P H R A S A L V E R B S
act out: to illustrate by acting.
*** The young players acted the story out in the best way.
attend to : to take care of, to pay attention to.
*** I have a lot of important issues to attend to.
back.... out: to drive a car / vehicle backward from a place.
*** The little boy backed the car out the garage.
beat up : to give a thorough beating to.
*** Little Tom beat up my son this morning, I will talk to his mother about her son's behaviour.
blow up : 1) explode.
*** Lust year one of the volcanoes in our country blew up and it caused great panic.
2) to cause to explode, to destroy by explosion, to inflate.
*** We tried to blow up the tire but we weren't successful.
3) to explode with anger.
*** When we broke the Mrs. Green's glass, she blew up.
4) to make larger ( as in photography).
*** We blew up our photographs ten times, because they were too small.
break down : 1) to fail to function, to stop working properly.
*** We decided to give up the idea of a vacation because our car broke down.
2) to lose control of one's emotion and weep, lose one's composure or health.
*** After the death of her husband, Mrs. Cone broke down.
3) to analyse.
*** Mrs. Carnal wanted to break down the bill which was brought by the waiter.
break in : I) to interrupt.
*** The floor manager broke in to say that there was a telephone call for our teacher.
2) to enter by force.
*** The thief broke in and stole some valuable things.
3) to tame.
*** Mr. Lange tried to break this horse in but he wasn't successful.
4) to train.
*** These are my students, I'll break them in.
5) to make something new more comfortable, to begin the initial operation of a machine.
*** I can't change the channel, this is a new music system and I'm breaking it in.
break into : to enter suddenly & forcibly.
*** Someone broke into this farmer's field of corn and did much damage.
break out (of): to escape from.
*** Ten prisoners tried to break out of prison, but they weren't successful.
break up : 1) to smash into pieces.
*** The little girl broke up her toys.
2) to stop, separate into small groups.
*** The workers were fighting, but the police broke them up.
3) to finish a term at school or university.
*** The students have broken up for the summer holiday.
bring about: to cause, to happen, to lead to.
*** The careless driver brought about this accident because he didn't stop at the red light.
bring back : to introduce sth. again.
*** Mr. Davie wasn 't right in bringing back the cane as a punishment in school.
bring in : to produce, to yield , to introduce.
•^ The president plans to bring in a new law after the election.
bring out: 1) to publish.
*** They plan to bring this book out in the winter.
bring up : 1) to introduce, to present, to raise, to mention, bring into conversation.
*** While the manager was bringing up the new matter, all the workers listened to him carefully.
2) to raise or rear.
*** Mrs. Janet tried to bring up her children with love.
build up : to make sth. strong, successful, create slowly, develop, cause to increase.
*** Mr. Saner built up a very successful business.
burn out: 1) to stop working (usually in reference to electrical equipment)
*** I realised that the light bulb had burned out.
2) to be completely exhausted.
*** She worked so hard that she was burned out.
call back : 1) to call again (on the phone).
*** Mr. Brown is not here now, you 'a better call him back in the afternoon.
2) to ask someone to return.
*** As the student was leaving the classroom, the teacher called him back.
call for : to ask for, request.
*** The presidents of the two countries call for good relationships.
call up : to call on the phone.
*** I called my teacher up yesterday.
carry on : to continue.
*** You 'd better carry on working, otherwise the manager will get angry.
carry out: to perform duties , to obey the rules.
*** First you read the instructions, and then carry them out.
check in : to register at a hotel, airport.
*** After we had gone to the airport, we checked in immediately.
check out: to pay the bill and leave.
*** After we had stayed the night, we checked out of the hotel.
check over : to examine, to take another look at.
*** I wanted my teacher to check over my examination paper.
clean up : to make someone clean or sth fairly thoroughly.
*** Please clean up your room before going out.
clear up : 1) to finish.
*** I have to clear up the subject before leaving the classroom.
2) to solve.
*** Call the police, they will clear up your problem.
close in : to come nearer (especially darkness, enemies).
*** As the darkness was closing in, we decided to camp where we were.
come away : to leave.
*** If you don't want to make me angry, come away now.
come back : 1) to return.
*** The little child wants his cat to come back home.
2) to become fashion again.
