PHRASAL VERBS
GET
 Get on – Subir.
They got on the train.
 Get on – Progresar.
Sue is getting on very well in her new
job.
 Get on for – Llegar a una edad.
He must be getting on for seventy.
 Get across – Ser entendido.
I had the feeling I wasn’t getting the
meaning across.
 Get at – Dar a enterder, coloquial.
What are you getting at exactly?
 Get down to – Ponerse con algo en
serio.
It’s time we got down to some real
work.
 Get off with – Evitar un castigo.
They were lucky to get off with such
light sentences
 Get over – Sorprenderse.
I couldn’t get over how well she
looked.
 Get over with – Terminar algo que no
nos gusta.
I’ll be glad to get this awful
business over with.
 Get round to – Encontrar tiempo para
hacer algo.
Sorry, but I haven’t got round to fixing
the tap yet.
 Get up to – Tramar algo.
The children are getting up
to something in the garden
TAKE
 Take in – Engañar.
Don’t be taken in by her apparent
shyness.
 Take (it) out on – Hacer a alguien
sufrir por nuestro propio sufrimiento.
I know you are unhappy, but don’t
take it out on me!
 Take off – Imitar.
Dave takes off the Prime Minister
really well.
 Take on -Adquirir una nueva actividad
o hábito.
My grandmother has taken on a new
lease of life since her operation.
 Take on – Hacer algo extra.
She has taken on too much with a full-
time job as well.
 Take out – Firmar un seguro.
Ann has taken out life insurance.
 Take over – Tomar el control.
The army tried to take over the
country.
 Take to someone – Desarrollar
apreciación por alguien.
You’ll soon take to your new boss, I’m
sure.
 Take away – Llevarse.
She took the envelope away
 Take up – Ocupar tiempo.
The meeting took up a whole morning.
LOOK
 Look up – Buscar una referencia.
Look up the term online.
 Look someone up – Visitar.
If you’re passing through Athens, look
me up.
 Look after – Cuidar de.
She looked after her grandmother.
 Look into – Investigar.
The police have promised to look
into the problem.
 Look on – Considerar.
We look on this town as our real
home.
GO
 Go after – Perseguir.
She is going after a great job.
 Go back on – Romper una promesa.
The management has gone back
on its promise.
 Go in for – Convertir algo en hábito.
I don’t go in for that kind of thing.
 Go in for – Entrar en una competición.
Are you thinking of going in for the
race?
 Go off – Un alimento se pone malo.
This milk has gone off.
 Go on – Suceder.
Something funny is going on.
 Go round – Ser o tener suficiente.
There weren’t enough life-jackets
to go round.
  Go through with – Completa una
promesa o plan.
When it came to actually stealing the
money, Nora couldn’t go through
with it.
COME
 Come after – Seguir a alguien.
A dog came after me when I started
running.
 Come about – Suceder.
Let me explain how the situation came
about.
 Come down to – Resumir o concluir
un argumento.
It all comes down to whether you are
prepared to accept less money.
 Come in for – Recibir críticas o culpa.
The government has come in for a lot
of criticism over the decision.
 Come off – Suceder con éxito.
I’m afraid that deal didn’t come
off after all.
 Come out – Aparecer.
All the flowers have come out.
 Come up – Suceder algo
problemático.
Look, something has come up, and I
can’t meet you.
 Come up against – Encontrarse con
una dificultad.
We’ve come up against a bit of a
problem.
 Come up to – Cumplir expectativas.
The play didn’t come up
to expectations.
 Come up with – Pensar en un plan o
solución.
We still haven’t come up with a
solution to the problem.
TURN
 Turn down – Rechazar.
Another company offered me a job but
I turned them down.
 Turn out – Algo que resulta al final.
He turned out to be an old friend of
Helen’s.
 Turn out – Reunirse o formar un
grupo.
Thousands of fans turned out to
welcome the team.
 Turn up – Descubrir por causalidad.
Don’t worry about that missing book,
it’s bound to turn up sooner or later.
 Turn up – Llegar o aparecer.
Not many people turned up for the
lesson.
MAKE
 Make after – Perseguir.
She made after the bus but could not
reach.
 Make for – Resultar o facilitar.
The power steering makes for easier
parking.
 Make off with – Escapar.
The thief made off with a valuable
necklace.
 Make out – Pretender.
Tim made out that he hadn’t seen the
No Smoking sign.
 Make out – Ver o entender.
I couldn’t quite make out what the
notice said.
 Make someone out – Comprender la
conducta de alguien.
Janet is really odd. I
can’t make her out.
