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Three word verbs

'Come in for' means to receive. This is usually used with words such as 'criticism' 'abuse' 'blame'.

• He came in for a lot of criticism for his actions.
• She came in for a lot of abuse when she tried to argue with them

'Go in for' can be used with words such as 'competition' to mean 'enter'.

• I went in for a Scrabble tournament at my club and I won.
• She was a good athlete when she was younger and went in for the trials for the Olympic team

'Sit in on' can be used with words such as 'conference' or 'meeting' to indicate that you attend as an observer and not as a regular participant.

• I've asked John to sit in on this meeting as he knows more about these people than we do.
• I'd like you to sit in on the negotiations with the unions as part of your training

'Stand in for' is used to mean 'substitute for'.

• Harry is ill so I'm going to stand in for him and make the presentation.
• Wendy is on vacation and I'm standing in for her

If you 'go along with' existing plans, opinions or decisions you accept them and don't try to change them.

• I go along with your ideas about increasing our marketing in China.
• You agreed to go along with our decision

If you 'listen out for' something, you keep alert and make an effort to hear it.

• I'm expecting him to call so listen out for the phone ringing.
• Listen out for their car. They should be here soon

If you 'cash in on' a situation, you take advantage of it, often unfairly.

• He cashed in on my absence with flu to contact my customers directly.
• We need to cash in on the emerging markets in Asia

If you 'drop in on' somebody, you make an informal, unarranged visit to see them.

• I dropped in on Martin when I was visiting Sidcup.
• Drop in on me any time you are in town.

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To Be

One way to say you are leaving is to say you are 'off'.

• I'm off now. See you tomorrow.
• It's time I was off or I'll be late for the meeting.

If you have no more supply/stock of something you are 'out of' the item.

• We're out of ink for the photocopier. Can you go out and get some?
• I'm afraid you are out of luck. I sold the last one an hour ago.

If you are depressed and miserable, you are 'down'.

• He's been very down since he lost his job.
• Why are you so down today?

When you have to submit something by a certain date, it has to be 'in' by then.

• The application has to be in before Friday.
• The report was supposed to be in last week but I'm still working on it.

If something is 'on', it is happening at the moment.

• There's a good play on at the theatre. (or should that be theater?)
• I'm going to London because the sales are on.

If somebody is not present, they are 'away'.

• I'm afraid he's away on holiday.
• I'm going to be away for a few days.

If food is no longer fresh, it is 'off'.

• I think this milk is off. Smell it.
• That melon is off. Don't eat it.

If you know some inside information, often a secret, you are 'in on' the information.

• Is Sarah in on our plans? Has anybody told her yet?
• He won't let me in on the secret.

If someone is 'up to' something, they are doing something secretive that you are not supposed to know about.

• I don't know exactly what is happening but Tom is up to something.
• Why all the whispering? What are you up to?

If someone is 'on' something, they are taking something as a form of drug.

• He's on 50 cigarettes a day at the moment.
• She's on her third cup of coffee and it's only 9 o'clock.

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To Bring

If you 'bring something about', you cause it to happen.

• How can we bring about change in this old-fashioned company?
• We need to bring about a change in attitude.

If you 'bring someone along' with you, they come with you.

• I want to bring along John to the meeting, if that is OK.
• Why not bring Simon along, if he's interested?

If something 'brings back' memories, it reminds you of the past.

• That photo brings back memories of our visit to Thailand.
• Meeting him brought back memories of when we worked together.

If you 'bring down' a price, you reduce it.

• We need to bring down the price to something more affordable.
• They're bringing down the price of all their cars.

If you 'bring forward' a meeting, you arrange it for an earlier time.

• I want to bring forward the meeting to Tuesday.
• Can we bring forward the meeting by an hour?

If you 'bring someone in on' a discussion, you ask them to join in with your discussion.

• I want to bring in John on this as he is an expert.
• We need to bring in an outside consultant.

If you 'bring out' a new product, you introduce it to the market.

• I hear they have brought out a new model.
• We're bringing it out early next year.

If you 'bring someone round', you persuade them.

• He was against the idea but Sally brought him round.
• How can we bring him round?

If you 'bring up' a subject, you mention it.

• Mark brought up the problem with the heating.
• Any other problems that you want to bring up?

