Hello again and, as always, thanks as always for reading our blog.

We've noticed lately that our students have a bit of trouble with a very common English phrase, "catch up".

Catch means to take or grab, usually while something is flying. Think of a baseball, and grab it from the air. This is catch. But we can also use it a less literal sense of catching an opportunity that might otherwise pass by.

It is an irregular verb and its past is "caught". So be careful! 

Common phrases with "catch".

Catch can mean to take an opportunity. We can: 

• catch a movie while it's showing
• catch a concert while it's showing

Catch can mean to take out food or drink. We can:

• catch a coffee while I'm thirsty
• catch a pizza while I'm hungry

Catch can mean to ride transport. We can: 

• catch a taxi while I'm close
• catch a bus while I travel

But what about "catch up"? 

When I catch up with friends, we drink coffee, or play a game together, but most importantly we talk about our lives.

Catch up means to talk about our recent lives with our friends. We share our good and bad news. 

Everyday conversation. 

A-San : Hey, we haven't seen each other in a while. 久しぶりだね。

B-San : Yeah, we should catch up. そうだね。カッチュアップしよう！

A-San : How about we catch a coffee? コーヒーを飲みに行く？

B-San : Sounds good to me. Let's go to Starbucks. 良いよ。スタバに行く？

A-San : Sure! Shall we catch a taxi? はい！タクシーで行く？

B-San : No, let's save money and catch the bus. いいえ、節約にバスで行く。

Do you understand the different uses of "catch"? Leave us a comment on social media if you have any questions. 

Image: Coffee photo by freepik

役立つフレーズ / アドバイスがもっと必要ですか？こちらからPDFブックをダウンロードできます

マーシャル先生について  

情熱あふれる教育者・起業家・事業主。カリフォルニア大学バークレー校で日本語と日本文化を専攻（在学中、東京の国際基督教大学に1年間留学）。カリフォルニア大学サンディエゴ校大学院で学んだあと、東京にある英会話スクールのメイン講師に就任。そこで英会話の教授法と学校経営とについて多くのことを学び、独自のスタイルとビジョンを築き始める。その後沖縄に転居し、2010年に英会話スクール「English World」を設立。経営者として現在にいたる。