop drinking alcohol (they give up drinking). I've been trying to give up smoking for 3 months but I've not succeeded yet. The doctor told me I need to give up drinking alcohol. John gave up eating bread and lost a lot of weight. You may have noticed in the examples above that this usage of 'give up' is followed by a gerund, so make sure you avoid using the infinitive 'to' here as this is incorrect. An alternative to the gerund is to use the noun of the action that you are 'giving up' e.g. "I am giving up meat" or "I am giving up cigarettes". I gave up meat and dairy products and became vegan a while back but I really miss cheese. My mum had to give up her job in order to care for my elderly grandparents. BONUS INFORMATION Staying on the subject of giving up  a job or a career, we use the expression " don't give up your day job " when we want to say to someone that they are not very good at something in a humorous way. This is normally used to criticise someone in a friendly, joking manner and not normally said to cause offence. Check out the video below to hear it in use! Have you given up anything recently? Let me know in the comments section here . MEANING 3: To stop trying to do something Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop trying, to lose heart, to call it a day Separable? No As you will all know, learning a language can be difficult and many people who start learning with the best of intentions decide to stop learning once they realise how hard it is, or in other words they give it up. That is because the third meaning of 'give up' that we will look at in this post is 'to stop trying to do something'....that's right, another meaning involving the idea of stopping something. To further illustrate this, here is another example for you: Imagine that your car breaks down and instead of calling a mechanic to repair it, you decide that you will repair it yourself. After looking at the engine for an hour to try and understand what the problem is, you decide that you cannot do it and call the mechanic. In other words, you gave up trying to fix the problem. The example above is typical of how this usage of 'give up' is used in everyday English, especially because we often use it when we give up trying to do something because we do not think that we can do it. This can often be when we are trying something new or learning how to do something and we find it too difficult, so we give it up. Moreover, another time that this is used is when we are doing something and it becomes difficult due to unforeseen problems or issues. I started learning Turkish last month but I gave up when I realised how difficult it was! Despite encountering many problems, my Mum didn't give up trying to build her business and it is now doing really well. My cat is really disobedient. I tried to teach him to follow basic commands but he completely ignored me and in the end I gave up trying. Lucy started an IT course at her local college but she gave it up as she didn't have enough time to study for it. Come on, you can't give up now. You've done so well and you're nearly at the end of the course! BONUS INFORMATION If you are ever in a situation in an English conversation in which you need to guess the answer to something, the correct way to say that you do not know or that you do not have any more guesses is to say "I give up". This will then signify to the other person that you want to stop trying to guess and they will then (normally) tell you the answer. MEANING 4: To abandon hope Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To despair, to admit defeat Separable? No As you will have noticed, there is a theme of 'stopping' running across the different meanings of 'give up' and this fourth meaning is no different to the others! In this case however, we are talking specifically about stopping or abandoning hope about something. The thing that distinguishes this from the previous three usages is that for this one we need the extra preposition 'on' in order to convey our message, giving us the construction 'to give up on something'. We use this particular construction when we stop hoping that a particular situation is going to change or improve. Consequently, this can mean that we also stop any efforts that we have been making to improve the situation and this can often be inferred in the meaning, (depending on the context). Typical situations in which native speakers use 'give up on' are romantic relationships that are not working, people that they are trying to help without success, plans that are not succeeding and ideas and plans for the future that they decide not to follow up. I had given up on the money that my friend owed me, so I was pleasantly surprised when he paid it to me. Roger fell into some bad ways as a teenager but his mother never gave up on him. I've given up on the idea of becoming a teacher as I don't think it is right career for me. IDIOM ALERT! Before we reach the end of this post, I want to make you aware of the English idiom 'to give up the ghost'. This is a fairly common expression in English which dates back hundreds of years and means to stop working or to die. It is normally used to talk about machines and equipment which stop functioning. If this is used for humans, it is usually used when you stop trying to do something because you realise that it will not be successful. My laptop has given up the ghost and I am need to go and buy a new one! I no longer had the desire or the money to continue my art project, so I simply gave up the ghost on it. One final thing to note here is that the expression "I give up" is often used by native speakers as a way of saying that we are frustrated with an unchanging situation or that we have lost hope about something (it could also be said when face palming or throwing your hands up in the air for added effect 😉). This can range from something that is mildly annoying to something very serious. MEANING 5: To surrender to the police Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To surrender, to hand oneself in, to give oneself in Separable? Yes - with a reflexive pronoun We have now arrived at our fifth and final usage of 'give up', which brings us full circle to the beginning again as it is 'to surrender yourself to the police or authorities for a crime that you have committed'. This application is used specifically for when a person willingly goes to the police station to say " it was me, I committed the crime " or it could alternatively be used when a person allows themselves to be arrested by the police. For this usage, the relevant reflexive pronoun (myself, himself etc.) needs to be used between 'give' and 'up' and the additional preposition 'to' is required before 'the police'. The bank robbers gave themselves up to the police after they realised that they could not evade capture for much longer. You need to go to the police and give yourself up! The hijacker refused to give himself up and remained in the building with the hostages for several days. