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An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'throw 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. This article is all about the phrasal verb 'throw off' and its different meanings in English. It is a versatile phrasal verb and you may be surprised to know that there are at least five different ways to use it, which range from quickly removing your clothes to confusing someone. In the post, I will go through each of the applications of 'throw off' systematically and explain each one for you, with lots of example sentences in context to show you how it is used. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'throw off' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'throw off' mean? The phrasal verb 'throw off' has five meanings in English.... Literal meaning To be rid of something that restricts you To evade someone who is following you To produce and release something To confuse Keep reading to learn how to use each of these.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Throw Off - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'throw' and 'off' Throw Off - Meaning 1:Literal meaning Throw Off - Meaning 2: To be rid of something that restricts you Throw Off - Meaning 3: To evade someone who is following you Throw Off - Meaning 4: To produce and release something Throw Off - Meaning 5: To confuse Photo: Pexels THE BASICS THROW OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Threw off / Thrown off Separable? Yes Before we get too involved in the phrasal verb 'throw off', let's start the post by considering the meaning of the individual words 'throw' and 'off'. Throw - 'To throw' is a common verb that can often cause pronunciation problems for English learners due to the 't-h-r' letter combination that it starts with. The main meaning of the verb 'to throw' is 'to make something move through the air using your arms and hands' and most of the time when you hear it, it it is likely to have this meaning. In addition, it also has some lesser used meanings which include 'to host an event like a party', 'to move quickly or carelessly' and 'to confuse'. The player threw the ball to his teammate. The winner is the competitor who can throw the discus the furthest. Jenny threw an egg at the politician. I'm throwing a party for my birthday next week. John threw his bags in the back of the car and quickly got in. I was thrown when I called Ben's number and someone else answered the phone. Off - The particle 'off' is one that is commonly found in phrasal verbs and is the opposite of the particle 'on'. It can be used to add many different meanings to a phrasal verb and these include detachment (pull off), removal (take off), delay (put off), gradual disappearance (ease off) and ending (turn off), among others. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'throw off'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To launch off Separable? Yes The first meaning of the phrasal verb 'throw off' that we will look at is the literal usage of the combination of the two words, which many of you will know already. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person Rock / Stone Rope When used literally, 'throw off' simply means to take something that is on a surface and throw it so that it is no longer on it. For example, a sailor might throw a rope off a boat in order to secure it to a cleat in the harbour or children may throw stones off a cliff into the sea below. In addition to throwing something with your arms, it can also be used to describe when a force causes someone or something to be thrown from a surface. Examples sentences.... They threw the old furniture off the roof. Someone threw a bottle off the bridge. Luke threw the ball off the balcony. The children were throwing stones off the cliff into the sea. Maria threw the broken chair off the back of the truck. Don't throw anything off the roof; someone could be walking below. The force of the crash threw the rider off his bike. She was thrown off her feet by the explosion. One other notable sub-application of this literal usage is with horse riding as it is fairly common to use 'throw off' when talking about when a horse causes its rider to fall from its back through its sudden or wild movements. Moreover, when the rider is the focus or subject it is common to use the passive 'be thrown off' or 'get thrown off' forms. Example sentences.... The horse suddenly threw its rider off. Suzanna nearly got thrown off her horse when it suddenly stopped. The horse reared up and threw him off. MEANING 2: To be rid of something that restricts you Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To Separable? Yes This second application of the phrasal verb 'throw off' is the first proper phrasal verb meaning in the true sense and means 'to be rid of something that restricts you'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Clothes (coat, shoes etc) Cold / Cough Illness Shackles To be rid of something = To be free of something unwanted or unpleasant so that you no longer have it in your current situation or life. There are several different ways that this application can be used, so I will explain each of these individually for you. Something vital in our lives that can occasionally restrict us and be unwanted is clothing. We often use this application of 'throw off' with clothes to refer to when someone quickly, hurriedly or carelessly removes one item of clothing or all of them. This is similar to the phrasal verb 'take off', however while 'take off' is neutral, 'throw off' implies quick or thoughtless removal e.g. imagine you are at the beach and you are desperate to go swimming in the sea and so you throw your clothes off and jump straight in (I never do that as the water is always too cold for me to rush!). Example sentences.... Joe threw off his coat and sat down on the sofa. Natasha threw off her jacket as soon as she got inside. I threw off my shoes and jumped into bed. Martin threw off his wet clothes and grabbed a towel. The woman threw off her dressing gown and got into the shower. Another common area of life with which we use 'throw off' in this way is illness, particularly infectious diseases like coughs and colds that are not usually serious. If you throw off an illness, your body successfully fights it and you stop suffering from it. It is probably most common to hear this one being used when a person has a long-lasting illness that they are unable to 'throw off'. Example sentences.... I can't seem to throw this cold off. Kate has finally thrown off the flu and is feeling much better. It took Jim several weeks to throw the infection off completely. I've been trying to throw off this cough for days. Pippa rested for a few days and managed to throw off the virus. Tom returned to work after throwing off a nasty cold. Lastly, we can also just use this application of 'throw off' to describe becoming free of something that restrict or limits you or your life in some way. This could be something on a large scale like a government or dictator, or it could be something that affects your daily life such as people's high expectations of you or social conventions. You may also hear this being used in a slightly figurative sense with the word 'shackles' (a tool used to control slaves in the past - see the picture above). When we do this, the word 'shackles' is used metaphorically to mean 'restrictions'. Example sentences.... The country fought to throw off foreign rule. The rebels wanted to throw off the control of the government. The people eventually threw off their oppressors and gained their freedom. Abbie wanted to throw off the expectations that had shaped her life. The younger generation began to throw off traditional social conventions. The movement encouraged women to throw off the restrictions imposed on them by society. The country struggled to throw off the shackles of colonialism. Margaret was determined to throw off the shackles of tradition and live life on her own terms. MEANING 3: To evade someone who is following you Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To elude, to escape Separable? Yes I could really have included this third application of the phrasal verb 'throw off' in the previous one as it is very similar in meaning and is 'to evade someone who is following you'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Pursuer Person / Group Police To evade = To avoid or escape someone, often in a clever way. Apart from an unpleasant encounter that I had once with a very drunk man in France who decided for no reason that he didn't like me, I can say that I have been lucky in my life to have never had anyone following or chasing me in a serious way (I'll save the full story for another day 😉). One thing I will tell you now about that experience is that I was able to escape from the man after he started chasing me and so therefore I can say that "I threw him off". We can use this for anytime that a person or animal is being followed or chased and the target manages to evade the pursuer, however most commonly this is due to something clever or unexpected that the target does. It's the sort of thing that you see in Hollywood action and thriller movies all the time. On a grammatical note, this is a separable usage and can be used both ways, however don't forget that pronouns must always go between 'throw' and 'off'. Example sentences.... We took a different route to throw off anyone who might be following us. The thief ran through a crowded market to throw off the police. James Bond turned down several side streets in an attempt to throw off his pursuers. The spy changed trains twice to throw off the people following her. The suspect managed to throw off the police and disappear into the crowd. They deliberately took a longer route to throw off anyone who was following them. Alan thought he'd thrown off his pursuers, but they soon caught up with him. The fox suddenly changed direction to throw off the dogs chasing it. MEANING 4: To produce and release something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To give off, to give out, to emit, to produce Separable? Yes We are going to move away from the idea of being rid of something unwanted for our fourth application of the phrasal verb 'throw off', which is 'to produce and release something' . Nouns commonly used with this application: Light Sound Smell / Aroma / Scent / Stench / Odour Gas Smoke I need to state first of all that for this application, I am not referring to production in a business sense, but rather in the sense of producing and releasing something into the air that can be detected by the senses. This typically involves naturally occurring phenomena or machines to describe things like light, smells and sounds. For example, if you look into the sky on a clear night, you will see a huge number of stars all throwing off light into the universe. We also have our own star, the sun, which throws off enough heat and light to keep us alive. Some examples closer to home are that fires throw out smoke, flowers throw out scents and radiators throw out heat. The idea behind this is that the thing produced is created and then moves or spreads away from the source when we can then detect it. Example sentences.... The fire was throwing off a lot of heat. The candles threw off a soft, warm light. The engine throws off a considerable amount of heat when it's running. The burning wood threw off sparks into the night air. The chemical reaction threw off a small amount of gas. The factory chimneys were throwing off thick clouds of smoke. The old radiator throws off enough heat to warm the whole room. The flowers threw off a sweet scent that filled the garden. MEANING 5: To confuse Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To throw out Separable? Yes The fifth and final application of the phrasal verb 'throw off' that we will look at it is one that means 'to confuse'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Person Data Figures We can use this last application to talk about both people, data and numerical calculations. When we use it to talk about people, it is to refer to when someone is confused, slightly worried or unsettled because something happens that they were not expecting. As a result, the person is not able to think clearly or act or perform as well as they normally would for a short period of time until the feeling of being 'thrown off' subsides. This can often be just seconds. For example, an actor on stage in a theatre may be thrown off if something happens that was not supposed to and they may temporarily forget their lines. Alternatively, if the interviewer asks you a question in a job interview that were you not prepared for, it can throw you off you and block your concentration, affecting how you answer. Examples in context.... His unexpected question threw me off, and I didn't know how to respond. The sudden change of plan threw everyone off. Don't let one difficult question throw you off during the interview. My boss's strange reaction threw me off for a moment. The interruption completely threw Alex off, and he forgot what he was saying. I was doing well in the presentation until a question from the audience threw me off. The confusing instructions threw us off, so we ended up doing the task incorrectly. The early goal seemed to throw the team off, and they struggled for the rest of the match. When we apply the phrasal verb 'throw off' to data and numerical calculations, it is used to mean that something causes the data or the total of the calculation to be skewed or wrong. For instance, if you are trying to add lots of figures together and you accidentally add an extra 0 to one of the numbers that you are adding, it will throw the total off and it will be wrong. Alternatively, if you are taking measurements using a device that is faulty, the measurements may be inaccurate, therefore throwing off the data. Example sentences.... One unusually large value threw off the average. A small error in the original figures threw off all our calculations. The missing data could throw off the results. Including those figures would throw off the final total. One incorrect measurement threw off the entire calculation. The unusually warm winter has thrown off the annual figures. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'throw off' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'throw off' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'sort out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pixels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. The featured phrasal verb in this post is 'to sort out', which is a relatively informal phrasal with a number of different meanings and usages. Across these different meanings there is a general theme though, which will hopefully help to help you understand and make sense of them. So, without further ado, let's take a look at them.