18 Phrasal verbs with “take”

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Different types of phrasal verbs

Take after somebody

Have a similar appearance or personality (especially a relative)

  • She takes after her mother – they have the same green eyes and curly brown hair.
  • John is such a funny person. He takes after his grandfather, who was a comedian.

Take something apart

Separate something into parts

  • The technician is taking apart the TV so that he can fix it.

Take something back

1) Return something to a store:

  • The jeans I bought were too small, so I took them back and exchanged them for a larger size.

2) Admit that something you said was wrong:

  • I’m sorry I said you were stupid. I take it back.

Take something down

1) Separate a structure into parts

  • After the circus was over, the workers took down the big tents.

2) Write information on paper

  • She took down my address and phone number and said she’d call me later.

Take somebody in

To let somebody stay in your house

  • My friend lost his job and his apartment, so I took him in for a month.

Take something in

1) Receive and understand information

  • The instructor spoke so fast that I couldn’t take in all the information.

2) Make clothing smaller so that it fits you

  • I love this dress, but it’s a little too loose. Could you take it in an inch?

Take off

1) An airplane leaving the ground and going up into the air

  • What time does the plane take off?

2) Become successful or popular very fast

  • In the last few years, social media sites have taken off all over the world.

3) Leave a place suddenly (informal)

  • He was at the party for about 15 minutes, and then he took off.

Take something off

1) Remove a piece of clothing from your body

  • I always take off my shoes as soon as I get home.

2) Not go to work for a period of time

  • Jamie took three days off to go skiing in the mountains

Take something on

Accept some work or responsibility

  • Do you have time to take on a new project?

Take somebody on

1) Hire or employ somebody

  • The company has taken on three new staff members.

2) Fight or compete against somebody

  • In tonight’s boxing match, Antonio will take on an undefeated boxer from Argentina.

Take somebody out

Go with somebody to a restaurant or movie and pay for their food or ticket

  • I’m taking my girlfriend out to dinner on our anniversary.

Take something out

Remove something from a place

  • I took the letter out of the envelope.

Take something out on somebody

Treat an innocent person badly because you are tired or angry about something else

  • Hey, I know you had a terrible day at work – but don’t take it out on me!

Take over something

Take control

  • Germany took over several other countries during World War II.

Take somebody through something

Explain something to somebody in detail

  • Let me take you through the procedure for operating this machine. First, you need to…

Take up something

1) Fill space or time

  • These books are taking up all the space in my room.
  • Last month an urgent project took up all my spare time.

2) Start doing something regularly

  • I’ve recently taken up yoga.

Take somebody up on something

Accept an offer or invitation

  • “When you travel to China, you’re welcome to stay at my house.”
    “Really? I might take you up on that!”

Take something up with somebody

Complain to someone about a problem

  • If you don’t like the way I do my job, take it up with my manager.

Learn Phrasal Verbs the Natural Way

18 Phrasal verbs with "take" Espresso EnglishIf you want to be fluent in English, then you need to know phrasal verbs! However, most traditional English textbooks don’t focus on them.

The Phrasal Verbs in Conversation Course will teach you 500 common phrasal verbs in the context of everyday dialogues.

By listening to and reading the conversations, you’ll understand how each phrasal verb is used in spoken English – and there are plenty of quizzes and exercises for you to practice using the phrasal verbs in your own English.

Learn more about the Phrasal Verbs Course