Phrasal verb
Phrasal verbs with take
By EasySay. Published . Updated .
Take is a verb that gets a new meaning from the small word beside it.
Take after means to look like a parent, take off means to remove clothes, and take up means to start a hobby. This page explains eight meanings of take, with a pattern and an example for each, and a five-question check.
Written for EasySay, in our own words.
In short
- Patterntake after sb
- Patterntake sth off
take: what it is, and what it is not
- IS
- take after sb: look or behave like an older family member.
- IS
- take sth off: remove clothes or shoes that you are wearing.
- IS
- take off: rise into the air, as a plane does.
- IS
- take sth off: the object can go between take and off.
- IS NOT
- take after sb: the object cannot go in the middle; it stays after the small words.
- IS NOT
- The plain verb: take with a small word takes a new meaning, such as look or behave like an older family member.
Meaning: Take is a very common verb. With small words it can mean to look like a relative, to remove clothes, to start a hobby, to employ someone and more.
How do people say it?
- Look or behave like an older family member:
Lena takes after her grandmother, and they both talk with their hands.
- Remove clothes or shoes that you are wearing:
She took her wet jacket off and hung it by the heater.
Check yourself
What should I know?
What does it mean, and how is it used?
| Meaning | Object in the middle? | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Look or behave like an older family member | No | take after sb |
|
| Remove clothes or shoes that you are wearing | Yes | take sth off |
|
| Rise into the air, as a plane does | No | take off |
|
| Start a new hobby, sport or habit | Yes | take sth up |
|
| Begin to employ someone | Yes | take sb on |
|
| Understand and remember new information | Yes | take sth in |
|
| Invite someone and pay for a meal or an outing | Yes | take sb out |
|
| Return something you bought or borrowed | Yes | take sth back |
|
Map of the small words
- takeafter
- Look or behave like an older family membertake after sbObject goes after
- takeoff
- Remove clothes or shoes that you are wearingtake sth offObject can go in the middle
- Rise into the air, as a plane doestake offObject goes after
- takeup
- Start a new hobby, sport or habittake sth upObject can go in the middle
- takeon
- Begin to employ someonetake sb onObject can go in the middle
- takein
- Understand and remember new informationtake sth inObject can go in the middle
- takeout
- Invite someone and pay for a meal or an outingtake sb outObject can go in the middle
- takeback
- Return something you bought or borrowedtake sth backObject can go in the middle
Small words used with it
- after
- off
- up
- on
- in
- out
- back
What should I not mix it up with?
- put Put is a short verb that changes with the small word after it. It can mean to delay, to dress, to stop a fire, to tolerate something annoying, to tidy and more.
Take has eight meanings in the table, and six of them let you put the object in the middle. That makes take the best verb for learning the separable rule. A noun can go on either side of the small word.
You can take up tennis or take tennis up. You can take a jumper back or take back a jumper. A pronoun goes in the middle, so say take it back and take them out, not take back it.
Take off has two meanings that learners often mix up. When you take off a jacket, you remove it, and the object can go in the middle: take your jacket off.
When a plane takes off, it leaves the ground, and nothing goes in the middle. The rest of the sentence tells you which meaning is used, so read all of it before you decide.
Take after and take in work differently from the rest. Take after is followed by a person, such as a parent or grandparent: she takes after her mother.
Take in is often used with too much or a lot, as in There was a lot to take in. It means to understand something and keep it in your mind.
Take is easy to confuse with put. Take off and put off share a small word but mean different things.
You take off a coat to remove it. You put off a meeting to delay it. Take on and put on are another pair that look alike.
The first means to begin to employ someone, and the second means to dress. Learn each pair as two separate phrases with their own example.
Other base verbs
Questions people ask
What does take after mean?
Take after means to be like an older relative in the way you look or act. You take after a parent, a grandparent or an aunt. It is followed by a person, and the object does not go in the middle.
What is the difference between take off and put off?
Take off can mean to remove clothes or, for a plane, to leave the ground. Put off means to delay something until a later time. They share the small word off, but the verbs are different, so the meanings are different.
Where does the pronoun go in take back?
In the middle: take it back, not take back it. A noun can go in the middle or after the small word, so you can say take the jumper back or take back the jumper.
How do I use take up?
Take up means to start a new hobby, sport or habit, such as tennis or painting. You can say took up tennis or took tennis up. With a pronoun, say took it up.
Sources and dates
- EasySay's own writing for the phrasal verbs, EasySay. Licence: original writing for EasySay. Checked .
Cite this page
EasySay. "Phrasal verbs with take". https://easysay.org/phrasal-verbs/take. Last updated 23 October 2026.
https://easysay.org/phrasal-verbs/take