Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs Reference
PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal Verb Definition Definición Example
abide by [sth] follow rules,respect law,obey acatar,atenerse He should understand that if he wants to continue studying at this school he must abide by its rules
account for [sth] explain explicar, justificar He has to account for the money stolen from the safe
ache for [sb/sth] want something or someone a lot anhelar, ansiar After many years abroad, Bob ached for his homeland.My partner's been away for a fortnight, I am aching
for him
act on/ upon [sth] start doing something because you reaccionar ante The officers were acting on the instructions of their headquarters
have received the information, tip or
advice
act out [sth] when someone expresses feeling externalizar sentimientos Jake was acting out his anxieties in aresive way
through behavior
act up behave or function improperly (child: portarse mal un niño, no funcionar I think I need to take my car to the mechanic because it's acting up again. Charlie is acting up again. He
misbehave or machine: malfunction) bien una máquina has split the milk and pretend to be innocent
add up [sth]/add [sth] up calculate a sum sumar I added up the receipts and it totaled $135.46.
add up to equal an amount ascender a una suma de The total expenses added up to $325.00.
add up to make sense tener sentido Her story doesn't add up. I think she is lying.
advise against [sth] recommend not to do something no recomendar, desaconsejar I'd advise against that course of action.
allow for [sth] consider or include something when tener en cuenta A certain amount had been included in the estimates. to allow for currency fluctuations and inflation.We
you are making plans or judging a have to allow for that possibility
situation
allow of [sth] make possibe,permit admitir The rules don't allow off any exceptions.
answer [sb] back reply imprudently responder de mala manera If she gets bossy, answer her back.
answer for [sth] face the consequences of an act asumir las consecuencias de He's committed a crime and he'll be forced to answer for it.
appeal to [sb] be attractive gustar, atraer It is the film's intense love story that appeals to teenage girls.
appeal to [sb] for [sth] ask for help recurrir a alguien para, acudir a Tom tried to appea to the top manager but didn´t receive any answer.
alguien para
apply for [sth] make a request (very formal) solicitar John applied for a new job
ask [sb] for forgieness plead to be perdoned suplicar perdón It's sometimes better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.
ask [sb] out/ ask [sb] out invite on a date invitar a salir I can't believe that Joe finally asked me out on a date!
ask [sb] over/round invite to one's home invitar a casa Why don't we ask the Johnsons over for dinner?
ask about [sth] request information preguntar acerca de The journalist was asking about the director's latest film.
ask after [sb/sth] ask for information about someone, interesarse por la saud de alguien I ran into your old friends Vicki and Peter yesterday, and they asked after you.
especialy about their health
ask around consult many people pregunta por ahí , consutar Ask around to find out which are the best schools
ask for request pedir, solicitar I have to ask for a short break.
1
auction off [sth]/ auction sell at an auction subastar To settle the bankrupts' debt, they are going to auction off all of his belongings.
[sth] on
back away retreat or go backwards alejarse The crowd backed away when the man puled a knife
back down stop defending your opinion in a echarse atrás Jane never backs down. She always wins arguments.
debate or admit that you are wrong or
that you have been defeated
back off stop being involved in a situation no intrometerse She asked him to back off and give her some space
especially in order to allow other
people to deal with themselves
back onto [sth] if a building is back on to [sth], its por detrás de un edificio The house backs on to the golf course
backs faces that thing
back out not keep (a promise, agreement,deal) echarse atrás Sam backed out at the last second.
back out of not keep (a promise, agreement, deal) echarse atrás Sam backed out of the agreement at the last second.
back up move backwards, reverse marcha atrás Could you back up a little so I can open this drawer.
back up [sb] / back [sb] up say that someone is telling the truth corroborar The accused man insisted that his wife would back up his story and give him an alibi.
back up [sb] / back [sb] up give support respaldar a, apoyar a Go ahead and tell the boss just what happened; I'll back you up on it.
back up [sth]/ back [sth] make a copy of computer information hacer una copia de seguridad It is advisable to back up all the files on your computer regularly, in case of breakdown.
up so that you do not lose
bail out [sb] rescue or help someone echar un cable You can't expect your big brother to bail you out whenever you have a problem.
bang into [sth] knock against someting, usually by darse contra,chocarse contra If we get bored, we can turn off the big light and watch the ships bang into each other
accident (collide with)
bank on [sth] depend on something happening contar con que suceda un hecho I'm banking on the stock market recovering; otherwise I won't have enough retirement funds.
bargain over [sth]/ haggle over price regatear el precio The two farmers went back and forth bargaining over the cow.
bargain [sth] over
bargain for/ on [sth] expect somethin to happen and to be tener en cuenta, prever When I married my wife, I hadn't bargained for the fact that her mother would also come to live with us.
prepared for it
barge in enter uninvited and interrupt entrometerse That boy has a habit of barging in whenever I am talking to my gardener.
bash in [sth] break by hitting echar abajo tirar abajo As I couldn't find the key to the shed, I had to bash the door in.
bawl out [sb]/bawl [sb] out tell someone angrily that something increpar a gritos The sergeant was bawling out one of the new recruits.
they have done is wrong
be booked [sth] up resere fully estar completo There was no room at the hotel; they were completely booked up for the summer.
be caught up in [sth] be engrossed in something estar absorto My mother was caught up in her book and didn't notice what we were doing.
be caught up in [sth] find yourself involved in a situation verse envuelto en Unwittingly, he had got caught up in a corruption scandal inside the company he was working for.
often when you do not want to be
be dead set against [sth]/ be opposed to doing or having oponerse rotundamente a algo I was dead set against any kind of a seance.
doing [sth] something
be dying for [sth] wanting stronly morirse por algo She was dying for a cigarette but didn't want to go outside.
2
be getting at [sth] insinuate,implying,hinting at insinuando What are you getting at, Doctor?
be hung up obsessed obsesionado Because you're so hung up on money, I was afraid I'd never know how you felt about me.
be littered with [sth] if something is littered with something, estar lleno de algo, estar plagado de Your flat must be littered with stray cats and dogs.
it contains a lot of something algo
be mixed up in [sth] be involved in an illegal or unpleasant involucrado He was mixed up in all those insurance scandals before the national health service.
activity, involved, engaged
be off leae a place, depart irse Tomorrow I´m off to Paris
be partied out have had enough of parties because harto de fiestas I'm a bit partied out.
you have been to so many
be pressed for [sth] have very little or not enough of andar muy escaso de dinero o tiempo Captain Kirk is pressed for time at the moment, Marta.
something, especially time or money
be snowed in/up there is so much snow that you can quedar aislado por la nieve I suspect we'll be snowed in by tomorrow.
not travel anywhere
be snowed under have so much work that you have estar agobiado de trabajo I've just been really snowed under with work.
problems dealing with it
be taken up with [sth] be very busy doing something, estar ocupado All my spare time is taken up with household chores
occupied
be tied up busy ocupado Due to the project I'm working on I'll be tied up until next week.
be tucked away be concealed or obscured estar bien guardado I have a few dollars tucked away for a rainy day.
bear up withstand, endure something dificult sobrellevar I didn't think he would bear up so well in that situation.
bear up under withstand,cope with something difficult sobrellevar How did he bear up under such extreme pressure.
or stressful
bear with [sb] be patient tener paciencia Please bear with me while I fill out the paperwork.
beat down sun: shine brighty and hot, rain: pour caer un sol de justicia,caer chuzos de The rain beat down so hard on the apple tree that in the morning half of the apples were on the ground.
rain punta
beat down [sb/sth]/ beat negotiate lower price from regatear el precio Amy beat the seller down to £20 for the vase.
[sb/sth] down
beat up [sb]/ beat [sb] up hurt someone badly by hitting or dar una paliza A group of youths beat Henry up.
kicking them again and again
bend down our body, lean over agacharse The mother bent down to tie the child's shoe laces.
bend over lean forward inclinarse James dropped his pen, so he bent over to pick it up.
bend over backwards to Do a lot to try to help or please partirse la espalda, hacer lo imposible Every person in this town bends over backwards to make Bianca feel at home.
do [sth] someone para agradar aalguien
big up [sb/sth] exagerate the importance exaltar He big himself up all the time
bite back [sth]/ bite [sth] suppress response morderse la engua He bit back a groan.
back
black out lose conciousness desmayarse He felt sick suddenly while jogging and blacked out in the street
3
blend in/into [sth] be camouflaged camuflarse I thought my cat was lost, but he had just blended in among all the stuffed animals on my daughter's bed.
bliss out become or make someone become estar en la loria He's just blissed out because he has the secret to enlightenment.
totally happy and relaxed
blow away carry off by the wind ser arrastrado por e viento The wind blew the dollar bill away.
blow away [sb]/ blow [sb] impress greatly deslubrar a alguien The candidate blew her interviewer away.
away
blow down [sth]/ blow [sth] when the wind forces something to fall derribar por el viento The wind blew down our swing set and shade umbrella.
down
blow in visit unexpectedly (inf.) aparecer de visita inexperadamente My cousin blew in unexpectedly with his entire family.
blow out entinguish apagar soplando She blew out the candles on her birthday cake.
blow over clouds: pass, disappear dispersarse The clouds blew over and the sun came out.
blow over argument, etc.: be forgotten pasar al olvido Let's hope that the dispute will soon blow over.
blow up suddenly become very angry cabrearse When Joan heard the news, she blew up and rushed out of the room.
blow up explode estallar, explotar,volar por los aires The bomb blew up before they could defuse it.
blow up [sth]/ blow [sth] make explode;destroy using detonar, hacer estallar The terrorists blew the bridge up.
up explosives
boil over when a hot liquid spills out of a derramarse al hervir Make sure that the water in the saucepan doesn't boil over.
container
bond with [sb] get emotionally closer intimar con, establecer vinculos con It didn't take long for Janet to bond with her foster parents.
boot up [sth]/ boot [sth] up load the operating system, swicht on a encender Darling, you need to boot up the laptop first
computer
bottle out suddenly decide not to do something rajarse They bottled out of doing it
because you are afraid
bottle up [sth]/ bottle [sth] repress: feelings, energy reprimir It is not emotionally or physically healthy to bottle up one's emotions.
uprepress: feelings,
energy
bounce back person: recover quickly recuperarse He was dangerously ill at one point but he bounced back quickly.
bowl over [sb]/ bowl [sb] astound, amaze dejar impresionado My colleagues' kindness following my car accident really bowled me over.
over
branch out business expand, move into a different expandirse, diversificarse The company is branching out to South East Asia. The business has recently branched out into providing
area of business,start doing something other services.
different from what you usually do in
your job
break away (from [sth]) stop being part of a group because desvincularse, (distanciarse de) Two of the members of the band broke away to form a band of their own.
you disagree with them
break down stop working properly averiarse, romperse The truck broke down in the desert.
4
break down become mentally ill or weak romper a llorar She broke down after her husband died.
break down [st]/ break analyze in detail descomponer, desglosar, analizar We need to break this problem down in order to solve.
[sth] down
break in enter a place unlawfully echar abajo la puerta The burglar broke in between midnight and 3 AM.
break in enter by force forzar la entrada Thieves broke in and raided the safe.
break in interrupt irrumpir While we were discussing the situation, Terri broke in to give her opinion.
break in [sth]/ break [sth] wear or use something new until it is amoldar I need to break these shoes in before I go hiking.
in comfortable ,
break in on interrupt (a conversation) interrumpir una conversacion Jane broke in on the conversation and told us to get back to work.
break off [sth]/ break [sth] end something terminar, poner fin Sally broke her engagement to John off.
off
break out appear violently spots on skin salir granos, salir manchas I ate too much sugar and now I'm breaking out. My face broke out right before my date with Steve!
break out use something extravagant for descorchar el champagne He broke out the champagne to celebrate his promotion.
celebration
break out escape escaparse de algo The murderer broke out of the prison.
break up end a relationship terminar una relacion Sam and Diane broke up again. What a rocky relationship.
break up [sth]/ break [up] break into pieces hacer pedazos I broke the cracker up into pieces and put it in the soup.
sth]
break up [sth]/ break [up] disperse (a crowd), stop (a fight) separar,dispersar,disover, desarticular The police broke the demonstration up before it got out of control.
sth]
brighten up become more cheerful animarse Those flowers are so beautiful they just brighten up the whole house.
brighten up the sky becomes lighter and the sun despejarse The weather was cloudy in the morning, but it has brightened up now.
start to shine
brighten up [sth]/ brighten make cheerfuly attractive embellecer, realzar la belleza A little blush and some highlights in your hair, dear, will do wonders to brighten you up.
[sth] up
bring [sb]around change someone's mind, convince convencer, persuadir She doesn't want to go, but we'll eventually bring her around.
someone
bring about [sth]/ bring cause to happen,make something provocar, ocasionar Democracy brought about great change in the lives of the people.
[sth] about happen
bring [sb] to revive consciousness hacer volver en si We used smelling salts to bring her to after she fainted.
bring [sth] away learn or gain (from an experience) experiencia que me levo My trip across the Sahara was difficult, but I brought a new appreciation for life away from the experience.
bring along [sth/sb]/bring bring with traer consigo When we go to the forest, bring your wildlife guide along.
[sth/sb] along
bring back [sth]/ bring [sth] revive memories evocar Listening to that song brings back happier days.
back
bring down cause demise caer , derribar Domestic energy markets must improve their competitiveness in particular to bring down prices.
5
bring down [sb]/ bring [sb] to cause people in position of power to derrocar His articles helped bring down the last dictator.
down lose their position, overthrow, topple
bring forward [sth]/ bring reshedule for earlier adelantar en la agenda But because of you, I'm forced to bring forward the deadline for her execution.