*** At last honesty seems to be coming back into fashion.
3) to start to happen again.
*** That shelter might fall down if the rain comes back.
4) to get a response to something that is said or done.
*** Mary's voice came back from the dark.
come in : to enter.
*** I opened the door so my father could came in.
come on : come with me.
*** Come on my dear, we 'II be late.
come up : to be mentioned.
*** This point of view about the pollution came up at the meeting.
cut in : to move suddenly in front of a driver.
*** You must never cut in when you 're driving in the city.
cut off: 1) to stop, interrupt.
*** When I was talking to my boyfriend, my call was cut off.
2) not to continue to supply water, electricity.
*** They have cut off our water supply because they are repairing the pipes.
cut up : to cut into pieces.
*** This machine is for cutting the meat up.
dry off: to become dry.
*** The plants dried of/because of the sun.
eat in / out: to eat at home / eat at a restaurant.
*** We decided to eat out yesterday evening.
eat up : to eat completely.
*** Bruce ordered a delicious meal and he ate it up.
end up : to arrive at a place, usually unexpectedly.
*** Our trip ended up in India.
figure on : 1) to expect.
*** Sue is figuring on thirty people being at her birthday party.
2) to intend.
*** Rita figures on writing some letters to her friends tonight.
figure out: to interpret, solve, understand.
*** My teacher isn 't successful in figuring the problem out.
fill out: to complete.
*** You have to fill out all those forms if you want to apply for this job.
find out: to discover, to learn by investigation.
*** I asked many times, but I couldn 'tfind out what happened.
finish up : to finish completely.(usually used for food)
*** My mother told me to finish up my dinner.
fix up : 1) to decorate, renovate.
*** We fry to fix up our old house, hut it costs a lot.
2) to make something okay.
*** Mrs. Swell fixed all problems up with the police.
get along /on (with): to have a friendly relationship with.
*** Paula can get along with everybody in her class.
get at: 1) to reach, to arrive at.
*** Although Ursula is very tall, she can't get at the shelf.
2) to suggest, to imply.
*** I can't remember what George got at.
get away : to escape, be free, to leave.
*** I'm too tired. I want to get away from the office.
get away with : to perform some illegal or wrong act without being punished or even being caught.
*** The old man got away with murder.
get back : to return.
*** I don't know when Andrew gets back.
get in ; 1) to enter
*** Kevin, please get in the bus!
2) to receive as a result of collecting.
*** Our boss got in some information about these tax laws.
3) to buy the supplies when shopping.
*** We must remember to get some more coffee in.
4) to be elected (political party).
*** They got in by more than 20,000 votes.
get into : 1) to enter (a car... etc), start, to became engaged in.
*** Henry &Harvey got into their new car and drove away.
2) to start getting interested in something.
*** I got into astrology in these days.
get off: 1) to descend from, dismount a horse, to leave (conveyance).
*** Ken got off his bike and went into his house.
2) to receive no punishment.
*** Although James committed a lot of crimes, he got off, no one knew the reason.
get rid of: to eliminate or exterminate.
*** I wanted to get rid of all those problems, and to have a holiday.
get up : 1) to organise, to arrange.
*** My school is getting up a trip to London in June.
2) to rise from bed, arise, rise to one's feet from sitting or lying situation, cause to arise.
*** I usually get up at nine o 'clock.
give back : to return.
*** This is my book, please give it back to me.
give up : 1) to stop (a bad habit), abandon, reject, relinquish.
*** I gave up smoking.
2) to surrender, to abandon.
*** The thief gave himself up to the police.
3) to admit defeat.
*** They promised themselves not to give up.
go in : to enter.
*** James went in Ins house and looked at his dog.
go into : to examine, to consider, to discuss (in detail).
*** I'm reading a book which goes into the life of Sliakespeare in detail.
go on (with): to continue, to happen.
*** Our teacher wanted us to go on in spite of all difficulties.
go out (with): to go on a date.
*** They went out for a long time, but they separated for a silly reason.
go out: 1) to stop shining, to stop burning.
*** We were cold because the fire had gone out.
2) to leave temporarily.
*** The teacher became so angry that she went out in the middle of the lesson.
go through: to use completely, to spend , to waste.
*** Bruce went through the money that his mother had given him.
go up : to increase (of prices).
