30 Common Phrasal Verb

Question 1

get up

Answer 1

1) Don’t just sit there and watch; get up and help me!

2) It’s his mother who gets him up every morning and his father who puts him to bed.

1) stand - 2) informal (rouse, waken)

Question 2

wake up

Answer 2

1) I wake up every day at six o’clock.
2) After seeing the note in his pocket, Marsha woke up to the fact that her husband was having an affair.

1) awake from sleep - 2) figurative (become aware of)

Question 3

turn on

Answer 3

1) Carl turned on the radio to listen to the news.
2) We were getting along well and then suddenly he turned on me.

1) switch on - 2) become hostile to

Question 4

turn off

Answer 4

1) Before I go to sleep I turn off the T.V.
2) Men who smoke really turn me off.

1) (switch off, extinguish) - 2) informal (disgust)

Question 5

stress out

Answer 5

1) Work is really busy at the moment and it’s stressing me out.
2) The musical skills of the band members were also stressed out in this review.

1) make tense and anxious - 2) emphasize

Question 6

come up with

Answer 6

1) Will you be able to come up with the cash by the end of the month?
2) I’ll have to come up with a plan.

1) deliver, produce - 2) informal (devise, invent)

Question 7

bring up

Answer 7

1) It is not a good idea to bring up politics with my family.
2) The couple adopted the child and brought him up.

1) raise: a subject - 2) raise: a child

Question 8

stand out

Answer 8

1) Wow, those bright colors really stand out.
2) Of all the applicants for the job, there was one who really stood out.

1) be noticeable - 2) be remarkable

Question 9

look up

Answer 9

1) If you don’t know who Ada Lovelace was, look her up online.
2) I’ve been through a tough time this past year, but things are starting to look up.

1) seek information - 2) figurative, informal (situation: improve)

Question 10

figure out

Answer 10

1) He finally figured out why his car wouldn’t start.
2) How did you figure out that math problem?

1) informal (understand) - 2) (solve)

Question 11

run out of

Answer 11

1) If medical supplies are allowed to run out, lives will be put in danger.
2) Petra found the film so scary, she ran out of the cinema.

1) be depleted - 2) exit rapidly

Question 12

pop into

Answer 12

1) I’ll be just a moment. I just need to pop into the pharmacy to pick up my prescription.
2) Her friends were having fun in the pool, so Emily popped into her swimsuit and joined them.

1) informar (enter quickly, in passing) - 2) informal (put on quickly)

Question 13

pick up

Answer 13

1) I’ll pick up the kids from school today.
2) We hope that sales will pick up next month.

1) collect in vehicle - 2) informal (improve)

Question 14

drop off

Answer 14

1) I drop my husband off at work every morning.
2) I dropped off at the wheel and crashed the car.

1) informal (let out of a vehicle) - 2) figurative, slang (fall asleep)

Question 15

cut back on

Answer 15

1) Now that I am unemployed we are going to have to cut back on our spending.
2) I have obviously cut back a bit on the talks now because I am working full time.

1) reduce: to economize - 2) reduce

Question 16

throw away

Answer 16

1) It would be a shame to throw away your talent by doing nothing with it.
2) I had to throw away a lot of old books that nobody wanted.

1) figurative (waste, squander) - 2) dispose of, discard

Question 17

put up with

Answer 17

1) I will not put up with your whining any more. Go to bed this minute!
2) He seems to think it’s something I’ve just got to put up with.

1) 2) tolerate

Question 18

bear with

Answer 18

1) I asked them to bear with me while I checked the details of their booking.
2) I know it’s boring, but bear with me for a bit.

1) 2) be patient

Question 19

calm down

Answer 19

1) She gave the baby a bottle to calm him down.
2) It enables you to think clearly simply because you calm down and permit oxygen to reach the brain again.

1) 2) make calmer

Question 20

get back to

Answer 20

1) It would be nice to get back to my hometown one day.
2) I’d love to talk more but I have to get back to my work now.

1) return - 2) informal (resume)

Question 21

look forward to

Answer 21

1) I look forward to the day when I can afford to retire.
2) On New Year’s Day, many of us like to look forward and think about the positive changes we can make over the coming year.

1) long for [sth] - 2) figurative (think about the future)

Question 22

catch up

Answer 22

1) You go on ahead; I’ll catch up with you as soon as I’ve finished my work here.
2) I phoned my brother to catch up on the latest news back home.

1) join, reach - 2) figurative, informal (get up to date)

Question 23

fill out

Answer 23

1) John was thin as a child but began to fill out when he reached 16.
2) Its sheer mass made it difficult to move and, once below, it didn’t fill out the cargo spaces nicely like crates or pallets might.

1) informal (put on weight) - 2) occupy

Question 24

get along

Answer 24

1) After she went blind, it took her a long time to learn how to get along without vision.
2) I have to get along now; it’s been nice chatting to you.

1) informal (cope) - 2) leave

Question 25

turn up

Answer 25

1) No telling when he’d turn up, he was never on time.
2) We turned the TV up to drown the noise of our neighbours arguing.

1) arrive, be present - 2) increase output, volume

Question 26

turn down

Answer 26

1) The bank turned down my application for a loan.
2) The hotel cleaner had turned down the sheets and left a chocolate on the pillow.

1) decline, refuse - 2) fold back: blankets on bed

Question 27

get rid of

Answer 27

1) The local museum got rid of its entrance charge; it’s free to go in now.
2) You need to get rid of those pants - you never wear them anymore.

1) dispense with - 2) throw away

Question 28

go over

Answer 28

1) In the speaking exam, try to keep talking for the full five minutes; if you go over, it won’t matter.
2) I hope that my speech goes over well at the meeting tonight.

1) use more time than allotted - 2) informal (be received)

Question 29

hand in

Answer 29

1) The students handed in their assignments to the teacher.
2) When the teenager’s parents found out he was selling drugs, they handed him in to the police.

1) submit - 2) informal (turn in: to police)

Question 30

sleep in

Answer 30

1) It’s Saturday, so I don’t have to get up for work. I can sleep in.
2) Adam could never sleep in a dirty place, thanks to his mother.

1) get up late - 2) sleep