An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'look out', with lots of examples in context Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! How familiar are you with the phrasal verb 'look out'? I am sure that many of you have heard it before, perhaps as a warning or in its noun form, however do you know the different ways that it can be used in English? In this post, I will explain the various meanings and applications that it has in everyday English, with lots of examples to help you understand, learn and use them. So, without further ado, let's make a start! Don't forget to leave a comment at the end 😀 LOOK OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Past tense forms Looked out / Looked out Separable? Sometimes MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To view somewhere from an internal space To try to notice something To alert someone to danger To search for and find something To act selfishly To give a view to something Bonus: Lookout as a noun THE BASICS As per usual, let's start our exploration of our nominated phrasal verb 'look out' by considering the words 'look' and 'out' and what they mean on their own. Firstly, we have the verb 'to look', which is a common verb whose main meaning is to direct your eyes in a certain direction or towards a specific thing in order to see it. Look at my new shoes. Aren't they amazing?! She looked at me and smiled. Additionally, 'to look' can also be used without a direct object (intransitively), specifically to refer to how something or someone appears. You don't look very well. Do you feel ill? Lisa's new haircut looks lovely. It really suits her. It is often combined with prepositional particles to form phrasal verb constructions, which have meanings that can range from simply adding directional information about where the person is looking, to less obvious, idiomatic meanings (this is English, after all). One such prepositional particle is 'out', which you will all of course be very familiar with as it is such a common word in the English language. When used an an adverb and preposition, 'out' typically refers to a state of being in, or moving towards, an external space and therefore functions as the natural opposite of the particle 'in'. When used in phrasal verbs, 'out' can often add ideas of revelation, distribution, removal or appearance, among others. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the main event, i.e. meanings of the phrasal verb 'look out' 🙂 MEANING 1: To view somewhere from an internal space CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To view out, to peer out Potential antonyms To look in Separable? No The first meaning of the phrasal verb 'look out' that we will cover is a nice and easy one as it is just the literal meaning of the combination of the two words i.e. to look from an internal space out to an external place. For this first usage, the most obvious and commonly used example would be looking out through a window from the inside of a building to the outside. The first thing I did this morning when I woke up was look out of the window to see if it had snowed overnight. Sometimes, I get so bored in business meetings that I find myself looking out at the people on the street, rather than listening to what is being said. Of course, we can use this application when talking about looking out of any internal space from which people can view the outside and this would typically include things like cars, planes and other types of transport in which people are inside. John looked out from the plane and saw a mass of white cloud below it. The dog looked out of the car window in fascination. You may have noted from the examples in this section that one of the additional prepositions 'of' or 'from' is normally used before the noun with this application. Out of the two of these, I would say that 'of' is definitely more commonly used than 'from'. These are also omitted in informal spoken English, especially British English. The dog looked out the car window in fascination. MEANING 2: To try to notice something CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To beware, to watch out, keep an eye out for, to keep your eyes peeled, to be alert Separable? No For the second meaning of 'look out', we require the additional preposition 'for' as the construction 'to look out for' means to try and notice something. When we use this, it doesn't mean that we want people to stop what they are doing and search for something in the present moment, but rather that we want them to remain alert and vigilant for something in case they see it or come across it. The usage can be applied in many different areas of life but here are some typical scenarios when you are likely to hear it... When you lose something - If you lose something, you might tell people what you have lost and ask them to let you know if they see it, or ideally give it back to you if they do find it. I've lost my favourite pen. Please could you look out for it and if you do see it, please return it to me. Criminals / danger - If we are ever in a place where there are criminals or where we may potentially face danger, we could be warned to look out for it. Look out for pickpockets on the underground trains. Disease symptoms - If you think that you may have a disease or if a disease is prevalent, you may be told to look out for certain symptoms. For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, people were advised to look out for such symptoms as a loss of taste and smell and a persistent cough. Look out for a rash that does not disappear under pressure. Desired item - If you want to buy something rare, scarce or in limited supply from a shop or store, you may say that you will look out for it or a nice person may look out for it for you. I'll look out for some of that Manuka honey for you and buy it if I see it. Aside from these uses, this application of 'look out' can be used for any situations in which you need to remain alert or vigilant for something. BONUS INFORMATION In addition to the phrasal verb, 'lookout' also exists as a noun (more on this later in the post). There are a couple of common expressions that can be used with this noun which mean the same thing as the application of 'look out' in this section: "to be on the lookout for" and "to keep a lookout for something". I am on the lookout for a new sofa for my living room, so if you know anywhere that sells them at a good price, let me know. My cat hasn't been home for two days, so please keep a lookout for him in your gardens and kindly tell me if you see him. MEANING 3: To alert someone to danger CEFR Language Level B1 - Lower intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms Be careful, watch out, to beware Separable? No In the last section, I explained how 'look out' can be used to mean to remain vigilant or alert in a potentially dangerous or hazardous place and this third usage is simply an extension of that as it means to alert someone to danger. Unlike most other phrasal verb meanings, this particular usage only really tends to exist as an imperative, i.e. to give someone a command or a warning and therefore it is often shouted or said in a loud voice. The reason being is that it is something that we say spontaneously when we see that someone is in immediate danger of being injured or killed. Look out! There is a car coming! Look out you idiot! You almost got yourself killed! The man saw that the tiles were about to be blown off the roof by the strong winds and he quickly shouted "look out" to the people standing underneath it to alert them to the danger. MEANING 4: To search for and find something CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British Potential synonyms To find out, to get out, to find, to dig out Separable? Yes The fourth meaning of 'look out' is a primarily British usage that means to search for and find something, normally with the intention of showing it to someone. This application is really a cross between the two phrasal verbs 'look for' and 'get out' as it combines elements of both of them; looking for the item and then getting it out of the place that it is stored, which is normally somewhere in your home amongst your possessions. On a grammatical note, unlike the previous meanings of 'look out' that we have looked at so far in this post, this usage takes a direct object (the item that you are searching for to get out) and this usage is therefore separable, with the direct object going either between 'look' and 'out' or after them. I will look the photos of your parents out for when you come to see me the next time. John looked out his driving license from his desk and presented it to the policeman. I have got a spare phone charger if you need one. I'll go and look it out now in the bedroom. MEANING 5: To act selfishly CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be selfish, to care for Separable? No For the fifth meaning of 'look out', we need to enlist the additional particle 'for' again. This time however, instead of looking out for something, we are instead looking out for someone, which can either be ourselves or another person. If we look out for ourselves (note the usage here with the reflexive -self pronoun), then it means that we are prioritising our own interests and ignoring others peoples needs and requirements. This is of course something that we all need to do in life from time to time, however if people look out for themselves too much, it can be perceived as selfishness and therefore 'to look out for yourself' can often be used to mean to be selfish, self-serving or egotistical. You need to stop doing everything for your children and look out for yourself for a change. Alan has already gone and didn't offer to give anyone a lift. He's just looking out for himself again, as per usual. Marie accused Helen of only ever looking out for herself and not caring about what anybody else wanted. It is also common to use the word 'own + noun' instead of the reflexive '-self' pronoun here, and examples of these nouns could be family, career, job and perhaps most commonly and generically, interests. Roger was just looking out for his own family and didn't really give any consideration to anyone else. Debbie will always look after her own interests first. Some people say she is selfish but I think she is sensible. Interestingly, if we change the reflexive pronoun or 'own' noun from ourselves to another person, then the meaning completely changes to the opposite. If you look out for someone, it means that you care a lot about them and you always try to make sure that they are safe and do not come to harm. This is not quite the same meaning as 'looking after someone' as you are not caring for their needs all the time, but rather you are more watching from a distance, much like an aunt or uncle would, and you will always be there to help if they have a problem. I've been looking out for you ever since you were a little boy. Will you look out for Calum this week whilst we are away on holiday? He's fine to look after himself, but I just want to be be sure there is someone around in case he has any problems. MEANING 6: To give a view to something CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere but more American Potential synonyms To face, to overlook, to afford Separable? No Nouns commonly used with View, sea, ocean, mountain, valley, field, church The final meaning of 'look out' that we will cover is one that means 'to give a view to something' and is used specifically for buildings. I know that this may sound strange as the verb 'to look' is one that is normally only ever used for something with eyes, however this is not always the case. If a building looks out to something, such as the sea, then it means it affords (gives) a view of the sea when you are inside it. As such, you are likely to see this in property listings and holiday brochures as it is a great way to sell somewhere because we all love a beautiful view! For this usage, we require the additional preposition 'to' to specify the thing that can be seen from the building. The house looks out to the rainforest on three sides. This 18th Century country cottage looks out to views of rolling hills and green fields. When I was growing up, my house looked out to mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. I was so lucky! BONUS: LOOKOUT AS A NOUN I mentioned earlier in the post that the noun 'lookout' can be used in certain expressions and before I finish the post, I just want to make you aware of a couple of other meanings that it has as a noun... Lookout as a place - In British and Australian English, the noun 'lookout' is used to mean a place where you can go to see beautiful views. This is normally somewhere elevated, such as up a mountain or hill, from which you can see for a long distance, often in different or all directions. Lookout as a person - The noun lookout can also be used to describe a person who has been designated to watch for any danger or trouble and who can then alert the rest of the community. It is not really something that we use or need in our everyday lives now, however it can still be heard when talking about history, in literature and in tv shows and movies. We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'look 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 'go down', with lots of examples in context. Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Go down' is an English phrasal verb with a wide variety of different meanings and applications. In this post, I will explain to you the main meanings that it has, including when prices go down, when a computer goes down and when something goes down in history. In addition to this, I will also give you some other expressions and idioms that it features and, as always, a lot of examples in context to help your understanding. So, without further ado, let's make a start! Don't forget to leave a comment at the end! 