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.... 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 just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'come 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 'come 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 '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.... 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 just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'call in'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'call in'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb '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.... 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 applications within the language. The general idea here though is that it is used to talk about a position on, or a movement towards, the exterior of something. Among its many other applications however, it is worth noting in the context of 'pass out' that 'out' can be used as an adverb to mean 'unconscious' or 'sleeping'. Ok, so now we have covered those, let's take a look at the meaning of '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 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 'pass 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 'pass 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 '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.... 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 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 'show 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 'show 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 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.... 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 land 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 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 on'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'take on'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'go off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. The phrasal verb 'go off' is a multifaceted phrasal verb with many different meanings, ranging from food that is no longer ok to eat to losing your temper. In this post we will cover eight different meanings that it has, as well as some common everyday idioms that features in. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Go Off - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'go' and 'off' Go Off - Meaning 1: To leave and go somewhere else Go Off - Meaning 2: To happen or proceed Go Off - Meaning 3: To stop functioning (electrical device) Go Off - Meaning 4: To be activated Go Off - Meaning 5: To go bad (food) Go Off - Meaning 6: To stop liking something Go Off - Meaning 7: To lose your temper Go Off - Bonus: The expression 'to go off on one' Go Off - Meaning 8: To go to sleep 🇬🇧 Go Off - Bonus: Some common expressions featuring 'go off' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GO OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Went off / Gone off Separable? No The phrasal verb 'go off' consists of the verb 'to go', which is one of the commonest English verbs that you will undoubtedly be very familiar with. The verb 'to go' is all about movement and travel and is used extremely frequently by English speakers to talk about movement from place to place, as well as departing or leaving a place. Another meaning of 'to go' can also be 'to become' and it is used to talk about a change of some sort. As you will see, many of the phrasal verb meanings that we will look at shortly carry both or either of these ideas of changing and moving. The prepositional particle 'off' has a large number of meanings and applications in English, which is perhaps why there are so many varied meanings of 'go off', as you will now see.... MEANING 1: To leave and go somewhere else Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To leave, to depart The first meaning of 'go off' means simply 'to leave somewhere and go elsewhere' and is commonly used by native speakers in this sense. When used an adverb, one of the many meanings of 'off' on its own is 'to leave' and so if you ever hear a native speaker say that "they are off", it probably means that they are about to leave where they are and they wish to say goodbye. We don't tend to use 'go off' to announce to people that we are leaving somewhere, but we do certainly use it to talk about describe the action of departing a place. Often, this 'go off' can be used interchangeably with 'go' with little or no difference in meaning. However, this first usage of 'go off' does not just mean 'to leave' because it also carries the idea that the person is going to a different place, especially if they are likely to be there for a while. In this case we often tend to state the place where the person has 'gone off' to and it is really common among native speakers to use it with nouns like university, work, bed and holiday. John and Helen were here earlier but they have gone off to a friend's house for dinner. My son is going off to university in a few months and I am going to miss him terribly! Lisa is not here I'm afraid. She has gone off backpacking around Argentina and Chile and will be away for a few months. 'Go off' can also be used to say that someone has left a place suddenly or unexpectedly. Roger was here one minute chatting to everyone and then suddenly he just went off to the toilet and he was there for ages! MEANING 2: To happen or proceed Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To proceed, to happen The second meaning of 'go off' means to happen or to proceed and is used to talk about the way in which something happened. This is usually to describe some kind of planned event, action or occasion and to evaluate how well it proceeded, normally to say whether or not it went well or if there were issues or problems. Most of the time this application of 'go off' is used in the past tense as it is describing how successfully an event 'went off'. When talking about an event that was successful, native speakers will often use adverbs such as well, successfully, smoothly or seamlessly. Alternatively, we also use 'without a problem / issue', however there is one expression which definitely wins the prize for the most commonly used : 'to go off without a hitch' (as per the gif). A hitch is a word to describe a slight problem, issue or setback and this expression is used a lot by native speakers, so it is a great one to learn and use. Conversely, when talking about unsuccessful events or events where unexpected things happened, it is more usual for native speakers to say that something 'did not go off without a hitch' or that it 'did not go off as planned / expected'. If you want