Phrasal Verbs by Daniel Welsch Flashcards
GET UP / WAKE UP • To get up = get out of bed • To wake up = regain consciousness after being asleep
What time do you usually get up?
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I went to sleep late last night, so I got up late this morning
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I woke up at six o’clock, but I didn’t get up until almost seven
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You should wake Mary up. It’s almost time for breakfast
GO OUT
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to go out = leave the house to go to a party or social event
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to go out with someone = to have a more or less romantic relationship with someone
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to stay in = remain at home
I don’t really feel like going out. Why don’t we stay in and make a pizza
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Is Susan going out with anyone at the moment?
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They’ve been going out since high school
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I usually go out on Saturday nights. Friday nights I stay in
LOOK AFTER
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to look after someone/something = take care of someone or something, especially children, animals, or things that can’t take care of themselves
He’s looking after my plants while I’m away on holiday
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Could you look after the baby tomorrow night while I’m out?
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If you get a babysitter to look after the kids, we can go out
GET ON (UK) / ALONG (USA)
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to get on with someone = to have a good relationship with someone
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If we use the negative, it means the relationship is not good.
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We can also use adverbs (well, very well, pretty well, extremely well, etc) between the particles “on” and “with”
She doesn’t get on very well with her boss, but she gets on extremely well with her coworkers • Do you get on with your parents? • How do you get on with your classmates?
PUT ON / TAKE OFF
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to put something on = to put clothes on your body
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After you put them on, you can say you’re wearing them
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to take something off = the opposite of “put on.” To remove clothing from your body
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take off = the moment when an airplane leaves the ground and goes up into the air. The opposite is “to land” or “to touch down”
He took off his jacket and hung it up behind the door
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You should take off your hat in the Cathedral
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Why don’t you put on your raincoat? You’re getting wet!
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Did you put on sunblock when you went to the beach? You’re sunburnt!
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If I take off my glasses, I won’t be able to read the newspaper
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Sorry for the delay, the plane will be taking off in just a few minutes
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In the end, the plane took off almost an hour late. We just landed a few minutes ago
TURN ON / TURN OFF
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turn on = to move an electrical apparatus from “off” to on”
turn off = the opposite of turn on: to move an electrical apparatus from “on” to “off.”
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Many times a computer says shut down instead of turn off
You should turn off your mobile if you’re going to sleep. You don’t want it to wake you up
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She opened the door and turned on the light
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We should turn on the air conditioning. It’s getting hot
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Could you turn off the TV? I’m finished watching it
START OUT / END UP
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start out = to begin a process, a journey, etc.
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end up = to finish a process or journey, etc.
He started out studying to be a lawyer, but he ended up working as a teacher
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We started out at home, and after an hour walking, we ended up in the town center
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I started out thinking I was going to go to New York, but I ended up going to Istanbul
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The day started out well, but I had a bad headache in the afternoon
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I wanted to go out, but finally I ended up staying home
TURN UP / TURN DOWN
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turn up = raise (the volume, the heating, etc)
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turn down = lower (the volume, the heating, etc.)
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Both phrasal verbs are usually used with electrical apparatuses
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turn up also means to appear unexpectedly
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turn down also means to reject someone or something
Could you please turn down the music? I can’t sleep!
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He turned up the TV when his favorite music video came on
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I was looking for the cat all afternoon, eventually she turned up under the sofa
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Her keys finally turned up, but by that time they’d already called a locksmith
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He asked her out several times, but she always turned him down
SET OUT / GET BACK
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set out = to leave on a journey or trip
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get back = to arrive back where you started after completing your journey
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Normally, if we’re not travelling, we just say “go” or “leave”
If we set out early, we’ll get back before dinner
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What time did you get back from your trip?
