English Phrasal Verb Flashcards: Meaning & Word Order

Question 1

What does separable mean for a two-part English verb with a short noun object?

Accepted Answer

The noun can go between the verb and particle or after both.

Learn this pattern for the particular meaning you are using.

Question 2

What does “turn off” mean here?

“Maya turned off the desk fan before the call.”

Accepted Answer

She stopped the fan from running.

Question 3

What does “pick up” mean here?

“The driver picked up Leila at the west entrance.”

Accepted Answer

The driver collected Leila to give her a ride.

Question 4

What does “put away” mean here?

“After lunch, I put away the clean plates.”

Accepted Answer

I returned the plates to the place where we keep them.

Question 5

What does “put on” mean here?

“Nora put on her raincoat before leaving.”

Accepted Answer

Nora dressed herself in her raincoat.

Question 6

Where does an unstressed personal pronoun object go with a separable English phrasal verb?

Accepted Answer

Between the verb and its particle.

The pattern is verb + me/you/him/her/it/us/them + particle.

Question 7

What does “throw away” mean here?

“I threw away the torn envelope after saving the letter.”

Accepted Answer

I discarded the envelope because I no longer needed it.

Question 8

What does “take off” mean here?

“I took off my wet gloves in the hallway.”

Accepted Answer

I removed the gloves I was wearing.

Question 9

Rewrite with it: “Please turn off the desk fan.”

Accepted Answer

Please turn it off.

The personal pronoun goes between turn and off.

Question 10

Rewrite with them: “I put away the clean plates.”

Accepted Answer

I put them away.

The pronoun goes between put and away.

Question 11

Complete with a phrasal verb based on pick: “Can you ___ me ___ at the ferry terminal?” (Collect me by car.)

Accepted Answer

pick me up

“Can you pick me up at the ferry terminal?” The pronoun belongs between pick and up.

Question 12

Complete with a phrasal verb based on put: “It is cold outside. Please ___ your coat.”

Accepted Answer

put on

“It is cold outside. Please put on your coat.” With a noun, “put your coat on” is also grammatical.

Question 13

Rewrite with it: “Please throw away the torn envelope.”

Accepted Answer

Please throw it away.

The personal pronoun goes before away.

Question 14

Complete with a phrasal verb based on take: “Your boots are muddy. Please ___ them ___ before entering.”

Accepted Answer

take them off

“Please take them off before entering.” The pronoun goes between take and off.

Question 15

What does “write down” mean here?

“We wrote down the locker number in a notebook.”

Accepted Answer

We made a written record of the locker number.

Question 16

What does “hand in” mean here?

“Each student handed in a signed permission slip.”

Accepted Answer

Each student submitted the slip to the person collecting it.

Question 17

What does “call off” mean here?

“The organizers called off the outdoor concert because of lightning.”

Accepted Answer

They canceled the concert; it would not go ahead as planned.

Question 18

What does “look up” mean here?

“Sam looked up the word in an online dictionary.”

Accepted Answer

Sam checked a reference source for information about the word.

Question 19

Can you assume every meaning of an English multi-word verb has the same object pattern?

Accepted Answer

No. Learn the meaning and the object pattern together.

A combination may take an object in one use and need none in another.

Question 20

What does “put off” mean here?

“We put off the roof inspection until next week.”

Accepted Answer

We delayed the inspection to a later time.

Question 21

What does “fill in” mean here?

“Please fill in the registration form before the workshop.”

Accepted Answer

Please add the requested details to the form.

Fill in is common in British English; fill out is also used, especially in American English.

Question 22

Complete with a phrasal verb based on write: “Please ___ the gate code so we do not forget it.”

Accepted Answer

write down

“Please write down the gate code so we do not forget it.” “Write out” also fits if you mean writing the code in full. With a noun, “write the gate code down” is also grammatical.

Question 23

Rewrite with it: “I must hand in my assignment today.”

Accepted Answer

I must hand it in today.

The pronoun goes between hand and in.

Question 24

Complete with a phrasal verb based on call: “The venue is unsafe. We must ___ the concert.” (Cancel it.)

Accepted Answer

call off

“We must call off the concert.” With a noun, “call the concert off” is also grammatical.

Question 25

Rewrite with it: “I will look up the address.”

Accepted Answer

I will look it up.

In this information-search sense, look up is separable.

Question 26

Rewrite with it: “Please fill in the registration form.”

Accepted Answer

Please fill it in.

“Please fill it out” is also valid if you choose the alternative expression fill out; this rewrite keeps fill in.

Question 27

Complete with a phrasal verb based on put: “We cannot inspect the roof today. We will ___ the inspection until Friday.”

Accepted Answer

put off

“We will put off the inspection until Friday.” “Put back” is also a valid answer here. With a noun, “put the inspection off” is also grammatical.

Question 28

What does intransitive mean when a dictionary labels an English verb use?

Accepted Answer

That use takes no direct object.

