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Separable Phrasal Verbs  A-B

add up

add; find the total

• Would you please add my bill up?

• Would you please add up my bill?

ask out

ask for a date

• Ralph asked her out last night.

• Ralph asked out the most popular girl in school.

back out of

walk or drive backward instead of forward

• While backing out of the driveway, Jimmy drove into the mailbox.

• While backing the car out of the driveway, Jimmy drove into the mailbox.

when an outside force moves an item (car, chair, bicycle, etc) backwards

• Back the truck up to the loading area, so we can load the lumber. (Put the back of the truck---not the front of the truck---nearest to where the loading is done.)

• Back up the truck to the loading area, so we can load the lumber.

to affirm that someone else's information is true

• Josh will back my story up. (He'll tell you that I told the truth.)

• Josh will back up my story.

to make an extra copy for protection

• It's important to back your computer files up in case your PC needs to be reformatted. (To save a copy of files on a CD, DVD, etc.)

• It's important to back up your computer files in case your PC needs to be reformatted.

 clogged drainage

• The shower drain in the bathroom is backed up. (The water won't go out; it just stays there.)

• The heavy rain backed the storm drains up.

to inflate

• Who is blowing the balloons up for the birthday party?

• Who is blowing up the balloons for the birthday party?

to explode or destroy by exploding

• Wreckum & Sons Demolition were hired to blow the building up.

• Wreckum & Sons Demolition were hired to blow up the building.

list parts or sections of something separately

• CC wants to break the test down into sections.

• CC wants to break down the test into sections.

wear or use something new for a limited amount of time, increasing the time little by little;

to treat a new product in a special way for a limited time

• Nancy is breaking her new shoes in by wearing them only three hours each day.

• When you break in your new car , be sure to drive it at varying speeds for the first thousand miles.

to train a person in a job

• Warren will be breaking the new insurance salesman in by the end of the month.

• Warren will be breaking in the new insurance salesman by the end of the month.

to return something you are dissatisfied with or have borrowed

• Carl has to bring his new suit back, because there's a tear in the jacket.

• Carl has to bring back his new suit, because there's a tear in the jacket.

to re-instate something from the past.  It may be an activity or a pastime or a person.

• Let's bring silent movies back! If they say dirty words, at least we won't hear them.

• Let's bring back silent movies!

accomplish something difficult

• Amy had a rough time with the test, but she brought it off.

• Jack brought off the big business deal he had been working on.

 cause to happen

• Too much sun can bring heatstroke on.

• Too much sun can bring on heatstroke.

bring to where you're going

• Randy asked Shirley to bring a cake over for teatime.

• Randy asked Shirley to bring over a cake for teatime. 

to revive to consciousness

• When Annie fainted, Gregory brought her to.

• When someone faints, they should be brought to carefully.

mention, talk about

• I asked you not to bring the subject of my accident up in conversation again.

• I asked you not to bring up the subject of my accident in conversation again.

 to raise children = take care of their physical and emotional needs from the day they're born, and teach them the social customs of your culture

• Patricia brings her children up to be respectful.

• Patricia brings up her children to be respectful.

to sweep the inside of something

• I needed to brush the car out.  It was very dirty.

• I needed to brush out the car.  It was very dirty.

to feel very angry

• It really burns me up when I'm on/in line, and people get in front of me!

• It burned him up that the bank teller made him stand in the line a second time.

Use only this word order.

praise someone excessively with the hope of getting some benefit

• He's buttering his boss up because he wants a raise.

• She's planning to butter up her boyfriend so he'll take her to a fancy restaurant.

buy a person's or company's share of something

• The Ringling Brothers Circus bought out the Barnum and Bailey Circus.

• Jim and Jack had a partnership in a doughnut business. When they couldn't get along, Jack bought Jim out.

purchase everything that's  available of something

• The next time Diet Coke is on sale, Janine plans to buy it all up. (all the Diet Coke the store had at the time)

• In fact, Janine would like to buy up all the Coke in town! (all the Coke in every store in the town)

• Ida bought up all the land from Tenth Avenue to Twelfth Avenue.

