UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE SANTA CATARINA

CENTRO DE COMUNICAÇÃO E EXPRESSÃO

DEPARTAMENTO DE LÍNGUA E LITERATURA ESTRANGEIRAS
CURSOS EXTRACURRICULARES DE LÍNGUA ESTRANGEIRA

Professor: Bruno Senra Sinésio e Silva

This is a list of phrasal verbs and their meanings arranged in alphabetical order
(exercises at the end!)

act
act up behave or function I think I need to take my car to the mechanic because it's acting
improperly up again.

ask
ask in to invite someone to She asked me in for a cup of coffee .
come into a building or
room, especially your
home
ask out invite on a date I can't believe that Joe finally asked her out on a date!

break

break down fail to function The truck broke down in the desert.

have a physical or mental She broke down after her husband died.
collapse

break in interrupt a discussion While we were discussing the situation, Nancy broke in to
give her opinion.

burgle; to illegally enter a The burglar broke in at midnight.

building and steal things

wear or use something I need to break these shoes in before I go hiking.

new until it is comfortable

break off discontinue (therapy, Sandra broke her friendship with George off.
relationship)
 break out escape from prison The murderer broke out of the prison.

start The war broke out for greed of power

break up end a relationship Sam and Diane broke up again.

bring

bring about cause to happen Democracy brought about great change in people's lives.

bring along bring with When we go to the forest, bring your wildlife guide along.

bring around change someone's mind, She doesn't want to go, but we'll eventually bring her around.
convince someone

bring on cause to happen or appear What brought anger on?

bring up rear, educate a child He was brought up in New York.

mention I didn't want to bring up the fact that she was unemployed.

call

call for require This recipe calls for milk, not water.

call off cancel They called the picnic off because of the rain.

call up to telephone someone My dad called me up to tell me the good news.

summon for military He was called up when the war began.

services

carry

carry away to become so excited The manager warned his young players not to get carried
about something away by the emotion of the occasion.

carry on continue Please, carry on. I didn't mean to interrupt you.

carry out accomplish, make The secret agent carried out his orders exactly as planned. 

catch

catch up make up for lost time I will never catch up. I am too behind in my work.

catch up with speed up to be at the same I had to run to catch up with the others.
place as a person or thing
in front of you

check

check for try to find They checked for termites before they bought the house.

check in enter a hospital, hotel etc. They need to check in before noon.

Check out to go to a place in order to I'm going to check out that new club.
see what it is like
 come

come about happen, to be achieved How did your idea for the book come about?

come across find/meet by chance They came across their friend Tom in the street.

come along accompany someone If you want, you can come along.

come back return What time are you coming back?

come by pass, go past, visit I'll come by later this afternoon.

buy, get How did you come by that new Mercedes?

come down fall (price) The price of oil came down because of the economic crisis.

come down to mean, signify What the problem comes down to is 'Will the consumer be
willing to pay more for a higher quality product?'

come down fall sick with He came down with the flu.
with

come in enter, be received They asked me to come in, but I refused as I was in a hurry.

come in for receive, be object of The director has come in for a lot of criticism over his
criticism handling of the affair.

come out be removed (stain) I tried to remove that ink spot on my shirt but it didn't come
out.

come over move from one place to Are your family coming over from Greece for the wedding?
another

come up with produce an idea She came up with a great proposal for the new advertising
campaign.

do

do away with abolish Some Americans want to do away with the death penalty.

do without to manage without having I can't do without my cellphone. I take it wherever I go.
something

eat

eat away at gradually destroy, erode The heavy rains ate away at the sandstone cliffs.

eat up devour, to eat all the food Ken ate the cookies up.
that you have been given

eat in eat inside the home We usually eat in instead of going out for dinner.

eat out eat outside the home They eat out once a week.

fall

fall apart fall into pieces Her dreams fell apart as she discovered the truth.

fall behind fail to keep up pace Hurry up or you will fall behind!

fall for be in love with She always falls for unsuitable men

be deceived by He told me he owned a mansion in Spain and I fell for it.

 fall in with to become friendly with She fell in with a strange crowd of people at university.
someone

fall off decrease Sales have been falling off recently.

fall out quarrel He left home after falling out with his parents.

figure

figure out solve something, I finally figured the joke out. Now I understand why
understand everybody was laughing.

figure calculate I need to figure my expenses up before I give you an

up estimate.

