Understanding English Grammar – phrasal verbs ‘stand’ part 2

‘to stand in’ means to replace or represent someone for a short time.

• I’ll ask one of my colleagues to stand in while I’m away.
• Another actor stood in for him while he was ill.

‘to stand out’ means to be much better than similar things or people.

• One person stands out from all the candidates that we have met.
• There is one solution that stands out clearly as the best.

‘to stand out’ also means to be noticeable because they are very different from others.

• With her height and red hair, she always stands out in a crowd.
• Children never want to stand out but to be just like everyone else.

‘to stand over’ means to supervise closely, watch what someone is doing.

• She stood over me while I did the work just to be sure that I had done it properly.
• I had to stand over my children otherwise they didn’t do their homework.

‘to stand round’ means to spend time standing, waiting for someone or something or doing nothing.

• They just stood round and watched. They didn’t help.
• We stood round in the cold for half an hour waiting for them to arrive.

‘to stand up’ means to rise into a standing position.

• At school, we had to stand up whenever a teacher entered the room.
• When she came in the room, everyone stood up to greet her.

‘to stand someone up’ means to fail to meet them on purpose, usually for a romantic date.

• He didn’t come. He stood me up!
• I waited in the restaurant for an hour before I realised I’d been stood up.

‘to stand up for’ something means to defend it because you believe in it.

• You have to stand up for what you believe in.
• You have to stand up for yourself, no one else will.

‘to stand up to’ means to not give in to someone in a powerful position, to argue your case

• He was never afraid to stand up to his father even when he was very small.
• The management is too weak to stand up to the union and their demands.