Put is one of the busiest verbs in English. On its own it means "place something somewhere", but with a particle it becomes a new verb: put on, put off, put up, put out, put down, put away.
The meaning of the phrasal verb is not the meaning of the two words added together. Put off does not mean "place away"; it means postpone. Put up can mean build a wall or let someone sleep at your home.
Most put phrasal verbs are separable: the object can go after the particle or between the verb and the particle. This page lists the main meanings, shows the word order, and drills all of it in 20 sentences.
The rule
Put on: clothes and lights
- Put on a coat, a hat or shoes means dress yourself: "Put your shoes on."
- Put on a light, the television or music means start it: "Put the news on."
- The opposite is take off for clothes, and turn off for devices.
- Put on weight means become heavier; put on a voice or an accent means pretend.
Put off: postpone or distract
- Put off an event means move it to a later time: "They put the match off until Sunday."
- Put someone off something means make them lose interest or concentration: "The noise put me off my work."
- A smell or a taste can put you off a food for years.
- Do not confuse put off with put out. Put off is about time; put out is about a fire or a light.
Put up: build, raise or host
- Put up a building, a wall or a shelf means build or fix it: "We put up a fence last summer."
- Put up a picture means hang it on the wall.
- Put up the price or the rent means raise it.
- Put someone up for the night means let them stay at your home.
Put out: fires, lights and inconvenience
- Put out a fire, a candle or a cigarette means make it stop burning.
- Put the light out means switch it off.
- Put someone out means cause them extra work or trouble: "Would it put you out to drive me?"
- Put out a statement or a product means publish or release it.
Put down, put away and put back
- Put down means stop holding something: "Put down your phone."
- Put down an animal means end its life; put someone down means insult them.
- Put away means return things to their place: "Put your toys away."
- Put back means return something to where it was: "Put the book back on the shelf."
Word order: regular and pronoun objects
- Put on is separable: "Put on your hat" and "Put your hat on" are both correct.
- A pronoun must go between the verb and the particle: "Put it on", never "Put on it".
- The same rule applies to put off, put out, put down, put away and put back.
- A few combinations are inseparable, such as put up with (tolerate): "I cannot put up with the noise."
Examples
- Put your coat on before you go out.Separable: the object can sit between put and on.
- They put off the meeting until Friday.Put off means postpone.
- The rain put me off running.Put someone off something means kill their enthusiasm.
- We put up a new shelf in the kitchen.Put up a shelf means fix it to the wall.
- Could you put up my sister for the weekend?Put someone up means give them a bed.
- The firefighters put out the fire quickly.Put out a fire means stop it burning.
- Put the light out, please.Put out a light means switch it off.
- Put your phone down and listen.Put down means stop holding.
- Please put your shoes away.Put away means tidy something into its place.
- I put the milk back in the fridge.Put back means return to the original place.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Put on it. Right: Put it on.
- A pronoun object goes between the verb and the particle in a separable phrasal verb.
- Wrong: They putted off the concert. Right: They put off the concert.
- Put never takes -ed: put, put, put. Only the particle changes the meaning.
- Wrong: I cannot put up the noise any more. Right: I cannot put up with the noise any more.
- The verb meaning tolerate is put up with, a three-word phrasal verb.
- Wrong: She put off her hat and sat down. Right: She took off her hat and sat down.
- Put on means start wearing; take off means remove. Put off means postpone.
- Wrong: The smoke put out the alarm. Right: The smoke set off the alarm.
- Put out means extinguish. An alarm that starts is set off.
Practice drill
Answer all 20 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
It is cold. ___ your coat on.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Put Put on means start wearing clothes.
They ___ off the match because of the rain.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. put Put off means postpone, and put does not change to putted.
I cannot ___ up with this noise any longer.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. put Put up with is the three-word phrasal verb meaning tolerate.
We ___ up a fence around the garden.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. put Put up a fence means build or fix it.
The firefighters ___ out the fire in ten minutes.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. put Put out a fire means extinguish it.
Please ___ your phone down and listen to me.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. put Put down means stop holding something.
She put the milk ___ in the fridge.
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Answer: C. back Put back means return something to its place.
Put your toys ___ before dinner.
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Answer: D. away Put away means tidy things into their place.
Your shoes are muddy. ___ them on the mat.
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Answer: A. Put Put means place something; here the object stays after put.
The noise ___ me off my homework.
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Answer: B. put Put someone off something means break their concentration.
Can you ___ me up for the night?
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Answer: C. put Put someone up means let them stay at your home.
The light is still on. Please ___ it out.
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Answer: D. put Put out a light means switch it off.
___ on your shoes; we are leaving.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Put Put on is the action of dressing. Wear describes the state after.
I cannot find my keys. Have you ___ them away?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. put Put away means tidied something into its place, and put stays the same after have.
They had to ___ off the wedding until spring.
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Answer: C. put Put off an event means postpone it.
He ___ up his hand to answer the question.
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Answer: D. put Put up your hand means raise it.
Please ___ the book back on the shelf.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. put Put back means return something to where it was.
The company is putting ___ the price of tickets next month.
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Answer: B. up Put up a price means raise it.
Do not ___ me off my food with that story.
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Answer: C. put Put someone off their food means make them lose their appetite.
She ___ on a brave face after the bad news.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. put Put on a brave face is a fixed phrase meaning hide your feelings.
Questions learners ask
What does put off mean?
Put off has two everyday meanings. With an event, it means postpone: "They put the wedding off until spring." With a person, it means make someone lose interest or concentration: "The smell put me off my food." The event meaning is the more common one.
Is put on the same as wear?
No. Put on is the action of dressing: "I put on my coat." Wear is the state after the action: "I am wearing a coat." You put something on once, then you wear it all day.
Where does the object go with put phrasal verbs?
Most combinations with put are separable, so both "Put your hat on" and "Put on your hat" are correct. A pronoun is different: it must go in the middle, as in "Put it on." Never say "Put on it." The fixed expression put up with keeps its three words together and takes the object at the end.
More grammar topics
Phrasal verbs with turn
The main meanings of turn on, off, up, down, into, out and around, with the pronoun rule for separable verbs.
Have gone vs have been
Have gone means someone left and is still away; have been means the visit is over or the person has experience of the place.
In case vs if
If says what must happen first; in case says do something now because something might happen later.
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