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  • Hi. Welcome back to www.engvid.com. I'm Adam.

  • Today's lesson is about phrasal verbs.

  • We're going to look at the phrasal verbs with "set". Okay?

  • Again, a phrasal verb is a verb and a preposition that together have a very different meaning

  • than the two words individually. Okay?

  • Not the literal meaning. So we're going to look at:

  • "set up", "set in", "to", "on", "down", "against", "aside",

  • "back", "apart", "out", "off", and "about"

  • -those are similar so I put them together-and this is an idiom,

  • it's not a phrasal verb, but I thought I would throw it in there: "to set someone straight".

  • Okay, let's start with "set up". "Set up" has quite a few meanings. Okay?

  • We set up something, for example, a display. It means we build it, we construct it, or we put it together.

  • So I want to... For example, I want to display a painting,

  • so I set up the easel, the display.

  • I build it, I put it all together, and then I put the painting on top of that.

  • Okay? In a similar way, we build a business. Okay? So we set up a business.

  • Sometimes we say we "set up shop".

  • We set up shop; we start a business. We also use "set up shop" as a

  • slang expression, it means to start doing something like a professional, but depends

  • on the context for that.

  • Now, you can also set someone up, means to arrange a meeting or create, like, a date.

  • So, I have a single friend, a guy, and my... My girlfriend has a single girlfriend, and

  • we set them up. It means we bring them together, we say: "Oh, let's go out for dinner", we

  • all meet together, and then we introduce them, and maybe they go on a date later. So we arrange

  • this meeting, we set them up for a date. You can also set someone up, meaning, like,

  • frame them. This is usually in terms of crimes. So I want this person to go to jail, so I

  • will set them up. I will put some drugs in their office, and I will call the police and say:

  • "Oh, this guy has drugs." The police will come, they will check,

  • they will find the drugs, and they will arrest this person.

  • So I set him up for arrest. Okay?

  • Now, I put here the "to", because we can say we... "You set someone up to", verb.

  • What this means is you put them in a position. So, for example, I have a child and if I don't

  • educate my child properly, then I am setting him up to fail in the future. Why? Because

  • he doesn't have the tools to succeed. You can also say... You can make it a noun, you

  • can say: "set up" or "set someone up for failure".

  • Put them in that position that the only thing

  • that can happen is they will fail. Okay? So that is "set up".

  • "Set in". "Set in" basically means, like, take hold. But not like physically holding

  • with your hand. Something captures or catches the thing it's meant to do. So here's an example:

  • I'm walking through the jungle, I'm trekking through the jungle and a snake bites me. It's

  • a poisonous snake. So the poison enters my arm, goes into the bloodstream, and starts

  • to move. I'm okay, nothing happens. I'm walking, I think I should go to the hospital. But soon,

  • the poison sets in. It takes hold of the body, of my system, and suddenly I can't move, and

  • I fall to the ground. Or if you're in a dangerous situation, at the beginning, you think:

  • "Okay, you know, it's not so bad", but then suddenly the fear sets in.

  • The fear takes over your mind, it holds your mind,

  • because you realize it's a very, very dangerous situation.

  • We have a couple other expressions.

  • "Set foot in",

  • if you set foot in a place, it means you enter it.

  • So if I'm a storeowner and I catch you stealing something, I will say:

  • "Okay, I will let you go this time, but if you ever set foot in my store again, if you

  • even a little bit come inside, I will call the police and have you arrested."

  • Okay? We also have "set in motion".

  • These are both common expressions. "To set in motion" means

  • to get something started. So, there were riots in the city last week, but the police and

  • the media are still trying to figure out what set it in motion. What was the trigger? What

  • was the initial cause that got this thing started, got it moving? Okay?

  • "Set to". Basically, "set to" means be ready. I'm set to go, I'm ready to go. You usually

  • use it with a verb, so it's more like part of the infinitive. Okay?

  • But... Whoops, sorry.

  • But you can also start something or make something start. So, for example, if I start...

  • If I set fire to the building, it means I take a little match or a stick with fire, and I

  • put it in, and then the building goes on fire. So I started this thing. Right? I put the

  • fire to get it started.

