to prepare vs. to prepare yourself
– B2 (intermediate) –
Practice Your Listening Comprehension
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It is a common mistake among English learners to confuse the expression, “to prepare yourself,” with “to prepare.” These generally do not mean the same thing in Canada.
TO PREPARE YOURSELF
In Canadian English, this typically means:
To become mentally ready to do something, or to accept the fact that you must/are going to do something
TO PREPARE
In Canadian English, this typically means:
To physically organize things in order to become ready to do something
EXAMPLES
“Her father suffered from social anxiety, so he always had to prepare himself before leaving the house to go grocery shopping.”
“After embarrassing herself yesterday at school, she did not want to go back. So, before she left her house this morning, she prepared herself to return by staring into the mirror and repeating, ‘I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.’”
“The students prepared for their exam by studying many hours at the library.”
“The doctor was scheduled to perform surgery at 13:00, so the medical staff made sure to be done preparing the operating room before then.”