to elevate your language a little bit more, you can always insert an extra 'as + adverb' into the mix such as 'as well as planned' or 'as successfully as expected'. The wedding went off perfectly! I don't think there were any issues at all! The marketing manager was really pleased as the promotional event that he had organised went off without a hitch. My birthday party didn't go off as planned unfortunately. The bad weather meant that neither the caterer nor half of the guests could get there. MEANING 3: To stop functioning (electrical device) Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To turn off The third meaning of 'go off' that we will cover means to stop working or functioning and is used specifically to talk about electrical devices such as lights, televisions, computers and machines. This is used to describe when an electrical device stops working without human intervention, such as when there is a power cut (blackout), when batteries run out or when there is an electrical problem. We would not normally use it when a person's actions make the device go off as the correct phrasal verbs to use in that instance would be 'turn off' or 'switch off'. If you have read my post on the common phrasal verb ' go on ', you may remember that one of the meanings that it has is the exact opposite of this meaning i.e. when electrical devices start functioning by themselves without human intervention. All of a sudden the lights went off and we had to sit in darkness for 10 minutes until they came back on again. Oh no! For some reason my computer has just gone off and I haven't saved my work!!! The lights in airplanes go off automatically during landing and take off. MEANING 4: To be activated Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be activated, to explode In complete contrast to the previous meaning, this fourth meaning of 'go off' actually means 'to be activated', so basically the opposite meaning! I know this may seem confusing, so let me explain... Whereas in the previous meaning we talked about electrical devices losing power and stopping functioning, with this example we are rather talking about devices that must be activated in some way to perform their main function. Generally, these devices are inactive for most of the time and when they are activated, they perform their function for a temporary period only, such as an alarm. Unlike the previous meaning, this application is not just limited to electrical items and is used with non-electrical items too. Some of the main nouns used with this meaning of 'go off' are: An alarm - This is definitely the natural way that native speakers talk about alarms being activated, especially their morning alarms to wake them up. A gun - We say that a gun 'goes off' when it fires, normally when triggered by accident and not through human intervention or when heard from a distance without knowing who caused the gun to fire. A firework - We talk about 'fireworks going off' when we can hear them, especially if we do not know who is responsible for them. Likewise, we would use this if a firework explodes by accident and not through human intervention. A bomb - If a bomb explodes, we say that it 'goes off'. My alarm goes off at 6.00am every morning. There were fireworks going off everywhere last night! The gun went off by accident but luckily nobody was injured. MEANING 5: To go bad (food) Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To spoil, to go bad Firstly, apologies for the picture in this section, however it is one that gives a very accurate descriptive image of our fifth meaning of 'go off', which is to become inedible due to decomposition. This is primarily a British usage, which we use to to talk about food and drink that we should not consume anymore as it may make us ill and furthermore, would certainly not taste very nice. Like with the first meaning, it is also common in British English to describe bad or mouldy food and drink as 'off' and so this meaning of 'go off' is used to describe the process of changing from edible and healthy to bad and inedible. Eurgh, this milk has definitely gone off. It smells disgusting! If you leave meat out in a warm room, it will not be long before it starts to go off. Sorry, I had to throw your yoghurt in the bin as it had gone off. MEANING 6: To stop liking something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop liking, to lose interest For meaning number six of 'go off' we are going to stay with British usages as it means to stop liking something, or alternatively to lose interest in it, and this is a bit similar to the last meaning as it is another case of going from something to positive (like) to something negative (dislike). It can be used to describe when we stop liking people, both in a romantic and a non-romantic sense, as well as items, ideas and activities. This is quite similar to the phrasal verb ' put off ', which can also mean to stop liking something. With 'put off' though, there is normally something which makes us stop liking it, whereas with 'go off' the focus is not the, it is normally either because the novelty has worn off or we have naturally lost interest. I used to like this song but I've heard it so much now that I have gone off it. You can easily go off people! My daughter wanted to go to university in the USA but now she's seen how much it will cost, she has gone off the idea. MEANING 7: To lose your temper Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To lose your temper We've now reached our seventh meaning, so well done if you are still with me! This seventh meaning of 'go off' means to suddenly become angry. This meaning is probably derived from the fourth meaning of 'becoming activated' but instead of an electrical device being activated, in this instance it is a person's anger. If we become angry with a particular person and start shouting at them, we can say that we 'go off on them', with the additional preposition 'on' necessary. Look at the state of the house! You had better clean it up or Mom is going to go off when she sees it! Roger's boss went off at him when Roger told him that he wanted to leave the company. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The expression 'to go off on one' In continuation of this meaning, in informal British English the idiom 'to go off on one' exists to describe when a person suddenly becomes very angry or very excited (or both). Helen went off on one as soon as she realised that her bike had been stolen. My Dad will go off on one if he finds out that you have broken his golf clubs. MEANING 8: To go to sleep Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium British or American? British Potential synonyms To go to sleep, to drop off, to get off We've now come to our eighth and final usage of 'go off', which means to fall asleep. This is another usage found in British English and is quite informal. It is used very similarly to ' get off ' and is used to used to describe the process of falling asleep. I went off to sleep really early last night. I must have been really tired! My baby has gone off to sleep for a bit, so now I have the chance to do some housework. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Some common expressions featuring 'go off' The phrasal verb 'go off' is used in a few more idiomatic expressions, which i want to make you aware of before you test what you have learned in the exercise.... To go off on a tangent - This idiomatic expression is used to describe when a person suddenly starts talking about a completely different or irrelevant subject whilst in a conversation with someone. To go off the boil - This is a chiefly British expression to describe when something becomes less urgent than it previously was. Moreover, if you say that something 'has gone off the boil', it can also mean that it is no longer as popular or successful as it once was in the past. To go off the rails - This idiom is primarily used to describe people who start behaving in a socially unacceptable or inappropriate way and is regularly used to describe rebellious teenagers and adolescents. To go off the deep end - This final idiom that I want to give you means to start acting irrationally, excited or angry, without without fully understanding a situation. We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'go off'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'go off'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'check 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. If you follow me on social media or have read many of my posts in the past, you may have noticed that I use the phrasal verb 'check out' a lot. Consequently, I thought it was about time that 'check out' had a post of its own and so in this post we will put it under the microscope and look at all its different uses. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Check Out - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'check' and 'out' Check Out - Meaning 1: To leave a hotel Check Out - Meaning 2: To look at something Check Out - Meaning 3: To prove to be true Check Out - Meaning 4: To ogle someone Check Out - Meaning 5: To enter into a cash register 🇺🇸 Check Out - Bonus: The noun 'checkout' Check Out - Meaning 6: To die 🇺🇸 Check Out - Meaning 7: To stop paying attention to something 🇺🇸 Check Out - Bonus: The expression 'check you 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 CHECK OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Separable? Yes Past tense forms Checked out / Checked out Before we look at the meanings of 'check out', let's take a quick look at the words which make it up . The verb 'check' is a commonly used verb in English, which has a couple of different meanings but the most common one is 'to verify something by examination'. This word can pose problems for some English learners who often use the word 'control' instead of the word' check because it is a notorious "false friend" in many languages and the verb 'to control' in English generally has a very different meaning i.e. to exert power over someone or something. Photo: Pexels The prepositional particle 'out' is one that has featured in many of my posts already and isused to talk about the exterior of something, or movement towards an outside space when used as an adverb. So, with that in mind, let's take a look at the different meanings of 'check out'... MEANING 1: To leave a hotel Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To leave, to vacate, to pay up, to settle up Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'check out' will be familiar to anybody who has ever stayed in a hotel in an English-speaking country, as it means 'to pay the bill for your hotel room and leave the hotel or accommodation where you are staying'. Photo: Pexels The origins of this particular application are relatively recent (1950s) and I believe that it comes from the meaning of the verb 'to check', as in to mark something off a list, which is also linked to the noun 'checklist'. When a guest leaves a hotel, they are marked on the list as being 'out' of their room, which is now vacant for the next guests to use (after the cleaners have been in, of course). The application of 'check out' in this sense also covers the payment process and anything else that may be involved with the guest's departure. In other words, 'check out' has evolved in English to cover the entire procedure. Normally, when using 'check out' in this way, we do not require a direct object, however occasionally it can be used in a transitive way (with a direct object) when referring to a person who is performing the action of "checking someone out" by taking the key from the guest, updating the computer system, taking payment etc. The guest is always the direct object in this case. Moreover, it is very common to hear check out used with certain words such as 'time', 'late' and 'procedure'. Check-out is regularly used as a noun too. Do you have any idea what time we have to check out of our rooms tomorrow morning? There was a problem with the computers in the hotel and the receptionist had real problems checking us out. I've paid for a late check-out tomorrow, so we can stay in bed a little longer. MEANING 2: To look at something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To look at, to take a look, Separable? Yes Now we come to the second meaning of 'check out', which is the one that I use a lot on my social media accounts as the central meaning of it is 'to look at something'. There are however slightly different variations within the meaning of this usage, which are dependant on the situation. Firstly, as I mentioned, the core meaning here is to look at something and this can often be used as an imperative when we want someone to give their attention to something, especially if we think that it will amuse, entertain or shock them in some way. Oh wow, check out what Lisa is wearing today! You are not going to believe it! I saw this amazing video online last night, here check it out! Check out my new shoes, they're pretty nice aren't they! A second variation of this usage is to look at something out of curiosity, often because other people have told you about it and you want to see what it is like with your own eyes. For example, if several people tell you that a restaurant is very good, you may also want to go there to check it out for yourself and see what it