Inseparable Phrasal Verbs  A-B

behave in a certain way

• Young boys sometimes act like idiots when they're around girls.

to total

• The facts of the crime added up to only one thing: murder!

to change your mind about being a part of a plan; fail to keep a promise

• She backed out of all the plans they'd made to get her re-elected. (change of mind)

• Don't try to back out of this marriage now! (not honor a promise)

moves backwards

• Don't back up, or you'll step on my foot.

to pressure someone; browbeat (to bully)

• The police will bear down on anyone caught stealing.

• Garrett's father bore down on him until he agreed to play football.

to endure

• Bearing up under the problems of life will make you a stronger person.

to have an angry emotional outburst

• He blew up when she asked him to take out the garbage.

review or study

• If Jacob hadn't boned up on his studies, he would have failed the test.

to interrupt

• Sorry to break in on everyone's conversation, but I want to watch television.

interrupt

• Little children break into conversations until their parents teach them not to interrupt.

enter a house or building forcibly

• We could see by his behavior that he was getting ready to break into Sherry's house.

to suddenly begin singing, yelling, crying, etc.

• Shawn breaks into song any time he feels like it, even during class time!

• Baby Carrie broke into tears (cried) when the dog took her candy.

end a personal relationship

• Teddy didn't want to break up with his girlfriend at all, but she really wanted to break up with him.

to reveal

• You should bring out the main facts during your interview.

to emphasize 

• Green eye shadow brings out the color of her eyes.

to publicly announce a new product on the market

• The cell 'phone company will bring out the new line this fall.

review or study briefly

• If you want to water ski, you really need to brush up on your swimming.

misbehave (for people), not work properly (for machines)

• Harry has never acted up in class, but he did yesterday!

• This PC has been acting up since last night.

fit together logically

• The suspect gave the police an alibi for the time the crime was committed, but it just didn't add up.

 not follow through with a statement or a threat; retreat from a statement or opinion,

• He backed down from the fight when I told him the other guy was 6'7".

• Little Josie finally backed down from saying that 2+2=5, when we made her count on her fingers.

to stop in the middle of physically or verbally threatening someone; physically retreat 

• The mugger backed off when May adopted her Kung Fu stance.

refuse to do something that is planned, fail to keep a promise

• Even though the job was dangerous, Henry didn't back out.

to endure

• Gail told Clarence to bear up, because life would get better.

decline an invitation; asked to be excused

• When she received an invitation to the wedding, Chrissie begged off  because she had gained 50 pounds.

visit someone unexpectedly (informal use only)

• I wasn't planning on having any visitors, but Peter and May just blew in.

get extremely windy, as happens before a big storm

• A storm is starting to blow up now, so we better get all the horses back to the barn.

 lose one's temper

• Millie was afraid to tell Sam she thought he was a bad dancer, for fear he would blow up at her.

to stop functioning

• Max's car broke down for the fifth time this month.

to begin crying, to lose emotional control

• Whenever she sees a sad movie, she breaks down and sobs.

disperse, scatter

• The party broke up after Wendell's parents came home. (everyone left)

end a relationship

• Face it, Jeremy! We need to break up! 

when a solid thing breaks into small pieces

• When I dropped the plate, it broke up into 50 pieces.

  audio that can't be heard clearly

• The sound from his microphone was breaking up very badly, and we couldn't understand what he said.

destroyed by fire

• All my books burned up in the fire.

• The big building burned down to the ground after the earthquake.

(We usually refer to houses and buildings as "burning down", and everything that been inside them as "burning up".)

impolitely interrupt a conversation to give an unasked-for opinion

• Whenever he makes a plan with his wife, her mother butts in!

Separable Phrasal Verbs  C-E

cancel something that's been scheduled

• They called the game off because of rain.

• They called off the game because of rain.

to telephone

• Bob called Corinne up last night.

• Bob called up Corinne last night.

become less agitated or help someone else become less upset

• Sometimes all it takes to calm someone down is soft music.