 Make up – Inventar.
I think you made up the whole story!
 Make up for – Compensar por algo.
Our success makes up for all the
hard times.
SET
 Set about – Comenzar a hacer algo.
We must set about re-organising the
office.
 Set in – Establecerse en el tiempo.
I think this rain has set in for the day.
 Set out – Dar detalles escritos.
This document sets out all the Union
demands.
 Set out – Preparar.
I’ve set out the refreshments in the
hall.
 Set out – Comenzar algo.
Sue set out to write a biography but it
became a novel.
 Set up – Establecer.
An inquiry into the accident has
been set up.
  Set (up) on – Atacar.
We were set upon by a gang of
hooligans.
GIVE
 Give away – Traicionar.
His false identity
papers gave him away.
 Give off – Emitir mal olor.
The cheese had begun to give off a
strange smell.
 Give out – Terminarse.
When our money gave out we had to
borrow some.
 Give over – Abandonarse a una
actividad.
The rest of the time was given over to
playing cards.
 Give over – Parar.
Why don’t you give over? You are
getting on my nerves.
 Give up – Rendirse.
The escaped
prisoner gave herself up.
 Give up – Dar algo o alguien por
muerto o perdido.
After ten days the ship was given
up for lost..
 Give up – Dejar una actividad o
hábito.
They gave up gambling.
CUT
 Cut out – Dejar de hacer algo.
My Dad has very high cholesterol, so
he has cut out eggs and dairy from
his diet.
 Cut back – Hacer algo en menor
medida.
You eat too much salt, you should cut
back on salty foods.
 Cut off – Recortar.
He cut all the fat off.
 Cut out – Dar forma a algo mediante
cortes.
He cut several pieces of pastry out.
 Cut up – Recortar en piezas con un
cuchillo.
He cut the pie up into equal slices.
BRING
 Bring about – Causar.
The crisis was brought about by
Brenda’s resignation.
 Bring off – Hacer algo con éxito.
The team tried for years to win the
competition and they
finally brought it off.
 Bring on – Causar una enfermedad.
Sitting in the damp brought on his
rheumatism.
 Bring on – Causar un problema.
You have brought this on/upon
yourself.
 Bring round – Influir a alguien hacia
tu punto de vista.
After much discussion, I brought the
committee round to my point of view.
 Bring up – Mencionar.
I feel I ought to bring up another small
matter.
CALL
 Call after – Poner el mismo nombre
de un antecesor.
The baby is called after his
grandfather.
 Call at – Hacer una parada corta.
The train calls at Oxbridge and
Glenville.
 Call away – Pedir a alguien que se
vaya.
The doctor was called away for an
emergency.
 Call back – Devolver una llamada.
I’ll call you back as soon as possible.
 Call for – Ir a algún sitio a por alguien.
Tom said he would call for her at 8
o’clock.
 Call for – Demandar que algo se
haga.
The authorities called for an
investigation.
 Call for – Requerir.
The job calls for excellent computer
skills.
 Call in – Pedir a alguien que venga a
hacer un trabajo.
He called in the plumber to repair the
leak.
  Call in (on) – Hacer una visita a
alguien.
Jack called in on his parents
yesterday.
 Call off – Cancelar.
The picnic was called off due to the
storm.
 Call on/upon – Invitar o pedir
formalmente.
I now call on the President to address
the assembly.
 Call out – Decir algo en voz alta.
He called out my name but I didn’t
answer.
 Call round – Ir a un sitio a ver a
alguien.
The nurse said she would call
round to see my mother.
 Call up – Movilizar en el ejercito.
My grandfather was called up to
active duty in 1940.
BE
 Be after – Intentar, conseguir.
What’s he after? Is he looking for
proof?
 Be against – Oponerse.
I must say I’m against the idea.
 Be along – Llegar.
Jack will be along soon. He’s on his
way.
 Be away – Estar fuera por un periodo
largo.
She is away today. She has gone to
London.
 Be down – Estar deprimido.
The news is bad so John is a
bit down today.
 Be down – Descender.
Oil prices were down today.
 Be down on – Desaprobar, no gustar.
Why is Charlie so down on the new
recruit?
 Be down with – Estar enfermo.
My mother is down with a bad cold.
 Be in for – Tener motivos para
esperar algo.
I think we are in for snow today.
 Be in on – Participar en algo.
Alex is in on the project too.
 Be into – Estar interesado en algo.
He’s into sports and she’s into
poliltics.
 Be off – Salir hacia algún sitio.
I’m off! I’ve got a plane to catch.
