Meaning trap
take off
take time away from work
To spend time away from work or school, usually for rest or personal reasons.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To spend time away from work or school, usually for rest or personal reasons.
Another meaning of 'take off' is 'plane leaves the ground'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- I'm going to take off next Friday to visit my family.work
- Many people take time off work to travel or spend time with their families.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: take (time) off
WrongI took off two days for the wedding.
RightI took two days off for the wedding. / I took two days off work.
More natural as 'take [time] off (work)' — the amount sits between 'take' and 'off'.
Patterntake (time) off
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Take time off' is the everyday phrase; 'take a period of leave from my employment' is HR-formal.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
take + time + offa day offthe week offtime offsome time off
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'quit', which means to stop working completely.
Related
- take off (plane leaves the ground) — Another meaning of 'take off' is 'plane leaves the ground'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.