We have been learning words, sentences and even phrases but if there is one thing that will truly make you sound like a native speaker – it is phrasal verbs.
A phrasal verb is a combination of two or three different types of words — a verb and an adverb or a verb with a preposition etc. and together they form a single semantic unit. There are thousands of phrasal verbs, and for today’s class we will take a look at the verb ‘take’ and some phrasal verbs that you can use in your daily English conversation.
Let’s get going
In today’s video you will get
- Phrasal verbs with the word ‘take’ that you can use in your daily English conversation to sound like a native speaker. In this video we will cover 5 different phrasal verbs with take and their multiple meanings.
- A quiz
- Solutions to quiz #4
- Shout out to the fastest five correct answers of quiz#4
So let’s talk about phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs are best understood in context, it will not be a good idea to learn them off like a vocabulary list. So, when you listen to native speakers or watch English shows on TV you will find phrasal verbs with ‘take’ being used quite commonly. So, listen attentively and make notes.
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TAKE OFF
This phrasal verb has several different meanings
- Take off – an airplane taking off the ground means it has become airborne
E.g. What time does the plane take off
The plane took off on time
Sometimes, this is used as a noun, with no space in between – e.g. the plane had a smooth takeoff.
- Take off – remove – this could be used in several contexts –
Please take off your shoes outside
He took off his tie
They took the injured player off the field
Please take your feet off the table
- Take off – leave suddenly
Just like an airplane quickly disappears into the air – if someone rushes off suddenly you can say
His phone rang and he just ‘took off’
- Take off – become successful – similar to the airplane soaring in the air –
His career graph just took off after he joined the new company
Her business has really taken off ever since she started online sales.
- Take (time) off – not to go work
After lunch when Raju’s stomach started rumbling, he decided to take the rest of the day off.
Working without a holiday for 3 years stressed out Kiran and he took an entire month off.
- Take (something) off – offer a discount
I bought a drone camera online and the company took 10 percent off on the original price.
If you pay in cash, we will take an additional ten dollars off the original price.
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TAKE OUT
Once again, many different meanings for this phrasal verb
- Take out – to withdraw / bring out
I took out a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped the glass
She took out her family heirlooms and had them cleaned up
- Take out – Is frequently used in the context of anger
The mother stood patiently as the child took out his frustration on her, she knew how to manage the situation.
When he is under pressure, he takes it out on me
- Take out – place something outside
Please take the trash out, it is very smelly
- Take out – go with someone to another place
May i take you out for coffee
They take the dog out twice a day
- Take out – to kill / destroy
The sniper took out several army men before he was arrested
The night bombing raid took out the bridge (destroyed the bridge)
- Take out – to pick up food from a restaurant and have it at home
I ordered a take-out from a Chinese restaurant today.
This is American. In British English, this would be a take-away
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TAKE ON –
A few different meanings. Broadly it is like -take it upon yourself
- Take on – be willing to meet or face an opponent. It is like you are saying – we have had enough, now you need to stop.
Tired of getting bullied by the seniors, the 8th graders decided to take them on.
After finding a capable lawyer, the workers felt they could take their corrupt employer on.
- Take on – accept additional responsibility
I was keen to learn new things so I took on several projects at work
Mother took it on herself to invite everyone to the party
- Take on – to add on / acquire
Students often take on large loans to fund their college education
The company is not taking on new employees at this stage
- Take on = to begin to have the appearance of
The chameleon took on a green colour as it moved on the lawn
The dialogue took on a new meaning with the change in expression
- d) TAKE UP –
- Take up = to fill or occupy time or space
I have made 250 videos and all this data takes up a lot of space in my computer
The table was so big that it took up the entire space in the study
- Take up = to start a new hobby or interest
She has taken up weight training to gain physical strength
The boys took up music to make good use of their time
- Take up = to address an issue
Let’s take this up with the principal
They can’t let this problem continue. They’ll have to take it up with their boss.
- Take up = to make a piece of clothing shorter
- They took up the curtains before the rainy season to avoid them getting wet.
- My trousers are too long. I need to take them up.
- Take (somebody) up on something = to accept an invitation, a challenge, an offer or a bet from someone.
- I’ll take you up on your offer to help me tomorrow.
- So you think you can beat me in chess? I’ll take you up on that challenge.
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TAKE TO
So, this phrasal verb has two different meanings.
- – Take to – means to begin the habit of doing something (with a certain fondness)
During the lockdown I have ‘taken to’ baking. I have started doing quite a lot of it.
What is the hobby or activity that you have been pursuing lately ? Try adding ‘take to’ before mentioning your hobby and make it sound more stylish.
With physical classes cancelled, the teachers took to teaching their students online.
- Take to– means develop a liking for – taken a liking for
Example – the dog took to Maria instantly and started licking her
Rita took to swimming like a fish in water.
Quiz time!
- Kenny clutched onto his seat belt once his helicopter _____ .
- The Indian tea business of Raja’s _____ right from the first day.
- The minister got a message on his phone and he _____.
- With a punctured car, Amit decided that he would _____ the day _____.
- Since Alfred was the first customer for the day, the salesman _____ 50 dollars _____his bill.
- The girls wanted to _____ the photo albums from the cupboard.
- They _____ the baby _____ to the park every other day.
- Once lightning struck, it _____ the tree.
- My husband ordered for a _____ as I could not cook with the baby running around.
- With years passing by and no bridge being built, the villagers decided to _____ the authorities.
- With the team members stuck in the floods, Suri _____ it _____ herself to complete the project.
- Companies look to _____ more projects to keep their workforce busy.
- The conversation _____ a new direction once the numbers were presented.
- Cooking _____ most of the time in a home maker’s day.
- The quarantine gave Abby the time to _____ ceramic painting as a hobby.
- The general manager _____ the issue of leaking ceilings during the meeting.
- My skirt touches the floor. I need to _____ it _____ .
- If you all think you came to the ground before us, we’ll _____ you _____ on that.
- Garcia _____ playing the violin as if she was a pro.
- The baby _____ the little girl next door. The baby smiled upon seeing the girl.
Solutions to Quiz#4
- Anna, Hannah – Proper Nouns; Bakery – common noun
- Faculty, classes – collective noun ; School, weekend – common noun
- Roy – Proper noun ; Father – common noun ; Carelessness – abstract noun
- Officer, villagers, bank accounts – common noun
- Batch
- Army
- Bevy
- Crowd or Mob
- Scurry or Drey
