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An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'sell 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 like a native. This post is all about the phrasal verb 'sell out', which you may be familiar with if you are a keen shopper or you like going to concerts or events. This moderately common phrasal verb can be used to talk about a range of different subjects including buying things and breaking someone's trust. Across it's different meanings however there is a core idea of exchanging one thing for another and for each meaning I will give you lots of example sentences to show you how to use them. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'sell out' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'sell out' mean? The phrasal verb 'sell out' has four main meanings in English.... To sell all of something To sell a business To abandon your principles To betray someone for personal gain Keep reading to learn how to use each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Sell Out - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'sell' and 'out' Sell Out - Meaning 1: To sell all of something Sell Out - Meaning 2: To sell a business Sell Out - Meaning 3: To abandon your principles Sell Out - Meaning 4: To betray someone for personal gain Sell Out - Bonus: The noun 'sell-out' 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 SELL OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Sold out / Sold out Separable? Sometimes The phrasal verb 'sell out' is a combination of the verb 'to sell' and the prepositional particle 'out' and before we look at the phrasal verbs meanings, let's first take a brief look at what these two component words mean on their own.... Sell - 'To sell' is a common verb in English meaning to provide someone with a product or service in exchange for money or financial gain. This is by far its most common meaning, however it can also be used to mean 'to convince someone that something is a good idea'. 'To sell' is an irregular verb, with 'sold' being both of its past tense forms. James wants to sell his car. We are selling our house as we want to buy a bigger one. Do you sell candles? Jenny sold over 100 cakes at the village show. I tried to sell the idea of joining the gym to my parents. Out - 'Out' is one of the most common and diverse particles that we find in English phrasal verbs. It's core meanings are 'movement from an internal space to an external one' and 'being situated in an external space' and it therefore functions as the natural opposite of 'in'. These core ideas can be found in more literal phrasal verb meanings (go out, walk out), however many other ideas can also be communicated by 'out' in phrasal verbs. These include becoming known (find out), distribution (spread out), clarification (work out), exhaustion (wear out) and elimination (rule out). This final idea of elimination (or removal) that we get from 'out' is one that is most relesant for the phrasal verb 'sell out'. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the different meanings of 'sell out'.... MEANING 1: To sell all of something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To run out Separable? No Our first meaning of the phrasal verb 'sell out' is the most common one and the one that you are most likely to know and means 'to sell all of something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Item Product Stock Ticket Places I think that many of you will been in that annoying situation where you go to a shop to buy something that you need and are immediately disappointed to learn that the item that you want is not available because the shop has already sold all of its stock 😡 When this happens, we can say that item has "sold out". To clarify, we use this application of 'sold out' when all of the available items or stock of something have been sold and there are no more left for other people to buy. The two main areas in which you find this application being used are for products in shops and stores (both physical and online) and tickets for events that people can attend. We can use this to talk in a general sense about when products that typically sell out.... Limited-edition trainers usually sell out within minutes. Their summer jackets always sell out before August. Cheap flights to Spain tend to sell out fast. The bakery’s cinnamon rolls sell out by noon. The seats near the stage usually sell out very quickly. In a more specific sense, it is also common for sellers and retailers to say that something is "selling out quickly" when they are selling a lot of something and it is expected that soon there will be no more of it available. This can often be employed as a sales trick to encourage more people to buy a product.... The concert tickets are selling out quickly. These jackets are selling out quickly online, so get your orders in soon so that you do not miss out! Our summer courses are selling out quickly this year. The festival is selling out quickly after yesterday’s announcement. Furthermore, we often see this application of 'sell out' being used to talk about a specific product that is no longer available. For this, we often express this using the present perfect tense (has/have sold out) or the simple past (sold out). This is also very common to see in reference to tickets popular shows, concerts, festivals and sporting events. The concert sold out in just twenty minutes. All the tickets sold out before midday. The bakery usually sells out by lunchtime. Their new trainers sold out on the first day. The event has already sold out. The smaller sizes have sold out first again. The festival has sold out for the third year in a row. Those limited-edition trainers have completely sold out. The hotel rooms have sold out this weekend due to the football match. On a grammatical note, although this application is technically separate, native speakers tend not to use it in a separable way. Instead, we use the additional preposition 'of' after 'sell out' to indicate the depleted item. We have sold out of toilet rolls. All of the shops in the city had sold out of fireworks before midday. MEANING 2: To sell a business Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere - Business English Potential synonyms To sell up, to sell off, to divest Separable? Yes Let's move to the world of business English for our second application of the phrasal verb 'sell out', which means 'to sell a business'. Nouns commonly used with this application... Business Company Stake Share For this application, we are staying with the key idea of selling but this time we are looking at it from the perspective of selling assets rather than products. Typically, when a business owner sells out, they decide to sell the business as they need money. This may be the entire business or just a part of it. In rarer cases, 'sell out' could also be used on a more personal level to describe when someone sells everything that they own, again with the idea of raising much needed money. After building the company for twenty years, Barbara finally sold out and retired. The company's founders sold out to a larger technology firm last year. John sold out his share of the business and moved abroad. They decided to sell out before the market became more competitive. The brothers sold out to an international corporation. Mrs Smith sold out her stake in the company for several million pounds. A lot of small shop owners eventually sell out to bigger chains. After deciding to move abroad, the family sold out and started a new life in Thailand. Gavin sold out completely, packed his bags, and bought a boat to sail around the world. MEANING 3: To abandon your principles Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To abandon (your principles) Separable? No The third application of the phrasal verb 'sell out' is one that is not directly about selling something but it is one that is often influenced by money and means 'to abandon your principles'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Beliefs Principles Standards I am sure that most of you reading this will have beliefs and principles in life that you follow, and that are important to you. For example, some of you may be vegetarian, some of you may not support big global corporations in favour of small businesses and some of you might hold strong political views about specific issues. Whatever your principles are, if someone offered you a large sum of money to do something that was against them, would you do it? In this scenario, if you said "yes", you would be 'selling out'. Typically, 'selling out' happens when people who have traditionally held views or values about something, abandon these in exchange for money, fame or some kind of advantage. Moreover, it can be used for individuals, groups of people and businesses. Consequently, this meaning of 'sell out' is primarily used in a negative way as it is used to express disapproval and criticism of the person or group's decision. Many fans thought the band had sold out after signing with a major record label. Pete used to criticise big corporations, but then he joined one himself; some of his friends say that he sold out. The actress was accused of selling out when she started appearing in gambling advertisements. They promised to protect the environment, but voters feel the party sold out once they entered government. The singer refused to sell out just to become more popular. The magazine used to publish serious journalism, but recently it has completely sold out. Some artists never recover their reputation after selling out commercially. Lionel insists he hasn’t sold out; he just wants to reach a wider audience. Critics claim the company sold out by putting profit before quality. MEANING 4: To betray someone for personal gain Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To betray, to backstab Separable? Yes Our fourth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'sell out' is really a continuation of the previous one and means 'to betray someone for personal gain'. Firstly, if you are not sure about the meaning of the verb 'to betray', it means to break someone's trust by being disloyal to them or doing something that could hurt or offend them like breaking a promise that you made to them etc. Therefore, if you sell someone out, it means that you do something for personal gain or advantage but you hurt or disappoint someone who trusts you in the process. This may be for a number of reasons like obtaining money or status or avoiding punishment. As we are talking about trust here and so we typically use it for people with whom you have a close and trusting relationship such as a family member or good friend. Moreover, this can also be used for colleagues / co-workers. Grammatically speaking, we typically always use this in a separable way, with the person who is hurt or disappointed going between 'sell' and 'out'. Barnaby sold his friends out to the police to avoid going to prison himself. Sue would never sell out a colleague just to get a promotion. One of the gang members sold the others out in exchange for a lighter sentence. I trusted Ben completely, but he sold me out for money. Lucy felt betrayed after her business partner sold her out. Nick sold out his teammates to save his own reputation. Don’t worry; I’m not going to sell you out. The politician was accused of selling out his supporters for political gain. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'sell-out' As with many phrasal verbs, 'sell out' has also given rise to a noun 'sell-out', which can be used to describe two of the ideas discussed in the different applications that we have just explored... Firstly, if an event, show or product sells out and it is no longer available for purchase, we can say that it is a 'sell-out'.... The concert was a complete sell-out within just a few hours. Their latest basketball shoe release turned into a nationwide sell-out. Secondly, if a person abandons their principles and values for success and money, he or she can be called a 'sell-out'.... Fans called the singer a sell-out after she changed her style. Mickey used to oppose big business, but now he works for a huge corporation; what a sell-out! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'sell out' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'sell out' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'set 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! This post is about the phrasal verb 'set up', which is a great phrasal verb to know as it is all about starts and beginnings and can be used in many different ways. In this post, I examine 8 different meanings and applications that it has, from organising a meeting to helping people fall in love. Furthermore, I have included lots of examples of usage in context to help you learn and use each one. So, without any further ado, let's get started. QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'set up' mean? The phrasal verb 'set up' has eight main meanings in English.... To establish or arrange something To establish oneself as something To make something ready for use To erect something temporarily To cause something to begin To prepare someone for something To frame someone To arrange a romantic date for someone Keep reading to learn how to use each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Set Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'set' and 'up' Set Up - Meaning 1: To establish or arrange something Set Up - Bonus: The idiom 'to set up home' Set Up - Meaning 2: To establish oneself as something Set Up - Meaning 3: To make something ready for use Set Up - Meaning 4: To erect something temporarily Set Up - Meaning 5: To cause something to begin Set Up - Meaning 6: To prepare someone for something Set Up - Bonus: The idiom 'to set oneself up for a fall' Set Up - Meaning 7: To frame someone Set Up - Meaning 8: To arrange a romantic date for someone I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS SET UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Set up / Set up Separable? Yes The phrasal verb 'set up' is composed of the verb 'to set' in combination with the prepositional particle 'up' and before we take a look at the meanings of the phrasal verb, let's first quickly look at the individual words themselves. Firstly, we have the verb 'to set', which is notable in English as being the word with the most meanings in the entire language. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, there are 430 different meanings and uses of 'set' in English but don't worry as I doubt that many native speakers use even half of these! For the purposes of the phrasal verb 'set up', two of the most relevant meanings of the verb 'to set' are 'to put or place something into a position' and 'to adjust something'. I set my car keys somewhere last night when I got home and now I can't find them anywhere! Joanne set her alarm for 5.30am. My washing machine is set to come on overnight whilst I am in bed. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'up', which is a very common feature in phrasal verbs and can often be found in some of the most widely used ones. The word 'up' itself generally refers to a direction away from the ground or, alternatively, to being in a higher position relative to something else and this idea is often carried across into phrasal verbs containing 'up'. Aside from this, it serves several other functions in phrasal verbs, which include adding the ideas of completion, improvement, increase, preparation and arrival. Now that we have covered the basics, let's discover the meanings that we get when we combine these two words to form the lovely phrasal verb 'set up'.... MEANING 1: To establish or arrange something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To establish, to arrange, to form, to organise Separable? Yes As I mentioned in the introduction, the central idea behind many of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'set up' is the idea of 'beginning' and this first meaning is a prime example of this as it is 'to establish or arrange something'. For this usage, I have divided it into two separate sub-sections to make it easier. Use this first application with abstract nouns i.e. nouns that refer to non-physical things. Let's first take the idea of 'establishing something', as 'set up' is used here to talk about starting or creating a new business, company, committee or other type of organisation. In addition to this, it can be used when we establish rules or guidelines that people within an organisation should follow. When we use 'set up' in this way, the idea is that we form, create or begin something and bring it into existence. We are going to set up a new company offering AI solutions to marketing firms. If you need help setting your business up, we would be happy to assist you. It was agreed during the meeting that a committee would be set up to oversee the merger. For those of you who follow politics, you can also talk about setting up a government or administration after an election where a new political party and head of state has been elected. Interestingly, though, we do not tend to use 'set up' to talk about a government introducing new laws or legislation. Following the election, the King asked the new prime minister to set up a government. Now, on a slightly smaller scale, let's move on to the second sub-section, which is the idea of 'organising something'. If you ever have to work with English in your job or have ever had any experience of English in the business world, you may have heard 'set up' in connection with things like meetings and conference calls. This is because it can also be used to mean 'to arrange something' and these are typically two of the nouns that you hear it with the most. Once again, we have the same idea of creating something and bringing it into existence. On a grammatical level, with both of these sub-sections, 'set up' is separable, with the possibility of placing the direct object between 'set' and 'up' or after them. I've spoken to HR and asked for them to set up a meeting so that we can discuss this. Jane, please could you set a conference call up with David for 2pm this afternoon. BONUS: The idiom 'to set up home' There is also a nice idiomatic expression that has come from this particular application of 'set up', which is 'to set up home'. There is actually nothing too cryptic or difficult to understand about this one as it simply means 'to become settled in a new house, apartment or home'. As you would expect, it is usually used for people, but it can also be used to describe when an animal or insect begins living somewhere e.g. your garden or your attic. My parents set up home in Edinburgh after graduating from university. A group of field have set up home in my garden shed. MEANING 2: To establish oneself as something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To establish, to claim Separable? Yes - always For the next meaning of 'set up', we are not changing the theme too much as we are staying with the idea of creation as this meaning is 'to establish oneself as something'. Some words commonly used with this application.... Sole trader Consultant Personal trainer Self-employed Although I have separated this into a separate category, this second meaning really could have been included in the previous section as it is almost the same as the first one but with just one clear difference. Instead of bringing something new into existence, such as a company or a meeting, this time we are focussing on living people (who already exist) and who establish themselves as something new, typically by starting a new career. For this application, we have the following set structure.... to set + reflexive pronoun + up + as + career To clarify this, if somebody wants to change their job and become a hairdresser, you can say that they set themselves up as a hairdresser, which means that they do the necessary work to start a hairdressing business and then begin to earn money from it. We can use this application of 'set up' to describe any time someone establishes themselves in a new career or role, with the idea that the person has done done the necessary work themselves rather than having been given the job by a company etc. My ultimate aim, once I have my qualifications, is to set myself up as an accountant. Lucy has set herself up as an online psychic and is giving free readings to people today My great grandfather moved here in the late 19th century and set himself up as the first doctor in the town. There is also a second, rarer, variation of this application, when we use the same structure to describe when a person claims to be something, especially if there is an element of doubt to the person's claim. Luke set himself up as a financial advisor but I don't think he knows the first thing about finance. MEANING 3: To make something ready for use Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To prepare, to build, to construct, to put together, to adjust Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'set up' is 'to prepare something and make it ready for use' and I think that this one will be one that many of you will be familiar with as it is probably its most common application and is used in many different areas of life. Typical nouns that this application is used with.... Equipment Television Computer Printer Phone Furniture Device This particular usage is perhaps used the most in relation to equipment and devices. If you ever buy a new piece of electrical or mechanical equipment, the chances are that it will not function immediately and you will need to prepare it and adjust the settings in some way, so that it is ready to be used. This process is known as 'setting up', or also by the noun 'setup'. Generally, once the item has been 'set up', it will work as you wish and you will not need to do it again, unless you want to adjust it in some way. It took us a while to work out how to set up our new air fryer. Before you start setting up your new camera, you should ensure that the batteries are fully charged. Aside from usage with physical equipment, you are also very likely to come across this application of 'set up' in the world of IT, computing and mobile telecommunications. The reason for this is not only do you need to set up computer hardware such as monitors and printers but also software and apps also need to be set up after they have been downloaded to make them ready for use. Setting up a new smartphone is a lot easier these days than it used to be. Once you have downloaded the app, you will need to set it up before you can use it. John was struggling to set up his new printer and couldn't work out what he was doing wrong. MEANING 4: To erect something temporarily Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To put up, to build, to construct, to put together, to place, to put, to set Separable? Yes Our fourth meaning of 'set up' is very similar to the previous meaning that we have just covered and means 'to erect something temporarily'. Whereas in the previous section, we were focusing on preparing something new for permanent use, this time we are thinking more about when we prepare something for temporary use. Alternatively, in certain contexts, it could also be used to mean 'to put, place or create something somewhere for a period of time'. For this application, there are two broad categories of things that can be set up: those that are built or constructed somewhere and those that are placed somewhere. The first category is very much a continuation of the previous section as it means to prepare something for use, usually by building it or putting it's constituent parts together, for a temporary period of time. This includes stages for music festivals, concerts, cranes and tents. As you can probably work out, all of these items are for equipment or structures that need to be installed or erected to enable people to carry out a specific task or to fulfil a specific function and will later be taken down again when they are no longer required. We are going to need some help setting up the stage for the concert. Roger and Lisa set up their tent on the edge of the field, next to a forest. The construction company will set scaffolding up around the building to enable them to carry out the renovation work. The second category here is for nouns for things that can be placed somewhere for a period of time, again to fulfil some kind of temporary function such as a roadblock, seats, or traffic lights. Unlike the first category, these items do not need constructing and can simply be placed in position to fulfil their transitory purpose. The police have set up roadblocks all across the city in an attempt to catch the criminals. Water stations have been set up all along the marathon route for the runners. A series of traffic cones have been set up in the street to divert cars around the hole. MEANING 5: To cause something to begin Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To set off, to trigger, to cause Separable? No The next meaning of 'set up' is all about cause and effect and is 'to cause something to begin or to happen'. This usage is very close in meaning to the similar phrasal verb 'set off' (link here) and its focus is very much on creating the right environment or situation for something, such as a process, reaction or problem to happen. Normally, this is used when this triggering action is unintentional or accidental and often it can be something problematic or undesired. Furthermore, it may be just one thing that sets the event off or it may also be a series of events which do it. The stock market crash in Asia set up a series of other crashes around the world throughout the day. Make sure you prepare the experiment thoroughly as you do not want to set any potential problems up once it has started. MEANING 6: To prepare someone for something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To prepare Separable? Yes The sixth meaning of 'set up' is 'to prepare someone for something' and for this one we require the additional preposition 'for', giving us the construction 'to set someone up for something'. Perhaps the most common subject that this particular application of 'set up' is used with is food, in particular breakfast. The idea here is that if you have a good, healthy or nutritious breakfast, it sets you up for the day, meaning that it prepares you for the day ahead and gives you enough energy and sustenance to tackle the problems and issues that will arise. I'll make you a big breakfast tomorrow morning and that will set you up for your busy day of travelling. Simon had a hearty lunch, which set him up nicely for his 10km walk in the afternoon. In addition to food, another thing that people need to survive is money and this is also something that we can use with this application of 'set up', namely when we want to say that we have enough money to last us for a long period of time, or more commonly, life. Winning the jackpot on the lottery has set me up for life. I am never going to have to work again! The money Jack received from his deceased grandmother set him up for a few months rent. Lastly, one other thing that provides us with good preparation for the future is life experience and 'set up' can be used here too for expressing how experiences in our past have prepared us to be able to do things or cope with situations later in our lives. My parents always pushed me to do athletics when I was a child and this set me up for success as an athletics coach as an adult. Nothing that Helen did in her youth could have set her up for what she experienced this week. BONUS: The idiom 'to set oneself up for a fall' This is a good point to tell you about another idiom featuring 'set up' that is fairly common in English: to set oneself up for a fall. This expression is used to describe when somebody does something that is guaranteed to fail or to not succeed. It is normally used by someone talking person rather than themselves. You're setting yourself up for a fall if you think you can help John. He refuses to let people help him and that will include you. The presidential candidate has set himself up for a fall by refusing to enter into debates with his opponents. MEANING 7: To frame someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To frame, to trick, to deceive Separable? Yes As with many phrasal verbs with multiple meanings, there is usually one meaning amongst them all that is a bit negative and this seventh meaning of 'set up' is the negative one as it means 'to frame someone' and is usually used when referring to a crime or a wrongdoing of some sort. If you set someone up, you purposely make it appear that they have committed a crime or done something wrong when in reality they have not and they are innocent. In other words, you frame them for something. From a grammatical perspective, this application of 'set up' is often used in the passive form, as the focus tends to be on the victims of the action. It can also be used in an active way to talk about the perpetrators of course, however I would say that you hear it less in this way. I didn't do it. I've been set up! When the customs officers opened up Helen's suitcase and found the drugs inside, she realised that she had been set up by the nice man she had been talking to in the bar. The company directors tried to set the CEO up but he realised and their plan backfired. MEANING 8: To arrange a romantic date for someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To matchmake Separable? No The eighth and final meaning of 'set up' is one for all of the single people out there who are looking for love and romance as it means 'to arrange a romantic date for someone'. This practice of 'setting up' is also known in English as 'matchmaking'. This action of 'setting people up' is for situations when you know two people who are both single and who you think would make a good couple. You then decide to "play Cupid" to intervene in some way to bring the two people together in the hope that a romance will start between them e.g. inviting them both to a party or social event. This can be done both explicitly, where you tell the people openly that you are setting them up or implicitly when you organise a social event and invite both of the single people to come but do not tell them of your sneaky but well-meaning intentions. My husband and I were set up many years ago by mutual friends. I really want to set up my best friend with a guy from work. They would get on so well! Please do not try to set me up with anyone tonight at your party. I am perfectly happy being single! Have you ever been set up by someone and if so, was it a success? Or, have you ever set up a friend or colleague with another person? Let me know in the comments section! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'set up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'set up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pull up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. In this article, we are looking at the phrasal verb 'pull up', which has a surprising number of uses and meanings in the English language. You may need to pull up if you are driving your car, doing some gardening, sitting down with a group of people or showing information on your computer screen. If you go to the gym, you may regularly do pull-ups or someone may even tell you to pull your socks up! If all of these seem strange to you, don't worry as in this post we will look at all of the different meanings of this tricky phrasal verb. So, without further ado, let's get started.