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Turn it on, turn it off: phrasal verbs like turn on, plug in and set up

Students learn phrasal verbs like turn on and plug in, and where it and them go, in this A2 ESL lesson plan on TV remotes.

Grammar
Separable phrasal verbs: a noun goes after the little word or in the middle (Turn the TV on.), but it and them only in the middle (Plug them in.).
Topic
Zenith's TV remotes of the 1950s and an outdoor movie night, with words like outlet, couch potato and clicker, an American name for a remote.
Activities
Students read a museum notice on early remotes, hear a viewer's question and a movie-night dialogue, drill the word order, give tech help in a chat and open boxes.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Who has the remote?

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: tech at homeVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: the first TV remotes

    • Look at the photo: a 1950s living roomPictureUnlock
    • Read the museum noticeReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: movie night!

    • Listen to Hector's questionListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Listen to Marco and NoraListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: turn it on!

    • Study the scheme: turn it on, plug them inGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsTry it
    • Fill in the table: the noun in the middle, then it or themFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: tech help

    • Choose the right replies: tech help for MarcoChatTry it
    • Open a box and answer: tech helpOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Unscramble the wordsAnagramUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the words from the lessonFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: answer with it or themFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Sort the steps: before or after the movie?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Maya's help messageDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Nora's postChoose the optionUnlock

30 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • clicker
  • cable
  • outlet
  • extension cord
  • projector
  • instructions
  • couch potato

Grammar: phrasal verbs with it and them

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a little word such as on, off, in, up or away, and the pair has a meaning of its own: set up means make ready. With old TV remotes and a movie screen to set up, learners place a noun before or after the little word, put it and them in the middle, and never leave out the thing they turn off.

Turn it on! Plug them in!

Some verbs have two parts: a verb and a little word (on, off, in, up, away). Where do the TV and it go?

Useful phrasal verbs for home

Turn on and turn off start and stop a machine, plug in connects it to power, set up makes it ready, pick up lifts it and put away puts it back. Try on and take off are for clothes: Take off your sneakers.

VerbIt means…Example
turn on / turn offstart / stop a machineTurn on the TV. Turn the lights off.
plug inconnect to electric powerPlug in the projector.
set upmake it ready to useWe set up the screen.
pick uptake it from the floor or a tablePick up the remote.
put awayput it back in its placePut the cables away.
try onwear clothes for a short time to check themTry on this sweater.
take offremove clothes or shoesTake off your sneakers.

A noun goes on either side

With a noun, both orders are right: Turn on the TV. = Turn the TV on. Plug in the cables. = Plug the cables in. A pronoun has one place only: the middle. That goes for me, him, her and us too: Pick him up!

ObjectWhere does it go?Examples
a noun: the TV, the cablesafter the little word OR in the middleTurn on the TV. = Turn the TV on. Plug in the cables. = Plug the cables in.
it, them (and me, you, him, her, us)ONLY in the middleTurn it on. Plug them in. Biscuit is tired. Pick him up!

Verb + it or them + little word

The formula holds for every person, in the present and the past: Turn it on. I turn it off at night. She set it up. They took them off. Only the verb changes form; it or them stays in the middle, and the little word comes last.

With it or them

verbit / themon, off, in, up, away

Turn it on.

Plug them in.

Put them away.

Every person

WhoEvery dayYesterday
II turn it off at night.I turned it off at ten.
youYou plug it in.You plugged it in.
heHe picks it up.He picked it up.
sheShe sets it up.She set it up.
itIt turns them off. (the timer)It turned them off.
weWe put them away.We put them away.
theyThey take them off.They took them off.

Switch on, and say the thing

Switch on and switch off mean turn on and turn off, and they keep their little word: Switch it on, not Switch it. A request to turn something on or off names it: Please turn it off or Turn off the TV, not Please turn off.

Switch on, switch off

Switch on and switch off mean turn on and turn off. Don't forget the little word: The TV is off. Switch it on. (Not: Switch it.)

Say the thing!

When you ask someone to turn a thing on or off, say the thing or it / them: Turn off the TV. The TV is loud. Please turn it off. (Not: Please turn off.)

At the movie night

  • Marco set the screen up next to the Toaster.
  • Did you plug it in? – Yes, I plugged it in.
  • The projector is ready. Turn it on, Marco!
  • The cable is on the grass. Pick it up, please.
  • After the movie, we put the chairs away.
  • It's cold! Try on my sweater.

Common mistakes

  • Turn on it.

    Turn it on.

    it goes in the middle

  • Plug in them.

    Plug them in.

    them goes in the middle

  • Set up it.

    Set it up.

    it goes in the middle

  • Switch it, please.

