CHAPTER 9

PHRASAL VERBS
A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and other words that has meaning apart from the
individual meaning of each word within the group. It is in general an idiomatic phrase.

Here are common phrasal verbs.

apply to -to enter an institution
e. g. I need to apply to this company.
- to relate to or to have something to do with
e. g. If you apply this principle to your life, i think you’ll be happier.
apply for - to be employed for a position; to ask for
e. g I need to apply for my visa the soonest time possible.
allude to - to refer briefly to something or someone
e. g. The preacher always alludes to the bible in his sermons.
assent to - to agree to something
e. g. The people assented to the president’s proposal.
bear fruit - to produce positive results
e. g. Don’t worry. all your efforts will bear fruit.
bear in mind - to remember; to consider
e. g. Bear in mind that you have to set an appointment before going to his office.
bear on - to have relevance to something
e. g. Your statement does not bear on the issue at hand.
bear up - to remain cheerful despite difficulty
e. g. What is admirable about Carlos is his ability to bear up despite adversity.
bear with - to tolerate or to be patient with something or someone.
e. g. Please bear with me while I finish this.
bear witness to - to give evidence or to confirm.
e. g. Reagan clearly bears witness to all my success.
beat up - to thrash or to attack someone
 e. g. He might beat you up if you disagree with him.
break away/
break free - to escape from someone’s hold or from the control of a person, group or
practice
e. g. The family decided to break away from tradition and spend Christmas at
home.
break down - to lose control of one’s emotion
e.g. She might break down in tears when she hears the tragic news.
break into - to enter with force
e.g. The robbers broke into her house and stole all that she held dear.
break new ground – to set an example, to lead the way, or to discover something new
e.g. MSA academic advancement institute has broken new ground in tutorial
and review services since it was established.
break off - to detach or to remove something from a larger whole
e.g. Can you break off a piece of that chocolate for me?
- to suddenly stop talking
e.g. Jossie broke off with a cry after seeing her husband’s expensive gift.
-to suddenly end or stop something
e. g. If you want to break off the deal, then do it.
break out - to suddenly start or to spread
e. g. We fear that the virus might break out and infect a lot of people in the
city.
break through -to force or to make a way through.
e.g. Kay and Louie tried to break through the crowd so that they could
interview the president.
- to obtain success in a specific area
e. g. MSA was able to break through the tutorial and review business with
hardly any competition.
break up - to disperse a crowd or gathering
e. g. The principal tried to break up the fight between the two students.
 - to cause something to separate into several parts of pieces
e.g. break up the meat and fry it.
break with - to end a relationship with or to quarrel
e.g. I cannot believe you broke with him after ten long years of being
together.
bring about - to make something happen
e.g. This president’s governance will surely bring about peace.
bring back - to make something return
e.g. The garden brought back memories of the place i grew in.
bring down -to overthrow or to defeat
e.g. All should do everything to bring down in corrupt government.
bring into play/
call into lay -to make something work for one to make use of it.
e.g. In-depth research and creativity were brought into play when the book
was written.
bring off - to do something successfully
e.g. Whatever you do, make sure you bring it off well.
bring on -to cause or to lead something generally unpleasant to occur.
e.g. Stress can bring on numerous illnesses.
bring out -to expose or to make something more evident.
e.g. Love brings out the best in people.
bring to life - to make real or to give life to
e.g. Because of modern reviving machines, he was brought to life.
bring to mind -to call or remember
e.g. Always bring to mind all the things i taught you.
bring up -to present something for discussion to someone
e.g. I will bring up this matter to the company president only he will be able
to solve this problem.
bring up the rear - to be behind in a line
 e.g. Diego brought up the rear as the class walked toward the field.
call for - to deserve, to need, or to require
e.g. such an act calls for punishment.
call in - to summon someone for aid
e.g. The doctor has been called in by the sick boy’s parents.
call off - to cancel something
e.g. Since the manager couldn’t come, the meeting was called off.
call on - to visit or stop by someone’s place
e.g. Ronnie plans to call on Debbie today.
- to demand something from someone
e.g. We call on the principal to settle disputes among the teaching staff.
carry off -to take something or someone away by force
e.g. Manny was carried off by strangers when he was a baby.
carry on - to continue
e.g. They carried on with their activities even though I told them not to.
carry out - to execute or to do something
e.g. You have no choice but to carry out the task.
caution against -to give warning
not ‘caution about’
e.g. The people were cautioned against highway robbery.
charge against -to file a criminal case