[sth] forward
bring off[sth] / bring [sth] succeed at something difficult or llevar a buen término You robbed the bank! I can't believe you brought that off.
off unexpected
bring up [sb]/ bring [sb] up raise ( a child) criar , educar Sam was brought up in South Carolina.
bring up [sth]/ bring [sth] raise ( a subject) sacar un tema I didn't want to bring up the fact that she was unemployed.
up
bring up [sth]/ bring [sth] vomit vomitar, devoler The baby is ill and keeps bringing up her food.
up
brush aside [sb/sth] dismiss, not consider no hacer caso, dejar de lado There are no easy answers; nor can we brush aside the problems.
brush off [sb]/ brush [sb] ignore something or someone (inf.) ningunear a alguien Mary brushed her ex-boyfriend off at the party.
off
brush up on [sth] refresh your knowledge repasar, refrescar Jessica need to brush up her french if she wants to live in Paris
bubble over be very excited and enthusiastic no caber de felicidad The crowd's joy bubbled over when Dembele scored the winning goal.
build on [sth] use a succes or achivement as a base basarse en The artist built the house on a hill overlooking the bay.
from which to achive more success
build up [sth]/build [sth] up develop a company desarrollar Johnson gradually built up his business empire.
bump into [sb/sth] meet someone unexpectedly encontrarse con alguien Guess who I bumped into at the supermarket?
burn down burn until completely gone (building) incendiarse Two buildings burnt down in the fire.
burn down [sth]/ burn [sth] destroy by setting fire to arrasar con un incendio The children burned the house down while playing with matches.
down
burn off [sth]/ burn [sth] off use or get rid of energy agotar energia Or whatever else it takes to burn off some testosterone.
burst into [sth] star crying, aughing or singing empezar a llorar, apauidir, a arder The bus burst into flames, trapping the passengers inside.
butt in interrupt a conversation or discussion entrometerse Please stop butting in. You'll have a turn to speak.
or someone who is talking
buy [sth]out/ buy [sb] out buy the shares of a company or the adquirir el total o parte de una Pacific Inc. was bought out by a company from Oregon.
shares the other person owns of a empresa
business
buy into [sth] completely believe in a ser of ideas convencer It is difficult trying to get people to buy into the idea.
buy up [sth]/ buy [sth] up purchase the entire supply of comprar todo, acaparar We bought up all the beer in the store.
something
call around visit visitar Peter said that he would call round sometime this afternoon.
call back [sb]/ call [sb] up return a phone call devolver la llamada I'll call her back later.
call for [sb] go and collect someone to take them recoger a alguien I'll call for you at seven, so be ready because the film starts at half past.
out
call for [sth] demand,request,require (as in a exigir, requerir The senator called for an investigation. The judge's bailiff called for silence in the courtroom.This recipe
recipe) calls for milk, not water.
6
call in on [ sb] visit a person for a short time, usually pasarse a ver a alguien We can call in on James on the way home
while you are going somewhere else
call off [sth]/ call [sth] off cancel something (meeting) cancelar, suspender They called the picnic off because of the rain.
call off [sth]/ call [sth] off order to stop (an invasion, guard dogs) ordenar a alguien o algo parar He called off the dogs when he saw it was his neighbor.
call on [sb] visit hacer una visita Mark called on Naomi while he was in town.
call on/upon [sb] to do invite someone to speak in a meeting ceder o pasar la palabra Professor Tanzer called on Tim to answer the question.
[sth] or for help or a classroom
call up [sb]/ call [sb] up telephone dar un toque I called Sam up to see if he wanted to go to the movies.
calm down [sb]/ calm [sb] stop being angry or emotionally camarse You can calm the baby down by rocking her gently.
down excited
can´t/ couldn´t get over recover from a surprise no creerse I can´t get oer howmuch he´s change
cannot get over do not believe no lo puedo creer I can't get over how much he's changed
care for [sth/sb] nurse someone or something,look cuidar He cared for the bird until its wing healed.
after
care for [sth/sb] like someone or something sentirse atraido,tener afecto I don't care for sour cream on my potato.
carry on continue (a conversation, a game) continuar haciendo algo Please, carry on. I didn't mean to interrupt you.
carry on about [sth] continue in an annoying way continuar haciendo algo que te He kept carrying on about how much money he makes.
molesta
carry on with [sb] have an affair tener un lío
carry on with [sth] continue seguir con, continuar con I want you to carry on with the project while I am out of town.
carry out [sth]/ carry [sth] complete and,or accomplish [sth] levar a cabo He never carried out his intention to write to her.The secret agent carried out his orders exactly as
out planned.
carry over [sth]/ carry [sth] continue on a subsequent day, page, posponer The meeting carried over into lunch time.
over etc, postpone
cast [sb/sth] out banish expulsar Exorcism is a ceremony for casting out demons.
catch on slowly start to understand (inf.) captar, comprender He caught on after a few minutes.
catch on become popular ponerse de moda Do you think that the practice of people sewing their own clothing will ever catch on again?
catch up make up for lost time recuperar el tiempo perdido I will never catch up. I am too behind in my work.
catch up on [sth] become up-to-date ponerse a día I need to catch up on world events. I haven't seen the news in ages.
catch up with [sb] speed up to be at the same place as a dar alcance, alcanzar I had to run to catch up with the others.
person or thing in front of you
catch up with [sb] meet someone you know after not reencontrarse It was a pleasure to catch up with everyone at the family reunion.
seeing them for a peiod of time
charge up [sth]/ charge renew battery power recargar It is so annoying that I have to charge up my cordless drill every twenty minutes if I want it to work well.
[sth]up
7
chase up [sb] ask someone to do something that recordar algo a alguien I'll chase him up about it
they said they would do but that they
hae not done yet
chase up [sth] Try to get more information about the investigar, recabar información I didn´t get a reply so I have been chasing them up
progress of something
chase up [sth] Try to get someone to pay a bill, debt, recamar el cobro I chased her up as she hadn´t paid for seeral months
etc
chat up [sb]/ chat [sb]up Talk to someone you are sexually tratar de ligar When he goes to restaurants, he always tries to chat up the waitresses.
interested in to get them interested in
you ,try to pick up
cheat on [sb] be sexually unfaithful to poner los cuernos Carol admitted that she had cheated on her husband.
check [sth] through send luggage through (to a facturar Your luggage will be checked through to Paris.
destination)
check back return to see if everything is OK verificar We will check back tomorrow to make sure the project is finished.
check by go to a place to see if everything is OK ir a un sitio a comprobar algo We need to check by the office to see if the documents are ready.
check in [sth] show your ticket at the airport , or facturar,registrarse, hacer el check in They need to check in before noon. What time may we check in to our hotel room?
register at he hotel
check into [sth] investigate, look for (often through a averiguar si hay We are checking into discount flights to London.
service)
check into [sth] enter a hospital, hotel etc. registrar They checked into the hotel at 11:00 AM.
check it out look echa un vistazo Check it out, man! That car's just too cool.
check off [sth] make a mark next to (an item on a list) marcar, tidar Check each name off the list.
check on [sth] make sure something is OK verificar Let's check on the baby again before we go to sleep.
check out leave a hotel (sign out), hospital dejar el hotel u hospital It's already eleven. We need to check out.
check out [sth] try to verify verificar, comprobar The inspector checked out the suspect's alibi by questioning his friends.
check over [sth]/ check examine something or someone to revisar I always check over the engine carefully before a long car journey. He checked over the old car to see if it
[sth] over make sure that they are correct, was worth buying.
healthy or working properly
check up on [sb/sth] investigate someone or something investigar, indagar The police are checking up on the bomb threats.
check with ask a person for confirmation pedir permiso He needs to check with his parents before he goes.
cheer [sb] up make someone feel cheerful levantar el ánimo The party really cheered me up.
cheer up become cheerful animarse Cheer up. Everything will be all right.
chew out [sb]/chew [sb] reprimand, criticize someone angrily echar una bronca The coach chewed out the player who dropped the pass.
out
chew over [sth] think about a discuss thoroughly refaxionar, discutir David chewed over the matter for a few days before making a decision.
chew up [sth] / chew [sth] chew into small pieces masticar The dog chewed up my shoe.
up
8
chicken out lose courage ser un galina He was planning to ask her to the dance, but then he chickened out.
chill out reax reajarse I like to chill out in front of the television with a glass of wine and some nibbles. My friend was upset and
uptight so I told him to chill out.
chip away at [sth] decrease gradually minar, socavar The bullying he was subjected to throughout his childhood chipped away at his self-confidence.
choke on [sth] have stuck in one's throat ahogarse con, atragantarse The old man choked on his food and almost turned blue before the waiter arrived to help him.
chop [sth] up chop,cut into small bits picar He chopped the meat up into little pieces.
chop down [sth] fell,cut ( a tree) talar, cortar The lumberjack chopped the tree down.
clam up deny to speak cerrar el pico Once he realizes everyone is listening to him, he will clam up.
clamp down be strict, enforce rules tomar medidas drásticas There is a big problem with dangerous driving on this stretch of road, but the police are clamping down.
clean up tidy up thoroughly and throw away limpiar Susan cleaned the mess up before she left.
unwanted things
clear off go away pirarse , largarse Josie's little brother was annoying her, so she told him to clear off.
clear off [sth]/ clear [sth] remoe clutter from despejar, limpiar If you clear off the dining table, we can play cards there.
off
clear out leave a place ( inf.) irse, desalojar Everybody clear out! We're closed.
clear out [sth] / clear [sth] make a place tidy by removing things limpiar We need to clear all the junk out of the attic.
out that are unwnted, remove clutter
clear up weather: improve despejarse el día The weather soon cleared up and the sun came out.
clear up [sth] tidy up ordenar, poner en orden I´d better clear up the mess before left
clock in/ on record the time you arrive at work fichar Steven clocks in at 7 every morning. Don't forget to clock in when you get to work.
clock out/ off Record the time you leave work fichar salida Steven clocks out at 7 every morning. Don't forget to clock in when you get to work.
clog up [sth]/ clog [sth] up block taponar Pouring melted fat down the drain will clog up the pipes. The rush hour clogs up the freeway.
close down close permanently clausurar, cerrar The bar was closed down because they served alcohol to minors.
close down [sth] close a place permanently clausurar, cerrar The corner market closed down because they didn't have many customers.
close in on [sb/sth] approach and threaten cercar a alguien The rebels were closing in on the capital, so the government called in the army.
close up close temporarily echar el cierre del dia The ski resort is closing up for the summer.
close up [sth] close temporarily cerrar el cierre del día They are closing the ski resort up for the summer.
cloud over sky, weather: go cloudy nublarse The day started fine and sunny, but by midday it began to cloud over, and by late afternoon it was raining
hard.
come trought feeing: be perceptible anifestarse, hacerse patente un Though he tried to remain calm when the robber drew his gun, his fear came through in his trembling
sentimiento hand.
come about occur , happen ocurrir suceder How did you idea for the book come about.
come across [sb/sth] discover by accident, encounter by toparse con, encontrarse con They came across some lost Mayan ruins in the jungle.
accident
9
come across as [sth] initially seem or have the appearance dar a impresión de He comes across as rather rude, but he isn't.
come along arrive at a place llear, aparecer , presentarse Suddenly, two buses came along at the same time
come along progress progresar How's the research paper coming along.
come along with [sb] accompany venir con, acompañar a Sam came along with us to the beach.
come apart fall in pieces deshacerse, caerse a pedazos Te antique picture frame come apart in my hands
come around visit dejarse caer, pasarse If you come round later, we can do our homework together.
come around become concious again recobrar la conciencia The nurse was with me when I came around after the operation
come around to [sth] revise your opinion dejarse convencer Steve eventually came round to my opinion.
come away from [sth] leave a place with a particular feeling marcharse , salir I came away from the meeting feeling like the presentation was a success.
or impression
come back return volver, regresar What time are you coming back?
come before [sb] appear in court comparecer ante His case came before the courts
come by visit a person at their house pasarse a ver a alguien I'll come by later this afternoon.
come by [sth] get, receive, obtain adquirir , conseguir How did you come by that new Mercedes?
come down with [sth] become sick with caer enfermo He came down with the flu.
come forward go to the police presentarse a la poicia The investigators pleaded for anyone with information about the crime to come forward.
come in enter, go indoors entrar, pasar Please come in the door is open
come in finish race: in nth place llegar, terminar una carrera I don't care if I win the race, I just don't want to come in last.
come in handy proe useful ser util, enir bien I always keep paper clips in my wallet; you never know when they'll come in handy.
come into [sth] inherit heredar He came into a large sum of money when his aunt died.
come off be a success resutar, dar resutado Barbara said I should, and I didn't think it would come off
come off it! skeptical vamos venga ! Come off it! Do you honestly expect me to run a marathon?
come out appear aparecer I didn't see the car at first. It came out of nowhere.
come out be published salir a la venta His new novel comes out this autumn
come out reveal you are homosexual salir del armario Sam finally came out last month.
come out with [sth] produce and distribute a product sacar a mercado Microsoft is coming out with a new video game system next month.
come over visit someone at their house visitar a alguien a su casa Why don't you come over after work for dinner.
come over [sb] emotion: affect inadir la emoción I don't know what's come over me, but I can't stop crying.
come through for [sb] do what is needed or expected hacer lo que haga falta, hacer lo Terry really came through for us in the end.
necesario
come to regain consciousness recuperar la conciencia Don't worry! She faints all the time. She always comes to after a few minutes.
come to [sth] amount ascender de dinero how much does it come to?
10
come up topic: be raised, mentioned sair un tema en una conversacion The senator knew that questions about his campaign would come up.
come up against [sb/sth] encounter: opposition, obstacle tropezar con she came up against complete opposition to her proposals
come up to approach; to equal cumplir las expectativas, estar a la The job offer didn't come up to her expectations.
altura
come up with [sth] produce or create, devise, invent (an inventarse, eaborar She came up with a great proposal for the new advertising campaign.
idea, a plan)
come with include (an accessory) venir con The computer system doesn't come with a printer.
cool down [sb/sth]/ cool make less hot enfriar Give the cookies ten minutes to cool down.
[sb/sth] down
cool down/off [sb/sth]/ become less angry sosegarse There's no point in arguing about it. We won't solve anything until you cool off.
cool [sb/sth] down/off
coud do with sb:would like venir bien, hacer falta I could do with a cup of tea. Would you mind making one?
count in [sb/sth]/ count include contar con Did you count expenses in?
[sb/sth] in
count out [sb/sth]/ count exclude no contar con You can count James out. He hates playing poker.
[sb/sth] out
count on/upon [sb] depend,rely on, trust confiar en alguien You can really count on Sarah.
crack down on [sth] become tougher on, better enforce tomar medidas severas The police have been cracking down on drunk driving.
laws on
crack up laugh uncontrollably, laugh a lot partirse de risa When I told the joke, they all cracked up.
crop up appear suddenly salir de la nada Problems started cropping up when we installed the new software.
cross out [sth]/ cross [sth] draw a line through something, tachar Why did you cross my name out on the list?
out eliminate
crow about/ over [sth] brag about alardear de, jactarse de Steve is crowing about his perfect test score.
cuddle up with [sb/sth] snuggle next to acurrucarse Nancy cuddled up with her favorite doll and fell asleep.
cut [sth] out stop an action deja de hacer eso Cut it out! You're bothering me.
cut [sb/sth] down to size criticize, find fauts bajar los humos Rick was cocky at first, but his new teammates cut him down to size.
cut [sb] off interrupt someone while they were interrumpir, cortar a alguien She cut him off before he said something he would regret later.
speaking
cut [sb] off estrange, disown repudiar a alguien,distanciarse de The parents cut off their alcoholic son and he wasn't even mentioned in their will.
alguien
cut [sth] out remove by cutting extraer He cut the bone out of the steak.
cut down decrease the amount of bajar el consumo You eat too much fat. You need to cut down.
cut down on [sth] decrease the amount of reducir el consumo de You need to cut down on your fat intake.
cut in disconned desconectar We've been cut off
cut in on a conversation interrupt interrumpir una conersación She cut in on the conversation and delivered the news.