fill

fill in complete don't forget to fill in the blanks.

find

find out discover Vicky's parents are going to be so mad when they find out
she got a tattoo.

get

get across communicate (an idea) It's difficult to get humor across in another language.

get along be in good terms with I don't really get along with my sister's husband
somebody

get away escape The bank robbers got away.

get away with escape (punishment) If I thought I could get away with it, I wouldn't pay any tax
at all

get by manage, cope I lost my job, so I am having a hard time getting by this year.

get down to turn one's attention to sth Enough small talk. Let's get down to business.

get in enter (car, taxi) Get in. I will give you a ride to school

get off disembark (bus, train etc.) We need to get off the bus at the next stop.

get on enter (bus, train etc.) The train is leaving. Quick, get on!

get out disembark (car, taxi) I arrived at my destination. So I got out of the taxi.

get over recover (illness, upset) Jennifer still hasn't gotten over her breakup with Peter

get through To arrive at the end of; We will never get through all of these boxes by 9:00 PM.
finish or complete.

be connected on the phone It's hard to get through to Janet because her telephone line is
always busy.

get up rise from bed after I always get up at six o'clock in the morning.
sleeping

give

give up to stop doing a regular We're going to give up our sports club membership after this
activity or job year.
 go

go against be contrary to (principles, Public opinion is going against the government on this issue.
rules)

go along with take the same view Kate's already agreed, but it's going to be harder persuading
Mike to go along with it

go away depart I yelled at the dogs to make them go away.

go down decrease Oil prices went down.

sink (ship) Everyone took to the lifeboats when the ship started to go
down

set (sun) When the sun goes down, it moves down in the sky until it
cannot be seen any more

go off explode The bomb could go off at any moment.

become angry Nancy went off yesterday when I told her about her
boyfriend.

begin to sound (alarm) The alarm clock went off at 6:00 AM.

go on continue Please, go on. Sorry for interrupting you.

go out leave the house They love to go out every Saturday night.

The fire went out after The fire went out after three days.
three days.

go over review Do you usually go over your notes before class?

go round visit informally I'm just going round to Martha's for half an hour.
Why didn't you tell me Perry had been round?

go through examine in detail, study I need to have my lawyer go through this contract before I
carefully sign it.

endure; experience She has gone through so much in her life.

challenges, difficulties or
traumas

go up increase in price The prices went up.

go with match That shirt doesn't go with those pants.

hand

hand in submit I have to hand in an offer by March 12.

hand out distribute We should hand the concert fliers out at school.

hang

hang around to wait or spend time Maria and Salvador usually hang around the beach after
somewhere, usually for no school.
particular reason

hang up  put down the telephone Don't hang up. I'm going to change phones.
receiver
 hold

hold on grasp tightly  She held on tightly to his waist.

hold up rob (a bank, a person) Five men held the bank up yesterday.
with a weapon

hurry

hurry up to move or do things more Hurry up or we'll miss the train.

quickly than normal or to
make someone do this

iron

iron out eliminate We need to have a meeting this week in order to iron out the
distribution problems.

jump

jump in  enter a conversation Feel free to jump in at any moment while we are talking.

jump to make a quick, poorly You shouldn't jump to conclusions.

thought out decision

keep

keep away prevent from / avoid being Keep the kids away from the cookies.
near

keep back withhold Keep back! The burning building is about to collapse.

keep down to be able to eat or drink On the day after her operation she couldn't keep anything
something without down.
vomiting

keep off to stop something Put a cloth over the salad to keep the flies off.
touching or harming
someone or something

keep on not stopping doing He kept on talking after everybody asked him to stop.
something

keep up continue, carry on You are doing a great job! Keep it up.

keep up with not to fall behind sb I have so much reading that I can't keep up with the writing
exercises.
 lay

lay down establish (laws, rules) That dangerous criminal lays down his own law in prison.

let

let out release I heard a voice from the cupboard shouting "Let me out!"

to cause something to She let out a loud cry when she saw the mouse
come out:

lay

lie down rest, recline ( on a couch, I need to lie down before we go out tonight.
bed)

live

live up to to be as good as The concert was brilliant - it lived up to all our expectations.
something:

look

look after take care of When my sister goes on vacation, I look after her dog.

look down on regard with a feeling of She thinks they look down on her because she didn't go to
superiority university.