• Dora calmed down all the people who had been in the burning theater.

continue to use/apply at another time or place

• When I moved, the 'phone company let me carry my deposit over. (use the same deposit from my old 'phone number for the new 'phone number)

• Does the tax deduction I had for the year 2004 carry over to the year 2005?

mark a list to show something is completed/finished

• Check all of the food you bought today off the list, and tomorrow we'll buy the rest of it.

• Get your list and check off all of the food you bought today. Tomorrow we'll buy the rest of it.

pay for items being bought

• Said to a cashier at a store: "Is your check stand open to check my groceries out?"

• "Yes sir, I can check out your items right now."

  Look!!

• Wow! Check out the muscles on that guy!

• Wow! Check that guy out!

borrow books from a library

• How many books am I allowed to check out at one time?

• While you're at the library, check some books out for me too.

to look at something carefully/to investigate

• Alicia checked the new boutique out, but didn't find anything she liked.

• If you're looking for information on cooking snails, there's a great website you should check out.

cause to become happier

• Sweet little dogs are wonderful for cheering older people up.

• Sweet little dogs are wonderful for cheering up older people.

scold severely

• Lawrence's mother chewed him out when he forgot her birthday.

• Lawrence's mother also chewed out everyone who hadn't sent her a birthday card.

cut something big into smaller pieces

• The estate was chopped up because there were so many heirs.

• After they cut the trees down, they then had to chop the wood up before they could burn it in the fireplace.

clean the surface of something; take everything that's on the surface (table or counter) off

• Clean off the table.  Supper is ready.

• Clean the table off.  Supper is ready.

clean the inside of something, taking out everything not needed

• Clean out your closet because there's no room to hang anything else.

• Clean your closet out because you can't find anything that's in it.

put everything back in its proper place

• If you promise to clean up the house afterwards, I'll allow you to have a party.

• If you promise to help me clean the house up afterwards, we'll make a party.

to make people or animals leave a particular place/to remove

• They cleared all of the skunks out of that area of the forest, and brought them to a place where there was more food.

• The firemen cleared out the crowd so no one got injured from the collapsing building.

to take out everything from something enclosed/to make empty

• He cleared the inside of his desk out when he was fired.

• He cleared out the inside of his desk when he was fired.

to stop operations or business permanently

• The carnival closed down when vacation time was over.

• The police closed the carnival down when they found gambling at one of the booths.

to stop operations or business temporarily

• English Mistakes Welcome closed up while CC was moving.

to sew up an open wound

• The surgeons closed the incision up when the operation was finished.

count in

include

• Is Leonard coming to the picnic? Yes, count him in.

• If you are having a picnic, the Smiths should  be counted in.

don't include

• Is Arthur coming too? No, count him out. He's busy working.

• When Polly made the list for the end-of-school party, she counted out all the teachers.

calculate

• If I count up all the people who will lend me money to buy a new car,  I still won't have enough money to buy it.

• If I count all the people up who said they'd lend me money for a new car , I still won't have enough.

to delete something from a list; eliminate

• I'm crossing his name off my list of organ donors, because he just donated a kidney.

• Simon was crossed off the Best Dressed Man list, because he'd become a sloppy dresser.

• Cross out the name of that store, because they've gone out of business.

cut a portion from a solid piece

• Measure four yards of material from the bolt of fabric, and cut it off there.

• Cut off four yards of the fabric, and charge it to my account.

limit how much alcohol can be served/limit how much credit for gambling can be permitted

• If you drink too much, the bartender will cut you off. (refuse to serve you)

• The casino gave the Las Vegas gambler a $100,000 credit line, and then they cut off his funds.

power outage or cessation of power

• The telephone company cut the 'phone service off when my bill was paid late.

• The television didn't work because the power had been cut off during the storm.

reduce the quantity

• Jon is cutting the amount of meat he eats down to three servings a week.

• Jon is cutting down the amount of meat he eats to three servings a week.

to use tools or machinery to take away trees

• The state is cutting all the trees down to make way for a super-highway.

• The state is cutting down all the trees to make way for a super-highway.

eliminate, delete

• Martin cut all white products out of his diet in order to lose weight.

