Phrasal verbs · Free lesson
Call it off: cancel a planned event
An outdoor concert cannot go ahead because the stage is damaged. The organizer cancels tonight’s event. No replacement date has been arranged.
Professor Scott MendozaMeaning in this lesson
call off
Cancel something that was planned to happen.
Example
“The organizers called off the outdoor concert because the stage was damaged.”
They decided that the planned concert would not go ahead.
The short answer
Call off can mean cancel a planned event: “We called off the concert.” Put off means postpone it. With a short pronoun, say “We called it off.” A cancellation does not itself announce a replacement date.
Make the change to the plan clear.
Say call off when the planned event will not happen as arranged. A noun can follow off or go in the middle: “call off the concert” or “call the concert off.” With it, use “call it off.” The regular past form is called off. Add a reason or replacement arrangements only when you know them.
Explain what has changed.
Is tonight’s concert still happening?
No. They called it off. They haven’t announced another date.
Called it off states the cancellation. The next sentence tells us what is known about a possible replacement.
Announce the change accurately
State the cancellation
We called off tonight’s concert.
Use it when the event is clear
We called it off.
Separate facts from guesses
No replacement date has been announced.
Try it now
Check what you’ve learned.
Read all answers and explanations
“They called off Saturday’s match.” What does this tell us?
The planned match was canceled.Called off tells us the planned match was canceled. It does not supply a new date or say that play had begun.
Replace the concert with it: “We called the concert off.”
We called it off.With this separable phrasal verb, the short pronoun it goes between called and off.
The meeting is still planned, but its date has changed from Monday to Wednesday. Which expression specifically describes postponing it?
We put the meeting off until Wednesday.Put off until Wednesday explicitly describes a delay to a later date. That is the change specified here.
Put it into practice
Correct the cancellation notice.
Tonight’s concert is canceled and no replacement date is arranged. Replace the inaccurate draft with a sentence supported by those facts.
We put off tonight’s concert until Friday.
See a model answer
We called off tonight’s concert.
A clear notice describes the actual change to the plan and avoids adding unsupported arrangements.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Is “call the concert off” also correct?
Yes. With the noun the concert, both positions are natural. With it, keep the pronoun in the middle.
“Call off the concert.” / “Call the concert off.” / “Call it off.”
Can a canceled event be arranged again later?
Yes. Call off describes the cancellation of the current plan. It does not prevent a later decision to arrange another event.
“We called off the workshop. We may arrange a new one in June.”
Take it into your day
Use call off for cancellation and put off for postponement. Do not invent a new date when explaining the change.
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Explain changing plans with the right expression.
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