1

15 Common Phrasal Verbs with “Take” – Meanings and Example Sentences (Audio)

Take off

the opposite of “to put on”; the act of removing clothing or jewelry. If an aircraft, bird, or insect takes off, it leaves the ground and begins to fly.

 I always take off my watch before I wash my hands.

Remember to take off your raincoat when you enter the room.

Hurry up! The plane will take off in 20 minutes. 

Take out

to bring something out; to remove something from its place; to take someone to a place like a cinema or a restaurant and usually pay for them; to take someone on a date

 I will take you out for dinner tomorrow.

 I need to get this tooth taken out.

Remember to take out the trash.

Take place

to happen or occur. When something takes place, it happens, especially in a controlled or organized way.

The event will take place tomorrow night.

The wedding took place at the Secret Garden Restaurant.

Our vacation will take place in June.

Take over

to transfer control; to take control of something

The new owner will take over the business soon.

Can you take over my responsibilities?

He will take over control of this company.

Take after someone

to look or act like someone in your family

You take after your mom.

I don’t want to take after my sister at all. I want to be myself.

You should take after your dad, who is a generous man.

Take away

to remove something; to subtract something; to buy food or drink at a restaurant and bring it somewhere to eat

The teacher took away the boy’s comic while he was reading it during math class.

I’d like to order some burgers to take away, please.

He has taken away my heart and soul. I love him.

Take apart

to separate something into small pieces

The hairdryer stopped working. I’ll take it apart and see what is wrong.

Kevin is curious about everything. He loves taking apart things to learn how they work.

This laptop is broken. I need to take it apart and check.

Take on

to take someone on: to employ someone to do a job; to take something on: to accept a job or a responsibility

Currently, our company isn’t ready to take on any new employees.

That was a weighty responsibility that he took on.

Why did you take on such a challenging task?

Take up

to start a new habit or hobby; to start a new job or accept a new position

I’ve recently taken up gardening

Harry will take up his new position tomorrow.

You really need to take up yoga. It keeps you in shape.

Take up on

to accept an offer from someone; to ask someone to explain something because you don’t agree with them or you think it is wrong

You need to take her up on what she said to you yesterday. I think something is wrong.

That’s quite an interesting offer. I’ll take you up on it.

He offered to assist me with the new project and I took him up on it.

Take up with

to have a close relationship with someone, especially someone unsavory and untrustworthy; to be busy doing or thinking about something

I can’t understand why David took up with that old woman.

Don’t take up with him. He’s a criminal.

Janes was completely taken up with concern for her newborn baby.

Take down

to remove something from a high position; to separate something into pieces; to write down a piece of information or a statement

Can you help me take that picture down from the shelf, please?

The scaffolding was taken down for repairs

You need to take down some important information while listening.

Take against

to begin to dislike someone or something for no good reason

Jenny took against her best friend, Tom, because he could afford a new house.

Don’t take against this three-year-old boy just because he has no father.

I don’t understand why she has taken against me.

Take aside

to take someone away from other people so that you can talk with that person

My dad took me aside from my friends and informed me that I had passed the entrance exam to university.

I was taken aside by Tim.

I was so angry about being taken aside by my boyfriend.

Take through

to explain something in detail

Can you please take me through this report?

Read it first and I’ll take you through it.

He has taken everybody through his thesis.

Comments are closed