Time and place phrases can still follow it; they are not direct objects.

Question 29

What does “wake up” mean here?

“I woke up at six but stayed in bed for a while.”

Accepted Answer

I stopped sleeping at six. I did not necessarily leave the bed then.

Question 30

What does “break down” mean here?

“Our washing machine broke down halfway through the cycle.”

Accepted Answer

The washing machine stopped working because of a fault.

Question 31

What does “show up” mean here?

“Only three people showed up for the early meeting.”

Accepted Answer

Only three people arrived or attended.

Question 32

What does “get up” mean here?

“I was awake at six, but I got up at half past six.”

Accepted Answer

I left my bed at half past six.

Question 33

Complete with a phrasal verb based on wake: “I usually ___ at six, then lie in bed for ten minutes.”

Accepted Answer

wake up

“I usually wake up at six, then lie in bed for ten minutes.” No object is needed in this use.

Question 34

Complete with a phrasal verb based on break: “Poor maintenance can cause the lift to ___.” (Stop working.)

Accepted Answer

break down

“Poor maintenance can cause the lift to break down.” The machine is the subject; this use needs no object.

Question 35

Complete with a phrasal verb based on show: “Please ___ before the rehearsal starts.” (Arrive.)

Accepted Answer

show up

“Please show up before the rehearsal starts.” No object is needed in this use.

Question 36

Complete with a phrasal verb based on get: “I am already awake, but I do not want to ___ yet.” (Leave bed.)

Accepted Answer

get up

“I am already awake, but I do not want to get up yet.” Being awake and leaving bed are different actions.

Question 37

In an ordinary statement with an inseparable verb + preposition combination, where does its object go?

Accepted Answer

After the preposition, whether the object is a noun or a pronoun.

Do not move that object between the verb and preposition.

Question 38

What does “look after” mean here?

“My neighbor looks after our cat when we travel.”

Accepted Answer

My neighbor takes care of the cat.

Question 39

What does “run into” mean here?

“I ran into an old classmate at the bakery and we chatted.”

Accepted Answer

I met the classmate by chance.

Here it means an unexpected meeting, not a physical collision.

Question 40

What does “get over” mean here?

“It took Amir a week to get over his cold.”

Accepted Answer

Amir needed a week to recover from the cold.

Question 41

What does “look for” mean here?

“I am looking for the key I dropped near the bench.”

Accepted Answer

I am trying to find the missing key.

Question 42

Rewrite with her: “We look after our young niece on Mondays.”

Accepted Answer

We look after her on Mondays.

The object stays after the word after; do not put her between look and after.

Question 43

Complete with a phrasal verb based on run: “I did not expect to ___ my old classmate at the bakery.” (Meet by chance.)

Accepted Answer

run into

“I did not expect to run into my old classmate at the bakery.” “Run across” is also a valid answer here. With a pronoun, say “run into her.”

Question 44

Rewrite with it: “I hope to get over this cold soon.”

Accepted Answer

I hope to get over it soon.

In the recovery sense, the object stays after over.

Question 45

Rewrite with them: “We are looking for our keys.”

Accepted Answer

We are looking for them.

The object stays after for.

Question 46

After look forward to, which form of a following verb is needed?

Accepted Answer

The -ing form.

For example: “I look forward to visiting the island.” To is a preposition here, not an infinitive marker.

Question 47

What does “run out of” mean here?

“The printer stopped because we ran out of paper.”

Accepted Answer

We had no paper left to use.

Question 48

What does “put up with” mean here?

“I can put up with the noise for one afternoon.”

Accepted Answer

I can tolerate the noise even though I find it annoying.

Question 49

What does “catch up with” mean here?

“Mina walked faster to catch up with the rest of the group.”

Accepted Answer

Mina tried to reach the people who were ahead of her.

Question 50

What does “look forward to” mean here?

“We are looking forward to our weekend at the lake.”

Accepted Answer

We feel pleased and excited about the coming weekend.

Question 51

Complete with a three-word expression based on run: “We need more envelopes before we ___ them.” (Have none left.)

Accepted Answer

run out of

“We need more envelopes before we run out of them.” The object comes after of.

Question 52

Rewrite with it: “I cannot put up with this noise.”

Accepted Answer

I cannot put up with it.

The object follows with; keep put up with together in this sentence.

Question 53

Complete with a three-word expression based on catch: “They are walking ahead. Hurry so we can ___ them.”

Accepted Answer

catch up with

“Hurry so we can catch up with them.” This means reaching them, not exchanging news. Catch up to is also correct here.

Question 54

Complete with a three-word expression based on look: “I ___ seeing you on Saturday.” (I am happy about the planned visit; use the simple present.)

Accepted Answer

look forward to

“I look forward to seeing you on Saturday.” Here to is a preposition, so the following verb takes the -ing form.

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English Phrasal Verb Flashcards: Meaning & Word Order