An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'bring up' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This post is all about the phrasal verb 'bring up', which has very varied and diverse meanings, especially compared to some of the recent phrasal verbs that I have covered such as ' look at ' and ' take over '. In this post we will consider the different meanings that it has and also look at some common expressions that it is used in. So let's not beat around the bush* any longer and let's get started.... *'To beat around the bush' is an idiom that means to talk about things that are not important and not get to the point. TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'bring' and 'up' Meaning 1: Literal Meaning 2: To raise a child Bonus: Some additional information for you Meaning 3: To introduce a topic into a conversation Meaning 4: To vomit Meaning 5: To cause to appear on a screen Meaning 6: To come to a sudden stop Meaning 7: To update or improve Bonus: To bring up the rear I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS BRING UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Brought up / Brought up Separable? Yes As I mentioned at the beginning, 'bring up' is a phrasal verb with very diverse meanings and consists of the verb 'to bring', meaning to take something to a place with you, and the prepositional particle 'up', meaning a movement in the direction away from the ground or towards the sky ↑. I know from experience of teaching English that the verb 'to bring' can often be confused with the related verb 'to take'. The difference between these two verbs is mainly to do with the position of the speaker and the direction of movement. Both verbs can mean to carry something to a place. If the object is carried towards them, we use 'to bring' and if the object is carried away from where they are when they are speaking, we use 'to take'. Can you bring me some water please? (Here the speaker is not moving and wants the water to come to them, where they are speaking.) I will take some sandwiches with me to work tomorrow. (Here, the speaker is going to move from where they are speaking to go to work and the sandwiches will go with them.) The above is just a brief overview of the differences between these two verbs and more detailed explanations are available elsewhere online. I just wanted to make you aware of the main differences here before we look at the phrasal verb meanings. So, without further ado, let's check them out.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take up, to bring, to take Separable? Yes To start things off, let's consider the literal meaning of the phrasal verb 'bring up', which is commonly used by native speakers to express the idea of transporting something to a place that is relatively higher than where they are. This application is typically used when someone is upstairs in a house or building or in a higher physical position than the person who they are talking to and they want him or her to bring them something. Could you bring up the boxes from the basement? I've asked Mike to bring up my suitcase to the attic. Linda brought up the laundry basket from the ground floor. The waiter brought up the food to our hotel room. We need to bring up the chairs from the storage room for the party. On a grammatical note, one thing to note here is that we normally insert the object pronoun such as me, him, her, them etc. between 'bring' and 'up'. I think this literal meaning is quite easy and straightforward to understand, so we'll move on to the next meanings but before we go, here are a couple of examples to illustrate usage.... Can you bring me up some water when you come to bed? As it is your birthday tomorrow, I will bring you up some breakfast in bed. MEANING 2: To raise a child Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To raise, to rear Separable? Yes The first non-literal meaning of 'bring up' that we will consider is similar to the common phrasal verb ' grow up ', but while 'grow up' simply refers to the process of growing from a child to an adult, we use 'bring up' to talk about how our parents (or primary caregivers), actively look after and teach a child during the growing up process. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Son / Daughter Child / Children Kid Grandson / Granddaughter / Children This can be used to talk about where we lived during our childhood, as well as the beliefs and values that we were taught during this time. It is used by native speakers commonly in both an active and a passive sense alike. In the active sense, we are talking about the parents or caregivers who are the subjects of the verb and in the passive sense we talk about ourselves or other people and what was taught and experienced during the growing up process. My parents brought me up to always say please and thank you and to treat everyone with respect. He was brought up in an orphanage and never knew his birth parents. Lisa managed to bring up four children all by herself after her husband tragically died. Mary worked hard to bring up her children on her own. John and Sue brought up their kids to be kind and respectful. Parents should bring up their children with good values. My friend was brought up in a strict household. Photo: Pexels SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR YOU.... Did you know that there is a noun that is derived from this application of 'bring up'? The noun 'upbringing' is used to refer to how a person was treated, educated and shaped when they were growing up, or in other words, how they were brought up. I had a very strict upbringing and so I have tried to be a little more relaxed with my own children. What was your upbringing like? Kathy's strict upbringing instilled in her a strong sense of discipline and responsibility. Despite his humble upbringing, Jason worked hard and became a successful entrepreneur. In addition to this useful noun, there are also a couple of other expressions that feature this usage of 'bring up' that I want to make you aware of.... Were you brought up in a barn? This rhetorical question is a variation of " Were you born in a barn ?" and is used to criticise someone who leaves a door open in a room, particularly if it is cold or draughty. Were you brought up or dragged up? This is another rhetorical question which can be aimed at someone who doesn't behave well, implying that their parents did not teach them how to behave properly when they were growing up. Both of the above expressions are normally used in a humorous way and are not meant to cause offence, however it could be offensive if said in an unfriendly way, or if you do not have the right sort of relationship with the person, so I would recommend only using this with people with whom you have a good relationship. MEANING 3: To introduce into a topic into conversation Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To introduce, to raise, to mention Separable? Yes Our next meaning of 'bring up' is very different to the previous one that we've just looked at and means 'to introduce a topic or subject of discussion into a conversation'. Nous commonly used with this application.... Subject Topic Point Argument Issue The idea behind this is that the person who brings the subject up, does so intentionally, i.e. the subject did not enter into the discussion by chance but because somebody wanted to discuss it. (By the way, if a subject enters into a conversation naturally, then the phrasal verb 'come up' (link here ) would be applicable.) This can be heard often in business English, especially in reference to meetings and agendas for subjects that need to be discussed. It is also equally common to use it outside of the business world, when talking about general conversations or discussions. I've made a note of the issue and I will bring it up at the next management meeting. Why did you have to bring that up in front of my parents?! You know their views on the subject! I didn't want to bring up the funeral yesterday as I could see that you were already upset. Anna brought up an interesting point during the debate. I didn’t want to bring up the argument from yesterday, so I kept quiet. Nick always brings up politics at family dinners. The teacher brought up the importance of time management. Let’s not bring up that embarrassing story again! MEANING 4: To vomit Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Rare Separable Yes Potential synonyms To vomit, to puke, to throw up, to barf, to be sick, to cough up Separable? Yes Out fourth application of 'bring up' means 'to vomit or to be sick'*. Although this is not the most pleasant of meanings, it happens to us all at some point and is therefore worth covering! Nouns commonly used with this application.... Food / Drink Alcohol Blood Bile Phlegm When we use this application of 'bring up', the focus is not so much on the vomiting action itself, but rather on what is being expelled from the stomach and could be for example blood, poison or something that you have swallowed that you should not have. It is also possible to use 'bring up' in this sense with coughing, for example with phlegm. We can also use the more specific phrasal verb 'to cough up' here as a synonym. The baby brought up some milk after feeding. Kate had food poisoning and kept bringing up her dinner. After drinking too much, Jack ran to the bathroom to bring up his drinks. The motion sickness made Marianne bring up her breakfast. The dog was very sick and was bringing up lots of blood but luckily it was not life-threatening and he has made a full recovery now. My 3-year old son swallowed a small toy part but he brought it up again shortly afterwards before any harm was done. *As a side note, don't forget that 'to be sick' in English can mean to have an illness or disease and also to vomit. The context is key here to understand which one we mean. Meaning 5: To cause to appear on a screen Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To open Separable? Yes Our next meaning of 'bring up' is one that has become MUCH more widespread over the last few decades as it is used particularly with IT and computers and means 'to cause something to appear on your screen'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Document Spreadsheet File Picture Website Menu Results This application is normally used when we click on something to open it, such as a document or web page, but is also used extremely commonly when talking about the results of a search on a search engine (naming no names, you know the ones I'm talking about!). If you right click with your mouse, it will bring up a menu. Can you bring up the results of the test on your screen for me? When I looked up the question online it brought lots of irrelevant results up. Press this button to bring up the settings menu. Can you bring up the document on your laptop? Meaning 6: To come to a sudden stop Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop, to halt, to pull over Separable? Yes This sixth meaning of 'bring up' is a rarer one than some of the meanings that we have already covered and means 'to cause a vehicle to come to a sudden stop'. This is especially used for cars, but could be used for all types of vehicles, including boats, where it is specifically used for dropping an anchor in order to stop it. They decided to bring up the ship in the harbour for the night due to the bad weather. The driver brought up the car just before the red light. IDIOM ALERT! I think that this is a good time to introduce an idiom with 'bring up' that is linked to this particular meaning. The idiom 'to bring someone up short' is a fairly common expression that is used to express when someone stops what they are doing because something has surprised or shocked them. I was having a productive day yesterday until an email from my boss brought me up short. MEANING 7: To update or improve Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To update, to modernise, to improve Separable? Yes This seventh and final meaning of 'bring up' that I wanted to include in the post is when it is used to describe the process of updating or improving something. This is typically expressed by way of two different set expressions: 'to bring someone up to date' and 'to bring someone up to speed'. When we use it to talk about updating (bring up to date), we can mean updating a machine, a product, a building or anything else which can be modernised so that it is as current as possible. Moreover, we can also use it to mean updating a person (bring up to speed), so that they have all of the most recent information about a given topic or situation. A third, rarer, set expression exists with this application, which is 'to bring something up to standard'. This can also be used in reference to improving something (often, incidentally, by modernising it) so that certain standards are met. The interior designers are planning to bring the interior of the castle up to date. I had a meeting with Roger earlier and he brought me up to speed with everything that I missed whilst I was on holiday. The teaching in the school was very poor, so a team was sent there to bring it up to standard. Can you bring me up to date on the latest project developments? The company is bringing its software up to date with new features. Kelly brought the team up to date on the changes in the schedule. I need to bring my knowledge up to date with the latest technology trends. The teacher brought the students up to date on the recent discoveries in science. Photo: Pexels IDIOM: TO BRING UP THE REAR Before I finish the post, I just want to give you a bonus expression featuring our phrasal verb of choice 'bring up'. The expression in question is 'to bring up the rear' and is quite appropriate to have at the end of this post as it means to be the last one of a group or category. This is most often used when talking about the last people in a queue, line or group of people who are going somewhere. The slowest hikers brought up the rear of the group. In the marathon, Jamie struggled but managed to bring up the rear. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on it and reading it. I hope that you found it useful 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 'bring 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 with your English-learning friends. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'take over' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. In this post we are looking at the phrasal verb 'to take over', which is commonly used in business English and in the workplace. There are several different meanings that we will look at in this post, however as you will see, the overall themes of this phrasal verb are replacement and control. So without further ado, let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'take' and 'over' Meaning 1: Literal meaning Meaning 2: To take control Meaning 3: To become the most important or most dominant Bonus: Extra tips to sound like a native speaker I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TAKE OVER: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Took over / Taken over Separable? Yes Our nominated phrasal verb this week consists of the extremely common verb 'to take' followed by the particle 'over'. The verb 'to take' is a widely used English verb which has various meanings, but the meanings that are significant for the idiomatic meanings of the phrasal verb 'take over' are... To voluntarily get or acquire possession of something. To carry or transport something from one place to another. John took the flowers off the table. Can everyone please take a copy and pass them on. My Mum is taking me to the airport today. Please could you take this carton to the warehouse. Like 'take', the prepositional particle 'over' also has a few different meanings in English, including to move across or above a surface (preposition / adverb) and to be finished (adjective). Both of these are relevant to the meanings of the phrasal verb, which we will look at now. When used in phrasal verbs, the particle 'over' can convey different meanings, such as transfer (hand over), excess (boil over), overcoming ( get over ) and thoroughness (read over). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'take over'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To bring over, to take, to take across, to deliver, to transfer Separable? Yes The phrasal verb construction 'take over' is used regularly by English speakers in a literal sense to mean taking something or somebody from one place to another, which the speaker perceives as being across from where they are. The meaning of 'take' which applies here is the meaning 'to carry something or someone from one place to another' and the preposition 'over' then adds a directional element to mean across from where the speaker is. Typical examples of this literal usage could be.... To take a document across an office to another person. To give someone a lift in your car from one place to another. To take something and deliver it somewhere. The main idea here is that someone takes someone or something to another place, which is perceived by the speaker to be across or over from where they are. If the speaker perceives that the other place is below or above them (e.g. on a different floor in a building), it is more likely that they will use "take down" or "take up" instead. In some situations, the verbs 'to deliver' and 'to transfer' both serve as synonyms of this application. When used in this way, it is very common to use it separably with the direct object between 'take' and 'over'. Also, don't forget the preposition 'to' is required to state the end destination. John left his book here when he went back to Australia, so I said I would take it over with me the next time I go. Can you take this file over to the CEO's office and ask her to sign it for me. I am taking Lisa over to her mum's house today as her car isn't working. Sally asked me to take the books over to the library before it closed. I'll take the food over to Grandma's house this evening. They took the supplies over to the shelter after the storm. I've already taken the package over to the post office, so don't worry about it. MEANING 2: To take control Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To take charge of, to take control, to take on Separable? Sometimes The first of the idiomatic meanings of 'take over' in this post is certainly the most commonly used among native speakers and means to take or to assume control of something from another person or entity. In the business world the phrasal verb 'take over' is commonly used to talk about when one company purchases or acquires another company and therefore takes control of it. It is also very common to use the noun 'takeover' here instead of the verb. You may have heard the term 'acquisition' before, which is a synonym of the noun 'takeover'. Company X has recently taken over company Y and as a result the share price has gone through the roof. Company Z has recently been taken over and many of its employees have been made redundant. Despite the shareholder's attempts to stop it, the company takeover is still going ahead this month. We also use 'take over' to talk about when one employee in a business assumes another person of authority's job role, in other words they assume a role of responsibility or control from another person. A similar phrasal verb that can be used here is "to take on", however "take over" indicates that the person's new role is one of authority and control e.g. a manager or a director. Don't forget that the preposition 'as' is required here to say what the new role is. A third variation of how 'take over' can be used in the world of business is specifically to do with shift work. In businesses and organisations which operate around the clock (24/7) and in which employees do shift work, we can use 'take over' to talk about when one person's shift ends and another employee starts their shift and replaces them. For this usage, the preposition 'from' is required to talk about the person who you are replacing. Roger is leaving the company next month and so Helen is taking over his role as head of Finance. John starts his shift at 7pm, so he will be taking over from Tim who finishes then. Away from the business world, 'take over' is also used in other contexts and situations to mean to take control of something. Examples could include when one country invades another country and takes control of it or when a person's emotions become too intense and they can no longer control themselves from breaking down or crying. After the accident I was so scared but then my adrenaline took over and I did what I had to do to make sure that everyone was safe. In addition to the usage above, we can also use 'take over' to mean that something or someone becomes dominant in a situation. Good examples of this would be when someone dominates a conversation or when a bossy person starts to give out orders and take control in a situation. This gives us a nice segue into the third meaning, which is very similar. As soon as Helen joined the conversation, she completely took over and nobody else was able to say anything! MEANING 3: To become the most important or most dominant Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To dominate, to become dominant Separable? No So, we have already considered how 'take over' is commonly used to mean 'to take control' and this second meaning is actually very similar to it. Here, 'take over' means to become the most important or dominant in a given category or group. This usage is often seen when talking about lists of the best, worst, biggest, smallest, richest etc and can therefore be seen across many different subject areas as diverse as sport, music and business. 'Take over' is used specifically to talk about when there is a change and someone or something new is in first position, effectively taking over first place in the list. Again, the prepositions 'as' and 'from' are required here in the same way as the first usage above. India will soon take over from Japan as the world's third largest economy. I remember when Manchester United took over as the top football team in the country. Melbourne has recently taken over Sydney as Australia's most populous city. Photo: Pexels EXTRA TIPS TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER An alternative synonym to this second meaning of 'take over' is the verb 'to overtake'. One of the main uses of this verb is to talk about when something takes over something else to become the first in its category, as discussed above. Unlike 'take over' though, when we use 'overtake' we need to have a direct object to state who or what was previously in front and has now been overtaken. The preposition 'as' is still required here but 'from' is not required as we have a direct object. India will soon overtake Japan as the world's third largest economy. Melbourne has recently overtaken Sydney as Australia's most populous city. The second main use of 'overtake' is used when driving and means to move past a car that is in front of you by driving around it, normally because it is going too slowly. Again, this carries the same meaning as the third meaning of 'take over' i.e. to move past something and be in front of it. The car in front was driving very slowly, so I decided to overtake it. The rules of overtaking in Formula 1 racing are being reviewed. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'take over'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'take 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 'turn' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. The phrasal verb 'turn down' is a commonly used phrasal verb that has several idiomatic meanings used in everyday English. In addition, there are also some specific situations in which we can use it. We will look at all of them in turn over the course of this post, so let's not put it off any longer and let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'turn' and 'down' Meaning 1: To reduce the intensity of something Meaning 2: To refuse or reject Meaning 3: To decrease Bonus: The noun 'downturn' Meaning 4: To fold or face downward Bonus: Some additional meanings Bonus: Turndown service I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS TURN DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Turned down / Turned down Separable? Yes Although I am sure that you are already familiar with the phrasal verb 'turn down', it is always a good idea to look at the individual words as a starting point, as these can often help us understand some of the idiomatic meanings of phrasal verbs. Firstly, we have the verb 'to turn'. This is a verb with a few different meanings, including to move in a circular path, to change direction or to change and become something else. I think that the overarching (main) idea of the verb 'to turn' though is a change of position or state. Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'down', which can be used as an adverb and a preposition and broadly means be in, or to move towards, a lower position or place ⬇️ (from a higher one). So, now that we are familiar with the words, let's check out the different meanings that we have in English when we combine these two words to get the phrasal verb 'turn down'.... MEANING 1: To reduce the intensity of something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To reduce, to lower, to decrease Commonly used with Volume, heat, music, television Our first meaning of the phrasal verb 'turn down' is to reduce the intensity of the output of an item of equipment, such as a television, a heating system or a radio. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Volume Heat Music Television Lights When we turn something down, we ultimately want the amount of energy produced by the equipment to be lower, for example because a television is too loud, an oven is too hot or a light is too bright. As you may have already worked out, this meaning of 'turn down' originated from the action of adjusting switches or controls by turning them from a higher setting or number to a lower one. 'Turn down' is a separable phrasal verb and is used very commonly in separable form by native speakers, often with the pronoun 'it' when we have already mentioned the equipment. Note that there is no change in meaning between the separable and inseparable form. Your music is so loud! Can you turn it down please? It was like a sauna in here earlier, so I turned the heating down. Bring the liquid to the boil, then slightly turn down the heat before adding the pasta. John turned down the brightness on his phone to save battery. MEANING 2: To refuse or reject something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Separable Yes Potential synonyms ​To refuse, to reject, to decline Used commonly with Invitation, application, offer, job Another extremely common meaning of 'turn down' is one that you are likely to come across in everyday English and means to refuse, reject or not accept something. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Invitation / Invite Application Offer Job Broadly speaking, there are two different ways in which 'turn down' can be used here. The first is when you actively decide to refuse something such as an invitation or an offer. An example of this could be that you are offered a job, however it is in another city and you are not prepared to move house, so you decide to not accept the job, or in other words, you turn it down. Other situations in which this meaning is commonly used would be when you do not accept an invitation to a party, social event or an offer of a place at a university. The second way that 'turn down' is frequently used in English as a way of rejecting something is in the passive sense, i.e. when you apply for something and your application is rejected or turned down. Using the example of a job application again, imagine that you apply for the job of your dreams, however you receive a response from the company advising you that your job application has not been successful. In other words, your application has been turned down. Hopefully you will never be in the above situation, but if you are, it is worth remembering that 'turn down' is quite informal and companies are more likely to say that your " application has not been successful " in their communication to you (as in the above example). Other synonyms that companies may use as an alternative to "turned down", could be "rejected" or "denied". We are more likely to use "turn down" when telling our friends and family about it in a more informal setting. Remember that in the passive form, it is not possible to use 'turned down' separably. Unfortunately I have to turn down the kind invitation to your wedding as I will be on vacation on that date. I turned down the offer of a job promotion as I didn't want the extra stress that it would bring. Our application to build an extension on our house has been turned down by the planning office. Eleanor turned down the job offer because the salary wasn’t high enough. Roger asked Lisa out on a date, but she turned him down. The company turned down our proposal for a business partnership. I regretfully had to turn down the invitation because I was too busy. The bank turned down Nigel's loan application due to bad credit. Photo: Pexels EXTRA TIPS TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER When using "turn down" in the passive sense, as mentioned above, it is also very common to use the construction 'to get turned down' instead of the more standard 'to be turned down'. This is common usage among native speakers in spoken English, although I would say that this is perhaps even more informal than 'be turned down'. My army application got turned down because I am not fit enough! What will you do if the application gets turned down? MEANING 3: To decrease Photo: Freepik CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​to decline, to decrease Separable? No A much rarer meaning of 'turn down' is used specifically to mean a decline or a decrease in the rate of something. This is most frequently used to talk about the stock market, but can also be used to talk about birth and death rates, rates of diseases (e.g. Covid-19) or rates of unemployment. Generally speaking, it could be used with anything that can be plotted on a line graph (showing a decline). Please note that this usage of 'turn down' is not separable. Investors will lose money if the market turns down. The stock market turned down sharply in the wake of the disappointing earnings report. Shares of the company turned down following the news of regulatory issues. After several months of growth, the tech sector began to turn down due to economic uncertainty. Investors panicked as the index turned down amid rising inflation concerns. Photo: Pexels THE NOUN 'DOWNTURN' The reason that I wanted to include this rarer usage of 'turn down' on this post is because it also has a corresponding noun, 'downturn', which is used much more commonly in everyday English than its verb counterpart. Like the verb, 'downturn' is commonly used by native speakers to describe declines in activities and rates, especially across the business and economics world. In the year 2020 there was a sharp downturn in the world's major economies as the Covid pandemic struck. MEANING 4: To fold or face downward CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To fold, to fold over, to turn over, to face downward Separable? Yes This fourth usage of 'turn down' means to fold something, i.e. to bend something, such as paper or cloth, so that a part of it rests on top of the other. 