Phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions. English grammar with exercises. Free eBook and Free printable PDF.

Phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions



Phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions


Phrasal verbs are two or more words that together act as a completely new word, with a meaning separate from the original words. For example, pick up means to “grab” or “lift,” very different from the definitions of pick and up alone. Popular in spoken English, phrasal verbs can be quite confusing because their definitions aren’t always easy to guess—and there are thousands of them. In fact, many phrasal verbs are distinct variations on the same base verb, which can add to the confusion. 


What is a phrasal verb? 

A phrasal verb combines a normal verb with an adverb or a preposition to create an entirely new verbal phrase—the phrasal verb. The meaning of a phrasal verb is usually unrelated to the meanings of the words that comprise it, so think of a phrasal verb as an entirely new and independent word. 


List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with A.

  • Account for: Explain by relating circumstances
  • Account for: Be the primary cause of
  • Account for: Constitute in amount or portion
  • Account for: Destroy or put out of action
  • Account to: Answer to; to be responsible to
  • Admire to: Be enthusiastic about doing
  • Adopt out: Send a son or daughter away to live in another country
  • Age out: Become too old for an activity, program or institution; to become too mature for a behavior
  • Aim at: Design for a particular audience
  • Aim at/to: Intend to do or achieve
  • Allow for: Take into account when making plans
  • Attend to: Diligently work on; to pay attention to

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with B.

  • Bail out: Rescue, especially financially
  • Bail out: Leave (or not attend at all) a place or a situation
  • Bail out: Sell all or part of one’s holdings in stocks, real estate, a business, etc.
  • Ball out: Cry intensely; to sob or weep
  • Ball up: Crush into a ball shape
  • Ball up: Coil up into a ball
  • Ball up: Hunch over and pull in one’s arms and legs
  • Balls up: Do something badly. To ruin a job
  • Bear on: Be relevant to
  • Bear out: Corroborate, prove, or confirm; to demonstrate
  • Bear upon: Be relevant to
  • Bear with: Be patient with
  • Believe in: Ascribe existence to
  • Believe in: Believe that (something) is right or desirable
  • Believe in: Have confidence in the ability or power of
  • Block off: Obstruct
  • Block off: Book, set aside
  • Block out: Prevent from entering or penetrating
  • Block out: Prevent (a thought) from entering one’s mind
  • Boil down: Become reduced
  • Boil off: Remove by boiling
  • Boil off: Be removes by boiling
  • Boil over: Boil to such an extent as to overflow its container
  • Boil up: Cook or prepare by boiling
  • Book in: Reserve an appointment for
  • Bottom out: Touch or drag along the ground
  • Branch out: Expand in the manner of branches
  • Branch out: Attempt something new or different, but related
  • Brighten up: Make cheerful
  • Bubble over: Be very enthusiastic, or highly excited
  • Bubble over: Be successful on a modest scale, without yet being fully established
  • Buck up: Become encouraged, reinvigorated, or cheerful
  • Buck up: Encourage or refresh; to hearten
  • Buck up: Pass on to higher authority for resolution
  • Buckle down: Put forth the needed effort
  • Buckle up: Fasten one’s seat belt or safety belt
  • Build up: Accumulate, to pile up, to increase in stages
  • Build up: Strengthen
  • Bump into: Collide with
  • Bump into: Cause (a thing) to collide with
  • Bump into: Meet by chance
  • Burn down: Cause (a structure) to burn to nothing
  • Burn down: Burn completely, so that nothing remains
  • Burn out: Become extinguished due to lack of fuel
  • Burn out: Tire due to overwork
  • Burn up: Catch fire and burn until destroyed
  • Burn up: Anger; to annoy

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with C.