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He left for work early in the morning, and didn’t get back until 11 o’clock at night
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We should set out before lunch, that way we’ll miss the traffic
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The earlier we set out, the earlier we’ll arrive
BREAK UP
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break up with someone = to end a romantic relationship with someone
Have you heard? Susan broke up with her boyfriend this weekend
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Tom has been a bit depressed since Kate broke up with him
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I was sad when we broke up, but now I think it’s for the best
BREAK DOWN
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break down = similar to break, but we use it with cars and large machines
When the train broke down, we had to wait for 3 hours to continue on our journey
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If your car breaks down, you’ll have to call the tow truck
He had to spend the afternoon fixing his motorcycle after it broke down
GET RID OF
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get rid of something = throw something away or give it to someone else if you don’t want it anymore
When she got rid of her car, she started taking public transport a lot more
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I really want to get rid of all these books. They’re cluttering up my room
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Do you think we should get rid of these tools? We hardly ever use them
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I got rid of a lot of stuff by selling it online
WORK OUT • work out = to solve a problem, by thinking, effort or calculation • work out = do sport or exercise
They’ve been trying to work out the problems with their computer all day.
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In the end everything worked out fine, and we could forget about the whole thing
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He always works out three times oa week. That’s why he’s so thin
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After I work out at the gym, I always like to eat a big lunch
MAKE UP • make up a story = invent a story • make up a class, an exam, etc = do something at a later date • make up your mind = decide • make someone/yourself up = another way of saying put on make-up (cosmetics women use on their faces to look beautiful)
She made that whole story up. None of it is true
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If class is cancelled, we’ll make up the lost time another day
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If you fail this exam, you have to make it up next semester
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He’s having trouble making up his mind about what to study at university
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I’ve made up my mind: I’m moving to Germany
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She’s in the bathroom, making herself up
GIVE UP
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give something up = to stop doing something we do habitually
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give up = to stop making an effort. Also, to surrender to the police
She smoked for over 20 years, but finally she gave it up a few months ago
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He’s given up sweets because his doctor told him he has to lose weight
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I’m giving up my job to go back to university
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When they realized they were trapped, the robbers gave themselves up
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I give up! It’s impossible to argue with you
GROW UP
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grow up = to become an adult, to move towards maturity, to pass one’s childhood
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If we want to talk about getting bigger physically, we say “grow” with no particle
I grew up in Chicago, and I moved to Washington to go to college
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He was born in France, but grew up in Germany
LOOK FORWARD TO
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look forward to something = expect something to happen with a feeling of happiness or excitement. To await eagerly. To be excited about a future event
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It is often used in the present continuous, followed by a noun or a gerund
I’m really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow
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She’s looking forward to the wedding. It’s her big day
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I’m going to Australia next month. I’m really looking forward to it
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I’m looking forward to finishing university so I can start working
PUT UP WITH
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put up with something/someone = tolerate someone or something.
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If we find it very difficult to tolerate something, we usually say we can’t stand someone/something
After putting up with the noise for an hour, I called the police
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I can’t stand her! How do you manage to put up with her so well?
TRY ON
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try something on = to put on clothes in a shop to decide if you want to buy them.
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We say try without a particle to talk about attempting activities, food, drinks, etc. to see if we like them
I’d like to try on this shirt, please
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She tried on a few wedding dresses, but didn’t find anything she liked
PUT IN / TAKE OUT
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put something in = in is a direcional adverb to describe putting one object inside something else
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take something out = the opposite of put something in, take something out is equivalent to “remove”
When you put the beer in the fridge, take out a bottle of water
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I’m going to put these clothes in the closet
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I’m going to take some money out of the bank
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Can you put my keys in your bag?
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She took the towels out of the cupboard and put them in the bathroom
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SHOW UP
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show up = appear, arrive at work or at a meeting
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En Español: Aparecer
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El phrasal verb show up es intransitivo y por lo tanto inseparable
We thought he was coming to the meeting, but he never showed up
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When she finally showed up for work, it was almost lunch time
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What time do you expect the Marketing Director to show up?
