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Phrasal Verbs
Learning Root Words

Prefixes
Phrasal verbs are combinations of words that perform the function of a verb. These
Suffixes
combinations necessarily include a verb and either an adverb or a preposition (or both).
Collocations They form one complete semantic unit because the words that comprise a phrasal verb
Phrasal Verbs together describe one action. For example:

Synonyms

Antonyms
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example Sentences
Word Meanings

Foreign Language Words

I have not seen him here
Foreign Phrases used in English but I will ask around.
To ask the same
Changes in the English ask around question from many I am not sure if there are
Dictionary
people vacancies, but I will ask
Slang
around the office.
Phobias

SMS English She explained why the

Punctuation
work was not ready, but
her story does not add
Common Mistakes in English
To equal/corroborate a up.
Other Resources add up to something
fact The clues we found at
Career Resources
the house and the
Exercises museum must add up to
Quizzes something.

Video Lessons
I want to ask her out but
Questions
To invite someone on a she is dating someone.
ask someone out
date I wish I could muster the
courage to ask her out.

The girls in school always

blow gossip up to huge
blow something up To exaggerate proportions.

My mother blows my
achievements up in front
of guests.

The captain will not back

back someone up
him up just because he is
his son.
To support
You may be wrong but I
will back you up because
you are my brother.

The army is going to blow

up that building with a
bomb.
blow up To explode
Our calculations were
wrong and the rocket
blew up just after liftoff.

The old train is certain to

break down if it is not
To stop functioning maintained properly.
 To stop functioning maintained properly.
break down (usually for vehicle,
machine, etc.) He was driving recklessly
and the old car broke
down.

They broke the students

down into groups of four.

break something down To divide and subdivide The detective said they
were still breaking the
information down to make
sense of it.

The newspaper reported a

break-in at the bank.
To enter forcibly/
break into something Last night, two thieves
interrupt
broke into the house next
door.

A break up can lead to

emotional trauma.
break up To end a relationship After being together for
five years they have
decided to break up.

The Taliban helped 500

inmates escape of the
Afghan jail.
break out To escape
Ten inmates broke out of
prison in the southern
town yesterday.

There was a world panic

when SARS broke out in
China in 2002.
break out To spread The news about the
adulterous affair will break
out in tomorrows
newspaper.

The boss manages to

bring down my mood
To upset someone or to every day.
bring someone down
make someone unhappy His pessimistic comments
bring down the whole
group.

I was broke up in a
conservative Hindu family.

bring someone up raise a child After being abandoned by

his parents in Ghana he
was brought up by an
Italian couple.

My sister walks out of the

room when I bring up the
To initiate a subject of sports.
bring up conversation on a
subject I will bring up the issue of
cleanliness in the meeting
today.

We called around but we

could not find the spare
To phone different part we needed.
call around
places/people I have not seen him today
but I will call around and
inquire.
 inquire.

Please me back when you

get this message.
call someone back To return a phone call I could not answer your
call earlier but I will call
back shortly.

The referee has decided

to call off the game due
to bad weather.
call something off To abandon or cancel
They have decided to call
off the wedding due to
financial troubles.

The boss wants you to

call up the client now.
call someone up To phone someone
She will call you up later
to discuss the issue.

It is going to be okay,
please calm down.
calm down relax after being angry The crew asked us to
calm down during
turbulence.

You will have to walk

To get to the same faster if you want to
point as someone else/ catch up with Maya.
catch up
or to work hard in order You have studied a lot
to equal with someone more and I need to catch
up.

When you arrive at the

airport, you have to
check in at the airline
desk.
To reach and register at
check in
a hotel or airport

At a hotel, check-in is
normally required in order
to obtain a room key.

You will have to return

the room when you check
out of the hotel.
check out To leave a hotel Please ensure that you
are in possession of all
your belongings before
checking-out of the hotel.

She cheered up when she

heard that the result was
Used as an expression
positive.
cheer up to ask someone to be
happy Cheer up, it is your
birthday!

If everybody chips in, we

can get a bottle of the
most expensive wine.
chip in To contribute/help I do not have enough
money for a pizza so all of
you need to chip in as
well.

They need to clean up

 They need to clean up
the platform because it is
really dirty.
clean something up To tidy a place
You must clean up the
room before the president
arrives.

I came across these

books when I was tidying
the cupboard.
come across
find unexpectedly While reading this book I
something
came across new
information regarding
dinosaurs.

The flimsy decorations

came apart halfway
To separate/ fall down/ through the celebrations.
come apart
break down The group of friends came
apart once they went to
different colleges.

