“To set off” or “to set out”?

To set off and to set out are often interchangeable:

• We set off on a journey
• We set out on a journey
• She set off across the river
• She set out across the river
• They set off to London
• They set out to London
• They set off for London
• They set out for London

Sometimes we can use to set out when the ‘journey’ isn’t geographical. On these occasions to set off has the meaning to intend.

• I am setting out to lose a lot of weight by New Year
• The student set out to improve her English
• The football club set out to reach the final

We can also use to set out to mean to present, explain, demonstrate or arrange something:

• The President set out her plans for the future
• The Director set out the company’s policy
• This document will set out our reasons for this action
• The janitor set out the chairs for the meeting

We can use to set off to talk about staring something:

• He set off a bomb
• He set off a firework
• The book set off an argument

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To find out about phrasal verbs, please visit https://grahamsgrammar.com/phrasal-verbs/

To find out about prepsotional verbs, please visit https://grahamsgrammar.com/prepositional-verbs/