GREAT expressions to improve speaking | Advanced English Expressions with Take

Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to advanced English classes with Harry.

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Okay, so let's get on to the class for today.

So today we're talking about advanced phrases with take.

To take something.

So as always, I'm going to go through them one by one, and then I'm going to give you

some examples as to how to use them.

Again, we've got 10, particular phrases.

So let's start, take your breath away, take your breath away.

To take something for granted, take something for granted.

Take it as given, take it as given.

To take a hammering or take a beating.

Take it on the chin.

Take your or somebody's mind off something.

Take it out on someone.

To take credit for something.

To take someone to the cleaners.

Take it or leave it, take it or leave it.

Okay, so 10 particular phrases, advanced phrases using text.

So let's go back to them and give you some examples.

So number one, to take your breath away.

Well, when something takes your breath away, you get a surprise or a shock or something

that startles you.

So when you climb up to the top of that mountain, the view will take your breath away.

Oh, it's absolutely gorgeous.

Or you come into home, and somebody's prepared a surprise party for you for that big birthday.

Oh my god, I'm so surprised that takes your breath away.

So you got a shock, or hopefully a pleasant surprise that just stopped you breathing for

the moment.

So to take your breath away.

To take something for granted.

Well, we all take things from for granted from time to time.

We may take our partners for granted.

We may take the fact that we have food on the table for granted.

We may take for granted the fact that we've got money in our bank account.

So when you take something for granted, you assume it's always going to be there, it's

been there in the past, it's there now.

So you don't think things are going to change in the world in which we live in.

We take piece for granted.

But unfortunately, it's not always the case.

So to take something for granted means to assume that because it was there in the past,

and has always been there that it will continue to be so.

So if you have a job, you have to work hard and not take it for granted.

If you have a partner that supports you, then you shouldn't take them for granted.

You should tell them that you appreciate what they do for you because if you do take people

for granted someday it may turn around, and they may not be there when you want them.

So don't always take things for granted.

Work hard.

Appreciate what you have, and have a peaceful life to take something or someone for granted.

Take it as given.

Well, when we use this expression, take it as given means.

You don't have to ask, just assume that.

Yeah, I'll be there to support you.

Will you help me when I'm making this presentation?

Will you be there if anybody asks any difficult questions in case I get into trouble?

Ah, look, just take that as given.

I'll be there to help you just focus on preparing the presentation.

I'll be there if somebody asks a particular question that I feel you feel you're not comfortable

about.

Just give me a nod with your head.

And I'll come in and I'll support you.

Okay.

I think we need some money for this campaign, we'll need to do a bit of promotion, we do

need to do a little bit of extra marketing.

Yeah, take it as given that whatever we need, if the job is right, if we think it's appropriate,

we'll have money there to support you.

So just take it as given.

Taxes increase almost every year in budget and every country, we can take that as a given.

So it's a fact of life to take it as given something that's bound to happen.

Take it as given.

To take a hammering or to take a beating.

Well, when something or somebody takes a hammering or a beating, it's not really good news.

Yeah.

My football team took a hammering there a few weeks ago, they were doing really well

in a few games.

And then they came up against the team a little bit better.

At the end of the day, they got beaten 6:0.

6:0!

They took a real hammering or a real beating.

Okay, I hope you don't ever take a hammering or a beating.

You know, if you got into trouble with somebody or into a fight in the schoolyard.

One of the kids, Oh, you took a real hammering or a real beating from those bullies.

Somebody should sort them out.

So to take a hammering or to take a beating means to have a really difficult difficult

time about it.

Okay, you can also talk about it shares in the market.

Yes, some some bad news comes out about a company because of the price of oil has gone

up or they're having some trading difficulties.

So the share might go from 100, to 90 to 80 to 70.

And eventually to 40 dollars a share.

And somebody could say, Wow, that share has taken a real hammering, or has taken a real

beating because of that bad economic news.

So we can use to take a hammering or to take a beating to do and deal with lots of different

things in our lives.

To take something on the chin, well, this is your chin.

Okay.

So when you take something on the chin, you just got to deal with it.

Yeah.

So you know, if somebody punched you on the chin is pretty sore, and pretty hard.

And you just have to accept it.