Her son came down with

the flu last weekend.
come down with
To become sick My throat is sore; I think
something
I am coming down with a
cold.

The hospital is anxious for

more donors to come

come forward To support/ to take an forward.

initiative Who will come forward
and take the
responsibility?

He resides in Brazil
although he comes from
Spain.
come from somewhere To originate in
Most of the stench comes
from the open drain
behind the house.

Can I count on you to

complete this essay by
count on To rely on a person or tonight?
someone/something thing I could not complete the
task so I am counting on
you to do it.

Kindly cross out your old

telephone number and
To draw a line through write the new one.
cross something out
something That word is wrong and
you need to cross it out
as soon as possible.

My financial advisor has

asked me to cut back on
unnecessary expenditure.
To use or consume less
cut back on something We need to cut back on
of something
driving since the price of
petrol is at an all-time
high.

He cut into the argument

 with a point of his own.
To interrupt in between
cut into He asked if could cut in
something or someone
on the dance between
Tim and me.

The butter is frozen. Cut

off a small blob and let it
rest outside so that it
To cut something with melts faster.
cut something off
something sharp
He cut off a small piece
from the large slab of
cheese using a knife.

The cable company cut

off our connection
To stop providing/to because we did not pay
cut something off break all relations with our bill.
someone After he was convicted,
his family decided to cut
him off.

She looked over the

article and cut the
introduction out and
To remove pieces or rewrote it.
cut something out
part of something
She cut a piece out of
the chunk of cheese and
placed it on the counter.

You sang the wrong

words this time; we will
have to do it over.
do something over To do something again My homework assignment
was unacceptable, so my
teacher asked me to do it
over.

It is time to do away with

all these old files.
do away with To dispose of or discard
something something My mother asked me to
do away with all the
unusable toys.

The party is at a fancy

To be dressed in a restaurant so we need to
dress up fancier or better way dress up appropriately.
than normal I was asked to dress up
for the mayors party.

He dropped back to fifth

position because he fell
To move back in a off his motorcycle.
drop back
position The coach asked the
attacking players to drop

back.

I thought Id drop in and

say hi.
To come without an
drop in/by/over I was surprised when she
appointment
dropped in unannounced
at midnight.

Can you drop me off at

To take the bus stop?
Drop
someone/something
Drop
someone/something
someone/something I will drop him off at the
somewhere and leave
off train station before
them/it there
reaching the venue.

He dropped out of the

chess club because it was
To quit a class, school, too difficult for him.
drop out
etc. She dropped out of
college but managed to
set up her own company.

I eat out almost five days

To eat outside of home, a week.
eat out
usually in a restaurant I do not feel like cooking
today so lets eat out?

If you do not work, you

will end up on the streets.
To do/to eventually
end up He studied history at
reach/to decide
college but ended up
working at a bank.

This wall will fall apart if

we do not use cement.
fall apart To break into pieces The house of cards stood
for a minute but then fell
apart.

If he does not walk

To fall on the ground/ to carefully on the ledge, he
fall down fall off from somewhere will fall down.
to the ground He was walking carelessly
and thus, fell down.

The veteran cricketer has

fallen out of favour.
fall out To separate
The coach and the player
had a fall out and the
latter decided to quit.

She needs to figure out

what the problem is.
figure something out To study/understand We need to figure out the
route before commencing
the trek.

Fill in the blank spaces

To write information in a and submit the sheet.
fill something in
form, etc. You must fill in the form in
order to obtain a ticket.

I want you to fill up the

To fill something tank with diesel.
fill something up
completely or to the top She wanted to fill up the
entire glass with wine.

How do I find out where

he lives?
find out To search/discover
I need you to find out
whether he is lying or not.

He is a good orator and

has no problem getting his
get something
get something message across.
To communicate
across/over
He could not get across
the message.

One must get along with

their colleagues.
get along/on To like each other It is about time you
buried the hatchet and
got along with each other

They are planning a

romantic get away for
To go on a vacation or their anniversary.
get away
a leave We have not travelled in

a while so we are planning

a getaway this summer.

He will not get away with

do something (usually an abusive remark like
something wrong) that.
get away with
something without being noticed or You cannot steal cars in
punished broad daylight and expect
to get away with it.

She did not get back

home until 5 oclock.

get back To return The boss needs you to

get back from the
Bahamas and complete
the report.

My brother got back at

me for eating his piece of
cake.
To retaliate/to take a
get back at someone After being humiliated in
revenge
public, she decided to get
back at her with ruthless
intent.

