Phrasal verbs with take

What does ‘take’ mean?

The word ‘take‘ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meaning is to remove from a particular place or reach out and hold an object.

For example:

• Someone has taken my bike. (remove)
• Can you take the groceries? My arms are starting to ache. (hold)

 

Take is an irregular verb. The past tense is took and the past participle is taken.

phrasal verbs with take

Phrasal verbs with ‘take’ include:

• take after
  meaning – resemble in looks, character or behaviour of another person (usually family)
  example – My son takes after me, he loves his food.
• take apart
  meaning – disassemble
  example – He took apart his phone to try and get rid of the sand.
• take away
  meaning – move from one place to another or remove completely
  example – Please take away the box of chocolates before I eat them all.
• take back
  meaning – return a bought/borrowed item or forgive a lover and restart a relationship
  example – I can’t believe you`ve taken back your boyfriend after everything he`s done.
• take care of
  meaning – look after
  example – Don`t worry, I’ll take good care of your guinea pig whilst you`re away.
• take down
  meaning – write notes or tackle someone to the ground
  example – The boxer took down his opponent in the first round.
• take in
  meaning – process information, offer to look after a person or animal
  example – I took in the two kittens I found in a skip; they are so cute.
• take off
  meaning – leave a place, remove clothing, do well or leave the ground and fly
  example – I’m going to take off early, I’ve got a headache.
• take on
  meaning – accept more work or responsibility, hire someone
  example – My colleague quit, so I have to take on her work until they take on a replacement.
• take out
  meaning – remove/extract, invite someone out for a drink, meal etc.
  example – I’m going to take my mum out for her birthday.
• take over
  meaning – do something someone else was doing before, take control
  example – A supermarket is taking over the small shop on the corner.
• take to
  meaning – start liking something/someone
  example – The baby took to solid food straight away.
• take up
  meaning – start a new hobby or accept an offer
  example – I think I’ll take up that job offer with a rival firm.

picture examples

Let’s learn the meaning of the phrasal verbs that contain the verb ‘take’ in more detail and see some examples in use.

You can download a table of phrasal verbs with take below.

Did you know that many idiomatic expressions (idioms) in English also contain a lot of verbs? Just like phrasal verbs, idioms are a major part of the English language (slang in particular). They are used constantly amongst native English speakers and are handy to know and understand.

 

Now you’ve learnt all the phrasal verbs with take, how about learning the idioms with take too?