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Please give it up for.... One extra usage of 'give up' that I want to make you aware of is "to give it up for someone", which is a spoken request to a group of people to show their appreciation for someone by clapping, cheering etc. Don't forget to use it with the word 'please' 😜. Would you please give it up for [insert singer or group name] Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on it and reading it. I hope that you found it useful and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'give up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it with your English-learning friends. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'go on' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. 'Go on' is a really common phrasal verb in English. and we use it in a lot of different ways. During my research for the post I realised just how many uses that it has, so it is no surprise that it is one of the most common phrasal verbs in everyday use in the English language. This is a long post, so please stick with it and hopefully you will learn some new ways to use this versatile little construction. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Go On - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'go' and 'on' Go On - Meaning 1: Literal Go On - Bonus: Going on stage or on a sports field Go On - Meaning 2: To continue Go On - Bonus: The imperative 'go on!' Go On - Meaning 3: To happen Go On - Meaning 4: To talk a lot Go On - Bonus: To go on at someone Go On - Meaning 5: To pass (time) Go On - Meaning 6: To start working Go On - Bonus: A couple of additional uses I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GO ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 9 Past tense forms Went on / Gone on Separable? No To begin with, let's take a look at the words which make up the phrasal verb 'go on', as this can often provide valuable insight into the more abstract and figurative meanings of a phrasal verb. Firstly, we have the super common verb 'to go', meaning to travel or move to another place. In addition to it's main usage denoting movement, 'to go' can also be used to mean to leave, to change state and to suit something, among many others. In addition, we also use the verb 'to go' to form the 'going to' future tense. Besides its large number of meanings and functions in English, it is worth noting that 'to go' is one of the most irregular verbs in the English language. I am going to Spain tomorrow. Who is going to the party? This bus goes from Edinburgh to Glasgow. It's time for me to go home now. Sue went crazy when she saw the mess in her kitchen. That coat goes well with your shoes. Then, we have the preposition 'on', which, when used as an adverb and preposition, means to be physically in contact and supported by something. In phrasal verb constructions, 'on' can add various different meanings and nuances and these include continuation ( carry on ), progress (move on), motivation (cheer on) and connection (turn on). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the real reason that you are here, which is the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'go on'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To get on, to travel on, to ride Separable? No For the first meaning of 'go on' in this post, we are focussing on the literal meaning that we get when we combine these two words, which is to travel to a place whilst being on something, e.g. a bus or train. Nous commonly used with application.... Bus / Train / Airplane Fairground ride / Roller coaster Diet Internet / Website / Radio / TV Journey / Trip Holiday / Vacation / Sabbatical This literal application of 'go on' is used specifically to talk about being 'on' something as it moves from one place to another. This may be a form of public transport like a bus or an air plane (not a car though as we travel in a car), or it can also be used for something that moves but does not travel to a different place such as a fairground ride or a roller coaster. The kids were excited to go on the boat trip. John isn't driving to work tomorrow; he is going on the train instead. We went on the roller coaster even though it looked scary. I don’t think I’ll go on the Ferris wheel—I’m afraid of heights. GO ON vs GET ON You should note that when talking about a physical movement to an end point or destination that is on something, we use 'get on' to describe this transitional action. Consider the examples below: My car has broken down , so I have to go on the bus to work tomorrow. I have broken my leg, so I found it very difficult to get on the bus. In the first example 'go on' is used as the person is talking about travelling on the bus for the entire journey from their home to their work. In the second option 'get on' is needed as the person is referring to the physical movement from the street onto the bus. We tend to use 'go on' to refer to the state of being on something, rather than the movement from the ground on to it. We can also use this literal application of 'go on' for nouns that do not move but for which we use 'on', such as the radio, television, the internet. The charity workers are going on local radio to promote their next event. I remember the first time I went on this website. Additionally, it should be noted that 'go on' is often also used to talk about a change of state or to start an activity e.g. 