  • Calm down: Become less excited, intense, or angry
  • Cancel out: Neutralize the effect of something
  • Catch on: Begin to understand; to realize
  • Catch on: Become popular; to become commonplace; to become the standard
  • Catch up: Entangle
  • Catch up: Be brought up to date with news
  • Catch up: Bring someone else up to date with the news
  • Catch up: Reach something that had been ahead
  • Cheer up: Become happy
  • Cheer up: Make someone happy
  • Chew out: Lecture, scold, reprimand, or rebuke
  • Chew up: Chew so as to make something pulpy
  • Chicken out: Shy away from a daring task
  • Chill out: Relax or take time out; to calm down
  • Chill out: Hang out; spend time together with another person or group
  • Clean out: Clean, especially to tidy by removing the contents
  • Clean out: Empty completely; to remove all money or possessions from
  • Clean up: Make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy
  • Clean up: Become clean, handsome, smart in appearance
  • Clean up: Make a large profit
  • Clear away: Leave, disappear
  • Clear out: Completely empty
  • Clear out: Remove or eject (from), especially forcibly
  • Clear out: Leave quickly
  • Clear out: Become empty
  • Close down: Stop trading as a business
  • Close down: Surround someone, as to impede their movement
  • Close in on: Enclose around; to tighten or shrink; to collapse
  • Close in on: Catch up with in a chase; to near the end of a pursuit
  • Close in on: Near a goal or completion
  • Close off: Seal or block the entrance to a road, an area, or a building so that people cannot enter
  • Close up: Move people closer together
  • Close up: Shut a building or a business for a period of time
  • Close up: Heal a cut or other wound
  • Clock in: Begin working time, especially by punching in
  • Clock in: Be measured at
  • Clock off: End work
  • Clock out: End work; to officially record a time when one terminates a period of work
  • Clock out: Officially record a work-termination time for
  • Consist in: Have the thing mentioned as the only or most important part
  • Consist of: Be composed or made up of something
  • Cool down: Become cooler, to be reduced in temperature
  • Cool down: Cause the temperature of an item to decrease
  • Cool down: Become less agitated
  • Cool down: Cause to become less agitated
  • Count down: Announce the passage of time to a precisely timed expected event
  • Count down: Await a precisely timed expected event
  • Count in: Include (someone) in an activity, etc.
  • Count in: Do a countdown before the start of something, especially a musical performance
  • Count off: Count (a series of numbers) aloud
  • Count on: Rely on, trust, or expect
  • Count out: Exclude; to dismiss from participation or eligibility
  • Count out: Enumerate items while organizing or transferring them.
  • Count up: Add to get a total
  • Crop out: Come to light; to be manifest; to appear
  • Cross off: Finish; to regard something as complete
  • Cross out: Strike out; to draw a line through
  • Cross over: Pass from one side or area, physical or abstract, to another
  • Cross over: Die
  • Cry off: Cancel something that one has previously arranged with someone
  • Cry out for: Be in urgent need (of)

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with D.

  • Deal with: Handle verbally or in some form of artistic expression; to address or discuss as a subject
  • Deal with: Take action with respect to (someone or something)
  • Deal with: Consider, as an example
  • Deal with: Come to terms with; to overcome any difficulties presented by
  • Deal with: Be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
  • Deal with: Behave in a certain way towards
  • Do for: Doom; to bring about the demise of
  • Do in: Kill or end
  • Do in: Exhaust, to tire out
  • Do up: Fasten (a piece of clothing, etc.); to tighten
  • Do up: Redecorate
  • Do up: Execute a task or performance
  • Do up: Pack together and envelop; to pack up
  • Do without: Manage despite the lack of
  • Draw in: Attract
  • Draw in: Get someone involved
  • Draw in: Approach
  • Draw on: Advance, continue; to move or pass slowly or continuously, as under a pulling force.
  • Draw on: Approach, come nearer, as evening
  • Draw out: Make something last for more time than is necessary
  • Draw out: Improve a losing hand to a winning hand by receiving additional cards
  • Draw up: Compose a document, especially one having a standard form
  • Draw up: Arrange in order or formation
  • Draw up: Cause to come to a halt
  • Draw up: Come to a halt
  • Drink in: Absorb; to be completely attentive to
  • Drink to: Raise one’s glass as a toast
  • Drink up: Finish one’s drink
  • Drive at: Mean, signify; to aim or tend to a point
  • Drive away: Depart by driving a vehicle
  • Drive away: Force someone or something to leave
  • Dry out: Have excess water evaporate or be otherwise removed.
  • Dry up: Become dry (often of weather); to lose water
  • Dry up: Cause to become dry
  • Dry up: Deprive someone of (something vital)
  • Dry up: Cease to exist; to disappear
  • Dry up: Manually dry dishes
  • Dry up: Stop talking, to forget what one was going to say

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with E.

  • Eat away: Erode or corrode gradually
  • Eat into: Consume gradually, especially by erosion
  • Eat out: Perform cunnilingus or anilingus
  • Eat up: Consume completely
  • Eat up: Accept or believe entirely, immediately, and without questioning

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with F.

