BLOW
1. to blow up (to destroy something, or to be destroyed, by an explosion)
Rebels attempted to blow up the bridge.
BREAK
2. to break down (to stop functioning)
The elevator broke down, so we walked all the way up to the top floor.
3. to break in (to enter a building by using force in order to steal something)
Thieves broke in and stole £10,000 worth of computer equipment.
4. to break off (to end a relationship)
She broke off their engagement only a few weeks before they were due to be married.
5. to break out (to become widespread suddenly)
An epidemic of measles broke out in Chicago this past week.
6. to break up (if a marriage, relationship, or a group of people break up, the people in it do not live or work together any more)
He lost his job and his marriage broke up.
BRING
7. to bring in (to ask someone to become involved in a discussion or situation)
The police were brought in to investigate the matter.
8. to bring on (to make something bad or unpleasant happen)
Stress can bring on an asthma attack.
9. to bring round (to manage to persuade someone to do something)
She won`t listen to me. Let`s see if Sue can bring her round.
10. to bring up (to raise from childhood, to raise an issue)
Parents should bring up their children to be responsible members of society.
Sarah wanted to bring up the scheduling problem at the meeting, but finally she decided against doing so.
BURN
11. to burn down (to be destroyed by fire)
The old town hall was burnt down in the 1970s.
12. to burn out (If a fire burns out, it stops burning because there is no coal, wood, etc. left. A person can also get burnt out if you work so hard over a period of time that you become unable to continue working because you are tired or ill.)
He left the fire to burn itself out.
It`s a high-pressure job and you could burn out young.
BUY
13. to buy into (to accept that an idea is right and allow it to influence you)
I never bought into this idea that you have to be thin to be attractive.)
14. to buy up (to quickly buy as much of something as possible, for example, land, tickets, or goods)
Much of the land was bought up by property developers.
CALL
15. to call back (to telephone someone again)
Can you ask John to call me back when he gets in?
16. to call by (to stop and visit someone when you are near the place where they live or work)
I thought I`d call by and see how you were.
17. to call for (require, deserve a particular type of behavior or treatment)
Dealing with children who are so damaged calls for immense tact and sensitivity.
18. to call off (to cancel)The referee called off the soccer game because of the darkness.
19. to call on (to formally ask someone to do something)
The UN has called on both sides to observe the ceasefire.
CARRY
20. to carry on (to continue as before)
Even in the face of disaster, the inhabitants carried on as though nothing had happened.
21. to carry out (to do something that needs to be organized or planned
We need to carry out more research.
CATCH
22. to catch on (to become popular and fashionable)
The idea of glasses being a fashion item has been slow to catch on.
23. to catch up (to improve and reach the same standard as other people in your class, group, etc.)
If you miss a lot of classes, it`s very difficult to catch up.
CHECK
24. to check in (to go to the desk at a hotel or airport and report that you have arrived)
Check in two hours before the flight.
25. to check on (to make sure that someone or something is safe)
Could you go upstairs and check on the kids?
26. to check out (to make sure that something is actually true, to look at something because they are interesting)
I made a phone call to check out his address.
Hey, check out that car!
COME
27. to come about (to happen, especially in a way that is not planned)
How did this situation come about?
28. to come across (to meet or find unexpectedly)
While Sue was cleaning the attic, she came across some very old coins.
29. to come down with (to get an illness)
I think I`m coming down with a cold.
30. to come along (to go to a place with someone)
We`re going into town: do you want to come along?
31. to come into (to inherit)
She`ll come into quite a lot of money when her father dies.
32. to come over (if someone comes over, they visit you at your house)
Do you want to come over on Friday evening?
33. to come out (If a book, record, etc. comes out, it becomes publicly available. If a flower comes out, it opens. If something you say comes out in a particular way, that is how it is understood.
When is the new edition coming out?
The snowdrops were just starting to come out.
I tried to explain everything to her, but it came out all wrong.
34. to come up to (to reach a particular standard)
This doesn`t come up to the standard of your usual work.
35. to come up with (to find, to discover)
After worrying for days, I finally came up with a solution to my problem.
COUNT
36. to count down (to count the number of days, minutes, etc. until a particular moment)
We are counting down the days to the end of this tour.