😊 GO DOWN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 8 Past tense forms Went down / Gone down Separable? No MEANINGS   (Click to jump to each one) To move to a lower place or level To be reduced To stop functioning temporarily To be remembered in a certain way To be defeated To get a positive or negative reaction from someone To happen To go to prison Additional uses THE BASICS Before looking at the meanings of any phrasal verb, I always think that it is worthwhile considering the individual words on their own as this can often help give some much needed logic to some of the more abstract phrasal verb meanings. Let's begin then with our base verb 'to go', which is among the most frequently used English verbs and functions both as a main verb and an auxiliary verb when forming the future tense 'going to'. At its core, this verb is all about movement from one place to another, specifically when it is away from where the speaker is. This is something that certainly influences the phrasal verb meanings that we will look at shortly. I am going to the cinema this evening. She went to shop to buy some milk. Next, we have the versatile prepositional particle 'down', which can be used as a preposition, adverb, adjective, verb and noun in English. It's primary meaning is to talk about movement towards a lower place or the state of being in a lower place than something else and this idea is often carried across to 'down' phrasal verbs. In addition to this principal meaning, 'down' can also convey the ideas of reduction, interruption and settling to phrasal verbs, among other ideas. So, now that we have covered the basics, let's take a look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'go down'.... MEANING 1: To move to a lower place or level CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To sink, to drop, to fall, to descend Potential antonyms To go up, to rise, to ascend Let's start things off nice and easy with the literal meaning of the combination of the words 'go' and 'down', which is simply to move to a lower place or level. This first meaning can be used for any movement from a higher place to a lower place and therefore has an enormous number and variety of applications in everyday English. It is used purely to talk about the action of physically moving in a downwards direction when the method of movement e.g. walking, climbing, falling is not important. Remember here that this is used when the movement is in the direction away from where the speaker is. For direction towards where the speaker is, we use 'to come'. I am just going down to reception on the ground floor to meet the visitors. She went down the stairs and into the cellar to fetch some wood. John has gone down to the village in the valley to buy some supplies. In addition to the general idea of moving in a downwards direction, 'go down' is regularly heard with the following common nouns... Sun - In the evening, when the sun is setting and moving towards the horizon before eventually disappearing, we say that it is going down. My fiancé asked me to marry him on the beach as the sun was going down. It was so romantic! We had to wait for the sun to go down before we could set off our fireworks. Airplane - If an airplane, helicopter or other flying machine goes down, it means that it accidentally crash lands on the ground. The helicopter went down at around 11am this morning and investigators have been trying to identify what happened ever since. A small airplane has gone down between Longville and Smithston but luckily nobody on board was harmed. Ship - Similar to an airplane, if we say that a ship, boat or other mode of water transport has gone down, it means that is has sunk. The Titanic went down shortly after hitting an iceberg. The captain refused to leave his beloved boat and he went down with his ship. One other key usage of this first application that I want to to make you aware of is that 'go down' is also used as a synonym for the verb 'to swallow'. Quite literally, when we swallow something, it goes down from our mouths to our stomachs, so for once we have a rare logical usage for a phrasal verb! Mmmmm that casserole went down really well. It was delicious! I can never get tablets to go down and almost choke every time that I take one. BONUS INFORMATION You should also be aware that 'go down' can often be used by native speakers to refer to a general movement from one place to another, without any particular slope, descent or downwards movement involved. This is mainly heard with the words 'road' or 'street' to talk about movement along it but it can also be used for movement from one place to another that is further south. Using 'go down' in this way will definitely help your English to sound native! Roger was walking down the street when he saw his wife holding hands with another man. To get to the library, just go down this road for about half a kilometre and turn right by the church. Are you going down to London to see your cousins this weekend? MEANING 2: To be reduced CEFR Language Level B1 - Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To decrease, to reduce, to lower, to degrade Potential antonyms To increase Nouns commonly used with Price, rate, level, percentage, quality, condition, swelling Following on from our first meaning of 'go down', the second should be quite logical for you as it means 'to be reduced'. Perhaps most commonly, this usage refers to numbers, prices and percentages and specifically when they become lower compared to what they were at an earlier time. 'Go down' tends to be used for these when there is no human intervention in the decrease or reduction in level and it happens naturally or organically. The crime rate in New York has gone down by 10% over the last decade. Following a government announcement, the wholesale price of gas has gone down, meaning that these reduced costs can be transferred to customers in the form of lower energy bills. The number of people on the hospital waiting list is expected to go down over the next month. Another noun that this second application of 'go down' is used with is 'quality'. When the condition or the quality of something is seen to be reduced or to be worse than it was previously, we can say that it has gone down. This can theoretically be used for anything that we can form a qualitative opinion on, i.e. how good or bad we think that something is. and typically you will hear native speakers using it to describe things like cities, places, restaurants and businesses. I think that the standard of pop music has gone down over the past twenty years or so. The quality of the food in the restaurant went down a lot when the new owners took over, so we stopped going there. BONUS INFORMATION: GOING DOWNHILL In addition to saying that something has 'gone down' when the quality of it is not as good as before, there is also an idiomatic expression that is often used by native speakers to mean the same thing, particularly in British English and that is 'to go downhill'. The city centre went downhill during the 1980s but it has received a lot of investment in recent years and it is now much better again. The customer service at that company has gone downhill. It's not as good as it used to be. One final noun that I want to include in this section is actually more to do with health than numbers or levels and is used specifically for swelling. Imagine that you fall over and hurt your ankle and over the next 24 hours it swells and grows in size. When it eventually starts to heal and become smaller again, we say that the swelling is going down. The swelling should go down after a week or so but if it doesn't please come back and see me. I was bitten by a mosquito on my eyelid. It swelled up to an enormous size and didn't go down again for days. MEANING 3: To stop functioning temporarily CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper Intermediate Usage Common Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To crash Nouns commonly used with Computer, internet, phone line, network The third meaning of 'go down' is one that affects many of us more often than we would like and that is to stop functioning temporarily. This usage is primarily used with equipment and services, particularly in the sphere of computers and IT where services are available for us to use all of the time. The idea behind this usage comes from the idea that when a service is running and in operation, we say that it is 'up' (or sometimes 'up and running). As 'up' is the natural opposite of 'down', if the computer or service stops working, then we can say that is goes down. Lisa's computer went down whilst she was in the middle of writing an important report for work. The internet went down at work yesterday, so we were all sent home as we had nothing to do. Due to a powerful storm, the phone network has gone down and it is impossible to make phone calls. MEANING 4: To be remembered in a certain way CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be remembered as Potential antonyms To be forgotten The fourth meaning of 'go down' is one to describe anything that is monumental, noteworthy or incredible as it means to be remembered or recorded in a certain way. Normally, this is because it is something that is unprecedented or is noteworthy for a particular reason, whether that be good or bad. For this application to make sense, one of two additional words needs to be used: 'as' or 'in'. We use 'to go down as' when we want to say that something is remarkable and unforgettable and this is often followed by a superlative. Queen's performance at Live Aid went down as one of the greatest live shows of all time. This race that we have seen this evening will go down as one of the most thrilling we have ever seen at the Olympics. To give you a bit of background on this usage, another, rarer meaning of 'go down' is to be written or recorded on paper or books and this brings us to the other alternative 'go down in' as this is usually followed by 'history' or 'the history books', meaning that the notable event in question will be recorded in books for people to read about in years to come. The year 2020 will go down in history as the year that the world came to a standstill due to the pandemic. Obama went down in the history books as being the first black president of the United States. MEANING 5: To be defeated CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To win, to conquer Potential antonyms To lose The fifth meaning of 'go down' is to be defeated or to lose something and is used primarily in the world of sport and competitions. Although 'go down' is used as a direct synonym of the verb 'to lose', I would say that it is used much more rarely in this respect and can often sound a bit dramatic. I would be less inclined to use it when just talking about an ordinary football match or tennis game etc, and perhaps more when there is an element of shock or importance attached to the defeat. When using this application to talk about a defeat, the preposition 'to' is usually required to specify the winning team. Liverpool went down 2-1 to Bayern Munich in the game last night. Novak Djokovic went down in the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer. Sometimes, this application of 'go down' is used as a threat to someone to say that you will defeat them in a game, match or fight before it happens. You're going down in the match tonight! This usage has also given rise to the commonly used expression: 'to not go down without a fight', which means regardless of whether or not you win or lose a competition, game or battle, you will give your best efforts to win and will not make it easy for your opponent. This is often used by the underdog i.e. the person or team expected to lose the competition. O a darker note, in addition to sport and games, this can also be used in war and with people who have a terminal illness. I know that my cancer is incurable but I refuse to go down without a fight. Karen was unfairly fired by her company and has vowed to take them to court as she is not going down without a fight. MEANING 6: To get a positive or negative reaction from someone CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be received, to elicit a reaction The sixth meaning of 'go down' that we will look at in this post is an informal usage which means 'to get a positive or negative reaction from someone'. To clarify this usage, let's consider an example. Imagine that the love of your life asks you to marry them and naturally you say yes. You then have to tell your parents and hopefully, provided that they like your partner, they will be happy about it, in which case we can say that it went down well with them. Alternatively, if they are not happy about the engagement and they reacted negatively to the news, we cay say that it did not go down well with them. Here are some more examples of this.... I handed in my resignation to my boss today and it not go down well at all. He was really annoyed that I have decided to leave the company. Did you tell John that you wanted to break up with him? How did the news go down? We told our young son that we are moving to California and it went down really well with him. He is very excited about starting school there and making new friends. Not only do we use this for people's reactions to news or announcements, we can also use 'go down' with performances, meals or anything that people can like, dislike, or in other words, have a positive or negative reaction towards. The meal I cooked for my husband's family went down very well. Everyone had a second helping! The singer's recent performance did not go down well with fans who said that his voice is not as good as it used to be. Lastly, we often use the nouns 'treat' or 'storm' to describe when people react very positively to something or enjoy it a lot. I made a cake and took it into my office this week. It went down a storm with my colleagues and they are asking me when I am going to make another! I showed your video to my parents. It really went down a treat with them and they enjoyed it a very much. MEANING 7: To happen CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere but more American Potential synonyms To happen, to go on The seventh meaning of 'go down' is another informal one that is mainly used in American English and means 'to happen'. This application tends to be used in a very general sense, such as to ask what has happened in the past or what is happening at the present moment in a very similar way to the phrasal verb 'go on' in the expression "what's going on?". As I said, this is very much a slang usage, so I would not recommend using this in any kind of formal or professional situation. Do you know what is going down at the park? There are police cars and ambulances parked everywhere by the gates! I'm intrigued to find out what goes down at this nightclub that you go to every week. Why do you like it so much? Simon refuses to talk about what went down in the bar last night. MEANING 8: To go to prison CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To be imprisoned, to be sent down, to go to jail, to get banged up We are now at the last of the main meanings of the phrasal verb 'go down' that we will look at in this post and this one is another informal one that means to be sent to prison. This is a British English usage and refers specifically to when a criminal is convicted of a crime and must spend time in jail as a punishment. This usage is typically followed by the period of time that the criminal will have to spend there. Maureen's husband has been convicted of armed robbery and has gone down for six months. The serial killer went down for life for his disgusting crimes. ADDITIONAL USES As a result of how common the words 'go' and 'down' are in the English language, there are a great number of other more specific uses of 'go down' that exist in everyday language. I didn't want to make this post too long, so I've condensed these down into one section for you... Lights - If we say that the lights go down, it means that they becomes dimmer or less bright and this is typically used to describe when this happens at the beginning of a show or performance in a theatre, cinema or concert. Curtains - Staying with the theatrical theme, if we say that the curtains go down, we are specifically referring to when the curtain in a theatre is lowered at the end of a performance. Knees - To go down on your knees means to lower your body so that you are in a kneeling position, i.e. the bottom half of your legs are flat against the floor whilst the rest of your body is upright, as can often be seen with people praying in a church. All fours - If someone goes down on all fours, it means that they lower their body so that both their hands and knees are on the ground, for example you may need to go down on all fours to clean the floor, to crawl or to get underneath something low. Pub - If you are in the UK and somebody asks you if you are going down the pub, don't worry as this is nothing to worry about; it is simply an informal way to ask if you are going to the pub for a drink. Temperature - If the temperature goes down, it gets cooler or colder. Drain - If water or liquid goes down a drain, it simply means that it drains away, normally into a pipe or sewage system. You should note however that 'to go down the drain' is a common idiom in English that means to be wasted. It is usually used with such nouns as time, money, effort and work. To go down on someone - Lastly, the expression 'to go down on someone' is a slightly euphemistic way of saying performing oral sex on someone. We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'go 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 'get over', with lots of examples in context. Hello and welcome to my website all about English phrasal verbs! Read on to learn more about the phrasal verb ' get over '.... ' Get over ' is a common phrasal verb in English with a variety of different meanings. In this post, I will explain the different meanings that it has and how they are used by native speakers, including getting over an illness, getting over a message, getting something over with and even not being able to get over something. So, without further ado, let's make a start.... GET OVER: KEY INFORMATION For more