  • Find out: Discover, as by asking or investigating
  • Find out: Discover or expose (someone) as disobedient, dishonest, etc.
  • Find out: Uncover a weakness (in someone)
  • Finish off: Finish completely
  • Finish off: Kill
  • Finish up: Complete the last details of a task
  • Finish with: Put aside, break all relations with, or reject finally
  • Finish with: Complete; to complete use of
  • Fit in: Be physically capable of going into a space
  • Fit in: Be confident in a social situation
  • Fit into: Be of the right size and shape to be placed in a location
  • Fit into: Be of similar cultural or social status as the members of a group of people
  • Fit up: Conspire to incriminate falsely a presumably innocent person
  • Fit up: Furnish with suitable things; to prepare; to fit out
  • Fix up: Provide (someone) (with something); to furnish
  • Fix up: Repair or refurbish
  • Fix up: Prepare or provide (something)
  • Force out: Cause something to be ejected

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with G.

  • Gear up: Prepare for an activity
  • Grow up: Mature and become an adult
  • Grow up: Start to develop; to flourish
  • Grow up: Stop acting as or like a child

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with H & K.

  • Hand in: Give something to a responsible person
  • Hand off: Pass or transfer
  • Hand over: Relinquish control or possession of something to someone
  • Hand round: Pass something to everyone in a group
  • Hash out: Work through the details of something; especially to work through difficulties
  • Head off: Begin moving away
  • Head off: Intercept
  • Head off: Avoid some usually negative consequence
  • Knuckle down: Get to work; to focus on a task

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with L.

  • Lead in: Introduce, to mark the beginning of something, especially in music
  • Lead off: Be the first batter of an inning
  • Lean on: Put pressure on; to attempt to compel a person to do something; to exert influence on
  • Leave behind: Abandon
  • Leave behind: Forget about
  • Leave behind: Not live longer than; to be survived by
  • Leave behind: Leave (a trace of something)
  • Leave behind: Outdo; to progress faster than (someone or something else)
  • Leave behind: Pass
  • Leave off: Desist; to cease
  • Leave out: Omit, to not include, to neglect to mention
  • Leave out: Allow a portion to remain unused or unconsumed
  • Lie around: Do nothing in particular, to be idle
  • Lie around: Be in an unknown place
  • Lie before: Put oneself at the whim of, to bow down to
  • Lie down: Assume a reclining position
  • Lie down: Be lazy or remiss
  • Lie in: Stay in bed (longer than usual)
  • Lie low: Conceal oneself; to remain hidden
  • Lift up: Lighten the mood of someone
  • Light up: Show an increase in activity or mood
  • Light up: Light a cigarette, pipe etc.
  • Lighten up: Become less serious and more cheerful or casual; to relax
  • Liven up: Improve a person’s mood by making them more energetic
  • Liven up: Become more happy, energetic or positive
  • Lock in: Fix the value of something potentially variable
  • Lock out: Prevent from entering a place, particularly oneself, inadvertently
  • Lock out: Prevent from accessing a data structure
  • Log in: Gain access to a computer system, usually by providing a previously agreed upon username and password
  • Log on: Visit a Web site; construed with to
  • Log out: Exit a user account in a computer system
  • Luck out: Experience great luck; to be extremely fortunate or lucky
  • Luck out: Run out of luck

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with M & N.

  • Meet up: Meet somebody, by arrangement
  • Miss out: Miss an experience or lose an opportunity, etc. that should not be missed
  • Mix up: Mix or blend thoroughly and completely
  • Mix up: Prepare something from ingredients that are mixed
  • Mix up: Confuse or reverse
  • Mix up: Combine thoroughly
  • Mix up: Become involved with, especially socially or romantically
  • Monkey around: Act foolishly
  • Narrow down: Make more specific

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with O & P.