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'sort out' mean? The phrasal verb 'sort out' has five main meanings in English.... To arrange into categories To resolve a problem To organise or arrange something To provide something for someone To punish someone Keep reading to learn the different ways that each one is used. TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'sort' and 'out' Meaning 1: To arrange into categories Meaning 2: To resolve a problem Meaning 3: To organise or arrange something Meaning 4: To provide something for someone 🇬🇧 Meaning 5: To punish someone 🇬🇧 Bonus: The noun 'sort-out' Bonus: Typical example sentences of 'sort out' Bonus: Don't confuse 'sort out' with 'sought' out' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pixels THE BASICS SORT OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Sorted out / Sorted out Separable? Yes A great way to start our exploration of the phrasal verb 'sort out' is to consider the words 'sort' and 'out' and what they mean individually. Firstly, we have the base verb 'to sort', which can mean either 'to arrange something into categories' (think of a hat in a famous literary school for magicians) or to resolve a problem or difficulty. Photo: Pixels John sorted the playing cards into different suits. I need to sort all these old clothes before tomorrow. I have managed to sort the problem with the computer. How did you manage to sort that issue so quickly? Next, we have the prepositional particle 'out', which is a widespread and common word in English that can function as a preposition, adverb, adjective and even a verb! When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'out' can emphasise the ideas of movement to an external space (go out), exhaustion (run out), revelation (find out), removal (cut out), expansion (spread out) and exclusion (leave out), among other things. So, following that short introduction, let's take a look at the idiomatic usages of 'sort out' and how native speakers use it.... MEANING 1: To arrange into categories Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To sort, to arrange, to organise Separable? Yes As we have just seen in the previous section, one of the main meanings of the verb 'to sort' is to arrange something into categories or types and you'll be pleased to know that this first meaning of the phrasal verb 'sort out' means the exact same thing 😀. I sorted the playing cards out into different suits. John helped Helen sort out the clothes into colour groups. You will see from the examples above that it is perfectly fine to separate 'sort' and 'out' (like in the first example) with no difference in meaning. Moreover, don't forget that the preposition 'into' is also required to specify the end category or group. IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TO SORT OUT AND TO SORT? You may be wondering why native speakers add the extra word 'out' when 'to sort' alone means the same thing? While it is true that these two variations can be interchangeable with no difference in meaning, sometimes native speakers will add 'out' for extra emphasis. In other instances however, 'sort out' does have a different meaning to 'sort', which you should be aware of. In a situation where we want to separate or remove one type of item from the others, we would use 'sort out' rather than 'sort'. Photo: Pixels Imagine that you have some old clothes that you want to go through in order to decide which items you want to keep and which you want to throw away. In this instance you would say that you are sorting out the clothes that you no longer want. Using 'to sort' for this sounds incomplete as the particle 'out' adds the extra element or idea of separation. I need to sort out the clothes that I am taking on holiday with me. Lisa has finally sorted out which items she will donate to the charity shop. The librarian sorted out the returned books into their respective genres. Can you help me sort out the laundry into whites, colours, and delicates? We need to sort out these files into different folders based on the year. MEANING 2: To resolve a problem Photo: Pixels ​CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper intermediate ​Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To sort, to resolve Separable? Yes As I mentioned before, 'to sort' has two main meanings in English: the first is to arrange something and the second is to resolve a problem. Luckily for you English learners, the second meaning of 'to sort out' is also the same meaning as the second meaning of 'sort', i.e. to resolve a problem or issue. Nouns commonly used with this application: Mess Things Problem Issue IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'TO SORT OUT' AND 'TO SORT'? The short answer here is no. Both variations can be used interchangeably without any change in meaning, however like with the previous meaning, native speakers will often add the word 'out' for emphasis. From my own perspective, I think that 'sort out' is often used by native speakers when the problem or issue is a complicated or difficult one and we tend to use 'sort' more for issues that are easier or quicker to resolve. WHAT A MESS! We often use 'sort out' with the word 'mess', which can either mean an untidy physical space like a typical teenager's bedroom or a complex situation with lots or problems. We can therefore use 'sort out' to talk about tidying the messy, untidy space as well as to resolve a complicated issue. Photo: Pixels LOVE PROBLEMS! For the romantics among you, if native speakers want to talk about resolving problems in a relationship, we will often say that we need to 'sort things out'. From a formality perspective, I would say that this meaning of 'sort out' is very informal. We do use it in business English, however in more formal situations and on formal documentation it should be avoided and an alternative like 'to resolve' should be used instead. Did you manage to sort out the customer's problem? Helen, your bedroom is a terrible mess! Sort it out! John and Roger have sorted out their differences and they are now best friends again. Lisa and her husband are trying to sort things out. MEANING 3: To organise or arrange something Photo: Pixels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage ​Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To organise, to arrange Separable? Yes Our third meaning of 'sort out' is to organise or arrange something, such as an event or a party. The focus here is on doing what is necessary in order for the event to happen. Imagine that you are arranging a surprise birthday party for a family member and you need to book a DJ for the music, book a suitable venue for the party, organise the decoration of the venue and invite the guests. For all of these you could say that you need to sort them out.... We have managed to sort out a great venue for my daughter's party next week. I haven't sorted out a DJ or the decorations yet. I need to sort both of those out this weekend! This meaning is a definite variation of the previous idiomatic meaning of resolving a problem as here we are resolving the specific problem of something not yet being organised. MEANING 4: To provide something for someone Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced ​Usage Rare Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To obtain, to provide, to supply Separable? Yes In informal British English, it is also possible to use 'sort out' to mean to provide someone with something that they need. This is normally something that in not easy to obtain or could possibly even be something illegal. Since it is informal, I would not recommend using this in business English, where an alternative such as 'provide' or 'supply' would be much more appropriate. This is often followed by the preposition 'with' to talk about the item that is to be provided. I couldn't find any gym equipment anywhere but luckily my personal trainer was able to sort me out with some. The IT department were able to sort my manager out with a new printer. The mechanic sorted out a new car for my brother after he crashed his old one. MEANING 5: To punish someone Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To punish, to tell off, to admonish Separable? Yes The final meaning that we are looking at in this post is to 'sort someone out', meaning 'to punish someone' or 'to stop someone who is causing you a problem'. This is normally by using physical force but sometimes can be by shouting at them. I guess the ultimate aim of 'sorting out' in this sense is to make the person regret doing the wrong thing. Again, the underlying idea of this meaning is to resolve a problem but this time it is a problem that another person has caused or is causing you. This usage is also very informal and like with the previous meanings, it should be avoided when in formal situations or in business English. His parents will sort him out when he gets home. The coach promised to sort out any players who broke the rules during the game. Don’t worry about the bully; I’ll sort him out if he bothers you again. The gang leader sent his men to sort out anyone who didn’t pay their protection money. Photo: Pixels THE NOUN 'SORT-OUT' In British English it is also possible to use 'sort out' as a noun, in which case it is spelt sort-out, with a hyphen. We normally 'have a sort-out' when we are looking through our possessions in order to decide what to keep and what to throw away. It is an alternative way to say "to have a spring clean" if you are familiar with that expression. I have too much stuff in my bedroom. I really must have a sort-out! Photo: Pixels MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES WITH 'SORT OUT' If you can memorise some of the sentences below and use them in a conversation, it will help your English to come across as more natural: I need to sort out which [noun] I am taking on holiday with me. [Pronoun] is sorting out the issue. Do you think you can sort it out by [time] We are trying to sort things / it out. That cupboard is so full. It really needs sorting out. We've managed to sort out the problem. When I have a headache, paracetamol and fresh air really sort me out. Can you do this while I sort this customer out. I am going to have a sort-out at home this weekend. Photo: Pixels DON'T CONFUSE 'SORT OUT' WITH 'SOUGHT OUT' Before I finish the post, I just want to make you aware of one more thing. Make sure you that do not confuse 'sort out' with 'sought out', which is the past form of the phrasal verb 'to seek out'. The pronunciation of 'sought out' is exactly the same as 'sort out', so it is good to be aware that both of these exist. It is worth remembering that both past forms of sort out are sorted out, so if you do hear 'sought out' in a past context, you can be fairly sure it is the past of 'seek out'. Photo: Pixels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'sort out' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'sort out' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'deal with' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native. This post is all about the phrasal verb 'deal with', which is an intermediate level phrasal verb with a number of different meanings. There are some people who argue that 'deal with' is not a true phrasal verb, however it is commonly listed as one in English dictionaries and regardless of this, it is a very useful piece of vocabulary that will strengthen your English skills if you can use it correctly. In this post, I will therefore explain to you the different ways to use it and will give you lots of example sentences in context for each one. So. let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'deal with' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'deal with' mean? The phrasal verb 'deal with' has four main meanings in English.... To take action about something To interact with someone To do business To be the subject of something TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Deal With - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'deal' and 'with' Deal With - Meaning 1: To take action about something Deal With - Meaning 2: To interact with someone Deal With - Meaning 3: To do business Deal With - Meaning 4: To be the subject of something Photo: Pexels THE BASICS DEAL WITH: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Dealt with / Dealt with Separable? No The phrasal verb 'deal with' is formed by combining the verb 'to deal' with the particle 'with', so let's first of all consider what these two component words mean on their own as this can often give us some valuable information about the meanings of the phrasal verb.... Deal - The verb 'to deal' is a common verb that is used a lot in the world of business as it primarily means 'to trade business' or 'to handle a situation'. It is an irregular verb that has 'dealt' as both of its past tense forms. Typically, it is usually followed by the word 'with' when stating an object e.g. business or situation and there are some people who argue that because of this, 'deal with' is not a true phrasal verb, however as mentioned earlier it is classed as a phrasal verb by most learner dictionaries. With - The prepositional particle 'with' is one that you will all know, however you may be surprised to see it in a phrasal verb as it is used in relatively few of them. When used in phrasal verbs 'with' generally adds ideas of involvement, connection and accompaniment. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'deal with'.... MEANING 1: To take action about something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take action, to sort out Separable? No The first application of the phrasal verb 'deal with' that we will look at is the most common one and therefore the one that you are most likely to hear being used by native speakers, which is 'to take action about something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Problem Issue Task Situation Most commonly, this application of 'deal with' is used to refer to a problem, issue or task that needs to be resolved. If you deal with it, then you take some action to do it or resolve it. For example, if you receive a complaint email at work, you may need to pass it to your boss who can deal with it and take the necessary action to make the situation better. In that situation you would then say that "your boss is dealing with it". Alternatively, if your kitchen tap starts leaking, you might deal with it by trying to fix it (or like me, you would call in a professional to deal with it for you). Of course, we don't only use 'deal with' in this way to talk about a problem and we can also simply use it to describe a task or job that needs to be done. We need to deal with this problem before it gets any worse. I'll deal with the paperwork after lunch. The council is struggling to deal with the growing amount of waste. Alice spent the morning dealing with a mountain of emails. We still have a few technical issues to deal with. The government must deal with the housing shortage. I'll deal with the bills this evening. Scientists are working to deal with the effects of climate change. The company has dealt with the software bug and it is running smoothly again now. The situation is being dealt with by the authorities and we will release more information when we can. In addition to dealing with issues and tasks that must be addressed, we also use it to talk about situations that cause us psychological or emotional stress or problems. Typically, this is used for things that are likely to cause people to lose control of their emotions or even go a little bit crazy and includes things like hearing bad news about an illness or a death, pressure at work and receiving criticism. Emma dealt with the bad news remarkably well. I don't know how my boss deals with so much pressure every day. John struggled to deal with the stress of his new job. Madeleine has learned to deal with criticism without taking it personally. Losing his father was difficult, but Alex eventually found a way to deal with his grief. The team dealt with the disappointment of defeat and came back stronger the following season. Staying with this idea, people often use the structure 'can't deal with' in spoken English to talk about something that they are mentally or emotionally not able or willing to withstand. It may be something that you hate so much that you cannot tolerate it or it may be something that distresses you to the point that you can't stay in control of your emotions, meaning that you actively avoid it. I can't deal with this heat anymore. Rebecca can't deal with crowds or loud noises, so she usually prefers to stay at home. Anne can't deal with people