is like. Further to this however, the action of 'checking out' refers to more than simply seeing something and also includes experiencing something with some or all of your senses and this can be used with anything from music to food and books. A few people have told me that this album is really good, so I am going to check it out tonight to see what all of the fuss is about. When you go to New York, you need to check out this restaurant in Brooklyn. You'll love it! We only moved to the city last week, so we are going to spend this weekend checking out everything that it has to offer. MEANING 3: To prove to be true Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To corroborate, to confirm, to verify Separable? No The third usage of 'check out' is quite similar the second usage that we just discussed as it also means to 'look at something', however, this time in the sense of 'considering it' or 'thinking about it', with the extra element of investigating and verifying if it is true or not. In other words, if someone makes a claim about something and you are not sure if the claim is truthful or not, you may need to check out the details of it in order to establish if what the person is claiming is indeed real. This is quite similar to the phrasal verb ' look into ', but where 'look into' places maximum emphasis emphasis on investigating the details of something, 'check out' is more concerned with whether or not a claim is true or false, although some investigation is also usually required. Can you please leave this with me so I can check out the details and come back to you. The criminal has told the police that he wasn't in the area at the time of the crime, so they are checking out his story now to see if it is true. A notable and frequently used variation of this usage is when we say that something 'checks out', meaning that something proves to be true following an investigation. For this, the verb form is inseparable and we do not place any direct object between 'check' and 'out'. Following their investigation, the police confirmed that the criminal's alibi checked out and he was definitely not in the area at the time of the crime. I've looked into what Lisa is saying about the fraud claims in the company and it checks out. MEANING 4: To ogle someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To ogle, to leer, to give someone the glad eye, to perv on Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'check out' is yet another extension of the 'look at' meaning that we have already covered in the post and it means 'to ogle someone', which means to look at someone with sexual interest. You will note in the potential synonyms section above that we have many ways of describing this in English and in comparison with some of its synonyms, I think that 'check out' is more light-hearted and socially acceptable than others such as 'leer' and 'ogle', which carry more sinister and negative connotations. As such, you may hear this form in English song lyrics and upbeat movies etc. That guy over there in the white and blue t-shirt has been checking you out for the last 15 minutes! He's really into you! I was on a date with a guy last week and I noticed that he was checking out every single woman that walked past, so I went home and left him there. MEANING 5: To enter into a cash register Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Rare / specific Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To ring through, to serve Separable? Yes The fifth meaning of 'check out' is a meaning that tends to be used in American English and means to operate a cash register in a shop, store or supermarket. This usage is used specifically to talk about the complete action of a cashier entering the goods to be purchased into a cash register, calculating the price to be paid by the customer and taking payment from them accordingly. The best equivalent of this in British English would be 'to serve'. Furthermore, 'check out' is also used in American English when talking about borrowing books from libraries and refers to the action of registering with the library that you are taking the books for limited period of time, at which point the books in question will be marked as 'out' on the library system, in a similar fashion to checking out in a hotel. I am so tired as I have been checking out customers all day and the store was so busy! Lisa checked out five library books last week and has read them all aleady! Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'checkout' Photo: Pexels I imagine that many of you will already know this, but the noun 'checkout' is one which is derived directly from the phrasal verb and refers to the part of the shop in which payment for goods is made. MEANING 6: To die CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare / informal Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To die, to pass away, to pop your clogs, to kick the bucket Separable? No Meaning number six of 'check out' is a very informal meaning used in American English and is a slang form used to mean 'to die'. As a native British English speaker, this meaning is quite alien to me and is not one that I would personally use, however if you prefer American English then is certainty one worth knowing. MEANING 7: To stop paying attention to something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare / informal Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To lose interest, to zone out Separable? No Now we have come to our seventh and final meaning of 'check out', which is another informal application, once again used primarily in American English, and means to lose interest in something and to stop paying attention to it. This is often used for situations in which people need to concentrate on something but they get bored and start thinking about something else, in other words they 'mentally check out of the conversation or situation'. Sorry, what did you just say? I'm afraid I checked out about five minutes ago. Roger looked at his pupils and could see some who had clearly checked out and were playing on their cellphones. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Ooh! Check you out! If you spend time with any native speakers, you may have heard them use the expression 'check you out!'. This is a common informal expression that is used to say that you are impressed either with something that somebody has done or with a skill that the person has acquired. For example, if someone shows you a new skateboarding trick that they have learned and you find it impressive, you might say to them "wow, check you out!". You've had your hair cut, check you out! Check you out! You've passed all of your exams and are off to Cambridge university. Im very impressed. 