Phrase | Example |
A | |
agree to | I wish she would agree to my proposal. |
agree with | I agree with him on that point. |
ask after | Mr. Smith asked after John. |
ask in | He was asked in. |
ask over | Yes, you can ask your friend over. |
B | |
back off | She was told to back off. |
be in | Are your parents in? |
be off | I`m off now. |
bear (up) on | These facts do not bear on this matter. |
bear with | Please bear with him for a moment while he tries to put this straight. |
beg off | I`m sorry, I have to beg off. |
black out | And then she just blacked out. |
blame on | Don`t blame it on her. |
blow up | The bomb might have blown up. |
break away break free break loose | At last, the hostage could break away from his captors. |
break down | Finally her sister broke down. |
break off | I didn`t mean to break off anything. |
break up | Sue and Tim broke up last year. |
bring along | This year has brought along some significant changes. |
bring down | (1) Taxes were never brought down. (2) The president was brought down by this scandal. |
bring in | My job brings in 400 dollars per week. |
bring up | (1) She was brought up in Wisconsin. (2) Why do you have to bring that up? |
build up | He needs to do some exercises to build himself up. |
burst in with | She burst in with the bad news. |
butt in | How can we talk when you keep butting in all the time? |
C | |
call down | The teacher called down all the students who were late. |
call in | He called Kelly in. |
call off | I had to call off the barbecue because of the bad weather. |
calm down | Please calm down. |
carry on | Please carry on with your homework. |
catch up (on) | I need some time to catch up on that incident. |
check out | I will check it out. |
check up (on) | There is no need to check up on me. |
clean down | My hands were covered with mud, and so I cleaned them down. |
clean off | Can you clean off the table, please? |
clean up | Can you clean your room up a little? |
clear away | Please clear your stuff away. |
close down | The shop was closed down by the police. |
close in (on) | She closed in quietly. |
close up | The restaurant was closed up by the health department. |
come around | I knew he would come around in the end. |
come back | Will the good old days ever come back? |
come by | (1) My aunt came by yesterday. (2) I hope he came by this money honestly. |
come over | Why don`t you come over next weekend? |
cool down / off | (1) It began to cool off after the thunderstorm. (2) Cool down guys! |
count (up) on | Can we count on you? |
cut back (on) | I have to cut back on the water usage. |
cut out | Cut it out! |
D | |
decide (up) on | I decided on ice tea. |
die off/out | That species died out million years ago. |
dirty up | Don`t dirty your pants up! |
do in | He tried to do his father in. |
do over | I probably wouldn`t do it over. |
do up | (1) Do up the present quickly. (2) Please do up your buttons. |
do without | I guess I will have to do without lunch today. |
draw near | As the time drew near,... |
dress down | His father dressed him down again. |
drink up | Drink up, and let`s going. |
drive at | Well, you must see what I`m driving at. |
drive on | We drove on till night. |
drop by | I hope you guys can drop by our house some time. |
drop in (on) | I can`t believe who dropped in on us last night. |
drop off | You can drop me off at the next red light. |
dry out | The clothes finally dried out. |
E | |
ease off | The storm eased off a little. |
eat up | Eat up, and let`s get going. |
edge away | The students laughed and edged away from him. |
end up | When will all this end up? |
enter (into) | We need more members to enter our team. |
even out | The surafce of the road was evened out. |
even up | Can they even up the score tonight? |
F | |
face up (to) | You have to face up to challenges. |
fall apart | The whole thing falls apart. |
fall back on | I had to fall back on my savings. |
fall behind (in/on) get behind (in/on) | He`s falling behind in his car payments. |
fall through | I hope my party next Saturday doesn`t fall through. |
fasten up | Please fasten up your jacket. |
feel for | I really feel for you. |
fight back (at) | It`s hard for him to fight back. |
fight down | I fought down the anger. |
figure on | I figure on the extra income. |
figure out | I just can`t figure her out. |
fill in | (1) I better fill the cracks in with something. (2) Would you fill in the form, please? |
fill in (for) | I will have to fill in for him till he gets back from his vacation. |
fill out | Would you fill out the form, please? |
fill up | (1) The hole filled up with water and had to be pumped. (2) We will fill up at the next gas station. |
finish off | Finish off your cup of cofee, please. |
finish up | I will finish my homework up in a few minutes. |
fit in(to) | It just doesn`t fit in. |
fix up | Is my bike fixed up yet? |
fly in(to) | When did you fly in? |
