Study & education
not be able to put something down
be unable to stop reading something engrossing
If you cannot put a book down, it is so interesting that you do not want to stop reading it.
Hear it in real life
Have you finished that mystery novel?
Not yet, but I can't put it down.
I couldn't put the book down, so I stayed up far too late.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: I couldn't put down it because the story was so exciting.
Say: I couldn't put it down because the story was so exciting.
With this separable phrase, a pronoun object goes between “put” and “down.”
Build it
How it fits in a sentence.
can't put a book down; couldn't put it down
Your turn: say it out loud
I couldn't put the book down, so I stayed up far too late.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
not be able to put something down
be unable to stop reading something engrossing
“I couldn't put the book down, so I stayed up far too late.”
heytardy
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