explanation of the terms in the table above, click here . Usage Common Number of meanings 6 Separable? Sometimes Past tense forms Got over / got over / gotten over MEANINGS (Click to jump to this meaning) To cross something from one side to the other To recover from something To overcome something To be very surprised To communicate a message successfully To do something unpleasant but necessary THE BASICS The phrasal verb ' get over ' is formed of the hugely common verb 'to get ' and the prepositional particle ' over ' and before we look at the different meanings of this phrasal verb, let's first look at these individual words. You do not need to have had much contact with the English language to know that the verb 'to get ' is very common. Indeed, I know from my students that it is a very frustrating word for English learners as it has such a lot of different meanings and uses....I think even native speakers are confused by it sometimes! We don't have the time to cover all of the meanings of 'to get ' here, however some of its relevant meanings for the purposes of this post are that 'to arrive' and 'to become'. The particle ' over ' can be used as a preposition, adverb and adjective and is often used to describe moving across from one side of something to the other, often with the idea of moving above it. Moreover, as an adjective, it can be used to mean 'finished' or 'complete' and gives the idea that something is now in the past. So, now we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the meanings of the phrasal verb ' get over '... MEANING 1: To cross something CEFR Language Level A2 - Elementary Usage Common British or American? Both Potential synonyms To cross, to go over, to come over, to surmount Separable? No Nouns commonly used with Bridge, river, wall, (finish) line, fence, hill, mountain Ok, let's begin with a nice and easy meaning of ' get over ', which is 'to cross something from one side to the other'. This is normally by moving across its surface or in the air above it. This movement could take the form of climbing, walking or even driving, the main idea is that you move from one side of it to the other. HOW IS 'GET OVER' DIFFERENT FROM 'GO OVER'? Whilst ' get over ' is broadly similar in meaning to the phrasal verb ' go over ' (link here ), it is used slightly differently. We use both of them to talk about moving from one side of something to the other, but with ' go over ' the focus is on the movement from A to B, especially when the movement is easy or problem-free. However, with ' get over ', the focus is more about the destination and tends to be used when there is a difficulty, problem or challenge to reach it. As such, ' get over ' is commonly used with nouns such as wall, river, finishing line (of a race) and mountain; all of which could potentially be difficult or challenging to cross. Furthermore, It often appears in questions and negative statements.   We mostly use this application of ' get over ' to talk about when when you or other people are crossing from one side of something to the other, so grammatically, this does not take a direct object and is therefore not used separably. However, if we are talking about a person carrying or taking something across, then we are able to use it separably as the thing being carried is a direct object. Again, we would only tend to use ' get over ' when there is some sort of challenge or difficulty involved as ' take over ' or ' carry over ' would normally be used here. You may have also heard someone being told in English to ' get over here' or ' get over there' as these imperative forms of ' get over ' are used quite often to tell someone to move to a different place. This can often be considered as quite rude or severe though, so hopefully it wasn't aimed at you! Examples of usage.... I'm not sure how my dog got over the garden fence. The explorers looked up at the mountain and tried to figure out a way to get over it. A car had broken down in the middle of the bridge and we weren't able to get over it, so we had to turn back and go a different way. The sprinter developed an injury during the race and sadly wasn't able to get over the finishing line on his own. Some of the other athletes picked the injured athlete up and got him over the line. The police were puzzled as to how the criminals had managed to get the drugs over the border. John, get over here and show me what I need to do. MEANING 2: To recover from something CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Common British or American? Both Potential synonyms To recover, to recuperate, to get better Separable? No For those of you who are regular visitors to this website, you may remember a post that I've recently written about the phrasal verb ' go through ' (link here ). If you have read this, you will hopefully know that one of its meanings is to suffer a traumatic or negative experience. This second meaning of ' get over ' is like a part two of that meaning as it means 'to recover from something traumatic'. As with ' go through ', this application of ' get over ' is used when we experience something traumatic that causes physical or mental suffering, typically with relationship break-ups, grief following the death of a loved one and physical injury or illness. ' Getting over ' something is a process that happens over a period of time, from a few days to many years and, in some cases, it can never happen at all. You may also be familiar with the imperative expression " get over it!", which is used as a way of telling someone to accept a situation and stop worrying or being sad about it. Alternatively, "you'll get over it" is a frequently used and often sarcastic expression to say to someone who is overreacting about something that their problem is not very important. Examples of usage.... It took me a few months to get over my ex-girlfriend and move on. I've been sick with a really bad cold recently and I am still getting over it. John has never gotten over the death of his mother when he was a child. Get over it, Lisa! That was 2 years ago! It is time that you moved on with your life. MEANING 3: To overcome something CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium British or American? Both Potential synonyms To overcome, to surmount, to master Separable? No For the next meaning of ' get over ', we are going to keep to a similar sort of idea as the previous usage as this one is 'to overcome' something. More often than not, this meaning of ' get over ' is used with fears and if we can ' get over ' a fear of something, it means that we are no longer scared or afraid of it. For example, when I was younger I had a mild fear of spiders but then I lived with someone who was TERRIFIED of them and so every time a spider appeared in the house, I had to remove it. By doing this, I quickly got over my fear and now they do not bother me...that is a true story, by the way! In addition to fears, ' get over ' is also used with finding solutions difficulties and problems., however less frequently so. This usage is also inseparable and we cannot add a direct object between the words ' get ' and ' over ' here. Examples of usage.... When I was a child I was petrified of the dark, but I got over my fear when I became a teenager. Getting over a phobia of something takes a lot of mental will power but it is possible! How are you going to get over this issue at work? MEANING 4: To be very surprised by something CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium British or American? Both Potential synonyms To be amazed, to be shocked, to be surprised, to be flabbergasted Separable? No Ok, for this next usage we need to switch things up a little bit as this one only exists in a negative form with the modal verb ' can '. If you hear a native speaker say that they can't get over something, it is possible that they are talking about not being able to recover from something, but it is generally more likely that they are saying that they are very surprised by something. This is quite a strange and idiomatic usage (as is normal for English) and I think it was probably originally used in the sense that someone was shocked by something very bad and then found it difficult to recover (as per meaning 2). However, the usage has changed over time to now mean only shock or surprise at anything, whether it be good or bad, and that they find it hard to believe. Examples of usage.... I can't get over how much you look like your Dad! You've grown so much since I saw you last year, I can't get over it! Sarah couldn't get over how rude the waiter was to her in the restaurant. She was speechless! MEANING 5: To successfully communicate something CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium British or American? Both Potential synonyms To communicate, to get across, to come over, to convey Separable? Yes Have you ever been in a situation in which you have needed to communicate a message to someone in a particular way? If you have, you were probably hoping to get the idea of the message over in the correct way. Or, in other words, you wanted the person to understand the message in the way that you intended. The reason for this is that the next meaning of ' get over ' is to successfully communicate a message, an idea or some information to another person or group of people. Unlike the other applications of ' get over ' that we have considered so far, this one can be used separably and does take a direct object, which is usually the idea, message or information that you want to convey. Examples of usage.... The company is desperate to get the idea over to its customers following their last desperate advertising campaign. Despite making a few mistakes, the politician managed to get his message over to the audience during his speech. Did I get my point over ok? Additionally, we can also use ' get over ' to mean to send something to someone, such as an email, report or document. This is often used in a work or office environment. I will finish this report and get it over to you before lunchtime. When do you think you can get that email with the monthly figures over to me? MEANING 6: To do something unpleasant but necessary CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium British or American? Both Potential synonyms To finish, to end, to complete Separable? Yes For our final meaning, we require the additional preposition ' with ' as 'to get something over with ' means to finish doing something that is unpleasant, yet unavoidable. Whether it be work, a confrontation, something frightening or stressful or even a trip to the dentists, we can use ' get it over with ' to express that we must do something undesirable and so it is just best to do it immediately or as quickly as possible, so that it is done and we can forget about it. This usage combines the meaning of ' get ', as in to arrive, with the meaning of ' over ', as in to finish or complete something and so literally means 'to arrive at a point when something is finished', i.e. the unpleasant thing. This is a set expression and should always follow the same word order, with the horrible but necessary activity placed between ' get ' and ' over '. A frequently used variation of this expression is 'to get something over and done with ', which means the same thing. Examples of usage.... Come on Doctor, I know that this will be painful, so can we please get it over with . I just want to get this week at work over with as quickly as possible as I am going on holiday next week. Let's get this over and done with so that I can go home and forget about it. IDIOM ALERT! As is customary at the end of a post, I like to end things, where possible, with a useful idiom featuring the phrasal verb in question and this post is no different. If someone tells you 'to get over yourself', they are not asking you to somehow climb over yourself, but rather to stop being conceited, vain or pretentious. In other words, stop behaving like you are better or more important than other people. Hopefully nobody will ever say it to you, but I think we all know someone to whom this idiom could be applied! Examples of usage.... Oh stop acting like you're the King of England and get over yourself! Get over yourself, John and stop complaining! This brings us to the end of the post. So, to recap, we can use the phrasal verb ' get over ' to express climbing or crossing something from one side to the other; we ' get over ' something traumatic or an illness and if we are lucky we can ' get over ' our fears and no longer be scared of something. If we can't get over something, then we find it very surprising or hard to believe and if we get something unpleasant over with , we do it quickly so that we can forget all about it. Lastly. I hope I have been able to get the meanings of this lovely phrasal verb over to you in a satisfactory way and that you have learnt something new today. Now it is YOUR turn. Leave a comment on the blog post with your own sentence using ' get over '....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 😊

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'cut out', with lots of examples in context Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Cut out' is a useful English phrasal verb with a number of different meanings and uses. Do not fear though as despite these different meanings, many of them share a common theme. In this post, I will explain all of these different meanings for you, from removing something from its surroundings to excluding someone from something and dieting. Furthermore, I will give you lots of examples in context to help you understand and use them. So, without further ado, let's get started! Don't forget to leave a comment at the end 😊 CUT OUT: KEY INFORMATION Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Past tense forms Cut out / Cut out Separable? Sometimes MEANINGS (Click to jump to each one) To remove something by cutting To delete something To exclude someone from something To stop eating or doing something To temporarily stop functioning Some common idioms with 'cut out' THE BASICS Before we get started with the meanings of the phrasal verb 'cut out', let's first consider what the words 'cut' and 'out' mean on their own. Firstly, we have our base verb 'to cut'. This common English verb is principally used to talk about using a sharp implement such as scissors or a knife, either to break the surface of something or to make something shorter by removing a part of it. Typically it is used with nouns such as hair, grass, bread and cake. It is one of those annoying irregular verbs that keeps the same form for both past tense forms, so it can be confusing for English learners. I cut myself when I was chopping onions earlier. The grass is so long, so I'm going to cut it later today. She cut the sandwiches in half and gave them to her children Other less frequently used meanings of 'to cut' are to stop something and to reduce something, among others. Next, we have the particle 'out', which functions as the natural opposite of the word 'in' and carries the primary meaning of being in, or moving towards, an external place. In phrasal verb constructions 'out' can often add this idea of a movement towards an outside place, often in the form of removal or elimination. Furthermore, it can also convey the ideas of distribution, emergence, and revelation to them. Now that we have covered the basics, let's move on to the meanings that are created when we put them together to form the phrasal verb 'cut out'.... MEANING 1: To remove something by cutting CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To extract, to remove, to detach Separable? Yes For our first meaning of 'cut out', let's take a trip back to primary (elementary) school as this one is an activity that many of us engaged in at that young age and that is namely, to remove something from what it is attached to by cutting it. In the example of the primary school, this action is typically by using a pair of scissors to remove a section or area from the surrounding paper to form a shape of some sort. Moving away from this example, this application of 'cut out' can be