Phrasal verbs

Question 1

Abide by

Answer 1

Accept or follow a decision or rule
(We have to abide by the court says)

Question 2

Account for

Answer 2

To explain
(They had to account for all the money that had gone missing)

Question 3

Ache for (eic for)

Answer 3

Want something or someone a lot
(He ached for her love)

Question 4

Act on/Act upon

Answer 4

•To take action because of something like information received
(The police were acting on a tip from an informer)

•To affect
(The medicine only acts on infected tissue)

Question 5

Act out

Answer 5

•Perform something with actions and gestures
(They acted out the story on a stage)

•Express an emotion in your behaviour
(Their anger is acted out in their antisocial behaviour)

Question 6

Act up

Answer 6

Behave badly or strangely
(My computer’s acting up;
I think i might have a virus)

Question 7

Add on

Answer 7

Include in a calculation (sommare)
(They decided to add on a service cost)

Question 8

Add up

Answer 8

•To make a mathematical total (calcolare)
(We added up the bill to check it was correct)

•Be a satisfactory explanation for something (quadrare)
(She explained why the work wasn’t ready, but the story doesn’t add up)

Question 9

Add up to

Answer 9

•Have a certain result (Implicare)
(Train delays are getting worse and with the high fares, it all adds up to misery for the commuters)

•Come to a certain amount or figure (Ammontare a)
(The total costs add up to several millions euros)

Question 10

Aim at

Answer 10

• To target (indirizzare)
(The magazine is aimed at teenagers)

•To achieve (mirare a)
(They’re aming at reducing costs by ten percent)

Question 11

Allow for

Answer 11

•Include something in a plan or calculation (Tener conto)
(You should allow for delays when planning a journey)

Question 12

Allow of

Answer 12

•Make possible, permit
(The rules don’t allow of any exceptions)

Question 13

Answer back

Answer 13

To replay rudely to someone in authority (rispondere male)
(Her mother was shocked when she started answering her back and refusing to help)

Question 14

Answer for

Answer 14

• Be held responsible for a problem (rispondere di, pagare le conseguenze)
(The government should be made to answer for their failure to sort out the problem)

•Speak on behalf of someone or from knowing them (parlare a nome di)
(I can answer for my partner because i know her position on this issue)

Question 15

Ask about

Answer 15

Ask how someone is doing, expecially professionally and in terms of health
(He asked about my father)