look for seek I'm looking for my keys. Have you seen them?

look forward to anticipate with pleasure I am looking forward to traveling to New York next year.

look into investigate (a crime) The police are looking into the murder.

look on be a spectator Everybody just looked on as the two men fought.

look out be careful Look out, there's a black widow spider on the wall.

look over inspect hastily When I'm camping, I look my shoes over before I put them on.

look up consult a reference book I takes time to look up new vocabulary words

look up to respect He looks up to his father.

make
make for to result in or make Having faster computers would make for a more
possible efficient system.
make off to leave quickly, usually The burglars made off before the police arrived.
in order to escape
make out recognise, distinguish I can't make out your writing.
make up constitute, form Road accident victims make up almost a quarter of the
hospital's patients.
invent a lie My son was always really good at making up stories.
put together, prepare The maid will make up your room later.
apply cosmetics For the film, they made him up as an Indian.
make up for compensate No amount of money can make up for the death of a
child.

mix

mix up confuse  I sometimes mix the verb tenses up.

 name

name after name a child using I was named after my grandfather.

another family member's
name 

occur

occur to pop into one's mind, come It didn't occur to us that we had left the iron on.
to one's mind 

pass

pass away die After battling cancer for several years, he finally passed
away at the age of 87.

pass on transmit Please pass this message on to your co-workers.

pay

pay back repay If I loan you money, will you pay me back.

pick

pick out choose Diane picked out a lovely dress for the dance.

pick up to lift an object with the hands Keep your back straight when you lift the TV up.

point

point out indicate I'd like to point out that figures in column two might be
outdated.

pull

pull out leave when I arrived to the station the train was pulling out. So I
had to wait for the next train.

put

put across express in an understandable I thought Ms. Smith put her ideas across rather clearly in
way the meeting.

put back put something to its proper Will you put the books back when you've finished with
place them?

put by save for later use I try to put by a few pounds every week.

put down repress Thousands of troops were needed to put down the
uprising.

put down to give as a reason, attribute to I put the children's bad behaviour down to the fact that
they were tired.

put forward suggest, propose The proposals that you have put forward deserve serious
consideration.

put in for be a candidate for an election I'm putting in for a job at the hospital.

put on dress oneself with Put your shoes on - we're going out.
 gain (weight) I'd expected to put weight on when I gave up smoking,
but I didn't.

put off postpone The meeting has been put off for a week.

put out extinguish (a fire, light) The firemen managed to put the fire out.

put through connect somebody by phone Could you put me through to customer services, please?

put up build They're planning to put a hotel up where the museum

used to be.

raise (hand) Put up your hand if you want to give your answer.

put up with tolerate, accept He's so moody - I don't know why she puts up with him.

quiet

quiet down be quiet, or cause to be The neighbors told us to quiet down last night or they would
quiet call the police.

ring

ring up telephone Jack rung me up last night at 3:00 in the morning.

run

run after chase Why do dogs run after cats?

run away escape, flee The child ran away because her parents beat her.

run down knock down, collide with Two masked men on motorbikes tried to run me down.

feel weak due to overwork Since he took that extra job, he's really run himself down.

run in imprison, catch If the police run someone in, they find them and take them to
a police station.

run into meet by chance Graham ran into someone he used to know at school the
other day.

run off escape, flee, leave You can't run off (home) now, just when I need you!

run out of exhaust one's stock I've run out of milk/money/ideas/patience.

run over overflow The water/The bath is running over - quick, turn the taps off.

pass over, knock down I'm afraid we've just run a rabbit over.

run up against meet with difficulties The community centre scheme has run up against strong
local opposition

see

see off  say good-bye to someone Did you see your sister off at the train station?
at the beginning of their
trip (at the airport, train
station)

see to make sure something I'll see to it that Mr. Ramirez gets your message.
happens, arrange

sit
 sit down have a seat Sit down! We're having dinner.

take

take after resemble a parent or I take after my father. Who do you take after?
relative

take in decieve He was taken in by his kindness.

take off leave When he saw me, he took off in the other direction.

remove I took off my jacket because it was very hot.

throw

throw away to get rid of something So when are you going to throw away those old magazines
that you do not want any of yours?
more

try

try out test Try out this massage chair - it feels great!

try on to put on a piece of Try on the shoes to see if they fit.

