Phrasal Verb (Common)

Intermediate Two (Phrasal Verbs)
Top 50 phrasal verbs in English

by Andrea Byaruhang
Phrasal verbs are usually made up of a verb and

a preposition or an adverb – and that’s what makes them
tricky!
Attaching a tiny little word like ‘at’ or ‘on’ to the end of a verb
will change the meaning entirely. So, it’s important to
really know your phrasal verbs so that your meaning is always
clear.
Read on for our list of the top 50 phrasal verbs in English!
Top 50 English phrasal verbs
To stop doing something or
admit you were wrong
1. Back because people oppose you
down If we keep protesting the new
city taxes, the mayor will back
down.
To explode
That truck crashed into the
2. Blow building and blew up!
up To lose your temper
He was annoying me so much
that I blew up at him.
To suddenly stop functioning
(used for machinery)
We were on our way to the
3. party when our car broke
Break down. To become emotional
down and start crying
When we told her we were
moving to Canada, she broke
down.
To mention something
4. Bring
He’s still very sad about his
up
divorce, so don’t bring it up.
To see or meet someone

5. unexpectedly
Bump She was shopping today and
into she bumped into her old
primary school teacher!
To cancel
6. Call
Because of the pandemic, we
off
had to call off our wedding.
To make sure someone is okay

7. or safe
Check My friend broke her leg and
on she’s stuck inside. I check
on her every day.
To examine something to get
information about it
Before we decide on that flat,
8. we should check out the
Check neighbourhood.
out To pay your bill and leave
(usually a hotel)
Have you packed yet? We
have to check out by 11 a.m.
To ask someone if something

9. is okay or permitted
Check I’m pretty sure I can come to
with your house. I just have
to check with my dad.
To find something
unexpectedly
When I was cleaning my
10. room, I came across my old
Come photo album.
across To seem a certain way
I’m sure he’s great, but he
always comes across as an
unfriendly person.
11. To return
Come We had a lovely visit.
back We’ll come back soon!
12. To enter
Come You don’t need to knock –
in just come in!
To think of a plan or an idea

13.
Have you come up with a
Come
good idea for our group
up with
project?
To make something fall by

cutting it at its base
To build this housing complex,
they had to cut
14. Cut
down hundreds of trees.
down
To do or use something less
I’m feeling rather nervous
lately – I think I need to cut
down on coffee.
To go somewhere (usually
someone’s home) for a casual
15. visit
Drop by I’ll be home all day. You
can drop by for tea whenever
you’re free.
16. To take something or

Drop someone to a specific place
off You forgot your jacket in my
car. I’ll drop it off at your
house later.
To become less strict about

something
17. When I was younger, my mom
Ease up didn’t let me see my friends
on on weeknights, but
she’s eased up on her rules
lately.
To break into pieces

I think I finally need to get
new shoes – these ones
are falling apart.
18. Fall
To stop working well due to
apart
many problems
When they couldn’t agree on
a fair price, the business
deal fell apart.
To collapse and fall to the

ground
19. Fall
That big storm last night
down
caused the old tree in our
garden to fall down.
To discover
20. Find
I did a DNA test and found
out
out that I have a brother!
To have a good, friendly
relationship with someone
21. Get My brother and I never fought
along when we were growing up.
We always got along with
each other.
To escape
The police almost caught the
bank robber, but he got
22. Get away.
away To go on holiday
I really need to get away for
a week. Work has been very
stressful lately.
To be able to live through a

23. Get difficult situation
by We don’t have a lot of money
for food, but we’ll get by.
To recover from a negative

24. Get experience or an illness
over I know she’s mad at you now,
but she’ll get over it.
25. Get To stand

up Can you please get up? I think
you’re sitting on my glasses.
To leave your bed in the
morning/after sleeping
I always get up at 7 a.m. –
even on Saturdays.
To give something to others

for free
None of these dresses fit me
anymore. I think I’m going
to give them away.
26. Give
To provide information about
away
something that should be kept
secret
This farewell party is
supposed to be a surprise.
Don’t give away the secret!
To finally agree to someone’s

requests after refusing for a
while
27. Give
Our kids have been asking us
in
for a puppy for six months.
We finally gave in and got
them one.
28. Give To stop doing something

up permanently
My health is getting worse. I
need to give up drinking.
To stop trying
We’ve been working on this
maths problem for an hour.
I give up!
To start or continue a planned

activity
29. Go
Despite the social distancing
ahead
rules, the music festival
will go ahead.
To leave home and go

somewhere
We’ve stayed home for
months! I just want to go
30. Go out and have fun.
out To have a romantic (dating)
relationship with someone
My girlfriend and I have
been going out two years
now.
31. To develop into adulthood

