We continue to get acquainted with phrasal verbs. Another popular verb is take.
In this article we will look at its use and the 13 phrasal verbs it forms.
13 meanings of the phrasal verb take in English
Let's look at the basic meanings of the phrasal verb take:
1. Phrasal verb take away
Translation: take away, remove, subtract, subtract
Meaning: Take something from somewhere, take possession of something alien
The waiter took our plates away.
The waiter cleared our plates.
They took his phone away.
They took his phone.
2. Phrasal verb take after
Translation: hit someone
Meaning: Be like an older family member
She takes after her mother
She looks like her mother.
I think he takes after his father.
I think he looks like his father.
3. Phrasal verb take apart
Translation: Take apart
Meaning: Divide something into different parts
Help me take phone apart.
Help me take apart the phone.
He likes to take electric devices apart.
He enjoys disassembling electrical appliances.
4. Phrasal verb take along
Translation: Bring with you, take on the road
Meaning: Take someone/something with you to a certain place
He took some friends along to the party.
He brought a couple of friends with him to the party.
We took the camera along.
We took the camera with us.
5. Phrasal verb take aside
Translation: Take aside, recall
Meaning: Call someone to talk privately
My boss took me aside.
My boss pulled me aside.
They took her aside to tell it.
They called her aside to tell her this.
6. Phrasal verb take back
Translation: To return something, to take back what was said
Meaning: Return something to the place where you got it or bought it from.
He took a book back.
He returned the book.
I take back everything I said about him.
I take back everything I said about him.
7. Phrasal verb take down
Translation: 1. Take off from somewhere, take off clothes 2. Write down
Meaning:
1. Remove something that is on the wall from a person
2. Take notes, notes
He took the pictures down.
He took down the paintings.
She took down my telephone number.
She wrote down my phone number.
8. Phrasal verb take on
Translation: Take over
Meaning: Take responsibility for something
She doesn't want to take on too much work.
She doesn't want to take on too much work.
He takes on all tasks.
He takes on all the tasks.
9. Phrasal verb take off
Translation: 1. Take off clothes 2. Take a day off
Meaning: 1. Take off something 2. Take a break from work
He took off his hat.
He took off his hat.
I'm going to take two days off.
I'm going to take two days off.
10. Phrasal verb take over
Translation: Take over (leadership, position), take over
Meaning: Take control and responsibility for something
He took over his father's business.
He took over his father's business.
She takes over the leadership.
She takes charge.
11. Phrasal verb take through
Translation: Explain to someone
Meaning: Communicate something to someone in a way that makes it clear
My teacher took me through this rule.
My teacher explained this rule to me.
His colleague took him through the idea.
His colleague explained the idea to him.
12. Phrasal verb take to
Translation: To like, to feel sympathy for someone, to become attached
Meaning: Start loving someone, something
He wasn't taken to his mother.
He was attached to his mother.
She took to him quickly.
She quickly became attached to him.
13. Phrasal verb take up
Translation: 1. Start doing something 2. Take (time, place)
Meaning: 1. Start doing a specific job or other activity 2. Use a time or place
She takesup dancing.
She starts dancing.
This sofa takes up too much space.
This sofa takes up too much space.
So, we are introduced to the phrasal verb take. Now let's practice using it.
Reinforcement task
Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments.
1. She put the box away.
2. We returned her wallet.
3. He looks like a grandfather.
4. She will bring a friend with her.
5. We started drawing.
In order not to miss new useful materials,
The next word we will work with is phrasal verb take , the number of values of which is as large as that of . If you look in the dictionary, you will find that the dictionary entry devoted to this verb takes up more than one page, and there are not so few examples of its use. We will be interested in combinations of this phrasal verb with various ones, thanks to which this word acquires new meanings different from its main one.
Meanings of the phrasal verb take
As we know, the original meaning of this verb is conveyed by the following words - take, take, catch. In what other meanings can you find this phrasal verb?
- Take after- resemble (parents, relatives).
Jane is very short – she takes after her grandmother. – Jane is very short, she took after her grandmother.
- Take along- take with you (on the road), bring, bring.
She took her sister along to the hospital. “She brought her sister to the hospital.
Take me along. - Take me with you.
- Take apart- disassemble, analyze, criticize (scold, reprimand someone).
He spent two days taking his car apart. “He took his car apart for two days.
The director will take her excuses apart. “The director will quickly figure out her excuses.”
- Take aside– take aside, recall (to talk).
