A Practical English Grammar - Thomson & Martinet

e in the lecture at all. It was too difficult for me. (couldn 't take it in)
(d) = make less wide (of clothes):
.I'm getting much thinner; I'll have to take in my clothes, (take my
clothes in/take them in)
take off (tr) = remove (when used of clothing 'take off is the opposite of 'put on'):
He took off his coat when he entered the house and put it on again
when he went out. (took his coat off/took it off) take off (intr) = leave the ground (of aeroplanes):
There is often a spectators' balcony at airports, where people can
watch the planes taking off and landing. take on (tr)
(a) = undertake work:
She wants someone to look after her children. I shouldn 't care to take on the job. They are very spoilt, (take the job on/take it on)
(b) = engage staff:
They're taking on fifty new workers at the factory.
(c) = accept as an opponent:
/'// take you on at table tennis. (I'll play against you.)
/ took on Mr Pitt at draughts, (took Mr Pitt on/took him on) take out (tr) = remove, extract:
Petrol will take out that stain, (take the stain out/take it out)
The dentist took out two of her teeth. take somebody out = entertain them (usually at some public place):
Her small boy is at boarding school quite near here. I take him out
every month, (and give him a meal in a restaurant) take over (tr or intr) = assume responsibility for, or control of, in succession to somebody else:
We stop work at ten o 'clock and the night shift takes over until the
following morning.
Miss Smith is leaving to get married and Miss Jones will be taking
over the class/Miss Jones will be taking over from Miss Smith, (see
hand over) take to (tr)
(a) = begin a habit. There is usually the impression that the speaker thinks this habit bad or foolish, though this is not necessarily always the case. It is often used with the gerund:
He took to drink, (began drinking too much) He took to borrowing money from the petty cash.
(b) = find likeable or agreeable, particularly at first meeting:
/ was introduced to the new headmistress yesterday. I can't say I took
to her.
He went to sea (= became a sailor) and took to the life like a duck to
water.
(c) = seek refuge/safety in:
When they saw that the ship was sinking the crew took to the boats. After the failure of the coup many of the rebels took to the hills and became guerillas. take up (tr)
(a) = begin a hobby, sport or kind of study (there is no feeling of criticism here):
He took up golf and became very keen on it. (took it up)
(b) = occupy (a position in time or space):
He has a very small room and most of the space is taken up by a
grand piano.
A lot of an MP 's time is taken up with answering letters from his
constituents.
talk
talk over (tr) = discuss:
Talk it over with your wife and give me your answer tomorrow, (talk over my suggestion/talk my suggestion over)
think
think over (tr) = consider:
/ can't decide straight away but I'll think over your idea and let you know what I decide, (think your idea over/think it over)
throw
throw away/out (tr) = jettison (rubbish etc.):
Throw away those old shoes. Nobody could wear them now.
(throw the shoes away/throw them away) throw up (tr) = abandon suddenly (some work or plan):
He suddenly got tired of the job and threw it up. (he threw up the
job/threw the job up)
tie
tie someone up = bind his hands and feet so that he cannot move: The thieves tied up the night watchman before opening the safe, (tied the man up/tied him up)
try
try on (tr) = put on (an article of clothing) to see if it fits:
CUSTOMER IN DRESS SHOP: / like this dress. Could I try it on? (try this dress on/try on this dress)
try out (tr) = test:
We won't know how the plan works till we have tried it out. They are trying out new ways of preventing noise in hospitals, (trying them out)
turn
turn away (tr) = refuse admittance to:
The man at the door turned away anybody who hadn 't an
invitation card, (turned them away) turn down (tr) = refuse, reject an offer, application, applicant:
/ applied for the job but they turned me down/turned down my
application because I didn't know German.
He was offered £500 for the picture but he turned it down, (turned
•down the offer/turned the offer down) turn into (tr) = convert into:
/ am going to turn my garage into a playroom for the children.
She turned the silver candlestick into a reading lamp. turn in (intr) = go to bed (used chiefly by sailors/campers etc.):
The captain turned in, not realizing that the icebergs were so close. turn on (tr) (stress on turn) = attack suddenly (the attacker is normally a friend or a hitherto friendly animal):
The tigress turned on the trainer and struck him to the ground. turn on/off (tr) = switch on/off (lights, gas, fires, radios, taps etc.) turn up/down (tr) = increase/decrease the pressure, force, volume (of gas or oil, lights, fires, or of radios):
Turn up the gas; it is much too low.