So when we use the expression, to take it on the chin, you got to face up to it, you

have to deal with it, and just then get on with life.

Okay, so let's say for example, that you lost your job, you were doing really well or you

thought you were doing really well, then the company got into difficulty.

And a lot of people got let go.

Some people are having problems dealing with that.

Perhaps they might not get another job for a while.

But you've just taken it on the chin.

So you're talking to your friends and said, Look, I'll get another job, it might take

me a couple of weeks and data could take me a couple of months, and not really sort of

bothered, I'll wait until I get a job that I really want.

So when you have a something that's negative or something that happens that you weren't

expecting, yeah, just take it on the chin.

As we say, dust yourself off, get up and get on with life, take it on the chin.

Or sometimes they say take it like a man.

Okay, so to take it on the chin, don't avoid the issue.

To take you your or somebody else's mind off something.

Well, usually when we use this expression is to help somebody to stop thinking about

something bad.

So you know, you might take somebody out for a meal to take their mind off the fact that

a parent or a friend is in hospital not feeling so well.

Let's go out for the evening, it'll take your mind off things.

Or perhaps you haven't had any luck with getting a job.

And so your friend suggests you go to the park, you go for a walk up the hills, it's

a really nice day.

Ah, you'll enjoyit.

Come on, it's a... for...

Saturday, what else is going to happen?

Take your mind off things.

So you offer to get out, have a walk, just do something nice and easy and relaxing to

help the person take their mind off whatever the troubles are.

So anytime we have a problem, what we need is something that will distract us from that

particular problem, to help us take our mind off those problems, to help our friends take

their minds off the problems that they have.

Okay, so break the routine, get the person to do something different.

Go to the movies, go for me, go for a walk in the park, go to another city for a weekend,

just dropped around for a cup of coffee, all of these things will help you or your friend

to take your mind off whatever the difficulties are.

And let's face it, there are plenty of difficulties in our lives.

So from time to time, we need to do something different.

Just to take our minds off those particularly bad things.

Okay, next, to take it out on someone.

When we take it out on somebody, it means we usually are in a bad mood for something.

There's some reason something happened at work, something happened at home, we had a

row with the wife or the...

We had a row with a boyfriend or whatever it might be.

So we take it out on someone, usually the closest person to us, the kids, or your parents

or somebody rings you, What do you want?

What's wrong with you?

Ah, don't worry about me.

I've just had a bad day.

Well, there's no need to take it out on me.

So the person will let you know they're not willing or prepared to have your bad mood

put onto them.

Okay, so to take it out on somebody means to reflect your bad mood or the problems that

you have onto the relationship with them.

Okay, when we take something out on somebody, it means that we are reflecting our bad mood

reflecting the bad day, whatever happened, the argument at work, we take it out on those

people that are closest to us, like kicking the dog or kicking the cat.

Something you shouldn't do, okay?

So don't take it out on somebody.

Don't take it out on me.

Go out for a walk, go to the gym, take it out on the punch bag, but don't take it out

on those people closest to you.

Whatever it might be whatever's upset you don't take it out on somebody close to you.

Go off somewhere let off the steam in the park, go for a run, go for a cycle, whatever

it is that you can do just to let it all out and when you do come home, ahhh, yeah, you

can talk about it nice and in a friendly manner.

To take it out on someone.

Next to take credit for something.

Normally, when we take credit for something, it's usually to take credit for something

we'd actually didn't do that somebody else did.

Okay, so you're, the person working for you or the reporting to you does a lot of work

on some presentation, does a lot of work on a document.

So they present it to you say, Okay, look, I'll take it to the boss,

and you take it to the boss and say, Oh, well done, that's really, really great.

This is really going to go down well with the board.

Look, I really appreciate it, well done there.

That'd be a nice bonus for you at the end of the term, and you go off happy as Larry

okay.

But what you didn't do is you didn't tell the boss that in fact, the work was all done

by the person reporting to you.

So you've taken the credit for that good report, you've taken the credit from the boss, when

in fact, you should have said, Well, actually, it wasn't my work.

Mary, and all the guys there, they did most of the work, I'm just presenting the facts

to you.

So to take credit for something usually means to allow people, in this case, the boss to

allow him to believe that you're worthy of that praise that you've done something, when

in fact, somebody else did it.

Okay?

