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Phrasal Verbs: What Is A Phrasal Verb?

Phrasal verbs are verb phrases consisting of a verb and a preposition or adverb that together have a meaning different from the individual words. Some examples given are "put up with" meaning tolerate and "break up" meaning end a relationship. Phrasal verbs can be difficult because they may or may not take an object and the object can come before or after the particle. Their usage also changes based on tense. Knowing phrasal verbs can be important for the IELTS exam as it demonstrates a strong command of the English language, but candidates must be careful to use them naturally and correctly.

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273 views4 pages

Phrasal Verbs: What Is A Phrasal Verb?

Phrasal verbs are verb phrases consisting of a verb and a preposition or adverb that together have a meaning different from the individual words. Some examples given are "put up with" meaning tolerate and "break up" meaning end a relationship. Phrasal verbs can be difficult because they may or may not take an object and the object can come before or after the particle. Their usage also changes based on tense. Knowing phrasal verbs can be important for the IELTS exam as it demonstrates a strong command of the English language, but candidates must be careful to use them naturally and correctly.

Uploaded by

Varsha Kashyap
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Phrasal Verbs

What is a phrasal verb?


Phrasal verbs are verbs plus a preposition or an adverb (or followed by two).

When these two words are put together, they have a different meaning to what each
word means on its own.

Here is an example.

"I can’t put up with you anymore".


You probably know that the word ‘put’ means to place something somewhere, such
as “I put the book on the table”, and the word ‘up’ means to in or towards a higher
position.

However, when these words are put together, the meaning completely changes.

To “put up with" = to accept someone or something unpleasant in a


patient way

Difficulties
It is not this straight forward though. Some phrasal verbs must take an object, and
some can be put either side of the object.

For example, look at this illustration with the phrasal verb ‘let down’ (=
disappointed):

"I felt let down by my friend".


"My friend really let me down".
Another difficulty is that they are verbs, which obviously means they take a tense
and will change according to whether it is past, present or future.

Look at this example with 'break up' (= to end a relationship):

I broke up with my girlfriend last week (= past)


I hope my girlfriend does not break up with me (= present)
I've broken up with my girlfriend (= present perfect)
I think I'm going to break up with my girlfriend (= future)
And also some have more than one meaning:

I've fallen out with my friend


= Argue and be on bad terms with someone
I eat a lot of sweets. I hope my teeth don't fall out
= Become loose and unattached (usually hair or teeth)

Phrasal Verbs and IELTS


They can be important for IELTS as someone who can use them naturally shows
that they have a good command of the English language. They can be used in
writing in some cases and in spoken language.

You also want to be able to recognise them if someone else uses them in their
writing or speaking otherwise you may misunderstand what they are saying.

That said, as with any new vocabulary, you have to be careful with the way you
learn them. Its usage needs to be natural.

If you learn some phrases and try to ‘fit’ them into your speaking or writing to get a
higher score without knowing them properly, it may sound unnatural and you may
make mistakes, which will be noticed by the examiner.

The aim of these pages is to show you how they can be used in an ‘IELTS context’
so the words have been placed in answers to IELTS type questions.

Example –

Word Set 1
Phrasal Verb Meaning
hang out spend time relaxing (informal)
Meet someone after a period of time and find
catch up with
out what they have been doing
cut down/back on Reduce
give (something)
Quit / stop doing it
up
Stop eating something (permanently or for a
cut out
long time)
find out Discover
get along/on Like each other
fall out Argue and be on bad terms with someone
clean up Tidy / Clean
come across Find something unexpectedly

 
IELTS - English Phrasal Verbs in Use
What do you normally do at the weekends?

I usually just hang out with my friends. We’ll go to the cinema or something.


Unfortunately I don’t get the chance to catch up with them often as we are all so
busy with work.

Do you have a healthy lifestyle?

I don’t think I really do.  Something I definitely need to do is cut down on the
amount I smoke, or even give it up completely. I would also like to cut out red
meat from my diet. I’ve read that both of those are unhealthy. I found out recently
that my father has cancer, and he smoked a lot when he was younger.

Do you like the place where you live?

Yes, I live with some college friends. There are several of us in the house so it is
crowded, but we get along well so we have not had any serious problems. I fell
out with one guy who lived there because he played his music too loud, but he has
moved out now.

Do you like to collect things?

Not anymore, but the other day I was cleaning up my room when I came
across an old album of football stickers. I used to collect them when I was younger.

Word Set 2
Phrasal Verb Meaning

hand (something) in Submit


get away with Do something without being noticed or
(something) punished
keep up with Continue at the same rate
end up To become eventually; turn out to be
fall behind To fail to keep up a pace; lag behind.
drop out Quit a class, school, university etc
Think about something that happened in
look back on
the past
put forward Suggest or state the case for something
catch up with Reach the same level
pull out of To stop being a part of something

Phrasal Verb Exercises - Examples in Context


Were you a good student when you were at school?

I’m afraid I wasn’t if I’m honest. Often I didn’t hand in my homework, and I always
felt I could get away with it because my teacher wasn’t strict. But because of this I
couldn’t keep up with the course work and I ended up falling behind.  Eventually
I had to drop out of the school.

So no, I wasn’t really a good student.  When I look back on my childhood, I wish
I’d done things differently really as it meant I had to work harder to achieve things
later on in life.

Do you think the growth in multinational corporations is a positive


development?

I’m not sure it is such a good thing. Many people put forward arguments in favour
it, claiming it has helped developing countries by creating jobs for local people as
many of these companies have moved their manufacturing abroad. They then claim
that the economic development in these countries will catch up with developed
countries.

However, there is no real evidence that this is the case as most the profit flows back
to the companies, not the people, and as soon as it becomes cheaper to
manufacture in a different country, the companies will pull out of the country they
are in and move to the more profitable one. So I don’t think there is any real long-
term benefit.

Word Set 3
Phrasal Verb Get Meaning

get something across/over
Make understandable or communicate
get around To have mobility
get away To go on holiday / vacation
get back at someone To get revenge
get back into Become interested in something again
To have just enough of something such
get by
as money or knowledge
Start doing something seriously or with
get down to
a lot of effort
Recover from something, like an
get over something
illness or a problem
get round to something To find time to do something
get through To survive something
get together Social meeting
get up Get out of bed

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