who are always late. I simply can't deal with all the negativity on social media. I've got a hangover and I can't deal with my parents shouting at me right now. MEANING 2: To interact with someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To interact Separable? No For our next application of the phrasal verb 'deal with', we are focussing specifically on people as this one means 'to interact with someone.' Nouns commonly used with this application.... Customer Client People At its most general level, this application of 'deal with' is used to talk about how a person interacts with people in general in their lives, rather than specific individuals. This is often in reference to how fairly a person treats the people in their lives. You should note however that it is rarely used in such a broad, generic way and instead is mainly used to talk about communicating with and handling people in a business, commercial or professional context. When used this way, it can be to refer to people in general or specific groups of people like customers, students or colleagues, especially if they are difficult to handle in some way. I would say that most of the time when this application of 'deal with' is used in reference to customers and clients, it is in a positive sense and it is typically found in collocation with adverbs like professionally, directly and calmly. Maria deals with customers every day. I usually deal with new clients during their first meeting. Who will deal with the suppliers while you're away? The headteacher usually deals with parents rather than students. The lawyer dealt directly with the witnesses. Wendy's very good at dealing with children. My job involves dealing with people from all over the world. The police dealt with the protesters calmly and professionally. Abigail is excellent at dealing with complaints. MEANING 3: To do business Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To trade, to do business with Separable? No We are going to stay in the world of professional and business English for our third application of the phrasal verb 'deal with' as this one means 'to do business with someone'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Company Business Trader Supplier Manufacturer Firstly, let me clarify what I mean by 'do business with someone', which is to buy goods or a service from a company / person and have a commercial relationship with them. Note that we do not say "make business with someone". I am sure that many of you will know what is meant by a business deal. If not, then this is when two or more people or companies reach an agreement or consensus to trade goods or services in exchange for money. If we then transfer this noun into a verb to describe this action, we arrive at the verb 'to deal' and then we simply need to add the prepositional particle 'with' in order to specify the other person or company involved in the transaction, giving us the a literal meaning of the two words combined. So, to sum up this application, if a person or company deals with another, they do business and have a commercial relationship with them. The focus on this one is purely on commercial relationships and not on interacting with people (unless the business is a sole trader). We deal with suppliers from all over Europe. The company deals directly with manufacturers. We only deal with trusted partners. Our business deals with clients in more than 30 countries. They no longer deal with that supplier because of quality issues. This bank deals with both personal and business customers. The firm deals mainly with small and medium-sized businesses. We have been dealing with most of our major suppliers for more than 10 years. MEANING 4: To be the subject of something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be concerned with Separable? No We are now onto our fourth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'deal with', which is perhaps the one that is the least well known and means 'to be the subject of something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Book Movie / Film Speech Essay Thesis / Paper Documentary As you will note from the list of commonly used nouns above, this application is used with things that people create in order to entertain, inform or educate other people. We use 'deal with' here to specify what the subject of something is. For example, a university history professor may give a speech that deals with the American civil war or a famous person's auto-biography would deal with the story of a person's life up until the point of publication. Most of the time, particularly in informal everyday conversations, native speakers would use 'be about' rather than 'deal with'. We tend to use 'deal with' in more formal or culturally elevated situations as it often implies that the medium (book, movie etc) examines the subject in a lot of depth or from an intellectual or educated perspective. The book deals with the history of the Roman Empire. This documentary deals with the effects of climate change. Her latest novel deals with the themes of love and forgiveness. The report deals with the causes of the recent economic slowdown. This chapter deals with English phrasal verbs. The article deals with the challenges of working from home. The film deals with life during the Second World War. His speech dealt with the importance of international cooperation. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'deal with' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'deal with' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'tell 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. This post is all about the common English phrasal verb 'tell off', which is one that is often reserved exclusively for naughty children (and adults). In the article, I will explain to you how to use it in a natural way, with lots of example sentences in context. In addition, we will also look at the noun that is derived from it so that by the end of the post, you will be an expert in the subject of 'telling off'. So, let's make a start and see the phrasal verb 'tell off' is all about... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'tell off' mean? To shout at someone for doing something wrong Keep reading to learn how to use it..... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Tell Off - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'tell' and 'off' Tell Off - Meaning 1: To shout at someone for doing something wrong Tell Off - Bonus: The noun 'telling-off' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TELL OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 1 Past tense forms Told off / Told off Separable? Yes So what do we know about the phrasal verb 'tell off' already? We know that it is formed from the verb 'to tell' and the particle 'off', so as a first step in our exploration of this phrasal verb, let's consider these two individual words.... Tell - 'To tell' is a common irregular verb in English, whose main meaning is 'to give someone information' and when used this way it functions as a synonym of the verb 'to say'. Despite having a very similar meaning, the difference between 'to say' and 'to tell' is a source of confusion for many English learners. There are several differences in usage between but perhaps the most important one to remember is that with the verb 'to tell', we usually need to specify the person who receives the information and we do not need the preposition 'to'..... Can you tell your father that his breakfast is ready. James told his partner about what happened last night. Don't tell me what happens; I don't want to know! My boss told me a lie. Kath told her friends to "go away". The prepositional particle 'off' appears a lot in phrasal verbs and can add a variety of different meanings to them, which can often recur across different phrasal verbs. These include the ideas of separation (break off), departure (set off), stopping (turn off), completion (finish off) and delay (put off), among others. Interestingly, the 'off' in 'tell off' is not easily recognisable as one of these, so let's continue and see if you can work out why it is used in this phrasal verb.... MEANING 1: To shout at someone for doing something wrong Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere but common in British English Potential synonyms To scold, to reprimand, to admonish Separable? Yes Unlike many other common phrasal verbs, the phrasal verb 'tell off' only has one main meaning (hooray I hear you shouting!) and that is 'to shout at someone for doing something wrong'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Child Son / Daughter Employee Pupil / Student As you have probably guessed, we use the phrasal verb 'tell off' to describe anytime when a person (or animal) breaks a rule, behaves badly or does something that they are not supposed to do and another person shouts angrily at them as a result. It is almost always used in situations where the angry person who shouts is in a position of authority over the other one e.g. a parent, teacher or boss. As a result, the phrasal verb 'tell off' is most commonly used in reference to naughty children. In fact, I can remember many times as a child when my parents told me off and I am sure you probably can remember your own experiences too! My boss always tells me off when I'm late. Natalie tells her children off when they argue. Teachers shouldn't tell students off in front of the whole class. The teacher told us off for talking during the lesson. Mum told me off because I forgot to lock the front door. If he does it again, I'm going to tell him off. We commonly use the phrasal verb 'tell off' in the passive voice with the verbs 'to be' and 'to get', with 'get told off' being more common than 'be told off'. This is usually in situations in which the speaker wants to stress the fact that they were in trouble for something and when the angry person is secondary or less relevant information. I always get told off for leaving my shoes by the front door. He gets told off whenever he forgets to do his homework. She's getting told off by her mum for staying out so late. I walked in just as the children were getting told off. She's going to get told off when her parents find out. Arthur always gets told off for stealing food from the kitchen. I could hear someone being told off in the next room. Do you remember when we were told off by your parents for hiding the keys? Children are often told off for interrupting adults. We were told off for talking during the film. You should note that while there are other normal verbs that are synonyms of 'tell off', like 'reprimand' and 'scold', 'tell off' is used more much more commonly in British English as well as Australian & NZ English than its one-word synonyms. In North American English however, 'tell off' isn't used quite as frequently and there is more of a balance between how often the verbs are used. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT! Can you remember a time when you get told off as a child? What did you do and was it justified? Let me know in the comments or send me a message if you're feeling shy! Photo: Pexels BONUS: THE NOUN 'TELLING-OFF' As with many common phrasal verbs, 'tell off' has its very own noun that has been derived from it: 'telling-off'. The noun 'tell-off' is the word to describe the action of when one person shouts angrily at another and is more typical in British English. Furthermore, there are also soe specific verbs that are commonly used with this noun.... get a telling-off receive a telling-off have a telling-off give a telling-off need a telling-off deserve a telling-off be in for a telling-off Strangely, native speakers often add the adjective 'good' before the noun (a good telling-off), not because the action itself is good in the normal sense, but rather to add emphasis or stress. I got a telling-off from my teacher for talking during the lesson. He received a telling-off after arriving late for the third time that week. You're going to get a telling-off if Mum finds out. The mistake earned him a severe telling-off from the headteacher. That young boy needs a good telling-off! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'tell off' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'tell off' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'give 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. This post is all about 'give away', which is a common English phrasal verb that can be used to talk about a wide range of subjects including football matches, competitions, secrets and weddings. In the post, I will explain 5 different ways to use it in English and for each of these, I will provide you with lots of example sentences to show you how and when to use them. In addition, I will give you an expression and a noun featuring 'throw away' that you can also use to impress your friends and colleagues. So, let's make a start and find out what the phrasal verb 'give away' is all about.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'give away' mean? The phrasal verb 'give away' has five main meanings in English.... To give something for free To reveal something secret To formally present a bride for marriage To cause a game or competition to be lost To be mismatched in weight, height or time Keep reading to learn how to use each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Give Away - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'give' and 'away' Give Away - Meaning 1: To give something for free Give Away - Meaning 2: To reveal something secret Give Away - Bonus: The idiom 'to give the game away' Give Away - Meaning 3: To formally present a bride for marriage Give Away - Meaning 4: To cause a game or competition to be lost Give Away - Meaning 5: To be mismatched in weight, height or time Give Away - Bonus: The noun 'giveaway' 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 GIVE AWAY: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Gave away / Given away Separable? Yes I know that you are here to learn about the phrasal verb 'give away', but the first step that we need to take in this process is to look at the individual words 'give' and 'away' and what they mean on their own.... Give - 'To give' is an irregular and frequently used verb in English with a range of different meanings. Its main meaning ,and the one that you are likely to know, is 'to transfer the possession or ownership of something from one person to another for free'. In addition to this, we can also use the verb 'to give' to mean 'to pay money', 'to make or produce a noise', 'to perform an action' and 'to break, bend or change shape under pressure' among others. I am giving my son a cellphone for his birthday. How much money would you give me to clean your house? The little girl gave a squeal when she saw a spider on the wall. The politician plans to give a speech in parliament about this. My new shoes finally gave after I had worn them for a while. Away - The prepositional particle 'away' is a common word in English but is not one that we see very often in phrasal verbs. We tend to use 'away' as an adverb to talk about moving from one point to another that is more distant and as an adjective it's main meaning is probably 'in a different place'. When it appears in phrasal verbs 'away' can add the idea of a movement away from a place to the main verb (walk away, go away), as well as ideas like disappearance (wash away), gradual reduction (fade away) and continuous or repeated actions (chat away). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'give away'.... MEANING 1: To give something for free Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To donate Separable? Yes The first application of the phrasal verb 'give away' that we will look at is the most common one and therefore the one that you are most likely to have come across before, which is 'to give something for free'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Clothes Furniture Prize Money Land To put this one another way, if you give something away, you give or donate something to another person without asking for payment or for anything in return. This is often used when the person giving the item away does not want or need it anymore. For example, if you have a baby, there will be lots of things that you need for it that you will no longer need as the baby grows into a child. Therefore, many people give these baby things away to friends or relatives. You should note that we don't use this for giving birthday or Christmas presents as it is used more for things that we already own, while we buy new things for gifts. I decided to give away my old clothes because they no longer fit me. Valerie gave most of her books away before moving to a smaller apartment. We gave away all the children's toys after they grew out of them. Mike gave away his old bicycle to a neighbour's son. They decided to give their furniture away, rather than paying to move it to their new house. I usually give magazines away after I’ve finished reading them. Emma gave away her old laptop when she bought a new one. I've just given several bags of clothes away to a local charity shop. Somewhere else that you are likely to hear 'give away' being used is in reference to competitions when companies and businesses offer prizes to people who enter them as part of a marketing or promotional strategy. When they do this, they often say that they are 'giving away' whatever prize is on offer. In fact, one of the meanings of the noun 'giveaway' means 'competition' and is often used as a synonym for it - more about this later! Our local radio station is giving away concert tickets this week. The company is giving away a free holiday to Mexico to one lucky winner. We’re giving away five smartphones in our latest competition. The website is giving away gift cards to celebrate its anniversary. More rarely, in addition to small everyday items and prizes in competitions, 'give away' can also be used for when countries hand control of an island, piece or land or area to another country or owner. The President has recently criticised his ally for agreeing to give away the islands. Lastly, we can also use 'give away' to talk about when something is sold very cheaply or much cheaper than it should be sold for. It is like saying that the price for the items is so low that it is almost like you are giving it to someone for free. This usage may often be preceded by the adverbs 'virtually', practically' or 'almost'..... They gave the house away for far less than it was worth. Vernon practically gave his car away because he needed the money quickly. Beth felt she had virtually given the painting away when she later discovered its real value. MEANING 2: To reveal something secret Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To let out, to tell, to disclose, to divulge Separable? Yes Next up, we have our second meaning of the phrasal verb 'give away', which is one that is all about secrecy and trust and means 'to reveal something secret'.... Nouns commonly used with this application.... Secret Information Feeling Nature / Identity When we think about secrets and things that are secret, the main focus is on the idea that something is known by only a small group of people and others are not supposed to know it. This may be something verbal that you tell someone or it may be an action, a feeling or the true nature of something that a person wants to hide from other people. We can use this application of 'give away' to talk about all of these. Firstly, we can use it to talk about revealing confidential information that someone else wants to keep secret and making it known to others. This isn't limited to secrets exchanged between people; it may also be something that we would prefer others not to know at that moment, so that they can discover it for themselves later e.g. the ending of a movie or the answer to a question that they need to solve. Note that we use 'give away' often when this hidden information is revealed accidentally or unintentionally. John accidentally gave away the surprise party during dinner. Please try not to give the ending of the film away again; I don't want to know what happens! Kelly gave away our plans without realising it was supposed to be confidential. The report gave away details of the company’s future strategy. Someone in the team gave the secret away before the official announcement. I won’t give away the answer; you need to work it out yourself. The interviewer almost gave away the winner before the final results were announced. The newspaper article gave information away that the government wanted to keep private. In addition to this, we can also use 'give away' with non-verbal information such as feelings and thoughts. This is often done by facial expressions and behaviour. For example, if someone is not happy about something but does not want to admit it verbally, their facial expressions or body language may give away their unhappiness instead. Likewise, if someone is lying about something that they have done, their behaviour or any evidence that they have left behind may give away the fact that they are not being truthful. Once again, 'give away' is typically used here when the non-verbal information is revealed unintentionally. You should note that when we use it in this way, we say that something "gives the person away", with a direct pronoun being used for the person (him, her, them etc). The fraudster's nervous smile gave him away immediately. The way that Michelle avoided eye contact gave away the fact that she was lying. Rebecca's sudden hesitation gave away her uncertainty. Graham's reaction gave away how upset he really was. Her expression gave away the surprise before she said anything. The small mistake in the document gave away that it was fake. Lastly, we can also use this for when something non-verbal reveals information that was previously unknown even if it wasn't intentionally hidden or kept secret e.g. someone's accent may give away where they come from or someone's clothing may give away what job they do. Martin's strong Liverpool accent gave away where he was from. The mud on Benjamin's shoes gave away that he had been outside. The smell of smoke gave away that something had burned. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to give the game away' Before we finish this second application of 'give away', there is a common expression that I want to make you aware of that includes it: 'to give the game away'. This nice little idiom simply mean 'to unintentionally reveal secret or hidden information' and is commonly used in reference to surprise plans, lies, deception and hidden strategies. Oswald almost gave the game away by mentioning the surprise party in front of her. Ed was trying to act confident, but his shaking hands gave the game away. His nervous laugh gave the game away, and everyone realised he was lying. MEANING 3: To formally present a bride for marriage Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To present, to escort, to walk down the aisle Separable? Yes Do you enjoy weddings? Have you been to many in your life? If you have ever been to an English-language wedding, then you are likely to have heard this third application of the phrasal verb 'give away', which means 'to formally present a bride for marriage'. In many English-speaking countries, there is a tradition in wedding ceremonies that the bride enters the church, along with her father, who walks with her up the aisle (to the front of the church), where the groom is waiting for her. This action is viewed as symbolic of the father formally presenting his daughter to the groom and giving his permission for her to marry him. This procedure is known as 'giving away', with the idea that the father gives the bride away. Of course, in the modern world, marriage has become a lot more diverse in nature and not all marriages follow this tradition anymore. It is still widely practised though. Moreover, if the bride's father has died or does not have a good relationship with her, it is possible for another person to give her away in place of her father. Lucy's father gave her away at the wedding ceremony. Naomi asked her older brother to give her away on her wedding day. When Tina's father passed away, her mother gave her away at the ceremony. Alan's daughter asked him if he would give her away at the wedding. Mandy's grandfather proudly gave her away as she walked down the aisle. Both of Amy's parents gave her away together. MEANING 4: To cause a game or competition to be lost Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere? Potential synonyms To hand over, to cause to lose Separable? Yes For the final two applications of the phrasal verb 'give away', we are going to focus on sport and competitions and therefore this next one is 'to cause a game or a competition to be lost'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Game Match Lead Points Earlier in the post, I talked about the idiomatic expression 'to give the game away', meaning to reveal secret information, however we now have a second usage of this phrase as it actually also means to lose a game or competition because of a mistake or error that a competitor or player makes. This is a very common usage in team sports, especially football (soccer). It is mainly used when a team has a winning advantage or is in a position when they could win and then somebody makes an error or plays very badly, enabling the opposing team to steal the advantage and win the game. At it's core, this usage means that the team would have won if it were not for the poor play, which handed the victory to the opponents. It is understandably something that causes a lot of annoyance among fellow team members and fans. The team gave the game away with two late defensive errors. They gave away the match in the final minutes. A careless penalty gave the game away to the opposition. We were winning comfortably, but a series of mistakes gave it away. The goalkeeper’s error gave the match away. They dominated most of the game but gave it away in the last five minutes. One poor decision gave the championship away. The team gave away a two-goal lead and lost 3–2. MEANING 5: To be mismatched in weight, height or time Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To concede Separable? Yes Our fifth and final usage of the phrasal verb 'give away' is a rarer one that is also used in sports and means ''to be mismatched in weight, height or time'. When two competitors or teams face each other in a competition, they are usually quite evenly matched in terms of ability and size, e.g. boxers normally fight other boxers who are in the same weight category as them and football teams typically play other teams who are in the same league. There are times however when this is not the case and there is a mismatch in terms of ability, size or strength. When this happens the bigger or better competitor has a clear advantage over the other and to describe this, we say that the smaller or less able competitor gives away something to the other one. Note that when forming this usage, we are always talking from the perspective of the disadvantaged competitor and we follow the structure below: to give away + amount + noun + to + the competitor with the advantage. For example, if one boxer in a match is 20cm shorter than his opponent, we can say that he gives away 20cm to his opponent. Likewise, if a runner has a head start of 5 seconds over another runner in a race, we can say that the runner who starts second gives away 5 seconds to the first runner. The boxer gave away nearly ten kilos to his opponent. Harry was much shorter and gave away several inches in height. The younger player gave away five years of experience. Despite giving away a lot of weight, the wrestler still won the match. She gave away three inches in height but played much more aggressively. The horse gave away several kilograms to the others in the race. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The noun 'giveaway' As with many phrasal verbs, 'give away' also has a noun that is derived from it: 'giveaway'. You may remember from earlier in the post that I mentioned that one meaning of the noun 'giveaway' is a competition in which a company runs a marketing campaign where someone can win a prize and this is one that you is fairly common, especially online where most of these 'giveaways' are found.... The company is running a giveaway where you can win a free holiday. I entered an online giveaway for a new smartphone. The YouTuber announced a giveaway to celebrate reaching one million subscribers. One other separate meaning of the noun 'giveaway' links back to the second application that we looked at (to reveal something secret) and we can use the noun here to mean a clue, sign or detail which reveals the secret or previously unknown information. It is quite common to add the word 'dead' before the word 'giveaway' when the sign or clue is very obvious.... His strong accent was a clear giveaway that Richard wasn’t from the area. The nervous look on Shakira's face was a giveaway that something was wrong. The spelling mistakes in the email were a dead giveaway that it was a scam. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'go away' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'go away' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'go over' 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. 'Go over' is a common phrasal verb in the English language with a range of different meanings, including to cross something from one side to the other, to exceed a limit and to describe how something is perceived by an audience. Read on to find out all of its different meanings, as well some idiomatic expressions that it can be found in.