Look after sb Meaning / Examples / How to Use

What Does “Look after sb” Mean?

“Look after sb” means to take care of someone by helping them or making sure they are safe and well.

Introduction

The phrase “look after sb” is a common phrasal verb in English that means to take care of someone. It often involves helping with daily needs, ensuring safety, or providing support. For example, parents look after their children, and nurses look after patients. Understanding the look after sb meaning is important because it appears frequently in spoken and written English. This phrase is useful in many situations, from casual conversations to formal discussions about caregiving or responsibility. Knowing how to use “look after sb” correctly will help you express care and responsibility clearly and naturally.

Quick Info Box

• Phrasal verb: look after somebody
• Type: transitive
• Level: A2
• Short meaning: to take care of someone

Structure (Grammar Rules)

“Look after sb” is an inseparable phrasal verb. This means the object (somebody) must come after the whole phrasal verb, not between the verb and the particle.

• Correct: look after someone
• Incorrect: look someone after

Pattern: look after + somebody

How to Use “Look after sb”?

Use “look after sb” when you want to talk about caring for or watching someone. It is often used with family members, children, elderly people, or pets. You can use it in different tenses and forms:

• I look after my little brother when my parents are away.
• She is looking after her sick grandmother.
• They looked after the children during the party.

Examples

Here are some natural sentences using “look after sb” in context:

• Can you look after my dog while I’m on vacation?
• It’s important to look after elderly people in our community.
• She looks after her younger siblings every day after school.
• The nurse looked after the patients very carefully.
• We need someone to look after the kids during the meeting.

Common Mistakes

Sometimes learners make mistakes with the word order or preposition. Here are typical errors and corrections:

• Incorrect: I look my sister after.
  Correct: I look after my sister.
• Incorrect: She looked the children after.
  Correct: She looked after the children.
• Incorrect: Can you look for my baby?
  Correct: Can you look after my baby? (Note: “look for” means “search for,” which is different.)

Differences / Synonyms

Other phrases similar to “look after sb” include “take care of sb” and “care for sb.” They all mean to provide care, but there are small differences:

• Look after sb: More informal and common in everyday speech.
• Take care of sb: Can be formal or informal, often used in writing and speech.
• Care for sb: Slightly more formal, sometimes used in medical or professional contexts.

Example: She looks after her baby and She takes care of her baby mean the same, but “take care of” sounds a bit more formal.

Common Collocations

Here are some common words that often go with “look after sb”:

• Children – to care for kids
• Pets – to care for animals
• Older people – to care for elderly family or community members
• Patients – used in medical settings
• Family members – general use for relatives

Related Phrasal Verbs

Here are related phrasal verbs of look after sb:

• Look Sb Over
• Look For Sb
• Look On Sb
• Look Down On Sb
• Look Up To Sb

Real-life Dialogue

Here is a short conversation using “look after sb”:

Anna: Can you look after my kids this weekend? I have to work late.

Ben: Sure, no problem. I’ll take good care of them.

Anna: Thanks! I really appreciate it.

Practice

Try to complete the sentence with the correct form of “look after”:

• She ________ her little brother while their parents are away.
• They ________ the elderly neighbor when he is sick.
• Can you ________ my dog this weekend?

(Answers: looks after, look after, look after)

FAQs

• Q: Is “look after sb” formal or informal?

  A: It is mostly informal but can be used in formal contexts too.
• Q: Can I say “look after something”?

  A: Yes, but it usually refers to caring for a person. For things, “take care of” is more common.

• Q: What is the difference between “look after” and “look for”?

  A: “Look after” means to care for; “look for” means to search for something.
• Q: Can I use “look after” with animals?

  A: Yes, you can look after pets like dogs or cats.

• Q: Is “look after” separable?

  A: No, you cannot separate “look after” by placing the object between the words.