 Be on – Tomar medicación.
The driver was on drugs at the time of
the accident.
 Be on about – Querer decir.
What are you on about? I don’t
understand.
 Be onto – Hacer un descubrimiento.
My colleague is excited. He must be
on to something.
 Be out – Estar fuera por un periodo
corto.
Where’s Peter? He’s out today.
 Be out of – Quedarse sin algo.
We’re out of coffee I’m afraid.
 Be out to – Intentar conseguir algo.
He’s out to win the match.
 Be up – Estar despierto.
Tom was up at the crack of dawn!
 Be up – Incrementar.
The interest rates are up again.
 Be up to – Tramar.
What are those kids up to?
 Be up to – Ser responsabilidad de
alguien.
It’s up to the government to find a
solution.
PICK
 Pick up – Recoger algo o a alguien
para llevarle a otro sitio.
There’s nothing in the fridge so I
will pick some sandwiches up from the
shop.
 Pick up – Mejorar.
The weather seems to be picking up.
 Pick at – Comer despacio.
Mauro picks at his food. He eats like a
bird.
 Pick at – Irritar o molestar.
If you have a mosquito bite, you
shouldn’t pick at it.
 Pick off – Quitar.
Toni picked the hairs off her sweater
one by one.
 Pick on – Acosar.
Teenagers always pick on the new kid
in school.
 Pick up – Aprender mediante
experiencia.
I picked up a little Korean when I lived
in Seoul.
 Pick up – Acelerar o estar ocupado.
Miami Beach really picks up in March
because of Spring Break.
  Pick up – Llevar a alguien en el
coche.
Larry always picks me up when I fly
into Philadelphia.
 Pick up – Pagar la cuenta de alguien.
Anastasia picked up our tab at the
bar.
 Pick out – Elegir algo.
I told Gina to pick out a new pair of
shoes for her birthday present.
CARRY
 Carry away – Dejarse llevar.
My son normally gets a little carried
away on his birthday.
 Carry off – Ganar un premio.
Mary carried off a gold medal in the
swimming championship.
 Carry on – Seguir.
Please, carry on the way you are; I
am only here to observe.
 Carry out – Llevar a cabo.
The police will carry out an
investigation and inform the press of
any new developments.
 Carry out – Cumplir.
). I am a man of my word, I
always carry out my promises.
 Carry through – Llevar a cabo.
The plan was carried through to
perfection, thanks for your help.
SEE
 See through – Descubrir la verdad
sobre algo.
I saw through his intentions at once.
 See about – Organizar, considerar.
I’ll see about whether we can manage
it.
 See into – Acompañar al alguien
dentro de un sitio.
Her secretary saw me into her office.
 See off – Perseguir para ahuyentar.
A cat came into the back garden but
the dog soon saw it off.
 See off – Ir a un transporte para decir
adiós a alguien.
I went to the station to see them off.
 See out – Acompañar a alguien a la
salida.
Are you sure you’re going? I’ll get your
coats and see you out.
 See through – Continuar hasta el
final.
They had a lot of difficulties in
implementing the project, but the
team saw it through successfully.
 See through – Descubrir que alguien
miente.
The police quickly saw through her
disguise and arrested her.
 See to – Encargarse de algo.
He saw to the arrangements and
everything ran smoothly and efficiently.
KEEP
 Keep up – Continuar.
Well done! Keep up the good work!
 Keep around – Seguir teniendo algo.
I have know idea why they keep
around this piece of junk. They’ll never
use it.
 Keep at – Continuar con algo difícil
Jill kept at the puzzle until she put all
the pieces together.
 Keep away – Mantener lejos.
The warehouse has a guard dog
to keep away would be thieves.
 Keep back – Mantener la distancia.
The police kept back the crowd by
blocking off the street.
 Keep down – Reprimir.
Keep down the noise, will you? I’m
trying to sleep.
 Keep from – Evitar hacer algo.
I couldn’t keep myself from eating the
last piece of cake.
 Keep in – Impedir la salida.
She kept him in because he had a
high temperature.
 Keep off – Evitar hablar de algo.
The reporter kept off any the topic of
the recent scandal with the politician.
 Keep on – Continuar.
Let’s keep on hiking… it’s such a
beautiful day.
 Keep out – No permitir la entrada.
We were kept out of the club because
we were too young.
 Keep to – Mantenerse firme en algo.
Let’s keep to the plan. I don’t want to
make any changes now.
 Keep up – Mantener.
“Keep up the good work,» John’s
teacher said to him as he handed back
his essay.