hand down
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: hand DOWN. Saying “HAND down” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Do not release the /d/. Before the consonant of “down” the stop is held and swallowed rather than popped — the same unreleased-stop move as in hot dog. One smooth unit: “hand down”.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is hand DOWN, the noun is HAND-ME-DOWN. Same two words, different beat — “to hand DOWN” is the action, “a hand-me-down” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
2 meanings
- 1
To pass something to a younger generation.
- “The recipe was handed down from her grandmother.”
- “All my clothes were handed down from my brother.”
Similar: pass down, bequeath
- 2
(Of a court) to deliver a verdict or sentence.
formal- “The court handed down a six-month sentence.”
Similar: issue