take care — look after
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to look after someone or something and make sure they are safe, healthy, or in good condition.
Say it like a native
Textbook She is responsible for attending to the welfare of her elderly parents.
Native She takes care of her elderly parents.
Natural; 'attending to the welfare of' is care-plan language.
Pattern: take care of [noun/pronoun]
In use
- Can you take care of my dog while I'm on holiday?daily life
- In my culture, it's common for children to take care of their elderly parents at home.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ She takes care her parents.
✓ She takes care of her parents.
Take care OF someone — don't drop 'of'.
Common collocations
take care of— of, yourself, good care, the kids
Don't confuse it
'Take care' (goodbye) is different from 'take care of' (look after).