If you 'bring on' somebody, you train them to be better.

• Martin always brings on the trainees really well.
• We try to bring on people quickly and promote them.

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To Come 1

1. Sometimes you keep something even though you don't need it at the time but because you think in the future it might 'come in useful'.

• Keep that. It might come in useful one day.
• I don't like learning English but it will come in useful when I get a job.

2. When something is falling, you can say that it is 'coming down'.

• The football match was stopped because the rain was coming down so heavily.
• Don't buy an Ipod yet. The prices will be coming down soon.

3. When a book is published, it 'comes out'.

• The magazine comes out once a month.
• My new book comes out in August.

4.If you 'come on to' a particular topic or idea, you start discussing it.

• Can we come on to the subject of parking?
• Before we come on to that, does anybody have any comments?

5. If you 'come across' something, you find it by accident.

• I came across these old photos when I was cleaning out my cupboard.
• She came across Richard in the middle of Oxford.

6. If a feeling 'comes over you', it affects you, often in an uncharacteristic way.

• I'm sorry for shouting. I don't know what came over me.
• A look of pleasure came over her face.

7. If a problem or situation 'comes up' it happens. (We can also say 'crops up'.)

• A big problem came up at work.
• Something has come up and I can't meet you.

8. If you 'come up with' a plan or idea, you think of it or suggest it.

• Peter came up with a good idea today.
• Can anybody come up with a solution?

9. If somebody 'comes across' as having a particular characteristic, they have given you the impression that they are like this.

• When you first meet Susan, she comes across as a shy person but in fact she is quite self-confident.
• Do you know that you come across as very arrogant?

10. When you are talking about the results of a situation, you can talk about what 'comes of' the situation.

• I'll let you know what comes of the meeting.
• No great harm came from it.

11. If an event or action 'comes off', it is successful or effective.

• I hope this high risk strategy comes off for us.
• I don't think it is going to come off.

12. If an idea 'comes upon' you, it develops without your really being aware of it.

• The idea came upon me when I was out walking the dog.
• I came upon the solution by pure chance.

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Phrasal Verbs with Down 2

If you 'lie down' you go for a rest on a bed or a sofa.

• You look exhausted. Lie down for a while.
• I lie down for ten minutes after lunch every day.

If you 'slow down', you go less quickly than before.

• As I have got older, I seem to have slowed down and to be able to get through less work.
• Production has slowed down compared with last year.

If you 'calm down', you stop being angry or excited.

• He got very angry at first but laughed about it when he had calmed down a bit.
• You need to calm down. You are much too emotional.

If someone or something needs to 'cool down', they are too hot.

• I am going to take a shower to cool myself down a bit.
• The coffee is too hot to drink. Let it cool down a bit.

If you 'cut down' something, it can mean that you reduce the number.

• We need to cut down our workforce by 500 people.
• You should cut down the number of cigarettes you smoke.

If an argument 'falls down', it is very weak.

• Your argument falls down when you look at the inflation rate.
• The argument falls down when you take costs into account.

If you 'mark down' a price, you reduce it.

• The shirts have been marked down by 50%.
• Prices have been marked down by 10% across the board.

If things 'quieten down' , they become less noisy.

• I am not going to speak until you all quieten down a bit.
• It was very hectic earlier but things have quietened down now.

If you 'tear something down', you pull it with force from a wall or a notice board.

• He tore down the poster that the union had put up.
• Somebody has torn down the safety notice I put up.

If you 'tone down' something, you make it less extreme.

• You need to tone down the language in your letter. It is too hostile.
• We need to tone down the colors on the website. They are too bright.

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If something 'gets you down', it makes you feel unhappy.

• This uncertainty is beginning to get me down.
• The way everybody keeps complaining really gets me down

If somebody or something makes you feel upset or unhappy, they 'get to' you. This is an informal expression.

• The way he whistles all the time when we are working really gets to me.
• The heat is really getting to me. We need air conditioning.

If something makes you very unhappy, it 'tears you apart'.

• It tears me apart to know that I lost that job because of my own stupidity.
• It would tear me apart if something I said made you leave.

If you are 'put out', you are annoyed.

• I was really put out when he turned down the job.
• He seemed a bit put out that we hadn't invited him to speak.

If you 'cheer up', you start to feel happier.