  • Open up: Open
  • Open up: Reveal oneself; to become communicative
  • Open up: Commence firing weapons
  • Pack away: Store away, place out of the way, or stash, especially for the longer term
  • Pack away: To eat (a great deal of food)
  • Pack off: Send away, with belongings, for a long time
  • Pack out: Fill with spectators
  • Pack up: Move one’s residence
  • Pay back: Pay an amount of money owed to another, to repay
  • Pay back: Exact revenge
  • Pay for: Exchange for, especially money for goods or services
  • Pay for: Be punished or held accountable for
  • Pay off: Bribe, especially to deter oversight
  • Pay off: Become worthwhile; to produce a net benefit
  • Pay off: Pay back; to repay
  • Pay off: Pay back (repay, pay off) the entirety of a loan, thereby effecting the release of a lien on
  • Phase in: Introduce something little by little
  • Phase out: Remove or relinquish the use of something little by little
  • Plan on: Expect; to anticipate future actions based on
  • Plough back: Reinvest profits into a business
  • Plough back: Continue with a task despite it being menial, difficult, or boring
  • Plough through: Persevere with an activity of consuming something, both literally and figuratively
  • Plough through: Forcefully make a passage to move through
  • Point out: Identify among a group of similar subjects
  • Point out: Tell, remind, indicate
  • Pour out: Serve a drink into a cup or glass
  • Pour out: Leave a place quickly, and in large numbers
  • Pour out: Talk volubly and deeply. Usually implies telling the truth
  • Press out: Obtain from a substance, as by mechanical action

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with Q & R.

  • Quiet down: Become quieter
  • Quiet down: Make someone or something become quieter
  • Quiet down: Diminish in intensity
  • Read in: Accept as input
  • Read off: Dictate from a list
  • Read out: Read something and say the words to inform other people
  • Read out: Read some data and inform the person using the device
  • Rely on: Be confident in
  • Rely on: Be dependent upon
  • Roll around: Move about on the ground while rotating and turning one’s body
  • Roll around: Be considered, without much coherence, in someone’s mind
  • Roll around: Indulge in sexual intercourse (with)
  • Roll around: Return to a prior state
  • Roll around: Postpone
  • Roll in: Arrive casually at a place
  • Roll in: Come in an unstoppable flow
  • Roll out: Deploy or release (a new film or software, etc.)
  • Roll over: Make a rolling motion or turn
  • Roll over: Cause a rolling motion or turn
  • Roll over: Give in to
  • Roll up: Make something into a particular shape, especially cylindrical or fold-like
  • Roll up: Arrive by vehicle, usually by car
  • Round out: Make more complete by adding details
  • Rule in: Consider (something) as a possible option among others
  • Rule out: Make a decision in an official capacity regarding some matter
  • Rule out: Reject an option from a list of possibilities
  • Rule out: Make something impossible
  • Rush off: Produce in great haste

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with S.

