phrasal verb · neutral
turn one's hand to
UK/tɜːn wʌnz hænd tuː/US/tɜːrn wʌnz hænd tuː/turn·one's·HAND·to
to try doing different kinds of work or tasks; to be able to do many different things
Examples
“Since retiring he has turned his hand to gardening, painting and carpentry.”
“Good teachers can turn their hand to different teaching methods depending on the class.”
“She turned her hand to freelance writing after losing her full-time job.”
Band 8 sentence
“A versatile workforce can turn its hand to new technologies quickly, which is vital in a fast-changing economy.”
Collocations
- turn one's hand to + noun (e.g. carpentry, gardening)
- turn one's hand to new methods/skills
Word family
Common mistakes
use 'try' alone when you mean adaptability→turn one's hand to
say 'turn his hand at' (đặt giới từ sai)→turn his hand to
Say it for a higher band
5try→6attempt→7+turn one's hand to
Synonyms
try one's hand at
take up
Easily confused
try one's hand at
“She decided to try her hand at pottery while on holiday.”
take up
“He took up painting after retiring.”
Related words
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