It was a serious question and she decided to take him aside in order not to involve others in the discussion. “It was a serious question, and she decided to put it aside so as not to involve the others in the discussion.
- Take away- clean up, pick up, take away; subtract, subtract.
He was taken away to prison. - He was taken to prison.
Take 10 away from 100. – Subtract ten from a hundred.
You can take our plates away. - You can clear the table.
- Take back- return, take back (admit that your opinion is wrong).
It’s not easy to take back everything I said but I will do this. “It’s not easy to take back what you said, but I will do it.”
Take this bag back to the shop and change it. – Take this bag back to the store and change it.
- Take down– remove (from somewhere), take off (clothes), demolish, record, disassemble (a car), knock down arrogance (from someone); reduce (price), destroy.
Did you take down his speech? – Did you record his speech?
She took down the picture from the wall. “She took the picture off the wall.
The building was taken down. - The building was demolished.
Take your coat down. - Take off your coat.
- Take in- bring in; sew (clothes), remove (sails); include; assimilate; deceive; give shelter (take in residents); take work home; inspect, visit.
It was a boring lesson and I didn’t take in the essence of the new theme. – It was a boring lesson, and I did not understand the essence of the new topic.
You could earn some extra money by taking in students. – You can earn extra money if you provide housing for students.
She takes in sewing. – She takes sewing home.
She took in her skirt. - She sewed her skirt.
We were completely taken in. - We had a great time.
- Take off– take off (clothes), take away, take away, take away; copy, imitate; take off; lift the ban; gain popularity, enjoy success; take a break from work (take time off).
Take your hands off the table. - Take your hands off the table.
I had a lot of work and now I’m going to take two days off. – I had a lot of work, and now I want to take two days off.
The plane took off in time. – The plane took off on time.
He took off his cap. - He took off his cap.
- Take on- take, take over; hire (hire); acquire; worry; fight someone.
She doesn't want to take on too much work. “She doesn’t want to take on too much work.”
I should take you on at basketball sometime. “I need to compete with you in basketball someday.”
The word took on a new meaning. – The word has acquired a new meaning.
The last sentence in the examples is very relevant for our article, because in different combinations the phrasal verb take really takes on new meanings.
- Take out– take out, extract, remove; remove (walk) and remove (remove stain); destroy; give vent to anger, settle scores; write out.
Are you taking him out for his birthday? – Are you taking him somewhere for his birthday?
Don’t take it out on me, I am not guilty. – Don’t blame it on me, it’s not my fault.
I'm afraid of taking out teeth. - I'm afraid of pulling my teeth.
- Take over– take leadership, take responsibility, take ownership; take over.
Who’ll be taking over from Chris when he retires? – Who will take Chris's place when he retires?
After some discussions he decided to take over the leadership in organizing of this expedition. “After several discussions, he decided to take a leadership role in organizing this expedition.
- Take through- to carry out, to complete, to explain.
My English teacher took me through my first book of English. – My English teacher helped me with my first English book.
- Take to- become addicted, become attached.
For some reason, I took to him quickly. “For some reason, I quickly became attached to him.
- Take up– lift; accept(call); remove, dig up; shorten; occupy (place); take on something, do something; meet someone; acquire, accept.
I think I should take up jogging. – I think I need to start running.
Phrasal verbs are one of the characteristic features of the English language. They represent an integral indivisible semantic unit. A verb is combined with a postposition (preposition or adverb), and its basic meaning can change completely or partially. One of the most common mistakes made by beginners is trying to translate every word. It should be remembered that there are many in the English language that cannot be divided into component parts when translated, otherwise the meaning will be distorted.
Basic meanings and forms
This verb is irregular, so the second and third forms differ from the standard ones. The forms of the verb take are as follows:
- take;
- took;
- taken.
The main translation is “take, take.” However, the word covers a wide range of meanings. In addition, when translating, you should pay attention to neighboring words and context. This table presents stable expressions.
Not all stable phrases are presented here, this is just a small list. As you accumulate vocabulary, you will be able to add new expressions to your personal vocabulary.