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 'check 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 'check 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 'carry out' 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. The phrasal verb 'carry out' is a commonly used phrasal verb, both in its literal and idiomatic applications. This is one that you have come across in a business or professional sense as it is very commonly used to describe to work and jobs. That is not its only meaning however, and in this post we will look at exactly how native speakers use it and in which situations. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Carry Out - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'carry' and 'out' Carry Out - Meaning 1: Literal meaning Carry Out - Meaning 2: To perform or complete an activity Carry Out - Meaning 3: To implement a plan or threat Carry Out - Bonus: An extra meaning if you ever go to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 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 CARRY OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Separable? Yes Past tense forms Carried out / Carried out To begin with, let's take a quick look at the words 'carry' and 'out' , in order to gain some background knowledge on the phrasal verb 'carry out'. Photo: Pexels The verb 'to carry' is a common verb with the core meaning of 'supporting something off the ground and moving with it from one place to another'. When we use this verb we are normally talking about transporting an object, person or animal and it can be used with any nouns for things that can be physically lifted and moved. It can also be used to talk about items which we have with us at all times in our pockets or on our person such as a wallet or an identity card. If you want to use 'carry' at an advanced level, you can use it to describe abstract nouns too, such as conviction, (prison) sentence, warning and guarantee. We then have the prepositional particle 'out', which has many usages in English. The central idea of 'out' is the opposite of 'in'. i.e. the exterior of something. Used as adverb 'out' often means movement from an interior space, which will certainly be relevant for the first meaning of 'carry out' that will look at now.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To take out, to bring out Separable? Yes Our first meaning of 'carry out' is a nice and easy one as it is just the literal semantic combination of the two words 'carry' and 'out'. In other words, physically supporting something and moving with it from an interior space to an exterior space, or possibly to a different interior space (the key element is that the object is no longer in the original interior space). For this, the object can be any nouns for a thing that can lifted and carried. This literal version of 'carry out' is used mainly for human activity and therefore the indirect object (the inside space) can be any nouns that a person can be physically 'in', so that they can perform the action of 'carrying'. Don't forget the additional preposition 'of' is required for the indirect object. As such, nouns that are commonly 'carried out' include people, furniture, boxes, The list goes on and on but you get the point! Lisa fell over in her office and had to be carried out on a stretcher as she could not walk. Can you please help me carry these boxes out to the car? This bed is too big to be carried out of this room by just one person. MEANING 2: To perform or complete an activity Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To do, to perform, to fulfil, to complete, to conduct Separable? Yes The second meaning of 'carry out' is an idiomatic one and means 'to perform or complete an activity'. I think that this is perhaps the most common application of this phrasal verb as it is used across all walks of life, especially in the world of work and business. 'Carry out' used this way is mainly used to talk about performing a specific task or job such as a car repair, building work, an audit or a review. It is not really used to talk about a general job, vocation or career. Outside of the world of work, it is used to talk about crimes, attacks and other unpleasant activities that some people get involved in. Nevertheless, I'm sure that you can imagine that this application of 'carry out' is used with a diverse and wide variety of different nouns. In many cases, this meaning of 'carry out' is exactly the same as 'to do' when talking about a specific task or job and, in fact, I think that this is one of the rare occasions that the phrasal verb equivalent sounds more formal and elevated than its non-phrasal verb synonym, perhaps because the verb 'to do', is such an ordinary and commonplace verb. We are planning to carry out some research next year on people's attitudes towards climate change. The criminal gang carried out a series of armed robberies over a three year period. The train company is carrying out an excavation of the site this week in preparation for the railway lines to be laid in the next few months. Essential roadworks will be carried out on this road from Monday 18th May for a period of six weeks, so please plan your journey accordingly. MEANING 3: To implement a plan or a threat Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To implement, to go through with, to put into action, to put into effect, to follow through on Separable? Yes The third and final meaning of 'carry out' is to implement a plan or a threat, but can also be used with any other nouns that signify our intentions. In fact, this usage of 'carry out' is all about our future intentions, good or bad, and whether or not we implement them or put them into action. In other words, if you have a plan to do something and then you go ahead and do everything that you planned to do, you can say that you have "carried out your plan". This is exactly the same when talking about threats (which I guess are a type of plan). Other nouns that are less commonly used with this application of 'carry out' are 'commitment', 'instruction', 'idea' and 'strategy'. Despite some unexpected setbacks, we still hope to carry out our plan to make this company the leader within its sector by the end of the decade. We never actually believed that John would carry out his threat to ban his children from watching television, but he has done it! It is essential that you develop a great marketing strategy and then it carry it out if you want your business to survive. Photo: Pexels BONUS: An extra meaning if you ever go to Scotland For anyone with a particular interest in Scottish English, the phrasal verb 