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'go over' mean? The phrasal verb 'go over' has six main meanings in English.... To move across from one place to another To change allegiance To examine or check something carefully To revise or rehearse something To be received or perceived by people To exceed a limit Keep reading to learn how to use each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Go Over - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'go' and 'over' Go Over - Meaning 1: To move across from one place to another Go Over - Meaning 2: To change allegiance Go Over - Meaning 3: To examine or check something carefully Go Over - Bonus: The idiom 'to go over something with a fine-tooth comb' Go Over - Meaning 4: To revise or rehearse something Go Over - Meaning 5: To be received or perceived by people Go Over - Meaning 6: To exceed a limit Go Over - Bonus: The idiom 'to go over someone someone's head' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GO OVER: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Went Over / Gone Over Separable? No Before we start looking at the meanings of the phrasal verb 'go over', let's firstly have a look at the words 'go' and 'over' and their individual meanings. The verb 'to go' is one of the most common verbs in the English language and is all about movement, specifically from one place to another. In addition to this main meaning, it can also be used to mean 'to leave' and 'to become' and is commonly used to form the 'going to' future tense construction, e.g. "I am going to watch this movie tonight". The prepositional particle 'over' is an interesting one as it has several distinct meanings, depending on what word class it is used as. As a preposition it tends to mean 'above' or 'in a higher position than', as an adverb it is first and foremost used to mean 'across' or 'movement across' and as an adjective it means 'finished' or 'ended'. Moreover, in American English 'over' can also be used as an adverb to mean 'repeatedly' or 'again'. So now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the various meanings of 'go over'.... MEANING 1: To move across from one place to another Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come over, to go across, to head over, to pass over This first meaning of 'go over' is a literal meaning of the verb 'to go' and the adverb 'over' combined, meaning 'to move across from one place to another'. Broadly speaking, there are two main ways that this literal form of 'go over' is used.... The first is simply moving from a start point and across something to arrive at the desired end point. The list of things that could be crossed is extensive but typically includes roads, fields, bridges and rivers. We do also use 'go over' to talk about when we go to a different country, especially when a sea or an ocean lies between the countries and this is typical when talking about travel from the UK or Europe to the USA or vice versa. The second way that 'go over' can be used literally is with the idea of moving past something by going above it, thus incorporating the prepositional meaning of 'above' that 'over' possesses. For this second variation, typical examples could be when a person goes over a hill or when something moves through the air and it goes over something such as an airplane, a superhero or something that has been thrown. In order to go over the bridge by foot, you must pay a small fee of $2. John went over the field to get his horse from the other side. Steven has gone over to the USA to study at Yale for a year. I miss him terribly! We went over the English Channel when we were going to France on the airplane. Sarah is no longer allowed to play football with her brothers as every time she kicks the ball, it goes over the fence. MEANING 2: To change allegiance Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come over, to switch For the second meaning of 'go over', we are going to continue with the theme of an across movement from a start point to an end point, however this time the movement is abstract rather than physical, as it means to change allegiances from one side to another. For those of you who are unsure of the word 'allegiance', it means 'loyalty or support given to a particular cause, person, group of people or belief' and this could be used with political parties, sides of an argument or debate or even a sports team. When a person decides, for whatever reason, to change side or allegiance, we can say that they 'go over' to the other side. This is a similar usage to the phrasal verb 'come over' (link here), however with 'go over' the perspective is from the starting point where the person leaves and with 'come over' the perspective is from the end point. John left the Left Party a long time ago and went over to the Green Party, despite them being much less popular. Louise was offered a large amount of money to go over to their rival basketball team, however her allegiance to her home team was too strong and she turned it down. MEANING 3: To examine or check something carefully Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To examine, to check, to go through The next meaning of 'go over' is 'to examine or to check something carefully', normally a document, essay or some kind of written work. Typically, you would use 'go over' in this sense when you have created a document or completed a form and you want somebody else to check it for you, to ensure that there are no mistakes and that everything is correct and suitable. This usage of 'go over' comes from the idea of moving your eyes across a document from above and thus includes the idea of movement from 'to go' and 'across and above' from 'over'. I've finished the report and I've asked my boss to go over it before I submit it to the customer. I can't believe that I did not see that spelling mistake on the website. I went over it four or five times before I published it! IDIOM ALERT - To go over something with a fine-tooth climb Photo: Pexels This particular usage of 'go over' where we check a form of written work or document has given rise to a common idiom that is used in everyday English: 'to go over something with a fine-tooth comb'. This idiom is used to mean that you will search for something or examine something as thoroughly and carefully as possible. A variation of this idiom that may also hear is 'to go through something with a fine-tooth comb'. The board has been over the plans with a fine-tooth comb and has decided to give the project the green light. When I lost my gold bracelet, we went over the house with a fine-tooth comb but we weren't able to find it anywhere. It turned out that it was in the car! MEANING 4: To revise or rehearse something Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate ​Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To revise, to repeat, to practise, to rehearse Our fourth meaning of 'go over' is primarily to do with the idea of repetition and is used to mean 'to revise' or to 'rehearse'. Once again, this application takes the idea of movement from 'go' and combines it with the idea of repetition from the adverbial usage of 'over'. This usage is actually quite similar to the one that we just looked at in the last section, as it also involves looking at something. This time, however, we are not looking at it to make sure that it is correct, but rather we are looking at it again, either to revise something and learn it, such as before an exam, or to practise or rehearse something, like when you are preparing for a performance or speech. This could also be used with the idea of discussing something for another or a second time, especially if the subject in question is one of disagreement or contention. Let's go over our lines one more time before the performance. I want to make sure that I know them perfectly! He's gone over the practice questions so many times, I don't think it will be possible for him to fail! Oh not this subject again! We've gone over this so many times and I do not want to discuss it anymore. MEANING 5: To be received or perceived by people Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come across, to come over The fifth meaning of 'go over' mean 'to be received' or 'perceived' by an audience and is used specifically to talk about performances, demonstrations, speeches and multimedia - in other words for anything which has an audience. When we talk about how something 'goes over', we are specifically talking about how it is perceived by an audience and accordingly this will be followed with a adverb such as well or badly. If we want to specify the audience who are perceiving or receiving the performance, we need the additional preposition 'with'. This application is very similar in meaning and usage to the phrasal verbs 'come across' (link here) and 'come over' (link here). The singer's comeback performance went over really well with the audience and her singles and albums streams and downloads have increased dramatically as a consequence. The minister's speech last night did not go over well. MEANING 6: To exceed a limit Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To run over, to exceed Last but not least, we have our sixth and final meaning of 'go over', which is to exceed a set or expected limit. For this usage, we are again taking the idea of movement from the verb 'to go' and combining it with the prepositional meaning of 'over' to mean 'more than'. The idea here is that something moves past a limit or deadline and this can be applied to time and speed limits and also physical capacities. It is very common to use 'go over' in the business world to talk about meetings and engagements that continue on after the intended finishing time. Alternatively, if you go over the speed limit in your car, your speed exceeds the highest permissible speed on that particular road and if you spend more than the agreed amount on your credit card, you go over your limit. The meeting was scheduled to finish at 2pm, however it went over and it did not finish until nearly 4pm. Lisa lost her driving license last year as she went over the speed limit multiple times. Photo: Pexels BONUS: Idiom 'To go over someone's head' Before I finish this post, there are two more idioms with 'go over' that I want to tell you about and these are very interesting as they are actually the same idiom, just with two separate meanings. The idiomatic expression in question is 'to go over someone's head'. The first meaning of 'to go over someone's head' is frequently used in the business world and means 'to ask permission or to obtain authority from someone who is higher up in the organisational hierarchy than the person you would normally ask'. In other words, instead of asking for permission from your boss, you ask permission from your boss' boss. I needed emergency authorisation to take time off for a family emergency and I knew my boss wouldn't allow me to have the time off, so I went over her head and asked the MD instead. The second meaning of 'to go over someone's head' is used to describe when someone does not understand something because it is too complicated for them or they lack the requisite basic knowledge to comprehend it. Typical examples of when this can be used would be when someone tries to explain something technical to someone without any technical knowledge and when someone from another country does not know a cultural reference from the country that they are in and therefore does not grasp the intended meaning. I told John a joke about social media and he didn't laugh or find it funny. It went over his head because he doesn't use social media and didn't understand the reference. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'go over' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'go over' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get along' 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 instalment of Phrasal Verbs Explained is all about the lesser known phrasal verb 'get along'. As you will learn, 'get along' is a close cousin of the more famous phrasal verb 'get on' as it shares many similarities with it, however it also has its own meanings and uses and I will explain all of these to you over the course of the article. Furthermore, I will provide you with lots of example sentences in context to show how each application is used. So, without further ado, let's make a start and see what you can discover about the phrasal verb 'get along' today.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'get along' mean? The phrasal verb 'get along' has three main meanings in English.... To leave or move from where you are To have a good relationship with someone To manage in a satisfactory way Keep reading to learn how to use each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Get Along - The Basics: Key information & the individual words 'get' and 'along' Get Along - Meaning 1: To leave or move from where you are Get Along - Meaning 2: To have a good relationship with someone Get Along - Bonus: Get along vs get on - what is the difference? Get Along - Meaning 3: To manage in a satisfactory way Get Along - Bonus: The idiom 'to get along on a shoestring' I love writing this blog & helping learners but I receive very little feedback as to how useful it is or if people enjoy & learn from it. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like & share it or leave a comment at the end. I'd be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GET ALONG: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Got along / Got along (UK) / Gotten along (US) Separable? No Before we begin our exploration of the phrasal verb 'get along', we should first spend a little bit of time looking at the words 'get' and 'along' as this can often provide us with some useful background information to help with our understanding of the phrasal verb meanings. To get - This verb will need no introduction as it is one of the most commonly used verbs in the English language and is perhaps the most confusing for English learners as its meanings are so numerous and diverse. The meanings of 'to get' include 'to receive', 'to understand', 'to become' and 'to arrive' to name just a few. To confuse things even more, it is irregular and even has two accepted past participle forms with 'got' being more common in British English and 'gotten' being more common in American English. What did you get for your birthday? I don't get the joke; why is it funny? You will get cold if you don't put some warm clothes on. When do you think you will get here? Along - 'Along' is a rarer prepositional particle that we do not see appearing in phrasal verbs very often. As a word, it tends mainly to be used to refer to a movement either in a line or from one end of something to the other. When used in phrasal verbs, 'along' can add this idea of movement in a direction to the base verb (go along), as well as ideas like progress (come along) and accompaniment (bring along). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'get along'.... MEANING 1: To leave or move from where you are Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere but more common in American English Potential synonyms To leave, to go, to move, to move along, to head off, to depart Separable? No As I mentioned in the Basics section, the prepositional particle 'along' is often used to refer to a movement of some sort and this is precisely what it means in this first application of 'go ahead', which is 'to leave or move from where you are'. Typically, this application is used to talk about when you are in a specific place and you need to move from there to go somewhere else. This is often when there is an element of urgency or hurrying involved. This usage sounds a little old-fashioned in modern English and is not as common as it used to be, however you can still here it in use in some parts of the UK and in the southern USA. I would say that you hear it most frequently in the expression "I / We had better be getting along", which is used by speakers to mean that it is time for them to leave. Look at the time! I'd better be getting along if I want to miss the rush hour traffic! We'd better be getting along as we have to be up early tomorrow. Furthermore, 'get along!' can also be used in an imperative way, that is to give someone a command, order or instruction. I seem to remember if a teacher ever caught us in the corridor at school when we were late for a lesson, he or she would tell us to "get along to class", meaning to go there quickly, without delay. It is also still possible to hear the construction "get along with you!" to mean the same thing, but is also a little rare these days. Get along, now! You’ve got lots of work to do. Get along home before it starts to get dark. What are you doing loitering in the corridor? Get along to class! You may have noticed in the information table above that I stated that this application cannot be used in a separable way and while this is generally true, there is one way that we can use it separably. When being used in its imperative form, it is quite common for speakers to insert the reflexive 'self' pronoun between 'get' and 'along'. This doesn't actually change the meaning in any way but I think it can just soften the tone of what you're saying, especially if it is a recommendation and not an order. Get yourself along to the town hall today as there will be a charity event taking place there. Get yourselves along to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of my new novel. MEANING 2: To have a good relationship with someone Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere but more common in American English