“Take advantage of” is a very, very common expression in English. And you might have even used it yourself. But did you know it has two meanings? And did you know those are very different meanings? If you’re not using it the right way , you could cause confusion or embarrassment .

So today, you’ll learn both ways of using it—and you’ll learn how to avoid confusion when saying “take advantage of.”

Get a benefit that’s available

Here’s the first meaning. To “take advantage of” a situation is to make good use of it. Something is available to you and you use it. You enjoy a benefit from it. This is a positive thing—or neutral at worst .

Here are some examples. Let’s say you enjoy riding your bike outside . And let’s pretend that it’s late September and you live in the northern Hemisphere. The cold weather is coming. Pretty soon , you won’t be able to ride your bike outside because it will be too cold.

So imagine it’s a nice sunny day. You might say, “I’m going to take advantage of the nice weather and go on a long bike ride.” You take advantage of the weather. The weather is an opportunity : it’s a chance for you to enjoy a bike ride, which is something you like. You are going to benefit from that chance. So we say, you are going to take advantage of the good weather.

You might remember that interest rates were very low from about 2010 to about 2020. I bought a condominium in Chicago in 2016. I had what I thought was a good interest rate . But then two years later, rates had dropped again. Most people in the U.S. have fixed-rate mortgages . So when interest rates go down, you can take advantage of them by refinancing your loan . That means, pay back the old loan and get a new one with the lower rate .

So I took advantage of the lower interest rates by refinancing when rates were really low. Nobody got hurt by my actions. This was an opportunity available to me. I took an action to benefit from the opportunity. So I took advantage of the opportunity.

If a store is offering a limited-time sale , you can take advantage of the sale by buying the things you want and need while they are discounted .

When you take advantage of an opportunity, you take some action. This isn’t something that happens to you; this isn’t a stroke of good fortune . You do something to enjoy an opportunity. You go for a bike ride, you refinance your loan, you buy something on sale.

All right. So that’s the first definition.

Treat a person unfairly for your own gain

The second meaning of “take advantage of” is negative—very negative. It means to treat a person or a system unfairly for your own personal benefit . And the key here is, unfairly.

Let’s take two examples from the workplace.

Imagine a company where employees are paid hourly and there is no expectation of overtime work . But one manager regularly asks some employees to work overtime without paying them overtime. The workers need their job and they’re afraid to say no.

In this case, we can say, “The manager is taking advantage of the workers by making them put in extra hours without extra pay.” The manager is acting unfairly for his own gain . The workers are being treated unfairly, as their extra effort isn’t rewarded . The manager is taking advantage of them.

Here’s another example. A lot of times, telephone salespeople target the elderly . Many elderly people like to be helpful , so they have a hard time saying “no.” Sometimes they’re lonely . Sometimes they can’t really decide if they need something or not. They sometimes get confused on the phone. And—I hate to say it—but some unethical salespeople know this. And they take advantage of the elderly people.

They use high-pressure tactics to sell them extra insurance they don’t need, or add-ons to their cell phone bills, or other services that are useless or fake . These unethical salespeople take advantage of elderly people. They act unfairly for their own personal gain.

So in this second definition of “take advantage of,” there is always a winner, there is always a loser, and the person who gets the benefit is acting unfairly.

Avoiding confusion between the two meanings

All right, got it? Now here’s one. You tell me if this is the first meaning or the second meaning. Remember, the first meaning is to get a benefit from an opportunity that is available to you. Nothing wrong with that. The second meaning is to act unfairly toward a person or a system.

So here we go. Imagine a company offers unlimited vacation days. That’s becoming more common in the U.S. now. It doesn’t mean you can take every day off; it just means the company doesn’t track or count . You’re on the honor system to take a reasonable amount .

So here’s the sentence: “JR is taking advantage of the company’s vacation policy.”

So which is it? Is JR enjoying the benefit of something available to him? Or is JR abusing the vacation policy, taking advantage in an unfair way?

It’s a trick question because in this sentence, you can’t tell . It can be interpreted either way . It might mean that he worked really hard for a few months and is taking a well-deserved ten-day vacation. That’s taking advantage in the good way, using something that’s available to him. That’s what it’s for. Or that very same sentence could mean, he just never comes to work on Fridays. That’s taking advantage in the bad way .