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'pull up' mean? The phrasal verb 'pull up' has eight main meanings in English.... Literal meaning To uproot To slow down and stop To move a chair closer To reprimand someone To suddenly stop what you are doing To show information on a screen To make an airplane move upwards Keep reading to learn more about hoe to use each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Pull Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'pull' and 'up' Pull Up - Meaning 1: Literal Pull Up - Meaning 2: To uproot 🇬🇧 Pull Up - Meaning 3: To slow down and stop Pull Up - Meaning 4: To move a chair closer Pull Up - Meaning 5: To reprimand someone Pull Up - Meaning 6: To suddenly stop what you are doing Pull Up - Meaning 7: To show information on a screen Pull Up - Meaning 8: To make an airplane move upwards Pull Up - Bonus: The idiom 'to pull your socks up' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PULL UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Pulled up / Pulled up Separable? Yes The phrasal verb 'pull up' is comprised of the verb 'to pull' in combination with the prepositional particle 'up' and before we look at the different meanings of this phrasal verb, let's just take a quick look at the meanings of the two individual words. The verb 'to pull' is a widely used English verb, whose main meaning is to apply a force to something in order to bring it closer to you, most commonly with your hands or arms. Photo: Pexels Less commonly, it can also be used to mean 'to make something move with you or behind you', such as a horse pulling a cart. The idea of force or exertion is often an underlying theme with this verb. 'To pull' is a frequent base verb in phrasal verb constructions, normally in situations describing movement or stopping a movement. The prepositional particle 'up' is perhaps the most commonly used particle in phrasal verb constructions and can add many different elements of meaning, depending on the context, typically ranging from the ideas of movement in an upwards direction and increases to improvement and readiness. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the meanings of 'pull up'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To lift up, to raise up Separable? Yes Having just considered the words that make up the phrasal verb 'pull up', the literal meaning of these words should be very easy for you to work out, i.e. to pull something or someone in an upwards direction. This is quite similar to the verb 'to lift' or 'to lift up', however 'to pull up' is used more specifically when you are in a higher position than the thing that you want to lift and the lifting motion is towards you. The sailor decided it was time to leave, so he pulled up the boat's anchor. After the cow fell down the slope, the farmer had to pull it up the hill using a rope. What about pull-up as a noun? If you are someone who goes to the gym regularly or who enjoys working out, you may have heard the term 'pull-up' being used in reference to an exercise. Although we do not use the phrasal verb 'to pull up' so much in this context, it has produced the name of a type of exercise called a 'pull-up', which involves using your arms to lift yourself upwards, normally towards a metal bar (like in the gif above). How many pull-ups can you do in one go? I hate doing pull-ups because they hurt my shoulders so much! MEANING 2: To uproot Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To uproot, to weed Separable? Yes Before we start considering the more idiomatic meanings of the phrasal verb 'pull up', I want to consider this next application as it is very much linked to the literal meaning of 'pull up'. This usage is definitely one for the gardeners among you as it is 'to pull a plant and its roots up from the ground, so that no part of it remains in the earth'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Plant Flower Bush Shrub Weed Tree A common expression that you may hear for this action is 'to pull a plant up by the roots'. This is similar to the synonym verb 'to uproot', however 'uproot' is often used when animals and wind cause a plant to be removed from the ground and I think 'pull up' retains the exclusive sense of being pulled in an upwards direction out of the ground by a person's hands. We've pulled up all of the weeds in the garden and now it looks so much better! He pulled up the rose plant by the roots as he wanted to move it to a different part of his garden. MEANING 3: To slow down and stop Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop, to halt, to pull over, to bring to a stop Separable? Yes Now we have reached the part of the article where we can say goodbye to the literal and logical meanings of 'pull up', because from now on most of them are a bit more idiomatic. This includes our next meaning, which is 'to slow down and stop'. This meaning is perhaps the most commonly used and is the one that I, as a native speaker, think of first when I hear 'pull up'. With this application, we are talking solely about bringing a vehicle that is in motion to a stop, particularly with cars, buses, trains and airplanes. We do not use it to talk about people slowing down and stopping moving...however we do use it for humans in a slightly different sense, which we will look at later on in the article. Normally, this application of 'pull up' is followed by a preposition that denotes where the vehicle stops, such as on (the side of the road), at (the traffic lights), in front of, behind etc. However, sometimes you may also hear 'pull up to' something and this means to stop next to something or very close to it, as referenced in the song below.... On a grammatical note, in the table above, I have stated that this application of 'pull up' can be used separably, which is true, although I think that the majority of the time we tend to use it without a direct object (e.g. car, bus) as this is usually determined from the context. John pulled up on the side of the road when he noticed smoke coming from his car's engine. The police car pulled up to the group of teenagers. Helen arrived at the train station just as her train was pulling up. The fishermen pulled their boat up to a little island where they knew there would be a lot of fish in the water. MEANING 4: To move a chair closer Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To join Separable? Yes If you're ever in a situation in an English-speaking environment where you ask to join a group of people who are sitting down, they may respond to you by saying 'pull up a chair', which is essentially a way of saying 'yes' to your request. The reason for this is that another usage of 'pull up' is 'to bring something closer to you or to a specific place in order to sit down on it'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Chair Seat Pew Stool As you can imagine, this application of 'pull up' is principally used with nouns for items that you typically sit on, such as chairs, stools and seats but it could feasibly be used for any object that you can move and subsequently sit on. In many cases, it often serves as a figurative form of invitation to join someone or a group and participate in what they are doing. This could be anything from a business meeting to eating a meal or watching a movie with a group of people. Photo: Pexels Another common idiomatic expression in British English that you may come across is 'pull up a pew', which again means the same thing, i.e. 'sit down and join us'. For those of you who do not know, a pew is a long seat, similar to a bench, that is specifically found in churches and places of worship. Due to their size, they are not so easy to move and are rarely found anywhere outside of a place of worship, hence the figurative sense! Hi Lisa, do you want to sit with us for lunch? Pull up a chair and join us! I want to show you something at my desk. Pull up a chair next to me and I can show it to you. Q: Is this seat free? A: Absolutely, pull up a pew! MEANING 5: To reprimand someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reprimand, to rebuke, to castigate Separable? Yes When someone makes a mistake in their work or does something wrong, it is likely that they will be reprimanded for their mistake, or in other words, they will be 'pulled up on it'. The reason for this is that the next meaning of 'pull up' is 'to rebuke someone when they have made a mistake', or in other words to criticise or shout at them. This is not only limited to mistakes and can also be used for people's behaviour too, especially when they break rules. For this application of 'pull up', we require an additional preposition and for this you have the choice of THREE different words to choose from: on, about and over. Don't worry, whichever of these you choose will not affect the meaning. So, the structure of this particular usage of 'pull up' is.... To pull someone up on / about / over something Note also here that this is separable and the direct object (the person who has done something wrong) always goes between 'pull' and 'up'. This usage of 'pull up' is one that you commonly hear in the workplace, schools and in dealings with the police and other authority figures. Often, this is used for small errors and less significant mistakes that do not incur severe punishments and for which a verbal warning is sufficient. At other times, an experienced or naive person may be pulled up on something to ensure that they do not do it again. Lucy's teacher pulled her up about talking too much in class. I don't think John realises that what he is doing is not permitted. I will make sure that I pull him up on that, so that he is aware. The police stopped me in my car and pulled me up as my rear brake light was not working. Thankfully, I avoided a fine! Megan's parents have pulled her up on using swearwords so many times, but she doesn't seem to listen. MEANING 6: To suddenly stop what you are doing Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop, to interrupt Separable? Yes Earlier in the article, I explained how 'pull up' can be used to mean to bring a moving vehicle to a stop and that this usage could not be applied to humans but another usage could...well this is that usage! If a person pulls up, it does not mean that they stop moving, but rather that the action that they are performing, whatever that may be, is interrupted or stopped somehow. Like the first meaning that we looked it, there can an element of motion if the person is moving or walking but it can be for any action that is in progress at the time of the interruption. It's also very important to note that the interruption or disturbance to the action is almost always surprising or a shock, which is normally implied in this application of 'pull up'. There is also a fairly common expression that derives from this usage: 'to pull someone up short', which means 'to make someone stop what they are doing suddenly or abruptly'. For those of you who love grammar, it may interest you to know that this usage of 'pull up' is ergative. This means that it can be used both transitively and intransitively (with or without a direct object), with the subject of the intransitive verb becoming the direct object in an equivalent transitive sentence.... Transitive: The beautiful scenery pulled Linda up short. Intransitive: Linda pulled up short at the sight of the beautiful scenery. The sight of my mother standing at my front door pulled me up short. The runner suddenly pulled up and fell over onto the floor, screaming in pain. MEANING 7: To show information on a screen Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To open, to bring up Separable? Yes Well done if you have made it this far...we are nearly done I promise! For this next meaning of 'pull up', we are thinking about computers, smartphones and other devices with screens as this meaning is 'to make something appear on a screen'. If you pull something up on a screen, you open a file or programme in your computer so that it appears on the monitor. If you have read my article about the phrasal verb 'bring up' (link here), this may sound familiar to you as this is actually a synonym of this particular application and both of these have exactly the same meaning. I would say however 'bring up' is perhaps more commonly used but it is nevertheless very useful to have this in your vocabulary too. Can you pull up the sales forecast spreadsheet for me so I can look at it quickly, please. I pulled up the results of the game on my screen. MEANING 8: To make an airplane move upwards Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To ascend, to climb Separable Yes The eighth and final meaning of 'pull up' that we will look at is quite a specialist niche usage for airplanes and means 'to make an airplane move in an upwards direction'. This usage is actually a shortened form of 'pulling up the nose' for when the pilot makes the nose of the plane point upwards. This is similar to the phrasal verb 'take off', but while 'take off' specifically describes when an airplane leaves the ground, 'pull up' is used to describe any time that the pilot makes the airplane go higher, whether that be during takeoff or in mid-flight. This is often used for when an airplane has to change its course or cannot land safely due to bad weather and the pilot must then pull up in order to circle around to try and land again. The was not able to land the aircraft due to the strong winds and so he pulled up in order to make a second attempt. BONUS: The idiom 'to pull your socks up' Before I finish this article, I want to make you aware of a nice idiom that exists featuring the phrasal verb 'pull up', which is 'to pull your socks up'. If someone tells you to pull your socks up, it means that you are not doing well at school or, sometimes, in a job and therefore you need to make more of an effort in order to get better grades or not lose your job! John doesn't work hard in class and next year he really needs to pull his socks up if he wants to pass all of his exams. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'pull up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'pull up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'make up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context. Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This article is all about the phrasal verb 'make up', which is definitely one that you will have come across before as it is super common. It may be that you are already familiar with one or more of its different meanings, however in this post we will look at all of them, including inventing stories, making a decision and applying cosmetics. So, without further do, let's get started. QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'make up' mean? The phrasal verb 'make up' has seven main meanings: To make peace after an argument To invent a story or information To constitute a whole To compensate for something To prepare something from ingredients or parts To apply cosmetics To decide TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to one) Make Up - The Basics: Key information and the words 'make' and 'up' Make Up - Meaning 1: To make peace after an argument Make Up - Meaning 2: To invent a story or information Make Up - Bonus: Some well known expressions featuring 'make up' Make Up - Meaning 3: To constitute a whole Make Up - Meaning 4: To compensate for something Make Up - Bonus: To make it up to someone Make Up - Meaning 5: To prepare something from ingredients or parts Make Up - Meaning 6: To apply cosmetics Make Up - Meaning 7: To decide Make Up - Bonus: I'm really made up for you I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback as to how useful it is and if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be most grateful. Thank you! 