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An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'keep up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Wix Media 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. 'Keep up' is a phrasal verb that I have wanted to write about on here for a long time as it is a really commonly used one in everyday English. Therefore, if you can learn to use it, you will definitely impress your English-speaking friends and colleagues. In this post, I will explain the different meanings that 'keep up' has and you give you lots of example sentences for each one to show you the kinds of contexts in which to use it. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Keep Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'keep' and 'up' Keep Up - Meaning 1: To stop something from falling Keep Up - Meaning 2: To continue or maintain something Keep Up - Meaning 3: To move at the same speed Keep Up - Meaning 4: To stay updated about something Keep Up - Meaning 5: To make regular payments Keep Up - Meaning 6: To stop someone from going to bed Keep Up - Bonus: Common expressions featuring 'keep up' 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 KEEP UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Kept up / Kept up Separable? Sometimes If you have visited my website before, you will know that to begin each post I always look at the individual words that form a phrasal verb, so let's now take a look at the words 'keep' and 'up' and what they mean on their own. 'To keep' is a common irregular English verb which has two main meanings. The first of its meanings is 'to have possession of something' and can be used for anything that we receive and choose not to give or sell to other people. The other main meaning of 'to keep' is 'to continue something' and is often combined with other verbs in the continuous ('ing) form to specify the action being continued. Aside from these two meanings, the verb 'to keep' can also mean 'to own animals', 'to delay someone' and 'to stay fresh'. I don't want the book back; you can keep it. I promise to keep this safe until you come back. Why do you keep lying to me? My cat keeps bringing me mice from the garden. We keep pigs and sheep on the farm. What is keeping John? Why is he so late? This food won't keep if it is left outside the fridge. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'up', whose function in phrasal verbs can often be to add the idea of an upwards direction or increase to the base verb ( go up , get up ). In addition to that, 'up' can also introduce different ideas to phrasal verbs like completion (use up), appearance ( show up ) and resistance ( stand up ), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'keep up'.... MEANING 1: To stop something from falling Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To prop up, to hold up, to uphold, to buttress, to support Separable? Yes Let's start the meanings of 'keep up' with the one that is closest to the literal meaning of the two words 'keep' and 'up' combined and that is 'to stop something from falling'. For this application, we are taking the idea of continuation that we get from the verb 'to keep' and combining it with the idea of a high position that we get from the word 'up', creating the idea of not letting something fall or drop from the high position that it is in. Ben used a stick to keep up the collapsing tent. Lorraine held the ladder steady to keep Mike up while he fixed the gutter. The old shelf is barely kept up by a single rusty bracket. Cyril tried to keep up the sagging ceiling with a makeshift support beam. We stacked books underneath the bed frame to keep it up after one of the legs broke. Paul had to put on a belt in order to keep his loose trousers up. One particular use of this application that is worth mentioning here is to do with football (soccer) and is something that many players of the sport do as a practice exercise. When they bounce the ball continuously on their knees, head or other body part without letting the ball drop to the ground, we say that they are keeping the ball up. This particular activity even has its own (unimaginative) name, which is keepie uppie....look it up if you don't believe me! During one of his training sessions, Kevin managed to keep the ball up for three minutes without dropping it. MEANING 2: To continue or maintain something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To continue, to maintain, to sustain, to uphold, to perpetuate Separable? Yes The second application of 'keep up' that we will cover in the post is a continuation of the first one that we just covered and coincidentally means 'to continue or maintain something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Quality Spirits Strength Effort Morale Weather Traditions In the previous section, we looked at how we can use 'keep up' to refer to making physical objects stay in a high position. Now, we turn our focus to more abstract or non-physical nouns like levels, numbers or figures and keeping these high These levels may be something measurable, like prices or numerical values, or they may be something like 'effort' or 'quality', which are based on judgment rather than values (when high means good). By ensuring that a level of something remains high, we arrive at this idea of continuation. Please note that we only tend to use 'keep up' in this way with nouns and not verbs. If you want to express a continuing verb action, then the phrasal verb 'keep on' (link here ) would possibly be used instead. Sue worked overtime to keep up her income after losing a client. They raised interest rates to keep up the value of the currency. We launched a new campaign to keep sales up during the off-season. Keep up the good work! Some common nouns that are used with this particular application are 'strength', 'morale' and 'spirits'. For example, if you are running a marathon, you may take an energy drink with you to keep up your strength over the 26-mile course. Likewise, if you are in a good mood on a Sunday evening, you may listen to some music to keep your spirits up and not allow your mood to drop as Monday morning gets closer (we all know that feeling!). Lastly, it is essential that soldiers fighting in a war keep their morale (mood) up as a group. The government introduced new policies to keep up public morale during the crisis. Despite the bad reviews, the company tried to keep up its reputation. You need to keep your strength up, so drink this. He struggled to keep up his enthusiasm after so many setbacks. We spent the evening with Kath to keep her spirits up. Moreover, this application of 'keep up' can also simply be used to mean 'to continue something that has already been started', not always with a specific emphasis on a continuation of a high level or quality. Many green-fingered people also enjoy keeping up their gardens. I started learning Portuguese but I didn't keep it up as I found it difficult. Lisa is sure to keep her diet up as she wants to lose weight before her holiday in August. Gladys and Beryl have kept up their gardens ever since their husbands died last year. It is hard to keep up the maintenance of the building when you have a full time job and children to look after. Lastly, we can also use 'keep up' in this way to talk about things continuing which are outside of our control, such as the weather and other people's behaviour. If the snow keeps up, we will have to leave soon to make sure we get home. The neighbour's dog kept up it's barking last night and I couldn't sleep. MEANING 3: To move at the same speed Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To match, to compete, to contend, to vie with, to equal, to keep pace with Separable? No We now move on to our third meaning of 'keep up', which is probably the most common of all of its meanings: 'to move at the same speed as someone or something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Car Person Conversation Emails Workload Progress This application of 'keep up' is, at its core, all about two or more people or things which are moving in the same direction or following the same path. One of them is the leader or the one in control of the movement in some way; the other are the people or things trying to maintain the same speed and it is from their perspective that we use 'keep up' here. Note that for this application that we require the additional preposition 'with' to specify the name of the person or thing in the lead or in control of the movement. If you keep up with someone or something, you stay at the same level as them or equal to them. As you can imagine, this application is often used to refer to walking, driving, running and races of all types. Rebecca walks so fast that I find it difficult to keep up with her. The younger soccer players struggled to keep up with the pace of the game. You’ll have to walk faster if you want to keep up; I'm not going to slow down. My old car couldn’t keep up with the others on the highway. Pete trains every day to keep up with the rest of the team. I was running as fast as I could, but I couldn’t keep up with Tony. Even on his bike, Wayne couldn’t keep up with the speeding truck. We do not just use 'keep up' in this way to talk about physical movement however. You can also hear it in reference to nouns for things that we need to follow and respond to in order to always be up to date or have all of the latest information, like 'workload', 'emails' and 'conversations'. For these things, the emails, workload or conversation are the things that are progressing and so we use 'keep up' in the exact same way to talk about staying at the same pace as them and not falling behind. It's hard to keep up with all the emails I get every day. Elisabeta couldn't keep up with the English conversation because they were talking too fast. The office had to hire more staff to help keep up with the increasing workload. Suzanne struggled to keep up with the demands of her new job. It’s difficult to keep up with everything when you’re juggling work and family. KEEP UP! Lastly, if you are not following a conversation closely and you miss important information, your fellow interlocutors may tell you to 'keep up!' once they realise that you have not been following what they have been saying. MEANING 4: To stay updated about something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stay up to date, to compete Separable? No One thing that is certain in life is that things are constantly changing and nothing ever stays the same; whether that be on a worldwide scale or in the small details of our daily lives. In order to talk about staying ahead of these changes, we need a verb. This is where our fourth meaning of 'keep up' comes in as it means 'to stay updated about something'. Just as we talked about using 'keep up' to refer to moving at the same pace as things like emails and conversations, we can also use it for anything that changes or develops over time, which we are not always directly involved in. On a large scale, if we keep up with the news, we are always aware of the latest developments on a national or international level. Likewise, someone who keeps up with technology will always have the most modern equipment and will understand how it works. You can use this for anything that changes over time though, for example older people often find it difficult to keep up with changes in language, social trends and fashion, whilst many people are not able to keep up with changes in law and legislation in their countries. I always try to keep up with the latest tech trends by reading industry blogs. It's hard to keep up with all the new features they add every month. Liz keeps up with current events by watching the news every morning. To keep up with your studies, you should review your notes daily. Joe subscribes to newsletters to keep up with developments in artificial intelligence. We've launched a podcast to help professionals keep up with changes in their field. Are you keeping up with the latest updates on the trial? I find it challenging to keep up with social media these days. I can't keep up with all the new slang my kids are using. When considering things on a smaller scale, we can often use this application of 'keep up' to talk about staying updated on all of the changes that happen in the lives of our friends and family members. I can't keep up with Sandy and all her boyfriends; she seems to have a new one every week! I've been keeping up with what they have been doing on holiday on social media. Alternatively, if you work for a business in a specific field of industry, you will undoubtedly have competitors in the market and it is a key objective of all businesses to at least keep up with their competitors (or hopefully get ahead of them) and ensure that the are ahead of the pack. Keeping up with the competition requires constant innovation. If you don't keep up with your competitors, you will immediately be at a disadvantage. MEANING 5: To make regular payments Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To maintain Separable? Yes Our next meaning of 'keep up' is a more specific one and means 'to make regular payments'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Credit card Mortgage Rent Loan Debt For this one, we are primarily concerned with situations in which we commit to a payment agreement such as credit and must therefore make regular payments over a period of time to pay this credit amount off. If you keep up with the payments, it means that you make your regular payments at the required time and do make late payments or miss them completely. On a grammatical level, we require the additional preposition 'with' again here to specify the financial agreement or debt. This is a separable usage, however it is used more commonly in an inseparable way. Note that if you do use it separably, the word 'payment' (or similar) should be included along with the finance type e.g. 'mortgage payment' and the preposition 'with' is then not required. It's been tough, but I've managed to keep up with my mortgage payments. If you don’t keep up with your credit card bills, you’ll get charged interest. Fiona is struggling to keep up with her student loan repayments. They warned him that if he couldn't keep up with the rent, he might be evicted. He works two jobs just to keep up with his car payments. You need to keep up with your insurance premiums to stay covered. They were unable to keep the monthly payments up on the loan. We need to budget better if we want to keep up with all our bills. What happens if I can't keep my mortgage repayments up? As long as you keep up with the payments, your account will remain in good standing. MEANING 6: To stop someone from going to bed Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To keep awake Separable? Yes We have now reached our sixth and final meaning of 'keep up' and this one is all about bed and sleep as it means 'to stop someone from going to bed'. The word 'up' has many different uses and meanings in English depending on the context and one quite common usage is when we use it as an adverb to mean 'not in bed'. For example, a friend called me by accident at 7am last week but it was not a problem as I was already up and having breakfast, i.e. I wasn't still in bed sleeping. When we combine this idea with the verb 'to keep' meaning 'to continue', we arrive at the idea of stopping someone from going to bed so that they continue to be 'up'. This may be because you have a small baby who is crying and won't sleep, guests at your house who stay later than you hoped or because your teenage son or daughter is out late and you want to wait for them to get home before going to bed. In addition to preventing someone from going to bed, we can also use 'keep up' in this way to talk about stopping someone from sleeping, especially if it is due to noise, worry or stress. On a grammatical level, this application is almost always used separably with the person who stays up going between 'keep' and 'up' either as a name or a pronoun. Don't forget that this usage is transitive and something always has to keep a person up normally against their wishes. If the person chooses not to go to bed, we would use 'stay up' instead. The noise from the party next door kept me up all night. Sorry if I kept you up with my late-night phone call. The baby’s crying kept the new parents up for hours. I didn’t mean to keep you up; go and get some rest. The thunderstorm kept me up until 3 a.m. That scary movie really kept me up last night. I hate to keep you up, but can we talk for a few more minutes? The excitement of the trip kept the kids up way past bedtime. Paul was kept up by anxiety about his big interview the next day. The bright streetlights outside our window kept us up all night. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Common Expressions Featuring 'Keep Up' We have almost finished our exploration of the phrasal verb 'keep up' and there are just a couple of expressions that I want to make you aware of before the end.... Keeping up with the Joneses - This rather strange sounding expression is one that is used fairly commonly to talk about when people compete with one another to always have the most modern equipment and cars etc in order to be better than the other people in your neighbourhood or group of friends. John and Sandra didn’t really need a new car, but they bought one anyway just to keep up with the Joneses as their neighbours have just bought one. Keeping up with the Joneses has left the Smith family drowning in debt. Keeping up appearances - This expression is used to talk about people who pretend that they are happy in front of other people or that everything is normal when that is not the case. In other words, they do not want to show others how sad they really are or how bad their situation in life really is. Even though they were struggling financially, the Smith family kept up appearances by hosting lavish dinners. Lisa was heartbroken after the divorce, but she kept up appearances at work, smiling and pretending that nothing had happened. Keep your chin up! - If someone tells you to 'keep your chin up", what they actually mean is 'to stay happy or cheerful', typically when the situation is unpleasant or difficult. It is a statement of support of the person, acknowledging that are experiencing a hard time. Keep your chin up; everyone believes in you, and you’re stronger than you think. Marie told me to keep my chin up after I didn’t get the job I really wanted. 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 'keep 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 'keep 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 out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. Are you already familiar with the phrasal verb 'give out'? Even if you are, it may surprise you that it can be used in English in no less than 6 different ways! In this post, we will examine the different ways to use it in English, from commonly meanings such as distributing something by hand to the less common and regional meaning of reprimanding someone. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Give Out - The Basics: Key information and the words 'give' and 'out' Give Out - Meaning 1: To distribute by hand Give Out - Bonus Information: Giving out punishment Give Out - Meaning 2: To emit Give Out - Meaning 3: To stop functioning Give Out - Meaning 4: To be completely used up Give Out - Meaning 5: To broadcast Give Out - Meaning 6: To reprimand 🇮🇪 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 OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Gave out / Given out Separable? Sometimes Before we look at the different meanings of 'give out', it is a good idea to familiarise ourselves with the constituent words 'give' and 'out', as this can often apply some much needed logic to the phrasal verb's meanings. The verb 'to give' is one that you will definitely know already and primarily means to freely and willingly transfer the possession of something to another person. This is not the only meaning of 'to give' however and another of its meanings is 'to yield under pressure', which was historically used for people who owed money and only paid it back after being pressured (or threatened). Nowadays though it tends to be used more for the physical world around us for things that can bend or break when pressure is applied to them. Furthermore, another much less common meaning of 'to give' that is relevant for 'give out' is 'to produce a sound, especially from your mouth e.g. a cough or a sigh'. We then have the prepositional particle 'out', which is the natural opposite of the preposition 'in' and is used for external spaces and movement towards an external space from an internal one. Moreover, we can also use it to describe movement away from the speaker or the subject of the conversation. Aside from these key meanings, 'out' is a very diverse word and can be used as an adverb, adjective and verb for different purposes. So, now we have looked at the meanings of its component words, let's take a look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'give out'... MEANING 1: To distribute by hand Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To distribute, to hand out, to pass out, to pass around, to issue Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'give out' is to distribute something by hand and is normally used when talking about giving items to a group of people rather than to an individual. This first meaning is perhaps the closest to a literal meaning of 'give out' that we have as it describes the action of giving objects away other to people, with the idea that the items in question move away from the speaker as they are passed into the hands of the recipients. It is worth noting that the usage of 'give out' in this sense is more much specific than that of 'to give' as we only use 'give out' when we talk about passing items to people by hand. Also, in contrast to the verb 'to give', 'give out' does not necessarily mean that the recipient will own the new item as it may be just temporary, for example when safety glasses are given out to people on a factory visit. This application of 'give out' is frequently used with identical or similar items that are duplicated or mass produced for many people to use or consume, including paper documents, things to eat or drink or items of clothing. Another time that you will hear 'give out' used in this way in English is around Christmas when people talk about Santa Claus giving out presents to well-behaved children (in this case not by hand). With this meaning, the item that is given out to people is a direct object and can therefore be inserted between 'give' and 'out' or after them. At the beginning of the exam, the teacher gave out the wrong exam papers to the students. John, could you please give the textbooks out to the rest of the class. Free cakes are being given out outside the bakery. You'd best hurry though as they are almost all gone! Photo: Pexels BONUS: To give out punishment Another way that you may hear 'give out' in this sense is when talking about the issuing of punishments, penalties and fines. Although we often do not physically hand objects directly to people in this instance, 'give out' is still used to describe when these punitive sanctions are issued by an authority. The judge gave out a sentence of life imprisonment to the convicted felon. Teachers should only give out punishment when the student really deserves it. MEANING 2: To emit Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate ​Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To emit, to send forth, to discharge, to release Separable? Yes The second meaning of 'give out' that we will look at means 'to emit' and is used primarily with non-physical nouns that are detected by our senses, such as sound, light and smell. As a general rule, I would say that this meaning of 'give out' is used most commonly in everyday language to describe noises that we make with our voices such as screams, sighs and cries. Aside from this, we do also use 'give out' for other noises, smells, lights and gases that are emitted and produced and due to their nature, these can often feature in more conversations about more scientific and technical topics. As with most phrasal verbs though, 'give out' is slightly informal and so for very formal documents and scientific papers you are more likely to come across a synonym such as 'to emit'. On a grammatical note, 'give out' in this sense is separable, however we naturally do not tend to separate it very much. Helen gave out a squeal of joy when she realised that Roger had bought her a puppy for her birthday. The sun gives out an enormous amount of light, heat and energy every second. I bought a cheap pair of earbuds last week and I was really pleasantly surprised to discover that the sound that they give out is brilliant quality. Plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. MEANING 3: To stop functioning Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To break down, to fail, to collapse Separable? No The third meaning of 'give out' is 'to stop functioning' and can be used for both people and equipment alike. When talking about equipment and devices, we can use 'give out' to mean that something has stopped working and this is often (but not always) used when the malfunction is permanent and the equipment will not work again, for example because it is old or overused. You may hear this being used with such items as an engine, batteries and household devices. As I mentioned above, we can also use 'give out' in this way for people, however it is not used to talk about an entire person, but rather a specific body part such as internal organs or legs. In some cases, such as a heart or a liver, we will say that the internal organ 'gave out' and we infer directly from this that the person died as a result. When talking about other parts of the body e.g. legs, we know that the person probably didn't die as a consequence, but it may nevertheless have had some other negative ramification for them. This form of 'give out' is not separable and does not take a direct object and the device or body part in question is the subject. I had my car for 22 years before the engine finally gave out and I had to replace it. The batteries are about to give out on our remote control and will need changing soon. The doctor says that my grandfather doesn't have much time left until his heart gives out, but he refuses to accept it and carries on like he did before. John's legs gave out just before the finishing line of the 10km race and his friends had to help him finish. MEANING 4: To be completely used up Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To run out, to exhaust, to deplete Separable? No The fourth meaning of 'give out' is used to describe supplies of something and means 'to be completely used up or exhausted'. This sense is very similar to that of the phrasal verb 'run out' and if you want to refresh your memory on that, click here . As I mentioned above, this is used for supplies of something and so therefore is typically reserved for nouns for objects that we store and which can be depleted over time until we have none left such as grain, food, fresh water and gas. This is not the a particularly commonly used meaning of 'give out', however it does still exist in everyday English and therefore you may come across it somewhere. After three days of trekking through the jungle, our food gave out and we had to hunt for our own food for the remainder of the trip. The farmer doesn't expect his grain supplies to give out any time soon, but he always buys extra just in case. MEANING 5: To broadcast Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To broadcast, to make public Separable? Yes For the last two meanings of 'give out', we are going to be focusing on usages that are more specific to the British Isles and this fifth one, meaning 'to broadcast', is one that is primarily used in British English. In addition to this usage being localised to British English, it is also quite old-fashioned, however I want to make you aware of it as there are still some vestiges of it that continue to exist in modern English. So, the construction 'to give out that...' is a slightly archaic construction to mean 'to make something public' but we do not really use it much in that way anymore. We still do use 'give out' with nouns such as 'news' and 'information' though as a way of saying that they were communicated to people and in this sense this meaning still lives on in modern British English. Cheers of joy could be heard from every corner of the city when it was given out that the war had ended. I had to give out the terrible news that jobs were being cut in the business and that there would be redundancies. MEANING 6: To reprimand Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Irish English Potential synonyms To reprimand, to scold, to criticise, to complain Separable? No The sixth and final meaning of 'give out' that we will look at in this post is an informal Irish usage and means to reprimand, scold, criticise or complain to someone. As you can probably work out from the different meanings, it is generally associated with being angry or annoyed with another person and is frequently accompanied by the additional preposition ' to ' when specifying the recipient of the person's anger. My schoolteacher used to give out to me all the time for talking in class. Lisa's teenage daughter got home later last night and so she's been giving out to her about it all day. 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 'give out'. 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 out'. 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 around' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Wix Media 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 English phrasal verb 'turn around', which is one that you may know as it is used commonly by native speakers in everyday conversations. In the post, I will explain the different meanings that it has, including some useful applications of it to use in business English. Furthermore, I will give you lots of example sentences to show you the types of context in which this practical phrasal verb is used. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Turn Around - The Basics: Key information and the words turn' and 'around' Turn Around - Bonus: Is it 'turn around' or 'turn round'? Turn Around - Meaning 1: To rotate Turn Around - Meaning 2: To drastically improve something Turn Around - Meaning 3: To change the perspective of something Turn Around - Meaning 4: To supply or produce something Turn Around - Meaning 5: To prepare something for use Turn Around - Meaning 6: To quote what someone said or did Turn Around - Bonus: The noun 'turnaround' 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 AROUND: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Turned around / Turned around Separable? Yes The first step in our exploration of the phrasal verb 'turn around' will be to look at 'turn' and 'around' as individual words and consider they mean on their own. The verb 'to turn' is an extremely versatile word in English that can be used in many different ways and situations. It is perhaps used the most to talk about movement in a direction, either when this movement is circular or if there is a change in direction. Alternatively, we can also use 'to turn' to talk about changing something (often in phrasal verbs) and to flip something from one side to the other, among other things. The Earth turns on its axis at a very high speed. Carrie turned to face her mother. Turn right at the traffic lights. The weather is turning and winter is coming. Christine turned her back on her friends. The prepositional particle 'around' is not one that we see being used in phrasal verbs very often, especially when compared to particles like 'on' and 'up'. The particle 'around' is used as a preposition and adverb to denote different types of movement: in a circle, around the edge of something or moving to face the opposite direction. When used in phrasal verbs, 'around' can add ideas of movement in multiple directions or to different places (run around), wasting time (mess around), reversal (come around) and avoidance ( get around ), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the rather splendid phrasal verb 'turn around'.... Photo: Pexels BONUS: Is it 'turn around' or 'turn round'? As English learners, many of you may have noticed 'get round' being used as an alternative to 'get around'. It is possible therefore that you are wondering if there is any difference between the two forms and why some people use one and not the other? The simple answer is that there is no difference between them and you can use either of these. 