1. aim at – (transitive and separable or inseparable) – to point or direct a firearm at something or to try or to strive.
Ex: Lori aimed at mastering phrasal verbs before her IELTS exam. The bank robber aimed the gun at the hostage.
2. to bring (something) about – (transitive and inseparable) – to achieve or to accomplish.
Ex: Land reform brought about economic prosperity for farmers across the country.
3. to bring (something) back – (transitive and separable or inseparable) – to return from somewhere with something.
Ex: Please bring a loaf of bread back from the market. Please bring back a loaf of bread from the market.
4. to break down – to stop working – (intransitive and inseparable)
Ex: Carla’s car broke down while she was traveling to the beach.
5. to bring in – to earn money – (transitive and separable)
Ex: The Italian restaurant brings in million dollars a year because of the great food.
6. to bring up something – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Rolf brought up the fact that Sherman is not a good chess player.
7. to carry on – to behave wildly – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Reggie has been carrying on all day about losing the tennis match last night.
8. to carry out something – to perform or complete an activity – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: The investigator carried out an inspection and found thirty secret bank accounts!
9. to come back – to return – (intransitive and inseparable)
Ex: Lola came back home with a car full of groceries!
10. to come down –to go to a lower position or drop – (intransitive and inseparable)
Ex: House prices have come down after interest rates dropped.
11. to come in for something – to receive (criticism or blame )– (transitive and inseparable)
Ex: Josh told Kayla she was coming in for a tough talk from her boss after that comment..
12. to come on – to start to develop gradually like an illness – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Biff felt a big headache coming on after drinking the entire bottle of rum.
13. to come out – to be known or to come public – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Scary facts came out about the suspect who robbed Hamilton State Bank.
14. to come up – to be talked about in a conversation – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: The high price of gold came up at the investors conference.
15. to find out – to get knowledge, usually about dishonest activities or practices.
Ex: Alberto found out his boss was stealing money from the company.
16. to get along with (someone) – to have a good relationship (with someone) – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Jessica could not get along with her boyfriend after she saw him kiss another girl.
17. to get out of something – to avoid doing something that you don’t want to do – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Lars got out of taking the trash when he convinced his sister to do it.
18. to get (someone) up – to cause someone to rise from the bed – (transitive and separable).
Ex: Kayla finally got Giraldo up before he missed the bus to work.
19. to give up (something) – to stop doing or to stop having something – (transitive and separable).
Ex: Hannah gave up smoking after her heart attack.
20. to go back on (something) – to fail to keep a promise – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Lorenzo went back on his promise to help Hannah with her algebra homework.
21. to go off – to explode or make a loud notice – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: A bomb went off in the Paris metro.
22. to go with (something) – to seem natural or attractive in combination with something – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Rosa’s red scarf does not go with her green dress.
23. to hand in – to submit – (transitive and separable)
Ex: Alan handed in his project late to the boss and was reprimanded.
24. to hold up – to delay – (transitive and separable).
Ex: The judge held his decision up till more evidence was made presented.
25. to hold up (2) – to rob – (transitive and separable).
Ex: Three thin thieves just held Hamilton National Bank up!
26. to leave out – to omit – (transitive and separable)
Ex: In her job interview, Marsha left the fact out that she was fired from her last job.
27. to never look back – to become increasingly successful – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Eddie never looked back after scoring a number one song on the chart last year.
28. to look down on – to feel something or someone is not worthy of respect or disdain – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Hannah looks down on the peasant workers on the rice plantation.
29. to look forward to – to anticipate - (intransitive and inseparable).
We look forward to meeting the new CEO of the company at the party.
30. to look into – to investigate – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: The private investigator is looking into the suspicious fire at the saloon.
31. to look over – to examine or inspect something quickly and carelessly
Ex: The policewoman looked over the immigrant’s documents and waived him through the checkpoint.
32. to look up – to redo – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Max looked up the date of the battle for his history paper.
33. to make over – to redo or renovate – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: The decorators made over the bedroom in a romantic French style.
34. to make up (1) – to construct or compose; to invent a falsehood; to take (a course of exam) again because of an absence or failure – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Fifty states and Puerto Rico make up the United States. Jenny made up a story to tell her teacher why she did not do his homework. Ronald will make up his French exam on Saturday.
35. to make up (2) – to compensate for; to end a dispute – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Ivan made up for cancelling his date with Melissa by taking her to a fancy restaurant last night. Ivan and Melissa made up after he cancelled their date.
36. to pick on– to tease or bully (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Seth likes to pick on little girls.
37. to pick up – to take something by hand; to collect or gather; to acquire knowledge by learning – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: You can pick up your last paycheck next Friday. Pick up your assignments before leaving class today. Rolfo picked up Spanish quickly in Madrid.
38. to pull through – to recuperate from tough situation – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Yali pulled through two hours of back surgery.
39. to put off – to postpone, delay doing something – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Maria put off seeing the dentist until the pain was unbearable.
40. to put up with – to tolerate – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Who can put up with such lying and deception from a friend?
41. to set off (1) – to cause to occur; to make something explode; to make something operate, usually by accident – (transitive and inseparable). – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Bert set off a dispute with the teacher when he refused her instructions. The terrorist set off the bomb by remote control using a cellphone. The janitor set off the fire alarm while mopping the floor.
42. to set off (2) – to leave on a trip or journey – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Three hikers set off to climb Mont Blanc in France despite the bad conditions.
43. to set out (1) – to present, arrange or describe (something) – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: The new police chief set out a plan to lower the crime rate.
44. to set out (2) – to leave on a trip – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: Betty and Jose set out for Jamaica on his modern yacht.
45. to set up – to establish a business, institution, or group – (transitive and in/separable.
Ex: Arthur set a new business up in downtown Millville.
46. to take back – to receive or accept something that you previously sold, offered, or gave away; to retract or withdraw a comment by admitting it was wrong – (transitive and separable).
Ex: The department store took back Martha’s coat even without a receipt.
Lana took back
47. to take off (1) – to leave the ground and fly; to leave a place for another – (intransitive and inseparable).
Ex: The Cessna jet took off from the remote airport for Hawaii.
48. to take off (2) – to remove a piece of clothing – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Brent took off his T-shirt before jumping into the swimming pool.
49. to take on something/someone – to fight or compete against something/someone – (transitive and inseparable).
Ex: Jenna took on Janet in a debate over the minimum wage.
50. to take out – to arrange to get something from a company, bank, etc.
Ex: Serena took out a loan from Hamilton National Bank to study at the university.
Phrasal Verb Exercise
Directions: Choose the correct phrasal verb combination by selecting the word or words from Set I and Set II to complete the sentences below. Make any changes to phrasal verbs to fit the verb tense of the sentence.
Set I: take aim carry put pick hand come find look set
Set II: back at in out up off with into on
1. Marcos ________ his mean comments about Jane’s green dress.
2. The governor ________helping poor children to attend elementary school.
3. Investigators ________an audit of the bank to find the embezzler.
4. People gathered in the central park to ________ fireworks to celebrate Independence Day.
5. Much money has been invested to________ the cure for cancer.
6. Tasha ________ her English essay late and received an F.
7. Why don’t you ________ someone your own size you big bully!
8. Luisa, you don’t have to ________ the harassment from your boss. Sue him!
9. Investing in that failing technology company ________ in my conversation with Rich today.
10. Police ________the mysterious disappearance of Texas oil millionaire, Drake Saunders.