What Does “Turf sth out of sth” Mean?
“Turf sth out of sth” means to forcefully remove or throw something out from a place or situation.
Introduction
The phrasal verb turf sth out of sth is commonly used in informal English. It describes the action of getting rid of something by pushing or throwing it out of a particular place. This phrase often implies a sense of urgency or force behind the removal. Understanding the turf sth out of sth meaning helps learners use it naturally in everyday speech, especially when talking about cleaning, removing unwanted items, or evicting someone from a location.
Quick Info Box
- Phrasal verb: turf something out of something
- Type: Transitive
- Level: B2 (Upper-Intermediate)
- Short meaning: To forcefully remove something from a place
Structure (Grammar Rules)
This phrasal verb is separable. The object (something) can come between “turf” and “out,” or after “out of.”
- turf something out of something
- turf out something of something (less common)
Example patterns:
- They turfed the old furniture out of the house.
- She was turfed out of the club for bad behavior.
How to Use Turf sth out of sth?
Use this phrase when talking about removing objects or people from places, often forcefully or unwillingly. It is informal and often used in spoken English or casual writing. The phrase usually involves a physical or metaphorical removal.
Examples of contexts include:
- Cleaning a room by throwing things away
- Evicting someone from a property
- Removing unwanted ideas or habits
Examples
Imagine you are cleaning your garage and want to get rid of old boxes. You might say:
- We turfed all the broken boxes out of the garage last weekend.
- The landlord turfed the noisy tenants out of the apartment.
- They turfed the weeds out of the garden before planting new flowers.
- After the meeting, he was turfed out of the room for being disruptive.
- She turfed the old clothes out of the wardrobe to make space.
These sentences show how to use turf sth out of sth in a sentence naturally.
Common Mistakes
Sometimes learners confuse the phrase order or use the wrong prepositions. Here are examples:
- Incorrect: They turfed out of the house the old furniture.
- Correct: They turfed the old furniture out of the house.
- Incorrect: She turfed away the papers from the desk.
- Correct: She turfed the papers out of the desk.
Remember, the object usually comes immediately after “turf.”
Differences / Synonyms
Similar phrasal verbs include throw out, kick out, and chuck out. However, each has subtle differences:
- Throw out: Focuses on physically discarding something, often trash.
- Kick out: Usually means to forcibly remove a person from a place.
- Chuck out: Informal for throwing something away, similar to throw out.
Turf sth out of sth combines the idea of forceful removal and the place from which something is removed, often used for both objects and people.
Common Collocations
You will often hear this phrase with objects or people related to removal or eviction. Here are some common collocations:
- Turf out old furniture – removing unwanted furniture
- Turf out tenants – evicting renters
- Turf out weeds – clearing plants from a garden
- Turf out clutter – removing unnecessary items
- Turf out intruders – forcing unwanted people to leave
Related Phrasal Verbs
Here are related phrasal verbs of turf sth out of sth:
Real-life Dialogue
Here is a short conversation showing how to use the phrase naturally:
Anna: The garage is so messy. We should get rid of some stuff.
Ben: Yeah, let’s turf all the broken boxes out of there this weekend.
Anna: Good idea! It’ll make more space for the new bike.
Practice
Try to complete the sentence with the correct form of the phrasal verb:
They decided to _______ the old carpets _______ the house before painting.
- a) turf out of
- b) turf out
- c) turf the carpets out of
- d) turf out the carpets of
Answer: c) turf the carpets out of
FAQ
- What does “turf sth out of sth” mean? It means to forcefully remove something from a place.
- Is “turf sth out of sth” formal or informal? It is informal and mostly used in spoken English.
- Can it be used for people? Yes, it can mean to evict or force someone to leave.
- Is the phrasal verb separable? Yes, the object can come between “turf” and “out.”
- What are similar phrasal verbs? Throw out, kick out, and chuck out are similar but have different uses.
