Phrasal Verbs Unit 4

Review of Vocabulary
buff up on (something)
buffed up on buffing up on

To improve something; to make

something shiny; to develop a skill,
to get physically stronger.

He needs to buff up on his French

before he travels to France.

Michael has been trying to buff up

on his knowledge of history before
the exam next week.
To confront with/by
confronted with/by; confronting with/by
To be brought face to face with a
problem.

He was confronted by two angry dogs

when he left his house.

Jack was confronted with a huge tax bill

that he had to pay almost immediately.

Sarah was confronted with a moral

dilemma where she had to choose sides.
Drag on
Dragged on dragging on
To take a long time to finish; to go slowly

The meeting dragged on because it was

so boring.

The actor’s acceptance speech started

off well but began to drag on after 10
minutes.

Correa’s interminable speech dragged on

until everyone fell asleep.
 Engage in
Engaged in
Engaging in

•To be involved in an activity; to take

•To be in
part involved in an activity; to take
something.
part in something.

•Those men are engaged in a

•Those men areabout
conversation engaged in a
a business deal.
conversation about a business deal.

•The high-ranking politician was

•The high-ranking
engaged politician
in an affair with awas
Brazilian
engaged
model. in an affair with a Brazilian
model.

•Right now our government is

•Right now in
engaged our government
talks to reduceisthe
engaged
nationalindebt.
talks to reduce the
national debt.
To pair up
Paired up Pairing up

To make a pair (of something); to find

a partner; to find a partner
(romantic)

At the dance everyone paired up.

She paired up the socks in her

washing.

In spring, birds pair up.

Pull off
Pulled off Pulling off
To succeed in doing something difficult.

Olmedo pulled off a surprising result by

winning against Barcelona.

I can’t believe you got 100% in the exam.

How did you pull that off?

That model always wears such strange

fashions and looks amazing. I don’t know
how she pulls off those dresses.
Remind me of (someone/something)
reminded me of reminding me of
To have a physical resemblance to someone
or something else; to make you think of
someone or something else.

That dog reminds me of Vladimir Putin.

This song always reminds me of my ex.

The manager reminded me of my

responsibilities and duties during the
disciplinary meeting.
Tune in
Tuned in
Tuning in

•To watch or listen to a particular

television or radio programme or
station; to be aware of one’s
surroundings.

•I am going to tune in to my favourite

radio station tonight.

•Many viewers tuned in to watch the

heavyweight boxing match.

•Could you tune in please, Luke? You

haven’t been paying attention.
To turn out
Turned out Turning out
To have a particular result, particularly
an expected one; to prove to be.

The criminal turned out to be the

butler.

The book we really wanted to read

turned out to be a big disappointment.

The news report turned out to be false.

What phrasal verb is this?
Drag on
What phrasal verb is this?
Pull off
What phrasal verb is this?
Pair up
What is this phrasal verb?
Confront with
What is this phrasal verb?
Engage in
Fill in the space with the correct answer
Nine questions
Question 1

Adrian gets nervous at the

parties when everyone
__________________ for the
dances.
Question 2

Jonathan really
___________________ his
father. They have all the same
attributes.
Question 3

The high command of the army

have been ________________
high level discussions for the last
five days. They are talking about
the possibility of taking military
action against their neighbours.
Question 4

When Marina returned from her

relaxing holiday, what awaited
her in the office was the exact
opposite of peace and quiet: on
her first day back she was
____________________ so many
problems that had occurred
while she was away.
Question 5

Alexandra has a full-time job as

a lawyer and brings up three
children on her own. She hardly
has any free time, but she does
so wonderfully. I don’t know
how she ______ it ______.
Question 6

Alfonso is taking extra classes at

the institute because he wants
to ________________ his English
before he goes on vacation to
London.
Question 7

50 million viewers are expected

to _______________ for the vital
football match between Boca
Juniors and River Plate. It is a
huge televisual event.
Question 8

We thought the walk would be

really boring, but it
_______________ to be one of
the best days of the holiday. It
went beyond our expectations.
Question 9

At first, Felix enjoyed the

production of Much Ado About
Nothing, but after the fourth
act, it began to ______________
and he started looking at his
watch, yawning, and wanting
the play to end.
Answers

1. pairs up
2. reminds me of
3. engaged in
4. confronted with
5. pulls off
6. buff up on
7. tune in
8. turned out
9. drag on
Example Sentences

• One way to buff up on your English is to read graded readers.

• Jack and Charlie were engaged in a competitive game of FIFA.
• I wouldn’t pair up with him for a game of tennis, he’s got a terrible backhand!
• Although the flights sometimes dragged on, I miss travelling by plane.
• Rescue teams were confronted with a near-impossible task when a cave filled up
with water in Indonesia.
• We thought that David would be perfect for the job, but his time in our office
turned out a disaster.
• They won every game of the season. I don’t know how they pulled it off.
• John reminds me of his uncle. They have a similar personality, and they look alike.
 1. Do you ever or have you ever engaged in any
sports & leisure activities?
2. What kind of things drag on? How do you cope?
3. What is the best way to buff up on your English?

Conversation
Can you share any techniques?
4. How do people pull of working and studying at
the same time?
5. How do you think the Olympic Games will turn
out?