'Get around' is used pretty much everywhere, however 'get round' is mainly used in British English...perhaps we are just too lazy to pronounce the extra 'a' here in the UK 🤷 MEANING 1: To rotate Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To rotate, to spin, to turn Separable? Yes Here we go then, let's start things off by considering the literal meaning of the combination of the words 'turn' and 'around' as outlined above, which is 'to rotate', or in other words 'to move in order to face a different direction'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Planets / Earth Records / Discs Cogs Wheel Furniture Car / Airplane Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about this application of 'turn around' is the Earth (unless you believe that the Earth is flat of course). Our lovely little planet is constantly turning around on its axis in a circular direction, giving us morning, afternoon, evening and night. Examples of other nouns for things that turn around are records and discs, food in microwaves, cogs, wheels and clock hands. My fan turned around slowly as it oscillated. The windmill turned around steadily in the fresh breeze. The clock's second hand turned around smoothly. Isaac's toy top turned around rapidly on the floor. John watched as the food turned around in the microwave as it cooked In addition to physical objects, we can also use 'turn around' to describe when people and animals rotate in a circular direction. Most of the time, we use it to refer to when they turn  in a half turn (180°) to face the opposite direction from the one that they were facing before. Moreover, it is also possible to hear it in reference to complete turns (360°) and anything else in between as long as there is some rotation and you are not facing the same way. as when you started. Beth heard a noise behind her and turned around. When I called Mike's name, he turned around and smiled. Bingo the dog turned around three times before lying down. I told Anthony to turn around and face the wall. As I walked past, Phil suddenly turned around and stared at me. The dancer turned around gracefully on stage. Turn around slowly; I want to see all of your outfit! For those among you who love your grammar, you may have noticed that in all of the example sentences so far, 'turn around' is used intransitively. In other words, the thing or person that is turning around is the subject and we are not stating who or what causes this spinning action. We can of course also use this application to talk about making or causing something to face a different direction. Typically, we do this when referring to household items and furniture that we can physically pick up and move so that they face a different direction. In addition, we use it for vehicles and modes of transport, however we when we do this, a movement in the opposite or return direction is also usually implied. Amanda turned the chair around to face the window. Carly turned the sign around so the message was visible. I turned the picture frame around because it was crooked. Malcolm turned the box around to read the label. At 9am, the shopkeeper turned the door sign around to display the word "open". They turned the table around in order to fit it better into the room. Lydia turned the mirror around to avoid looking into it. The driver turned the car around and went back home. The plane turned around shortly after take-off. If you kids do not stop arguing, I will turn the car around and we will head back home. MEANING 2: To drastically improve something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To improve, to rectify, to redress, to straighten out Separable? Yes Our second meaning of 'turn around' is 'to drastically improve something' and is one that you may often hear in both business and everyday English. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Business / Organisation Economy Life Game / Match To be able to understand this application a bit better, we need to use our imagination to think about how something progressing over time as a sort of journey. As with vehicles, which move in a direction towards a geographical direction, we can also imagine the progress of something moving over time towards an expected future result or outcome. If we change the direction of this movement so that a different result is expected, we can say that we '"turned it around". You should note that this is typically used when the result of something is completely changed from an expected negative outcome to an expected positive one. Most commonly, you will hear this application when talking about businesses, organisations and financial economies. If someone turns a business around, he or she makes changes to the business to reverse it's fortune, changing it from a company that is losing money or failing into a successful company that makes money. The new CEO turned the company around in just one year. Joe and Kathy hired a consultant to help turn around their declining sales. Charlotte turned the struggling restaurant around and made it profitable. We need a solid strategy to turn this project around. An emergency loan helped them turn the business around. Outside of the business world, this application of 'turn around' can be used for anything that is declining or not going well over a period of time. Perhaps the most frequent scenarios are to talk about sports matches and life in general. If something happens to turn a sports game around, the team that is losing at an early stage of the game will score goals or points to take the lead and therefore completely reverse the outcome of the game. Likewise, if something turns your life around, it completely transforms your life from one that is hard or unhappy into a happy and healthy life. It is of course also possible to turn your own life around, often by hard work and determination. His leadership turned the team around after a losing season. The coach turned the program around and took them to the championships. The introduction of the substitute turned the game around and the team went from being 1-0 down to 2-1 ahead. After years of being stuck in the same job with no prospects, I decided to turn my life around and started a university degree. MEANING 3: To change the perspective of something   Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To change perspective Separable? Yes Let's move on to our third meaning of 'turn around' now, which is rarer than the first two that we have looked at and means 'to change the perspective of something'. This usage is a nice and simple one, which links nicely to the first two and simply just means 'to see something from another person's perspective or from another angle'. In other words, 'to change the way you view something'. Furthermore, we can also use this one to mean to change the way you think about something or approach it, often to give you a different answer to the one you already have. Try to turn around the situation and see it from Claire's point of view. When I turned the issue around, I quickly realised I was partly to blame. If we turn the argument around, his actions might actually start to make sense. Let’s turn it around for a second; what if they were right all along and we were wrong? You have to turn your thinking around if you want to see the full picture. MEANING 4: To supply or produce something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common - Business English Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To supply, to produce, to generate Separable? Yes For our fourth meaning of 'turn around', we are heading back to the world of business English again as this one means 'to produce' or 'to supply'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Order Report Proposal Design With this application, we can refer to any output from a business, whether that be a manufactured product or a service. If a business turns something around, then it creates or produces it. The thing to note with this application however is that when we use it, we normally state a time period in which the business must or had to provide the product or service. Therefore, you will find that speakers will mainly use 'turn around' when they want to talk about when a business does this in a very short period of time, which is often viewed as challenging, difficult or impressive. I would say that in other, more normal, circumstances when time is not such an important factor, an alternative verb like 'to produce' would be preferred instead. We can turn around the report by Friday if everyone sticks to the schedule. The design team turned around the mock-ups in just 24 hours in order to win the order. How fast can you turn around the edits on this video? There is just no way that we can turn an order of that size around in a week. Our bakers can turn around large orders of over 500 loaves of bread in less than a day. Thanks for turning that proposal around so quickly; we really needed it. MEANING 5: To prepare something for use Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To prepare, to clean up Separable? Yes The next meaning of 'turn around' that we will look at is 'to prepare something for people to use' and is specifically heard when the thing being prepared has previously been used by other people. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Room Airplane Train Car Have you ever taken a flight before and noticed how quickly the flight crew prepare the airplane after the previous flight so that it is ready for you and your fellow passengers to board? It is normally very quick, particularly with low-cost airlines, however the time is not the important thing here; what is important is that this action of preparing the aircraft for use after previous passengers is known as 'turning around'. We say in this situation that the flight crew and ground staff are turning the plane around ready for the next flight. We are not just limited to airplanes with this usage though and we can use it for any time something is cleaned or tidied up after being used, ready for the next people to use it. You should note however that we only tend to use it to talk about commercial settings, i.e. when someone is paying for a service. The cleaning staff needs at least 30 minutes to turn the hotel room around before the next guest arrives. We have to turn around the conference hall quickly before the next session starts. The flight crew turned around the aircraft in record time so it could depart on schedule. There's only a short window to turn the rental car around before the next customer picks it up. The theatre employees turned the dressing rooms around between shows to accommodate the new cast. MEANING 6: Used to quote what someone said or did Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To say, to tell Separable? No After reading the title of this section, you are likely to be thinking that the next meaning of 'turn around' is 'to quote what someone said or did'. Do not be fooled by that as this is not the case; we actually use 'turn around' as a way of quoting what someone did or said. I imagine that this sounds very strange to you, so let me explain..... Often in informal conversations, English native speakers use the phrasal verb 'turn around' + the word 'and + a verb' to quote what another person has said. This is particularly the case when the person says something unexpected, shocking or without caring about how other people would react to it. It is used as a way of adding extra dramatic emphasis to a story or gossip etc and I hear it in informal conversations ALL THE TIME. I have absolutely no idea why we use it in this way, especially as most of the time nobody is physically turning around in the true sense, but we do. Any ideas, please write them in the comments and enlighten me! Out of nowhere, Sally turned around and said, "Let’s move to Spain!". I made a suggestion and he turned around and snapped, "Nobody asked you". I helped Barry all day and he turned around and said thatI hadn't done anything. I was trying to be nice, and Mary turned around and snapped, "Why are you even here?" Last night, my mum turned around and told me that she and my Dad are getting divorced. George turned around to his boss and said, 'You know what? I quit". Then Eric turned around and yelled, 'Don’t ever talk to me like that again!'. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'turnaround' I couldn't finish the post without writing about the noun 'turnaround' that was derived from the phrasal verb. When used as a noun, 'turnaround' has several meanings, all of which come directly from the phrasal verb meanings that we have already discussed in the post. The first and most common one links back to the second meaning of the phrasal verb, 'to drastically improve something' and is therefore used to describe a big improvement in something, where the expected outcome changes from a negative one to a positive. After several difficult years, the company's financial turnaround surprised all the investors. Pamela's health showed a dramatic turnaround after the new treatment. After a series of losses, Chelsea FC's sudden turnaround was remarkable. Another fairly common meaning of 'turnaround' is directly linked to the fourth application that we covered and is used to talk about the time that it takes to produce or supply something. Like with the phrasal verb, this one is common in business English to talk about commercial transactions and orders etc. The standard turnaround for printing orders is 72 hours. Please note that due to high demand, the turnaround time for custom furniture has increased to three weeks. The customer was impressed by our quick turnaround on the design revisions. Lastly, you may also hear the noun 'turnaround' in reference to the fifth meaning in the post (to make something ready for use) as it can be used to talk about the period of time spent preparing something for other people to use. This is especially common with airplanes. The plane had a quick turnaround at Heathrow Airport before its next flight. Ship turnarounds at the port have become faster thanks to the new loading system. We need to reduce the turnaround of rental cars to keep up with the increasing demand. 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 around'. 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 around'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'break 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. The phrasal verb 'break up' is used frequently in English and has several common meanings, as well as some less common, regional meanings. A common theme among many of the meanings that it has is the idea of 'ending' or 'finishing' and that something no longer exists as a whole unit anymore, however there are some other different meanings in addition to this. So, without further ado, let's take a look at them.