applied in many different areas of life where you need to remove something from what it is connected to by cutting it with a sharp implement or tool. Examples of these could be a medical removal of a lump or cyst that needs to be cut out of your body or a person who is a trapped in a car following an accident and who needs to be cut out by the fire brigade. As you have probably realised, this first meaning is really just the literal combination of the two words 'cut' and 'out' together as it simply refers to cutting something and removing it from what it is in, or attached to. We all drew pictures of stars, cut them out and stuck them on the wall. The children made masks in class and made sure to cut out the eyes so that they could see whilst they were wearing them. John had a wart on his hand which the doctor cut out for him. The passengers all had to be cut out of the car wreckage, but thankfully none of them were injured. BONUS INFORMATION You should also be aware that 'cutout' (alternative 'cut-out') also exists as a noun and refers to the finished shape or form of something once it has been cut out from the surface it was originally attached to. Although this can be something small like a simple shape, it is most commonly used in reference to something large, typically the shape of a person that is able to stand up vertically without support. What do you want us to do with the cut-outs? I have a life-size cardboard cut-out of David Beckham in my bedroom. MEANING 2: To delete something CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To delete, to remove, to edit out, to cut Potential antonyms To keep in, to include Separable? Yes The second meaning of 'cut out' means to delete or remove something and is used specifically when talking about written texts, documents and books, as well as movies and tv shows. To be clear, with this application we are not talking about deleting or removing the entire piece of work, but rather certain details, a section of it or, in the case of TV or movies, a scene or part of one. Like with the first usage of 'cut out', we are again looking at the idea of the removal of something. In the case of the written texts and documents then the idea is simply to remove the words, sentences, paragraphs or sections so that they are no longer in the text.... If I were you, I would cut that section out as it could be confusing for the reader. In the end, I decided to cut out the information about my first jobs from my resume. Jenny read through her essay again and cut out a couple of unnecessary references. In the case of TV and films, the idea is very much the same. The verb 'to cut' is often used in this field as a synonym of the verb 'to edit' and therefore if you edit a TV show or film and decide that some parts of it should no longer be in it or are not necessary, you can remove them, or cut them out. The movie director decided to cut the sex scene out of the movie as it was not integral to the storyline. Please can you cut that part out of the final edit! Due to changing views amongst people, certain scenes from old movies have had to be cut out in order to avoid offending people. MEANING 3: To exclude someone from something CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To cut off, to exclude, to ostracise Separable? Yes The next meaning of 'cut out' is another one that features the core idea of removal or separation and this time is about people, because 'to cut someone out' means to exclude someone from something. This sometimes takes the form of exclusion from some sort of activity when you do not allow someone to take part in it, such as a card game, but I wouldn't use it so much here personally. Instead, I would perhaps use a phrasal verb like leave out or exclude here. Where I would use it however, would be when talking about relationships between people with whom you have blood ties, i.e. family members. If you cut a member of your family out of your life, then it means that you no longer have any contact with them and refuse to let them have any involvement in your life whatsoever. My parents cut me out of their lives when I decided to marry someone who they didn't approve of. I cut my brother out of my life many years and we have had no contact since. I'm scared that my family will cut me out if they find out what I've done. Lastly, if a relative has cut you out of their life, then it stands to reason that they will probably exclude you from their last will and testament too. If you're not sure what one of these is, it is a legal document that expresses your wishes about who receives your money, property and possessions after you die. When this happens, we use this application of 'cut out' to express it... My mum has threatened to cut me out of her will. Linda was shocked to learn that she had been cut out of her late father's will. MEANING 4: To stop eating or doing something CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To omit Nouns that it is commonly used with Alcohol, cigarettes, bread, dairy Separable? Yes Next, we have our fourth meaning of 'cut out', which again involves the core meaning of removal that has been present throughout the meanings so far. This time, 'cut out' means to stop eating, drinking or doing something that we would normally eat or do on a regular basis. This is often in an attempt to resolve a problem or make some kind of positive life change. Firstly, let's take the example of food and drink and imagine that you want to lose some weight. One way of doing this would be to consider the things that you normally eat and drink, i.e. the things that are in your diet. After examining this, you may decide that if you stop eating certain foods, such as chocolate or cake, you will lose weight. As a consequence, you decide to cut these fattening foodstuffs out of your diet. I need to diet before my wedding, so I've decided to cut out bread, cheese and alcohol until the big day. Cutting out high sugar food and drink can be very beneficial to your health. Of course, this application is not just limited to food and drink as 'cut out' can also be applied to regular activities or habits such as smoking, sporting activities or even napping. I guess that the general idea is that you avoid doing or eating something for a positive reason, often to do with your physical or mental health. I've had to cut out jogging recently as I have developed pain in my knees. My doctor has advised me to cut out napping in the afternoon as it will help me to sleep better at night. BONUS INFORMATION You should also be aware that 'cut out', or 'cut it out', is frequently used in the imperative form by native speakers, especially in American English, to tell someone to stop doing what they are doing.This doesn't tend to be used for regular activities that a person does but rather something that someone does in a particular moment which irritates or annoys the other person. Whoever is whistling, can you please cut it out. It is driving me insane. John, cut it out! You are getting on my nerves! MEANING 5: To temporarily stop functioning CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To stop Separable? No For our fifth and final usage of 'cut out', we are going to move away from the central idea of removal as this next meaning is to temporarily stop functioning. This usage is primarily used with machines, especially motors and engines, and is used specifically to describe when a motor is running and then suddenly stops, meaning that it needs to be restarted again. Oftentimes, this stopping happens due to a mechanical problem and therefore may reoccur multiple times, in which case we would then say that it "keeps on cutting out"...two phrasal verbs for the price of one! 😉 Aside from motors and engines, this application of 'cut out' can theoretically be used with any machines that are electrically or mechanically operated and which can stop suddenly stop working when we are using them. The engine on my car kept on cutting out so I had to ring the mechanic for some advice on what to do. There is something wrong with our television. It works fine for half an hour or so then it just cuts out and needs to be turned on again. My lawnmower cut out halfway through mowing the lawn and it won't turn back on again, so now my lawn looks really weird. One other time that 'cut out' is used in this sense is not with machines, but rather when talking about phone calls. If you are on the phone to someone and the phone line keeps getting interrupted or failing so that you only hear some of the words that the other person is saying, you can say that it is cutting out. I'm struggling to hear what you're saying as the line keeps cutting out. Say that again, you just cut out. IDIOM ALERT Before I end this post, there are a couple of common idioms that feature the phrasal verb 'cut out' that you should definitely have you in your active vocabulary. If you can memorise these and use them in your everyday English, it will definitely help you to sound more like a native speaker... To not be cut out for something - We use this particular idiom when we are talking about careers and jobs that we cannot or should not do.This is because they are not natural to us, we do not not joy them or we do not possess the requisite skills. I tried teaching in a school but I wasn't cut out for it. I hated the naughty children and the stress that came with the job. I'm much more suited to an office job. The student left medical school in the first year as he realised that he just wasn't cut out to be a doctor. To have your work cut out (for you) - This idiom is used when you have something very difficult or challenging to do. This could be when you have a lot of work to do in a short space of time or when the job that you have to do will require a lot of skill and patience. The new government really has its work cut out for it to clean up the mess that the previous government left behind. Ok, we have to prepare a 3-course meal for 50 guests by midday. We really have our work cut out for us! We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'cut 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 'open up', with lots of examples in context. Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Open up' is a common English phrasal verb that will be familiar to many of you, however do you know all of the different ways to use it? For example, do you know the difference between opening up a shop, opening up a lead and opening up to someone? Don't worry if you are not sure as in this post, I will explain the different meaning and uses to you and give you lots of examples of these in context to help your learning and understanding. So, without further ado, let's get started! Don't forget to leave a comment at the end 😊 OPEN UP: KEY INFORMATION For an explanation of the terms in the table, click here .  Usage Common Number of meanings 5 Separable? Yes Past tense forms Opened up / opened up MEANINGS   (click to jump to each one) To open something that is closed or locked To open a business To express your true thoughts and feelings To begin to happen or exist To start shooting a gun THE BASICS Let's get started by taking a look at the words 'open' and 'up' individually and what they bring to the "phrasal verb" table. 'To open' is a common verb in English that primarily means to remove, break or change the outside of something in order to allow access to what is inside it. It is typically used with nouns such as door, window, book and eyes. I opened the car door and got out. John opened his eyes and looked around the room. Aside from this, the verb 'to open' has other meanings and uses and the majority of these all carry an idea of increased accessibility or eliminated restrictions or limitations to something. One of these other meanings that is particularly pertinent to the phrasal verb 'open up' is to make something available....more on that to come later! The prepositional particle 'up' features in a huge number of phrasal verb constructions. Given that the primary meaning of 'up' as an adverb is to talk about movement in the direction away from the ground, it will come as no surprise to you that it can also add this same directional meaning to phrasal verbs. In addition to this more obvious function, 'up' can also serve to convey other ideas to phrasal verbs, such as completion, preparation and appearance. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's explore the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'open up'... MEANING 1: To open something that is closed or locked CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To open, to unlock Potential antonyms To close up, to close, to lock Separable? Yes As we have just established, the verb 'to open' means to modify something in order to allow access to what it contains and this first meaning of 'open up' is just a variation of this as it means to open or unlock something that is closed, such as a door, a box, a cupboard, a window or a gift. I guess at this point you are probably thinking why do we need the form 'open up' when the standard verb 'to open' means the same thing. This is a very good question as they do both generally carry the same meaning and are usually interchangeable, however sometimes we use 'open up' when there is more of an emphasis on, or interest in, what is contained inside the closed object. This may perhaps be because the item is not normally opened, it has never been opened before or because we do not know what is inside it and we are just curious to find out. In other words, there is perhaps more interest or intrigue surrounding what is inside. John cheerfully opened up his birthday presents. I wonder what is inside this locked cupboard? I am going to try to open it up to find out. Open up your books to page 15. Another very common group of nouns that are commonly used with this of application of 'open up' are buildings and we can use 'open up' for these when we talk about them becoming unlocked to enable people to enter inside them. I would say that this usage tends to be mainly for public buildings, which I will talk more about in the next section, however it is worth mentioning here that 'open up' can be used as an imperative, especially in American English, by someone who is outside requesting to be allowed entry and this can often be private residences too. Open up! Come on let me in! I was woken up at 2am this morning by husband yelling 'open up' outside our window. He had lost his key and could not get in. BONUS INFORMATION Sometimes, when we want to gain access to the interior of something that is covered or protected, it is necessary to access it by cutting it with a tool or implement of some sort. This is in fact another way that 'open up' can be used, notably with surgical operations in hospitals, where the surgeon needs to open up the patient in order to perform the necessary and often life-saving action. We could not gain access to the interior of the abandoned ship, so we had to open it up using special tools. We need to open up the patient and remove the tumour. MEANING 2: To open a business CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To open Potential antonyms To close, to close down, to shut, to shut down Separable? Yes This second meaning of 'open up' is really two separate sub-meanings, but as both of them are about the world of business and share a clear connection, I thought it would be better to consolidate them all in one section. In the previous section, I mentioned that we can use 'open up' to talk about opening a building to allow people to enter inside it and this links directly to the first of these two usages, which is to open a business for the day. As you can imagine, this usage is reserved for businesses such as shops, stores, garages, pubs, bars, restaurants etc., which all tend to open and close on a daily basis. The action of opening up here is purely unlocking the premises or building and preparing it so that it is ready for customers. Aside from companies, this sub-application can be used for any public buildings that are locked or shut (normally overnight), such as museums or