Business Power

Words
Basic Level

COMMON BUSINESS VERBS - Basic

accelerate

accept

account
act
adjust
advocate
align
analyze
appear
approach
arrive
assign
attach
authorise
balance
be pleased
benefit
brief
burn
capture
cater
charge
choose
coach
combine
communicat
e
compose

accumulate
activate
administer
affect
allocate
announce
apply
approve
ascertain
assist
attain
automate
bargain
bear
boost
bring
calculate
care
cause
chart
clarify
code
come
compare

accommoda
te
achieve
adapt
admit
afford
allow
answer
appoint
arbitrate
ask
associate
attend
avoid
base
become
borrow
broaden
calibrate
carry
celebrate
check
classify
collaborate
comfort
compile

compute

conceive

conciliate
congratulate
construct
contract
convince
correlate
cover
cut
debate
deduce
delegate
depreciated
detail
devote

accompany

accomplish

acknowledge
add
advertise
agree
amend
anticipate
appraise
arise
assemble
assume
attract
avoid
be delighted
begin
bought
budget
call
catalog
centralize
check in
clear
collate
commence
complain

acquire
address
advise
aid
analyze
apologize
appreciate
arrange
assess
assure
audit
award
be interested
believe
break
build
cancel
categorize
change
check out
close
collect
commit
complete
concerning

conclude
connect
consult
contribute
cooperate
correspond
create
damage
debug
defend
deliver

conceptualiz
e
condense
conduct
conserve
consider
contact
contain
control
convert
coordinate
copy
counsel
count
credit
cultivate
date
deal
decide
decrease
defer
define
demonstrate depend

derive
detect
diagnose

describe
determine
diagram

design
devise
direct

deserve
develop
differentiate

confirm
consolidate
continue
convey
correct
counquer
customize
dealt with
dedicate
delay
depict

disappoint
discriminate
display
distribute
document
earn
elicit
enable
enhance
enrich
enumerate
evaluate
excite
expand
explain
extrapolate
fall
filter
fit
forecast
forward
further
get
grade
guide

discharge
discuss
dissect
diversify
draft
edit
eliminate
enclose
enjoy
ensure
equip
evolve
execute
expect
explore
fabricate
familiarize
finalize
fix
forget
found
gain
get worse
grant
handle

disclose
dismiss
disseminate
divide
draw
educate
emphasize
encourage
enlarge
enter
erect
examine
exercise
expedite
express
face
feel
find
focus
form
frame
gather
give
grasp
happen

discount
dispatch
distinguish
divide
drop
effect
employ
end
enlighten
entertain
establish
exceed
exhibit
experience
extend
facilitate
file
fine-tune
follow
formulate
fund
gauge
go
grow
have

discover
dispatch
distribute
do
drop
elect
employ
enforce
enlist
entitle
estimate
exchange
exist
experiment
extract
fail
fill
finish
force
fortify
furnish
generate
govern
guarantee
head

hear
hold
illustrate
impress
increase
influence
inquire
instruct
interface
invent
illuminate
involve
justify

help
honour
imagine
improve
increase
inform
inspect
insure
interpret
invest
identify
issue
keep

hesitate
hope
impart
improvise
index
ignite
inspire
integrate
intervene
investigate
intensify
join
know

highlight
host
implement
include
indicate
initiate
install
intend
interview
invite
inspire
join
label

hire
identify
import
incorporate
individualize
innovate
institute
interact
introduce
invoice
innovate
judge
launch

lead
lengthen
limit
localize
lower
manage

learn
let
liquidate
locate
lower
manufacture

leave
license
list
log
mail
map

leverage
lighten
listen
look
maintain
mark

lend
like
live
lose
make
market

master
mediate
methodize
moderate
move
negotiate

maximize
meet
minimize
modernize
name
note

mean
mention
miss
modify
narrate
notice

measure
mentor
mobilize
monitor
navigate
notify

mechanize
merge
model
motivate
need
nurture

observe
open
organise
oversaw
pack
perceive
phone
place
predict
preside
prioritize
program
prove
pursue

obtain
operate
orient
oversee
package
perfect
photograph
plan
prefer
prevent
probe
project
provide
profit

occur
orchestrate
originate
owe
participate
perform
pick
play
prepare
position
proceed
promise
publicize
qualify

offer
order
outline
own
pass
permit
pilot
point
present
price
process
promote
publish
quantify

offset
organise
overhaul
pack
pay
persuade
pioneer
practice
preserve
print
produce
propose
purchase
quote

raise
reach
recall
reconcile
recruit
reflect
regulate
remain
render
reply
research
restore
retrieve
revise
run
scan
search
segment
serve
settle
show
sold
spearhead
split
start