11
cut off [sth]/ cut [sth] off sever ( with a knife) amputar His finger was accidentally cut off in an industrial accident.
cut out stop working an engine machine, or dejar de funcionar una maquina o One of the plane's engines cut out, so they had to land with only one.
piece of equipment suddenly vehiculo
cut up [sth]/ cut [sth] up cut into small pieces cortar en pedazos He cut the beef up and put the pieces in the soup.
date back to [sth] exist since datar de, existir de, remontarse a The fossils dated back to the Precambrian eon.
dawn on/ upon [sb] become apparent percatarse, darse cuenta de All of a sudden, the enormity of what I had done dawned on me. Suddenly it dawned on her that her
(passive) remarks might have been offensive to the others
deal with [sth] handle, cope with idiar con,ocuparse de, encargarse I can't deal with all this stress right now.
deal with [sth] sort out, solve solucionar, resolver un probema The problem was brought to my attention and I dealt with it.
deal with [sth] be concerned with tratar de, ocuparse de This book deals with history.
deceive [sb] into doing fool into doing engañar a alguien para que haga algo The positive feedback I was getting from my boss deceived me into thinking I would get the promotion.
[sth]
deliver on fulfil, go through with cumplir Mark is very reliable, as he always delivers on his promises.
depend on/ upon [sb/sth] trust confiar en alguien I depended on her ability to keep a secret.
die away diminish in intensity, fade difuminarse, desanecerse The applause died away after 5 minutes.
die down diminish in intensity ir apaándose The controversy about the president's affair finally died down.
die off/out become extinct extinguirse Whales are in danger of dying off.
dig in start a meal eating greedily hincar el diente My mouth watered when I smelled my mom's homemade apple pie and I was ready to dig in.
dig out [sth]/ dig [sth] out remove from te ground desenterrar Start transplanting the tree by digging out its whole root ball.
dine in eat at home cenar en casa Tell him I want to dine in his home.
dine out eat at restaurant salir a cenar I don't want to cook so I guess we'll dine out instead.
dip into [sth] make use of saings echar mano de los ahorros, rascarse I'm so short of money at the moment that I keep having to dip into my precious savings.
el bolsillo
dip into [sth] read, sample briefly hojear, echar un vistazo Whenever I have quarter of an hour to spare I like to dip into Saki's 'Collected Short Stories'.
disagree with [sb] make someone fee sick or ill generally sentar mal Spicy food disagrees with me.
food
dispose [sb] towards [sb/ make inclined predisponer a alguien George's optimistic view of life disposed him towards cheerfulness.
sth]
divide up [sth] split into parts dividirse ,separarse In order to better learn this material, we are going to divide up into groups of three and practice.
do [sb] in kill cargarse a alguien Trotsky's assassin did him in with an ice axe.
do [sth] over repeat hacer algo de nuevo You made many mistakes, so I want you to do the report over.
do [sth] up garment: fasten abrochar, abotonar Come on honey, let grandma do up your coat.
do away with [sth/sb] abolish abolir Some Americans want to do away with the death penalty.
do without [sth/sb] manage without something one wants arreglarselas sin I couldn't do without a car in California.
or needs
12
doze off fall asleep quedarse frito o dormido I dozed off for ten minutes during the end of the movie.
drag on continue tediously hacerse pesadisimo o interminable The three-hour movie dragged on and on.
draw [sb] into [sth] involve [sb] in [sth] involucrar Don't draw me into your problems!
draw [sth] out elicit sonsacar The psychiatrist drew out her long-buried secrets.
draw [sth] up formuate a contract redactar un contrato Let's draw an agreement up before we go any further with this project.
draw in night: get darer earlier hacerse de noche más temprano Now that the nights are drawing in, there's no better place to be than in an armchair by the fire.
draw in [sb]/ draw [sb] in interest, captivate atraer, captar We need a beautiful sign for our shop to draw in customers.
draw on/ upon [sth] use experience recurri a, servirse de la experiencia he drew on his own experience to write the book
draw up prepare something, usually redactar I've drawn up a list of candidates that I'd like to interview. The architect showed us the house plans that
something official, in writing she had drawn up.
draw up car: arrive, stop llegar en coche They drew up at the premiere in a stretch limousine.
dress [sb] down fot [sth] reprimand severely echar una bronca The mother dressed her son down for skipping school.
dress down dress casually vestir informal I am dressing down because we're going to a barbecue by the beach.
dress up wear elegant clothes vestirse de gala She always dresses up at work.
drift apart separate gradually distanciarse Asia and North America were once joined, but over the millennia, they drifted apart.
drink up completely finish beerage apurar el trago Drink up, we have to go!
drive [sb/sth] away repel, force to leave ahuyentar She drove him away with her constant nagging.
drive [sb/sth] back repulse, force to retreat hacer retroceder The invaders were driven back by the army.
drive off vehicle pull out, move off irse, marcharse en coche I sadly watched him drive off, knowing I wouldn't see him again.
drive on continue driving seguir conduciendo Shall we stop at this petrol or shall we drive on to the next one
drop [sb] a hint imply, say subtly soltar una indirecta He dropped a few hints about some gifts he’d like to get.
drop around deliver repartir, distribuir I dropped around the things the needed
drop in visit someone unexpectedly for a short dejarse caer, pasarse Meg dropped in yesterday after dinner.
time without arranging to do this
drop in on [sb] visit someone unexpectedly dejarse caer, pasarse Let's drop in on Julie since we're driving by her house.
drop off fall asleep quedarse frito o dormido I dropped off at the wheel and crashed the car.
drop out quit an organized activity abandonar un equipo, carrera, Yuri isn't on the team any more. He dropped out.
universidad
drop out of [sth] quit an organized activity (school) abandonar un equipo, carrera, It's difficult to get a good job if you drop out of high school.
universidad
dry up disappear agotarse, consumirse At one point in the banking crisis, the supply of funds to industry almost dried up completely.
dry up forget speech quedarse en blanco When the moment came for him to speak his lines, the actor dried up completely.
13
eat away at [sth] gradually destroy, erode minar, desgastar, corroer The heavy rains ate away at the sandstone cliffs.
eat in eat inside the home comer en casa We usually eat in instead of going out for dinner.
eat out eat outside the home comer fuera They eat out once a week.
eat up [sth]/ eat [sth] up devour devorar Ken ate the cookies up.
edge out [sb] defeat derrotar por muy poco Germany and France have edged out the British team
end up become or do something inplanned acabar en, terminar en I hoped by taking the metro I would end up in central Paris. If we keep going this way, we'll end up totally
lost.
end up with [sth] Get as a result of something terminar con algo I would never have gone skydiving if I'd known I was going to end up with a broken leg.
enter into [sth] become involved in or accept involucrarse en Mr President, it would be indeed tempting to enter into this debate.
enter into an agreement reach an agreement llegar a un acuerdo It was also agreed that an attempt should be made to enter into an agreementconcerning the
appropriations to the common foreign and security policy.
face up to [sb/sth] acknowledge something difficult or encarar algo, afrontar algo, plantar I'll never be able to face up to my colleagues after getting so drunk last night at the work party.
embarrassing, accept an unpleasant catra a alguien
truth
fall apart break into pieces, emotionally: lose desarmarse,derrumbarse, It is important not to fall apart when things don't go exactly your way.
control desmoronarse
fall behind [sth/sb] fail to keep up quedarse atrás, rezagarse Hurry up or you will fall behind!
fall down structure: colapse derrumbarse, venirse abajo The brick wall fell down.
fall down person: fail fallar, fracasar Many students fall down on this test task.
fall for [sb/sth] be attracted to someone estar colado por, morirse por He is good-looking and smooth: all the women fall for him.
fall for [sth] be fooled, be tricked tragarse el cuento, creerse The investment scheme promised huge returns, and I fell for it.
fall off decrease caer, descender Interest in the project fell off when they realized it wouldn't be profitable.
fall out with [sb] have an argument with, stop being enemistarse con I had a falling out with my sister last month and we haven't talked to each other since.
friends
feel [sb] up grope meter mano, manosear She sued her boss for sexual harassment after he felt her up.
feel for [sb] have symphathy sentir lástima por alguien, darle a uno I really feel for him since he lost his job.
lástima
feel up to [sth]/doing [sth] have the energy to do something tener ganas de I don't feel up to going out tonight because I had a long day at work.
fight back retaliate contraatacar, tomar represalias If you attack minorities, you must expect them to fight back.
fight off [sth] resist combatir Doctors are realizing that to successfully fight off sinus infection, medication alone isn't enough.
figure on [sth] expect contar con Where do you figure on living when you move to the the U.S.A.?
figure out [sth] solve something, understand resolver, solucionar, descubrir la I finally figured the joke out. Now I understand why everybody was laughing.
solución
figure up [sth]/ figure [sth] calculate calcular I need to figure my expenses up before I give you an estimate.
up
fill in substitute sustituir Who is going to fill in while you're gone?
14
fill in [sth]/ fill [sth] in complete, write the necessary completar, llenar, rellenar Don't forget to fill in all the blanks on the application.
information on a form
fill in for [sb] substitute for reemplazar a, sustituir a Miguel filled in for me at the meeting yesterday because I was sick.
fill out complete a form completar el cuestionario I am going to fill out an application for the job
fill up [sth]/ fill [sth] up fill to the top llenar Fill the car up with unleaded gas, please.
find out [sth]/ find [sth] out discover descubrir, enterarse de You will never find out all my secrets!
finish off [sth]/ finish [sth] finish completely terminar completamente Finish off the report before you go home.
off
finish with [sb] end relationship cortar con, acabar con When he discovered his girlfriend had been unfaithful he finished with her.
fire away begin asking question disparad vuestras preguntas Professor, could we ask you a few questions? "Sure! Fire away.".
fit in belong adaptarse, encajar With that attitude, he'll never fit in here.
fit in [sth/sb]/fit [sth/sb] in find time for,make room for hacer tiempo, hacer caber I think we can fit one more in at this table/ I could fit you in next Friday
fix up [sb]/ fix [sb] up pair romantically emparejar Joan is trying to fix me up with one of her single friends.
fix up [sth]/ fix [sth] up repair, renovate, remodel arreglar algo, restaurar algo, reparar My neighbors are fixing their house up.
algo
fizzle out flame: be extinguished, sputte apagarse The crowd anticipated the launch of the fireworks as the fuse was lit, but it fizzled out and nothing
happened.
flare up condition: erupt, worsen exacerbarse,agudizarse The shingles disease can flare up later in life for those who had chicken pox as a child.
flick through [sth] look briefly echar un vistazo I spent hours on that report and he just flicked through it before dismissing it!
flood out [sb] force someone to leave their home tener que abandonar la casa por They were flooded out
because of floods inundacion
fool around not be productive perder el tiempo The boss doesn't like people fooling around when they should be working.
fork out [sth]/ fork [sth] out money owed apoquinar, aflojar el dinero I can't believe we forked out two hundred bucks a ticket to see this lousy show.
freshen up have a quick wash refrescarse, lavarse Let's go back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner.
fritter away [sth]/ fritter waste, squander desperdiciar, derrochar You can't fritter away your time and expect to accomplish anything.
[sth] away
gad about/around wander deambular I'm not going anywhere in particular; just gadding about in the countryside.
gang up on/ against [sb] work as a group aliarse contra Every time the teacher makes a mistake, the students gang up on her to point it out.
gear up for [sth]/ to do get ready prepararse para I'm trying to gear up for my final exams on Monday.
[sth]
get [sb] up rise (from sitting position or a bed) despertar, leantarse de la cama What time did you get up this morning?
get [sth] over with do and complete st difficult or acabar de una vez por todas I just want to get this interview over (with)
unpleasant that must be done
get above surpass sobrepasar una dificultad, límite, Melinda worked hard to get above the minimum academic requirements for university.
obstaculo
15
get across [sth] / get [sth] cause to be understood, convey, hacer entender, expresar It's difficult to get humor across in another language.
across sucessfully communicate an idea
get after [sb] pursue perseguir a alguien Get after him! he's forgotten his wallet
get ahead make progress, be succesful salir adelante I can't get ahead even though I work two jobs.
get ahead of [sb/sth] surpass, overtake tomar la delantera, adelantar You need to work overtime in order to get ahead of schedule.
get along cope arreglarselas sin After she went blind, it took her a long time to learn how to get along without vision.
get along have a good relationship llevarse bien Do you and your sister get along?
get along with [sb] have a good relationship llevarse con Giovanna doesn't get along with her two brothers.
get around go many places, travel viajar con frecuencia It's easy to get around town with public transportation.
get around [sth]/doing avoid someone or something evitar, sortear un problema Some people get around paying taxes by hiring a good accountant.
[sth]
get around to do [sth] find time for encontrar tiempo para Bill eventually got round to the washing-up.
get at target for criticism meterse con I hate him; he's always getting at me.
get at [sth] be getting at [sth] insinuar, querer decir I don't understand what you are getting at.
get away escape escapar, fugarse, escabulirse The bank robbers got away.
get away from [sb] escape escaparse de alguien How did you manage to get away from your captors?
get away with [sth] do something against the rules or esquivar el castigo, irse de rositas My sister gets away with everything!
illegal and not get caught or punished
get back [sth]/ get [sth] recovery the possesion recuperar algo, me devueven un I took my watch to be repaired and I get it back on Tuesday.
back objeto
get back at [sb] take revenge on vengarse de aguien To get back at him, she had an affair with his brother.
get behind support respaldar a, apoyar a If you promise not to change your mind, I'll get behind your efforts to clean up the park.
get by survive without having the things you arreglárselas I lost my job, so I am having a hard time getting by this year.
need or want, cope, manage
get by on survive with minimal resources arreglárselas It's nearly impossible to get by on making minimum wage.
get by with/ whitout manage with,without arreglárselas You don't need a computer. You can get by with the typewriter.
get carried away lack restrain,get so emotional that you dejarse llear She gets carried away at Christmas, and spends too much money on everything.
lose control
get carried away lack restraint, be overcome with dejarse llear Mark got carried away with all the excitement and nearly fainted. Sophia got carried away by the emotion
excitement of the occasion and burst into tears.
get down to [sth]/ doing get serious about a topic ponerse a hacer algo en serio Enough small talk. Let's get down to business.
[sth]
get down to brass tacks discuss essentials ir al grano Thank you all for coming to this emergency meeting; now, let's get down to brass tacks.
get fit exercise to stay in shape ponerse en forma Help President Bush get fit and ready for his day.
get in arrive home llegar a casa Sorry I missed you, but I got in late last night.