  • Scale back: Make a reduction in the amount, extent, etc. of something
  • Scare off: Cause (something) to flee by frightening it
  • Scare off: Deter
  • Scarf down: Eat something quickly
  • Sell down: Become less by being sold
  • Sell out: Sell all of a product that is in stock
  • Sell out: Abandon or betray one’s supporters or principles to seek profit
  • Sell out: Betray a person, usually a close friend or family member, for personal gain
  • Settle down: Become quiet and calm after a period of disturbance or restlessness
  • Settle down: Get comfortable with one’s new accommodation or circumstances
  • Settle for: Accept or allow something, especially something not entirely desirable
  • Settle in: Get comfortable or established, as in a new place
  • Settle on: Make a decision or selection; to decide, arrange, or agree on
  • Shake off: Remove (something attached to, on or clinging to an object) by shaking
  • Shake off: Dissociate oneself from
  • Shake off: Lose someone who is tracking you
  • Shake off: Rid oneself of a malady or its symptoms
  • Shake up: Agitate by shaking
  • Shake up: Upset or distress
  • Shake up: Reorganize, to make reforms in
  • Shade up: Improve; to correct one’s bad habits or behavior
  • Shade up: Take shape; to transform into or become
  • Show in: Lead or direct someone to an enclosed space, usually a room
  • Show off: Exhibit the best attributes of something
  • Show off: Attract attention to for the purpose of bragging or personal exhibitionism
  • Show off: Show someone the important parts of something (a building, town etc.)
  • Show up: Appear, arrive, or attend, especially suddenly or erratically
  • Show up: Make visible or expose faults and deficiencies in, usually by comparison
  • Shower with: Give to someone an abundance of (something)
  • Shut down: Close, terminate, or end
  • Shut down: Turn off or stop
  • Shut in: Lock in
  • Shut out: Hide from sight
  • Shut up: Of a person, to stop talking or (of a person or thing) making noise
  • Shut up: I don’t believe it!, no way!
  • Sign off: Log off; to stop using a computer, radio, etc., especially to stop talking
  • Sign off: Cease broadcasting a radio or television signal, usually at the end of a broadcasting day
  • Sign off: Give one’s official approval to something for which it is needed
  • Sign out: Sign one’s name as an indication that one is leaving some location
  • Sign up: Add a name to the list of people who are participating in something
  • Sign up: Add one’s own name to the list of people who are participating in something
  • Sign up: Agree to purchase some good or service
  • Sing along: Sing some music while someone else is singing
  • Sink in: Become clear in one’s mind
  • Sit back: Recline while still in a seated position, with one’s back on the frame of the seat
  • Sit down: Assume a low or sunken position
  • Sit on: Block, suppress, restrain
  • Sit on: Restrain (a person)
  • Sit on: Take no action on
  • Sit on: Be a member of
  • Sit out: Decline to participate; particularly, to decline to dance
  • Sit through: Unwillingly stay seated until the end of an event
  • Sit up: Assume a sitting position from a position lying down
  • Sit up: Sit erect
  • Sit up: Show sudden interest or surprise
  • Sit up: Not go to bed (notionally remaining in a sitting position)
  • Skip out: Shirk; to avoid attending or to leave early, especially without permission
  • Sleep in: Sleep late; to go on sleeping past one’s customary or planned hour
  • Sleep on: Postpone (a decision) at least overnight
  • Sleep with: Share a bed or bedroom with
  • Slide off: Leave a place, a meeting, etc., without being noticed; to slip away, slip off
  • Slow down: Decelerate
  • Smoke out: Drive out (something or somebody) using smoke
  • Smoke out: Expose (something or somebody)
  • Smoke out: Offer to smoke cannabis with someone; to smoke cannabis with someone
  • Smoke out: Smoke too much (usually cannabis); to become too stoned
  • Smoke out: Run out of tobacco or cannabis; to be emptied of tobacco or cannabis
  • Smooth down: Render smooth, to remove roughness from
  • Sort out: Clarify by reviewing mentally
  • Sort out: Arrange
  • Sort out: Fix, as a problem
  • Sort out: Organise or separate into groups, as a collection of items, so as to make tidy
  • Sort out: Separate from the remainder of a group; often construed with from
  • Sort out: Attack physically
  • Sort out: Provide (somebody) with a necessity, or a solution to a problem
  • Sound off: Hold forth about something in an opinionated manner
  • Speed up: Accelerate; to increase speed
  • Speed up: Increase the speed of something; to make something go faster
  • Spell out: Form (a word) from its component letters
  • Spell out: Explain in clear and simple terms
  • Split up: Cease to be together, break apart from the group
  • Split up: Separate, disassociate, cause to come apart
  • Spread out: Become further apart
  • Spread out: Place items further apart
  • Sump up: Summarize
  • Start afresh: Start or restart doing something from the beginning or with a clean sheet
  • Start off: Begin
  • Start off: Set out on a trip
  • Start off: Begin one’s life, or occupation
  • Start off: Begin again; to return to the beginning
  • Start up: Rise suddenly
  • Start up: Begin to operate
  • Start up: Begin
  • Stay in: Remain at home, to not leave one’s home
  • Stay on: Continue in a place or situation, while others leave
  • Stay up: Remain in a raised or upright position
  • Stay up: Remain awake, to not go to bed
  • Stay up: Maintain an erection
  • Step back: Stop what one is doing and evaluate the current situation
  • Step back: Prevent oneself from becoming emotionally involved in a certain situation
  • Step on it: Drive fast; to step on the accelerator
  • Step on it: Act quickly
  • Step up: Increase speed or rate
  • Stick around: Stay; to linger; to remain
  • Stick at: Continue practising (a skill), even it is difficult
  • Stick down: Cause to stick to a surface
  • Stick down: Stick to a surface
  • Stick down: Write something casually
  • Stick it out: Persist or continue
  • Stick out: Pprotrude; to extend beyond
  • Stick out: Be prominent, noticeable, or obtrusive
  • Stick to: Persist; to continue (to use, do, etc.
  • Stick up: Put up by sticking
  • Stick up: Rob at gunpoint
  • Stick up: Be prominent; to point upwards
  • Stick up: Speak or act in defence
  • Stick up for: Defend or protect
  • Stick with: Follow or adhere to
  • Stick with: Follow loyally
  • Stick with: Persist in using or employing
  • Stick with: Endure in the memory of’

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with T.

