An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'fall off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. Have you ever heard of the English phrasal verb 'fall off' before? I'm sure that you will have done as it is used fairly commonly in everyday English and in this post, I will explain to you the different ways in which it is used, including idioms and expressions that it features in. In addition, I will give you lots of example sentences in context for each meaning to show you typical situations in which we use it in order to help your English sound more fluent and natural. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Fall Off - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'fall' and 'off' Fall Off - Meaning 1: To unintentionally drop towards the ground Fall Off - Meaning 2: To decrease Fall Off - Bonus: Can we use 'fall off' as a noun? Fall Off - Bonus: Adverbs commonly used with 'fall off' Fall Off - Bonus: To fall off a cliff Fall Off - Bonus: Some common idioms featuring 'fall off' Photo: Pexels THE BASICS FALL OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 2 Past tense forms Fell off / Fallen off Separable? No Before we delve into the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'fall off', let's first consider what the individual words 'fall' and 'off' mean on their own. The verb 'to fall' is a common English verb whose main meaning is to drop from a higher place to a lower one, usually in an uncontrolled way. Furthermore, this meaning can apply to objects and people when they drop or collapse to the ground from an erect or standing position. Among its many other specific uses, one notable meaning of 'to fall' is to refer to something that decreases or becomes lower in some way. 'To fall' is an intransitive verb, meaning that it does not take a direct object, i.e. you cannot "fall something". I will catch you if you fall. Snow has been falling for over six hours now. John fainted and fell on the ground. The number of people going to the cinema has fallen in recent years. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'off', which functions as the natural opposite of the particle 'on' and has a huge number of uses in English, which include the idea of removal of something from a surface, a machine not working, or movement away from a particular place. 'Off' is commonly used in phrasal verb constructions and its inclusion can often imply the ideas of separation (cut off), completion (pay off), departure ( take off ) and deactivation (turn off), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'fall off'.... MEANING 1: To unintentionally drop towards the ground Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To fall, to fall out, to tumble off, to come off Separable? No Unlike many common English phrasal verbs, 'fall off' is a relatively easy as there are only two meanings: a literal one and a figurative one. This first application that we will cover is the literal meaning and simply means 'to unintentionally drop towards the ground'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Horse Bicycle / Bike / Motorbike Chair / Table / Worktop Ladder Roof / Balcony For this application, we are not just concerned with the concept of falling, but also we want to specify the place that we fell from. As I mentioned in the Basics section, 'off' is the reverse of the particle 'on' and so logically, before someone falls off something, they first need to be on it. Grammatically speaking, we can therefore use 'fall off' with any nouns that we can say that we are 'on', however of course in reality some of these would sound a bit strange. Arthur (before he fell off the step) If we talk about a person falling off something, typically we are referring to situations in which the unlucky individual unintentionally loses their balance, causing them to fall off the surface that is supporting them. This can also include animals too; one of my cats is very playful and often falls off chairs and surfaces whilst playing with his toys. The little boy fell off his bike and scraped his knee. Be careful while riding this horse— he is very unpredictable and you may fall off if you don’t hold on tight! Arthur the cat fell off the windowsill while trying to catch a bird. Steve lost his balance and fell off his ladder while painting the house. The monkey fell off the tree branch after losing its grip. Of course, 'fall off' can be applied to plants and non-living, inanimate objects too. This is usually when they become knocked or detached from the surface that supports them and then fall towards the ground. The book fell off the shelf when the door slammed shut. One of the wheels fell off Helen's suitcase while she was walking. Tim's hat fell off due to a particularly strong gust of wind. A button has fallen off my coat, and now I need to sew it back on. The picture frame fell off the wall during the earthquake. October is here and the leaves have started to fall off the trees. One other grammar point to note here is that it is possible to use the additional preposition 'of' to specify the surface from which someone or something falls, giving us the construction 'to fall off of something'. This is optional, however, and many native speakers do not use the 'of' version (including me), potentially because it is a bit of mouthful to pronounce 'off of'. Moreover, the 'off of' version does sound a little more American to my ears. The child fell off of the swing while playing at the park. My dog is always falling off of the couch while sleeping. Carly's phone fell off of the table when she accidentally bumped it. MEANING 2: To decrease Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To decrease, to reduce, to lower, to wane, to drop, to plummet, to dwindle, to diminish, to lessen, to drop off, to go down Separable? No The second and final meaning of 'fall off' that we will cover in this post is more of a figurative meaning, however it it still a fairly intuitive one and means to decrease. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Number / Amount Rate / Level Quality / Quantity Temperature Price In the previous application, our focus was on things falling to the ground due to the effects of gravity, however this time we are interested in a different type of falling that has nothing to do with gravitational force. We are now focussing on abstract nouns for things that can be measured by numerical or qualitative values. In other words, things that we cannot touch but we can observe through statistics and graphs. We use 'fall off' here to refer to when something that we can measure gets lower in value, number, quality or intensity. In today's world, we are very focussed on measuring and analysing all types of performance through numbers. Therefore, you can find this usage being applied in many different areas of life, from business and sales to natural phenomena. For example, when the temperature drops for a period of time or during the winter, we can say that 'the temperatures fall off'. Likewise, if you are a website owner, you may notice that the number of visitors to your site gets lower or falls off at certain times of the day. My company's sales usually fall off after the holiday season. Attendance at the gym falls off in the winter months. Phrasal Verb Inc's profits fell off sharply last quarter. The crime rate in London has fallen off since the new policies were introduced. The birth rate in many countries is falling off due to economic concerns. The number of job applications fell off after the company reduced salaries. Food production has fallen off due to poor weather conditions. Donations to the charity fell off during the economic downturn. The amount of traffic to my website fell off after the initial launch. This application does not just cover things that can be measured by numbers but also when there is a perceived reduction in the quality or level of something. Sam's enthusiasm for the project fell off when he realised how much work was involved. Robert's energy levels always fall off when he works long hours without a break The quality of the company's products has fallen off since they switched to cheaper materials. The service in this restaurant fell off after it was taken over by the new owners. BONUS: Can we use 'fall off' as a noun? Yes, we can also use 'fall-off' as a noun for this specific application to describe when there is a reduction or decline in the level, rate, or quantity of something. Additionally, the alternative noun 'falling-off' also exists. Whilst both of these can be used interchangeably, 'falling-off' tends to be used more when the fall or decrease is more gradual and less sudden, while 'fall-off' tends to be used for more sudden or abrupt decreases. There has been a significant fall-off in sales since the holiday season ended. A sudden fall-off in investor confidence caused stock prices to plummet. Scientists have noticed a falling-off in air quality due to increased pollution. The business suffered a falling-off in profits after the pandemic. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Adverbs commonly used with 'fall off' When 'fall off' is used to describe a decrease in this way, it is possible (and common) to use adverbs to modify the decrease such as slightly, sharply, massively or unexpectedly. The company's stock price fell off slightly after the earnings report was released. Our sales fell off sharply after we raised our prices. After the promotional period ended, customer engagement fell off drastically. The number of active users on the platform fell off noticeably last month. Due to the bad weather, attendance at the event fell off considerably. Photo: Wix Media BONUS: To fall off a cliff Furthermore, if you want to state that something has experienced a large, sudden or dramatic increase, it is possible to use the idiom ' to fall off a cliff '. After the scandal, the company’s stock price fell off a cliff and it lost 50% of its value overnight. Consumer spending has fallen off a cliff since the start of the economic recession. Sales of the once-popular smartphone fell off a cliff after a competitor released a better model. The public's interest in the TV show fell off a cliff after the main character was killed off. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Some common idioms featuring 'fall off' Before I finish the post, there are some other uses and idioms linked to 'fall off' that I want to tell you about. To fall off the wagon One other idiom that features the phrasal verb 'fall off' is 'to fall off the wagon'. We use this expression specifically for people who start drinking alcohol again after having abstained from it (not drunk it) for a period of time. As you may infer from the idea of 'falling', this tends to be used when the person fails in their efforts to not drink, which is not what they had planned or wanted. Every time that Jane attempts to stop drinking, she ends up falling off the wagon. To lose weight When someone does stay on the wagon and manages to stop drinking alcohol for a period of time, one of the things that may happen to them is that they will lose weight. If someone loses a lot of weight, especially in a short space of time, we can say that the weight falls off them. I tried this new diet and the weight just fell off me in weeks. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'fall off'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'fall off'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'take in' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. In this post, I will be looking at the English phrasal verb 'take in' and explaining 9 different ways to use it. 9 meanings may seem like a lot but it is possible that you know some of them already. For each one, I will give you lots of example sentences in context to show you how it is used. So, without further ado, let's make a start and dive into the different meanings of 'take in'.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Take In - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'take' and 'in' Take In - Meaning 1: To deceive someone Take In - Meaning 2: To let someone live with you Take In - Meaning 3: To arrest someone 🇬🇧 Take In - Meaning 4: To understand or process Take In - Meaning 5: To absorb Take In - Meaning 6: To include Take In - Meaning 7: To go and see something for enjoyment Take In - Meaning 8: To receive money 🇬🇧 Take In - Meaning 9: To make an item of clothing smaller I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TAKE IN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 9 Past tense forms Took in / Taken in Separable? Yes Before we get into the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'take in', let's first take a look at the words 'take' and 'in' and what they mean on their own as this may help us to decipher some of its more idiomatic and figurative phrasal verb meanings. Our base verb in this construction is the super common verb 'to take', which like the majority of the most frequently used verbs in English, is irregular. 'To take' is highly versatile, with many different meanings, which include removing something from a place with your hand, stealing, describing the duration of something and accepting something. I don't have enough time or space to go into all of these in detail but there are plenty of wonderful resources and dictionaries online where you can find this information 😊 Take a piece of paper and pass the rest to your neighbour. Somebody took my car last night whilst I was at home. A flight from London to New York takes approximately 8 hours. I've decided to take the job at the bank. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'in', which I do not need to introduce to you either. When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'in' often adds the idea of a movement towards an interior space (go in, fall in). Additionally, it can also be used to add the concepts of inclusion (join in), and absorption (take in) amongst others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'take in'.... MEANING 1: To deceive someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To deceive, to trick, to fool, to cheat, to con, to dupe, to swindle Separable? Yes As you many have noticed if you have been following my posts regularly, there is very often one phrasal verb meaning that is a bit negative or unpleasant. Normally, I put these meanings towards the end of the post but in a break with tradition, in this post we are looking at the horrible one first, which is 'to deceive someone'. Firstly, if you are not familiar with the verb 'to deceive', it means to lie to someone or make them believe something that is not true. This is often done in a selfish or malicious way in order to gain something from the person being deceived. Common synonyms of this that you may know are 'to fool' or 'to trick', however 'deceive' is a bit more negative. We have now established that this first meaning of 'take in' is to make people believe something that is not true and the next thing that you should know is that it is most commonly used in the passive sense with the following construction.... to be / get taken in by someone This is because this application of 'take in' is mainly used to talk about the victims of the deceitful behaviour who believed what they were being told, i.e. the people who were deceived by someone dishonest. For example, you may be taken in by a person who claims to be a friend but who only wants something from you and has no interest in friendship. Alternatively, your grandmother may get taken in by a person pretending to call her from her bank in order to get her personal details and steal her money. In addition to other people, it is possible for people to be taken in by websites, hoaxes, phone calls and letters - essentially anything that can make a person seem careless or stupid. The sad reality is that people there are many different ways in which a person can be taken in. Don't be taken in by his charming smile—he's not as honest as he seems! Julie and I were taken in by the elaborate hoax until we learned the truth. Alex and Laura got taken in by the false promises of the investment scheme. I was almost taken in, but luckily I checked the facts before making a decision. It is possible to use this in the active sense too, but much less common to do so and often this may sound a bit unnatural as speakers' natural inclination tends to be for the passive form here. I can't believe he took me in with that fake story about winning the lottery. The innocent-looking salesman took them in, selling them a useless product. The online advertisement took her in, making her believe it was a legitimate offer. In both active and passive voice variations of this application, it is common to add the word 'completely' to highlight or stress the fact that the person believed the deception 100%. Sandy was completely taken in by the scam and sadly she lost all her savings We were completely taken in by his elaborate disguise and never suspected a thing. He was so persuasive that even the experts were completely taken in by his fake credentials. MEANING 2: To let someone live with you Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To accommodate, to put up Separable? Yes Let's now move on to a much nicer and more positive meaning for our second application of 'take in', which is 'to let someone live with you'. Vocabulary commonly used with this application.... Person Someone Cat / Dog / Animal Friend Relative In contrast to the previous usage that we've just covered, this one is specifically for the kind, generous and charitable people among us who provide somewhere to live or sleep for those people who are less fortunate. Typically, this application is used in reference to people who are homeless or who are experiencing difficulties in their life and need somewhere to live. If you take them in, you give them a bed, shelter and possibly even look after them if required to do so. 