Flashcard - Unit 3

Introduction to Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb combines a base verb with one or more particles (adverbs or prepositions). Particles may extend meaning (eat up = eat completely), create a related meaning (eat in = eat at home), or produce a figurative meaning (eat into = reduce gradually). Phrasal verbs may be intransitive (get up, come up) or transitive. Transitive phrasal verbs can be separable (tear the letter up / tear up the letter) or inseparable (take against somebody). With separable verbs, pronoun objects usually go between the verb and particle: tear it up. Some structures change meaning: put down can mean land, write, euthanize an animal, criticize, register a name, or explain a cause depending on grammar.

Image Box: Diagram showing verb + particle combinations and different meanings.

Advanced note: Many phrasal verbs accept clauses or longer patterns, such as work out what something means, count on somebody to do something, or talk somebody out of doing something. Two-particle phrasal verbs often carry highly idiomatic meanings and require attention to word order.

Exercise 1 – Choose the correct particle

  1. eat up / into
  2. eat in / against
  3. count on / around
  4. show around / off
  5. work out / up
  6. put down to / for
  7. talk into / up
  8. come up / into

Exercise 2 – Identify the type

  1. get up
  2. come up
  3. tear up
  4. take against
  5. show around
  6. count on
  7. eat into
  8. burst in on

Label: intransitive, separable, or inseparable.

Exercise 3 – Pronoun position

  1. tear it up
  2. put it down
  3. write it down
  4. pick it up
  5. show them around
  6. talk her into it
  7. count on him
  8. take against her

State whether the position is correct.

Image Box: Student completing a registration list with names written down.

Exercise 4 – Match meanings

  1. eat up
  2. eat in
  3. eat into
  4. put down
  5. put yourself down
  6. count on
  7. work out
  8. show around

Exercise 5 – Complete the sentence

  1. I can always count ___ you.
  2. They talked me ___ applying.
  3. He put his failure ___ stress.
  4. Please tear it ___.
  5. We ate ___ yesterday.
  6. The bills are eating ___ savings.
  7. Can you show us ___?
  8. I worked ___ the answer.

Exercise 6 – Error correction

  1. Don’t tear up it.
  2. He took Sam against.
  3. She counted in me.
  4. We ate into at home.
  5. I put down my name for.
  6. Show around us the city.
  7. He worked out what meant it.
  8. She put herself up constantly.

Further Practice: Meaning and Structure

Context is essential when interpreting phrasal verbs. The same combination may have multiple meanings, especially put down. Learners should notice object position, particles, and surrounding clauses.

Image Box: Airplane landing in a field to illustrate put down (land).

Exercise 1 – Multiple meanings of put down

  1. land
  2. write
  3. euthanize
  4. criticize
  5. register
  6. attribute
  7. identify sentence context
  8. create your own example

Exercise 2 – Fill in the phrasal verb

  1. ___ against somebody
  2. ___ up to something
  3. ___ out of doing
  4. ___ on somebody
  5. ___ out what
  6. ___ around the museum
  7. ___ into savings
  8. ___ up the paper

Exercise 3 – Sentence transformation

  1. trust → count on
  2. persuade not to → talk out of
  3. destroy by tearing → tear up
  4. guide through → show around
  5. reduce savings → eat into
  6. solve → work out
  7. start to dislike → take against
  8. encourage wrongly → put up to
Image Box: Person persuading a friend, representing talk into / out of.

Exercise 4 – Complete with a clause

  1. I worked out what…
  2. We counted on her to…
  3. They talked him into…
  4. She talked me out of…
  5. I put it down to…
  6. He put his name down for…
  7. We showed them around…
  8. The bills are eating into…

Exercise 5 – Classify

  1. do sb out of sth
  2. watch out for
  3. stand out against
  4. let sb off
  5. burst in on sb
  6. hold it against sb
  7. count on sb
  8. put sb up to sth

Write a brief definition.

Exercise 6 – Gap-fill paragraph

Use these eight verbs once: do out of, watch out for, let off, burst in on, hold against, count on, work out, show around.

  1. Gap 1
  2. Gap 2
  3. Gap 3
  4. Gap 4
  5. Gap 5
  6. Gap 6
  7. Gap 7
  8. Gap 8

Phrasal Nouns and Consolidation

Phrasal nouns are often formed from phrasal verbs: breakout, getaway, cover-up, climbdown, outbreak, backup, summing-up, passer-by, and onlooker. Some are written as one word, some are hyphenated. Understanding the connection between verb and noun helps vocabulary expansion.

Image Box: News-style scene with passers-by and onlookers observing an event.

Exercise 1 – Match noun and verb

  1. breakout
  2. getaway
  3. cover-up
  4. climbdown
  5. backup
  6. outbreak
  7. summing-up
  8. passer-by

Exercise 2 – Complete with a phrasal noun

  1. prison escape
  2. quick departure
  3. hidden scandal
  4. admission of error
  5. extra support
  6. disease spread
  7. legal summary
  8. person walking past

Exercise 3 – Rewrite using phrasal nouns

  1. break out
  2. get away
  3. cover up
  4. climb down
  5. back up
  6. sum up
  7. look on
  8. pass by
Image Box: Courtroom scene illustrating a judge’s summing-up.

Exercise 4 – Odd one out

  1. eat up / eat in / outbreak
  2. backup / getaway / count on
  3. show around / passer-by / onlooker
  4. cover-up / climbdown / work out
  5. take against / outbreak / getaway
  6. burst in on / backup / summing-up
  7. hold against / cover-up / passer-by
  8. do out of / onlooker / outbreak

Exercise 5 – Short-answer definitions

  1. watch out for
  2. let off
  3. hold against
  4. do out of
  5. put up to
  6. count on
  7. work out
  8. show around

Exercise 6 – Create sentences

  1. eat into
  2. take against
  3. put down to
  4. talk into
  5. talk out of
  6. burst in on
  7. let off
  8. backup
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