Look after / Take after

It’s September.  Summer vacation is over, so I’m back.  Did you have a nice August?  Mine was very hot and boring.  Nothing special, just a few trips to Oga, and some cycling.  I hope next summer is better . . . will we finally be free of Covid 19?

Recently, I’ve been talking about “phrasal verbs” in some of my classes.  A simple verb can have a completely different meaning when used in a phrase with other words.  The first two are:

Look after and take after.

To look after something means to take care of it.  Here are 5 sentences.

  1. Who is looking after your dog while you are in Europe?
  2. Living in Japan, I’m unable to look after my mother in her old age, luckily I have 9 brothers and sisters close by.
  3. A big problem in Akita is that many older people have no one to look after them.
  4. Who will look after Japan when Prime Minister Abe retires?
  5. My house is being looked after by my neighbor while we are away.

Take after means to resemble (look like) someone in physical or character traits.

  1. Who do you take after. your father or your mother?
  2. I used to take after my mother, recently I have begun to take after my father.
  3. Unfortunately, President Trump’s children all seem to take after their father.An Official Guide to Donald Trump's 5 Kids
  4. Your chin really takes after your Aunt’s!
  5. I’m surprised to see that even dogs seem to take after their owners.Do Dogs Resemble Their Owners? | DogJudging® - Il mondo della letteratura cinofila.

Do Dogs Look Like Their Owners? | Psychology Today

Here is a picture I recently found of my Mother and Father’s wedding.  Who do you think I take after?

Today’s BGM:

Cats in the Cradle
By Harry Chapin

A child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking before I knew it and as he grew
He said, “I’m gonna be like you, Dad,
You know I’m gonna be like you”

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin home, Dad, I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then,
You know we’ll have a good time then.

My son turned ten just the other day
He said “Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on lets play
Can you teach me to throw? ” I said, “Not today,
I got a lot to do” He said “that’s okay”
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said “I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m going to be like him”

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin home, Dad, I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then,
You know we’ll have a good time then.

Well he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say,
“Son, I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while?”
He shook his head, and he said with a smile

“What I’d really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please? “

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin home, Son, I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then, Dad
You know we’ll have a good time then.

I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said “Id like to see you if you don’t mind”
He said “Id love to Dad, if I could find the time.
You see my new jobs a hassle, and the kids have the flu.
But It’s sure nice talking to you, Dad,
It’s been sure nice talking to you…….. “
And as I hung up the phone it had occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me,
My boy was just like me…………..

And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you comin home, Son, I don’t know when,
But we’ll get together then, Dad
We’re gonna have a good time then.