16
get in enter ( a car, a small boat) subirse a un medio de transporte Get in the front seat. You will have more leg room.
get in on become involved formar parte de, entrar en It's a big market and everyone wants to get in on it
get in touch with [sb] make contact ponerse en contacto con alguien I would like to get in touch with my old friends from college.
get in/ into troubles make a mess meterse en problemas I often got into trouble with my teachers. I got in trouble for stealing apples from his orchard.
get involved in [sth] play a part formar parte de algo, participar en algo You ought to get involved in more clubs on campus.
get laid have sex echar un polvo I got laid last night for the first time in a year.
get lost be disorientated perderse I got lost trying to find your house; all the streets look the same around here.
get mixed up in [sth] become involved in an illegal activity inolucrarse en asuntos illegales I don't need to get mixed up in all your trouble.
get off leave bajarse It's dangerous to sit on the roof. Get off!
get off leave (a bus, plane, train, boat, horse) bajarse We need to get off the bus at the next stop.
get off on the wrong/right have a good or bad start comenzar con el pie derecho o We don't want to get off on the wrong foot.
foot izquierdo
get on have a good relationship llevarse bien Natasha doesn't get on with her co-workers.
get on enter (a bus, train), mount (a horse, a subirse a un medio de transporte The train is leaving. Quick, get on!
bike)
get on with [sb] have a good relationship llevarse bien Do you get on with your neighbors?
get on with [sth] continue an activity continuar con una tarea Now that the police have left, let's get on with the party!
get onto start taking of a subject empezar a hablar de We got on to the subject of money
get out leave largarse Get out and leave me alone! The company decided to get out of England.
get out move out of a vehicle bajarse Stop immediately, I want to get out. If arriving by taxi, get out at Picardy Place.
get out of [sth] avoid an obligation eludir algo I need to get out of my meeting this afternoon because I have a doctor's appointment.
get over [sth] recover from (a cold, a disease, an ex- recuperarse, sobreponerse Jennifer still hasn't gotten over her breakup with Peter.
boyfriend,ex-girlfriend)
get pissed become drunk emborracharse I drank far too much last night and really got pissed.
get rid of thrown away, dispense with deshacerse de, olvidarse de You need to get rid of those pants - you never wear them anymore.
get through complete terminar We will never get through all of these boxes by 9:00 PM.
get through (with) [sth] finish terminar algo Have you gotten through with your homework yet?
get through to [sb] make contact, reach someone on localizar a alguien por teléfono, It's hard to get through to Janet because her telephone line is always busy.
phone comunicarse con aguien
get to [sb] bother fastidiar, molestar His incessant whistling really gets to me.
get together people gather or meet in order to do tener una reunión The team leaders need to get together to discuss the problem.
something
get your point across coney hacerse entender You don't say much but you get your point across.
17
give [sth] back (to[sb]) return something you borrowed devolver algo a alguien When are you going to give that book back to your teacher?
give away [sth]/ give [sth] give something without asking for donar Why did Nancy give all of her furniture away?
away anything in exchange
give away [sth]/ give [sth] betray (a secret) revelar un secreto, traicionar We are having a surprise party for Susan next Saturday, so don't give our surprise away by acting
away suspicious.
give in yied to feeling or temptation caer en la tentación, sucumbir She is trying to avoid sweets, but if you tempt her with chocolate, she always gives in.
give in stop trying, surrender, admit defeat darse por vencido Never give in! You can do it!
give out run out the patience, stop working agotarse la paciencia, pararse el I hope this car doesn't give out in the middle of the desert. His heart finally gave out and he died. After
engine or heart motor, fallar el corazón years of heavy drinking, his liver finally gave out.
give out [sth]/ give [sth] distribute repartir, distribuir I earn extra money by giving out brochures on the street.
out
give up surrender rendirse, desistir Never give up learning English!
give up [sth] / give [sth] up surrender something darse por vencido The police told the thief to give his gun up.
give off release (a smell, light, heat, radiation) emitir, desprender That white flower gives off a beautiful smell.
go about [sth] approach or tackle a task emprender, abordar un asunto Isn't it time you went about fixing the broken table? How am I to go about painting the ceiling when I have
no ladder?
go across cross cruzar We sometimes go across the road for a drink at the pub.
go after pursue perseguir we're not going after civilian targets
go ahead carry on ,do something as planned avnzar, seguir adelante I can't come with you this weekend after all, but don't let that stop you; you go ahead.
go ahead of [sb/sth] lead, overtake estar o ir delante de
go along with [sb/ sth] support an idea or to agree with estar de acuerdo con , consentir con I usually just go along with what she says to avoid any arguments. Rachel is happy to go along with
someone´s oponions algo Harry's suggestion.
go away leave irse, largarse I yelled at the dogs to make them go away.
go back return volver, regresar When are you going back to your house?
go back an forth move to and fro ir de un ado para otro Mario was having treatment for cancer and was going back and forth to hospital
go back on a promise / not keep (one's word, a promise) faltar a su palabra, incumplir una Don't trust him. He always goes back on his promises.
someone´s word promesa
go beyond exceed ir más allá, superar To succeed, you must go beyond what the customer expects.
go beyond the pale be or to do something unacceptables pasarse de la raya What you did is beyond the pale.
go by go past, go close to, visit quickly pasar We go by the coffee shop everyday. The crowd watched as the parade went by. I can't believe the holiday
is already over. Time went by too quickly!
go down decrease bajar , descender The cost of flight tickets is going down.
go down with [sth] become ill caer enfermo Roger went down with flu.
go for [sth] choose something elegir, decantarse por I could go for pepperoni pizza.
go for [sth] try to get or achieve something tratar de conseguir, ir a por algo Our team is going for the gold medal in the Olympics.
18
go forward move ahead, advance, make progess adelantar, avanzar Don't forget that the clocks go forward tonight. I can't seem to go forward in my career.
go in for [sth] participate in a competition or presentarse a una competición o Are you going to go in for soccer this year at school?
examination ( inf.) examen
go into [sth] discuss in detail meterse a examinar a fondo o al I really don't want to go into that now.
detalle
go off stop (said of a machine) dejar de funcionar The DVD player goes off automatically if you are not using it.
go off food: spoil echarse a perder la comida Dairy products go off quickly if they're not kept in the fridge.
go off explode explotar The bomb could go off at any moment.
go off leave a place, go away marcharse, irse He left the family farm and went off to the big city to look for work.
go off begin, start (used with signals, alarms, sonar la alarma The alarm clock went off at 6:00 AM.
warning sounds)
go on continue continuar Please, go on. Don't let me interrupt you.
go on talk in an annoing way about dar la tabarra don't go on about it!
something for a long time
go on happen ocurrir This place is a mess! What went on here last night?
go out stop burning ( a fire) apagarse The fire went out after three days.
go out be eliminated in a competition quedar eliminado Our team went out to a second division side
go out take part in social activities (usually at salir They love to go out every Saturday night.
night)
go out with [sb] date one another salir con alguien How long have you been going out together?
go over be received recibirse, acogida How did it go oer? That didn't go over well. His speech went over well
go over review examinar, revisar Do you usually go over your notes before class?
go through [sth] endure; experience challenges, pasarlas canutas She has gone through so much in her life.
difficulties or traumas
go through [sth] examine in detail, study carefully reisar, buscar entre I need to have my lawyer go through this contract before I sign it. I went through all my sketchbooks
trying to find my favourite drawing of the oak tree.
go through with [sth] continue or proceed despite difficulties seguir adelante con I have decided to go through with the operation. The city council is going through with its plans to widen
or fears the road.
go together accompany one another, form a ir juntos, combinar bien How about if I leave my car here and we go together to the party?. Wine and cheese go together very
pleasing combination well.
go under business: go into liquidation irse a pique GM did go under, despite their claims.
go with [sb] accompany a person acompañar a alguien I am going with Alejandro to the party.
go with [sb] have a boyfriend,girlfriend salir con alguien I am going with Yuri.
go with [sth] match (clothing) combinar That shirt doesn't go with those pants.
go without [sth] abstain from something you want or prescndir de, estar privado de A person can go without water for three days.
need
19
goof off be silly, unproductie , avoid doing hacer el vago Quit goofing off and help me pick up this mess.
anything
grow apart friends: become less intimate alejarse We were best friends in high school, but we have since grown apart.
grow into [sth] develop ability for: job, responsibility volverse ducho, adaptarse a I'm finding the new job rather difficult at the moment, but I'm hoping to be able to grow into it as time goes
by.
grow on [sb] empezar a gustar like sth that you didn´t, like at first The idea had grown on her all morning. The tune grows on you after a while.
grow up mature, become adult hacerse mayor Your brother needs to grow up and start thinking about his future.
hack [sb] off irritate, anger poner a parir a alguien The way he talks down to me really hacks me off!
hack [sth] off sever ( with a knife) amputar, cercenar The polar explorer hacked off his gangrenous finger with a penknife.
hack into [sth] access to a computer without piratear, hackear The butcher hacked the meat in the back while his wife managed the store in the front.
autorization
ham up overact, perform in an exaggerated sobreactuar, exagerar el papel The kid was really hamming it up, and the crowd loved it.
way
hand back return, give back devolver algo a alguien Is the teacher going to hand back our tests today?
hand down [sth]/ hand formally announce a decision, deliver anunciar un fallo o una decision The president is going to hand his decision down on health care tonight.
[sth] down a veredict importante
hand down [sth]/ hand give as an inheritance, pass on to a legar When my clothes got too small for me as a child, I handed them down to my sister.
[sth] down succesor
hand in [sth]/ hand [sth] in submit a piece of work for appraisal entregar para que lo corrija I have to hand in an offer by March 12.
hand out [sth]/ hand [sth] distribute distribuir We should hand the concert fliers out at school.
out
hand over [sth]/ hand [sth] relinquish control of entregar, ceder Hand your car keys over. You're too drunk to drive.
over
hang about/ around/ wait a moment, be kept waiting espera un momento Hang about, do you mean to say you knew about that the whole time and just didn't tell me?!
round
hang around stay in a place for fun pasar el rato sin hacer nada Those guys just hang around all day.
hang on wait specially for a short time espera un segundo Hang on please and I'll be with you in a couple of minutes.
hang out spend a lot time idly in a place or with pasar el rato What are you doing? - - I'm just hanging out. Why don't you come over to my house and hang out for
someone awhile.
hang up [sth]/ hang [sth] suspend from a high pace (clothes on colgar You can hang your jacket up in the front closet.
up a hanger or hook)
hang up put down the telephone receiver colgar el telefono Don't hang up. I'm going to change phones.
hark back recall earlier time remontarse Hark back 25 years, when the success of this company looked far from certain.
have [sb] around entertain someone in your home tener invitados We're having Mary around tomorrow
have [sb] on tease, deceive tomar el pelo a alguien They said they'd failed, but they were having me on.
have [sb] over invite guests to your home, receive as invitar a alguien Why don't we have Mr. and Mrs. Jones over for dinner tonight.
a guest
have [sth] on be wearing llevar puesto Do you have your hiking boots on?
20
have it out with [sb] discuss or argue an issue to improve a conversarlo I'd been worried for ages, so I decided to hae it out with them.
situation
hear from [sb] receive news from (a letter, an e-mail) tener noticias Have you heard from Steve lately?
hear of [sth] know about something or somebody saber de Have you heard of chocolate covered ants?
heat up [sth]/ heat [sth] up warm food, make food hot calentar la comida I'll heat up your dinner whenever you get home.
help out [sb]/ help [sb] out give assistance ayudar He said he'd help out with moving the furniture, but in the end he never turned up.
hide away remain concealed esconderse The police are looking for me, so I will hide away in the mountains.
hide out stay concealed ocultarse The government believed the terrorist would hide out in caves for years, if necessary.
hit back criticise or attack someone who has devolver el golpe Iran has warned it will hit back if it is attacked by the United States.
criticised or attacked you
hit it off get on well llevarse bien Me and my new room-mate hit it off from the start.
hit on [sb] flirt with tirar los tejos Jay's friend Marc was trying to hit on my sister last night.
hit on [sth] devise and idea or plan ocurrirsele algo I hit on the idea while watching the Simpsons show.
hold [sb/sth] back restrain contener a alguien o algo The police held the demonstrators back while the politicians entered the building.
hold [sth] against [sb] hold a grudge echar en cara They still hold my past mistakes against me.
hold off on [sth]/ doing delay postergaro demorarse en hacer algo We should hold off on making dinner until your parents arrive.
[sth]
hold on tell someone to wait on the telephone esperar con el telefono Hold on a minute. I'll get Carol.
hold on to [sth/sb] grasp tightly aferrarse Make sure you hold on to the hand rail as you walk down the stairs.
hold out not give in, continue to resist resistirse Stop holding out and tell us where you found all of these old records.
hold out against [sb/sth] not give in, resist resistir ante algo o alguien They held out against enemy attack.
hold up [sb/sth]/ hold rob (a bank, a person) with a weapon atracar Five men held the bank up yesterday.
[sth/sb] up by using violence or threating to use
violence
hold up [sb/sth]/ hold delay something or someone (a flight, retrasar The accident held traffic up for an hour.
[sth/sb] up traffic)
hook [sth] up (to [sth]) make the electrical connections conectar algo Can you hook up the fax machine for me? I had to hire an expert to hook up my computer to the office
required for a machine or information network.
service
hot up become more exciting animarse, intensificarse We're into the final week of the election campaign. Things are about to hot up around here.
hung up on/about [sth] be very worried about something preocupado, obsesionado Don't get hung up about your appearance - you look fine!
iron out remove small probems or irregularities resoverl sus diferencias We need to have a meeting this week in order to iron out. They managed to iron out their differences the
distribution problems.
jack up [sth] raise something heavy off the ground levantar de suelo algo pesado We need to jack up the car before we change the tire.
join in [sth] participate, become involved in an participar, apuntarse Don't worry if the discussion has already begun, you may still join in whenever you wish.
activity with othe people
21
jot down [sth]/ jot [sth] make a note of tomar nota I'll just jot down the address.
down
jumble up [sth]/ jumble mix things together in an untidy way revolver cosas Papers jumbled up together.
[sth] up
jump in enter a conversation, interrupt when entrometerse en la conversación Feel free to jump in at any moment while we are talking.
someone else is speaking
jump out at [sb] if something jumps out at you, you saltar a la vista, verse a leguas That's a very effective advertisement - it really jumps out at you.
notice it immediately
jump to (conclusions) make a quick, poorly thought out sacar conclusiones apresuradas You shouldn't jump to conclusions.
decision
keep [sb] at [sth] continue to do or work on something, perseverar, persistir I kept at it and finally finished at three this morning.
not give up, persevere
keep [sth] from [sb] not tell someone about something abtenerse de contar a alguien He says it's alright but I think he's keeping something from me.
keep at [sth] continue perseverar Eva struggled at first, but kept at it, and passed her driving test at the first attempt.
keep away [sth/sb]/ keep prevent from getting closer mantener alejado, no dejar acercar Keep the kids away from the cookies.
