PHRASAL VERBS AND THEIR USES

PHRASAL VERBS, PREPOSITIONAL VERBS WITH SPECIAL MEANING
SHAILESH SHUKLA
MA, PGJMC

Here we have listed verbs with adverbs and prepositions. These verbs have a special meaning, therefore we have used them in sentences.


Phrase Example
A
agree to I wish she would agree to my proposal.
agree with I agree with him on that point.
ask after Mr. Smith asked after John.
ask in He was asked in.
ask over Yes, you can ask your friend over.
B
back off She was told to back off.
be in Are your parents in?
be off I'm off now.
bear (up) on These facts do not bear on this matter.
bear with Please bear with him for a moment while he tries to put this straight.
beg off I'm sorry, I have to beg off.
black out And then she just blacked out.
blame on Don't blame it on her.
blow up The bomb might have blown up.
break away
break free
break loose At last, the hostage could break away from his captors.
break down Finally her sister broke down.
break off I didn't mean to break off anything.
break up Sue and Tim broke up last year.
bring along This year has brought along some significant changes.
bring down (1) Taxes were never brought down.
(2) The president was brought down by this scandal.
bring in My job brings in 400 dollars per week.
bring up (1) She was brought up in Wisconsin.
(2) Why do you have to bring that up?
build up He needs to do some exercises to build himself up.
burst in with She burst in with the bad news.
butt in How can we talk when you keep butting in all the time?

C
call down The teacher called down all the students who were late.
call in He called Kelly in.
call off I had to call off the barbecue because of the bad weather.
calm down Please calm down.
carry on Please carry on with your homework.
catch up (on) I need some time to catch up on that incident.
check out I will check it out.
check up (on) There is no need to check up on me.
clean down My hands were covered with mud, and so I cleaned them down.
clean off Can you clean off the table, please?
clean up Can you clean your room up a little?
clear away Please clear your stuff away.
close down The shop was closed down by the police.
close in (on) She closed in quietly.
close up The restaurant was closed up by the health department.
come around I knew he would come around in the end.
come back Will the good old days ever come back?
come by (1) My aunt came by yesterday.
(2) I hope he came by this money honestly.
come over Why don't you come over next weekend?
cool down/off (1) It began to cool off after the thunderstorm.
(2) Cool down guys!
count (up) on Can we count on you?
cut back (on) I have to cut back on the water usage.
cut out Cut it out!
D
decide (up) on I decided on ice tea.
die off/out That species died out million years ago.
dirty up Don't dirty your pants up!
do in He tried to do his father in.
do over I probably wouldn't do it over.
do up (1) Do up the present quickly.
(2) Please do up your buttons.
do without I guess I will have to do without lunch today.
draw near As the time drew near,...
dress down His father dressed him down again.
drink up Drink up, and let's going.
drive at Well, you must see what I'm driving at.
drive on We drove on till night.
drop by I hope you guys can drop by our house some time.
drop in (on) I can't believe who dropped in on us last night.
drop off You can drop me off at the next red light.
dry out The clothes finally dried out.
E
ease off The storm eased off a little.
eat up Eat up, and let's get going.
edge away The students laughed and edged away from him.
end up When will all this end up?
enter (into) We need more members to enter our team.
even out The surface of the road was evened out.
even up Can they even up the score tonight?
F
face up (to) You have to face up to challenges.
fall apart The whole thing falls apart.
fall back on I had to fall back on my savings.
fall behind(in/on)
get behind(in/on)
He's falling behind in his car payments.
fall through I hope my party next Saturday doesn't fall through.
fasten up Please fasten up your jacket.
feel for I really feel for you.
fight back (at) It's hard for him to fight back.
fight down I fought down the anger.
figure on I figure on the extra income.
figure out I just can't figure her out.
fill in (1) I better fill the cracks in with something.
(2) Would you fill in the form, please?

fill in (for) I will have to fill in for him till he gets back from his vacation.
fill out Would you fill out the form, please?

