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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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