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Phrasal Verbs with 'Take' |
In past Everyday Grammar programs, we have told you
about phrasal verbs. A phrasal verb is a group of words
that act as a verb. It is made from a verb and a
preposition, adverb or both.
In the 1957 calypso song “Angelique-O,” American singer,
actor and activist Harry Belafonte sings about
colonization:
Angelique-O, Angelique-O
Your mama got to take you back
Angelique-O, Angelique-O
Give you all the things you lack
He uses the phrasal verb take back in the line: Your
mama got to take you back. In this line, the verb means
“to accept or receive someone or something again.”
Phrasal verbs make up a large part of everyday spoken
and written English. This means they can easily be found
in news, music, film and so many other places.
On today’s program, we will talk about phrasal verbs
that include the word take – one of the most widely used
verbs in English. There are more than a dozen phrasal
verbs with take – and some of them have more than one
meaning.
Take back
Let’s start by taking another look at take back. Like
some other phrasal verbs, take back has many meanings.
We will not learn all of them today.
Here is the line again from “Angelique-O:” Your mama got
to take you back.
Notice that the words take and back are separated by the
object pronoun “you.” Some phrasal verbs are separable –
meaning they can be separated by the object. But some
are not. The verb take back is separable.
In addition, with some phrasal verbs, such as take back,
you always separate them when using the object pronouns
me, you, her, him and it. For example, we could not say:
Your mama got to take back you. The “you” must go
between “take” and “back.”
Take after
Now, let’s move to take after. This is a quick and easy
one, because it has just one meaning: to look like or be
like someone, especially a parent or other family
member. Listen to an example:
Everyone tells me that I take after my grandmother. But,
I don’t think we are that much alike.
Take after is not separable. You cannot say, for
example, “I take my grandmother after.”
Take over
Our next verb is take over. One of its meanings is “to
take control of something.”
Listen to pop singer Kelly Rowland sing about love
taking control of a person in the song “When Love Takes
Over.”*
When love takes over yeah
You know you can't deny
When love takes over yeah
Because something's here tonight
Take over is separable. In the song, the line implies
that love is taking over you. Here’s how you might say
those: "When love takes you over" or "When love takes
over you."
Like many phrasal verbs, take over can also function as
noun. When this happens, it becomes one word. For
instance, you could say, “The company takeover happened
last August.”
Take off
Now, let’s talk about take off. According to the Merriam
Webster dictionary, it has 10 meanings. For this
program, we will look at two of them.
One meaning is useful when traveling. It means “to begin
to fly.” For this meaning, the verb is inseparable. For
example, in an airplane, you might hear this:
Be sure your seat belts are fastened. We will be taking
off in a few minutes.
“Take off” can also act as a noun. When this happens, it
also becomes one word. For example, you might hear the
pilot say, “Flight attendants, prepare for takeoff.”
Another meaning of take off is “to remove something.”
For this meaning, English speakers actually use take off
far more often than the verb remove.
In a song by American hip hop group Outkast and singer
Norah Jones, Jones tells her partner to be his true self
instead of trying to be “cool”:
Baby, take off your cool
I wanna see you, I wanna see you
Because this meaning of take off is separable, the line
could have also been said this way: “Baby take your cool
off.”
Take out
Our last verb for today is take out. One meaning of this
verb is “to go with someone to an event, restaurant or
some other place or activity and pay for the bill.”
The words take and out are usually separated for this
meaning. For example: "My sister took me out for dinner
for my birthday."
This usage of take out can also mean that two people who
are romantically interested in each other are going out
somewhere.
Listen: "He took me out to a wine festival. We had an
amazing time!"
Takeout, as one word, is the noun form. It means food
that you buy from a restaurant and take home to eat.
What can you do?
There are hundreds of English phrasal verbs. So, it's
not very effective to try to memorize all of them from a
long list.
But there are methods you can use.
Music is one of the best ways to learn a language. If
you want to try to learn phrasal verbs through music,
first decide which ones you’d like to learn. Then,
search for them on a music lyrics website, such as
Lyrics.com. Next, choose and listen to the songs.
Another method is to write a short story using some of
the verbs you want to remember. For example, “My father
is a great cook. He says I take after him because
everybody loves my food. So, he asked me take over the
family restaurant. I do like cooking. But, I prefer when
my family takes me out to eat.”
Afterward, you can record your story on your mobile
phone and listen to it as often as you like.
Join us again soon for more phrasal verbs.
I’m Alice Bryant.
Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English.
Ashley Thompson was the editor.
*Song by DJ Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland |
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