The train was full so we

could not get on.
get on something To step onto something To reach the chandelier,
you must get on the
stool.

The stock market is

slowly getting over the
recession.
get over something To recover/overcome
You need to get over the
fact that he stole your
bicycle.

Do you want to get

together this Saturday?
get together To meet
Lets get together at the
mall this weekend.

Please get up, this seat is

get up To stand/get out of bed reserved for ladies.

You are not allowed to sit

there, so, kindly get up.

The ice cream company is

 The ice cream company is
giving away free scoops
To reveal/give tomorrow.
give something away something for
free/donate Before dying, he had
pledged to give away half
his money to charity.

You must give the bone

back to the dog.
give something back To return You have her mobile
phone and need it give it
back to her.

The dictator finally gave

in to the mounting pro-
To unwillingly stop democracy protests.
give in
fighting or arguing After arguing for over two
hours, I decided to give in
to her demands.

This exam is really difficult

and I think I am going to
give up To stop trying give up.

Never give up, never

surrender!

The big dog is going to go

after the cat.
go after someone To follow someone The police decided to go
after the criminal after he
had robbed a bank.

My father always
encouraged me to go
To try to achieve after my goals.
go after something
something
She is really working hard
going after the top prize.

Does he really want to go

against the policies of the

go against someone or To oppose company?

something You cannot go against
the coach and expect to
remain with the team.

The General wants us to

go ahead with the plan.
To proceed/start/initiate
go ahead The centre has asked the
something
states to go ahead with
FDI in the retail sector.

This place is very

dangerous; I suggest you
go back home.
go back To return to a place
He needs us to go back
to the office and collect
his belongings.

Lets go out for dinner

tonight to celebrate your
To leave home to go out promotion!
go out
for an occasion, etc. I will go out in the
evening to watch the
play.
 Tim has wanted to go out
with Mary for a long time
go out with someone To date someone now.

She is going out with two

boys at the same time.

Its great that Hari has

moved next door; I can
To pay a visit to just go over to his place
go over something someone/something whenever Im bored!
nearby
She is going over to his
place later tonight.

Here are your insurance

papers, please go over
them carefully so that
go over To check or review you know all the details.

We need to go over this

brochure and select a
location for the meeting.

We used to be great
friends, but after college
we began to grow apart.
grow apart To end a friendship
We were good friends but
grew apart after
graduating from college.

It is always hard for

parents when their
children grow up.
grow up To become an adult
The puppy was tiny when
they found it but it grew
up to be a huge dog.

I will buy a new pair of

trousers if and when I
To get too big for grow out of this pair.
grow out of something something, usually a
piece of clothing I have gained weight and
grown out of the pants I
purchased last summer.

Initially he had some

trouble at the new office,
but things went smoothly
To grow big enough to after he grew into his
grow into something
fit role.

She has become taller

and grown into the dress.

When I was a child, I was

handed down my brothers
To give something used clothes.
hand something down
to someone else Please hand down your
old books to
underprivileged children.

The party members were

spreading their
propaganda by handing
To distribute to a group out fliers.
hand something out
of people The boss is going to
hand out a list of
responsibilities to
everybody today.
 The thieves asked us to
hand over all our
belongings.
To give (usually
hand something over
unwillingly) The landlord requested us
to hand over the keys to
the apartment.

When my friend was

diagnosed with cancer, all
I could say to him was,
To stay strong and Dont lose hope. Hang in
hang in
positive there.

Dont lose heart, hang in

there!

Hang on, let me get ready

hang on To wait for a short time and then we can leave.

Hang on, Im coming too!

My friends and I generally

To spend time relaxing hang out at malls.
hang out
or chilling out Lets hang out at the bar
after work tonight.

When I get angry with

someone on the phone, I
simply hang up.
hang up To end a phone call
I did not wish to talk to
him anymore so I decided
to hang up the phone.

If you have a complaint,

dont hold back; you
Hold cannot fix the problem if
To prevent from you do not voice it.
someone/something
doing/going
back You must hold him back
from committing such a
dangerous stunt.

He was a great athlete,

but he was held back
from succeeding by his
To hide an emotion/to parents, who wanted him
hold something back be stopped by to study instead.
something or someone He held back his tears
even though he was
distraught.

She asked the taxi driver

to hold on while she
located her wallet.
hold on To wait for a short time
He has asked you to hold
on to his book until he
returns.

He asked them to keep on

working while he looked
keep on doing around.
continue doing
something The musicians kept on
playing even though it
was raining.