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This week’s figures will show up in the 3rd Quarter sales report
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He’s always showing up late. You can’t plan on him being on time
SET UP
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set sth up = establish a business, or configure software
The phrasal verb set up is transitive and separable
We need to set up a committee to investigate exactly what happened
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He set up his first company after he finished university
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The technicians are setting up the new wireless network today
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This new printer is a little bit complicated, but hopefully I can set it up this afternoon
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We have some new computers but we’re waiting for the technicians to come and set them up
PUT OFF
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put sth off = delay (make something happen later than scheduled)
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Many times, put off is used with another verb. In this case, the verb should be in gerund (-ing form)
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It is transitive and separable
I’ve been putting off writing that report for weeks, but I think I’ll finally have to do it this afternoon
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She’s been putting off making a final decision. How can we convince her?
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Nobody can come to the meeting. We have to put it off until Thursday
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We need to put off making a decision until we have better information
CALL OFF • call sth off = cancel a meeting, a project, a trip etc. • Transitive and separable
They had to call off that ad campaign because certain religious groups found it offensive
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We’re going to call off the meeting if the CEO can’t come
PUT UP
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put up = raise prices, etc.
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Transitive and separable
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Look at the difference between rise y raise. Rise is intransitive and does not accept an object. Eg: Petrol prices are rising. Raise, on the other hand, is transitive. It needs a subject and an object. Eg: The petrol station on the corner has raised its prices
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Put up is equivalent to raise and is transitive. See also go up / go down
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Many times we just use raise, but it’s good to know put up also
If we put the prices up 10%, we’ll lose a lot of business
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Our shipping company is putting up their rates because of the rising costs of petrol
GO UP / GO DOWN • go up = rise go down = fall • These two phrasal verbs are intransitive. They do not use an object. See also put up. • The word rise includes the idea “up” so the particle is usually unnecessary. Similarly, fall includes the idea of “down"
Housing prices went up up by more than 10% in the year 2006.
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The prices of petrol have been going up for months
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As our overhead goes down, our profit margin goes up
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Interest rates are going down, which is making banks reluctant to give credit
SHOOT UP • shoot up = increase rapidly • Sometimes we want to use a more dramatic expression than just go up. In this case, we can use expressions like shoot up. • A synonym of shoot up = soar The opposite could be plummet, which means to fall dramatically
Housing prices really shot up in the years previous to the housing bubble’s burst
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Oil prices shot up 10% in just a few days when the war began
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Unemployment shot up in the first year of the recession
PUT OUT
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put sth out = produce a product output (n) = production
That factory put out more than a million units last year
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The newspaper is putting out a special report on Brazil this Friday
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When Apple put out the first iPhone, mobile technology was changed forever
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The output of crude oil from our offshore platforms has risen considerably this year
CUT BACK
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cut back (on sth) = reduce consumption or a budget
cutback (n) = reduction
We should cut back on our advertising budget if we need to save money
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Government cutbacks are making a lot of people worried they might lose their jobs
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They’ve been cutting back on social services for years now
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There have been some cutbacks in our department, so we’re all working harder these days
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Healthcare cutbacks have outraged pensioners across the country
LAY OFF
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lay sb off = make someone redundant (tell them they are no longer necessary as workers in a company)
layoffs (n) = redundancies
They’re going to lay off 250 people at the old factory
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His company laid him off after 15 years on the job
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I was laid off last year, so now I’m looking for a new job
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The layoffs came as no surprise to anyone
MEET UP / GET TOGETHER
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meet up = have a meeting
get together = have a meeting, possibly less formal
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These phrasal verbs are basically synonyms
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We can also say “meet” or “have a meeting”
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The particle “up” is used very frequently in English, and sometimes it doesn’t really mean anything
We should meet up this afternoon to discuss the matter further
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I’m getting together with Ron from finance to check the numbers from our online marketing campaign
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If you’re free tomorrow, we can get together for lunch
WORK OUT • work sth out = calculate • work sth out = solve a problem • The phrasal verb "work out" means a couple of other things, but one thing it doesn’t mean is to have a job outside of your country. If we want to talk about working in another country, we use "work abroad"
I’m going to work out how much our losses will be due to the recall
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I can’t seem to work out this network problem. I’m going to have to call the technician
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The government is working out a solution to the debt crisis
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She spent a few years working abroad and came back speaking almost perfect English
GIVE AWAY • give sth away = distribute for free • give sb/sth away = reveal one’s identity or another piece of secret information
Giving away free samples is a great way to get new customers
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The CD giveaways are increasing magazine sales quite a bit
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The bank is giving away a laptop to anyone who opens an account with 10,000 euros
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We don’t want to give away too much information in the negotiation
CHECK OUT / CHECK IN • check out = verify • check in(to) / check out (of a hotel, at the airport, etc) = the process of identifying yourself when entering or leaving. Also, check-in (n)
We should check out his references before we hire him
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Can you check out the sales data to make sure it’s okay?