Potential synonyms To get on Separable? No We'll now move on from the rarest of the three meanings of 'get along' to the most commonly used one, which is 'to have a good relationship with someone'. For this application, we also need the additional preposition 'with'. If you get along with someone, it means that you like each other and you have a friendly and amicable relationship. Typically, you enjoy spending time with that person and do not argue or fight with them. We can also use this in the negative to describe when two people do not have a good or friendly relationship. As I mentioned above, we need the extra word 'with' if we want to specify the person with whom the good relationship exists. However, you should note that it is fine to use "two people get along" when we already know who the people are and therefore do not need to specify their names. On a grammatical note, I would say that this application tends to be used more in simple aspect tenses as it acts as more of a state verb to describe something that is unlikely to change much (although of course it can in this particular situation). Moreover, although I have stated that this application is used for two people, this is not always the case and it can be used for multiple people too. I get along well with my co-workers. My daughter gets along with everyone in her class. My brother and I got along when we were kids, but not so much now. Jake got along with his new teammates right away. Frank and Jim have always got along despite their different opinions. The two families had always got along well until the dispute over the land. I’m sure you will get along with her once you meet her in person. They will get along better after spending more time together. Photo: Pexels GET ALONG VS GET ON - WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? For those of you who have a good knowledge of 'get' phrasal verbs, you may be wondering what the difference is with the phrasal verb synonym 'get on' here. Well, the short answer is nothing in terms of meaning; they both mean the same thing. The difference lies in where they are used. While British English speakers do use 'get along', we tend to use 'get on' more commonly to describe a friendly situation. American English speakers on the other hand do not use 'get on' as much and use 'get along' instead. MEANING 3: To manage in a satisfactory way Photo: Wix Media CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere but more common in American English Potential synonyms To get on, to cope, to manage, to survive, to get by Separable? No We have now arrived at our third and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'get along', which is 'to manage in a satisfactory way'. This last application can be used in two ways: to talk about life in general and to talk about specific life situations. For life in general, we can use 'get along' to talk about managing to survive with enough money, food and basic necessities in a way that is satisfactory. It might not be leading a jet set lifestyle with a six-figure bank balance but it is sufficient for what we need. It is often used to highlight the fact that the person in question is independent and does not rely on other people for money etc. Alternatively, it can also be used to refer to when someone doesn't have problems in their life, typically caused by a lack of something. I get along just fine on my own, thank you. Rosie gets along without much money. I was getting along fine until my car broke down. Don’t worry, we will get along somehow. Secondly, we can also use 'get along' to talk about coping to managing ok in more specific or temporary situations in life. This is particularly used when there are difficulties or struggles involved in the situation or if it is something new like when a person moves house or starts a job. In these scenarios, it is common for another to ask the person "how are you getting along?". I can get along without my phone for a few hours, no problem. I'm sure we will get along until the power comes back on. Kit will have to get along on instant noodles until payday. We’ll get along with just one suitcase between us for the weekend. We’ll just have to try and get along in this small apartment until we find something bigger. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The idiom 'to get along on a shoestring' To finish the post off, here is a nice little idiomatic expression for you that features the final application of 'get along' that we just looked at. To get along on a shoestring - We can use this expression to describe situations in which people have to live with a very small amount of money or a limited budget. It implies that someone does not have much money and most or all of it is spent on the basic necessities to live like rent / mortgage, food, bills etc. Like most students, I had to get along on a shoestring when I was at university. They’re going to have to get along on a shoestring until their new business starts making a profit. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'get along' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'get along' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'hold 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. 'Hold up' is a phrasal verb that is in common use in everyday English. You may already be familiar with it and its uses, however do you know all of them? For example, did you know that the phrase 'to hold someone up' can have both a positive and a negative meaning, depending on the context? Don't worry if you didn't as in this post I will explain all of the different meanings of this useful phrasal verb for you and give you lots of examples of it in context to help you learn and use it! So, without further ado, let's make a start. 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 'hold up' 😊 QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'hold up' mean? The phrasal verb 'hold up' has six main meanings in English.... To hold something in an elevated position To prevent someone from falling To delay someone or something To withstand difficulty or scrutiny To make an example of something To commit a robbery Keep reading to learn how to use each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Hold Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'hold' and 'up' Hold Up - Meaning 1: To hold something in an elevated position Hold Up - Meaning 2: To prevent something from falling Hold Up - Meaning 3: To delay someone or something Hold Up - Meaning 4: To withstand difficulty or scrutiny Hold Up - Meaning 5: To make an example of something Hold Up - Meaning 6: To commit a robbery Hold Up - Bonus: The imperative 'hold on!' 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 UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Held up / Held up Separable? Yes Before we get started with the different meanings of 'hold up', let's first consider the words 'hold' and 'up' and what they mean individually. The verb 'to hold' is a common and versatile verb in English that has a variety of different meanings. Perhaps the most obvious of these meanings and one which is highly relevant to this post is 'to have something in your arms or hands and keep it there for a period of time'. My son always holds my hand when we go for a walk. She held her newborn baby in her arms. My friend was waiting for me at the airport and was holding a card with my name on it. Other key meanings of the verb 'to hold' are 'to contain', 'to retain' and 'to organise' amongst others. Aside from 'hold up', the verb 'to hold' features in a number of different phrasal verbs including 'hold off', 'hold out', 'hold back' and of course 'hold up'. Next, we have the particle 'up', which needs no introduction from me as it is one that you will all be very familiar with already. As you will know, the particle 'up' is usually used to mean being in or moving towards a higher position, relative to something else, or in a more abstract way, to talk about an increase of some sort. This meaning is also often transferred to the phrasal verbs in which 'up' appears. Additionally, it can also add ideas like improvement, completion, termination and arrival to phrasal verb meanings. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's dive into the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'hold up'.... MEANING 1: To hold something in an elevated position Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To hold high, to raise, to lift Separable? Yes I always think it is a good idea to start these phrasal verb meanings with the easiest one and that is exactly what I will do in this post. For the first meaning of 'hold up', we have the combination of the literal meaning of the words 'hold' and 'up', which is simply 'to hold something in an elevated position for a period of time'. This period of time can either be short or long, depending on the reason for the 'holding up' action. Typical situations in which this is used.... Showing something to a group of people or class of students Attracting someone's attention Holding a sign or banner for other people to see Checking something in the light You should also be aware that this application of 'hold up' can also sometimes encompass the action of moving your hand up into the higher position, similar to 'put up'. Moreover, when you hold something up, it is typically in an elevated position above your head, however it can also be used to mean above your waist or just in a higher position relative to where it was beforehand. If you want to check that the bank note is genuine and not fake, hold it up to the light to check if there are hidden features. John held his phone up as high as he could reach to take a video of the concert. The demonstrators held up different banners during the protests. In addition to objects, it is also possible to use this application when talking about holding your hand or hands up in the air, much like children in a classroom when they know the answer to a question. Furthermore, we also use the idiomatic expression 'to hold your hands up' when we admit that we have made a mistake. Photo: Pexels I held my hand up for ages in class as I knew the answer to the question but the teacher didn't ask me. We held our hands up in the air and waved them from side to side during the song. I hold my hands up and admit that it was my fault that the computer systems crashed yesterday. MEANING 2: To prevent something from falling Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To support, to hold, to bear, to carry, to prop up, to buttress Separable? Yes Last year, I was having some work done on my house, which involved the removal of part of the external wall. The work took a long time to complete and so for a period of time, a whole part of my house was being supported and prevented from falling by a single metal pole, which was quite a scary thought! The reason that I am telling you this is because the second meaning of 'hold up' is 'to stop something from falling' and so you could say as an alternative that last year an entire side of my house was being held up by a piece of metal. Nouns that this is often used with... Buildings or parts of buildings e.g. roofs Sick, elderly or drunk people To clarify, if one thing holds another thing up, it means that it stops the other thing from falling to the ground. In other words, it supports it and holds it in its place, which is an elevated or erect position. As with my example above with my own house, this is often used with buildings or parts of buildings. The only thing holding up the whole side of this house is a metal rod. The ceiling is currently being help up by scaffolding. Moreover, something else that is prone to falling is people and we can also use 'hold up' to talk about when we support another person and stop them from falling over on the ground. This may be with one of your friends who has drunk a few too many glasses of wine and can't walk properly or it may be an elderly person who can no longer walk very well and needs assistance. The reason for their incapacity to walk is irrelevant, the key idea is that they are prevented from falling over. Come on, you can make it. I'l hold you up and make sure that you don't fall. When the footballer broke his leg in the middle of the game, it took two of his teammates to hold him up and walk him off the pitch. MEANING 3: To delay someone or something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To delay, to detain, to impede, to obstruct, to hinder, to set back Separable? Yes The third meaning of 'hold up' is one that is in common usage in the busy modern world that we all live in and means 'to delay someone or something'. Typical situations to use this application in: When the start of something is delayed When a person is late for something Usually, these delays (or hold-ups) are caused by something obstructing or blocking someone's progress or movement, which then prevents them from being where they are supposed to be at the agreed or correct time. As they are therefore not late by choice and something has caused them to be late, you will find that this, grammatically, this application is used a lot in the passive form or with the causative verb 'get'. Where are you? You were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago. What is holding you up? I'm so sorry I am late, Roger. I got held up in the office by a long customer call and I couldn't get out of it. Simon and Hayley will be about half an hour late as they've been held up in traffic. Lucy got held up on her way to her job interview and ended up missing her slot. We also have the noun form 'holdup (or alternatively 'hold-up') which is used to specify the delay. Why are you so late? What is the hold-up? I'll be there as fast as I can. There is some sort of holdup on the road ahead of me and I am in a traffic jam. MEANING 4: To withstand difficulty or scrutiny Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stand up, to be valid, to hold water Separable? No The fourth meaning of 'hold up' is one that is a close synonym of one of the meanings of the phrasal verb 'stand up' (link here) and means 'to withstand difficulty or scrutiny'. Use this when talking about.... Businesses in difficult economic circumstances Claims of information and alibis Repairs Old TV shows and movies For this usage, one of the key words that we need to bear in mind is the verb 'remain'. If we first start with the idea of withstanding difficulty or adversity, we are thinking mainly about businesses and organisations. When a business or a company survives a period of economic instability or difficulty and remains strong or does not go into liquidation, we can say that it 'held up' during the hard times. We are very pleased to confirm that despite one of the biggest recessions in recent times, the business held up and reported a big profit for the last financial year. Another way that this application may be used is with physical objects in our everyday lives that are faced with stresses and strains through their use. If these remain in good condition or functional and to not break, it is also possible to say that they 'held up'. I don't think that my running shoes are going to hold up for much longer. The plumber has made some temporary repairs to the pipes but will need to come back again next week to complete the job. Let's hope that the pipes hold up until then! As I previously mentioned, we can also use 'hold up' to talk about something withstanding scrutiny or examination. This is perhaps used most in the world of crime and justice where 'hold up' can be applied to information about suspected criminals' alibis and statements. If information 'holds up', it means that it remains true following examination or scrutiny. The team of detectives have been working on the suspect's