phrasal verb or group verb

phrasal verb/ group verb

Phrase

Example

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.

back off*

She was told to back off.

be in

Are your parents in?

be off*

I'm off now.

bear with

Please bear with him for a moment while he tries to put this straight.

bend over

Bend over and pick it up yourself!

black out

And then she just blacked out.

blame on

Don't blame it on her.

blow up

The bomb might have blown up.

bowl over

Her reaction simply bowled me over.

break away
break free
break loose

At last, the hostage could break away from his captors.

break down

Finally her car broke down.

break up

Sue and Tim broke up last year.

bring along

This year has brought along some significant changes.

bring down

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?

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.

check out

I will check it out.

check up (on)

There is no need to check up on me.

close down

The shop was closed down by the police.

close in (on) +
person

She closed in on them quietly.

close down

The restaurant was closed down 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 in

Can't you just come in for a few minutes?

come over

Why don't you come over next weekend?

cool down

It began to cool down after the thunderstorm.

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!

decide (up) on

I decided on the iced tea.
The court has not yet decided on a ruling.

die off/out

That species died out million years ago.

do again

I probably wouldn't do it again.

do in

He tried to do his father in.

do up

Please do your buttons up.

do without

I guess I will have to do without lunch today.

draw near

As the time drew near,...

drink up*

Drink up, and let's going.

drive on

We drove on till night.

drive off

I said good-bye and drove off.

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.

ease off

The storm eased off a little.

eat up

Eat up, and let's go.

edge away

The students laughed and edged away from him.

end up

How will this end up?

even out

The surface of the road was evened out.

face up (to)

You have to face up to challenges.

fall apart

The whole thing falls apart.

fall back on/
rely on

I had to fall back on my savings.

fall behind
get behind

He's falling behind with his car payments.

fall through

I hope the house signing doesn't fall through.

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 out*

I just can't figure her out.

fill in

(1) I'd 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

(1) Finish off your cup of coffee, please.
(2) 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)

I'm flying into Stansted.

focuse (on)

She focused on this issue.

fool around*

Stop fooling around.

gather up

Let's gather up our things and leave.

get across

How can I get it across to you

get along with

He couldn't get along with his 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 into

He managed to get himself into the class he wanted.

get off on*

He gets off on paying soccer.

get on

How are you getting on?

get on with

(1) I need to get on with 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.

get through

I tried calling you, but I couldn't get through.

get up

Today I got up at 10 am.

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 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 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) You won't believe what I've gone through.
(4) 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.

hand down

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 a lot of time hanging around with my friends.

hang on

(1) Hang on, please.
(2) They couldn't hang on much longer.

hang up

Why did you hang up on me?

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 out (from)

Ben was hiding out from the police.

hit back

He hit me, but I didn't hit him back.

hit on*

Tom was hitting on Mike's fiancée.

hold back

I held back the anger.

hold on

Hold on a minute! I have to check this first.

hold out

I don't know how long they can hold out.

hurry up

Hurry up, will you? I got some errands to run today

Phrase	Example
I
idle away	Don't idle the whole day away.
insist (on)	He insisted on it.
invite over	Let's invite them over for dinner.
J
join in	My I join in the discussion?
K
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.
L
leave out (of)	Leave me out of it, please.
let down	I won't let you down again.
look after	I will look after the children when yoou are away.
look up to	She is glad they look up to her.
M
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) Do you think I would make this up?
move in(to)	I moved into a new apartment last month.
move out (of)	I moved out of my old apartment last month.
N

O

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?
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.
point out	That's exactly what I pointed out earlier.
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.
R
rely (up)on	Can we rely on you in this case?
rule out
run away	The cat ran away from me.
run out of	I'm afraid we ran out of milk and cookies.

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 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?
share together	We shared a room together in college.
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 sat 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.
sort itself out	Things will sort itself out by the end of the month.
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 looked across the room.
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.
stick together	We must stick together.
stop by	Please stop by before you go on vacation.
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.
strip down	The doctor told me to strip down for the examination.
stumble (upon)	I just stumbled upon her.
sum up	Can you sum up 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 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 the label off 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 threw up.
tidy away	Please tiday your stuff away.
tidy up	Your room looks like a pig sty. You better tidy it up now.
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.
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 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.
wrap up	Wrap up the presents quickly.
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.