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Latest post Mon, Apr 24 2006 4:06 PM by davkett. 5 replies.
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Davidrock65  +  218655 Sat, 22 Apr 06 08:42 AM

whats the difference between hold up, hold out and hold off?

A. It's raining. I think we should hold up/ hold off the meeting.

B. The bar is really heavy.  Are you sure you can hold up any longer?

C. I think we have to hold out / hold off a little longer untill we are ready to really commit to each other.

D. a: I can live two days without water.  b: I don't think I can hold out/ hold up that long.

E.  Sorry, I got held up/held off by the heavy traffic.

Also would you please explain to me how to use break (something) down?  Are the following sentences correct?

A: She really liked me, but deep down I know that I am gay.  So one day I decided to break it down to her.

B: Singing makes people feel good.  It makes you break down who you are and (vent your feeling out.?)

Thank you for being so patient answering my questions.

Joined on Wed, Apr 19 2006
taipei
Full Member 237
blueclown  +  218684 Sat, 22 Apr 06 10:29 AM
I have a dictionary of english phrasal verbs here and i think u should buy one .
I 'm just sure of the E . Sorry , i got held up by the heavy traffic . That's a very popular sentence in my grammar test . And u know , it means : get stuck in the heavy traffic .

Joined on Wed, Jun 1 2005
ha noi , vietnam
Junior Member 93
the world is not enough
Vorpar  +  218690 Sat, 22 Apr 06 11:00 AM

Hold up: To slow something's progress ("What's holding up traffic?") or to rob ("he was arrested for holding up the bank.") To not be fatigued ("You've been running for an hour, how are you holding up?)

Hold out: To stay together/in ("If we can hold out just a little longer, we'll win the race.") To offer ("Hold out your hand.")

Hold off: To wait or do something later ("let's hold off on buying the house until we have better credit")

A. It's raining. I think we should hold off the meeting.

B. The bar is really heavy.  Are you sure you can hold up any longer?

C. I think we have to hold off a little longer untill we are ready to really commit to each other.

D. a: I can live two days without water.  b: I don't think I can hold out/hold up that long.

E.  Sorry, I got held up by the heavy traffic.

So one day I decided to break it down to her.

In this context, "break it down" means to make the information easier to understand, break it into smaller pieces.

B: Singing makes people feel good.  It makes you break down who you are and (vent your feeling out.?)

Doesn't really work here. Maybe use "come out of your shell" (be less shy)

Joined on Tue, Sep 20 2005
Santa Barbara, CA
Regular Member 940
blueclown, 3 yr 214 days ago
thanks , what a nice teacher !!!
Grammar Geek  +  219263 Mon, 24 Apr 06 02:39 PM

I think you may have meant "break it to her" which means to reveal news, usually bad.

Hey, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your wife is cheating on you.

So the girlfriend who finds out the guy she's in love with is gay would see that as bad news - He needs to break it to her gently - which means give the bad news in as nice a way as possible.

Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006
Veteran Member 19,669
Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!
davkett  +  219299 Mon, 24 Apr 06 04:06 PM

B: Singing makes people feel good.  It makes you break down who you are and (vent your feeling out.?)

This example doesn't work so well semantically.  Breaking down who you are is an analytical process--as you say, 'break it into smaller pieces'.  I don't know that singing lends itself to that kind of process, or that the good feeling that comes from singing, or hearing others sing, inspires self-analysis.

Also 'vent your feeling out' should be 'vent your feeling'.  Venting is an out-flowing.  So your phrase 'venting out' is a redundancy.

Cheers,

Joined on Tue, Jun 7 2005
Pennsylvania, USA
Senior Member 2,788
"The rose stays fresh in its name..." -Bernard of Morlay
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