  • Talk down: Negotiate a lower price
  • Talk into: Convince (someone) by talking and suggesting
  • Talk out of: Talk to someone in order to dissuade them from doing something
  • Talk over: Persuade someone; to talk around
  • Talk over: Interrupt the speech of with one’s own speech
  • Talk through: Tell someone step by step how to do something
  • Talk through: Comfort someone as they endure trauma; to help someone consider an issue or see certain aspects of it
  • Think back: Think about a time or experience; to recall
  • Think over: Ponder or reflect on a subject
  • Think up: Create in one’s mind; to invent
  • Tip off: Alert or inform someone, especially confidentially
  • Try out: Undergo a test before being selected; to audition

List of other commonly used phrasal verbs that start with U, W & Y.

  • Used to: Accustomed to, tolerant or accepting of
  • Wait for: Wait until the specified event occurs
  • Wait for: Await the arrival of
  • Wait for: Wait for an event
  • Wait for: Wait for a person to do something
  • Wait for: Serve someone
  • Wait up: Wait
  • Wait upon: Wait on; to serve
  • Wake up: Awaken somebody
  • Wake up: Become more aware of a real-life situation; to concentrate on the matter in hand
  • Warm up: Make an audience enthusiastic or animated before a show
  • Warm up: Become warmer
  • Warm up: Prepare for executing an already-learned activity by a limited amount of additional practice
  • Watch out: Be aware or conscious; to look closely or carefully; to use caution
  • Watch over: Guard and protect
  • Wipe away: Remove or erase with a wiping motion
  • Wipe down: Clean the exterior surface of an object, typically by hand using a damp dishcloth or other cleaning cloth
  • Wipe up: Dry utensils, dishes etc. that have been washed
  • Wipe up: Completely remove spilled liquid or solids, typically by hand using a dishcloth
  • Wipe up: Clean thoroughly, particularly with a dishcloth or rag
  • Wipe up: Thoroughly defeat an opponent
  • Write in: Write a letter to, e.g. a publication
  • Write in: Fill in something required, by writing
  • Write off: Assign a low value to something
  • Write out: Write at full length or in expanded form
  • Yield up: Give something against one’s will
  • Yield up: Disclose something hidden

Exercises

Phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions

EXERCISE 1.

Using the following phrasal verbs and idiomatic expressions, complete the sentences.

to be on to sth – to be worked up – to pop overto keep on doing sth – to tip sb off – to come down to it – to come on – to break up – to get through to ups and downs of sth – to settle on up and about – to be up against sth up and down – to crack up – to make up – to speak up

  1. ____________ please! I can’t hear what you are saying.
  2. Why don’t you __________ and see me later. I’ll be at home after 5 pm.
  3. We ___________ the house in the country. It was a hard decision though.
  4. Yvonne has been _____________ lately since her marriage broke up.
  5. I’ve got so much work to do at the moment that if I don’t take a holiday, I _____________.
  6. The detective ___________ to the case since January. It won’t be long before he knows who was responsible.
  7. The teacher ___________ lots of new activities before she left. She had a lot of imagination.
  8. David __________ the police ________ about the drugs deal which was taking place that evening.
  9. Don’t get yourself so ___________ about the interview – you’ll be fine.
  10. How _________ the message ___________ to you so quickly? I only sent it a few hours ago.
  11. He _______________ asking and asking until his mother eventually said yes.
  12. Have you heard the news? George and Belinda ____________ . George has a new girlfriend now. Belinda is distraught.
  13. I hate going into work because my boss ______________ to me. He is always sending me messages and phoning me and telling me how beautiful I look.
  14. When it ___________ , she hasn’t got a leg to stand on.
  15. There will always be _________ and ___________ of everything. You have to learn to cope with good and bad situations.
  16. Don’t worry! After the operation, you will be ________and ___________ in no time. Wait and see!!
  17. I _____________ a real hard case this time. I don’t think it will be easy to solve.

EXERCISE 2.

Fill in the spaces with the phrases below and put them in the correct tense.

to take a shine to  –  to put your finger on – to look through

to look forward to – to knock down – to fail to come through

e.g. She seems to have fallen apart after her break up with her boyfriend.

