PHRASAL VERBS
(From “A”)
1. Mr. Bose will act for (officiate) the director.
2. She has acted on (act according to) my advice.
3. The medicine will act on (produce effect) the patient after some time.
4. The children started to act out (perform how something happened) the whole incident.
5. Nobody can be held accountable for (take responsibility for) the loss caused by the earthquake.
6. The Director is accountable to (answerable to) the shareholders of the company.
7. Do you agree to (to consent to a course of action) his proposal?
8. The king agreed with (to share a point of view) the minister.
9. I am very angry at (something) his misbehaviour.
10. The teacher was angry with (someone) him for his misbehaviour.
11. I’m annoyed at (something) your habit of telling lies.
12. I'm annoyed with (someone) you for acting so rudely.
13. He appealed against (to formally ask an authority to change a decision) the judgement.
14. The government received an appeal for (to ask for something) aid from the refugees.
15. The café's menu appealed to (to like something) coffee lovers.
16. He has applied for (a request to seek something like admission or
employment) the post of supervisor.
17. The teacher applied to (to put oneself as a candidate for something) the
principal for a day’s leave.
18. Mohan has gone to his uncle to ask for (request) help.
19. I knocked at rohan’s door, his wife asked me in (request to enter).
20. The maid was attending on (to take care of) her mistress.
21. Please attend to (listen) what I say.
22. She has only one servant to attend upon (to give care) her.
23. My teacher is an authority on (to have great knowledge about a subject) history of ancient india.
24. As a chairperson she has authority over (to have control over something) the manager. (From “B”)
1. Rahul backed out of (withdraw) his commitment.
2. I backed him up (support) during the election.
3. She refused to back down (abandon a claim/ withdraw from a position) on a point of principle.
4. Seeing his intense anger, she backed off (to retreat).
5. Anil bore away (win) the first prize in sports.
6. She was borne down (overpowered) with grief.
7. The result will bear out (confirm) his outstanding skills.
8. He has to bear up (to remain cheerful during a difficult time) much for the sake of love.
9. He had to bear with (be patient) her rude behaviour.
10. This testimony did not bear upon (relevant to) the inquiry.
11. Our car broke down (stop working because of a fault) on the highway.
12. She broke down (lose composure or health) in the middle of her speech.
13. The burglar broke into (enter illegally) the manager’s house last night.
14. She broke into (do something at once) tears when she heard the news.
15. He is trying to break himself of (stop a habit) drinking.
16. He broke off (discontinue) his relations with rani.
17. The convict broke out (escape) of the police custody.
18. World war 2 broke out (arise/spread/begin/suddenly) in 1939.
19. A fire broke out (spread) in our colony yesterday.
20. The meeting broke up (end) late at night.
21. What has brought about (cause) the quarrel in the family.
22. This act brought forth (give rise to) discontent among the people.
23. His business brings in (earn) a lot of money.
24. The moment brought off (achieve successfully) no considerable gains.
25. Poverty brings on (produce/ cause) social revolution.
26. The juggler brought out (produce) a big ball.
27. An artist brings out (reveal) the characteristics of a nation.
28. The publisher has brought out (publish) a new edition of his dictionary.
29. He brought his father round (succeed in changing one’s opinion) to his view after a long discussion.
30. He was brought up (rear) by his grandmother.
31. The hero of this movie is blind in (unable to see due to medical condition) one eye.
32. She is blind to (ignorant) the faults of her children.
33. My neighbour’s car was parked in front of mine blocking me in (to prevent
someone of someone from moving).
34. Fallen leaves have blocked up the drain (barricade).
35. He was born in (birthed) a royal family.
36. He was born of (happening as a result of something/denotes origin) rich parents.
37. The daughter was born to (denotes destination) him last month.
38. The whole film was built around (to develop/organise something using
another thing as the main theme) the haunted house.