[sth/sb] away
keep back maintain a safe distance, cause to mantener alejado, no dejar acercar Keep back! The burning building is about to collapse.
maintain a safe distance
keep down [sth]/ keep prevent something from increasing mantener bajo control We need to keep down our costs.
[sth] down
keep down [sth]/ keep prevent something eaten from being no vomitar If I ate that, I down know if I could keep it down. After the operation I couldn’t keep my food down.
[sth] down vomited up, not vomit, not throw up,
keep in one's stomach
keep it up used to encourage someone sigue así You're doing very well everybody. Keep it up!
to continue doing something
keep on at [sb] continue to talk in an annoying way insistir a alguien He kept on at me about the money, even though I told him I hadn't got it.
about something
keep on doing [sth] continue to do something continuar haciendo algo He kept on talking after everybody asked him to stop
keep to [sth] do what you have promised or planned atenerse, ceñirse al plan o a las I think we should keep to our original plan.
to do (shedule, rule) reglas
keep up with [sb/sth] do whatever seguir el ritmo He started to walk faster and the children had to run to keep up. Wages are failing to keep up
is necessary to stay level or equalwith with inflation.
someone or something
keep up with [sth] continue to be informed about estar informado, estar al tanto He’s never made an effort to keep up with current events.
something
key in [sth]/ key [sth] in enter by typing teclear I keyed the number in, but nothing happened. I gave my name and she keyed it into her computer.
kick back sit or lie back (to relax) relajarse, ponerse cómodo After work, I like to kick back in front of the TV and relax.
kick in begin taking effect empezar a tener efectos The medicine takes one hour to kick in.
kick off start a game saque inicial The Superbowl will kick off at noon on Sunday at the Superdome.
22
knock about/around spend time relaxing and doing very vaguear I spent the weekend just knocking around the house.
together little
knock down [sb]/ knock hit with a vehicle a pedestrian atropellar The car knocked him down as he crossed the street.
[sb] down
knock off finish day´s work salir del trabajo When it rains, the boss lets us knock off work early.
knock out [sb] defeat a competitor or strike noquear, dejar inconsciente The boxer knocked out his opponent in the third round.
unconscious
knock over [sth/sb]/ knock hit something or someone so that derribar accidentalmente Cyclists in the race have to worry about fans knocking them over. Who knocked over the chair?
[st/sb] over the person fallsdown:
lash out against [sb] attack verbally despotricar contra She bottles up her anger towards her mother and then lashes out against her husband for no reason.
lash out on [sth] extravagantly spend of money despilfarrar dinero, tirar la casa por la I decided to lash out on a new sofa
ventana
latch on understand something enternder o pillar algo They were lying, but it took her ages to latch on
latch on to/onto [sb] stay close to someone or spend a lot pegarse como una lapa She latched onto me as soon as she arrived, and I had to spend the rest of the evening talking to her.
of time with someone, usually when
they do not want you near
laugh off [sth] pretend that something is tomarse a risa John laughed off the suggestion that he change his behavior. The coach laughed off the idea that his
less serious than it is team wasn't ready to play.
lay down surrender, give up: weapons rendirse The President pleaded with the terrorists to lay down their arms.
lay down establish (laws, rules) establecer reglas Lori lays down the law in her class. English only!
lay into [sb] scold or criticize severely arremeter contra alguien I saw Reto's mom lay into him when he came home late last night.
lay off [sb] make redundant despedir del trabajo The company was losing money, so they had to lay off 100 workers.
laze about/ around relax and enjoy yourself by doing very hacer el vago On Saturdays, I like to just laze around the house instead of going out.
little
lead on [sb]/ lead [sb] on mislead, make someone believe dar falsas esperanzas All that time she'd been leading him on (= pretending she liked him), but she was only interested in
something that is not true his money.
leak out reveal secret information filtrar informacion If his real identity ever leaks out, his life will be in great danger.
lean on [sb] try to make someone do what presionar a alguien We may have to lean on them a little if we want our money.
you want bythreatening or persuading
them
leave aside [sth]/ leave not discuss one subject so that you dejar de lado un tema Leaving aside the question of cost, how many people do we need on the job?
[sth] side can discuss a different subject
leave behind [sb/sth] go away and not take something or olvidarse algo cuando te has ido The flood victims were forced to leave behind family photos and mementos.
someone with you
leave out [sb/sth]/ leave not include, omit dejar fuera, omitir, obiar Why did your parents leave you out of their vacation plans?
[sb/sth] out
left over remain food or money restante How much will we have left over once we've paid all the suppliers?.
let down [sb]/ let [sb] disappoint someone decepcionar I felt let down when I didn't receive a birthday card from my sister.
down
23
let out [sb/sth]/let [sb/sth] release, allow to exit soltar, liberar, dejar libre I am happy my brother was let out of prison early.
out
let up weaken in intensity aflojar, amainar I told her NO a thousand times, but she won't let up.
lie about/around spend time lying down estar tirado We lay about on our beds.
lie ahead be going to happen estar por venir No matter our plans, we never really know what lies ahead.
lie behind [sth] be the real reason for something subyacer I wonder what lies behind all this.
lie down rest, recline echarse, acostarse I need to lie down before we go out tonight.
lie in sleeping late quedarse en la cama I will lie in this morning because I was out celebrating my birthday yesterday evening. The newlyweds
loved to lie in on Sunday mornings.
lift off take off despege The spaceship began to lift off.
light up to smoke encender un cigarrillo Do you have to light up another cigarette? I thought you were trying to cut down.
light up [sth]/ light [sth] up illuminate iluminarse Let's get some candles to light this room up.
lighten up become more relaxed and less serious relajarse He should lighten up and not take work so seriously. Lighten up, the situation is not as bad as you think it
is!
listen in listen secretly, eavesdrop escuchar a hurtadillas We were looking for somewhere we could talk privately, without anyone listening in.
live down [sth]/ live [sth] stop feeling embarrased or get over superar la vergüenza Jose will never live down singing that song at the karaoke bar. His friends ensured that he could never
down embarrased live down the day he accidentally wore his sister's pants.
live off survive on, supported by vivir de The widow lives off her late husband's pension and Social Security checks.
live on survive from vivir de I could live on bread and cheese.
live through [sth] experience or endure a difficut pasar por, vivir, sobrevivir Our grandparents lived through the War and know what it is like to lose everything.
sittuation or event
live up to [sth] keep a standard, be as good as vivir a la altura It would be hard to live up to her parent's expectations. They are so demanding.
liven up [sth]/ liven [sth] make more lively or energetic, become darle vidilla, animarse, avivar She was subdued to start with, but after a while she livened up. I'm going to liven myself up a little by
up more interesting and exciting going for a run.
load down [sb]/ load [sb] give someone too many things to carry estar muy cargado o agobiado She was loaded down with shopping. We're loaded down with work. He was loaded down with debt
down
load up [sth]/ load [sth] up charge, fill cargar I have to help load up the luggage for our camping trip. I loaded up the shopping cart with groceries.
lock in [sb]/ lock [sb] in prevent someone from leaving encerrar The police officer threw the two men in a cell and locked them in.
lock out [sb]/ lock [sb] out prevent from entering a place dejar fuera I started banging on the door when I realised he had locked me out of the apartment.
lock up [sb] sentence to jail, imprison meter entre rejas, encerrar en la They locked him up in a cell that was barely large enough to move around in.
cárcel, enchironar
lock yourself away go a place where you can be alone encerrarse uno mismo You lock yourself away up here as if you're curing cancer instead of churning out a potboiler once a
decade.
lock yourself out forget the keys inside dejarse las llaves Did you lock yourself out again?
log in/on sign in a computer system iniciar sesion You have to log in to view your friends' photos on Facebook.
24
log off/ out sign out or disconnect cerrar sesion Log off but don't shut down the computer.
look after [sb/sth] take care of (a child, a house, a pet) cuidar When my sister goes on vacation, I look after her dog.
look ahead think about what will happen in planear el futuro We are trying to look ahead and see what our options are.
the future and planfor these events
look around seek something in surrounding area buscar por todos lados I've been looking around everywhere, but I can't find my reading glasses.
look around [swh] visit a place and look at the things in it mirar When we went to Boston, we only had a couple of hours to lookaround.
look back on [sb/sth] to remember nostalgically, recall, recordar When I look back on my childhood, I often feel angry.
reminiscence
look down on [sb/sth] feel superior menospreciar, mirar por encima del She's so conceited. She looks down on everybody else.
hombro
look for [sb/sth] to seek or search for buscar I'm looking for my keys. Have you seen them?
look forward to [sth]/ doing await with excitement anhelar I am looking forward to traveling to New York next year.
[sth]
look into [sth] investigate investigar The police are looking into the murder.
look on observe as a spectator observar Everybody just looked on as the two men fought.
look out for [sth/sb] be careful, pay attention, heed a estar pendiente, estar atento Look out, there's a black widow spider on the wall.
certain danger
look over [sth]/ look [sth] quickly examine, review echar un vistazo When I'm camping, I look my shoes over before I put them on.
over
look throught [sth] read something quickly leer rapidamente I've looked through some catalogues.
look up improve the situation mejorar I've been through a tough time this past year, but things are starting to look up.
look up [sb] locate and visit, try to contact ponerse en contacto con alguien y If you ever travel to California, you should look me up.
visitarlo
look up [sth]/ look [sth] up search for information (in a dictionary) buscar I takes time to look up new vocabulary words.
look up to [sb] admire and respect someone admirar He'd always looked up to his uncle.
lose out not have an advantage that sufrir desventaja The new tax means that the vast majority of working people will lose out. Act now or you may lose out in
other people have the long run. The team lost out on a chance to play in the final.
make for [sth/swh] head towards dirigirse hacia algo We turned the boat around and made for the nearest harbour.
make it up to [sb] do something good for someone you compensar I'm sorry we can't take you with us, but I promise I'll make it up to you somehow.
have upset,
inorder to become friends with them
again
make off with [sth] take away robar The thief made off with over a thousand dollars.
make out with [sb] kiss and touch in a sexual way, or liarse con alguien Boys at that age are only interested in making out with girls.
to succeed in havingsex with someone
make out [sth/sb] be abe to see, hear, or understand vislumbrar, descifrar I can't make out the sign from this far away.
something or someone with difficulty
25
make out [sth]/ make [sth] write all the necessary information on redactar un documento, extender un Who should I make this check out to?
out an official form, document cheque
make over [sb/sth]/make improve something or someone by remodelar o reformar un edificion o They made their kitchen over and now have granite countertops. She went and made herself over with
[sb/sth] over working on or changing various parts estancia y cambiar de imgen una new makeup and a new hair cut and color.
persona
make up be reconcilied hacer las paces I haven't made up with Alex yet after yesterday's fight.
make up [sth]/ make [sth] form the whole of something constituir, formar The cast was made up of amateurs.
up
make up [sth]/ make [sth] invent ( a story) inventar Don't believe anything she says. She always makes things up.
up
make up for [sth] compensate for compensar She made up for being rude to me yesterday by inviting me out for coffee.
make up for lost time compensate for past inaction recuperar el tiempo perdido He'll never be able to make up for his lack of natural ability.
match up pair, if emparejar Their accounts of what happened that evening don't match up.
two pieces of information match up,
they are the same
measure up be adequate dar la talla, estar a la altura He will never measure up; we might as well go ahead and fire him now.
meet with [sth] experience something, esp. sufrir una experiencia traumática He met with an accident on his way to the court.
something unpleasant
mess [sb] around/about treat disrespectful molestar, incomodar I'm sorry to mess you around, but I need to change the date of our meeting.
mess around/ about be unproductive perder el tiempo My husband is messing around in the garage - I've no idea what he's doing in there.
mess around/ about with have an affair tener una aventura Helen caught her husband messing around with another woman.
[sb]
mess up make untidy desordenar, revolver, hacer lío The wind messed up the neat piles of papers, scattering them all over the room.
mess up spoil or damage something or to do echar a perder This is your last chance, so don't mess up!
something badly
mill about/around walk pasearse, dar una vuelta There were people milling around the entrance to the stadium.
miss out on [sth] fail to use an opportunity to enjoy or no dejar pasar la oportunidad Don't miss out on the fantastic bargains in our summer sale.
get anadvantage from something
mix up blend mezclar We need to mix up these different kinds of nuts before we put them in a bowl.
mix up [sb/sth] confuse confundir I sometimes mix the verb tenses up. It’s easy to mix up the twins. I mix them up all the time.
mixed up in [sth] be involved in an illegal or unpleasant involucrado He was mixed up in all those insurance scandals before the national health service.
activity
mouth off give opinion loudly fanfarronear, jactarse The student got kicked out of class for mouthing off too much.
move along advance, go forward avanzar The train was moving along at great speed.
move in begin living in a new house, go to a mudarse, instalarse I've found a new flat, and I'm moving in next week.
different place and begin to live or
work there
move out stop living in a particuar house salir de casa Although I got on well with my parents, I couldn't wait to move out.
26
move up shift across to make room for hacer hueco a alguien When Paul arrived, we all had to move up to make room for him on the sofa.
someone
move up be promoted, get a more promocionar Sarah moved up and is now a sales manager.
important job in
a company ororganization
muck about/ around waste time doing silly things hacer el payaso Stop mucking about and get to work.
muddle through manage to do something although apañarselas Sorry, but I can't help you - you'll just have to muddle through on yourown.
you are not organized and do not
know how to do it
muddle up [sb/sth]/ confuse, mix up, think that a person or confundir I often muddle up Richard with his brother.
muddle [sb/sth] up thing is someone or
something else because the
two people or things are very similar
mug up [sth]/ mug [sth] study a subject quickly before taking empollar apresuradamente need to mug up (on) my history before tomorrow's exam
up an exam
mull over [sth]/ mull [sth] ponder, consider reflexionar, sopesar He paused to mull over his various options before making a decision.
over
name [sb/sth] after name a child using another family llamar a alguien por, ponerle el I was named after my grandfather.
[sb/sth] member's name nombre a alguien por
nod off fall asleep dar cabezadas The movie was so boring that I nodded off before it was finished.
nose around sneak around fisgonear I hate it when my mother noses around my room.
note down write for reference tomar nota Hold on, I'll just note that down.
occur to [sb] pop into one's mind, come to one's ocurrisele a, pasarle por la cabeza It didn't occur to us that we had left the iron on.
mind
open up share feelings, start to talk more about abrise emocionalmente, sincerarse I'm glad that John feels comfortable enough around me to open up.
yourself and feelings
opt in choose to be part of decidir formar parte Company policy is to leave new workers out of the pension scheme, unless they choose to opt in.
an activity, arrangement, etc.
opt out exclude yourself, choose not to optar por no hacer algo, no participar, Within any society, there will usually be people who decide to opt out (= choose not to live the way
be part of an activity or desvincuarse most people do).
to stop beinginvolved in it
order [sb] around/about tell someone what they should do all mandoner, dar ordenes The older waitresses didn’t talk to her except to order her around.
time
own up to [sth] admit that you hae done something admitir o reconocer un error My brother broke my mom's favorite lamp and refused to own up to it.
wrong
pack away [sth]/ pack [sth] put something into a bag or container, empaquetar Come on, children, it's time to pack away your toys.
away or to put something in the place where
it is usually kept
pack up [sth] / pack [sth] tidy away recoger, guardr, colocar They just packed up and left.
up
pair off match, put together in twos emparejar The teacher made all the kids groan when he paired the boys off with the girls and made them learn how
to dance.