To take someone to the cleaners, well, when somebody gets taken to the cleaners, it means

they're usually left without anything.

So if you've ever visited a casino, or you've watched a movie about somebody who goes to

the casino, or somebody who goes to the racetrack, or goes to the dog track, and they think they've

got a sure winner, and they bet on the number on the roulette table, they bet on their lucky

number for the horse of the dog.

And guess what, yeah, they lose.

And then they bet again, and they lose again.

So at the end of the day, they have no money left, they've been taken to the cleaners,

everything is gone, they've been wiped out or wiped clean.

So if you get taken to the cleaners, then generally you you you lose everything.

You could also use the expression to be taken to the cleaners, if you get tricked into signing

some document or tricked into making some payments to somebody or indeed, foolishly

give you a bank account number to somebody who then it takes the money out of your account

yet, that's when you get taken to the cleaners and you have been completely wiped of all

the funds, everything has been gone out of your bank account, something has gone amiss.

And when you look at your statement, you can't understand what has happened.

So yeah, you've been taken to the cleaners, you've been the subject of some phishing,

or some scam, whatever it might have been.

So you've got to be really, really careful as to how you divulge any personal information

to anybody so that you can avoid being taken to the cleaners.

You could use it in a general way, if you're playing a game with your family, for example,

the game of Monopoly where there's lots of money involved, thankfully, only paper fake

money.

But if one of the kids happens to be really good at Monopoly, and after an hour, they've

got all the properties on their side, and you've got nothing left but debt, you can

say, Well, that's a game over I'll have to fold.

I've been taken to the cleaners, I have nothing left.

Okay.

So you can use in reality but you can also use it when you were talking about certain

games.

And then finally, take it or leave it.

Well, this is when you have an option, take it or leave it means look, there's no other

choice, you can have it or you can forget about it, take it or leave it.

That's my final offer.

So you might be going to change your car and you have your eye on this wonderful car in

the car, showrooms and you think you're going to be able to negotiate or try and bargain

the price down.

So you get talking to the guy selling the car, and he gives you all the story about

this particular car, how great it is.

The performance.

So you get into the situation where you're negotiating.

And you say, okay, look, I can't afford to pay the asking price.

This is how much I can afford.

I can afford 23,000-24,000 Euro max.

And the guy says, Well look, and I couldn't sell it for that I'd be losing money.

And you say, Well, you know what's, what's your best price?

So he gives you the price of 27,000 Euro.

And you go, I don't know what that I have to think of it.

And give me a few days.

And the salesman says, Well, look, I'll tell you what, I'll leave it with you for 24 hours,

but that's my best price.

So take it or leave it.

So I'll give you 24 hours, but I need a yes or no.

So you have to decide then whether you will accept it.

Or perhaps he's only bluffing and you might be able to bargain further.

But when somebody tells you take it or leave it means that's it.

There's no further bargaining available, take it or leave it.

My mother used to say to me, I'd come home after school or I'd come home after being

training and I'd be looking for something to eat.

And she said, There's some food in the fridge.

And so when you open the fridge, Is that all?

Well, you know, what do you want, take it or leave it.

If you're hungry, you'll eat it.

If you don't want it, well, somebody else will have it.

So take it or leave it.

Okay, so these are all advanced phrases using take all advanced English phrases using take.

Let me give them to you one more time: to take your breath away.

So something will take your breath away some view.

To take something or someone for granted.

You think it's there, it will always be there it might not take something for granted.

Take it as given.

Yeah, except.

Yeah, it will be there.

I will be there.

Something will be there to support you.

Take it as given.

To take a hammering or a beating.

You know, when you get badly beaten.

To take it on the chin.

Be... face up to it, take it on the chin.

Take your or somebody else's mind off something.

To take it out on someone.

To let them suffer for your bad mood, take it out on someone.

To take credit for something.

Somebody did a good job but you take the credit for it.

Take someone to the cleaners.

Lose all the money.

And then finally take it or leave it you have a choice.

You can take it or you don't take it or leave it.

Okay, so all advanced phrases with take.

And as I always say, if you've got any comments or you don't understand something you want

some more explanations, please drop me a line.

I'd be only too happy to help you as always I appreciate you watching.

I appreciate you listening.

Join me again soon.