So this can cause confusion and that means you need to be careful. In situations like this, where it can be interpreted either way, you can clarify what you mean.

If you want to say he’s acting unfairly, you can say this: “taking unfair advantage.” So if JR—and he would never do this—but if JR decided he was just going to stop working on Fridays, and sometimes Thursdays, because there’s “unlimited vacation,” you can say, “JR is taking unfair advantage of the company’s vacation policy.”

But if you wanted to clarify that he’s not doing anything wrong , you can instead say “make the most of.” You can say, “JR is making the most of the company’s vacation policy.” That’s great; he’s using it for what it’s intended for . And if you say, “make the most of,” you can avoid any confusion about the phrase “take advantage.”

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“Keep an eye out” and “keep an eye on” are two similar expressions in English that are both about paying attention , being watchful , and being alert .

“Keep an eye out” means to stay alert for something that might happen. “Keep an eye on” means to give a little bit of your attention to something, to make sure it’s going smoothly and that nothing bad happens.

Both expressions are about staying aware without giving your full attention to something.

Keep an eye on

Let’s take a closer look at “keep an eye on.” We say this when we’re watching something to make sure that everything goes smoothly . If we’re keeping an eye on something, we’re ready to intervene —we’re ready to take action if needed—but the situation doesn’t really require our full attention or even a lot of work. It’s about checking in on something now and then; it’s about being aware .

I recently started making black beans on the stove . There’s no comparison with beans in a can, let me tell you that. If you make beans on the stove, you know it takes a while, a few hours. And you have to add water to the pot every so often . Some water boils off , you add more; do that a few times until the beans are soft and ready to go.

What do I do when I’m cooking beans on the stove? I keep an eye on them. I don’t stare at them for three, four hours. I’m not in the kitchen the whole time they are on the stove. But I don’t forget about them either . I monitor them . I check in occasionally . I get up every few minutes to stir them. I add more water when needed. I test them to see when they’re done. I keep an eye on them. It’s about giving a little bit of attention over a period of time to make sure nothing bad happens.

If you babysit a very young child, you probably need to devote your full attention to the child, all the time, at least while he’s awake . But if you’re watching older children, you need to keep an eye on them. You can be in the kitchen while they watch TV; you can read a book while they’re on the playground . Your eyes don’t have to be on them the whole time. But you can’t ignore them for hours at a time either. You have to keep an eye on them; check in; make sure nothing’s going wrong.

If you keep an eye on the stock market , you’re generally aware of what’s going on. You check in every so often , but you’re not a day trader with 5 screens showing constantly-updated quotes , charts , and news all day.

On Election Day in the United States, some people stare at their screens , their TV’s, their phones, all night, watching the results come in . Others pay no attention. But a lot of people keep an eye on the election results over the course of the night. They check in on the news, they check in on how things are going, but it’s not their only activity for the evening. That’s what I’m like. I keep an eye on it, but I don’t give election results my full attention all night long. I keep an eye on it as it happens because there’s plenty of time to read about it the next day.

Keep an eye out

So now that you know “keep an eye on,” let’s talk about “keep an eye out.” You can use “keep an eye out” when you’re staying alert or watching for something you think will happen. You usually say, “keep an eye out for,” plus the thing that you’re watching for.

Imagine you’re expecting an important delivery . You might keep an eye out for the delivery truck . So you’ve got something that you think will happen: the delivery truck will come. You don’t know when. But you’re pretty sure it will happen. When you keep an eye out for the delivery truck, you’re staying aware so that when the truck arrives, you’re ready and you’ll know about it.

Now listen, this doesn’t mean you sit at the door and stare out the window . Your dog can afford to spend the whole day doing that; you can’t. You just keep an eye out for the delivery truck while you do other things. You stay aware and alert .

If you’re in the car on a long road trip , maybe you’ve been on the road for a few hours, you’re ready for a break. You might keep an eye out for a gas station or a rest stop . Again, here’s something that you know, or you suspect will happen: you will see a gas station or rest stop or McDonald’s eventually . You don’t know when, but you know you’ll see it.

If you keep an eye out for somewhere to stop, you’re aware, you’re ready. When you get close to an exit, you’re looking at the signs . You’re paying attention. It’s not the only thing you’re concerned about , but you are aware. You’re keeping an eye out for a place to stop.

