Common Phrasal verbs:

The term phrasal verb refers to a verb and a preposition which together have a special meaning. Usually we can figure out the meaning from the context.

Following is a list of common phrasal verbs and their meanings.

Phrasal verb

synonym

Break down	Not able to work any longer
Break down	Collapse emotionally
Break in	To enter with the purpose of robbing
Break up	Separate e.g. husband and wife
Bring back	To return
Bring up	To raise children ,to introduce a topic for conversation
Call for	Require,demand0
Call(in) on	visit
Call off	To cancel
Call up	To make a telephone call
Catch up (with)	To reach the some position or level
Check in	Register in a hotel
Clear off	Disappear quickly
Come across	To find by chance
Come up (against)	Meet or face a problem
Cut down	To reduce the amount of
Drop out (of)	Stop going to school, to a club…
Fall for	Be very attracted to
Figure out	To find a solution to a problem
Fill in	To complete a sentence by writing in a blank
Fill up	To fill completely with gas, water, coffee, etc.
Find out	To discover information
Get along (with)	Exists satisfactorily
Get over	To recover from an illness
Get on with	To continue
Get through	Spend completely
Get through	Succeed in doing
Go off	To Explode (a bomb…
Get over with	To finish something that is usually unpleasant
Give up	To quit doing something or quit trying
Hand in	To give a homework ,tests ,etc., to a teacher
Hand out	To distribute
Let down	Not to keep your words
Live through	Survive a difficult period
Live on	Support oneself by means of
Look up to	Respect
Look up	To look for information in a reference book
Look after	Take care of
Look into	To investigate
Look over	To review or check carefully
Look through	Examine, inspect
Make up	To invent an excuse, to end an argument
Make up(one’s mind)	To decide
Make up for	To do something to apologize for a mistake , compensate for
Make out	To understand
Pass away	To die
Pick up	To lift
Put off	To postpone, to cancel
Put up with	To tolerate
Put on	To put clothes on one’s body
Put ….through	Connect people on the telephone
Set up	Organize, establish
Run over	Hit and knock down
Run into	To meet by chance
Take after	To resemble
Take over	To take control of something
Take in	To understand
Take off	To remove clothes from one’s body
Take on	To accept responsibility for something
Take up	Occupy
Take out	To take someone for dinner
Try on	To put on clothes to see if it fits
Turn down	To refuse or to decrease the volume
Turn up	To increase the volume
Write down	To write a note on a piece of paper
Wear off	Disappear(effect of something )
Work out	Solve a problem ,draw up a plan

Phrasal verbs

Practice exercise

Phrasal verbs with: ‘IN ‘

Use the correct phrasal verbs to fill in the gaps.

Break in -check in -come in- fill in -hand in -turn in

1. We were told by the ticket agent to……………..at the airport at least two hours before the flight.

2. I……………my assignment two days late.

3. The thief…………and stole …………..all the electronic equipment in the office.

4. Dad said he was exhausted .he…………..early.

5. …………the forms and return them to our office.

6. She invited us to…………..

Phrasal verbs with: ‘up ‘

Break up -look up -grow up -give up-take up-set up- bring up

1. Their marriage broke up after three children had ……………and left home

2. It isn’t easy for a single parent to………..three children.

3. My New Year‘s resolution to………….smoking.

4. I‘ve decided to………….skiing. I’ve never been skiing before so I’ll have to take lessons for a while.

Phrasal verbs with: ‘down ‘

Break down -settle down - run down -simmer down -

Cut down keep down - back down - calm down -turn down

1. I’ve been having financial problems lately; I’ll have to……………on the new luxuries I’ve been used to.

2. The teacher didn’t waste any time. She stated the lesson as soon as the class……………..

3. I’m going to………..that job offer. I don’ think I’d like to work there.

4. There’s no reason for you to get so excited ………………….and we can talk about the problem

5. Will you please …………………the noise, I’m trying to work!

Phrasal verbs with: ‘take ‘

Take to- take away- take out- take over- take on- take off- take apart- take back- take after- take in.

1. The plane……….on time.

2. I don’t want to ………a stranger. I won’t fell safe.

3. I shouldn’t have said those things to you I…………what I said.

4. I’ve agreed to……………the project.

5. I didn’t really…………..him at first but we become good friends in the end.

6. Tom…………the television…….but he couldn’t put it back together again.

7. They say that I…………my father, but I think I look more like my mother.

Rachid Elalaoui