realise
resist
receive
record
rectify
refuse
reinforce
remember
renew
report
reserve
restrict
return
revitalize
sample
schedule
secure
select
service
shape
sign
solicit
specialize
spoke
state

ran
reduce
replace
recover
reduce
regarding
reject
remind
reorganize
represent
resign
result
revamp
rise
satisfy
screen
see
sell
supplement
share
simplify
solve
specify
stage
stay

rank
refresh
recognise
recreate
refer
register
relate
remodel
repair
request
resolve
retain
reveal
reconsider
save
script
seek
send
set goals
ship
simulate
sort
spend
stand
stimulate

rate
reason
recommend
recruit
refine
regret
release
remove
replace
require
respond
retire
review
route
say
scrutinize
seem
separate
set up
shorten
sketch
speak
split
standardize
stop

straighten
study
suggest
support
shatter
symbolize
take
tell
thank
track
transform
travel
try
undertook
upheld
view

strategize
submit
suit
surpass
shave-off
synthesize
talk
tend
think
trade
translate
treat
turn
unify
use
visit

streamline
substantiate
summarize
surprise
sidestep
systematize
target
terminate
time
train
transmit
triple
tutor
unveil
utilize
visualize

strengthen
substitute
supervise
survey
stretch
tabulate
taught
terminate
tour
transcribe
transport
troubleshot
uncover
update
validate
vitalize

structure
succeed
supply
sustain
succeed
tail
teach
test
trace
transfer
transpose
trust
understand
upgrade
verify
volunteer

wait
win
work

want
wish
write

weigh
withdraw
write

welcome
witness
xerox

widen
wonder
zap

zero in

zip

zoom in

zoom out

unleash

Business Verb Preposition Collocations BASIC

sm someone; smt - something
according to
admit to

account for
advantage of

add to
agree on smt;

adjust to
allow for

apologize for

apply to; for

with sm/smt
approve of sm

argue with ;

arrange for

smt
arrive at;

ask sm about;

about
attend to

base on
belong to
capable of

arrive
because of
benefit from
care for;

for
begin by; with
blame sm for smt
carry on

believe in
borrow from
cater for

charge sm

about
choose

with; for
compare with;

between
compete with

comment on
(topic)
complain about;
5

communicate
with
compose of

to
comply with
concentrate on

divide into
concern about

of; to
concern with
confess to

confirm with; to

conform to /

confuse with

congratulate on

sm
consist of smt

with
contact with

contribute to

convince smb of

cope with

correspond with cost of

smt
count on; upon

cover with

damage to

decide on;

dedicate to

deal with

against; for;
demand smt

depends upon;

upon
derive smt from

despite

from smb
deter from

on; depend on
differ from

smt
difference

different from

disapprove of

between
discourage smb

discuss topic

disagree with

from smt

discuss with
discuss smt

distract smb

due to

elaborate on

with sm
emerge from

from smt
excel at; in

exchange smt

exclude smt from

excuse sm for

experiment on

for smt
explain smt to

smt
forget about

smt
forgive sm for

sm explain to

smt

forward to

sm
further to

have a discussion

have an excuse

hear about;

about
for
help smb with smt hide from

for
hope of; for;

from
in addition to

in case of

in favour of

hoping for; to
in spite of
insist on
interfere with /

in view of
instead of
introduce to

increase in
insure against
invest in

inform
interest in
involve smb/smt

in
keep sm from

know about

lend smt to smb

listen to

have a reason

doing smt;
keep on
look at/into;

meet with

mistake for

object to smt

on behalf of
pay for; by

operate on
persist in

owing to
plan on doing

prepare for

present smb with

smt
prevent sm from

problem with

smt
prohibit sm from

doing smt
protect from,

provide smb

put of

doing smt
react against; to

against
reason for

with smt
recover from

refer to

regarding

regardless of

smt
rely (up)on sm / remind sm

reply to

resign from

smt
respecting

about
respond to

responsible for

result in

save smb / smt

sm/smt
search for

see to

separate smt

from smt
share smt;

for
similar to

solution to

from
speak / talk

for
look forward to
on account of
participate in
prefer smt to
smt
prior to

share with
with smb
specializes in

to/with sm
spend smt on

stand for

about smt
stop sm from

subscribe to ; for

doing smt
substitute smt

subject smt to

subscribe to

to smt
succeed in

smt
suggest

suitable for

for
supply with

suspect smb of

suggest to sm
take advantage

take care of smt

take part in

smt
talk about; of;

of smt
tell smb about

thank smb for smt

think of; about

to
together with

smt
towards

translate smt into

trust smb

turn to

use for

smt
wait for

with smt
warn smb
about/against

with regard to
with respect to
write to / about

work on

worry about

The following verbs are not usually followed by a preposition

phone
meet enter tell discuss update
inform

be verbs
be absent from
be aware of
be concerned
about
be done with
be
be
be
be

grateful to
located in
opposed to
qualified for

be accustomed
to
be capable of
be connected to

be acquainted
with
be committed to
be convinced of

be equipped
with
be interested in
be located to
be pleased with
be related to

be familiar with
be
be
be
be

involved with
made from
prepared for
relevant to

be associated
with
be composed of
be coordinated
with
be finished with
be limited to
be made of
be prepared to
be responsible
for