27
pan out be successful, turn out well, develop in dar resultado, salir bien The trip to Vegas didn't pan out.
a particular way or in a successful way
pass off happen transcurrir The pop festival passed off peacefully, despite the fears of local residents.
pass away die morir After battling cancer for several years, he finally passed away at the age of 87.
pass by go past pasar por When Emily was sick, she sat near the window and waved at everyone who passed by.
pass for [sb/sth]o be taken to be hacer pasar pasar por algo o alguien He could easily pass for his brother, they look so much alike.
pass on die morir I am afraid Professor Johnson has passed on.

pass on transmit, give something to someone, transmitir Please pass this message on to your co-workers.
after someone else gave it to you
pass on not accept (an invitation to eat or do declinar Jennifer passed on the invitation to join us for dinner.
something)
pass out become unconscious perder el conocimiento He passed out because the room was too hot.
pass out [sth] distribute repartir, distribuir We need to pass out these flyers for the concert tomorrow.
pass up not take advantage (of an opportunity) desaprovechar, dejar pasar I can't believe she passed up the opportunity to study in Rome.
patch [sb] up person: treat injury mejorar, curar Don't worry, the doctors will patch you up in no time.
pay back [sb]/ pay [sb] take revenge on vengarse de alguien After he embarrassed her, she paid him back by playing a joke on him.
back
pay back [sth/sb]/ pay return money or tings to someone devolver If I loan you money, will you pay me back.
[sth/sb] back
pay off complete payment on a debt, pay all of amortizar It took me ten years to pay off my credit card debt.
money owed
pay up pay an amount owed sadar la deuda You've owed me that money for over a month. It's time to pay up.
peek into look furtively or curiously into asomarse, echar un vistazo I peeked into the room to see if the children were asleep.
phase in [sth]/ phase [sth] involve gradually introducir gradualmente They will phase the new healthcare system in over a period of five years.
in
phase out [sth]/ phase remove or stop using eliminar gradualmente Britain is to phase out the use of cheques as a form of payment by 2018.
[sth] out something gradually or in stages
phone [sb] back return a phone call to someone devolver la llamada Darlene said you were just upset because she wouldn't give you your phone back.
pick out choose escoger, seleccionar Diane picked out a lovely dress for the dance.
pick on [sb] to tease, bully, harass acosar, meterse con She keeps picking on me! Make her stop.
pick up [sth]/ pick [sth] up learn something without effort aprender It's possible to pick up enough English in two weeks to get by on your trip to Los Angeles.
pick up [sth]/ pick [sth] up to lift an object with the hands levantar Keep your back straight when you lift the TV up.
pick up [sth]/ pick [sth] up try to initiate a relationship with ligar en el bar Some weird guy tried to pick Patricia up at the bar.
someone (often in a bar)
pick up [sth]/ pick [sth] up grow, increase (inf.) mejorar, repuntar Business is really picking up this quarter.
28
pick up [sth]/ pick [sth] up come and get someone in a car recoger, pasarse a buscar en coche What time are you going to pick me up.
pile up [sth]/ pile [sth] up accumulate amontonar, acumular While his wife was gone, Sam let the dishes pile up in the sink.
pin down [sb]/ pin [sb] oblige to be specific about the details forzar a alguien a concretar algo The minister refused to be pinned down on the timing of the reforms
down or a decision
plan ahead be prepared planificar It's a good thing you planned ahead, otherwise we might have never found a hotel.
play down [sth]/ play [sth] make less important (inf.) restar importancia The President played down his affair with the intern.
down
play up appliance: malfunction funcionar mal The car is playing up
play up child: misbehave portarse mal The kids play her up dreadfully
play up [sth]/ play [sth] up highlight something (inf.) resaltar She played up her part in the new movie, but it was actually a very small role.
play up to [sb] flatter someone for your personal halagar She has been playing up to the boss because she wants a promotion.
advantage
plug in connect to mains supply enchufar He plugged in the television and switched it on.
point out tell someone about some information, puntualizar, señalar I'd like to point out that figures in column two might be outdated. He was planning to book a rock-climbing
often because you believe they do not holiday, till I pointed out that Denis is afraid of heights.
know it or have forgotten it
polish off [sth]/ polish [sth] finish something quickly and easily ventilarse, finiquitar, liquidarse He polished off the whole cake without offering a slice to anyone else.
off
polish up [sth]/ polish [sth] improve something mejorar I write a rough draft on the computer and then polish it up a bit.
up
pop in/ into casual visit pasar a ver I just thought I'd pop in and say hello! Whenever you're in the neighborhood, you're welcome to pop in.
pop out go out briefly ir a dar una vuelta I'm just popping out to the shops, I will be back in 10 minutes.
pour down rain heavily diluviar I hope you've got an umbrella, it's pouring down today!
pour in arrive copiousy llegar a raudales Letters of congratulations kept pouring in after our wedding.
pour out people exit in masse salir a raudales After the movie, the people poured out of the movie theater into the streets.
pour out [sth]/ pour [sth] talk very honestly about what is desahogarse He often comes to me to pour out his troubles.
out making you sad
pour out [sth]/ pour [sth] fill glass, cup with drink verter Could you please pour out a glass of water for me?
out
press on continue doing somehing continuar, perseverar Despite the worsening weather conditions, the explorers decided to press on with their journey.
prevail on [sb] to do [sth] persuade convencer a alguien para que haga He prevailed on the jury to hear of his innocence, but they labelled him guilty anyway.
algo
prevail over [sth/sb] win over other options prevalecer sobre, imponerse Maggie and Linda couldn't decide what car to buy, but finally, the Audi prevailed over the Renault.
prop [sth] up support, steady apoyar She propped up her book to keep her hands free for knitting.
pull [sb] through barely survive recuperarse I didn't think she was going to make it, but she pulled through in the end.
29
pull ahead of outdo, surpass adelantarse, tomar la delantera After a disappointing year, the company is finally pulling ahead of the competition once more.
pull in park (a vehicle) estacionar Mark pulled in too quickly and crashed into the wall.
pull off [sth]/ put [sth] off remove clothing quitarse la ropa He pulled off his shirt.
pull off [sth]/ put [sth] off succed in doing something difficut sacar adelante The spy was able to pull off his mission with none the wiser. He surprised me - I didn't think he could pull
it off.
pull out depart (a vehicle) marcharse, salir Our train pulls out at 8:00, so don't be late.
pull out [sth/sb]/ pull withdraw involvenment retirarse The new president was forced to make a decision as to whether or not to pull out of the war.
[sth/sb] out
pull over move vehicle to kerb irse al arcen, cuneta When he saw the flashing lights in the rear-view mirror, he pulled over.
pull together make a joint effort aunar esfuerzos, tirar para el mismo Everyone pulled together to make the concert a success.
lado
pull up vehicle stop detener e vehiculo The taxi pulled up to the curb, and the woman got out.
pull yourself together regain composture recobrar la compostura Stop crying and pull yourself together.
pump up inflate inflar pump up the economy
push in jump a queue colarse, abrise paso a empujones I hate people who push in; they have no manners.
put [sb] on telephone someone poner al telefono al alguien "is John there, please?" -- "I'll put him on". Can you put me on to Mr Smith please?
put [sb] through connecto to someone on phone poner a alguien al teléfono The doctor is in now; I'll put you through.
put [sb] up to [sth] persuade someone to do someting incitar a alguien a algo Somebody must have put him up to it.
put across communicate (an idea or suggestion) expresarse claramente I thought Ms. Smith put her ideas across rather clearly in the meeting.
clearly so that it is understood
put away return to the proper place of storage guardar en su sitio I told you kids to put your toys away.
put back [sth]/ put [sth] change clock back cambiar el reloj Don't forget to put your clocks back on Saturday.
back
put back [sth]/ put [sth] postpone posponer The meeting has been put back till 2 o'clock.
back
put down [sb] insult, say bad things about criticar, insultar, habar mal de alguien She always puts down people who don't share her opinions.
put forward make earlier adelantar Don't forget to put your clocks forward tonight. The meeting was put forward (by half an hour) to 2 pm.
put forward propose, suggest ofrecerse, postularse The responsibilities were so overwhelming that no-one wanted to put himself forward.
put in for officially submit a request socilitr, pedir He put in for a transfer to the division in Los Angeles. Martha put in for 2 weeks of unpaid vacation at
work.
30
put off postpone, dalay posponer Don't put off your work - do it now!
put off [sb]/ put [sb] off discourage, deter desalentar I don't want to put you off, but that make of car you're thinking of buying is very hard to maintain. That was
disgusting; it has put me off my dinner.
put on [sth] / put [sth] on wear ponerse Make sure you put on a sweater before you go outside.
put on [sth] / put [sth] on make a device switch on prender, encender Put the lights on, will you? It's getting dark.
put on [sth] / put [sth] on organize a play exhibition or concert representar We're putting on "Bugsy Malone".
put on [sth] / put [sth] on deceive simular, engañar I didn't believe a thing he said. I think he was putting me on. The footballer pretended to be injured but he
was putting it on, hoping to be awarded a penalty. He put on an annoying high voice to imitate his sister.
put on weight get fatter engordar, ganar peso Most college students gain weight during their first year of school. I've put on so much weight, my trousers
won't do up!
put out inconvenience someone incomodar I don't want to put you out, but could you pick me up at the airport.
put out extinguish (a fire) extinguir Don't use water to put out a grease fire.
put over convey, communicate exponer The lecturer knows how to put over his theories.
put up [sb]/ put [sb] up have a guest stay in your house for a hospedar a alguien Can you put me up while I'm in town.
short time, accomodate
put up with [sb/sth] tolerate tolerar Sandy will not put up with smoking in her house.
quiet down be quiet, or cause to be quiet bajar a voz The neighbors told us to quiet down last night or they would call the police.
reach down [sth]/ reach extend or strech the arm estirar o extender el brazo Greg reached down to give the little girl a flower
[sth] down
reach out [sth]/ reach [sth] extend or strech the arm estirar o extender el brazo It is important that we can reach out for help when we need it.
out
reach out to [sb] communicate with llegar a alguien We need to reach out to new audiences.
read [sth] into [sth] believe that an action, remark, or inferir algo a partir de Don't read too much into her leaving so suddenly - she probably just had a train to catch.
situation has a particular importance or
meaning, often when this is not true
read out [sth]/read [sth] recite aloud leer en voz alta She read the letter out to me over the phone.
out
read over/throught [sth] look through echar un vistazo, revisar Please read over my report and tell me if you notice any glaring errors. Read the instructions over and
make sure you understand what you have to do.
read up on [sth] research a topic for a reason documentarse, informarse I need to read up on the company before I go on the job interview.
reckon on [sb/sth] count on, rely on contar con Brian hoped that he could reckon on his wife's support.
reckon with [sb/sth] take account of hacerse cargo, lidiar Emily was surprised how many small difficulties she had to reckon with as a new mother.
reckon without [sb/sth] fail to take account of no contar con Tony thought taking Nathan's lunch money would be easy, but he had reckoned without Nathan's older
brother who was watching from the other side of the playground.
rely on/ upon depend on depender de Can you rely on that car?
31
revolve around [sth/sb] ve someone or something as girar entorno The conversation revolved around childcare problems.
the main or
mostimportant interest or subject
ring [sb] back return someone´s call devolver la llamada Can you ring back later?
ring off hang up cortar la llamada If you receive an unwelcome phone call, it's best to simply ring off.
ring up [sb] telephone llamar por telefono Jack rung me up last night at 3:00 in the morning.
rip off [sb] cheat tangar a alguien Some restaurants try to rip off foreign tourists.
rise above [sth] be unaffected by estar por encima Prudence hoped she could rise above the petty gossip and narrow-minded behavior of those in the
neighborhood.
roll out [sth]/ roll [sth] out flatten with a rolling pin estirar con rodillo Roll out the pastry thin and even.
roll out [sth]/ roll [sth] out introduce something new to public dar a conocer, lanzar, introducir The company plans to roll out its new product range in the spring.
root for [sb] show support, cheer on apoyar a, animar He always rooted for the underdog.
root out find and eliminate, get rid of erradicar, extirpar It's almost impossible to root out the causes of poverty.
rope in [sb] involve someone enganchar a alguien The team didn't have quite enough players, so the members roped in a few of their friends.
rub [sth] in remind someone something refregar I wanted to forget the whole incident, but my dad kept rubbing it in.
unpleasant
rule out [sb/sth] eliminate, exclude, decide that descartar I wouldn't rule out the possibility of moving to another country if I get a good job offer.
something or someone is not suitable
run down trace, catch up localizar, encontrar Have you run down those phone numbers I asked for last week?
run down [sb/sth]/ run criticize desprestigiar, criticar, menospreciar My boss runs everyone down.