Grow When I grow up, I want to be
up a biologist.
32. To wait for a short period of

Hang time
on Can you hang on for two
minutes? I just need to finish
writing this email, then I’ll be
ready to go.
To hold something tightly
This boat ride will be a little
bumpy – hang on!
To spend time relaxing or

33. socialising casually
Hang My favourite thing to do at
out the weekend is to hang
out with my dog.
To forcefully tell someone to

leave a place
34. Kick
She was so angry at her
out
teenage son that she kicked
him out of the house!
To allow someone to enter a

35. Let place
in Let me in the house! It’s
freezing out here!
To take care of something or

36. someone
Look Can you look after my plants
after while I’m on holiday next
month?
37. To try to find something
Look We’ll leave in a minute. Help
for me look for my keys!
To search for information

(usually in a book or online)
38. I want to try that new
Look up Japanese restaurant. Can
you look up their menu
online?
To become friendly with

someone again or forgive
them after a disagreement or
39.
fight
Make
You two haven’t spoken to
up
each other in three weeks!
When are you going to make
up?
To repay the money you

borrowed from someone
Can I borrow some money for
lunch? I’ll pay you
40. Pay
back tomorrow.
back
To take revenge
I can’t believe she ate all the
biscuits I made! I’ll pay her
back for this!
To lift something from a
surface
My dog has got so big! He’s
too heavy for me to pick
up now.
To go somewhere and collect
41. Pick something or someone
up Let’s go to the cinema in one
car – I’ll pick you up at 8
o’clock.
To improve or increase
Business was slow last year,
but sales are finally picking
up!
To delay doing something

42. Put I know I should clean my
off bathroom, but I’ve
been putting it off for weeks.
To begin wearing something

43. Put If you want to play outside in
on the snow, make sure to put
on a coat.
To tolerate something
44. Put The neighbour’s dog barks all
up with night long, but I put up with it
because I love my house.
To have no more of
45. Run something
out Oh, no! Why didn’t you tell me
we ran out of coffee?
To leave somewhere suddenly

He didn’t even say goodbye.
He just took off!
To go into the air (used for
aircraft)
Our flight is taking off at 2
46.
p.m. so we need to be at the
Take off
airport by 11 a.m.
To remove something (like an
article of clothing)
I can’t wait to get home
and take off these tight
shoes!
To cause something to start

47. working; to activate
Turn on It’s getting dark; let’s turn
on the lights.
48. To increase the volume, heat,

Turn up or lights
This is my favourite
song! Turn it up!
To appear suddenly
Would you believe our
cat turned up after being lost
for six months?
To stay awake because you

are waiting for something or
49.
someone
Wait up
I’ll be home late tonight. You
don’t have to wait up for me.
To be careful of danger
50.
(usually said as a warning)
Watch
Watch out! There’s a car
out
coming
Exercise 2: Intermediate 2
Select any (10) ten phrasal verb of your choice and make 2
meaningful sentences with each one.

Phrasal Verb (Common)

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Phrasal Verb (Common)

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Intermediate Two (Phrasal Verbs)

Top 50 phrasal verbs in English

Phrasal verbs are usually made up of a verb and

To see or meet someone

To make sure someone is okay

To ask someone if something

To think of a plan or an idea

To make something fall by

16. To take something or

To become less strict about

To break into pieces

To collapse and fall to the

To be able to live through a

To recover from a negative

25. Get To stand

To give something to others

To finally agree to someone’s

28. Give To stop doing something

To start or continue a planned

To leave home and go

31. To develop into adulthood

32. To wait for a short period of

To spend time relaxing or

To forcefully tell someone to

To allow someone to enter a

To take care of something or

To search for information

To become friendly with

To repay the money you

To delay doing something

To begin wearing something

To leave somewhere suddenly

To cause something to start

48. To increase the volume, heat,

To stay awake because you

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