'Take in' is most frequently used for giving people a place to sleep on a temporary basis but it is also possible when referring to giving someone a permanent home. It is not just limited to people and it also quite possible to take in a cat, a dog or any other animal. For this, I would only use it when you take pity on an animal and give it a home as it is stray or has no owners; I wouldn't use it if you are adopting a puppy from a breeder etc. After the hurricane, they took in a family who had lost their home. Sally decided to take in a stray dog that she had seen wandering the streets. When his parents passed away, Ben's aunt took him in and raised him. I owe Anne and Alan a lot; they were kind enough to take me in when I had nowhere else to go. The elderly couple often takes in exchange students during the summer. He was homeless for months until a kind stranger took him in and helped him get back on his feet. We couldn't leave the kitten outside in the cold, so we took it in for the night. During the war, many families took in refugees who had fled their countries. MEANING 3: To arrest someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To arrest, to apprehend Separable? Yes Our third meaning of 'take in' brings us back to the world of criminals and unpleasant people as it means 'to arrest someone' and is specifically used in the context of the police, law enforcement and criminals. This usage is more or less a literal meaning of the combination of the two words 'take' and 'in' as it describes the action of the police taking the suspected criminal in to the police station, where he or she will be interrogated and possibly charged for a crime if found guilty. Most of the time, there is enough context to be able to omit the words 'to the police station' when using this application. You should note that this usage is primarily a British English one and American speakers would be more likely to use the phrasal verb 'bring in' here instead. The police took the suspected criminal in for questioning after the robbery. Rob and Callum were taken in by the authorities after being caught trespassing. The murder suspect was taken in without incident and is now in custody. The police officers took in several protesters for disturbing the peace. Adam was taken in on suspicion of fraud and is awaiting trial. They had no choice but to take him in after finding evidence of the crime at his house. MEANING 4: To understand or process something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To understand, to absorb, to notice, to grasp, to sink in Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'take in' is 'to understand or absorb something' and this one is all about what enters our brains via our senses. Nouns that are commonly used with this application.... Details Information To clarify, for this one we are concerned with the idea of allowing something to enter into our brains in the form of information. This may be something that we see, hear or read. If you take some information in, you let it pass into your brain and be processed, with the ultimate goal of clearly understanding it. This application is often used for schoolchildren and students as it is the objective of a teacher or lecturer that his or her students take in everything that is being taught. In the same way, it is my aim that all of you reading this are able to take in the information about this phrasal verb that I am giving you here 😊 Moreover, we can also go one step further and use it in situations when you process some information that you have learned and what the consequences of it will be. In this sense, it can essentially be a lightbulb moment or a moment of realisation. Helen needed some time alone to take in everything that had happened that day. I had to read the science article twice to fully take in the details. It is very important to take in constructive criticism and use it to improve yourself. Tim paused for a moment to take in what Miranda had just said. The students listened carefully, trying to take in every word of the professor's explanation. Of course, there are times when we are not able to understand things because we are too tired to learn, we aren't interested in the subject or it is simply too difficult. In these situations, we can also use 'take in' in the negative sense to say that we were not able to process, understand or absorb the information. I tried so hard to listen during the class but I just couldn't take most of it in. Lisa struggled to take in the news of her promotion, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. During the lecture, Neil found it difficult to take in all the complex concepts. It was a lot of information to take in at once, so I had to review my notes later. As I mentioned earlier, we can also use 'take in' to talk about things that we see with our eyes or that we notice. This is often in situations when we have to look at something for a period of time in order to fully understand what is happening or to see all of the small details of something, for example if you discover a crime scene or if you admire a painting in an art gallery. The 'taking in' action here refers to the absorption of all of the details and information into your brain, a bit like a sponge. The breathtaking view from the mountaintop was almost too much to take in. Sylvia stood staring at the painting in the art gallery, taking in every single detail. When I walked into the classroom, it took me a few seconds to fully take in what I was seeing. Take a minute to look around and fully take in your surroundings. MEANING 5: To absorb something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To absorb, to take up Separable? Yes In the previous section, we looked at how we can take in information to our brains that we can use, which is fundamentally the action of absorbing something, which coincidentally is the next meaning of 'take in' that we will look at. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Water Oxygen Air Food Nutrients / Minerals / Vitamins As you can see from the list above, this meaning is specifically used in reference to substances and materials that are required by living organisms to fulfil a job and enable them to survive. The action of 'taking in' in this sense can be done in different ways, such as breathing, eating, drinking and digestion. Plants take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis in order to produce oxygen. Our bodies take in nutrients from the food we eat, keeping us healthy. Fish take in oxygen through their gills while swimming in water. Additionally, it can also be heard in reference to non-living things that absorb water or liquid, like sponges and clothing material, however this is less common since a phrasal verb like 'soak up' may be preferred here instead. The sponge quickly took in all the spilled water on the table. The fabric of the shirt takes in sweat, keeping you dry during exercise. The soil wasn't able to take in any more rain, leading to flooding. MEANING 6: To include Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To include, to encompass, to cover Separable? No Let's move on to the sixth usage of 'take in' now, which simply means 'to include'. When used in this sense, 'take in' is interchangeable with both 'to include' and 'to cover' when we we want to specify different things that are part of a whole. Common situations and scenarios in which you may come across this usage of 'take in' include organised tours for tourists, data sources for statistics and studies and subjects that are included in books or educational talks and lectures. Bear in mind, however, that this is much less commonly used than both 'to include' and 'to cover' and may often not be a native speaker's first choice to use, so it may come across as unnatural. It is nevertheless good to have it in your active vocabulary to give some variety to your English, which can be particularly handy for exams and language level tests. The Paris tour takes in several famous landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Her responsibilities at work take in managing budgets, leading meetings, and training new employees. The hiking trail takes in some of the most scenic views of the valley. Our study takes in data from over 50 different countries. We've come up with a road trip itinerary that takes in a few national parks along the way. The English course takes in a wide range of topics, from basic grammar to advanced writing techniques. Mark's interests take in music, photography, and traveling. The book takes in historical events as well as personal anecdotes from the author. MEANING 7: To go and see something for enjoyment Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go and see, to check out Separable? No Our seventh meaning of 'take in' is 'to go and see something for entertainment' and for this one we are combining elements of several of the meanings that we have already covered in the post so far. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Film / Movie Show / Concert Game / Match Museum / Art gallery What do you like to do at weekends? Do you like to go and watch a movie at the cinema? Or, perhaps you like to see your favourite football team play? Maybe, if you are someone who enjoys art, you might visit a museum or an exhibition. Did you know that for all of these you can use the phrasal verb 'take in'? Simply put, if you take in a movie or a show at the theatre, you go and watch it for pleasure. The same can be said for a music concert, an orchestral recital or even visiting a museum. We decided to take in a movie after dinner. While visiting New York, I took in two Broadway shows. During our trip to Rome, we took in all of the famous museums and galleries. He loves to take in live concerts whenever he has free time. Becky and Laura took in an art exhibition at the local gallery over the weekend. We had some free time, so we took in a football game at the stadium. Although this is a wonderful usage of 'take in' to have in your active vocabulary, you should note that it is rarer in usage than 'to visit' or 'to go and see'. MEANING 8: To receive money Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To take, to bring in, to make, to earn, to gross Separable? No We are now onto our eighth meaning of 'take in', so really well done if you have made it here. I hope that you have been able to take in everything that you have read so far! This eighth meaning takes us into the world of business and finance and means 'to receive money'. Firstly, let me clarify that this meaning is not used in reference to individual financial transactions, i.e. one single instance of money being exchanged for goods or services. Instead, we use this application of 'take in' to refer to the money that a business or company makes from its total sales or from the total payments that it receives (revenue). This could be from the sale of a product or from sales of tickets to an event. It may also be one that you hear on the subject of movies and how much money they make from people going to see them in the cinema. The café takes in around £500 a day from coffee and tea sales. The charity event took in a lot of donations from generous attendees. Abigail's clothes shop takes in most of its income during the holiday season. Trevor started a small side business and began taking in extra cash every month. The theatre took in record earnings after the show’s success. The movie has been hailed as a massive success after taking in $100 million dollars at the box office. MEANING 9: To make an item of clothing smaller Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To make smaller, to alter, to adjust Separable? Yes We are here at our final meaning of 'take in'. For this one, first have a think about a time when you ordered an item of clothing online to be delivered to you and when it finally arrives, you try it on and realise that it is too big! The solution for this may be have it 'taken in'. This is because the last meaning of 'take in' is 'to make an item of clothing smaller'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Dress / Frock Trousers / Pants Jacket / Coat Skirt Shirt If someone takes in an item of clothing, they alter its seams in order to make it smaller, narrower or tighter so that it is the right size for the person who will be wearing it. You should note that as most people do not carry out the 'taking in' work themselves and must instruct a professional to do it for them, you will often hear this application being used in the passive causative sense. e.g. to get / have something taken in. Phoebe decided to take in the dress at the waist to get a better fit. After losing weight, Paul had to take in most of his trousers to avoid having to buy a new wardrobe. The seamstress offered to take in the jacket sleeves since they were too loose. If this shirt is too big, I can take it in a little for you. The tailor suggested taking in the sides of the blouse to give it a more flattering shape. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'take in'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy...I promise to reply! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pick 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. My post today is all about 'pick out', which is a moderately common English phrasal verb that I'm sure many of you will have heard being used before. In this post, I will explain 5 different ways that you can use this, with lots and lots of examples to help to make it make sense! So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Pick Out - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'pick' and 'out' Pick Out - Meaning 1: To remove something Pick Out - Meaning 2: To select somebody or something Pick Out - Meaning 3: To recognise Pick Out - Meaning 4: To make something obvious Pick Out - Meaning 5: To play music with difficulty 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 PICK OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Picked out / Picked out Separable? Yes 'Pick out' is formed by combining the verb 'to pick' with the prepositional particle 'out' and so to help us with our exploration of this phrasal verb, let's first take a moment to consider the meaning of each word individually. The verb 'to pick' is a diverse regular English verb with a couple of distinct meanings, both of which will feature later in this post. Perhaps it's most common meaning is as a synonym of 'to choose' and is used specifically when there is a group or selection of different options to choose from. The other main meaning that it has as a verb is 'to remove something, typically with your fingers' and is often heard being used with nouns like flowers and fruit. I was always the last one to be picked for the football team at school. Which university did your son pick in the end? There are so many choices, I don't know which one to pick! John picked some flowers to give to his girlfriend. In September, we go and pick fruit to sell at the market. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'out', which, when used as an adverb, is related to being on the external side of something or indicating movement from the inside of somewhere to the outside. When used in phrasal verbs, 'out' can add ideas such as a movement towards an external place or space ( go out ), emergence ( come out ), completion ( work out ) and experimentation (try out), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pick out'.... MEANING 1: To remove something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take out, to remove, to extract Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'pick out' that we will cover in this post is a nice and easy one as it is the literal meaning that we get when we combine the individual meanings of 'pick' and 'out' and that is 'to remove something from an internal space with your fingers or hands'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Food Seeds Splinters A frequent scenario where you might encounter this application is with food and eating. This often occurs when there's something in your dish that you dislike, causing you to remove it (pick it out) and set it aside on your plate or pass it to someone else (particularly when it's a green vegetable on a burger at a well-known fast food chain - I think you know what I mean!). Another time that this usage may arise is if some food gets stuck between your teeth and is visible to others. You may then want to pick the offending food out, ensuring that your smile stays as nice and attractive as ever. Besides food, this application of 'pick out' may be used to describe any time that you use your fingers to remove something from an internal space, whether that be a hole, a bag, a pocket etc. You may be wondering what the difference is with 'take out' and although the two can often serve as synonyms of one another, you should note that 'pick out' tends to be used when more precision or care is required to remove the object, often when the interior space is smaller, which is why the emphasis is on the fingers. Laura carefully picked out the seeds from the watermelon. The surgeon had to pick out the shards of glass from the wound. I need to pick out the lint from this sweater before I put it on. The dentist carefully picked out the food stuck between the patient's teeth. Emily used tweezers to pick out the splinter from her finger. Roger bent down to pick out the debris from the fish tank. The chef picked out the burnt pieces from the dish before serving it to the customer. MEANING 2: To select somebody or something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To pick, to select, to choose, to decide on, to single out, to opt for Separable? Yes Our second meaning of 'pick out' is the most commonly used of all of its applications and means 'to select somebody or something from a group'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person / Someone Dress / Items of clothing For this meaning, we are going back to the other meaning of 'to pick', which is to select or choose. We are then combining this with the idea of picking one person or thing out of a number of options. When this application is used, it is typically when the speaker is presented with a selection of different items and must choose one or several of these to use or to give special attention. For example, a bride-to-be may go to a wedding dress shop to pick out a wedding dress from a selection in her size or a magician may ask you to pick out a card from a selection that they offer to you in their hand. Most of the time, 'pick out' and 'pick' can be used interchangeably, however I think that 'pick out' tends to be used more when the chosen item is meant to be treated in a special or unique way. For example, you may pick out a pair of glasses at the opticians because they are your favourite and are different to the others. 'Pick' could also be used here, but I think that 'pick out' adds more emphasis to the uniqueness and separateness of the glasses. Conversely, if you now think about a football team captain choosing players to be on his or her team in school, we would normally use 'pick' here to describe the action of choosing the players for the team as they will all be equals. 'Pick out' would sound a bit strange to my ears as it could mean that the person 'picked out' was distinct or special in some way, setting them apart from the rest of the team. You should note that this is just a feeling rather than a rule. Helen picked out a beautiful dress from the rack for the party. The teacher asked his students to pick out their favourite books from the library. Can you help me pick out a gift for her birthday? They picked out the best strawberries from the basket for dessert. I picked out a few interesting articles from the magazine to read later. She picked out a unique name from the list for her baby. From all the applicants, the hiring manager picked out the most qualified candidate. MEANING 3: To recognise Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To recognise, to distinguish, to make out, to discern, to perceive Separable? Yes On to our third meaning of 'pick out' now, which is quite simply to recognise somebody or something from a group or selection. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person Face Voice As you will note, we are back on the same theme of choosing here, but this time, instead of choosing something from a number of options for a particular purpose, we are choosing something or someone that we recognise from a group. This application can be used for detecting and recognising a person or a thing with any of our five senses. For example, if you look at a class photograph from a school, you may be able to pick out some people's faces who you know amongst the group of people. Likewise, if you listen to a group of people laughing, you may be able to pick out one person that you know's individual laugh from all of the other people laughing at the same time and any wine lovers among you may be able to pick out notes of certain fruits in your favourite wines. When I looked at the crowded photograph, I could easily pick out my brother because of his bright orange jacket. It took a while, but John finally managed to pick out his wife's voice among the noisy crowd. Detective Novak was able to pick out the suspect’s face from the surveillance footage. Despite the dim light, I was able to pick out the outline of the house in the distance. Tom has an incredible ability to pick out subtle differences between similar wines. While listening to the orchestra, Debbie could easily pick out the sound of the violins. With his keen sense of smell, Jonas was able to pick out the scent of lavender in the blend. MEANING 4: To make something obvious Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stand out, to highlight, to set apart Separable? Yes Let's move on to our fourth meaning of 'pick out' now, which is a very logical next step as it means 'to make something obvious'. To clarify, with this meaning, I am not talking about an action that is obvious for people to see but rather changing the appearance of something. This is either to make it easier to see with your eyes by distinguishing it from its surroundings or for decorative purposes to make it look prettier or nicer. In both cases, the main purpose of this meaning is to draw people's attention to something and make them notice it. Grammatically speaking, this application can be used in an active sense but most of the time it tends to be used in the passive form of ' to be picked out in.... ". Normally, this is followed by a colour, a texture or a decoration of some sort. The lighting in the gallery was designed to pick out the intricate carvings on the sculpture. Emily wore a belt to pick out her waistline and give the dress more shape. Simon's intricate design was picked out in gold thread, giving the fabric a luxurious look. The names of the competition winners were picked out in bold letters on the announcement board. Inside the church, the stained-glass window was beautifully picked out in shades of blue and green. Kath's initials were picked out in silver embroidery on her handkerchief. The edges of the painting were picked out in a darker colour to create depth. The lettering on the monument was picked out in white paint to make it easier for people to read. The floral pattern was picked out in vibrant colours, in order to make it stand out against the plain background. MEANING 5: To play music with difficulty Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To play Separable? Yes Let's start this final application with a question; can you play a musical instrument? I learned the piano when I was a child and I can just about remember some very basic tunes now but sadly nothing more. The reason that I ask is because this final meaning is all about musical instruments and means 'to play music with difficulty'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Song Tune Melody Chords Notes Typically, there are several situations in which this application of 'pick out' is used, which I have listed below for you.... When you play a song slowly as you are not very used to playing it When you play a song that is too difficult for you, especially if you have recently started learning When you play a song by ear or from memory and do not have sheet music to help you As you can see from all of the example situations above, we use this application when someone is uncertain about playing a song on an instrument and there is an element of difficulty involved for the musician. It isn't just deftly playing a song with ease in the style of Chopin, Beethoven or Fats Domino. Sammy sat at the piano and began to pick out the melody of his favourite song. The child prodigy managed to pick out a simple tune on the xylophone. Sally picked out a few chords on the guitar while humming softly. With some effort, Adam picked out the opening notes of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" on the keyboard. Harry picked out a lively tune on the banjo, much to everyone at the party's delight. As the band warmed up, the pianist picked out a few notes to test the keys. She picked out the melody by ear, even though she’d never seen the sheet music before. Tony picked out a haunting tune on the violin and the sound echoed through the empty room. The beginner picked out the scale on the piano, hesitating over a few notes. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'pick out'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'pick out'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pack up' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This post is all about the phrasal verb 'pack up'. After writing such a long post about the phrasal verb 'get into' last week (link here ), I decided to focus on a less common (although equally useful) phrasal verb with fewer meanings this week to give both you and I a break! In this post, I will explain the three different meanings of 'pack up' in English and provide you with lots of example sentences in context to aid your understanding. So, without further ado, let's make a start! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Pack Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'pack' and 'up' Pack Up - Meaning 1: To put things into a container Pack Up - Meaning 2: To stop working 🇬🇧 Pack Up - Meaning 3: To stop doing something 🇬🇧 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 PACK UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Packed up / Packed up Separable? Sometimes To start things off, let's briefly examine the individual words 'pack' and 'up' and consider their individual meanings. Our base verb is to pack', which is a regular verb that, in its purest form, is used in reference to filling empty spaces. Most commonly, it is used to talk about placing items into a suitcase or container to be transported to a different place or for storage. Unsurprisingly, it is one that is used by excited and happy holidaymakers as they are preparing for their vacations. John packed his suitcase in preparation for his trip to New York. I am going to Spain tomorrow and I haven't even started packing yet. Susan packed the books into the box in order to take them to the second hand bookstore. I am really bad at packing. I never seem to be able to fit all of my things into the bag. Next, we have our favourite prepositional particle 'up', which I know you will all be very familiar with. 'Up' is often used in phrasal verb constructions to convey the idea of an upward movement, as well the concepts of increase ( turn up ), accumulation (stock up), completion (eat up), creation ( make up ) and ending ( break up ), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pack up'.... MEANING 1: To put things into a container Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To pack, to pack away, to clear up, to stow, to put away, to tidy up Separable? Yes We'll start the different meanings of 'pack up' with the most commonly used of the three, which is to put things into a container, in order to transport them elsewhere. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Things Belongings Stuff Possessions Gear If you were paying attention in the Basics section, you may be thinking that this one is very similar to the meaning of the base verb 'to pack'. That is indeed correct, but whilst these can often be used interchangeably, there are some subtle differences between them, particularly in terms of the situations in which they are used. Another thing that I mentioned in the Basics section was that one of the ideas that 'up' brings to a phrasal verb construction is the idea of completion and by adding 'up' to the verb 'to pack', it can convey the ideas of finality and permanence, i.e. that when you pack items up, you will be taking them away from the place and will not be bringing them back. For this reason, it is far more common to hear native speakers talking about packing their suitcases for a holiday and not packing up their suitcase because a holiday is only temporary. On the other hand, if someone is moving home, then it is far more likely that they will say that they are packing up their possessions as this is usually a more permanent action. Similarly, at the end of a working day, an office worker may pack his or her bag before leaving the office, however when they leave their job or if they get fired, then they will need to pack up their possessions as they will not be returning again. Moreover, we would say 'pack up' rather than 'pack' when all of the items in a space or place are gathered and stored somewhere. This can also apply if the people were not permanently going away but were coming back another day, like market traders who need to remove all of their goods from the market overnight when they are not there. On the last day of the exhibition, the exhibitors started packing up their stand in the afternoon. After the meeting, we packed up our laptops and headed back to the office. It started raining, so Adam and Lucy packed up the picnic and went home. The street vendors began packing up their stalls as the market closed for the day. Once the camping trip was over, we packed up our gear and drove back to the city. He decided to pack up his belongings and move to a different state for a fresh start. The musicians packed up their instruments after the concert and left the venue. When the construction was finished, the workers packed up their tools and cleared the site. You should note that it is possible to use 'pack up' to talk about both the items that are being collected and moved e.g. things, possessions, as well as for what they are being stored and transported in e.g. van, lorry, car. Come on, let's finish packing up the car and go home. MEANING 2: To stop working Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To break, to break down, to give out, to conk out, to malfunction, to fail Separable? No The final two meanings of 'pack up' are largely British, informal ones, with the first of these being 'to stop working'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Machine Boiler Dishwasher Fridge / Freezer Cooker / Oven As you can see from the list of commonly used nouns above, this application tends to be used most commonly with nouns for machines and appliances that we use regularly, typically in our homes or workplaces. Furthermore, these tend to be more complex in nature with lots of different components and parts that function together in unison. My old car finally packed up on the way to the beach, leaving us stranded on the main road. Tom's laptop packed up just before the project deadline, and he had to borrow one to finish it. Our washing machine packed up last night, so now we need to call a repair technician. After years of heavy use, Kelly's printer packed up and refused to print anything. The air conditioning system packed up during the heatwave, making it unbearable in the office. Although not a machine, one other complex system that this application of 'pack up' can be used with is the human body and this is specifically in reference to body parts that have stopped functioning properly. Most commonly, you tend to hear this with knees, lungs and legs. Note, that this is a highly informal usage. Katy realised her knees were starting to pack up after years of running marathons. After hours of heavy lifting, Roger's back finally packed up, and he had to sit down to rest. From a grammatical perspective, this usage is intransitive and it has no direct object; it is not possible to say 'pack something up' to mean to make it break down or stop working when referring to a body part. MEANING 3: To stop doing something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To give up, to pack in, to stop, to quit Separable? Rarely Our third and final meaning of 'pack up' is one that is just as informal as the previous one and means 'to stop doing something', particularly when it is an activity that someone does regularly or a habit. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Smoking / Cigarettes / Fags Job / Work / Working I would say that the most common noun that I hear this application being used with is 'smoking', or something in reference to it, like 'cigarettes' or 'fags'. This is used as a more informal synonym of the highly common phrasal verb 'give up'. It is also common to hear this used with the noun 'job' to mean to quit your job, normally in a sudden or unexpected manner. Moreover, 'to pack up working', would be used to mean to stop working completely. Aside from these two uses, we can use this for other verb actions that we do regularly, which we stop, such as running, swimming, yoga or playing a sport or a game. On a grammatical note, when a verb action is specified, it needs to be in the gerund ('ing) form. I packed up smoking when I was 21 and I have not touched one since. Simon has decided to pack up his job as he is not happy there. Mike had to pack up running after he got injured in a fall. My mum says that she will never pack up pilates as it makes her feel young and healthy. My Dad has packed up working and taken early retirement. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'pack up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get 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. This article is all about the English phrasal verb 'get into'. In it, I will look at 8 different ways to use this surprising little phrasal verb and give you lots of commonly used nouns and example sentences to help you master them and add them to your active English vocabulary. This is quite a long post as there are a lot of different meanings to cover, so, let's make a start! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Get Into - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'get' and 'into' Get Into - Meaning 1: To enter Get Into - Meaning 2: To be chosen for something Get Into - Meaning 3: To become interested in something Get Into - Meaning 4: To start a career in a specific field Get Into - Meaning 5: To become involved in something Get Into - Meaning 6: To reach a state or condition Get Into - Bonus: What has got into you? Get Into - Meaning 7: To put a piece of clothing on Get Into - Meaning 8: To arrive Get Into - Bonus: Common idioms featuring with 'Get Into' Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GET INTO: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Got into / Got - gotten into Separable? Sometimes If you visit my site often, you will know that I like to start each of my phrasal verbs posts with a quick analysis of the words that make up the phrasal verb of choice, in this case they are 'get' and 'into'. We'll start by looking at the verb 'to get', which I know can be problematic for many English learners due to its many meanings and uses. Let's not worry too much about all of the meanings of it here, but rather concentrate on those that are relevant for 'get into', which are 'to arrive' and 'to become'. In addition to its many different meanings, 'to get' can also function as an auxiliary verb, in the place of 'to be', to form passive sentences. One other point to note is that 'get' has two different past participles: 'got' and 'gotten' and the usage of these depends on where you are in the anglophone world. In British and Australian English, 'got' is the more common past tense form, whilst North American English speakers prefer using 'gotten'. Everybody gets old if they are lucky. It's getting very warm in here. He didn't get famous by luck; he worked hard and believed in himself. What time did you get home last night? We got to the airport late and missed the flight. Suzanne got picked to play for the soccer team. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'into', which is a combination of the prepositions 'in' and 'to'. As a result, 'into' is mainly used to describe movement from the outside of something to the inside. When used in phrasal verbs, 'into' can express ideas such as entry (go into), transformation (turn into), collision (bump into) and focus ( look into ). So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's take a look at the various meanings of the phrasal verb 'get into'.... MEANING 1: To enter Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To enter, to go in, to go into Separable? No Let's enter into the world of the different meanings of 'get into' with our first one, which, coincidentally, means 'to enter'....do you see what I did there?! 😉 Nouns commonly used with this application.... House Building Room Car Account As you will see from the list of nouns above, we can use 'get into' to talk about entering or physically going inside a place. You should note however that it only tends to be used by speakers in the following scenarios.... When there is some difficulty entering In the negative sense when we entry into somewhere is not possible for some reason When asking a question about how someone entered a space. On the contrary, if there is no difficulty entering a place, we tend to use 'go into' or another alternative. It took John 30 minutes to get into his apartment this evening as there was a problem with the lock on his front door. Mark tried to get into his car by breaking the window. How did the burglars get into your house? Somehow the cat got into the washing machine. This disease is caused when bacteria get into a person's bloodstream. Note that it is possible to use 'get into' for a car but not for other larger types of transport, such as a train or a plane as we use (illogically) 'on' for these and therefore the correct phrasal verb for these would be 'get onto'. It is also commonplace to use this application to describe non-physical spaces for which we use 'in'. These typically tend to be things like online accounts that need passwords etc. Has anyone been able to get into their email inbox this morning? A virus got into the computer system, causing the company lots of trouble. MEANING 2: To be chosen for something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be selected, to be chosen, to get in Separable? No We all experience moments of good luck in our lives, although it appears that some people have more of it than others. This second meaning of 'get into' is one that could be useful for them as it means 'to be chosen for something' and is usually used for things that we hope to be chosen for. Nouns commonly used with this application: Team School / College / University Office Parliament Power As I mentioned above, this usage of 'get into' is definitely a positive one because the underlying idea of it is a successful application. Typically, there is often an element of prestige or pride when it is used in this context. For example, if you get into a university, it means that you achieved the required grades in your exams and your application to study there was accepted. Likewise, if you get into a sports team, it means that the team manager has seen you play and has given you a place as he thinks you are good enough (note that it is also possible to get onto a team). One point to note here is that in American English, 'college' and 'university' are the same thing, however in British English they are different things, with a college being a place that you can study between school and university or to learn a profession, such as hairdressing or plumbing. My son has got into Oxford University to study English. I am overjoyed! What will you do if you don't get into the university that you want to go to? Mark and Lucy's daughter did not get into the school closest to their house. I got into the team after some of the other players got injured and they needed some replacements. In addition, you can also hear this application of 'get into' in the world of politics as if someone gets into parliament or office, it means that they have been elected or chosen to do the job by their political party or by the public. The prime minster first got into office 5 years ago and has not done much since then! The opposition party is determined to get into power in the upcoming election. If Mrs Smith gets into the Senate, she plans to focus on healthcare reform. MEANING 3: To become interested in something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To develop an interest, to get hooked, to start liking Separable? Rarely The third meaning of 'get into' is a pretty common one that you are likely to often hear being used by native speakers and it means 'to become interested in something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Movie / TV show Book Music Hobby To give you an example of how this one is frequently used, think about when you read a book or watch a movie and initially you find it difficult to enjoy or connect with it. Then, something really exciting happens in the story and suddenly you are no longer paying attention to what is happening around you and you are totally absorbed in the story (this happened to me whilst reading my book on the train this morning). When this happens, you can say that got into the book or the movie. It took me a while to get into the Harry Potter books but once I did, I was obsessed. I couldn't get into that movie, so I turned it off. Jason tried to get into his book but he couldn't concentrate on it as everyone around him was being so loud. We do not only use this application of 'get into' with entertainment however, as we can use it for anything that we are interested in. This can be for something that holds our attention for a few hours to lifelong passions, hobbies and interests that we enjoy doing or learning about. Regardless of what it is, 'get into' is used to describe the moment or time when you became interested in it. Kerry first got into history during 8th grade when she had a brilliant teacher. When did you get into rowing? Steve got into chess when he was living in Russia and now he is the best player I know. Brian got into Bob Marley's music when he was a teenager. A lot of people were into Britney Spears when I was at school but I never really got into her. MEANING 4: To start a career in a specific field Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To become, to enter into Separable? No Following on from the previous section, if you are interested in something, then it is logical that you may do a job that involves elements of the thing that you are interested in. As such, the fourth meaning of 'get into' that we will cover in this post is 'to start a career in a specific field, profession or industry'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Profession Field Teaching / Computing / IT / Law / Journalism / Politics Business / Industry At one point in the past, I seriously considered becoming a schoolteacher and started the process of researching different courses etc. Whilst I was doing this, I attended several public events for prospective teachers called "Get Into Teaching" and although I didn't end up becoming a schoolteacher (I am an ESL teacher for adults instead), I still receive emails from them occasionally. The reason that I am telling you this is because the teaching profession is one that is commonly used with this application of 'get into'. Aside from teaching, other professions that you may hear 'get into' being used in reference to are those that often require an element of training of study as specific skills are required, such as journalism, IT, law and politics. Additionally, it can also be heard in reference to specific industries or fields of work such as show business or the music industry. Roger got into teaching because he loves working with children. Shelley tried to get into journalism after graduating from university. Many people struggle to get into the tech industry without prior experience. Adam got into law after being inspired by his father, who was a judge. It’s not easy to get into acting, but Laura is determined to make it. People who are just starting in this industry don't know what they are getting into. MEANING 5: To become involved in something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To start, to get involved in, to be implicated in Separable? No Moving on to our fifth meaning of 'get into' now, which is in line with the theme of some of the others that we have already covered in the post as it means 'to become involved in something'. Alternatively, it can also be used to mean 'to start something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Relationship Fight Argument / Debate Conversation For this usage, we are focussing more on emotional-based things that are only made possible through interactions with other people. For example, you might get into a fascinating conversation with a stranger at a party, but then they may say something that you disagree with and so you then get into an argument with them. Furthermore, you might get into a relationship with someone only to realise that you are incompatible because you get into fights all the time. It's important to note that I'm specifically talking about romantic relationships here; it would be unusual to hear anyone saying that they got into a friendship with someone as typically we would say 'make friends' or 'befriend' here instead. Tim got into a fight with his brother over something trivial. Hannah got into a really interesting conversation with her manager at the Christmas party. It’s easy to get into a toxic relationship if you don’t set boundaries Sarah and John got into a heated argument over politics at the dinner table. A couple of the schoolchildren got into a scuffle during their break, but the teacher quickly intervened. It’s important to think carefully before getting into a romantic relationship with a work colleague. MEANING 6: To reach a state or condition Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To develop Separable? No For our sixth meaning of 'get into', let's turn our attention away from the idea of being involved in something and focus instead on the idea of reaching a state or condition. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Trouble Difficulties Mess Panic State Habit To clarify, this application is used for when we find ourselves in a new situation, state or condition and as you can see from the list above, these are typically negative in nature. For example, if you get into trouble, then you either find yourself in a problematic situation or in a situation where you have done something wrong and are going to be punished for it. A useful idiom for this particular situation that is useful to know here is 'to get into hot water'. Moreover, if a room gets into a mess, then it becomes untidy and if you get into a panic, then your body enters fight or flight mode and you start panicking. In all of the examples above, a new negative situation is reached, where previously there was no problem, negativity or untidiness. Kate got into difficulties when she was swimming in the sea as the current was so strong. Jamie got into trouble with the police a few years ago but didn't go to prison. Robert got into a state at the funeral and could not stop crying. Peter got into hot water with the tax office. How did this situation get into such a mess?! One other noun that is frequently heard with this application of 'get into' is 'habit' and we use this as a synonym of 'develop' in this sense. It is possible for this to be used with both good and bad habits. During the summer holidays, I got into the habit of sleeping late. Don't get into the habit of skipping breakfast; it is the most important meal of the day. Try and get into the habit of running at least three times a week and drinking more water. Photo: Pexels BONUS: What has got into you? While we are on this subject, I want to make you aware of a very common use of this application, which is the expression 'get into someone', which is usually heard in question form as 'what has got into you / him / her etc...?' We use this particular phrase when someone is not acting as they normally do or a bit strangely. Typically, it is when he or she is misbehaving or displaying some other kind of negative behaviour and we do not know the reason for it. You can probably guess from the picture above, but we can also use it for cats, dogs and other pets too which start behaving in a strange or abnormal way. What has got into you today? You have been in a terrible mood ever since breakfast! My dog has been barking and growling all morning. I don't know what has gotten into him! MEANING 7: To put on an item of clothing Photo: Wix CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To put on, to wear, to squeeze into Separable? No It's time for a complete change of meaning now for our seventh usage of 'get into' as this one is all about fashion and simply means 'to put on an item of clothing'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Trousers / Pants Jeans Dress Clothes Pyjamas Size Pair Firstly, we can use 'get into' here to mean to put on an item of clothing in a general sense. I can't wait to get home and get into my comfortable clothes. Give me 5 minutes to get into something presentable! Following a long day at work, Mike quickly got into his pyjamas and relaxed on the couch. After the hike, they all got into clean clothes before heading out for dinner. However, you should note that more often than not, 'get into' is used in reference to clothing when there is some difficulty putting on an item, typically because it is too small. It may be used in reference to a specific item, such as a pair of jeans or a wedding dress or to talk about a specific size of clothing that a person either manages or fails to put on. Sarah got into her workout gear before heading to the gym. Luke struggled to get into his new pair of jeans because they were a bit tight. Amanda got into her wedding dress with the help of her bridesmaids. I can’t believe how long it takes Miranda to get into her costume for the play! Louise was so happy when she managed to get into a size 8 dress for the first time since having her baby. There is no way that I will get into a medium-sized suit! MEANING 8: To arrive Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To arrive, to reach Separable? No We have now arrived at our final meaning of 'get into' and amazingly I have managed to come up with more brilliant word play again as this meaning is...you guessed it... 'to arrive'! Nouns commonly used with this application.... Towns / Cities (London, Birmingham, New York, Dublin etc.) Station Work Office Normally, this usage is not used as a synonym for 'to arrive' in all situations but specifically when talking about towns and cities, usually when arriving there on public transport. It can also be used for transport buildings such as stations and airports. My train gets into Montreal at 5pm today. I think my plane will get into Los Angeles around 6.30am. What time do you get into Glasgow tomorrow? Lisa and Jean Michel got into Paris just as the sun was setting. By the time the train got into the station, all of the shops had closed. My uncle's plane gets into Heathrow Airport this afternoon. Aside from the nouns mentioned above, we can also use this application of 'get into' to talk about work and places of work like offices. I usually get into the office around 8:30 AM. Margaret always gets into work early to avoid the morning rush. Kevin didn't get into work until after 11 this morning. On a grammatical note, a noun or a proper noun is usually always required after 'into' in this application otherwise the sentence sounds unfinished. If you already know what the city or place of arrival is and do not want to repeat it, you can just use 'get in' (link here ) instead as a noun is not required here and it means the same thing. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Common idioms featuring 'get into' To end the post, I want to just make you aware of a couple of useful idioms featuring the phrasal verb 'get into' that are worth memorising and using. To get into the swing of things - This expression is used in situations when you do something new and after a period of uncertainty, you start to understand and get used to the new situation, often with an element of enjoyment too. An alternative to this is 'to get into the swing of it'. I didn't enjoy my new job at first but once I got into the swing of things, I began to enjoy it. To get into your stride - This British idiom is very similar to the previous one and almost means the same thing. If you get into your stride, you start to become confident with something new that you are doing as it is becomes familiar to you. The cyclists were very cautious in the first part of the race but once they got into their stride, there was no stopping them. To get into the festive / Christmas spirit - Our last idiom is one that is really only every used in December (and maybe early January for some) and means to feel the positive feelings that are associated with Christmas and to participate in Christmas-based activities. It took me a while to get into the Christmas spirit this year as work was so stressful. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'get into'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'get into'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'clear 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. In this post, I am turning my attention to the phrasal verb 'clear up'. I will explain four different meanings that it has, from tidying a room to improved weather, and I will give you lots of example sentences to enable you to learn how it is used by native speakers and in which contexts. So, without further ado, let's get started! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Clear Up - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'clear' and 'up' Clear Up - Meaning 1: To provide an explanation for something Clear Up - Meaning 2: To tidy somewhere 🇬🇧 Clear Up - Bonus: What's the difference between 'to clear' and 'to clear up' Clear Up - Meaning 3: To become cured Clear Up - Meaning 4: To improve (weather) 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 CLEAR UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Cleared up / Cleared up Separable? Yes Before we delve into the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'clear up', let's first take a moment to consider the individual words 'clear' and 'up' and what they mean on their own. Firstly, we have the verb 'to clear', which is a regular verb, whose main meaning is to remove obstacles, obstructions and unwanted things from a space or area. In addition, it can also be used as a verb to mean to authorise something, to pass over something without touching or hitting it and to prove that a suspect of a crime is not guilty, with some other less common meanings. The forester is clearing a path through the trees. I had to clear my drive this morning as it was covered with snow. My boss has cleared my request for holiday next week. The dog could clear the garden fence with ease. The suspected murdered was cleared of all charges and released. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'up', which can be used in phrasal verb constructions to give a number of different nuances and meanings. Unsurprisingly, one of it's primary uses is to denote a movement in an upwards direction or an increase, however it can also add the ideas of improvement (cheer up), collection (gather up) and separation ( break up ). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's start looking at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'clear up'.... MEANING 1: To provide an explanation for something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To explain, to clarify, to solve, to resolve, to straighten out, to sort out Separable? Yes Our first meaning of the phrasal verb 'clear up' is one that you may have come across before, especially if you use English for your job and is 'to provide an explanation for something'. Nouns commonly used with this application: Confusion Doubts Mystery Uncertainty Misunderstanding Issue / Problem In order to comprehend this first application, we need to think about what 'clear' can mean as an adjective, which is in this case is 'easy to understand'. If we then convert this adjectival meaning to a verb, we get the idea of making something clear or ensuring that something becomes easy for people to understand. Looking at the list of nouns above, you will note that many of them are used for things where information is missing or required and the action of giving this information is known as 'clearing something up'. This is oftentimes in the form of an explanation. Furthermore, sometimes when there is confusion about a situation, especially in a work environment, it can lead to problems and we can also use this application of 'clear up' to mean to solve a problem and make it go away. The English teacher stayed after class to clear up any doubts the students had about the phrasal verbs that they had covered in the class. Please can you clear up this billing issue? I think you have charged me twice for the same item. Debbie worked quickly to clear up her customer's misunderstanding about the refund policy. I’ll call the client to clear up any confusion about the project deadlines. The mystery of my missing cat has finally been cleared up - he was locked in our garden shed! MEANING 2: To tidy somewhere Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To tidy, to tidy up, to clean up Separable? Yes Like a lot of people, I really enjoy hosting parties and social gatherings at my house where I can catch up with my friends and family, forget about work and relax a bit. The one thing that I dislike about it however is the next day when the place is a complete mess and everywhere needs cleaning and tidying. The reason that I am mentioning this is because our second meaning of 'clear up' is to tidy somewhere. Nouns commonly used with this application: Mess House / Apartment Room Firstly, you should note that this usage is primarily a British one and may sound a little strange to American English speakers, who may be more accustomed to 'clean up' as an alternative. However you should note that 'clean up' may also involve an aspect of cleaning , which 'clear up' does not tend to do. In a nutshell, this application of 'clear up' is used to describe the action of moving items from a place and either putting them in their designated places or throwing them away into the trash, in order to make the space or room look neat and today. Typically, this usage is heard in relation to a messy room or a place with lots of litter and rubbish, particularly following a social event or party. In addition to 'clearing up' the place or space that is a mess, it is also common to use 'clear up' to refer to the out of place items that are causing the mess, such as litter, toys or broken glass. John, can you help me clear up the kitchen after dinner? Helen spent the morning clearing up her desk so she could focus on her work. The kids were told to clear up their toys before bedtime. It took Simon and I hours to clear up the mess after the party. Steve offered to clear up the garden after the storm left branches and debris everywhere. After finishing the project, Mike and Abigail stayed late to clear up the conference room. BONUS: What's the difference between 'to clear' and 'to clear up' Lastly, before concluding this section, it is worth mentioning that when used in this context, 'clear' and 'clear up' have slightly different meanings. Whilst the expression 'to clear up a room' conveys the idea of clearing up the mess in a room in order to make it look tidy, the expression 'to clear a room' conveys the idea of removing all of the items in it, in order to make it empty. A small difference but it can make a big difference in certain situations, so it is definitely worth knowing it! MEANING 3: To become cured Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where it it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To heal, to go away Separable? Sometimes In the previous section, we explored the concept of getting rid of unwanted items from a room or space to improve its appearance. For this third meaning, we are also looking at the idea of eliminating something but in this case, it is illnesses as this meaning is 'to become cured of a disease'. Nouns commonly used with this application: Illness / Disease Cold Cough Infection Rash / Spots / Hives Symptoms Despite even our best efforts to stay well, we all get sick from time to time and whilst it is often an unpleasant experience, the symptoms do eventually go away and we start to feel better again, or in other words the illness clears up. Although we can use 'clear up' to talk about any infection or disease being cured, it is most commonly used in reference to skin conditions such as rashes, hives and spots. I think that this is particularly so as when the rash finally disappears, the skin once again looks is clear. From a grammatical perspective, we can use this application of 'clear up' in both a transitive way (with a direct object) and an intransitive way (without a direct object). We use it transitively particularly when we want to specify a drug or treatment that will cure the issue or help to make it go away.... The doctor prescribed an ointment that should clear up the rash in a few days. This treatment is designed to clear up acne within a couple of weeks. The cream helped to clear the redness from her sunburn up. I'd had a persistent cough for weeks and then I took this herbal remedy and it cleared it up in a day! On the other hand, we use it intransitively when we want to say that a condition improves independently without any drugs, when we do not want to specify the drug or medication that cleared the condition up or when it has already been mentioned and so does not need to be repeated. Remember, that when used this way, we cannot separate 'clean' and 'up'. My cold finally started to clear up after a week of rest and medication. If your symptoms don’t clear up by tomorrow, you should see a doctor. Laura's hay fever usually clears up once the pollen season ends. Kevin's psoriasis was finally starting to clear up when a stressful incident at work made it flare up again. MEANING 4: To improve (weather) Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To improve, to brighten up, to let up Separable? No We've now reached our fourth and final meaning of 'clear up', which is a nice and positive one to end the post with as it means 'to improve' and is used specifically when talking about the weather. Nouns that this application is commonly used with: Weather Rain Fog Storm Snow As you can tell from the list above, this particular usage is used in reference to types of weather that people consider bad. In other words, types of weather that disrupt our plans and prevent us from doing things that we want to do, especially when they are outside. Moreover, typical weather scenarios in which this is used are when the sun comes out and the day becomes brighter, when it stops raining, when fog or mist lifts and visibility resumes and when a period of windy or stormy weather comes to an end.  