[sb/sth] down
run [sb/sth] down hit with a car atropellar My dog was run down by a bus.
run [sb] off make leave, chase away echar The new government is trying to run the drug traffickers off.
run [sth] by [sb] check something with someone, tell chequear algo con alguien I´ve run it by the family but they all have a different views
someone about something so that they
can give their opinion
run across [sb] find or meet unexpectedly, encounter cruzarse con alguien I ran across some old photos while I was cleaning my house.
by chance
run away leave home permanently before you irse de casa The child ran away because her parents beat her.
are a legal adult
run away from escape from escaparse, fugarse The child ran away from its parents.
run for [sth] campaign for a government position, presentarse como candidato Gore is running for president of the U.S.A.
stand for election
run into amount to (cost) elevarse, ascender a The cost will run into millions.
run into [sb/sth] collide with, crash into chocar Two cars ran into each other this morning.
run into [sb/sth] meet unexpectedly, encounter by encontrarse con alguien I ran into my English teacher at the movies last night. She's so nice!
chance
32
run off reproduce (photocopies) fotocopiar Would you mind running off 10 copies of this document for me?
run off leave quickly, flee huir Why did you run off after the party?
run off with [sb/sth]] If a person runs off with someone else, robar, escaparse con un amante The dog ran off with my shoe. Mrs. Johnson apparently ran off with her gardener!
the two people leave together secretly
and suddenly, leave partner for
someone else; borrow, steal, or take
something that does not belong to you
run on continue doing somehing for longer alargarse The meeting ran on until seven in the evening, and still no agreement was reached.
than expected
run out have none left quedarse sin, agotarse Can you go and buy milk? We've completely run out.
run out of [sth] not have any more of something quedarse sin, agotarse We ran out of milk this morning, so we need to go to the store.
run over [sb/sth] hit with a vehicle atropellar, arrollar I'm so sorry; I accidentally ran over your cat!
run throught [sth] rehearse, review repasar, ensayar We will run through that difficult song once more before the show starts.
run up [sth]/ run [sth] up increase a debt by spending more incrementar la deuda He ran up huge bills on clothes. She had run up a huge bill at the hairdresser's .
run up against [sb/sth] face challenge, begin experience afrontar problemas The explorers ran up against some serious problems when the weather suddenly worsened.
problems or difficulties
save up accumulate (money) ahorrar, acumuar I hope I will be able to save up enough money to go to school.
scare away [sb/sth] frighten off ahuyentar The scarecrows in the garden did nothing to scare away the rabbits.
scrape through succed with a ot of difficults an exam aprobar por los pelos I just scraped through
screw up make a mistake, do badly cagarla, meter la pata I was counting on him to do the calculations correctly, but he screwed up.
scroll up/ down/ across move cursor on screen desplazar el cursor You can use the wheel on the mouse to scroll up and down the screen. The reason you can't see the
image at the bottom of the document is because you haven't scrolled down enough.
see through finish something despite difficulties llevar a cabo Are you going to be able to see your studies through now that you have a baby?
see [sb] off say good-bye to someone at the ir a despedirse Did you see your sister off at the train station?
beginning of their trip (at the airport,
train station)
see [sb] out go with someone to the door when acompañar a alguien a a puerta I'll see myself out.
they are leaving
see about consider pensar I might sign up for that class; I haven't decided. I'll see about it.
see about [sth] deal with something, arrange or ocuprse de, encargarse My dad said he was going to see about buying me a car.
consider something something to be
done
see off [sb]/see [sb] off say farewell despedir He came to the airport with me to see me off. I'll drive you to the station and see you off.
33
see through [sb/sth realize that someone tener calado a alguien I saw through him at once. I can see right through him. They were very friendly, but it didn't take long to
is trying to deceive you to get see through them.
an advantage, or that
someone's behaviour is intended tode
ceive you, and
to understand the truth about
thesituation
see to [sth] make sure something happens, ocuparse de, encargarse I'll see to it that Mr. Ramirez gets your message.
arrange
sell out tell on someone, give up support for a venderse, traicionar a principios The artist sold out and started doing commercial work. He wouldn't sell out the cause to serve his own
person or belief for money or personal propios interests.
advantage
sell off [sth]/ sell [sth] off divest, liquidize liquidar, vender The company will sell off some of its assets to raise cash. If he needs money he should sell off his
collection of paintings.
sell out all be sold todo vendido, no hay billetes The tickets sold out in three hours. Football matches often sell out in advance.
send [sb] for [sth] ask or order someone to fecht mandar a alguien por algo The doctor sent his assistant for some warm water.
something
send away for [sth] order by post solicitar por correo, pedir por correo I sent away for some personalised T-shirts.
send back return an item devolver, enviar de vuelta If mail-order clothes do not fit, you can usually send them back to the supplier.
send for [sb] summon ir a buscar He is very ill, I think we should send for his parents to take him home.
send up [sb/sth] mock, parody parodiar In 1962 and 63, the programme "That was the week that was" would send up politicians on BBC
television.
set [sb] off (doing [sth]) cause someone to start doing provocar la risa, el llanto Every time I think about it, it sets me off laughing. She's finally stopped crying - don't set her off again.
something like laugh, cry, etc
set [sb] up falsely incriminate a person inculpar a alguien, tender una trampa I don't think he killed those men. Somebody set him up.
set about [sth]/ doing [sth] begin to do or deal with something ponerse a, comenzar After putting up the tent, she set about making a fire.
set against [sth]/ doing be opposed to doing or having oponerse rotundamente a algo I was dead set against any kind of a seance.
[sth] something
set apart [sb/sth]/ set If a quality or characteristic sets diferenciarse de, distinguirse de What set her apart from the other candidates for the job was that she had a lot of original ideas.
[sb/sth] apart someone or somethingapart,
it shows him, her, or it to be different
from, and usually better than, others of
the same type
set aside [sth] save for a particular purpose apartar He sets aside some time every day to read to his children. After melting the chocolate, set it aside and
beat the eggs.
set off [sth]/ set [sth] off cause a loud noise, trigger off activar alarma He set off an alarm when he opened the back door.
set off/out begin a journey partir de viaje We'll have to set off very early to avoid the rush-hour traffic.
set up [sth]/ set [sth] up stablish, start a company establecer un negocio They set the new store up on Maple Street.
34
settle down start living in a place where estabilizarse, echar raices, afincarse Eventually I'd like to settle down and have a family, but not yet.
you intend to stay for along time,
usually with your partner
settle for [sth] be content with, accept or agree to conformarse con Don't settle for second best. I won't settle for less. hey were hoping to sell their car for $2000 but settled
something, or to decide to have for $1500.
something, although it is not exactly
what you want or it is not the best
settle on make a decision after a period of time decidirse por I settled on the job at the oil company.
settle up pay one's debts pagar las deudas We need to settle up before you move.
sex up make more exciting hacer mas atractivo The newspaper sexed up the story in order to make it more interesting for their readers.
shake [sb] off evade someone following quitarse a alguien de encima He grabbed my arm, I shook him off. Someone was following me, but I managed to shake him off.
shake off [sth] get rid of something bad librarse de algo malo I had to shake off a bad case of nerves before taking the exam.
shop around compare prices comparar precios It's a good idea to shop around before you buy a new car.
show [sb] up make someone seem inferior poner en riduculo a alguien He's always trying to show up his co-workers in order to get ahead.
show around [sb] guide round a new place mostrar algo a alguien The real estate broker showed the couple around the apartment.
show off show to everybody with a lot of pride, presumir He always shows off his new things.
behave boasfully
show out [sb]/ show [sb] go with someone to the door when acompañar a alguien a a puerta After the dinner party, Claire showed the guests out and said goodbye to them.
out they are leaving
show up arrive without previous notice aparecer I hadn't seen my cousin for years, and all of a sudden, he showed up at my workplace yesterday!
shut [sb/sth] out leave outside dejar fuera a alguien Nancy always shuts the cat out at night.
shut [sb] up make quiet callar Would someone shut him up! He's talking so loudly that we're going to get in trouble.
shut down [sth] close a business cerrar el negocio I plan to shut down the business next month.
shut off stop from functioning cortar el suministro If you don't pay your electric bill, your power is going to get shut off.
sign up enrol inscribise It's time to sign up for the volleyball team. Practice starts next week.
sink in be understood, if an unpleasant or asimilar It hasn't sunk in that he's gone forever. How many times do I have to tell you something before it sinks in?
surprising fact or idea sinks in, you
gradually start to believe it, understand
it, or realize the effect it will have on
you
skimp on be stingy escatimar en, racanear Many old people skimp on food in order to enable them to pay the bills.
slave away at work hard at afanarse, trabajar como un esclavo, He slaved away at his paper all week, but he got it done on time.
dar e callo
sleep in get up late dormir hasta tarde It's Saturday, so I don't have to get up for work. I can sleep in.
slip off leave discreetely salir a escondidas She slipped off to go see her boyfriend before her parents could protest.
slip up make a mistake, do badly meter la pata Sorry, I slipped up when I calculated how much I owe you.
35
slow down/up [sb/sth] make move more slowly desacelerar, ralentizar Because Mary's level in English is lower than the rest of the students, she slows the class down.
snack on [sth] eat between meals picar entre horas Maggie snacks on chocolate bars when she's bored.
snap up [sth] buy or obtain something quickly and e agotar, venderse como churros, me lo Tickets for the concert were snapped up within three hours of going on sale.
nthusiastically quitan de las manos
sneak off leave furtively escabulirse Paul looked around and realised Joe had snuck off again.
sort out find a solution to, put in order poner en orden My son needs to sort out the clothes in the closet.
speak up talk more loudly hablar mas alto Please speak up. I can't hear you!
spell out to explain something in a detailed way explicar con lujo de detalles, deletrear He's so stupid that you have to spell everything our for him.
so that the meaning is clearly
understood
spit it out say it dilo de una vez, sueltalo, canta How on earth did you get that black eye? - come on, spit it out!
splash out spend extravagant sum of money tirar la casa por la ventana We splashed out last night and went to a fancy restaurant.
split up couple separate separarse My parents split up when I was a child but they stayed friends.
spread out be separated dispersarse The players spread out.
spread out lie down tumbarse, despatarrarse The cat spreads out on the blanket like a lion in the sun.
spring from [sth] emerge, arise from, come from or be a surgir de, brotar de His need to be liked obviously springs from a deep-rooted insecurity.
result of something
stamp out get rid of, eradicate extirpar The priests of the Spanish Inquisition hoped to stamp out any heresy.
stand [sb] up fail to meet for date dejar plantado We were supposed to meet outside the restaurant but he stood me up.
stand by be ready and waiting estar preparado I need you to stand by and answer the phone when my broker calls.
stand by [sb] support someone apoyar a, estar con The politician's wife stood by him when he was accused of misusing public funds.
stand for represent, be short of representa, significa SCUBA stands for "self contained underwater breathing apparatus."
stand for tolerate tolerar I won't stand for people criticizing me.
stand in replace someone temporarily reemplazar, cubrir la baja She is standing in while the usual secretary is ill.
stand out be very noticeable resaltar, sobresalir, destacarse Soledad is so beautiful! She really stands out in a crowd.
stand up for [sth/sb] defend (something one believes in) alzarse en defensa de alguien Every individual must stand up for what they believe in.
stand up to [sb/sth] defend oneself against someone or alzarse en contra de alguien I think you should stand up to your older brother and tell him to stop pushing you around.
something
stay away from [sb/sth] avoid, not go near alejarse, mantenerse alejado Stay away from me! I've got measles.
stay on remain longer than you planned quedarse We know that your term is over but we are hoping you will stay on to serve another term. Maria hoped
she could stay on after her visa expired.
stay over spend the night at a person's house quedarse a dormir It takes you so long to take the bus home, so why don't you just stay over?
stay up not go to bed quedarse levantado o despierto We stayed up the whole night talking to each other. The children stayed up late as a special treat to watch
an important football match.
step down resign dejar el cargo, dimitir The chairman of the committee decided to step down because of ill health.
36
step up increase reforzar, incrementar, redoblar As demand grew for its environmentally friendly products, the business had to step up production. I had to
step up my training regime as the day of the race approached.
stick around stay somewhere for a period of time quedarse Letting me stick around after what happened.
stick at [sth] persevere empearse, insistir Do you think I should stick at it?
stick by [sb] continue support someone, be faithful no abandonar, apoyar The EU must stick by the proposal to provide support totalling one billion euros to farmers in the
to someone developing countries.
stick into thrust in clavar, meter The cook stuck the knife into the mango.
stick it to [sb] severely criticize a person (inf.) meter caña a alguien My boss really stuck it to me when I arrived late to work for the third time this week.
stick out stand out destacar, resaltar The young man's blue mohawk stuck out like a sore thumb in the corporate offices.
stick up for [sb] defend oneself or opinions dar la cara por alguien, defender a Joseph joined the army because he believes he must stick up for his country.
stir up provoke, incite suscitar The protest was a device to stir up public interest in the issue. Her bombastic speech was guaranteed to
stir up raw emotions.
stir up trouble provoke discontent or disagreement armar lio, meter cizaña The motorcycle gang roared into town, determined to stir up trouble. Gossips must repeat rumors just to
stir up trouble
stock up buy a lot of somethinf for future use aprovisionarse It will be a major storm, we better stock up on batteries, canned goods and water.
sum up describe briefly resumir I would like to sum up my position by saying I'm right and you're wrong. To sum up the situation, we're in
big trouble!
suss out figure out darse cuenta, percatarse They never sussed what was going on
swamp [sb/sth] with [sth] overload: with work, etc. saturar, abrumar, agobiar The translator's clients were swamping her with work and she had no time to do anything else.
sweep up clean with a broom or brush barrer, cepillar If you are going to allow dogs in the house you need to sweep up the dog hair.
swell up become enlarged inflamarse, hincharse My hands swelled up after I took the medication.
tag along accompany someone pegarse como una lapa My younger brother always wanted to tag along.
take back retract something you said retirar lo dicho I demand that you take back what you said.
take down [sth]/ take [sth] remove (from a high place) demontar The city government made the shop take down their bright, neon sign.
down
take down [sth]/ take [sth] write down what is said tomar nota Would you mind taking down my messages while I am on vacation?
down
take in learning, understand, absorb internalizar, asimilar, pillar Are you taking in all of these phrasal verbs?
take off when a plane or rocket leaves the despegar My stomach felt funny when the plane took off.
ground
take over take control of tomar el control Who is going to take over the family business when Aretha's father dies?
take [sb/sth]for [sb/sth] consider, view as tomar algo o alguien por Do you take me for an idiot?
take [sb] back nostalgic recordar It takes me back to my childhood.
take [sb] down reduce someone´s self esteem bajar los humos Frank was a bit pompous at first, but the new teacher took him down a notch.
take [sb] in deceive a person engañar a alguien He was taken in by the artist. I sadly watched him drive off, knowing I wouldn't see him again.