    Switch it on, please.

    don't forget the little word

More lessons on this grammar: Phrasal verbs lessons and exercises

Try the phrasal verbs exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

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What's in the lesson

  • 17 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • use phrasal verbs for machines and things at home: turn on, turn off, plug in, set up, pick up, put away
  • put a noun after the little word or in the middle: Turn on the TV. Turn the TV on.
  • put it and them only in the middle: Turn it on, Plug them in, never Turn on it
  • give simple tech help: Did you plug the projector in? Pick it up and plug it in again!

Lesson 7 is the third lesson of Clever tech at home in English A2.2 · Curious Minds, and its task is a tech-help chat. It builds on A1.2 lesson 16, which taught the object pronouns from me to them; now it and them go inside a phrasal verb: turn it on, plug them in. A movie screen, a projector and a long cable need exactly these verbs.

Students spin a wheel of TV and tech questions and learn ten words, from plug in and set up to extension cord and couch potato, with pictures and audio. A museum notice presents three early remotes: Lazy Bones with its cable, the Flash-Matic with its beam of light and the Space Command with its click. Two AI-voiced listenings follow, Hector's question about the word clicker and Marco racing to set up a movie screen. After the scheme come four self-checking exercises, among them a table that turns nouns into it or them. In the speaking chapter, students give Marco tech help in a chat, then open boxes such as Your friend's TV doesn't work. Give two tips.

Homework holds nine self-checking tasks: a word match, an anagram and a gap-fill for the new words, sentences to unjumble, answers with it or them, a quiz, movie-night steps to sort into before and after, Maya's help message and Nora's post about the night, both with gaps.

Grammar:
phrasal verbs · turn it on / turn it off · plug it in, set it up · noun or pronoun in the middle
Topic:
TV remotes · the clicker · Zenith · color TV · Saturday-morning cartoons · couch potato · Curious Minds

Teaching tips

  • Bring a lamp or a phone charger to class: give orders with the noun (Turn on the lamp.), then with it (Now turn it off.), and let students give the next ones.
  • Write a sentence, then erase the noun: Turn the TV on becomes Turn … on, and students fill the gap with it, so they see the pronoun take the noun's place in the middle.
  • Ask why a remote is called a clicker before the reading: students guess, and the notice's Space Command, where every button made a click, gives the answer away.
  • Act out the tech-help chat in pairs: one student has a dark screen, the other asks Did you plug it in? and gives orders such as Pick it up and plug it in again!

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The whole course: English A2.2 · Curious Minds

32 lessons that pick up where English A2.1 ends, in simple American English, from the present perfect to used to, have to and relative clauses. Eight units cover nature, tech at home, heroes, healthy habits, fashion, school, animals and traditions. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Wonders of nature

    the present perfect with ever and never, been to, superlatives with I've ever, articles with place names

    1. Lesson 1Have you ever seen the sky dance?The present perfect for experiences
    2. Lesson 2Have you been to the Grand Canyon?Present perfect vs past simple
    3. Lesson 3The longest cave in the worldSuperlatives with the present perfect
    4. Lesson 4The first national parkArticles with place names

  2. Unit 2 Clever tech at home

    the present perfect with just, already and yet, phrasal verbs, subject and object questions

    1. Lesson 5The chocolate bar that meltedThe present perfect with just
    2. Lesson 6Has my lunch arrived yet?Already and yet with the present perfect
    3. Lesson 7 · you're hereTurn it on, turn it offPhrasal verbs with it and them
    4. Lesson 8The girl who tests waterSubject and object questions

  3. Unit 3 Everyday heroes

    the past continuous, when and while, adjective order, story linkers

    1. Lesson 9When the pager beepsThe past continuous with was and were
    2. Lesson 10The man who planted apple treesPast continuous and past simple with when and while
    3. Lesson 11What's in the lost and found?The order of adjectives
    4. Lesson 12The dogs who saved NomeStory linkers

  4. Unit 4 Healthy and happy habits

    will for predictions, the zero and first conditionals, so do I and neither do I

    1. Lesson 13Why does school start later in California?Will and won't for predictions, decisions and offers
    2. Lesson 14Brain freeze!The zero conditional for facts
    3. Lesson 15Doctor's orders: go to the park!The first conditional with if and will
    4. Lesson 16Walking in the mall at 7 a.m.Agreeing with So do I and Neither do I

  5. Unit 5 Style through time

    used to, didn't use to, made of and made from, still and not anymore

    1. Lesson 17Why did everyone use to wear a hat?Used to for past habits and states
    2. Lesson 18Jeans used to be work clothesUsed to in negatives and questions
    3. Lesson 19Quilts made from old clothesMade of, made from and made by
    4. Lesson 20Cowboy boots, still made by handStill, not anymore and no longer

  6. Unit 6 School in America

    have to, must and mustn't, be allowed to, had to

    1. Lesson 21Do you have to wear a uniform?Have to and don't have to for rules
    2. Lesson 22Stop for the yellow bus!Must, mustn't and don't have to
    3. Lesson 23A class trip to the SmithsonianBe allowed to and can for permission
    4. Lesson 24One room, one teacher, every gradeHad to and didn't have to for past duties