Why do you keep secrets

 Why do you keep secrets
from me?
keep something from To not tell/not do/to
someone keep a secret You have a wonderful
voice so you must not
keep from singing.

The insects must be kept

Keep To stop someone or out at all costs.
someone/something something from entering The gate has been
out at a place installed to keep out stray
dogs.

Keep up the good work!

To continue at the same Keep up this speed for
keep something up
rate the rest of the journey
and we will reach on time.

You can rely on her; she

will never let you down.
let someone down To disappoint someone You have let me down
with this disappointing
performance.

Please lock the door and

do not let anybody in.

let someone in To permit to enter Yes, he is a guest so

please let him in.

Nurses are supposed to

look after look after patients.
To take care of
someone/something I need you to look after
my dog while Im away.

She always looks down on

her staff and treats them
To belittle someone/ to badly.
look down on someone consider someone
inferior to oneself A lot of people look down
on them because they are
poor.

Do you want to look for

the pen we lost
look for yesterday?
To try to find
someone/something
Let us look for the ball in
the garage.

Are you looking forward to

look forward to To be excited about tonights football match?
something some future plan, etc. I am really looking forward
to the weekend!

We are going to look into

the price of cars today.
look into something To investigate They need to look into
the matter carefully in
order to avoid a lawsuit.

Dont forget to look out

for mosquitoes in the
look out To be careful swamp.

Look out for speeding

buses on the highway.

The guide told them to

 The guide told them to
look out for pickpockets in
look out for To be extra careful or the marketplace.
someone/something vigilant Look out for hurricane
alerts on the island at this

time of the year.

Give the document a look

over for errors.
look something over To check/examine The teacher wants the
student to look over his
answers once again.

I look up to my sister
because she is a
wonderful human being.
To respect someone
look up to someone
immensely I look up to my coach
because he was a great
sportsman.

When asked why I hadnt

done my homework, I
made up a story about
having done it but
forgotten that that day
make something up To lie about something was the day of
submission.

You must stop making up

stories because we know
you are lying.

He returned my money
very late, but tried to
make up for it by treating
me to lunch.
make up To forgive each other
He is taking her out to
dinner to make up for
being at work on their
anniversary.

She was so nervous she

almost went on stage
without any make up.
make someone up To apply cosmetics
That actor uses a lot of
make up before shooting
a scene.

We got through most of

the show without any mix
ups, but right at the end

the lead actor forgot one

mix something up To get confused
of his lines.

The experienced striker

pounced on a defensive
mix-up to fire home into
an open goal.

I took two weeks off work

because my grandfather
passed away.
pass away To die
Our dog had been ill for a
few months and passed
away last night.

It was so hot in the

 It was so hot in the
examination hall that one
of the students passed
out for a couple of
pass out To lose consciousness minutes.

He walking in the sun and

passed out due to the
heat.

There should be no money

issues between friends,
so when I lend money to
my friends I tell them
To return the owed they can pay back
pay someone back whenever it is convenient
money
for them.

You can borrow money

now but you must pay
back within a week.

It is my policy to pay for

everything when I am out
To be punished for doing on a date.
pay for something
something bad The police swore that the
terrorist would pay for
destroying the building.

I always let my mother

pick out my clothes,
because she has excellent
pick something out To choose taste.

The concierge at the

hotel helped us pick out a
nice restaurant.

I tried to give the tourists

directions orally, but they
couldnt understand me,
so I pointed out the
Point turning they were
To point or indicate supposed to take.
someone/something
using your finger
out I have asked the
professor to point out all
the mistakes in my
assignment.

I was very tired that day,

so I put off the meeting
till after the weekend.
put something off To postpone
The boss has asked us to
put off our lunch plan to a
later hour.

We had to put together

the presentation in 2
days.
put something
To assemble The different parts have
together
been provided in order to
put together this
mountain bike.

My roommate told me to
move out, saying, I cant
put up with your
irresponsible ways
put up with To bear or tolerate anymore!
someone/something something or someone
someone/something something or someone
The company is not going
to put up with
inappropriate behaviour at
the workplace.

I did not need to put on

the t-shirt to know it was
To wear a too big for me.
put something on dress/accessories on
your body Pick out a dress, put it
on, and decide whether
you like it or not.

I ran into an old friend

from college the other
run into To meet someone day.
someone/something unexpectedly It was a pleasant surprise
when I ran into him at the
mall the other day.

Your toy is broken

because I ran over it with
run over To drive a vehicle over my car.
someone/something a person or thing The truck accidently ran
over a cat on the
highway.

