Meaning & Usage of Phrasal Verbs

Meaning & Usage of Phrasal Verbs

Get-

• Get about (come out of doors) – I am too ill to get about.
• Get abroad (become public) – The secret got abroad.
• Get ahead (surpassed) – He has got ahead of all other boys in the class.
• Get along/ on (manage to do) – How can I get along without money?
• Get at (reach) – We could not get at the truth.
• Get away (escape) – The prisoner got away from the jail.
• Get by (be acceptable) – You can get by with this dress in the party.
• Get down (depress) – The mishap got him down.
• Get in (arrive) – What time did the train get in?
• Get in (elect) – The leader will certainly get in this time.
• Get into (happen) – What has got into you today?
• Get off (escape) – He got off unharmed.
• Get on (progressing) – How is she getting on at school?
• Get out (become public) – The secret will soon get out.
• Get over (overcome) – He got over the difficulties.
• Get up (prepare) – Get up your lessons carefully.

Give-

• Give away (present) – The President gives away the prizes.
• Give in (tendered) – He has given in his resignation.
• Give off / forth (emit) – The flower gives off/ forth a sweet smell.
• Give over (hand over) – They were given over to the enemy.
• Give out (declare) – He gave out that he was ill.
• Give up (abandon) – Give up the bad habit.

Go-

• Go about (move about) – I am too weak to go about.
• Go abroad (away from home) - He went abroad five years ago.
• Go after (follow) – The dog went after the hare.
• Go ahead (making progress) – All arrangements are going ahead to celebrate the occasion.
• Go along (agree) – It is difficult to go along with you on this point.
• Go away (leave) – He has gone away from here for good.
• Go by (to be guided by) – It is a good rule to go by.
• Go for (is regarded as) – He goes here for a scholar.
• Go in for (support) – My supporters will go in for the abolition of that rule.
• Go off (passed) – The party went off well.
• Go on (continue) – Go on with your work.
• Go over (change side) – He went over to the enemy.
• Go through (experience) – I went through great sufferings.
• Go upon (follow) – He does not go upon any fixed principle.
• Go with (agree with) – I go with you in this matter.

Hand-

• Hand down (pass on) – This legend has been handed down from age to age.
• Hand in (tender) – He has handed in his resignation.
• Hand over (deliver) – Hand over the thief to the Police.

Hang-

• Hang about (move suspiciously) – Why do you hang about the examination hall?
• Hang back (hesitate) – I cannot hang back when others are advancing.
• Hang on (depend on) – I do not like to hang on others for my work.
• Hang out (Display) – People hung out flags to welcome the President.
• Hang over (postpone) – The debate has been hung over.
• Hang up (suspend) – Hang up this picture in my study.

Hold-

• Hold back (conceal) – Do not hold back anything from me.
• Hold by (adhered to) – Only he held by me in my danger.
• Hold in (check) – Hold in your temper.
• Hold off (keep aloof) – You should hold off from such agitation.
• Hold on to (stick to) – He held on to the post despite criticisms.
• Hold over (postpone) – The debate has been held over.
• Hold to (stick to) – Do you still hold to your plan?
• Hold up (keep up) – Hold up your spirits.
• Hold with (agree) – I hold with you in this matter.

Keep-

• Keep away, off (be at a distance) –Fire keep away of wild animals.
• Keep at (stick to) – He is too fickle to keep at something.
• Keep from (aloof from) – You must keep from evil company.
• Keep in (stay indoors) – I t is wise to keep in while it rains.
• Keep on (continue) – He kept on ringing the bell.
• Keep up (maintain) – I shall keep up the prestige of my family.

Lay-

• Lay about (deal blows) - He began to lay about him in anger.
• Lay aside (cast aside) – Lay aside your formality.
• Lay out (expend) – He laid out his all in business.
• Lay up (confined to bed) – I am laid up with fever.

Look-

• Look after (take care) – He will take look after my brother.
• Look for (expect) – I looked for better treatment from you.
• Look forward to (expect with pleasure) – We look forward to his visit.
• Look in (pay a short visit) – I shall look in when I pass by his house.
• Look on (regard) – I look on you as my best friend.
• Look over (Examine) – Please look over the applications.
• Look up to (respect) – I look up to him as my brother.

