Another 41 useful CAE phrasal verbs

BY DAVID PUGH · PUBLISHED 26TH JANUARY 2020 · UPDATED 27TH JANUARY 2020

If you’re studying for the C1

Advanced (CAE) exam, or just
generally want to improve your
English, here are another 41 useful
CAE phrasal verbs with explanations
and example sentences. This list
follows on from the 20 Essential CAE
phrasal verbs– if you haven’t
read these I would start there first.

Some of these phrasal verbs have

multiple meanings but I’ve only
focussed on one per phrasal verb, as I
believe these are the most useful for
the CAE exam.

Note that you only need to use the

words in brackets when you mention
the object with certain phrasal verbs –
e.g. ‘Did he back out of the deal? Yes,
He backed out’.

1. Drop out (of something) – Stop

participating in something like an
activity, school, university or
competition before it has
finished: Some pupils decide to
drop out of school at the age of
16 without taking the final exams.
2. Wind up (someone) – Make
someone angry or annoy them:
These new neighbours are
 really winding me up. They make
so much noise!
3. Back out (of something) – Decide
not to do something you agreed to
do: Jim decided to back out of the
marriage on the morning of the
wedding because he began to
panic about the commitment.
4. Bring up (something) – Mention
something in a conversation: I
decided not to bring up the
election results because I knew it
would lead to an argument.
5. Come up – This is when a
situation or problem occurs and
you have to deal with it
immediately: Something has
come up so I’m afraid I won’t be
able to attend the meeting.
6. Fall back on (something) –
Depend or use something you
have kept as a reserve when
something fails: It’s important
to have savings to fall back on
in case you lose your job.
7. Give off – Release a gas or smell:
The electricity fuse box seems to
be giving off a strange smell.
8. Hold up – Delay: Jack was late
for the get-together because he
was held up in traffic.
9. Let off (someone) – Excuse
someone from punishment or
when someone receives a lighter
punishment than expected: When
 the police stopped me
for speeding I expected to get a
fine but they let me off with a
warning!
10. Put (something) down to
(something else) – Explain that
something is caused by another
thing: He put her rude reaction
down to tiredness, as he knew
she had been having difficulty
sleeping.
11. Run into (someone) – Meet
someone you know by chance:
I ran into an old friend on the way
to the post office.
12. Try out (something) – Test
something to see if it is
effective: Shall we try out the
new dish washer?
13. Take over – Gain control of
something: After three hours
driving on the motorway I let my
girlfriend take over so that I
could have a rest.
14. Step down – Resign from a high
job post (used more colloquially):
Mr Williams is expected to step
down as director at the end of
the month. (Note that here we
use ‘step down as’ when
followed by the position).
15. Stand for – We use this to say
what the initials represent from
something: The abbreviation
 WHO stands for World Health
Organisation.
16. See through (something or
someone) – Recognise that
something is not true or what
someone is really like: I
know you’re lying. I can see
through your lies!
17. Miss out (something) –
Overlook or leave out something,
usually by accident: In your report
you missed out an important
piece of information.
18. Look on – Consider or regard
something or someone in a
particular way: They look on the
unreal situation as a bit of a joke.
19. Keep up – Continue to do
something: If Atletico Madrid can
keep up the pressure on the
opposition defence they might
just win this game.
20. Go off – When food or drink is no
longer fresh and becomes too
bad to consume: If you leave that
opened carton of milk out of the
fridge for too long it will go off.
21. Go on (to do) – Do something
after doing something else: He
started as a trainee and went
on to become managing
director of the company.
22. Give up – Surrender:
The suspects
eventually gave themselves up when
 they saw that they could not
escape from the police.
23. Get off (with something) – Avoid
receiving punishment or receive a
lighter one than expected: Nick
thought he would be sent to
prison be he got off with
community service and a fine.
24. Drop by – Make a brief visit
somewhere: On my way to
football training I dropped by
Robbie’s flat for a quick chat.
25. Come out – When something
like a book, album or a film first
becomes available: Ken Follet’s
new novel is coming out next
month.
26. Ask after (someone) – Enquire
about someone to see how they
are doing: I saw your ex-girlfriend
on the bus and she asked
after you.
27. Bump into (someone) – Meet
someone who know unexpectedly: I
bumped into my Spanish teacher in
the cinema on Saturday.
28. Go over (something) – Carefully
check something: I need you to
go over the report and make sure
all the figures are 100% correct
before the meeting.
29. Pass away – This means ‘die’
and you use this when you want
to avoid saying the word ‘die’: My
 Grandmother passed away in her
sleep at the age of 71.
30. Pass out – Faint or lose
consciousness: The
patient passed out when he
saw the blood.
31. Go through (something) –
Experience an unpleasant or
difficult situation: During her
childhood she went through a lot
of tough moments.
32. Pay off (something) – Pay the
total amount on a debt – to use
this it’s better to apply it to a
situation when there is a specific
payment plan, like a mortgage:
We hope to pay off the mortgage
on our house in 15 years.
33. Lie in – Stay in bed for longer
than usual because you don’t
have to get up at a specific time: I
always lie in on Sundays because
it’s the only day I don’t have to get
up for work.
34. Opt for – Choose one particular
option: In the end, we opted for
the unfurnished flat further away
from the city centre.
35. Rely on – Depend on someone
or something to do something for
you: As department manager I
know I can rely on my team to get
the job done on time.
36. Set aside – Save a portion of
something for a later purpose: It’s
 really important to set aside part of
your monthly salary and put it into
a savings account.
37. Settle down – Start to live a
quieter life by getting married or
staying in a place on a permanent
basis: After spending several
years travelling around the South
America Simon decided to settle
down and start a family.
38. Show off – Behaving with the
intention of attracting people’s
attention and making them
admire you: He likes showing off
by driving his brand-new BMW to
the office.
39. Turn into – Change into
something different: We were
playing really well, but in the
second-half we had a player
sent off and it turned
into a disastrous defeat.
40. Turn to (someone) – Ask
someone for help when you are
experiencing a difficult
situation: When Claire was
made redundant she turned to
one of her old teachers for advice.
41. Put forward – Offer something
like an idea or opinion for
discussion: Some great ideas
were put forward in the meeting
but we decided to go with the
original plan.