fill up (1) The hole filled up with water and had to be pumped.
(2) We will fill up at the next gas station.
finish off Finish off your cup of coffee, please.
finish up I will finish my homework up in a few minutes.
fit in(to) It just doesn't fit in.
fix up Is my bike fixed up yet?
fly in(to) When did you fly in?
fool around Stop fooling around.
G
gather up Let's gather our things up and leave.
get across How can I get it across to you
get along with He couldn't get along with her mother-in-law.
get at What exactly is he getting at?
get back When will you get back?
get back at He will get back at him someday.
get back to I will get back to you in a minute.
get by (on) She can't get by on that much money.
get down to Now, let's get down to homework.
get into He managed to get himself into the class he wanted.
get off I have to get off all my packages.
get on How are you getting on?
get on with (1) I need to get on doing my homework.
(2) How do you get on with Sam?
get out of You've got to get out of there.
get over (1) It took him a long time to get over the heart attack.
(2) He couldn't get over the huge rock in the path, so he went around it.
get through I tried calling you, but I couldn't get through.
get up (1) Today I got up at 10 am.
(2) We got up a team on very short notice.
give away (to) (1) He gave his car away to his brother.
(2) Don't give the answer away.
give in (to) Why does she always give in to her brother?
give up Are you sure you want to give up your career?
glance over My teacher just glanced over my homework today.
go after He went after the man who mugged him.
go along with I'll go along with you on that decision.
go around There's not enough milk to go around.
go away Please go away!
go back I'll never go back.
go in They went in after us.
go in for He goes in for playing soccer.
go off (1) The bomb went off.
(2) My party went off as planned.
go off with I guess she went off with her new boyfriend.
go out (with) Will she go out with Mike next Friday evening?
go through (1) The truck wouldn't go through the tunnel.
(2) He went through his pockets, looking for his wallet.
(3) How can you go through all the chocolate so fast?
(4) You won't believe what I've gone through.
(5) I guess we need to go through the whole song a few more times.
go under (1) I was afraid that our ship would go under.
(2) The company went under.
go without I just cannot go without some candy from time to time.

H
hand down (1) The court has not yet handed down a ruling.
(2) He will hand this down to his granddaughter.
hand out The teacher handed out the test to the surprised students.
hang around (with)
I usually spend much time hanging around with my friends.
hang on (1) Hang on, please.
(2) They couldn't hang on much longer.
hang up Why did you hang up on me?
happen (upon) I just happened upon her.
heal up My injury healed up in around no time.
hear out Hear me out, will you? I have more to tell.
heat up How soon will lunch be heated up?
help out Can you help me out?
hide away Can you hide this book away where no one will find it?
hide out (from) Ben was hiding out from the police.
hit back (at) He hit me, but I didn't hit back at him.
hit on Tom was hitting on Mike's fiancée.
hit (upon) I guess I have hit upon something.
hold back (on) They hold back on signing the new deal.
hold on Hold on a minute! I have to check this first.
hold out I don't know how long they can hould out.
hold up Some moron tried to hold me up.
hurry on/up Hurry on, will you? I got some errands to run today.

I
idle away Don't idle the whole day away.
insist (on) He also inisted on it.
invite over Let's invite them over for dinner.
J
jump in(to) I just jumped into the pool and had a refreshing swim.
K
keep at I need to keep at this.
keep off Please keep off the lawn.
keep on (1) It's a little chilly in here, so I better keep my coat on.
(2) Just keep on practicing your scales by simply playing
them up and down.
keep out (of) (1) Keep out of this and mind your own business.
(2) My door is closed. Keep out!
knock off Knock it off!
knock over Her reaction simply knocked me over.
L
lead up to (1) A narrow path leads up to his cabin.
(2) She was just leading up to something when he interrupted.
leak out I hope that news does not leak out.
lean over Lean over and pick it up yourself!
leave out (of) Leave me out of it, please.
leave up to They left this decision up to me.
let down I won't let you down again.
let on (about) I promised I wouldn't let on about her new job.
let up The storm has let up.
level off Things will level off by the end of the month.
lie down I need to lie down and take a little nap.
light up We lighted the house up with the headlights of our automobile.
lighten up Hey, lighten up a little. Enjoy the day.
line up (1) Everyone, please line up.
(2) Try to line up for tomorrow evening.
live up to That meal did not live up to my expectations.
look back(at/on)When I look back on him, I am amazed at all he has accomplished.
look in (on) I will look in on him from time to time.
look out (for) Look out for that car!
look up to She is glad they look up to her.
loom up An old cottage loomed up in the distance.
loosen up Relax and loosen yourself up.

