IELTS help for free
Phrasal verbs
Common phrasal verbs for
What are phrasal verbs?
Phrasal verbs are the combination of a verb and preposition(s) or adverb. This phrase has a different meaning to its individual words
Why are they important?
-
Phrasal verbs are very commonly used in English, so learning them will help you understand native speakers more easily.
-
They are idiomatic phrasing which means they help test takers get to a band 7 in the lexical resource requirement for speaking.
-
They are not culturally specific. A lot of idioms come from regions and are not used by all English speakers. Phrasal verbs are used by all English speakers.
Common Travel Phrasal Verbs:
Set off
Meaning: To start a journey.
Example: We will set off tomorrow at 8 am.
Take off (can be verb and noun)
Meaning: When a plane leaves the ground.
Example: Our flight will take off at 9 pm tomorrow. (verb)
I always feel nervous during take off. (noun)
Check in
Meaning: to register at the hotel and or at the airport.
Example: There was a long queue so it took us a long time to check in for our flight.
Check out
Meaning: to leave a hotel after finishing staying there.
Example: It was really easy to check out from the hotel. Most of it was automated.
Look around
Meaning: explore a place.
Example: It was so exciting looking around Rome. There was so much ancient history everywhere.
Drop off
Meaning: to leave someone or something at a particular place.
Example: My aunt dropped me off at the airport. (someone)
Let us drop off our bags at the hotel then we can go have lunch. (something)
Pick up
Meaning: to collect someone or something from a particular place.
Example: My uncle is going to pick me up from the train station. (someone)
I need to pick up some sunscreen. (something)
Go through
Meaning: to pass a check point or process.
Example: It can be quite scary going through passport control in some countries.
Get away (can be a verb and a noun)
Meaning: To take a short holiday to escape for a while.
Example: I really need to get away for a weekend. Work has been making me very stressed. (verb)
I booked a quick get away next month. I'm going to the beach for a few day. (noun)
Common Work Phrasal Verbs
Clock in/out
Meaning: registering the time you start work (in) and finish work (out).
Example: Some companies require their workers to clock in and out. If they clock in late, their salary will be reduced.
Take on
Meaning: to accept a responsibility or task.
Example: The new employee is taking on too much work. He needs to know when to say no.
Call off
Meaning: to cancel an event or plan.
Example: The manager called off the meeting because key individuals were unavailable to attend.
Put off
Meaning: to delay something.
Example: He is always putting off doing the reports. If he doesn't change, then he may lose his job.
Catch up on
Meaning: to get updated on what has been happening so far or to do work that has fallen behind.
Example: She was sick for two weeks so there was a lot of work she needed to catch up on.
Fill in (2 work related meanings)
1st meaning: To do someone else's job while they are unavailable.
Example: John is sick today. I need you to fill in for him in the sales meeting.
2nd meaning: to inform someone the details of something.
Example: Before we meet the client, could you fill me in on what their needs are.
Break down
Meaning: to separate a task into smaller parts.
Example: They broke the project down into 4 sections. First, they will start with design.
Bring up
Meaning: to mention or introduce a topic in a conversation or a meeting.
Example: I would like to bring up the sales figures as they are far better than we expected.
Follow up
Meaning: to check on the progress or state of something.
Example: After sales service will follow up with you in 3 weeks to check how satisfied you are with the product.
Burn out
Meaning: to become overwhelmed and exhausted by work leading to stress.
Example: I want you to reduce the hours you are working each week. I don't want you to burn out.
Step up
Meaning: to take on more work responsibilities or to work harder.
Example: The team leader, Michelle, is out sick. I need one of you to step up and lead the team until she returns.
Common Friendship And Relationship Phrasal Verbs
Hang out
Meaning: to spend time together casually.
Example: She often hangs out with her friends at the sports center.
Hit it off
Meaning: to quickly have a good connection with someone.
Example: When she met her new classmate, they hit it off so quickly. They have a lot of the same interests.
Drift apart
Meaning: to slowly lose contact with someone.
Example: We were so close at university, but we have drifted apart since then. I don't even know where he lives now.