The bride had run away

with someone else on the
To leave unexpectedly/ wedding day.
run away
to escape The children made a plan
to run away from home to
join the circus.

They ran out of

To have nothing left of sandwiches at the cafe.
run out
something She couldnt make tea as
they had run out of milk.

I sent back the steak

because it raw.
send something back To return This product is not what
we had ordered and we
are going to send it back.

They want to set up a

lemonade stall at the fair.
set something up To arrange/organize The government needs to
set up a commission for
the riot victims.

The hunter set the lion up

for the trap but it
escaped.
To trick/trap someone
set someone up
or something The people at the bank
were part of a set up by
the police to catch the
criminal.

He wants to show off his

house by illuminating it.
To act boastfully when
show off Most people simply love
people watch
to show off their wealth
in front of their friends.
 in front of their friends.

Jack is planning a
sleepover at his place on
To stay somewhere out his birthday.
sleep over of home, for the night The first sleepover at a
friends place can be a big
deal for some children.

You may want the

lawyers to sort the issue
To organise/ to resolve out.
sort something out
a situation We need to sort out
these cards and arrange
them according to size.

You will not lose weight if

you do not stick to the
To continue doing diet.
stick to something
something Most people do not stick
to the same job for a long
period.

Could you switch the light

off please?
switch something off To turn off Please switch off the
television before going to
bed.

He turned the machine on

again and it stopped
making a noise.
switch something on To turn on
Grandmother wants you
to switch on the radio for
her.

I need to take my money

back from him.
take something back To return something He can keep my bag for
now but Im going to take
it back tomorrow.

I feel that the most

thrilling part of any plane
journey is when it takes
take off To start flying off.

The plane finally took off

after taxiing for twenty
minutes.

I was about to take off

my clothes when I
realised there was
To remove something someone else in the room.
take something off (usually items of
clothing) I want you to take this
off the list and include
that instead.

She took out some money

from the safe.
take something out To remove from a place
Please take out the
garbage after dinner.

My girlfriend was very

depressed because she
 depressed because she
To take someone out had lost her job so I took
take someone out with yourself and also to her out for dinner.
pay for them On the last day of college
the professor took the
students out for lunch.

My boss simply tears up

the articles he doesnt
To rip something into like.
tear something up
pieces
The cat tore up the
newspaper.

Whenever I think back to

my school days, tears of
nostalgia come to my
think back To recall or remember eyes.

Think back to the time

when we were at the
beach.

You must think this job

offer over before taking a
think something over To consider decision.

This is my proposal, think

it over, and let me know.

I like that bag, please do

To trash something or not throw it away.
throw something away
to dispose of These dirty clothes need
to be thrown away.

I want to turn down the

volume.
turn something down To decrease the volume The old man has asked
me to turn down the
volume.

He asked her to marry him

but she turned him down.
turn something down To refuse
He turned down the offer
from ABC Corporation.

He turned off the lights

before going to bed.
turn something off To switch off
Please turn off the fans
when you leave.

She forgot to turn on the

charger so her cell stayed
turn something on To switch on off.

He asked her to turn on

the coffee machine.

Do you want to try out

this new shampoo?
try something out To test
Most people refrain from
trying out a new cuisine.

I get very tense when my

friends come over
To use something because they use up all
use something up
entirely or to finish all my supplies.

I cannot print this page

 I cannot print this page
because all the ink in the
printer has been used up.

I generally wake up at
about 7 in the morning.
wake up To stop sleeping You need to wake up
early in the morning for
karate practice.

It is a good idea to warm

up before engaging in
To prepare the body for strenuous physical
warm up exercise activity.

It is essential to warm up
a little before swimming.

The difference between

superior and inferior
products is that the latter
To diminish in quality wear out much more
wear off
because of frequent use quickly.

The sole of this old shoe

has worn out.

My lifestyle has gotten so

sedentary since I joined
the office that I have
signed up for daily work
work out To exercise outs at the gym.

Only a few people take

gym memberships to
actually work out.

I really hope that things

work out for you.
To be successful with
work out This job will work out only
something
if I can get my own
office.

In each of the above cases, the phrasal verb shares no similarity with the verb that it
replaces. These are idiomatic phrasal verbs, commonly used in informal, everyday
speech. Phrasal verbs are not necessarily idiomatic, though; they can be literal as well.
For example, literal phrases such as look up, walk across and switch off are also
considered phrasal verbs, because the action described by each cannot be described if
any of the words in the phrase are omitted. If up is taken out of look up, the
description of the action will be incomplete.

Also see

Collocations

Slangs

English Vocabulary
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