take off

Question

Could please tell if "take off" can be used for immediate leaving or not?In exactly what kind of situations could I use it. (Another question: should I use "can" here or "could" is more proper?)

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

What kind of sentence do you have in mind?  Are you talking about airplanes?

USF · Answer

Thank you for your reply.
No. I'm talking about people leaving.

Gigilian Nguyen · Answer

youzouCould you please tell me if....

Hi,
Take off is normally used for aircraft, planes, etc... and it doesn't mean immediately in this case. It's just to leave the ground and begin to fly.
Ex: Could you believe that our plane took off two hours late?
Take off is informal and used for a person (for example), with the meaning to leave a place, especially in a hurry.
Ex: I am sure he will take off in the oppisite direction when he sees you.
Can and could, either is fine. Can is generally used to show you have the ability to do something. Could is used to establish doubt, and more formal.
GN

USF · Answer

Thanks for your correction and reply. I don't know why I missed it. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

take off

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