Phrasal Verbs & Idioms with WRAP 🎁 Learn English Vocabulary & Expressions

Video Transcript
Section 1
Hello! I’m Emma from mmmEnglish! Since it’s very close to Christmas and I’m wrapping Since it’s very close to Christmas and I’m wrapping this lesson is going to be full of expressions using the word, ‘wrap’.

Now some of these expressions will be phrasal verbs like ‘wrap up’. Others will be idioms like let’s keep this ‘under wraps’.

One thing that they all have in common is that you’ll hear them come up in conversation all the time!

Wrap

So, this word has a cheeky silent letter in it. So if you find it difficult to pronounce, it might be because you’re making a sound where there doesn’t need to be one.

‘Wrap‘ and ‘rap’ are pronounced in exactly the same way. The W is silent. Because the ‘rrrrrrrr’ sound is at the start of the word, it’s strong. To make that sound my tongue is pulling back in my mouth and up a little bit in the middle. The tip of my tongue is not touching anything and both sides of my tongue are softly pushing against my upper teeth.

Wrap. Wrap.

Wrapped

Now the past tense of wrap is wrapped and it’s a regular past tense verb so we simply add -ed but the pronunciation of that -ed is more like a /t/ sound. Wrapped. Not rapid. That’s a completely different word. It’s an adjective that means fast or sudden.

Wrapped is also an adjective to describe when something is covered. This present is wrapped. These ones are not.

Here in Australia we also use wrapped to describe a person’s feelings when they’re extremely excited or happy about something. It’s quite informal, it’s a slang word but very useful if you’re speaking with Australians. It’s usually spelled r-a-p-t.

He’ll be rapt to hear the news.
My mum was rapt to hear that I’ll be in Melbourne for Christmas.

Now there’s a very common phrasal verb that you’ve probably heard or seen before.

Wrap Up

‘Wrap up‘. Now firstly, this phrasal verb ‘wrap up’ has the same meaning as ‘wrap’, the verb which means to cover something usually with paper or with a thin material.

I need to wrap these presents. 
Or I need to wrap up these presents.

You can use either. They have the same meaning.

Can you wrap up this cheese and put it in the fridge for me?

Wrap (someone) up

You can also wrap someone up in clothes or blankets usually to protect them like a baby or a child.

It’s cold outside. Keep him wrapped up nice and tight.

In all of these examples the phrasal verb is transitive. We need to explain what we’re wrapping up.

But ‘wrap up’ has another meaning. To ‘wrap something up‘ also means to end it or to finish it.

We’d better wrap this up. It looks like it’s about to rain.
I’m so glad we’ve wrapped up our assignment. Now we can just enjoy the weekend!
Have you wrapped up that project yet, or are you still working on it?

Wrap Around / Wrap Round

Okay here’s another phrasal verb ‘wrap around‘ or ‘wrap round‘. And the meaning is quite literal it means to put something around something else. You do need to notice that when using this phrasal verb you need to be clear what is being wrapped around what.

She’s over there with the purple towel wrapped around her. The purple towel is wrapped around her.
He has a tattoo wrapped around his left arm.
It’s a beautiful painting. I love how her arm is wrapped around his waist.
Each of the little cupcakes had a bow wrapped around it. It was so sweet.

Have (someone) wrapped around (one’s) finger

This one is one of my favourites! It’s similar to have someone wrapped around one’s finger or one’s little finger. This idiom means to have complete control over someone. It’s a little mischievous because if you have someone because if you have someone or make them do what you want.

My friend’s daughter has her dad wrapped around her little finger.
Once you’ve got him wrapped around your finger, ask him to fly you to Paris on his next business trip!

To keep (something) under wraps

This expression is used to say that something is concealed or being kept a secret.

We’ve got some really exciting news, but we’re trying to keep it under wraps until my mom gets here on Friday!
The government failed to keep the news under wraps.
Let’s try and keep it under wraps until the weekend.

That’s a wrap! / It’s a wrap!

Remember earlier that I mentioned the phrasal verb ‘wrap up‘ can also mean to finish? Well this expression is similar, it’s used to announce the end of something. It’s usually said right at the moment that an activity is finished, to say that something has been successfully completed.

Okay everyone! That’s a wrap! Great work!

It’s often used at the end on film sets or at the end of filming.

And that’s a wrap!

Well, not quiet, but that’s all of the expressions that I wanted to share with you using the word ‘wrap’. Did you know many of them? I hope that you’ve got a few new ones to practise with this week while you’re wrapping your Christmas presents or wrapping people around your fingers.

Make sure you subscribe to my channel by clicking that red button down there. I make new lessons every week. Then check out that video right there, it’s been selected especially for you or if you’re feeling Christmassy, make sure you check out my Christmas playlist right here, there’s lots of Christmas vocabulary and you’ll get to see what I’ll be cooking this Christmas.

If you do celebrate Christmas, enjoy the festive season! Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next week. Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next week. Or next year. Bye for now!