Other quick examples. If you go to the mall around the holidays, you might keep an eye out for some good discounts . If your lease is expiring in a few months, you might keep an eye out for “for rent” signs in your neighborhood. If you’re thinking about maybe getting a new job, you might keep an eye out for job postings in your industry . It’s not a full time search, but keep an eye out for something.

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The phrasal verb “figure out” is one you need to know and use, because it’s extremely common in English. It has two meanings. Number one: to understand how to solve a problem or to find a solution. And number two: to understand something that’s confusing.

I know it sounds like those are the same—but they’re not quite the same. So don’t worry. In this episode, I’ll show you exactly how to use “figure out.”

Here’s a tip before we start. After “figure out,” we typically use words like who, what, when, where, or why. So listen for that in the examples.

Find the solution to a problem

We’re going to start with the first meaning. We use “figure out” when we’re working to solve a problem or find an answer. We use “figure out” when we have a problem, but we don’t know what the answer is. “Figure out” is not about fixing the problem. “Figure out” is not about taking the action. “Figure out” is about discovering the solution. First you figure out the solution, then you take the action.

I’ll start with an example close to home. I used to live in a condominium in Chicago, a cold-weather place. And there was a part of my apartment that was just always cold. I could not figure out why that part of the apartment was so cold. I had the heat on. I didn’t understand why the heat didn’t arrive to that part of the apartment. I had a problem and I could not solve it. I didn’t know the answer. I was clueless! Was it the windows? Was it the furnace? I could not figure it out. I just didn’t know.

So I hired an engineer to come to my house. And I told him, “I need some help figuring this out. I don’t know why this area is always cold in the winter.” And you know what? The engineer figured it out. It wasn’t the furnace. It wasn’t the windows. The engineer discovered that the insulation was poor in that part of the apartment. The engineer figured out why that part of my apartment was cold. He didn’t fix the problem! He didn’t fix the insulation. But he discovered the answer. He discovered the solution. He figured it out.

Now imagine that a company is losing its younger customers to competitors. So if this company is going to stay in business, they need to figure out how to attract younger customers. Again here, “figure out” means coming up with a plan to solve the problem. After the company has a plan, it needs to do the work to attract young customers. But the first thing is to figure out what to do. The first thing is to solve the problem.

One last example: Imagine your car needs service and you won’t have a vehicle for three days, while it’s being repaired. You need to figure out how you’re going to get to work during those three days.

What is your answer going to be? Will you ask a coworker to drive you? Will you take an Uber? Does a bus or train go by your workplace? Can you borrow a car from a friend or family member? I don’t know what the answer is going to be. But you have to figure it out. You have to solve the problem, find the solution…and then you have to do it.

In each of these situations, “figure out” is all about finding a solution to a specific issue.

Understand something complicated

The second way to use “figure out” is similar. Here, “figure out” means to understand something that’s confusing or complicated.

Think about a family with two kids, and both kids just advanced to a new grade level, so they’re at different schools for the new year. The schools start at different times; mom and dad both have to work, too.

What do the parents need to do before the school year starts? They have to figure a lot of things out. The parents need to figure out when to set the alarm clocks, so that everyone is awake on time. They have to figure out when to leave the house to get everyone to school and work on time. Then they have to figure out where to drop the kids off after arriving at school. There’s a lot to figure out when kids advance to a new grade level and a new school.

Now imagine the school year is over, and those parents want to plan a party for the other children in their kids’ classes. They’ll need to figure out who will bring the food. They’ll want to figure out where to have the party. And they’ll want to figure out when to have it, too. These are not enormous problems, but they are somewhat complicated. They require some thought.

So notice, in this case “figure out” is not about finding a solution to a problem; it’s about understanding a situation or understanding how you’ll do something.

Are you good at doing household repairs? I’m not. I know better than to try! But I want you to imagine doing something difficult around the house—whether it’s installing a new ceiling fan or fixing a leaky faucet.

You might see a YouTube video or you might have a set of written instructions. But even after watching the video, and even after reading the instructions multiple times, you might say, “I still can’t figure out how to do this!”