'Turn down' can be used as a synonym of 'fold' specifically when we are folding the top part of piece of paper in a downward direction, so that it covers a part or all of the top surface. This could be done to hide what is on the paper or to act as a marker. A prime example of this is when people turn down the top corner of a page in a book that they are reading, so that they know which page they last read. This isn't such a common usage, but it is still worth being aware of it. Another way that 'turn down' is used is when you turn something over, such as a piece of paper or a playing card, so that the detail or the information on it is now facing downwards and is not visible to people. This is used a lot in card games. It is also common to use 'turned down' in an adjective form to describe cards that are facing downwards. I hate it when people turn down the page corners of their books! Why can't they use a bookmark?! All of the cards must be turned down at the start of the game. James turned down the pages of the book to mark his place. The waiter turned down the edges of the tablecloth to keep it neat. Photo: Pexels SOME ADDITIONAL MEANINGS FOR YOU.... An extra way that native speakers use the phrasal verb 'turn down' that you may hear in everyday conversation is when giving directions or talking about a journey. Often when referring to roads and streets, native speakers will use the prepositions 'up' and 'down' to talk about a movement along them (as far as I know, there is no difference between them, it is just something that we do 🤷‍♂️). When talking about turning from one road onto another and also sometimes then driving along it, it is very common to hear native speakers say things like " turn down that road " or " turn down the first road on the left for 100 metres ". Photo: Pexels HAVE YOU EVER HAD TURNDOWN SERVICE? Before ending this post, I just want to make you aware of one last usage of 'turn down' that you may come across , especially when staying in hotels. Turndown service is where hotel staff enter a guest's room whilst they are out and prepare it for them by making the bed and sometimes even leaving a mint or small chocolate on the guest's pillow. The end result is that the bed is nice and fresh for the guest when they come to sleep in it that evening. Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'turn down'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'turn down'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'go on' from a native speaker, with lots of example sentences Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. 'Go on' is a really common phrasal verb in English. and we use it in a lot of different ways. During my research for the post I realised just how many uses that it has, so it is no surprise that it is one of the most common phrasal verbs in everyday use in the English language. This is a long post, so please stick with it and hopefully you will learn some new ways to use this versatile little construction. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'go' and 'on' Meaning 1: Literal Bonus: Going on stage or on a sports field Meaning 2: To continue Bonus: The imperative 'go on!' Meaning 3: To happen Meaning 4: To talk a lot Meaning 5: To pass (time) Meaning 6: To start working Bonus: A couple of additional uses I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GO ON: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 9 Past tense forms Went on / Gone on Separable? No To begin with, let's take a look at the words which make up the phrasal verb 'go on', as this can often provide valuable insight into the more abstract and figurative meanings of a phrasal verb. Firstly, we have the super common verb 'to go', meaning to travel or move to another place. In addition to it's main usage denoting movement, 'to go' can also be used to mean to leave, to change state and to suit something, among many others. In addition, we also use the verb 'to go' to form the 'going to' future tense. Besides its large number of meanings and functions in English, it is worth noting that 'to go' is one of the most irregular verbs in the English language. I am going to Spain tomorrow. Who is going to the party? This bus goes from Edinburgh to Glasgow. It's time for me to go home now. Sue went crazy when she saw the mess in her kitchen. That coat goes well with your shoes. Then, we have the preposition 'on', which, when used as an adverb and preposition, means to be physically in contact and supported by something. In phrasal verb constructions, 'on' can add various different meanings and nuances and these include continuation ( carry on ), progress (move on), motivation (cheer on) and connection (turn on). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the real reason that you are here, which is the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'go on'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To get on, to travel on, to ride Separable? No For the first meaning of 'go on' in this post, we are focussing on the literal meaning that we get when we combine these two words, which is to travel to a place whilst being on something, e.g. a bus or train. Nous commonly used with application.... Bus / Train / Airplane Fairground ride / Roller coaster Diet Internet / Website / Radio / TV Journey / Trip Holiday / Vacation / Sabbatical This literal application of 'go on' is used specifically to talk about being 'on' something as it moves from one place to another. This may be a form of public transport like a bus or an air plane (not a car though as we travel in a car), or it can also be used for something that moves but does not travel to a different place such as a fairground ride or a roller coaster. The kids were excited to go on the boat trip. John isn't driving to work tomorrow; he is going on the train instead. We went on the roller coaster even though it looked scary. I don’t think I’ll go on the Ferris wheel—I’m afraid of heights. GO ON vs GET ON You should note that when talking about a physical movement to an end point or destination that is on something, we use 'get on' to describe this transitional action. Consider the examples below: My car has broken down , so I have to go on the bus to work tomorrow. I have broken my leg, so I found it very difficult to get on the bus. In the first example 'go on' is used as the person is talking about travelling on the bus for the entire journey from their home to their work. In the second option 'get on' is needed as the person is referring to the physical movement from the street onto the bus. We tend to use 'go on' to refer to the state of being on something, rather than the movement from the ground on to it. We can also use this literal application of 'go on' for nouns that do not move but for which we use 'on', such as the radio, television, the internet. The charity workers are going on local radio to promote their next event. I remember the first time I went on this website. Additionally, it should be noted that 'go on' is often also used to talk about a change of state or to start an activity e.g. 'to go on a diet' or 'to go on holiday'. That's it, I've put on too much weight, so I am going on a diet after Christmas. When do you go on holiday to Portugal? My grandparents go on a day trip to the south coast every year. We are going on a journey tomorrow. Photo: Pexels GOING ON STAGE OR ON A SPORTS FIELD There are a couple of specific situations in which 'go on' is used literally by native speakers and the meaning of this is often derived from the context. The first means to go on to a stage to begin a performance, so it is used to talk about actors, musicians, comedians or anyone giving a performance on a stage. This is used specifically for when someone's performance begins and not for when someone just walks onto a stage for non-performance purposes. Whilst you can use the full expression 'go on stage', when the context is known, it is possible to drop the word 'stage', leaving just 'go on. I go on in 5 minutes, so I don't have time to talk. What time do you go on this afternoon? The second situation is when a sports player goes on to a field in order to start playing a game. This is more common when they join after the game has started in order to replace another team member, as a substitute. This is commonly used with team games such as football, rugby and American football. The substitute striker went on in the 88th minute and scored the winning goal. MEANING 2: To continue Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To continue, to keep on, to keep going, to persist, to carry on Separable? No The first idiomatic usage of 'go on' in this post is one of the most common usages that we will look at and means 'to continue'. Sometimes, this can be to talk about a state or specific action which continues in the same way as before, without specifying what the state or action is. In these cases we often add the words 'in this way' or 'like this/that' after 'go on'. I haven't had a job for several months now. I can't go on like this for much longer! How much longer do you think we can go on in this way? The people are in a desperate situation and they cannot go on like that for much longer. After a short break, the meeting went on as planned. Alternatively, it is also very common to specify what the action is that will continue. This is often, but not always, after a temporary pause in the action. On a grammatical note, when stating the action that is continuing, you need to use the 'ing' progressive form when it is a verb. If the thing that is continuing is a noun, we need the additional preposition 'with'. I intend to go on learning Mandarin until I am completely fluent. Are you just going to go on working there for the rest of your life? I've injured my knee and I need to rest but I intend to go on running when it is better. Please go on with your story; I want to hear what happens next. He paused for a moment, then went on speaking. The teacher went on with her explanation, even though some students looked confused. Photo: Pexels THE IMPERATIVE 'GO ON!' 'Go on' is commonly used as an imperative to ask someone to continue what they are saying, especially if the person pauses what they are saying temporarily or if they are taking a long time to say it and the other person is impatient to hear the information. Moreover, 'go on!' is also used extremely commonly by native speakers as a way of encouraging someone to do something, particularly if the other person expresses doubts or is reluctant in some way. MEANING 3: To happen Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To happen, to take place Separable? No This next meaning of 'go on' means 'to happen' or 'to take place' and is really commonly used, so I am sure that you will have heard it many times in conversations. This usage of 'go on' is often used in the progressive or continuous form, however it is also possible to use it with simple and perfect aspect tenses. Moreover, I think that this version of 'go on' is used most commonly in question form. From my own personal perspective, I think we tend to use 'going on' a lot more when we are describing a present situation that is in progress, whereas we tend to use 'happen' more to talk about future plans or something that happened in the past. This isn't a set rule though and we frequently do use happen and 'go on' interchangeably in all of these situations. What's going on here? This place is a mess, what has been going on? I'm not sure what is going on outside but it doesn't sound good. A lot has gone on since you left. I have no idea what’s going on in that meeting. Strange things went on in that abandoned house. There’s always something exciting going on in the city. A huge argument went on between them last night. Nobody knew what was really going on behind the scenes. There’s a festival going on downtown this weekend. One last point to note here is that in informal American English, 'what's going on?' is often used as informal greeting, particularly among young people and means 'how are you?' or 'how are things?'. MEANING 4: To talk a lot Photo: Pexel ​CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To ramble, to prattle, to babble, to harp on, to bang on Separable? No For this fourth usage of 'go on', we are looking specifically at a usage which is very common in British English and means to to talk a lot, especially if the person is talking about one particular subject which happens to be quite boring. If we want to say that the person talks a lot in a dull or boring way in general as part of their character, we can just say that the person 'goes on', which expresses this feeling very neatly. If the person talks about a particular subject that is boring, then we need the additional preposition 'about + the subject'. If you want to add extra emphasis to how boring the person is, we can repeat the word 'on' ad infinitum , however an extra one or two times is normal. I, personally, tend to use this verb to describe a conversation where the person talks so much that it is not enjoyable and all you want is for it to stop. Gosh! Professor Smith goes on in his lectures, doesn't he! My Dad was going on about politics again last night. Helen was going on and on and on about her new boyfriend and i couldn't get a word in edgeways.* Trevor just goes on and on about his new car; I’m so tired of hearing about it! Sally went on for hours about her vacation in Mexico. I wish Dan wouldn’t go on so much. My parents went on about politics until everyone else in the family was bored. My sister constantly goes on about her problems but never listens to mine. Pete went on at length about his childhood memories. My boss goes on forever in meetings, making them so long. * To not be able to get a word in edgeways is an idiom to mean that you cannot say anything during a conversation as the other person is talking too much. STOP GOING ON AT ME! 'To go on at someone' is a variation of this usage and is an informal way to mean to repeatedly criticise someone or to complain to someone many times about the way that they behave (in an effort to change their behaviour). It is also possible to repeat the word 'on' here for added emphasis. Again, this usage is mainly British. Lisa's keeps going on at her children to tidy up the house but she doesn't ever tidy it up herself. Our parents have been going on and on and on at us for months about when we are going to get married. MEANING 5: To pass (time) Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere ​Potential synonyms To pass, to go by, to wear on Separable? No Our fifth meaning of 'go on' is perhaps a variation of the second meaning that we looked at, i.e. to continue, however in this particular usage, we are concerned primarily with time , or more specifically, the passing of time. This form is often preceded in sentences with the word 'as' + the time reference. As the morning went on, the rain started letting up . The night went on, and the party got even livelier. There is no reason why the TV show continues to do so well as the years go on. As the years went on, they became close friends. As time goes on, you’ll start to feel better. The weeks went on, but we still hadn’t heard any news. Apart from time, we are also able to use this form of 'go on' with other nouns that describe something that happens over a period of time. This is often used when something lasts for a long period of time or for longer than it was expected to and can often be negative in nature, often inferring that the person was bored or wanted it to finish sooner. As the meeting went on, I became more and more tired. Quite a lot of people left the conference as it went on. The movie went on for nearly three hours! The meeting went on for much longer than expected. The father of the bride's speech went on and on and I think most people had lost interest in it by the time he had finished. MEANING 6: To start working Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To come on, to turn on Separable? No So, moving on to our sixth meaning now....well done if you have made it this far! This next meaning of 'go on' is used particularly with electrical appliances and devices and simply means that they turn on, start working or become operational. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Light Heating Air conditioning Washing machine Appliance / Machine This is often (but not always) when they start working without human intervention e.g. automatically or from a timer. If we want to say that a person caused the device to start working, we tend to use 'turn on' more. In winter, the lights go on at 5pm every evening. The washing machine goes on every night as it is cheaper than during the daytime. The streetlights go on automatically at dusk. The heater went on as soon as the temperature dropped. As soon as I flipped the switch, the lights went on. The air conditioning goes on every morning at 9 AM. When the power came back, all the appliances went on at once. A COUPLE OF EXTRA SPECIFIC USAGES Do you think you have room in your brain for a few more uses of 'go on'? There are some other usages of 'go on' that I want to make you aware of. These are quite limited in their scope and so I don't think they need entire sections to themselves but definitely ones that you may come across in your interactions with English speakers. The first meaning is to do with information and if you have enough of it to be able to make a decision or take action about something. If we have a lot of information in order to make a decision we would say " we have a lot to go on " and if we do not have much information, we might say " we don't have much to go on ". Alternatively, we can use this when we are trying to work something out based on evidence or available information. The police didn't have much to go on but they arrested the suspected murderer nevertheless. Is that all of the information that we have to go on? There's a lot to go on here, so we should be able to come up with an answer once we have considered it all. The next meaning involves adding the extra preposition 'to', to give 'to go on to', which is used to talk about something that a person did after doing something else. This is often used to talk about people's careers or different achievements and accomplishments in their lives. It can also be used to talk about when people go to a second destination after they have been somewhere else first. After finishing his Masters degree in English, John went on to teach at his local university. We are going to Greece for a week and then going on to Italy for an extra few days to see friends The third and final additional meaning (and final meaning in this post) is used to talk about people's ages, especially when they act a lot older than they are in reality. For example, if someone talks about how old their child is, they might say " she's 10, going on 20 ", to mean that she acts a lot more like an adult than a normal 10-year old. This usage is always used in the 'ing' progressive form. My son is three years old going on thirty. 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 'go 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 'put off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Freepik Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. The post this week is all about the phrasal verb 'put off' and in it we will look its three main meanings and explain they are used in everyday English. For each meaning, I will provide you with lots of example sentences in context to aid your understanding. So, let's not put it off any longer and let's get started.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'put' and 'off' Meaning 1: To postpone something Meaning 2: To make someone dislike something Meaning 3: To distract someone Bonus: 'Put off' with gerunds Bonus: Typical example sentences featuring 'put off' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PUT OFF: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Put off / Put off Separable? Yes Unlike many phrasal verbs, 'put off' does not have a literal meaning in English, so before we look at its different idiomatic meanings, I think it is a good idea as a starting point to consider the two words which make up this common phrasal verb. Let's start with the verb 'to put', which means to move something to a place or into a particular position. I am sure that you are extremely familiar with this verb as it is in common use in everyday English, but nonetheless I have given you a couple of examples below to refresh your memory. Lisa put her drink on the table. Can you put your dirty clothes in the washing bin please. Photo: Freepik Accompanying our verb 'put' for this phrasal verb is the prepositional particle 'off', which, like a lot of English prepositions, has many different uses. The use that we are concerned with here for this phrasal verb is when off conveys the idea of moving away from something. Now that we have briefly looked at the constituent words of 'put off', let's move on to see what the different idiomatic meanings are in English and how native speakers use them. MEANING 1: To postpone something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate ​Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To defer, postpone, to delay, to put back, to hold off, to procrastinate Separable? Yes The first meaning that we are going to look at of 'put off' is the usage to mean to delay, postpone or push something that is planned back to a later time or date. As I mentioned above, this is normally used when something is planned and someone decides to delay or postpone it. This is commonly used with meetings, visits and appointments, so logically, this means that it is commonly used a lot in the business world. In terms of formality, it is less formal than 'postpone' or 'delay', but is still completely fine to use it in business English without sounding too informal. Photo: Pexels We also often use it when we are hesitating about doing something that we are don't want to do or are afraid to. For example, we may put off going to the gym or telling somebody something that they may react negatively to. I would say from my perspective as a native speaker that 'put off' tends to be used by native speakers when a decision has been made by someone to postpone something, rather than something being delayed due to something outside of a person's control. For example, we tend not to say that an airplane has been put off if it is late to depart, but rather that is has been delayed. To 'put off' is a separable phrasal verb and we frequently insert the direct object between 'put' and 'off' to express the thing that we want to move to a later time or date. It is also fine to add the direct object after 'put off', however it is less common to do so. Photo: Pexels John was very busy so he decided to put the appraisal meeting off until the next day. The customer visit has been put off until next month. We weren't ready to start the party at 7pm, so we put it off by an hour until 8pm. I've been putting off telling you this as I was worried about your reaction. Photo: Pexels PROVERB ALERT! A common proverb which exists in English is 'don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today'. You can probably understand its meaning, but just in case you are not sure, it means that we should not delay, postpone or put things off that we can do right now and there are certainly times when I wish I had taken this advice in the past. MEANING 2: To make someone dislike something Photo : Pexels CEFR Language Level ​B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To deter, to dishearten, to discourage, to dissuade Separable? Yes, with an object pronoun The second usage of 'put off' that we are looking at in today's post means to make someone dislike something, usually when they did like it to begin with. It is common to use this when we have a negative experience of something, which makes us not like it anymore. Examples of this could be if you eat some bad food, which then makes you sick and you no longer want to eat that food again or if you have a negative experience in a city or country which makes you no longer like it or want to visit there again. In both of these cases you started to dislike, or were put off, the food / country due to the negative experience and perhaps the reminder that they give you of it. When using 'put off' in this way, we often need to use a direct object, which is the person who starts to dislike or dislikes the item. For this we either need object pronouns (me, him, her etc.) or the name of the person. Photo: Freepik I can't drink beer anymore. I had a really bad experience with it, which put me off it for life. The high prices of train fares have put many commuters off taking the train to work and they are now commuting by car instead. In addition to using 'put off' to talk about disliking something that we once liked, we can also use it to talk about when we stop wanting to do something that we wanted to do beforehand. In this case, we are generally talking about being put off the idea of doing something. Helen wanted to go to university in the USA but was put off the idea when she learned how much it would cost. We thought about going to the new steak restaurant in town but we've been put off a bit by the bad reviews online. MEANING 3: To distract someone Photo: Wix Images CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To distract Separable? Yes The third and final meaning of 'put off' that we are looking at in today's post is when we use it to mean to distract someone or cause someone to stop concentrating on something. Imagine that you are trying to revise for an exam and you are concentrating very hard when suddenly a person in the next room starts playing some loud music. You become distracted by the music and you could then say that the music has put you off. This is a very common way to express that something has distracted you from doing something, especially in spoken English. Although this meaning can often be used interchangeably with 'distract', I would say that the meaning of 'put off' is slightly different as it doesn't just mean to cause you stop you concentrating on something, but can also mean to stop you being able to do something properly because something is diverting your attention and you can't focus. A great example of this happens to me whenever someone watches me type. I instantly start to make spelling mistakes, even though normally I am perfectly capable of typing the same words when nobody is watching me. This is because I know that they are watching, which puts me off. Note that we normally need to use this meaning separably, with the person who is distracted being inserted between put and off. Like with the previous meaning, this would either be the direct object pronoun (me, him, her etc.) or the name of the person. If we do use this version separably, it sounds wrong and unnatural, so try and avoid doing this. Can you please be quiet, you're putting me off my revision! The snooker player missed the winning shot and blamed the crowd, saying that their chattering put him off. Whenever somebody watches me type, it always puts me off and I start making a lot of mistakes. Photo: Pexels DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE GERUNDS! When we want to follow 'put off' with a verb to talk about an action, the verb needs to be in the gerund ( ing ) form. This applies to all three of the meanings that we have looked at above. I was put off smoking when I saw the damage it does to people as they get older. We put off calling the angry customer for an hour in order to let him calm down. Photo: Pexels SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER! TYPICAL WAYS 'PUT OFF' IS USED IN ENGLISH Memorise and use the sentences below in conversations to help your English come across as more natural and fluent.... Can we put off the [noun] until..... The [noun] has been put off until.... We have put this off for too long, we need to do it now. That has really put me off my food. I wanted to do it but I got put off by.... I did like him at first but seeing the way he treated his family really put me off him. Don't let one bad experience put you off! Has that put you off or do you still want to go ahead? His talking really puts me off my work. Stop laughing at me when I am doing my speech, it's putting me off! I have had to turn my phone off as the constant notifications kept putting me 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 about the phrasal verb 'put off'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'put 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

