Phrasal Verbs

Though English is a very versatile language yet many a times we fail to express our thoughts with just using verbs. For efficient expressions phrasal verbs help us. A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition or an adverb; the combination creates a
meaning different from the original verb alone.

Here we would see commonly used phrasal verbs with examples.

Abide by Respect or obey
(the law, a decision, a rule)
If you want to stay at this school, you must abide by the rules.

Account for Explain; give a reason I hope you can account for the money you spent!

Ache for Want something or someone very much.
He was so lonely he ached for the sound of a human voice.

Act on Take action as a result of something.
The police acted on the call they received.

Add up Make sense; seem reasonable.
Her story just doesn't add up.

Adhere to Support; follow; act in accordance with.
All contestants must adhere to the rules.

Agree with Have the same opinion as someone else.
I agree with you. I think she deserves the award too.

Aim at Direct towards a target.
The policeman aimed his gun at the hijacker.

Allow for Take into consideration;
Include in a calculation You'd better leave early to allow for heavy traffic.

Answer back Reply rudely.
Don't answer back your mother!
answer for 1) Be responsible for something.
Normally parents have to answer for their children's behavior.

2) Speak on behalf of someone.
I agree, but I can't answer for my associate.

Answer to Be responsible to/be controlled by (someone).
Who do you answer to in your job?

Appeal to 1)Plead or make an earnest request.
The organizers appealed to the crowd to stay calm.

2) Be attractive or interesting.
Camping doesn't appeal to me.

Apply for Make a formal request for something.
(job, permit, loan, etc.) He applied for the job advertised.

Arrive at Reach (an agreement, a decision, a conclusion)
It is hoped that they will arrive at an agreement at the end of the meeting..

Ask after Enquire about someone's well-being.
My mother is always asking after you.

Ask around Mention it to people you see or meet.
I'll ask around and see if anyone has seen your cat.

Ask in Invite someone to come inside.
I couldn't leave her standing outside in the cold so I asked her in.

Avail (oneself) of Take advantage of something
(an opportunity)
When the company is privatized, you should avail yourself of the opportunity and buy some shares.

Some more commonly used Phrasal verbs

Blow up To explode.
The terrorists tried to blow up the railroad station.

Bring up Raise children.
It isn't easy to bring up children nowadays.

Call off Cancel.
They called off this afternoon's meeting.

Fill out Complete a form.
Fill out this application form and mail it in.

Fill up fill to capacity.
She filled up the grocery cart with free food.
Find out discover.
My sister found out that her husband had been planning a surprise party for her.

Give away Give something to someone else for free.
The filling station was giving away free gas.

Give back Return an object.
My brother borrowed my car. I have a feeling he's not about to give it back.

Hand in Submit something (assignment).
The students handed in their papers and left the room.

Hang up Put something on hook or receiver.
She hung up the phone before she hung up her clothes.

Hold up Delay.
I hate to hold up the meeting, but I have to go to the bathroom.

Hold up Rob.
Three masked gunmen held up the Security Bank this afternoon.

Leave out Omit.
You left out the part about the police chase down Asylum Avenue.

Look over examine, check.
The lawyers looked over the papers carefully before questioning the witness. (They looked them over carefully.)

Look up search in a list.
You've misspelled this word again. You'd better look it up.

Make up Invent a story or lie.
She knew she was in trouble, so she made up a story about going to the movies with her friends.

Make out hear, Understand.
He was so far away, we really couldn't make out what he was saying.

Pick out Choose.
There were three men in the line-up. She picked out the guy she thought had stolen her purse.

Pick up Lift something off something else.
The crane picked up the entire house. (Watch them pick it up.)

Point out Call attention to.
As we drove through Paris, Francoise pointed out the major historical sites.

Put away Save or store.
We put away money for our retirement. She put away the cereal boxes.

Put off Postpone.
We asked the boss to put off the meeting until tomorrow. (Please put it off for another day.)

Put on Put clothing on the body.
I put on a sweater and a jacket. (I put them on quickly.)

Put out Extinguish.
The firefighters put out the house fire before it could spread. (They put it out quickly.)

Read over Peruse.
I read over the homework, but couldn't make any sense of it.

Set up To arrange, begin.
My wife set up the living room exactly the way she wanted it. She set it up.

Take down Make a written note.
These are your instructions. Write them down before you forget.

Take off Remove clothing.
It was so hot that I had to take off my shirt.

Talk over Discuss.
We have serious problems here. Let's talk them over like adults.

Throw away Discard.
That's a lot of money! Don't just throw it away.

Try on Put clothing on to see if it fits.
She tried on fifteen dresses before she found one she liked.

Try out Test.
I tried out four cars before I could find one that pleased me.

Turn down Reject.
He applied for a promotion twice this year, but he was turned down both times.

Turn up Raise the volume.
Grandpa couldn't hear, so he turned up his hearing aid.

Turn off Switch off electricity.
We turned off the lights before anyone could see us.

Turn off Repulse.
It was a disgusting movie. It really turned me off.

Turn on Switch on the electricity.
Turn on the CD player so we can dance.

Use up Exhaust, use completely.
The gang members used up all the money and went out to rob some more banks.