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Break Up - The Basics: Key information and the words 'break' and 'up' Break Up - Meaning 1: To break into small pieces Break Up - Meaning 2: To end a romantic relationship Break Up - Meaning 3: To end a meeting or gathering Break Up - Meaning 4: To be interrupted (signal) Break Up - Meaning 5: To finish for holidays 🇬🇧 Break Up - Meaning 6: To start laughing or crying uncontrollably 🇺🇸 Break Up - Bonus Information: The noun 'breakup' 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 BREAK UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Broke up / Broken up Separable? Yes To begin, let's first take a look at the meanings of the individual words 'break' and 'up' as these may provide some insight into the phrasal verb meanings of 'break up'. The verb 'to break' is a commonly used verb in English with a variety of meanings. Perhaps the most frequently used meaning is to cause something to stop working by damaging it, by using force either to separate it into separate pieces or to stop it functioning somehow. In addition to this meaning, 'to break' as a verb can also be used to mean 'to briefly interrupt or stop something' and 'to bring something to an end', among other meanings. The prepositional particle 'up' will be no stranger to any regular readers of this blog (or to any learner of English) and is primarily used to talk about movement to a higher place or away from the ground. So, now what we have covered the basics, let's move on to the meanings of 'break up'.... MEANING 1: To break into smaller pieces Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To disintegrate, to break down Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'break up' that we will cover in this post is 'to divide or separate into smaller pieces'. This meaning can be used both transitively, with a direct object, and intransitively, without one. Firstly, let's look at the transitive use, where 'break up' takes a direct object, as I think that this is the more commonly used of the two variations. When we 'break something up', it means that we separate it into smaller pieces, so that it no longer exists as a complete unit. This is usually done by applying some force to the object that needs to be 'broken up' and this can either be done in an intentional way, where something needs to be separated into pieces as part of a process, or it can be in a purely destructive way. If you have read my post about the phrasal verb ' break down ', you may remember that we also use this to mean 'to separate something into smaller pieces'. While these two phrasal verbs can be used as synonyms in certain situations, there is a small difference. We tend to use 'break down' with items that can be separated and dismantled into separate parts to be put back together again in the future e.g. furniture, and these items are not truly broken as they will function again in the future. On the other hand, the particle 'up' in phrasal verb constructions often carries the meaning of a permanent end and and we would therefore use 'break up' more for separating something into pieces permanently, e.g. bread or a chocolate bar, with the idea that something is truly broken and will not function in the same way again. Although we often tend to use 'break up' in this way with objects that we can break using our hands, it can be used with any items that we cause to break into separate, often many, pieces. As this form takes a direct object, it can be used separably and the placement of the direct object does not affect the meaning. We often use the words 'into pieces" or "into bits" after this usage of 'break up' to describe the end result of the 'breaking up' action. John broke the bar of chocolate up into small pieces in order to make his favourite dessert. He broke up the bread and passed it around to the others in the group. The old picture frame was too large to fit into the car, so Helen had to break it up into smaller pieces in order to take it to the rubbish tip. Now let's look at the intransitive use of this meaning of 'break up', where there is no direct object. If we say that something 'breaks up' then we mean that something separates into smaller parts by itself, i.e. without direct intervention from a person. This can also be used to mean when things disintegrate or disperse. Examples of nouns that this intransitive form is used with are things like clouds, items that fall from space through the atmosphere and icebergs. However, it can also be used for any objects that can break into separate pieces without any specified human intervention to cause it. Interestingly too, we can say that when countries separate into smaller parts that they also 'break up' without a direct object. Luckily, the meteor broke up in the Earth's atmosphere and only tiny fragments of it fell to the ground. The clouds broke up at just the right time for the people to be able to see the solar eclipse. When the civil war ended in 1876, the country broke up into three smaller independent states. MEANING 2: To end a romantic relationship Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common British or American? Both Potential synonyms To separate, to end Separable? Sometimes The second meaning of 'break up' is another hugely common one and means 'to end a romantic relationship'. If a couple 'breaks up', then it means that their romantic relationship has ended, although this does not necessarily mean that the split is permanent and many people can and do get back together or ' make up ' again after breaking up. The signification of 'break up' here again links back to the idea that something no longer exists as a complete unit, as the couple becomes separated into two separate parts. While we do predominantly use 'break up' in an intransitive way without a direct object, it can also be used with a direct object when another person, be it a family member or another interested person, tries to cause the couple to separate. Thankfully, as most people are good and decent people, this usage with a direct object is rarer, but still very much in use when needed. Roger and Lisa have broken up! I can't believe it, I thought that they would stay together forever! If you break up with your partner, it can be an extremely painful and sad time. The couple broke up for a short period last year and got back together again when they realised how much they missed each other. Helen has always loved John and she has been trying to break his relationship with Lucy up for years now. Luckily for Lucy he doesn't feel the same way about her! MEANING 3: To end a meeting or a gathering Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To adjourn Separable? Yes Meaning number three of 'break up' is used principally with groups of people and means 'to end a meeting or gathering'. This application of 'break up' is used in the business world in reference to meetings, specifically when talking about when a meeting ends and the attendees are free to leave. Once again, this meaning carries the idea of something ending (the meeting) and no longer existing as a complete unit. Outside of the business world, and arguably more common, is the usage of 'break up' to mean 'to end a social gathering, 'generally a party'. Typically, a person who breaks up a party would be an authority figure such as a police officer or a parent. Alternatively at smaller, more intimate parties, the first people to leave would be the ones accused of 'breaking it up'. One other way that this application of 'break up' can be used is when talking about a physical fight and someone intervenes to stop it or 'break it up'. The meeting broke up at 4pm exactly and all of the attendees went their separate ways. The police came and broke up the house party after several of the neighbours had complained. I'm sorry to have to break up the party, but I need to get off now as I have work early in the morning. The schoolboys got into a fight on the playground and the headteacher had to intervene and break it up. MEANING 4: To be interrupted (signal) Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be interrupted, to drop out Separable? No Our fourth meaning of 'break up' is to interrupt a signal, typically of a phone or video call. For this meaning we are moving away from the idea of ceasing to exist as a complete unit and instead linking back to the meaning of the verb 'to break' as in of 'interference'. This usage of 'break up' is used almost exclusively with communication signals for telephone and video calls and is used when it is not consistent, therefore causing problems for someone to hear what the other person is saying or only hearing some of the words. It is typically used when one of the people is in a place with bad or patchy reception. 'Break up' in this sense is used intransitively and is not separable as there is not normally a person or thing intentionally causing the interference on the line. We often tend to use this application of 'break up' with continuous verb forms and often with the verb 'to keep'. I called my parents from my hotel on holiday but the line was so bad and it just kept breaking up, so I couldn't hear half of what they were saying. I can't hear you, the signal keeps breaking up! The phone signal is really bad up the mountain and it breaks up constantly when you try and call someone. MEANING 5: To finish for holidays Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To finish Separable? No Meaning number five of 'break up' is a really good one if you live in the UK as it is a British usage to mean 'to finish school or work for a holiday or vacation'. This is very commonly used for schools and educational institutions and is used to refer to the last day of the term or semester before the holidays begin. Aside from this, it is also used by workers to refer to the last day that they work before having time off or going on vacation somewhere. You should note, however, that 'break up' is not used when leaving a school or employment permanently or before taking time off for illness or bereavement - only for a holiday break. 'Break up' in this way is always used without a direct object and native speakers typically just use the words "break up" along with a day or date to specify when their last day will be. We often use the additional preposition 'for' to specify the reason or duration of the holiday. My drive to work was so quick this morning as the kids have broken up for the summer holidays now and the roads are really quiet. When do the schools break up for Christmas? I break up today for two weeks, so I need to get all of these emails done and finish this report for my boss. MEANING 6: To start laughing or crying uncontrollably Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To crack up, to burst into tears Separable? No For our sixth and final meaning, we are going to switch sides of the Atlantic Ocean and talk about an American usage of 'break up', which is 'to begin to laugh or cry uncontrollably'. We can use this form of 'break up' intransitively when people start laughing or crying or we can use it with a direct object when something causes the person to laugh or cry. Interestingly, 'break down' can also be used a synonym here, in both British and American English, for when someone becomes emotional or starts crying. For those interested in a British alternative to the uncontrolled laughter, 'crack up' would be a good alternative here. John expected everyone to break up laughing when he told his best joke, but nobody did! She broke up in tears when she told me that she had broken up with her boyfriend! Photo: Pexels BONUS INFORMATION: The noun 'breakup' Before I finish the post, I just want to give you some extra information on the different ways that the noun 'breakup' or 'break-up' can be used. Typically and most commonly, breakup as a noun is used to describe the ending of a romantic relationship however it can also be used to talk about when familial relationships are cut and members of a family no longer see each other. Strangely, we do not tend to use the phrasal verb form for these familial relationships though. Aside from the ending of a relationship, we also use 'breakup' as a noun to describe when countries and empires separate into smaller nations, as well as other items that can be separated into smaller parts, similar to Meaning 1 at the beginning of the post. Sue is still getting over the breakup with her partner last year. It hit her hard! Breakups can be difficult for people to deal with. The breakup of the Austro-Hungarian empire occurred with the onset of the First World War. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'break 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 'break 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 'take down' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in. In this post, we are looking at the English phrasal verb 'take down' and all of the different meanings that it has, as well some of its other applications, including its uses as a noun. You may already be familiar with some of its meanings, however I'm sure that one or two will be new to you. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Take down - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'take' and 'down' Take down - Meaning 1: To remove something from a high place Take down - Meaning 2: To dismantle a structure Take down - Meaning 3: To write something Take down - Meaning 4: To defeat someone Take down - Bonus Information: The idiom 'to take someone down a peg or two'. Take down - Bonus Information: The noun 'takedown' 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 DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Separable? Yes Past tense forms Took down / Taken down Before we examine the different uses of 'take down' as a phrasal verb, let's first of all break it down into its constituent parts, as this can often provide a bit of logic when applied to the seemingly illogical phrasal verb meanings. Firstly we have the common English verb 'to take', which you will certainly be very familiar with as it is one of the ten most common verbs in the English language. The general idea behind the verb 'to take' is 'to remove something from a place', but it can also be used to express the ideas of movement, acceptance and endurance, among others. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'down', which is a common feature in phrasal verb constructions and generally means a lower position, or movement towards to a lower position when used adverbially. As with almost all prepositions in English, it is used in many diverse and different ways, however it is worth mentioning here that one of its uses as an adverb means 'to be recorded in writing or in written form'..... I have all of the details down on paper, so I can refer back to them if I need to. So, now that we have got all of the basics covered, let's move on to the different phrasal verb meanings of 'take down'.... MEANING 1: To remove something from a high place Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To remove, to get down, to bring down, to lower Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'take down' that we will look at is more or less a literal meaning as it is 'to remove something from its position in a high place, so that it ends up in a lower place'. This can be used for things which are positioned in a physically high place such as a high shelf (like in the picture above) or on top of a wardrobe, however it can also be used for items that are suspended above the ground, such as decorative lights, or affixed to walls in an elevated position, such a as poster or a notice. If you have read my recent post about the phrasal verb ' put up ', you may recall that the third meaning of 'put up' that I covered was 'to place something on display'. Moreover, as I also mentioned, 'put' and 'take' are often used in English for opposite actions, especially in phrasal verb constructions, and 'take down' is no exception to that rule as it is used to remove something that has been placed on display. Grammatically speaking, this meaning of 'take down' does take a direct object and is separable. You can put the object between or after the phrasal verb, without changing the meaning or intonation. Another variation of this meaning that I want to mention here is one that is predominantly used in American English and means to 'lower something without removing it' and the prime example of this would be trousers / pants. In British English, we may also say 'take down' here or the alternative 'pull down'. Could you help that lady and reach up there and take down a bag of flour for her from the top shelf as she can't reach it. We are having our living room painted today, so I