fool around | Stop fooling around. |
G | |
gather up | Let`s gather our things up and leave. |
get across | How can I get it across to you |
get along with | He couldn`t get along with her mother-in-law. |
get at | What exactly is he getting at? |
get back | When will you get back? |
get back at | He will get back at him someday. |
get back to | I will get back to you in a minute. |
get by (on) | She can`t get by on that much money. |
get down to | Now, let`s get down to homework. |
get into | He managed to get himself into the class he wanted. |
get off | I have to get off all my packages. |
get on | How are you getting on? |
get on with | (1) I need to get on doing my homework. (2) How do you get on with Sam? |
get out of | You`ve got to get out of there. |
get over | (1) It took him a long time to get over the heart attack. (2) He couldn`t get over the huge rock in the path, so he went around it. |
get through | I tried calling you, but I couldn`t get through. |
get up | (1) Today I got up at 10 am. (2) We got up a team on very short notice. |
give away (to) | (1) He gave his car away to his brother. (2) Don`t give the answer away. |
give in (to) | Why does she always give in to her brother? |
give up | Are you sure you want to give up your career? |
glance over | My teacher just glanced over my homework today. |
go after | He went after the man who mugged him. |
go along with | I`ll go along with you on that decision. |
go around | There`s not enough milk to go around. |
go away | Please go away! |
go back | I`ll never go back. |
go in | They went in after us. |
go in for | He goes in for playing soccer. |
go off | (1) The bomb went off. (2) My party went off as planned. |
go off with | I guess she went off with her new boyfriend. |
go out (with) | Will she go out with Mike next Friday evening? |
go through | (1) The truck wouldn`t go through the tunnel. (2) He went through his pockets, looking for his wallet. (3) How can you go through all the chocolate so fast? (4) You won`t believe what I`ve went through. (5) I guess we need to go through the whole song a few more times. |
go under | (1) I was afraid that our ship would go under. (2) The company went under. |
go without | I just cannot go without some candy from time to time. |
H | |
hand down | (1) The court has not yet handed down a ruling. (2) He will hand this down to his granddaughter. |
hand out | The teacher handed out the test to the surprised students. |
hang around (with) | I usually spend much time hanging around with miy friends. |
hang on | (1) Hang on, please. (2) They couldn`t hang on much longer. |
hang up | Why did you hang up on me? |
happen (upon) | I just happened upon her. |
heal up | My injury healed up in around no time. |
hear out | Hear me out, will you? I have more to tell. |
heat up | How soon will lunch be heated up? |
help out | Can you help me out? |
hide away | Can you hide this book away where no one will find it? |
hide out (from) | Ben was hiding out from the police. |
hit back (at) | He hit me, but I didn`t hit back at him. |
hit on | Tom was hitting on Mike`s fiancée. |
hit (upon) | I guess I have hit upon something. |
hold back (on) | They hold back on signing the new deal. |
hold on | Hold on a minute! I have to check this first. |
hold out | I don`t know how long they can hould out. |
hold up | Some moron tried to hold me up. |
hurry on/up | Hurry on, will you? I got some errands to run today. |
Phrase | Example |
I | |
idle away | Don`t idle the whole day away. |
insist (on) | He also insisted on it. |
invite over | Let`s invite them over for dinner. |
J | |
jump in(to) | I just jumped into the pool and had a refreshing swim. |
K | |
keep at | I need to keep at this. |
keep off | Please keep off the lawn. |
keep on | (1) It`s a little chilly in here, so I better keep my coat on. (2) Just keep on practicing your scales by simply playing them up and down. |
keep out (of) | (1) Keep out of this and mind your own business. (2) My door is closed. Keep out! |
knock off | Knock it off! |
knock over | Her reaction simply knocked me over. |
L | |
lead up to | (1) A narrow path leads up to his cabin. (2) She was just leading up to something when he interrupted. |
leak out | I hope that news does not leak out. |
lean over | Lean over and pick it up yourself! |
leave out (of) | Leave me out of it, please. |
leave up to | They left this decision up to me. |
let down | I won`t let you down again. |
let on (about) | I promised I wouldn`t let on about her new job. |
let up | The storm has let up. |
level off | Things will level off by the end of the month. |
lie down | I need to lie down and take a little nap. |
light up | We lighted the house up with the headlights of our automobile. |
lighten up | Hey, lighten up a little. Enjoy the day. |
line up | (1) Everyone, please line up. (2) Try to line up for tomorrow evening. |
live up to | That meal did not live up to my expectations. |