Phrasal verb to take (in combination with prepositions)
The following table provides a list of the most common uses of the word take in combination with various prepositions.
| take | after | to be like someone, to be like, to be like someone |
| against | dislike, dislike, be against | |
| along | take with you, bring | |
| around | accompany, show (sights) | |
| before | submit for consideration, propose (question) for consideration | |
| below | go downstairs | |
| by | take by the shoulders | |
| for | mistake for someone | |
| from | subtract, subtract, reduce | |
| in | 1) to shelter someone, to give shelter; |
|
| off | 1) eliminate, remove; |
|
| on | 1) take on (responsibilities); |
|
| out | 1) invite, take (to a restaurant, cinema), bring “to the world”; |
|
| over | replace (at work), take over tasks, responsibilities | |
| through | carry out, bring what has been started to an end | |
| to | 1) fall in love, become attached; |
|
| up | 1) take (something for certain purposes); |
|
| up on | take one's word for it | |
| up with | to be satisfied, satisfied with something |
Some phrases have two or more meanings. This feature must be taken into account when translating. However, everything is not as complicated as it might seem at first. Even if you are unfamiliar with any expression, when reading an article or book you will be able to guess the meaning of a particular lexical unit from the context and find the correct translation. Next, you can check in the dictionary to see how correctly you understood the meaning. This method of replenishing your vocabulary is much more effective than simply memorizing a set of words.
Phrasal verb take (in combination with adverbs)
In addition to prepositions, they are also often formed using adverbs. There are many different combinations (verb to take + adverb). The following table presents a small list of such lexical units. As mentioned in the previous section, some expressions have several translation options.
| take | back | to surprise, to surprise |
| aboard | load, take on board, load onto a ship | |
| abroad | 1) go abroad; |
|
| accross (to) | transport, transport | |
| apart | 1) analyze in detail, understand; |
|
| aside | take aside, recall (talk) | |
| away | remove, take away, take away, subtract, take away | |
| back | 1) renounce, refuse, admit that you were wrong; |
|
| down | 1) take off (clothes); |
Usage examples
Trying to learn phrases out of context will not lead to success. It is very important to learn how to use new words in practice. In order to master a phrasal verb take, you need to include it in your speech. Below are some examples of its use:
- Whom does Tom take after in his family? - Which member of his family is Tom like?
- My hobbies take up a lot of my time. - My hobbies take up most of my time.
- I have taken up the study of Spanish. - I started learning Spanish.
- Most of the planes take off in any weather. - Most planes take off in any weather.
- People are always requested to take off their coats at the theatre. - In the theater, people should always take off their outerwear.
Exercises with answers
Another way to master phrasal verbs take- do a lot of exercises. Repeated repetition and application of the learned material in practice will help you to navigate this topic well.
Exercise 1
Take up is a phrasal verb that has several translation options depending on the context. The following translation exercise from Russian into English will help you work through the different uses of this phrase.
- My neighbor took too much of my time.
- This red wardrobe is taking up too much space here.
- Ann, take this book and start reading.
- I intended to become a journalist after school.
- She took up music three years ago.
- They raised this issue at the meeting.
- She wants to start working. So she starts next week.
This exercise is designed to work on some other phrasal verbs.
- Your son is very similar to you.
- Take off your coat and have a cup of tea.
- Most people mistake me for my sister because she looks like me.
- I can't get used to this city.
Answers to the exercises:
Exercise 1
- My neighbor has taken up too much of my time.
- This red wardrobe takes up too much room here.
- Ann, take up this book and start reading.
- I intended to take up journalism after school.
- She took up music three years ago.
- They took up this matter on the meeting.
- She wants to start working. So she is going to take up the next week.
Exercise 2
- Your son takes after you.
- Take down your coat and have cup of tea.
- Most of people take me for my sister because she takes after me.
- I can't take to this town.
Phrasal verb take- one of the most common, so detailed study of various combinations will help to significantly advance on the path to learning English.
We continue to study the English language in all its facets: vocabulary, grammar, syntax, etc. And today we will repeat the forms of words already familiar to us go, make, get, show, eat, play, ride, fall, meet, and also let’s look at another very important lexeme for everyday English speech. Take (take, take) is one of the most frequently used verbs in the English language. This is an irregular verb, so it will be useful to recall its forms:
- To take-took-taken-taking
Let's look at example sentences for each form:
- What shall I take with me? - What should I take with you?
- Did you take all the necessary things? Yes, I took everything we need. - You took all the necessary things? Yes, I took everything we need
- Ann said that she had taken her mobile phone with her. - Anna said that she took mobile phone with you
- Where are the children? Tom is taking care of them. -Where are the children? Volume cares about them.
Often this verb occurs not only on its own, but also in set expressions, such as: Take...
- a sit - sit down, take a seat, take a place
- a word - take the word
- off/on - take off/put on
- care - take care
- down - to knock down, to remove
- a bus/a train/a car, etc. - take a bus, train, car, etc.
- measures - take action
- a shower - take a shower
For example:
Take your sit, please! - Please sit down!