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I’m checking out some MBA programs to see if there’s anything that suits my needs
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Check this article from Forbes out. It’s very interesting!
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I don’t have time to look over that data. Can you check it out?
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If you don’t arrive before check-in closes, you’ll miss the plane
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You have to check out of the hotel before 12 o’clock
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He checked into the hotel on Friday, and checked out on Monday morning
TAKE OVER • take sth over = take control of a government, country or company. Also, takeover (n) • Separable y transitive
The elections are in October, and we can expect the oppostion to take over in November
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After the civil war ended, a coalition of conservative parties took over
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Tim Cook took over Apple a few weeks before Steve Jobs died
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They executed a hostile takeover of one of their competitors last year
BAIL OUT
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bail out = rescue from financial difficulties
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This word is very common to hear these days. With the financial problems that many banks and countries in the Eurozone are having, it will probably continue to be an important word for the next few years also
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It originally referred to throwing water off of a ship so it wouldn’t sink
The European Central Bank is spending billions of euros to bail out Greece
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That company was considered too big to fail and was bailed out by the government
BE / RUN OUT OF • be out of sth = not have any left run out of sth = the process of using something until you don’t have any left • to be out of the office = literally, be somewhere else and not in the office • to be out of work = not have a job
We’re out of time, I’m afraid. We’ll have to continue this conversation in our next meeting
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We’re running out of options here.
We might have to cancel the project entirely
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I’m sorry, he’s out of the office at the moment. Can I take a message?
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He’s been out of work for about six months
GO ON / KEEP ON
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go on doing something / keep on doing something = continue doing something
The negotiations went on till late at night
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He kept on arriving late for work. In the end I had to fire him
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The meeting went on for about 4 hours
BE OFF / HAVE THE DAY OFF
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be off work = not be at work.
A day off is a day you aren’t at work
I have Friday off, so let’s get this done by Thursday at the latest
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He’s off today. Is there any way I can help you?
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I asked for a week off in February to go skiing
SLOW DOWN / PICK UP
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When these phrasal verbs are used to talk about the economy, they have special meanings:
slow down = stop growing at the same rate as before
slowdown (n) = economic deceleration (usually not a recession, but a reduction in GDP growth.)
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pick up = used to indicate that the economy is growning
There was a slowdown in hiring at companies, but investment in equipment picked up a little bit
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The slowdown in consumer spending is due to lower confidence in the economy
OUTLOOK
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look out! = exclamation meaning “be careful”
outlook = forecast, prediction about the future
The outlook for the next two years is very good
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He always has a positive outlook, which is why he’s such a good manager
UPDATE
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update = make something more modern or current (used frequently with computers)
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keep sb/sth up to date = inform someone of some news, keep something current
We need to update the operating systems on our computers
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He updated his CV to reflect his current experience
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She wants to update to a new version of the application with more features
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Could you keep me up to date about the progress of the negotiations?
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If you keep your computer up to date it won’t crash as often
OUTSOURCE
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to outsource = obtain goods or services from an outside or foreign supplier
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outsourcing (n) comes from source = the place where you get something
They outsourced part of the manufacturing operation to a factory in China
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Tech support has been outsourced to India
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Outsourcing has cost our economy thousands of jobs this year
UPGRADE
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upgrade sth/sb = to raise something to a higher standard, to promote somebody to a higher position
He was upgraded to marketing director after only 5 years in the company
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They upgraded all the computers in the design department to make them run smoother
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