ENGLISH
REFERENCE

calm down

phr. v..
A2 Elementary Oxford

phr. v.. to become quiet and relaxed after being angry, excited, or upset.

phr. v.. to transition from a state of high emotional arousal or agitation to a state of composure; can be used intransitively or transitively.


SIMPLE

Please calm down and tell me what happened.

CONTEXTUAL

After the argument, he went for a long walk to calm down before speaking to her again.

COMPLEX

The central bank's intervention was designed to calm down the volatile markets following the unexpected election results.

Particles
down
Separability
optional
Pattern
calm (+ object) + down
Usage

often used as an imperative, though this can sometimes make an angry person feel more frustrated.

Teaching tip

note the silent 'l' in 'calm'; as a transitive verb, the object can go between 'calm' and 'down' (e.g., 'calm him down').

Pitfall

You need to calm.You need to calm down.while 'calm' is an adjective, the phrasal verb 'calm down' is required to describe the action of becoming peaceful.

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