government buildings. What time does the pub open up today? I need to be at the shop before 8am tomorrow morning as it is my turn to open up. Lisa arrived half an hour early at the garage and had to wait for the staff to open it up so that she could leave her car there. For our second sub-meaning, we are sticking with the business theme because 'open up' is also used to talk about when someone starts or opens a new business in general. To clarify, this is when a new business is founded or created and begins trading. You could potentially use this with any sort of business or company, but I think that native speakers tend to use it more for those that customers have to visit in order to use, such as a shop, pub, restaurant, hair salon, vets etc. There is a new Italian restaurant opening up in town next week. Shall we book a table? We are planning to open up a new hair salon in Liverpool. Lastly, 'open up' can also be used for existing companies that are doing well enough to be able to open new agencies, shops or offices in new locations, cities, regions or countries. We are pleased to announce that we will be opening up a new agency in Edinburgh next year, which will be our first office in Scotland. The fast food chain has recorded record profits this year and is planning to open up 20 new restaurants around the country over the coming months. MEANING 3: To express your true thoughts and feelings CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To be frank, to be honest Potential antonyms To close up, to close off Separable? No Up until now in the post, our attention has been firmly focused on closed or inaccessible physical places and spaces, but for this third meaning we need to turn our attention towards people. The reason for this is this next meaning of 'open up' is to express your true thoughts and feelings. You may or may not be aware that the adjective 'open' can be used in English to describe people who do not conceal or hide their thoughts and feelings and who are happy to discuss these with others. Of course, not everyone is like that, and I think that openness is on a spectrum, ranging from those people who are open about almost everything in their lives, to those at the other end who are fiercely private individuals. The vast majority of us probably fall in the middle of these and have our own private thoughts and feelings that we keep hidden or locked inside. When we feel comfortable enough to start sharing these hidden thoughts with others, we can say that we 'open up' to them. Note the additional preposition 'to' here to describe the person to whom you express these innermost thoughts. Roger doesn't normally talk about his feelings very often but after a couple of beers, he usually starts to open up. Lisa opened up to me last night about the problems she's been having in her marriage recently. I am trying to get Helen to open up but she refuses to say what she thinks. Try and open up to someone if you can and vocalise how you're feeling. You will certainly feel better for it! MEANING 4: To begin to happen or exist CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To create, to begin to exist Separable? No This next one is for all of the magicians among you as this meaning is to begin to happen or exist, and at its core it is all about creating something from nothing. Unfortunately, we can't use this application for any time something comes into existence, for example, we couldn't use it for a rabbit coming out of a hat (I just liked the picture), however there are many different ways in which we can use 'open up' to talk about when something is created that did not previously exist and I will explain these below.... When access to something is created.... As we have seen already in this post, 'open up' is used when access to something interior is enabled and we can also use it when something becomes accessible to people in general. This may be on a geographical basis, for example a new road may open up access to an area that was previously inaccessible, or it could be a new business market, for example, changes in a country's laws may open up a business or investment market to people who did not have access to it beforehand. The planned new highway will go over the mountain pass and will open up access to the villages on the other side of it. Investing apps on mobile phones have opened up investing to many people who previously were unable to do so. When new opportunities become possible.... If a new opportunity arises, whether it be for a new job, a promotion in an existing job or a new possibility to do something or achieve something, we can use 'open up' to express that this new possibility or opportunity has come into existence. This could also be used when making it possible for people to participate in something that they could not do previously, such as a debate, competition or vote. A new job vacancy has opened up in the marketing department in my company and I am tempted to apply for it. The recently announced peace talks have opened up the possibility of an ceasefire in the war. Now that you have heard the speakers in the debate, we would like to open it up to you, the audience, to have your say. Voting in the competition was initially limited to member of the website but due to a low vote count, the organisers decided to open it up to the general public. In sports.... We also regularly use 'open up' in sports games or races when one of the competitors or teams develops a lead over the others. Usain Bolt took no time in opening up a significant lead in the men's 100 metre final. Chelsea FC have opened up a 3-1 lead against rivals Tottenham Hotspur. When opening a new account.... If you apply to a bank for a new bank account, or in fact any type of account, be it with an online retailer or a social media website, you can say that you open one up (again essentially creating it from nothing). Facebook deleted my account, meaning I've had to open up a new one. Opening up a bank account is much easier than it used to be. When a hole or a crack comes into existence.... If you have been unlucky enough to have experienced an earthquake, you will likely be aware that cracks and holes can be created in the ground when one of these happens. In these situations, we can use 'open up' to describe when these come into existence. In addition, we can also use 'open up' to describe when an existing hole or fissure gets wider or bigger. These cracks do not necessarily have to be physical cracks however and this is often used in a metaphorical way to talk about divisions and breakdowns in relationships and politics. During the earthquake, several large cracks opened up in the middle of the highway. The cut on my leg from last week opened up again when I was playing rugby. The new legislation has opened up a division in the far right party and I do not know it they will patch things up. When barriers are removed.... One last point to mention is here that 'open up' can be used when barriers such as walls, hills or trees are removed and as a consequence a space becomes wider or more spacious. Typically, this is used with roads when you drive past a natural barrier such as a hill or forest or a room when you remove a wall, connecting two or more rooms, creating a wider space. After a while, the forest will end and the road will open up onto lush green fields. We are going to demolish this wall and connect the kitchen with the living room, which will open up a lovely and light space. MEANING 5: To start shooting a gun CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Rare Where is it used? Everywhere but perhaps more American Potential synonyms To fire Potential antonyms To hold fire Separable? No The last usage of 'open up' that I want to explain to you is a rarer one that means to start firing a gun or guns. This usage probably comes from the expression of the meaning 'to open fire', which itself goes back to the meaning of the verb 'to open' as in 'to begin', with the word 'fire' going back many centuries to when the gunpowder in guns had to be ignited by fire from a slow-burning match to become effective. For this usage, the additional preposition 'on' is required to specify the target of the shooting. A gunmen opened up on a crowd of people but luckily every bullet missed and nobody was hurt. All of the guns on the bomber opened up on its target before it swooped around and flew away in the other direction. We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'open 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 'draw in', with lots of examples in context. Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! This post is all about the English phrasal verb 'draw in'. This moderately common phrasal verb is one that is used to talk about a variety of different things such as breathing, attracting someone's attention and darkness. In this post I will outline and explain the different meanings that 'draw in' has and provide you with lots of examples in context to help you learn and memorise them. So, without further ado, let's get started. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end! DRAW IN: KEY INFORMATION Usage Medium Number of meanings 4 Past tense forms? Drew in / Drawn in Separable? Yes MEANINGS   (click to jump to each one) To attract someone To inhale To arrive at a station To get shorter (days) THE BASICS To enable us to fully understand the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'draw in', let's begin by considering the words 'draw' and 'in' and what they mean on their own. Firstly, we have the verb 'to draw', which is an interesting verb with several distinct, yet linked, meanings in English. If we go back and look at its history, the verb 'to draw' is in fact a variation of the verb 'to drag', meaning to pull something with force or difficulty. From this, we get the main ideas of 'to draw' in modern English, which include pulling something behind you, pulling curtains open, attracting a crowd of people and 'breathing (literally pulling air). In addition, we also have the idea of drawing a picture, as this involves pulling a pen or pencil across paper. The horse drew the carriages along the road. Taylor Swift's concert in London is expected to draw a huge crowd. It's getting dark, so I'm going to draw the curtains. It was difficult to draw breath up the mountain. These meanings are not exhaustive as there are indeed many ways that 'draw' can be used in English but the vast majority can all be logically traced back to the idea of pulling or dragging something. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'in', which you will certainly be very familiar with. 'In' can function as a preposition, adverb, adjective and even as a rare noun. As you will probably be able to guess, the meaning of 'in' is primarily to talk about being inside something, included in something or moving towards the interior of something. When used in phrasal verbs, 'in' often conveys this inwards direction or movement to the base verb, but it can also be used to add the ideas of inclusion, involvement, transformation and arrival. Now that we have covered the basics, let's head to the main reason that you are here reading this page, i.e. the meanings of the phrasal verb 'draw in'.... MEANING 1: To attract and involve somebody in something CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To attract, to involve, to implicate, to captivate Potential antonyms To repel Separable? Yes The first meaning is of 'draw in' that we will look at in this post is 'to attract and involve someone in something'. I was originally going to split this first usage into two parts, however there is so much overlap between them that I thought it would be better to do it all in one. So, firstly, to 'draw someone in' can mean to attract someone's attention, usually as their interest has been sparked. This concept is commonly expressed in the passive form, i.e. someone is drawn in by something. This particular piece of art drew me in as I was walking around the gallery. I was fascinated by it and wanted to know more about it. I wasn't sure about the book but after reading a couple of pages, it had completely drawn me in and I was hooked. I was struggling to listen to what my wife was saying as I had been drawn in by the conversation on the table next to us. When considering the meanings of the words 'draw' and 'in' that I explained in the previous section, this meaning should be quite logical to you as when we are attracted by something, our attention is pulled towards it. Sometimes, when people are drawn in by something interesting or captivating, it is not uncommon for them to to take it one step further and move towards the object or spectacle that has caught their attention, a bit like they are being pulled by a magnet and this application of 'draw in' also applies here. This could be something small or simple such as going into a shop because you are intrigued about what is shown in its window display or something large, such as a music concert or festival which attracts thousands of people who are interested in the artists and want to watch the show. The music festival is expected to draw in a crowd of over 100,000 people this weekend. The smell of the fresh bread drew baking me into the bakery. You the destination to which we are drawn is one that is a physical interior space, then we would use 'draw into' rather than draw in'. My friends and I were drawn into the bar by the happy hour promotion in the window. My mum always gets drawn into clothes shops by the pretty clothes in the window. Lastly, not only can we be drawn into physical spaces, but it is also possible to be drawn into situations and predicaments. In other words, something causes you to become involved in something. This is especially true if the situation is a negative one and we do not wish to be a part of it, such as an argument between friends or a work conflict or dilemma. Again, we tend to use the variation form 'draw into' here when talking about being in a situation. They've asked me for my opinion on the subject and I said nothing as I refuse to be drawn into it. When I was a naive teenager, I was drawn into a religious cult. How have I got drawn into this argument? It has nothing to do with me! I was drawn into the debate on Facebook after reading the comments. They made me so angry that I felt that I had to give my opinion. MEANING 2: To inhale CEFR Language Level B2 - Upper intermediate Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To breathe in, to inspire, to suck in Potential antonyms To breathe out, to exhale, to expire, to blow out Separable Yes As you may recall from the Basics section, one of the meanings of our base verb 'to draw' is to breathe, so this next meaning is a nice and easy one that simply means 'to inhale' or 'breathe in'. Quite literally, this is purely the idea of pulling air into your lungs. This particular application of 'breathe in' normally requires a direct object, which is typically either a breath or air. It is also separable, with the direct object (breath or air) going either between or after the phrasal verb, with no discernible change in meaning. Before starting my speech, I drew in a deep breath and focused on the words that I had to say. The patient struggled to draw in air through her nose. Engaging your abdomen to draw in breath will give you more air. Be careful not to confuse the noun 'breath' with the verb 'to breathe' here and remember that they have very different pronunciation and the final 'e' makes all the difference... MEANING 3: To arrive at a station CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? Everywhere Potential synonyms To arrive, to pull in Potential antonyms To leave, to depart, to pull off, to pull away Separable No Our third meaning of 'draw in' is one for all the trainspotters amongst you as it is primarily used for trains and means 'to arrive at a station'. We use this application specifically to talk about the moment when a train is slowing down as it approaches a railway station and is about to stop or is stopping. Again, for this meaning we can trace it back to the idea of drawing to mean pulling, as the train is pulling the carriages behind it, with 'in' adding the idea of arriving at the destination to where the train is travelling. For this usage, we use the additional preposition 'to' to indicate the place where the train stops i.e. the station, the platform or the city. I saw my wife waiting for me on the platform as my train was drawing in. The train drew in and all of the passengers got off, but I couldn't see you anywhere! When my train drew into London Waterloo Station, I looked around at all of the crowds on the platform. MEANING 4: To get shorter (days) CEFR Language Level C1 - Advanced Usage Medium Where is it used? British English Potential synonyms To get shorter Potential antonyms To get longer, to draw out Separable? No For those of us who live far from the equator, it is a fact of life that every year the days get a lot shorter the closer you get to 21st December and a lot longer the closer you get to 21st June. With the UK being situated far from the equator in the northern hemisphere, we tend to experience quite stark differences in the length of days compared to some of our more southerly neighbours. Therefore it is perhaps no surprise that we have come up with a pair of phrasal verbs to describe this very phenomenon, namely 'to draw in and 'to draw out'. To clarify, we use 'draw out' for when the hours of light in a day get gradually longer, between December and June, and 'draw in' for the other half of the year when the daytimes become shorter and the hours of darkness get longer. Typically, we use 'draw in' the most in the early autumn (fall), i.e. September or early October in the northern hemisphere, when it becomes more apparent that the sun is setting sooner and winter is on the way. Something that is slightly confusing with this usage is that, in addition to saying that the days are 'drawing in' to express that they are getting shorter, we can also say that the nights or evenings are also drawing in and this means exactly the same thing. Basically, whenever we use 'draw in' in this sense, we are talking about the days getting shorter, regardless of the noun that we use...English is very strange sometimes! 