37. to count on (to depend on someone or something, especially in a difficult situation)
You can count on me.
38. to count out (to not include someone or something in an activity)
I`m sorry, you`ll have to count me out tonight.
CUT
39. to cut back (to reduce the amount, size, cost, etc of something)
Several hospitals are cutting back on staff at the moment.
40. to cut down on (to reduce, to lessen)
In order to lose weight, you have to cut down on your intake of sugar.
41. to cut in (to interrupt)
Sorry to cut in on you, but there is something I don`t understand.
DIE
42. to die down (to decrease, to lessen in strength or intensity)
The hurricane became a less serious tropical storm when its winds died down.
43. to die out (not to exist anymore)
Scientists still are not sure exactly why the dinosaurs died out.
DRAW
44. to draw on (to use information, experience, knowledge, etc. for a particular purpose)
She has 20 years` teaching experience to draw on.
45. to draw up (to prepare a written document, such as a list or contract)
The contract was drawn up last year.
EAT
46. to eat in (to eat at home)
I feel too tired to go out for dinner. Let`s eat in again tonight.
47. to eat out (to eat in a restaurant)
When you eat out, what restaurants do you generally go to?
FALL
48. to fall behind (to lag, to fail to keep up)
Susan fell behind in her studies and finally had to drop out of school.
49. to fall for (to start to love someone)
That was the summer I worked at the fairground, and met and fell for Lucy.
50. to fall out (to have a quarrel)
Carrie`s always falling out with people.
51. to fall through (to fail to materialize, not to succeed)
Our plan to travel to Europe last summer fell through when we were unable to save up enough money.
FEEL
52. to feel up to (to have the strength and energy to do something)
I just didn`t feel up to going.
GET
53. to get along (to associate or work well)
Terry and her new roommate don`t get along: they argue constantly.
54. to get at (to be trying to say something in a way that is difficult for other people to understand)
What are you getting at, Tim?
55. to get away with (to avoid punishment for)
Jonathan tries to get away with coming late to work almost every day: someday he`ll suffer the consequences.
56. to get by (to have enough money to buy the things you need, but no more)
I don`t earn a huge salary, but we get by.
57. to get down to (to start doing something that is difficult)
It`s time we got down to work.
58. to get in (to enter a car)
It`s easiest to get in the car from the driver`s side. The door on the other side doesn`t work well.
59. to get out of (to leave a car)
Why don`t we stop and get out of the car for a while?
60. to get on (to board a vehicle, to like each other)
I always get on the bus to work at 34th Street.
I`ve always got on well with Henry.
61. to get over (to do and finish something difficult that you have to do)
I`ll be touch once I`ve got my exams over.
62. to get off (to descend from a vehicle)
Helen got off the train at the 42nd Street terminal.
63. to get up (to rise from bed)
Carla gets up at seven o`clock every morning.
64. to get over (to recover from an illness, to accept a loss or sorrow)
It seems that Sam will never get over the death of his wife.
GIVE
65. to give away (to reveal)
He gave away as little information as possible.
66. to give in (to finally agree to do or accept something that you had at first opposed)
Eventually I gave in and accepted the job on their terms.
67. to give off (to emit, to produce a smell, light, heat, sound, etc.)
The wood gave off a sweet, perfumed smell as it burned.
68. to give up (to stop trying to do something)
We spent half an hour looking for the keys, but eventually gave up and went home.
GO
69. to go for (to attack or criticize someone, to choose something)
The dog suddenly went for me.
I think I`ll go for the chocolate cake.
70. to go on (to happen, to continue)
Many people gathered near the accident to see what was going on.
The moderator tried to interrupt him, but he went on for another ten minutes.
71. to go out (to go on a date with someone)
Andre and I are going out on Saturday. We are going to have dinner at my favourite restaurant.
72. to go off (to explode, to sound as an alarm, to leave suddenly without explanation)
The accident happened when a box of firecrackers went off accidentally.
For what time did you set the alarm clock to go off tomorrow morning?
Vince went off without saying good-bye to anybody: I hope he wasn`t angry.
GROW
73. to grow out of (if a child grows out of clothes, he or she becomes too big to wear them)
74. to grow up (to develop from being a child to being an adult)
What do you want to be when you grow up?