As you might guess, this is one that we say a lot in the UK, often just as a wish! The weather is supposed to clear up this afternoon, so we should be able to go for a walk then. It's been raining heavily all morning, but it looks like it’s starting to clear up now. If the weather doesn’t clear up soon, we’ll have to cancel the village show. Pete and his fishermen friends waited for the storm to clear up before heading out on the boat. It was cloudy when we arrived, but the weather began to clear up just in time for the picnic. The sun finally came out after the rain cleared up, making for a beautiful evening. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'clear up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'hold back' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. In this post, I will be explaining the phrasal verb 'hold back', which you may be familiar with already as it is a fairly common and widespread one. Do you know all of the ways that it can be used in English though? Don't worry if not because I will explain each of them in detail for you as we go and provide lots of example sentences to help you master how to use them like a native speaker. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Hold Back - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'hold' & 'back' Hold Back - Meaning 1: To stop something from advancing Hold Back - Meaning 2: To stop yourself from acting or speaking Hold Back - Meaning 3: To withhold something Hold Back - Meaning 4: To prevent someone from progressing Hold Back - Meaning 5: To make a school student repeat a year 🇺🇸 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 HOLD BACK: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Held back / Held back Separable? Yes To begin the post, let's first examine the individual words 'hold' and 'back' to see what they mean on their own. Our base verb in this post is the verb 'to hold', which has a large number of different uses in English. Its main meanings include 'to have something in your hands or arms for a period of time', 'to contain', 'to keep something in a place and prevent it from moving' and 'to organise something official, like an election or a meeting'. Becky left the hospital holding her new baby. Louise and Alex held hands along the beach. This water tank holds 1000 litres of water. The police are holding the suspects in a cell temporarily until their investigation is finished. The government is holding a vote next week to decide who will become the new parliament speaker. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'back', which is one that is fairly common in phrasal verbs but not as prevalent as other particles like 'in', 'up' and 'out'. The general meanings of the word 'back' are all related to 're' words, such as reversal, response, return and restrain. These ideas are also reflected in phrasal verbs that feature 'back', for example 'set back', 'take back', 'go back' and ' get back '. Also, when used as an adverb, the word 'back' can be used to express being at the rear of something (behind everyone or everything else) and therefore away from the front. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'hold back'.... MEANING 1: To stop something from advancing Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To restrain, to stop, to halt, to constrain, to block Separable? Yes Let's start our exploration of the phrasal verb 'hold back' with a somewhat literal meaning, which is 'to stop something from advancing'. Nouns commonly used with this application: A person / People Crowd Water Flow Fire As you can see from the list above, this first usage of 'hold back' is applied to nouns for things that physically move forwards on the ground, which of course include people and animals, as well as for things like fire and water, which do so by their very nature. When we hold these back, we stop their progress by blocking them in some way and therefore prevent them from advancing any further. This application combines the literal meaning of 'to hold', as in keeping something stationary, with the notion of 'back', suggesting a rear position with the potential to move forward. Together, they imply that the person, animal or object is prevented from progressing further along its course. The police formed a line to hold back the crowd during the protest. Sandbags were placed along the riverbank to hold back the rising floodwaters. The soldiers worked together to hold back the enemy forces John stretched out his arms to hold back his younger brother from running into the street. In informal spoken English, "hold back" is used when someone is angry and about to become violent, and another person physically restrains them, preventing them from attacking the other person. Thinking about the grammar here, you should note that we need the additional preposition 'from' + the verb in gerund form with this application (as you can see in the sentence before this). Simon was so angry with his boss that his colleagues had to hold him back from hitting him. Karen had to hold back her dog when it lunged at the cat. Moreover, this application is also used by native speakers in hypothetical scenarios with the second conditional to describe situations in which someone would need to be restrained from aggression towards another person because they are so angry or annoyed. If anyone hurt my children, it would take an entire army to hold me back from attacking them. You wouldn't be able to hold me back if I found out that my boyfriend was seeing his ex-girlfriend. Here is a music video of a well known song featuring this first application of 'hold back', however I am note sure if this is meant in a literal sense. What do you think? MEANING 2: To stop yourself from acting or speaking Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To restrain yourself, to repress, to stifle, to suppress Separable? Yes Now we move on to the second meaning of 'hold back', which is another variation on the theme of stopping that we covered in the previous section. For this application, rather than preventing the forward movement of something, we are instead stopping ourselves from acting in a certain way or from saying something. For this usage, we again need the additional preposition 'from' + the verb in gerund ('ing) form to specify the action that we want to prevent. As we are often talking about ourselves here, it is also very common to use reflexive (-self) pronouns. Firstly, let's consider when we use 'hold back' to mean 'stopping yourself from acting in a certain way', which can be used to describe any time that you hesitate to do something or do not do something completely. This would typically be because you are not sure whether or not it is the right thing to do or perhaps because you do not want to make a situation that is already bad even worse. Roger felt nervous during the interview and held back from sharing his most creative ideas. I was about to send the email to the customer but I held back from sending it to reconsider my tone. Mike and Jim planned to invest more money but held back due to the uncertainty of the economy. Adrian couldn't hold back from buying the antique ornaments, despite his wife having told him he could not spend any more money. Another way that this application of 'hold back' is used a lot is in reference to emotions, particularly when we want to stop ourselves from showing a certain emotion or when we cannot stop ourselves from doing so. Typically, these "held back" emotions include crying, laughing, losing your temper (becoming angry) and shouting. Perhaps the most common word that is used with 'hold back' in reference to emotions is the noun 'tears'. 'To hold back the tears' is another way to say to stop yourself from crying. Whilst watching her colleagues argue, Sarah almost burst out laughing at the wrong moment but managed to hold back just in time. Despite the bad news, Sally managed to hold back from crying. Jacob clenched his fists tightly, struggling to hold back his anger. She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to flow. Steve turned away to hold back the wave of sadness that suddenly overwhelmed him. Jane had to hold back her excitement when she heard the good news to keep the surprise for later. Finally, the other action that we use with 'hold back' is speaking and this can often be for a number of reasons. Perhaps, we do not want to make a situation worse or cause an argument, or maybe we are too shy to express our opinion about something. Either way, the central idea here is that we have something to say or that we want to say, but ultimately do not. Moreover, if someone doesn't hold back, it means that they say exactly what they are thinking, often without caring about what other people think. This is especially common to hear in reference to when people are angry or are in a fierce argument. Lucy wanted to speak her mind but decided to hold back, fearing she might offend someone. Bobby saw the opportunity to criticise his boss but wisely chose to hold back. Maria held back from speaking during the work meeting as she was terrified of speaking English in front of native speakers. Jo lost her temper with her mother in law and didn't hold back; she told her exactly what she thought of her for the first time. MEANING 3: To withhold something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To withhold, to keep back, to retain Separable? Yes We finished the previous section with the idea of holding back from speaking and this brings us nicely to our third meaning of 'hold back', which is 'to withhold something', most commonly information. To clarify, this application means to keep information secret and not make it known to other people. More often than not, we use this particular application when we give people some information about a subject but not all of it and we keep some of the information back. This application is frequently used in social groups where people keep secrets, in businesses when management and directors want to restrict employee access to specific information and for children when certain things are not appropriate for them to know. The witness admitted to holding back key facts from the police out of fear for their safety. The company was criticised for holding back information about the product recall. I suspect that they're holding back the full story until they get more evidence. The report was incomplete because the author deliberately held back some of the findings. Robert was accused of holding back crucial evidence from the investigation. In addition to withholding information, we can also use this application of 'hold back' to refer to things that we use or need, such as money or energy. When we hold some of it back, we keep part of it in reserve in order to use it later. Alan decided to hold back some of his savings in case of an emergency. The football coach instructed his team to hold back their energy for the final quarter of the game. Anne didn't eat all of her cookies at once and held back a few to enjoy after dinner. MEANING 4: To prevent someone from progressing Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To hinder, to impede, to thwart Separable? Yes For the next usage of 'hold back', I want to go back again to the first meaning in this post, which is to stop something from advancing. This is because the next application is the same idea, however rather than talking about something physically moving forwards, we are instead talking about the idea of stopping something or someone from progressing or developing. Vocabulary commonly used with this application.... Someone / somebody Person / people Project Process Plan This usage of 'hold back' is not used very much with tangible, physical objects but rather with abstract nouns. For example, if we talk about holding a person back, we are usually referring to their career or their personal development, or stopping them from doing something that they want to do in their life. Moreover, when we talk about holding something back, we are likely talking about a project, plan or process that is not developing as quickly as it should. Financial constraints are holding back the completion of the new building. The outdated software is holding back the company's ability to compete in the market. Penny decided not to have children as she thought that they would hold her back in her career. Alison's perfectionism often holds her back from finishing projects on time. MEANING 5: To make a school student repeat a year Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? American English Potential synonyms To repeat Separable? Yes We have now come to our fifth and final meaning of 'hold back', which is an American English usage and means 'to to make a school student repeat a year'. This one is typically used when a schoolchild does not pass his or her exams at the end of the school year or does not progress sufficiently during the year and therefore needs to repeat the year. Grammatically speaking, you are likely to hear this in a passive sense, with the idea of a student "being held back" due to poor grades, performance or attendance. In British English, although we would understand the use of 'hold back' within the context of the conversation, we would normally use the verb 'to repeat' instead. The teacher suggested holding Tony back a year because he was struggling to keep up with the curriculum. After failing several exams, the school decided to hold Mary-Sue back in fourth grade. Despite his efforts, Chuck was held back in high school due to poor academic performance. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'turn out'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'hold back'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'try on' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This post is all about the English phrasal verb 'try on'. In the post, I will explain its three different meanings and give you lots of examples of each one to enable you to understand, learn and use them, helping you to impress all of your English speaker friends and colleagues 😃 Read on to learn these different meanings and master another phrasal verb! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Try On - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'try' and 'on' Try On - Meaning 1: To wear an item of clothing to see if it fits Try On - Meaning 2: To test someone's limits by misbehaving 🇬🇧 Try On - Meaning 3: To flirt with 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 TRY ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Tried on / Tried on Separable? Yes Regular visitors to this website will know by now that I always start my phrasal verb exploration by looking at the individual words that make it up, so let''s begin by considering the component words 'try' and 'on'. The base verb in our phrasal verb construction 'to try' is a very common English verb whose main meaning is 'to make an effort to do something', often when the task is new or difficult for us. Furthermore, it can also be used to mean 'to test something to see if it is nice or suitable', which is a theme that we will come back to later in the post. I tried to call you yesterday but you didn't answer. Have you ever tried learning Spanish? Mmmm this soup tastes so good, come over here and try it. John tried karate and judo but realised that martial arts weren't for him. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'on', which, as you will know, is used to talk about when something is in contact with a surface, especially when it is above it. Beyond this, 'on' has a huge range of uses and applications in English and exploring all of them would require an entirely new blog, which I unfortunately don't have time to create. One notable application of 'on' though is in reference to clothing as when we wear something we say it is 'on' our bodies. When used in phrasal verbs constructions, 'on' can convey ideas such as continuation ( keep on ), activation (turn on), focus (work on) and encouragement (cheer on), among others. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the real reason that you are here and look at the meanings of the phrasal verb 'try on'.... MEANING 1: To wear an item of clothing to see if it fits Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To try, to test Separable? Yes We will start our examination of the phrasal verb 'try on' with the easiest and most widely used of its three meanings, which is 'to wear an item of clothing to see if it fits'. One thing that I find happens quite often and which annoys me greatly when ordering clothes, especially online, is that different clothes shops seem to use different measurements to classify the clothes into size categories. Therefore, if I purchase a medium-sized jumper from one retailer and a different medium-sized jumper from another, one of them is likely to fit, while the other doesn't? This has resulted in me sending a lot of clothes back that I ordered online as they do not fit. Is this the same in your country or is just a British thing? For this reason, we usually need to wear an item of clothing before we give away our hard earned money for it to make sure that it fits and looks good on us. To describe this testing action, we use the phrasal verb 'try on'. Apart from the verb 'to try', there are not really any good synonyms for this exact action, so this really is a good one to memorise if you ever plan to go clothes shopping in an English speaking country. As you can imagine, this particular usage is mainly heard in clothes shops and stores where people want to try an item before they purchase it. Aside from clothes, we also use this application for anything that we wear on our body such as glasses, hats and shoes. This usage is separable and it can be used in either a separated or an unseparated way without any change in meaning. I want to try on this jacket before deciding if I should buy it. Helen spent hours trying on different pairs of shoes at the mall. Can I try on this dress in a smaller size? Before buying the sunglasses, Roger decided to try them on to check the fit and style. You should try on that sweater—it looks like it would suit you perfectly! MEANING 2: To test someone's limits by misbehaving Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To play up, to misbehave, to test someone, to test the boundaries Separable? Yes - always The next two meanings of 'try on' are both mainly British meanings and are slightly informal. with this first one being 'to test someone's limits by misbehaving'. Before I continue with the explanation, it is important to note that this application is always separable with the word 'it' being placed between 'try' and 'on', giving us the expression 'to try it on'. If any of you have ever taught in a classroom, particularly children or teenagers in a school environment, then you will undoubtedly at one point or another have been in a situation in which you could use this application. This is because it is often used to describe when students misbehave for a new teacher to test the limits of what he or she will allow in the classroom. This may also happen to childminders and babysitters too. In other words, students who try it on are just seeing how naughty they can be and what they can get away with. Don’t let him get away with it—he’s just trying it on to see how far he can push you. The kids tried it on with the substitute teacher, but she soon made it clear that any bad behaviour would be strictly punished. Furthermore, we can also use this application in reference to deceiving someone or tricking them, in order to get something from them. This tends to be used in situations where the person 'trying it on' knows that there is not much chance of being successful. Just to add here, that this usage is not just limited to schoolchildren as it can also be applied to any situation where this behaviour is displayed, even a cat or dog may try it on....my cats certainly do so from time to time!! The customer said he’d forgotten his wallet, but I think he’s just trying it on to get a free meal. The shopkeeper caught the teenager trying it on by pretending he’d already paid for the candy. Don’t let them charge you extra for the service—they’re just trying it on to see if you’ll notice. When John said that he hadn't received the email, I knew he was trying it on to avoid doing the work. MEANING 3: To flirt with someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To flirt, to come on to, to pick up, to make a move on Separable? Yes - always Our third and final meaning is one for all the romantics among you as it means 'to flirt with someone'. Similar to the previous application that we looked at, this usage of 'try on' is also formed using the structure 'try it on' but this time we need the additional word 'with + the name of the person', giving us the structure 'to try it on with someone'. If someone 'tries it on with you', then they flirt with you or signal to you in some way that they find you attractive and are interested in a relationship. I find that this particular usage carries quite a negative connotation, particularly as you often hear it when the person who tries it on with the other person is thought to be unattractive or undesirable in some way. Simon is always trying it on with the new girls at work. Katy wasn’t interested when Luke tried it on with her at the party. You could tell that Rachel was trying it on with Stuart by the way she kept laughing at his jokes and touching his arm. What would you say to someone if they tried it on with you and you didn't find them attractive? Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'try on'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'turn 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. This post is all about 'turn out', which is a common and versatile English phrasal verb that will help to elevate your English if used correctly. In this post, I will be covering 8 different meanings and uses that it has, from pointing outwards to emptying something, with lots of examples in context to help you understand, memorise and use them. So, without further ado, let's make a start! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Turn Out - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'turn' and 'out' Turn Out - Meaning 1: To point outwards Turn Out - Meaning 2: To switch off a light Turn Out - Meaning 3: To have an unexpected result Turn Out - Meaning 4: To attend something Turn Out - Bonus: The noun 'turnout' Turn Out - Meaning 5: To produce something Turn Out - Meaning 6: To evict Turn Out - Meaning 7: To empty Turn Out - Meaning 8: To appear 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 TURN OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Turned out / Turned out Separable? Sometimes I know that you are here to learn the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'turn out', however before we do that, it's a good idea to consider the individual words 'turn' and 'out' and their individual meanings. Our base verb 'to turn' is a highly versatile and widespread verb, with a large range of meanings and applications, both literal and figurative. I think that the main meanings that people associate with it are 'rotating', 'changing direction' and 'changing from one thing to another'. Moreover, it is also used in many phrasal verbs, with 'turn out' being one of the most common. I turned the handle to open the door. John turned right at the traffic light when he should have turned right. The weather is going to turn cold next week. My son is turning 18 tomorrow. I don't feel old enough to have a child who is an adult! Next, we have the prepositional particle 'out', which needs very little introduction from me. As you will undoubtedly know, the word 'out' is a key word in English and can function as a preposition, adverb, adjective and verb. Furthermore, it is the natural opposite of the particle 'in' and tends to be used in reference to being on, or moving towards the external part of something. When used in phrasal verbs, 'out' can add the ideas of motion or direction (pull out ), exhaustion ( run out ), discovery (find out) and distribution ( give out ). Now that we have covered the basics, let's dive into the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'turn out'.... MEANING 1: To point outwards Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To point out / outwards, to face out / outwards Separable? Yes We will begin with a rarer meaning of 'turn out', which is more of a literal meaning and so should be a nice and easy one to understand and that is 'to point outwards'. Quite literally, this meaning is used to talk about when something turns and faces away from its centre. In addition to this, it can also be used to describe when something turns or points away from an aligned position it is supposed to be in and this particular usage tends to be found with feet and toes a lot. For example, if you turn out your feet, then they are not pointing straight ahead, but instead to the left and right (like in the picture of the ballet dancers above). Other nouns that are used with this first application of 'turn out' are for items that can physically fold or turn, which include mechanical objects or parts like wheels and handles, collars on clothes and edges of surfaces. You will often hear these being referred to in the passive sense i.e. is turned out etc. The dancers turned their feet out in preparation to start the performance. Simon's feet turned out slightly as he walked. The wheels of the bike turned out slightly after the crash. Donna's shirt collar turned out sharply, giving it a retro look. MEANING 2: To switch off a light Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To turn off, to switch off, to shut off, to extinguish Separable? Yes I imagine that many of already know that we can use the phrasal verbs 'switch off and 'turn off' to talk about extinguishing a light, but did you know that we can also use 'turn out' to mean the same thing? This might seem strange and a bit of an idiomatic usage to you as normally in English lights are either on or off and so logically, turning or switching them off would make sense when talking about extinguishing them. The reason that we say 'turn out' as well is because in the past there were many devices that used flames or fire to provide light and when we talk about a fire that is no longer burning, we say that it is out and not off. Of course, nowadays we do not have many of these fire-generated lights anymore, however we still say 'turn out' to describe this action. To note, whilst 'switch off' and 'turn off' can both be used to talk about all electronic devices, 'turn out' is mainly reserved for lights and, less commonly, heat giving devices. I would say that both of the alternatives are also used more commonly than 'turn out'. Please can you turn out the light when you come to bed. Kate forgot to turn out the Christmas tree lights before leaving for the weekend. The city mayor asked all citizens to turn out their lights at midnight to help to conserve energy. MEANING 3: To have an unexpected result Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To prove, to end up, to transpire, to become known, to come to light, to emerge Separable? No Now we have arrived at our third meaning of 'turn out', which is the big one as this is the one that I hear being used by native speakers all the time. It means 'to have an unexpected result' but can also mean 'to happen in a particular way'. Much of the time, this meaning is used by speakers to look back on specific past events or experiences and state what happened, especially if what happened was unpredicted or strange in some way. From a grammatical perspective, 'turn out' can be followed by an infinitive, a 'that' clause or an adjective, so let's take a brief look at each one.... We usually use 'turn out followed by an infinitive (to + verb) to describe unexpected endings and outcomes, discoveries and surprises, similar to the expression 'to prove to be'. Moreover, the verb 'to be' is often the infinitive that is used here. The customer meeting turned out to be better than we had expected. Jenny's ex-husband turned out to be a very horrible person. The rumour about my boss being pregnant turned out to be false. The job turned turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated. When we use this application of 'turn out' with a 'that' clause, we again want to give some information about surprise or unexpected outcomes, but we can also use it to refer to revealing information that was previously unknown, so it is a really good one for gossip! This is usually formed by the expressions 'it turned out that...' or 'it turns out that...'