have had to take down all the pictures and photos from the wall. Helen gets sad and depressed when she has to take her Christmas decorations and lights down. Could you take down your trousers please, so that the doctor can see the wound on your leg. MEANING 2: To dismantle a structure Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To dismantle, to take apart, to disassemble, to deconstruct Separable? Yes The second meaning of 'take down' is to dismantle an upright structure. In other words, this is removing each part of the structure until it is no longer standing and only the constituent parts remain. Once again, this action in direct contrast to one of the meanings of 'put up' that I recently posted about (i.e. to build a structure). Much like its opposite, it can be used to talk about buildings, tents, fences and any other standing structures that can be dismantled and removed. Furthermore, this usage of 'take down' can also be used to talk about dismantling non-physical structures such as social systems and governments. For this however, it tends to be used by activists and people with strong opinions and is therefore used much more forcefully and negatively. The crew took down the enormous building, steel beam by steel beam. The local council has taken down the tired old road signs in the city and has put up new modern ones in their place. Our neighbour has put up a huge fence between our gardens and we have asked him to take it down and replace it with a shorter one. Cries of "take down the government" could be heard during the rally. MEANING 3: To write something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To note down, to write down Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'take down' is a commonly used one in the world of business English and means 'to write something down so that there is a written record of it'. If you remember from earlier on in the post, I mentioned that one of the meanings of 'down' as an adverb is to be recorded in written form and this phrasal verb meaning is simply an extension of that meaning. If we take something down, we note it on paper, or in word processed form, so that we can refer back to it at a later time or date. As such, this application is often used when there is a degree of seriousness to the situation, such as 'taking down' the registration number of a car involved in an accident or 'taking down' all of the details regarding a customer complaint so that you can look into it later. John has taken down my address and has promised to send me hard copies of the photos from today's workshop in the post. A car just drove into my car when I was reversing and damaged the back. It sped off again so quickly afterwards that I did not have a chance to take down the registration number. Lisa is going to take down all of the minutes of today's meeting and she will send you all a copy by email once she has written them up. MEANING 4: To defeat someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To defeat, to beat Separable? Yes The fourth and final meaning of 'take down' means 'to defeat someone', usually in a convincing or conclusive way. Furthermore, in some, more extreme, cases it can also mean to kill someone or destroy something. I believe that this particular application of 'take down' can be traced back to combat sports, in particular wrestling, as when a person is defeated, they are often 'down' on the floor. This usage of 'take down' is still very much used in combat sports but has spread to become acceptable for all sports or competition. It is definitely more of an informal usage and can often be used as a threat to someone, either of physical violence towards them or simply that they will be defeated. This meaning is separable and tends to be used much more commonly with the pronoun for the defeated person (me, you, him etc.) or thing (it) being placed between 'take' and 'down'. If you are using the name of the person or thing that is defeated, then you are fine to place this either between or after the phrasal verb, however if you are using a pronoun, then it needs to go between 'take' and 'down'. Many people have tried to take down Roger but no one has succeeded yet! You'd better be worried because I am going to take you down next time! The boxing world champion has threatened to take down his next opponent before the end of the first round at their match this coming Saturday. Photo: Pexels IDIOM: To take someone down a peg or two Before we take a look at the bonus material, I just want to make you aware of an English idiom that features the phrasal verb 'take down'. To take someone down a peg or two is an expression that means 'to show someone that they are not as important as they think they are'. This is often reserved for arrogant and self-important people who think they are better than other people. When we take them down a peg or two, we do or say something that stops them acting in that superior way. A couple of alternatives to this idiom also exist. One of these is 'to take someone down a notch' and the other is 'to bring someone down a peg or two'. She thinks she is so much better than everyone else and one of these days someone is going to take her down a peg or two. The arrogant footballer was taken down a peg or two when he started playing football for a professional team and he realised that he was no longer the best in his team. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'takedown' As I mentioned at the very beginning of the post, the phrasal verb 'take down' also has a noun derivative 'takedown' (or 'take-down'), which has several different meanings: The first of these links back to wrestling and refers to when a fighter is knocked or wrestled to the ground by their opponent. Alternatively, this could also be used for the act of successfully taking someone down a peg or two. The next use of the noun 'takedown' can be used to describe when something is harshly criticised in great detail in writing, in a speech or on a tv show. The last use of 'takedown' as a noun is to describe when the police arrest multiple people at the same time. 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 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 'take down'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'call in' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. 'Call in' is a phrasal verb with a number of useful and applicable meanings in everyday English. In this post, I will look at these different meanings and uses, from paying someone a short visit, to not going to work due to illness, and I will explain how t use each meaning with the help of illustrative examples. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'call in' mean? The phrasal verb 'call in' has five main meanings in English To enlist someone's help To pay someone a short visit To order to return To request payment of a loan To telephone a television show Keep reading to learn how to use each of these different applications.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Call In - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'call' and 'in' Call In - Meaning 1: To enlist someone's help Call In - Bonus: To call in a favour Call In - Meaning 2: To pay someone a short visit Call In - Meaning 3: To order to return Call In - Meaning 4: To request payment of a loan Call In - Meaning 5: To telephone a television show Call In - Bonus: To call in sick 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 CALL IN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Called in / Called in Separable? Sometimes As is customary, let's start by taking a look at the component words that make up our phrasal verb of choice, as these often give valuable clues to its meanings. Firstly, we have the verb 'to call', which is a verb with several distinct meanings, including giving someone or something a name, contacting someone by telephone, raising the volume of your voice to attract someone's attention and visiting someone. The latter three of these definitions are all useful for the phrasal verb meanings of 'call in' that we will look at shortly. In addition to 'call' we have the prepositional particle 'in', which you will all be very familiar with already, and which is primarily used to indicate being on the interior of something or within something. So, with that in mind, do you think you can guess any of the meanings of 'call in'? Read on to find out what they are.... MEANING 1: To enlist someone's help Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To enlist Separable? Yes We are going to start the meanings of 'call in' with one that is very useful if you ever have a problem that you are unable to resolve yourself and that is 'to enlist (ask for and get) someone's help with a problem or issue'. This meaning is quite a simple one to remember as we use it when we have a problematic situation or issue and in order to solve it we need to call someone, either on the phone or increasingly online these days, to come and resolve the issue for us. In other words, we are requesting that someone comes into the situation to help. An example of this would be if an electrical problem occurred at home and we needed a professional to come and repair it, so we 'call in' an electrician, who comes and fixes the issue for us. Moreover, this usage of 'call in' can also be found in the world of work and employment as it is also used by native speakers to describe when an employee is asked (or ordered) to come to work by management . This is often the case for people who work jobs that involve being on call, such as doctors and vets, however it can be used for anyone who receives a request to come into work, especially if they were not supposed to be working that day. It is also worth noting that it is common for the affected employees to talk about 'being called in' to work, in a passive sense. On a grammatical level, this usage is transitive and takes a direct object (e.g. the electrician) and it is possible to place the direct object either between 'call' and 'in' or after them, without changing the meaning at all. My boiler broke down last week and so I had to call in a technician who came and sorted it for me! The staff in the office building couldn't identify the strange and spooky noises in their building and decided to call the Ghostbusters in. Due to the emergency situation, we are calling in as many doctors and nurses as we can today to help out with the influx of patients. I'm so annoyed, I wanted to go to watch the football match this afternoon but I've been called into work as there is an issue with the IT system. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To call in a favour A commonly used expression that I want to make you aware of here is 'to call in a favour'. This expression is used when you ask someone to do something for you (a favour) because you did a favour for them in the past and they owe you one in return. The Prime Minister called in a favour with an influential businessman to gain support in the run-up to the general election. I leant my next-door neighbour my tools last month when they needed to do some DIY, so today when my lawnmower stopped working, I called in the favour and borrowed his. MEANING 2: To pay someone a short visit Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To drop by, to pop by, to pop in Separable? No The second meaning of 'call in' means 'to visit someone for a short period of time' and this is often used to talk about unorganised or uninvited visits to people's houses. Alternatively, it can also be used when talking about short visits to someone in hospital or at their place of work. The general idea here is that the visit is short and is fairly informal in nature. On a grammatical level, this usage of 'call in' does not take a direct object and is not separable. The additional preposition 'on' is required when we want to specify the name of the person who we are visiting. Lisa called in to see me yesterday on her way back from work. Are you going to be at home later? We might call in for a cup of tea if we have time. My Dad has been in hospital for the last fortnight and I call in on him most days there. MEANING 3: To order to return Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To withdraw, to recall Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'call in' is 'to order something to be returned'. There are a broad number of uses and applications of this meaning but the general idea of them all is that you request that something is returned to you, or alternatively to its original place. I will now give you some examples of how this is typically used.... When a national bank of a country decides to withdraw a certain type of coin or note in its currency, normally to replace it with a newer version, we can say that it 'calls in' the note or coin in question. In other words, it is asking for it back as it will no longer be able to be used in public circulation. I am sure that when you were a child and and were out playing with your friends, your mother or father called you in when it was time to stop playing, maybe as dinner was ready or it was getting dark. This is another typical example of how 'call in' is used in this way. Another usage here would be with the military when soldiers are stationed at outposts, far from the main bulk of the army troops. If these soldiers stationed at outposts are called in, they are asked to return to the main bulk or military station. Of course there are other uses of how this application of 'call in' can be used, but hopefully you get the general idea that it is all about asking or demanding that someone or something returns to its original place. As children, we always used to play outside in our street until it got dark or our mothers called us in. As a result of the troubles that are occurring in the north of the country, we are calling in troops who are stationed in the south as reinforcements. MEANING 4: To request payment of a loan Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To demand (payment) Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'call in' is not so different from the last in terms of concept. It specifically refers to banks and financial institutions which loan money to people and 'call in' is used to describe when they request payment for the loans that they have made to people and businesses. If a bank calls in a loan, it decides that it wants the debt it is owed to be repaid immediately and sends a request to the debtor (the person who owes the bank money) asking for full payment. This can be because of a change in the debtor's circumstances or a change in the bank's financial situation. The main idea idea though is that the bank wants the money now. Due to a downturn in its own financial situation, the bank was forced to call in a large number of its debts. In general, most mortgage providers are not able to call in a loan at random unless specific criteria is met. MEANING 5: To telephone a television show Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To phone in (UK) Separable? No Our fifth and final usage of 'call in' is very much linked to the usage of the verb 'to call' as in calling someone on the telephone, however 'call in' is more specific since it is used to talk about making a phone call to a live television or radio show. This is primarily an American English usage, whereas in British English you may traditionally have heard 'phone in' instead of 'call in', although nowadays I think 'call in' is probably used just as much. From this usage, we also get the noun 'call-in' which describes a TV programme which involves people calling in to participate in it, such as a charity event or a debate. Again, this is the name that you will see on American TV, however on British English we refer to this type of programme as a 'phone-in'. On today's show we are talking about when mortgage lenders call in their loans unexpectedly, so please call in and tell us about your experience if this has ever happened to you. I am currently in the process of creating my own call-in show on my YouTube channel. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To call in sick Before I finish this post, I want to make you aware of another common expression featuring 'call in' and that is 'to call in sick'. This is when when someone calls their place of work to let their manager or employer know that they will not be able to work that day because they are sick (or that's what they want their manager to think 😉). This is a very standard expression that you will hear in workplaces all over the anglophone world. John won't be in today as he has called in sick. If you need to call in sick, please try and let your manager know before your scheduled start time. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'call in' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'call in' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills ? If yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'come 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. 'Come up' is a key phrasal verb for you to know and be able to use as it has a variety of different meanings, which are used in many different areas of life. In this post we will cover all of these different meanings, from some that are very common to some which are used only rarely and in very specific circumstances. So, without further ado, let's get started.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'come up' mean? The phrasal verb 'come up' has nine main meanings in English: Literal meaning To be mentioned in a conversation To occur To approach To appear To become available To become brighter after cleaning To be heard in a court of law To think of something Keep reading to learn how to use each one like a native speaker. TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Come Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'come' and 'up' Come Up - Meaning 1: Literal Come Up - Meaning 2: To be mentioned in a conversation Come Up - Meaning 3: To occur Come Up - Meaning 4: To approach Come Up - Meaning 5: To appear Come Up - Meaning 6: To become available Come Up - Meaning 7: To become brighter after cleaning Come Up - Meaning 8: To be heard in a court of law Come Up - Meaning 9: To think of something Come Up - Bonus: Common expressions featuring 'come up' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS COME UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 9 Past tense forms Came up / Come up Separable? No The verb 'to come' is one of the most common verbs in English and is mainly used as a verb of motion, specifically to indicate when someone or something moves towards where the speaker is. It is also used in a wide number of different idioms and phrasal verb constructions, many of which are featured elsewhere on this blog. Then we have the prepositional particle 'up', which is used to talk about movement in the direction away from the ground, towards the sky or to a higher place in relation to the speaker. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the reason why you are here: the different meanings of 'come up'.... MEANING 1: Literal meaning Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To walk up The first meaning of 'come up' is a nice and simple one as it is just the literal meaning of the two words 'come' and 'up' combined, in other words when something or someone moves in an upwards direction to where you (the speaker) are. Due to the spatial element of this usage, its usage is limited to only a few situations and these mainly when talking about stairs and buildings. Come up and see me, my apartment is on the fifth floor. When you come up to bed, can you please bring me a glass of water. ARE YOU COMING UP THIS WEEKEND? In informal British English it is common to use both 'come up' and 'come down' to talk about when someone travels from where they live to a different place, often to visit and stay with someone else. Moreover, this is normally when the person has to travel a relatively long distance. There seems to be no set rule regarding whether or not we use 'up' or 'down' but I think that we tend to use 'up' more when the travel is in a northwards direction and 'down' when the travel is in a southwards direction (please note though that many people do not know their geography that well, so I would not pay too much attention to whether they use 'up' or 'down'). I am so excited as my son is coming up from London this weekend with his new girlfriend. When are you next coming up to Scotland? It's been ages since you last came up to visit us! MEANING 2: To be mentioned in a conversation Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be mentioned, to bring up The second meaning of 'come up' is to be mentioned, talked about or discussed in a conversation. If something 'comes up' during a conversation, it is generally not the main topic of the conversation but it is mentioned at some point during it. If you have read my post about the phrasal verb 'bring up' (link here), then you may remember that it has a very similar meaning to 'come up' here. They are indeed very close in meaning, but the difference is that when we use 'bring up', there is an element of intention behind it, i.e. someone wants to introduce the topic into a conversation and consequently there is some focus on the person who brings the subject up too. With 'come up', however, there is no element of intention and we are not focused on who introduces the topic - we just use it to say that the subject became a topic of conversation. You may have also heard the expression 'to come up in conversation' before and this is a common way of expressing that something was talked about. Note that in this expression we omit the indefinite article 'a' as it is not required for this expression. Thankfully, the topic of the recent family scandal did not come up during my conversation with my relatives. A: Did anyone mention the reporting issues in the meeting earlier? B: Yeah, it came up. It came up in conversation with your husband that you have recently got a new job. Congratulations! MEANING 3: To occur Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To happen, to occur, to crop up Meaning number three of 'come up' is 'to occur' or 'to happen' and is normally used to describe an unexpected problem or issue. Due to the unplanned nature of the problem, it usually then either prevents us from doing something that we had planned to do or it creates problems for us to do the thing that we had planned, such as making us late. This is a really good one to use when you want to avoid doing something that you do not want to do (and many native speakers do use it a lot). The reason for this is that 'come up' is somewhat vague and non-specific in nature and it simply conveys the idea that there is a problem, without going into details. Of course, some people do then continue to explain what the problem is, however by using 'come up' in this way you do not have to and people understand that it may be something private and so do not normally ask too many questions. For this one, it is usual to use it with the word 'something'. Something's come up and I am not going to be able to make it to dinner, I'm afraid. John and Helen were supposed to come here last night but something came up unexpectedly and they are now not going to arrive until later today. MEANING 4: To approach Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To approach, to come around (time) The fourth meaning of 'come up' is 'to approach someone or something' and can be used to describe when a physical object or person moves towards you or also to describe when a future point in time gets closer. This meaning is closely linked to the meaning of the verb 'to come' and there are moments when 'come' and 'come up' can be used interchangeably to describe a movement towards something, however while we use 'come' to talk about a general movement towards the speaker, we use 'come up' more when the movement is in its final stages and the person or thing is very close or next to the speaker. It is often therefore used when a person approaches another person in order to speak or interact with them in some way. As mentioned above, we also use 'come up' with time, to describe something in the near future which is getting closer to the present. Depending on the speaker's perspective, this can be seconds, minutes, hours, days or even weeks into the future but regardless of the time unit involved, the idea is that something is getting closer and will happen soon. If you ever watch English language television shows or listen to radio shows, you may have heard the presenters talking about what is 'coming up' in the show and this is the standard way of telling the audience what will feature in that particular episode. On a grammatical level, when using 'come up' with time, we tend to use it in the progressive or continuous ('ing) form. It is also worth noting that there is an adjective that has been derived from this usage of 'come up' with time: 'upcoming' and if something is 'upcoming' then it means that it will happen very soon or in the near future. When talking about physical movement, we can use both continuous and simple verb forms. I was at the train station and a stranger came up to me and asked if I was single! Coming up on the left hand side there is the Tower of London. We are coming up to my stop now, so I need to get off the bus. The school holidays are coming up and all of the children are getting excited. MEANING 5: To appear CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To rise, to appear The fifth meaning of 'come up' is to appear or to become visible, however we tend to use it in only a couple of different situations. The first main situation that we use it in, which you can probably guess from the gif in this section, is for the sun, or to be precise, the sunrise. When the sun rises it comes up from the horizon and is visible (ok, not always visible in the UK but is there behind the clouds 😜) and then at the end of the day when it disappears from sight, it 'goes down'. The second situation in which you are likely to come across 'come up' in the sense of appearing, is on a computer screen or a smartphone. Like with the second meaning, this is very similar to the phrasal verb 'bring up' and similarly here, if something comes up on your screen, it normally appears without you intending it to appear. As such, this is commonly found in use with nouns such as 'messages', 'pop-ups' and 'images'. I got up really early in order to watch the sun come up. When the sun comes up, all of the nocturnal creatures go to sleep. MEANING 6: To become available Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To turn up The sixth meaning of 'come up' means to become available and it is used particularly when we are searching for something such as a new job or a new house. During this searching process, if something suitable becomes available, we often say that it 'comes up'. If you have read my post on the phrasal verb 'turn up' (link here), you may remember that this also has the same meaning and these two are in fact synonyms of each other. I have been looking for a new job for weeks now and nothing is suitable! Something had better come up soon. We were waiting for a 3-bedroom house in our town for a long time, so when one finally came up, we made sure that we submitted an application quickly. MEANING 7: To be heard in a court of law Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be heard The seventh meaning of 'come up' is quite a rare and situation-specific one as it means 'to be heard in a court of law'. In other words, this means that a the time comes for a meeting to be held in court to discuss a legal matter, typically after a waiting period. Due to the unpredictable and varied nature of court cases in the majority of legal systems in English speaking countries, there is normally a long wait for court hearings and cases to take place and the so when a court case finally is able to take place, we say that it 'comes up'. His court case comes up in a few weeks, so fingers crossed it will go well! When the case finally came up, the defendant had died. MEANING 8: To become brighter after cleaning Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To sparkle For those of you who enjoy cleaning, the eighth meaning of 'come up' is a really useful one for you, as it means 'to become brighter after cleaning or polishing'. We use this one particularly when we are talking about surfaces which are dull or dirty and which after a bit (or a lot) of cleaning become much brighter or cleaner and generally more visually appealing. As you can imagine, this one is used frequently in advertisements for cleaning products! For this usage, we often use an appropriate adverb after 'come up', such as beautifully or nicely to express just how clean the thing at the end. This tabletop will come up nicely after a bit of scrubbing! My car was so dirty but it came up beautifully after I took it to the expensive car wash. MEANING 9: To think of something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To think of, to create, to invent We now come to the ninth and final meaning of 'come up' that we will look at in this post and it means 'to think of or invent something'. This final usage is actually perhaps one of the most common of the uses in English, however I have left it until the end of the post as it requires the additional preposition 'with' in order to make sense. If you 'come up with something', you conceive (think of) an idea, you make a suggestion or you find a solution to a problem. Regardless of what you come up with however, the general idea is that you invent something new in your brain, which is normally specific to a particular situation. I've come up with an amazing idea for a website and I think it is going to make me rich. Some of the administration team have come up with some suggestions of what we can do at the Christmas party this year. I wasn't sure how to entertain the kids when I was babysitting, so I came up with a new game for them which they loved. You need to come up with a solution to this problem by the end of the day! Photo: Pexels BONUS: Common expressions featuring 'come up' I appreciate that this is a really long post with a lot of information, so well done for reaching this far! Before I finish the post, I just wanted to make you aware of a couple of other uses of 'come up'.... To come up against something - We use this when we face a problem or a challenge when we are trying to do something. In other words, we face obstacles, which can slow us down or prevent us from carrying out a task. Furthermore, if the obstacle that we face makes our task impossible, we use the expression 'to come up against a brick wall'. The local government came up against a lot of resistance to the plans to build a shopping centre from local residents. We tried to overturn the government's decision but every time we did, we came up against a brick wall and so in the end we gave up. To come up with the goods - This informal British idiom is used to describe when someone does something that they are required to do or achieves the results that they are expected to. I didn't think that Roger would be able to complete the sales report by midday but he came up with the goods! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'come up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'come up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want exercises to improve your phrasal verb skills ? If yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pass out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in. The phrasal verb 'pass out' is used both in British and American English and has three distinct meanings that we will look at in this post. In addition to the phrasal verb meanings, there is also the noun 'pass-out' that we will also cover. So, without further ado, let's get started.