look back (at/on) | When I look back on him, I am amazed at all he has accomplished. |
look in (on) | I will look in on him from time to time. |
look out (for) | Look out for that car! |
look up to | She is glad they look up to her. |
loom up | An old cottage loomed up in the distance. |
loosen up | Relax and loosen yourself up. |
M | |
make out | Can you make out what she is saying? |
make out with | There are hot pictures of him making out with a nun. |
make up | (1) Did she make up the clowns yet? (2) I made up that story. (3) I`m sorry, but you can`t make up that test you missed. (4) Class participation will make up 25% of your final grade. (5) They kissed and made up. (6) You think I make this up? |
march on | Time marches on. |
mark down | Pineapples are marked down again. |
mark up | Watermelons are marked up again. |
mess up | (1) He messed up his room. (2) The dirty water messed my pants up. (3) Losing my job really messed my life up. |
move in(to) | I moved into a new apartment last month. |
move off (from) | The officer stopped for a minute, asked some questions, and then moved off. |
move on (to) | Alright, let`s move on to our next point. |
move out (of) | I moved out of my old apartment last month. |
move up (to) | How long will it be before they can move her up? |
N | |
nail up | (1) Please nail this picture up. (2) Who nailed up the door? I can`t get out. |
O | |
open up | They opened up the border a few weeks ago. |
order in(to) | The officer ordered me in. |
P | |
pass away/on | Her uncle passed away last summer. |
pass out | (1) Don`t drink until you pass out. (2) Please can you pass these handouts out to everyone? |
pay off | The time I spent in this project didn`t pay off. |
pay up | Please pay all your dues up. |
pick up | (1) Relax. I will pick her up from school. (2) Help me pick up this guy from the sidewalk, will you? (3) The storm picked up about midnight. (4) I picked up a little French while I was in Quebec. |
pile up | Exams are piling up on my desk. |
plan out | They met and planned out their strategy. |
play along | The guy with the guitar came in and played along. |
point out | That`s exactly what I pointed out earlier. |
pop up | I don`t know where he`s going to pop up next. |
power up | Okay, let`s power up the engine and get going. |
pull in(to) | A stranger just pulled into our driveway. |
pull up | He reached down and pulled her up. |
put across to | How can I best put this across to them? |
put on | (1) Don`t put your brother on. (2) Don`t you have some clothes to put on? |
put off (until) | Can`t you just put this off until tomorrow? |
put up with | I just don`t know why I even put up with you. |
Q | |
quiet down | (1) Try to quiet him down. (2) Ask him to quiet down. |
R | |
raise up | She raised herself up with the greatest difficulty. |
rattle off | She rattled off the long list of names. |
reach out | I reached out, but there was nothing I could get hold of. |
read over / through | Please read this text over and tell me what is about. |
rely (up)on | Can we rely on you in this case? |
ride away / off | I said good good-bye and rode off. |
ride out | Things are rough around here, but I think I can ride it out. |
room together | We roomed together in college. |
rub away | I used that towel to rub away the dirt on my shoes. |
rule on | When will the court rule on your decision? |
run around with | I used to run around with them after school. |
run away | The cat ran away from me. |
run down | (1) It appears that the car ran down. (2) All the critics ran the movie down. |
run off | I ran off as fast as I could. |
run off with | The kidnappers ran off with her little daughter. |
run over | (1) He ran over his neighbor`s cat. (2) I ran over the time allotted for the presentation. |
run on | I wanted to stop him, but he ran on. |
run out of | I`m afraid we ran out of milk and cookies. |
rush in(to) | Don`t rush into this job. |
Phrase | Example |
S | |
save up | I`m saving up money for a new car. |
see through | (1) I knew what he was up to, because I saw through him. (2) I`ll see this project through. |
sell out (to) | (1) He refused to sell out to a large corporation. (2) He shouldn`t have sold out to them. |
send away for | I had to send away for a new part. |
send for | He sent for his secretary. |
send over (to) | She sent me over to her office. |
set in | The tournament set in early in January. |
set up (for) | I will set up a meeting for next week. |
settle down | (1) One day they will settle down in a small cabin in the mountains. (2) Will you please settle down and relax? |
shoot up | Jane shot up just after she turned thirteen. |
show off | Stop showing off. |
sign in | Did you remember to sign in? |
sign up for | Did you remember to sign up for the class? |
sit around | Don`t just sit around. Do something! |
sit down | Please, sit down and relax. |
sit in on | You guys mind if I sit in on your discussion? |
