In place

In place

“In place” is a versatile expression. One of the most popular ways to use “in place” is to say that something has been established and maintained.

The words we use with “in place” are words like systems, plans, rules, measures, restrictions, and policies. These things can all be established and maintained. They can be valid.

Let’s start with a simple example using the word “plans.” A plan is in place when you have made a plan, and when that plan is still valid; you’re still using it or following it.

The CEO of Apple is Tim Cook. He is 63 years old. And he cannot be the CEO forever. So Apple, like all large companies, has a succession plan. The succession plan is a plan for what happens when and if a key person leaves the company.

Tim Cook could retire. He could be injured or even die. He could be fired. So the company needs a succession plan. And Tim Cook, in a recent interview, said that succession plans are in place at Apple. He said that he wants to work there for a long time; he said that he can’t imagine his life without Apple. But even so, Apple has succession plans in place.

That means Apple has made a plan for what happens if Tim Cook can no longer do his job. They made that plan. That plan is still valid. They’ll use that plan if they need it. If something happens, they have this plan, and they will follow it. So we say that plan is in place.

A system can be in place. A system is in place if the system has been created and if that system is working. I’ll give you an example from Plain English. You might know that we build translations right into the transcripts. It’s a feature of the Plus+ membership . We have a system in place to produce those translations.

That system’s name is JR . No, no! I’m just joking. The system is bigger than JR. He’s a big part of it! But we have a whole system in place. We have to select the words to translate, put them into a database, send them to our translators, get them back, work them into the code, and upload them to the website—and we have to do it on time.

This is a system—procedures, technology, timelines, all this stuff working together. We created a system—JR and I did—and we follow it. I say “we”—mostly JR follows it. He followed it this week, he followed it last week, he’ll follow it in the future. The system is in place. We created the system and it’s working now.

Policies can be in place. A policy is like a set of rules, from some type of an authority figure. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we had social distancing policies, right? The policy was created. And the policy was in place for a long time. We had to follow the rules for a long time.

The U.S. is different from many countries in that a lot of laws, a lot of rules, a lot of policies, are made by the states, not by the national government. So in some states, social distancing policies were in place for over a year, two years even. In other states, social distancing policies were in place only for a few months.

So when we say “in place” in this way, we mean: how long were they valid for? There are no social distancing policies in place any longer. The policies are no longer valid, no longer active, we don’t have to follow them anymore, so they are not in place.

A “restriction” is a type of policy. It’s a policy that limits something. And that brings me to how you heard it in today’s story about the Panama Canal. You learned that there’s a drought in Panama and that drought is limiting the amount of fresh water available to operate the locks in the Panama Canal.

The Panama Canal Authority is in charge of the canal. And the Authority put restrictions in place to deal with the drought. They established the restrictions; they put them in place. And now, in December 2023, and likely for many months in 2024, those restrictions are still in place. They are valid, they are still going on. They are in place.

See you next time!

And that is all for today’s Plain English. Remember this was lesson 634, so you can find the full lesson content at PlainEnglish.com/634. Do the exercises, watch the video, look at those transcripts with the translations—all that is possible at PlainEnglish.com/634 thanks to JR and our fabulous system that we have in place.

Coming up on Thursday, our last new episode of the year. We are almost done with 2023. How about that. And if English is in your plans for 2024, I cannot think of any better way to upgrade your English than to join us at Plain English Plus+. We have huge plans for the year ahead; I cannot wait for you to see it. And so you’ll want to be part of Plain English Plus+ when that time comes. Check it out at PlainEnglish.com/Plus .

See you on Thursday.