Common English phrasal verbs. English grammar with exercises. Free eBook and Free printable PDF.

Common English phrasal verbs

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Common English phrasal verbs


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

Common English phrasal verbs

EXERCISE 1.

Complete the sentences with the following phrasal verbs.

bring up    face up to    get carried away     go through

  1.     The police ordered the outlaw to ________________ the gun.
  2.    After his wife died he had to ________________ the fact that he had to live on his own.
  3.   My father ________________ by his grandmother.
  4.   She is amazingly cheerful considering what she’s had to  ________________.
  5.   I had to come back from my holiday because I ______________ money.
  6.   We must _________________ if we want to buy a house.
  7.   The book I’m reading is very good. I _______________ by the story and I read till four o’clock in the morning.
  8.   If you observe this picture very carefully you will be able ____________ two different faces.
  9.   How __________ you ____________ your new job?
  10.   In the end that tramp  ___________ to be a very famous journalist who was carrying out a research on the condition of homeless people.
  11.   I don’t know what he will do, I’m not a witch and I can’t _________________ the future.
  12.   Our American friends couldn’t find a hotel so we decided to _________ them ______ until they found a place to stay.
  13.   The teacher asked to ______________ the exercises once again before handing them back.
  14.   That man was very rude. He _____________ the receiver without even saying goodbye.
  15.   Our holiday was wonderful even if we had to __________________ some weird situations, once we ________________________ petrol and our car stopped in the middle of nowhere, no petrol station in sight and no one else around.

EXERCISE 2.

Match the phrasal verbs to the correct definition.

Call into                         Pay a visit
Get overCancel
Run outIncrease
Look forLook like
Take afterSearch
Give upFinished/empty
Drop byStop
Call offRecover
Go upDecrease
Come downPay a visit

EXERCISE 3.

Now using the phrasal verbs from the list above complete the following sentences.

Example:

He was looking for the right words to make her understand.

  1. If you don’t _______________smoking you will get ill.
  2. It took him a long time to _____________the death of his wife.
  3. He is _______________ her address because he wants to send her a card.
  4. Tom can’t start his car, the battery has ___________.
  5. The baby ________________his father. He has dark hair and blue eyes.
  6. On my way home I ______________ the florists and bought some flowers.
  7. We’ve ____________ of bread. Can we borrow some?
  8. _____________ anytime you’re passing for coffee.
  9. The meeting was ___________________.
  10. Inflation always ______________ and never ______________.

EXERCISE 4.

Re-write the following sentences using the words given.

e.g. An unexpected problem emerged……………………………………………………………………come up.

An unexpected problem came up.

  1. The thief has never been punished………………………………………………………………away with
  2. Sarah went to the cinema and Paul went with her……………………………………………. along
  3. The romance has ended ……………………….…………………………………………………………………..over
  4. Even though I didn’t mean it, I said something really tactless………………………..foot
  5. She was happy when Andrew left because she couldn’t stand him……………………saw
  6. 6. I found his joke really funny but I didn’t laugh…………………………………………………..kept

EXERCISE 5.

Complete the following sentences using one of the following phrasal verbs.

to hunt down – to pack up – to shack up (with s/body)to come across – to blow s/thing up – to drink upto hang up – to pin s/thing/body down – to run away with – to rake s/thing up – to bring s/thing upto check out – to fall for s/thing/body – to go on about s/thing – to pick s/thing/body up – to sit on/upon s/thingto stumble on/upon/across