. It turned out that John was already married and Sarah was his second wife! Can you believe it?! The parcel that I had ordered still hadn't arrived after two weeks and it turned out that it had been delivered to my neighbour's house and she hadn't told me. Do you remember my English teacher? Well, it turns out that he used to date my sister! After making dinner for everyone, it turned out that nobody was hungry as they had already eaten! If it turns out that he is lying to us, we will stop talking to him. Lastly, we can use 'turn out' with an adjective to describe an unexpected quality of something or to describe how something ends or concludes, again if there is something surprising about the outcome. The cake turned out delicious, despite everyone saying that I could not cook. The weather has turned out ok today hasn't it. Thankfully, the rain has stayed away. The exam turned out easier than I thought, so hopefully I have passed it. Note that this usage does not take a direct object and is not separable. MEANING 4: To attend something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To attend, to turn up, to show up, to gather, to assemble Separable? No Around the world this year, there have been a huge number of political elections taking place, with new presidents and heads of state being elected in many of them. If you have been following these elections on the news in English, then you may have heard our next meaning of 'turn out', which means 'to attend something' and is often used in reference to voters in an election. Nouns that this application is commonly used with: Election Meeting Concert Play / Show Party Funeral To clarify this meaning, we use it primarily when we talk about attending public events, normally those that people go to as a result of being invited or being summoned. It can also be used for social events such as parties, community events and shows, so really any events where lots of people gather together. Note that we do not use this to talk about our own attendance at events but rather people's attendance in general. For example, you would not say that you turned out for an event but rather that a lot of people turned out for an event. As a result, this application is often used by native speakers to describe the number of people who were present at an event or to highlight their enthusiasm for it. Note the usage of the additional preposition 'for' when specifying the event. Thousands of Liverpool FC fans turned out to watch the championship game. Despite the rain, many people turned out for the parade. A huge crowd turned out for the charity concert. Not as many people turned out for the funeral as we had expected. BONUS: WHAT ABOUT TURNOUT AS A NOUN? Furthermore, you should note that the noun 'turnout' also exists, which is usually used in combination with an adjective like high, low or poor to mean the number of people that turn out for something. This is especially common when talking about voting and elections. There was a record turnout for the election this year, with over 75% of eligible voters participating. The turnout for the charity event was lower than expected due to the bad weather. MEANING 5: To produce something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used Everywhere Potential synonyms To produce, to manufacture, to put out Separable? Yes The fifth meaning of 'turn out' is one that you may have come across if you study business English or work in the manufacturing sector as it means 'to produce or manufacture something'. This application is commonly used to talk about manufacturing businesses and the amount of products that they produce, often over a specific period of time. Sometimes, it can also specify that something has been created or made very quickly or in surprisingly large quantities. The factory turns out thousands of engines every month. The company turns out high-quality smartphones at an impressive rate. In May 1921, the car company turned out its five-millionth car. Aside from big business, this meaning of 'turn out' is also applied to smaller businesses and more creative works like novels, art and pottery, which are also produced through effort or process. This bakery turns out dozens of loaves of bread every morning. Sarah turns out beautiful pottery from her home workshop. My favourite author turns out a new novel almost every year. MEANING 6: To evict Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To evict, to turf out, to kick out, to eject, to expel Separable? Yes Our next meaning of 'turn out' is another separable one and is used in reference to people and means to 'to evict someone'. To explain, if you 'turn someone out', you eject them from where they are living and essentially make them homeless. As you can imagine, this one is used particularly in reference to people who rent their accommodation from a landlord or property owner, who decides that they no longer want the tenant to live in their house and seeks to remove them. Often, when this meaning is used, there is an implied meaning of harsh or unfair treatment of the people who have been 'turned out'. Hopefully, this application is not one that you will ever need to use in reference to your own lives, but it may be something that you come across from time to time, so it always worth knowing. Andrew threatened to turn out the tenants if they didn’t pay the rent. The family was turned out of their home after they failed to make the mortgage payments. The villagers were turned out of their cottages to make way for the new development. Roger and Helen were cruelly turned out onto the streets with nowhere to go. MEANING 7: To empty Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To empty, to empty out, to unload, to vacate, to clear Separable? Yes In the previous section, I explained how 'turn out' can be used to describe evicting tenants from the place where they live. This removal of people from their accommodation is, in its purest sense, a form of emptying and this links us smoothly to our next meaning, which is simply 'to empty something'. This application is used specifically in reference to containers and things that hold our belongings, with the two most common of these being pockets and drawers. If you turn out your pockets, you take out everything that is inside them, much like in the picture above. Likewise, if you turn out your drawers, you empty them, typically because you want to find something or you want to tidy them and sort them out. At the policeman's request, Alex turned out his pockets to prove that he hadn’t taken anything. The kids turned out their toy box in search of their favourite game. Lisa turned out her handbag to look for her missing car keys. MEANING 8: To appear (passive) Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be well dressed, to be badly dressed Separable? No We have now come to our eighth and final meaning of 'turn out', which is 'to appear' and is typically used in reference to people, their clothes and their physical appearance. Unlike the previous meanings of 'turn out' that I have covered in the post, this one is primarily used in the passive voice and therefore tends to function more as an adjective and reads 'to be turned out'. Moreover, this is normally accompanied by the adverbs 'well' or 'badly' to specify if the person looks good or bad, giving us the construction 'to be well / badly turned out'. More often than not, this is used in the positive sense with 'well', to say that someone is dressed well, in a sophisticated and stylish manner. Everyone at the party last night was extremely well turned out. There were plenty of well turned out ladies and gentlemen at the opening day of the races yesterday. Please do not let any badly turned out people into the party. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'turn out'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'turn out'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'set about' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. In this post, I am examining the phrasal verb 'set about'. You may not be as familiar with this particular phrasal verb as some of the others that I have covered on this blog as it is not so common and the meanings that it has are all advanced level. If this is the case, don't worry as I will explain its different meanings, giving you lots of examples in context to help you learn them. I'm confident that it will be a valuable addition to your English vocabulary! So, without further ado, let's make a start! TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Set About - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'set' and 'about' Set About - Meaning 1: To start doing something Set About - Meaning 2: To attack someone 🇬🇧 Set About - Meaning 3: To place items randomly in a space or room 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 ABOUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Set about / Set about Separable? Sometimes As per usual, let's begin our linguistic exploration by looking at the words that make up our phrasal verb of choice, which in this case are 'set' and 'about'. I'd like to start this section with a question: what word in English has the meanings and definitions? Do you know the answer? You may be surprised to learn that it is in fact the small and simple looking word 'set'! If you guessed 'get', you were wrong! According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word 'set' has 430 different meanings and uses (yes, you read that correctly). Luckily however, most native speakers only use a small portion of these in their everyday conversations, so don't feel that you must learn all of these in order to become fluent. When used as a verb, 'to set' is irregular as its past tense forms do not change. Moreover, as you can guess, it has a lot of different uses and applications, however the essential key meanings are 'to put something in a particular place', 'to adjust something' and 'to establish something'. Jenny set the table ready for dinner. I've set my alarm to go off at 5.30am tomorrow morning. I set the rules and you have to follow them. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'about', which is used a huge amount in everyday English by native speakers, though it is not very common in phrasal verb constructions. In fact, it is the first phrasal verb with 'about' that I have covered on this website. I would say that the key uses of the word 'about' are to indicate 'the subject of' when used as a preposition and when used as an ad verb it functions as a synonym of 'approximately', often in reference to a number or a size. Another relevant usage that it has is to describe movement within a specific area, such as a room or city, similar to 'around'. The movie is about a woman who falls in love with her boss. There are about 7000 different languages actively spoken in the world Ken spent a few minutes walking about his house and checking that each room was tidy. So, now that we have covered the basics', let's take a look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'set about'.... MEANING 1: To start doing something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To start, to begin, to commence, to attempt, to undertake Separable? No The first of the three meanings that we will cover in the post is a highly appropriate one to begin with as it means 'to start doing something'. I'm not sure if you feel the same, but I find that when I have a difficult or long task that I must do, the hardest part for me is often starting it. Once I take the first steps and begin doing it, the rest of the task somehow doesn't seem so difficult. The reason that I am mentioning this is because we use this first application of 'set about' to mean 'to start doing something' and it is often applied to those difficult or time consuming tasks that we delay and postpone. These tasks might include writing a report, doing some research, launching a business, creating a website, learning a new language or doing your family tree. In other words, they are all jobs or projects that take time, energy and potentially hard work to complete. Furthermore, when we use 'set about' in this way, it is often with the inherent idea of determination and energy, i.e. if you set about a job, you do it with energy and enthusiasm. On a grammatical note, this application of 'set about' can be followed either by a noun or by the gerund ('ing form). Following a bit of research online into the usage of this application and based on my own experience as a native speaker, I would say that we tend to use the gerund form more with this application of 'set about'. When Jane got back from her holiday, she set about writing her auto-biography. The voters set about choosing their new member of parliament following the resignation of the previous one. The team set about fixing the broken equipment before the next game. Kate set about completely cleaning her house after her birthday party. The chef set about creating a new recipe for the restaurant's menu. When used with a noun, the typical ones that you will find it with are 'job' or 'task'. Often, the gerund form will then come after these words if they are followed by the preposition 'of'. My team at work is setting about the creation of a new employee committee. After my Dad died, my brother and I set about the task of clearing out his house. Following the financial crisis, Luke set about the tough job of rebuilding his business. Lastly, you should also note that with this particular usage of 'set about', there is no passive form. MEANING 2: To attack someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To attack, to assault, to assail, to hit, to strike, to beat, to beat up, to tear into Separable? No The second meaning of 'set about' is one that is mainly a British English usage and means 'to attack someone'. For this application, we are talking about physically attacking another person, by punching, hitting or kicking them (or a combination), so this is really not a very pleasant usage. Furthermore, we can also use 'set about' to refer to verbal attacks, such as shouting and insulting someone, although this is much less common. On a grammatical note, this usage of 'set about' is not separable and is typically followed by the direct object, which is the victim of the violent attack. We frequently add the preposition 'with' to indicate any weapons involved in the situation. The school bully suddenly set about the smaller boy, leaving all of the other students shocked. As soon as the intruder entered the room, the guard set about him with a baton. In the chaos of the argument, one of the men set about his rival with a chair. A group of protesters set about the police officer, but reinforcements quickly arrived. The knight drew his sword and set about the enemy with fierce determination. MEANING 3: To place items randomly in a space or room Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonms To set out, to place, to put Separable? Yes This third and final usage of 'set about' is the rarest of the three and is in fact a literal meaning of the combination of the two words 'set' and 'about', i.e. 'to place items randomly in a space or room'. To break this down, one of the many meanings of the verb 'to set' is to place something in a position, like a candle on a shelf or a cushion on a sofa. When we combine this with the idea from 'about' of things being positioned in a place or space without a specific order, we arrive at this idea of 'placing items in a space in a random order'. This application is typically used with reference to items in rooms, for example if you want to create a romantic atmosphere, you might set candles randomly about a room. The idea is that they are not placed in a uniform line or pattern. Another example might be in a museum, there are lots of information notices set about in random rooms and exhibits for visitors to read. On a grammatical note, unlike the previous two meanings, this application of 'set about' is separable and we often place the items that are 'set about' in between the words 'set ' and 'about'. The waiter set about plates, glasses, and silverware about the table. Helen set cushions and throws about the living room to create a cosy atmosphere. The theatre director set props and lights about the stage in preparation for the upcoming performance. Lastly, you may also come across 'set about' in the passive form to describe items that are placed randomly in a room or space. Snacks and drinks were set about the picnic blanket for everyone to enjoy. The church altar was set about with candles and sacred objects for the ceremony. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'set about'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END