VERBS WITH PARTICLES Autor: Enrique Hinojosa

Be
- be about to (estar a punto de) They were about to study another lesson
- be after (intentar encontrar, querer) What are you after? Im after a good job
- be away (estar fuera de casa) Our neighbours are away since last weekend
- be back (estar de vuelta) Peter will be back next Saturday
- be down on (disgustar) Im down on him; he has such silly ideas
- be for (estar a favor de) Are you for the disarming of nuclear weapons?
- be in (estar en casa) He is not in at the moment
- be off (largarse / cancelar) Im off now, its getting late / The meeting is off
- be over (acabado) The exams are over now; we can relax
- be up to (hacer / depender de) What are you up to? / Its up to you, its your life

Blow
- blow out (extinguirse por el viento) He blew out all the candles of the cake
- blow up (explotar) The balloon blew up and the child started to cry

Break
- break down (romperse) My car broke down on the way home
- break in/into (entrar por la fuerza) The robbers broke into Mrs Smiths house
- break off (dividir, separar) He broke off a piece of the bread and threw it.
- break out (estallar) A terrible plague has broken out in Malasia again
- break up (romper relacin) My brother and his girlfriend have broken up

Bring
- bring back (recordar) The baby brought back memories of my own children
- bring down (reducir) They are bringing down the prices in the restaurant
- bring in (introducir) The hippies brought in a new way of dressing
- bring round (recuperar) Give her some smelling salts; it will bring her round
- bring up (vomitar / educar) She brought up the food / He was brought up in Peru

Call
- call back (devolver llamada) Ill call you back later
- call for (recoger) Ill call for you at 8 oclock tonight
- call off (cancelar) The meeting was called off as the chairman was ill
- call out (gritar) He called out to attract her attention
- call round (visitor) Sue is calling round tonight

Care/Carry
- not to care about (ser indiferente) He didnt care about the exam
- care for (cuidar) Its difficult to care for children
- carry on (continuar) Carry on with your work
- carry out (llevar a cabo) They didnt carry out the project

Clear
- clear out (vaciar) The place was cleared out after the earthquake
- clear up (aclarar, resolver) The problem will be soon cleared up
Close
- close down (cerrar permanentem.) The shop in the corner has closed down
- close up (acercarse, juntarse) The children were told to close up

Come
- come across (encontrarse con) He came across an old friend from High School
- come along (meter prisa) Come along! We are going to be late
- come in (entrar) He didnt want to come in and stayed outside
- come into (heredar) Hell come into a lot of money when his father dies
- come off (tener xito) Your plan didnt come off
- come out (emerger, salir) The truth will come out at the end
- come round (visitar) Why dont you come round for a drink on Sunday?
- come up (ser mencionado) His name didnt come up in the conversation

Cut/Do
- cut down (reducir, talar) The number of proofs was cut down
- cut off (desconectar) He cut me off on the phone by mistake
- do up (redecorar) The theatre was done up after the fire
- do without (arreglarselas sin) I cant do without my computer

Feel/Find/Fill/Fix
- feel up to (sentirse capaz) I dont feel up to doing this exerxise
- find out (descubrir) They finally found out who the criminal was
- fill in (rellenar) You have to fill in this questionnaire
- fix up (arreglar/organizar) You broke it and you must fix it up

Get
- get away (escapar) The prisoner got away from his guards
- get back (recuperar algo) I finally got my books back after two weeks
- get down (deprimirse) These grey days are getting me down
- get on (progresar) How are you getting on in Maths?
- get on with (llevarse con) She is a nice girl; she gets on well with everybody
- get out (salir, escapar) He got out from prison and was never found
- get over (recuperarse) He got over a bad heart attack
- get through (aprobar) He studied very hard and got through the finals
- get up (levantarse) I get up at seven am everyday

Give
- give away (desvelar) She gave away the secret and her friends got angry
- give back (devolver) You must give the exams back after seeing them
- give in (entregar) Time is up; you must give in your exams
- give out (distribuir) The teacher gave out some sheets with exercises
- give up (abandonar) He finally gave up smoking on his doctors advice

Go
- go away (irse de vacaciones) Are you going away this year?
- go back (regresar , volver) She forgot the key and had to go back home
- go by (pasar el tiempo) Many years have gone by since I finished my studies
- go off (caducar) That meat smells horrible; it must have gone off
- go off (explotar/saltar) The bomb went off in the nurses home
- go on (continuar / ocurrir) You must go on with the exam/Whats going on in here?
- go round (pasarse por) Ill go round in the afternoon to see you
- go through (examinar/saltarse) Well go through the questions again

Grow/Hang/Hand
- grow up (hacerse mayor) He has grown up very fast
- hang on (esperar) Hang on a moment. The doorbell is ringing
- hand in (entregar) You havent handed in your essay
- hand out (distribuir) The teacher handed out a lot of photocopies