🤷🏻‍♂️ It's the summer solstice next week, which means that the days will start drawing in again. You can tell that autumn is on the way. The nights have really started drawing in in the last couple of weeks. The evenings are drawing in now and I don't have much time to go for a run in the daylight after work anymore. We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'draw 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 'get around', with lots of examples in context. Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Get around' is a moderately common English phrasal verb with a number of distinct and useful meanings are great to know to help make your English sound more natural. In this article, I will explain the different applications that 'get around' has, from getting around a problem' to getting your head around something, with lots of examples in context to help you understand how and when to use them! So, without further ado, let's make a start. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end! GET AROUND: KEY INFORMATION For an explanation of the terms in the table, click here. MEANINGS (click to jump to each one) To move past an obstacle To overcome a problem To persuade someone to do something To go to a lot of places To do something that you have postponed THE BASICS Let's begin our exploration of the phrasal verb 'get around' by looking at the words 'get' and 'around' and what they mean on their own. Firstly, we have the verb 'to get', which is a verb that strikes fear into the hearts of most English language learners as it has such a lot of uses and meanings. Its notable meanings include to receive, to fetch and to understand, as well as the meaning that is perhaps the most pertinent for the phrasal verb 'get around', which is to arrive at or reach a place...more of that to come later. Next, we have the prepositional particle 'around', which does not feature in as many phrasal verb constructions as some of the others. The main idea of the particle 'around' is the opposite of the prepositional particle 'through', i.e. a movement along, or following, the edge of something, rather than across the centre of it one from side to the other. This movement can either be directly on the edge of something.... I drew a line around my hand with a pencil. Or it can be following the edge of something from a distance.... The moon moves around the Earth. Alternatively, it can be used to describe positions on the edge of something, rather than a movement.... The people sat around the table for dinner. Another meaning of 'around' that will be useful for the purposes of this post is to describe a movement from place to place within the confines of a specific area or place, e.g. a town or city, or country. I drove around the area looking for a shop that was open. We walked around the city centre and looked at all of the beautiful buildings. One thing to note before we continue is that in British English, when 'around' is used in phrasal verb constructions, speakers often drop the 'a' at the beginning of the word and say 'round' instead, e.g. 'get round'. This alternative is considered acceptable in English, however it is quite informal, so should be avoided in formal communication and writing. Also, beware that if used in the wrong context, it could possibly cause confusion as 'round' as an adjective is used to describe something that is circular. Ok, so now that we have covered the basics, let's move onto the different meanings of 'get around'.... MEANING 1: To move past an obstacle For our first meaning of 'get around', we are thinking about obstacles, obstructions and things that block our path. Imagine that you are driving along a road when suddenly you have to stop the car because a tree has fallen and is blocking the road, stopping you from passing. The first thing that any driver would probably do in this situation is to check to see if there is any space at the side of the road where it is possible to pass the tree, or in other words, to get around the tree. That is because this first meaning is to physically move past an obstacle. This application is really just the literal meaning of the words 'get' and 'around', as previously described in the last section; we have the idea of arriving at or reaching a specific point from the verb 'to get' and we have the idea of moving along the edge of something from the particle 'around'. The main idea of this usage is that you reach the other side of the obstruction by moving along it's edge, rather than through the centre of it. Some nouns that are typically used with this are mountains, closed roads, cities but these could technically be any nouns that describe an obstacle. Is there any way to get around this fallen tree without climbing over it? The road was built to enable people to get around the mountain more easily. Despite many attempts, none of the walkers were able to get around the boulder that had landed on the path. As stated in the table above, one of the synonyms of 'get around' is 'go around', however you should be aware that 'go around' is used to emphasise the movement around the obstruction, while the focus of 'get around' is on reaching the the destination on the other side of it. Moreover, 'get around' tends to be used when there are problems or difficulties with the movement or if it was not possible, whilst 'go around' tends to be used when it is easy and problem free. MEANING 2: To overcome a problem In the last section, we looked at physical movement around an obstruction that is blocking our way and now for this second usage, we are going to turn our attention towards a different, more abstract type of obstacle. One unfortunate and unavoidable aspect of the human condition is that we always encounter problems and issues, especially when we are trying to do things, and this is where this second meaning of 'get around' comes in, as it means to overcome a problem or issue. While we do use 'get around' to talk about being faced with a problem and finding a solution to it, I think that it tends to be used more in the sense of finding a way to avoid a problem or issue, rather than directly addressing it. In other words, like with our fallen tree, we use it to express a way of moving around the figurative problem. This is going to be an issue for us. How are we going to get around it? We spoke to the customer and explained our situation and I think that we have managed to get around the problem. The political party is still looking for a way to get around this issue. In the modern world, in particular the business world, there are (for good reason) a huge number of laws and regulations in place that exist to help and protect us. However, these same rules and regulations can equally pose challenges when they hinder or prevent us from performing necessary tasks and achieving the objectives that we want to achieve. If you are lucky enough to know someone who works as a lawyer or who has a good understanding of these laws, then it may be possible to circumvent these unwanted rules and achieve the desired objective, or in other words 'get around' the rules. In this way, 'get around' can be used to mean finding a way to do something prohibited or unlawful in a legal or acceptable way that does not break a law or rule...useful huh?! We thought that we would have to give up on the project due the new legislation that the government has brought in, however our lawyer was able to get around it. Don't worry about this, I think that there is a way of getting around it without actually breaking the law. MEANING 3: To persuade someone to do something So in the last two sections, we have considered obstacles of both a physical and an abstract nature and now for this third meaning, our obstacle takes human form. This usage of 'get around', specifically 'to get around someone', means to convince or persuade someone to do what you want. The action of 'getting around someone' is usually carried out by another person and tactics of this persuasion normally consist of doing something nice for the person who you want to get around, giving them compliments and flattering them. It is also completely possible for us to use this with pets such as cats or dogs, who tend to use less subtle techniques of persuasion. You may be able to get around your father by smiling sweetly, but you will not get around me so easily! My boss is ok with the idea of letting us finish earlier on Fridays but we just have to get around the director now. There is no point trying to get around my sister on this. If she doesn't gain anything from it, she won't agree. MEANING 4: To go to a lot of places For the next meaning of 'get around', let's forget the idea of obstacles and obstructions and move on, coincidentally, to travel as this one means 'to go to a lot of places'. At the very heart of this fourth application is movement and this goes back to one of the meanings of 'around' that I mentioned in the Basics section at the start of the article, which is to move from place to place within a specific area. First of all, let's imagine that the specific area that we are talking about is a city. If you get around a city, it generally means that you go from place to place within a city's boundaries, so this could be from your house to the cathedral and then to the city hall or to the park. Moreover, this could be by car, by public transport or even on foot. This could be in one specific day or it could be over a week or the entire time that you live in the city. The central idea of getting around is general movement from place to place within the city. It is very easy for tourists to get around this city as the public transport links are so good. How do you get around London if you don't have a car? If we remove the idea of a city's boundaries, it is also possible to use 'get around' to talk about how a person travels from place to place in their general lives. When I sold my car last year, I was worried about how I would get around without it but I've coped really well. My mum is 88 years old and struggles to get around to the doctors or to the shops these days. Now let's forget the limitations of our cities and daily lives and open up the boundaries to include the whole world. If you are a frequent traveller and are lucky enough to visit many different areas, regions, countries or continents on a regular basis, then it may be said that you 'get around'. You should note that this last 'worldwide' usage is quite informal. Italy last week, Germany this week and New York next month! Wow you really get around, John! Jane is a Director for an international conglomerate and is always flying off to visit different offices around the globe. She gets around! MEANING 5: To do something that you have postponed We have now reached the last meaning of 'get around' and as it happens the meaning of this fifth and final usage is 'to do something that you have postponed or put off'. For this application of 'get around' we require the additional preposition 'to', giving us the following construction.... to get around to (doing) something This usage will be a particularly useful one for you if you are a busy person with lots of things to do in your life; it is certainly one that I use all the time! Typically, it is used in situations where people have lots of things to do, e.g. a full email inbox at work, reports to write, projects to work on and statistics to analyse...you get the idea! In these hectic situations when you have too much work to do, you will have to tell people that you will do specific tasks when you get a chance or when you get around to it. That means that you don't have time to do it now, but you will do it at a later point in time when you have the time or when the more important tasks have been done. Alternatively, it is also very common in very busy times that you haven't got around to doing something yet and this will ofter infer to the person that you are talking to that you are busy and have not had the chance. As you may have noticed from the examples provided, 'get around to' is usually followed by a gerund ('ing) or by a noun e.g. the job or the task. I'm really busy at the moment but I will try and get around to looking at the report before I go home. Kate finally got around to sending out thank you cards a couple of weeks after her birthday party. When do you think you will be get around to doing it? Ok, I'll do it this week if I get around to it but I can't promise anything! IDIOM ALERT Before I end the post, there is a really common idiom featuring 'get around' that you should be aware of and this is 'to get your head around something'. 'To get your head around something' means to understand or grasp something, such as a new idea, concept or theory. Likewise, you may say that 'you can't get your head around something' when you don't understand it or you find something difficult to comprehend. I can't get my head around these figures. Please could you take a look and let me know. I finally managed to get my head around this theory after reading the article several times. Sarah just couldn't get her head around why anybody would want to threaten her. She had no enemies and everybody liked her. Sadly, this brings us to the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'get around'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'take off', with lots of examples in context. Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! The phrasal verb 'take off' is a wonderful phrasal verb to be have in your active English vocabulary, not only because it is very commonly used amongst native speakers, but also because many of its meanings are positive, happy and sometimes even humorous in nature! In this post, I will explain the different meanings that it has, with lots of examples of how it is used in everyday conversation and speech. So, without further ado, let's get started! Don't forget to leave a comment at the end! TAKE OFF: KEY INFORMATION MEANINGS (click to jump to each one) To remove something from a surface To remove an item of clothing To leave the ground and start flying To take leave from work To become successful To leave suddenly To deduct or reduce To imitate someone THE BASICS Before I explain the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'take off', let's first consider the individual words 'take' and 'off' and what they mean on their own. 