Idiom · B2 · Neutral · often critical when appreciation is missing
take something for granted
tayk sum-thing fer GRAN-tid Stress the first syllable of granted; its vowel is like the a in cat.
Fail to appreciate someone or something because you expect them to always be there; also, assume something is true without checking.
uzimati nekoga ili nešto zdravo za gotovo; podrazumevati nešto bez provere
Use it
I took my sister’s help for granted until she stopped organizing every family gathering.
Her effort had become so familiar that it went unappreciated.
We took it for granted that the museum would be open on Monday, so we never checked.
This sense concerns an unchecked assumption rather than gratitude.
Build the sentence
take + someone/something + for granted · take it for granted that + clause · be taken for granted
Memory scene
A reader enjoys a bright desk lamp without noticing the tiny helper cranking its generator. The support feels automatic, so the effort goes unappreciated.
Watch out
Keep for granted together after the object: take it for granted, not take for granted it. Before a full clause, use take it for granted that. Taking someone for granted usually means failing to appreciate them, not believing everything they say.
Nearby language
Matches the unchecked-belief sense, but does not by itself mean failing to appreciate someone.
Means recognize someone’s or something’s value, reversing the core sense taught here.
Means accept something as it appears, without examining it more deeply.
Make it yours
Koleginica vam svakog petka pomaže sa izveštajem. Shvatate da joj više ni ne zahvaljujete, jer računate da će uvek biti tu.