'to go on a diet' or 'to go on holiday'. That's it, I've put on too much weight, so I am going on a diet after Christmas. When do you go on holiday to Portugal? My grandparents go on a day trip to the south coast every year. We are going on a journey tomorrow. Photo: Pexels GOING ON STAGE OR ON A SPORTS FIELD There are a couple of specific situations in which 'go on' is used literally by native speakers and the meaning of this is often derived from the context. The first means to go on to a stage to begin a performance, so it is used to talk about actors, musicians, comedians or anyone giving a performance on a stage. This is used specifically for when someone's performance begins and not for when someone just walks onto a stage for non-performance purposes. Whilst you can use the full expression 'go on stage', when the context is known, it is possible to drop the word 'stage', leaving just 'go on. I go on in 5 minutes, so I don't have time to talk. What time do you go on this afternoon? The second situation is when a sports player goes on to a field in order to start playing a game. This is more common when they join after the game has started in order to replace another team member, as a substitute. This is commonly used with team games such as football, rugby and American football. The substitute striker went on in the 88th minute and scored the winning goal. MEANING 2: To continue Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To continue, to keep on, to keep going, to persist, to carry on Separable? No The first idiomatic usage of 'go on' in this post is one of the most common usages that we will look at and means 'to continue'. Sometimes, this can be to talk about a state or specific action which continues in the same way as before, without specifying what the state or action is. In these cases we often add the words 'in this way' or 'like this/that' after 'go on'. I haven't had a job for several months now. I can't go on like this for much longer! How much longer do you think we can go on in this way? The people are in a desperate situation and they cannot go on like that for much longer. After a short break, the meeting went on as planned. Alternatively, it is also very common to specify what the action is that will continue. This is often, but not always, after a temporary pause in the action. On a grammatical note, when stating the action that is continuing, you need to use the 'ing' progressive form when it is a verb. If the thing that is continuing is a noun, we need the additional preposition 'with'. I intend to go on learning Mandarin until I am completely fluent. Are you just going to go on working there for the rest of your life? I've injured my knee and I need to rest but I intend to go on running when it is better. Please go on with your story; I want to hear what happens next. He paused for a moment, then went on speaking. The teacher went on with her explanation, even though some students looked confused. Photo: Pexels THE IMPERATIVE 'GO ON!' 'Go on' is commonly used as an imperative to ask someone to continue what they are saying, especially if the person pauses what they are saying temporarily or if they are taking a long time to say it and the other person is impatient to hear the information. Moreover, 'go on!' is also used extremely commonly by native speakers as a way of encouraging someone to do something, particularly if the other person expresses doubts or is reluctant in some way. MEANING 3: To happen Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To happen, to take place Separable? No This next meaning of 'go on' means 'to happen' or 'to take place' and is really commonly used, so I am sure that you will have heard it many times in conversations. This usage of 'go on' is often used in the progressive or continuous form, however it is also possible to use it with simple and perfect aspect tenses. Moreover, I think that this version of 'go on' is used most commonly in question form. From my own personal perspective, I think we tend to use 'going on' a lot more when we are describing a present situation that is in progress, whereas we tend to use 'happen' more to talk about future plans or something that happened in the past. This isn't a set rule though and we frequently do use happen and 'go on' interchangeably in all of these situations. What's going on here? This place is a mess, what has been going on? I'm not sure what is going on outside but it doesn't sound good. A lot has gone on since you left. I have no idea what’s going on in that meeting. Strange things went on in that abandoned house. There’s always something exciting going on in the city. A huge argument went on between them last night. Nobody knew what was really going on behind the scenes. There’s a festival going on downtown this weekend. One last point to note here is that in informal American English, 'what's going on?' is often used as informal greeting, particularly among young people and means 'how are you?' or 'how are things?'. MEANING 4: To talk a lot Photo: Pexel ​CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To ramble, to prattle, to babble, to harp on, to bang on Separable? No For this fourth usage of 'go on', we are looking specifically at a usage which is very common in British English and means to to talk a lot, especially if the person is talking about one particular subject which happens to be quite boring. If we want to say that the person talks a lot in a dull or boring way in general as part of their character, we can just say that the person 'goes on', which expresses this feeling very neatly. If the person talks about a particular subject that is boring, then we need the additional preposition 'about + the subject'. If you want to add extra emphasis to how boring the person is, we can repeat the word 'on' ad infinitum , however an extra one or two times is normal. I, personally, tend to use this verb to describe a conversation where the person talks so much that it is not enjoyable and all you want is for it to stop. Gosh! Professor Smith goes on in his lectures, doesn't he! My Dad was going on about politics again last night. Helen was going on and on and on about her new boyfriend and i couldn't get a word in edgeways.