In this case, “figure out” means to understand the complicated process. The instructions might have confusing pictures, they might use unfamiliar vocabulary, or the instructions just might not be correct. That happens too, right? So, you’re left staring at the page, holding pieces in your hand, trying to figure out how to replace that faucet or how to install that ceiling fan.

‘Figure out’ a person

This is less common, but you can also use “figure out” when you’re trying to understand a person’s behavior or personality. People can sometimes be hard to figure out—hard to understand!

For example, if a new coworker acts unpredictably, you might say, “I can’t figure out why he’s acting that way.” Or simply, “I can’t figure him out.” This means you’re struggling to understand his behavior or personality. You can also say, “I can’t figure out what he wants.” That means, you listen to what he says, you observe what he does, and you still don’t understand what he wants, why he behaves the way he does. You can’t figure him out.

‘Figure it out’ and ‘figure this out’

Did you hear that? “I can’t figure him out.” You may have noticed that we sometimes put an object in between “figure” and “out.” If you’re trying to solve a problem, you can say, “figure it out.” Part of my apartment was cold in the winter. I couldn’t figure it out. But an engineer did; he did figure it out.

You can also say, “figure this out” or “figure that out.” If your car is scheduled to be repaired next week and you need a way to get to and from work, you can say, “I’ll figure that out later.” But if you’re staring at the instructions to install a ceiling fan, you can say, “I can’t figure this out.”

‘Figure out if’

The examples you’ve heard so far have used “figure out” plus a word like who, what, when, where, or why. You can also use figure out with the word “if.” And this is when you have a yes/no type of doubt. For example, “We should figure out if we can make this recipe gluten free.”

This is a yes/no question. Either you can do it, or you cannot do it. We should figure out if we can make the recipe gluten free.

Pronunciation tips

If you’ve been listening closely, you probably heard that I pronounce “figure out” like it’s one word, the “r” sound at the end of “figure” leads right into to “ou” sound in out. “Figure out.” The two words blend together so that they sound like one. In fact, it sounds strange to say them as two distinct words: “figure out.” Even saying it now, it’s hard for me to put the space between the two words.

The same thing goes when we place an object in between. “Figure it out” becomes “figure it out.” Really fast like that. You might hear someone say, “Can you figure it out for me?” Like that.

So there you go: now you understand “figure out.” It can mean to find the answer to a hard problem or to understand something complicated. We often use words like who, what, when, where, why, or if after “figure out.”

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“Keep track of” is an expression that means to organize information or stay up to date, so you understand what’s going on. We’ve all had times when we missed something important because we weren’t paying attention or didn’t write down the details. That’s what happens when we don’t keep track of things.

In today’s episode, I’ll show you two ways to use “keep track of.” The first definition is about writing down or typing up information to refer to later. The second definition is more general; it’s more about staying informed. And then toward the end of the episode, we’ll talk about a few variations on “keep track of.”

Organizing information

The most common way to use “keep track” is when we’re talking about organizing information or details. This kind of “keeping track” means gathering, writing down, typing up, entering, or saving important information.

Here’s a great example. I keep track of what books I read. I do that on an app called Goodreads. I keep track of the books by entering them into the app. I just finished the book “Long Island” by Colm Tóibín—great book, by the way. I entered it in Goodreads. I started a book called “Wednesday’s Child”—I entered it in Goodreads. I’m keeping track of my books. I’m keeping track of my books so that I don’t accidentally buy or borrow a book I’ve read before. So in this case, keep track is about entering, saving, and organizing information.

These days, we often keep track of things in apps, on websites, or in computer files. But that’s not the only way to keep track of things. If you’ve ever had to take multiple medications at the same time, you know that it can be difficult to remember what to take and when. If you have two, three, or four medications that all need to be taken at different intervals…well, that can get confusing fast!

It’s important to keep track of your medications so you don’t accidentally miss a dose, take something twice, or take something at the wrong time. So how can you keep track of your medication?

You may have seen weekly pill boxes with different compartments for each time of day. That’s a great low-tech way to keep track of your medications. You can use an app; you can use a pill box; you can use paper and pencil. But it’s important to keep track of what you’re taking so you don’t miss a dose.

Another great example is fitness tracking. Some people like to keep track of their exercise routines. You might see people at the gym keeping track of their workouts with a small notebook and a pencil. Some people use an app called Strava to keep track of how far they’ve run, how far they’ve gone on their bike, or how many laps they’ve done in the pool.