Business Nouns - BASIC

advantage
apology
change
confirmatio
n
debt
delivery
disadvantag
e
environmen
t
facilities
goods

advertise
authorization
commission
costs

advertisement
bill
comparison
creditor

advice
brand
competition
customer

agenda
budget
competitor
deadline

debtor
department
distribution

decision
description
employee

decrease
difference
employer

deficit
difference
enquiry

equipment

estimate

experience

explanation

factory
growth

fall
guarantee

goal
increase

industry
knowledge
message
option
permission
production

instructions
limit
mistake
order
possibility
profit

interest
loss
objective
output
preparation
promotion

feedback
improvemen
t
inventory
margin
offer
payment
price
purchase

invoice
market
opinion
penalty
product
reduction

refund
result
sales
stock
target

reminder
retailer
sales
success
transport

repairs
rise
schedule
suggestion
turnover

report
risk
share
supply
wholesaler

responsibility
salary
signature
support

Common Business Phrasal Verbs - BASIC

PHRASAL VERB
to ask around

DEFINITION
to ask many people the
same question

EXAMPLE
I need a good real estate agent.
Could you ask around the office
and see if anyone knows one?

to back (someone)
to support
up

Thanks for backing me up in the

meeting.

to call (someone)
back

We have a bad connection. I'll

call you back in a few minutes.

to return a phone call

Management is going to call the

meeting off because so many
people are out sick today.

to call (something)
to cancel
off
to not care for

to not like (formal)

I don't care for team building

activities. I think they are a

PHRASAL VERB

DEFINITION

EXAMPLE
waste of time.

to check in

to arrive and register at a

hotel or airport

We checked in at 5 PM and then

went to get something to eat.

to check out

to leave a hotel

We checked out a few hours late

and had to pay an extra fee.

to check
to look at carefully,
(someone/somethi
investigate
ng) out

I'm not sure why the copier isn't

working. I'll check it out.

to chip in (also to
pitch in)

to help

We should be able to finish

quickly if everyone pitches in.

to come across

to find unexpectedly

I was reading last night and I

came across a couple of phrasal
verbs I had never seen before.

to count on

to rely on

We have a great team. I can

count on everyone to do their
best.

to cut back on

to consume less

It's a tough economy. We're

trying to cut back on
unnecessary expenses.

to cut in

to interrupt

Can I cut in and say something,

please?

to do (something)
over

to do again

I can't believe I closed the

document without saving. Now
I'm going to have to do the
whole thing over.

to do away with

They did away with bonuses last

to discard; to put an end to year because their profits were
so low.

to drop by

come without an
John dropped by my office to talk
appointment; to visit briefly about last month's figures.

to take
to drop
someone/something
(someone/somethi
somewhere and leave
ng) off
them/it there

10

My car was in the shop, so Kevin

dropped me off at my house.

PHRASAL VERB

to end up

DEFINITION

EXAMPLE

At first I thought I wanted to be

to eventually reach, do, or an accountant. Then, I studied
decide
finance. I ended up getting my
degree in management, though.

to figure
(something) out

to understand; to find the

answer

I can't figure out why the printer

isn't working. I've tried
everything, and it still won't
work.

to fill (something)
out

to write information in
blanks

There were a lot of forms to fill

out when I got my new job.

to find out

to gain knowledge about

something

I finally found out how to forward

my mail from one email account
to another.

to get
to receive something that
(something/someo
you had before
ne) back

You can borrow my stapler, but

make sure I get it back when
you're done with it.

to retaliate; to take
revenge on someone

He might get back at you for

asking him so many tough
questions during his
presentation.

1) enter
2) arrive

1) Get in the car. I'll give you a

ride.
2) I worked late last night and
didn't get in until after 9 PM.

to get over
(something)

to recover

I was upset that I didn't get the

promotion, but I got over it after
a while.

to get together

to meet (but not for the

first time)

I try to get together with some

old friends from college once or
twice a year.

1) to get out of bed

2) to stand

1) I get up late on the weekends

because I have to get up really
early on weekdays.
2) He got up and walked to the
podium to give his speech.

to get back at

to get in

to get up

to give in

to reluctantly stop fighting Management didn't want to give

or arguing
in to the union's demands, but in
the end they didn't have a

11

PHRASAL VERB

DEFINITION

EXAMPLE
choice.

