Learn how to use the verb "Reach"
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| Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Know Your Verbs. My name is Alisha, and in this lesson, we're going to talk about the verb reach. |
| Let's get started. Let's start with the basic definition of this verb. The basic definition of reach is to arrive somewhere, especially after using a lot of effort. Some examples. We reached the top of the mountain at sunset. The package didn't reach him in time. |
| Now let's look at the conjugations for this verb. Present, reach, reaches. Past, reached. Past participle, reached. Progressive, reaching. Now let's talk about some additional meanings for this verb. |
| The first additional meaning is to get to a certain level. Some examples. She wants to reach the highest level of language proficiency. Croatia reached the final round in the World Cup. So this use of reach is used to show that a certain level of achievement happens. In the first example sentence, it's about a skill or an ability. She wants to reach the highest level of language proficiency. It means she wants to work at something to achieve a specific rank or a specific level in something. So we typically use reach for, like, high levels of something. We don't use reach for low levels or intermediate levels so much. We tend to use it a lot for things that take time and effort to achieve. So in this case, a high level of language proficiency fits the use of reach. In the second example, it's a sports example. So it's about a team reaching the final round of the World Cup. So reaching the final round, again, shows a high level of skill or a high level of proficiency in something. In this case, a sport. So reaching something shows a high level of ability or, like, a lot of effort. We can use reach to talk about that. |
| The next additional meaning is to extend an arm to try to obtain something. Some examples. I can't reach the glass on the top shelf. He reached across the table and grabbed the menu. So this use of reach is specifically about the body, about using the body like the arm and the hand or hands to try to reach something or to try to touch something. So we can use it in combination with other verbs. For example, the second sentence here is talking about reaching across a table. So extending an arm across a table and grabbing. So grab means, like, taking something but quickly or like in this kind of quick motion. So to reach and do something like to reach up and take something, for example, or to reach across and grab something. We commonly combine this use of reach with another verb. In the first example, though, it's about not being able to reach something. Like, I can't reach the glass on the top shelf means, like, I'm too short. I can't extend my arm and touch or I can't extend my arm and take the glass on the top shelf. Like, it's too tall. I'm not tall enough, in other words. So you can see reach kind of combined with other verbs in this way. But it typically refers to using your physical body parts to try to get something or to try to touch something. |
| The next additional meaning is to communicate with someone. Some examples. I'll try to reach you later. She hasn't been able to reach him all day. This use of reach means communicate, yes. But specifically, we use it for emails and phone calls. We don't typically use it for face-to-face communication. We use reach kind of in the same way as we talked about with the second additional meaning. Like, you're reaching out to try to find something or to touch something or to communicate with someone. In this case, however, you're reaching out with your communication devices. So that means your phone or your computer. I'll talk about reach out a little bit later. So when we reach someone, it means we can communicate. We are able to communicate with them. In the second example sentence, however, we see a negative use of this. I haven't been able to reach him all day, which means I have not been able to communicate with this person all day. So by phone or by email, no messages have been returned, for example. So using reach for communication is something that we do with business clients, with clients, with colleagues, with co-workers, with the people in our office. We maybe use it from time to time with family members, though it can sound a little bit polite. Like, I might not say, I'm trying to reach my mother, unless I'm speaking to, like, I don't know, an authority figure. If it's a conversation with friends or with family, I would say, I want to call my mom or I want to talk to my mom. I wouldn't say, I want to reach my mom. It sounds a little bit more formal. So you can use this at work, actually. It's quite common at work in emails and in phone calls. |
| Let's move along to a variation with this verb. This variation is to reach out to somebody. This means to try to communicate with someone, often to try to support that person. Let's look at some examples. I'm writing to reach out for help regarding an upcoming project. Have you tried reaching out to the people in your network? So this use of reach out can be used to request support and can be used to offer support. In the second example sentence here, we see a question. Have you tried reaching out to the people in your network? This use of reach out shows like you want to communicate and get support. So reach out shows those two things happening at the same time. The first example sentence is actually a statement. I'm writing to reach out for help regarding an upcoming project. That's also a request. That's like an introduction to help. You can talk about how you offered your support or you would like to offer your support for something by saying like, I'm reaching out to see if I can support you with this project, for example. So you can request and offer support using reach out. Just keep in mind that reach out does sound like there's some help and communication involved. But it's a very nice and very positive word actually for helping others and communicating with people. |
| So I hope that you found a new way of using the verb reach. If you have any questions or comments or if you know a different way of using the verb reach or if you want to practice making some example sentences, please feel free to do so in the comment section of this video. Thanks very much for watching this episode of Know Your Verbs and we'll see you again soon. Bye-bye. |
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