Phrasal verbs · Free lesson
Print it out: ask for a paper copy
The club timetable is ready on your laptop. Now you need a copy to put on the noticeboard. Ask for that next step clearly.
Professor Scott MendozaMeaning in this lesson
print out
Produce a paper copy of a document or image stored on a computer.
Example
“I printed out the club timetable.”
I made a paper copy of the club timetable.
The short answer
Print out means make a paper copy. With a noun, both print out the timetable and print the timetable out work. With it, use print it out. Saving the file alone does not print it out.
A paper result, with it in the middle.
The file and the paper copy are different things. Printing out the file gives you something you can hold. If you have already named the timetable, replace it with it and place that pronoun before out.
Two noun positions, one pronoun position
Can you print out the timetable?
Can you print the timetable out?
Can you print it out?
Print it out keeps it between the two parts. Print out it is not the standard order in this pattern.
Replace the known document
Name the document
the timetable
Use either noun position
print out the timetable / print the timetable out
Replace the noun with it
print it out
Try it now
Choose the paper-copy meaning and form.
Read all answers and explanations
You printed out a timetable from your laptop. What did you do?
Make a paper copy.Printing out produces a paper copy. Saving or removing a digital file is a different action.
Use print out. The timetable is already named; replace it with it.
Please print it out.With the pronoun it, the standard order is print it out. Do not put it after out.
The action is finished and happened yesterday. Choose the correct sentence.
I printed out the timetable yesterday.The past form is printed out: add -ed to print, without an extra t. Yesterday gives a finished past time.
Put it into practice
Ask for the noticeboard copy.
Keep the timetable on the laptop and ask for a paper copy using print out. Correct the pronoun order.
The timetable is on my laptop. Could you print out it for the noticeboard?
See a model answer
The timetable is on my laptop. Could you print it out for the noticeboard?
You are asking someone to turn the existing digital timetable into a usable paper copy. The pronoun refers back to the timetable.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Can I just say print it?
Yes. Print it is natural in this context too. We use print it out here to practice this phrasal verb, not because print is incorrect.
Please print it. / Please print it out.
Does printing out delete the original file?
The expression describes producing the paper copy. It does not mean deleting the file; that would be a separate action.
I printed it out and kept the file.
Take it into your day
For a known document, ask: Could you print it out?
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