Old habits die hard. That is, once the habits _____, it is hard to remove it. A. take along B. take

Old habits die hard. That is, once the habits _____, it is hard to remove it. A. take along B. take note of C. take hold of D. take hold

The correct answer is D. take hold. The phrase "take hold" means to become established or firmly rooted, which perfectly fits the context of habits becoming difficult to change once they're deeply ingrained.

Let’s analyze the options:

A. take along means to bring someone/something with you, irrelevant here.

B. take note of means to pay attention to, which doesn’t describe habit formation.

C. take hold of requires an object (e.g., "take hold of the rope"), but the sentence has no object after the blank.

D. take hold (intransitive) correctly expresses the idea of habits becoming established ("once habits take hold").

English often uses phrasal verbs like "take hold" to describe abstract processes. The key distinction here is recognizing that the sentence requires an intransitive verb phrase—one that doesn’t need a direct object—to complete the meaning "when habits become firmly established." Have you noticed how many everyday situations rely on such subtle differences in phrasal verb usage?