'carry out' also has a noun version, 'carry-out', which is in common usage in Scotland to describe several different things related to food and drink. Photo: Freepiks Firstly, it can mean food that is bought at a restaurant and taken away to be eaten, which is called a takeaway in England and a takeout in American English (although I believe carry-out) is also used in the USA to mean the same thing). On the same theme, the restaurant where the 'carry-out' food is bought can be referred to as 'a carry-out' too (confusing I know!). The last meaning of 'carry-out' as a noun refers to alcohol that is bought in a shop or a pub and taken to a different place e.g. home or a party to be consumed. I don't want to cook tonight. Shall we get a carry-out for dinner instead? We didn't want to stay in the bar, so we bought some carry-out wine and took it home 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 'carry 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 'carry 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 'look 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. The phrasal verb 'look up' has a number of different meanings in English, some of which I am sure will be very familiar to you. In this post, I will look at each of its different applications and meanings, with examples of typical usage. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Look Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'look' and 'up' Look Up - Meaning 1: To look in an upwards direction Look Up - Meaning 2: To search for information Look Up - Meaning 3: To improve Look Up - Meaning 4: To visit someone Look Up - Meaning 5: To admire and respect 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 LOOK UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Looked up / Looked up Separable? Yes Before we look at the different meanings of 'look up', let's take a second to consider its constituent parts as this can often be a useful way to understand some of the idiomatic meanings of a phrasal verb. The verb 'to look' is undoubtedly one that you will know very well and means to direct our vision in a particular direction, in order to see something. The prepositional particle 'up' is one that has featured in many posts on this blog already and is used to specify movement away from the ground or towards the sky. So, with those in mind let's take a look at the different phrasal verb meanings, starting with the literal meaning.... MEANING 1: To look in an upwards direction Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To stare up, to glance up, to peer up Separable? No This first meaning of 'look up' is the literal meaning of these two words combined and therefore simply means to look in an upwards direction. As you can imagine, this literal meaning is generally used to describe the action of moving your head back in order to see something that is higher than or above you. However, it is also used when we are looking down at something and move our heads to "normal" position, in order to see what is happening around us. In this latter case where we start in a looking down position, we need the extra preposition 'from'. This is used more and more in today's world as most people seem to spend a large amount of their time looking down at their smartphones. Photo: Pexels I heard a meowing noise above me and when I looked up I saw a cat in the tree that I was standing under. Look up there, can you see the shooting star? Lisa looked up from her phone and realised that all of her friends had left without her. MEANING 2: To search for information Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To search, to find out Separable? Yes The second meaning of 'look up' is one that I think most of you will be very familiar with as it means to search for information, normally either in a book or online using a search engine or informative website. This application of 'look up' is separable and takes a direct object (the information that you want to find out) and this can be placed either between 'look' and 'up' or after 'up'. Alternatively, the pronoun 'it' can be placed in the middle of 'look' and 'up' if the object has already been specified, to avoid having to repeat it again unnecessarily. Before the rise of the internet, this usage of 'look up' was limited mainly to dictionaries and encyclopaedias and at the tie people said that they "looked something up in a dictionary". Nowadays however, the usage of this meaning has exploded with the rise of the internet and now instead of the dictionary the majority of people "look something up online". I had no idea what the phrase "make do*" meant in English, so I had to look it up! Helen wasn't sure about how to cook rice properly and despite looking up the information online, she still managed to get it wrong. We looked up the word 'set' in the dictionary and were really surprised to learn how many definitions it has in the English language. * To make do means to manage with what is available although it is not ideal or what you wanted. MEANING 3: To improve Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To improve, to get better Separable? No Our third meaning of 'look up' is a very positive and optimistic one, which is always welcome, and it means to improve or get better. It should be noted here that this usage is limited to describing general situations and is not used to talk about specific things or people improving. As such, it is very common to use the noun 'things' in collocation with 'look up' here. Something else to make you aware of with this application of 'look up' is that it is only used in the progressive or continuous ('ing) form to describe a situation which is or is not improving. It has been a really hard few months but things are looking up now and the future is bright! Business is really looking up and we are forecasting a very successful year this year. Things were looking up for me until I lost my job but hopefully I will find another one soon! MEANING 4: To visit someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level ​C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere - more American Potential synonyms To visit, to contact, to get in touch with Separable? Yes This fourth meaning of 'look up' is a rarer one than the meanings that we have looked at so far and means to visit a person, specifically when you are in the town or city in which they live. To clarify, this application is generally used for interactions with people who you know and who live far away from you and is used as an invitation to say come and see me if you are ever in the area where I live. In terms of the grammar here, this is separable and the object (the person who