Take vs Take away
Take away or just take, which should I use?
Are ‘take away’ and ‘take’ interchangeable? If so, when? If you want to know, here are some quick answers with examples.
Take and take away usage
Here is when you can use ‘take’ and ‘take away’ with examples:
To take away something
- To remove or deduct something
Example
Ten take away two equals eight.
In this case ‘take’ and ‘take away’ are not interchangeable. - To learn or find out
What are you hoping to take away from this webinar?
What I took away from this course, was a valuable insight into human nature.
You can also say:
What are you hoping to take from this webinar?
What I took from this course was a valuable insight into human nature.
In these cases ‘take’ and ‘take away’ are interchangeable. - To make money
Example
She took away £2m from that sale.
She took £2m from that sale.
In this case ‘take’ and ‘take away’ are also interchangeable.
To take something away
To remove
Examples
The government decided to take the tax-free allowance away.
Take it away, I’m not gonna use it.
In this case ‘take’ and ‘take away’ are not interchangeable.