Phrasal verbs with ‚out‘

Carry out – to do an experiment/test/orders

The soldiers carried out the orders without any questions.

Cut out – remove an article/picture with scissors from newspaper/magazine

She likes to cut out pictures of her favourite film stars.

Cry out – shout loudly because you’re scared, hurt, etc.

She cried out in shock when she saw a spider.

Drop out – leave a school/university prematurely

He dropped out from university in his 3^rd year.

Drive out – to force somebody/something to leave

Supermarkets have driven small shops out of this area.

Eat out – go for a meal to a restaurant

Let’s eat out tonight! I don’t fancy cooking.

Fall out with somebody – stop being friends because of an argument

I fell out with Tom over some money.

Figure out – find a solution to/understand a problem after a lot of thought (informal)

They’ve been trying to figure this out for some time now and still no results.

Find out – discover an information

We have never found out who reversed into our car in the car park.

Kick out – make somebody to leave (informal)

He was kicked out of his last job for being very lazy.

Leave out – do not include

Leave out all the confidential information before you hand this email to the media.

Look out for – try to notice somebody/something

The police asked bank clerks to look out for counterfeit banknotes.

Point out – draw an attention to

She pointed out the mistakes I made in the report.

Print out – make a printed copy of an electronic document

Can you print the invoice out for me, please?

Run out of something – use all available supplies

I’m afraid we have run out of milk. You have to go shopping, then.

Sort out – get things on order

It took me a whole weekend to sort out our holiday pictures.

You should sort out your life!

Watch out/Look out – used when warning somebody of danger

Watch out! He’s got a knife!

Look out! There’s a car coming!

Walk out – leave in protest

The walked out of the meeting because they didn’t agree with the proposals.

Wear out – damage something by using it a lot

My favourite pair of jeans is quite worn out after all those years.

Wear out – make somebody tired

Minister’s long speech made everybody in the house worn out.

Work out – do a physical exercise

She likes to work out 3 times a week.

Work something out – find a solution to a problem

They’ll never work this out.

Phrasal verbs with ‚in‘

Break in – to enter by force, to burgle

He lost his keys, so he had to break in his flat.

Call in on somebody – pay a short visit unannounced

Call in on me when you’re in town, will you?

Fill in – to complete a form/questionnaire

They gave me a form to fill in.

It took me a while to fill all the details in.

Join in – take part in an activity with other people

After learning the rules of the game, she happily joined in.

Plug in – to connect an electrical appliance to the mains (a socket)

Plug the computer in before you switch it on.

Take something in – to understand/remember/comprehend an idea/notion

They didn’t seem to take in what I told them.

Sink in – (of an idea) to be fully understood or realized

This idea might take a while to sink in.

Turn – phrasal verb

Turn back – return the way you have come

After reaching the top of the hill, we turned back and started our descend.

Turn down – reject/refuse an offer/opportunity

He was offered an interesting job but he turned it down for no reason.

Turn down – reduce noise/heat

Can you turn the radio down a bit, please? I’m trying to sleep.

Turn into – become something

Our dream holiday turned into nightmare when the hurricane arrived.

Turn on – switch on

He always turns the TV on right after he arrives from work.

Turn on somebody – criticise somebody unexpectedly and suddenly

She turned on me without a reason.

Turn off – switch off

She turned off the TV while she was out in the garden.

Turn off – make somebody feel bored or not interested

We wanted to see a show but the price of the tickets turned us off.

Turn out – to be present at an event

Many people turned out to watch the fireworks by the river.

Turn out – to happen in an unexpected way or have an unexpected result

My business plans didn’t turn out as expected.

Turn over – turn a page

She slowly turned the page over of that old book she found in the loft.

Turn over – think about something carefully and for a long time

She kept turning the remark over in her head as she was walking home to figure out what he meant by it.

Turnover (noun)– takings of a company/business

This year’s turnover was 5 per cent up on the last year.

Turn up – to arrive unexpectedly

The police car turned up outside my front garden in the middle of the night.

Turn up – appear by chance

Stop looking for it – it will turn up one day.

Turn in – go to bed (UK informal)

Last night I turned in at 10pm because I was really exhausted.

Turn somebody in – take a criminal to police

The culprit turned himself in and confessed to the crime.