• Martin cut out all white products from his diet in order to lose weight.

make very tired

• Teaching five hours without a break really does me in.

• I'm really done in after painting the whole outside of the house!

cause to die or to murder

• I  think his smoking four packs of cigarettes a day finally did him in. (the cause of his death)

• He was finally done in by all the cigarettes he had smoked in his life.

• Dictators do all the people in who don't agree with the government's views. (murder)

• Dictators do in all the people who don't agree with the government's views.

repeat an action 

• I made too many mistakes in the essay. Now I have to start from the beginning again, and do the whole thing over.

• I hate to do over the work I just finished!

prolong

• Some people have to draw out everything they say until it is a boring monologue.

• Some people have to draw everything they say out until it is a boring monologue.

to encourage a shy person to speak or enter into an activity

• Peter and Rose finally drew Lee out, and he began speaking in class.

• Peter and Rose were finally able to draw out the shyest students, and they began speaking in class.

create a written document (usually a legal one, like a contract

• I had the lawyer draw up a new will when I got married.

• I had the lawyer draw a new will up when I got married.

when a mode of transportation approaches and stops at a particular point

• He drew up to the curb and parked the car. 

• He drew the car up to the curb and parked it. 

• When the stagecoach draws up, Tex and the posse will board it.

to wear more formal clothes, not everyday clothes; to wear a costume

• Marcia hates to dress up for mass. 

• Her little sister likes to dress the cat up as a baby on Halloween.

To make something attractive on a temporary or superficial basis

• They always dress up the table with flowers for special dinners.

• A new paint job will dress the house up a little, but it won't hide the broken floor tile.

to bring someone or something to a certain point and leave them/it there

• Drop me off at the corner of First Street. I'll walk to the park from there.

• If you can drop off those documents before 3 o'clock, I'll have them signed before 5.

to clean the surface

• Dust off the chair and sit down.

• Dust the chair off and sit down.

wipe the dust from inside of something

• Let me dust out that cup before you drink from it.

• Let me dust that cup out before you drink from it.

eat the whole amount of something

• Trent ate up the entire pizza before we even got to the table.

• Trent ate the entire pizza up before we even got to the table.

to urge, to dare (usually to do something negative)

• It was Megan's fault I dyed my hair green. She egged me on.

• When there's trouble out in the schoolyard, Megan's always there to egg on anyone who looks ready to fight.

Inseparable Phrasal Verbs  C-E

require (as in a recipe or directions)

• Mother's double-fudge cake calls for plenty of chocolate!

• The map called for a left turn at Hooterville.

go/come and get; pick up

• Lewis called for his date at 8 pm, sharp.

ask someone for an answer or to speak

• The teacher called on Joe to answer the question.

to visit (formal usage)

• Lady Gertrude called on the new Prime Minister last Saturday.

summon for military service

• He was called up for active duty last week.

to search your memory, to try to remember

• Calling up the details of an accident that happened 5 years ago isn't easy to do.

 tend to, take care of

• When Ronald's cat was ill, he cared for her all day and all night.

enjoy, like

• I do not care for spinach. (don't like it)

 have a fondness for; love

• The prince cared deeply for the princess. (loved)

continue to do things as they had been done before/persevere

• Don will carry on as head of the business, after his father's funeral.

make a lot of very unpleasant noise/inappropriate behavior

• Those teenagers carried on so much in the movie theater, that the manager threw all of them out.

continue to do something without stopping

• I didn't mean to interrupt.  Please carry on with what you were doing.

to have a love affair, usually with someone who's married

• The prince carried on with Camilla for many years while they were married to different partners.

fulfill/complete/perform (plans or orders)

• The spy carried out his mission, in spite of all the danger.

develop a knowledge or understanding of something

• Annie went over the lesson until everyone caught on.

register for an event or at a place of lodging

• If we can check in to the hotel by 7 p.m., we'll still have time to attend the conference.

search for facts/investigate

• I need to check into that investment. It looks too good to be true.

