look after someone

Meaning

This expression means to take care of someone, make sure they are safe, healthy, or have what they need. It is often used for children, elderly relatives, pets, or sick people. It is a neutral, everyday phrase used in both casual and formal contexts.

Examples

• Could you look after my cat while I'm away on vacation next week?

  Could you look after my cat while I'm away on vacation next week?

• She stayed home to look after her sick grandmother.

  She stayed home to look after her sick grandmother.

• My older brother always looked after me when we were growing up.

  My older brother always looked after me when we were growing up.

• It's hard work looking after three toddlers all day.

  It's hard work looking after three toddlers all day.

• You need to look after yourself and get some rest.

  You need to look after yourself and get some rest.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I need to look for my little sister tonight.

  ✓ I need to look after my little sister tonight.

  'Look for' means to search for something lost. 'Look after' means to care for someone.

• ✗ She looks after of her plants very well.

  ✓ She looks after her plants very well.

  'Look after' is a transitive phrasal verb that takes a direct object. Do not add the preposition 'of'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Who is going to ___ the baby while you are at work?

  💡 take care of

  Show answer

  look after

• He is very responsible and always ___ his younger siblings.

  💡 present tense, third-person singular

  Show answer

  looks after