sit out | I`m not playing. I better sit out this time. |
sit up | (1) I sat up and read a book. (2) I wouldn`t get such terrible backaches if I would sit up properly. |
sleep in | I slept in this morning. |
slim down | You have slimmed down a lot since last spring break. |
slip up | You must not slip up again. |
slow down | You`re going to fast. Please slow down. |
smash into | The car smashed into the side of a bus. |
sober up | Some coffee definitely won`t sober them up. |
speak up | Please speak up. I nearly can`t hear you. |
speak up for | You can speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. |
split up | We had to split the class up into two classes. |
spread out | He told them to spread out and continue their search. |
stand around | Don`t stand around. Get busy! |
stand by | Stand by while I search for another song. |
stand in (for) | Sam is sick. Can you stand in for him? |
stand up | She stood up and look across the room. |
start off | When will we start off? |
start out | We will start out whenever you are ready. |
start over | Sorry, I guess I messed this up, so can I start over? |
start up | Start your car up and let`s go. |
stay over | Can my friend stay over, please? |
steal away | She stealed away while he was refilling her coffee. |
step aside | Step aside, please. You`re in my way. |
step up | Traffic has stepped up since the road was fixed. |
stick together | We must stick together. |
stop by | Please stop by before you go on vacation. |
stop in | Can`t you just stop in for a few minutes? |
stop over | We stopped over in Chicago for two nights. |
storm in(to) | He stormed into the room, shouting and yelling. |
storm out (of) | He got angry and stormed out of the meeting. |
straighten out | (1) We have to straighten this mess out. (2) They straightened out the line of people. |
straighten up | My room is a total mess. I better straighten it up right away. |
strip down | The doctor told me to strip down for the examination. |
sum up | Can you sum up the the arguments of this essay? |
swell up | I bumped my ankle and it swelled up. |
switch off | I forgot to switch the TV off before I went to bed. |
switch on | Can someone switch the light on, please? |
T | |
take away | The police took her daughter away. |
take apart | Don`t take my TV apart. |
take in | Don`t take strangers in. |
take off | (1) When does your plane take off? (2) Sorry, I have to take off now. (3) Take your coat off, please. |
take over | If you take over, you will be in charge. |
talk back (to) | Don`t ever talk back to her. |
talk out | Let`s just talk this matter out. |
team up (with) | I don`t want to team up with him. |
tear off (of) | She tore off the label of the bottle. |
tell off | I should have told him off. |
tell on | I`m going to call your father and tell on you. |
think back (to) | Try and think back to the morning of June 5. |
think over | I needed a few minutes to think it over. |
think through | First, let me think this through and I`ll call you tomorrow first in the morning. |
think of | I quickly had to think of something. |
think up | I`ll think something up. |
throw up | I was so nauseous I almost had to throw up. |
tidy up | Your room looks like a pig sty. You better tidy it up now. |
tool up | I needed to tool up to do the job. |
trick into | He tried to trick her into doing it his way. |
try out | Let`s try out this candy store. |
turn around/about | The car turned around and went the other way. |
turn down | (1) He turned his collar down, when he entered her house. (2) Turn the music down a little, will you? (3) Our proposal was turned down. |
turn in | I need some sleep. I`m going to turn in now. |
turn in(to) | Turn in for some gas. |
turn off | Could you please turn the radio off? |
turn on | Don`t forget to turn on the lights when the sun goes down. |
turn up | (1) Turn your cuffs up, please. (2) Something always turns up. (3) Apparently, new evidence has turned up. |
U | |
use up | You can use it up. I have more of it. |
V | |
vote down | They voted him down. |
W | |
wake up | Wake up! We have hit the road. |
walk off | They didn`t even say good-bye. They just walked off. |
walk out (on) | My sister walked out on Fred because she was fed up with him. |
watch over | Can you watch over the kids while we"re gone. |
watch out (for) | Watch out for the snakes in the bushes. |
wear out | After weeks of learning for this stupid test, I`m finally worn out. |
wipe off (of) | Don`t use your sleeve to wipe the ice cream off of your hand. |
work out | (1) Everything will work out in the end. (2) She needs to work out more often. |
work over | They really worked him over. |
write away for | I wrote away for a book on poetry. |
Y | |
yell out | The pain caused me to yell out. |
Z | |
zip up | I had better zip my jacket up. |
zoom in (on) | She zoomed in on this issue. |
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