statements all week and can now confirm that the information does not hold up. He will therefore be retained in custody for further questioning. You should change that plea as it will not hold up in a court of law. Lastly, one additional sub-usage that I have been hearing more and more recently is to do with with old TV shows and movies. If they are deemed by modern viewers (many of whom weren't even born when they were first released) to still be good or acceptable in today's world, then it is likely that you will hear that the show or film in question "still holds up today".... The first Ghostbusters movie is excellent and definitely still holds up today. On the whole, I enjoyed the series but there were definitely some references and outdated language that don't hold up well today. MEANING 5: To make an example of something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To exemplify, to typify, to symbolise Separable? Yes As an English teacher, I am very keen on giving lots of examples of words, phrases and expressions in lessons as I believe that it is a vital part of the language learning process and helps students to understand how a particular word is used and in which contexts etc. This fifth meaning of 'hold up' is a bit similar to this as it is means 'to make an example of something', although the meaning is not exactly the same. When I use examples in my lessons, I use them to show the student how to use a word, most of the time without any qualitative analysis involved (whether something is good or bad etc). With 'hold up' however, the idea is that a particular example is given to people (almost like it is being held up so that they can all see it) and then it is used to either be praised as something good or criticised as something bad. In other words, it is used to show people how to do something well or how to do it terribly! The fast food chain is often held up by people as the bad guy of the fast food world, despite its many efforts to change its image over the last few years. Laura's website is often held up as a great example of how to design a fresh and engaging site. MEANING 6: To commit a robbery Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To rob, to steal, to stick up, to ambush Separable? Yes Our sixth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'hold up' is more of a dark and negative one than the others that we have looked at so far as it is all to do with crime and it specifically means 'to commit a robbery'. This does not concern all robbery and theft though, but specifically robberies involving shops, stores, banks and other public places where money is held and can be stolen. This 'holding up' crime is normally carried out by a thief or group of thieves who use guns or other weapons as a way of threatening the employees of the establishment to give them the money. It should be noted that 'hold up' doesn't necessarily mean the money was successfully stolen, the general idea behind this meaning is that the thieves just use threats and violence to stop the activities of the business in an attempt to obtain money or goods. All in all, it is probably a very scary experience for everyone involved! The manager of the store was held up at gunpoint by a gang of criminals who demanded the code to the safe. Brian was planning on holding up his local post office but in the end he decided not to as he got scared. Underneath the counter in the bank is a secret panic button that employees can press if the bank is every held up. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The imperative 'hold up!' One other way that 'hold up' can be used, especially in American English, is as a command or request for someone to wait. Furthermore, It can also be used to ask someone to stop what they are saying, as you want to double check and confirm that you correctly understood what they said. Are you guys going for lunch? Hold up, I will join you. Let me just send this email quickly. Hold up, let me just get this straight in my head. Did you say that he wouldn't come with us tonight? Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'hold up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'hold up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'end up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. In this post, I will be covering the super duper common phrasal verb 'end up'. This is a phrasal verb that I hear being used all the time in everyday English by native speakers and the good news is that it only has one core meaning. To make things easier however, I have split the meanings into two subcategories in the post to help you to grasp the different ways that it is used. Additionally, I have also included a third section, detailing different prepositions that often follow 'end up' as using these will make your English sound nice and natural. So, without further ado, let's make a start. QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'end up' mean? The phrasal verb 'end up' has two main meanings in English.... To finish a journey or activity somewhere To do or become something that you had not intended TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) End Up - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'end' and 'up' End Up - Meaning 1: To finish a journey or activity somewhere End Up - Meaning 2: To do or become something that you had not intended End Up - Bonus: Different ways of following 'end up' End Up - Bonus: End up + Gerund End Up - Bonus: To end up like End Up - Bonus: To end up as End Up - Bonus: To end up with 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 END UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 2 Past tense forms Ended up / Ended up Separable? No To begin our exploration of the phrasal verb 'end up', let's first consider the words 'end' and 'up' and what they mean on their own. Our main verb in this post is 'to end', which is a common English verb that is used as a synonym of 'to finish' or 'to stop' and is used to indicate when something concludes. 'To end' is a regular verb and can be used both in a transitive way (with a direct object) and an intransitive way (without a direct object). Interestingly, it is rarely found in other phrasal verbs besides 'end up'. My ex-partner and I decided to end our relationship. The football match ended in a goalless draw. What time does the event end tonight? Next, we have the prepositional particle 'up', which I know you are all very familiar with. 'Up' is typically used as a preposition and adverb to describe movement in an upwards direction or being situated in a higher position relative to something else. 'Up' is widely used in phrasal verbs, including some of the most commonly used ones, like this one, and it can add different nuances to the main verb, including movement to a higher place, preparation, closure and perhaps most relevantly for this post, completion. So, now that we have considered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'end up'.... MEANING 1: To finish a journey or activity somewhere Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To finish, to end, to wind up Separable? No As I mentioned at the beginning, there is really only one meaning of 'end up' in English, however it is used in many different ways and scenarios. Consequently, to make things easier for you to process all of the information, I have divided this post into two separate sections and this first sub-meaning is 'to finish a journey or activity somewhere'. Situations in which you may hear this sub-usage of 'end up' To specify where you end your travels To specify where you end a series of activities When you go to a place that you had not planned to go to To describe when a person moves to live somewhere unexpected When someone goes to jail / prison Since this sub-usage is all to do with movement or travelling, it will come as no big surprise to you that we use it to talk about the specific places and locations that an activity finishes. As such, you will hear it being used with prepositions of place such as 'in' and 'at', as well as proper nouns for specific places etc. One such activity with which we use 'end up' in this way is travelling, particularly when it involves going to multiple cities or countries, to specify the final destination of the traveller's journey. Furthermore, you can also use it when talking about a series of activities that involve going from location to location within a specific city or area, for example a walking tour of a city or a bachelor / stag party that visits many different pubs and bars. We are planning on driving down the west coast and ending up in Los Angeles on the final day of our trip. After backpacking across Europe for a month, they ended up in a small coastal town in Greece, where they decided to stay for a few extra days. We are going to go to several museums today and we plan to end up in the Louvre. Whilst it is likely that you will hear 'end up' being used in this way if you have native English speaker friends who enjoy travelling, you should note that it is much more common to hear it being used when you go somewhere unplanned (or at least somewhere unplanned at a point in the past when you last spoke to that person). Moreover, it is frequently heard when someone's plans changed in some way and they went somewhere that they had not originally intended. This can be either short term or long term plans, including where someone eventually lives or even when someone goes to jail. They ended up in Paris for their vacation instead of Rome. John always wanted to move to France but he ended up in Scotland. He'll end up in prison if he's not careful. Sometimes, we use it when when we go somewhere as a result of something unexpected happening, e.g. if you planned to go to the beach but your son broke his arm, you would have to go to hospital instead. In this case, we would be likely to say that we "ended up at the hospital" as it was not intended or planned. Helen ended up in the emergency room after slipping on the ice. I ended up in London as the shop that we went to in Oxford had sold out of the shoes that I wanted to buy. Alternatively, it is equally used to describe when you go somewhere that you hadn't planned to go to after going somewhere that you had planned to go to. For example, if you went for a quiet drink with a friend and after a few glasses of wine, you decide to go dancing in a nightclub, you would tell people the next day that you "met your friend for a drink and then ended up in a nightclub". We've all done it! 😉 He ended up at his friend’s house after the party. Lastly, it could simply also be used to describe a time when you found yourself somewhere by accident, perhaps as a result of getting lost or making a mistake. We got lost in the city and somehow ended up back at our hotel. How did we end up here? Did we take a wrong turn? MEANING 2: To do or become something that you had not intended Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To end, to go, to wind up, to become, to turn out to be Separable? No Now, let's move on to the second sub-meaning of 'end up', which is 'to do or become something that you had not intended'. In contrast to the previous meaning, we use this one primarily to refer to things that happen in the long term and this is usually when referring to what happens to someone in their life as they grow up or after we lose contact with them. Typically, this is followed by a noun or an adjective, however there are several other prepositions that also follow this, which I will explain to you in the next section. John ended up a policeman, which is strange as he was always in trouble at school. Martin ended up poor and homeless after the collapse of his business. We can also use this particular sub-usage for when we want to predict what we think someone will be or do in the future. If you eat all of your vegetables, you will end up big and strong like your Dad! I think he will end up dead before long if he can't quit taking drugs. In addition to people, we do also use 'end up' in this way to talk about objects and things.... Don't leave your clothes next to the shower or they will end up wet. My last skateboard ended up broken after a car ran over it. Let's now move on to the next section, where I will explain to you how to really refine and develop these different uses of 'end up' so that your English sounds top notch (excellent).... DIFFERENT WAYS OF FOLLOWING 'END UP'.... Photo: Pexels With both of the above sub-usages of 'end up' that I have explained, although you will hear them used in the ways that I have explained above, I think you are perhaps more likely to hear them with a gerund or other specific prepositions. So, the next section will focus on these and if you can memorise these and use them, it will definitely elevate your English... WITH A GERUND When the phrasal verb 'end up' is followed by a verb to describe an action, the verb must be in the gerund form rather than the infinitive. Native speakers use it this way all the time and so if you want to sound more natural when you speak, then definitely do this too! To clarify, we use a gerund after 'end up' when we want to specify the outcome of an action or the conclusion of a series of events. As with the previous meanings, this is used particularly often when the action or conclusion is not one that was expected or anticipated. In these cases, the gerund represents the final action that takes place, rather than a specific location. In addition to an unexpected outcome, we use 'end up' + a gerund when the result of something is surprising, accidental or even unavoidable in some cases (see the last example below). We ended up staying at the hotel because the campsite was full. She ended up working late after an unexpected meeting. He ended up sleeping on the couch because the bed was too small. Thanks to the government's new corporation tax increases, we are going to end up losing money. Roger and Lisa argued so much that they ended up breaking up TO END UP LIKE We use the expression 'to end up like' + a noun when we want to compare a final state or outcome to another situation or person. It is often used in a negative way as a mild threat, to imply that someone or something will reach the same undesirable outcome as the person or situation being referred to. In other words, we are using a bad example of something to try and stop a future potential outcome from happening. Other times, it can also be used to communicate your own fears about yourself and something that you want to avoid in the future. If you don't start studying for your exams, you'll end up like your father and won't have any qualifications. If you don’t take your job seriously, you might end up like those people who struggle to find work. I hope I don’t end up like my old boss, stressed out all the time. TO END UP AS Another word that frequently follows 'end up' is the preposition 'as' and we use the construction 'to end up' + as to talk about a person's final identity or role after a series of events or a career progression. It could also be used to describe the outcome of a process, in which one thing changes to another. He wanted to be a musician, but he ended up as an accountant. If you want to end up as a doctor, you will need to study very hard. The debate ended up as a heated argument, despite having started very calmly. The book she wrote ended up as a bestseller, which surprised everyone. Sam thought the building would be demolished, but it ended up as a museum. TO END UP WITH The last word that we are going to consider in conjunction with 'end up' is 'with'. We use the construction 'to end up + with' to describe what someone has after a series of events or actions. Moreover, it can also denote the final outcome or situation of something. In all of these situations though, it implies that the person or subject possesses something as a result of the actions or events, whether that be physically or emotionally. It can often be used to refer to health conditions or illnesses that someone gets as a result of something. Simon ended up with a cold after walking in the rain without an umbrella. We ended up with extra tickets to the Elton John concert as some of our friends couldn’t come. Debbie ended up with a broken leg after the skiing accident. Stacey and Lesley ended up with a beautiful house after years of saving. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'end up' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'end up' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'carry on' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This post focuses on the phrasal verb 'carry on', which has a surprising number of meanings in English. In this post, I will explain each one and give you lots of example sentences to enable you to master them and impress your English-speaking friends with your amazing phrasal verb skills! So, without further ado, let's get started.... QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'carry on' mean? The phrasal verb 'carry on' has five main meanings in English.... Literal meaning To continue To misbehave To behave like nothing has happened To have an illicit sexual relationship Keep reading to learn more about about each one.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) Carry On - The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'carry' and 'on' Carry On - Meaning 1: Literal meaning Carry On - Meaning 2: To continue Carry On - Bonus: Is 'carry on' a separable phrasal verb? Carry On - Bonus: What is we want to use 'carry on' as an imperative? Carry On - Meaning 3: To misbehave Carry On - Meaning 4: To behave like nothing has happened Carry On - Meaning 5: To have an illicit sexual relationship Carry On - Bonus: More example sentences with 'carry on' Carry On - Bonus: Further questions for writing and speaking practice Carry On - Bonus: Carry On Movies 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 & share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be most grateful. Thank you! 😊 James Photo: Pexels THE BASICS CARRY ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Carried on / Carried on Separable? Sometimes Before we carry on with the meanings of 'carry on' (do you see what I did there 😉), let's first take a moment to consider what the individual words 'carry' and 'on' mean on their own. Firstly, we have the base verb 'to carry', which means to hold or support something or someone and transport it (or them) from one place to another. It is a regular verb that is also very frequently found in phrasal verb constructions such as carry on, carry out and carry off. I can't walk anymore, can you carry me? John carried his baby son home from the hospital. Sarah couldn't wave to her friend as she was carrying bags of shopping Who wants to help me to carry this sofa into the other room? Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'on', which is a word that you will all be familiar with as it is extremely widespread in English, with a huge number of different meanings and applications. When used in phrasal verbs, 'on' can convey various meanings, such as continuation (keep on), support (count on) and beginning (set on), among others. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's "carry on" with the post and look at the different meanings of this nice and useful little phrasal verb.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bring on, to take on Separable? Yes We are going to start with a rarer meaning of 'carry on', which is the literal meaning of the two words combined i.e. 'to move or transport something with you whilst getting or moving on to something'. From my perspective as a native speaker, I would say that the use of this literal version in English is mainly limited to when we are getting on to public transport and are carrying, holding or transporting something in our hand, pocket or baggage. If you have ever flown on an airplane, you may recognise the term 'carry-on luggage', to describe the bags or small suitcases that you are permitted to take with you to your seat or into the cabin. You should note that this only applies to public transport that we travel on. As English learners, you will know that English prepositions are rarely logical 😵‍💫, and public transport is a good example of this. In many other languages, the preposition 'in' is (logically) used to talk about most forms of public transport, however English is different and we tend to use 'on' for many of these (despite being physically inside!). To help you with this, I have included the table below, which shows which preposition we use for common types of transport: ​ON IN Bus Car Train ​Train carriage Airplane ​Airplane cabin Boat / Ship ​ Tram ​ Subway ​ As a general rule, if you can stand up and walk around on a mode of transport, we use 'on'. If we are not able to stand up and walk around, we say 'in'. You may have also heard the common variation 'to carry onto' being used here. This does mean the same thing, however it simply adds additional emphasis to the movement from the start and end points. Photo: Pexels From June 2024 all aeroplane passengers will be able to carry two-litre bottles of liquids on planes in their hand luggage. John's leg was broken, so his friends had to carry him onto the airplane. (the use of onto emphasises that his friends carried him from the ground up the steps and onto the plane). Passengers are only allowed to carry on one bag and one personal item. Luke carried his backpack on the bus because there was no room underneath in the hold. You’ll need to carry that fragile item on the train yourself. MEANING 2 : To Continue Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage ​Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To continue, to persevere, to keep, to keep on, to keep going, to go on Separable? Sometimes Some of you may be familiar with the expression featured in the photo above "keep calm and carry on" as it is one that often appears on t-shirts, mugs and internet memes. To clarify, in case you are not sure, it simply means 'to keep calm and continue' as this second meaning of 'carry on' is exactly that: 'to continue'. This second application is very common in spoken language and so if you have heard 'carry on' being used before by a native speaker, it is probable that it is this one. Grammatically, when used this way, 'carry on' is normally followed by a dynamic (action) verb, which needs to be in the 'ing' progressive form. Alternatively, it can also be followed by the preposition 'with' + a noun or a pronoun such as 'it' or 'this'. It is not usually followed by a 'to infinitive'. The President carried on answering the diplomat's questions until the end of the meeting. The team have to carry on playing even if it rains or snows. Despite the power cut, we carried on working as we wanted to get the job finished. The horror movie was so scary that I couldn't carry on watching it and had to leave the room. Do you want to carry on with the work tomorrow as it is getting late now? Ok everyone, we will have to carry on with this tomorrow as we are out of time. From my perspective as a native speaker, I would say that 'carry on' is less formal than continue and I would therefore recommend avoiding it in formal writing and official documents. In spoken English however, 'carry on' is perfectly acceptable to use in a business or work environment and is very common in both British and American English. John, can you please carry on working on the project this week because we need to present it to the board of directors next week. Lisa will be leaving the company at the end of the month but she has promised to carry on updating the website until her last day. IS 'CARRY ON' A SEPARABLE PHRASAL VERB? 'Carry on' is a separable phrasal verb, however English speakers tend not to separate it very often. If the object of the verb is a pronoun, then the pronoun always goes between 'carry' and 'on'. In this case a verb in the continuous 'ing' form is not required. I have temporarily stopped doing yoga but I intend to carry it on after my holiday The most common pronoun with 'carry on' tends to be 'it', but others may be possible depending on the context. Apart from this, there is no difference in meaning if you use it separably or not; this is just at the speaker's discretion. I want to carry on learning English until I can speak like a native speaker. Do you want me to carry on writing this report? We will carry this conversation on later this evening. She first started taking acting lessons when she moved to Los Angeles but she hated it and had no intention of carrying it on. WHAT IF WE WANT TO USE 'CARRY ON' AS AN IMPERATIVE? If you want to tell someone to continue what they are doing in the form of a command, "carry on!" is the more natural way to do this. Native speakers will often say this rather than "continue!", which sounds a bit colder and more formal. Alternatively, 'keep going!' is another natural sounding synonym to 'carry on' that you could use to sound like a native. MEANING 3 : To Misbehave Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To act up, to play up, to misbehave, to conduct Separable? No For those learners who want to go the extra mile* to learn as much English as humanly possible, there are another three, rarer meanings of carry on that I want to make you aware of in this post. The first of these means to behave (or to misbehave) in a way that other people disapprove of. This application is very informal and is often used to describe people who are a bit too emotional, who talk too much or who get too drunk. Regardless of the particular activity, the idea behind it is that the speaker who is talking about the action is a bit irritated or annoyed by the person's behaviour. Sometimes, the behaviour isn't even specified; the use of 'carrying on' is just used to imply that the speaker disliked the person's behaviour and the listener is free to use their imagination and fill in the gaps! From a grammatical perspective, this usage is always used in the progressive form. She drank too much wine and started carrying on in front of my family. I was so embarrassed! Stop carrying on like a spoilt child and act your age! The neighbours were carrying on loudly all night, and no one could get any sleep. The children were carrying on so much at the restaurant that other diners began to leave. * To go the extra mile is an idiom meaning to make an extra effort in order to do or achieve a goal MEANING 4 : To behave like nothing has happened Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To behave Separable? No In the last section, we looked at how 'carry on' can mean to misbehave or act in a way that people may disapprove of, however in some contexts it can also serve as a synonym for the verb 'to behave'. Specifically, we often use it to describe when a significant change occurs in someone's life but they ignore it and continue to behave in the same way as they did before, often not acknowledging the change or life event. This application in fact links back to the continuation theme application from earlier in the post as what the person is doing is simply continuing the way that they acted or behaved before the life changing event....or that is what they want everyone else to think! Typical examples of when native speakers would use this would be after receiving a diagnosis of a serious illness, after the death of a close relative or friend or after something stressful or unpleasant happens in general that would ordinarily be very stressful for the majority of people. Conversely, it is also possible to use it for good news, such as winning the lottery, although this is much rarer. When used this way carry on is normally followed by conjunctions 'like', 'as if' or 'as though'. Every time my husband and I have an argument, he carries on the next day as if nothing has ever happened, even if we haven't resolved the problem. Helen has recently been given some very bad news, however she carries on as if nothing ever changed. Simon and Doug carried on as if they hadn't just received terrible news. Jamie carried on as though he hadn't been insulted moments before. Susan carried on like nothing had changed at work, even after the big announcement about her promotion to CEO has been announced. MEANING 5: To have an illicit sexual relationship Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To have an affair, to see one another, to be unfaithful Separable? No The fifth and final meaning of 'carry on' that I want to make you aware of is to have a sexual relationship with someone, normally when it is forbidden or secretive. This is especially true if one or both of the people involved are already in a relationship with someone else or are married. Again, like with some of the other applications of 'carry on', this one is normally used to use in progressive or continuous (ing) tenses. We normally also need the preposition 'with' to say the name of the other person involved in the illicit relationship. Roger has been carrying on with Helen for several years now and they don't realise that everyone in the village knows about it, including Roger's wife and Helen's husband! We found out last week that Alan has been carrying on with his secretary for years. The gossip spread quickly when people discovered Linda had been carrying on with a married man. Photo: Pexels BONUS: More example sentences with 'carry on' If you can memorise some of the sentences below and use them in a conversation, it will help your English to come across as more natural and like that of a native speaker: If you carry on behaving like that, you will be in trouble (parent to child). I wish I'd carried on.... We didn't like the look of the restaurant so we carried on down the road to the next one. If I'd carried on learning [language] and not stopped, I would be fluent by now. At one point it was so hard and I thought I couldn't carry on but somehow I found the strength. We want to carry on the the traditions of our parents and grandparents. To get there, carry on down this road for [distance] and then turn left / right.... Photo: Pexels BONUS: Further questions for speaking & writing practice If you have a conversation with a shy person, what is the best way to carry it on when the other person stops speaking? Do you regret not carrying on learning something when you were younger e.g. a language or a musical instrument? Is there something that you started learning or doing when you were younger and had no intention of carrying on with it but which you are still learning or doing today? Photo: Wix Media BONUS: Carry On Movies The Carry On movies were a series of 31 British comedy movies that were made between 1958 and 1992. Each movie had a different theme e.g. Carry on Doctor and Carry on Camping, with a separate storyline to the others, but many of the same actors starred in the films. Much of the comedy in the films was tongue-in-cheek* and involved sexual innuendo, word play and mocking traditional British institutions and customs. Some of the humour in the films is now a little outdated but despite this, they continue to be loved and laughed at by many people to this day. To learn more about these, visit this link: https://www.comedy.co.uk/guide/group/carry_on/ * Tongue-in-cheek means to come across as serious whilst making a joke Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'carry on' more confidently and naturally. Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'carry on' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills? Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊 THE END