you are visiting) goes in between look and up, especially if you are the person inviting the other to visit you ('look up me' is completely wrong). We do use this meaning of 'look up' in British English and it would definitely be understood, however it does feel more American in usage to me. Look me up the next time that you are in Denver. It would be great to see you again! If you're ever in Liverpool, you should look my sister up. She will show you around the city and tell you the best places to go. When I am in New York next, I will be sure to look you up. MEANING 5: To admire and respect someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To admire, to respect, to idolise, to revere Separable? No This fifth and final meaning of 'look up' is to admire and respect someone and I've left it until last as it requires the additional preposition 'to' in order for it to be used. Photo: Pexels If we 'look up to someone' it is something very complimentary and positive and means that we want or aspire to be like that person in some way. This is often (but not always) used for people who are older than us, for people who are respected experts in a field that we are also in or perhaps for famous people who we are fans of or who inspire us in some way. In other words, these people are role models. Regardless of the specifics, the central idea is that we hold these people on a kind of pedestal above us in our minds and to see them we need to look up (as per meaning one). I really looked up to you when I was growing up and I am so pleased to be able to finally meet you in person. He is one of the greatest tennis players of all time and I have looked up to him ever since I started playing tennis myself. Roger desperately wants to a role model for his students and for them to look up to him. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'look 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 'look 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 'put on' 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. The phrasal verb 'put on' is an extremely common and diversely used phrasal verb in the English language. In this post we will look at its diverse range of meanings and particular uses, including placing clothes on your body, gaining weight and acting in an insincere way. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'put' and 'on' Meaning 1: To place on a surface (literal) Meaning 2: To place something on your body Meaning 3: To make something operate Meaning 4: To organise an event or show Meaning 5: To be deceptive Bonus: The idiom 'to put on airs and graces' Meaning 6: To trick someone 🇺🇸 Bonus: Common expressions featuring 'put on' 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 PUT ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Put on / Put on Separable? Yes Our phrasal verb of choice this week is made up of the common and diverse verb 'to put', along with the prepositional particle 'up'. The main meaning of the verb 'to put' is to place something in, or move something to, a particular place, and it is used frequently by English native speakers with a wide and varied selection of nouns, both physical and abstract. I think for this reason, there are also multiple meanings and uses of 'put on', which we will look at shortly. The prepositional particle 'on' is one that you will all be familiar with already and means 'to be in contact with and (usually) above a surface', often with the surface supporting the object. Ok, so now we have the basics covered, the first meaning should be a walk in the park.... MEANING 1: To place on a surface (literal) Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To place, to set, to position Separable? Yes With the individual meanings of the component words in mind, it should be no surprise to you that the first meaning of 'put on' is the literal meaning of the combination of the two words i.e. to physically place an object onto a surface. As such, this is very commonplace language in everyday life and you will certainly hear it sooner or later if you spend time in an English speaking environment. As this one is a straightforward meaning, let's move on, but before we do, here are a handful of examples of typical usage.... Please can you pick up those books and put them on the bookshelf. Have you seen my keys? I put them on the table when I got home but they aren't there anymore. John put his coffee on his car roof and forgot all about it. MEANING 2: To place something on your body Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To get dressed, to try on Separable? Yes The next meaning of 'put on' is a small departure from the literal meaning that we have just looked at but it is nonetheless a similar concept as it means, specifically, to place something on your body, rather than on a generic surface, like a table or a shelf. The majority of the time, 'put on' is used in this sense when we want to wear something and therefore it is used with all types of clothes, including glasses, watches, jewellery and wigs. It is also used to talk about applying make-up to your face. It should be noted that 'put on' is used specifically for the action of placing the item on your body and should not be confused with the verb 'to wear', which is used to describe the state of having an item on you body for a period of time. Will you put on some decent clothes, we have got visitors! Ok your eye test has finished, you can put your glasses back on again now. I was about to put on my trainers and go running this morning when it started raining. Helen put her best dress on and headed out to the office party. MEANING 3: To make something operate Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To turn on, to switch on Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'put on' is to make something operate or function, normally by activating it with a button or switch. This usage derives from the adverbial meaning of 'on', to describe an electrical device that is in operation e.g. the television is on, and so this meaning of 'put on' is used to describe the action of making the device function. This is very similar to the other phrasal verbs 'turn on' and 'switch on'. Interestingly though, whilst you can also turn off and switch off a device, you cannot 'put off' a device.....I'm not sure why, but it does not sound correct at all. Sometimes we do not always refer to the physical device that we are 'putting on', but rather the end product. A prime example of this would be music, as it is normal to say that we 'put on music' rather than 'put on a CD player' (an outdated reference, I know). Another such example of this would be food and you can often hear native