  • "Set on". We have a couple of expressions. If you "have your heart set on something"

  • or if "you have your eyes on something".

  • If you have your eyes set on something, it means

  • you have that thing as your target, and you're focused, and you're going to get it. If you

  • have your heart set on something, it means you really, really want it. So... But if you

  • just use "set on" by itself:

  • "He's really set on doing this", it means he's determined,

  • he's a little bit stubborn, but he's going to do whatever that thing is. Okay?

  • "Set down". Now, if you have a child, you can sit your child down in the chair. But

  • if you have a vase, like for plants, you can't sit the vase on the table; you set it down

  • on the table. Basically it means put down. Very straightforward. Okay?

  • You can also "set down", if somebody's speaking and you want to remember or you want to

  • think about it later, you can set it down, you can write it down; take notes. Okay.

  • "Set against". "Set against" be very ma-... Very much against something, so you're determined,

  • you're very stubbornly against something. So,

  • we also say sometimes "dead set against".

  • If you're dead set against something, it means the only way that you're going to let this

  • happen is if you're dead, so hopefully that doesn't come to that.

  • But if you're set against it, you're really, really against it, you're not going to let it happen.

  • Now, you can also set someone against someone else.

  • It means you can create a conflict between two people.

  • Okay? So: "I set her against her. They're going to fight."

  • "Set aside" literally means put it to the side,

  • but usually when we say: "Set it aside",

  • it means put it away for now; we'll use it later. So put it aside and reserve it for

  • later use or later reference. Okay.

  • Sorry, I'm a little bit messy, here, today.

  • "Set back", okay, a couple of meanings here.

  • "To set something or someone back" means to cause a delay.

  • If you're setting them back, you're giving them

  • a problem, an obstacle, something that will take them back in terms of their progress.

  • Okay? We also say "a setback".

  • "A setback" is a noun, it means a problem, something that

  • causes a delay. Now, in terms of slang, we can also say, like:

  • "How much will this set me back?" It means: How much will it cost? Which is a little bit of a strange meaning.

  • So, this is a slang term, but again, it's very common if you say:

  • "This will set you back $1,000", means it will cost you back... It will cost you $1,000. Sorry.

  • "Set apart". What sets something apart from everything else means what distinguishes it

  • or what differentiates. So, for example, I have 10 students, what sets this student apart

  • is that he always does his homework; what sets her apart is that she always gets 100%

  • on every test. So what makes them special, what makes them different from the group.

  • "Set apart" also means, like, similar to "set aside", just means put separately,

  • to separate from the group; apart.

  • "Set out" means basically go, start your journey. And "set off" can mean the exact same thing.

  • "Set off", though, can also mean to start something, to cause something to begin.

  • For example, you set off the alarm.

  • So, for example, if I light a cigarette in here, then smoke

  • will go up to the alarm, and I will set it off. The smoke will set it off,

  • and it will start ringing and making lots of noise.

  • "Set about" means also start, but start to do something. Okay? So he's setting about

  • setting up the place, if that makes any sense. So, "set about", start to do.

  • This, start to go or start a journey.

  • Now, lastly, we have our idiom.

  • "To set someone straight". If someone has a wrong idea about

  • you or about something, you want to set them straight. You want... This is their thinking.

  • Okay? You want to set them straight. You want to correct the misinformation.

  • So, you tell them the correct information

  • or you tell them whatever they need to know so they have the right idea.

  • Just keep in mind that when you set someone straight, usually you're a little

  • bit angry at the misinformation. So, somebody started a rumour about you,

  • and somebody comes up to you: "Oh, I heard, like, you're...

  • You did this or that, or you're like this or that."

  • So you want to set this person straight. You want them to make sure they understand the

  • correct information; not the incorrect information.

  • Speaking of information, that's a lot of information I just gave you, here.

  • If you want to make sure you understand it,

  • go to www.engvid.com, take the quiz. You'll see a lot of sample sentences there.

  • You can ask me questions in the comment section.

  • Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel, and come back again soon.

  • Bye.

Hi. Welcome back to www.engvid.com. I'm Adam.

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