Keep
- keep off (alejar) People must keep off the grass in public parks
- keep on (continuar) Keep on reading; Ill tell you when to stop
- keep out (prevenir entrada) They have a dog to keep out intruders

Lock/Look
- lock up (cerrar/encerrar) He was locked up in his room
- look after (cuidar de) You must look after your dog
- look back (mirar al pasado) You shouldnt look back; its useless
- look for (buscar) Have you seen my glasses? Im looking for them
- look forward to (esperar con ilusin) Im looking forward to next weekend
- look into (investigar) They are looking into the citys accounts
- look over/round (echar un vistazo) He looked over the article she had written
- look out (tener cuidado) Look out!! A car is coming.
- look up (consultar) I dont know what it means, Ill look it up
- look up to (respetar) He looked up to his father

Make/Move
- make out (entender) He speaks very fast; I cant make out what he is saying
- make up (inventarse) He made up a story that everybody believed
- make up (maquillarse) Most girls make up their faces nowadays
- make up (decidirse) You must make up your mind if you want to go or not
- move in (instalarse) The neighbours moved in last week
- move on (desplazarse) Move on, please; Id like to sit down

Pick
- pick out (elegir) She picked out the small one
- pick up (coger del suelo) He picked up his bag and got out
- pick up (recoger en coche) Can you pick me up at the station?

Put
- put away (guardar) Its time for dinner; so put your things away right now
- put by (ahorrar) He has put some money by for when he gets married
- put down (echar abajo) The rebellion was put down by the army
- put off (posponer) Dont put it off till tomorrow
- put on (ganar peso) I wonder how much weight she has put on
- put on (encender) She put the radio on
- put on (vestirse) You shouldnt put your hat on inside the office
- put out (extinguir) The fire finally was put out and the boy was saved
- put up (alojar) I didnt find a hotel and Susan put me up for that night
- put up with (aguantar) How can you put up with him?

Ring/Run
- ring off (colgar) He was angry and rang me off
- ring up (llamar) Ill ring you up when I get home
- run away (escapar) That prisoner has run away twice in a year
- run into (colisionar) He ran into a bus at the zebra crossing
- run out of (acabarse) I have run out of salt, Can you lend me some?
- run over (atropellar) We ran over a dog in the street

See/Sell/Set
- see off (despedir) Ill go to the airport to see you off
- sell out (agotarse) All the tickets were sold out
- set in (comenzar) It must be treated before infection sets in
- set off (salir, partir) They set off at dawn to avoid the traffic jams
- set out (exponer) Everything in the shop was so attractively set out
- set up (fundar, establecer) They set up their company ten years ago

Stand/Stay
- stand out (resaltar) Hes very tall; he stands out in that group of people
- stay up (no acostarse) She had a lot to study and stayed up all night

Take
- take after (parecerse) I take after my mother
- take down (desmontar) Take the shelves down before you leave
- take for (tomar por) What did you take me for, a fool?
- take in (engaar) I was completely taken in by his lies
- take off (despegar/quitarse) There was a problem and the plane couldnt take off
- take on (contratar) They took me on because I was a good worker
- take out (extraer) Ill have to go to the dentist and have a tooth taken out

Tell/Think/Try
- tell off (echar una bronca) My father told me off for getting home late
- think over (reflexionar) Ill think over it before I take a decision
- try on (probarse) Would you like to try these shoes on?

Turn
- turn down (rechazar / bajar) I was turned down for the army / Turn the radio down!!
- turn into (convertirse) The frog turned into a prince when she kissed it
- turn on/off (encender/apagar) Turn off the lights when you finish reading
- turn out (apagar) She didnt bother to turn out the light when she left
- turn out (resultar) He turned out to be a dangerous criminal
- turn over (considerer/girar) He was turning over the idea in his mind
- turn up (llegar, aparecer) We were waiting for him but he didnt turn up
- turn up (subir el volumen) Turn it up a little, I cant hear a thing

EXERCISES


1.- Complete these sentences using the verbs with particles below


a. __________________ !! Wait for me!!
b. If you dont know what it means, ________ it ________
c. Oh no! Weve ________________ petrol; we wont be able to get in time
d. Im like my father, but my brother ________________ my mother
e. Terrorists have ________________ the bridge
f. Ill be in London next week; Could you ________ me _______ for the night?
g. Could you ___________________ this form, please?
h. Hes got red hair & green eyes; he really _________________ in a crowd
i. He was ___________________ for handing his homework in late
j. Weve __________ the meeting ______ until tomorrow.
k. What are you __________________? My glasses: I lost them yesterday
l. The dog was __________________ by a lorry and it was killed
m. The plane __________________ and flew into the setting sun
n. Ill _______ some money ________ for the Christmas presents
o. She ______________________ my cats while I was on holiday
p. Could you ________ it _______ a bit? I cant hear the news
q. Dont forget to _______ the lights ______ when you leave
r. He _________________ his computer company in 1982
s. What time do you usually __________________ ?
t. He still hasnt ____________________ his wifes death.
u. What time shall we _________________ tomorrow? About 6 should be OK
v. He _______________ all the candles in the cake and we started to eat it
w. I wonder if you could ________ me _______ when the lesson finishes
x. I ______________________ in a little village in the country
y. All the actors & actress must ________________ very well before acting




take off turn up stand out hang on turn off
put off run out look up set up set off
grow up put up fill in tell off look for
blow up take after get up get over look after
put by blow out pick up run over make up