is or isn't logical, to make or not make sense

• We interviewed the prisoner, but his version of what happened didn't check out.

the time one must pay the bill and leave a hotel

• Check-in can be at any time, but you must check out of this hotel by 2 p.m.

slang usage: to die

• The paramedics tried to save his life, but he'd already checked out before they reached the hospital.

check up on

verify or examine

• Gerald wasn't sure the information he'd given them was accurate, so he checked up on everything.

chip in

each person in a group of people contributing money to buy something

• If each person chips in a dollar, we can afford to buy the CD.

refuse to talk

• The Mafia boss clammed up during the investigation.

find by accident/to honor a deal

• I came across the greatest book the other day.

• She promised to pay the balance of the loan by Friday, but she never came across.

accompany

• Come along with me to the store.

make progress towards a goal

• He was have trouble learning Spanish, but now he's coming along very well.

visit

• Come by anytime. You know you're always welcome at our house.

possess a trait because of a specific reason

• Bella comes by her good looks naturally; her parents are also good looking.

to begin to get sick, catch a disease

Don't kiss me, because I think I am coming down with a cold.

to say something

• We asked all the children to tell us who broke the window, hoping one of them would come out with the truth.

publicly show something

• Toy companies come out with their Christmas line in July.

total

• What did the grocery bill come to this month?

to arrive at a decision

• After looking at all the options, Rod came to his decision.

become conscious after being unconscious

• When she passed out, someone used smelling salts to help her come to.

generate ideas; think creatively

• Joan needed a solution to the problem, but she couldn't come up with a thing.

• We came up with so many great ideas for Helene's surprise birthday party.

depend on someone (to help you) or something (to function properly

• I can't count on Jan to help me, because she's always drunk.

• Curtis says he can count on his car to get him to work every day, but I've seen him taking it to the mechanic very often. I wouldn't count on a car that needs repair all the time.

use or do less of something

•  Mitzy's going to get sick if she doesn't cut back on work.

interrupt

• When Harvey dances with his girlfriend, he doesn't like other men to cut in. (other men interrupting their dance, asking to dance with his partner.)

• The telephone operator cut in to say I had an emergency telephone call.

cut it out

an order to stop doing something (slang usage)

• You boys who are throwing food need to cut it out! (stop)

cause physical discomfort (allergic reaction)

• Denny never eats junk food. It disagrees with him, and he gets a rash.

opposite of "'agree"

• Mandy disagrees with my decisions most of the time.

get rid of, abolish

• If they do away with traffic laws, the roads will be chaotic.

kill

• People are still hoping to see him alive, but I'm sure his enemies have already done away with him.

deprive oneself

• Mothers often do without to provide for their children.

casual visit with no warning

• I was trying to take a nap, but friends dropped by and woke me.

casual visit with no warning

• All of Linda's friends from work dropped in on her early Sunday morning.

to fall asleep

• Sidney ate so much, that he dropped off to sleep while still sitting in his chair.

quit, stop attending a course before it's finished

• People who drop out of school have a hard time in life.

Intransitive Phrasal Verbs  C-E

become less upset

• Now, calm down! This isn't the end of the world.

happened

• The crisis came about because she was careless.

persevere

• A brave person carries on in spite of obstacles.

 behave badly

• When Billy's father wouldn't buy him a new toy, he carried on (threw a tantrum) for hours.

understand   (I got it!)

• Victor catches on to slang very fast.

to try to move quickly enough from behind to reach something far ahead

• If Bea runs fast enough she can catch up to Junior.

                                                                  catch up with

Has two meanings: the exact same meaning as "catch up to", OR it's just an expression similar to "see you later". "later" doesn't mean later the same day. The expression just means that you'll talk or see the person soon.

