16 English Phrasal Verbs With Take

16 phrasal verbs with ‘take’ (with example sentences)

1. TAKE ABACK

1. To surprise or shock someone (old-fashioned, rare)
   We were taken aback by the news.
   His voice was so loud that it took us aback at first.

2. TAKE AFTER

1. To be similar to someone in appearance or character, especially a family member
   She’s very funny. She takes after her mother.
   He takes after his father’s side of the family.

3. TAKE APART

1. Take something apart or separate something into its different parts
   He took my phone apart to fix it.
2. Showing the weakness of an argument or an idea
   They will take our report apart and then give us feedback.
   
3. To criticise something (British English)
   The reviewers took apart the new film.

4. TAKE AWAY

1. To remove something
   Take that table away as we don’t need it in here.
   They took away my passport so I can’t travel.

2. To subtract a number or amount
   Six take away four is two.

3. To buy food from a restaurant and eat it elsewhere
   We ordered Chinese food to take away

4. To get a piece of information or message from something
   What I took away from that film is that neither side wins in a war.
   Take away from something

5. To reduce the positive effect of something
   The drunken fight after the party took away from the celebration.
   Take someone away

6. Bring someone from their home to an institution
   He became very aggressive so we called the police and they took him away.

5. TAKE BACK

Take something back

1. Return something to the place you bought it
   The dress was too tight so I took it back to the shop.

2. Admitting something you said/thought was wrong
   You’re not selfish. I take that (comment) back.

3. To regain possession of
   I took back my jacket from Sarah.
   Take someone back

4. Allow someone to come back/return
   He cheated on her but she finally took him back.
   Takes you back (British English)

5. Reminds you of a time in your past
   Playing that game took me back to my childhood.

In British English the phrases ‘to take down a notch’ or ‘to take down a peg’ are commonly used in conversation to express lowering/reducing someone in power. For example, “He’s so arrogant! I’d like to take him down a notch”.

6. TAKE DOWN

Take something down

1. Reach up and get something from a high place
   He took down the book from the top of the bookcase.

2. To dismantle a structure
   After the music festival, they took down the stage.

3. To write down a piece of information
   She took down John’s number so she could call him back.
   Take somebody down

4. To humble or humiliate someone, to lower/reduce in power
   The journalist took the politician down with her difficult questions.

5. To hit or shoot someone so they fall down
   My brother would easily take you down in a fight!

6. To remove a prisoner from where they stand in court (British)
   Court is adjourned. Take him down.

7. TAKE FOR

To believe something about somebody, often wrongly
You took me for an idiot.
She looks very mature so I took her for much older than 14.

Some phrasal verbs have many different meanings – both formal and informal. The intended meaning can only be understood from the context. For example, to ‘take in’ can mean to pay attention to something or to make an item of clothing smaller. To ‘take something back’ can mean to return an item to a shop for a refund or to admit that something you said was wrong. And to ‘take off’ can either mean a plane leaving the ground or it can be used to describe someone becoming successful very suddenly.

8. TAKE IN

Take somebody in

1. Allow someone to stay in your house/country
   He had nowhere to go so she took him in.

2. When the police remove someone from their home in order to question them
   The police took him in for questioning about the robbery.

3. Deceived by something/someone
   She lied! I can’t believe I was taken in by her.
   Take something in

1. To pay attention to, understand something
   It was a very good speech and I took it all in.

2. See everything at the same time with just one look
   When she walked into the room she took it all in.

3. Allow something to enter your body, by breathing or swallowing
   Some plants take in a lot of water and can’t grow in dry places.

4. To make clothing smaller/tighter
   She took in her dress as it was too big.

5. The amount of money a business gets from people buying goods or services
   It was a successful year as the company took in £1.5 million.

6. To include or constitute something
   The book takes in the period between the First and Second World Wars.

Phrasal verbs are very common in native English conversation. For example, try using ‘take off’ to describe suddenly leaving somewhere, ‘take up’ to mean start doing a hobby or ‘take down’ to mean defeat or humiliate someone. When you next watch a TV show or film in English try and listen out for phrasal verbs with ‘take’ and note how they are used.