'To take' is a highly versatile English verb that has a variety of different meanings depending on the context of the sentence that it features in. Personally, as a native speaker, the first meanings of 'to take' that I think of when I hear this verb are 'to grasp or hold something', 'to carry something with you' and one that is particularly relevant for this post 'to remove something from a place'. The English prepositional particle 'off' functions as the natural opposite of the preposition 'on' and can act as an adverb, preposition, adjective, and noun. When used as an adverb, it is perhaps most commonly used to add the ideas of a movement away from something or a an action that removes something from a surface. In phrasal verbs, 'off' can be used to convey the ideas of separation, leaving, reduction and separation, among others. So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's move onto the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'take off'... MEANING 1: To remove something from a surface Let's begin with a nice and easy meaning of 'take off', which is 'to remove something from a surface'. This usage is simply just the action of removing something from the surface that it is on, so that is is no longer touching or supported by it. The action of 'taking off' in this sense is usually carried out manually, i.e. with your hands. Grammatically, this usage is separable and while it is certainly used inseparably, I think that there is more of a tendency amongst native speakers to use it inseparably in spoken English. Can you take your shoes off the table, please. When I took the book off the shelf, I accidentally knocked off the vase. John put his coffee on top his car and then forgot to take it off again before he drove off. There are a couple of other more advanced and abstract uses of this application with the idea of removal that you should also be aware of. The first is when referring to a product or service that is on the market and available to the public to buy. If the company who is manufactures or provides it decides that they no longer want to sell the product or provide the service, they take it off the market so that nobody can buy it anymore. Furthermore, in some cases these cancelled products may even be taken off supermarket and shop shelves so that they cannot be sold. Due to poor sales, the company has decided to take this product off the market. Likewise, the same applies with television and radio broadcasting, in which programmes etc. are considered to be 'on the air'. If the broadcaster decides that they are going to stop showing the programme, it will be taken off (the air). After 30 years, we are very sad to say that a decision has been made to take the programme off the air this summer. Lastly, it is also possible for sports players to be taken off the sports pitch if it is decided that they can no longer continue to play the game, whether that be because they have developed an injury or committed a foul etc. etc. The player was taken off in fifth minute after committing a nasty foul. MEANING 2: To remove an item of clothing Our second meaning of 'take off' is more a continuation of the first, rather than a completely new one, as it means 'to remove an item of clothing'. In this case, we are again removing an object from a surface, however this time the surface is specifically our bodies and the object being removed is an item of clothing. You may already be aware that in English we use the phrasal verb 'have on' as a synonym of the verb 'to wear' and typically, we use this application of 'take off' for anything that we 'have on' our bodies. Of course, this covers the more general nouns such as clothing and clothes as well as specific items of clothing, such as coats, jackets, shirts, trousers / pants, socks, shoes etc. In addition to this, we can also use it for things like jewellery, watches, glasses and accessories. One notable exception for something that we can have on or wear in English but not take off, for obvious reasons, is aftershave or perfume. Please take off your shoes before entering the house. It was so cold in my office today that I refused to take my coat off. When Roger got home from his run, the first thing that he did was take off his dirty clothes and have a shower. My hairdresser asked me to take off my glasses when she was cutting my hair. When going through security at the airport, it is necessary to take off all your jewellery so as not to set off the metal detector. MEANING 3: To leave the ground and start flying Our third meaning of 'take off' is one that many of you will be familiar with and will likely have associated with this particular phrasal verb. This is especially so if you have ever flown in an airplane and it means 'to leave the ground and start flying' or 'to become airborne'. When we talk about an airplane, rocket, helicopter or hot air balloon taking off, we are specifically referring to the moment at the beginning of the flight when it leaves the ground and moves into the air in an upwards direction. In other words, it starts flying. This is something many people love (including me) and fear in equal measure! The airplane was about to take off when the pilot told us that we had to wait as there was a delay. Taking off is my favourite part of the plane journey, however my wife hates it and always gets really scared. No planes are allowed to take off during the hurricane for obvious reasons. As English is the international language of aviation, you will always hear this particular usage of 'take off' used in this way if you go on an international flight. In addition, you will almost certainly always hear the noun form 'takeoff' (alternatively 'take-off') being used too. Cabin crew, please prepare the doors for takeoff. Seatbelts must be worn during takeoff and landing. Of course, I have only mentioned manmade inventions in this usage, however you should be aware that we also use this application of 'take off' for birds, insects, bats and anything else in the natural world that is lucky enough to have the ability to fly! The captured bird took off whilst the cat was not looking and escaped into the sky. If you go to the mouth of the cave at dusk, you may be lucky enough to see hundreds of bats taking off. Suddenly, the swan took off and flew off into the sunset. MEANING 4: To take leave from work As I mentioned in the previous section, I love taking off in airplanes. Another thing that I love, which also involves taking off in airplanes, is going on holiday (vacation in US English). Like many other lucky holidaymakers, I have a job and so when I want to go on holiday, I have to to take leave from work and book days off, which brings us nicely to our next meaning of 'take off', which is 'to take leave from work'. For this usage, we require an additional noun to specify the time period that we will not be working, such as a morning, day, week or fortnight. Alternatively, we can just use the general nouns 'time' or 'leave' when referring to an unspecified period. 'Take off' is not necessarily always used for holidays or vacations and can be used for any period of time when a person decides that they cannot work for whatever reason, be it sickness, family commitments or a sabbatical. I've decided to take next week off as I have lots of things to do at home. Take the day off tomorrow and let's go to the beach! The doctor has advised me to take a few months off as my stress levels are too high at the moment. John won't be in the office until this afternoon as he has taken the morning off to go to the dentist. MEANING 5: To become successful Our next definition of 'take off' is one that we all hope for in our lives as it means 'to become successful'. primarily used for things like careers, a product or something that can become popular with the public. This is typically used in relation to careers, products, or anything that can gain popularity among the public and usually occurs abruptly and rapidly. To understand this meaning of 'take off' a bit better, let's stick with the ongoing theme and use the airplane as a metaphor for a pop star's career.... Whilst the airplane is on the ground, it moves slowly except when taking off and is not fulfilling it's primary function of flying. When it does take off however, it accelerates rapidly and flies high in the air with lots of energy, performing its intended function. Similarly, now imagine a pop singer's career as an airplane (weird, I know). Whilst it is on the ground at the airport, little progress is made and its primary goals of selling records and entertaining audiences are not met. Yet, once the airplane-shaped career takes off, it suddenly and quickly does so and before you know it, it is high up in the air, moving at top speed and achieving its objectives. In this case, the airplane is a metaphor for a pop singer's career, but it could equally be used for anything that can gain popularity with the public. Following the launch of our new marketing campaign, sales took off and our profits rose dramatically. Julia Roberts' career took off after appearing in Pretty Woman. If the company wants this product to take off in the way that their last one did, they are going to have to invest in some more market research. MEANING 6: To leave suddenly In the previous section, I explained how if something takes off, it can mean sudden success or popularity and for this next usage, we are staying with the idea of something happening suddenly, but in this case it is for when a person leaves or departs in a sudden or unexpected way. To put it another way, if you take off, you go away from where you are in a quick or hasty manner. This may be because you are scared, you want to avoid a confrontation, there is an emergency or perhaps you just want to go home. The reason for the sudden departure is not important for this usage, it is purely the nature of the departure i.e. sudden or unexpected that is important for this particular meaning. I'm not sure where Roger went. He took off about 10 minutes ago and didn't bother saying goodbye to anyone. The criminal took off before the police arrived. The dogs took off as soon as soon as they saw a squirrel. Sarah just shut down her computer and took off without saying a word to any of her colleagues. Lastly, it is also possible to 'take someone off somewhere', which is used for when you take a person away from the place that they are to another place. This can be either in a positive way... My husband is taking me off to Paris for a few days next week! I am really looking forward to it. Or a negative way, i.e. when the person does not want to go to the destination... The police took the suspect off to the police station for questioning. MEANING 7: To deduct or reduce The seventh meaning of 'take off' is definitely one for the mathematicians amongst you as it means 'to deduct' or 'to reduce' and is primarily used when talking about numbers, figures and percentages. When talking about numbers and figures, 'take off' is just another synonym of the verbs 'to subtract', 'to minus', 'to deduct' and 'to take away', however I think it is far less commonly used in this respect than the others. You are more likely to see and hear this application in use when talking about percentages being deducted from figures, however. We normally offer this customer list price with 10% taken off. That price is the list price. Don't forget you need to take off the 10% discount for the customer's net price. Are you able to take anything off this price? Another way that you may see this application of 'take off' is when something causes prices to fall. For example, if a busy road is built near to where someone lives, the price of their house is likely to decrease due to the noise and pollution that the road would undoubtedly bring. In this sense you could say, that "the new road will take a lot of money off the price of the house". MEANING 8: To imitate someone Let's end the post with a British usage of 'take off'', which is specifically 'to take someone off' and means 'to imitate or copy someone'. This application is generally used when you want to impersonate or mimic someone for comedic effect, i.e, to make other people laugh. This can range from copying the way that somebody speaks and their mannerisms to how they walk and dress. 'Taking someone off' is often slightly derogatory in nature and may often be considered as offensive or hurtful by the person who is being taken off. However, many of us Brits have a good and often self-deprecating sense of humour and this is not always the case, with some people finding it extremely funny or amusing. I guess it all really comes down to the relationship and the situation in each case! Sarah is really good at taking off our boss. She can do a great impression of her accent and how she speaks. The comedian's style of comedy is impersonation and taking off different TV stars of the past. He was trying to take me off but in fact he sounded nothing like me. We have now reached the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'take off'. Write it in the comments section below if you can, or alternatively any comments, suggestions or feedback that you may have....don't be shy!!! Sign up on the form below if you want to receive new blog posts directly by email every week as soon as they are published. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media. See you next time! James 😊 THE END