• Go ahead. I'll catch up with you later.

investigate

• When you see that your children are too quiet, it's a good idea to check up on them.

lose courage and back down from a plan

• Jackie was going to ask Sarah for a date, but he chickened out.

leave

• When the police came in the front door, the crooks cleared out.

clear up

talk about a misunderstanding to make it understandable

• If a misunderstanding isn't cleared up, it will only get worse.

weather improves

• The storm cleared up after an hour.

progress, go with

• The project was coming along nicely.

return

• Arnold came back to the house because he forgot his wallet.

visit with no advance plans or notice

• Come by the house any time you're in the area. We're always glad to see you.

 to exit from one area to go to another

• Every time Michael Jackson comes out of court, his fans are waiting to greet him.

 making one's debut in high-society

• Allison came out in December, so her debut had a  winter theme.

 publishing of a book, or public appearance of a new product on the market

• New spring fashions are coming out at the beginning of the month.

visit, come to where someone is

• When will you come over to my house to visit again?

• If you need my help to tie your shoes, come over here.

win/succeed/survive in spite of obstacles

• The marathon lasted 12 hours, but Amy came through.

regain consciousness

• After 12 years in a coma, Edward came to.

interrupt

• Please don't cut in when I'm speaking.

become less important/lesser degree of something

decrease to the point of disappearing

• The bad publicity will die down as soon as the next scandal happens.

• The applause finally died down.

• By the time the high winds of the hurricane died down, they had already caused a lot of damage.

become extinct, disappear

• We must protect certain animal and plant species, or they will die off.

• Some religions die out, and others are born.

last longer than one expected

• This speech is dragging on forever! 

return by car to the original location or starting point

• If Carson drives back right now, he can still be on time.

eat at a restaurant instead of in your home

• Clarise didn't feel like cooking, so they ate out last night.

• Bringing already-prepared food home is easy, but it isn't the same as eating out.

finally arrive

arrive at a planned or unplanned place

• We got lost, but we finally ended up at the right place.

• When Lonny started the trip, he never expected to end up in Bangkok!

the final result, after trying various possible solutions

• I had so much trouble trying to do my own car repair, that I ended up bringing the car to a good mechanic.

Separable Phrasal Verbs  F-J

solve a problem; find an answer; understand another person's behavior

• It took Noah six hours to figure his taxes out.

• I will never figure out how men think.

add material if some is missing

• Did he fill all the parts of the report in that were missing?

• Did he fill in all the missing parts of the report?

repair a crack/damage in an object

• All the cracks in the wall have to be filled in with plaster before the wall can be painted.

• Fill all the cracks in with plaster before you paint the wall.

write information in the blank spaces on a form

• Len had to fill in the blanks on several forms in order to file an insurance claim.

• Len had to fill the blanks in on several forms in order to file an insurance claim.

 to write information in the empty spaces on a form

• After filling the marriage license out , Mike got cold feet.

• After Mike filled out the marriage license , he got cold feet.

fill completely

• When Margaret runs out of fuel, she has to fill the tank up again.

• When Margaret runs out of fuel, she has to fill up the tank again. 

repair to make more attractive or functional

• If you fix up that car, it will sell more easily.

• If you fix that car up, it will sell more easily.

slang usage: fix up: to arrange a date for two people who don't know each other

• How did you meet Julie? Oh, James fixed me up with her.

• I like Julie, can you fix up a date for me?

communicate clearly, explain something to make yourself understood

• She tried to get her point across to him, but he never understood. (only this word order)

enter: a car, a room, a meeting or a concert, etc.

• Get in the car now, or we'll be late.

• Get Granny in the car, so we can leave.

excused from a regular activity

• Julian tried to get off work, but the boss wouldn't let him go.

• Julian tried to get a few days off from work, but the boss wouldn't let him go.

 a reduction in the amount of time of a jail term

• Al Capone never got time taken off his prison sentence for good behavior.

excused from responsibility (by a court judge, or some other authority)

• Al Capone never got off without some kind of punishment.

• The students got off easy this week, because the teacher didn't assign homework.

  climb down/leave

• Get off the bus at the Fifth Street stop.

• Shall she be getting her luggage and her dogs off the plane by herself?

   

  remove from a surface

• Get off the table! Dancing is only allowed on the floor!

• I can't get the stain off this new blouse.

leave a small vehicle

• Get out of the car if you're going to be a backseat driver!