COMMONLY USED PHRASAL VERBS TO LEARN AND USE

AGREE WITH- estar de acuerdo- All women are bad drivers. I don’t agree with you.

BE ABOUT TO- estar apunto de- I was about to leave the house when my friends arrived.
BE BACK- regresar- I’m working late at the office tonight so I won’t be back until 10.
BE OUT OF- quedarse sin- We’re out of eggs so we cant’make a tortilla .
BE OVER- terminarse- When the football match was over, we went to the pub.
BE UP- estar levantado- Phill isn’t up yet, he is still in bed.
BE IN – estar en casa – When he called I wasn’t in and Mary took his message.
BE OFF – partir – They’ll be off by the time you get back.

BLOW UP- estallar(una bomba)- The bomb blew up killing sex people.
BLOW UP- inflar- We blew up at least a hundred balloons for the Christmas party.

BREAK DOWN- averiarse- My car broke down on the way to Madrid.

BREAK DOWN- caida emocional- He broke down and cried when he heard the news.
BREAK INTO- entrada ilegal- They broke into the house while everyone was sleeping.
BREAK UP – separarse -
BREAK UP – romper algo total mente -
BREAK OFF – romper algo separandolo – Tom broke off a piece of chocolate to give to Anne.
BREAK AWAY – romperse separandose de la unidad -
BREAK OUT – escaparse – The convicts broke out through the sewers.

BRING UP- educar- His grandparents brought him up when his parents died.
BRING UP- mencionar un tema- She brought up the subject at the end of the meeting.

CALL BACK- volver a llamar- Mrs. Brown will call you back as soon as she is free.
CALL OFF- cancelar- The match was called off because of the dreadful weather.
CALL UP – llamar a filas – When the military service was compulsory, young men were called up at 18.
CALL FOR – recoger a alguien – I’ll call for you around 7 pm. Be ready
CALL ON – hacer una visita – When John, who lives in the USA, comes to England, he likes to call on all his relatives.

CARRY ON- continuar- When I leave just carry on with your work.
CARRY OUT- cumplir (una promesa)- The president carried out his promise.
CARRY OUT- llevar a cabo- The execution was carried out at seven o’clock.

CLEAR UP- poner en orden- It took four hours to clear up after the party.

COME ACROSS- encontrar por casualidad: I came across an old friend on the metro.
COME BACK- regresar- I’m going to Paris for two weeks. I’m coming back on the fifth.
COME IN- entrar- Good morning. Come in and sit down.
COME INTO- heredar- When his grandmother died he came into a fortune.
COME ON- ¡Vamos!- Come on. We’re going to be late.
COME TO – volver en sí – It is nearly impossible to make a person in a comma come to.
COUNT ON- Contar con algo/alguien- You can always count on Pauline in a crisis.

CUT DOWN ON- Consumir menos- You must cut down on cholesterol.
CUT OFF- Desconectar/Cortar- When we didn’t pay the bill, the electricity was cut off.
CUT UP- Cortar en pedazos- We cut up the birthday cake and gave everyone a slice.
CUT IN – interrumpir -

DO UP- abrochar, atar- I was five before I knew how to do up my shoelaces.

DO WITH- pasarse sin,prescindir de-The shops are shut so we’ll have to do without sugar.

DRAW UP- pararse- The car drew up at the zebra crossing.

FIND OUT – descubrir,averiguar – The police found out about the burglars’ hiding place.

GET ACROSS- comunicar- However hard he tried he couldn’t get what he meant across.
GET AWAY WITH- escapar sin pena- You let the child get away with everything; he is going to be a problem when he grows up.
GET BACK- volver, regresar- Cinderella had to get back by twelve o’clock.
GET BY- sobrevivir- Even though they don’t have much money they manage to get by.
GET DOWN- deprimir- This weather at this time of the year really gets me down.
GET IN(TO)- entrar- I lost my keys and so I couldn´t get into the house.
GET OFF- bajar(del bus, tren)- You have to get off the bus at the next stop.
GET ON- subir(del bus, tren).
GET ON- tener una buena relación- Since their discussion they have got on a lot better.
GET OVER- recuperarse- Since I got over my cold I have got lots more energy.
GET THROUGH- contactar por tlf.- I’ve tried ringing them all evening but I just haven’t been able to get through.
GET UP- levantarse- When I got up this morning it was still dark.

