Try out
This is a very school-related term for you, “try out.” There are other ways to use “try out,” but today I’m going to show you a very specific way to use it.
This is almost always used with young people in a school environment . I suppose , maybe, you can use it later in life, but this is, like, 99 percent of the time, it’s used in a school environment, but not in the classroom. It’s used with theater and sports.
Some activities at a school are not open to everyone . There’s a limited number of spots . If the school play is Shakespeare’s “Othello,” only one person can be Othello. Only one person can be Desdemona.
How do we figure out who’s going to be in the school play? All the students interested in drama, in acting in the play —they try out for the play. They audition for the play. They go before the drama teacher or a committee . They read some lines. They act it out . They’re trying out for the play. They want to be selected.
Someone might try out to be Othello. Othello is the hero of the play; he’s well-respected . But only one person can get it. So you might have three, four, five, ten, fifteen people try out, but only one person gets the role .
What else can you try out for? Sports teams. This is the most common use of “try out.” You try out for the team.
Here’s how sports work in schools in the United States. There are club sports. Club sports are just for fun, for recreation . Anyone can play. Nobody—I think I’m safe in saying—nobody gets turned away . Everyone who wants to play club volleyball gets to play. If there are too many people, they just make more teams. It’s all about having fun and getting exercise .
Varsity sports are different. This is the big time. Every school has just one varsity team for each sport—one team represents the town . There are usually varsity football, soccer, baseball, softball, and basketball teams. The varsity team plays against other schools in the area.
And as you can imagine , they don’t let just anyone on the team. There are a limited number of spots . Students have to try out. They have to compete for one of the limited spots on the roster .
Where and how do you try out for a sports team? You go to something called—can you guess?—”tryouts.”
The tryouts are an open invitation , usually a week at the beginning of the season . Anyone can come and try out for the team. It’s a week full of exercises and drills . The coaches watch. And at the end of the week, they select the players who will make the team.
So in these cases, you’re competing for a position . And if you want to say what you’re competing for, you can say, “try out for.” So you’re trying out for the football team, trying out for the varsity volleyball team, trying out for the school play, trying out for the spring musical . And like I said, it’s almost always with sports or drama, and almost always at school.
See you next time!
Yeah, I was not on any varsity teams. I acted in one play, but I didn’t have to try out. The director was desperate for anyone to participate , and I reluctantly agreed .
All right, that’s all for today. Now remember, there are other ways of using “try out”—this was just one very specific definition . Maybe in the future, we’ll talk about other ways to use it.
This was lesson number 698, so that means the full lesson is available online at PlainEnglish.com/698. That includes the transcript, quizzes, practice exercises, translations, fast and slow audio, everything related to this topic is at PlainEnglish.com/698.
We’ll be back on Thursday with a new topic. See you then.
Learn more with Plus+
Fast audio & built-in translations help you learn expressions faster