  7. Unit 7 Amazing animals

    relative clauses with which, that, who and where, look and sound + adjective, adjectives with prepositions

    1. Lesson 25The bird that copies car alarmsRelative clauses with which and that
    2. Lesson 26Alligators and crocodiles togetherWho, which, that and where in relative clauses
    3. Lesson 27Sailors thought it was a mermaidLook, sound and feel as linking verbs
    4. Lesson 28Beagles at the airportAdjectives with prepositions

  8. Unit 8 Traditions we love

    invitations, will vs going to, so and such, one and ones

    1. Lesson 29Come to our cookout!Making, accepting and refusing invitations
    2. Lesson 30Is spring going to come early?Will vs going to for the future
    3. Lesson 31From turnips to pumpkinsSo and such for emphasis
    4. Lesson 32Giant balloons over ManhattanOne and ones in place of a noun

Questions about this lesson

What are phrasal verbs?
Phrasal verbs are a verb plus a little word like on or up, and the pair has its own meaning: turn on starts a machine, plug in connects it to power, set up makes it ready. Many take an object: Turn on the TV. Set up the screen. The A2 lesson Turn it on, turn it off on edio.ai teaches the ones for tech at home.
Is it "set up" or "setup"?
The verb is set up; the noun is setup: We set up the screen in two minutes, but The setup took two minutes. If you can put it in the middle, as in set it up, you need the two-word verb. Its past form is also set up: She set it up in eight minutes.
What are separable and inseparable phrasal verbs?
Separable phrasal verbs can take their object in the middle; inseparable ones can't. Turn on is separable: Turn on the TV or Turn the TV on. Look for is inseparable: Look for the remote, never Look the remote for. With a separable verb, a pronoun must go in the middle: Turn it on, not Turn on it.
Where does the object go in a separable phrasal verb?
A noun object can go after the little word or in the middle: Plug in the projector. Plug the projector in. A pronoun goes only in the middle: Plug it in, never Plug in it; Put them away, never Put away them. In Turn it on, turn it off, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, a table has students move each noun to the middle, then swap in it or them.
What are some phrasal verbs with turn?
Four everyday phrasal verbs with turn are turn on, turn off, turn up and turn down. Turn on and turn off start and stop a machine or a light, and on a TV or radio, turn up and turn down make the sound louder or quieter. All four are separable, so a pronoun goes in the middle: Turn it off. Turn it down, please.
How do you use turn on and turn off?
Turn on starts a machine; turn off stops it: Turn on the TV. Turn the lights off. A pronoun goes in the middle: Turn it on. Turn them off. Name what you want turned off: Please turn it off, not Please turn off. A museum notice in Turn it on, turn it off, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, ends with the sign Please don't turn on the old TVs.
Is it "turn on it" or "turn it on"?
It's turn it on, with it in the middle, because a pronoun can't follow the little word of a separable verb. So it's Plug them in, not Plug in them, and Set it up, not Set up it. A noun is freer: Turn on the TV and Turn the TV on are both right.
Why do Americans call a TV remote a clicker?
Americans call a TV remote a clicker because early remotes made a click with every button. Zenith's Space Command of 1956 worked that way, with no battery, and the name stayed: in many American homes you still hear Where's the clicker? A viewer's question in Turn it on, turn it off, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, asks about this very word.
What does "couch potato" mean?
A couch potato is a person who watches TV for hours, usually from the couch: My brother watches TV all weekend. He's a real couch potato! The phrase dates from 1976. It's informal and a little teasing, so it suits friends and family better than work.
How do I teach phrasal verbs to A2 students?
Teach a small set around one real situation, so each verb has a clear job: for a movie night, set up the screen, plug in the projector, turn it on, put the cables away. Act the verbs out first, then show the two orders with a noun and the one order with it. This lesson does the same with tech at home, plus try on and take off for clothes.
What's a good game for practicing phrasal verbs?
An open-the-box game of tech problems works well: each box holds a situation, such as Your partner can't find the remote, and the student helps with phrasal verbs: Look under the couch! Pick it up! A sorting game helps too, with steps like Plug the projector in and Put the chairs away going before or after a movie. Both games are in the A2 lesson Turn it on, turn it off on edio.ai.
Are there interactive exercises for phrasal verbs?
Yes: gap-fills and chats with instant feedback show students where it and them belong. This page plays four parts of Turn it on, turn it off, an A2 lesson on edio.ai, with no account: the museum notice on the first TV remotes, Hector's question about the word clicker, a gap-fill that builds phrasal verbs from the words in brackets, and a tech-help chat with Marco. Everything else in the lesson is locked.
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