A detailed explanation of the English phrasal verb 'give up', with examples and exercises. Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This is a post about the super common phrasal verb 'give up'. I imagine that many of you will already be familiar with this phrasal verb from its links with stopping smoking etc, however there is a lot more to it than that. In this post, I will guide you through its different meanings and provide you with lots of different examples to aid your understanding and learning. So, without further ado, let's make a start. TABLE OF CONTENTS (click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and thew individual words 'give' and up' Meaning 1: To surrender something Meaning 2: To stop doing something Meaning 3: To stop trying to do something Meaning 4: To abandon hope Meaning 5: To surrender to the police Bonus: To give it up for.... I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GIVE UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Separable? Yes Past tense forms Gave up / Given up As per usual in each post on Phrasal Verbs Explained, we'll start by looking at the individual words that make up the phrasal verb 'give up'. Firstly, we have the common verb 'to give', which means to freely or willingly offer or provide something to someone. Implicit in the meaning of the verb 'to give' is that the person who gives no longer has something or is without something once the action is complete. This is an idea that will recur in the idiomatic meanings that we will look at in this post, so it is worth remembering this. My fiancé gave me a diamond ring and asked me to marry him. No, I don't have your key. I gave it to you. Secondly, we have the prepositional particle 'up', which primarily means a movement in the direction away from the ground or towards a higher position. When used in phrasal verbs, 'up' can also carry abstract meanings such as completion, readiness and improvement, among other things. So, now that we have considered the word themselves, let's dive into the figurative meanings of the phrasal verb 'give up'... MEANING 1: To surrender something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium British or American? Both ​Potential synonyms To relinquish, to renounce, to cede, to hand over, to sign away, to part with Separable? Yes Normally on this blog, I like to start by considering the literal meaning of the combination of the two words (if one exists). As you can imagine though, the combination of the meanings of the words 'give' and 'up' does not really provide us with a very concrete meaning that is applicable to our daily lives in the modern world. However, if we take a look into the past, then the literal meaning of 'give up' becomes much clearer.... Let's go back in time to the Middle Ages and consider the life of a typical farmer in Northern Europe. At this time, a strict social hierarchy existed, with three social classes: the upper class or nobles at the top, the middle class with doctors and merchants etc in the middle and the lower class or peasants at the bottom. This latter class is the one in which a farmer would have fallen into. Work on the farms was very tough and farmers worked long hours all year to grow crops until harvest time, when they had to surrender a large proportion of their hard earned produce to the landowners. In other words, they had to GIVE the crops to the higher classes, which in the social hierarchy, is very much in the direction UP and this is potentially how the phrasal verb 'give up' came to mean 'to surrender something'. If we fast forward back to the present day, we no longer use 'give up' to talk about surrendering something to a higher power, but rather when we decide to surrender something in general. In other words, we decide that we do not want to (or cannot) own something anymore and therefore make it available for other people, regardless of their position in the social hierarchy. This meaning is often (but not always) used when we give something up against our will i.e. when we do not want to part with it but we must for some reason. Often, the nouns that we use with this application of 'give up' are for things that are very important to us, such as houses, jobs and even children. For this reason, it can often convey a negative and strong feeling. I had to give up my house when I lost my job as I could no longer afford the mortgage repayments. Janet was only 15 years old when she fell pregnant and had to give her baby up as she was not in a position to be able to care for it. When we moved into our new apartment there was a no pets police, so sadly we had to give our cats up. Helen gave up her job to look after her sick mother. It is worth remembering that the focus of this usage is not that we are giving something to another person (in the sense of the verb 'to give'), but rather the idea that we no longer have something because we surrendered it or let somebody else have it. Another noteworthy noun that is often used with this application of 'give up' is 'time'. People say that they give up their time when they agree to either spend it doing something for another person or doing something they do not want to do. I choose to give up my time at weekends to help out at my church. Sarah gave up her Saturday mornings to teach her friend's son French. On a grammatical note, it is very common for native speakers to use 'give up' separably in this context, however it should be noted that there is no change in meaning if used separably or inseparably; it is purely personal choice. Have you ever had to give up anything against your will? Tell me in the comments here . MEANING 2: To stop doing something Photo: Pexels Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate ​Usage Common British or American? Both ​Potential synonyms ​To stop, to quit, to cut out, to forgo, to eschew Separable? Yes Nouns used commonly with Smoking, eating meat, drinking alcohol In the previous section, I explained how 'give up' can mean 'to stop owning or having something' and for this second usage, we will continue with this theme of stopping. This next meaning of 'give up' is probably the most commonly used by native speakers and it is 'to stop doing something that you regularly do in your life i.e. a habit'. This is often a permanent stop, but can equally refer to a temporary pause of a habit for a limited period of time. Photo: Pexels This application of 'give up' is perhaps most commonly used when someone stops smoking (they give up smoking), but you are also likely to hear it with regard to stopping other long-term habits, for example when a person becomes vegetarian (they give up eating meat) or decides to stop drinking alcohol (they give up drinking). I've been trying to give up smoking for 3 months but I've not succeeded yet. The doctor told me I need to give up drinking alcohol. John gave up eating bread and lost a lot of weight. You may have noticed in the examples above that this usage of 'give up' is followed by a gerund, so make sure you avoid using the infinitive 'to' here as this is incorrect. An alternative to the gerund is to use the noun of the action that you are 'giving up' e.g. "I am giving up meat" or "I am giving up cigarettes". I gave up meat and dairy products and became vegan a while back but I really miss cheese. My mum had to give up her job in order to care for my elderly grandparents. BONUS INFORMATION Staying on the subject of giving up  a job or a career, we use the expression " don't give up your day job " when we want to say to someone that they are not very good at something in a humorous way. This is normally used to criticise someone in a friendly, joking manner and not normally said to cause offence. Check out the video below to hear it in use! Have you given up anything recently? Let me know in the comments section here . MEANING 3: To stop trying to do something Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium British or American? Both Potential synonyms To stop trying, to lose heart, to call it a day Separable? No As you will all know, learning a language can be difficult and many people who start learning with the best of intentions decide to stop learning once they realise how hard it is, or in other words they give it up. That is because the third meaning of 'give up' that we will look at in this post is 'to stop trying to do something'....that's right, another meaning involving the idea of stopping something. To further illustrate this, here is another example for you: Imagine that your car breaks down and instead of calling a mechanic to repair it, you decide that you will repair it yourself. After looking at the engine for an hour to try and understand what the problem is, you decide that you cannot do it and call the mechanic. In other words, you gave up trying to fix the problem. The example above is typical of how this usage of 'give up' is used in everyday English, especially because we often use it when we give up trying to do something because we do not think that we can do it. This can often be when we are trying something new or learning how to do something and we find it too difficult, so we give it up. Moreover, another time that this is used is when we are doing something and it becomes difficult due to unforeseen problems or issues. I started learning Turkish last month but I gave up when I realised how difficult it was! Despite encountering many problems, my Mum didn't give up trying to build her business and it is now doing really well. My cat is really disobedient. I tried to teach him to follow basic commands but he completely ignored me and in the end I gave up trying. Lucy started an IT course at her local college but she gave it up as she didn't have enough time to study for it. Come on, you can't give up now. You've done so well and you're nearly at the end of the course! BONUS INFORMATION If you are ever in a situation in an English conversation in which you need to guess the answer to something, the correct way to say that you do not know or that you do not have any more guesses is to say "I give up". This will then signify to the other person that you want to stop trying to guess and they will then (normally) tell you the answer. MEANING 4: To abandon hope Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium British or American? Both Potential synonyms ​To despair, to admit defeat Separable? No As you will have noticed, there is a theme of 'stopping' running across the different meanings of 'give up' and this fourth meaning is no different to the others! In this case however, we are talking specifically about stopping or abandoning hope about something. The thing that distinguishes this from the previous three usages is that for this one we need the extra preposition 'on' in order to convey our message, giving us the construction 'to give up on something'. We use this particular construction when we stop hoping that a particular situation is going to change or improve. Consequently, this can mean that we also stop any efforts that we have been making to improve the situation and this can often be inferred in the meaning, (depending on the context). Typical situations in which native speakers use 'give up on' are romantic relationships that are not working, people that they are trying to help without success, plans that are not succeeding and ideas and plans for the future that they decide not to follow up. I had given up on the money that my friend owed me, so I was pleasantly surprised when he paid it to me. Roger fell into some bad ways as a teenager but his mother never gave up on him. I've given up on the idea of becoming a teacher as I don't think it is right career for me. IDIOM ALERT! Before we reach the end of this post, I want to make you aware of the English idiom 'to give up the ghost'. This is a fairly common expression in English which dates back hundreds of years and means to stop working or to die. It is normally used to talk about machines and equipment which stop functioning. If this is used for humans, it is usually used when you stop trying to do something because you realise that it will not be successful. My laptop has given up the ghost and I am need to go and buy a new one! I no longer had the desire or the money to continue my art project, so I simply gave up the ghost on it. One final thing to note here is that the expression "I give up" is often used by native speakers as a way of saying that we are frustrated with an unchanging situation or that we have lost hope about something (it could also be said when face palming or throwing your hands up in the air for added effect 😉). This can range from something that is mildly annoying to something very serious. MEANING 5: To surrender to the police Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium British or American? Both Potential synonyms To surrender, to hand oneself in, to give oneself in Separable? Yes - with a reflexive pronoun We have now arrived at our fifth and final usage of 'give up', which brings us full circle to the beginning again as it is 'to surrender yourself to the police or authorities for a crime that you have committed'. This application is used specifically for when a person willingly goes to the police station to say " it was me, I committed the crime " or it could alternatively be used when a person allows themselves to be arrested by the police. For this usage, the relevant reflexive pronoun (myself, himself etc.) needs to be used between 'give' and 'up' and the additional preposition 'to' is required before 'the police'. The bank robbers gave themselves up to the police after they realised that they could not evade capture for much longer. You need to go to the police and give yourself up! The hijacker refused to give himself up and remained in the building with the hostages for several days. Photo: Pexels PLEASE GIVE IT UP FOR..... One extra usage of 'give up' that I want to make you aware of is "to give it up for someone", which is a spoken request to a group of people to show their appreciation for someone by clapping, cheering etc. Don't forget to use it with the word 'please' 😜. Would you please give it up for [insert singer or group name] Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on it and reading it. I hope that you found it useful 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 'give 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 with your English-learning friends. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'run out' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels   Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This post is all about the phrasal verb 'run out'. In it, I will explain its different meanings for you, with lots of example sentences, so that you can impress your English-speaking friends and family with your excellent skills. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'run' and 'out' Meaning 1: Literal Meaning 2: To have no more left of something Meaning 3: To abandon someone Bonus: The idiom 'to run out of steam' and questions for further practice I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels   THE BASICS RUN OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Ran out / Run out Separable? Rarely To begin, let's first consider the meaning of the base verb 'to run' and the particle 'out' and what they mean on their own. Firstly, we have the irregular verb 'to run', meaning to moving on foot at a speed faster than walking, with moments when neither foot is on the ground. In addition to this meaning of, it can also be used to mean 'to manage' (in terms of business) and 'to flow' (in terms of water and liquid) and 'to function (in terms of machines), among other uses. I run 5km at least twice a week to stay fit and healthy. Sophie ran past my house this morning. John runs a very successful printing business. The river runs alongside the road. All of the computers in the office are running. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'out', which is an enormously common word in English, with many meanings and applications. It functions as the natural opposite of 'in' and is used for all things to do with movement away from the inside of something and towards the external part of it and this meaning is often conveyed when 'out' is used in phrasal verb constructions. In addition to this, 'out' can also add the ideas of exhaustion (as I will explain later), appearance ( come out ), separation ( sort out ) and exclusion (leave out). So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'run out'.... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To escape, to flee, to pop to, to nip to, to dash Separable? Sometimes For our first meaning of 'run out', we are going to keep things literal and just consider what we get when we combine the these two words together, which is 'to leave an interior space by running'. This could either be to enter into another interior space or to go to an exterior space. Whilst this application can be used to talk about leaving a room, a building or other internal space quickly (i.e. by running and not walking), it is more often than not used by native speakers when referring to a sudden, dramatic or exciting exit. This could include an escape from somewhere, leaving a room quickly to vomit or chasing someone. Every day when I get home from work, my dog runs out of the house to greet me. The schoolchildren ran out of the classroom as soon as the lesson finished. People started running out of the sea when someone shouted "Shark!". If you were paying attention to the table at the beginning of the section, you will have noticed that this application of 'run out' can sometimes be used separably. In order to do this, we require a direct object in the sentence (which we do not have in the sentences above). Let's consider the next expression where we have a direct object between run and out. What do you think the meaning of the sentence could be? John ran Roger out of the city. In American English (and less so in British English), if we run someone out of a town or city, it means that we chase or force a person to leave a place, normally by threatening them. Other synonyms of this could be 'to drive away', 'to drive out' and 'to force out'. I guess in the past it was normal for people to chase after someone in order to make them leave their town or city, but nowadays (thankfully) it is not so common and therefore the usage of this is also much rarer. You may still hear this in American television shows and movies however, so it is always useful to know. The angry villagers ran the tax collector out of the village. We ran him out of town last week and he has not dared to come back since. Photo: Pixels EXTRA INFORMATION TO SOUND LIKE A NATIVE #1 It is possible to use ' run out to somewhere ' to express when we need to go somewhere and back quickly. For example, imagine that you are preparing a dinner party for 5 guests and you realise that you have forgotten to buy dessert. You may then need to run out to the shop to buy a dessert. This does not mean that you are physically running to the shop, but rather that you are going there and back quickly (normally in a car). It is also common for people to drop the "out" so that they simply 'run to somewhere', however the meaning is the same with or without 'out'. This usage is perhaps more common in American English, with ' to pop to' or ' to nip to' being more common alternatives in British English. He has just run out to the post office to post a letter, he will be back shortly. I've forgotten to buy potatoes. I'm going to quickly run to the store to get some. MEANING 2: To have no more left of something Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate ​Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To sell out, to exhaust, to use up, to expire, to have no more left Separable? No Our second meaning of 'run out' is the most commonly used and means 'to have no more left of something'. If you have heard 'to run out' in an English conversation, it is probable that you heard this idiomatic application. Nouns commonly used with this application: Money Energy Ideas Time Patience For this usage, we require the additional preposition 'of' to specify the thing that we do not have anymore, followed by a noun, giving us the construction to run out of something. We have run out of bread and milk. Many supermarkets ran out of toilet paper at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. My printer stopped working because it ran out of ink. Lucy wanted to bake cookies but realised she had run out of sugar. After hiking for hours, Sharon and Tracey ran out of water and had to turn back. The computer shop ran out of the new video game within an hour of opening. Since we use many different things in our lives, the list of possible nouns that can be used with this phrasal verb is very long, but common examples are money, food, energy, space, ideas, patience and options. Photo: Pixels Another very common noun that we use with this phrasal verb is ' time' , normally when we have a deadline or future point in time before which something must be completed. Based on this idea of time and deadlines, we can also use 'run out' as a synonym for the verb "to expire", i.e. to express when the validity of something ends. Typical situations for this would be with a passport or a drivers license, which expire or run out on set dates. This phrasal verb can certainly be used in formal situations, however in very formal situations a different verb such as 'to exhaust' is definitely more suitable. I need to find a petrol station before I run out of petrol*! There are only 5 minutes left in the match; the England football team is running out of time to score another goal and win. Roger is running out of money fast, so he needs to find a job quickly! I've booked a holiday to Spain in April and I've just realised that my passport runs out in March! I hope I can renew it in time. * Petrol in British English is Gas in American English Photo: Pixels EXTRA INFORMATION TO SOUND LIKE A NATIVE #2 In informal conversations, it is also extremely common to simply drop the word 'run' and use the informal construction 'to be out of something' as a synonym. We need to stop, we are out of time. I'm afraid we are out of bread, sir. The next delivery will be tomorrow. A variation of this informal usage is 'to be all out of something'. Again, this is something that should only be used in informal conversations and situations: Oh no, we are all out of coffee! I will run out to the shop to get some. MEANING 3: To abandon someone Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To abandon, to quit, to leave Separable? No Our third and final meaning of 'run out' means 'to abandon' and is normally used when someone leaves very quickly, suddenly or unexpectedly. Nouns commonly used with this application: Family Children Partner Job For this application, we are replacing the extra preposition 'of' with 'on', giving us the construction 'to run out on someone / something'. I imagine that you can probably guess, but this usage is reserved for dramatic and often traumatic life events for people, so thankfully it is not one that you will probably need in tour day to day English. It is definitely more of an informal usage and I would say that it is mainly used to talk about when someone suddenly leaves a relationship or a family. My ex-husband ran out on me and our 6-month old baby. Helen was so stressed that she ran out on her job and never went back. Tony ran out on his wife and 5 children to start a new family with his lover. He ran out on me last year and now he is begging me to take him back. Photo: Pixels IDIOM ALERT! Before I finish the post, I want to make you aware of a very common expression featuring the phrasal verb 'run out': 'to run out of steam'. We use this nice little saying to express when the progress of something slows down or stops because we lose energy or interest in something. The Scotland football team played brilliantly in the first half of the game but they ran out of steam in the second half. I was doing really well with the pre-Christmas baking but I ran out of steam and ended up sitting down for a coffee. Photo: Pixels QUESTIONS FOR WRITING & SPEAKING PRACTICE Have you ever run out of things to say when answering a job interview question? Did you get the job? Would you rather run out of gas for your heating on a cold day or electricity for your air conditioning on a hot day? Why? When was the last time that you ran out of patience (became angry) with someone? What happened? Do you think that we are running out of time to save the planet from climate change? How can we change the situation? Photo: Pixels 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 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 'grow up' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. This post is all about the well known phrasal verb 'to grow up', which many of you will be very familiar with, however are you familiar with the other less well known meanings? In this post, I will explain each of the different meanings for you and provide you with lots of example sentences to make it easier to learn them. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'grow' and 'up' Meaning 1: To grow in an upwards direction Meaning 2: To grow from a child to an adult Bonus: To grow up into, to grow up + gerund & the noun 'grown-up' Meaning 3: To start to develop Bonus: More example sentences and speaking questions I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS GROW UP: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 3 Past tense forms Grew up / Grown Up Separable? No To begin with, let's look at the individual components of the phrasal verb 'to grow up', as this will help us to understand its rarer figurative meanings. Firstly, we have the base verb of our phrasal verb construction, 'to grow', whose principal meaning is to increase in size or height. 'To grow' is an irregular verb and is mainly used to talk about people, animals and living things, however it can be applied in more abstract contexts, like business, numbers, popularity and feelings. Our new baby is growing so fast. I keep watering my plants but they don't ever seem to grow. My follower count on social media has grown this year. Our business is expected to grow over the next 12 months. I have a growing feeling of unease in my stomach. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'up', meaning in the direction away from the ground or towards the sky ↑. 'Up' features extremely frequently in English phrasal verbs and in addition to conveying the idea of a movement in an upwards direction to the verb, it can also add ideas like increase (add up), improvement ( look up ), preparation ( set up ), ending ( break up ) and creation ( make up ), among others. Do you know which of these will apply for the meanings of 'grow up'? Read on to learn more.... MEANING 1: To grow in an upwards direction Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To grow Separable? No Let's start the meanings off with a nice and simple one as this first one is simply the literal combination of the two words, i.e. to grow in an upwards direction. This is in fact just a variation of the verb 'to grow' , with additional emphasis on the upwards direction. As the idea of 'up' is already implicit in the idea of the verb 'to grow', the use of 'grow up' to describe something growing in size is not normally necessary in English. As a result, this literal usage is very rare. If we do use it, it is mainly for describing the growth of plants, trees and flowers, to emphasise that they are growing in an up ↑ direction, rather than down ↓ or out ←→(across). We do not use 'grow up' to describe people getting taller. To do this we only use ' grow' . It is also possible to use the construction 'to grow up + noun' to talk about when a plant grows up against the surface of another object. Photo: Pexels Photo: Pixels Plants grow up and not down or out because they need sunlight. The ivy has been growing up the wall for many years. Another form that we can use and that you should be aware of is 'to grow upwards'. The prefix - wards in English is always used to identify a direction of movement, so 'to grow up wards' is a nice alternative way to say that something is growing in an up direction. This is also a very natural way of saying it. Furthermore, if growth is happening towards something e.g. the sky, we can use the construction 'to grow up towards + noun'.... The sunflower that we planted last year is growing up towards the roof of the house. Plants naturally grow upwards in search of sunlight. MEANING 2 - To grow from a child to an adult Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage ​Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To mature, to age Separable? No In English, this second usage of 'grow up' is by far the most common one in use and is therefore the one which you probably already know, which is 'to grow from a child to an adult'. This application is usually used to describe the PROCESS of growing from an adult to a child over time. This can be in a physical sense and also in a mental or spiritual sense. 'Grow up' is only used to describe people and is not generally used to talk about animals or businesses. In usage, it is often used by adults to refer to their past or the period of time when they were a child..... I grew up in Birmingham, close to a really big park, which we played in every summer. When I was growing up I hated school but now that I am an adult, I wish I could go back! He was born in Edinburgh but he grew up in Glasgow.                               I had blond hair when I was growing up.        Also, children often use it to talk about what job they want to do when they become an adult.... When I grow up I want to be a doctor and have an enormous house with a swimming pool. What does your daughter want to do when she grows up? My daughter wants to be a police officer when she grows up. WHAT IF WE WANT TO USE IT AS AN IMPERATIVE? 'Grow up' is often used by native speakers in the imperative form ("Grow up!") to show annoyance when someone is acting in a silly way or like a child. If you want to add some extra impact to this, you could insert 'the hell' or 'the f**k' between 'grow' and 'up' to show that you are very annoyed. Oh grow up, John! It's really not funny! Whoever is playing these jokes on me needs to grow up! It's not funny!     Seriously, Matt, it's about time that you grew the hell up and stopped acting like such a baby. Photo: Pixels BONUS INFORMATION #1: To grow up into If we want to talk about who or what a person will be at the end of the growing up process, it is necessary to add the extra preposition 'into'..... I see that you have grown up into a fine young man! There are many child actors who grow up into Hollywood film stars. BONUS INFORMATION #2 : To grow up + gerund One way to talk about something that we did often or regularly when we were children is to use the simple past form of the verb (grew up), followed by the verb or action in the continuous ('ing) form. This is often (but not always) with verbs related to the senses e.g. to watch, to listen to etc. I grew up listening to Michael Jackson and Madonna and so I still love their songs today. My mother is Polish, my father is German and I live in the USA, so I grew up speaking three languages. BONUS INFORMATION #3: 'Grown-up' as a noun Before we finish this section, I just want to make you aware of the existence of the noun 'grown-up', which is used commonly in everyday English when dealing with children. A 'grown-up' is simply just a synonym for the noun 'adult' and simply refers to someone who has finished the growing up process and is no longer a child. It tends to be used a lot when talking to children and is often what a child will say instead of 'adult'. Moreover, it can also be used as an adjective. Grown-ups always talk about boring things. I was allowed to sit at the big dinner table with the grown-ups today. That was a very grown-up thing to say! Mary has a grown-up daughter who lives in London. MEANING 3 - To start to develop Photo: Pixels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To develop, to spring up Separable? No Our third and final application of 'grow up' is a much rarer and more advanced idiomatic one, meaning 'to begin to exist'. This meaning is not used to talk about people, but rather things that are founded, created or developed by people and these things include businesses, towns and cities as well as abstract items such as theories and academic schools of thought. As it is used to talk about the origin of things, it is often found in historical contexts. The idea grew up in the 17th century during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The river made trading possible and as a result many towns grew up alongside it. A vibrant community grew up around the shared love of art and creativity. New businesses are starting to grow up in the formerly abandoned neighborhood. Photo: Pixels SAY IT LIKE A NATIVE: TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF HOW 'GROW UP' IS USED BY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS.... If you can memorise some of the sentences below and use them in a conversation, it will help your English to come across as more natural and like that of a native speaker. You'll need to use your imagination to complete some of them. When I grow up I want to....... When I was growing up I...... He / she is growing up so fast! It's about time you grew up and got.... I want my children and grandchildren to grow up in a world where..... [Person] and I grew up together. [Gerund] is a natural part of growing up. It is very close to the city where I grew up. Photo: Pixels POTENTIAL IELTS QUESTIONS Should children grow up in the city or in the countryside? Where did you grow up ? Describe it. Is it better to grow up with or without siblings? OTHER OPEN QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER PRACTICE What is your favourite memory of when you were growing up ? Did you have a skill or talent when you were growing up that you no longer have? What was it? If you could have grown up in a different place, where would you have chosen to live? Has your taste in music changed since you were growing up ? How has the village, town or city where you grew up changed since that time? Photo: Pixels 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 'grow 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 'put in' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. When you think of phrasal verbs, 'put in' probably isn't one of the first ones that you think of, but it may surprise you to learn that it has at least 7 different uses in everyday English. In this post, I will explain all of these different uses to you and provide you with lots of example sentences to show you the typical contexts in which each one is used. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'put' and 'in' Meaning 1: Literal Meaning 2: To install something Meaning 3: To include something Meaning 4: To spend time doing something Meaning 5: To request or apply for something Meaning 6: To add to a conversation Meaning 7: To call at a port Bonus: Common idioms and expressions featuring 'put in' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS PUT IN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 7 Past tense forms Put in / Put in Separable? Yes Before we jump in to the different meanings and uses of 'put in', let's first briefly consider the words 'put' and 'in' as individual lexical units. The verb 'to put' is an extremely versatile irregular verb in English that we use in a wide variety of different ways. In its most commonly used application, it means 'to place an object in a position or place' and can be used both physically and metaphorically. In addition to this, it's other meanings include 'to cause someone to be in a situation', 'to write', 'to categorise' and 'to travel in a boat' (more of this to come later). Where did you put my bag? John put his hand on his wife's shoulder. That news has put me in a bad mood. Can you put all of that into an email and send it to me? I was put in a group with my friends at school today. The prepositional particle 'in' features in many different phrasal verbs and in its most obvious sense is used to convey the idea of a movement from the outside of something to the inside (go in, walk in). Moreover, we also use it in phrasal verb constructions to add ideas like fulfilment (hand in), arrival (check in), collection (bring in) and inclusion (join in) to phrasal verbs. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'put in'. MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To place in, to put inside, to fill Separable? Always We will start the meanings of 'put in' with the literal meaning of the words 'put' and 'in' combined, which is simply 'to place something into an interior space'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Key Book Clothes Money / Payment Bag Phone Many more!! In very basic terms, this first application is just the basic action of placing an object into an enclosed space. Therefore, as you can probably imagine, this can be used in an enormous number of different situations and with an almost infinite number of nouns. For instance, you can put your keys in your bag, put your clothes in the wardrobe or in the washing machine, put your milk in the fridge, put your bicycle in the garage, put your horse in the stable etc......the list is endless! Note that when we use this application, it is almost always separable, with the noun or pronoun going after the word 'put' and the internal space after the word 'in'. Sally put the groceries in the fridge as soon as she got home. Martin put his phone in his pocket and walked away. The kids forgot to put their toys in the toy box after playing. I put the letter in the envelope, sealed it and put it in the postbox. We put the dishes in the dishwasher after dinner. Jeremy put his hand in the bag to grab a snack. I put the key in the lock and turned it but the door wouldn't open. Andrew put the book in his backpack before leaving for school. Photo: Wix Media One noun that I want to mention specifically with this first application of 'put in' is 'money' (or its various synonyms like cash, savings etc.). When we have money and we want it to deposit it in our bank account, we say that we "put it in the bank". This does not just apply to physical money, which we seem to have less and less in today's world, but also to any electronic transfers of money and investments. It is equally possible to use 'into' when stating the financial institution or investment type. Furthermore, when we are talking specifically talking about investing or paying money, we often do not state what we are paying or investing into as it is often known from the context. Carrie put in £1,000 into a new mutual fund last month. Louise and Matt put in a lot of money to renovate the old house. My brother is planning to put in some cash to help start my business. We’ve already put in thousands of dollars, but the project still isn’t finished. I put in a small deposit to reserve the apartment. Investors were eager to put in their money once they saw the potential. Yuki put in all his savings to buy a stake in the company. MEANING 2: To install something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To install, to fit, to fix Separable? Yes Another common way to use the phrasal verb 'put in' is in reference to things like equipment, systems and furniture as it means 'to install something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Equipment Machine System Furniture Shelves Heating For this application, we are focussing on items or systems that must be installed, secured and prepared for people to use or operate. These are normally large and complex things that require an amount of skill or labour to install safely and securely. For example, you may be renovating your kitchen and need to put in a new oven and dishwasher, you may want to put in a pond in your garden or the company that you work for may want to put in a new IT system to replace the existing one. We want to put in a new air conditioning system before summer. The family put in a security camera at the front door following the burglary. My landlord put in a new dishwasher last week; no more hand washing up for me! We're thinking of putting in hardwood floors throughout the house. The company put in new computers for all the employees. I want to put in some shelves in the living room for all my books. My parents put in a skylight to bring more natural light into the kitchen. An electrician came to put in extra outlets in the office. Unless you have the required skills (I do not), then it is quite normal to hire a professional to come in and do the 'putting in' or installation work for you. It is therefore common to use this application with the causative verbs 'have' or 'get' in a passive construction to specify that we did not perform the action ourselves and somebody else did it for us. Susie had a walk-in shower put in during her bathroom renovation. We're getting a new heating system put in next month. MEANING 3: To include something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To include, to write Separable? Yes This third application of 'put in' is one that I have to use on a weekly basis when writing this blog as it is specifically used to talk about words and language and means 'to include'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Word Paragraph Sentence Statement Section Password If you have read the Basics section earlier on in the post, you may remember that one of the meanings of the verb 'to put' is to write something and it is from this meaning that we get this next usage of 'put in'. When we use 'put in' to refer to writing and words, it means to include them in something that is being written. This may be something that you are creating yourself e.g. a story, letter, speech or report or it may be something where you have to complete the information in a field or box e.g. a form. For example, if you are preparing a report for your boss, you may have to decide which information you need to put in and which you need to leave out. Alternatively, if you are writing a story, you may write something but decide not to put it in. Likewise, if you are completing a form, there may be a section that you don't understand and therefore you may not know what to put in. Alfred put in a reference to the research study in his article. The editor asked Michelle to put more detail in about the main character’s background. Don’t forget to put a thank-you note in at the end of the email. They decided to put in a clause to cover unexpected delays in the contract. I put in a request for clarification in the margin. Can you put a line in about our new product launch? The writer put in some dialogue to make the scene more realistic. We can also use this application in reference to spoken language such as speeches and stand-up comedy routines but these are only things that will have been written and prepared beforehand. Toni put in a few jokes to make her speech more entertaining. Sam put in a subtle hint about the surprise ending that he knew the audience would appreciate. Photo: Pexels FORGOTTEN YOUR PASSWORD? I don't know about you, but I have so many different passwords and usernames for online accounts that I just cannot remember them all. If my devices didn't remember them for me, I would spend most of my day requesting new passwords for the ones that I had forgotten. The reason that I am telling you this is because we frequently say 'put in' as a synonym of 'enter' when talking about usernames and passwords for online accounts. Put in your username and password and click continue. I put in my old password three times and I've blocked my account! MEANING 4: To spend time doing something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To do, to spend, to make an effort Separable? Yes If you ever work hard on a particular task or project and you spend a lot of time on it, then you will definitely be able to use this next application of 'put in' as it means 'to spend time doing something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Time Effort Energy Hours Work To give you a personal reference of this application, I can talk about writing this blog. First of all, I have to make notes on a specific phrasal verb and all of the different ways that it is used and then I have to decide which details to put in and which to leave out. Once that has been done, I create it, write it, proofread it, edit it, proofread it again, optimise it for SEO, publish it and promote it. Consequently, I can say that I put a lot of time in to create this blog! As you will have hopefully understood, if you put in time doing something, you spend time doing it and we tend to use this in this way when the person spends a lot of time on the activity. Since we are talking about time, typical nouns that are used with this application are hours, days, months and even years. Beth put in a lot of hours preparing for the exam. They put in years of hard work to build their business. I’ve already put in so much time on this project; I can’t quit now. We do not use this application just to talk about time however and it can also be used for any activity where people work hard. Therefore, it is often used with nouns like effort, work and energy. I could therefore equally say that I put a lot of time, effort and energy in when writing the blog. It is also even possible to put in shifts at work to mean to work shifts. We need to put in more practice if we want to win the championship. The sales team put in an incredible amount of energy to meet the deadline. Lucy is willing to put in whatever it takes to succeed. Ben put in extra shifts to save money for his trip. You can tell how much work Elaine put in by the quality of the final product. They put in the effort, and it really paid off in the end. Franco really put in the effort to make the presentation perfect. MEANING 5: To request or apply for something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere with some uses British Potential synonyms To request, to apply, to submit, to present Separable? Yes Our next application of 'put in' is one that is often used in more formal and business situations and means 'to request or apply for something'. Nouns commonly used with this application.... Request Transfer Promotion Application Bid / Offer Order Most commonly, we use this application of 'put in' to talk about things that we want to do or have but in order to get them, we must follow a process, which normally has a decision at the end of it. There is no guarantee that the application will be successful, however. For example, you can put in (submit) an application for a job or a promotion that you want to get, you can put in a request for some kind of change in your work organisation or you can put in a bid (an offer) at an auction for something that you want to buy. Moreover, there are some other nouns that we use this application with that do not require a decision to be made such as complaint and order. These will still require an element of processing though. I put in an application for the marketing position last week. Jonny put in a request for time off next month. They put in a bid for the new construction project. Sam has put in an offer on a house that she wants to buy and she is waiting for a response. We’ve decided to put in a formal complaint about the noise. I put in an order for that new book you recommended. Put in your orders before midday today as that is the cut-off point. In addition, it is also possible to use the construction ' to put in for + noun ' to specify the thing that you want to get, such as a place at university, a promotion or a pay increase. You can even go one step further and use this construction separably by stating the direct object in between 'put' and 'in'. Keisha is planning to put in for a transfer to the New York office. Have you put in for a promotion yet? My daughter has put in for a place at Harvard University but we don't know if she has got it yet. We have put an application in for an extension to our house. MEANING 6: To add to a conversation Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere, more British Potential synonyms To interrupt, to interpose, to interject, to chime in, to butt in, to add Separable? No I think that one of the rudest things that people can do in conversations is to interrupt others when they are speaking and this next application of 'put in' is one that we can use to describe this very action. When someone puts in during a conversation, it means that they say something, interrupting the person who is already speaking and making them stop. It is not always used to mean to interrupt someone though as it can also mean to add extra information to something that somebody else has said. For example, if someone says something interesting about a political situation in a conversation that you are having and you then say something to add some extra