I wish the people in the next flat would turn down their radio. You
can hear every word, (turn the sound down/turn it down) turn out (tr)
(a) = produce:
The creamery turns out two hundred tons of butter a week, (turns it out)
(b) = evict, empty:
1 turn a person out = evict him from his house/flat/room:
At one time, if tenants didn't pay their rent the landlord could turn them out.
2 turn out one's pockets/handbags/drawers etc. = empty them, usually looking for something:
'Turn out your pockets,' said the detective.
3 turn out a room = (usually) clean it thoroughly, first putting the furniture outside:
/ try to turn out one room every month if I have time. turn out (intr)
(a) = assemble, come out into. the street (usually in order to welcome somebody):
The whole town turned out to welcome the winning football team
when they came back with the Cup.
(b) = develop:
I've never made Yorkshire pudding before so I am not quite sure how
it is going to turn out.
Marriages arranged by marriage bureaux frequently turn out well.
(c) = be revealed. Notice the two possible constructions, it turned out that. . . and he turned out to be . . .:
He told her that he was a bachelor but it turned out that he was married with six children. (She learnt this later.) Our car broke down half way through the journey but the hiker we had picked up turned out to be an expert mechanic and was able to put things right.
Note the difference between turn out and come out. With turn out the fact revealed is always mentioned and there is no implication that the facts are discreditable. With come out we are told only that certain facts (usually discreditable) are revealed; we are not told what these facts are.
turn over (tr) = turn something so that the side previously underneath is exposed:
He turned over the stone, (turned the stone over/turned it over The initials 'PTO' at the bottom of a page mean 'Please turn over'. 'Turn over a new leaf.' (begin again, meaning to do better) turn over (intr)
(a) = turn upside down, upset, capsize (used of vehicles or boats): The car struck the wall and turned over.
The canoe turned over, throwing the boys into the water.
(b) = (of people) change position so as to lie on the other side: It is difficult to turn over in a hammock.
When his alarm went off he just turned over and went to sleep again. turn up (intr) = arrive, appear (usually from the point of view of someone waiting or searching):
We arranged to meet at the station but she didn 't turn up.
Don't bother to look for my umbrella; it will turn up some day.
walk
walk out (intr) = march out in disgust or indignation:
Some people were so disgusted with the play that they walked out in the middle of the first act.
wait
wait on (tr) = attend, serve (at home or in a restaurant):
He expected his wife to wait on him hand and foot.
^ The man who was waiting on us seemed very inexperienced; he got
all our orders mixed up.
wash
wash up (tr or intr) = wash the plates etc. after a meal:
When we have dinner very late we don't wash up till the next morning, (wash up the dishes/wash them up)
watch
watch out (intr) = look out.
watch out for (tr) = look out for (see page 357).
wear
wear away (intr) = gradually reduce; make smooth or flat; hollow out (used mostly of wood or stone. The subject is usually the weather, or people who walk on or touch the stone etc.):
It is almost impossible to read the inscription on the monument as
most of the letters have been worn away, (by the weather) wear off (intr) = disappear gradually (can be used literally but is chiefly used for mental or physical feelings):
These glasses may seem uncomfortable at first but that feeling will
soon wear off.
When her first feeling of shyness had worn off she started to enjoy
herself.
He began to try to sit up, which showed us that the effects of the drug
were wearing off. wear out (tr or intr)
(a) (tr) = use till no longer serviceable; (intr) become unserviceable as a result of long use (chiefly of clothes):
Children wear out their shoes very quickly, (wear their shoes
out/wear them out)
Cheap clothes wear out quickly.
(b) (tr) = exhaust (used of people; very often in the passive):
He worked all night and wanted to go on working the next day, but we saw that he was completely worn out and persuaded him to stop.
wind
wind up (tr or intr) = bring or come to an end (used of speeches or business proceedings):
The headmaster wound up (the meeting) by thanking the parents.
(wound the meeting up/wound it up)
wipe
wipe out (tr) = destroy completely:
The epidemic wiped out whole families, (wiped whole families
out/wiped them out)
work
work out (tr) = find, by calculation or study, the solution to some problem of a method of dealing with it; study and decide on the details of a scheme:
He used his calculator to work out the cost, (work the cost out)
Tell me where you want to go and I'll work out a route.
This is the outline of the plan. We want the committee to work out
the details, (work them out)