😊 James Photo: Pexels THE BASICS MAKE UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Made up / Made Up Separable? Sometimes The phrasal verb 'make up' is formed of the verb 'to make' and the prepositional particle 'up' and before we explore its different meanings, let's first take a look at these individual words to understand their meanings. The verb 'to make' is a very common verb and is often confused by English learners with the verb 'to do' as the two are quite similar and can often be translated into other languages as the same word. While both verbs have numerous applications in English, 'to make' primarily conveys the concept of creation and production, whereas 'to do' typically involves performing an action. This concept of 'to make' will be useful to keep in mind when we look at the different uses of 'make up' shortly. We are going to make a cake today. John made a lot of noise when he got home last night and woke his wife. Have the children made a mess in the living room? Next we have the prepositional particle 'up', which is typically used to denote a movement in the direction away from the ground or towards the sky ↑ or an increase of some sort. When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'up' can many different ideas or meanings, including completion, improvement, preparation and appearance among other things. When we combine these words, there is no literal meaning whatsoever, so let's now just move straight on to the different figurative meanings of 'make up'.... MEANING 1: To make peace after an argument Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reconcile, to make peace, to patch things up Separable? No Let's start off the meanings of 'make up' with some positive vibes. For this first application, we are going to need the additional preposition 'with' and the reason for this is that the construction 'to make up with someone' means to reconcile or become friends with them again following an argument or disagreement. 'Make up' is not just limited to friendships though, and is equally used to talk about romantic couples who have disagreements and / or break up and then make peace again afterwards. You should note that the use of this meaning is, however, limited to personal relationships where people's emotions are at play and is not really used to describe business or professional relationships. All John and Helen seem to do is break up and then make up the next day. I wish you and your brother would make up! She's deeply offended and refuses to make up with me. One expression that we often use in a tongue-in-cheek* way to talk about when people reconcile following a dispute or argument is "to kiss and make up". This is used regardless of whether or not the people in question are friends or in a romantic relationship. Oh my goodness, would you two just kiss and make up and end this ridiculous argument! MEANING 2: To invent a story or information Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere ​Potential synonyms To create Separable? Yes For our second usage of 'make up', we are entering into the realm of fantasy and fairy tales as the meaning is 'to invent or create something that does not exist by using the powers of our imagination'. These imaginary creations can range from stories, characters and people to excuses, lies and false information. The key idea is that it is created in our imagination and is not real. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Story Excuse Character Information Unsurprisingly, this meaning is used very commonly with children who tend to enjoy making up stories, characters and scenarios as part of their play activities. However, as you will know, adults are also very good at creating fictional information, excuses and lies and this usage of 'make up' can therefore be used with both innocent and immoral intent. Aside from the verb form, the past particle 'made-up' is also frequently used as an adjective (note the hyphen) to describe something fictional that someone has invented and as such, you will often hear such terms as "made-up story" and "made-up word", among many others. When I was a child, I used to make up imaginary friends because I was lonely. I didn't go to the party - I was too tired so I made up an excuse and said thatI was ill. Although the novel features made-up characters, the story is based on real life events. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Some well known expressions featuring 'make up' There are a couple of well-known expressions of this usage of 'make up' that I really like and want to make you aware of... You couldn't make it up - We use this expression when talking about things that happen in reality that are so strange or bizarre that a person would not be able to create them using their imagination. To make it up as you go along - This second expression is used for situations in which we do not know what we are doing and we just do things by instinct, without preparation or planning. We decide how to do it in the present moment (and hope for the best). MEANING 3: To constitute a whole Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To constitute Separable? No For our third meaning of 'make up', we need to make a 180 degree turn away from the poetic world of fantasy to the much more prosaic and serious world of data, statistics and facts. This meaning of 'make up' is 'to form or to constitute a whole and is used to talk about the different elements or things which combine together to form something bigger or complete. This meaning of 'make up' is commonly used in statistical information, especially when talking about percentages and fractions. It is estimated that the 100 most common words in any language make up about 50% of the words regularly used in it. Greyscale colours currently make up three quarters of cars produced worldwide. Furthermore, 'make up' is also used when we have already given percentages or proportions and we want to talk about the part that completes the remainder of the group. We can use 'make up' here, often with the 'the rest' or 'the remaining X%'. The three of us have all paid a quarter of the bill each, so if you could also pay a quarter and make up the rest, it would be great. In the English exam the weighting of the speaking section is 40%, the listening section is 30% and the reading and writing sections together make up the remaining 30%. Lastly, it is very common to use the passive form 'made up' with the additional preposition 'of' to express the different things which something consists of. Air is made up of nitrogen, oxygen, argon and small amounts of many other gases. All matter is made up of very small particles known as atoms. MEANING 4: To compensate for something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To compensate Separable? No Our next usage of 'make up' is one that is very common in the workplace. If you work for a company in the anglophone world and you need to take some time off e.g. for a doctor's appointment, your boss may authorise the time off but might also say that you need to make the time up. The reason for this is because the next usage of 'make up' means to compensate for something that is lost, lacking or missing. The example above with working hours is a very commonly used one in the English speaking world. Another typical way that this usage of 'make up' can be heard in English is when we have a target or required amount of something e.g. money and we do not have enough of it to reach the target amount. We can use 'make up' here to talk about the amount that is required in order to reach our target amount, i.e. the difference between how much we have and how much we need to have. A common expression featuring this usage of 'make up' that you may hear is 'to make up for lost time', which we use to describe when we do something more quickly, intensely or regularly, in order to compensate for not having done it in the past. For obvious reasons this is often used by middle-aged and older people, perhaps during or after a midlife crisis! Yes, you can have the time off this week to go to the funeral but can you please make the time up next week. Now that my injury has healed I'm training more than ever as I'm making up for lost time! Photo: Pexels BONUS: To make it up to someone If you are ever in a situation where an English speaker disappoints you in some way, it is likely that they will say sorry (especially British people as we apologise for everything) and that they will make it up to you. In the case of disappointing someone, as mentioned above, the idea here links back to the first meaning of making peace following an argument, but the focus here is that we are saying we will do something to remove the negative feelings caused by the disappointment (essentially apologising), with the end objective being reconciliation and peace. Note that the extra particle 'to' is required here to designate the person who we have disappointed and want to make happy again. I'm so sorry that I forgot your birthday. Let me make it up to you by taking you out for a meal. I can't be there this weekend but I will make it up to you, I promise! MEANING 5: To prepare something from ingredients or parts Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To prepare Separable? Yes The fifth usage of 'make up' means to prepare, build or create something by combining different ingredients or parts. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Dish Meal Medication Bed As you can probably imagine from the word 'ingredients', food is frequently used with this meaning of 'make up' and it is very common to use this with any dish or item that can be made by mixing and combining different ingredients together. Another example of where this meaning of 'make up' is in common usage is with material and fabric where we create garments or curtains. Moreover, we can also say that we 'make up a bed for someone' when we create a new, often temporary, bed for them using blankets etc. This is different to making a bed, where we arrange the blanket and pillows on an existing bed. Let me give you some tips on how to make up an amazing and tasty casserole. You can sleep here tonight, I will make up a bed for you in the spare room. MEANING 6: To apply cosmetics Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To do up, to put on one's face, to do your makeup Separable? Yes For our sixth meaning of 'make up', we are diving into the world of cosmetics. I'm sure that most of you reading will be familiar with the noun makeup, meaning cosmetic products that are used to add colour to the face and change or improve one's appearance. It may therefore come as no surprise to you that the noun makeup is derived directly from our sixth phrasal verb meaning, which is to apply cosmetics to the face and body. For this usage, reflexive pronouns (myself, yourself etc.) are required when talking about a person who is applying their own makeup. This is of course not the case for people who get their makeup applied by somebody else e.g. actors and celebrities. Although this usage is still used in everyday English, I would say that the construction 'to do your makeup' is perhaps more common than this phrasal verb form, but it is good to be aware of it nevertheless. Lisa made herself up and put on her best evening gown. MEANING 7: To decide Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To decide, to make a decision, to choose Separable? Yes This final meaning of 'make up' that I want to bring to your attention means to make a decision and is used in the construction "to make up your mind". This is actually more of an idiomatic expression than an entirely different meaning, but it is so common that I wanted to include it as a separate meaning of its own. The structure of this expression is flexible and 'mind' can be placed both in the middle of and after the phrasal verb 'make up', without changing the meaning. John took ages to make up his mind about what food to order at the restaurant. I've made my mind up about where I want to go to university. Photo: Pexels BONIS: I'm really made up for you! One extra thing to make you aware of before the end of this post is the expression "to be made up about something". This is a common idiomatic expression in British English to mean to be delighted or extremely happy about something, normally good news. That's amazing news! I'm made up for you. Roger is made up about his new work contract! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'make up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'make up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get down' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in. This post is all about the phrasal verb 'get down', which is great phrasal verb to have in your active vocabulary and has various different meanings that sometimes contradict one another, such as feeling depressed and dancing wildly and enjoying yourself. Read on to find out the different ways that the phrasal verb 'get down' is used in English.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'get down' mean? The phrasal verb 'get down' has 7 main meanings in English: To move from a high place to a lower place To lower oneself to the floor To depress someone To write something To swallow food, drink or medication To focus on something and start doing it To dance TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Get Down - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'get' and 'down' Get Down - Meaning 1: To move from a high place to a lower place Get Down - Meaning 2: To lower oneself to the floor Get Down - Meaning 3: To depress someone Get Down - Meaning 4: To write something Get Down - Meaning 5: To swallow food, drink or medication Get Down - Bonus: To get food or drink down yourself Get Down - Meaning 6: To focus on something and start doing it Get Down - Bonus: The idiom 'to get down to business' Get Down - Meaning 7: To dance 🇺🇸 Get Down - Bonus: The idiom 'to get down to brass tacks' Get Down - Bonus: To get something down 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 GET DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Got down / Got down - Gotten down (US) Separable? Sometimes Let's start this post in the normal way and consider the constituent words 'get' and 'down', as this is a great way to gain some insight into some of the phrasal verb meanings that we will look at shortly. Firstly, we have the favourite verb of native English speakers, 'to get', which has an extensive number of meanings and applications in English. There is not enough time or space in this post to cover all of them, however the most relevant meanings for the phrasal verb 'get down' are the meanings 'to arrive at a place' and 'to become'. The prepositional particle 'down' is one used regularly in phrasal verb constructions and is used to denote a low or lower position, usually relative to the speaker, or movement towards a low position when used as an adverb. In addition to this meaning, 'down' can also be used in a plethora of different ways, such as to describe something negative like depression or sadness and something that is recorded in written form. Now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'get down'.... MEANING 1: To move from a high place to a lower place Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To get off, to dismount, to descend Separable? Yes The first meaning of the phrasal verb 'get down' that we will look at is one that I think is closest to a literal meaning and that is 'to move from a higher position to the floor or a lower position'. This meaning is all about movement from a high place to a lower place, with the focus being on 'arriving' in the lower position. This can be used with many different nouns and typically you would hear this with words like horse, mountain, tree and roof - in other words, anything that a person or thing can go up and sit or stand on. Sometimes we also add the additional adverb 'back' between 'get' and 'down' to emphasise that the descent to the ground is a return journey. Whilst we were climbing the mountain, it started to get very foggy and we were not sure how we were going to get down. Photo: Pexels When you get down to the ground floor, please can you ask the concierge to call me. My cat climbed the tree in my garden and was so scared by how high he was that he could not get back down again. So far with this meaning, we have talked about 'get down' to mean 'to move to a lower place' without a direct object (intransitively), however we can also use it with a direct object. This is for when we want to move