  1. Would you take a look at that!  Henry really seems to have _____________________________ that bimbo.  Look! He is even holding her hand.
  2. I can’t __________________________ it but I think it may have something to do with the drive-shaft.   If I were you, I wouldn’t drive another inch.
  3. After the bombing of Dresden during the Second World War, almost all the buildings left standing had ________________________ .
  4. It has been such a long time since we had the opportunity to go anywhere.  I’m really ___________________________  to our holiday in July.
  5. It’s very unfortunate that you will have to ______________________your company _____________________ to that son of yours.  How long do you think the business will last under that idiot’s management?
  6. I ____________________________ my father’s papers after his death and came across these old photos taken during the war.
  7. This old dress is all tattered and torn.  It’s literally ___________________________________________ .
  8. He was very upset when the offer to buy his firm _____________________ .

EXERCISE 3.

Put the correct word in the gaps below:

denied – to get a grip – old-fashioned – steer clear of

e.g. What are you so nervous and jumpy about.  

Everything will be fine.

  1. Despite keeping up his perfect record of good behaviour, the prisoner was _______________ early release due to the seriousness of his crime.
  2. “Private Jones, if you don’t _____________________ of yourself now, I’ll shoot you myself before you get us all killed.
  3. Irene definitely has an ______________________ way about her.  She wears clothes I used to see my grandmother wear and she doesn’t seem to keep any modern equipment in that cottage of hers.  She hasn’t even got a fridge.
  4. I have told you several times to ___________________ that rascal down the street, but you just wouldn’t listen.  I hope you have learnt your lesson now.
  5. Roger had never been so _______________________ in his life as on the day of his wedding.  It was a big enough ordeal for him as it was, without his crazy ex-girlfriend turning up at the church. She then proceeded to burst into tears in front of his bride.
  6. Don’t be so ________________________ ! We’ll be in and out of the building in less than five minutes.  The police won’t have any chance of catching us.
  7. Henry hadn’t put any effort into his job over the last three years, yet when he was told he had been _________________ he expressed an amazing sense of Surprise and anger.  He confronted his boss with a look that suggested “how dare you”!.
  8. Jenny’s having her birthday party next week.  Why don’t we all ______________________ a nice present?

EXERCISE 4.

Put the correct expression in the sentences.  You may have to make necessary changes.  

look over peter out grow up go in

look through think out pay court to be sacked

e.g. Their love petered out and boredom set in.

  1. Don’t forget to ______________________ this exercise again before you give it to the teacher to correct.
  2. Some people never _________________ . They can be thirty-five years old but act like they’re fifteen!
  3. If we want to get the deal done, we’ll have to _____________________ to the politicians!
  4.   Please _________________ your objectives before you start the actual work.
  5.   The family had a lot of money but after three generations it ______________
  6.    After thirty years in the firm, he __________________ without notice.
  7.   The screw doesn’t fit; it ______________________ .
  8.  I ________________________ my recipe book when I found my great- grandmother’s Christmas cake recipe.

EXERCISE 5.

Fit the words in the box below into the correct spaces in the story.

To think up -to take sth in one’s stride – to look out for someone

To hang about – to litter up – to drop by- to bump into

Martin desperately needed something to do. It had been one of those mornings where everything seemed so stale and so dead. He decided that it was about time he    ____________________ a plan of action for his life, or at least for today. Without further delay he got dressed, grabbed a quick sandwich and left the house for the town centre.On route, he met the usual wasters __________________   the old mill entrance, which was their usual haunt. As he passed by, they shouted abuse at him. Martin showed his hands deeper into his pockets and tried to look like he _______________________.Unfortunately, Martin wasn’t the type of person who could deal with these situations emotionally, and he realised that without his big brother ___________________, he was no longer so brave about going into town alone. This was particularly true when he had to pass by these gans of bigger, older and much more frightening boys than he had ever imagined.He wondered how the villagers could ever allow these boys __________________ the streets all day with their scruffy appearances and their nasty attitudes.Martin changed his pace to a much faster one, and he quickly reached the centre of tow. as he was turning the corner past The Crown bar he __________________ his oldest friend . A short ugly little creature might be the best description one could give to him. Melvin was a year older than Martin, but he looked several years younger. Melvin always spoke with a fast broken accent: “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Martin, I have a very important proposal to _____________________ “. Melvin’s voice grew faster and more excited as he explained his plans . It was extremely difficult , as it always was , for Martin to understand his friend , but he did get general gist . Melvin wanted to get some funds together in order  ______________  his own little business venture. He wanted Martin  _________________________ so he could show him his plans. Martin dropped his hands back into his pockets and turned around in the direction of his home. Melvin heard him mutter something about maybe __________________ later.

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