* Trevor just goes on and on about his new car; I’m so tired of hearing about it! Sally went on for hours about her vacation in Mexico. I wish Dan wouldn’t go on so much. My parents went on about politics until everyone else in the family was bored. My sister constantly goes on about her problems but never listens to mine. Pete went on at length about his childhood memories. My boss goes on forever in meetings, making them so long. * To not be able to get a word in edgeways is an idiom to mean that you cannot say anything during a conversation as the other person is talking too much. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To go on at someone 'To go on at someone' is a variation of this usage and is an informal way to mean to repeatedly criticise someone or to complain to someone many times about the way that they behave (in an effort to change their behaviour). It is also possible to repeat the word 'on' here for added emphasis. Again, this usage is mainly British. Lisa's keeps going on at her children to tidy up the house but she doesn't ever tidy it up herself. Our parents have been going on and on and on at us for months about when we are going to get married. MEANING 5: To pass (time) Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere ​Potential synonyms To pass, to go by, to wear on Separable? No Our fifth meaning of 'go on' is perhaps a variation of the second meaning that we looked at, i.e. to continue, however in this particular usage, we are concerned primarily with time , or more specifically, the passing of time. This form is often preceded in sentences with the word 'as' + the time reference. As the morning went on, the rain started letting up . The night went on, and the party got even livelier. There is no reason why the TV show continues to do so well as the years go on. As the years went on, they became close friends. As time goes on, you’ll start to feel better. The weeks went on, but we still hadn’t heard any news. Apart from time, we are also able to use this form of 'go on' with other nouns that describe something that happens over a period of time. This is often used when something lasts for a long period of time or for longer than it was expected to and can often be negative in nature, often inferring that the person was bored or wanted it to finish sooner. As the meeting went on, I became more and more tired. Quite a lot of people left the conference as it went on. The movie went on for nearly three hours! The meeting went on for much longer than expected. The father of the bride's speech went on and on and I think most people had lost interest in it by the time he had finished. MEANING 6: To start working Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come on, to turn on Separable? No So, moving on to our sixth meaning now....well done if you have made it this far! This next meaning of 'go on' is used particularly with electrical appliances and devices and simply means that they turn on, start working or become operational. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Light Heating Air conditioning Washing machine Appliance / Machine This is often (but not always) when they start working without human intervention e.g. automatically or from a timer. If we want to say that a person caused the device to start working, we tend to use 'turn on' more. In winter, the lights go on at 5pm every evening. The washing machine goes on every night as it is cheaper than during the daytime. The streetlights go on automatically at dusk. The heater went on as soon as the temperature dropped. As soon as I flipped the switch, the lights went on. The air conditioning goes on every morning at 9 AM. When the power came back, all the appliances went on at once. BONUS: A couple of extra specific uses of 'go on' Do you think you have room in your brain for a few more uses of 'go on'? There are some other usages of 'go on' that I want to make you aware of. These are quite limited in their scope and so I don't think they need entire sections to themselves but definitely ones that you may come across in your interactions with English speakers. The first meaning is to do with information and if you have enough of it to be able to make a decision or take action about something. If we have a lot of information in order to make a decision we would say " we have a lot to go on " and if we do not have much information, we might say " we don't have much to go on ". Alternatively, we can use this when we are trying to work something out based on evidence or available information. The police didn't have much to go on but they arrested the suspected murderer nevertheless. Is that all of the information that we have to go on? There's a lot to go on here, so we should be able to come up with an answer once we have considered it all. The next meaning involves adding the extra preposition 'to', to give 'to go on to', which is used to talk about something that a person did after doing something else. This is often used to talk about people's careers or different achievements and accomplishments in their lives. It can also be used to talk about when people go to a second destination after they have been somewhere else first. After finishing his Masters degree in English, John went on to teach at his local university. We are going to Greece for a week and then going on to Italy for an extra few days to see friends The third and final additional meaning (and final meaning in this post) is used to talk about people's ages, especially when they act a lot older than they are in reality. For example, if someone talks about how old their child is, they might say " she's 10, going on 20 ", to mean that she acts a lot more like an adult than a normal 10-year old. This usage is always used in the 'ing' progressive form. My son is three years old going on thirty. We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'go on'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END