*** Due to the financial problems, the prices went up again.
grow up : to mature, become an adult.
*** He wants to be a doctor when he grows up.
hand out: to distribute, to give out.
*** Your duty is to hand out these papers.
have on : to be wearing.
*** I will have on a beautiful ring at this party.
hear out: to listen to until the end.
*** Our manager wanted us to hear him out before we made a decision.
hold in : 1) to keep in check, curb, restrain.
*** Mr. Coney held in the horse with the reins.
2) to control or hide (one's impulses or feelings).
*** Mrs. Goldman always holds in her anger. She never blows up.
hold on : 1) to wait, to pause.
*** Can you hold on a minute? Mrs. Grant is talking to a customer.
2)to grasp.
*** My mother wanted me to hold on to my brother's hand while crossing the street.
hold up : 1) to rob (often with a gun or other weapon).
*** The thieves held up the shop last week.
2) bring, point attention to, show, exhibit.
*** Agatha was held up as an example in the office.
3) to delay.
*** The rainy weather held my concert up for two hours.
keep down : to control.
*** Can you tell me the way to keep ants down ?
keep on : to continue.
*** You must keep on studying hard.
knock out: to make weak and helpless.
*** The boxer knocked his rival out.
leave off: to stop doing something.
*** I wanted my sister to leave off crying.
leave out: to omit.
*** In the hotel, they left out room number 13 as no one wants to stay in it.
let in : to allow to enter.
*** Don't let in people whom you 've never seen before.
let out: to allow to leave.
*** When he saw the dog in the house, he opened the door and let the dog out.
let someone off: to give little or no punishment to.
*** The teacher let me off with a warning.
lock up a person or a thing : to put in a locked place.
*** The thieves were locked up during the trial.
look after : to take care of.
*** I've been looking after my sister since she was born.
look for: to try to find.
*** I lost my key. I'm looking for it.
look forward to : to anticipate happily.
*** I look forward to meeting you again.
look out: to be careful.
*** Look out! A car is coming toward(s) us very fast.
make up ; 1) to invent.
*** The teacher wanted us to make up conversations using the tenses we've learnt.
2) to decide.
*** You must make your mind up whether you want to get this job or not.
make up : to form.
*** There can be many different groups which make up a society.
mix up : 1) to confuse.
*** His proposal only mixed me up.
2) to blend.
*** Before adding salt, you must mix up milk and eggs.
pay back : to return money.
*** I need money, so you must pay the money back in two days.
pick out: to select, choose.
*** The teacher always picks the hardworking students out for important jobs.
pick up : to lift, to take into one's hand.
*** She picked up the coins, and gave them to the old man.
point out: to show.
*** If Jack hadn 't pointed out the way, we wouldn't have arrived at the meeting on time.
pull down : to demolish.
*** The old buildings were pulled down,
put by : to save, not spend.(=put aside)
*** You must put by some money for your future. .
put off: to delay, postpone doing something.
*** The meeting was put off until the end of this month.
put on : 1) to wear.
*** Don't forget to put your coat on.
2) to provide.
*** They are putting on a special plane service.
3) to cause sth. to work by pressing a switch or turning a knob.
*** Shall we put the radic.'.or on ?
4) to place something on something.
*** I put the book on the table
ring up : to call.
*** She rang me up early in the morning to say that she was very ill.
run after : to follow.
*** The police ran after the thief for two hours and finally caught him.
run into : to meet by chance.
*** Yesterday, I ran into my old friend in the park.
run out of : to use up.
*** We ran out of food in two hours.
see about: to take care of, to attend to, see to.
*** My mother wakes up early to see about my little sister.
see off: 1) to say goodbye upon someone's departure.
*** My parents saw me off at the bus station while I was leaving for Istanbul.
2) to chase away.
*** The dog saw off the cat.
sell off: to sell all of.
*** I sold off all my jewels in order to have enough money to buy a car.
sell out: to sell completely.
*** When I went to the boutique, I saw that everything had been sold out.
send for : to ask someone to come or to bring.
*** The patient sent for the nurse.
send out: to post.
*** We've sent out all the invitations for our party.
set about: 1) to start to do something.
*** You must set about cleaning your room.
2) to deal with, to do.