An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'let on', with lots of examples in context. Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Let on' is a rarer English phrasal verb that, whilst you may not hear every day, is certainly one that you should have in your active vocabulary to impress your English-speaking friends and colleagues. This is a much shorter post than normal as there are only three meanings and my hands needs a break from typing so much 😉. So, without further ado, let's make a start...don't forget to leave a comment at the end! LET ON: KEY INFORMATION For an explanation of the terms in the table, click here. THE BASICS To begin, let's take the two words 'let' and 'on' and consider their individual meanings as independent words. Firstly, we have the verb 'to let', which is a common verb in English with several meanings. The most common of these meanings is perhaps 'to allow or permit someone to do something'. When I was young, my parents let me stay up until 8pm at the weekend. My wife won't let me watch television until I have finished the DIY. Another similar usage with the verb 'to let' is to not prevent something from happening. I can't believe you just let it happen and didn't intervene. Next up, we have the prepositional particle 'on', which is used as an adverb and preposition to mean to be in contact with, or supported by, a surface. In addition to this, 'on' has a very large number of different meanings and functions and is commonly used as an adverb, preposition and noun in the English language. Now that we have covered the basics, let's find out what meanings are created when we combine these two innocent little words.... MEANING 1: To allow someone onto something Let's begin the meanings of 'let on' with the easiest one, which is simply the combination of the literal meanings of the verb 'to let' and the prepositional particle 'on', i.e. to allow someone onto something. This application is quite limited in its usage because it can only really be used properly with nouns for things that we can physically or metaphorically be 'on'. What's more, this is further restricted as the inclusion of the word 'let' means that there must also be an element of permission from another person to be 'on' the noun in question. As such, you are most likely to come across this usage of 'let on' with public transport such as trains, airplanes and buses since these are all things that people can be 'on' and which you need a ticket in order to be permitted to travel (remember English is illogical and we use 'on' for these rather than the more logical 'in'). Other examples of nouns where you may come across this are things like fairground rides, furniture or roofs. On a grammatical note, for this literal usage, we almost always use it separably with the allowed or disallowed person or thing going between 'let' and 'on'. My husband was very drunk and the airport staff were not sure whether or not to let him on the flight. Lisa's daughter tried to get on the roller coaster but the staff wouldn't let her on as she was too small. I can't believe you let your cat on the kitchen table! In addition to physical objects and surfaces, we can also use 'let up' with non-physical or abstract nouns with which we use 'on', such as courses (training or education), programmes, websites and teams. I managed to convince the team to let me on the football team. Kate's school grades were not good enough and the university refused to let her on the course. My access to the internet at work is quite limited and they won't let me on certain websites. MEANING 2: To reveal something secret Ok, so let's now take a look at the first of the more abstract meanings of the phrasal verb 'let on' and this first one is 'to reveal something secret'. For the etymology fans among you, this usage has been around since at least the early eighteenth century and was first used to mean 'to allow some information to be known'. This usage has continued through to modern English, although it tends to be used much more frequently in the negative sense these days, i.e. 'to not let on', meaning that the secret information was not revealed. A: Did John know about his surprise party? B: If he did, he didn't let on. Helen never let on about her boyfriend's criminal past and to be honest, we would never have guessed as he was so nice. My manager says that he doesn't know why HR are calling all of the employees into their office but I'm sure he knows more than he lets on. So, we have identified that 'not let on' is often used for when someone keeps information secret and does not tell people about it, however it can also be used to talk about when someone hides their true feelings. I didn't realise that Lisa was so upset at the café yesterday. She didn't let on and I thought that she was absolutely fine. Roger was very angry with his colleagues but he didn't let on and remained professional all day. Lastly, this application of 'let on' is also used in positive statements, albeit much more rarely. When it is used this way, we tend to require the additional preposition 'to', to specify the person who received the previously secret information. Andrew let on to me last night that he has feelings for me. I didn't know what to say to him as I don't feel the same way about him! After months of secrecy, Margaret finally let on to her colleagues that she was leaving to start her own business. Write your own sentence with this application of 'let on' in the comments section here. MEANING 3: To pretend This final usage of 'let on' is a rarer usage that means 'to pretend'. It is not one that I hear very often, however it is definitely a good one to be aware of and have in your English vocabulary just in case! In the previous section, we looked at how 'let on' can mean to not reveal or hide secret information and so, in a way we already had the implicit idea of pretending, in the sense of pretending to not know something. With this application however, the pretending is a lot more evident as it it tends to be used to pretend that we know something or can do something, for example if you go to a job interview and tell them that you have many of the requisite skills for the job when in reality you do not. It's really for those people who like to tell lies about themselves in order to make themselves look or sound better in front of others....we all know at least one person like it! Of course, it is not always about making exaggerated claims and can sometimes just be used to make excuses e.g. you're tired or you have to work. On a grammatical note, with this application of 'let on', we tend to add a 'that' clause afterwards to specify the false or untrue information. He let on that he was tired but in reality I think that he just wanted to go home to play computer games. She let on that she was a famous singer but nobody in the bar had ever heard of her. I let on that I could bake cakes really well but then my mother in law asked me to bake one for her birthday and I had to admit that I was lying. 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 'let on'. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'let 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 'hold out', with lots of examples in context. Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs! 'Hold out' is a handy English phrasal verb to know and be able to use in everyday English. It has a number of diverse meanings, range from strength and resilience to secrecy and patience! In this post, I will explain the different ways that native speakers use 'hold out', with lots of examples to illustrate these for you. So, without further ado, let's make a start. Don't forget to leave a comment at the end! It's always much appreciated 😊 HOLD OUT: KEY INFORMATION For an explanation of the terms in the table, click here. THE BASICS Before we look at the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'hold out', let's first consider what the words 'hold' and 'out' mean on their own. First up, we have the verb 'to hold', which is a common English verb with several different meanings. Perhaps the first one that comes to mind when thinking of this verb is 'to keep something in your hand', however other significant meanings of 'to hold' are to support something, to contain something, to keep something in a specific position and to keep someone somewhere, so that they are unable to leave or escape. When used in phrasal verb constructions 'to hold' can often be used to mean 'to wait', which is certainly something that will feature later in this post. Next up is the prepositional particle 'out', which you will all certainly be aware of. 'Out' is generally used as an adverb and preposition to talk about being on, or moving towards, the exterior of something. When used in phrasal verbs, it often adds the idea of moving in an outwards direction and many phrasal verbs with 'out' do indeed carry this idea. Other functions of 'out' in phrasal verbs include completion, distribution and revelation. Now that we have looked at the different meanings of the constituent words, let's move onto the different phrasal verb meanings of 'hold out'... MEANING 1: To extend your arm Let's start off with a nice and simple meaning of 'hold out', which is all to do with our hands. If we hold out our hands, we simply extend our arms, so that our hands are in a position away from our body', as pictured here ➟ ➟ ➟ As we humans are highly complex creatures, there are a huge variety of reasons as to why we hold out hands. These can often differ between cultures and countries, however the most common reason for doing so, certainly in western culture, is an offer to shake hands with someone. She held out her hand in front of her to make sure her nail polish was on evenly. John held out his hand to Stephen to shake hands, but Stephen was not willing to forgive him. As I mentioned in the Basics section on this post, one of the main meanings of the verb 'to hold' is 'to keep something in your hand'. Bearing this in mind, it should come as no surprise to you that this application of 'hold out' is not only used for our empty hands, but also to talk about when we hold an object in our hands and extend it away from our bodies. Again, this can be for a multitude of reasons, but is often in the sense of offering or presenting something to someone. Lucy held out her phone in front of her to take a selfie. Helen held out the plate of sandwiches to her guests and asked them to take some. The barman has to hold the card reader out to the customer so that they could pay. The midwife held the baby out to her mother so that she could hold her for the first time. MEANING 2: To last or endure If you are a regular visitor to my website, you may have read my post all about the phrasal verb 'run out' (if not, you can visit it here), one of the meanings of which is to describe when there is none left of something. Now, you may be wondering why I am talking about 'run out' on a post about the phrasal verb 'hold out' and the reason for this is because this second meaning of 'hold out' is in fact the opposite meaning of 'run out', or specifically 'to not run out'. This meaning of 'hold out' is therefore typically used in conjunction with nouns for things for which we need a constant or continuous supply in our lives, such as food, water, gas, money etc. as if we run out of these things, it can be problematic. Hopefully, our food supplies will hold out until the snow melts and we can get to the shop again. Do you think we have enough gas to hold out until we get to the next gas station? Moreover, this application tends to be used when talking about whether or not the supply of what you have will be sufficient for a specific period of time, or in other words, it will hold out until a certain date. Alternatively, you may also hear this when talking about supplies in difficult times or situations and whether or not the supply will be enough to last until the tough period is over. I was very careful with how much water I drank and luckily it held out for the duration of the marathon race. The miners, who were trapped underground, were praying that the oxygen would hold out until they were rescued. MEANING 3: To survive or resist something difficult What is your favourite movie genre? Personally, I love horror, fantasy and historical genres the most and the reason that I am telling you this is that this next meaning of 'hold out' is one that features a lot in these types of movies as it means 'to survive or resist something difficult' and in these movies it tends to be sieges of castles etc (perhaps not the horror genre, in this case). In order to help your understanding of this meaning, let's put it into context with an example. In medieval times it was a common military tactic for invading armies to besiege castles or cities, which meant that they surrounded them and stopped any people, food or water supplies from entering, thus making life within the castle or city so difficult that it eventually surrendered. As you would imagine, life in a besieged place was particularly tough, however in many of the documented sieges in history, they managed to hold out against the enemy. In other words, they did not surrender and consequently survived the siege until the enemy was defeated or went away. Aside from sieges of castles and cities, 'hold out' can also be used to talk about armies who defend themselves in difficult situations. Of course, in the modern world, situations like these are not as common, but regrettably do still exist and we can use this application of the phrasal verb 'hold out' for this. Luckily, you are much more likely to come across it in novels, movies and television series and so it is definitely one you should be aware of if you enjoy watching these in English. In the years 1848-49, the city of Venice was able to hold out against the siege by the Austrian army. How long do you think that they can hold out in there? One other time that you may hear this in the modern world is when talking about sport, when one team performs well or better than expected in difficult circumstances, i.e. against a much better team or with less players than normal. If the disadvantaged team manages to win or draw against their opponents, you can say that they held out against them. Leeds United managed to hold out against a much stronger Liverpool FC team and the result ended in a 1-1 draw. MEANING 4: To feel hope or optimism As the tone of the last usage of 'hold out' that we looked at was a bit dark and sombre, let's reverse that now with another meaning that is a lot more positive and means 'to feel hope or optimism'. This usage is limited to collocations with only a few nouns, mainly 'hope' and 'possibility', and is used to express whether or not you feel hopeful or optimistic about a situation or not. If you hold out hope for something, then it means that you still believe and hope that something will be possible. We are currently in negotiations with the council about holding the sports event in the park and we are holding out a lot of hope that they will agree to our request. The captain of the England cricket team is holding out the possibility of welcoming some of their old players back. Rescue teams have been out looking for the missing boys since last night but the police are not holding out much hope of finding them alive. MEANING 5: To wait until you get what you want Now we come to our fifth meaning of 'hold out' and for this we require the additional preposition 'for', giving us the construction 'to hold out for something', which means 'to wait until you get what you want'. For clarity, let's look at an example to illustrate this usage for you..... Sarah is 25 years old and has been single since she broke up with her last boyfriend two years ago. In that time, she has dated one or two guys but ultimately she turned them down as she did not consider them to be good enough for her. She is determined not to settle for the second best option and is therefore committed to holding out until she meets the right man who does tick all the boxes. As you hopefully understood from the example, there is a bit more to this application of 'hold out' than just the idea of waiting; rather it is a refusal to accept what is offered to you in the hope that if you wait for long enough, the desired option or thing will come. I've decided not to book a holiday yet as I am going to hold out for the discounted prices at the beginning of the summer. Steve has been offered several jobs since graduating from university but he has not accepted them as he is holding out for an offer from a Fortune 500 company. Kelly didn't buy the last smartphone when it was released earlier this year as she is holding out for the next one, which should be released in the next few months. For those of you who are into 1980s music, here is an absolute classic from the era featuring this particular usage of 'hold out'....enjoy! 😊 MEANING 6: To refuse to give information We have now arrived at our last usage of 'hold out', so well done for making it this far. For this final application, we require the additional preposition 'on', giving us the construction 'to hold out on someone', which means to refuse to give information to someone. This usage is an informal one and is used for when someone knows some secret or unknown information, but refuses to disclose it, especially when the information is valuable in some way or the other person has a strong desire to learn it. In other words, if won't tell you the juicy information, they are holding out on you! John knows who did it but he is holding out on me and won't say who it was. Come on, don't hold out on us! We need to know! Sarah was holding out on Roger as she didn't trust him with the information. In addition to information, 'hold out' can also be used in this way to talk about withholding other things that people urgently require, such as money or help. I need the money but the bank is holding out on me! Please, I really need this, stop holding out on me and give it to me. Sadly, this brings us to the end of this post and I just want to say thank you for clicking on my post and reading it. I hope that you've enjoyed it and have been able to learn something new. Now it is YOUR turn. Can you think of a sentence yourself using 'hold 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