ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hand on

phr. v..
B1 Intermediate Oxford General-service

phr. v.. to give something to another person after you have used it or finished with it.

phr. v.. to pass an object, responsibility, or information to a successor or the next person in a sequence; often implies a transition of ownership or duty.


SIMPLE

Please hand on the book when you finish reading it.

CONTEXTUAL

The retiring manager will hand on her responsibilities to the new director over the next two weeks.

COMPLEX

Traditional weaving techniques are handed on from one generation to the next to ensure the craft survives in the modern era.

Particles
on
Separability
optional
Pattern
hand + on + object
Usage

often used with 'to' to indicate the recipient of the item or task.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'hand in' (giving to an authority) and 'hand out' (distributing to many); 'hand on' emphasizes a chain or sequence of possession.

Pitfall

He hand on the torch.He handed on the torch.the verb 'hand' must be conjugated for the correct tense, just like any regular verb.

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