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An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'mix up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. How well do you know the phrasal verb 'mix up'? I imagine that many of you will have heard it before but did you know that there at least 4 different ways to use it in English? In this post, my aim is to explain these different applications and provide you with lots of example sentences to enable you to recognise and use them to enhance your English level and impress your friends and colleagues. So, without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one)   Mix Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'mix' and 'up' Mix Up - Meaning 1: To mix two or more things together Mix Up - Meaning 2: To put things in the wrong order Mix Up - Meaning 3: To confuse two or more things Mix Up - Meaning 4: To become involved in something Mix Up - Bonus: The noun 'mix-up' and the adjective 'mixed-up' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS MIX UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Mixed up / Mixed up Separable? Yes The phrasal verb 'mix up' is formed from the base verb 'to mix' with the prepositional particle 'up' and so, as per usual on Phrasal Verbs Explained, let's start our phrasal verb analysis by considering the two individual words themselves. The verb 'to mix' is one that is very well known in English and means to combine two different things, normally in order to form one single substance, product or thing. You can mix ingredients to make food, a painter may mix two colours to create a third one or a DJ might mix two songs together. In addition to its usage as a verb, the noun 'mix' and adjective 'mixed' are heard a lot in English. The barman carefully mixed our cocktails. If you mix red and blue, you get purple. Oil and water do not mix. I've mixed the ingredients together and put the dish in the oven. The prepositional particle 'up' is perhaps the most common of all prepositions that form phrasal verbs and can add many different ideas to the verb. Perhaps the most logical meaning that it can give a phrasal verb is the idea of an upwards movement or increase (' go up ' and 'shoot up'). Additionally, when 'up' is found in phrasal verbs, it can add a sense of completion ( end up , wrap up ), preparation ( set up ), accumulation (save up) and improvement ( look up ), among others. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's move onto the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'mix up'.... MEANING 1: To mix two or more things together Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To mix, to combine, to shake up Separable? Yes The first application of the phrasal verb 'mix up' that we will look at is one that you may be familiar with already and it simply means 'to mix two or more things together'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Nouns for types of food Ingredients Paint Chemical Cement To clarify, if you mix things up, you thoroughly combine or blend two or more different things together with the aim of creating something new. As a result, it is common to hear 'mix up' in this sense being used in reference to food and drink preparation. You may be wondering if this is the same as the verb 'to mix' on its own and while these two are more or less synonyms of each other, there also are some subtle shades of difference between them. Firstly, the verb 'to mix' is more formal than 'mix up' and so you are perhaps more likely to see it in recipes and instruction manuals, whereas 'mix up' might be used more in everyday speech. Secondly, I think 'mix up' conveys more the idea of a complete mix, so that the two or more things being mixed are absolutely 100% blended and it is not possible to blend them anymore. More often than not though, these two variations do mean the same thing and the only differences that arise are just from the tone or emphasis of the speaker. Note that this usage is separable and you can place the object between 'mix' and 'up' or after them and this will not change the meaning. Lucy mixed up the batter for the pancakes. Jeremy mixed up some cement to repair the wall. Let’s mix a salad up with all these fresh vegetables. The artists mixed up the paint colours to create a new shade. I'm going to mix the ingredients up in a large bowl before baking. The bartender mixed a few cocktails up for the guests. First, you will need to mix up some dough for the cookies. Whilst I was mixing up the herbs and spices for the marinade, I realised I had added the wrong herbs. Tom carefully mixed up the chemicals in the lab. Sarah's kids asked her if they could mix up some mud and water to make pretend pies. MEANING 2: To put things in the wrong order Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To mess up, to scramble, to jumble Separable? Yes In the last application, I explained how 'mix up' can be used to mean to combine two things by mixing them together in an intentional, positive way and now for our second application we have a bit more of a negative meaning as it means 'to put things in the wrong order'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Order Documents / Pages Dates / Days / Times Numbers Letters Imagine that you have spent a few hours preparing a work presentation on your computer with many different slides in the correct order to make it as effective as possible. The next week, just before the presentation starts you check the slides and notice that they are all out of order, with the first slide at the end and the second slide where the third slide should be etc. In this situation, you can say that the slides were 'mixed up' as the correct slide order was changed. This particular scenario has never happened to me but I have been in many situations in my life in which the order of something has been mixed up, causing me lots of problems or hassle as a result. Anyway, to clarify further, we can use this application for any situation in which the correct order of something is changed so that it is wrong. This might be something that is arranged in numerical or alphabetical order, something that is organised into chronological (time) order or even things that are arranged in a physical space. I've accidentally mixed up the pages of the report. Penny mixed the order of the photos in the album up. The teacher mixed up the students’ test papers by mistake. Please don’t mix up these files; they need to stay in alphabetical order. We mixed up the shipping labels and sent the packages to the wrong addresses. John mixed up the letters in his name so that it spelt njho. The numbers somehow got mixed up when I entered them into the spreadsheet. Someone's mixed up the order of the slides in the presentation, so I need some time to fix it. You should note that we often use the past participle form 'mixed-up' here as an adjective to refer to things whose correct orders have been mixed up and are therefore incorrect. If you want to add some emphasis or stress to say that the order of something is very mixed up you can say "all mixed up". Oh no! The receipts are mixed up; I spent ages putting them in the correct order yesterday. The loose pages of the manuscript fell on the floor and when I picked them up they were all mixed up. MEANING 3: To confuse two or more things Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To confuse, to muddle (up), to conflate, to confound Separable? Yes Next, we will move on to the third and perhaps most commonly used application of the phrasal verb 'mix up' and that is 'to confuse two or more things'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... People Numbers Dates Names Words This application is typically used when there are two or more things that share similar characteristics or attributes and as a consequence, people can make the mistake of thinking that one is the other and vice versa. For example, imagine that you meet two sisters, Lucy and Laura, who both look alike and have long brown hair. If you only met them once or twice and didn't know them very well, it would be easy to think that Lucy was Laura or Laura was Lucy and when you do this you are mixing them up. As you can imagine, this application is often one that is associated with older people, however I think that this is a bit unfair as everybody has the capacity to mix people or things up when they are not overly familiar with them. On a grammatical note, we can often also use the construction "to get XXX mixed up (with XX)" here as an alternative and you will often hear native speakers saying this in these situations. I always mix up your twins; they look so alike! I don't know how you tell them apart. Don’t mix up salt and sugar when you’re baking or you will have a nasty surprise. Claire got the two movie titles mixed up. Luke mixed up my phone with his because they are the same model. The waiter got our orders mixed up. I always get the words 'affect' and 'effect' mixed up. The teacher mixed up my essay with another student’s. Louise mixed up the names of the two cities. It’s easy to mix up those two songs as they have such similar melodies. You should also know that it is possible to use the construction 'to mix someone up' to mean 'to confuse someone or make them feel worried or upset in some way'. This is a rarer usage that I don't think I have ever personally used but it does exist, so you may well come across it one day in your English-speaking interactions. Don’t tell her that yet; it’ll just mix her up. That dream I had last night really mixed me up. She was so mixed up after the breakup that she didn’t know what she wanted anymore. MEANING 4: To become involved in something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To involve, to get involved with / in, to embroil, to implicate Separable? Not usually Let's now move on to our fourth and final meaning of 'mix up', which is the most advanced of its applications but nevertheless has a logical link to the others and that is 'to become involved in something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... People Numbers Dates Names Words Let me first clarify, when I say "to get involved in something", what I mean is to become a participant in a situation or alternatively, when talking about people, to become part of a social group. If you are mixed up in a situation or group of people, it simply means the same thing. You should note however that when we use 'mix up' in this context, it is usually to talk about something negative, troublesome or complicated. For example, you might talk about getting mixed up in a political scandal if you somehow become involved in one, or being mixed up in an argument between two friends who try to include you in it. When referring to people, this is often used to describe when someone starts socialising and spending time with groups or gangs of undesirable people or even criminal gangs. On a grammatical note, you should note that this application is mostly used in the passive voice and is formed with the constructions ' to get mixed up in ' to describe the process of becoming involved and ' to be mixed up in ' to describe the existing state of being involved. When talking about people, it is also possible to use 'with' as an alternative to 'in'. Paul got mixed up in a bad crowd at school. I advised Emily not to get mixed up in office politics. They are mixed up in a legal dispute that has been dragging on for years. I don’t want to get mixed up in their argument; it's nothing to do with me. Ben somehow got mixed up with the wrong people. Elizabeth got mixed up in a scandal without even realising it. Our company is mixed up in a corruption case. Don’t get mixed up in things that don’t concern you; it will do you no good! Tim was afraid of getting mixed up in criminal activity. Lesley got mixed up in a messy breakup between her friends. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'mix-up' and the adjective 'mixed-up' Now we've finished looking at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'mix up', however did you know that there is also a noun 'mix-up' and adjective 'mixed-up' that have emerged in the English language as a result of this phrasal verb..... Let's first think about the noun 'mix-up', which is actually a pretty commonly used word, especially in the workplace in the English speaking world. A 'mix-up' is in fact just a mistake or error that causes confusion, often arising from a misunderstanding or as a result of someone mixing up two different things, like in the third application ( here ). Apologies for the mix-up; I thought the meeting was tomorrow! We had a mix-up at the airport and almost ended up on the wrong flight. The company blamed an administrative mix-up for the incorrect invoices. The adjective 'mixed-up' on the other hand can be used to describe a situation in which there is a 'mix-up' as per the above, however it is more commonly used to describe people. If you say that someone is 'mixed-up' it is usually to mean that he or she is emotionally unstable and is often confused and upset, sometimes with the potential to cause trouble. As such, it is often used to describe naughty children or teenagers who play up due to deep social or emotional issues. Kathy was a mixed-up teenager just trying to figure out who she was. Terry seems like a nice guy, he's just a bit mixed-up right now. The character in the story is a mixed-up young man who is searching for meaning. 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 'mix up'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'mix 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 'find out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This article is all about the phrasal verb 'find out', which is one that is extremely well known among English learners due to how common it is in everyday English. Did you know however that there are in fact two ways to use it? If you didn't, don't worry because in this post, I will explain both of these uses for you in detail, with a lot of example sentences for each one to ensure that you can find out as much as you can about this indispensable little phrasal verb 😊 So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one)   Find Out - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'find' and 'out' Find Out - Meaning 1: To learn new information Find Out - Bonus: To find out for oneself Find Out - Meaning 2: To be discovered after doing something wrong I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS FIND OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 2 Past tense forms Found out / Found out Separable? Yes Before we look at the meanings of 'find out', I just want to quickly consider the individual words 'find' and 'out' themselves to understand what they individually contribute to the phrasal verb. 'To find' is a commonplace verb in English that means 'to discover something'; this may be intentionally when you have lost something and are looking for it, or it may be by accident when you come across something unexpectedly. Like a lot of common verbs in English, 'to find' is irregular, with 'found' being both the simple past and past participle forms. In addition to this main meaning, 'to find' can also be used to mean 'to be present somewhere' and 'to feel a certain way about something' among other lesser used meanings. Claire found a £50 note on the pavement. The police have found the stolen car. Where can I find a shop that sells British newspapers? Traces of cocaine were found in the person's blood. I find that as I get older I dislike cities more and more. The prepositional particle 'out' is one of the most commonly featured particles in phrasal verb constructions. 'Out' often means away from the centre of something or a movement towards, or into, an external area from an internal one and this meaning can often be carried across into phrasal verbs, with ideas like removal and distribution (throw out, hand out). In addition to this, 'out' can be used in phrasal verbs to add ideas such as completion ( work out ), ending ( go out ) and disappearance (fade out). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'find out'.... MEANING 1: To learn new information Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1- Beginner Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To discover, to learn, to seek out Separable? Yes The first of our two meanings of 'find out' is the most common one and is one that I am sure that you will know already and that is 'to learn new information'. Words that commonly follow this application.... That About If Whether Question words: how / when / why etc When we discover new information, it may be in the form of factual information that we obtain from reading or asking questions or it may be in the form of information that we get from using our senses to perceive and interpret the world around us and what is happening in it. Moreover, this may be intentionally or by chance and we can use 'find out' in all of these scenarios. For example, many of us now have internet-enabled smartphones that give us access to a huge amount of information at any time that we want it. If you are curious about something and want to learn new information about it e.g. how many people live in Hawaii or what are the lyrics of a song, it is possible to look it up on a search engine on your phone and find the information out . Furthermore, it is likely that many of you reading this are here intentionally because you want to find out more information about the phrasal verb 'find out'. To give you a few more examples, you can also find out your exam or health test results, you may want to find out when a person's birthday is or how many siblings they have and your boss may ask you to find out some information that they will need for a specific task that they are working on. I am going to find out who’s responsible for this error. Louise found out the truth after asking several witnesses. We need to find out what time our train leaves tomorrow. The journalist found out more details about the political scandal. John has been trying to find out how the new system works since yesterday morning. They tried to found out the cost of the project by contacting the contractor responsible for it. Let’s find out whether the art gallery is open on Mondays. Can you find out where Melanie bought that jacket; it's so nice! The company found out what their customers wanted through surveys. In the sentences above, you will note that in each scenario the person wanted to discover or find out the information but as I stated earlier, we can also use 'find out' when the information discovery is accidental. For example, someone might find out that their partner is cheating on them if they accidentally see a text message or email from his or her lover, or if you do a DNA test, you could find out that you have a half brother or sister who you did not know existed (this recently happened to a friend of mine). I found out by accident that George was leaving the company. Jimmy found out about his surprise party when he saw the decorations outside his house. They only found out Jackie was already married after the wedding ceremony. I found out about the death of an old friend whilst scrolling on social media. During the house extension work, the family found out that there was a secret hidden cellar underneath the kitchen. In terms of register, whilst 'find out' is used a lot in spoken English, it is often replaced by a verb such as 'to discover' or 'to learn' in written English, particularly when it is a formal document. You are still likely to see 'find out' a lot on social media and in informal written English though. One last thing that I want to stress here is that this first application is extremely common in spoken everyday English and you can hear it being used by native speakers all the time. In all my years of teaching English, I've often noticed how learners and non-native speakers do not use it as much, choosing synonyms like 'to learn' and 'to know' instead. Whilst this is fine and there is usually nothing wrong with it, I would urge any learners to adopt a habit of using this application of 'find out' as it can really help your English to sound natural. Photo: Pixels BONUS: To find out for oneself A fairly common variation of this first application is 'to find out for oneself', which is perhaps quite an obvious meaning but I will explain it nevertheless. If you find something out for yourself, rather than learning about or discovering something through someone else's second-hand information, you discover it through direct personal experience or through personal investigation. It tends to be used more for experiences than for learning information but it is possible for both. You think it's easy but one day you will find out for yourself how difficult it is to live alone. Don’t just take my word for it; find out for yourself if it really works! Kerry found out for herself that managing a business is harder than it looks. Everyone must find out for themselves what they really want in life. MEANING 2: To be discovered after doing something wrong Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To discover Separable? Yes The second of our two applications of the phrasal verb 'find out' is really an evolution of the first but it is quite specific and is definitely more of an advanced level usage. Rather than finding information out, we are now finding people out and we use this for situations in which a person is discovered after doing something wrong. We use this application for any time when a person does something that they hide so that other people do not know about it for a period of time. When the truth of what the person has been doing becomes known, we can say that he or she has been "found out". As I stated above, this is typically used when the concealed activity is negative in nature and therefore includes lies, deception and secrets as well as criminal activities like fraud, theft and bribery. It could also be used when someone's real character is discovered and a part of themselves that they kept hidden becomes evident to other people. As a result of often being associated with negative activities, this usage does carry negative connotations, but it is still possible to use it for positive things that involve secrets like planning a surprise party, but this usage is much rarer. On a grammatical note, this application is often used in the passive voice as our focus tends to be on the discovery of the hidden wrongdoings and is often not on the person or people who discovered it. The thief was eventually found out by the police. Michelle pretended to be a lawyer, but she was soon found out when people realised she had no law knowledge. If you cheat on the test, you’ll definitely be found out. He tried to hide his past, but his friends found him out over time. Don’t lie; you’ll be found out sooner or later. They thought that no one would notice, but their fraudulent activity was found out in the end. Morgan was afraid of being found out as a fake. It took months, but the journalist finally found the corrupt officials out. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'find 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 'find 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 'take to' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This post is all about the English phrasal verb 'take to'. I am certain that everyone reading this will be familiar with the construction 'take to', however do you know the different ways that you can use it as a phrasal verb? In this post, I will explain all of the different ways to use it, from the literal version that you are sure to know, to non-literal ones such as liking someone and hiding in your bedroom. I'll also provide you with common idioms that feature 'take to', lots of example sentences of how it is used and I will even explain why there is a duck in the picture above! So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one)   Take To - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'take' and 'to Take To - Meaning 1: Literal Take To - Meaning 2: To start liking someone or something Take To - Meaning 3: To begin doing something regularly Take To - Meaning 4: To learn how to do something quickly Take To - Bonus: The idiom 'to take to something like a duck to water' Take To - Meaning 5: To go somewhere to escape or for safety Take To - Bonus: Common idioms & expressions featuring 'take to' 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 TO: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Took to / Taken to Separable? Only with the literal application Phrasal verbs can often be very tough or confusing for learners to understand as their meanings can differ so much from the literal meanings of the words that form them. Despite this, I think it is a good idea to consider these words individually as they can often provide some clues to the less obvious phrasal verb meanings and so let's begin by looking at the words 'take' and 'to'. I think that every one of you reading this post will be familiar with 'to take' because it is an extremely common irregular verb in English. Perhaps its main meaning is to 'transport someone or something from one place to another, often when it is away from where the speaker is, was or will be'. Please can you take these documents to reception. The taxi took us to the airport. In addition, 'to take' has many other meanings, both common and rare, including 'to remove something', 'to last for a period of time' and 'to tolerate'. Take a copy and pass the rest on to your classmates. The journey from London to New York takes 7 hours by plane. I don't think I can take much more pain; I need morphine! The other word in our phrasal verb combination is the very common prepositional particle 'to'. This is actually one of the most common words in the English language and can be used in many ways, including to form the infinitive of a verb. Moreover, it is often used with movement to refer to a destination, direction or the recipient of something. Despite being so widespread in English, 'to' features in surprisingly few phrasal verbs when compared to particles like 'up' and 'down'. When it is included in phrasal verbs, it can add different ideas such as direction and communication. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to discover what happens when we combine 'take' and 'to' to form a phrasal verb.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bring to, to deliver, to ferry Separable? Yes Let's start with the literal meaning that we get from combining the words 'take' and 'to, which is simply 'to carry or transport something to a place'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person / Animal Food Documents Parcels / Packages Car You should note that when 'take to' is used this way, it is not a true phrasal verb usage as we do not get a new meaning when we combine the words here; it is just a verb + preposition structure. Remember that a true phrasal verb is when the meaning is different to the sum of the parts (we will move on to these shortly). We use this literal application to talk about physically transporting a person, animal or object from one place to another. This can be by carrying it or using a form of transport like a car or bicycle. Be careful not to confuse this usage with 'bring to'. While both of these verbs talk about transporting someone or something, 'take to' is used when the movement is away from the speaker, or to another location from where the speaker is and 'bring to' is for when the movement is towards the speaker or where the speaker will be. Are you taking anything to the party tonight? (the person asking the question will not be at the party) Are you bringing anything to the party tonight? (the person asking the question will be at the party) On a grammatical level, unlike the non-literal applications of 'take to' that we will look at shortly, this application is separable and should always be used with the object between 'take' and 'to. I have to take my car to the garage tomorrow. Pamela took the kids to the park after school. Please take this package to the post office before 4pm. Nik took his grandmother to the hospital. Can you take me to the airport for 6 a.m.? The cable car will take you to the top of the mountain. We took our dog to the vet last week for a check-up. Take this cup of coffee to your Dad and wake him up. Sue has taken her car to the garage to be looked at by a mechanic. One other way that this can be used literally is when we use 'to take' with a form of public transport like a bus a or a train, meaning to travel on it. When you take a bus or train etc, it is common to state the destination of where you are going and for this we need 'to'. I am taking a train to London in the morning. The tourists took a boat to the island, where they spent the day. MEANING 2: To start to like someone or something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To like, to take a shine to Separable? No The second of the applications of the phrasal verb 'take to' that we will consider in this post is the first of the "proper" phrasal verb meanings and this one is 'to start to like someone or something'. This application is used for both people and things, typically to describe those moments when people decide if they like someone or something shortly after meeting or experiencing them for the first time. From my own experience, I would say that it is more frequently heard in reference to people than to objects or things. To explain further, think of those times in life when you meet someone for the first time and you immediately like them, perhaps because they are cheerful and friendly they say something nice about you, or there is something about their energy that appeals to you. In these situations, instead of saying that you liked them immediately, you could say that you " took to them straight away ". Alternatively, if you did not the like person or were not sure about them, you could say the same in the negative, i.e. you did not take to the person when you first met them. . I wasn’t sure about the new manager at first, but I quickly took to him. The puppy immediately took to its new home. Surprisingly, the children took to the healthy food once they tried it. Martha didn’t think she’d like city life, but she soon took to it. It took Barbara a while to take to her new grandson but she loves him dearly now. My Mum really did not take to my ex-girlfriend and told me that she was bad news from the start. MEANING 3: To begin doing something regularly Photo: Wix Media CEFR Langage Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take up, to make a habit of Separable? No In the last section, I explained how 'take to' can be used to mean to begin liking something and for the third application, we are going to take things one step further as it means 'to begin doing something regularly'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Running / jogging Cycling Fishing Gardening Smoking Drinking / Alcohol / Booze I guess this is quite a logical progression from the previous meaning as when we like something, we often do it again and if we do it regularly enough, it becomes a habit. So, as you can probably guess, we use this application a lot with nouns for when people take up hobbies and pastimes. Note that these are mostly used in the gerund form e.g. cycling, running, playing football but in some cases we can also refer to nouns. It is not only used with hobbies and pastimes though as it is also used to describe something that a person starts doing regularly (that they did not do before). This includes bad habits too such as drinking alcohol, smoking and stealing. On a grammatical note, this is not separable and is mainly used in the simple past and present perfect tenses as you only really know something is a habit after the action has been done many times in the past. After retiring, Jim took to gardening every morning. John has taken to running as a way of forgetting about his work stress. Louise took to reading the newspaper on the train to work. Malcolm took to biting his nails whenever he felt nervous. During the Covid lockdown, many people took to baking bread at home. My grandfather has taken to walking with a stick, even though he doesn't really need one. Shelley took to stealing money from her parents in order to buy cigarettes. Leanne took to getting to work early just to enjoy some quiet time at the office. MEANING 4: To learn how to do something quickly Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To pick up Separable? No Our fourth meaning of 'take to' is another one that is linked to the previous two applications and is 'to learn how to do something quickly'. We all have things that we are naturally able to do easily, which other people may find difficult or harder to learn. For example, I am naturally good at learning languages, however I am terrible at driving and cooking and I do not possess any natural skills when it comes to these activities....none....ask anyone who knows me! When a person starts learning something new, if the have a natural ability to do it and learn it very quickly, we can say that they " take to it ". For example, you might say that a person takes to driving, or a child takes to riding a bike. You should note that normally when we use this application we need to give an indication of how quickly the person takes to something and this is normally in the form of an adverb (quickly, immediately) or a phrase that functions as an adverb (after a short time, more quickly). If you're not sure, remember an adverb is used to describe a verb action. Lastly, sometimes we can use this application to describe when a person starts doing something new in their life, like living in a new country or starting a new job, which links us nicely back to the previous application. Suzanne took to skiing immediately, as if she had done it all her life. Laura's children took to swimming after just a few lessons. Surprisingly, Joanne took to the complicated software with ease. Robert took to speaking French so naturally that his teacher was highly impressed. The German tourists took to driving on the left-hand side of the road much more easily than they had expected. My younger brother took to chess the very first time he played and beat the whole family. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To take to something like a duck to water You may have noticed the picture of the duck at the start of this post and wondered what on Earth a duck has to do with the phrasal verb 'take to'. Well, the reason for it is that we have a very well known idiomatic expression featuring both 'take to' and ducks in English, which is 'to take to something like a duck to water'. If you take to something like a duck to water, it means that you find that you have a natural ability to do something when you try it for the first time and do not find it difficult or challenging. It could also be used for those times when you do something new without having any issues or problems with it, like starting school or a new job. Paul took to his new job like a duck to water. I was worried about my son starting university, but he took to it like a duck to water. MEANING 5: To go somewhere to escape or for safety Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To flee to, to withdraw, to flee to Separable? No For the fifth and final application of 'take to', we are going to have a change of vibe as this one is not similar to the others and means 'to go somewhere to escape or for safety'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Bed Room Hills / Mountains Sky Shelter / Refuge Many of us have experienced times in our lives when we have needed to go somewhere in order to stay safe and in these often worrying and stressful situations, we can use the phrasal verb 'take to' with the name of the place of safety or comfort to describe this escaping action. I would say that the most commonly used noun with this application is actually 'bed' as many people go to bed for long periods of time when they are ill or upset in some way as it offers a place of refuge, safety and comfort for us. Furthermore, some people (especially teenagers and young people) will take to their bedrooms to be alone where they feel safe. In more extreme cases, people may take to a place of shelter or refuge in times of war and natural disasters when their homes and lives are threatened and to avoid danger. We also see this in the animal kingdom, with birds taking to the skies to avoid predators and mammals taking to the water to escape fires for example. Lastly, you should note that this application is perhaps slightly more old-fashioned than the others, however it is still used in everyday English, so you well may come across it at some point! Feeling unwell, Tracey took to her bed for the rest of the day. The wounded soldier has taken to his tent to recover. When the storm broke out, the mountain hikers took to a nearby cave for shelter. After the argument with his parents, Callum took to his room and refused to come out. During the riots in the city, many families took to the countryside to stay safe. Exhausted after the long journey, the travellers took to their beds without dinner. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Common idioms and expressions featuring 'take to' We've already looked at the idiom 'to take to something like a duck to water', however we also have some other commonly used expressions and idioms featuring 'take to' that I want to make you aware of.... To take to the streets - The expression 'to take to the streets' is used to describe when people are angry and frustrated about something. As a result, they start demonstrating or, in extreme cases, rioting in the streets of a town or city. In other words, they want to show their opposition to something that has been decided by their government or an authority and want it to change. Thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand justice after the new law was passed. To take to the road - We use this expression to talk about when someone starts a journey, which is often one with many different destinations such as a tour. This could be a singer or group on a world tour to promote their music or a company on a marketing trip. With just his backpack and guitar, Neil took to the road in search of adventure, fame and fortune. To take someone to the cleaners - This idiomatic expression does not mean to take someone who is dirty to be cleaned but is rather used when someone takes all of your money or belongings in a way that is considered to be unfair or illegal. Let's hope you never need to use this one! The con artist took the Ben's grandfather to the cleaners, leaving him with nothing in his bank account. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'take to'. 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 to'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'hang 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 like a native. In this article, the phrasal verb that will be going under the microscope is 'hang on'. I imagine that many of you reading this will know this phrasal verb as it is common, however did you know that there are at least 8 different ways to use it in English? In this post, I will explain these 8 different ways to you and provide you with lots of example sentences for each one. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one)   Hang On - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'hang' and 'on' Hang On - Meaning 1: Literal Hang On - Meaning 2: To grip something with your hands Hang On - Meaning 3: To wait for a short period 🇬🇧 Hang On - Bonus: To keep someone hanging on Hang On - Meaning 4: To depend on something 🇺🇸 Hang On - Meaning 5: To blame someone for something Hang On - Meaning 6: To listen carefully to someone Hang On - Meaning 7: To keep hold of something Hang On - Meaning 8: To persevere I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS HANG ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Hung on / Hung on Separable? Sometimes All phrasal verbs are formed by combining two separate individual words to form a new lexical unit with its own meanings. In the case of 'hang on', the two words that we are combining are the verb 'to hang' and the prepositional particle 'on'. The verb 'to hang' is a common irregular verb in the English language with a number of different meanings. I would say that the most common of these is to suspend an object by attaching the top part of it to something, while leaving the bottom part free to dangle or swing in the air. It is also quite a special verb as one of its meanings (to kill someone by hanging them from a rope) has its own past tense form: 'hanged', as opposed to the standard past tense form: 'hung'. Moreover, 'to hang' is used in a large amount of phrasal verbs, such as 'hang out', 'hang back' and this one 'hang on'. Can I hang my coat somewhere? The decorations were hanging on the Christmas tree Sally hung the clothes out to dry in the sunshine. The murdered was hanged for his crimes. The word 'on', like many other particles, is extremely common and is used in a huge number of ways in modern English. Its main meaning however is probably 'to be physically in contact with and supported by a surface' e.g. on the table or on a wall. When used in phrasal verbs 'on' can be used to add various different ideas like continuation ( carry on ), progress ( get on ), targeting (pick on) and activation (turn on), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's dive into the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'hang on'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To hang, to hang up, to suspend Separable? Yes Let's begin our exploration of the phrasal verb 'hang on' with the literal meaning of the two words when they are combined. This first application of 'hang on' that we will cover is not really a true phrasal verb meaning as it is simply talking about the action of hanging an object on something that supports it, such as a hook, a nail or even a Christmas tree. Beth hung her coat on the rack by the door. Please hang your backpack on the hook, so it doesn’t fall. Robert hung the picture on the wall above the fireplace. You can hang your towel on the bar after you’ve had a shower. Alternatively, it is also possible to use this from a more passive perspective to advise that something is hanging somewhere or was hung somewhere. Where has my coat gone? It was hanging by the door! The decorations have all been hung on the Christmas tree and it looks lovely. MEANING 2: To grip something with your hands Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To hold tight, to grip, to grasp, to cling Separable? No Do you enjoy rides like roller coasters or big wheels? Well if you do, this second application of 'hang on' will be a very useful one for you as it means 'to grip something with your hands', which is exactly what you need to do when you are whizzing around at speed on a fairground ride. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Rail Bar Side Handle Hand To clarify, we use this particular application when we need to hold something tightly for safety, support or both. It is very similar to the phrasal verb synonym 'hold on', however 'hang on' is perhaps a little more informal and used more in spoken English. It is often used when there is some sort of danger or risk and if you do not 'hang on', you could be injured or, in extreme cases, killed. Consequently, it is regularly used in the imperative form, often followed by 'tight' or 'tightly' to tell the person to grip firmly. Hang on to the railing, the steps are slippery and you could fall. The child hung on to his mother’s hand while crossing the street. Hang on tight! The roller coaster is about to start! The fallen climber hung on to the edge of the cliff until help arrived. Debbie hung on to the rope as the boat rocked in the huge waves. The monkey hung on to the tree branch with both hands. Louis had to hang on to the side of the bus as it sped around the corner. MEANING 3: To wait for a short period Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To wait, to hold on, to stop Separable? No The third application of 'hang on' is a primarily British one that means 'to wait for a short period of time'. This usage is an informal one that is mostly used in spoken British English and, like the previous application, is also a synonym of 'hold on', which is likely to be more familiar to learners of American English. Typically, when a speaker says 'hang on' it is to ask the other person / people to wait for a short period of time like a few seconds or a couple of minutes. As such, it is common to hear the expressions 'hang on a second' or 'hang on a minute' being used here (or extremely informally even 'hang on a min' and 'hang on a sec'). Hang on, I’ll be ready in just a minute. Could you hang on while I find that file for you? Hang on, let me check who’s at the door. If you don't mind hanging on a second, I’ll print the document. Could you hang on until the manager gets back? Hang on a second, this won’t take long. Just hang on, the show is about to begin. Another way that British speakers use this application is when they think of something that is interesting or notice something that is incorrect and they want to make others aware of it, sometimes by stopping the flow of a conversation. Hang on, you said that you were at home sick on Friday night, so why is there a picture of you on Facebook in the bar? Hang on, that is not right - we need to do it another way. Hang on a minute, I've just had a brilliant idea about what to do for James' party Photo: Pexels BONUS: To keep someone hanging on Whilst we are on the subject of waiting, I want to make you aware of the expression 'to keep someone hanging on', which means to keep someone waiting for something like a decision or information that you want or need. As a result, the person who is waiting in suspense continues to have high interest in the other person or pays them a lot of attention. You should know that there is also a similar expression, which means the same: to leave someone hanging. This expression is something that you often hear about in romantic relationships and therefore has featured in many songs over the years, like this 80s gem (that was originally a 60s classic).... MEANING 4: To depend on something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To depend on, to be contingent on, to hinge on, to be conditional on Separable? No Let's now move on to our fourth application of the phrasal verb 'hang on', which is 'to depend on something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Decision Verdict Outcome Result Future When we say that one thing hangs on another, it is exactly the same as saying that one thing depends on it, meaning that it will be directly affected or decided by it. In other words, one thing can only happen when something else allows it to or makes it possible. As a result, this application is often used in life situations in which decisions must be made and outcomes must be reached, e.g. court cases, test results. Michael's success hangs on whether he passes the final exam. The outcome of the trial hangs on a single piece of evidence. The decision of the medics hangs on the results of the medical test. Our holiday plans hang on the weather this weekend. The future of the project hangs on the approval of the board. Emma's reputation will hang on how she handles this situation. The team’s chances of winning hang on their star player’s performance. Everything hangs on what happens in the next few hours. MEANING 5: To blame someone for something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To blame Separable? Yes Have you ever been in a situation where you have been blamed for something, even though you did not do it? This is something that happens to lots of people and our fifth application of the phrasal verb 'hang on' is used to describe exactly this situation. Most of the time with this usage, a person is accused of doing something or blamed for something that they did not do. In many cases, it can be the real culprit who blames the innocent person as a way of avoiding getting caught for what they did. You should note that to use this application, you should follow a set structure, outlined below: to hang something on someone The 'something' mentioned above is usually a crime, wrongdoing, failure, fault or problem of some sort and the 'someone' is the person who receives the blame. Lastly, you should note that this usage is another informal one that is more commonly heard in American English, although it would be understood by almost all native English speakers. They tried to hang the mistake on the new employee but the manager soon realised. Don’t hang this failure on me; I wasn’t even there! Phil always hangs his problems on other people instead of taking responsibility for them. Sue didn’t want the accident to be hung on her, since it wasn’t her fault. How dare you try and hang this on me! I had nothing to do with it and you know it! You should be aware that the management might try and hang this on you so that they do not need to explain their actions to