GIVE AWAY- distribuir- She gave away all her money to the dog’s home.
GIVE AWAY- revelar- He was shot for giving away his country’s military secrets.
GIVE BACK- devolver- If you don’t like the dress, the shop will give you your money back.
GIVE IN- rendirse- Her father finally gave in and allowed her to fo to the disco.
GIVE OUT- distribuir- He gave out thousands of leaf lets at the demonstration.
GIVE UP- parar de hacer- You’ll get cancer if you don´t give up smoking.

GO AHEAD- ¡Siga!- Can I use the telephone? Yes, go ahead.

GO AWAY- irse, marcharse- Are you going away for Christmas, or are you staying?
GO BACK- volver, regresar- Although she’s forty, she’s going back University to study French.
GO DOWN- bajar- The price of fruit goes down in the summer.
GO OFF- explotar- The bomb went off outside the restaurant.
GO ON- ocurrir- There’s a terrible noise outside, what’s going on?.
GO OUT- salir con o sin pareja- I always go out and have few drinks on Saturday night.
GO UP- incrementar- School fees are going up next term.

GROW UP- llegar a adulto- While I was growing up we used to live in that house over there.

HANG ON/HOLD ON- esperar- Hold on for a minute as Pablo will be back in five minutes.
HANG UP- colgar(el tlf)- My ex-girlfriend hung up when I phoned her.

HEAD OUT – partir – We’re heading out at 6 pm. Be on time!

HEAD FOR – dirigirse hacia – The cowboys headed for the mountains when they saw the Indians heading for them!
HEAD BACK – volver – We’d better head back before dark in case we get lost in the forest.

KEEP ON- persistir- Why do you keep on bothering me? Can’t you see I’m trying to work?
KEEP UP WITH- mantener el ritmo- I can’t keep up with my father when we go cycling as he goes too fast.

LEAVE BEHIND- olvidar, dejar- When I got to the airport, I realised I had left my passport behind.

LET DOWN- dejar plantado- He promised to take me to the airport but at the last minute he let me down.
LET IN- dejar entrar- She opened the door and let in the cat.
LET UP – parar (solo para lo que no tengamos el poder de parar, osea que para por sí solo) I wonder when the rain will let up.

LIVE UP TO- cumplir expectativas- He spent his whole life failing to live up to his father’s expectations.

LOOK AFTER- cuidar- My mother looks after the children when we go away.
LOOK DOWN ON- considerar a alguien inferior- People looked down on him because he had once been to prison.
LOOK FOR- buscar- I spent two hours looking for my glasses.
LOOK FORWARD TO- esperar con ilusión- I’m looking forward to the Easter holidays.
LOOK INTO- investigar- The police are looking into the painting’s disappearance.
LOOK OUT- tener cuidado- ¡Look out! There’s a car coming.
LOOK UP- buscar algo(en un libro, diccionario…)- If you don’t understand the word, look it up in a dictionary.
LOOK UP TO- admirar, respetar- She always looked up to her grandmother because her kindness and wisdom.
LOOK THROUGH – revisar algo escrito con cuidado – The accountant looked through the figures and found three mistakes.
LOOK OVER – ojear – Mary looked over the magazine to get an idea of what it was like.

MAKE OUT- ver con dificultad- What does this word say? I can’t make it out.
MAKE UP- inventar- When he was a little boy he used to listen to the wonderful stories made up by his uncle.
MAKE UP – reconciliarse -
MAKE UP – preparar una medicina, poción, factura – We asked the waiter to make up our bill.
MAKE UP – ponerse maquillaje – She made herself up as a clown.
MAKE OVER – renovar – The room was made over in pink because it was for the baby.
MAKE OFF - echar a correr - After slipping the wallet into his pocket, he made off down the road.
MAKE OFF WITH – echar a corer con algo – The burglar made off with the silver.
MAKE UP FOR - compensar- He made up for his delay by working extra hours in the evening.
MAKE FOR – dirigirse hacia – The cowboys made for the mountains when they saw the Indians.

PASS OUT – desvanecerse, perder el conocimiento- The boxer passed out when his opponent punched him.
PASS AWAY -morir- My great-grandmother passed away peacefully.
PICK UP- aprender- She picked the language up by working as an au pair in a family.
PICK UP- llevar algo o a alguien- Don’t bother to take a taxi, I’ll come and pick you up.
PICK ON – atosigar a alguien por tenerlo rabia – My teacher used to always pick on me!

