ZNO PHRASAL VERBS Flashcards
to add up
to make sense
Her story doesn’t add up. I think she is lying.
to back someone up
to support
My wife backed me up over my decision to quit my job.
to break down
to stop functioning;
to get upset;
Our car broke down at the side of the highway in the snowstorm.
She broke down when the police told her about her husband.
to call someone up
to phone someone
Give me your phone number and I will call you up when we are in town.
to ask over
to invite to one’s home
Why don’t we ask the Johnsons over for dinner?
to check in
to arrive and register at a hotel or airport
We will get the hotel keys when we check in.
to ask out
to invite on a date
I can’t believe that Joe finally asked me out on a date.
to break something down
to divide into smaller parts
Our teacher broke the final project down into three separate parts.
to break in
to force entry to a building;
to interrupt;
The burglar broke in between midnight and 3 AM.
While we were discussing the situation, Terri broke in to give her opinion.
not to care for someone / something
not to like someone / something
I don’t care for his behavior.
to cut in
to interrupt;
to pull in too closely in front of another vehicle;
to start operating (of an engine or electrical device);
Your father cut in while I was dancing with your uncle.
The bus driver got angry when that car cut in.
The air-conditioner cuts in when the temperature gets to 22C.
to break up
to end a relationship;
to start laughing;
Sam and Diane broke up again.
The kids just broke up as soon as the clown showed up.
to bring someone up
to raise a child
My grandparents brought me up after my parents died.
to break out
to escape
The prisoners broke out of jail when the guards were not looking.
to ask around
to ask many people the same question
I asked around but nobody had seen my wallet.
to call someone back
to return a phone call
I called the company back but the offices were closed for the weekend.
to check out
to leave a hotel
You have to check out of the hotel before 11 AM.
to cheer someone up
to make happier
I brought you some flowers to cheer you up.
to call on someone
to ask for an answer or opinion
to visit someone
The professor called on me for question one.
We called on you last night but you weren’t home.
to cut something down
to make something fall to the ground
We had to cut the old tree in our yard down after the storm.
to check out someone / something
to look at (informal)
Check out that crazy hair on that guy.
to call around
to phone many different places / people
We called around but we weren’t able to find a car part we needed.
to clean something up
to tidy, to clean
Please clean up your bedroom before you go outside.
to come from somewhere
to originate in
The art of origami comes from Asia.
to calm down
to relax after being angry
You are still mad. You need to calm down before you drive the car.
to bring someone down
to make unhappy
This sad music is bringing me down.
to check something / someone out
to look at carefully, to investigate
The company checks out all new employees.
to chip in
to help, to input
If everyone chips in we can get the kitchen painted by noon.
to cheer up
to become happier
She cheered up when she heard the good news.
to cut something off
to remove with something sharp;
to stop providing;
to take out of a will;
The doctors cut off his leg because it was severely injured.
The phone company cut off our phone because we didn’t pay the bill.
My grandparents cut my father off when he remarried.
to cut something out
to remove part of something (usually with scissors and paper)
They cut his ad out of the newspaper.
to do something over
to do again (Am.En.)
to ransack [beat up] (Br.En.)
My teacher wants me to do my essay over because she doesn’t like my topic.
His shop was done over by a street gang.
to do away with something
to discard
It’s time to do away with all these old tax records.
to do something up
to fasten, to close
Do your coat up before you go outside. It’s snowing!
to dress up
to wear nice clothing
It’s a fancy restaurant so we have to dress up.
to drop back
to move back in a position [group]
He dropped back to his previous position after the last race.
to drop in
to come without an appointment
I might drop in for a dram of Scotch tomorrow night.
to drop by
to come without an appointment
I’ll drop by on my way home.
to drop over
to come without an appointment
They dropped over and just killed my stock of beers.
to drop something [someone] off
to take someone [something] somewhere and leave him [it] there
Can you drop me off right over there?
