An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'break out', with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Break out' is a common phrasal verb and one that many of you may already be familiar with if you have been learning English for a while. Are you familiar with all of its different meanings and uses though? Did you know, for example, that it can be used to talk about subjects as diverse as prison, skin conditions and celebrations? Don't worry if you didn't as in this post I will explain all of the different meanings of 'break out' and will give you lots of examples to show how it is used by native speakers. So, without further ado, let's make a start. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end with your own comments featuring 'break out' 😊 BREAK OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Broke out / Broken out Separable? Rarely MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To escape To start suddenly To develop a skin condition To take something from storage and start using it Photo: Pexels THE BASICS To start our exploration of the phrasal verb 'break out', let's first take a look at the words 'break' and 'out' and what they mean as individual words. The verb 'to break' is a common English verb, which is primarily used to mean 'to damage something and stop it from functioning'. Additionally to this, it's other less frequently used meanings include 'to end something', 'to interrupt something' and 'to become known'. John broke the window when he kicked the football at it. I've broken my arm and I can't play tennis today. This is very fragile, so please be careful with it and don't break it. It is an irregular verb and is often used to form phrasal verbs, such as 'break out', 'break down' (link here ) and 'break up' (link here ). The prepositional particle 'out' is one that is regularly found in phrasal verb constructions and therefore features a lot on this website. 'Out' is the natural opposite of 'in' and is perhaps most frequently used to talk about being in or moving towards an external space. As with most prepositions in English, 'out' has a multitude of different meanings and uses that are too numerous to cover here, however you should note that when used in phrasal verbs, 'out' can often bring the ideas of revelation, appearance, distribution and removal to the table. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'break out'.... MEANING 1: To escape Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To escape, to bust out, to get out, to flee, to abscond Separable? Sometimes Let's begin with our first meaning of 'break out', which is 'to escape' and is primarily used when talking about prison, jail or captivity of some sort. This action is typically done in a defiant or forceful way, which is also inherent in the meaning of the verb 'to escape'. I think that after considering the meanings of the individual words 'break' and 'out' in the previous section, this meaning will hopefully be a logical one for you to understand. We have the idea of someone (normally a prisoner) who is inside a prison cell or enclosed space and, like most people, wants to be free. In order to get out of their cell and achieve this freedom, they will need to break something e.g. a window or metal bars In some cases, especially in more historical ones, this was possible to do, and this is likely how we arrived at this meaning. However, most modern prison cells are designed to be quite indestructible and physically destroying them to achieve this goal is not really a possibility. Nevertheless, 'break out' is still used to mean 'to escape from captivity' even if nothing is physically broken. You should note that we can also use this application of 'break out' with pets, like rabbits or hamsters, which live in cages or in enclosed spaces, to describe when they escape the confines of their living area. The prisoner broke out of his cell during the night and hasn't been seen since. Several of the captives tried to break out last week but their plan was foiled when they were caught by the guards. My pet rabbit managed to break out of his hutch this morning but luckily I found him happily chewing on grass on the lawn. You may have noticed in the table above that I stated that this particular usage of 'break out' is separable. The reason for this is because in situations in which one person or group rescues somebody from captivity or helps them to escape in some way, the expression 'to break someone out' can be used. On a grammatical level, the prisoner is the direct object of the sentence and can either go between the words 'break' and 'out' or after them. Personally, I think that we have more of a tendency to use this in a separable way with the direct object (prisoner) going in the middle of the two words. The gang members were able to break their leader out of jail without any of the guards noticing. The animals rights activists snuck onto the farm and broke all the animals out overnight. Lastly, it is also possible to use this application of 'break out' for situations in life in which we feel trapped or stuck. Maybe this could be something like a daily routine that is difficult to break or a relationship that someone wants to leave but cannot. 'Break out' can be used here to refer to the action of escaping these situations or changing the routine. I just need to break out of my daily routine somehow and do something different. Sarah finally broke out of her relationship with her ex-boyfriend a year ago. MEANING 2: To start suddenly Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To start, to arise, to erupt, to happen, to begin Separable? No We now move on to the second meaning of 'break out' that we will cover in this post and this one is 'to start suddenly'. I think that out of all of the meanings of 'break out' that we will cover in the post, this one is the most common, although this is not really a good thing as this usage is often used for negative and unpleasant things, as you will see. Nouns that this is often used with.... War Fight Riot Fire Disease As you can see from the list above, this application of 'break out' is normally reserved for dangerous and undesirable actions or phenomena which start in a sudden or abrupt manner, often with no sign beforehand. We do not use this for everything that starts suddenly though, for example if you have a headache that started suddenly, you would not say that a headache has broken out (however we do use it for other types of health issues, as I will explain later). The children managed to cross the border just as the war was breaking out in their homeland. A fire broke out in the government building and caused a lot of damage. Fighting broke out amongst the football fans of rival teams. Another noun that you commonly hear with this application of 'break out' is disease and this is specifically in reference to infectious diseases and epidemics. If a disease breaks out, then a large number of people are infected by it, who then spread it to other people (we are all very familiar with this scenario). This can be either on a localised scale or a global one, but tends to be used more in the former to describe when a disease spreads quickly in a community, town, city, region or country. A virus has broken out at the city's hospital and visitors are being advised to stay away. The Spanish flu pandemic broke out in 1918 shortly after the ending of the First World War. This application of 'break out' is not all bad though and it can also be used to express when we start doing something suddenly in an unplanned or unexpected way, normally as an emotional response to something. Most commonly, this is heard with the words 'laughing' or 'crying', especially when they start very unexpectedly. The whole class broke out laughing when the teacher fell over. Roger broke out crying when he watched his daughter get married. Lastly, there is one happy and positive usage that I want to end this section with, which is 'to break out in song' (or the alternative 'break out into song'). We use this particular expression to describe when one person or group of people suddenly starts singing, often in an unplanned manner. The wedding guests broke out in song to wish the bride and groom a wonderful life together. Watch the moment when a group of train passengers break out into song in the middle of their journey to Liverpool. We also have the less common alternative 'to break out in dance', which is when a person or group of people start dancing in an impromptu fashion and this is something that you may have seen or heard on English language videos of people in flash mobs. MEANING 3: To develop a skin condition Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To flare up, to come out in Separable? No In the previous section, I explained how 'break out' is not used to describe sudden headaches or pains but is used to talk about infectious diseases and this next meaning is staying with the theme of health. This time, it is quite specific though as it means 'to develop a visible skin condition'. For this application, we require the additional preposition 'in' to specify the type of condition that is visible on our skin. To be more specific, where I have stated 'skin condition', what I actually mean here is a rash, which is defined as an area of the skin that becomes inflamed due to an allergy or adverse reaction and normally is visible as spots or one large red or discoloured area. Moreover, it is also possible to use it with acne (typical for teenagers) and hives. If you break out in a rash, red spots suddenly appear on your skin. This is often caused by heat, a disease, or a reaction to something, such as skincare products. I had a sore throat and a headache and I broke out in a rash all over my stomach and legs. Julie broke out in hives after stroking the cat. It is very common for teenagers to break out in acne but it is usually only temporary and lasts for a year or two. In some cases, you also hear people using 'break out' without the additional preposition 'in' or the name of the condition. This is absolutely fine to do, provided that there is enough context. For example, if you say that "something makes you break out" or "you broke out", the listener will likely understand that you are referring to a rash on your skin. This type of make-up always makes me break out, so I've stopped using it. Why is my skin breaking out all of a sudden? One other bodily reaction, also to do with the skin, that we can use 'break out' with here is 'to break out in a sweat'. This is used to refer to when you suddenly start sweating and can be for any reason. When some people get nervous, they break out in a sweat and start shaking. I broke out in a sweat in bed last night. MEANING 4: To take something from storage and start using it Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To get out, to take out, to remove Separable? Yes I know that all of the meanings of 'break out' that we have covered up until now have been mainly negative and unpleasant, so let's end the post with a more neutral, or even positive one. This fourth and final meaning is 'to take something from storage and start using it' and is very informal. The most commonly used noun with this particular application is 'champagne' and people use the expression 'to break out the champagne' when there is a reason to celebrate something and therefore they take a bottle (or two) out from storage in order to drink it as part of the celebrations. Aside from champagne, you can hear this in conjunction with anything that is taken from a place of storage in order to be eaten, drunk or used. Equally, if you want to show somebody something, particularly a skill that you have, you could use 'break out' here too, with the idea that the skill is stored somewhere deep in your brain and not on show all of the time. My parents are so happy that I passed my driving test that they have broken out the champagne! Come on, break out the chocolate, I am so hungry. In an attempt to impress the girl, Kevin broke out some French phrases, however his attempts did not work. Photo: Pexels BONUS: The Noun 'Breakout' Before I finish the post, I want to mention the noun 'breakout' (alternatively break-out) and the different meanings that it has. As you can imagine, some of its meanings are linked directly to the phrasal verb meanings but not all of them.... An escape from prison or captivity The prisoners were planning a breakout from the county jail. Quick or sudden success, normally used to describe companies or famous people who become famous very quickly. This is more American in usage than British. This album proved to be the singer's breakout album. A room in a business or an organisation where people can go to discuss things away from their other colleagues. This is often known as a breakout room. Let's go and discuss this in the breakout room. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'break out'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'run over', with lots of examples in context How well do you know the English phrasal verb 'run over'? Do you know that it has 4 distinct meanings in English, including one that means that you are working too hard and one that will probably kill you?! If not, do not worry as in this post, I will explain the different meanings of 'run over' for you, hopefully in clear and understandable English, with lots of examples of usage in context to help you understand, learn and memorise them. So, without further ado, let''s make a start. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end with your own sentences featuring 'run over' 😊 Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Ran over / Run over Separable? No MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To go across by running To overflow To exceed a limit To hit someone with a vehicle To practise something quickly Photo: Pexels THE BASICS Let's start things off by examining the individual words 'run' and 'over' and what they mean on their own. First, we have our main verb 'to run', which is an irregular verb that you will all undoubtedly be aware of. The most common and well known meaning of the verb 'to run' is 'to move on your feet, at a speed that is faster than walking'. From this action, we also get the idea of a steady movement and it can therefore also be used as a synonym for the verb 'to flow', especially when talking about liquids, particularly rivers. Another definition of 'to run' is to cause something to operate or to control something and often you hear this used when referring to a business or a company. Furthermore, often when the verb 'to run' is used it can imply that something is done quickly. I ran a marathon yesterday and I am so tired today. Running is a great way to stay fit and lose weight. The river runs past Claire's house. Helen knows how to run a business. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'over', which is primarily used to talk about being situated or moving above or across something. In addition to this, it can also be used as a preposition to mean 'more than' or 'on the other side of' and as an adjective it can mean 'finished'. When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'over' often adds this idea of a movement across or above something, however it can also add the ideas of consideration, repetition and change of state. So, now that we have considered the basics, let's move on to the real reason why you are here, i.e. the meanings of the phrasal verb 'run over'.... MEANING 1: To go across something by running Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To run across, to go over, to come over Separable? No First up, to ease us gently into the different meanings of 'run over', we have a nice and straightforward one, which is just the literal meaning of the two-word combination: 'to go across something by running'. For this application, there is no strange or illogical meaning and it is purely the idea of running from one side of something to the other. You may hear this with nouns such as 'street', 'field' and 'beach', however the synonym 'run across' is perhaps more likely to be used here, especially as in some contexts the meaning of 'run over' may get confused with one of its other meanings that we will look at later in the post. The group of soldiers ran over the field. My dog ran over the beach to my husband who was waiting on the other side. She ran over the street to see her friend. Unless it is obvious from the context, I would recommend using the word 'to' + the destination of the running action with this application of 'run over' as this will help to avoid any confusion. On situation in which I hear this application of 'run over' used more commonly however is when someone runs from one place to another without moving specifically from one side of it to the other. This could just be a movement across a part of something such as a room or from one space or position to another but often you hear people using it to describe when a person runs to where the speaker is or wars. The extra preposition 'to' should be used here when specifying the destination of the running person. Can you run over to Lisa's office and collect the keys from her. When we are standing at the bus stop, a man ran over to us to advise us that there had been an emergency. I heard a loud noise coming from the other side of the street, so I ran over to find out what had happened. MEANING 2: To overflow Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To overflow, to spill over, to brim over Separable? No The second meaning of 'run over' that we will cover in the post is another nice and simple one and means 'to overflow'. For this meaning, we are thinking about containers, or in other words, objects that are used to hold something within them and for this application of 'run over', we are concerned mainly with liquids. If you remember at the beginning of the post in the Basics section, I mentioned that one of the meanings of the verb 'to run', when used in reference to liquids, is 'to flow'. If we then combine this idea of 'flowing' with the meaning of 'over' as in 'exceeding' something and also add in the idea of a container for the liquid, we arrive at the central idea of a liquid running over the edge of its container. Moreover, we do not use 'run over' in this way exclusively with liquids as it can also be used with grain solids like salt, sand, rice etc. Interestingly, we do not tend to use 'run over' much in this sense when talking about rivers, despite the fact that they flow. Instead, we would be more inclined to use the verb 'flood' here. David forgot to turn off the bath tap and after 10 minutes the tub was running over. Simon was looking as he was pouring the wine and it ran over the edge of the glass and onto the table. MEANING 3: To exceed a limit Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go over, to exceed Separable? No Meaning number three of 'run over' is a really useful one to know for those of you who use English professionally and is 'to exceed a limit'. This one can be heard a lot in business and companies all over the English speaking world, especially with reference to meetings. Typically, there are two types of limit that we use this application of 'run over' with, which are 'time' and 'money'. If we first take the idea of time, we are thinking mainly about meetings and other activities that fall outside of the remit of our everyday jobs. Usually, when someone sets up a meeting, they allot an amount of time for it in their schedule, based on how long it is expected to take, e.g. one hour or an entire morning. If, in reality, the meeting takes longer than the designated time period and continues past the point at which the meeting was supposed to end, we can say that the meeting 'runs over'. Although this is used predominantly for meetings, it can in fact be used for anything that is scheduled to finish at an expected time but which ends up ending later. The meeting ran over this morning, so now I am behind on my work and I need to catch up. Tatyana's English lesson has run over and so she is not going to make her appointment at the dentist. I need to leave at 4pm sharp today, so this meeting cannot run over. You may be familiar with the English idiomatic expression 'time is money', meaning that time should not be wasted as it can always be used to earn money. Just like this saying suggests, in addition to talking about time, we can also use this second application of 'run over' to talk about money, in particular, budgets. All companies and businesses have budgets, which are amounts of money that are available for them to spend on specific projects and activities. Again, similar to allocating time for meetings, budgets are usually calculated based on how much money the company expects will be needed to complete the task in question. If the amount of money that is spent on the project is more than the expected amount that was allocated in the budget, we can say that the costs have 'run over'. This is typically caused by unexpected costs that are incurred during the project. The government's high speed rail project has run over budget by several million pounds. The project has been hit by unexpected setbacks and the costs are expected to run over significantly. BONUS - To Overrun You may have seen the verb 'to overrun' listed in the potential synonyms for this application of 'run over'. This is not a spelling error or figment of your imagination as this verb does also exist and has the same meaning i.e. to exceed an expected limit, either of time or money. If the meeting is going to overrun, I will let you know. Our costs have overrun, so now we need to go to the bank to ask them to lend us more money. There is also a second meaning of 'to overrun' which is similar to the verb 'to overwhelm' and is often used in adjectival form to describe when people or things quickly spread into a place or invade it in large numbers. MEANING 4: To hit someone with a vehicle Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To knock over, to knock down, to hit, to mow down, to run down Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'run over' is the negative and horrible one (there is usually one in each post) and also happens to be the one that you hear most in everyday English and that is 'to hit someone with a vehicle'. Moreover, a more precise definition of this application would be 'to hit a person with a vehicle and drive over them', however we can use this to describe just when a person is hit by a moving vehicle alone, without the element of passing over their body. Either way, it is a very unfortunate experience for anyone involved and usually ends with the victim being injured or killed. In addition to people, this application can be used for animals too. Most of the time, when we talk about these sad and tragic incidents we are referring to the victims and therefore from a grammatical perspective, we tend to use the passive form. In particular, the 'get' passive form tends to be used here as the action of 'running over' is a negative one. Of course, we can also use it in an active sense when referring to the driver or the vehicle who runs the victim over. One way that native speakers use this application of 'run over' is to put things into perspective and tell people to stop worrying about small things. We do this by using the expression "you could get run over by a bus tomorrow" to say that they could die tomorrow ....it sounds harsh but it definitely works! The drunk driver was sent to prison for running over two pedestrians. A schoolboy was run over on his way to school this morning but luckily his injuries are not life threatening. Don't worry about it, you could get run over by a bus tomorrow! A deer got run over on the lane last night. MEANING 5: To practise something quickly Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go through, to go over, to rehearse, Separable? No We've now arrived at our fifth and final meaning of 'run over', which is 'to practise, rehearse or look at something quickly'. This usage can really be used for anything that you prepare and need to rehearse, read through or check again before a deadline and could include such things as a speech or lines in a play. Maybe you have created a presentation and want to run over it quickly to make sure that you have not made any mistakes or perhaps you may need someone to explain something to you again, so you may ask them to run over it one more time to make sure that you understand it. Whatever the activity though, the idea is that it is done quickly, as indicated by the verb 'to run'. I'm just going to run over my speech one more time and then I'll be ready. Would you mind running over the main points again for me quickly? Do you want to run over our lines again before we go on stage? One final way that 'run over' is used here is for situations when we have a complex or problematic situation in our lives. If we spend a lot of time thinking about the problem or situation in order to find a solution or consider it in some way, we can use 'run over' to describe this. Often, this is used in a continuous tense form, which I think conveys the idea that your thoughts move quickly in your head when you are thinking about the different possibilities and choices. I was running it over in my mind all last night and I'm still no closer to finding a solution. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'run over'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'catch up', with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Catch up' is a very common verb in the English language with a number of different meanings and uses. In this post, I will explain these different meanings, giving you lots of information about them, such as when we use them and whether or not they are separable. I will also give you lots of examples in context to help you understand, learn and use to impress your friends and colleagues. So, without further ado, let's get started! Don't forget to leave a comment at the end with your own sentences featuring 'catch up' 😃 Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Caught up / Caught up Separable? Sometimes MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To reach someone who is ahead of you To reach the same level as someone To do something that you were unable to do earlier To learn about things that have happened To unintentionally become involved in something Photo: Pexels THE BASICS If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know that I always start each post by looking at the individual words of a phrasal verb and this one is no exception. Therefore, let's begin by considering the words 'catch' and 'up' and what they mean on their own. The verb 'to catch' is a common irregular verb in English with many different meanings. The most notable of these are 'to intercept something with your hands that is moving through the air' and 'to capture or trap someone or something', however you may often hear it being used with such diverse nouns as 'cold', 'train' and 'attention', which shows just how broad the range of its different meanings can be. The goalkeeper caught the ball and stopped it from hitting the back of the net. The police caught the criminal following a one-hour police chase. John has caught a cold and isn't feeling very well. Sarah catches the train every morning at 8am. Somebody over there is trying to catch your attention. The prepositional particle 'up' is one that features regularly in phrasal verb constructions, often to add the idea of a movement in an upwards direction or to a higher place or position. In addition to this, the particle 'up' can add several nuances to phrasal verbs, such as the ideas of improvement, preparation, completion, termination and appearance. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'catch up'.... MEANING 1: To reach someone who is ahead of you Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To catch, to close, to close in on, to gain on Potential antonyms To fall back Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'catch up' that we will cover means 'to reach someone who is ahead of you' and is often heard in reference to sports, in particular races, as well as in everyday social interactions among couples or groups of people. Let's firstly take the idea of a race between, in the sense of a competition between different people, horses or cars to see who will be the first to travel over a set distance and cross a finishing line. Normally, in a race there will always be one competitor or group of competitors who is in the lead and therefore ahead of the others. Meanwhile, the objective of the other competitors behind the leader is to move faster so as to close the gap, ultimately overtaking the leader and moving into first position. This action of moving more quickly than the competitors in front of you and therefore reducing the gap between you and them can be described as 'catching up'. This meaning of 'catch up' is separable and when used in a separable way, the name of the person in front (or leader) goes between 'catch' and 'up'. You should note that when we do not separate it, the additional preposition 'with' is usually required to specify the person in front of you or leader. The Nigerian runner was slowly catching the leader up. When I was young, I was so fast and nobody could ever catch up with me. Despite having a head start of 5 minutes, the white rally car was quickly able to catch up with the red one. This application of 'catch up' is not only reserved for racers and athletes though as we can also use it in our everyday lives, particularly when talking about walking somewhere. You would normally hear this with a couple or a group of people who are all going somewhere together. If one person is delayed or has to stay behind for some reason, they may tell the other people in the group that they should go ahead and that they will follow them when they are ready and catch them up. The idea here is the same as with the race idea, however instead of being the first person to arrive at the destination, here the person just wants to rejoin the group and will have to walk faster than them (or run) until they do so. When used in this way, we tend to use the separable variation more commonly. I need to dry my hair, so you guys go on and I will catch you up. Joanne just needs to feed the cats and then she's going to catch us up on the way to the pub. MEANING 2: To reach the same level as someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms Separable? Yes The next meaning of 'catch up' that we will look at in this post is not too different to the previous one, however rather than focussing on physical movement, this second usage is more to do with reaching the same level as someone else. For this application, we are thinking more about levels, standards or the quality of something and therefore this is much more to do with how good or bad something is or how things are perceived by people. Furthermore, there are no races involved in this application, as it is all to do with progression and improvement, thus there is no finishing line or end point. Let's first take the example of somebody's language level. John has been learning French for 10 years. He has spent a lot of time in France and his level of French is perceived to be very good. Natalie, on the other hand, moved to France six months ago without being able to speak a word of French but has been learning the language very quickly as she is surrounded by it every day. Although John's level of French is currently better than Natalie's, it is clear that she is catching him up as her French is improving daily and it will soon be as good as his. In other words, like with the first meaning, the gap between their respective language levels is closing. Furthermore, this usage could also be used in the context of school or education for when students miss school for a period of time. They will need to catch up with the other students when they return to the classroom as they will be behind. Moreover, we can use this application of 'catch up' for any similar situation where one person, group or country is considered to be, or is, the leader or the best at something and somebody else in their category improves, thereby decreasing the gap between the quality of the perceived leader and the person who is improving. For many years, countries in the West had the biggest economies but now the rest of the world is starting to catch up with them. The Beatles have the most number ones on the singles chart, however several modern artists are catching them up. It is thought that boys are finally catching girls up when it comes to academic performance and school exam results. I was the tallest in my class at school for many years until we became teenagers and then suddenly lots of people caught me up. MEANING 3: To do something that you were unable to do earlier Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bring oneself up to date Separable? No Like most people, I love going on holiday (vacation for those of you learning US English). One thing I dislike however is returning to work after my holiday and facing all of the work and emails that I missed whilst I was not there.The reason that I am telling you this is because this corresponds exactly to our third meaning of 'catch up', which is 'to do something that you were unable to do earlier'. I used the example of work and holidays above as it is really common to hear 'catch up' used here, so much so that in a busy office you are likely to hear it daily. Before I continue, it is important to note here that when we are in a situation at work where we have not completed as much work as we should have, such as when we go on holiday or are too busy to do it all, we say that we are "behind with our work". Aside from the world of work, another time that you are highly likely to come across this application of 'catch up' is in relation to television or a television series. This is normally with programmes that you watch regularly e.g. daily or weekly. If you miss an episode of the programme, you will not have seen the most recent episodes and therefore you will be behind, so you will then need to catch up when you can by watching the latest episodes and bringing yourself up to date. You should note that we require the additional prepositions 'with' or 'on' here to talk specify the TV programme or work that you are behind on. Please can you divert my calls this morning as I need to catch up on all the emails that I missed last week whilst I was away. Oh wow, I caught up on Stranger Things last night. I know what you guys were talking about now! Have you been able to catch up with your work this week? BONUS Whilst we are on this subject, you may have heard of catch-up television before. This is a television service that has existed for almost twenty years and allows television viewers to catch up with any shows that they have missed via the powers of the internet. Sometimes, the 'tv' is dropped and we simply just say that we will watch something 'on catch-up'. I didn't see the match last night. I am going to watch it tonight on catch-up though so don't tell me what happened. Thank goodness for catch-up tv. I don't know how I would have seen the latest episode otherwise! MEANING 4: To learn about things that have happened Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To learn, to share news, to chat Separable? No Next, we have our fourth meaning of 'catch up', which is again quite similar to the others that we have looked at so far and means 'to learn about things that have happened'. In general, this application is used, a bit like with catch-up tv, to mean 'to bring someone up to date about something'. However, it is most commonly used to describe when two people, typically friends or family members, meet up and spend time together talking and telling each other the things that have happened in their lives since they last spoke. In other words, they bring the other person up to date on all their news. It is extremely common to use this phrasal verb when speaking to people who you do not typically see regularly and with whom you need to arrange a rendezvous. Less commonly, it may also be used by a boss or colleague in the workplace who asks to see you to talk about your progress since you last spoke. Again, the extra preposition 'with' can be used here to specify the person with whom you catch up, however do not use 'on' for this. Instead, you can use 'on' to specify the subjects that you discussed during your chat or the day of the week that you want to meet. Lisa and I caught up last week over coffee. It's been so long since we've spoken! We really need to catch up! Hi Lucy, are you free to catch up this week BONUS: The noun 'catch-up' One alternative to this meaning of 'catch up' is the expression 'to have a catch-up', which is also used very frequently by native English speakers. This means the same thing as the phrasal verb and is really just a variation, but if you can use it, it will definitely help your English to sound more natural Let's have a catch-up soon. I miss you! Alex wants to see you. Don't worry, it's nothing serious, he just wants to have catch-up with you to see how everything is going. MEANING 5: To unintentionally become involved in something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To become embroiled in Separable? No We have now reached our fifth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'catch up' and this one means 'to unintentionally become involved in something'. Firstly, this particular application is different to the others that we have looked at as it only exists as a passive construction and is formed of the structure below... To be caught up in something OR to get caught up in something As you can see from the above, we can use either the verb 'to be' or 'to get' to form the passive here. When you get caught up in something, you generally somehow become involved in a situation or event, which is typically (but not always) bad and which you did not choose to be a part of. Typical examples of this could be an argument or conflict between people, a traffic jam (nobody wants to be involved in one of those) and a political scandal. How did I manage to get caught up in this mess? It has nothing to do with me! Somehow my wife has got caught up in an issue at work and she's very stressed about it. So sorry I am late, I got caught up in an argument at work and had to try and calm it down before I could leave. Lastly, it is also possible to use this passive form slightly more idiomatically, to mean that you become so involved in an activity that you are unable to notice anything else. It can be used for feelings and emotions, such as getting caught up in the atmosphere of somewhere like a pop concert or a football match. It could however be something a bit more negative, such as getting caught up with work and not having much time for your family or hobbies or getting caught up in your emotions, where you let your emotions rule your thinking and do not therefore think logically about things. I think everybody in the crowd was caught up in the atmosphere of the concert. It was truly a magical event! Leon often gets caught up in his emotions and it affects his decision making skills. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'catch up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'pass on', with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Pass on' is a versatile phrasal verb with a variety of different meanings in English. In this post, I will explain the different meanings and uses that it has, which will touch on the ideas of death and disease and also some other things that are not so unpleasant. For each meaning, there will be lots of examples in context to help you understand, learn and use them and impress your English speaking friends and colleagues! So, without further ado, let's get started. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end with your own sentences featuring 'pass on'. PASS ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Passed on / Passed on Separable? Sometimes MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To give something to somebody To communicate information to someone To decline an offer To die Photo: Pexels THE BASICS To start the post, let's take a look at the individual words 'pass' and 'on' and what they mean on their own as this can often give us some valuable insight into the more idiomatic meanings of a phrasal verb. The main verb in this post is 'to pass', which has a large number of different meanings and uses as a verb and also as a noun. Many of these meanings involve a movement or transition from one place or state to another, such as moving past someone or something, being transferred from one person to another, spending time doing something or exceeding a limit or mark. Aside from this, other key meanings of 'to pass' are 'to die' and to succeed in an exam or test'. We passed your house last night. Please can you pass me the salt. John's mum passed three years ago and he misses her every day. I passed my English exam with full marks! One thing to note about the verb 'to pass' is that it has cognates in many other Indo-European languages such as German (passieren), French (passer) and Spanish (pasar). Rather annoyingly, however, not every meaning of 'to pass' in English will translate exactly to the corresponding cognate in the other language and vice versa, so it is best to be careful when using it to ensure that you translate it correctly. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'on', which is primarily used to mean 'to be in contact with, and supported by, a surface'. As with all English prepositions, it does also have a wide range of other uses and meanings and is a common feature in phrasal verb constructions where it is used to add the ideas of continuation, progression, focus and connection, among other things. Now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'pass on'.... MEANING 1: To give something to somebody Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To give, to transmit, to pass, to hand, to infect, to bequeath, to impart Separable? Yes The first meaning of 'pass on' that we will cover in this post is 'to give something to somebody' and this one is used in many different areas of life. Whilst this meaning can just refer to the simple and unique act of transferring the possession of something from one person to another, it is often used to refer to giving something to someone that someone else gave you. In other words, when the possession of something is continually transferred from person to person. By considering the individual meanings of the words 'pass' and 'on', we can see how this first meaning is derived. From the verb 'to pass' we get the idea of 'moving or transferring something from one person to another' and from the particle 'on' we have the idea of 'continuation', so when we combine the two, we have the concept of one thing being continuously transferred to multiple people. Moreover, this is usually with the idea that once the item is transferred, it is no longer in the previous person's possession. Please sign your name on the sheet and pass it on to the person sitting next to you. When you have finished reading the book that I lent you, could you please pass it on to Sarah as she wants to read it. As I mentioned previously, there are various different areas of life in which this first application of 'pass on' is used and to make this simpler, I have created the sub-sections below to list the most common ones.... Diseases and infections - After the Covid-19 pandemic a few years ago, we are all well aware of the risk that contagious diseases pose to us. Did you know though that we frequently use the phrasal verb 'pass on' to mean 'to pass or spread a virus or infection from one person to another'? The HIV virus cannot be passed on by touching or kissing an infected person. Roger went into work with a bad cold and then passed it on to all of his colleagues. Hereditary conditions - Whilst we are on the subject of health problems, we can also use 'pass on' to refer to when hereditary health conditions are genetically inherited by a child from their parents via DNA and genes. If both parents of a child carry the gene for cystic fibrosis, there is a higher chance that the disease will be passed on to to their child. The baby was born blind due to a condition that had been passed on genetically from her mother. Possessions - Of course, one of the potential consequences of disease and ill health is that a person dies from it (more on this later). When this happens, then the property and possessions that belonged to the deceased person are usually distributed to their family members and to describe this inheritance or bequest, we can also use 'pass on'. In your will, you will need to specify how your money and savings should be passed on after you die. My Dad's investments were passed on to me and my brother when he died. Costs and savings - Another way in which we can use this application of 'pass on' is with financial costs and savings. This is typically done when a business either makes a company pay for extra costs that it incurs or, contrarily, reduces a customer's prices as the company itself has had a reduction in its costs. We regret that we cannot bear these costs alone and some of these will need to be passed on to our customers in the form of higher prices. The company passed on its savings to its customers by offering lower prices on its core products Knowledge - One final way that this application of 'pass on' is used is hopefully one that I am demonstrating now as it is concerned with teaching and knowledge. If you pass on knowledge or skills to someone else, you simply teach them or show them how to do something and pass the knowledge that you have on a subject from your brain to theirs. I am pleased that I am able to pass on my knowledge of the English language with my students. Many elder members of native American communities are dying without having passed on their knowledge to the younger generations. MEANING 2: To communicate information to someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To communicate, to tell, to inform, to notify, to recount, to advise, to relay Separable? Yes When I was at junior (elementary) school many many years ago, I remember that one of the mischievous things that we often did in the classroom was to whisper something silly or mildly offensive to the person sitting next to us. We would then tell them to "pass it on" to see how far around the classroom the message would travel, a little bit like the game known as Chinese Whispers. The reason that we said "pass it on" in this way is because the second meaning of 'pass on' is indeed 'to communicate information to another person'. This is most commonly in the form of a message. Admittedly, this is very similar to the first meaning that we have just covered, however this time we are not concerned with anything physical, but rather information. Moreover, like with the continuous transfer idea in the first meaning, this application is also often used to tell someone something that another person has told you. It should be noted however that with the first meaning, the main verb 'to pass' could be used on its own without the particle 'on' as a synonym of 'pass on'. This is not the case for this second meaning regarding information though as it sounds incomplete and a little strange to my ear without the particle 'on' here. Did you pass this information on to the customer? He passed the news on to the rest of the family. I am so sorry to hear about the death of your aunt. Please pass my condolences on to the rest of the family. Rachel forgot to pass on the message that the concert had been cancelled to her friends. MEANING 3: To decline an offer Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To decline, to turn down, to refuse Separable? No The third meaning of 'pass on' is 'to decline an offer' or in other words 'to turn down an invitation or request'. For this meaning, we are primarily concerned with when someone invites us to answer a question, participate in activity or do something. If we don't want to do what the person has asked, for example, they ask us a question that we don't want to answer or they invite us to do something that we have no desire to do, we can say that we will 'pass on' it. Interestingly (and confusingly), the phrasal verb 'pass up' can also be used as a synonym of this, especially when talking about an offer or an opportunity that we say no to. From a grammatical perspective, in contrast to the first two meanings in this post, this application of 'pass on' is not separable. David passed on the chance to go to Japan to teach English. I am not willing to answer that question so I am going to pass on that one. A number of investors are regretting passing on the opportunity of buying a stake in the company, which has seen huge success over the past 5 years. MEANING 4: To die Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Primarily American English Potential synonyms To die, to pass, to pass away, to pass over, to expire Separable? No For our fourth and final meaning of 'pass on', we are once again returning to the theme of death as this meaning is simply 'to die'. This usage is a euphemistic one, which means that is uses mild, inoffensive or polite words or phrases to describe something that could be offensive or unpleasant, such as something sexual or, in this case, death. The idea behind this usage is linked to the idea that many people believe that when you die, your soul goes to heaven, once again giving us the idea of 'progression and continuation that we get from the particle 'on'. I would say that this is more of an American usage as in British English we would be more inclined to use the synonym 'pass away' as a euphemism for death. You should note that that verb 'to pass' on its own can also be used to mean the same thing. As with the previous usage, this one does not take a direct object and it cannot be separated. I am sorry to hear that your father has passed on. When I pass on, I would like to be buried next to my wife. The actress passed on after a long battle with cancer. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say a big THANK YOU for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'pass on'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

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

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'fall out', with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! How much do you know about the phrasal verb 'fall out'? Do you know all of the meanings that it has? For example, what it means when one person falls out with another or what happens if a soldier falls out? Don't worry if you don't as in this blog article, I will explain the different meanings of this useful phrasal verb and give you lots of examples to help you learn and use it, so that you can impress your English-speaking friends and colleagues. So, without further ado, let's make a start. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end 😊 FALL OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Fell out / Fallen out Separable? No MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To fall from an internal space To detach and drop from something To argue with someone and end a friendship To leave a military formation Bonus: The noun fallout Photo: Pexels THE BASICS Before we start with the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'fall out', it is a good idea to look at the words 'fall' and 'out' and what they mean individually. Our main verb in this article is 'to fall', which is a common English irregular verb that is most frequently used to describe the action of moving in a downwards direction, usually in way that is fast, uncontrolled and unintentional. Alternatively, 'to fall' can also be used to describe a decrease of some sort as well as when somebody or something unintentionally goes down to the ground. 'To fall' is commonly used in collocation with particles such as 'over', 'off' and 'down', which all give more information to describe the nature of the 'falling' action. The pilot lost control of the airplane and it started falling towards the ground. Snow is likely to fall here in December and January. The old lady almost fell at the bus stop but luckily a young man was there to stop her. The rate of Covid infection is expected to fall in Spring and Summer. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'out', which possesses a large variety of uses and applications in English. It is perhaps most commonly used as the opposite of 'in' and therefore it typically refers to being on the outside of something or to moving away from the inside of something. When used in phrasal verb constructions, 'out' often adds this idea of movement away from something or somewhere, however it can additionally add other ideas, such as revelation, distribution, appearance and removal. Now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'fall out'... MEANING 1: To fall from an internal space Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synoyms To spill out, to tumble out, to topple out, to drop out Separable? No We are going to start things off in a nice and easy way with the literal meaning of the phrasal verb 'fall out', which is 'to fall from an internal space'. As I stated in the previous section, the particle 'out' functions as the natural opposite of 'in', so we can use this first application to refer to anybody or anything that is in an internal space and then quite literally falls from that space, meaning that they are no longer inside it. As the verb in question is 'to fall', then the falling action here is usually unintentional. When used with people, this application of 'fall out' tends to be used in reference to enclosed spaces that people can be physically inside, such as cars or buildings*. You should also note that in English we sometimes use 'in' for places that are not specifically completely enclosed spaces, such as a tree (if you climb up into the branches) or a bathtub and here you would also need to use 'out' as the natural opposite of this. *Typically, we do not not say that someone falls out of a building, but rather a window or door. John was so drunk that he fell out of the taxi when it stopped outside his house. The little boy was playing too close to the window and fell out of it but luckily it was on the ground floor, so he was not hurt. Laura fell out of a tree and broke her arm. When used with items and objects, this application of 'fall out' tends to be in relation to things that are in a container of some sort and falls or spills from the interior of that. These are typically things like bags, boxes, cupboards and pockets. My house key fell out of my pocket whilst I was jogging. The shopping bag split and all of the shopping fell out all over the pavement. When Lucy opened the fridge, a bottle of water fell out and smashed on the kitchen floor. Lastly, I am sure that many of you are familiar with the expression of 'falling in love with someone', meaning to start to develop feelings of love for another person. Well, we can also use 'to fall out of love with someone' to describe the exact opposite of this. Furthermore, it can also be used figuratively when you stop having a great enjoyment of something. Simon realised he had fallen out of love with his wife after several years of marriage. Margaret fell out of love with teaching and quit her job at the school. MEANING 2: To detach and drop from something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To drop out, to come out, to detach, to disconnect Separable? No The second meaning of 'fall out' is really just a continuation of the first one that we have just looked at and it is 'to detach and drop from something'. Nouns commonly used with: Hair Teeth Hair extensions Piercings Fingernails and toenails, especially false ones For this meaning, we are primarily focussed on things that are attached or connected to something and then become loose and eventually become detached or 'fall off'. Typically, we use this with nouns such as hair and teeth when referring to people and the reason that we use 'out' here instead of 'off' is that for all of these to be attached to you, a part of them has to be inside you rather than just 'on' you, in which case we would need 'off'. Interestingly, for a body part such as a finger, toe, ear or nose, we would use 'fall off' rather than 'fall out'...English can be quite strange sometimes! When Rosalind was having cancer treatment, all of her hair fell out. One of the boxer's teeth fell out after a match. You had better remove your earrings before you go for a run or else they will fall out. Of course, we normally use this application of 'fall out' to describe the moment in which the hair or teeth detach and drop, however you should also know that we can also use it when someone lost them in the past, especially when they are still missing. All his teeth fell out when he was a young man and he couldn't afford to pay for dentures. Moving away from body parts, we can also use 'fall out' for parts of items and objects that become detached from the main item. This is perhaps most commonly heard with pages in books, but could equally be used with shoelaces in shoes, an internal car part like an engine or a cable from a device. The book was so old and well used that when I picked it up, half of the pages fell out and scattered across the desk. One of the screws has fallen out of my router and now it won't stand up properly. I think that the golden rule here is that if we say in English that something is 'in' something else, then we use 'fall out' when it becomes detached. If we use the particle 'on', then the phrasal verb 'fall off' would be more suitable. MEANING 3: To argue with someone and end a friendship Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To argue, to argue, to row, to fight, to disagree, to break up, to squabble Separable? No For the third meaning of 'fall out', we are moving away from the idea of physically falling as this one is 'to argue with someone and end a friendship'. For this particular usage, we require the additional preposition 'with', when we want to specify the person with whom we have argued, giving us the construction 'to fall out with someone'. When we want to specify the reason for the argument, we can use the additional prepositions 'over' or 'about'. This informal application of 'fall out' is used when two people have a disagreement or quarrel and usually then end their friendship, which can either be on a temporary or a permanent basis. I would say that this is not normally used with small or petty arguments as it needs to be bad enough for the two people to not want to see one another again (or at least for a period of time). Note that we do not typically use this particular application when talking about a romantic couple, as the phrasal verb 'break up' is more likely to be used here, although you may still hear it in this way from time to time. Helen isn't coming with us tonight as we've fallen out. Come on, let's not fall out over this! It's not worth falling out over. Dave and Martin have fallen out over some money that Dave owes. What have they fallen out about this time? One thing to note from a grammatical perspective is that we do not use this particular application of 'fall out' in continuous ('ing) tenses. Nevertheless, there is an expression that exists, which is particularly common in American English and does use the continuous form and that is 'to have a falling out'. If you have a falling out with someone, it means exactly the same thing and is purely just another way of saying it. Helen isn't coming with us tonight as we've had a falling out. Come on! Let's not have a falling out over this. IDIOM ALERT! The idiom 'to fall out of favour with somebody' is a fairly common expression that means to stop being liked, popular or highly regarded, either by one person, several people or society as a whole. For example, you may use it in a situation when a person stops treating you well or nicely or when something stops being popular in the public realm. Just a reminder that the 'o' in favour is dropped in American English (to fall out of favor). I fell out of favour with my boss when I stopped working overtime. This singer is very popular at the moment but she will fall out of favour with the public sooner or later. They all do. MEANING 4: To leave a military formation Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To move out, to stand at ease Separable? No The fourth and final meaning of the phrasal verb 'fall out' that we will cover in this post is 'to leave a military formation'. As you can guess, this one is a much rarer usage as it is specific to the armed forces and the military. Broadly speaking, there are two different scenarios in which it is used, both of which are to do with military formations.... The first scenario is when soldiers or military personnel leave their barracks (the place where they sleep) in order to participate in a military formation or procession. I, personally, am very familiar with this particular usage, although I have never been in the armed forces! The second scenario is the one that I am familiar with however and that is when soldiers and military personnel leave their assigned places in a military formation, which is typically a line of soldiers. If a soldier moves from their position, essentially breaking the uniformity of the line, it can be said that he or she has fallen out of line. Additionally, once the parade or formation is officially over, the soldiers can officially fall out, meaning that they can all leave their official positions. The tired soldier accidentally fell out of line during the King's parade and was severely reprimanded by his seniors. Sergeant Smith ordered his troops to fall out and return to their barracks. BONUS: 'FALLOUT' AS A NOUN Before I finish this post, I want to make you aware of the noun 'fallout' and what it means as it actually has a couple of different meanings that are different to those of the phrasal verb. Firstly, the noun 'fallout' can be used for the negative results or consequences of a situation or event. It is often followed by the preposition 'from' and can often be heard in the news when speaking about political or financial issues. We were not prepared for the fallout from the financial crisis in 2008 and have been trying to improve it ever since. The political fallout from this event is going to be huge! Secondly, the noun 'fallout' can be used in a more specific way to describe the after effects of a nuclear explosion, in particular with reference to the radioactive material that remains in the atmosphere afterwards. Let's hope we never have to use this one apart from when talking about books, tv shows and movies! The nuclear fallout is expected to be severe and far reaching and people are strongly advised to move well away from the region. The fallout has been causing health problems for those people living in the wider area for many years. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say a big THANK YOU for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'fall out'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'knock off', with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Knock off' is a largely informal phrasal verb in English. It has a variety of different meanings, including some that are very good and some that are very bad. In this post, I will explain all of the different meanings to you and provide lots of examples of each to help you learn and use these in your daily English. I've also included a section at the end with some common idioms featuring 'knock off' to really help you to sound like a native speaker. So, without further ado, let's make a start. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end with your own sentences of 'knock off'. KNOCK OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Knocked off / Knocked off Separable? Yes MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To remove something from a surface with force To finish work To reduce a price by a specific amount To produce something quickly To steal To murder someone Common idioms with 'knock off' THE BASICS Let's begin our exploration of the phrasal verb 'knock off' by a quick analysis of what the individual words 'knock' and 'off' mean on their own. The verb 'to knock' is a fairly common verb in English, whose main meaning is 'to hit something with force, often repeatedly'. This can be intentionally, usually in order to create a noise e.g. knocking a door, or it can be accidentally e.g. if you knock something or someone whilst you are walking because you do not see them... . We knocked on the door but there was no answer, so we presumed that nobody was at home. I was in a rush when I was leaving my house earlier and accidentally knocked the parcel shelf. I hope nothing fell off! Moreover, 'to knock' is often used in conjunction with prepositional particles such as 'into', 'out' and 'off' to give more information about the 'knocking action', such as the consequence or direction...more on this shortly! Next up, we have the prepositional particle 'off', which, has a large number of different applications and uses in English and functions as an adverb, preposition, adjective and even as a verb (albeit a rare one). Perhaps one of the most pertinent meanings of 'off' for the purposes of the phrasal verb 'knock off' is to denote physical separation or detachment from something, especially a surface. Aside from this, a key meaning of 'off' as an adjective is to describe a device or machine that is not on, connected or activated. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move onto the meanings of the phrasal verb 'knock off'... MEANING 1: To remove something from a surface with force Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Lower intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To push off, to dislodge, to displace Separable? Yes For our first meaning of the phrasal verb 'knock off', let's keep it nice and simple and start things off with the literal meaning of the two words 'knock' and 'off', which gives us the meaning of 'to remove something from a surface with force'. Firstly, as you can probably imagine, this application is concerned with items, things or people which are placed or sit on a surface such as a table, shelf or horse. If something then hits the object with enough energy to make it fall from the surface so that it is no longer on it, we can say that is has been 'knocked off' by the force. This can be either in an intentional or accidental way. The cat jumped onto the table and knocked the glass bottle off, which then smashed on the floor. As the thief was riding away, the villagers tried to knock him off his horse by throwing rocks at him. I am so sorry. I accidentally knocked the picture off the shelf when I was cleaning and I've broken the frame. In addition to things that are sitting or are situated on a surface, we can also use this application of 'knock off' for when a part of something is detached or disconnected from the rest of it by force. The car's wing mirror was knocked off when the driver drove too close to the wall. A tourist has been charged with criminal damage after he knocked the leg off of the statue of a horse in the town square. Lastly, there are a couple of other less obvious uses that we can apply this meaning to. The first is with reference to our feet, as if something knocks you off your feet, it hits you with a lot of force, so that you fall to the ground (you are no longer on your feet). This can also be used to describe when you fall ill with something and you have to spend some time in bed or resting and lastly, in a non-literal way, to describe when you are affected very deeply by something in an emotional way or romantic way. The explosion was so powerful that it knocked me off my feet and I was half a kilometre away from it. The last time I caught Covid it knocked me off my feet for several days. The shock of my parents dying knocked me off my feet. I was shell shocked! The other time that you may hear this application of 'knock off' in use is with reference to lists and charts, particularly music charts. If something is in the number one position on the chart and then another song or item replaces it as the number one, we can say it 'knocks it off'.... After spending 8 weeks at number one on the UK singles chart, Michael Jackson's latest single has been knocked off the top spot by his sister Janet. Lastly, this usage is separable and can be used both separably and inseparably without changing the meaning. MEANING 2: To finish work Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To finish, to get off, to clock off Potential antonyms To start work, to clock in Separable? No For many of us, this second meaning of 'knock off' represents one of the best parts of our days or even weeks (if it is a Friday) as it means 'to finish work'. Normally, we use this for when we finish work at the end of the day at the usual time, however it can sometimes be used just to talk about a specific time when you finish too, for example if you are finishing earlier or later then usual for some reason. On a grammatical note, this usage of 'knock off' is not separable and does not take a direct object. It is often followed by the noun 'work' but this is not always necessary as the meaning is usually evident from the context. What time do you usually knock off work? I am knocking off a bit early today as I have a dentists appointment. We start work at 9am and don't knock off until 6pm at the earliest. This usage and meaning has quite a dark and sinister etymology as it dates back several centuries to the time when the Atlantic slave trade was still in existence. It is thought that when the galley slaves were forced to row the boats across the ocean, there was a man who would beat (or knock) a drum to create a rhythm for the rowers to follow. Once the beat stopped, the slaves could then stop rowing and rest, essentially stopping work. MEANING 3: To reduce a price by a specific amount Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reduce, to deduct, to subtract, to take off, to take away, to dock Separable? Yes For the third meaning of 'knock off', we have another really positive meaning that everyone would appreciate and that is 'to reduce a price by a specific amount'. This usage is definitely one for those amongst you who like to haggle or barter for the best price when buying something as if someone knocks an amount off a price, they reduce it and therefore give you a discount on the sale. What you should remember for this meaning is that the amount or percentage that is reduced or 'knocked off' is normally required to be stated here and this functions as a direct object from a grammatical perspective. If the specific amount of reduction is not known, for example if you just want a lower price in general, non-specific words like 'a bit' or 'something' are often used instead. There was a crack in the packaging on my new tool kit, so the shop owner agreed to knock 25% off the price for me. The price is $10 for one but if you buy a pack of three, I will knock 10% off the price and you can have them all for $27. £2000?! That's a bit expensive! Are you able to knock a bit off that? In addition to prices, it is also possible to use this same application with time, especially when talking about the times of races etc. For example, if a runner breaks a world record by a second, you could equally say that he or she knocked a second off the world record. Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recently knocked almost half a second off her own world record in the 400m hurdles event at the Olympic Games. MEANING 4: To produce something quickly Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potentials synonyms To dash off, to bang out Separable? Yes The next meaning of 'knock off' is 'to produce something quickly' and can refer to anything that you make, produce or create. Primarily, though, it tends to be used with writing and creating written documents and work. Normally, 'knock off' is used in this sense when a person creates something very hastily, with very little effort or in a short space of time. Oftentimes, we specify the amount of time that the 'knocking off' action took. I wanted to go to the beach but I had to finish my report first, so I quickly knocked it off in a hour and went and met my friends. The orchestra were able to knock the recording of the entire concerto off in a couple of hours. How quickly do you think you could knock off a review of last night's concert? In addition to producing something quickly, there is also a second usage of this application of 'knock off' that also exists. This one is a bit more negative however, as it means specifically 'to make a cheap copy or imitation of a product'. This is usually in an illegal way and tends to be done mostly by imitating high-end and luxury brand items that are made using much cheaper materials and therefore sold at a much cheaper price. The gang has been knocking off fake Gucci bags for many years and many naive people have been fooled by them. I don't think this watch is a real Cartier watch. I think it has been knocked off and it is a cheap imitation. KNOCK-OFF AS A NOUN The usage of 'knock off' to describe fake or cheap imitation goods and products has given rise to the noun 'knock-off' (knockoff'), which is a name given to the fake products themselves. Do you think these shoes are genuine or a knock-off? John sells knock-off watches and jewellery on the beach to tourists. MEANING 5: To steal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Mainly British English Potential synonyms To rob, steal, to pilfer, to pinch, to knock over (US English) Separable? Yes At the end of the last section, I explained how 'knock off' can be used in a negative and dishonest sense to mean 'to sell cheap imitations of expensive and luxury products' and this fifth meaning sticks with the negative and criminal theme as it means 'to steal something'. Simply put, if you knock something off, you steal or rob it, i.e. take it from a shop, store, or less commonly, another person. This is not such a common usage however, and other synonyms such as 'to rob' and 'to steal' are in much more frequent use in everyday English. Roger has knocked off a lot of tools and equipment from his local hardware store and he is going to sell it all online. The thief managed to knock off $1000 worth of goods from the shopping mall in less than an hour. You may also hear this application of 'knock off' being used in reference to shops and stores and banks, rather than specific items, especially in American English. This is because this application is also used for talking about stealing from a particular place, with the focus being placed on the establishment from where the goods were taken, rather than the individual stolen items. The teenagers spent the morning knocking off different shops in the city centre. The thieves' plan to knock off the bank was foiled by the police. MEANING 6: To murder someone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To murder, to kill, to do for, to do in, to do away with Separable? Yes We started this article with some really nice and positive meanings, so firstly I'd like to apologise because we are ending it on a more unpleasant note. This is because this final meaning is 'to murder someone' and has the structure 'to knock someone off'. Although 'knock off' is used here as a general synonym of 'to murder', it tends to be used specifically when the murder has been ordered by someone as the victim poses a threat to him or her in some way. As such, this is perhaps one that I hope you will never have to use in your own lives but it may be something that you come across if you enjoy watching English-language TV series and movies, particularly dramas about gangs, the mafia and politics etc. I was really shocked when the main character of the series was knocked off at the end of the first season. The man was murdered. His wife knocked him off when she found out that he was having an affair. Do you think the victim was knocked off by another member or it was an accident? Photo: Pexels COMMON IDIOMS WITH 'KNOCK OFF' Before I conclude this post, there are a couple of idioms and one extra usage that I want to make you aware of.... Knock it off! - This short command is often used by native speakers when they are annoyed or irritated by something that someone is doing and it functions as a request or an order for them to stop. Knock it off! You are really getting on my nerves! To knock someone's block off - This is a very aggressive idiomatic expression that is often used as threat to someone. In this sense, the word 'block' means a head and therefore this expression is used to mean when you hit someone's head, or physically attack them. If you don't be quiet, I'm gonna knock your block off! To knock someone's socks off - Lastly, this next idiom is much more positive and is used when someone is amazed or very impressed by something. If something knocks your socks off, you are astonished or shocked by in in a good way. You wait until you watch this performance. It will knock your socks off! Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'knock off'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'hold up', with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! '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. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end with your own example sentences 😊 HOLD UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Held up / Held up Separable? Yes MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To hold something in an elevated position To prevent something from falling To delay someone or something To withstand difficulty or scrutiny To make an example of something To commit a robbery Photo: Pexels THE BASICS 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. 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. 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 just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'hold up'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'get through', with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! This article is all about the wonderful English phrasal verb 'get through', which I am sure many of you will be familiar with already. In this post, I will explain the different meanings that 'get through' has and give you lots of examples of usage for each one to help you memorise and use them in your everyday English. So, without further ado, let's get started. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end with your own 'get through' sentence 😊 GET THROUGH: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Got through / Got-gotten through Separable? Sometimes MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To physically pass through something To pass a difficult experience or period To do a difficult or challenging task To pass to the next stage of a competition To use all of something To have a law accepted To manage to speak to someone on the telephone To make someone understand something Photo: Pexels THE BASICS Before we look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'get through', let's first examine the meanings of the words 'get' and 'through' on their own. To begin, we have the verb that gives most English learners nightmares: 'to get'. As I've mentioned before in previous posts, English native speakers love using this verb as it has such a lot of different uses and meanings and we seem to be able to fit it in almost everywhere. Some of the main meanings of the verb 'to get' include 'to receive', 'to become' and 'to understand', but I would say that for the purposes of the phrasal verb 'get through', the meaning that is most important is 'to arrive somewhere'. What time did you get home last night? She got to work on time despite the terrible traffic. How did you get here? I thought your car had broken down and was off the road? The prepositional particle 'through' is one that does not feature in as many phrasal verbs as some of the others but the ones that it does feature in are all great ones to know. As a preposition and adverb, 'through' means a movement or passage from one side of something to the other, via the middle of it and is used with a wide variety of different nouns, from doors and windows to cities and forests. In addition to physical movement, 'through' can also be used to describe temporal movement, i.e. a period of time from the beginning to the end of something and we will return to this idea later in this post. You may also be familiar with the alternative spelling 'thru', which is an accepted non-standard form of 'through' and that should only be used informally and not in formal documents or writing. Now, that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the meanings of the phrasal verb 'get through'.... MEANING 1: To physically pass through something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go through, to pass through Separable? No The first meaning of 'get through' that we will look at is one that should be reasonably logical to you as it is more or less the combination of the literal meaning of the words 'get' (in the sense of arriving) and 'through', i.e. to physically pass from one one side of something to the other. This could be used typically with nouns like door, window, hole, gap or anything that someone or something could pass from side of to the other, through its centre. One of the potential synonyms of this particular meaning is 'go through' but you should note that we use 'get through' when there is some sort of difficulty in passing through something, if there is a question about it or in a negative statement when the action is not possible at all. 'Go through', on the other hand, tends to be used when the movement is unimpeded (not obstructed) and without difficulty or problem. I realised that I had to lose weight when I could not get through the gap in the fence. The door was locked, how did you manage to get through it? The burglar managed to get through a small downstairs window that the house owners had left open. In addition to this, we can also use this application of 'get through' when talking about being able to reach a destination when there was some sort of blockage or obstruction that was preventing us from getting there. We finally got through the blizzard and made it home just before midnight. John got through customs after proving to the customs officers that he was a Canadian citizen. You can't get through that way, you need to turn back. MEANING 2: To pass a difficult experience or period Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go through, to pass, to endure, to suffer, to bear Separable? No As we go through the different meanings of 'get through', you'll notice that there is a running theme of 'passing' that links many of them and this second usage is no exception as it means 'to pass a difficult or experience or period in your life'. Typical situations that this application is used in: Grief when a loved one dies Divorce Illness Court cases Exams A difficult or challenging period at work As you can guess from the list of typical situations above, this application of 'get through' is used to describe when we live through something unpleasant or hard, from the beginning to the end, with the focus on arriving on the other side when the negative experience is in the past and we can hopefully smile and forget about it. We will get through this as a family. When I lost my job things were difficult financially for a while but I got through it and now I have a much better job. Losing a loved one is very hard but with time and support, you will get through the dark period of grief. Typically, this is usage is not separable, however if there is a person or thing that helps us to get through a difficult period, we do then separate 'get' and 'through' and insert the person experiencing the hard times between them as a direct object pronoun. I am so tired today. The only thing that will get me through work is coffee! Jane's children got her through the period of mourning after her husband died. MEANING 3: To do a difficult or challenging task Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To do, to endure, to sit through Separable? No In the previous section, I explained how 'get through' can be used to talk about passing a difficult period or experience in your life and this third usage is related to this as it means 'to do a difficult or challenging task'. Typical situations that this application is used in: When you have lots of work to do within a specific time period When you have to do something boring or uninteresting Perhaps the main way that this application of 'get through' is used is with reference to work, or more specifically work that you have to do. If you have a busy job, which involves many different tasks and deadlines, then it is likely that at some point you will need to say that you "have a lot to get through" when you have a lot of work or a list of jobs to do within a specific time period. Let's get this meeting started. We have a lot of points to get through and not much time. I'm going to try and get through as much of this work as possible before the end of the day. Furthermore, 'get through' can also be used to describe having to do something boring, unpleasant or difficult in general. This tends to be used a lot when there is something good or positive to look forward to after the dull or undesirable task has been done. I just have to get through this week at work and then I am going on holiday for a fortnight! You just need to get through the first two boring chapters of this book and then it gets really good. Roger is not looking forward to this meeting but knows that he just has to get through it and then he can go to the pub. Dinner at my wife's parents' house is always so monotonous. I don't know how I get through it every Sunday. MEANING 4: To pass to the next stage of a competition Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To go through, to proceed Potential antonyms To be / get knocked out Separable? No For the fourth meaning of 'get through', we are returning to the theme of passing and this time we are particularly focussed on competitions as this meaning is 'to pass to the next stage of a competition'. Typical situations that this application is used in: Sports tournaments Contests and competitions with rounds and finals Competitions are all around us in the modern world, whether that be the football World Cup, the Olympics or a televised singing competition, and they remain a very popular form of entertainment for many people all over the world. Many of these contests are structured in such a way that there are rounds at the beginning, which then progress to quarter finals, semi finals and finals, with only the best competitors or teams progressing all the way to the end. In these types of competitions, the phrasal verb 'go through' is commonly used to express when a player or participant has been successful and passes, or gets through, to the next round or final. Simon didn't get through to the semi finals in the darts competition. He's really upset about it. Do you think that the England team will get through to the final in the World Cup? The young runner managed to get through the first round of the 800 metres but was eliminated in the next stage. MEANING 5: To use all of something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To run out, to use up, to go through Separable? No For our next meaning of 'get through', we are looking at one that is primarily used in British English, although I believe that it would be understood all over the anglophone world and it is means 'to use all of something', or alternatively, 'to use a lot of something'. Typical nouns that this application is used with: Supplies Food Money Electricity and gas Alcohol This application tends to be used with things that we consume often, which we often run out of and then need to replenish, such as supplies, food or money. 'Get through' is typically used with these to express when we use all of an item, or a large or surprising amount of it. My friend and I got through three bottles of wine last night! That's obviously why I have such a bad headache today. Helen's teenage children get through a loaf of bread and two pints of milk every day. London is a very expensive city and you can easily get through all of your holiday money if you're not careful whilst you visit. How much electricity do you get through every week? We don't get through that much but our bill is always very high! MEANING 6: To have a law accepted Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To push through, to be implemented, to enact Separable? Yes The sixth meaning of 'get through' is 'to have a law accepted' and is slightly different to the other meanings that we have looked at so far as this one is only ever used in a separable way. Consequently, it takes a direct object which is the 'rule' or 'law' in question that is accepted or passed. To clarify this meaning, if you get a law through, it means that you propose a law or piece of legislation and then do the necessary work to ensure that it is accepted and ratified by parliament or the relevant committee, council, commission or board. As you can imagine, this is mainly used in the world of politics and government at local, national and international levels, so you may not ever need to use it but it is useful to know just in case! The politician worked tirelessly to get her law protecting single women through. Despite all of their efforts, the government failed to get their new climate change legislation through as it was blocked by the opposition every time they tried. MEANING 7: To manage to speak to someone on the phone Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To connect Separable? No For our seventh meaning of 'get through', we are turning our attention to telephone calls as this one is 'to manage to speak to someone on the phone'. Typical situations that this application is used in: When phone lines are busy or engaged When a phone call is unexpectedly answered Despite it being easier than ever before to contact people by telephone in today's world, there are still times when we try to contact someone and we are unable to reach them. This could possibly be because the phone line is busy or the other person does not answer for whatever reason. In both of these instances, we can say that we didn't or couldn't get through when we tried to call them, as the call was not answered. I've been calling Lisa all day and haven't been able to get through. I hope she is okay! We had to call this number to book the tickets but we couldn't get through as the line was engaged. Moreover, we don't just use 'get through' when we aren't able to speak to the desired person, but also when we do manage to speak to them. Often, as per usual with the verb 'get', there is usually an element of difficulty or surprise attached to this for example if other people have tried and failed to contact the person or if you have to wait a long time for the person to answer. John was on the phone to the electrics company for thirty minutes before he finally got through to a representative. I can't believe you had a problem getting through to the doctors surgery today. I didn't, I got through straight away when I called at 9am. MEANING 8: To make someone understand something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To make someone understand Separable? Yes Last but not least, we have our eighth meaning of 'get through', which again is only used in a separable way. In addition, we require the extra preposition 'to', giving us the construction: 'to get something through to someone', which means 'to make someone understand something'. Typical situations that this application is used in: When someone refuses to believe something that is true When someone does not understand something When you want to convey a message to someone but they do not understand The reason that I covered the telephone meaning in the last section was because it is a bit similar to this one, however instead of getting through to someone on the phone, you are instead getting through to their brain or mind. This usage is normally reserved for when someone refuses to believe something or just does not understand something and so it is therefore used most frequently when the speaker is annoyed or frustrated about this. What we ultimately want with this usage is for the other person to fully comprehend and understand something, often when it is something that will help them or be beneficial to them in some way. I've tried telling my girlfriend that I will never cheat on her again but I can't seem to get it through to her and she still doesn't trust me. The teacher has told the students many times about the dangers of smoking but she can't get it through to them. I wish I could get it through to you that I don't care about you anymore. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'get through'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'have on', with lots of examples in context Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! The English phrasal verb 'have on' is perhaps not one that you are very familiar with, however it is one that you certainly should be as it has some useful applications for everyday speech. In this post, I will explain the different meanings of 'have on', from wearing clothes and jewellery to tricking someone, with lots of examples in context to help you learn, memorise and use them. So, without further ado, let's make a start. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end! HAVE ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Had on / Had on Separable? Yes MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To wear something To have plans To be in operation To fool someone To have incriminating information about someone THE BASICS As a first step in our exploration of the phrasal verb 'have on', let's consider the individual words 'have' and 'on' and what they mean on their own. Firstly we have the verb 'to have', which requires absolutely no introduction as it is one of the two most commonly used verbs in English (along with to be) and functions as both an auxiliary and a main verb. When used as a main verb, 'to have' has a couple of uses but I think that the main ones are the ideas of possession and indicating a specific relationship between two things or people.... I have a nice house in London. John has a big family. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'on', which again will be very familiar to all of you as it is extremely common and features in many different contexts due to its huge variety of meanings and uses. Perhaps the main meaning of 'on' when used as both a preposition and an adverb is 'to be in physical contact and supported by something' but it can be used in a large amount of other ways. In phrasal verb constructions, 'on' can be used to add the ideas of continuation, contact, connection, support, attention and progression, amongst other things. WHAT ABOUT THE WORD 'GOT'? There is one more word that I want to include here in this section as it is one that is often used in connection with the verb 'to have' when used as a main verb and it is therefore used a lot in phrasal verb constructions with the verb 'to have' too: 'got'. The construction 'have got' (or 'has got' with he, she and it) is one that is used frequently in spoken English and in fact just means the same as 'have' or 'has'. In other words, the meaning of the word 'got' here is redundant and is not connected with the verb 'to get'. We use 'has / have got' typically when talking about possession, characteristics, illnesses and relationships and its usage also gets carried across into phrasal verbs with 'to have', including 'have on'. As such, for each meaning of 'have on' that we cover in this post, I have included a section in the information table to state whether or not 'got' can be used with it. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's make a start on the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'have on'.... MEANING 1: To wear something CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To wear, to be dressed in, to sport Is it used with 'got'? Yes Nouns commonly used with Clothes, glasses, shoes, watch, jewellery Separable? Yes - Always As I mentioned in the previous section, one of the principal meanings of the particle 'on' is to denote when something is in contact or is supported by something, and for this reason, we can use 'on' to talk about clothes as when we wear them, they are 'on' our bodies. This then brings us to our first meaning of 'have on', which is 'to wear something'. Of course, first and foremost this relates to pieces of clothing as well as clothing in general and you can therefore use it as a synonym of the verb 'to wear'. Note that unlike with the verb 'to wear' however, we cannot use this application of 'have on' in a progressive ('ing) tense. As stated in the table above, this usage of 'have on' is separable and we normally use it this way, with the direct object (the item of clothing) going between the words 'have' and 'on'. I have got my best clothes on today. You don't have a coat on, you must be freezing! Come on, Lucy. You need to hurry up. It's almost time for school and you don't even have your school uniform on yet! The sun has got his hat on, hip hip hooray. The sun has got his hat on and he's coming out today (song lyrics). In addition to clothes and garments, 'have on' can be used with anything that you wear on your body, such as glasses, a watch, jewellery and also perfumes. Kevin has got his sunglasses on today to hide his black eye. I don't have my glasses on, so I can't read the menu. Mmmm you smell lovely. What perfume have you got on today? Lastly, as you could probably guess, if you don't have anything on, it means that you are naked and this is indeed a common way of expressing this. It can be used to describe complete nudity or just with specific body parts, most commonly feet, to say that that part of the body is exposed and not covered. I couldn't answer the door today as I'd just got out of the shower and I didn't have anything on. Sarah had nothing on her feet and she tried to walk across the hot sand. She regretted it instantly! BONUS: IDIOM ALERT Whilst we are on the subject of nudity, it is also possible to express being naked with an idiomatic expression featuring the phrasal verb 'have on': 'to not have a stitch on'. I went swimming in the sea yesterday and I didn't have a stitch on. It was very liberating! John walked into his friend's bedroom whilst he was changing his clothes and he didn't have a stitch on. MEANING 2: To have plans CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To have plans, to be busy Is it used with 'got'? Yes Separable? Yes - Always The second meaning of 'have on' is a British usage that will definitely be useful to you if you have a busy life because it means 'to have something arranged or planned'. Typical situations that this application is used in: When you have a busy schedule When you are busy at a specific time If you want to give an excuse for not doing something To clarify this meaning further, if you have something on, it means that you have an engagement planned, organised or scheduled for a specific time. Consequently, we use it a lot when we want to give a reason for not being able to do something or go somewhere and occasionally some people (not me 😉) use it as an excuse to not do something. Moreover, we often use it when we don't want to give the exact details of our pre-arranged plans or the precise information is not necessary. Again, this usage of 'have on' tends to be separated by native speakers. What have you got on this afternoon? Thanks so much for inviting me to the cinema with you. Unfortunately, I've already got something on tonight, so I won't be able to join you. My wife can't come to the school parents evening next week as she has something on, so I will be coming by myself. Aside from specific arrangements on specific dates, we can use this application of 'have on' to talk about when we have a very busy schedule in general. This can be either a work or a personal schedule and either way it tends to be used when we have lots of things organised that we must attend or go to. Due to the vague, non-specific usage of this application, it is often used with words such as 'lots', 'a lot' and 'much'. Do you have much on this weekend? I've got lots on today, so I am going to go into the office early. I haven't got much on today, so I should get around to finishing the presentation. MEANING 3: To be in operation CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Is it used with 'got'? Yes Potential synonyms To be on, to be in operation, to be functioning Nouns commonly used with Television, radio, washing machine, heating, air conditioning, music Separable? Yes - Always The third meaning of 'have on' that we will cover in this post means 'to be in operation or to be functioning' and is used primarily to talk about devices and machines such as televisions, radios and heating. To understand this usage, we need first of all to go back to one of the many meanings of the particle 'on', which is 'to be functioning or in operation' and is used in particular to describe machines and devices. In other words, when a machine is 'on', it is functioning as it was intended and doing its job. When we use the phrasal verb 'have on', we are not talking about turning or switching the device on, but rather we are talking about the state of it being on or in operation. It is often used when someone turns something on and leaves it for a specific period of time or whilst they are doing something. In addition to machines and devices, we can also use it with music. When I am working from home, I always have the radio on in the background as it helps me concentrate. John likes to have music on when he is running. I watched a bit of the concert on TV last night. I had it on whilst I was doing some work and so I saw bits of it. We always have the heating on constantly from November to March as it gets too cold in our house. Lucy tries to not have the air conditioning on all the time as it is expensive. MEANING 4: To fool someone CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Is it used with 'got'? No Potential synonyms To trick, to fool, to tease, to play a prank on, to wind up, to deceive Separable? Yes - always Our fourth meaning of 'have on' is for all of the practical jokers amongst you as it means to fool, trick or play a joke on someone. This particular usage is rather informal in nature and tends to be used mainly in British English. Typical situations that this application is used in: Practical jokes Typically, if you have someone on, you make them believe that something is true when it is not. This is however not in a sinister way (like to deceive, mislead or swindle) but rather in a good natured, humorous way. It is normally only ever done amongst friends or family and is not intended to cause harm to anyone. On a grammatical note, this application of 'have on' is different to the others that we have covered in the post so far. Firstly, it is normally used with a progressive ('ing) tense and secondly, it is never used with 'got'. Furthermore, it is separable and must always have the same "have someone on" structure ('have on someone' doesn't work here). I've won the lottery?! Are you having me on? We were having Roger on in the pub last night and we told him that the we had got parts in a new Hollywood movie. He completely believed it! Don't worry, Helen. It's not true, you're not really going to have to move to Scotland. We were just having you on. MEANING 5: To have incriminating information about someone CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Is it used with 'got'? Yes Separable? Yes - always We now come to our fifth and final meaning of 'have on', which is to 'to have incriminating information about someone'. For this usage, the structure 'to have something on someone' is needed. If you have something on someone, it means that you know some information about something bad that they have done or something that they do not want revealed to other people for some reason. It tends to be used when the information that you know can or could be used against the person, either as blackmail or to prevent them from doing something bad to you. Alternatively, the person may not be aware that you have the secret knowledge but you know that you can use it against them if you need to in the future. Another way that this can also be used is with the police and prosecutions services because if the police have something on a criminal, it means that they have evidence that he or she has committed a crime and it is then highly likely that they can prosecute and punish them. We've got something on John, so if he does try to get revenge on you, he will regret it. You have absolutely nothing on me, Joe. There is no way that you can get me in trouble with the police. The police didn't have anything on the suspected thief, so they had to release her. IDIOM ALERT Before I finish the post, I want to share a couple of useful idioms featuring the phrasal verb 'have on' with you.... To have nothing on someone / something = If you say that one thing has nothing on another thing, it means that it is nowhere near as good as the other. For example, in a restaurant I might say "this casserole is good but doesn't have anything on my mother's casserole", meaning that my mother's casserole is much better than the one at the restaurant. In addition to things, this can also be used with people. Adam's new girlfriend may be beautiful but she has absolutely nothing on you, Laura. This new computer game has nothing on the previous one in the series. It was much better! To have a lot on your plate - This idiom does not mean that you are greedy and eat too much but rather that you are experiencing a stressful, worrying or busy period in your life. Luke doesn't seem himself at the moment because he has a lot on his plate with his wife being ill. Sandra has got a lot on her plate at the moment, so go easy on her. We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'have on'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END