PULL UP - para el coche - por ejemplo en un semáforo

PULL IN - meter el coche en el arcen
PULL OVER - meter el coche en el arcen
PULL THROUGH - recuperarse

PUT DOWN- criticar a alguien- Why do you always put him down?
PUT DOWN- matar para evitar sufrimiento- The racehorse broke his leg so the vet had no choice but to put the animal down.
PUT IN- introducir- Put ten pence in the machine and you will get a cup of coffee.
PUT OFF- postponer- I am afraid my mother is coming this weekend so we’ll have to put off our game of tennis.
PUT ON- encender- Put on the light, it`s getting dark.
PUT ON- ponerse ropa- Put your coat on or you’ll get cold.
PUT TROUGH- ponerse al tlf- If you’d like to wait a moment I’ll put you trough to her extension.
PUT UP- dar alojamiento- I’m flying to London on Friday morning, do you think you could put me up for the night on Thursday
PUT UP WITH- tolerar- I can’t put up with your complaints any more, I’m leaving.

RUN OUT OF- quedarse sin algo- We ran out of petrol so we had to get the bus.
RUN OVER- golpear con un vehiculo- Drive slowly along here, you don’t want to run anyone over.

SET OFF- ponerse en camino- We set off to Madrid at five o´clock to avoid the traffic.
SET OFF FOR – partir para dirigirse hacia – Tourists like to set off for warmer climates for their summer holidays.
SET UP –instalar/ubicar – They set up the tripod near the door.
SET IN - - Rot had set in due to the damp in the house.

SORT OUT- organizar, encontar una solución- When the computer broke down it took an engineer ages to sort out the problem.

SPEAK UP- hablar más alto- Do you think you could speak up? The line is very bad.

SPLIT UP- separarse al final de una relación- Have you heard? Gemma and Lionel have split up.

TAKE AFTER- parecerse a- He is so stubborn (tenaz), he really takes after his father.
TAKE FOR – tomar a alguien por otra persona – John took me for my father! I must be getting on!
TAKE IN- engañar- Don’t be taken in by her lies, she just wants to cheat you.
TAKE IN - dar alojamiento – We found a stray cat and we decided to take it in.
TAKE OFF- despegar- The flight was delayed for two hours and the plane eventually took off at 6 p.m.
TAKE OFF- quitarse la ropa- Take off your coat and make yourself comfortable.
TAKE OFF- imitar- When he was at school he was a good at taking off his teachers.
TAKE OUT- extraer, sacar- He took out a cigarette and lit it.
TAKE OUT – matar – usado por matones
TAKE ON – emplear a alguien – As the company was expanding, it had to take on extra staff.
TAKE ON – enfrentarse a alguien – Moyá took on Agasi in the finals at Wimbledon.
TAKE OVER- tomar control- They took the company over by buying over half the shares.
TAKE UP- empezar una nueva actividad- We’re thinking of taking up German in the autumn.
TAKE AWAY – quitar /retirar de la vista- I won’t open my eyes until you take the dead cat away.
TAKE DOWN – apuntar algo – The secretary took down everything her boss dictated.

TALK OVER- discutir- He felt better for talking his problems over with his mother.
TALK “X” INTO - convencer – I talked my parents into letting me stay out till 2 am.

TELL OFF- reprender- His mother told him off for being cruel to the cat.

THROW AWAY- tirar a la basura- Don’t throw these papers away: they’re important.
THROW UP – vomitar – He spent the night throwing up because he had eaten something bad at the restaurant.

TURN DOWN- rechazar- She eventually decided to turn the job offer down because the salary was too low.
TURN DOWN- bajar el volumen- Turn down the radio: it’s too loud.
TURN UP- lo contrario al anterior.
TURN UP – llegar - He’s turned up at work late again!
TURN ON- encender la TV, luces, etc- Turn on the TV, please, I want to see the news.
TURN OFF lo contrario de lo anterior
TURN IN – acostarse – We usually turn in at 11 pm.
TURN INTO –transformarse – Did the prince turned into a frog or vice versa?
TURN BACK – volverse – He had forgotten to pick up his wallet, so he turned back.
TURN AWAY –volver la mirada hacia atrás- When she saw the blood, she turned away.

WORK OUT- calcular- After a couple of hours they worked out that there was something wrong with the printer .
WORK OUT – hacer ejercicio físico – I usually work out for an hour each day.