M
make out Can you make out what she is saying?
make out with There are hot pictures of him making out with a nun.
make up (1) Did she make up the clowns yet?
(2) I made up that story.
(3) I'm sorry, but you can't make up that test you missed.
(4) Class participation will make up 25% of your final grade.
(5) They kissed and made up.
(6) You think I make this up?
march on Time marches on.
mark down Pineapples are marked down again.
mark up Watermelons are marked up again.
mess up (1) He messed up his room.
(2) The dirty water messed my pants up.
(3) Losing my job really messed my life up.
move in(to) I moved into a new apartment last month.
move off (from) The officer stopped for a minute, asked some questions, and then moved off.
move on (to) Alright, let's move on to our next point.
move out (of) I moved out of my old apartment last month.
move up (to) How long will it be before they can move her up?
N
nail up (1) Please nail this picture up.
(2) Who nailed up the door? I can't get out.
O
open up They opened up the border a few weeks ago.
order in(to) The officer ordered me in.
P
pass away/on Her uncle passed away last summer.
pass out (1) Don't drink until you pass out.
(2) Please can you pass these handouts out to everyone?
pay off The time I spent in this project didn't pay off.
pay up Please pay all your dues up.
pick up (1) Relax. I will pick her up from school.
(2) Help me pick up this guy from the sidewalk, will you?
(3) The storm picked up about midnight.
(4) I picked up a little French while I was in Quebec.
pile up Exams are piling up on my desk.
plan out They met and planned out their strategy.
play along The guy with the guitar came in and played along.
point out That's exactly what I pointed out earlier.
pop up I don't know where he's going to pop up next.
power up Okay, let's power up the engine and get going.
pull in(to) A stranger just pulled into our driveway.
pull up He reached down and pulled her up.
put across to How can I best put this across to them?
put on (1) Don't put your brother on.
(2) Don't you have some clothes to put on?
put off (until) Can't you just put this off until tomorrow?
put up with I just don't know why I even put up with you.