clothing to discover if it
fits you or if you like it

turn

turn down reject He offered her a trip to Australia but she turned it/him down.

turn in to take a criminal to the The hit-and-run driver turned himself in to the police the day
police, or to go to them after the accident
yourself to admit a crime

turn off switch off Turn off the light and go to sleep!

turn on switch on Turn on the TV. The baseball game starts in a few minutes.

turn out switch off Turn out the light before you go to bed.

turn up to discover something, See what you can turn up about the family in the files.
especially information,
after a lot of searching

use

use up use all of something I used up all of the soap, so we need to buy some more

veer

veer away from stay away from, avoid I veer away from the same old summer blockbuster films.

wait

wait on serve Each waitress waits on three different tables in the restaurant.

wake

wake up awaken Wake up. It's time to get ready for work.

watch
watch out be careful Watch out! There's a rattlesnake!

wear

wear off disappear after a period of The affects of the medicine will wear off after a few hours.
time

wear out cause to be very tired Her three kids wore me out.

work

work out exercise I work out three times a week at the fitness center

solve I hope you two can work out your problems.

write

write down record Write down the directions so you don't forget them.

yak

yak on to continue talking in an He just yakked on and on and on.

annoying way ("on" can
be repeated for emphasis)

zoom

zoom in focus You need a telephoto lens to zoom in..

 Grammar Exercises: Phrasal Verbs
(answers at the end!)
Complete the sentences.
passed away, do without, look forward to, called off, made up, carried away, break out, run out, put up
with, keep up.

1. Don't smoke in the forest. Fires   easily at this time of the year.

2. I   seeing my friends again.

3. I'm afraid; we have   of apple juice. Will an orange juice do?

4. Your website has helped me a lot to   the good work.

5. A friend of mine has   her wedding.

6. His mother can't   his terrible behavior anymore.

7. As an excuse for being late, she   a whole story.

8. I got   by his enthusiasm.

9. I just cannot   my mobile. I always keep it with me.

10. she was very sad because her father   last week.

Complete the phrasal verbs with the correct particles.

1. I don't know where my book is. I must look           it.

2. Fill           the form, please.

3. The music is too loud. Could you turn           the volume, please?

4. Quick, get           the bus or you'll have to walk home.

5. Turn           the lights when you go to bed.

6. Do you mind if I switch           the TV? I'd like to watch the news.

7. The dinner was ruined. I had to throw it           .

8. When you enter the house, take           your shoes and put           your slip-
pers.

9. If you don't know this word, you can look it           in a dictionary.
Complete the phrasal verbs according to their meanings in brackets.

1.  your shoes.(Remove)

2. Somebody has to   the baby. (Take care of)

3. She wants to   the truth? (Discover)

4. Where can I   the sweater? (See if it fits)

5.  . (be quick)

6. Why don't you   ? (Take a seat)

7. I will   the train now. (Enter)

8.  the word in a dictionary. (Consult a dictionary)

9. I want to   the form. (Complete)

10. The firemen   the fire.(Extinguish)

Complete the sentences with the right phrasal verbs

take off, get along with, find out, look after, keep on, put off, turn off, take after, eat out, put on

1. The detective promised to   the real murderer.

2. She asked them to   the TV because she wanted to go to bed.

3. He  his jacket. He decided to go out to meet his friends.

4. She didn't prepare any food tonight, so they decided to   at their favorite Chi-
nese restaurant.

5. They really    their father, don't they?

6. They will   the music festival until next month..

7. I advised them to    working .

8. The two roommates seem to   each other.

9. A babysitter's job is to    babies.

10. The plane will   soon.

Choose the right particles for the phrasal verbs

on, for, out, after, on, out, away, up, down, out

1. I would just like to point   that we need to finish our meeting by 9 o'clock.

2. I promised him I would help him, and I will not let him   .

3. Who do you take    in your family?

4. After a long battle with cancer, his grandfather passed   yesterday.

5. She did well enough bringing    five children on her own.

6. Please, turn    the light. It's dark here.

7. The firemen worked for days to put    the brush fire.

8. As soon as he figured    what is wrong with his life, he started changing his lifestyle.

9. Please, get    the bus as quickly as possible.

10. He spent his life looking    the truth.

(Answers available at http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-phrasal-verbs.php

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-phrasal-verbs-2.php and
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-phrasal-verbs-3.php after clicking on
“show answers”; no need to answer again online.)