Take is one of the busiest verbs in English. On its own it means move something or accept something. With a particle it becomes a family of phrasal verbs, and the particle carries most of the new meaning.
Some take phrases are literal and easy to guess. A plane takes off, and you take off your coat. Others are idiomatic: take after means resemble a relative, and take over means gain control. Those two need to be learned as whole phrases.
This page groups the common take phrasal verbs by meaning, shows which ones are separable, and finishes with a 20-question drill. Every answer explains the rule in one sentence.
The rule
Take off: clothes, planes and success
- Take off means remove clothes or shoes: "Take off your coat."
- A plane takes off when it leaves the ground.
- A product, a joke or an idea takes off when it becomes successful.
- Take off is separable with clothes: "take your coat off" or "take off your coat".
Take up and take after
- Take up means start a hobby or activity: "She took up running."
- Take up also means occupy space or time: "The sofa takes up half the room."
- Take after means resemble a family member: "He takes after his father."
- Take after is never separated, and it takes no to: not "take after to".
Take over, take out and take back
- Take over means gain control of something: "A new manager took over the team."
- Take out means remove something or invite someone: "Take out the rubbish."
- Take back means retract a statement or return an item: "I take back what I said."
- Take out and take back are separable: "take it out", "take it back".
Take care of and take part in
- Take care of means look after someone or deal with something.
- Take part in means participate in an activity: "She took part in the race."
- These are fixed three-word phrases, so keep the words together.
- Never say "take part of" or "take care for".
Separable or not?
- Separable: take off, take out, take back and take up.
- Not separable: take after, take part in and take care of.
- A pronoun goes in the middle of separable phrases: "take it off", never "take off it".
- With a full noun, both orders are possible: "take off your shoes" or "take your shoes off".
Examples
- The plane takes off at seven.Take off describes a plane leaving the ground.
- She took off her shoes at the door.Take off means remove clothing, and it is separable.
- I want to take up photography.Take up means start a new activity.
- The new table takes up too much space.Take up also means occupy space or time.
- He takes after his grandfather.Take after means resemble a family member.
- A larger company took over the business.Take over means gain control.
- Please take out the rubbish.Take out means remove something.
- I take back everything I said.Take back means retract a statement.
- Can you take care of the children tonight?Take care of means look after.
- Ten schools took part in the competition.Take part in means participate.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Please take off it. Right: Please take it off.
- Take off is separable, so a pronoun goes between the verb and the particle.
- Wrong: He takes after to his father. Right: He takes after his father.
- Take after is a two-word phrase and needs no extra preposition.
- Wrong: She took up to run every morning. Right: She took up running every morning.
- Take up takes a noun or an -ing form, not an infinitive.
- Wrong: We took part the competition. Right: We took part in the competition.
- The fixed phrase is take part in, with the preposition in.
- Wrong: I will take care for the dog. Right: I will take care of the dog.
- The fixed phrase is take care of, with the preposition of.
Practice drill
Answer all 20 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
The plane ___ at six in the morning.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. takes off Take off is the phrasal verb for a plane leaving the ground.
She ___ her coat and sat down.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. took off Take off means remove clothing, so she removed her coat.
I want to ___ photography this year.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. take up Take up means start a new hobby or activity, here photography.
He ___ his father; they share the same laugh.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. takes after Take after means resemble a family member.
Who will ___ the company when the boss retires?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. take over Take over means gain control, so it fits taking charge of the company.
Please ___ the rubbish before you leave.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. take out Take out means remove something, here the rubbish.
Did you ___ part in the school play?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. take Take part in is the fixed phrasal verb for joining an activity.
That sofa ___ too much space.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. takes up Take up means occupy space or time, so the sofa uses the space.
I ___ what I said; it was unkind.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. take back Take back means retract a statement, so the speaker withdraws the words.
He ___ his shoes and left them by the door.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. took off Take off means remove clothing or shoes, and took is the past form.
Can you ___ the children tonight?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. take care of Take care of means look after someone, so it fits caring for the children.
The flight was cancelled, so the plane did not ___.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. take off Take off describes a plane leaving the ground.
She ___ golf when she moved to the countryside.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. took up Take up means start an activity, here golf.
My brother ___ our mother in every way.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. takes after Take after means resemble a family member.
A new manager ___ the department next month.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. takes over Take over means gain control, so the new manager takes charge.
___ your notebook and start writing.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Take out Take out means remove something from a place, here the notebook.
We ___ in the school play last year.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. took part Take part in is the phrasal verb for participating in an activity.
Learning Chinese ___ a lot of time.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. takes up Take up means occupy time, so learning the language uses the time.
My grandparents ___ us out to dinner every Sunday.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. take Take out can mean invite someone out, and the plural subject takes the base form take.
The dress was too small, so I ___ it back to the shop.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. took Take back means return an item, and took is the past form.
Drill complete
You answered every question.
Next topic: Unless: if not, and how to use itTake the level test
Questions learners ask
What is the difference between take off and take out?
Take off means remove something you are wearing or leave the ground, as in "take off your hat" or "the plane took off". Take out means remove something from a place, as in "take out the rubbish". One is about clothes and flights, the other about moving things out of a container or a room.
Why can I not put a pronoun in the middle of take after?
Take after belongs to the inseparable group. The object always follows the full phrase: "She takes after her mother." With separable verbs such as take off or take out, the pronoun must go in the middle: "take it off". The safest habit is to learn each phrase with a full example sentence.
Can take up mean both a hobby and space?
Yes. The meaning comes from the context. "She took up tennis" means she started playing, while "the desk takes up the whole wall" means it occupies the space. The grammar is the same; only the object changes.
More grammar topics
Unless: if not, and how to use it
Unless introduces the one condition that stops something: "Unless you hurry, we will be late." The clause stays in the present simple, even about the future.
Wish and if only: past, present and future regrets
Wish moves the tense one step back to show that the situation is unreal: past simple for now, past perfect for then, and would for what annoys you.
Reporting verbs: say, tell, ask, advise and warn
A reporting verb decides the shape of the sentence: tell needs a person, say does not, and verbs like advise and warn take an object plus an infinitive.
Take the free A1 to C2 level test to find your starting point.