Take Off, Work Out, Stand Up ✨Most Common Phrasal Verbs (28-30)

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English  with Jennifer. In my grammar lesson on  

the uses of "would," I shared my top 10 list of  romantic comedies. Jerry Maguire made that list,  

and one quote from the movie that sticks in my  mind is, "I've failed as much as I've succeeded."  

"To be honest, I've failed  as much as I've succeeded."  

I love that quote from Jerry's mentor. It's  about recognizing that life is full of mistakes  

and failures. A few of our ideas may take off,  but many will never go anywhere. We have to be  

thankful when we take risks and things work  out. Successes for many of us are fewer than  

our failures, and that's okay. I personally think  it's okay to have moments of weakness. It's okay  

to sit down and cry. The important thing is not  to give up. We may experience failure. We may face  

criticism. But we find the strength to stand up,  move forward, and continue reaching for our goals.  

One of your goals right now is to master three  of the most common phrasal verbs in English.

"Take off" can be a transitive  or intransitive phrasal verb.  

How did I just use it? I said, "A few of our ideas  may take off, but many will never go anywhere."  

You can guess that ideas that don't go anywhere  are not successful. That means when ideas take  

off, they are successful. I'm using it as  an intransitive phrasal verb. No object.

An idea can take off. Someone's career can  take off. A new business can suddenly take off.

Like many phrasal verbs, this  one has multiple meanings.  

Here's another use you probably already know.  What does a plane do? How does it get in the air?

It takes off. We use this phrasal  verb with an aircraft: a helicopter,  

a plane. Taking off means leaving the  ground. This use is also intransitive.

Your plane can take off on  time. Your plane can take off  

from a certain city. It takes off from the runway.

With this phrasal verb, we can  even form a compound noun: takeoff.  

What is something passengers are required  to do during takeoff and landing?  

Can you give me examples?  Put them in the comments.

The most common meaning of "take off" is remove.  At night, I take off my jewelry. When you come  

home, do you take off your shoes? How about  in someone else's home? You can tell me in the  

comments. With this use, "take off" is transitive  and separable: take off what, take something off.

Take your hat off.

Here are two more uses.  Can you match the meanings?

Our dog takes off after delivery trucks. She jumps  off the porch and runs to the end of our property.  

She moves suddenly as if to catch the truck or  maybe just to chase it away. A person can take off  

and go on a trip. It's about leaving and moving  quickly. This use is intransitive. No object.

As for taking a day off, that means you spend  time away from your job or your usual activity.  

This use is transitive and separable. How much  time do you think people should take off from work  

in order to have a healthy work-life  balance? Tell me in the comments.

"Work out" is intransitive. When things work  out, they prove to be successful. Things can  

work out well. Things can work out better than  expected. Things can work out in your favor.

I don't think things are going to work out  between us. The true test of character,  

I think, is how a person reacts when things  don't work out. What do you do? Complain,  

cry, laugh, seek support, form a new plan?  Maybe all of the above. With this use,  

"work out" is intransitive. No object. Here  are two more uses. Can you match the meanings?

When you work something out,  like you work out the details,  

you're finding a solution. You're forming a plan.

"Work out" with this meaning is transitive  and separable: work out a plan, work it out.

"Working out" can also be about exercising. It's  what someone does regularly for their health.  

With this meaning, work out is intransitive.  No object. Some people work out at home.  

Others work out at the gym. Do you work  out at all? Tell me in the comments.

What's the compound noun  formed from this phrasal verb?  

Workout. A morning workout. A  workout routine. Workout clothes.

"Stand up" is intransitive. No object. It simply  means to rise to your feet. We can stand up tall.  

We can stand up straight. When  I was in elementary school,  

we were taught to stand up and greet the  principal when she entered the classroom.  

Did you ever have to stand up as a sign  of respect? I'm a bit old-fashioned,  

and I still think it's nice when a gentleman  stands up as a lady leaves the table.

Excuse me. Where are you going? I'm going to the  ladies' [room]. "Stand up" is sometimes combined  

with another action. What do you do on your  feet? Well, it may be something you do in public:  

Stand up and clap. Stand up and make a toast.  Did you ever have to stand up and give a speech?  

You can tell me that in the comments.  "Stand up" can also have a figurative use.  

Can you guess the meaning? The smaller boy  stood up to the big bully and told him to stop.

The actress stood up to her  critics and defended her work.

Is this about being weak or strong?

In this sense, standing up to someone is about  

not letting them treat you badly. It's about  showing strength and defending yourself.

Similarly, you can stand up for something or for  someone else. You can stand up against something  

you don't like. It's about defending what  you believe in and showing what you support.

Stand up for yourself. Finally, something  can stand up over time and prove to be true.

Hard evidence can stand up in court  and help a judge decide a case.

A good theory can stand up and stand up well.

It's certainly tricky when phrasal  verbs have more than one meaning.  

You need to gain confidence making guesses. Let's  practice. Here's an informal use of "stand up."  

Watch and try to guess the meaning. My date stood  my up. Now guess. Is this good or bad? The guy  

walks in. He's alone. He joins his male friends  and says, "My date stood me up." Good or bad?

Bad. His date didn't come. She never showed  up. Ouch. Have you ever been stood up?

Quiz time!

What are the possible meanings of "take off"?

What kinds of things can you work out?

What kinds of things do people stand up for?

All three phrasal verbs have a meaning  related to success, but you need to  

associate them with different contexts and  certain phrases, so choose the best answers.

Once again here are all the  questions you can use for practice.  

Tell me your answers in the comments.

We'll end here. Please like and share  the video if you found the lesson useful  

and interesting. Remember to review  other phrasal verbs from earlier lessons.  

As always, thanks for watching and happy studies!

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