(The pattern for using this idiom is “case + charge against + person.”)
e.g. Assault was charged with assault after beating up his wife.
charge with - to have a criminal case against someone
e.g. (The pattern for using this idiom is “person+ charge with + case.”)
e.g. The husband was charged with assault after beating up his wife.
come about -to happen or to take place
e.g. This phenomenon you said has not yet come about.
come across -to meet or to encounter
e.g. As he drove around the area. Ivan came across an old castle.
come and go -to be present temporarily
e.g. Friends come and go; parents and siblings do not.
come around -to regain consciousness
e.g. It took a long time before the sickly boy come around.
-to agree or to accept another’s opinion
e.g. The lawmakers come around when the proposal was explained.
-to realize
e.g. I came around and told him to look for another person to dupe.
come at -to rush or attack someone
e.g. She was so frightened because she knew Ria would come at her.
come away -to be left with a feeling or result after doing something
e.g. After the book was published, the authors come away feeling elated.
come back -to vigorously give response to someone
e.g. She came back at him with a vengeance.
come before -to be dealt with
e.g. The prisoner came before the court to ask the pardon.
come between -to separate or to divide
e.g. No wall comes between east and West Germany now.
come by -to obtain or to get something
e.g. Money is hard to come by these days.
come clean -to confess or to tell the truth
e.g. John decided to come clean in court. He will then be given pardon.
come close -to proceed, to come near, or to advance
e.g. Chino’s writing doesn’t come close to that of Japeth.
come down -to collapse or to fall
e.g. The museum came down after the earthquake.
come down on -to criticize or to cause difficulty
e.g. The manager come down on the new waitress after the costumers
complained and left the restaurant.
come down to -to be dependent on something
e.g. The decision to continue the project will come down to the budget
allotted to it and the people who will execute it.
come down with - to be sick or to begin to suffer from
e.g. I came down with flu after my trip from the United States.
come forward - to volunteer or to step forward
e.g. Can anyone please come forward and tell me what the problem is?
come from - to originate from or to be the result of
e.g. True success comes from hard work and faith.
Come in -to enter or to become involved
e.g. Once we move from editing to publishing, Cesar will come in and take
over.
-to be useful
e.g. When enrollment starts, there will be many people who will be calling.
This is the time when our training will come in.
- to finish a competition in a specified position
e.g. It’s great that MSA 315 came in first in the Christmas presentation
contest for all branches.
Come into - to inherit or to acquire suddenly
e.g. I wander how she came into so much money.
Come of - to result from
e.g. Good will come of our faith and perseverance.
Come off - to succeed, to happen, or to work
e.g. The wedding did not come off until December.
- to be detached from or to be removed
e.g. The paint come off when we washed the walls with water.
Come on - to happen or to start to arrive
 e.g. We felt relieved when news of the plane crash survivors come on.
- to accidentally meet or find
e.g. Banjo and Beth come on a hidden waterfall and stayed there for a week.
Come out - to be produced satisfactorily
e.g. The photographs Thess took came out clearly.
-to appear, to surface, or to be known
e.g. It came out that it was Gerard who gave the flowers to Marites.
- to be released or to be published
e.g. The book will come out in January.
Come out against - to disapprove or to take offense
e.g. After knowing it was illegal, she come out against the decision.
Come over - to feel or to begin to be affected by something
e.g. Elation come over Elizabeth when she got honors at graduate school.
Come through - to survive or to deal with
e.g. Aaron come through the car race without a single scratch.
-to be sent and received
e.g. The message come through loud and clear.
Come to -to obtain consciousness
e.g. The patient finally come to after being in a coma for five years.
Come to life -to liven up or to brighten up
e.g. The story comes to life when Mary Beth narrates it.
Come true -to actually happen or to become
e.g. Work hard and all your dreams will come true.
Come up - to occur or to happen
e.g. Exams will come up next week.
Come up against – to be opposed by or to be faced with
e.g. You should not worry because we come up against this kind of problem
before we handled it well.
Come up with - to produce something especially when challenged
 e.g. Marivic come up with a clever pan after Doy told her that she couldn’t.
Come upon - to rush or to attack by surprise
e.g. The soldiers will come upon the rebels at night when they least expect it.
-to accidentally meet or to find
e.g. Anne and Mira came upon their old friend whom they haven’t heard
from in years.
Comply with not
“comply to” -to abide by or too follow something
e.g. If you do not comply with these rules, you will suspended.
Cope with
not “cope up with – to deal with or to manage something
e.g. Yes, youu have lots of homework. Still, you have to cope with them.
Cut back - to limit or to reduce; to cancel
e.g. The doctor said that you have to cut back on fats and sugar.