Phrasal Verbs – A – M
Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs in English A – M
| Phrasal Verb | Phrasal Verb in a sentence |
|---|---|
| A | |
| agree with | I agree with him on that point. |
| B | |
| back off* | She was told to back off. |
| be in | Are your parents in? |
| be off* | I'm off now. |
| black out | And then she just blacked out. |
| blow up | The bomb might have blown up. |
| break away | At last, the hostage could break away from his captors. |
| break free | |
| break loose | |
| break down | Finally her car broke down. |
| break up | Sue and Tim broke up last year. |
| bring up | (1) She was brought up in Wisconsin. |
| (2) Why do you have to bring that up? | |
| butt in* | How can we talk when you keep butting in all the time? |
| C | |
| call off | I had to call off the barbecue because of the bad weather. |
| calm down | Please calm down. |
| carry on | Please carry on with your homework. |
| check out | I will check it out. |
| close down | The shop was closed down by the police. |
| cut out* | Cut it out! |
| D | |
| do without | I guess I will have to do without lunch today. |
| drop in (on)* | I can't believe who dropped in on us last night. |
| drop off | You can drop me off at the next red light. |
| E | |
| ease off | The storm eased off a little. |
| end up | How will this end up? |
| even out | The surface of the road was evened out. |
| F | |
| fall through | I hope the house signing doesn't fall through. |
| figure out* | I just can't figure her out. |
| fill out | Would you fill out the form, please?  |
| focus (on) | She focused on this issue. |
| G | |
| get along with | He couldn't get along with his mother-in-law. |
| get at* | What exactly is he getting at? |
| get by (on) | She can't get by on that much money. |
| get into | He managed to get himself into the class he wanted. |
| get off on* | He gets off on playing soccer. |
| get on | How are you getting on? |
| get on with | (1) I need to get on with my homework. |
| (2) How do you get on with Sam? | |
| get out of | You've got to get out of there. |
| get up | Today I got up at 10 am. |
| give up | Are you sure you want to give up your career? |
| go through | (1) The truck wouldn't go through the tunnel. |
| (2) He went through his pockets, looking for his wallet. | |
| (3) You won't believe what I've gone through. | |
| (4) I guess we need to go through the whole song a few more times. | |
| H | |
| hand out | The teacher handed out the test to the surprised students. |
| hang up | Why did you hang up on me? |
| hit back | He hit me, but I didn't hit him back. |
| hold on | Hold on a minute! I have to check this first. |
| hurry up | Hurry up, will you? I got some errands to run today. |
| I | |
| idle away | Don't idle the whole day away. |
| insist (on) | He inisted on it. |
| invite over | Let's invite them over for dinner. |
| J | |
| jump in(to) | I just jumped into the pool and had a refreshing swim. |
| K | |
| keep at | I need to keep at this. |
| keep off | Please keep off the lawn. |
| keep on | (1) It's a little chilly in here, so I better keep my coat on. |
| (2) Just keep on practicing your scales by simply playing them up and down. | |
| keep out (of) | (1) Keep out of this and mind your own business. |
| (2) My door is closed. Keep out! | |
| knock off | Knock it off! |
| L | |
| lead up to | (1) A narrow path leads up to his cabin. |
| (2) She was just leading up to something when he interrupted. | |
| leak out | I hope that news does not leak out. |
| leave out (of) | Leave me out of it, please. |
| leave up to | They left this decision up to me. |
| let down | I won't let you down again. |
| let in | Don't let strangers in. |
| let on (about) | I promised I wouldn't let on about her new job. |
| let up | The storm has let up. |
| lie down | I need to lie down and take a little nap. |
| light up | We lighted the house up with the headlights of our automobile. |
| lighten up | Hey, lighten up a little. Enjoy the day. |
| line up | Everyone, please line up. |
| live up to | That meal did not live up to my expectations. |
| look back (at/on) | When I look back on him, I am amazed at all he has accomplished. |
| look for | I am looking for my watch. |
| look in (on) | I will look in on him from time to time. |
| look out (for) | Look out for that car! |
| look up to | She is glad they look up to her. |
| loom up | An old cottage loomed up in the distance. |
| loosen up | Relax and loosen yourself up. |
| M | |
| make out | Can you make out what she is saying? |
| make up | (1) Did she make up the clowns yet? |
| (2) I made up that story. | |
| (3) I'm sorry, but you can't make up that test you missed. | |
| (4) Class participation will make up 25% of your final grade. | |
| (5) They kissed and made up. | |
| (6) Do you think I would make this up? | |
| march on | Time marches on. |
| mark down | Pineapples are marked down again. |
| mark up | Watermelons are marked up again. |
| mess up* | (1) He messed up his room. |
| (2) The dirty water messed my pants up. | |
| (3) Losing my job really messed my life up. | |
| move in(to) | I moved into a new apartment last month. |
| move on (to) | (1) The officer stopped for a minute, asked some questions, and then moved on. |
| (2) Alright, let's move on to our next point. | |
| move out (of) | I moved out of my old apartment last month. |
| move up (to) | How long will it be before they can move her up? |
* used in informal English
Thanks to Jennie, Josef and Kai.