Take – phrasal verb

Take up – start a sport or an activity

I think I’ll take up cycling this summer.

Take off – a plane leaving the ground

The plane took off at 5.45pm.

Take off – to start a trip

They took off after breakfast.

Take off – to strip a garment

He took off his hat before he sat down.

Take over – to become in charge of

The new boss will take over next week.

Take over – when a company buys another company

The company has been taken over by its biggest rival.

Taken aback – be surprised or shocked a lot

I was taken aback by his impertinent remark.

Take on – to employ somebody

She was taken on as a new PA.

Take on – to compete or fight against

After being fired, he took on his former employer.

Take after – look or behave like an older member of the family

She took after his mother.

Take to somebody/something – to start liking

They took to him very quickly.

Take to – develop an ability for

She took to tennis after a couple of lessons.

Take in – to include

This tour takes in 4 museums and an art gallery.

Take in – understand or remember something

I told him many times but he doesn’t seem to take it in.

Future perfect tenses

Future perfect simple tense

Form:

will have + past participle or a regular verb + ed

is/are going to have + past participle or a regular verb + ed (less common)

Examples:

I will have done the project by the boss arrives.

She will have been married for 12 years this summer.

He will have done all his exams by next Tuesday.

Usage:

We use ‚future perfect tense‘ to say that an action will be finished or completed by a certain moment in the future.

We also use it when we want to say that an action will have lasted for some time at a certain point in the future.

Examples:

Tom is playing tennis from 6pm to 7pm; it’s 6.15 now and Jake wants to call him.

I’ll say to Jake: ‚Wait and call Tom after 7 o’clock. He will have finished playing by then.

Meaning: The action (playing tennis) will be over at 7pm.

Mary bought a house in September 2009, so in September 2013 it will have been 4 years since she bought the house.

Future perfect continuous

Form:

will have been + verb + ing

Examples:

At 6pm tonight she will have been playing the piano for 28 hours.

This September I will have been teaching for 3 years.

Usage:

We use it when talking about continuous activity into the future.

As with all continuous tenses, it can’t be use with certain verbs.

Examples:

By next Monday, the new machinery will have been working at 100% output.

If he can keep it up, he will have been swimming for 16 hours at 8pm tonight.

She will have been working there for 3 years next week and still no pay rise.

Some verbs are not usually used in progressive form, e.g.:

verbs of senses: feel, hear, see, smell, sound, taste

verbs of feelings: love, hate, like, want, fear, respect, admire, adore, dislike, wish, prefer, impress, concern

verbs of mental activity: agree, believe, expect, know, mean, remember, trust, understand, recognise, realise, suppose, imagine, doubt

verbs of possession: belong, own, owe, possess

other verbs: astonish, appear, deny, seem, surprise, consist, include, fit, involve

Put – phrasal verb

Put – Phrasal verbs and idioms

(selection of the most common ones)

Put off – to make somebody dislike somebody/something

The terrible smell of the blue cheese put me off eating that dish.

Put on – to dress

It took her ages to put on that new tailor-made dress when we were going to see Tosca.

When a man put on a suit, it’s a matter of minutes.

Put up with – to tolerate

After working like a dog all day, I couldn’t put up with noise coming from the upstairs flat, so I called the police at about midnight.

Put something back – postpone

She phoned me earlier to put our meeting back by a week due to her heavy workload.

Put something off – to postpone, delay

Let’s hope she won’t be putting it off indefinitely.

Put somebody down – to make somebody look or feel stupid

Sop putting your son down in front of his friends, please!

Put an animal down – to take a sick animal to the veterinary doctor and kill it humanely

The kids are sad because we had to put our old dog down yesterday.

Put something down – to stop holding something and place it on a table, shelf…etc.

This book is so good, I can’t put it down!

Put your foot down – to be strict about something

You should put your foot down and make her stop behaving like that!

Put something down to something – attribute it to something

They put her promoting down to her relationship with her boss.

Put on – turn on

When I get home today, I’ll put the kettle on and have a nice cup of tea.

Put on – bet on

Don’t put all your money on one horse!

Put on weight – to gain weight, to become heavier

I haven’t seen you for a while and you look like you’ve put on a few pounds. Good for you!

Put out – to stop something from burning

It took the fire brigade all night to put out the fire in that factory.

