Take after meaning
Take after means to look or behave like an older person in your family.
take after somebody
take after · took · taken · taking
She takes after her mum. They have the same laugh.
Take after meanings and examples
One meaning, each with its own CEFR level from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries and the Cambridge Dictionary.
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1
Look or behave like an older person in your family
take after somebody
- She takes after her mum. They have the same laugh.
- Who do you take after, your mother or your father?
- I don’t really take after anyone in my family.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use take after 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 take after separable?
Take after is not separable. The family member comes after it: take after her father, take after him.
Take after is only for family, usually an older relative. For a friend or a famous person, say be like or remind me of: You remind me of your best friend.
Verb tenses for take after
| Present | I take after · she takes after |
|---|---|
| Past | took after |
| Present perfect | have taken after |
| -ing form | taking after |
Common mistakes with take after
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: She is taking after her grandma.
Right: She takes after her grandma.
Take after is a state, so don’t use the continuous form.
Wrong: He takes after to his father.
Right: He takes after his father.
No to after take after.
Wrong: I look after my mother. We have the same eyes.
Right: I take after my mother. We have the same eyes.
Look after means take care of someone.
Synonyms and opposites of take after
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- look likeonly about how someone looks
- resemblea more formal word
- be a chip off the old blockan idiom: be very like your parent
Opposite
- be nothing likebe very different from someone
Take after quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1Leo is musical, just like his dad. He ___ him.
Take after means be like an older family member.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Use the simple form and no to.
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3Mia has her grandad’s red hair and his jokes. Who does Mia take after?
You take after a relative you are like.
More phrasal verbs with take
All phrasal verbs with take, by level, with an exercise
10 phrasal verbs start with take. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
- take offA2remove clothes, shoes or glasses from your body
- take outA2remove something from a bag, a box, a pocket or a place
- take upB1start a new hobby or activity
- take backB1return something you bought to the shop
- take overB2start doing a job or a task that someone else was doing
- take onB2give someone a job
- take inB2let a person or an animal live in your home
- take downB2remove something from a wall or a high place, or take it apart
- take awayB2remove something or someone from a place or a person
Take after FAQ
Questions people ask about take after.
Can take after be about looks and personality?
Yes. It can mean you look like someone, act like them, or both: She takes after her dad. Both are tall and calm.
Is take after formal?
It is neutral and common in everyday speech. In formal writing, resemble is also possible.
Does take after have another meaning?
In informal US English, take after someone can also mean chase them: The dog took after the cat. This is much less common.
Use take after 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.