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Phrasal verbs

Elementary
1 Match the phrasal verbs with the opposite meaning.

1 sit down a. stand up

2 turn on b. switch on
3 switch off c. come back
4 open up d. get off
5 go away e. turn off
6 get on f. check out
7 check in g. close down
8 put on h. take off
9 fall down i. get up

Intermediate
Study the phrasal verbs.
to get up = to rise from bed after sleeping
to get on/off a bus = to board/leave a bus
to pick up = to take using fingers
to put on = to start wearing something
to wear out = to become extremely tired/exhausted/useless/worn
to call on someone = to visit someone
to pick out = to choose/select
to find out = to discover
to get along = to succeed/make progress
to put forward = to suggest/offer an idea
to get over = to overcome/survive
to take out = to remove/extract
to give up = to no longer want/stop doing something
to bring up a child = to look after a child until he or she becomes an adult
to watch up = to be aware of something dangerous
to turn up = to arrive/come
to sort out a problem = to resolve/fix
to carry on = go on = continue
to put off = delay/postpone
to come back = return
to call up = to telephone
to turn on/off = to switch on/off (light)
to look up = to search for a word/number
to put out = to stop fire
to look for = to search/seek
to talk over = to discuss
take your time = dont hurry

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Practice
2 Substitute the underlined expressions with a phrasal verb.
1 He arises at the same time every morning. He gets up at the same time every morning
2 She telephoned me very late yesterday. ...................................................................................................
3 Be sure to switch off the light before you leave the room. ........................................................................
4 Rosita placed on herself her new hat while looking in the mirror. .............................................................
5 Remove your coat and sit down. ................................................................................................................
6 We boarded the bus at the bus stop. .........................................................................................................
7 The bus was so crowded that we couldnt leave. ......................................................................................
8 John took with his fingers the pencil which was on the floor. ....................................................................
9 Nan is searching the wallet she lost yesterday. ..........................................................................................
10 Did you discover what his name was? ......................................................................................................
11 If you drive your car a long way each day, your car will become useless and worn....
12 Some of my old friends visited me yesterday. ..........................................................................................
13 We discussed his plan for hours. ..............................................................................................................
14 It is always difficult for me to select a good present. ...............................................................................
15 How is Mary making progress in her new French class? .........................................................................?
16 You have to search for this number in the telephone book. ....................................................................
17 Never delay till tomorrow what you can do today. ..................................................................................

3 Match the phrasal verbs and the meanings.

1 carry on a. collect
2 take up b. continue
3 bring up c. register
4 cut down d. raise a child
5 pick up e. begin a hobby
6 take off f. cut something at its base
7 check in g. find by chance
8 come across h. establish
9 set up i. leave ground
10 turn up j. arrive
11 take apart k. to write briefly to someone
12 drop a line l. separate the different parts
13 build up m. surrender
14 give in n. increase, make stronger

4. Choose and underline the correct verb.

1 Her latest book deals/speaks with the mental health problems.
2 This red dress really takes/goes with your handbag.
3 The teacher cant put/get up with their behaviour.
4 The nurse in the film promised to run/catch up with the team in Livorno later.
5 Dont read the text; just turn/look it through quickly!
6 Michael missed the lesson and made/took up an excuse about being ill.
7 I waited for an hour but she didnt speed/turn up.
8 Sorry for letting/calling you down. I promise I will never do it again.
9 I need a place to stay for one night. Could you put/let me up? Ill sleep on the sofa.
10 The socialist party can count/trust on the support of the majority of the votes.

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11 If you dont like the dress you bought, you can always take/bring it back.
12 Rachel tried/took on three skirts in the fitting room and finally picked/put out a red one.
13 The game was called/made off because of heavy rain.
14 The fire spread quickly and the whole building had burned/got down
15 The newspaper says that an epidemic of measles has broken/put out in the town this week.

