Archive for marzo 2015

Next week we´re going to learn a bit more about phrasal verbs. As you know, a phrasal verb is a verb and a preposition/particle used together. In English there are hundreds of them. Here you have a list of the most important ones. Read the examples. They´ll be easier to remember if you see them in a sentence.

ESSENTIAL PHRASAL VERBS

(Intermediate Level)

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

BE ABOUT TO - estar a punto 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 can't make a tortilla."
BE OVER - terminarse - "When the football match was over, we went to the pub."
BE UP - estar levantado - "Phil isn't up yet: he's still in bed. Phone again in ten minutes."
BLOW UP - estallar (una bomba) - "The bomb blew up killing six 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 Motril."

CALL BACK - volver a llamar - "I'm afraid the manager isn't here at the moment. Could you call back later?"
CARRY ON - seguir. continuar - "I'm sorry if I interrupted you. Please carry on."
CARRY OUT - cumplir (una promesa) -"The President carried out his promise to reduce "
CARRY OUT - llevar a cabo - "The execution was carried out at seven o'clock in the morning."
CLEAR UP - poner en orden - "It took four hours to clear up after the party."
COME ACROSS - encontrar, dar con - "I came across an old friend on the metro in Madrid."
COME BACK - regresar - "I'm going to England for two weeks. I'm coming back."

COME IN - entrar - "Good morning. Come in and sit down."
COME ON - ¡Vamos!, ¡Date prisa! - "Come on. We're going to be late."
CUT DOWN ON - consumir menos - "You must cut down on cholesterol or you'll have a heart attack. "
CUT OFF - cortar, desconnectar - "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."

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

DO WITH - tener algo que ver con, tener relación con - "What's MS DOS?" "It's got something to do with computers."
DO WITHOUT - 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."

GET BACK - volver, regresar - "Cinderella had to get back by twelve o'clock. "
GET IN(TO) - entrar - "I lost my keys and so I couldn't get into the house."
GET OFF - bajar (de un autobus, tren) - "You have to get off the bus at the next stop if you want the station."
GET ON - subir (a un autobus, tren, moto) - "Quick! Get on the train, it's about to leave."
GET UP - levantarse - "When I got up this morning it was still dark."
GIVE BACK - devolver - "If you don't like the dress, the shop will give you your money back."
GIVE UP - perder la esperanza, rendirse - "If you find phrasal verbs difficult, don't give up."
GIVE UP - dejar (de fumar, beber) - "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 at home."
GO BACK - volver, regresar - "Although she's forty, she's going back to University to study French."
GO DOWN - bajar - "The price of fruit goes down in the summer."
GO OUT - salir (por la calle) - "I always go out and have a few drinks on Saturday night."
GO UP - subir - "The price of cigarettes went up in January 1992."

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

KEEP UP WITH - mantenerse (a la altura de) - "I can't keep up with my father when we go cycling as he goes too fast."
KNOCK DOWN - derribar, atropear, demoler - "My grandfather's old house was knocked down and a bank was built."

LEAVE BEHIND - olvidar, dejar - "When I got to the airport, I realised I had left my passport behind."
LET IN- dejar entrar - "She opened the door and let in the cat."
LOOK AFTER - cuidar - "My mother looks after the children when we go away."
LOOK FOR - buscar - "I spent two hours looking for my glasses before I found them. "
LOOK FORWARD TO - esperar con ilusión - "I'm looking forward to the Easter holidays. "
LOOK OUT - tener cuidado, ¡Ojo!- "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."

PUT IN - meter, introducir - "Put ten pence in the machine and you will get a cup of coffee."
PUT ON - encender - "Put on the light, it's getting dark. "
PUT ON - ponerse (la ropa) - "Put your coat on or you'll get cold. "

RUN OUT OF - quedars sin algo- " We ran out of petrol so we had to get the bus. "

SET OFF - ponerse en camino - "We set off to Madrid at five o'clock to avoid the traffic. "

TAKE AFTER - parecerse a - "Pablo takes after his mother: they are both optimistic. "
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 OUT - extraer, sacar - "He took out a cigarette and lit it. "
THROW AWAY - tirar (en la basura) - "Don't throw these papers away: they're important."
TURN DOWN - bajar (el volumen) - "Turn down the radio: it's too loud. "
TURN UP - poner el volumen más fuerte - "Turn up the radio. I can't hear it."
TURN ON - encender (televisión, luces etc.) - "Turn on the television, please, I want to see the news."

Some practice?

Phrasal Verbs Matching

Match the phrasal verbs in the first column to the best

available answer in the second

column.

_____ blow up               1) choose

_____ throw away        2) omit

_____ look like            3) resemble

_____ leave out            4) postpone

_____ pass away         5) recollect

_____ pick out             6) cancel

_____ work out           7) recover

_____ make up             8) die

_____ pick on               9) find

_____ get over             10) create

_____ put off               11) explode

_____ call off              12) continue

_____ hold on             13) happen

_____ come across     14) wait

_____ look back on    15) discard

_____ carry on           16) admire

_____ take place        17) exercise

_____ look up to       18) bully

Answer Key:

11 - blow up
15 - throw away
3 - look like
2 - leave out
8 - pass away
1 - pick out
17 - work out
10 - make up
18 - pick on
7 - get over