the shareholders. MEANING 6: To listen carefully to someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To listen, to concentrate on Separable? No Maybe one day if I ever get the time, I might start recording video clips to explain phrasal verbs. If I do, I hope that my viewers will hang on attentively to what I say. The reason that I am telling you this is that the sixth meaning of the phrasal verb 'hang on' is exactly that: 'to listen carefully to what someone says'. We use this application when a listener is extremely focussed on or deeply interested in what the speaker is saying and they want to hear more. It is almost like they are transfixed or hypnotised by the person's words, although not quite as strong as that but you get the idea I'm sure. You should also note that this application tends to follow a set expression, which is "to hang on to a person's every word", however there are other variations of this too. Most of the time, this usage is heard when the speaker is very interesting, when the listener greatly admires the speaker or even when the listener has a sexual or romantic interest in the speaker. The students hung on every word their teacher said. Samantha hung on Logan's every word, eager to hear what he would say next. The audience hung on the speaker’s words throughout the whole lecture. Jason loved telling stories and the children would hang on his every word when he did. The young players hung on the coach’s words, waiting for their last-minute instructions. The crowd hung on the politician’s words, hoping for good news. Poppy always hung on her grandmother’s words whenever she shared old family stories. The fans hung on the singer’s every word during the interview. MEANING 7: To keep hold of something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To keep, to retain Separable? No Our seventh and penultimate meaning of the phrasal verb 'hang on' is a very common one that means 'to keep hold of something'. To explain, when I say 'keep hold of something', what I mean is to retain something in your possession and not give it away, sell it or get rid of it somehow. It stays with you and continues to belong to you. For example, imagine that you borrow a phone charger from a friend as you have lost yours. Once you have charged your phone, you try to give the charger back and your friend tells you to "hang on to it" (keep it) as that is their spare charger and they have another one. Another example would be if you are clearing out your attic and you come across all of your old school books. You then have to make a decision about throwing them away or hanging on to them (keeping them). On a grammatical note, for this application we require the additional preposition 'to' and for this it is possible to see two variations: 'to hang on to' and 'to hang onto'. Both variations are deemed to be correct and have no difference in meaning, however the three-word version 'hang on to' is considered to be the most grammatically correct. Rachel decided to hang on to her old books instead of selling them. I think you should hang on to that jacket; it might come back into fashion one day. Paul hung on to his first car even though it had a lot of problems. They’re going to hang on to the house until the market improves. Rosalind hung on to the necklace because it was a family heirloom. I think I'll hang on to these receipts in case we need them later. Joseph hung on to his childhood toys for sentimental reasons. The Jones family want to hang on to their land rather than sell it to developers. Bella hung on to the letter for years, unable to throw it away. Nick decided to hang on to his shares, hoping their value would rise. MEANING 8: To persevere Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To persevere, to persist, to continue, to keep at it, to struggle on Separable? No We've now reached our eighth and final application of the phrasal verb 'hang on', which means 'persevere' and is something that you may have done if you have read this entire article in one go 😀 If you're not sure what the verb 'to persevere' means, it is 'to continue to do something despite difficulties or challenges' and this usage of 'hang on' means the exact same thing. In other words, you persist with something although it is hard. As you can imagine, this application is normally used for any situations or scenarios which are difficult for the person experiencing them and for which a lot of effort and determination are required. This could be anything from running a marathon, to being involved in a court case or writing a blog about phrasal verbs. The idea is that you do not stop when things become hard but rather continue until you succeed. One common variation of this that you may come across from time to time is 'to hang on in there!'. We use this nice little expression normally as a phrase of encouragement for other people to say is like saying "don't give up!" or "you can do this!". Times are tough, but we just have to hang on until things get better. Vernon hung on through months of pain and finally recovered. The team hung on despite being outnumbered and managed to win. Amy’s hanging on, even though the workload is immense. The company is hanging on with the hope of attracting new investors. Becky hung on to her dream, even when everyone else doubted her Come on Louise hang on in there! Only 2 miles of the marathon left to run. Hang on in there, Michelle. We know you will survive this. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'hang on'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'hang 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 'cut down' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. How well do you know the phrasal verb 'cut down'? Did you know that in modern English it has at least 3 different meanings and applications? In this post, I will be explaining these different meanings and giving you lots of example sentences of each one to show you how the kinds of contexts that they are used in. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Cut Down - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'cut' and 'down' Cut Down - Meaning 1: To make something fall to the ground by cutting it Cut Down - Bonus: The Sycamore Gap Tree Cut Down - Meaning 2: To reduce something Cut Down - Meaning 3: To kill someone Cut Down - Bonus: The idiom 'to cut somebody down to size' 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 CUT DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Cut down / Cut down Separable? Sometimes The phrasal verb 'cut down' is formed by combining the verb 'to cut' with the prepositional particle 'down' and so before we take a look at 'cut down', let's first briefly consider the meanings of these words on their own. I am sure that you are already familiar with the super common verb 'to cut', which is one of those annoying and confusing irregular verbs that does not change its form in the past tenses. The main idea of the verb 'to cut' is to use something sharp like a knife or scissors to break a surface or separate something. In addition, it can also be used to mean to reduce, to stop or to end something. My hairdresser cuts my hair once a month. I cut myself whilst I was chopping onions. Somebody has cut the telephone cable. My hours at work have been cut and now I am only working three days a week. The government is looking to cut the benefits for many people. As you will know, the word 'down' has many different meanings and uses in English, many of which are to describe a downward movement or decrease of some sort. In phrasal verb constructions, 'down' can often indicate these ideas as well as ideas like defeat or destruction ( break down ) or controlling (calm down), among others. So, now that we have considered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'cut down'.... MEANING 1: To make something fall to the ground by cutting it Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To fell, to chop down Separable? Yes Our first application of the phrasal verb 'cut down' is more or less a literal combination of the meanings of the two words and is 'to make something fall to the ground by cutting it'. Nouns commonly used with this application..... Tree Plant Hedge Grass Weeds Pole You will notice that the majority of the nouns in the list above are for plants and that is because this application is overwhelmingly used with our green-leaved friends and in particular, trees. If you cut something down, you use a sharp implement like an axe or a chainsaw and cut through the base or lower part of it, causing it to fall to the ground. Note that we only tend to use this when the plant or structure is tall and will fall over and hit the ground once it has been cut. On a grammatical note, this is a separable application and you can use 'cut a tree down' and 'cut down a tree', without any change in the meaning. The workers cut the old oak tree down to clear space for the new road. Before the storm arrived, several trees were cut down to prevent them from falling on houses. The farmer cut down the tall grass with his scythe. The council had to cut down the damaged telephone pole after the accident. The lumberjacks carefully cut down the pine trees to use them for timber. The villagers were forced cut down the sacred palm trees to build huts. The soldiers were ordered to cut the enemy’s flagpole down. After weeks of work, they finally cut the massive cedar tree down. Photo: Pexels BONUS: THE SYCAMORE GAP TREE There was a story in the UK national news a couple of years ago about a famous tree called the Sycamore Gap tree, which was found in the North of England near to the Scottish border. The tree was situated in the middle of a dip in the landscape between two small hills, creating a beautiful sight and landmark and it was popular with tourists and was even used in Hollywood movies. Sadly, a couple of mindless drunken idiots decided to cut the tree down one night for no apparent reason, which was so sad. There is a picture of the tree above and if you want to learn more and see how this application of 'cut down' is used, check out this link.... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-72c404c5-35f2-4d43-bed1-1f5f1f7208dc MEANING 2: To reduce something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reduce, to cut back (on), to decrease, to lower Separable? No The second of our three meanings of the phrasal verb 'cut down' is the most commonly used in everyday English and means 'to reduce something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Cigarettes Alcohol Meat Bread Carbohydrates Writing Length There are a few different variations of this second application of 'cut down', however the core meaning of all them is to reduce or lower the amount, size or frequency of something. This may be something physical that you need to reduce the size of by cutting it. This would be something that you may often hear with jobs that require skilled trades like carpenters or plumbers, or even DIY. For example if you are trying to install a new shelf in your kitchen and the shelf is too big for the space, you may need to cut it down with an appropriate tool so that it fits. Furthermore, it is common to cut a new carpet down to the correct size before laying it in a room. The carpenter cut down the table legs in order to make it shorter. Maggie asked the tailor to cut her dress down so it would fit better. The plumbers cut down the pipe to the right length for installation. Joe the mechanic cut the metal rod down to the right size to fit inside the machine. Additionally, this application of 'cut down' is also a great one to talk about when you want to reduce the amount of something in general. This may be in reference to how much money you spend or the level of something measurable like pollution or crime. Note that when we follow 'cut down' with a noun or a gerund here, we often add the additional preposition 'on' to link the noun to the phrasal verb. The addition of 'on' does not affect the meaning. The company plans to cut down production costs this year. We need to cut down our expenses if we want to save for a vacation. The government is working to cut down pollution in big cities. The new police commissioner has vowed to cut down on crime in big cities over the next 5 years. Moreover, if you want to talk about reducing the frequency that you do something like a habit or an activity, you can use 'cut down' to express this too. This one is frequently heard in everyday English since cutting down and reducing our intake of certain things is often done to improve our health and life in general. This is also one that you will hear when people talk about going on a diet or trying to lose weight. I’ve been trying to cut down on how often I eat fast food. To lose weight, Shelley is trying to cut down the amount of sugar in her diet. Ben promised to cut down his use of plastic bags. The doctor told Jeanette to cut down on drinking coffee during the day. You should cut down your spending on clothes if you want to save money. They are trying to cut down the amount of paper used in the office. Farmers were encouraged to cut down their use of chemical fertilisers. I need to cut down on checking my phone every few minutes; I'm addicted! The teacher advised the students to cut down on careless errors in their writing. We’re going to try and cut down on unnecessary trips to the supermarket. Lastly, it is also possible to use the construction 'to cut something down to' when you want to specify the desired reduced size, level or frequency of something once you have cut it down. For example, you may cut down how many cigarettes you smoke from 20 to 10 a day, or you could cut down how often you go on social media to just once per day. One example that can often be heard here is in relation to writing and documents when there are too may words and you need to reduce the amount, so you may need to cut the document down to a maximum of 500 or 1000 words for example. The article was cut down to 1000 words for the magazine. The Prime Minister's speech was cut down to just five minutes because of time limits. The company’s cut their budget down to $1 million. The team was cut down to only ten players after two were injured. The movie direct had to cut the movie length down to two hours for the final release. MEANING 3: To kill someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To kill, to slay, to murder, to slaughter, to strike down Separable? Yes Our third and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'cut down' is the rarest of the three and means 'to kill someone'. Typically, we use 'to cut someone down' when a person is killed by a weapon such as a gun or knife or by a disease. It is quite a literary and formal usage and one that you probably would not use in everyday speech talking with your friends and family. Personally, it reminds of when people are killed in battles, particularly those historical ones when people fought with swords and shields. As you can see from the examples below, this is often used in the passive voice, told from the perspective of the victim. The knight was cut down in battle before he could raise his sword. Several soldiers were cut down by enemy fire. Sir Robert cut down all of the soldiers who tried to attack him and held the line by himself. Innocent civilians were cut down during the attack. The merchant was cut down by an assassin’s blade in the dark alley. The hero's father was tragically cut down in the prime of his life, leaving him an orphan. Many young men were sadly cut down on the front lines of the war. You should note that we also have an expression 'to be cut down in your prime' which is used to talk about when a person is killed at a young age before they are able to reach their full potential. The young woman was a brilliant scientist, cut down in her prime before completing her research. The budding athlete was cut down in his prime by a sudden illness and he never got to fulfil his dream of competing in the Olympic Games. History is full of leaders who were cut down in their prime, leaving their work unfinished. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to cut somebody down to size' Let's finish the post with a little idiom featuring 'cut down', which is 'to cut somebody down to size'. This expression is one that we can use to describe those really satisfying moments when a person who thinks that they are very important or successful is made to realise that they are not as important or successful as they think. As you can probably imagine, this one is used for people who are arrogant and overconfident and need a reality check! Henrietta thought she was the smartest person in the room, but the professor’s tough question cut her down to size. The critics cut the actor down to size with harsh reviews of his latest film. The arrogant player was finally cut down to size when the rookie outperformed him and scored more goals than him. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'cut down'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'cut down'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'put away' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. How well do you know the English phrasal verb 'put away'? Do you think that you know it well or would it surprise you to learn that it has at least 6 different meanings? In this post, I will explain all of these meanings to you, including the super common ones, the informal ones and one that is so rare that I hadn't even heard of it! In addition, I give you lots of example sentences to show you how to use each one in a natural way. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Put Away - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'put' and 'away' Put Away - Meaning 1: To put something where it is normally stored Put Away - Meaning 2: To imprison someone Put Away - Meaning 3: To save money Put Away - Meaning 4: To eat or drink a large amount Put Away - Meaning 5: To euthanise an animal Put Away - Meaning 6: To score a goal 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 PUT AWAY: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Put away / Put away Separable? Yes In this post, I will be explaining to you the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'put away' and to get a better understanding of how we arrive at these meanings, let's first consider the words 'put' and 'away' and what they mean individually. 'To put' is a very common verb in English that is a little similar to the verb 'to get' in the sense that native speakers love using it and it has many meanings. Probably its main meaning is 'to place something in, or move something to, a specific position'. Some of the other main meanings of 'to put' include 'to write something' and 'to cause to be in a state or situation', however there are many other uses for it that one day in the future I may write about on a separate blog but for the moment we don't need to worry about them 😀 Where did you put my car keys? Joan put the cake in the oven. What can I put in this email to respond to this customer? That was beautifully put, you should be a writer! You need to put stress on the final syllable of the word. The prepositional particle 'away' is not one that features in many phrasal verbs but nevertheless I am sure that you are very familiar with it as it is a common English word. At its core, 'away' is all about moving from a place or being in a different place to where the speaker is. A secondary sub-meaning of 'away' that is relevant for this article is 'to be in the usual place of storage, often where it cannot be seen'. Often when it is part of a phrasal verb, 'away' implies a movement from a particular place (run away), however it can also be used to add ideas like disappearance or reduction (fade away) and a continuation of an action (chat away). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's look at the different meanings of 'put away'.... MEANING 1: To put something where it is normally stored Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To put back, to tidy away Separable? Yes After reading the Basics section just now, you will hopefully see that this first application of the phrasal verb 'put away' is more or less a literal combination of 'put' and 'away' as it means 'to put something where it is normally stored'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Shopping / Groceries Clothes Things Toys This application is one that is probably most heard in people's homes and refers to the action of placing something back into it's designated place of storage after you have finished using it. Usually, this is when the place of storage is one that is not openly on display in the house, such as inside a cupboard, box or drawer. Although I have included some commonly used nouns with this application in the list above, this is just a generalisation and in reality it is almost endless as 'put away' in this sense could refer to anything that is kept in a specific place when it is not in use. For instance, any of you who have or have had children will likely be familiar with putting away their toys after they have finished playing with them. Alternatively, you may have to put your clothes away after they have been cleaned and dried or you may need to put the Christmas decorations away after the festive period is over. As you can imagine, putting things away is a part of the action of another phrasal verb: tidying up. One other noun that is frequently heard with this application is 'shopping', which refers to the grocery shopping that we buy from a shop or supermarket rather than clothes etc. When we first get home from the supermarket, we need to put the items away in the fridge, freezer, cupboards etc. After dinner, Sally put away the dishes in the cupboard. Please put away your toys before bedtime. Jeremy put away the groceries as soon as he got home. Don’t forget to put your clothes away after folding them. I always put away my laptop when I’ve finished with it. My books were put away neatly on the shelf. Libby put away her winter coats when spring arrived. Kevin put away the tools in the garage after fixing his car. MEANING 2: To imprison someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To send down, to imprison, to lock up, to incarcerate, to section Separable? Yes Let's now move on to our second meaning of the phrasal verb 'put away', which means 'to imprison someone' but as you will learn, it doesn't always mean to send a criminal to jail. Of course, we do often use this phrasal verb application most commonly with reference to criminals and sending them to jail once they have been found guilty of a crime. You could argue that this is quite similar to the first application in the sense that people who commit crimes should be removed from open society and put somewhere away from the rest of us. On a grammatical level, as we are often talking about the criminal with this application, we frequently use it in the passive voice. The judge put the bank robber away for ten years. The police finally caught the criminal and put him away. If Steve commits another crime, he’ll be put away for life. The gang leader was put away thanks largely to the witness’s testimony. Kate hopes that the new evidence will put the dangerous killer away for good. The police have been working hard to put away the local drug dealers. Kyle was classed as a repeat offender, so the court decided to put him away. They put away several corrupt officials as a result of the investigation. As I mentioned earlier, this application of 'put away' is not just used for criminals and is in fact used to talk about when we remove people from society in general. For example, we can put mentally ill people away in mental hospitals or old people in residential care homes where they can be looked after and will be much better off than if they were still living on the outside. You should note that using this particular application in this way is very informal and could be perceived as insensitive or cruel by people, so I would avoid using this unless you really know the people with whom you are talking. In the past, people with mental illnesses were often put away in asylums. Barbara feared that her family would put her away if her condition got worse. Many elderly people used to be put away in institutions rather than cared for at home. Decades ago, children with disabilities were sometimes put away in special homes. Liam was put away in a psychiatric hospital after the incident. MEANING 3: To save money Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To save, to put aside Separable? Yes Something that I would advise anybody to do if they are able to is to save and invest money and this third application of 'put away' is one that comes in very handy here as it simply means 'to save money'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Money Cash Funds To clarify further, if you put money away, you are putting money into a bank account, savings account, investment fund or even a piggy bank so that you can spend it in the future. You may even hear people using the expression 'to put money away for a rainy day'. Note that you don't need to state where or how you are saving the money e.g. bank account or savings fund with this application, however you can do if you wish. Normally, we use it just to say that we have some money saved. Amy tries to put away a little money each month for emergencies. Phil managed to put away enough last year to buy a new car. If you put away £50 a week, you’ll have quite a sum by the end of the year. Thelma and Mick have been putting away money for their children’s education since they were born. I decided to put away some of my bonus instead of spending it all. By the time she retired, Gillian had put away a comfortable nest egg. We need to put away extra cash for our holiday to Greece next month. Lionel puts away part of every pay check into a savings account. MEANING 4: To eat or drink a large amount Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To feast Separable? Yes This fourth meaning of the phrasal verb 'put away' that we will look at in this post is an another informal one that means 'to eat or drink a large amount'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Food Drink Pint / Beer Meal Course Nouns for food and drink types I would say that the majority of the time that this application of 'put away' is used, it is to brag or show off about how much a person can eat or drink. For example, imagine a group of young men who are out in a bar or at a party. They all want to impress each other by talking about how many pints of beer they can drink, or put away. Of course, this is a massive generalisation and not all groups of young men will do this but I'm sure you get the idea. Alternatively, 'put away' can also be used in this way to express surprise or amazement at how much a person can consume, eat or drink, especially when you don't expect that person to be able to do so. For example, you may see a skinny or very thin person who you think would not eat much but who is actually able to put away a 4-course meal and then eat the rest of their friend's meal and all of the chocolates at the end. I've seen it happen with my own eyes! Remember that this usage is extremely informal and should be avoided in informal situations and when talking to people with whom you need to show respect. Adam can really put away a big breakfast. Suzanne put away three slices of cake without hesitation. They put away a whole pizza in just ten minutes. I couldn’t believe how much pasta he put away last night. Sarah put away two bottles of wine and hit the dance floor. Ryan put away half a loaf of bread all by himself. Alex claimed that he could put away 6 pints of beer in an hour and still be sober, however he tried and failed. Paul’s so skinny, but he can put away more food than anyone I know. MEANING 5: To euthanise an animal Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To put down, to euthanise Separable? Yes This fifth and penultimate usage of 'put away' is quite a rare one that means to 'to euthanise an animal'. Let me start here by clarifying what the verb 'to euthanise' means and that is to kill a human or animal in a humane and painless way, normally by a lethal injection. This is typically because of a terminal illness to avoid the person or animal suffering a painful and extremely unpleasant death. So, when you are putting an animal away, you are doing the same thing, normally at the vets. I have to confess that before researching this blog article I had never heard of this usage of 'put away' and if you had said to me that you were putting your dog away, I would have assumed that you meant that you were putting it in it's kennel away from the house. I have researched this though and it does appear to be used, so I have included it in this article. I should stress however that I would avoid using it as it could create confusion with native speakers due to how rare and unknown it is. It's possible that you may come across it yourselves somewhere though and so at least you can be aware of it if you do. For reference, I would use the synonyms ' put down ' or 'put to sleep' most commonly here. They had to put their old cat away after a long illness. Amanda cried when her horse was finally put away. The shelter put away several animals that couldn’t be rehomed. MEANING 6: To score a goal Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To score Separable? Yes We will end this post with an application for all of those among you who love sport, in particular football (soccer) as this final meaning is 'to score a goal'. Again, as with many of the other meanings of 'put away' that we have looked at, this usage is very informal and probably not one that you will hear many television commentators using much. It is often heard in situations in which there have been several failed attempts to score beforehand. One final thing to note here is that this usage is slightly different depending on where you are in the world. In British English, this is most commonly heard in football. However, in North American English where football (soccer) is less popular, it is used more for sports like ice hockey and basketball to mean to win a game or a match, rather than to score a goal or point. The striker put away his first goal of the game after a brilliant pass. He calmly put away the ball into the bottom corner. Madeleine put away the winning shot to seal the match. The forwarder should have put that goal away; I don't know how he missed! They failed to put away several easy opportunities. Pete put away the cross with a powerful header. The ice hockey team put the game away in the final quarter. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'put away'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'put away'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'call up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. 'Call up' is a common phrasal verb in English, with several distinct meanings. In this article, I will explain these different meanings for you, from making a phone call to someone to retrieving something that is stored somewhere. In addition, I will provide you with lots of example sentences of how native speakers use it so that you can impress your English-speaking friends and colleagues with your amazing phrasal verb skills 😀 So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Call Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'call' and 'up' Call Up - Meaning 1: Literal Call Up - Meaning 2: To telephone someone 🇺🇸 Call Up - Meaning 3: To be ordered to join the military Call Up - Meaning 4: To retrieve something that has been stored Call Up - Bonus: The noun 'call-up' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS CALL UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Called up / Called up Separable? Yes The phrasal verb 'call up' is formed by combining the verb 'to call' with the prepositional particle 'up' and so before we dive into the meanings of 'call up', let's first consider what these constituent words mean on their own. The verb 'to call' is a regular verb, which is all about using our voices. The origins of the word are from old Norse (Scandinavian) and when it was first used in English, it meant to shout loudly, summon someone or name someone. These ancient meanings still exist in modern English and you will see later that some exist in phrasal verbs with 'call' too. One newer meaning of 'to call' that certainly did not exist in Old English was 'to contact someone by telephone', which is one of its frequently used meanings today and will also feature later in the article. I called my son's name when I lost him in the supermarket. You've been called to see the King and explain your actions. What shall we call our new puppy? My name is Katherine but everyone calls me Kate. As soon as I heard the news, I called my Mum. Can you call me when you get chance as I really need to speak to you. Those of you who already have a good knowledge of English phrasal verbs will know that 'up' is a particle that features a lot in them. Perhaps most obviously, we can use 'up' to add an idea of an upwards movement or increase to an action in a phrasal verb (walk up, climb up). Moreover, 'up' can be used to add a wide variety of different meanings to phrasal verbs, like completion (eat up), improvement ( pick up ) and appearance ( show up ). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'call up'.... MEANING 1: Literal CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To shout up, to yell up Separable? No This first meaning may seem like quite an obvious one for you because it is simply the literal meaning of the combination of the two words 'call' and 'up', i.e. calling in an upwards direction to someone who is in a higher position than you. We typically use 'call up' in this way when we want to get the attention of someone who is in the same building as us. If it is a small building or a house and the other person is a floor or two above us, we use our voice to get their attention and call up to them. Less frequently, if you are in a taller building like a skyscraper and you need to contact someone who is on a higher floor than you, you can also use 'call up' to talk about phoning them....however we will cover telephones more in the next section! Note that when used in this way, 'call up' is often followed by the extra preposition 'to' and is not normally separated. Sophie called up to her brother, who was still in his room upstairs. I called up the stairs to let my husband know that dinner was ready. Luke called up to his mother from the hallway below. Sam and Lucy called up through the open window to their friend on the balcony. Michelle called up the staircase, asking if anyone was home. Paul called up to his colleague Jamie on the 10th floor to see if he wanted to go for a drink after work. Another way that we can use 'call up' in a literal way is when we ask or invite someone to move from a lower level and join us on the higher level. A good example of this would be the stage at a concert or theatre. If the performer calls a member of the audience up on stage, he or she asks the person to come and join them. Note that we can also use 'call up' to ask someone to go to the front of something, typically a large room where there are lots of other people for example a church or a conference. The singer called the fan up on stage. I remember when I was called up on stage at a gig; I was so scared. The graduates were called up one by one to collect their diplomas from the university dean. MEANING 2: To telephone someone CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Mainly American English Potential synonyms To telephone, to call, to ring (up), to phone (up), to buzz, to give someone a ring Separable? Yes Let's now move on to our second meaning of 'call up', which is one that I think that many of you may be familiar with and this is simply 'to contact someone by telephone'. Firstly, you should note that this is an American English usage and some common synonyms that you are likely to hear in British English for this instead are 'to ring (up)', 'to phone (up) and 'to give someone a ring'. Be aware that 'call up' is also understood and used in British English too, just not as commonly as on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. You may be wondering why we use 'call up' when the verb 'to call' means exactly the same thing. To be honest, I am not sure why we started adding the additional word 'up', however note that it does not change the meaning of the verb in any way when you do use it. On a grammatical level, 'call up' is separable and it is possible to 'call someone up' as well as to 'call up someone', however I would say that the separable usage is the more common of the two. Note that if using an object pronoun (me, him etc.) then it must go between 'call' and 'up'. I’ll call Sarah up tonight to see how she’s doing. Could you call up the hotel and confirm our reservation? My ex-husband called me up yesterday just to chat. If you have any questions whatsoever, just call me up. Rebecca promised to call her grandmother up more often. I’m going to call up the electrician to enquire about getting the lights fixed. Don’t forget to call your boss up and let him know you’ll be late. They called up their friends to invite them to the engagement party. MEANING 3: To be ordered to join the military Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To enlist, to conscript, to mobilise Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'call up' is one that some of you may be able to identify with if your country has a programme of compulsory national military service because it means 'to be ordered to join the military'. As I mentioned in the Basics section, one of the meanings of the verb 'to call' is to summon someone, or in other words, to order someone to come to a specified place. This usage of 'to call' is quite rare in modern English as there are not many times that the majority of people are summoned or called to be in a specific place. One exception to this however is with the armed forces and when we talk about being summoned to join the military, we use the phrasal verb 'call up' rather than 'call' on its own. There are three main scenarios in which we tend to use this application of 'call up': the first is when your country has a programme of national service that young adults must participate in and the second is when your country goes to war and you are called up to fight or assist in the military action. On a grammatical note, this application is also separable. Furthermore, it is common to hear it used in the passive voice as we often use it to talk about our own experiences and those of people whom we know, as they are the ones who receive the action. Active example sentences.... The government called up thousands of recruits after the invasion. The army plans to call its reserves up to strengthen the front lines. Authorities initially called up men between the ages of 18 and 25. The navy has called experienced sailors up to man the new fleet. During the crisis, the president called up additional troops. In response to the threat, military officials called up more than 100,000 soldiers. Passive example sentences.... During the war, thousands of young men and women were called up to serve in the army. Pete was called up for military service just after his eighteenth birthday. The government announced that reservists might be called up if the conflict escalates. Jane's father was called up during World War II. The soldier had already completed his military service when he was unexpectedly called up again. In times of national emergency, citizens may be called up to defend their country. The third and final scenario in which this application of 'call up' is used is in relation to sports teams. If someone is called up to play in a sports team, it means that they are selected by the coach or manager to play in a match. Note that this tends to be used more to talk about higher level competitions, particularly national teams. As with the military examples, it is very common for this one to be used in the passive voice. The team manager decided to call two junior players up from the reserves. The federation called up several young athletes to join the senior squad. Melanie was unexpectedly called up for the World Cup qualifiers. Louie was thrilled to be called up for the Olympic bobsleigh squad. MEANING 4: To retrieve something that has been stored Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bring up, to retrieve, to recall, to remember, to recollect, to dredge up, to invoke Separable? Yes We will finish the meanings of the phrasal verb 'call up' with one that I have given quite a general title, which is 'to retrieve something that is stored somewhere'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Data File Image Memory Spirit The reason that I wrote that this is quite a general title is because there are lots of different ways and scenarios in which you can use this application, however all of them involve retrieving something from a place of storage. Perhaps the most commonly used of these sub-applications of 'call up' is in relation to IT and computers. If you call something up on a computer, such as data, an image or a file, you cause it to appear on the screen so that it is visible (in the same way as you can use 'bring up'). The idea here is that the data is stored somewhere on the hard drive or a cloud and can be retrieved from there to be viewed on the screen. You can call up last year’s sales report from the server in just a few clicks. Laura quickly called the document up on her laptop to show the team. The system lets you call up old or archived messages whenever you need them. Bobby called up the presentation slides that were stored in the cloud. Just call up the customer’s profile by entering their ID number and pressing submit. Another place where we store things is in our heads in the form of memories, many of which are stored in remote parts of our brains and we can also use 'call up' here to talk about when we see, hear, smell, taste or feel something that evokes a memory from the past. It could be an old photograph, the smell of a perfume or an old song that you have not heard for many years; whatever it is though, the end result is that it unlocks a memory from somewhere deep in your brain and makes you remember it again. Note that this is often quite a poetic or literary usage. The old photograph called up memories of Helen's school friends. Hearing that song always calls up images of my grandfather in my mind. The novel’s vivid descriptions call up images of people who have been long forgotten. John's son's mannerisms called up the figure of his late father. Lastly, for those of you who believe in the supernatural, it is also possible to use 'call up' to talk about when ghosts or spirits are summoned from another realm (I guess they aren't really in storage in this case). Again, this usage is pretty rare and is one that can be found most often in novels, stories and movies etc. The sorcerer attempted to call up the spirit of the dead queen. Legend has it that the ritual can call up demons from the underworld. They gathered at midnight to try and call up the ghost of their ancestor. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'call-up' One last thing to mention before I finish the post is that the noun 'call-up' also exists and to explore this further, we need to go back to the third application that we looked at (to be summoned to join the military). In brief, the noun 'call-up' can be used to talk about the action of calling people up to join the armed forces e.g. a military call-up. In addition, we can also use it for the action of selecting players and athletes to be on sporting teams or squads. The government announced a mass call-up of reservists to fight. Lesley's football career was interrupted by a military call-up. Many families were torn apart by the sudden call-up of young men and women. Jim's impressive form at club level led to an international call-up. Floella earned her first national team call-up at just 18 years of age. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'call up'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'call 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 off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. 'Hold off' is a nice little phrasal verb that many English learners do not learn until they are at quite an advanced level. In this article, I will explain the different ways that you can use 'hold off' and provide you with lots of example sentences to show you how it is used by native speakers in their everyday language. So, without further ado, let's make start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Hold Off - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'hold' and 'off' Hold Off - Meaning 1: To postpone doing something Hold Off - Bonus: To hold off on doing something Hold Off - Meaning 2: To not happen as expected (weather) Hold Off - Meaning 3: To successfully resist 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 HOLD OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Held off / Held off Separable? Yes The phrasal verb 'hold off' is formed of the verb 'to hold' and the particle 'off'. Before we look at its meanings, let's begin by first considering the meanings of the individual words. If you are capable of reading and understanding this article, then you will certainly be familiar with the verb 'to hold' as it is super common in everyday English. It is a very versatile verb and has various different meanings, with perhaps the most common of these being the idea of containing and grasping something in your hand. Moreover, some of its other key meanings include to possess, to have a belief and to delay something (this last one will come up again later). Lastly, as with many other common verbs, 'to hold' is irregular with the past tense 'held' for both forms. Can you hold the baby whilst I open the door. My boyfriend held my hand as we walked along the beach. This bottle holds 1 litre of liquid. The bank doesn't hold much money overnight to deter robbers. Sarah holds the view that this sort of behaviour is wrong. Can you hold the order as we are not ready to receive it yet. 'Off' is an extremely commonly used particle in English that is also frequently found in phrasal verb constructions. When used in phrasal verbs, 'off' can add different ideas like separation (break off), deactivation (turn off), completion (pay off) and spontaneity ( take off ), among others. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'hold off'.... MEANING 1: To postpone doing something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To postpone, to put off, to delay, to defer, to refrain Separable? No We'll begin the meanings of 'hold off' with probably the most common of them all, which is 'to postpone doing something'. Firstly, if you are not familiar with the verb 'to postpone', it means to delay something until a later time or date and this first meaning of 'hold off' means the same thing. For example, you may hold off sending an email until a later time or you may hold off cutting the grass in your garden for a few days if the weather is bad. One difference to note between 'postpone' and 'hold off' is that while 'postpone' can be used to talk about delaying both nouns and actions, 'hold off' tends to be used only in reference to actions. As a result, this application of 'hold off' tends to be followed by the verb for the action expressed in the gerund ('ing) form as you can see in the example sentences below. You should note that the period of time is not an important factor here; it is possible to hold off doing something both for a few minutes, a few days or a even a few years. I would say that this application does not usually stretch to very long or indefinite periods of time however as we use it to talk about actions that we or other people plan to do and so there is an element or intention or desire to do the action behind it. We decided to hold off announcing the project until all of the details were finalised. I think you should hold off making a decision until you’ve heard everyone’s opinion. The Jones family have chosen to hold off buying a new car until next year. Debbie wanted to hold off telling people about her pregnancy until she was past the 3-month mark. The company have decided to hold off launching the product until market conditions improve. I think we should hold off asking for funding until we’ve prepared a stronger proposal. Sam tried to hold off responding to the criticism until he had more information on it. Photo: Pexels BONUS: To hold off on doing something If you've been studying English for a while, then you will know that sometimes it can be a bit strange and here is one of those instances of its weirdness. In addition to 'to hold off doing something', we can also add the preposition 'on', giving us 'to hold off on doing something', which means exactly the same thing. I've no idea why we sometimes add this additional preposition as there is no real difference in meaning that I can tell but we just do it sometimes, so it is always useful to be aware of it to avoid any confusion. Let’s hold off on sending the email until the manager approves it. Karen is not yet sure if she will hold off on putting her house on the market as she doesn't know if she wants to move. MEANING 2: To not happen as expected (weather) Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stay away Separable? No A very common stereotype about the UK is that it rains a lot here and that the weather is generally bad. It may surprise you to learn that it doesn't rain as much as you think and it is not always so bad, however it is undeniable that British weather is changeable. As a consequence of this sometimes unpredictable climate, this second application of 'hold off' is one that you may hear a lot if you spend some time here as it means 'to not happen as expected' and is typically used to refer to weather. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Rain Storm Snow Wind Fog You can see from the list of nouns above that this application of 'hold off' is reserved for types of weather that are generally unpopular with many people. Typically, we use 'hold off' when we have plans to do something or to go somewhere outside, which bad weather would ruin or cancel. If you are in the UK or somewhere else with changeable weather, or if bad weather is forecast or probable, you might use 'hold off' to say that the expected bad weather did not happen in the end. Oftentimes, we can use this application to express when the bad weather did arrive but not until after the point at which it was expected, meaning that you were able to do your outdoor activity. Lastly, we can also use it to express wishes and desires that any bad weather that has been forecast will stay away until a later date or after your planned activity. The rain held off until after the wedding ceremony, so we were able to stay outside. I hope the snow holds off until I get home. The storm held off long enough for us to finish the game. Luckily, the heavy winds held off during the parade and everything went well. If the fog holds off for a few more hours, our flight should leave on time. British people love to talk about (or moan about) the weather, so if you are ever in the UK and you use this one, you will fit in just like a local 😀 MEANING 3: To successfully resist someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To deter, to hold back, to fend off Separable? Yes Our third and final application of 'hold off' means 'to successfully resist someone' and has a couple of distinct uses. When I think of this application of 'hold off', the first idea that comes to mind is the idea of resisting an attack of some sort (and actually this is probably the rarest in terms of real life application). The idea here is that if someone attacks you, particularly if you are trying to defend somewhere that they are trying to get to, you hold them off if you resist their attack. In other words, you stop them from defeating you, in many cases so that they are unable to move past you. Of course, this application does not have to be used just with a physical attack as we can use 'hold off' in this way to describe any time that we resist or attack someone or something and delay or prevent them from achieving their goal. This may be an athlete in a race who manages to stay in front of another runner who is accelerating hard to move past them, it may be blocking a dog's path to stop it from attacking another dog or it may even be something like stopping a fire from spreading to another place. Here are some more examples for you.... The soldiers managed to hold off the enemy until reinforcements arrived. Lucy held off her opponent with a series of quick moves. The salesman tried to convince me to sign the contract, but I held him off until I had more time to think. The firefighters held off the flames until backup units reached the scene. Lastly, we can also use this application for situations in which you need to keep someone at a distance from you or to stop them from approaching you or going somewhere. In some of these cases, the phrasal verb 'hold back' could also be a good synonym for this. The police used barriers to hold off the crowd. Louise held off the reporters who were trying to get too close. The security guards managed to hold off the fans until the singer had left the building. If you see Malcolm approaching me at the party, can you try and hold him off and stop him from speaking to me. I can't forgive him for what he did! Photo: Pexels So there we have it; three distinct ways to use the phrasal verb 'hold off'! Firstly, the idea of delaying doing something until a later, secondly the idea of bad weather staying away and (literally) not raining on your parade and lastly, the idea of resisting someone and physically stopping them achieving a goal. 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 'hold 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 'hold 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 'put 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. 'Put up' is a common phrasal verb in English that is used in many different areas of life, ranging from things as diverse as construction to resistance. It has a broad variety of different uses, many of which are used for quite specific situations and I will do my best to cover all of these in this post. Please like and share the post if you find the article useful (I won't know otherwise)! Also, feel free to leave a comment at the end with your own sentence featuring 'put up' 😊 TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Put Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'put' and 'up' Put Up - Meaning 1: Literal Put Up - Meaning 2: To construct something Put Up - Meaning 3: To place something on display Put Up - Meaning 4: To tolerate Put Up - Meaning 5: To provide money (for financial support) Put Up - Meaning 6: To make something available for sale Put Up - Meaning 7: To propose someone for election Put Up - Meaning 8: To accommodate someone temporarily Put Up - Meaning 9: To resist something Put Up - Meaning 10: To increase a price Put Up - Bonus: Some common expressions with 'put up' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PUT UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 10 Past tense forms Put up / Put up Separable? Sometimes Before we look at the different phrasal verb meanings of 'put up', let's break down its component words to see if they can offer us any clues to the phrasal verb meanings that we will look at shortly. Firstly we have 'to put', which is certainly one of the favourite verbs of English native speakers as it is in frequent use in everyday English. The general idea behind it it is to move or place something into a position, but it does also have other meanings, such as causing emotions or states to change and expressing something with words. The prepositional particle 'up' is one that features in many phrasal verb constructions and is generally used to refer to movement to a higher place or position. Furthermore, it can also be used for increases in numbers, rates and percentages etc. Now we have covered the basics, let's dive into the different phrasal verb meanings.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Separable? Yes Before we look at the idiomatic meanings of 'put up', I want to begin with the literal meaning, which you may well be aware of. When we combine 'put' and 'up' in the literal sense, we are talking about placing something in a position that we perceive to be in a higher position than us e.g. a high shelf or a storage space near the ceiling. Moreover, this is used when there is a movement upwards and into a space, such as the little boy in the picture who has put his finger up his nose. I've had to put the ball of string up on the top shelf to stop the cats playing with it. John discretely tried to put his finger up his nose but to no avail as all of his colleagues saw him. MEANING 2: To construct something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate ​Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To construct, to erect Separable? Yes If you are familiar with a certain well-known Joni Mitchell song, you will know the lyrics " they paved paradise and put up a parking lot " and the usage of 'put up' here is our second meaning, which is 'to construct something, so that it is in an erect or an upright position'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Building Wall Tent Fence This is commonly used with nouns such as buildings and walls, for which there is a building process and at the end of it there is an upright standing structure. This application is for both permanent and temporary structures and thus can also be used with other nouns such as tents, barriers and police cordons. Additionally, we can use it for imaginary walls and barriers, such as emotional walls that people 'put up' to stop themselves being emotionally hurt. Grammatically, this form of 'put up' takes a direct object and can therefore be separated, although we tend to place the object at the end a bit more, however placing the object between 'put' and 'up' is fine to do and not wrong. They demolished the old church and put up an apartment block in its place. We managed to put the tent up in less than 20 minutes! Police have put up a cordon around the crime scene whilst the investigation takes place. Lisa put up an emotional wall after her divorce to avoid getting hurt like that again. MEANING 3: To place something on display Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To hang up Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'put up' is to place something somewhere so that is it on display for people to see. This is normally used with things that are hung on walls such as pictures, posters, notices or mirrors. However, it can also be used for signs, cameras and anything that can be placed in a suspended position above the ground. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Picture Poster Advert Mirror Notice Sign The idea behind this meaning is to put something in a position where it is visible to people. Logically this would need to be somewhere high for optimised visibility, which is why the particle 'up' is required. Notably, this application is also used for decorations, in particular party decorations and Christmas decorations and lights, as these are normally suspended. Strangely, we do also use this for a Christmas tree, even though it is placed on the ground and not suspended from anything. On a grammatical note, this usage of 'put up' is separable and takes a direct object, which is the item that is suspended. One extra thing to note here is that the opposite of 'to put' in phrasal verb constructions is often the verb 'to take' and therefore the phrasal verb to express the opposite action of this meaning of 'put up' is 'take down' and not 'put down'. The local council have put up a network of CCTV cameras around the city to improve public safety. Our cat went missing a week ago. We've put posters up all over the neighbourhood and are hoping that someone finds him soon. We put up our Christmas decorations on 12th December every year and take them down again on 6th January. MEANING 4: To tolerate Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To tolerate, to bear, to endure, to cope with Separable? No This fourth meaning of 'put up' is a really common one that you may already be familiar with and means 'to tolerate'. For this usage we require the additional preposition ' with '. If you 'put up with something', you accept and live with a situation that you do not like, you do not agree with or is not ideal. It is in regular use in English, especially in spoken English, and is more commonly used and informal than its synonym 'to tolerate'. On a grammatical note, you cannot separate this usage of 'put up' and the indirect object always has to come after the word ' with '. If the direct object is a verb action, it needs to be in the gerund ('ing) form. I don't think I can put up with this for much longer! Lisa only puts up with Roger's snoring because she loves him. Nobody should have to put up with being bullied at work. MEANING 5: To provide money (as financial support) Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To finance, to bankroll Separable? Yes Our fifth meaning of 'put up' is to provide money in order to support someone or something financially. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Money Cash Funds Capital If you propose to 'put up money' for something, you are essentially offering to provide the finance for something, such as a project, a business startup or an event in order to make it possible. As you can imagine, this application is used a lot in the world of finance and investment as companies and trust funds are often looking for investors to put up funds in order for them to grow and expand. Aside from the finance sector however, this usage of 'put up' can also be used to describe any time a business or a person is provided with the money to undertake a project of venture. It is not really used for personal lending or borrowing for non-business purposes though, as the words 'lend' or 'loan' would normally be used more naturally here. The company is doing so well that it is now looking for investors who are willing to put up the capital to enable it to expand into overseas markets. We have asked the bank to put up the money and we are waiting for their decision. Helen's rich grandfather put up the money for her to buy a new premises for her shop. MEANING 6: To make something available for sale Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To put on the market, to sell Separable? Yes Meaning number six of 'put up' is 'to place something onto the market in order to be sold'. Here, the additional words 'for sale' are normally used. You may already be familiar with the expression 'to put something on the market' and this form with 'put up' is a synonym of this. The most common example of this that you are likely to hear is with houses as when someone decides to sell their house, they put it up for sale. It can equally be used to talk about placing anything on the market to be sold though. Another variation of 'put up for sale' is 'to put something up for auction', i.e. when you decide to sell something via a public sale to the highest bidder. A further possibility here is 'to put something up for rent', when you decide to rent it out, normally on a long term basis, rather than sell something. After a long period of deliberation, we have decided to put our house up for sale. The apartment was put up for rent by the new owners not long after they had completed the purchase. I've sorted out all of my old clothes and put the best ones up for sale. MEANING 7: To propose someone for election Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To nominate, to put forward Separable? Yes The seventh meaning of 'put up' is one that you often hear around the time of a political election as it means 'to propose a candidate for election'. This is used when a political party has decided the person who will represent them in the election and they would say that they "are putting up this candidate for election", therefore formally naming the person that they have chosen. Another similar usage to this, albeit in a very different area of life, is used when parents decide that, for whatever reason, they cannot look after their child and so opt to put it up for adoption. I guess we use 'put up' in this sense as by doing so, the child is being made available to the public so that the most suitable people can adopt and take care of it. The Green Party have announced the candidate that they are putting up for election in this constituency. My parents put me up for adoption when I was a baby, so I have no memory of them. MEANING 8: To accommodate someone temporarily Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To accommodate Separable? Yes The eighth meaning of 'put up' is to accommodate another person in your house on a temporary basis. This is normally used when a friend or a member of your family finds themselves in a situation where they have nowhere to live or stay and so they stay at your house temporarily. In other words, if you put someone up, you provide them with a place to sleep for a short period of time. Grammatically, this application of 'put up' is only used in a separable way with the person who is temporarily staying at the other person's house always going between 'put' and 'up'. Moreover, this usage of 'put up' is used equally commonly in both an active and a passive way, depending on if the person speaking is the person staying at the other's house (passive) or is the person who is letting their friend sleep at theirs (active). I am having a new kitchen fitted at my house, so my brother is putting me up for a couple of nights whilst the work is carried out . My brother is having a new kitchen fitted, so we are temporarily putting him up until it is completed. Can you put me up for a few days until I make up with my wife? MEANING 9: To resist something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To resist Separable? No For the ninth meaning of 'put up', we are thinking about the idea of resistance as here we often combine 'put up' with nouns such 'fight' or 'resistance' to give the idea that something is opposed, fought or resisted in some way. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Fight Resistance Struggle With this usage, we do not tend to separate the words 'put' and 'up' and place the appropriate noun after the phrasal verb. There is no way that the local residents are going to accept this without putting up a fight. The army put up little resistance when the neighbouring countries' troops invaded. MEANING 10: To increase a price Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To increase, to raise, to hike Separable? Yes Our final meaning of 'put up' is more of a British usage that unfortunately has been used a lot over the last few years and that is 'to increase a price'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Prices Costs Rates Charges For this usage, we are talking specifically about when a decision is made by a company or a business to increase prices, rather than prices increasing in general. In fact, normally companies are forced to put up their prices due to a rise in general prices such as wholesale and overhead costs. This usage is separable and is fine to use in both a separable and inseparable way, without affecting the meaning. Due to an increase in our overheads, we have had to put up our prices to ensure that we still make a profit. We are putting up our prices on 1st January, so please check out our website in the coming weeks as the new prices will be published on there. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Some common expressions with 'put up' Before we finish this post, I want to make you aware of some other expressions and specific uses that the phrasal verb 'put up' is featured in. Put up or shut up - This is an idiomatic expression that we use when we want to tell someone to either justify what they said, or else keep quiet. To put your hand up - This is something that is used very commonly in classrooms and, to a lesser extent, business meetings and other group activities and is simply when someone puts their hand in an elevated position above their head to signify that they know the answer to a question or want to speak. To put your hands up - The plural form is very different to the singular and is used to express when a person puts both hands in an elevated position in front of their face to show that they are surrendering. This is normally to the police when they are being arrested for a crime. Moreover, 'put your hands up' is also used in many modern pop songs in a different way as a call to start dancing or show appreciation. To put your feet up - This final expression means 'to sit down and relax' and is normally used after a period of hard work. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'put up'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'put 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 'work out' from a native speaker, with examples and exercises. Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my blog all about English phrasal verbs. Each week, I take a different phrasal verb and look at how it is used by native speakers, with a focus on the different meanings that it has and the expressions and idioms that it is used in. The phrasal verb 'work out' is a well known phrasal verb with a number of different meanings in English. I am sure that you will be familiar with at least some of them, especially as one or two have featured in popular songs in recent years. So, without further ado, let's take a look at them.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) Work Out - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'work' and 'out' Work Out - Meaning 1: To do physical activity Work Out - Meaning 2: To find the answer to something Work Out - Meaning 3: To solve a mathematical sum Work Out - Meaning 4: To understand someone's character Work Out - Meaning 5: To plan something in detail Work Out - Meaning 6: To have a good result Work Out - Meaning 7: To work your notice 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 WORK OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Worked out / Worked out Separable? Sometimes Let's make a start by examining the constituent words of 'work out', as this can offer some understanding of the different phrasal verb meanings that it has. The verb 'to work' is a verb that I'm sure everybody will know as it is used multiple times by most English speakers daily and is a verb which is used with both love and hate in equal measure. 'To work' actually has a variety of different meanings in English, however the main two meanings are 'to engage in physical or mental activity in order to accomplish a job (often for financial reward)' and 'to function properly'. The prepositional particle 'out' is generally used to talk about movement away from an inside, enclosed or central place or space. In addition, 'out' has many other uses as a preposition, , adjective, adverb and even a verb, but behind many of its meanings there is an underlying idea of completion or conclusion, which is relevant for some of the meanings of 'work out' that we will cover shortly. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the meanings of 'work out'.... MEANING 1: To do physical activity Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere ​Potential synonyms To do exercise Separable? No The first meaning of 'work out' that we will look at is probably the most well known of all of its different meanings and means 'to engage in physical activity'. Typically this is by doing some form of vigorous exercise such as going running, swimming a dance class and perhaps most commonly, training in the gym. Generally when we use 'work out' in this way, we are referring to doing solo activity rather than participating in a team sport. The general idea is that we complete a session of exercise, normally for the benefit of our health and well being. Grammatically, this meaning of 'work out' does not take a direct object and cannot be separated. As an alternative to the verb, it is worth noting that the noun 'workout' is used equally as much as the phrasal verb form, if not even more so. For this, the constructions 'to have a workout' or 'to do a workout' are normally used in the appropriate tense. I usually work out seven days a week and rarely have a rest day. John was working out in the gym when his wife called him to tell him that they had won the lottery. I've already done a workout today and don't intend to do another one. Lisa had such a stressful day at work and so decided to have a good workout in the gym to try and forget all about it. MEANING 2: To find the answer to something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To figure out, to understand Separable? Yes Now for the second meaning of 'work out' and for this we are moving away from physical activity and focusing instead on mental activity as the meaning is 'to find the answer to something by using your brain'. This is the first in a series of meanings which are all to do with engaging in mental activity to in order to determine some information. For this second meaning, the idea is to undergo a mental process in order to find the answer to a question. As such, we do not use it to talk about answering questions that we already know the answer to as there is no process involved with this - we know the information already and can recall it. 'Work out' here is rather all about the mental activity required to arrive at an answer by using the available clues or information that we have. Typically, 'work out' can be used for for things like crossword clues, sudoku, riddles, puzzles and complex quiz questions. Furthermore, it also frequently used to talk about when people attempt to understand the reasons why something happens or has happened, e.g scientists conducting experiments to understand phenomena or emergency service employees attempting to understand how a car accident has happened. In all of these cases, someone is trying to find out the answer to something by using the clues or evidence that they have. Grammatically, this usage of 'work out' does take a direct object and is therefore separable. It is worth noting however that often instead of a direct object, we often rephrase the question that we are trying to answer as a statement (invert the verb and the object), e.g. 'how did the accident happen?' becomes 'work out how the accident happened'. Alternatively, we can just use the question word on its own. In these cases 'work' and 'out' cannot be separated. I've almost finished this crossword. I just can't work out this last clue!! For years, scientists have been trying to work out how to stop volcanoes erupting but are no closer to achieving their goal. The police have managed to work out that the murder suspect was in the area when the crime was committed but they do not have any evidence to convict her yet. My cat has been acting very strangely and nobody in the family can work out why. Helen was fascinated by the magician at the party and was not able to work out how he performed his illusions. MEANING 3: To solve a mathematical sum Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To calculate Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'work out' is a continuation of the theme of finding the answer to something and means specifically 'to solve a mathematical sum'. In other words, this meaning of 'work out' is to determine the numerical amount of something by using addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, or a combination of these. Again, in a similar fashion to the previous meaning, this also involves the process of calculation to arrive at the answer to something, this time a sum. In addition, we can also use 'work out' here to give the answer of a sum once the calculation process has ended. For this we use the construction 'works out at ...', with the additional preposition ' at ' required before the answer to the sum. We can also use the construction 'works out to be' here in some cases. The students were asked to work out some mathematical equations during the exam. What is 129 x 75? Can you work out the answer without using a calculator? I've looked at the costs for our family holiday this year and it it works out at just over £2000.00. Roger has started buying his groceries online as it works out to be $50 cheaper a week than when he goes to the supermarket. MEANING 4: To understand someone's character Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To figure out, to make out Separable? Yes Meaning number four of 'work out' is the third and final one to do with finding the answer to something and it means specifically 'to understand someone's character'. Unlike the previous two meanings, we often tend to use this version of 'work out' in negative sentences often with 'can't' when we are unable to understand someone's character. This is normally because they act in a strange way or exhibit some unconventional personality traits and we do not understand why they act and behave the way that they do. This meaning of 'work out' tends to be used in a negative way, especially if there is a romantic element involved. Aside from just one person, you can also use this application of 'work out' to talk about groups of people. Again, this would almost always be in the negative sense, with the idea being that it is impossible to understand them and we will never be able to. His behaviour is very erratic, I just can't work him out. Helen thought she had worked Roger out, but she quickly changed her mind when he Lisa's has never really had much success with romance. She just can't work men out. MEANING 5: To plan something in detail Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To thrash out, to plan Separable? Yes The fifth meaning of 'work out' is 'to plan something in detail' and this is a meaning that you are likely to come across in the business world if you need to use English in your job. For this meaning of 'work out', we are mainly concerned with plans, systems, procedures and processes as these are all things that require a process of mental work and time to complete. The idea here is that the thing that you are planning is complex and involves many details, so a lot of thought needs to be given to it in order to plan and create it effectively. 'Work out' in this sense can be used for just one person's efforts or a collaborative effort between different people. This form of 'work out' takes a direct object and is separable. The direct object is always the thing that you are planning. We sat down this morning to try and work out a contingency plan for an economic recession. When our first child was born we were completely disorganised and didn't know what to do but within a few days we had worked out a system between us of feeding the baby and making sure we both got enough sleep. Did you manage to work out a procedure for resolving invoice queries in a timely manner? MEANING 6: To have a good result Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To succeed Separable? No (only with the word 'itself') Our sixth meaning of 'work out' is 'to have a good result', or alternatively, 'to have the desired result'. For this meaning, as you can guess, we are entirely focused on the results of something and if we say that 'something worked out', then it means that the end result was good or was what we wanted it to be. This can be used across a broad spectrum of situations, from romantic relationships to the execution of plans. When 'work out' is used in this way, we often use additional collocational words such as 'in the end', 'for the best' and 'well'. On a grammatical note, this meaning of 'work out' does not take a direct object and is not normally separable. However, there is one instance where we can use it separably with the reflexive pronoun ' itself '. When we say that something 'works itself out', we mean that a complicated or undesired situation is resolved naturally with minimal intervention. We were worried that something would go wrong on our wedding day but thankfully everything worked out well! I was so certain that my business would go bankrupt but at the last minute an investor stepped in and everything worked out in the end. We had a really complicated legal issue at work last week but miraculously it worked itself out after a few days. MEANING 7: To work your notice Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced ​Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To work your notice Separable? Yes This seventh and final meaning of 'work out' is a rare meaning that is only used in very specific circumstances, but I wanted to make you aware of it nonetheless. The meaning of this seventh usage is 'to work your period of notice in a job after you have tendered your resignation'. In other words, when you decide to leave your job within a company, there is normally a period of notice that contractually must be worked before you can leave e.g. one month. We use 'work out' here to say that a person will 'work out their notice' and stay at the company until the time when they are permitted to leave. I'm leaving Phrasal Verbs Ltd and I am going to work out my notice as agreed with my manager. He left the company last week. He stormed out after an argument with a co-worker and is refusing to come back or work his notice period out. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'work 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 'work 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!!! 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