2.- Complete the sentences with the appropriate particle


1. I was brought ______ in the countryside
2. The government has promised to bring ______ taxes
3. Doesnt he take __________ his father?
4. He was completely taken ______ by his son
5. The plane took ______ two hours late
6. Well have to take ______ more staff if there is more work
7. This weather is really getting me ______
8. The robbers got _______ with several thousand pounds
9. She got _________ all her exams successfully
10. We should set ______ before dawn
11. Please put ________ all your toys at once
12. Theyve put _______ making their decision for another week
13. The firemen quickly put ______ the fire
14. How can you put _______ such rudeness?
15. Please come _______ to my house one of these days
16. I came _________ an old friend while walking in the street
17. Whats going _____ in here??
18. When do the exam results come ______ ??
19. His jokes didnt come _____ and we didnt laugh
20. He has always looked _______ his elder brother
21. I must leave; so, youll have to look _____ your sister
22. Im looking ________ starting work again
23. The police are looking ______ the case
24. The car broke ______ again this morning
25. Burglars broke _____ our house while we were on holiday
26. She turned _____ their offer of promotion
27. Who do you think turned _____ last night??
28. Turn ____ the lights please, I cant see very well
29. Turn ____ the page and read the next exercise
30. He took me ____ an idiot; I dont want to talk to him
31. I ran _____ a traffic light while I was looking back
32. Ill tell you the secret but please dont give it _______
33. I dont like when he makes _____ all those terrifying stories
34. He hasnt worked since he came ______ a lot of money from his family
35. I dont know how you can do ______ your mobile phone
36. Close ____ a little bit so that everyone can get in
37. The match was called ____ because of the rain
38. Dont visit me next week; Ill be _____
39. Sit down! The film is ______ start
40. He broke _____ a piece of paper and wrote a message
41. They ran _____ me when I was getting out of the cinema
42. The teacher was reading a book and the pupils were putting everything _____
43. Dont throw any papers on the floor; please, pick them ____



3.- Look at the examples and complete the questions using phrasal verbs





4.- Complete the sentences, using these phrasal verbs in the correct tense


come across get up set off sleep in live on
speak up hurry up go out look out go back
look round get over look after take after stay in
break down


1 My washing machine ____________ this morning so I had to do all the washing by hand.
2 The train leaves at 5.45 so I think we should ______________ at 5.00.
3 I'd like to ________ tonight but I've got a lot of work to do so I should ___________
4 Please ____________! . We're going to be late.
5 Oh good. I don't have to _________ early for work tomorrow so I can ____________
6 I'm sorry but my hearing is not very good. Could you please ___________?
7 ____________! You're going to hit that car.
8 I had a holiday in Malaysia last year and it was beautiful. I'd love to ____________
9 He was unhappy after his girlfriend left him but now he is starting to ___________ it.
10 We're going on holiday next month. We must find someone to ___________ the plants.
11 I know you saw this part of the town but you should also _____________ the old part!!
12 We were going to college when we __________________ some dancers in the street.
13 He's very good at sport and his mother is, too. He _________________ her.
14 She loves acting but she can't ________________ the money she earns from it.




5.- Rewrite these sentences substituting the underlined words with a phrasal verb

look up put down fix up give away ring up
turn on put away work out turn off put off
make up put out take off go on

1 I usually telephone my sister at the weekend for a chat

2 These clothes are too small for Andrew. I should give them to someone else

3 I don't know the meaning of this word. I must find it in the dictionary

4 We should talk about this problem. Can we arrange a meeting?

5 Your room looks terrible, James. Why don't you put your clothes into the cupboard?

6 Would you like to put your bag on the floor?

7 This problem is really difficult. Could you help me solve it?

8 OK, we're ready. Would you start the machine, please?

9 Marie can't come. She wants to delay the meeting until Monday.

10 The machine is too noisy. Could you stop it working, please?

11 I can probably continue like this for a few months

12 Remove your shoes before entering this place

13 You cant smoke in here; please, extinguish your cigarette

14 The teacher told us to invent a story



6.- Fill the gaps to complete the phrasal verb in each sentence