*** He always sets about his job very eagerly.
set off: to start a journey.
*** We set offearlv in the morning in order to arrive at the hotel before it got dark.
setup : 1) to form.
*** We decided to set up a group for our activity.
2) to start.
*** Tills machine will set up our production.
set up : to establish, to arrange.
*** I set up everything before the party started.
speak of: to mention.
*** She never speaks of her husband's salary.
stand out: to be noticeable, to be clearly seen.
*** He is such a tall boy that he stands out easily in a crowd.
start out: to begin.
*** We 'd better start out on our journey.
stay up : not to go bed, to be late.
*** I said to my mother that I wanted to stay up.
switch off: to turn off.
*** Switch off the lights and lock the door before going to bed.
switch on : to turn on.
*** Please switch on the lights. I can't see.
take back : 1) to return.
*** Take these books back to the library on Tuesday.
2) to regain something.
*** I took back my cassette in the end.
3) to retract a statement.
*** I know that m speech has Inirt you, but now I'm taking it back.
to take care of : to protect.
*** I've been taking care of mv sister since my mother went to Istanbul.
take down : to write.
*** Don't forget to take the messages down while I'm away.
take off: 1) to remove.
*** Please take off your shoes before you enter.
2) to have free time off.
*** I took a week of f for a holiday in <^e"me.
3) to rise up in flight.
*** The plane won't take off until all the passengers come.
4) to deduct, to subtract from.
*** He decided to take off a few dollars from the prices.
5) to imitate, to mimic.
*** The comedian took off the Prime Minister.
take on : 1) to start to compete against, to face as an opponent.
*** Our teacher will take on an English professor in a competition.
2) to assume responsibility.
*** He has taken too much on in the business.
3) to hire, to employ.
*** The company took twenty new workers on.
4) to begin to have a particular appearance; to assume.
*** When he goes to parties, he always takes on the air of a cultured man.
take out: 1) to remove, to leave out.
*** I took out some of the sentences when I reviewed my composition.
2) to escort.
*** My boyfriend will take me out tomorrow night.
take over : to take control of.
*** /'// take over our business when my father retires.
test out: to try.
*** Don't forget to test the car out before buying it.
think up : to invent, to discover.
*** Whenever he comes late to work, he always thinks up many different excuses.
to tear up : to tear into pieces.
*** When he got angry, he tore up all the papers in front of him.
try on : to put a dress on to see whether it fits or not.
*** I tried on the jeans, but they didn't fit me.
try out: to test.
*** Whatever you buy, you must try It out before buying it.
turn in : 1) to go to bed,
*** She always turns in late in the evening.
2) to give, to hand.
*** Please, turn in the application form to the secretary after you fill it.
3) to betray.
*** When I realised that he was a terrorist, I turned him in the police.
turn off: 1) to stop something from working.
*** Don't forget to turn the lights off before going to bed.
2) to cause to dislike.
*** She is such a fractious woman that she has turned everybody off.
turn on : 1) to start working, running.
*** It's very dark in here, let's turn on the lights.
2) to become unfriendly.
*** We were very good friends, but Jack turned on me suddenly.
turn out: 1) to end, to result.
*** Do you think that your examination will turn out well ?
2) to produce.
*** The factory turns out many different machines.
3) to extinguish.
*** I ordered the students to turn out the lights, and leave the classroom.
4) to expel.
*** My friend was turned, out of the school, because he had cheated in the exam.
wait on : to serve.
*** We always prefer eating in this restaurant because the waiters wait on us politely.
wake up : 1) to awake.
*** I always wake up early in the morning.
2) to awaken.
*** The postman rang the bell, and woke me up.
walk out on : to desert, to leave.
*** He walked out on me.
warm up : 1) to make warm again.
*** Before I ate the meal, I had warmed it up.
2) to practice , to exercise.
*** Before we begin the lesson, let's warm up a little.
wear out: to use something until it become useless.
*** I'm going to buy a new raincoat, because my old one was completely worn out.
write down : to put in writing.
*** Don't forget to write down your address on the application form.
write off: to think that something is useless, to accept as a loss.
*** The car was badly damaged in the accident, it's written off.
yell out: to shout sharply.
*** Don't yell out ! I hear you.
