PHRASAL VERBS

Chapter I
PHRASAL VERBS
Chapter I
1. Hold up
To cause a delay.
“Sorry, I’m late I was held up in traffic.”

2. Stay up
To go to bed later than usual.
“The children stayed up late waiting for the Three Wise
Men to arrive.”

3. Point out
To make someone aware of something.
“Luckily, my workmate pointed out the error in my report
before I sent it to our manager.

4. Pencil in
To tentativamente plan something, knowing it may need
to be modified later.
”Let’s pencil in a meeting on Friday at 9 am.”

5. Get back to someone

To talk to someone at a later time because you are busy or
you need to confirm something.
”I will get back to you when I know the exact figures.”

6. Get back to something

To continue doing something you were doing earlier.
”It is difficult to get back to your routine after the Christ-
mas break.”

7. Cross Off
To remove someone or something, such as a name, from a
list by drawing a line through it.
”Today has been a very productive day, I have crossed off
all the items on my to-do list.”
PHRASAL VERBS
Chapter I
8. Hand Over
To give something to someone else.
”Michael is leaving the company, he will be handing his
work over to Elena.”

9. Let down
To disappoint someone by failing to do what you agreed
to do or were expected to do.
”The project will be submitted on time, you can rest assure
I will not let you down. “

10. Stick to (something)

To continue with a subject, activity, or plan without
changing.
”We will stick to the plan to meet the deadline we have
been given.”

11. Brush up
To practice and review your knowledge or a skill that
you haven’t used in a while.
”This year I’m going to brush up on my English, I’m so
rusty!”.

12. Butt it
To interrupt a conversation or activity.
”Sorry to butt in but I’d like to say something.”

13. Get ahead

To become successful in the professional environment
or make consistent progress in life.
”He used contacts to get ahead in the company.”

14. Knock off

To finish the workday.
“Let’s go for a beer when we knock off this afternoon.”
PHRASAL VERBS
Chapter I
15. Call off
To cancel an event that has been previously planned.
”We called off the training due to lack of interest.”

16. Look over

To examine or inspect something or someone.
”Could you look over these figures for me? I want to make
sure everything is correct.”

17. Narrow down

To reduce the number of options or possibilities.
”We narrowed down the candidates to just 2 after the
individual interviews.”

18. Talk up
To describe something in a way that makes it sound
better than it really is.
”Susan tried to talk up her contribution but we all know she
didn’t do very much.”

19. Jot down

To write something quickly.
”I always have a notebook handy so I can jot down notes
while I’m on the phone.”

20. Chicken out

To refrain from doing something because of fear.
”I was going to speak to my boss about a raise but I
chickened out.”

21. Talk into

To convince someone to do something.
“I can’t believe you talked Paul into hiring Rebecca, he
was dead against herafter the initial interview.”
PHRASAL VERBS
Chapter I
22. Lay off
When a company or business ends a worker’s employment.
“Many workers were laid off when the crisis hit.”

23. Call back

To return somebody’s phone call.
”David from IT phoned while you were at lunch, please
call him backasap.”

24. Wrap up
To conclude.
“I’d like to wrap up the meeting by thanking everyone for
coming...”

25. Carry away

To do something out of the ordinary due to excessive
enthusiasm.
”I got so carried away with my presentation that I spoke
for 2 hours!”

26. Stand out

To be noticed because of being different.
”He really stood out among the other candiates; his ex-
perience and training made him perfect for the role.”

27. Turn out

To attend an event, meeting, etc.
”It’s amazing how many people turned out for the fundraiser, I
had noidea it would be so successful!”

28. Bump into

When you meet people by accident or unexpectedly.
“I was so happy to bump into Sarah, we hadn’t seen each
other forages.”
PHRASAL VERBS
Chapter I
29. Drop off
To gradually decline or become less...
”Sales dropped off after the incial boom.”

30. Drop off

To leave someone somewhere with your car.
“I will arrive a little late today as I have to drop off my kids
at school”.

31. Fill in for

To subtitute a person for a short period of time.
”Clive will be filling in for Kim while she is on maternity
leave.”

32. Get ahead

To become successful in the professional environment
or make consistent progress in life.
”He used contacts to get ahead in the company.”

33. Fall out with

To end a realtionship (romantic, friendly, family or pro-
fessional)with someone after an argument.
“They fell out with each other years ago and haven’t
spoken since.”

34. Kick out

To force someone to leave an organization or place.
”He was kicked out of the meeting due to his rude behaviour.”

35. Doze off

To go to sleep unintentionally.
”He couldn’t help but doze off during the seminar on
regulation.”

36. Take up on
When you accept an invitation or offer from someone.
”I think I’m going to take you up on that beer after work, I
need todisconnect.”
PHRASAL VERBS
Chapter I
37. Wacht out
To be aware of someone or something potentially
dangerous.
”Watch out for Daniel, he’ll do anything to get
that promotion!”

38. Back down

To withdraw your position in a fight, argument, plan,
etc.
”I refuse to back down on this, it is far too important to
me!”

39. Take out on

To direct your anger towards someone or something
when you’rereally upset about someone or something
else.
” He is furious at his boss but he takes it out on the rest of
his team byshouting at them.”

40. Settle down

To begin living a stable and routine life.
”After travelling and dating a lot in her twenties, she was
ready to finda suitable partner and settle down.”
How many phrasal verbs
do you know?

Check it in ASTEX
Let’s see!
Phrasal verb test!

astex@astex.es
Tlf: 91 590 34 90