  1. It was such a small problem at first. Now it ______________ into something enormous.
  2. At the end of the conversation I _______________ the phone.
  3. My plant hasn’t been watered for days. I’m sure that as soon as I water it, it __________________ all the water ______________.
  4. The robbers ______________ by the police for over a week.
  5. I told John a few white lies regarding where I had been and he _________ it.
  6. I ___________________ anybody so rude in all my life.
  7. Have you heard the news? Sarah and Andrew ____________ together!
  8. They are renting a house near the station.
  9. She was looking for her old school books, when she ____________ some school photos.
  10. Shall we __________________ the question of summer holidays at the next meeting?
  11. On my last day of work, I will have to _______________ all my belongings.
  12. I don’t like going out with Mary. She always _____________ your past.
  13. I’d rather _______________ this problem for the moment. I need time to think about it.
  14. Can you ___________ the tickets __________ on the way home from work?
  15. Hilary never stops talking about her work problems. She _______________ _________ for hours.
  16. I couldn’t quite _________________ what I thought about Jessica.
  17. Don’t let your imagination _______________ you. Get the facts first.
  18. We have to ________________ of the hotel before 11.00am.

EXERCISE 6.

Match the following phrasal verbs with their meanings.

  • 1. to be/get mixed up in/with something a. to quit
  • 2. to call somebody in b. to postpone
  • 3. to come up with c. to be occupied/busy with
  • 4. to go round d. to be involved in/with
  • 5. to drop by e. to clean/clear/push away
  • 6. to drop out of f. to be implying/trying to say
  • 7. to go through g. to hold tightly
  • 8. to build up h. to produce/find
  • 9. to face up to something i. to visit unexpectedly
  • 10. to get rid of something/body j. to accumulate/form a block
  • 11. to hang on to something k. to send for somebody to come to the house to perform a service
  • 12. to put something off l. to experience
  • 13. to sweep away m. to become free of
  • 14. to be up to something n. to examine details of/look at
  • 15. to get at something o. to recognise and deal with,
  • honestly and bravely
  • 16. to go over something p. to reach a destination by  using a route other than the  usual or shortest way

EXERCISE 7.

Using some of the above phrasal verbs, complete the following sentences.

  1. What _____________ you ______   _____ ? I’m just filing the letters.
  2. Did you ___________ __________ ___________ a solution to that problem you were telling me about?
  3. I haven’t been to see you for ages. Can I ________ _________ at the weekend?
  4. The tension at work _______ ________ _________ _________ for months now and I think the boss is about to explode.
  5. Due to the bad weather, today’s football match ________ __________ ____________ until next Tuesday.

EXERCISE 8.

Replace the existing verbs in the sentence with the correct phrasal verb from the following list.

to wipe off – to wipe out – to go aheadto be through with – to get stuck with somebody or somethingto lay oneself open to something – to get through

e.g. The writing on the wall had been wiped off before the Pope’s motorcade came past.

  1. The opposing forces will be totally eliminated during the political campaign.
  2.  The plan to destroy his political opponents by any means possible proceeded with machine–like efficiency.
  3. At a very young age the now rich business man decided that he had had enough of the moral rigor imposed on him by his Jesuit teachers.
  4. For the moment, the young and ambitious businessman had to admit that he was forced to work with his older and more scrupulous partner
  5. He exposed himself to great risk in order to save his father from disgrace.
  6. He wouldn’t listen, it was impossible to reason with him.
  7. If he could avoid any extra duty, he would.
  8. Although the tycoon put on a  democratic appearance, anyone who knew him personally knew that he favoured fascism.
  9. He noted the phone number in his agenda.

EXERCISE 9.

A.  Match the following phrasal verbs on the left with the appropriate meaning on the right:

Hold on to sth a. Receive something unpleasant

Catch up with sb          b. Agree with

Look down on sb          c. Reach somebody who is ahead

Send off for sth          d. Begin to do/give serious attention

Come in for sth           e. Continue doing

Walk out on sb           f. Ask to be sent something by mail

Get down to             g. Keep something/not give away

Carry on with sth         h. End/abolish

Do away with sth/sb     i. Think you are better than others

Go along with sth/sb     j. Suddenly leave someone you are                                          having a relationship with


EXERCISE 10.

Fill in the space with the phrases below and put them in the correct tense, if necessary.

be left stranded – cross one’s mind – come to terms (with)come straight to the point – have a go – start off

e. g. You’ve already tried.  Let me have a go.