I use a fitness app called Strong. It helps me see when I’ve exercised and what I’ve done each time. I keep track of which exercises I do, how much weight I lift, how many repetitions I can do. I enter and save the information; I keep track with the app.

Some people keep track of their spending. I used to keep track of my spending in an Excel spreadsheet. But now, there are apps that connect directly to your bank accounts. That makes it so much easier to keep track of your spending.

So, when we talk about keeping track of things in this way, it’s all about organizing and saving important information or details.

Staying informed

Another way to use “keep track of” is to talk about staying informed, staying up-to-date with something, even if we don’t write down the details. This way of keeping track is more about being aware of the latest updates, knowing what’s going on; it’s less about organizing and saving information.

Many parents like to keep track of their kids’ school assignments. Does this mean they write down every single assignment, write down every due date?

Not necessarily; most parents don’t do that. “Keep track” here means, the parents stay informed. They make sure they’re aware of what’s going on. They ask questions and check grades; they look over their kids’ shoulders as they do their homework. They pay attention to announcements from the school. This is how parents keep track of their kids’ progress. They stay informed.

In your social life, it works the same way. Let’s say you have a big extended family, and everyone has busy schedules. You probably don’t get to see everyone as often as you’d like. But you can keep track of what’s going on in their lives with social media, group chats, texting, calling from time to time, and holiday visits. Keeping track of what’s going on in the lives of your friends and family just means, you stay connected and stay informed.

Your job might require you to stay informed about a particular topic. If you’re a tax accountant, you’ll want to keep track of the latest changes in the tax laws. Like that.

Keep close track

There are a few variations of “keep track” that you should know. Let’s start with “keep close track of.”

When you “keep close track of” something, you’re keeping track in a very detailed way. It’s like you’re a detective and you can’t miss any details. You carefully monitor every little detail, every piece of data, and you notice even the smallest change. This phrase is perfect for situations where every detail counts.

I don’t do this all the time, but there are times when I keep close track of my nutrition. I use the app called Myfitnesspal and I enter everything I eat during the day. Everything! I keep close track of what I eat. I don’t let myself miss a detail. Every calorie goes in the app. It’s not easy. I’m weighing my chicken, measuring my oatmeal, and counting the olives I add to my pasta. I keep close track—this is no way to live in the long run! But I do keep close track during certain times.

Keep better track

Next up: “keep better track of.” When someone says they need to “keep better track of” something, the person is admitting that he or she has room for improvement. A person might say, “I need to keep better track of my spending this month, so I don’t go over my budget.” That means, the person needs to do a better job at keeping track.

A few years ago, I missed some important calls and meetings, like two or three in the same month. I just totally forgot about them. And so I said to myself, I need to keep better track of my appointments. And then I started using my calendar more.

Lose track

Finally, you can say “lose track.” “Lose track” is the opposite of “keep track.” It means you’ve stopped following something—usually by accident. You might lose track of something because you got distracted or because you weren’t paying close enough attention in the first place.

The most common way to use “lose track of” is with time. When you lose track of time, you look at your watch and find out it’s later than you thought. Imagine you start work at 8:00 and you have a 10:30 a.m. call. No problem, right: you start working, get on a good roll, cross things off your to-do list—but then you look at the clock, and it’s already 10:45. What happened? You lost track of time. You weren’t aware of what time it was.

Have you ever had to do the same thing over and over at work? I sure have! It’s important to keep track—even keep close track—of what you have done. Imagine you have to review 30 files. Here’s a nightmare scenario: what if you get through about half of them, go home for the night, and then the next morning you discover that you’ve lost track of which ones you’ve done? That’s bad! Then, you’d have to go back and do them all over again. So you don’t want to lose track; you don’t want to lose track of what you’ve done.

Just to review what you’ve learned. “Keep track of” can mean to organize and save information, like how I keep of my exercise routine in an app. “Keep track of” can also mean to stay informed about a person or a topic, like how an accountant keeps track of changes in the tax laws. “Keep close track” means to keep track in a detailed way. “Keep better track” means to do better at keeping track. And then remember “lose track” is the opposite of “keep track.”

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