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