Phrasal Verbs Flashcards
Brush up ON something
Practise and improve your skills or knowledge of something
I thought I’d brush up (on) my French before going to Paris.
Come (a)round to
Change your opinion or decision because someone has persuaded you to agree with them
Example: He’ll come round to my point of view, given a bit of time.
Come up with
Think of something such as an idea or a plan
Example: Gavin came up with the idea OF dividing the rooms in half.
Face up to
Accept something and try to deal with it
Example: She’s going to have to face up to the fact that he’s not going to marry her.
Figure out
Be able to understand something or solve a problem
Example: If they know the cause of the problem, they might be able to figure out how to prevent it happening again.
Hit upon/on something
Suddenly have an idea; discover something by chance
Example: When we first hit on the idea, everyone told us it would never work.
Make out
See, hear or understand someone or something with difficulty
Example: I couldn’t make out what he said.
To deal with a situation, usually in a successful way
Example: How is Frances making out in her new job?
Mull over
Think carefully about something for a long period of time
Think over
Example: I need a few days to mull things over before I decide.
Piece together
Learn the truth about something by considering all the separate bits of information you have
Example: Investigators are trying to piece together what happened just before the accident.
Puzzle out
Figure out
Example: I still can’t puzzle out how I managed to spend so much money last month.
Read up on/about something
Get information
Example: It’s a good idea to read up on a company before going for an interview.
Swot up on
To learn as much as you can about a subject
Example: She’s at home, swotting up on her maths.
Take in
Understand and remember something that you hear or read
Accept something as true
Think something over
Consider the facts about something in a thorough way
Example: I need some time to think over his proposal.
Example: I said she could come and live with us, and she said she’d think it over.
Think something up
Invent or imagine something, especially, especially an excuse
Example: I don’t want to go tonight but I can’t think up a good excuse.
Go up
To increase
Example: House prices in our neighborhood have gone up significantly, so we’re thinking of selling.
To walk over or up to something
Example: I went up the east coast, up to Frasier Island which is a world heritage site.
Close up
To shut and lock something such as a shop or a building, especially for a short period of time
Catch up
To talk with someone you know in order to exchange news or information
Example: By the time coffee came, R.J. and Angelo had caught up a little bit.
To reach the same quality or standard as someone or something else
Example: Will Western industry ever catch up with Japanese innovations?
Put on
To add or increase an amount or action
Example: I put on weight when I went away to college.
Example: The school puts a lot of emphasis on music and art.
To move something you wear onto your body
Example: Put your shoes on.
To do an activity, especially one that others can watch
Example: The second graders want to put a play on.
Make up
To forgive someone
Example: They kissed and made up, as usual
Stand around
To spend time standing somewhere and doing very little
Example: We stood around in the cold for about an hour, waiting for the demo to start.
Finish off
To complete a task
Example: Can you finish off washing the dishes?
Come up
(of an issue, situation, or problem) occur or present itself, especially unexpectedly.
Example: Even the little squabbles that tend to come up seem to be solved fairly quickly.
(of a specified time or event) approach or draw near.
Example: She’s got exams coming up
Go along
To agree or be willing to accept something
Example: We got here and the Brits had taken one half of the apartment and so we Americans moved into the other half and have gotten along brilliantly.
