Phrasal Verbs to Talk about Clothing

Phrasal Verbs

Talk about Clothing

Welcome. Today I have a really cool lesson. We are talking about phrasal verbs related to clothing. Before we begin, I just want to make sure that you really pay attention to these. Phrasal verbs are both easy and difficult. What makes them easy is that you just have a verb and a preposition. And all you have to do is memorize them. But the problem is that many times we forget which preposition goes with which verb. And that is when we mess up the meaning. And this can be actually very confusing One of the best ways to learn phrasal verbs is to learn them by category. And a very important category is clothing because we use these phrasal verbs very, very often in English. Whether we are putting clothes on or taking clothes off, we want to make sure that we are using these phrasal verbs correctly. So let's get to it. Let's learn some phrasal verbs about clothing.

Number one is PUT ON. And "to put on" means to start wearing something. Simple as that. So for example, if I'm cold, I might want to put on a jacket. Or if I'm going to a nice event I might want to put on a nice dress. Or I might want to put on my nice boots. Put on.

Number two is the opposite of put on and it is TAKE OFF. And "take off" means to remove clothing. I've heard many learners of English use this incorrectly. Many say put off. Please don't mix these up. They're very important. We use them a lot. We talk about them in our routine. You put something on. But then when you get warm, you take it off. Put on. Take off. Put on. Take off. There you go. Now you are masters at this. Are you ready for the next one

Number three...BREAK IN. And this means to wear something new to make it a little bit more comfortable. We can break in and new clothes or new shoes. For example, many times when we buy new shoes they're a little tight here and there, so we want to wear them so they can kind of fit to our feet. We are breaking them in.

Number four...TRY ON. And "try on" means to put something on if you want to see how it fits and how it looks. For example, when we go shopping many times we will try on some clothes to see how they look. This will give us an idea whether they look good or maybe not so good. Many times something looks amazing on the hanger. And then you try it on and maybe it doesn't look so amazing. We try them on. We try on the clothes.

Number five...THROW ON. Now to "throw on" means to put something on very quickly. You just put it on very quickly. Like Superman. Wait... Is Superman very quick? Who's quick? Spiderman? The Flash? Yes. You are putting on an outfit like the Flash. So you have to be very, very quick about it. You throw it on. Sometimes, maybe if the alarm rings and you just keep hitting snooze, and then you eventually wake up. And you realize you're late. You might have to throw on some clothes because you have to get to work on time.

Number six...BUTTON UP. Now to "button up" means to fasten something with buttons. So if you're wearing something that has buttons like a sweater. No, sweaters don't. Like a cardigan. Or like a button-up shirt, or anything that has buttons. When you close those buttons you say you button up.

Number seven is DRESS UP. This verb has two different meanings. The first one is to put on clothes that are a little bit more formal than the clothes you usually wear. For example, we might want to dress up for somebody's wedding. Or we dress up for a job interview. Or maybe we'll dress up for some kind of formal event. The other meaning of dress up is to put on clothes that make you look like someone else. And we do this for fun. For example, many, many children dress up for Halloween. We like to put on a costume, and we dress up.

Number eight is DRESS DOWN. Now this is the opposite of dress up. So if you dress down, you wear clothes that are less formal than the clothes you usually wear. I hope now that you have a really good understanding of these phrasal verbs. And I hope that you can use them correctly when you put your clothes on in the morning. Now here's how I want you to practice these verbs. When you get ready in the morning, say what you are doing using the correct phrasal verb. Whether you're putting on a shirt, or trying on some new jeans, or breaking in your new pair of shoes.

Useful Phrasal Verbs

Talk about Clothing - Quiz

Multiple Choice

Jean __________ a pair of glasses.

• dressed up

• broke in

• put on

Multiple Choice

Please _____________________before entering the house.

• put your shoes on

• take your shoes off

• break your shoes in

Multiple Choice

The new shoes hurt her feet because they were not yet __________.

• thrown on

• buttoned up

• broken in

Multiple Choice

4. I don't buy clothes online. I prefer to _____________ and make sure they fit before I buy them.

• throw them on

• break them

• try them on

Multiple Choice

Yeah, I'll walk with you to the store. Let me__________ a coat.

• throw on

• try on

• button up

Multiple Choice

____________ your coat before leaving the house. It's cold out today!

• Break in

• Button up

• Take off

Multiple Choice

You need to ______________ for the graduation ceremony tonight, a suit and tie would be appropriate.

• dress down

• dress up

• put on

Multiple Choice

We're allowed to ______________ on Fridays if we don't have any big meetings scheduled.

• dress down

• dress up

• take off

Multiple Choice

At the beach, Sarah _____________________ and walked barefoot in the sand.

• took her shoes off

• put her shoes on

• tried her shoes on

Multiple Choice

I need to ________________________ before I take

any long hikes.

• try on my new boots

• button up my new boots

• break in my new boots

Multiple Choice

This shirt doesn't feel right. Did I ______________ backwards?

• dress up

• put it on

• button it up

Multiple Choice

He woke up late, ________________ some clothes, and left for school without having breakfast.

• tried on

• took off

• threw on

Multiple Choice

_______________ your shirt please, and tuck it in.

• Try on

• Button up

• Break in

Multiple Choice

I _________________ a hat, and a bit of makeup,

and rushed out the door.

• tried on

• took off

• threw on

Multiple Choice

He ____________________ and said they were too

tight.

• dressed up the shoes

• dressed down the shoes

• tried the shoes on

Multiple Choice

I _______________for the birthday party and was embarrassed to find all of the other guests in shorts and T-shirts.

• dressed up

• dressed down

• put on

Multiple Choice

It's cold outside. Don't forget to ____________ a

warm coat.

• take off

• put on

• try on

Multiple Choice

You don't need to _____________. It's just a

family get-together.

• dress down

• button up

• dress up

Multiple Choice

She went to the dressing room to __________ the

sweater.

• put on

• try on

• throw on

Multiple Choice

Dresses are a great option for summer and are easy to glam up or ______________, depending on whether you're going out for drinks, or staying in with friends.

• dress up

• put on

• dress down