10- branch out, take off

Hi everyone. Guess what? We finally made it to Lesson 10 of Jennifer’s Phrasal Verb Challenge.

Before we look at the final two phrasal verbs, let’s review the 18 phrasal verbs. we’ve already covered.

First, I’ll say a phrasal verb and you recall the meaning.

Fall apart

Bounce back

Crowd around

Stand back

drag on

Snap out of

Catch on

die out

speak up

look out for

take out on

put up with

pick out

throw on

chip in

sit back

run up against

back away from

Next, I’ll show you a definition and you recall the phrasal verb. Ready?

move to one place in large numbers

direct your anger towards someone unfairly

to understand eventually

stand at a short distance

Get dressed quickly without much attention or care

Take care of someone

Voice an opinion

Encounter something unpleasant unexpectedly

Continue in an unpleasant way

Fail or stop working

Take steps to avoid something

Tolerate

Contribute your part

Suddenly put an end to a bad mood

Relax in a seated position

Disappear from existence

Select something

To become popular

Recover

Okay. Now it’s time to talk about taking chances in our careers and in life.

Have you ever met someone with a single passion and all their thoughts revolved around that one thing? On the one hand, achieving greatness in one area is admirable. On the other hand, I think it’s healthy to have more than one interest in life. So it’s good to branch out and try new things, learn new skills.

Companies are often the same way. Rarely does a company have only one product. Companies branch out and expand their business. Some new ideas may fail, but others can take off and lead to more success and more profit. “Branch out” means to try new activities, to explore new interests.

We use this phrasal verb without an object, but we can also talk about branching out into other things. A common phrase is “to branch out on one’s own.” That’s when a person leaves the main business and begins to work independently. “To take off” can mean different things, but the meaning I’d like you to learn is intransitive. “To take off” means to become successful. An idea can take off.

A career can take off. I bet you can think of a musical artist who began in a group and then branched out on his or her own. In some cases, a solo career can really take off and a person can have more success on their own than they did with the group. Michael Jackson is a good example.

He started out with his brothers in Jackson 5, and they were very successful. But once he branched out on his own, he became a megastar. We all know that his solo career took off like no one else’s. Come up with your own example and tell me in the comments. Here’s a final review task with all 20 phrasal verbs.

I’d like you to complete my sentences with the 20 phrasal verbs from this series.

I certainly hope that you enjoyed this phrasal verb challenge.