speakers talk about 'putting food on' to say they will start cooking it. This meaning is separable and the direct object can either go in the middle of the phrasal verb construction or at the end, without altering the meaning. It's so hot in here, can someone put the air conditioning on. Quick, put the television on, you're on the news! Sometimes I like to run a nice bath, put on some classical music and relax. I've put some pasta on, so it should be ready in about 15 minutes. What film shall I put on this evening? MEANING 4: To organise an event or show Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To organise, to stage Separable? Yes This next meaning of 'put on' is to organise a public event, which people can attend and / or watch. This is used to talk about organising shows, plays, concerts, charity events, displays, exhibitions and festivals, as well any other events that I may have forgotten. In this sense 'put on' can be used to describe the act of organising the event as well as to talk about the performer(s) and how well or badly they performed. The local amateur dramatics society is putting on a charity play this week, shall we go? The company is putting on an exhibition to mark their 100th anniversary. The rock band Queen always put on a good show. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Putting on transport In British English 'put on' can also be used to talk about public transport when additional train or bus services are made available to people due to exceptional circumstances. See the examples below.... Due to the ongoing train strikes, the local council is putting on additional bus services to help people get around the city. The company put on extra trains before and after the football game to help disperse the crowds quickly. MEANING 5: To be deceptive Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common British or American? Both Potential synonyms To deceive Separable? Yes The fifth meaning of 'put on' means to deceive people and is used to describe act in a way that is contrary to reality, to try and fool others (or sometimes themselves). This meaning of 'put on' is used when people change the way that they interact with, or appear, to others, such as purposely changing their accent to sound like they come from a different place (putting on an accent) or modifying their facial expressions to hide what they are really feeling. The expression 'to put on a front' can often be used here, specifically when someone appears positive or happy in a situation but in reality they are very sad, scared or nervous. In addition to appearance, we can also use 'put on' to talk about when someone is lying about something and subsequently behaving in a way to support the lie. An example of this would be if someone pretends to be sick and then acts like they are sick by coughing etc. to support the pretence. If other people don't believe that the illness is genuine, they may say that the person is putting it on. One other thing to note here is that we use the adjectival form 'put-on' to describe the fake or dishonest action. He's so good at putting on an American accent. He even fools actual Americans! I put on a brave face at work today but inside I felt like crying all day. John phoned in sick to work earlier today, however his boss believes that he is putting it on so that he can go to his child's sports day at school. Lisa does not come from Scotland, her Scottish accent is obviously put on. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to put on airs and graces' A nice idiom to make you aware of here is "to put on airs and graces", which means to behave in such a way as to impress people and make them think that you are more important or sophisticated than you really are. If you put on airs and graces, you generally want people to believe that you are from a higher social class and often come across as pretentious to other people. MEANING 6: To trick someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Mainly American English Potential synonyms To trick, to fool, to prank, to have someone on Separable? Yes Our sixth and final meaning is 'to put someone on', which means to trick someone or play a joke on them, often by telling them something that is not true and making them believe it. This usage is primarily American and as such, is not something that I would normally use in my British English. Alternatively, in British English we would be likely to say 'to have someone on' to mean the same thing. Incidentally, 'put someone on' does exist in British English, however the meaning is totally different and would normally be used in the context of telephone calls when we want to request to speak to another person, often in the room. This can't be genuine! Are you putting me on? If you guys are trying to put me on, I think you should know that I can see through your tricks. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Common expressions featuring 'put on' Although we have now examined the different meanings of 'put on' in English, we are not done yet though as there are also a large number of expressions and specific situations in which 'put on' is used and here are some of the most commonly used ones.... To put money on something = To put money on something means to gamble or place a bet. For this, you can state the exact amount e.g. you could put $5 on a team to win a football game, or you can say that you would put money on something, if you are absolutely certain that something is true or will happen in the future. To put on weight = This is another way of saying that you gain weight or become heavier and is primarily British in usage. To be put on medication = If we are ever prescribed medication by a doctor or medical professional, we can say that we have been put on medication, in a passive sense. This applies for both humans and animals. To put a spell on someone = This is one that you may have come across if you are into the fantasy genre as it means to use magic on someone. To put on a (good) spread = If someone puts on a (good) spread, it means that they are hosting a dinner party or event and they provide a lot of food and drink. The word 'good' is an optional extra here but is often used by complimentary guests. To put on charge = Our final usage in this section means to plug something in to recharge, such as a cellphone or a battery of some kind. As you can imagine, this has become a very well-used expression since the rise of the cellphone and I must say it at least once a 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 'put on'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'put on'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END