The phrasal verbs to set down, to set about, to set off/out, to set aside

—   Hello, boys and girls! My name is Martin. This is James.

—   Our friend Nathaniel is also with us today.

—   Welcome to our grammar lesson!

—   Yesterday the three of us decided to go fishing.

—   We wanted to catch some fish and cook something delicious.

—   There is a lake not far from my house.

—   And we decided to go there.

—   We really like fishing, but it’s difficult for us to find free time to do that.

—   Yesterday we could finally find some time.

—   That’s why we were very excited about that!

—   When we got there, we saw two men.

—   They were fishing too.

—   After a while they started talking so loudly, so we could hear them on the other side of the lake.

—   Listen to their conversation and you’ll guess the topic of the lesson.

—   Felix, today we need to catch as many fish as we can.

—   Why, Bobby?

—   Because I need money. I want to sell all fish and set down the money for my daughter’s present. Felix, please, help me to do that!

—   Oh, sure, Bobby! No problem. By the way, did your daughter set aside studying literature?

—   Yeees! That’s why I need money. She asked me to buy her some books. They are really expensive.

—   Oh, I see. But, Bobby… Why can’t she take the books from the library?

—   Well… she wants to set off her thoughts in them.

—   Oh… In this case, it’s great that we set about for fishing early in the morning.

—   Yes, that’s right! We will be able to catch more fish.

—   All right! Now we need to be quiet, or we won’t catch anything.

—   You’re right, Felix.

—   When we heard their conversation, we were in shock.

—   They made so many mistakes in it.

—   Let’s look through their dialogue once again and correct them.

In this sentence we need to use the word “aside” instead of “down”.

In the following sentence instead of the word “aside” we need to put “about”.

Here instead of the preposition “off” we need to use “down”.

And in this sentence, we need to use “off” instead of “about”. 

As you can understand, today in the lesson we will:

·        revise the definition of the term “phrasal verb”;

And

·        talk about the phrasal verbs “to set down”, “to set about”, “to set off”, “to set out” and “to set aside”.

—   First of all, let’s revise the meaning of the term “phrasal verb”.

—   After that we will tell you about the difference between the phrasal verbs “to set down”, “to set about”, “to set off”, “to set out” and “to set aside”.

A phrasal verb is a verb that is made up of a main verb together with an adverb or a preposition, or both. Typically, their meaning is different from the meaning of its separate parts.

Let’s look at the following two examples and compare them.

The 1^st example:

George is my child. I want to take him home.

(In this sentence we used the original meaning of the verb “to take”).

And the 2^nd example:

Kelly takes after her mother. They have the same hazel eyes and brown hair.

(The meaning of the word “to take” changed, when we added the preposition “after”. Here the phrasal verb “to take after” means to have a similar appearance or personality).

In the English language phrasal verbs can be divided into two groups:

Intransitive (They cannot have a direct object after them)

For example:

Lucy, hurry up, please! The plane will take off in two hours.

And

Transitive (They require an object to complete their meaning)

For example:

Robert, please, take off your shoes before entering my house.

Now let’s talk about the phrasal verb “to set”.

In its primary meaning the phrasal verb “to set” is translated as “поставить, поместить, положить, установить, задавать, указывать”, but if we use it with the following words: down, about, off, out, aside – the meaning of this verb will change completely.

Let’s review all of them.

The first phrasal verb is “to set down”.

It has five different meanings.

1. To write information, words or ideas on a piece of paper in order not to forget them.

Записать информацию, слова или идеи на листе бумаги, чтобы не забыть их.

For instance:

Guys, I would like you to set down a few ideas for our new project.

2. To stop and allow somebody to get off.

Остановиться и позволить кому-либо выйти.

For instance:

You must know that passengers may be set down and picked up only at the official stops.

3. To state how something should be done in an official document or set of rules.

Заявлять в официальном документе или своде правил о том, как нужно что-то выполнять.

For instance:

Megan, these standards were set down by the governing body.

4. To think about someone or something in a particular way.

Думать о ком-то или чём-то определённым образом.

For instance:

Dylan set the whole experience down as a success.

5. To land an aircraft.

Посадить самолёт.

For instance:

Mr. Donovan set down the plane at a small airport outside the city.

The following phrasal verb is “to set about”.

It has three meanings.

1. To start doing something, to undertake a task.

Начать что-либо делать, взяться за выполнение задачи.

Let’s look at the example.

My mum set about cleaning the house and did it before lunchtime.

2. To make somebody begin doing something.

Заставить кого-то начать что-либо делать.

Let’s look at the example.

Marry set her sons about raking up the leaves.

3. To attack somebody.

Нападать на кого-либо.

Let’s look at the example.

The thief set about Kyle as he left his office.

Now let’s talk about such phrasal verb as “to set off”.

It has six different meanings.

1. To start a journey.

Отправляться в путь.

For example:

Cody and Zoe set off for Halifax at 11 o’clock.

2. To make an alarm start ringing.

Сделать что-то, что приведёт к срабатыванию сигнализации.

For example:

Henry, do not open this door! It will set off the alarm.

3. To explode a bomb.

Взрывать бомбу.

For example:

A criminal set off a car bomb in the center of the city two days ago.

4. To cause a situation or a series of events to happen.

Приводить к возникновению ситуации или ряда событий.

For example:

The conditions of detention set off a series of protests among the prisoners.

5. To make something or somebody more noticeable or attractive by providing a visual contrast.

Сделать что-либо или кого-либо более заметным или привлекательным путём обеспечения визуального контраста.

For example:

This white frame sets the dark drawing off very well.

6. To make somebody start doing something such as laughing, crying or talking.

Заставить кого-либо начать смеяться, плакать или говорить.

For example:

Just mentioning his grandmother’s death could set him off again.

The following phrasal verb is “to set out”.

It has three main meanings.

1. To start a journey.

Начинать путешествие, отправляться в путь.

For instance:

Tom and Larry set out for Los Angeles yesterday morning.

2. To describe or arrange something.

Описывать или организовывать что-либо.

For instance:

In our report we set out our plans for the department.

3. To start doing something with a particular aim.

Начинать что-либо делать с определённой целью.

For instance:

Kelsey's parents set out to build their own house.

And the last phrasal verb is “to set aside”.

It has two main meanings.

1. To save or keep money for a particular purpose.

Откладывать или хранить деньги для определённой цели.

For example:

Nancy, have you set aside some money for your son’s education?

2. To state that a decision made by a court is not legally valid.

Заявлять, что решение, принятое судом, не имеет юридической силы.

For example:

Mrs. Ring, don’t worry! The verdict was set aside by the High Court.

—   That’s all you need to know about the phrasal verbs “to set down”, “to set about”, “to set off”, “to set out” and “to set aside”.

—   We hope you understood all the information.

—   That’s all for today.

—   See you soon.