English Vocabulary · Level B2 · CLIL: Portugal

Phrasal verbs with TAKE are everywhere in natural English — in job interviews, travel writing, news articles, and everyday conversation. The good news: once you understand the core sense of TAKE, these combinations start to click. Tonight we explore ten of the most useful ones, all grounded in the real, often surprising story of Portugal.

What is a phrasal verb?

A phrasal verb combines a base verb with one or two particles (a preposition or adverb). Together they create a meaning that is usually different from the literal sum of the parts. Compare:

  • She took the bag from the shelf. — literal: physically moved the bag
  • The startup took off within months. — phrasal verb: became successful very quickly
  • 📚 Phrasal Verbs with PUT: 11 Essential Uses (with Peru) — complete the set: GET, TAKE and now PUT — three of the most important phrasal verb families in B2 English.

Thread to remember: phrasal verbs with TAKE often carry a sense of beginning, receiving, absorbing, or gaining control. Once you see that thread, the vocabulary is easier to retain.

Ten phrasal verbs with TAKE: a reference table

Phrasal verb Core meaning(s) Example from Portugal
take off 1. (of a business, idea, career) to become suddenly successful
2. (of a plane or bird) to leave the ground
3. to remove clothing or a layer		 Lisbon’s startup scene really took off after the city began hosting the Web Summit.
take on 1. to accept extra work, responsibility, or a challenge
2. to hire someone
3. to compete against someone or something		 Portugal has taken on the remarkable responsibility of supplying over half the world’s cork.
take over to gain control of something; to become dominant in a place or situation Tourism has taken over as the central pillar of Portugal’s economy, worth close to 20% of GDP.
take in 1. to absorb or understand information or a scene
2. to include or cover a wide area
3. to deceive someone		 Standing on a Lisbon miradouro, it’s almost impossible to take in the full sweep of the city at once.
take up 1. to start a new hobby or activity
2. to occupy space or time
3. to accept an offer		 Thousands of visitors take up surfing each year along Portugal’s Atlantic coast.
take back 1. to admit you were wrong about something
2. to return a product to a shop
3. to remind you of the past (with a reflexive feel: it took me back)		 I take back every sceptical thing I said about custard tarts — the pastel de nata is a genuine masterpiece.
take after to resemble a parent or relative in appearance or personality She takes after her grandmother, who was a celebrated Fado singer in Lisbon’s Alfama district.
take out 1. to remove something from a place
2. to take someone to a restaurant, film, etc.
3. to obtain something officially (a loan, insurance policy)		 The winemaker took out a substantial loan to expand his vineyard in the Douro Valley.
take to 1. to start liking or enjoying something quickly
2. to go to a place as a regular habit, especially in a difficult situation		 I took to Vinho Verde immediately — it’s light, gently sparkling, and perfect with grilled seafood.
take apart 1. to disassemble something
2. to criticise something very severely		 The food critics took apart the chef’s attempt to modernise traditional Portuguese bacalhau recipes.

Portugal: a country that took the world by surprise

Portugal is a small nation on the western edge of the European continent — yet its story is far larger than its geography suggests. Here are five areas where Portugal has genuinely surprised the world, each told through our phrasal verbs with TAKE.

Cork: Portugal took on a global responsibility

Portugal produces more than 50% of the world’s cork, harvesting roughly 100,000 tonnes every year. The cork oak — the sobreiro — is the national tree, and the industry it supports generates over one billion euros annually. Cork oak bark is stripped by hand approximately every nine years in a process that is entirely renewable: the bark grows back, and a single tree can be harvested around seventeen times over its 200-year lifetime. Portugal has taken on the global responsibility for this material almost entirely alone, and it does so sustainably.

Tech: Lisbon took off as a European hub

In 2016, Web Summit — one of the world’s largest technology conferences — moved permanently to Lisbon. The effect was rapid: the city’s startup and technology scene genuinely took off. Entrepreneurs from across Europe and beyond have taken up residence in Lisbon, attracted by the warm climate, a growing network of accelerators, and costs that remain reasonable compared to London or Amsterdam. The Web Summit now draws more than 70,000 attendees to the Portuguese capital each November, making Lisbon one of Europe’s most talked-about innovation destinations.

Tourism took over — bringing both benefits and tensions

Few industries have taken over a national economy as dramatically as tourism has in Portugal. The sector accounts for close to 20% of GDP, drawing visitors from across the globe to take in the fairy-tale palaces of Sintra, ride the iconic yellow trams through the steep streets of Alfama, and spend long lunches over plates of grilled sardines and cold Sagres beer. Yet this success has a shadow: housing costs in Lisbon and Porto have risen sharply, and many locals feel that their city centres have been taken over by short-term holiday lets at the expense of genuine community life.

Fado: a tradition taken back by a new generation

Fado — Portugal’s defining musical tradition, rooted in longing and loss — was for many decades seen as music for the margins. In 2011, UNESCO formally recognised it as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a decision that took the art form back to the centre of Portuguese cultural identity. Young musicians have since taken Fado back from its reputation as something old and dusty, reimagining it for contemporary audiences while keeping its emotional core intact. Most visitors take to Fado immediately; its raw, melancholic beauty is unlike anything else in European music.