Patch things up
Meaning: To reconcile after an argument.
Example: She brought her sister a cake to patch things up. She hated it when they argued.
Lean on
Meaning: to rely on someone for support or comfort.
Example: She really needed someone to lean on after her divorce.
Open up
Meaning: to share personal feelings and ideas.
Example: Her sister is the only one she can really open up to.
Fall for
Meaning: to develop feelings for someone.
Example: When she first met him, she didn't fall for him quickly. However, once she got to know him well, she fell for him.
Break up
Meaning: to end a relationship.
Example: She broke up with her boyfriend last week.
Ask out
Meaning: to ask someone to go on a date.
Example: He was so nervous when he asked out Jane, but she said yes, and they had a wonderful time at the dance.
Make up
Meaning: to reconcile after a disagreement.
Example: It took them a long time to make up after they realised they both wanted to date the same person.
Let down
Meaning: to disappoint someone.
Example: She felt she had let her parents down because her grades were not as high as she hoped they would be.
Fall out
Meaning: to have an argument and stop talking to each other.
Example: After her friend laughed at her outfit, they fell out and haven't spoken to each other since.
Common Sports Phrasal Verbs
Warm up
Meaning: to prepare the muscles for physical activity through gentle exercise.
Example: The team is warming up by jogging around the pitch.
Cool down
Meaning: gradually reducing the intensity of an exercise session.
Example: They spend 5 minutes walking after their run to cool down.
Gear up
Meaning: to put on the needed sports equipment.
Example: The substitute needed to gear up as he was about to go on, but he couldn't find his helmet.
Work out (can be a verb and a noun)
Meaning: to engage in physical activities to improve fitness.
Example: She works out for 30 minutes every morning before going to work. (verb)
Her work out mostly involves yoga. (noun)
Train for
Meaning: to prepare for a particular sporting event.
Example: She spent 4 months training for the marathon.
Go for
Meaning: to attempt to achieve something.
Example: He's got the ball, and he's going for goal.
She looks determined. I think she's going for the world record.
Pull ahead
Meaning: to take the lead in a competition.
Example: He has pulled ahead of the rest. He is about 50 metres ahead of them now.
Face off
Meaning: to compete against an opponent.
Example: In this match Johnson will face off against Roberts for the gold.
Hold on to
Meaning: to keep possession or the lead in a competition.
Example: The team really needs to hold on to the ball. (possession)
The score is now 3 - 2. They need to hold on to this lead for 5 more minutes. (lead)
Bring home
Meaning: to win or achieve success.
Example: The country was celebrating. Their team had brought home the world title.
Pull off
Meaning: to successfully do a difficult move in a sport.
Example: He managed to pull off an excellent shot to win the game.
Common Study Phrasal Verbs
Read up on
Meaning: to study and gather information about a particular topic.
Example: He needed to read up on fiscal policies before his exam.
Look over
Meaning: to review or examine something briefly.
Example: My friend looked over my essay and said it looked good.
Brush up on
Meaning: to refresh your knowledge on a certain topic.
Example: I need to brush up on linear equations before starting this course.
Take in
Meaning: to absorb or comprehend information.
Example: He was very sleep so he didn't take in much what was being said in the lecture.
Cram for
Meaning: to study intensively for an exam.
Example: She spent the night cramming for her finals.
Go through
Meaning: To carefully examine or study something in detail.
Example: After finishing his essay, he went though it carefully to see if he had made any mistakes.
Drop out
Meaning: to leave a course or educational institute before it ends.
Examples: She dropped out of her Advanced Maths class. It was too challenging for her.
Keep up with
Meaning: to stay at the same level as others or the pace of the course.
Example: She found it hard to keep up with the other students. They seemed to understand it all much faster than her.
Fall behind
Meaning: to fail to keep pace with the studies or other students in the class.
Example: He added an extra hour of studying each day so that he wouldn't fall behind.
Hand it/ turn in
Meaning: to submit some work or assignment.
Example: Make sure you hand in/ turn in your essay before the deadline.
Show up for
Meaning: to attend a class or lecture.
Example: She was worried because her friend hadn't shown up for class.