37
take [sb] on employ, hire contratar When unemployment is falling, for instance, employers are more inclined to explore new avenues
and take on people from a different ethnic background.
take [sb] through [sth] explain something to someone, or to explicar algo, mostrar como se hace Jack will take you trough the job before we leae you on your own.
show someone how to do someting
take [sb] up on [sth] accept offer of aceptar la oferta You'll do the work for just £20? Great - I'll take you up on that offer!
take [sth] out of [sb] make someone feel very tired hacer sentir mal a aluien It takes it out of you
take after [sb] resemble a parent or relative asemejarse a, parecerse a, salir a I take after my father. Who do you take after?
take apart separate into its differents pieces, desmontar She was a good mechanic and could take an engine apart in less than three hours.
dismantle, disassemble
take aside [sb] talk to privately llevar aparte a alguien My dad took me aside and told me I'd better not do that again.
take away remove, seize or capture confiscar The soldiers took the captives away.
take away subtract from another restar take 9 away from 12

take back return an item to a store devolver The dress my grandmother bought for me didn't fit, so I took it back and exchanged it for a pair of pants.
take off leave work or school for a period of dias libres, no trabajar I was sick last week, so I took a few days off of work.
time
take off copy te way a person behaves imitar It was a take-off of an old Monty Python scene. The new series is a mildly funny take-off on political talk
shows.
take off remove quitarse una prenda zapatos In many cultures, it is appropriate to take off your shoes when entering a house.
take off subtract an amount from total restar, descontar she took 50p off
take off become successfu volverse exitoso The style really took off among young peope
take on accept (responsibilities, work) hacerse cargo She has taken on too much responsibility in this project.
take out obtain an insurance, arrange to get a tener un seguro, sacar un documento I took out some health insurance before I went backpacking around Latin America.
official document from organisation or
court of law
take out ( a loan) borrow money from a bank or other pedir un prestamo He took out a mortgage to buy a bigger flat.
official lender
take out [sb]/ take [sb] out accompany a person on a date (for invitar a salir, salir con Lisa was happy that Carl wanted to take her out.
dinner, the movies)
take out [sth] on [sb] treat someone badly because you are pagar tu enfado con alguien Don't take your anger out on your sister; she had nothing to do with it.
upset or angry
take out a subscription pre-pay for issues of a magazine suscribirse Why take out a subscription if you can read that online?
take over take control of asumir responsabilidad If the President is assassinated, the Vice-president will take over.
take over become more important ganar importancia Then panic took over. Cars gradually took over from horses.
take to [sth] start liking empezar a gustar The little girl took to her new puppy dog. They are now inseparable.
take to [sth]/ doing [sth] start doing habitually aficionarse a, darle por, tener la Police have taken to stopping motorcyclists at random.
costumbre de
38
take up begin a new hobby darle a uno por una aficion Have you taken up any new hobbies since you moved here?
take up with [sb] become friends hacerse amigo He took up with a woman half his wife's age.
taken up with [sth] occupy, bussy ocupado He's very taken up with his work. It takes up a lot of his time.
talk over discuss hablar sobre I hope my parents talk their relationship problems over before they get divorced.
talk [sb] into [sth]/ doing persuade persuadir She talked him into going to the cinema that night.
[sth]
talk back respond in an impolite way to an adult responder, contestar Don't talk back!
talk back to respond in an impolite way to an adult responder, contestar Children should not talk back to their parents.
talk down to [sb] speak condescendingly to hablar o tratar con paternalismo o I hate it when my teacher talks down to me.
condescenciente
tall [sb] around persuade someone to agree with you persuadir Some board members are opposed to the merger, but it may be possible to talk them round.
or to do what you want, when they
have previously been against it
tear [sb] apart devastate emotionally destruir emocionamente Getting a cancer diagnosis can tear you apart.
tear [sb] away remove someone apartar a alguien It was difficult to tear the child away from the television when it was time for bed.
tear [sth] from [sth] pull or rip out of extraer algo de, sacar algo de, The story line of the drama was torn from the headlines.
arrancar algo de
tear apart [sth] rip to pieces despedazar, hacer trizas He tore apart the green pear with his bare hands.
tear down destroy derribar The county decided to tear down the dilapidated school and build a new one.
tear off [sth]/ tear [sth] off detach by ripping arrancar He tore off the wrapping to discover what was inside.
tear up become teary-eyed lagrimear If he sings a sad song, I'm going to tear up for sure.
tear up [sth] tear or rip into small pieces romper en mil pedazos I always tear up my personal papers before I throw them out.
tell [sb/sth] apart be abe to distinguish te differences distinguir, diferenciar The twins are so alike that it's not easy to tell them apart.
between two different things
tell [sb] off criticize a person severely, reprimand echar la bronca, regañar Carolina told me off when she found out I was gossiping about her date with Martin.
(inf.)
tell on [sb] report a crime to the police or bad chivarse, delatar Every time I did something wrong when I was a child, my sister would tell on me.
behavior to a parent
thaw out defreeze descongearse It will take two or three days for the turkey to thaw out in the refrigerator.
think up invent, devise, create or invent a false ocurrirsee algo I need to think up an excuse for not going to her party.
story
think ahead think about what will happen in prever When I pack for a vacation, I try to think ahead and bring all the items that I might need.
the future and planfor these events
think back try to remember hacer memoria Try to think back: do you recall noticing anything unusual about him?
think over [sth] consider, deliberate pensar Think over the offer before you sign the contract.
39
think through [sth] consider carefully sopesar, pensar detenidamente, You need to think this through carefully before you make a decision.
analizar detalladamente
throw away discard tirar la basura Don't throw away those bottles; we can recycle them.
throw out remove by force from (a room, school, expulsar Mary threw out her roommate because she stopped paying rent.
a house, etc.)
throw out discard tirar, deshacerse I asked him not to throw out the Sunday newspaper because I wanted to save an article.
throw [sth] together assemble hastily hacer algo a la carrera For dinner Thursday night I just threw some stuff together. My presentation was just thrown together at
the last minute.
throw up vomit vomitar If you drink too much alcohol, you might throw up.
tidy away [sth] put things back in drawers, cupboards, guardar en su sitio The children were expected to tidy away their toys before bedtime.
and other places where they are kept,
after you have used them
tidy up put in order organizar, ordenar I want to tidy up before the guests arrive.
tie in be consistet ser coherente James said they'd got home at 2 am and Paul said the same, so that ties in.
tie in with [sth] connect wit someting concordar cuadrar con algo, relacionar It doesn't tie in with what he told us. The wedding was arranged to tie in with David's leave. You can't tie
algo con algo, coincidir eventos me in with any of the killings.
tie up [sth] tie securely, fasten, put strings or rope atar When we dock, make sure you tie the boat up.
around
tied up busy ocupado Due to the project I'm working on I'll be tied up until next week.
tip off [sb]/ tip [sb] off warn secrety poner sobre aiso a, prevenir a alguien The police had been tipped off
de, dar el soplo o chivatazo
tire [sb] out cause someone to be very tired agotar a alguien Speaking English all day tires me out.
tone down moderate language making a piece of moderar o suavizar el tono Some of the language in the original play has been toned down for the television version.
writing or speech less offensive
toss [sb/sth] aside abadon, disregard relegar a , abandonar, dejar de lado I mean, he's not a novel you can just toss aside if it's boring.
touch down land tomar tierra, aterrizar The plane had to touch down in Dallas due to severe weather.
touch on/upon [sth] talk about for a short time, mention aludir brevemente, tocar un asunto The presidential candidates touched on the subject of health care during the debates.
very briefly superficialmente
touch up [sb]/ touch [sb] grope sexually meter mano, manosear She found her boyfriend at the bar touching up another girl.
up
touch up [sth]/ touch [sth] make the final improvements, improve retocar We didn't paint the whole kitchen, we just touched up the cabinets.
up by making minor changes
track down [sb/sth]/ track find something or someone after localizar, rastrear, dar con el paradero He finally managed to track down the papers he wanted. The posse used bloodhounds to track down the
[sb/sth] down looking for them in a lot of different de alguien fugitive. I'll see if I can track down that recipe for you.
places
try on put on to make sure a piece of clothing probarse la ropa Try on the pants before you buy them.
fits
40
try out test by using testar The salesman let us try out the bicycle before deciding whether to buy it. Try out this massage chair - it
feels great!
turn down [sb/sth]/ turn refuse an offer; reject an application rechazar She turned down the new job in New York, because she didn't want to move.
[sb/sth] down
turn on start the function of a TV, a radio, a encender Turn on the TV. The baseball game starts in a few minutes.
machine
turn on [sb] cause to be excited sexually excitar sexualmente Scientists have discovered that the smell of cinnamon turns many people on.
turn out [sth] produce producir The weavers can turn out two or three rugs a month.
turn over give to authorities (said of evidence or entregar They turned the wallet over to the police.
stolen , lost property)
turn [sth/sb] in submit, hand over entregar un trabajo o entregar a la You need to turn your essays in next week. She knew her brother had committed a crime, but she refused
policia to turn him in.
turn around change or reverse direction, spin, darse la vuelta Turn the car around and go back home.
rotate
turn away avert your gaze, move your face so apartar la mirada When they show an operation on TV, I have to turn away.
you are not looking at something
turn down lower the volume or intensity of a TV, bajar el volumen I'm studying! Please turn down the TV.
radio, or other machine
turn in go to bed (inf.) irse a a cama It's getting late. I think it is about time to turn in.
turn into become something different, transform transformarse When she kissed the frog, it turned into a handsome prince.
turn off stop the function of (a stove, a water apagar Don't forget to turn off the iron before you leave the house.
faucet, a car, etc.)
turn on [sb] attack or criticize someone suddenly atacar a alguien The pit bull suddenly turned on the small child. Suddenly she just turned on me and accused me of
and unexpectedly undermining her.
turn out audience members to a function, acudir a un evento Over 100,000 people turned out for the concert.
attend
turn out conclude well or badly, end up being terminar, resultar, acabar The forecast is good, but it is too soon to say how it will turn out. She turned out to be the murderer after
all.
turn over [sth] earn money ganar, facturar he company turns over 3 million dollars a year.
turn to [sb] seek help from someone acudir a alguien, encomendarse a I'm in such a bad situation that I don't know who to turn to. Don't turn to him for help, he can't be trusted.
alguien
turn up find unexpectedly, be found aparecer My keys turned up in the bedroom.
turn up increase output aumentar, subir We turned the TV up to drown the noise of our neighbours arguing.
turn up arrive llegar I didn't expect him to turn up at my party as he wasn't invited. No telling when he'd turn up, he was never
on time. We'll see if anyone turns up.
turn up [sth]/ turn [sth] up increase the volume or intensity of a subir Turn up the TV. I can't hear what they're saying.
TV, radio, or other machine
use up use all of something gastar, usar todo I used up all of the soap, so we need to buy some more.
veg out be idle, relax vaguear I'm exhausted - I think I'll just go home and veg out in front of the TV tonight.
41
wait on serve, service (a table) atender el servicio Each waitress waits on three different tables in the restaurant.
wait up not sleep because you are waiting for quedarse despierto esperando a Don't wait up.
something or someone alguien
wait up for [sb] not sleep because you are waiting for quedarse despierto esperando a Let's wait up for Mary to see how her date went.
someone or something alguien
wake up awaken someone despertar The car alarm woke me up at 6:00 in the morning.
wake up to [sth] become aware of abrir los ojos, darse cuenta After seeing the note in his pocket, Marsha woke up to the fact that her husband was having an affair.
walk into a job encounter easiy a job encontrar facilmente un puesto She walked straight into a well-paid job after graduating from university.
walk off go away on foot aejarse andando He became angry and walked off.
walk off with [sth] steal witout permission llevarse si permiso After he broke into the house, the thief walked off with all my jewelry.
walk out refuse to fulfil obligation acabar, poner fin The player denied that he had any intention of walking out on his contract.
warm to [sth] idea: become enthusiastic entusiasmarse Don't worry, you'll soon warm to the idea.
warm up get warmer calentarse Let's go inside and warm up; we've been out here too long.
wash up clean oneself lavarse la cara Make sure you wash up before dinner.
wash up clean dishes lavar los platos If we work together, we can wash the kitchen up in a few minutes.
waste away become thin and weak consumirse, quedarse chupado If you don't eat you're just going to waste away. Some diseases can cause people to waste away.
watch out be careful estar atento Watch out - there's a rattlesnake!
watch out for [sb/sth] be careful of, remain vigilant for, mantenerse alerta, tener cuidado de Watch out for snakes while you are hiking in the desert.
beware of
wear out [sb]/ wear [sb] cause to be very tired agotar a alguien, fatigar Her three kids wore me out.
out
wear down [sb] make someone feel tired and agotar a alguien Both sides are trying to wear the other down by being obstinate in the negotiations.All the stress and extra
less able to dealsuccessfully with travel is beginning to wear him down.
a situation
wear off disappear after a period of time desaparecerlos efectos The affects of the medicine will wear off after a few hours.
wear out [sth]/ wear [sth] use until something is not useable deteriorar, desgastar algo If you wear the same shoes everyday, you'll wear them out.
out anymore
weigh [sb/sth] down be heavy, be a burden pesar algo, agobiar a alguien I was weighed down by all the shopping I did today. All this debt weighs me down, and I can't enjoy
myself anymore.
weigh up [sth]/ weigh [sth] compare sopesar In making my decision, I had to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages.
up
while away spend time idly matar el tiempo I whiled away a few minutes looking in shop windows.
whittle [sth] away reduce, eliminate reducir, mermar Our sovereignty is gradually being whittled away
win [sb] over persuade convencer, comer la cabeza Little by little we'll win you over to our political cause.
42
wind down end gradually or in stages, or to cause disminuir poco a poco, quedarse sin The storm finally began to wind down after four hours of heavy rain.
something to end in this way, run out energia
of power
wind down relax relajarse, desconectarse After work I have a drink to wind down.
wind up tighten the spring of a watch or similar dar cuerda al reloj He wound up the toy dog and set it on the floor.
machine
wind up finish (inf.) terminar, resultar, acabar If he doesn't get his act together, he is going to wind up in jail.
wipe out [sth]/ wipe [sth] massacre or destroy aniquilar, barrer The tidal wave wiped out the small fishing village.
out
work off [sth]/ work [sth] get rid of by physical effort quemar calorias Walking around the neighborhood should work off some of that meal.
off
work out solve resolver, solucionar, descubrir la I hope you two can work out your problems.
solución
work at [sth] put great effort into trabajar en We are currently working at finding ways to become more environmentally friendly.
work out exercise hacer ejercicio I work out three times a week at the fitness center.
work out be successful salir bien I am glad your new catering business is working out. I hope it will work out well. How did it work out?
wrap up [sb] dress in warm clothing abrigarse Wrap up if you're going outside – you don't want to catch a cold.
wrap up [sth] cover, envelop envolver I'll wrap it up securely and put it in the post to you.
wriggle out of [sth] evade a duty escabullirse Joey could not wriggle out of the consequences of his lies.
write out write down every word or letter, escribir completo, escribir entero He wrote out the lyrics so I could understand what the singer was saying.
transcribe in full
write up prepare a report hacer una redaccion He wrote up a business proposal in order to get a loan.
write down record anotar, apuntar Write down the directions so you don't forget them.
write off [sth]/ write [sth] accept that a debt will not be paid or dar por perdido, considerar incobrable Last year the bank wrote off $17 million in bad debts.
off that money has been lost
write off [sth]/ write [sth] record as total loss declarar siniestro total We're going to have to write off the warehouse that burnt down.
off
yammer on to talk in an annoying way or complain quejarse They yammered on and on and on.
("on" can be repeated for emphasis)
zone out stop paying attention estar en babia, pensando en las He zoned out during class.
musarañas
zonk out fall asleep from exhaustion desmayarse, caerse muerto Jill was so exhausted after taking the TOEFL test that she zonked out before dinner.
zoom in focus hacer zoom You need a telephoto lens to zoom in.
zoom in on focus closely on, pinpoint centrarse en She zoomed in on his face while taking the picture.
43

Phrasal Verbs

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Phrasal Verbs

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Phrasal Verbs Reference

pass on die morir I am afraid Professor Johnson has passed on.

pump up inflate inflar pump up the economy

take away subtract from another restar take 9 away from 12

You might also like