phrasal verb · informal
give back
/ɡɪv bæk/give·BACK
speakingtask1
to return something to the person who gave or lent it
Examples
“Please give the book back to me when you finish.”
“He gave back the money he borrowed last month.”
“I want to give back to the community by volunteering.”
Band 8 sentence
“After borrowing her neighbour's ladder, he made sure to give it back the same evening.”
Collocations
- give back the money / give back the book
- give back to the community
Word family
give back vgave back v (past)giving back v-ing
Common mistakes
Can you give me back your pen?→Can you give me your pen back? / Can you give back my pen?
He gave back to the shop the shoes.→He gave the shoes back to the shop.
Say it for a higher band
5return→6restore→7+give back
Synonyms
return
Easily confused
return
“Please return the item to the store within 30 days.”
give away
“She gave away all her old clothes.”
Related words
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In give …
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