I gave up checking Facebook at

to give (something) to quit a habit or quit doing
work. I'm trying to be more
up
a certain activity
productive.

to stop trying

Just because we failed the first

time doesn't mean we should
give up. We just need to change
a few things.

1) to follow someone
2) to try to achieve
something

1) Pam will give her talk first,

and Scott will go after her.
2) If we got the account, they
would be our biggest client. I'm
really going to go after the
account.

to go against

to compete; oppose

We're going against three or four

other contractors. Be sure to bid
low.

to go over

to review

I want to go over last month's

numbers with you.

to hand
(something) in

to submit (a report, a
paper, etc)

I forgot to hand in my expense

reports. Now I won't get
reimbursed until next month.

to hand
(something) out

to distribute the same

thing to a group of people

I'll start explaining the changes

while Jason hands out a copy of
the new policy.

to hang on

to wait for a short time

(informal)

Could you hang on for a second,

please? I'll be right there.

to keep
(something) up

to continue doing
something

You've been doing really well

lately. Keep it up!

to disappoint; to not help

or support

I was really depending on him to

expedite the shipping on that
order. The products are still in
the warehouse. He really let me
down.

to give up

to go after

to let (someone)
down

to let (someone) in to allow to enter

I forgot my badge again.

Hopefully someone else is in the
office and can let me in.

to look forward to

I'm really looking forward to

to be excited about
12

PHRASAL VERB

DEFINITION

EXAMPLE

something in the future

having an extended weekend

next week.

to look into

to investigate

Please look into some ways we

can cut costs. Every penny
counts.

to look out for

to be careful, vigilant, and You must always look out for

take notice
new business opportunities.
Could you look over this report
to make sure there are no
mistakes?

to look (something)
to check; examine
over

to look up to

I really look up to her. She has

to have a lot of respect for been with the company for a
someone
long time and is really
knowledgeable.

to make
(something) up

1) to invent (a story, lie,

excuse, reason, etc.)
2) to resolve an argument
or quarrel (not a separable
verb when used like this).
3) to compensate for
something

1) I don't believe their story. I

think they made it up.
2) Are they still fighting about
that? I thought they had made
up a while ago? 3) I didn't get
anything accomplished
yesterday. I'm going to have to
work extra hard to make up for it
today.

to mix (something) to confuse two or more

up
things

I always mix their names up.

Which one is Bob, and which one
is Brad?

to pass
(something) out

to give the same thing to

many people

Carly is passing out a schedule

of today's events.

to pass
(something) up

to decline (usually
something good)

Don't pass up on this great

opportunity. Place your order
today.

to put (something)
to postpone
off

I haven't done my taxes yet. I've

been putting it off for a long
time.

to put (something)
to assemble
together

How long will it take to put the

scale model together?

to run into

I ran into Stacey from

Accounting in the supermarket

to meet someone
unexpectedly
13

PHRASAL VERB

DEFINITION

EXAMPLE
yesterday.

to send
(something) back

The product was defective. We'll

have to send it back.

to return

to set (something)
to arrange;organize
up

I'll set up the conference call and

send you an invite.

to shop around

We should bid low on this one.

They always shop around.

to compare prices

to sort (something) to organize or resolve a

out
problem

There was some confusion with

the new work schedule. No one
is sure who works on Sunday.
We're calling a meeting to sort it
out.

to take (something)
to return an item
back

She always shops there because

she knows that she can take
anything back that she isn't
happy with.

to think
(something) over

Honestly, I don't know what I'm

going to do. The job offer is
great, but I'm not sure if I want
to leave my current position. I'll
have to think it over.

to consider

to try (something) to test or use something

out
experimentally

We're going to try it out for a few

weeks and let you know what we
think. If we like it, we'll place an
order.

to use (something)
to finish the supply
up

I can't believe it's only May and

I've used up all my sick days
already.

Conjunctions as Linkers - BASIC

14

CAUSE AND EFFECT / RESULT - Reason - Because, as, due to, since, hence, thus; Effect So, as a result, therefore, hence, thus, consequently
CONTRAST - Although, despite, in spite of, even though, and still, instead,
However, nevertheless, on the other hand, nonetheless, still, instead
Predict contrasting action Otherwise, Alternatively, Another possibility
Contrast - Whereas, while
GIVE ANOTHER SIMILAR REASON - Furthermore, besides, moreover, in addition
Same - likewise, also, similarly
DESCRIBE CONDITION AND ITS EFFECT - If, unless, even if, provided, as long as, until,
so that
TO RELATE TIME TO EVENTS - After, before, since, when, whenever, while, until, as, till,
Immediately, Thereafter, soon after, finally, later, previously, next, then

TO GIVE A FALL BACK OPTION - In case it, in case of, in the event of, in order to
TO SUGGEST A BETTER OPTION - Rather than, instead of

15