HOLD
75. to hold on (to wait for a short time)
Hold on, I`ll just get my coat.
76. to hold on to (to keep something rather than losing it, selling it or giving it to someone else)
I think I`ll hold on to these old records for now.
77. to hold up (to delay someone, to rob a place)
Sorry I`m late: I was held up at work.
Two armed men held up a downtown liquor store last night.
KEEP
78. to keep off (to not eat, drink, or take something that is bad for you)
Keep off fatty foods.
79. to keep to (to do what has been decided in an agreement or plan, or what is demanded by law)
Keep to the speed limits.
80. to keep up with (to maintain the same speed or rate as someone else)
Frieda works so fast that no one in the office can keep up with her.
LOOK
81. to look after (to watch, to supervise, to protect)
Grandma will look after the baby while we go to the lecture.
82. to look at (to give one`s attention to, to watch)
The teacher told us to look at the board and not at our books.
83. to look for (to try to fond, to search for)
He`s spent over an hour looking for the pen he lost.
84. to look forward to (to expect or anticipate with pleasure)
We`re greatly looking forward to our vacation in Mexico.
85. to look into (to investigate, to try to find out the truth about a problem)
Police are looking into the disappearance of two children.
86. to look up (to locate information in a directory, dictionary, book, etc.)
Elena suggested that we look up the store`s telephone number on the Internet.
87. to look up to (to admire, to respect greatly)
Children will most certainly look up to their parents if the children are brought up well.
88. to look down on (to feel superior to, to think of someone as less important)
Why does Paul look down on Mario just because his family is so poor?
89. to look out (to be careful or cautious)
`Look out!` Jeffry cried as his friends almost stepped in front of a car.
90. to look over (to examine, to inspect closely)
I want to look my homework over again before I give it to the teacher.
MAKE
91. to make of (to have a particular understanding of something or someone)
I didn`t know what to make of her.
92. to make out (to be just able to see or hear something)
I couldn`t make out what he was saying.
93. to make up (to combine together, to pretend, to become friendly again)
Women make up only a small proportion of the prison population.
I think they`re making the whole thing up.
Oh come on! Why don`t you just kiss and make up?
94. to make up for (to compensate)
Caroline doesn`t have a natural talent for music but she makes up for it with hard work.
PICK
95. to pick out (to choose from a group)
She picked out a navy blue dress.
96. to pick up (to lift with one`s fingers or hands, to retrieve or collect, to learn)
Harry picked up the newspaper that was on the front doorstep.
Lucia was so busy that she forgot to pick her son up from school.
Margot picks up math easily, but she is not good at reading.
PULL
97. to pull down (to destroy something)
My old school building was pulled down.
98. to pull in (if a driver pulls in, they move to the side of the road and stop)
She pulled in to let the ambulance pass.
99. to pull off (to succeed in doing something difficult)
The goalkeeper pulled off six terrific saves.
100. to pull out (to stop doing or being involved in something)
They are trying to pull out of the agreement.
PUT
101. to put across (to explain your ideas, beliefs, etc. in a way that people can understand)
He was trying to put across a serious point.
102. to put aside (to save money regularly)
She put at least £30 a week aside for food.
103. to put down (to write down, to criticize, to finish speaking on the phone)
Put down your name and address.
I hate the way Dave puts me down the whole time.
She put the phone down on me.
104. to put on (to place on oneself, usually said of clothes)
Mary put on her coat and left the room.
105. to put off (to postpone)
Let`s put the party off until next weekend, okay?
106. to put out (to extinguish)
No smoking is allowed here. Please put out your cigarette.
107. to put up with (to tolerate, to accept unwillingly)
While I`m studying, I can`t put up with any noise or other distractions.
108. to put through (to connect someone to someone else on the telephone)
Could you put me through to Eddie?
RUN
109. to run into (to meet someone unexpectedly, to crash or collide into)
It was a shock to run into an old friend from high school when I was on vacation last month.
110. to run out of (to exhaust the supply of, not to have more of)
We ran out of gas right in the middle of the main street in town.
111. to run over (to hit someone or something with a vehicle and drive over them)
He was run over and killed by a bus.
SEE
112. to see off (to say good-bye upon departure by train, airplane, bus, etc.)
We are going to the airport to see Peter off on his trip to Europe.
