Phrasal verb
take sb/sth on
Definition
phrasal verb. to agree to do a job or take a new responsibility; it can also mean to fight or compete against someone.
phrasal verb. to accept a task, duty, or responsibility; alternatively, to engage an opponent in a contest or struggle.
Examples
“I can't take on any more work right now.”
“The small local team is ready to take on the national champions in the final match tomorrow.”
“Despite her existing workload, she decided to take on the role of lead researcher to ensure the project's success.”
Examples
simple
“I can't take on any more work right now.”
contextual
“The small local team is ready to take on the national champions in the final match tomorrow.”
complex
“Despite her existing workload, she decided to take on the role of lead researcher to ensure the project's success.”
Usage
when used for people, it often implies a challenge or a competitive struggle.
Teaching tip
this phrasal verb is polysemous; use a workplace context for the 'responsibility' sense and a sports context for the 'compete' sense to help students distinguish them.
Pitfall
I took on it.
I took it on.
when the object is a pronoun like 'it', it must go between the verb and the particle.
Phrasal verb
Particles
on
Separability
optional
Pattern
take + (object) + on + (object)