39. This kitchen has cupboards built in (make something an integral part of something else).
40. We hope to build on (to add to something already achieved) the success of our forefathers.
41. The slow moving bus caused traffic to build up (to add to something) outside the school.
42. My mother wore a thick coat and bundled me off (to send) to school.
43. My mother bundled me up (to wrap someone in something) with three layers of woollens.
44. Last night lightening burnt down (destroyed by fire) the old banyan tree.
45. Young people burn off (to exercise to get rid of fat from body) calories faster than old people.
46. The amazon fires burnt out (destroy completely by fire) the natural habitat of many rare animals.
47. The meteor burnt up (destroyed or caused to be destroyed by fire)
completely in earth’s atmosphere.
48. He is busy in (something) preparing his project.
49. He is busy with (someone) his own business. From “C”
1. The explosive situation calls for (require) an immediate action.
2. The manager called for (demand) an explanation for the peons misconduct.
3. Call in (summon) a doctor, she is seriously ill.
4. The meeting was called off (cancel) at the eleventh hour.
5. The PM called on (go to visit) the president.
6. Call me up (to telephone) tomorrow morning if the matter is urgent.
7. The soldiers were called up (summon) during the war.
8. The public was carried away (to get very excited) by his speech.
9. She carried off (won) the prize.
10. He carried on (continue) the business after his father’s death.
11. He carried out (execute) the wishes of his parents.
12. The officer has carried out (execute) his assignment.
13. The meeting was carried over (postpone) to the nineteenth.
14. How did the incident come about (happen)?
15. I came across (find my chance) my purse in the kitchen.
16. The patient is coming round (to recover).
17. The principal is coming round (to change one’s view or opinion) to the view of the teacher.
18. When does the train come in (arrive)?
19. If you want to come in (to become involved in something) on the deal, you need to decide now.
20. My friend came into (inherit) his father’s property.
21. His success comes of (bear result of) hardwork.
22. The ceremony did not come off (to take place).
23. When it comes to (be a question of or about) giving time to others he shys away.
24. Office expanses come to (amount to) $50 per day.
25. Many problems came up (arise) during the meeting.
26. He will come up (be equal to) to the expectations of his teacher.
27. He came upon (discover or find unexpectedly) the hidden treasure in an abandoned cave.
28. They neither care for(like) him, nor his opinion.
29. Take care of (look after) my dog when I’m away,
30. There is no cause for (valid reason for) anxiety.
31. What is the cause of (reason of) his trouble?
32. What is the charge against (official accusation) the man?
33. He charged $10 for (to establish or set a prize for something) his novel.
34. Kindly charge this amount to (to place the cost of something on account of someone) my account.
35. He was charged with (put criminal charges against someone) theft.
36. We had to deposit room rent in advance at the time of check in (process of
announcing arrival in a hotel).
37. The hospital checks out (investigate/evaluate) all of its new staff.
38. Our life is compared to (imply resemblance) a candle.
39. Compare villages with (point out differences between two) cities. 40. We complained against him.
41. He complains of pain in the stomach every day.
42. I complained to the station master against a ticket checker.
43. Wisdom consists in (to have something mentioned as the only or mosr
important part) knowing oneself.