• Cheer up. Things are not so bad.
• I bought a new Ipod to cheer myself up.

If you 'perk up', you suddenly become happier, cheerful or more energetic. It is also possible to 'perk someone up'.

• Your visit really made him perk up.
• He was being miserable but he perked up when Mary arrived.

If you 'brighten up', you suddenly look or feel happier.

• She brightened up when she heard the good news.
• You need to brighten up. Your long face is putting off the customers.

If you 'liven up', you become more energetic or cheerful. You can also 'liven up' a place, event or person.

• You need to liven up a bit. You're so miserable it is making everybody feel unhappy.
• We need to liven up the party. Everyone looks miserable.

If you 'calm down', you stop feeling angry, upset or excited. It's also possible to 'calm someone down'.

• You need to calm down a bit. You're too excited.
• Calm down. Let me explain.

If you have had an experience that has made you feel unhappy, you need to 'get over' it.

• It took me a year to get over being made redundant.
• You need to get over your disappointment and move on with your life.

If you are feeling sad or unhappy, you can force yourself out of this mood – you can 'snap out of it'. This is an informal expression.

• You need to snap out of this mood and do something positive.
• I hope he snaps out of this soon.

If you have been acting emotionally and unreasonably because you are upset or angry, you need to 'pull yourself together' and act reasonably.

• Pull yourself together and stop this stupid mood.
• I need some time alone to pull myself together.

If you are so excited about something that you behave in a silly or hasty way, you are 'carried away' by the idea.

• I got carried away reading my book and didn't get any sleep.
• We mustn't get carried away with our enthusiasm. We must exercise reasonable judgment.

If you 'freak out', you start behaving in a very strange or violent way. This is an informal expression. You can also 'freak someone out'.

• I freaked out when I saw my boyfriend kissing another girl.
• It freaked me out to discover that the woman I was talking to was really a man.

If you 'flip out', you start to behave in a very excited or strange way. This is informal and mainly American.

• He flipped out when they wouldn't let him on the flight because he was too late.
• The children flipped out when they met Mickey Mouse.

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If you 'bolt down' food, you eat it very quickly. This expression is informal.

• He bolted down the food. He really enjoyed it.
• I'm so busy that I'm going to bolt down some food and get straight back to work.

If you 'wolf down' food, you also eat it quickly but specifically because you are hungry. This is also informal.

• Did you see the way she wolfed down that food? She must have been ravenous.
• After the marathon, I wolfed down some fish and chips.

If you consume a lot of drink (usually alcohol) quickly, you 'knock it back'. This is informal and is often used quite negatively.

• He was knocking back the champagne at the reception.
• We must watch Bill carefully in the bar with the clients. He can really knock it back.

If you eat an excessive amount of food, you 'pig out'. This is informal.

• I'm not hungry because I pigged out on chocolate this afternoon.
• We really pigged out in the restaurant.

If you 'plough through' some food, you eat it all but with some difficulty because there is a lot of it. In American English, 'plough' can be written as 'plow'.

• He served a huge plate of spaghetti and it took me ages to plough my way through it.
• They served us snake. I didn't like it but I plowed my way through it to be polite.

If you 'put away' food or drink, it can mean you eat or drink a lot of it. (Obviously, it can also mean that you place the food or drink in a fridge or cupboard – the context of the sentence should make clear the meaning.)

• Watch Peter. He's been putting away a lot of beer and he sometimes turns aggressive when he's drunk.
• He has put away some sandwiches but is still hungry.

If you 'pick at' your food, you only eat a small amount of it, usually because you are not hungry, you are on a diet or because you are ill.

• She only picked at her food, even though it was delicious.
• We were so busy talking that we only picked at our food.

If you 'cut down' or 'cut back' on a particular food or drink, you consume less of it.

• My doctor told me to cut back on the amount of salt in my diet.
• I need to cut down the amount of fried food I eat.

If you 'eat up', you finish all your food.

• I don't like tripe but I ate it all up when it was served to us by our hosts.
• Eat up. It's time to go.

If you 'drink up', you finish all your drink.

• We seem to have drunk up all the orange juice.
• Drink up. It's time to go.

If you 'polish off' some food, you finish it completely and quickly.

• The guests polished off all the food in the first thirty minutes.
• He has just polished off two whole pizzas and still says he is hungry.