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'pass out' mean? The phrasal verb 'pass out' has three main meanings in English: To lose consciousness To distribute To graduate from military school Keep reading to learn how to use each of these like a native speaker. TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Pass Out - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'pass' and 'out' Pass Out - Meaning 1: To lose consciousness Pass Out - Meaning 2: To distribute Pass Out - Meaning 3: To graduate from military school Pass Out - Bonus: The noun 'pass-out' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PASS OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Passed out / Passed out Separable? Sometimes As is customary, let's start by taking a look at the components words that make up our phrasal verb of chose as these often give valuable clues to its meanings. The verb 'to pass' is a regular English verb and will likely be familiar to speakers of other European languages as it has cognate words in many of these languages. It is a very diverse verb in English and has a lot of different meanings, but one of the key concepts behind it is movement, especially the ideas of moving past something or leaving something behind you. The prepositional particle 'out' is, like the majority of English prepositions, one with a large number of different meanings and applications. The literal idea of 'out' is to refer to a position on, or a movement towards, the exterior of something. It has too many other meanings and uses to list here, however one to note that is particulartly relevant for the phrasal verb 'pass out' is when it is used as an adverb to mean 'unconscious' or 'sleeping'. Ok, so now we have covered those, let's take a look at the meanings of the phrasal verb 'pass out'... MEANING 1: To lose consciousness Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To faint, to lose consciousness, to black out, to zonk out Separable? No In the previous section I gave you a little clue regarding the first meaning of 'pass out', which is 'to lose consciousness' or 'to faint'. In my very humble opinion, I would say that this is definitely the most widespread and commonly used of the three meanings that we will cover in this post. As outlined above, we use 'pass out' to describe when we temporarily lose consciousness, which can be caused by medical conditions, emotional stress or responses to changes in our physical surroundings. In addition to this, we also use 'pass out' to describe someone who quickly falls into a very deep and often unexpected sleep and this is often used by native speakers to describe people who fall asleep in this way due to having drunk a lot of alcohol. On a grammatical level, this meaning of 'pass out' is intransitive and does not take a direct object. In terms of formality, it is relatively informal compared to the official medical terms that a doctor would use, however it is absolutely fine to use in most situations. If you wish to specify the cause of you passing out, then the additional preposition 'from' is required. Helen was in so much pain that she passed out whilst waiting for the ambulance to arrive. If someone passes out, it is important to act very quickly and seek medical advice. John drank so much rum at the party that he passed out on a chair in the corner. Roger passed out from illness and exhaustion. MEANING 2: To distribute Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To distribute, to hand out Separable? Yes The second meaning of 'pass out' is 'to distribute something to a group of people', normally by hand. This usage is derived from the meaning of the verb 'to pass' where one thing is transferred from one person to another (e.g. the salt and pepper at a dinner table), with the prepositional particle 'out' adding the extra meaning of 'to a group of people'. As such, we don't use 'pass out' to describe passing an object to just one person, it's always to a group. The typical environment in which this application of 'pass out' is used is a classroom or an office environment where documents are often distributed to groups of people, but the usage is not limited to these and it can be used to describe when something is given to a group of people by hand. Unlike the previous example, this usage does require a direct object and is therefore transitive. The direct object can either go between 'pass' and 'out' or after them without changing the meaning. Lisa, can you please pass the test papers out to the rest of the class. On my birthday last year I walked around my office and passed out chocolate treats to all of my colleagues. The aid workers passed out water supplies to the victims of the disaster. MEANING 3: To graduate from military school Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To graduate Separable? No The third and final meaning of 'pass out' is a primarily British meaning and means 'to graduate from military school after finishing the initial training'. The idea here is that the serviceman or servicewoman in question is now qualified and is no longer a trainee and therefore takes part in a ceremony to mark this occasion. In addition to using 'pass out' for graduation from military school, we also use it to describe graduation from training in the police force. Moreover, the graduation ceremony for both these newly qualified police officers and military recruits is called a passing out parade. The noun 'passing-out' also exists in English to describe the act of graduating from police training or a military college. Similar to the first meaning, this usage of 'pass out' is also intransitive and does not require a direct object. A total of 1000 new servicemen and women have passed out of the Royal Military Training Academy so far this year. My son is due to pass out of his police training school next week, so my wife and I are going to his passing-out parade to celebrate with him. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'pass-out' As I mentioned at the beginning of the post, the noun pass-out also exists in English. It describes a type of ticket or other form of authorisation which allows a person to leave somewhere and re-enter it at a later point of time. This is often used in theatres and other performances where the doors tend to be closed for the show and movement in and out is restricted, however it can be used in a work environment too if you need to leave your place of work for a period of time e.g. for a doctor's appointment. If you wish to leave whilst the performance is ongoing, you will need to obtain a pass-out from a member of staff. My boss wouldn't give me a pass-out last week to go and see my child's school play. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'pass out' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'pass out' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills ? If the answer is yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'show up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my blog all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in. 'Show up' is a well known and frequently used informal phrasal verb and I am sure that you know at least one meaning of it. It may actually surprise you that it has a total of five different meanings and in this post I will go through all of these to show you how native speakers use them, with plenty of examples to illustrate each usage. So, without further ado, let's get started.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'show up' mean? The phrasal verb 'show up' has five main meanings in English: To be clearly visible or noticed To expose the true nature of someone To arrive To embarrass someone To be there for someone TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Show Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'show' and 'up' Show Up - Meaning 1: To be clearly visible or noticed 🇬🇧 Show Up - Meaning 2: To expose the true nature of someone Show Up - Meaning 3: To arrive Show Up - Meaning 4: To embarrass someone Show Up - Meaning 5: To be there for someone 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 SHOW UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Showed up / Showed up Separable? Sometimes To begin with, let's take a look at the words 'show' and 'up' in order to gain an understanding of their key meanings, which in turn can help us better understand the phrasal verb meanings. 'To show' is a verb which means to allow or cause something to be visible or perceived by other people. This is often very visual in nature as when we show something to someone, we intentionally bring their attention to it, so that they can look at or watch it. The prepositional particle 'up' is used to describe a higher position or movement away from the ground and towards the sky or to a higher position. 'Up' also has many other usages in English and one that is noteworthy for this post is when it is used as an adverb to mean 'into view or attention', often used with other 'up' phrasal verbs such as 'bring up' and 'come up'. So, what meanings do we have in English when we combine these two words. Read on to find out more.... MEANING 1: To be clearly visible or noticed Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be visible, to be conspicuous Separable? No Our first meaning of 'show up' is 'to be clearly visible or noticed'. In other words, if something 'shows up', we are able to see or notice it. With the visual aspect of this first usage, it is clear that it is derived from the verb 'to show', however the two do not mean the exact same and are used differently. The key difference between them is that when we show something, there is an intention behind our action, in other words we want it to be seen, whereas with 'show up' there is no intention to show anything or bring it to anyone's attention. In fact, it is frequently used when something is still visible despite efforts to try and hide it. On a grammatical level there is also a difference between the two. We often use the verb 'to show' with a direct object and also an indirect object, i.e. we show something to someone (e.g. "I showed my friend my new house"). On the other hand, we cannot use 'show up' with an object; it is rather used to say that something can be seen by other people and no object is required. 'Show up' is regularly used in the medical world to talk about tests for diseases and antibodies and also x-rays and scans. Moreover, we use it often in IT and computers when we talk about searches and things that are visible on our screen. Outside of these, we can use it to talk about anything that is visible or noticeable, especially after attempts have been made to hide or cover it such as stains on clothes or a credit enquiry on a credit report. I've just received the results of my scan and thankfully nothing bad showed up on it! If two lines show up on a pregnancy test, it means that it is a positive result. I've tried to delete this window on my computer screen but it keeps showing up and won't go away! Despite having washed her favourite shirt several times, the red wine stain still showed up on it. A strange transaction has shown up on my bank statement, so I am going to call the bank now and find out what it relates to. MEANING 2: To expose the true nature of someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To expose someone Separable? Yes Meaning number two of 'show up' is 'to expose the true nature of someone or something', normally when it is something bad. This meaning is not too different from the first one that we have just covered as it is also about something becoming visible to others, however in this case it is a person's true nature. Alternatively, this meaning of 'show up' can be used with reference to the true nature of something, such as an organisation. As I said previously, this application of 'show up' is usually used when someone or something is revealed to be bad or negative in some and you may therefore hear it used with nouns like 'liar', 'hypocrite', 'idiot'. For this application of 'show up' we can use the additional prepositions 'as' and 'for', as well as the verb infinitive 'to be', to specify what the exposed true nature of something is. In addition, if someone does something to expose themselves and show their own true nature, we can use the reflexive pronouns himself, herself, themselves etc. Through the publication of his private text messages, the politician was shown up to be an uncaring and horrible person. The newspaper reports have shown him up as a spoilt and petulant soccer player. During a stressful day in the office, Lisa showed herself up as the horrible and spiteful person that she really is. The government has shown itself up to be incompetent and ineffective. MEANING 3: To arrive Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To arrive, to turn up Separable? No The third meaning of 'show up' is one that I think many of you will already be aware of as it is in common use in English: to arrive. When we use 'show up' in the sense of 'to arrive', it is often to talk about arriving at a planned event or gathering. It is commonly used when there is something unexpected about the arrival such as the person arrives later than expected, is wearing something strange or does not arrive at all and this usage is very similar to that of the phrasal verb 'turn up'. Moreover, we can also use 'show up' to talk about unexpected arrivals of any kind, such as when you have an uninvited guest at your house. In very informal English, it is also possible to omit the preposition 'up' for this meaning and just have the word 'show', e.g. "I had a party last night and hardly anybody showed". Please note that you cannot do the same with 'turn up'. John showed up to work this morning an hour late because he slept through his alarm. My friend didn't show up to the restaurant this evening, which is really unlike him! I hope he is ok. Everyone showed up to the school prom on time, except for the teachers! My cousin showed up at my front door at 3am this morning and woke me up. MEANING 4: To embarrass someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere - more British Potential synonyms To embarrass, to humiliate Separable? Yes Our fourth meaning of 'show up' is to 'embarrass or to humiliate someone' and for this one we have a direct object, which is the person who is being embarrassed. This direct object (the person) tends to go between 'show' and 'up' and in fact 'to show someone up' is a great synonym for 'to embarrass someone'. Please note that placing the object after 'show up' tends to sound wrong to native ears for the most part. In British English, we use 'to show someone up' when a person is embarrassed or humiliated due to somebody else's behaviour or conduct. This could be in a professional work situation but more often than not it is likely to be in a family or social situation. On a more global English level, 'show up' is often used when someone is made to feel embarrassed or stupid because somebody else does something better than they do. I can't believe you behaved like that in front of my colleagues. You really showed me up! Lisa really showed Helen up during the charity event when she told the guests that she had done all of the preparation work and Helen had done nothing. I don't want to play football amateurs, I'm too good and I will just show them up! When the two singers started singing, the older lady was much better than the younger lady and really showed her up. MEANING 5 : To be there for someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium British or American? Everywhere - more American Potential synonyms To be there for someone Separable? No Our fifth and final meaning of 'show up' is 'to be there for someone when they need it' and for this usage we need the extra preposition 'for' before the pronoun or person's name. If you are not sure what 'to be there for someone means', think of the theme tune from the 90s sitcom Friends if you know it. If you don't know it, here it is... To be there for someone basically means to be attentive, comforting and supportive to someone when they are having a bad time or are feeling sad, depressed or upset. In other words, to be a good friend or relative to someone. To 'show up for someone' to mean 'to be there for someone' is a relatively new usage of 'show up' and is found primarily in American English, although it would be certainly be understood by many British speakers, particularly younger ones. My best friends showed up for me when I broke up with my last boyfriend. When your husband or wife needs support, you should always be the first person to show up for them. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'show up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'show up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? If yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'take on' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in. The phrasal verb 'take on' is a commonplace and diverse phrasal verb, in both the field of business English and general English. As such, you may already be familiar with at least one of its meanings. In this post we will cover the different uses that it has in English, as well as the classic 80s song that it features in (although used slightly incorrectly). So, without further ado, let's get started.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'take on' mean? The phrasal verb 'take on' has eight main meanings in English: Literal meaning To employ someone To accept or undertake a task or role To oppose someone or compete against them To acquire a quality To admit passengers (onto public transport) To show emotion To do something without approval or permission TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Take On - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'take' and 'on' Take On - Meaning 1: Literal Take On - Meaning 2: To employ someone Take On - Meaning 3: To accept to undertake a task or role Take On - Meaning 4: To oppose someone or compete against them Take On - Meaning 5: To acquire a quality Take On - Meaning 6: To admit passengers (onto public transport) Take On - Bonus: The idiom 'to take something on board' Take Out - Meaning 7: To show emotion Take Out - Meaning 8: To do something without approval or permission Take Out - Bonus: Take on me - Let's go back to the 80s 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 TAKE ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Separable? Yes Past forms Took on / Taken on As per usual, before we look at the different meanings of 'take on', let's quickly look at the individual words which make it up. Firstly, we have the verb 'to take', which I am sure will be very familiar to all of you. The verb 'to take' is extremely common and has a plethora of different uses and meanings in English such as to move something, to remove something from a place and also to accept something, which is the meaning that is relevant for the phrasal verb 'take on'. Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'on', which has a large number of applications in English too, but perhaps the most relevant definition of it here is 'to be in contact with and supported by something'. So, now we have briefly looked at those, let's get started and see what the wonderful phrasal verb 'take on' actually means.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To carry on Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'take on' that we will look at is the literal meaning of the combination of the two words 'take' and 'on', which is 'to transport or carry something with you when you are moving onto something'. This can be used with any noun for something that we can be 'on', however most of the time we use it in relation to mass transportation such as airplanes and trains, in a similar way to how we use the phrasal verb 'carry on'. It is also very common to use the similar preposition 'onto' here, without a change in meaning. The following items are strictly prohibited and must not be taken on a British Airways aircraft under any circumstance.... I am going to take my book on the train with me so that I can read during the journey. MEANING 2: To employ someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere (Business English) Potential synonyms To employ, to hire Separable? Yes We are starting the non-literal meanings of 'take on' with a business English usage, which is 'to employ or hire someone to work for you or your business'. This can normally be used interchangeably with the verb 'to hire' when talking about the process of advertising for, interviewing and employing new employees. Furthermore, it is used in businesses of all sizes, from huge multinational companies to sole traders who decide that they need some help in their business. As with most of the meanings that we will cover in this post, 'take on' is used transitively here, i.e. with a direct object, and it is absolutely fine to put the direct object (the new employee) either between 'take' and 'on' or after them both, which affects neither the meaning nor the intention. So, we have mentioned that businesses 'take on' new employees, however you should be aware that this can be used in a passive sense too; native speakers who have recently started new jobs often say that "they have been taken on by a company" instead of saying that they have been employed. We are looking to take on a new science teacher as one of our current teachers is on long-term sick leave. The company first took John on as an administrative clerk back in 2003 and now he is one of the company directors. Sorry, we are not taking on any new members of staff at the moment but please continue to monitor the Careers section of our website, in which any new job vacancies will be posted. My daughter has been taken on as trainee photographer with the local newspaper. MEANING 3: To accept to undertake a task or role Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To undertake, to accept Separable? Yes For meaning number three of 'take on', we are going to stay with business English as the meaning of it is 'to accept or undertake to do a role'. As you may have worked out, this third meaning is really just a shift in perspective from the employer to the employee, however there are some differences and they are not exact opposites.... In the first meaning, the use of 'take on' is limited to when a company hires a new employee from outside the company, i.e. they did not work for the company before. However, in this second meaning, where the perspective is shifted to the employee, it is used to express the action of accepting a new, often better, job within the same company, or alternatively accepting additional responsibilities and tasks in an existing job. It is also possible to use this to talk about accepting a job in a new company, or to talk about 'taking on' second jobs outside of your main work e.g. part time work in a restaurant at weekends. The central idea here is that you are accepting to do work, or more work than you currently do. My colleague is leaving the company in two weeks and I have agreed to take on some of her responsibilities until we can find a replacement for her. Due to changes in the management structure, we are pleased to announce that Lisa Smith will be taking on the role of Head of Export and we wish her every success this. Helen was struggling financially and had to take on a part time job as a waitress in a restaurant at weekends in order to make ends meet*. * To make ends meet is a an idiom that means to make just enough money to survive. MEANING 4: To oppose someone or compete against them Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate British or American? Both Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To oppose, to compete against Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'take on' means to oppose someone or something, or alternatively, it can mean to compete against them. Photo: Pexels In the sense of opposing something, we use 'take on' when there is something that we do not agree with or want to stop and therefore we take action in order to makethis happen. It is worth noting here that usually we use this when the person or thing that we are opposing is much bigger or powerful than us in some way. An example of this would be if a person or group of people decides to oppose something that a large multi-national company with billions of dollars is planning to do. In this instance we would say that "they are taking on the company" as the company is much more powerful than the person / group. As I mentioned, we can use 'take on' to talk about entering into competition with someone too. This is used a lot to talk about sporting matches and fixtures but can apply to any competitions where people compete directly against each other. The idea that the opponent is bigger or more powerful also applies here, but it is not always the case and 'take on' can equally be used to describe an ordinary match or competition without a big power imbalance. A common expression used with this meaning is 'to take on the might of*' when a so-called lesser or smaller opponent agrees to compete against or oppose a larger one. The women took on their company in an attempt to get equal pay and after a long legal battle, they won! Accrington Stanley FC are taking on the might of Manchester United in the lunchtime football game tomorrow. The British champion will take on the best long distance runners in the world next week in the London marathon. * To avoid any confusion, 'might' here is a noun meaning 'power' and is not being used as a modal verb of probability. MEANING 5: To acquire a quality Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To acquire Separable? Yes The fifth meaning of 'take on' is to 'acquire a quality or, in the case of words, a new meaning'. The idea of 'take on' here is that an object acquires or absorbs something, which then changes or adds an additional quality to it. In order to understand this meaning, I think it is helpful to think of an item as a collection of qualities. For example, let's imagine our item is a regular tomato soup and its qualities are that it is hot, red, tasty and filling. If we add some chilli flakes to it, it also becomes spicy and so we can then say that after adding the chilli flakes, the soup takes on a spicy quality too. In other words, the soup has absorbed the chilli, which has now changed it. To give you another example, you will have seen a chameleon in the gif for this section and the reason for this is that it is a case in point of something which acquires or 'takes on' the qualities of its environment and in the end resembles it. 'Take on' in this sense can also be used to talk about people, food, situations, stories or anything else where one thing can be integrated or absorbed into another, causing the original thing to change accordingly. The word 'gay' primarily used to mean happy and cheerful but during the twentieth century it took on a completely different meaning. The party was really crazy to begin with but it took on a much more relaxed feel after some of the younger people went off to another party. A large amount of dust from the Sahara desert caused the sky to take on a yellowish colour over much of northern Europe last week. MEANING 6: To admit passengers (onto public transport) Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To admit, to board Separable? Yes The sixth meaning of 'take on' is a rarer meaning that is limited to public transport and it means specifically to stop and allow new passengers to board a vessel. This can be used with airplanes buses and trains, however I think it is most commonly used with boats and ships. In addition to 'taking on' passengers, it is also possible to 'take on' goods and cargo. Furthermore, If a ship or boat is damaged and has a hole in it, leading it to slowly fill with water, we say that the boat is 'taking on water'. Moreover, 'to take on water' is also an idiomatic expression used to describe a situation which is becoming more difficult or hazardous or when problems start arising which could cause you to fail in what you are doing. The cruise ship will stop in Montego Bay tomorrow to take on passengers and supplies. The crew sounded the alarm as soon as they realised that the boat was taking on water and they needed help. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to take something on board' I know that I have just given you a boat-based idiom with 'take on', but there is a second one that I want to tell you about. To take something on board is an idiomatic expression that we use and means 'to fully consider a new piece of information in order to understand and accept it'. The origins of this idiom arose from the need to thoroughly check cargo at seaports before it was accepted and loaded onto a ship, however these days we use it in many different situations. The radio DJ has taken on board the complaints that he received for his bad language and has promised to avoid using it in future. Whenever my wife is mad or upset with me, I always try to think about why and take it on board, so that I can avoid arguments in the future. MEANING 7: To show emotion Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To get upset, to get emotional Separable? No The seventh meaning of 'take on' is a rare meaning that means to show emotion, which is normally negative such as crying and sadness. On a grammatical level, this application of 'take on' is unique compared to the others as it is the only meaning which is intransitive and does not take a direct object. As such, if a person is emotional, we would just say that they were 'taking on' with no need for an object. As I said above, this is certainly a rare meaning that I think is perhaps more literary and perhaps slightly archaic and it is not one that I use or hear people use in everyday English. Nevertheless, it is always good to know these things 😃. What are you taking on for? There is no reason to be sad or upset. MEANING 8: To do something without approval or permission Photo: Pexel CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Where is it used? Everywhere British or American? Both Separable? Always Now we come to our final meaning of the phrasal verb 'take on' and well done for making it this far! This last meaning is more of a common expression than an entire meaning, so I decided to dedicate a section to it as it is a useful one to be aware of. The expression here is 'to take it (up)on oneself to do something' and it means to decide to do something without approval or permission from other people. In other words, if you take it on yourself to do something, you decide that you are going to do something, or perhaps give yourself a responsibility of some sort, without checking with other people first. There are two variations of this expression which are 'to take it on yourself' and 'to take it upon yourself', which both mean exactly the same. Its just a matter of personal choice whether you choose 'on' or 'upon', however personally I prefer the 'upon' version, which is the one I use more frequently and is the more commonly used of the two variations in general. I had all of the wedding preparations under control but then my mother took it upon herself to start arranging the seating plan for the wedding breakfast. Our HR manager has taken it on himself to arrange a charity event to raise money for a good cause. BONUS: Take on me! Let's go back to the 1980s I couldn't finish this blog post without a little nod to a classic 1980s track featuring an amazing video that captivated me when I was very small : Take on Me by A-ha. Despite how well-known and successful this song is, it is quite interesting to note that the title and main lyric of the song 'take on me' is not actually grammatically correct and does sound wrong to a native speaker's ears. The reason for this is that the direct object pronoun (me) needs to go in the middle of the phrasal verb, i.e. 'take me on'. They also do sing the correct lyrics in the song, so they are forgiven; obviously the choice of words is just poetic licence for effect. Anyway, here is the video if you want to check it out. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'take on' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'take on' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Want to understand native speakers more easily and use phrasal verbs more naturally? If yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END