44. The book consists of (composed or made of) ten chapters.
45. This medicine is a sure cure for (remedy to) cough.
46. He was cured of (recovered from using medicine etc) malaria.
47. Cut down (reduce) on junk food to be healthy.
48. Father cut into (to make something less or smaller) the cake to distribute it equally to all of us.
49. The city was cut off (to separate) from all other areas due to floods.
50. He is cut out (naturally able/ suited) for a career in acting. From “D”
1. Do away with (discard) your superstitions. 2. He is done for (ruin).
3. The landlords do the illiterate farmers out of (cheat) their rights.
4. He will have to do the exercise over (do again) as it has many errors.
5. I am doing my bedroom over (renovate).
6. She has done up (comb and fasten) her hair before the party.
7. That laundry does up (wash and press) clothes well.
8. She has to do up (arrange) the sitting room before the guests arrive.
9. I can even do with (manage) a little money.
10. The poor have to do without (manage without) the luxuries of life.
11. We dropped in (visit without prior information) at their house on Sunday.
12. He dropped out (leave) of the picnic.
13. He drew back (retreat) when he found that the principal was annoyed.
14. He drew on (depend) his savings to buy a piece of land.
15. We deal in (to buy or sell something as business) imported clothes.
16. Deal fairly with (manage or handle) everyone.
17. Bhagat singh died for (sacrifice one’s life) his country.
18. Some people die from (die as a result of condition/situation) malnutrition.
19. Many people die of (die as a result of a disease) cancer.
20. We differ with (disagree) you on this point.
21. Our plans are quite different from (unlike) yours.
22. We dug into (to mix soil with another substance) the sand with our hands.
23. My friends drove out (to go in a vehicle to a place) to the village resort for a picnic.
24. The farmer drove off (make someone go away) the cows from the field.
25. We parked the car in to dry off (to make dry) the wet seats.
26. The cake dried out (stop containing water) because you forgot to cover it.
27. The heat wave dried up (continuous decrease/stop) all the rivers and wells. From “E”
1. Termites ate away (to consume by eating) the foundation causing the building to collapse.
2. I plan to eat in (to cook something yourself) and go to bed early.
3. Going to London for the world cup ate into (use up) our savings substantially.
4. The young couple had no savings as they ate out (to have meal in restraint) every evening.
5. She is engaged in (busy in) conducting a workshop.
6. He is engaged to (having agreed to get married) a rich girl.
7. The police will enquire into (to try and discover facts about something) the case.
8. I enquired of (ask someone about something) him about his date of travel.
9. He has no excuse for (forgive one for something minor) not doing the work.
10. He was excused from (to permit someone not to do something) doing physical exercises. From “F”
1. Save something now to fall back on (use in emergency) in old age.
2. If you do not work well you will fall behind (make less progress) other competitors.
3. The roof fell in (collapse).
4. The officer ordered the soldiers to fall in (line up).
5. Textile business falls off (decrease) during the rainy season.
6. False friends fall off (desert) in adversity.
7. He has fallen out (quarrel) with his neighbour.
8. The scheme fell through (fail) for lack of funds.
9. I faced down (to defeat) my opponent countering all his arguments.
10. We need to face up to (accept) the fact that we have lost the treasure.
11. His face is familiar to (us.
12. I am familiar with all the lanes in this part of the city.
13. Popular press feeds off gossip about famous people.
14. Silkworms feed on mulberry leaves.
15. He has to feed the crow with grass, twice a day.
16. Pinky filled in for rama when the latter was ill.
17. Fill out the suggestions form before you leave.
18. Fill up with fruits so that you do not eat fried food at the party.
19. He was too fat to fit into this shirt.
20. This car is fit up with wheelchair friendly passenger seat.
21. Bits of paper were floating around in the wind.
22. Radha was late but she floated into the class like a queen.
23. The minister was floating on air after his interview.
24. The yatch floated through the bay into the harbour.
25. The crowd floated into the stadium to watch the match.
26. Typhoon fani flooded many out of their homes.
27. This year the rains flooded the fields with standing water.
28. I am free from the examination stress.
29. She is free with her roommate. From “G”
1. You cannot get ahead (succeed) without proper planning.
2. In order to get ahead (proceed) in life she has to be more assertive.
3. He got ahead of (surpass) the other candidates.
4. There was an accident when the driver tried to get ahead of (overtake) our car.
5. How are you getting along (manage) in your studies.
6. He is irritable I can’t get along (be friendly) with him.
7. Bad news gets around (circulate) very fast.
8. Why are you always getting at (keep criticising) me?
9. The criminals got away (escape) after killing three men.
10. Many criminals get away with (do something undesired without
punishment) all sorts of crimes.
11. He got back from (return) patna this morning.
12. He has got back to (to return to something) his studies.
13. I hope I will get by (manage unpleasantly) this unruly crowd.
14. The truck got by (pass) my car.
15. Let us get down (attend seriously) to business.
16. She got off (come down) the train at pune.
17. How are you getting on (make progress) in your studies?
18. He is getting on (be friendly) very well with his friends.
19. We are getting a new book out (publish).
20. He goes to the market when he gets out (be released from) of work.
21. I have got over (recover from) my difficulties.
22. He got me round to ( his point of view.