9. TAKE OFF

1. Leave the ground (an airplane, bird or insect)
   The plane took off at 2pm.

2. To become successful or popular very suddenly
   Her career took off.

3. To suddenly leave somewhere (informal)
   He took off before I had a chance to say bye.

4. Imitate/impersonate somebody
   She takes off her mother so well.

5. When a service is withdrawn
   The program was taken off TV because it wasn’t very popular.
   Take something off

6. To remove a piece of clothing
   It was hot in the room so he took off his jumper.

7. Not go to work, but with permission
   She took a week off to go and visit her family.

10. TAKE ON

Take something on

1. Accept a job or responsibility, especially a difficult one
   I took on the project.

2. Develop an appearance or quality
   The room took on a 1970s look.
   Take somebody on

3. Employ someone to do a job
   I went for the interview last week and now they’ve decided to take me on.

4. To fight or compete against someone
   Germany will take on Mexico in the first round of the World Cup.

5. Allowing people to get on a vehicle
   We can only take on five more passengers at the next stop.

When it comes to food, ‘take out’ and ‘take away’ both mean the same thing – to buy food from a restaurant and eat it somewhere else. But ‘take away’ is more common in the UK and ‘take out’ more common in the US.

11. TAKE OUT

Take something out

1. Remove something from its place
   I got my wisdom tooth taken out.
   I took out my wallet from my bag.

2. Obtain something official, such as a loan, licence or insurance policy
   She took out a loan from the bank.

3. Buy food from a restaurant and eat it elsewhere
   Do you want that to eat in or take out?
   Take someone out

4. Go somewhere with someone, you usually invite them and pay
   David took his girlfriend out for dinner.

5. Kill or destroy someone/something
   His entire army unit got taken out in Afghanistan.
   Take it out of you

6. Something that requires a lot of effort and makes you tired
   The journey to work this morning was a nightmare! It really took it out of me.
   Take something out on someone

7. To treat someone badly because you feel upset or angry
   Sorry, I was very upset yesterday and I took it out on you.

12. TAKE OVER

Take something over

1. To get control of a company, business
   Facebook took over WhatsApp in 2014.

2. To seize power/control (e.g. of a country), often by force
   When the protests started the army took over.
   Take over from something

3. To become bigger/more important than something else, take control
   Her desire to win took over.
   Take over from somebody

4. To start having control of something, in place of somebody else
   Susan is taking over from Anna as manager.

13. TAKE someone THROUGH something

1. To explain something to someone
   Let me take you through the instructions for the exam.
   If you don’t understand what you’re meant to do, I can take you through it.

14. TAKE TO

1. To like something/somebody
   It was only the teacher’s first class but the students really took to him.

2. Start doing something often
   She’s taken to drinking green tea every morning.

15. TAKE UP

Something

1. Spend time doing something regularly (e.g. a hobby)
   She took up swimming and started going twice a week.

2. Act on a question, problem or cause
   When she read about the libraries closing, she took up the issue with her MP (Member of Parliament, local politician).

3. Start working at a job
   He will take up his position next week.

4. Accept an offer or challenge
   He was offered a promotion at work and, although it was a lot more work, he took up the challenge.
5. Use space, time or effort
   I know you’re busy so I won’t take up too much of your time.

6. Get into a particular position
   She took up a position in the corner of the room.

7. To start something after an interruption or someone else has started it
   When David left the police, Anna took up his unfinished case.
   Take somebody up on something

8. Say yes to an invitation or offer
   – I can show you round London if you like. – I’ll take you up on that (offer)!
   Take something up with somebody

9. Discuss a subject with someone, usually a complaint
   If you’re unhappy with the service, you’ll have to take it up with my manager.

16. TAKE it UPON oneself

1. Accept responsibility for something
   He took it upon himself to show the guests around.
   I took it upon myself to give him the bad news.

Exercises: phrasal verbs with ‘take’

Alex Jude —
ESL Specialist & CEO at Online Teachers UK.

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