something from a high place to a lower place, similar to the phrasal verb 'take down' that I have recently also written about. Often, we use 'get down' instead of 'take down' when there is a level of difficulty or challenge to the action of getting something down e.g. if something is stuck in a place. Typically, this transitive use of 'get (something) down' is for when we need to move something that is stored in a high place, such as a shelf or an attic down to ground level. Photo: Pexels In the end, we had to call the fire brigade to come and get the cat down from the tree. I'm just going to go into the attic to get my suitcase down. John's kite flew away and ended up stuck in a tree and he could not get it back down again. MEANING 2: To lower oneself to the floor Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To lower yourself, to duck Separable? No For the second meaning of 'get down', we are going to stay with the same idea of moving to a lower position from a high one, however this time we are talking about when you lower your body so that you are closer to the ground. This would typically be when you lower yourself from a standing position to be on your knees, to be on your hands and knees or to be in a lying down position. You may be familiar with the expression 'to get down on all fours', which means to lower your body onto your two hands and two knees. Moreover, 'get down!' can also be used in an imperative form. This could be when commanding someone to remove themselves from a high place (as per the previous section) or it can also mean to move your body closer to the floor, possibly to hide yourself or to avoid something dangerous. There was an emergency and everybody had to get down on the floor and lie flat. For this next yoga position, you will need to get down on your hands and knees. Get down! People will be able to see you if you are standing up and it will ruin the surprise! MEANING 3: To depress someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To get depressed Separable? Yes If you are familiar with the song Rainy Days & Mondays by The Carpenters, and the lyric "rainy days and Mondays always get me down", then you will already have a good idea of what this third application of 'get down' means. If not, then the meaning is to make someone feel sad, unhappy, depressed or demoralised. This usage is a direct combination of the meaning of the verb 'to get' as in 'to become' and the adjectival meaning of the word 'down' to mean 'sad'. It is mainly used by people to describe when they experience temporary periods in their life when they feel sad or low. Grammatically, we use 'get down' without a direct object when we feel sad or unhappy about something, without explicitly stating a cause. Furthermore, it is also possible for something to get you down, for example rainy days and Mondays, and in this case the sad or depressed person becomes the direct object of the sentence. I always get down in winter. I think it is something to do with the lack of sunlight. Like everyone, Helen gets down from time to time, but in general she is a happy person. If I spend too much time thinking about my relatives who have died, it gets me down. MEANING 4: To write something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take down, to note down, to write down Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'get down' is to write something down, so that it is recorded and can be referred back to at a future time. This is, in fact, a synonym of the phrasal verb 'take down' that I have also recently written about (click here to read it). With 'get down' in this sense, the meaning of 'down' that is relevant is the meaning 'to record something in written form', with the verb 'to get' adding the idea of completing the action of transferring the information to a written record. Grammatically, this meaning of 'get down' takes a direct object and can therefore be separated without changing the meaning and we tend to use the separable version more. Moreover, this application of 'get down' is often followed by the words 'on paper'. Did you get all of the key information in the speech down? I managed to get the person's telephone number down before the line cut out. The author spent half an hour getting the details of her dream down on paper as she wanted to include them in her next book. MEANING 5: To swallow food, drink or medication Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To swallow, to gulp down Separable? Yes The fifth meaning of 'get down' is 'to swallow food, drink or medication, often when the swallowing action is performed with some difficulty. For this usage, the 'down' meaning is quite clear as it is the direction that something swallowed goes in and the function of 'to get' is to add the idea of completing the action, especially when there is some difficulty involved. This difficulty may come from the person swallowing who may have a sore throat or a medical issue, or it may come from the thing that the person is swallowing, i.e. something tough, chewy or bad tasting. An informal expression that people sometimes use, especially in British English, 'get it / this down your neck!', which is used as an encouragement or invitation to someone to eat or drink something, The tablets that I have to take are enormous and I have great difficulty getting them down. We quickly got our lunch down and then went back to work. You look really cold. Here, get this cup of tea down your neck. It will warm you up in no time. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To get food or drink down yourself Whilst we are on the subject of food and drink, you should also know that we use 'get down' to talk about when we spill food and drink on our clothes or our bodies when eating and drinking. If you get something down yourself, it means that you have dropped some food or drink on your clothes and it will probably leave a stain. You're such a messy eater! You've got half of your dinner down yourself. MEANING 6: To focus on something and start doing it Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To focus, to start Separable? No For this sixth meaning of 'get down' we require the additional preposition 'to'. When you 'get down to something', it means that you start to focus on something and start doing it. This is normally used for activities which involve a lot of attention or concentration and so it is something that you will often tend to hear in the business world. Come on everyone, we've wasted enough time. Let's get down to work. We finally got down to talking about the recent problems that have affected our co-operation and we seem to have resolved them. Photo: Pexels IDIOM ALERT: TO GET DOWN TO BUSINESS Whilst we are on this meaning of 'get down', there is a very common expression that I want to make you aware that fits in nicely here.... Get down to business - I am sure many of you will already be familiar with this expression as it used a lot, both in business English and in general English.'To get down to business' means to stop making small talk and to start talking about the subject that needs to be discussed. As you can imagine, this is commonly used at the start of meetings and is regularly prefixed with the word 'let's'. Ok, now that everyone is here, let's get down to business! MEANING 7: To dance Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To dance, to party Separable? No Our seventh usage of 'get down' is an informal one to mean 'to dance', often in an energetic or uninhibited way'. It can also be used to mean to have fun, relax and enjoy yourself, however it is used far less in this way. This is primarily an American usage, however it is known and used in British English too, particularly since it has been featured in many pop and dance songs over the last forty years. The origins of this particular usage date back to the 1970s and is another example of a word that has entered the English language from African American slang. I saw you and your friends getting down on the dance floor last night. It looked like you were having a lot of fun. Come on everybody, let me see you all get down to this next song! Photo: Pexels IDIOM ALERT: To get down to brass tacks Photo: Pexels The idiom 'to get down to brass tacks' is an expression which means 'to start talking about the basic and most important facts about something', i.e. the things that people really want to discuss in a situation. This idiom first arose in American English in the late 1800s and has since spread across the Atlantic. Despite the strangeness of the idiom, nobody knows exactly what its origins are. The diplomats didn't spend long making small talk in the meeting and quickly got down to brass tacks. Photo: Pexels ONE FINAL MEANING: To get something down Ok, so before I finish this post, there is one more meaning of 'get down' that I want to tell you about..... To get something down' is an idiomatic expression that is becoming more and more common in modern English vernacular and means 'to master something and be able to do it very well or perfectly'. If you've got something down, it means that you are skilled at doing something. Hopefully after reading this and with a little bit of practice, you will get this phrasal verb down and will using it like a native speaker 😀 I was terrible at this computer game when I first started playing it but now I've got it down! Wow, you're amazing at that, you've got it down! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'get down' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'get down' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'run into' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This post is a written guide all about the English phrasal verb 'run into' and how to use it like a native speaker. In the post, I will explain four different ways that you can use it, which include to talk about meeting people by chance and things that cost a lot of money. In addition, I will give you lots of example sentences for each usage to help you learn how to use it naturally and confidently. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'run into' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'run into' mean? The phrasal verb 'run into' has four main meanings in English. To meet someone by chance To experience an unexpected problem To hit something To amount to Keep reading to learn how to use each of these, with lots of example sentences.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Run Into - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'run' and 'into' Run Into - Meaning 1: To meet someone by chance Run Into - Meaning 2: To experience an unexpected problem Run Into - Meaning 3: To hit something with a vehicle Run Into - Meaning 4: To amount to Run Into - Bonus: The idiom 'to run something into the ground' 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 RUN INTO: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Ran into / Run into Separable? No I know that you are here to learn more about the phrasal verb 'run into' but how well do you know its individual words 'run' and 'into'? Let's take a brief look at them now to begin.... Run - 'To run' is a common verb in English that can be used to talk about subjects such as movement and management. In it's purest sense, it means 'to move faster than walking with moments when neither foot is on the ground'. In addition, we can also use it to talk about liquids that flow e.g. rivers or tears as well as public transport like buses and trains. In the business world, 'to run' is used to talk about managing a company and making sure that it is successful. It is an ergative verb, which means that it can be used both transitively and intransitively. It is also irregular, with 'run' being both of its past tense forms. I run 5km at least twice a week. The cat ran after the mouse. The water was running along the side of the road. The hourly bus service runs from 8am to 6pm. Kathy runs three businesses and also teaches yoga in her spare time. Into - The prepositional particle 'into' is a combination of the particles 'in' and 'to' and is generally used to indicate a movement from the outside of something to the inside of it. This idea is often transferred to the phrasal verbs that it appears in (go into). In addition, it can also add the ideas of entering a new stage or condition (fall into), participation (get into), investigation (look into) and transformation (turn into). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'run into'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To dash into, to run inside Separable? No For the majority of this article, we will be looking at the figurative meanings of the phrasal verb 'run into', however it can also be used in a literal way so let's start by looking at this one in more detail.... Nouns commonly used with this application.... House / Apartment Building School River / Sea / Ocean Colour As you can probably guess, when we use 'run into' literally, we are simply just talking about entering an internal space by running (rather than walking). For example, excited children may run into their house when they get home from school (like in the picture above) or a firefighter may run into a burning building to rescue someone who is trapped inside it. Note that is does not always have to be an internal space as we can also use it for any nouns with which we can use 'in' that are not typically enclosed e.g. garden, sea. The children ran into the house as soon as it started to rain. Caroline ran into the shop to buy a bottle of water. My Dad ran into the office to answer the ringing phone. The cat ran into the garden and started chasing the birds. The firefighters ran into the burning building without hesitation. As I mentioned earlier, the verb 'to run' can also be used for liquids that flow and we can use this literal application of 'run into' to describe when rivers end by flowing into another river or body of water. Unsurprisingly, this usage is common in the field of geography. You should note that while we do use this, 'flow into' is actually used more commonly to describe it. The river runs into the sea just south of the town. Several small streams run into the lake from the surrounding hills. The Thames runs into the North Sea through the Thames Estuary. If any of you reading this enjoy art and painting, you should note that we can also use this literal sense of the phrasal verb 'run into' to describe when two or more paint or ink colours mix with each other unintentionally. As paint is liquid, it flows or runs into other colours on the canvas, often creating an unwanted and ugly mess. Be careful not to let the blue paint run into the white. The wet colours ran into each other and created a muddy green. The ink ran into the paper and blurred the writing. MEANING 2: To meet someone by chance Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To meet, to bump into Separable? No The second of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'run into' is a common one that many of you may have heard before and means 'to meet someone by chance'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Friend Colleague / Co-worker Boss Perhaps the first thing that I should explain is that we are not talking about meeting someone for the first time here, but rather meeting someone who you already know by accident or when did you not plan to. Imagine that you are shopping in a supermarket and when you turn into the frozen food aisle, you unexpectedly see a friend there doing their shopping too. In this situation, it would be common to say afterwards that you "ran into a friend in the supermarket". This usage is not just limited to supermarkets though and you can use it for any time that you unexpectedly encounter, a friend, colleague, relative or acquaintance. You should note that you would only use this if you actually stop and speak to the person; if you only saw the person or chose to avoid them, you would probably not use it. While this usage is common on both sides of the Atlantic, it is perhaps slightly more common in American English as in British English we also commonly use the phrasal verb 'bump into' to describe this type of encounter. I ran into an old friend while I was shopping yesterday. We ran into our neighbours on holiday in Spain. Tracey ran into her former teacher at the train station. You never know who you're going to run into in London. I ran into Sarah at the supermarket, and we ended up chatting for half an hour. Jeremy ran into his ex-girlfriend at a concert last weekend. We ran into each other completely by chance outside the cinema. Josephine ran into one of her university classmates after nearly twenty years. MEANING 3: To encounter an unexpected problem Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To encounter, to face Separable? No The next application of the phrasal verb 'run into' is very similar in nature to the previous one as it also carries the idea of chance encounters, but this time we are focussing on problems, rather than people. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Problem Issue Danger Trouble Difficulties Bad weather Has it ever happened to you that you have been planning and working on something for a long period of time and just before it is ready, a problem occurs that you were not expecting that delays your plans or causes you to change everything. If the answer is yes, then you could say in this instance that you "ran into a problem". We can use this application of 'run into' to describe any time that we begin to experience unexpected problems or difficulties with something that can disrupt or delay our plans. Moreover, its usage can also extend to situations involving unforeseen trouble or danger. We ran into a few problems during the project. The company has run into financial difficulties. I ran into some technical issues while installing the software. Emma ran into trouble when her passport expired. If you run into any problems, just let me know. They ran into delays because of the bad weather. The soldiers ran into enemy fire. The negotiations ran into difficulties almost immediately. The proposal ran into strong criticism. It is also possible to use this third application of 'run into' to describe moments when we experience unexpected bad weather, which causes problems or issues with when travelling or trying to do something. We ran into a heavy storm halfway across the Atlantic. The hikers ran into thick fog as they climbed higher. Our flight ran into severe turbulence caused by a thunderstorm. The cyclists ran into strong headwinds during the final stage of the race. We ran into heavy rain just after we left the campsite. MEANING 4: To hit something with a vehicle Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To crash into, to collide (with) Separable? Sometimes For our next application of the phrasal verb 'run into', we need to turn our attention towards the roads and driving as this one means 'to hit something with a vehicle'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Car Wall Tree Person I am a bad driver. Not a bad driver in the sense that I am careless and drive dangerously but in the sense that I just do not have a natural ability to drive a vehicle well like some people do. Despite this, I have never before run into anything in a car, or in other words, I have never caused a car that I am driving to collide with something else (although there have been some close moments!). To clarify, we use this application of the phrasal verb 'run into' to describe any moments or instances of when a person is driving a car (or other vehicle) and accidentally causes it crash into something else like a wall, a house or another car. You should note that this application is quite common but we use the phrasal verb 'crash into' a lot more to describe these unfortunate events. The car ran into a tree after skidding on the ice. A bus ran into a parked car at the traffic lights. The lorry has run into a bridge as it was too high to go under. My train ran into a fallen tree blocking the tracks. The boat ran into some rocks near the shore. The ship ran into an iceberg during the night. The plane nearly ran into another aircraft on the runway. In the example sentences above, we are focussed on the type of transport that is involved in the collision, but it is also possible with this application to specify the person driving who is responsible for it. When we do this, the phrasal verb becomes separable and the type of public transport goes between the verb 'run' and the particle 'into', as per the structure below: Person + run + possessive pronoun + vehicle + into + object Jenny accidentally ran her car into a lamppost. The driver ran his van into the back of a lorry. Andrew lost control and ran his car into a tree. I fell asleep when driving and almost ran my car into someone's house. MEANING 5: To amount to Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To amount to, to add up to Separable? No The final of the applications of the phrasal verb 'run into' is one that is used to describe numbers and figures and means 'to amount to'. Nouns commonly used with this applications.... Hundreds Thousands Millions Firstly, I should explain that although this application of 'run into' does mean 'to amount to', it is not used to give a specific or definite numerical figure. Instead, we use it to give an approximation (or non-definite) figure. This is typically when a number or figure, most commonly the cost of something, has been rising and passes a particular threshold such as a thousand or a million. Secondly, to express this we say that the threshold that has been exceeded in plural form, for example you could say that "the costs have run into the millions" or that "the number of casualties in the war have run into the thousands". In the first example above we are saying that the costs of something have exceeded one million pounds or dollars etc but we don't know exactly what the total will be in the end but we know that it will be over this amount. Likewise, for the second example the number of people injured or killed in the war has risen to over 1000 and now could be anywhere between 1,000 and 9,999 (above this we would say "tens of thousands"). As you can imagine, this application is particularly common in business, finance and formal English. Most commonly, we use it when the costs or numbers involved are very high and therefore it carries a nuance of surprise or shock. The costs of the repairs ran into thousands of pounds. The final bill ran into six figures. Legal costs can easily run into the millions. The project ran into millions of dollars before it was completed. His medical expenses ran into tens of thousands of pounds. The charity has raised donations that run into the hundreds of thousands. The delays meant that the total cost ran into £2 million. The queue ran into hundreds of people. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to run something into the ground' One other way that you may come across the phrasal verb 'run into' is in the common expression 'to run something into the ground'. We use this idiom to talk about businesses and companies when they are mismanaged so badly that they fail and go out out of business or are no longer successful. This may be on purpose or through bad management. The new owner ran the business into the ground within three years. Poor management ran the company into the ground. They inherited a successful restaurant but soon ran it into the ground. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'run into' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'run into' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills ? If yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'own up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. Are you familiar with the English phrasal verb 'own up'? Is it perhaps one that you have people using before but are not sure how to use or is it one that is completely new to you? In this post I will explain to you what it means and how to use in a natural way, so that you can start using it confidently and naturally. As per usual, there are lots of example sentences in context to show you how native speakers typically use it. So, let's get started and find out what the phrasal verb 'own up' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'own up' mean? The phrasal verb 'own up' has one main meaning To admit doing something wrong 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 OWN UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 1 Past tense forms Owned up / Owned up Separable? No Before we look deeper into what the phrasal verb 'own up' means, let's first briefly consider the individual words 'own' and 'up' and what they mean on their own. Own - The verb 'to own' is one that many of you reading this will know already and in modern English primarily means 'to possess something'. In other words, you can use it to say that something belongs to you and is your property. You may also be familiar with the noun 'owner' for a person who owns something. Historically, 'to own' was also used in English to mean 'to confess' or 'to acknowledge that you did an action' and while this meaning is not common today, it can still be heard in some contexts, including in the phrasal verb 'own up' as you will see shortly. My brother is rich and owns four houses. Who owns the red car on the driveway? Sarah owned a horse when she was younger. Barnaby owns that he was wrong (old-fashioned). Up - The prepositional particle 'up' is one that we see appearing in phrasal verbs a lot, adding many different meanings depending on the context. In a literal sense, it can add the idea of an upward movement or an increase (go up), however you are more likely to come across it being used figuratively to add ideas like intensification (build up), improvement (pick up), preparation (set up) and making something visible or known (bring up). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's now move on to the meaning of the phrasal verb 'own up'.... MEANING 1: To admit doing something wrong Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where it is used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To confess, to fess up, to admit, to acknowledge, to come clean Separable? No If the phrasal verb 'own up' is a new one for you, it will hopefully be a nice and easy one for you to learn as there is only one meaning and that is 'to admit doing something wrong'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Crime Wrongdoing Mistake / Error Lie Joke / Prank I have a very clear memory of being in a lesson at school many years ago when one of the naughty boys in my class (not me) threw a ball of paper at the teacher when she turned her back to write on the board. The teacher was understandably very angry and as the paper Photo: Pexels was thrown when her back was turned, she had no idea who the culprit was. At the end of the lesson, she stopped everyone from leaving and said that we could only leave once the person who threw the paper 'owned up'. After several minutes, we realised she was being serious and the boy who had thrown it nervously put his hand up and said "it was me"! In my example above, the boy who put his hand up and admitted throwing the paper 'owned up' because he admitted to the teacher that he had done something wrong. Generally speaking, we can use the phrasal verb 'own up' to describe any situation in which a person admits a wrongdoing, particularly after a period of avoiding it or hiding the truth beforehand. Consequently, this nice little phrasal verb is one that is super common in school and educational environments or generally when children are involved. It can also be heard in business English and in normal everyday adult life too but just not as much. In terms of tone, 'own up' is less formal than the verb 'to confess' and unlike 'to confess', it is only used to talk about doing something wrong and not about secret feelings or something embarrassing. No one in James's class was willing to own up. If you've done something wrong, you should own up. Sandra eventually owned up after hours of questioning. Come on, own up! We all know it was you. Neil refused to own up, even when the evidence was undeniable. I think it's time that I owned up; I forgot your birthday! On a grammatical note, 'own up' is an inseparable phrasal verb and it is often followed by the extra preposition 'to' to specify the wrongdoing that the person has done. You should note if you want to specify the forbidden deed as a verb, you need to use the gerund ('ing) form after 'to'. This pattern of 'own up + to + verb / gerund' is by far the most common way to use it in everyday English. Less commonly, 'own up' can be followed by a 'that' clause. Kate finally owned up to breaking the vase. Nobody would own up to making the mistake. Mike owned up to cheating in the exam. The teenager owned up to taking the money without permission. After several hours, the suspect owned up to the crime. They eventually owned up to lying about where they had been. The company owned up to its error and apologised to its customers. It's always better to own up to your mistakes than try to hide them. Elaine never owned up to what she had done. Nick finally owned up that he had forgotten to turn the oven off. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'own up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'own up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want exercises to practice and consolidate your phrasal verb knowledge? If yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'hang 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 like a native. How well do you know the English phrasal verb 'hang out'? I am sure that many of you reading this will know at least one of its meanings. If you're not sure, don't worry as in this post I will explain all three of them and give you lots of example sentences for each one to show you how to use it in a natural way. In addition, I will also give you some bonus information so that you once you have finished reading the post, you will be an expert on this useful little phrasal verb. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'hang out' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'hang out' mean? The phrasal verb 'hang out' has three main meanings in English: To protrude To spend time To dry clothes Keep reading to learn how to use each of these like a native speaker. TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Hang Out - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'hang' and 'out' Hang Out - Meaning 1: To protrude Hang Out - Meaning 2: To spend time Hang Out - Meaning 3: To dry clothes Hang Out - Bonus: The noun 'hangout' Hang Out - Bonus: The idiom 'let it all hang out' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS HANG OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Hung out / Hung out Separable? Sometimes The phrasal verb 'hang out' is formed of the verb 'to hang' and the particle 'out' and so as the first step in our exploration of this phrasal verb, let's first briefly consider what these two individual words mean on their own.... Hang - The verb 'to hang' is a common irregular verb in English whose main meaning is 'to physically suspend something from above, so that the bottom part of it does not touch the ground'. It can be used with many different nouns such as pictures, decorations, lights and clothes. Moreover, it is a verb that features a lot in phrasal verb constructions. I am going to hang my clothes in the wardrobe. The children joyfully hung the decorations on the Christmas tree. Are we allowed to hang paintings on the wall? The butcher has hung the cuts of meat in the freezer. Out - The prepositional particle 'out' functions as the natural opposite of the particle 'in' and can be used in phrasal verbs to indicate a movement from the inside of something to the outside (go out, step out). When used in more figurative ways, 'out' can add various ideas to phrasal verbs including becoming visible (come out), completion (fill out), distribution (give out), removal (cut out) and exhaustion (run out), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'hang out'.... MEANING 1: To protrude Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To protrude, to stick out Separable? No The first meaning of 'hang out' that we will look at in this post is one of its two literal uses and means 'to protrude'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Tongue Shirt Tie Wire / Cable Arm / Leg Firstly, you may be wondering what the verb 'to protrude' means. To confirm, 'to protrude' means to physically project or extend outward from a surface like a wall or the ground. For example, if there is a nail in a wall, we can say that "the nail protrudes from the wall" or if there is a rock in the middle of a river that is visible, we can say that "the rock protrudes from the surface of the river". While 'hang out' is a synonym of 'to protrude', you should note that it is not always interchangeable: We can use protrude for anything that extends out from the edge of a surface but we normally use 'hang out' when something protrudes from a surface and the end of it drops towards the ground, i.e. when there is gravity involved. Furthermore, it is used particularly often when something is supposed to be inside or underneath something else and a part of it comes out and is visible. Personally, when I think of this application, the first thing that comes to my mind is a tongue; if a person or an animal's tongue is hanging out, it means that it is protruding from their month and is dropping slightly downwards (a bit like the dog in the picture above). In addition to this, we often use 'hang out' with wires & cables, items of clothing like the bottom of someone's shirt or body parts like arms and legs. To sum up, we can use 'hang out' in this way to describe anything that extends from underneath or inside something else and hangs down. On a grammatical note, this usage is not typically separable as we do not normally intentionally cause something to hang out; it just happens through circumstance. Mark's shirt was hanging out of his trousers after he rushed out of the house. I tucked my shirt in because it was hanging out. Helena's tie was hanging out from under her jacket. A map was hanging out of his backpack. Emma's keys were hanging out of her pocket. A scarf was hanging out of the shopping bag. Several cables were hanging out of the back of the computer. A receipt was hanging out of his wallet. One other scenario in which 'hang out' can be used this way is when people physically hang objects so that they hang on the external edge of something so that they can be seen. This is most typically used when people hang things out of their windows like flags. When used like this, the usage becomes separable as there is now a direct object that is intentionally hung in this way. Robert hung his country's flag out of his window. Greta hung a sign out of the shop window advertising the sale. Let's hang a large banner out of the upstairs window to welcome the runners. MEANING 2: To spend time Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere but common in American English Potential synonyms To spend time Separable? No The next meaning of the phrasal verb 'hang out' is the one that I suspect many of you will be familiar with already, which is 'to spend time'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Friends House Pub / Bar Café Library This application of 'hang out' an informal one, which is very common in North American English but is now becoming more and more common in other English-speaking parts of the world, including the UK. When we use 'hang out' in this way, we are essentially describing spending a lot of time with people, or at a certain place. Generally, it is used when there is no specific reason for being with the person or at the place; it simply describes spending time in a relaxed and stress-free way. Due to the nature of 'hanging out', it is something that is used by, or to talk about, younger people. For example, personally I used to enjoy hanging out with my friends when I was younger but now we are all older and much busier and we don't have as much free time to be able to hang out with each other like we used to. On a grammatical note, we tend to use this application with the extra preposition 'with' to talk about people and prepositions of place (at, in) to talk about places. We like to hang out at the beach in the summer. They were hanging out in the café, drinking coffee and talking. He spends most weekends hanging out at his friend's house. They were hanging out, listening to music and playing video games. We hung out with some old friends at the pub. They hung out at my house after football practice. My sister and I hung out in town for a few hours. We hung out with our neighbours in the garden all evening. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'hangout' If you were already familiar with the previous application of 'hang out' before reading this post, then you will almost certainly also be familiar with the noun 'hangout' that is derived directly from it. The noun 'hangout' is mainly used to refer to a place where people gather together to socialise, relax and 'hang out'. Less commonly, it can also refer to a digital space online where people go to socialise. The new café has quickly become a popular hangout for university students. The park is our favourite hangout during the summer. That little coffee shop is a great hangout if you want to relax after work. MEANING 3: To dry clothes Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To dry Separable? Yes The third and final of the applications of 'hang out' that we will look at in this post is the other application that could be considered a literal usage and means 'to dry clothes'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Clothes Washing Laundry Let me first clarify what I mean by "drying clothes" here as this application does not apply to all instances of drying clothes but specifically when you hang wet clothes on a thin wire or cord (often called a washing line or clothesline) outside to dry in the sunshine For example, after washing their clothes, many people hang them out on the washing line in their back garden for a few hours or all day until they are dry (provided that it hasn't rained of course 😉). You should note that although this usage is used and understood everywhere, there are some slight differences in usage between British and North American English. In British English, people just typically say that they "hang the washing out" and the meaning is understood, whereas in North American English, it is much more common to say the longer form of "to hang the washing out to dry". I hung the washing out before I went to work. It's a lovely day, so let's hang the clothes out to dry. Sue always hangs the towels out to dry when the weather is warm. We hung the bed sheets out on the washing line this morning. Don't hang the washing out; it's about to rain. Charles forgot to hang the laundry out to dry, so it's still sitting in the washing machine. As soon as the rain stopped, I hung out the washing. My grandmother never used a tumble dryer; she always hung the washing out to dry in the garden. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Let it all hang out Before we finish the post, there is a little expression featuring 'hang out' to make you aware of: 'let it all hang out'. We use this expression to describe when you can relax and be yourself completely and you do not worry about what other people think of you. To be honest, I think we should all just let it all hang out when we can...it's great for our mental well being and happiness 😀 Once the music started, everyone let it all hang out and danced without worrying about looking silly. Stop trying to impress everyone and just let it all hang out; they will like you for who you are. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'hang out' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'hang out' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills ? If yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'cover up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This is a post dedicated to the explanation of 'cover up', which is a nice little phrasal verb that has the idea of hiding or concealment at it's core. In this post, I will explain three different ways that you can use 'cover up' and how you can use it to talk about subjects ranging from wearing clothes to government scandals. For each application, I will give you lots of example sentences to ensure that at the end of the post you can use this phrasal verb in a confident and natural way. So. let's make a start and see what 'cover up' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'cover up' mean? The phrasal verb 'cover up' has three main meanings in English: To completely cover something To wear more clothes To hide the truth Keep reading to learn how to use each of these naturally in English. TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Cover Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'cover' and 'up' Cover Up - Meaning 1: To completely cover something Cover Up - Meaning 2: To wear more clothes Cover Up - Meaning 3: To hide the truth Cover Up - Bonus: The noun 'cover-up' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS COVER UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Covered up / Covered up Separable? Yes I am sure that you are all very familiar with the words 'cover' and 'up' already but let's first of all just remind ourselves what they mean and what these meanings can bring to the phrasal verb 'cover up'.... Cover - The verb 'to cover' is a fairly common regular verb in English whose main meaning is to physically put something over the top of something else in order to hide or protect it. Additionally, it can also be used in business English to mean 'to pay for, 'to insure' and 'to work for a colleague when they are not there'. Additionally, it can be used in the world of journalism to mean 'to report on a story'. One other very relevant meaning that it has when it is combined with the preposition 'for' is 'to lie for someone to prevent them from getting into trouble'. The snow fell overnight and covered the ground. We covered the ugly table with a colourful tablecloth. When I go away for business, the company covers the cost of the flights and accommodation. The insurance covers you for damage and theft. The journalist was injured whilst covering a story about the war. Molly covered up for Kate when she took a day off school. Up - The prepositional particle 'up' is the most commonly found particle in phrasal verb constructions and can add a variety of different meanings to them. When applied literally it can add the idea of an upwards movement or increase (go up). It is more frequently used in phrasal verbs in a figurative sense though and here it can add the ideas of completion or totality (eat up), creation (set up), collection (gather up) and improvement (cheer up) among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'cover up'.... MEANING 1: To completely cover something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To cover, to cover over Separable? Yes The first of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'cover up' that we will look at in this post is very similar in meaning to the base verb 'to cover' and means 'to completely cover something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Eyes Face Stain Mess Tattoo Like with the verb 'to cover', we can use this first application of 'cover up' to mean 'to place one thing over another so that it is hidden or protected' and there are many instances in which these two variations are interchangeable. However, there is a subtle difference between 'cover' and 'cover up' that you should know. We use the verb 'to cover' primarily to say that something is placed over the top of something else so that it is partly or fully covered. In contrast, when we want to stress that the covered item is completely covered and no longer visible, we use 'cover up'. For example, if you put some plastic wrap over a bowl of food to keep it fresh, you would say that you "covered it" and in most cases a native speaker would assume that the item was completely covered. If, for some reason, you wanted to hide the bowl of food so that people could not see it, we would use 'cover up' instead as it carries that extra idea of complete cover. You will note in the example sentences below that this application often follows the structure cover up + something + with or cover something up + with as it is separable.... The children covered up the sandcastle with wet seaweed to protect it from the wind. Overnight, fresh snow covered up the entire garden. Poppy covered the furniture up with dust sheets before the decorators arrived. Thick fog covered up the mountains, making them impossible to see. The workers covered up the freshly planted seeds with soil. Lionel covered the red wine stain on the carpet up with a rug. Paul covered up the cage with a blanket to keep the bird calm. Dark clouds gradually covered up the moon. They covered up the old sign with a large advertising banner. The rescue team covered up the damaged roof with a waterproof tarpaulin. As I mentioned before, this application of 'cover up' is used particularly when we want to stop something being visible and therefore it also works for marks and patterns on surfaces like graffiti, tattoos and bruises. The council covered up the graffiti with a fresh coat of paint the day after it appeared. Peter wore a long-sleeved shirt to cover up the bruises on his arms. Cassandra used make-up to cover up her tattoo before the job interview. COVERING UP IN BOXING If you enjoy the sport boxing, then it is possible that you have heard the term 'covering up' to refer to a boxer's defensive technique in a match. If a boxer covers up, he or she protects their face by covering it with their gloves boxing gloves with their forearms over their chest. MEANING 2: To wear more clothes Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To dress Separable? Yes The second meaning of the phrasal verb 'cover up' is a logical continuation of the first one and means 'to wear more clothes'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Legs Shoulders Arms Body Private parts For this second application of the phrasal verb 'cover up', the focus is on covering a person's body by putting on clothes. This may be in situations in which a person is completely naked, partially naked (in their underwear) or when a person is wearing clothes already but needs to cover the remaining areas of their body. Typical reasons why a person would need to 'cover up' are for religious or modesty purposes and to protect themselves from something that could be harmful to them, sunshine or other forms of weather. On a grammatical note, when we use it in this way to talk about covering up your entire body this usage does not take a direct object and is not separable. We can use it also to describe covering a specific body part e.g. shoulders or legs and when used this way, it is separable and the covered up body part can go between 'cover' and 'up' or after them. As with the previous application, we use 'cover up' when we want to emphasise that the specific body part is no longer visible. The tourist covered up her shoulders before entering the church. You should cover up your legs if you're walking through long grass. Mike covered up his arms to avoid getting sunburnt. The model was asked to cover up her chest for the advertisement. Lynsey wore a shawl to cover up her shoulders. Patricia covered up her shoulders with a cardigan. Alex covered up his legs with a blanket. Jemma covered up her arms with a long-sleeved top. MEANING 3: To hide the truth Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To hide, to conceal Separable? Yes For our third and final usage of the phrasal verb 'cover up', we are again ending on a negative meaning (I have a habit of doing this) as this one means 'to hide the truth'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Truth Evidence Mistake / Error Crime To give you more context on this application, we use it when we want to hide information or details about something that could get us into trouble, cause us problems or have a negative effect on our life or career. This is the reason why I stated that it is negative as we don't really use it for anything positive. We often use it this way in reference to politics, business and organisations who want to maintain a good reputation with the public and therefore choose to hide or cover up any negative press or bad news about them that could jeopardise this. It can equally be used in more personal situations, for example if someone tells a lie to cover up something bad that they have done. The general idea of this links back to the other two applications of 'cover up' as at its core is the idea of wanting something to be hidden so that others do not see it or know about it. The company tried to cover up the accident instead of reporting it. You can't cover the truth up forever; people will find out one day! Margaret admitted her mistake rather than trying to cover it up. The scandal became even worse when people realised that officials had tried to cover it up. The government minister was accused of covering up evidence that could have damaged the government's reputation. Journalists claimed that several senior politicians had worked together to cover up the affair. The inquiry found no evidence of an attempt to cover up the corruption. Ben lied to cover up the fact that he had forgotten his sister's birthday. You should also be aware of a common extension of this phrasal verb 'application', which is 'to cover up for someone'. If you cover up for someone, you tell a lie or do something to hide something wrong that another person has done as you want to protect them. Karina lied to cover up for her friend after the accident. The manager was accused of covering up for an employee who had broken the rules. Jackie refused to cover up for her colleague's mistakes. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'cover-up' Let's finish the post by looking at a common noun that we get from this third and final phrasal verb usage: 'cover-up'. A 'cover-up' is a word that we can use to describe when someone hides or conceals the truth about something in order to avoid being in trouble or negative press. It tends to be used more to talk about politics, big businesses and famous organisations. Journalists uncovered a cover-up involving public funds. Opposition parties accused the minister of being involved in a cover-up. The executives of the business were charged for their role in the cover-up. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'cover up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'cover up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Want to understand native speakers more easily and use phrasal verbs more naturally? If yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'break 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 like a native. This article is all about the English phrasal verb 'break in'. We can use 'break in' in a number of different ways in English and these include to talk about things like crime, interruption, training and shoes. In this post, I will explain all four of its different meanings in clear and understandable English for you and will provide you with lots of example sentences in context for each meaning to help you use it more naturally and confidently. So, let's make a start and find out exactly what the phrasal verb 'break in' means.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'break in' mean? The phrasal verb 'break in' has four main meanings.... To enter somewhere by force To train someone for something To prepare something for use To interrupt TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Break In - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'break' and 'in' Break In - Meaning 1: To enter somewhere by force Break In - Meaning 2: To train someone for something Break In - Meaning 3: To prepare something for us Break In - Meaning 4: To interrupt Break In - Bonus: The noun 'break-in' 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 BREAK IN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Broke in / Broken in Separable? Sometimes In order to fully understand the phrasal verb 'break in', we should first of all consider its individual component words 'break' and 'in' and what they mean on their own. Break - 'To break' is a common irregular verb in English. It is often used in negative and problematic situations as its main meanings are 'to stop functioning properly', 'to damage or destroy' or a combination of both of these. In addition to this, we can also use the verb 'to break' to mean 'to end' and 'to interrupt' among other meanings. John broke his arm when he fell from a tree. The printer is broken. Jessica broke it when she spilled coffee on it. Be careful with this ornament as it is fragile and could break easily. Alex broke the silence in the room when he laughed. Let's break now and resume the lesson later. In - The prepositional particle 'in' is one that you will know very well already. We can use it in phrasal verb constructions to add the idea of a movement from the outside of something to the inside (go in, get in). Moreover, it can also add the ideas of arrival (come in), participation (join in), submission (hand in) and confinement (lock in), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'break in'.... MEANING 1: To enter somewhere by force Photo: Stockvault CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To breach, to intrude, to trespass, to burglarise, to raid Separable? No We are going to start the meanings of the phrasal verb 'break in' with the most negative of its four meanings, which is 'to enter somewhere by force'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... House / Flat Building Shop / Store Car System Thief / Robber / Burglar This first application of 'break in' is probably the most commonly used one and is primarily used to talk about criminal activity when a person enters a building using force; either to steal what is inside it or to look for something (as commonly seen in movies and on TV). When we use 'break in' it doesn't always mean that force was involved, but rather that the person entered illegally or when they were not supposed to. Someone broke in during the night and stole several laptops. The burglars broke in through a ground-floor window. We were on holiday when thieves broke in and ransacked our house. A masked man tried to break in but he couldn't get past the security door. The police arrived just as the intruders were breaking in. BREAK IN OR BREAK INTO? You may have noticed in the example sentences above that none of them explicitly state the building or place where the unwanted visitors entered. If you want to do this, you simply need to change the particle from 'in' to 'into'..... Someone broke into our house while we were away on holiday. The burglars broke into the shop through a side window. Thieves broke into the animal enclosure overnight to try and steal them. A masked man attempted to break into the bank but was caught by security guards. The police were called after someone broke into a local business. I have only mentioned so far that we use 'break into' with buildings and while we most commonly use this application for them, we can also use it for other things like cars and vehicles as well as non-physical things like computer systems that have an element of security to stop anybody accessing what it inside. Someone broke into my car and stole my satnav. Thieves broke into several vans parked outside the hotel. Hackers broke into the company's computer system and stole customer data. Someone broke into my locker at the gym and stole my wallet. The ex-employee broke into the electricity control box and tampered with the wiring. On a grammatical level, we cannot separate this application of 'break in'. Often, native speakers will use it in the passive voice with the verb 'to get' (get / be broken into), particularly because often victims of this type of crime do not usually know who committed it. Some shops get broken into during the holiday season every year. Our house has been broken into twice this year. My car was broken into last night. The museum was broken into during the weekend. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'break-in' As is common with many phrasal verbs, there are often nouns that are derived from them to define the particular action that the phrasal verb describes and 'break in' is no different in this respect. The noun 'break-in' is used as a name for the specific type of crime when a criminal enters somewhere by force. There was a break-in at the local jewellery shop last night. The police are investigating a break-in at a nearby office building. After the break-in, the family decided to install a security system. MEANING 2: To train someone for something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To train, to prepare, to get someone used to, to condition, to acclimatise Separable? Yes The second of the applications of the phrasal verb 'break in' is a much more pleasant one that means 'to prepare someone for something' and is one that is heard particularly often in workplaces. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Employee Trainee Player Worker Starting a new job can be a difficult experience; there are new colleagues to meet, new systems to use, lots of new information to learn and new activities to carry out. As such, it can often take new employees several months to be able to do a job competently and without help from colleagues. We can often use the phrasal verb 'break someone in' these situations to describe when existing employees train or teach new employees and show them how to do a new job or role. To put this another way, 'to break someone in' means to prepare and train someone for a new job or activity that they will have to do. As I mentioned before, this is mainly in the workplace but it could potentially be used for any activity where someone is given help to adjust to a new environment or to get used to doing something difficult or demanding. As you may have already guessed, this application of 'break in' is separable and the name of the person undergoing the training or preparation can either go between 'break' and 'in' or after them. It took a few weeks to break the new employee in. Sarah is breaking in her replacement before she leaves the company. The senior nurse spent several days breaking the new staff members in. The coach used easier training sessions to break the younger players in. Life in the army quickly broke Jim in. The internship helped break students in before they started full-time work. By the end of the month, Sandra had been fully broken in and was working independently. Young players are often broken in slowly to help them adjust to professional football. MEANING 3: To prepare something for use Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To train, to prepare Separable? Yes The next application of the phrasal verb 'break in' that we will look at is one is similar to the previous one but it involves objects (and horses) rather than people and means 'to prepare something for use'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Shoes Equipment Car Engine Horse Like most people, I enjoy the feeling of having new shoes to wear but one thing that I do not like about this is how painful they can be when I first start wearing them. It normally takes several attempts at wearing them for increasingly longer periods of time before they no longer hurt to walk in. To describe this period of adjustment and preparation for use, we can use this third application of 'break in'. Just as we were looking at preparing people or employees to do a job in the previous application, in this one we are instead preparing things to be used for a specific purpose. Perhaps the most common noun that we use this with across the English speaking world is 'shoes' but it can also be used with any equipment or items that need a period of preparation or use in order to become fully functional. I need to break in these new shoes before the wedding. Kathy spent a week breaking in her hiking boots before the trek. The goalkeeper is still breaking in his new gloves. The saddle needs to be broken in before it becomes comfortable. This sofa will become more comfortable once it's been broken in. One surprising inclusion on the list of nouns that are commonly used with this application is 'horses'. Obviously, horses do not really count as equipment, however they have been used to carry out work for people for an estimated 5000 years and of course they will all need a certain amount of training and work before they can be used for riding or pulling vehicles etc. It takes patience and skill to break in a young horse. The trainer spent several months breaking the horse in. Kate is currently breaking in two horses for competition. Young horses are usually broken in gradually. The trainer is taking things slowly to avoid frightening the horse while breaking it in. There are also some other nouns that are used with this meaning of 'break in' in specific English speaking countries, rather than across the English-speaking world: 🇺🇸 In American English, it is common to talk about breaking a new car or vehicle in, meaning to use it slowly and carefully at first to avoid damaging the engine. Be careful not to confuse this meaning with 'to break into a car' from the first application. 🇦🇺 🇳🇿 In Australian and New Zealand English 'break in' is used to talk about preparing previously uncultivated ground in order to grow crops on it. MEANING 4: To interrupt something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To interrupt Separable? No The fourth and final of our applications of the phrasal verb 'break in' means 'to interrupt something' and can be used to talk about both conversations and activities. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Conversation Meeting Discussion We use this application most frequently when talking about conversations. To clarify, if someone stops a conversation that is already in progress in order to join it, we can say that they "broke in". Moreover, we can also use this for anything that can be interrupted by a person speaking or another sound, such as a breaking news bulletin interrupting a TV programme or radio show. Before I could finish my explanation, Tom broke in with a question. Lesley broke in to correct a mistake. Whenever someone tells a story, Shane always breaks in. The teacher broke in before the argument became too heated. The music was suddenly interrupted as a news bulletin broke in. For this meaning, we require the additional preposition 'on' to specify what was interrupted.... I'm sorry to break in on your conversation, but I need to ask a question. Marie broke in on the meeting with an urgent announcement. I hate to break in on your speech, but there's a phone call for you. The emergency alarm broke in on the ceremony. The announcer broke in on the concert to make a safety announcement. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'break in' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'break in' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Want to understand native speakers more easily and use phrasal verbs more naturally? If yes, check out my downloadable phrasal verb workbooks, which include clear explanations, common learner mistakes, exercises, speaking practice and answer keys to help you master the phrasal verbs that native speakers use every day. Browse the workbooks here. Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END