  1. We had such a hard time.  I’d never ________________  so difficult a situation as that.
  2. He’s not very clear.  He never ___________________
  3. I’m sorry.  I didn’t think.  It ______________________
  4. I had no money, no passport and no friends. I ___________
  5. The project _________________________ well but met some difficulties later on.
  6. The situation is incredible.  It’s ____________________
  7. The opposing sides _______________________ after an all-night negotiating session.
  8. I don’t know if I can do it but I ____________________

EXERCISE 11.

Complete the sentences by writing the correct tense of the correct phrasal verb in the spaces. Remember that sometimes there is more than one meaning for a phrasal verb!

to dream up / to rule something out / to stand out / to sum up / to turn away / to be tied up / to set somebody up / to come out with / to knock somebody out / to let oneself in for something / to come over / to make up / to take off /to tie something up

e.g. Well, that’s that investigation over, we’ve managed to tie up all the loose ends in the case and the criminal is behind bars. Well done everyone!

Oh, look at that poor dog! He’s been tied up for hours outside that shop.

  1. I overheard Janice speaking to Simon the other day. It sounds as though the doctors have decided that they’re not too old to have children, since she said they shouldn’t___________ having children yet.
  2. That blackmailing hussy! I can’t believe Graham hasn’t seen through her yet. I really don’t think he knows what _________________ by moving in with her!
  3. Felicity was looking through the newspaper clippings from the last Olympics, yesterday. Teresa had blurted out about her new boyfriend having been the Olympic Swimming Champion, and after she ____________________ it, Felicity went straight to check, and of course, the twerp had been lying!
  4. That mischievous kid teased our neighbour’s puppy so much, that it tried to bite him. You should have seen how fast he _____________!
  5. Sam has just told me about his latest plan to make money. Honestly! The things he ________________ are incredible!
  6. Do you remember that guy, Christopher from the party the other night? He really gives me the creeps – he’s such a devious, person. He was trying to get Phil’s girlfriend to go out with him, you know. Mind you, she did look absolutely stunning, she really __________him _________.
  7. Stephanie and Marcus were really having a bad argument last night. You could hear them until 4 a.m. screaming at each other, but they seem to have ___________ now, I saw them hand-in-hand at the market this morning.
  8. Josephine went for an interview yesterday. Poor thing, the recruitment agent really _______ her _________, the job wasn’t anything like what she was looking for, and she had to spend £50.00 on the train fare, which is non-refundable!
  9. It’s a shame you didn’t make it to the house-warming party the other evening – I wish you had been able to _____________, it was a really good laugh.
  10. “…and so, if nobody else has anything to add to this month’s meeting, I’ll just ____________ the main points again so that everyone is clear about our objectives”.
  11. “Stuart”, she cried, “don’t leave like this!” But he just looked and then ______________ without uttering another word.
  12. Emma looked fabulous in that Armani dress at the gala dinner. There was no-one else who looked nearly as good as her. She really _____________ from the crowd.
  13. I’m awfully sorry about not being able to come to dinner tonight, darling, I’m rather ____________ at work still!

EXERCISE 12.

Use the phrasal verbs seen above to complete the phrases below:

 (use each phrasal verb once)

e.g. George was  kicked out  of the bar last night for having drunk too much.

  1. I’ve ______________ some new books.
  2. ______________ that painting. One day it will be worth millions.
  3. It’s about time I ______________studying for my finale exams.
  4. He thinks it’s time we ______________ the British Monarchy.
  5. He’s still ______________  his university studies after all these years.
  6. She______________ her children when they were really young.
  7. I don’t ______________her views on abortion.  
  8. Elisabeth ______________ people who haven’t been to university.
  9. The federal government’s foreign policies have ______________ a lot of criticism.
  10. The police were finally able to ______________ the criminal at the border.  

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