I want to take a shower. — I want to take a shower.
Tom must take measures about his son. Tom must take action about his son.
Take and verb tenses
We bring to your attention several example sentences where we use our verb in different tenses:
Present Simple: Take your sit, please, and listen to me. - Please sit down and listen to me
Present Perfect: Tom has just taken the important papers. — Tom just picked up some important papers.
Present Continuous: Where is Andy? He is taking a shower now, can you call later? - Where's Andy? He's taking a shower now, can you call later?
Past Simple: I took some flour, milk, and eggs, and prepared a cake. — I took some flour, milk and eggs and made a pie.
Past Continuous: I was taking a shower when you called. — I was taking a shower when you called
Past Perfect: She said that she had taken all the measures about that affair. — She said that she took all measures regarding that matter.
Future Simple: Tomorrow we will take you with us to the forest if you want. “Tomorrow we’ll take you into the forest with us, if you want.”
Take and modal verbs
Wrong Take goes well with modal verbs may, must, can, need, should, etc.
For example:
- May I take your pencil? —Can I borrow your pencil?
- You must take measures about your son, he behaves very badly. - You need to take action about your son, he behaves very badly
- Can you take me with you to walk? -Can you take me for a walk?
- We need to take some money with us for our voyage. — We should take some money with us on the trip.
- You should take a bus, if you want to get to the airport on time. — You must take the bus if you want to get to the airport on time.
Example text with the verb Take
Pay attention to this text, in which the irregular verb “Take” is presented in different variations. Read carefully and watch how he behaves in these sentences:
Jim entered the room and said that he had taken his sister with him. We were glad to see them. They took their sits and we began our discussion. Alex wanted to take a word. We began to listen to him. He was talking about the importance of studies. He said that he had taken all the measures to pass the exams. Yet, Alex gave us a piece of advice on how to learn by heart easier. He said that we should take a sheet of paper and write a short plan of the material. We took his advice for a rule.
Now let's start translating:
Jim entered the room and said that he had taken his sister with him. We were glad to see them. They took their seats and we began our discussion. Alex wanted to take the floor. We started listening to him. He talked about the importance of studying. He said that he had taken all measures to pass the exams. Alex also gave us advice on how to easily learn by heart. He said that we should take a piece of paper and write down a short outline of the material. We took his advice as a rule.
As you can see, this verb can appear in different tenses and different forms. 
Using Take in various grammatical verb tenses
Along with “take”, in English speech there are often such irregular verbs as: go - to go, make - to do, produce, get - to receive, show - to show, find - to find, eat - to eat, ride - to ride, fall - fall, buy - buy, sit - sit, meet - meet.
Let's remember the forms of these irregular verbs:
- To go-went-gone
- To make-made-made
- To get-got-got
- To show-showed-shown
- To find-found-found
- To eat-ate-eat
- To ride-rode-ridden
- To fall-fell-fallen
- To buy-bought-bought
- To sit-sit-sit
- To meet-met-met
And here’s how the words “go, make, get, show, eat, play, ride, fall, meet, etc.” behave. in sentences:
- We go to play; do you go with us? - We're going to play; are you coming with us?
- Let’s go there by car - Let’s go there by car
- What do you do? I make an application with colored paper. - What are you doing? I make an applique from colored paper
- Every time I see you, you make me smile - Every time I see you, you make me smile
- Did you make a report yesterday? — Did you make a report/message yesterday?
- Did you get my letter? -Did you receive my letter?
- Can he get this report? —Can he finish the report?
- It was a terrible fall - It was a terrible fall
- Show me your photos, please? — Show me your photos, please
- I couldn’t find exercises with the irregular verbs - I couldn’t find exercises with irregular verbs
- We didn’t play computer games - We didn’t play computer games
- We often fall out with each other - We often quarrel with each other
- What do you like to eat? -What do you like to eat?
- I eat too much - I eat too much
- They made a lot of money - They made (earned) a lot of money
- I like to ride a horse. — I like to ride a horse
- Tom is afraid to fall, he is nervous. — Tom is afraid of falling, he’s nervous
- I want to buy some sweets. — I want to buy some sweets
- I like to play board games - I love board games
- I play the horn - I play the horn
- Sit down, please. - Please sit down
- Meet me in the morning. - Meet me in the morning.
In general, wherever you look, there is a wedge of irregular verbs. Let them not bother you, but be your friends in English grammar. Repeat the verb forms again: g o, make, get, show, eat, play, ride, fall, meet. Good luck to you!