Make –

• Make after (pursue) – The dog made after the hare.
• Make of (understand) – What do you make of the letter?
• Make for (move towards) – The ship made for the port.
• Make out (understand) – I cannot make out what you say.
• Make over (deliver) – He made over charge to me.
• Make up (complete) – I shall make up my loss in six months.

Pass-

• Pass away (die) – He passed away at night.
• Pass by (overlook) – He passed by my faults.
• Pass for (was regarded as) – He passed for a rich man there.
• Pass on (proceed) – Let us pass on to another subject.
• Pass over (neglect) – My claim was passed over.

Pull-

• Pull at (trying to remove) – The labourers are pulling at the heavy machine.
• Pull down (demolish) – We decided to pull down the old building.
• Pull in (earning) – He is pulling in a lot of money.
• Pull off (remove) – The children pulled off the cover as soon as the packet was presented to them.
• Pull out (left) – The train pulled out of the station.
• Pull up (stop) – I pulled up the car as the traffic police showed his points.

Put-

• Put about (spreading rumours) – I hear many stories that are being put about.
• Put away (lay aside) – Put away enough money for the old age.
• Put down (suppressed) – The rebellion was put down with a high hand.
• Put back (restore) – Put back the book in its proper place.
• Put in (submit) – I have put in my claim.
• Put off (postpone) – Don’t put off your work.
• Put on (wear) – Put on your cloths.
• Put out (extinguish) – Put out the lamp.
• Put up (post) – Put up the notice here.

Run-

• Run about (hurry from one place to another) – The children started to run about in great panic.
• Run after (pursued) - They all ran after the thief.
• Run across (met by chance) – I ran across my old friend in the street after many years.
• Run against (fight) – He is running against heavy odds.
• Run away (left home) – His son ran away and joined the army.
• Run down (sickly) – He looks much run down.
• Run off (fled) – The thief saw me and ran off.
• Run over (glanced over hastily) – He ran over my petition.
• Run through (pierced) – He ran through the boar with a spear.
• Run into (collide) – The bus ran into the railing.
• Run to (amount) – The money required for the project will run to a few lacs of rupees.
• Run up (hoisted) – The boy ran up a flag on the pole.

Set –

• Set about (begin) – Set about your task without delay.
• Set aside (cancel) – He set aside some money for me.
• Set down (record) – The judge set down my objection.
• Set in (begin) – The rain set in.
• Set off (start) – He set off for Mumbai.
• Set out (start) – He has set out for England.
• Set to (begin) – Let us set to work at once.
• Set up (produce) – They set him up as their candidate.

Stand –

• Stand against (resist) – Do not stand against the force of time.
• Stand at (amounts to) – The total contribution so far stands at Rs. 10,000.
• Stand for (represents) – The letter “X” stands for ten.
• Stand in (substitute) – Let me stand in with you.
• Stand off (kept aloof) – T stood off from the quarrel.
• Stand to (stick to) – I shall stand to my promise.
• Stand out (be conspicuous) – He stood out from the rest because of his height.

Take-

• Take after (resembles) – The child takes after its father.
• Take away (remove) – Do not take away books from the shelf.
• Take for (regarded as) – I took him for a doctor.
• Take in (enclosed) – He has taken in this plot of land for a garden.
• Take on (undertake) – I decided to take on the extra job.
• Take to (become fond of) – I took to the boy from the first.
• Took up (adopted) – He took up my cause.

Tell-

• Tell off (scolded) – The servant needs to be told off.
• Tell upon( affects) – Over-exercise tells upon health.
• Turn-
• Turn away (dismiss) – Turn away the idea from your mind.
• Turn in (go to bed) – I turned in early last night.
• Turn on (depends on ) – The case turns on his report.
• Turn out (prove) – Your report turned out to be true.
• Turn up (appear) – He did not turn up in time.

Work-

• Work in (penetrate) – The water has turned in all round the packing box.
• Work off (dispose of) – You must work off the accumulated work.
• Work on (continue to work) – They worked on till sunset.
• Work out (solve/ undergo exercise) – Work out this sum. The players are working out.
• Work up (excited) – The mob was worked up by his speech.
• Write-
• Write down (take him to be) – You can write him down as a useless fellow.
• Write out (write in full) – Please write out a copy of the agreement.
• Write up (complete)- You should write up the class notes.

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Read (PART 1) - Meaning & Uses of Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verbs Explained in Easy Language