Phrasal Verbs & Idioms with WRAP 🎁 Learn English Vocabulary & Expressions

Hello! I'm Emma from mmmEnglish!

Since it's very close to Christmas and I'm wrapping

lots of presents,

this lesson is going to be full of expressions

using the word, 'wrap'.

Now some of these expressions will be phrasal verbs

like 'wrap up'.

Others will be idioms like

let's keep this 'under wraps'.

One thing that they all have in common

is that you'll hear them come up in conversation

all the time!

So, this word has a cheeky silent letter in it.

So if you find it difficult to pronounce,

it might be because you're making a sound where

there doesn't need to be one.

'Wrap' and 'rap'

are pronounced in exactly the same way.

The W is silent.

Because the ‘rrrrrrrr’ sound is at the start of the word,

it's strong.

To make that sound my tongue is pulling

back in my mouth and up a little bit in the middle.

The tip of my tongue is not touching anything

and both sides of my tongue are

softly pushing against my upper teeth.

Wrap.

Wrap.

Now the past tense of wrap is wrapped

and it's a regular past tense verb so we simply add -ed

but the pronunciation of that -ed is more like a

/t/ sound.

Wrapped.

Not rapid.

That's a completely different word.

It's an adjective that means fast or sudden.

Wrapped is also an adjective to describe

when something is covered.

This present is wrapped.

These ones are not.

Here in Australia we also use wrapped to

describe a person's feelings when they're

extremely excited or happy about something.

It's quite informal, it's a slang word

but very useful if you're speaking with Australians.

It's usually spelled r-a-p-t.

He'll be rapt to hear the news.

My mum was rapt to hear

that I'll be in Melbourne for Christmas.

Now there's a very common phrasal verb

that you've probably heard or seen before.

'Wrap up'

Now firstly, this phrasal verb 'wrap up'

has the same meaning as 'wrap',

the verb which means to cover something

usually with paper or with a thin material.

I need to wrap these presents.

Or I need to wrap up these presents.

You can use either.

They have the same meaning.

Can you wrap up this cheese

and put it in the fridge for me?

You can also wrap someone up in clothes or blankets

usually to protect them like a baby or a child.

It's cold outside. Keep him wrapped up nice and tight.

In all of these examples the phrasal verb is transitive.

We need to explain what we're wrapping up.

But 'wrap up' has another meaning.

To 'wrap something up' also means to

end it or to finish it.

We'd better wrap this up. It looks like it's about to rain.

I'm so glad we've wrapped up our assignment.

Now we can just enjoy the weekend!

Have you wrapped up that project yet,

or are you still working on it?

Okay here's another phrasal verb

'wrap around' or 'wrap round'.

And the meaning is quite literal

it means to put something around something else.

You do need to notice that when using this phrasal verb

you need to be clear what is being wrapped around what

She's over there with the purple towel

wrapped around her.

The purple towel is wrapped around her.

He has a tattoo wrapped around his left arm.

It's a beautiful painting.

I love how her arm is wrapped around his waist.

Each of the little cupcakes had a bow wrapped

around it. It was so sweet.

This one is one of my favourites!

It's similar to have

someone wrapped around one's finger

or

one's little finger.

This idiom means to have

complete control over someone.

It's a little mischievous

because if you have someone

wrapped around your finger, you can manipulate them

or make them do what you want.

My friend's daughter has her dad

wrapped around her little finger.

She can do whatever she likes and whatever wants.

She will never get in trouble.

He buys her anything that she asks for.

She's got him wrapped around her finger.

Once you've got him wrapped around your finger,

ask him to fly you to Paris on his next business trip!

To keep something under wraps.

This expression is used to say that something

is concealed or being kept a secret.

We've got some really exciting news, but we're trying to

keep it under wraps until my mom gets here on Friday!

The government failed to keep the news under wraps.

Let's try and keep it under wraps until the weekend.

And that's a wrap!

Or it's a wrap!

Remember earlier that I mentioned the phrasal verb

'wrap up' can also mean to finish?

Well this expression is similar

it's used to announce the end of something.

It's usually said right at the moment

that an activity is finished, to say

that something has been successfully completed.

Okay everyone! That's a wrap! Great work!

It's often used at the end on film sets

or at the end of filming.

And that's a wrap!

Well, not quiet,

but that's all of the expressions

that I wanted to share with you

using the word 'wrap'.

Did you know many of them?

I hope that you've got a few new ones

to practise with this week

while you're wrapping your Christmas presents or

wrapping people around your fingers.

Make sure you subscribe to my channel

by clicking that red button down there.

I make new lessons every week.

Then check out that video right there, it's been selected

especially for you

or if you're feeling Christmassy,

make sure you check out my Christmas playlist

right here, there's lots of Christmas vocabulary

and you'll get to see what I'll be cooking this Christmas.

If you do celebrate Christmas, enjoy the festive season!

Thanks for watching and I'll see you next week.

Or next year.

Bye for now!