Give back meaning
Give back means to return something to the person it belongs to. It can also mean to let someone have something again.
give something back
give back · gave · given · giving
Can I borrow your pen? I’ll give it back.
Give back meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Return something to the person it belongs to
give something back
- Can I borrow your pen? I’ll give it back.
- She gave back the book she borrowed.
- He gave me my phone back after the class.
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2
Let someone have something again
give something back
- A good sleep gave me my energy back.
- The new law gives back power to local towns.
- The doctor gave her her voice back.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use give back in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is give back separable?
Give back is separable: give back the book, give the book back. A pronoun goes in the middle: give it back, not give back it.
When you name the person too, the order is give someone something back: Give me my keys back. In the other order you need to: Give the keys back to me.
Verb tenses for give back
| Present | I give back · she gives back |
|---|---|
| Past | gave back |
| Present perfect | have given back |
| -ing form | giving back |
Common mistakes with give back
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: Give back it to me.
Right: Give it back to me.
A pronoun goes between give and back.
Wrong: Please give back me my pen.
Right: Please give me my pen back.
With a person, say give + person + thing + back.
Wrong: I will return back the book.
Right: I will give back the book.
Return already means back. Say return the book or give back the book.
Synonyms and opposites of give back
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- pay backreturn money
- hand backgive something to the person it belongs to, often a teacher: hand back the tests
- returnthe plain word
Opposite
- keepnot give something to the person
- take backget something back from someone
Give back quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1Thanks for the umbrella. I’ll ___ it ___ tomorrow.
Give back means return something to its owner.
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2Choose the right sentence.
A pronoun goes between give and back.
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3Which sentence is correct?
The person and thing come before back.
More phrasal verbs with give
All phrasal verbs with give, by level, with an exercise
6 phrasal verbs start with give. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
Give back FAQ
Questions people ask about give back.
What does give back mean?
It means return something to the person it belongs to. It can also mean give people something again, such as their strength or their rights.
What is the difference between give back and pay back?
Pay back is for money. Give back is for any object you borrowed.
What does “give back to the community” mean?
It means do something good for the place or the people who helped you, for example give time or money.
Use give back in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.