Q
quiet down (1) Try to quiet him down.
(2) Ask him to quiet down.
R
raise up She raised herself up with the greatest difficulty.
rattle off She rattled off the long list of names.
reach out I reached out, but there was nothing I could get hold of.
read over / through
Please read this text over and tell me what is about.
rely (up)on Can we rely on you in this case?
ride away / off I said good-bye and rode off.
ride out Things are rough around here, but I think I can ride it out.
room together We roomed together in college.
rub away I used that towel to rub away the dirt on my shoes.
rule on When will the court rule on your decision?
run around with
I used to run around with them after school.
run away The cat ran away from me.
run down (1) It appears that the car ran down.
(2) All the critics ran the movie down.
run off I ran off as fast as I could.
run off with The kidnappers ran off with her little daughter.
run over (1) He ran over his neighbor's cat.
(2) I ran over the time allotted for the presentation.
run on I wanted to stop him, but he ran on.
run out of I'm afraid we ran out of milk and cookies.
rush in(to) Don't rush into this job.
S
save up I'm saving up money for a new car.
see through (1) I knew what he was up to, because I saw through him.
(2) I'll see this project through.
sell out (to) (1) He refused to sell out to a large corporation.
(2) He shouldn't have sold out to them.
send away for I had to send away for a new part.
send for He sent for his secretary.
send over (to) She sent me over to her office.
set in The tournament set in early in January.
set up (for) I will set up a meeting for next week.
settle down (1) One day they will settle down in a small cabin in the mountains.
(2) Will you please settle down and relax?
shoot up Jane shot up just after she turned thirteen.
show off Stop showing off.
sign in Did you remember to sign in?
sign up for Did you remember to sign up for the class?
sit around Don't just sit around. Do something!
sit down Please, sit down and relax.
sit in on You guys mind if I sit in on your discussion?
sit out I'm not playing. I better sit out this time.
sit up (1) I sat up and read a book.
(2) I wouldn't get such terrible backaches if I sat up properly.
sleep in I slept in this morning.
slim down You have slimmed down a lot since last spring break.
slip up You must not slip up again.
slow down You're going to fast. Please slow down.
smash into The car smashed into the side of a bus.
sober up Some coffee definitely won't sober them up.
speak up Please speak up. I nearly can't hear you.
speak up for You can speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.
split up We had to split the class up into two classes.
spread out He told them to spread out and continue their search.
stand around Don't stand around. Get busy!
stand by Stand by while I search for another song.
stand in (for) Sam is sick. Can you stand in for him?
stand up She stood up and look across the room.
start off When will we start off?
start out We will start out whenever you are ready.
start over Sorry, I guess I messed this up, so can I start over?
start up Start your car up and let's go.
stay over Can my friend stay over, please?
steal away She stealed away while he was refilling her coffee.
step aside Step aside, please. You're in my way.
step up Traffic has stepped up since the road was fixed.
stick together We must stick together.
stop by Please stop by before you go on vacation.
stop in Can't you just stop in for a few minutes?
stop over We stopped over in Chicago for two nights.
storm in(to) He stormed into the room, shouting and yelling.
storm out (of) He got angry and stormed out of the meeting.
straighten out (1) We have to straighten this mess out.
(2) They straightened out the line of people.
straighten up My room is a total mess. I better straighten it up right away.
strip down The doctor told me to strip down for the examination.
sum up Can you sum up the arguments of this essay?
swell up I bumped my ankle and it swelled up.
switch off I forgot to switch the TV off before I went to bed.
switch on Can someone switch the light on, please?
T
take away The police took her daughter away.
take apart Don't take my TV apart.
take in Don't take strangers in.
take off (1) When does your plane take off?
(2) Sorry, I have to take off now.
(3) Take your coat off, please.
take over If you take over, you will be in charge.
talk back (to) Don't ever talk back to her.
talk out Let's just talk this matter out.
team up (with) I don't want to team up with him.
tear off (of) She tore off the label of the bottle.
tell off I should have told him off.
tell on I'm going to call your father and tell on you.
think back (to) Try and think back to the morning of June 5.
think over I needed a few minutes to think it over.
think through First, let me think this through and I'll call you tomorrow first in the morning.
think of I quickly had to think of something.
think up I'll think something up.
throw up I was so nauseous I almost had to throw up.
tidy up Your room looks like a pig sty. You better tidy it up now.
tool up I needed to tool up to do the job.
trick into He tried to trick her into doing it his way.
try out Let's try out this candy store.
turn around/about
The car turned around and went the other way.
turn down (1) He turned his collar down, when he entered her house.
(2) Turn the music down a little, will you?
(3) Our proposal was turned down.
turn in I need some sleep. I'm going to turn in now.
turn in(to) Turn in for some gas.
turn off Could you please turn the radio off?
turn on Don't forget to turn on the lights when the sun goes down.
turn up (1) Turn your cuffs up, please.
(2) Something always turns up.
(3) Apparently, new evidence has turned up.

U
use up You can use it up. I have more of it.
V
vote down They voted him down.
W
wake up Wake up! We have hit the road.
walk off They didn't even say good-bye. They just walked off.
walk out (on) My sister walked out on Fred because she was fed up with him.
watch over Can you watch over the kids while we're gone.
watch out (for) Watch out for the snakes in the bushes.
wear out After weeks of learning for this stupid test, I'm finally worn out.
wipe off (of) Don't use your sleeve to wipe the ice cream off of your hand.
work out (1) Everything will work out in the end.
(2) She needs to work out more often.
work over They really worked him over.
write away for I wrote away for a book on poetry.

Y
yell out The pain caused me to yell out.
Z
zip up I had better zip my jacket up.
zoom in (on) She zoomed in on this issue.