information to what the speaker said, we can use 'put in' to describe this. This usage is quite formal and can be found in books and literature but it is not something that I hear very often in spoken everyday English. Nick suddenly put in with a comment that changed the direction of the discussion. Can I just put in here and say that I completely agree? While we were arguing, Jack put in his opinion without being asked. I was telling my story when Julie put in with a joke and threw me off. Just as I was explaining, Adam put in, “That’s not how it happened!” "I don't want to go either", John put in. MEANING 7: To call at a port Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To call at, to dock in, to stop in Separable? No You may remember from all the way back at the beginning of this post that I mentioned that one of the rarer meanings of the verb 'to put' is 'to travel in a boat'. This seventh and final application is derived directly from this meaning as it means 'to call at a port' and is used specifically for boats, ships and other waterborne vessels. For this usage we often require the additional preposition 'at' to specify the name of the town, city or port where the dock is situated. This application is not separable however and should always be used in a non-separable way. When a boat or ship puts in at a port, it enters the harbour area and stops at a berth where people or goods can be loaded or unloaded before it puts out to sea again (leaves the port). The ship put in at the harbour just before the storm hit. We put in at a small fishing village along the coast. The vessel put in for repairs after days at sea. They put in at Naples to refuel and restock supplies. After a long journey, the yacht finally put in at the marina. The captain decided to put in at the nearest port due to engine trouble. We were supposed to sail straight through, but we had to put in at the nearest port unexpectedly. Photo: Pexels COMMON IDIOMS AND EXPRESSIONS FEATURING 'PUT IN' Let's finish the post with some well known idioms and expressions featuring the phrasal verb 'put in'. If you can use some of these in your English conversations, it will sound very impressive! To put something in(to) perspective - To understand or view something more accurately, often by comparing it to something else, or by considering the bigger picture. This is often when you have a problem or issue and you want to understand if it is really very bad or if the problem is just in your head or not as bad as you think. Sarah's calm advice helped me put my problems in perspective. After hearing about Mike's struggles, my own issues seemed small in comparison; it really put things in perspective for me. To put yourself in someone's place - This expression is used to talk about when you imagine how a situation feels from another person's point of view and how they would feel in a specific situation. Try putting yourself in her place; how would you feel if that happened to you? Before you judge me, put yourself in my place and consider what I've been through. To put in a performance - This one is simply used as a synonym of giving a performance and can be used with theatre and singing shows, sports or even a business presentation. It is frequently used with qualitative adjectives like good, bad, wonderful etc. Chelsea put in a fantastic performance and won the match 3–0. Wendy put in a strong performance during the audition and impressed the judges. To put in a good word for someone - Lastly, this is a great expression for when somebody intentionally praises or says positive things about you to another person to help you in some way. For example, if you want to ask someone out on a date, you could ask the person's friend to put in a good word for you beforehand so that he or she is more likely to say yes. Alternatively, if you put in for a job at a company where you already know someone who works there, you may ask that person to put in a good word for you with the hiring team to increase your chances of getting the job. I’ll put in a good word for you with the manager; she trusts my opinion. Could you put in a good word for me when you talk to the hiring team? Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'put in'. If you enjoyed this post, please go ahead and check out some of my other posts. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'put in'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! 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 'look at' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context Photo: Pexels Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them. The focus of this post is the phrasal verb 'to look at', which is one that I find that I use a LOT on this blog and so I thought it would be a good idea to give it its own dedicated blog page. In this post we will explore the main meanings of 'look at' and also some typical situations in which it is used by native speakers with lots of example sentences showing how it is used. So without further ado, let's go..... TABLE OF CONTENTS   (Click to jump to each one) The Basics: Key information and the individual words 'look' and 'at' Meaning 1: Literal meaning Meaning 2: To examine something Meaning 3: To consider something Meaning 4: To view from a different perspective Bonus: Some additional uses of 'look at' I love writing this blog and helping learners but I get very little feedback so I don't always know if it is helpful for you. Therefore, if you find the post useful, please like and share it or leave a comment at the end. I would be very grateful. Thank you! James 😊 Photo: Pexels THE BASICS LOOK AT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms Looked at / Looked at Separable? No As is customary on Phrasal Verbs Explained, let's start the post by considering the basics.... In this case, we have the main verb 'to look' followed by the prepositional particle 'at'. The verb 'to look' is a very common verb which can be used either to talk about viewing something with your eyes or to talk about how something is perceived when somebody views it. In the first case, the prepositional particle 'at' is required to specify the person or object that we are viewing. 'At' is a preposition with many uses in English, but the meaning that is relevant here is "towards or in the direction of something". See the below examples.... Photo: Pexels The lady looked at the apple. Photo: Pexels The apple looked very fresh. One thing I notice with students is that they often confuse the verb 'to look' with other verbs of vision, such as 'to see' and 'to watch'. If you find it difficult to distinguish between these different verbs, I have put together the table below, which will give you some basic information regarding the differences.... Verb Meaning Example To see ​To perceive or notice something with your eyes. The action is passive. ​I can see a spider on the wall. To look To move or direct your eyes in a direction in order to see something. The action is active. I looked at the spider on the wall. To watch To focus on something and follow it with your eyes for a period of time. This is normally something that moves or changes. The action is active. I watched the spider walking across the wall. Now that we have covered the basics, the first meaning that we will look at should be a piece of cake..... MEANING 1: Literal Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level A1 - Beginner Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms ​To glance, to peek, to view, to gaze, to stare, to check out Separable? Only with certain adverbs As you may have seen in the examples in the green table in the last section, we use the preposition 'at' after look, to specify the thing that we focus on with our eyes. This can be used either for when we direct our eyes and attention from one thing to another or it can be used just to talk about focusing on something with our eyes. It is possible to use 'look at' for both short and long periods of time. For short periods of time, potential synonyms could be verbs such as 'to peek' or 'to glance' and for longer periods of time the verbs 'to gaze' or 'to stare' could possibly be used. Regardless of the duration, a key element of 'look at' is that the person or object that we are viewing does not move and we do not need to follow it with our eyes; in that case we would then use the verbs 'to watch' or 'to observe'. Therefore, we do not say " I looked at a movie " or " I looked at the TV ", but rather " I watched a movie " or " I watched TV ". Literally speaking, if you say " I looked at the TV ", it will probably be understood by a native speaker to mean that you are looking at the TV equipment and not watching the programme or movie. Look at these old school photographs! How young do we look?! Helen was looking at her phone and so did not see the hole in the road. What are you looking at? Photo: Pexels EXTRA TIPS TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER You may have seen in the tables above that 'look at' can sometimes be used separably. It should be noted that the object always follows 'at' and cannot be placed between the two words, however there are certain adverbs that we can insert between 'look' and 'at' to modify them. Some of the most common examples of these are: directly, closely & carefully. Alternatively, it is also possible to place these adverbs at the end of the sentence and sometimes before 'look at', but I personally think that inserting the adverb between them sounds better and would help to elevate your sentence. If you look directly at the sun, you will damage your eyesight. Look carefully at the picture and tell me what you can see. MEANING 2: To examine something Photo: Pexels ​CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Separable Only with certain adverbs ​Potential synonyms To examine Our next meaning of 'look at' is very much linked to the literal meaning that we have just considered and for all intents and purposes means the same thing. The only difference in this meaning is that we use 'look at' to describe when we carefully and methodically examine something. This is usually with the intention of determining the cause of a problem, finding out the nature of something (what it is) or checking something, such as a document, in order to make sure that it is all correct and in order. As you can imagine, we normally reserve this usage of 'look at' for experts or professionals within a particular field, such as doctors, lawyers or teachers. Your ankle looks really sore, you should get a doctor to look at it. There is something wrong with my car and I've taken it to the garage, so that a mechanic can look at it. I have asked my boss to look at the report I've written before I submit it to the shareholders. Photo: Pexels EXTRA TIPS TO SOUND MORE LIKE A NATIVE SPEAKER There are a couple of common variations of this usage of 'look at', which I want to make you aware of. In both cases 'look' is used as a noun and alternative verbs are used: To take a look at something To have a look at something Both of these variations mean the same thing and are also often used to mean 'to examine something' in the same way as described above. Leave this with me, I will take a look at it later today and give you my feedback. Would you mind having a look at my resume? I'm not sure if I have included everything I need. You should note that it is also possible to use these in the literal form, especially when asking someone to direct their attention to something. Come here and take a look at this!! You won't believe it! Have a look at this and tell me what you think! MEANING 3: To consider something Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate ​Usage Common Separable Only with adverbs Potential synonyms To consider, to think about The next meaning of 'look at' is to consider or think about something. This is a usage that I use a great deal on this blog, since the whole aim of the blog is to consider and explore phrasal verbs and their meanings and usage. Additionally, I think that it is a further progression of the two meanings that we have already covered in this post. When we use 'look at' in this way, we are talking about directing our thoughts or attention to a particular topic or issue, rather than our eyes. We often use it, like I do on this blog with different phrasal verb meanings, to take something in particular and think about it carefully in order to discuss or write about it. Alternatively, it can also be used to talk about when we consider specific problems or issues and how they can be resolved or when you have to make a decision and are considering different options. One particular way that 'look at' is used here is when we want to give an example in order to justify or support something that we are saying. We often give our initial opinion and follow this by saying " look at XYZ for example". In today's post, we are looking at 'to break down '... We are aware of the problem and we are looking at ways in which we can resolve it as quickly as possible. I looked at Cambridge University as an option for my degree but the entry requirements were too high. John should definitely be the person who gets the manager's job. Look at how good he is at interacting with the other members of the team, for example! MEANING 4: To view from a different perspective Photo: Pexels CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Medium Separable Only with certain adverbs ​Potential synonyms To view, to see ​Commonly used with Perspective, point of view The last usage of 'look at' on this post is one that does not differ too much from its other usages and is used to talk about viewing something from a different perspective to our own, or from a particular viewpoint. We often use this to "put ourselves in someone else's shoes", in other words, to see something from a different person's perspective in a given situation. Moreover, we can also use it to talk about our own perspective at a different time in our lives, in which case we would often use the 3rd conditional due to the hypothetical nature of the statement. Look at it from my perspective! If you looked at it from Helen's point of view, you might think differently! If I had known this when I was younger, I would have definitely looked at things differently! Photo: Pexels SOME ADDITIONAL USES OF 'LOOK AT' Before finishing this blog post, I want to make you aware of some additional uses of 'look at' that are commonly used by native speakers in everyday English. Not much to look at - If somebody uses the expression that someone or something is "not much to look at", they mean that the person or thing is boring, plain, ugly or lacking beauty. As you can imagine, this can be quite offensive, especially if used to talk about a person, however sometimes it is used to say that something is not aesthetically pleasing but has some other positive qualities. My house is not much to look at f rom the outside but the inside is breathtakingly beautiful! Look at you ! - This short expression is often used to convey surprise at how someone looks or is dressed, usually in a positive way. Wow, look at you Lisa, all dressed up like that. You look beautiful! Would you look at that! - This short expression, which is more common in American English, is used to convey surprise about something negative that has happened. Would you look at that! My car has two flat tyres, how has that happened? Photo: Pexels We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new about the phrasal verb 'look at'. 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 'look at'. 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