If you 'dish up' some food, you put it onto plates or dishes, ready to be served.

• I've heard she is going to dish up something really special.
• Can you collect up the starter plates, while I dish up the main course?

'Serve up' is a another way of saying the same thing as 'dish up'.

• They served up a six course meal for their guests.
• It's no better than the food we serve up in our canteen and twenty times more expensive.

If you 'lay on' some food or drink, you provide it.

• We've laid on a buffet lunch for our visitors.
• They laid on a small drinks party for us.

If you make a meal very quickly and easily, you 'whip it up'. This is informal.

• Have a seat and I'll whip us up something to eat.
• I could whip up a salad, if you are hungry.

If you make food quickly and without much effort, you 'knock it up'.

• I knocked myself up a quick meal from what was left in my fridge.
• Do you want me to knock up some lunch?

If you make food hot so that it can be eaten, you 'heat it up'.

• I've already prepared the food for the party. All we need to do is to heat up the pizzas.
• I could heat up a can of soup if you are hungry.

If you 'warm up ' cold food, you are making it hot again so that it can be eaten.

• I'll warm up that stew from last night.
• The canteen makes a large quantity once a week and then just warms up the amount needed every day.

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Phrasal Verbs with UP 1

I've had a lot of requests for some lessons on 'up' so here is the first of several. We'll cover the easy part today.

One common use for 'up' in phrasal verbs is to indicate

• An upward movement
• An increase
• An improvement

See how that applies to these eight verbs.

If you display something such as a poster, you 'put it up' on a wall or a notice-board.

• Have you seen the warning the boss has put up on the notice-board?
• Can you put up a poster in your window?

If somebody is miserable and you want them to be happier, you can tell them to 'cheer up'.

• You look really unhappy. Cheer up!
• I wrote Pearson a letter to try to cheer him up a bit.

If you are sitting and then you rise from your chair, you 'stand up'.

• When the President arrives, everybody must stand up.
• Stand up straight when I am speaking to you.

If a party or a seminar is dull, you need to 'liven it up'.

• You need to liven up your ideas.
• How can we liven up this presentation?

If you want to make something stronger, you can 'build it up'.

• I have built up a strong team of workers.
• I have been ill and need to build up my strength.

I can't hear very well these days – I'm old. When you speak to me, you need to speaker, to 'speak up'.

• Can you speak up? There is a lot of background noise.
• It is a big room. You will have to speak up so that those in the back can hear.

The place where you lived when you were a child is where you 'grew up'.

• I was born in Scotland but grew up in England.
• Where did you grow up?

If something increases fast, it 'shoots up'.

• The price of petrol has shot up recently.
• My English scores shot up after I started studying with Pearson.

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Phrasal Verbs with UP 2

There is a group of expressions using 'up' where the 'up' is not necessary. For example you can say 'fill' or 'fill up' and it means almost the same thing. So why do we add the 'up'? Well one possible answer is that 'we do it because we do it' – we have just developed the habit of adding 'up'. However, often the 'up' seems to 'intensify' the verb, to make it more 'complete'.

Look at these examples and see what I mean.

If you are late, you need to 'hurry up'.

• Please hurry up. We are terribly late.
• We need to hurry up or we will miss our flight.

You can 'ring up' somebody on the telephone.

• I will ring you up when I get back.
• You can ring me up if you need any help.

If you cut your skin, it needs to 'heal up'.

• This will take a week to heal up.
• I cut myself shaving and it will not heal up.

Before I go on a long journey, I have to 'fill up' my car with petrol ( or if I were in the US 'gas'.)

• I need to fill up my car.
• The concert filled up quickly and not everybody could get in.

When I send a package, I 'wrap it up' well.

• Could you wrap this up for me?
• They didn't wrap it up properly and it got damaged.

If you have something valuable, it is a good idea to 'lock it up'.

• He did not lock up his desk properly and somebody stole his calculator.
• I think they should lock up pedophiles for a very long time.

If you don't have enough money to buy something, you need to 'save up'.

• I am saving up to go on a trip to New York.
• You'll have to save up if you want to buy a car.

When things are in a mess, you need to 'tidy them up'.

• We need to tidy up the office before the visitor comes.
• Tidy up your desk. It's such a mess.

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