113. to see out (to accompany a person out of the house, building, etc.)
Would you please see me out to the car? It`s very dark outside.
114. to see through (to realize that someone is trying to deceive you)
I saw through his excuses.
115. to see to (to deal with something or do something for someone)
I`ll see to the washing up.
SET
116. to set in (if something sets in, especially something unpleasant, it begins and semms likely to continue for a long time)
Winter seems to be setting in early this year.
117. to set off (to start to go somewhere)
I`ll set off early to avoid the traffic.
118. to set out (to start a long journey)
The band are setting out on a European tour in March.
119. to set up (to start a company, organization. etc., to make the arrangements that are necessary for something to happen)
They want to set up their own import-export business.
SHOW
120. to show around (to go around a place with someone when they first arrive there)
Harrison showed her around the house.
121. to show off (to try to make people admire your abilities or possessions – used to show disapproval)
He couldn`t resist showing off on the tennis court.
122. to show up (to appear, to arrive)
It really gets on my nerves that Ursula shows up late for every meeting.
SHUT
123. to shut down (if a company, factory, etc. shuts down, it stops operating)
Our local hardware shop has shut down.
124. to shut up (to stop talking or be quiet)
I can`t stand that woman: she never shuts up.
SPEAK
125. to speak for (to express the feelings, thoughts or beliefs of a person or a group of people)
Dan, speaking for the students, started the meeting.
126. to speak up (used to ask someone to speak louder)
Could you speak up, please?
STAND
127. to stand by (to stay loyal to someone and support them, to keep a promise or agreement)
His wife stood by him during his years in prison.
I stand by what I said earlier.
128. to stand for (to represent, to signify)
On the American flag, each star stands for one of the fifty states, and each stripe stands for one of the original thirteen colonies of the 1800s.
129. to stand out (to be very easy to see or notice)
She always stood out in a crowd.
130. to stand up (to rise from a sitting or lying position)
When the president entered the room, everyone stood up.
131. to stand up for (to support or defend a person or idea when they are being attacked)
It`s time we stood up for our rights.
SIT
132. to sit back (to get into a comfortable position, to relax and make no effort to get involved in something)
Don`t just sit back and wait for new business to come to you.)
133. to sit down (to be seated)
We sat down on the park bench and watched the children play.
134. to sit through (to attend a meeting, performance, etc. and stay until the end, even if it is very long and boring)
I wasn`t the least bit interested in all the speeches I had to sit through.
STAY
135. to stay in (to remain at home, not to go out)
On a rainy day, I like to stay in and read.
136. to stay out (to remain away from home during the evening or night)
He started staying out late, drinking.
137. to stay out of (to not get involved)
You stay out of it. It`s none of your business.
138. to stay up (to remain awake, not to go to go to bed)
I want to stay up tonight and watch a late movie on TV.
TAKE
139. to take after (to resemble a parent or close relative)
Which of your parents do you take after the most?
140. to take for (to perceive or understand as)
Because of his strong, muscular body, I took him for a professional athlete. As it turns out, he doesn`t play any professional sports.
141. to take off (to remove, usually said of clothes)
Take your sweater off. The room is very warm.
142. to take on (to start to employ someone, to agree to do some work)
We`re taking on 50 new staff this year.
Don`t take on too much work: the extra cash isn`t worth it.
143. to take out (to remove, to extract)
Students, take out your books and open them on page twelve.
144. to take up (to begin to do or study)
I`m going to take up sailing. I would have taken it up when I was younger, but I didn`t have the money.
TALK
145. to talk into (to persuade someone to do something)
My husband talked me into going skiing.
146. to talk out of (to persuade someone not to do something)
Can`t you talk them out of selling the house?
147. to talk through (to discuss something thoroughly so that you are sure you understand it)
Allow time to talk through any areas of difficulty.
TRY
148. try on (to wear clothes to check the style or fit before buying)
He tried on several suits before he picked out a blue one.
TURN
149. to turn down (to reduce in brightness or volume, to reject)
Please turn down the radio for me. It`s too loud while I`m studying.
Lola wanted to join the military but the recruiting officer turned down her application because Lola is hard of hearing in one ear.
150. to turn on (to start or cause to function, also: to switch on)
Please turn on the light; it`s too dark in here.