Intermediate plus
5 Match the meaning or the definition with the phrasal verb.
1 take over a. wait
2 wear out b. visit (somebody)
3 call on (somebody) c. become extremely tired/exhausted
4 pick out d. choose/select
5 put forward e. look like (somebody)
6 look up f. search for a word/number/name
7 put out g. resolve/fix
8 to talk over h. delay/postpone
9 put off i. discuss
10 sort (a problem) out j. stop fire
11 take after (a family member) k. suggest/offer an idea
12 take up l. speak loudly/confidently
13 hang on m. take control/responsibility for something
14 take down n. be used and finished out
15 speak up o. begin a hobby/sport/activity
16 run out (of) p. write down/record somebodys words

6 Match the meaning or the definition with the phrasal verb with OFF.
1 round off a. delay
2 be off b. pay debts
3 set off c. stop concentrating
4 live off d. cancel
5 show off e. make something look very impressive, boast
6 see off f. accept a loss
7 rip off g. steal ideas/products to create something similar or cheaper
8 switch off h. start a journey
9 scare off i. frighten/chase someone away
10 pick off j. shoot/kill people or animals one by one
11 call off k. use someone to provide money/food
12 pay off l. be not present
13 write off m. be present and say good bye at someones departure
14 put off n. give the finishing condition/complete

7 Complete each sentence with the correct phrasal verb from the exercise 6.
1 It is very important to ....................round off................ your cover letter in a professional manner.
2 University graduates can hardly find a job and have to ..........................their parents for some time.
3 I am very busy at work now, lets ...................................... the meeting till tomorrow.
4 Sally ...................................... at the moment and wont be able to join our farewell party.

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5 We are going to travel around Europe. We .......................................... for Madrid next Monday.
6 Expensive clothing is the way to ........................................... for some people.
7 They came to the airport to .............................. us ................. .
8 You can ........................................... the loss from a business on your personal tax return.
9 It is a common trick that companies just ........................................... the best designs.
10 Ive been working so hard all day that I feel my brain has ............................................ now.
11The political turmoil in the country ...................................... international investors.
12 The hunters ............................................ the birds one by one an hour ago.
13 There were many reasons why the trip was .............................................................. .
14 I believe after all this hard work we will be able to ......................................... the last payment.

Key to exercises.
Elementary
1
1-stand up 2- turn off 3- switch on 4-close down 5-come back 6-get off 7-check out 8 take off 9 get up

Intermediate
2
2 She called me up very late yesterday. 3 Be sure to turn off the light before you leave the room. 4 Rosita put her
new hat on while looking in the mirror. 5 Take your coat off and sit down. 6 We got on the bus at the bus stop. 7
The bus was so crowded that we couldnt get off. 8 John picked up the pencil which was on the floor. 9 Nan is
looking for the wallet she lost yesterday. 10 Did you find out what his name was? 11 If you drive a long way each
day, your car will wear out more quickly. 12 Some of my old friends called on me yesterday. 13 We talked over
his plan for hours. 14 It is always difficult for me to pick out a good present. 15 How is Mary getting along in her
French class? 16 You have to look up this number in the telephone book. 17 Never put off till tomorrow what
you can do today.

3
1-b. continue 2- e. begin a hobby 3-d.raise a child 4-f.cut something at its base 5- a. collect
6- i. leave ground 7- c. register 8- g. find by chance 9- h. establish 10- j. arrive 11-l. separate the different
parts 12- k. to write briefly to someone 13-n. increase, make stronger 14-m. surrender

4 2 goes 3 put 4 catch 5 look 6 made 7 turn 8 letting 9 let 10 count 11 bring 12 tried, picked
13 called 14 burned 15 broken

Intermediate plus
5
1-m. take control/responsibility for something 2-c. extremely tired/exhausted 3- b. visit (somebody)
4-d. choose/select 5- k. suggest/offer an idea 6- f. search for a word/number/name 7- j. stop fire
8- i. discuss 9-h. delay/postpone 10- g. resolve/fix 11- e. look like (somebody) 12- o. begin a
hobby/sport/activity 13- a. wait 14- p. write down/record somebodys words 15- l. speak loudly/confidently
16- n. be used and finished out

6
1-n. give the finishing condition/complete 2- be not present 3- h. start a journey 4- k. use someone to provide
money/food 5- e. make something look very impressive, boast 6- m. be present and say good bye at someones
departure 7- g. steal ideas/products to create something similar or cheaper 8-c. stop concentrating 9- i.

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frighten/chase someone away 10- j. shoot/kill people or animals one by one 11- a. cancel 12- b. pay debts 13-
f. accept a loss 14-a. delay

7
2 live off 3 put off 4 is off 5 set off 6 show off 7 see/off 8 write off 9 rip off 10 switched off 11 scares off
12 picked off 13 called off 14 pay off

Elina J

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