“Make off with the…”

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Pronunciation Guide

The first word that might give you trouble is ‘reservoir’ because it sounds different than it is spelled. It sounds like, ‘rezuhvor’. Another word that many people pronounce differently than it looks is ‘diamonds’. While some people might say every syllable clearly, most speakers say, ‘dimunz’. If we read it how it looks, it would sound like ‘diuhmundz’.

Pay attention to where the stresses are and what words or syllables are difficulte for you to hear. Then, think about why they are difficult. Try to listen very carefully and repeat it how it sounds to you.

Listen to the audio, try to shadow, and write your own notes. Then click ‘Compare’. Practice shadowing the audio with your notes.

Compare

Explanation

Today’s lesson focuses on the verbal phrase, ‘make off with’.

Here are the most common ways you’ll see ‘make off with’ being used:

Make off with a/the (something)
Make off with my/our/his, her, its/their (something)
Make off with ($ amount)

First of all, to understand today’s example, you should know about the movie Reservoir Dogs. This is a movie from 1992 about a group of thieves who want to rob a jewelry store. They want to steal, or make off with, the diamonds at the store. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is one of the character’s names, and he is the favorite character of a lot of people. The second sentence, “Just stay calm…”, is one of Mr. Pink’s lines.

It’s a really great movie so I recommend watching it sometime when you get a chance.

‘Make off with’ is just another way to say steal.

There are not any rules about when to use ‘make off with’. Basically, you can use it any time you need to say the word ‘steal’. If you say a phrase like ‘make off with’ it might sound more natural in certain situations.

Also in today’s example, there is the phrase ‘keep your head low’. This can mean to actually keep your head down, but it is a phrase that means:

To go unnoticed; To do something without standing out (being different in some way).

Situations & Examples

Read the situations, but write down your own sentence using today’s target. When you finish, click ‘Show Example’. Share your own sentences in the comments!

Situation #1

You’re talking to a friend at work. You start talking about things you imagined making off with when you were young. For you, when you were a high school student, you wanted to steal a flag that was on top of the fast food restaurant, Taco Bell. You used to day dream about ways to do it without getting caught. You tell your friend,

Show Example

Situation #2

You’re reading the morning newspaper after breakfast one morning and start laughing from one of the articles. Your wife asks you what’s so funny. You tell her that a ten ton bridge was stolen last week by a group of metal thieves. You say,

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Situation #3

Your friend has come over to watch a football game on TV. During the commercials, he asks you if you heard about the guy who was caught stealing $100,000 last week. You say, “No.” and your friend goes on to tell you he was disguised in a wig, but they found him stuck in an air duct. Your friend tells you,

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Situation #4

You and a group of friends are talking about movies. You bring up the movie The Hangover. Many of your friends have seen it and they like it. You’re comparing favorite parts of the movie. Your favorite scene is when Mike Tyson finds out the guys had stolen his tiger. You say,

Show Example