Put children through college/ university – to pay for the kids to attend an institution

It’s becoming increasingly expensive to put the kids through university with the rise of tuition fees, books, rent and utility bills.

Put somebody through something – to make somebody experience something bad /difficult/ unpleasant

Our son put us through some rough times when he was in his teens: smoking weed, truancy, brawls etc.

Give – phrasal verb

Give away – give something as a present

They are giving away some free drinks this afternoon to attract new customers.

Give something away – to betray, to reveal

She gave her friend’s secret away to her husband.

Give in – to succumb to

The company gave in to the unions‘ relentless pressure.

Give in to somebody/something – to agree to do something you don’t want doing

He gave in to her wife’s pleading and call her mother to apologise.

Give off – to produce something (smell, light, etc.)

These roses are giving off a faint sweet smell.

Give up – stop doing something

You should give up smoking! It’s very bad for you.

Give something up to somebody – to hand over

Upon arrival, we’ve given up our travel documents to the local authorities.

Give up on somebody – stop hoping or believing that a person will change

His parents have given up on him a long time ago.

Look – phrasal verb

Look after – take care of

She looked after her little brother when their mother was in hospital.

Look at – examine something carefully

I’m going to look at that problem as soon as possible.

Look back on – think about something in the past

I often look back on my last holiday at the seaside.

Look for – search for something

He’s looking for a new flat to move into at the moment.

Look forward to – to be exited about something

They’re looking forward to their holiday in Kenya.

Look in (on somebody) – a short visit to a person’s home

You have to go and look in on your grandmother tomorrow.

Look into – examine a problem

He’ll look into it when he gets back from the business trip.

Look on – watch something without becoming involved

The people looked on in shock as the car swerved and hit the lamppost.

Look out – try to avoid danger

Look out for the oncoming traffic when crossing the road.

Look over – examine something to see how good it is

We looked the car over thoroughly before we bought it.

Look through somebody – ignore a person by pretending not seeing him/her

She just looked through me as I was approaching her on the street.

Look up – raise your eyes when looking down

We all looked up from our textbooks when she entered the room.

Look up to somebody – admire/respect somebody

I have always looked up to my older brother.

Keep – phrasal verb

Keep back – stay at a distance from

The onlookers kept back from the fire.

Keep back – make somebody to stay at a distance

The barriers and riot police kept protesters back from the politician.

Keep back – restrain a feeling/emotion

She couldn’t keep back the tears when she set her eyes on the cadaver.

Keep down – oppress

The people of Eastern Europe were kept down by communists for years.

Keep down – make something stay at a low level

We always try to keep the noise down when coming home after midnight.

Keep off – prevent from coming near

Visitors should keep off the grass.

Keep off – avoid something

I’m keeping off fatty food to lower my cholesterol level.

Keep off – avoid mentioning a subject

It is advisable to keep off politics in the pub.

Keep on – continue

Keep on until you come to the traffic lights.

Keep somebody on – continue to employ

He was kept on despite his errors.

Keep on about something – talk at length about a particular subject

She always keeps on about her new boyfriend.

Keep out – prevent from entering

Our gate is always locked to keep unwelcome visitors out.

Keep out of – avoid something

Try to keep out of trouble for a day, please.

Keep up – make stay at a high level

Distributors always try to keep the petrol price up as long as possible.

Keep up – continue at the same level

Keep up the good work.

Keep up – maintain something in a good condition (house,garden)

It’s very time-consuming to keep the garden up.

Keep up with – make the same rate of progress

I couldn’t keep up with the rest of the pack and fell behind.

Keep up with – continue to be in touch with

He doesn’t keep up with many college friends.

It’s difficult to keep up with all the news from around the world.

Keep away from – avoid going near

Keep away from the edge of the cliff when walking on the coast. It can be very treacherous.

Check – phrasal verb

Check in – to tell the official that you’ve arrived (at hotel, airport and such)

The passengers must check in 2 hours before the scheduled departure of the flight.

Check out – pay the bill in the hotel and leave

The guests are required to check out by 10am.

Check out – to be found to be true after examination

The police found that her story didn’t check out.

Check over – to examine something carefully

Check over you essay for mistakes before you hand it in.

Check up on – to find out that something is true or correct

The police checked up on my version of events.

Check up on somebody – make sure that the person is doing what he/she should

He’s gone to check up on his subordinates.