Wine: an industry taken out to the world

Portuguese winemakers have confidently taken their bottles out to the international market. In 2022, Portugal exported approximately 85 million litres of wine worth around €850 million — a figure that reflects both volume and quality. Port wine from the Douro, the lightly sparkling Vinho Verde from the north-west, and the rich reds of the Alentejo have all built serious reputations abroad. Portugal’s wine industry has taken on global tasting competitions and reviews regularly — and regularly won.

Common mistakes for Spanish speakers

¡Ojo! — five errors to avoid

Using take out instead of take off for planes and ideas

❌ “The plane took out at 9 pm from Lisbon.”

✅ “The plane took off at 9 pm from Lisbon.”

Take out means to remove something or to go somewhere with someone. For planes, birds, rockets — and for businesses or careers that suddenly rise — always use take off.

Dropping the particle in take after

❌ “She takes her grandmother.” (calque from se parece a su abuela)

✅ “She takes after her grandmother.”

In English, after is not optional here — it is the particle that creates the meaning “resembles”. Without it, she takes her grandmother means something completely different (she holds or grabs her grandmother).

Pronoun placement with separable phrasal verbs

❌ “Tourism has taken the economy over completely.”

✅ “Tourism has taken over the economy completely.” — or — “Tourism has taken it over completely.”

When the object is a full noun phrase (the economy), keep it after the complete phrasal verb. When the object is a pronoun (it, them), it must go between the verb and the particle: taken it over, not taken over it.

Confusing take in (absorb) with take on (accept)

❌ “I can’t take on all this new vocabulary at once.” (suggests accepting responsibility for it)

✅ “I can’t take in all this new vocabulary at once.” (absorb / understand it)

Both have a sense of “receiving something”, which causes confusion. The key distinction: take in = passive absorption (information, scenery, a view); take on = active, deliberate acceptance (a job, a challenge, a commitment).

Forgetting the particle in take up

❌ “She took surfing last summer in the Algarve.” (missing up)

✅ “She took up surfing last summer in the Algarve.”

Spanish often uses a single verb for this concept (empezar a, comenzar a). In English, starting a new hobby or activity requires the full phrasal verb: take up. The particle carries the meaning of beginning — do not leave it out.

Example bank: phrasal verbs with TAKE in context

  1. Portugal’s economy took off rapidly after a difficult period of austerity in the early 2010s.
  2. My flight from Porto took off twenty minutes late, but we landed on time in Madrid.
  3. The new guesthouse owner has taken on three members of staff from the local village.
  4. I have taken on the challenge of learning basic Portuguese before my trip to Lisbon next spring.
  5. Short-term holiday rentals have taken over large parts of Lisbon’s historic centre.
  6. A French hotel group attempted to take over the historic palace near Sintra last year.
  7. Standing on the viewpoint above Alfama, I simply could not take in the whole view at once.
  8. She was completely taken in by the market vendor’s claim that the tiles dated from the 1800s.
  9. He has taken up pottery classes in a ceramics studio near the Douro riverfront.
  10. The queue at the Jeronimos Monastery took up most of our first morning in Lisbon.
  11. She offered to show me the real Lisbon, and I gladly took her up on it.
  12. I take back every sceptical thing I ever said about Portuguese cuisine — it is extraordinary.
  13. The sound of the Fado guitar took me back to childhood summers spent near the Algarve coast.
  14. He takes after his father — they are both naturally gifted linguists and instinctive storytellers.
  15. The winemaker took out a large loan to finance a new pressing facility in the Douro Valley.
  16. My colleague took me out to a wonderful tascas restaurant tucked away behind the Mercado da Ribeira.
  17. Cork workers carefully take out the bark from the trees without cutting into the living wood beneath.
  18. I took to pastéis de nata immediately — I ate three on my first afternoon in Belém.
  19. Several food critics have completely taken apart the new fusion restaurant that opened near Chiado.
  20. The Web Summit has taken over the Altice Arena complex in Lisbon every November since it moved there.

Quick practice: five questions

Choose the correct phrasal verb with TAKE to complete each sentence.

  1. Portugal produces more than half the world’s cork — the country has truly _____ this remarkable responsibility.
    a) taken over   b) taken on   c) taken off   d) taken in
  2. The plane _____ on schedule, and we arrived in Lisbon just after midday.
    a) took out   b) took up   c) took off   d) took after
  3. She _____ her grandmother — both have a deep passion for Fado and a gift for emotional expression.
    a) takes to   b) takes after   c) takes over   d) takes on
  4. It was impossible to _____ everything the guide explained about the Jeronimos Monastery in one visit.
    a) take up   b) take back   c) take in   d) take apart
  5. He _____ surfing while living near Cascais and now goes to the beach every single weekend.
    a) took up   b) took on   c) took apart   d) took back
Reveal answers
  1. b) taken on — Portugal actively accepted the responsibility; this is deliberate commitment, not passive control.
  2. c) took off — planes (and rapidly growing businesses) take off when they leave the ground or surge ahead.
  3. b) takes after — she resembles her grandmother in personality; the particle after is essential and not optional.
  4. c) take in — to absorb a large amount of information or a sweeping view in one go.
  5. a) took up — he started a new hobby; the particle up signals the beginning of a new activity.

Related lessons

These posts pair naturally with today’s vocabulary work:

B2
Vocabulary
Phrasal Verbs
Portugal
CLIL

Also exploring GET phrasal verbs? Our B1 guide to phrasal verbs with GET using Palestine covers get up, get through, get across, and more — a great companion to this lesson.

Sources