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25 Popular Phrasal Verbs

Published on Tuesday, April 17, 2018
 Phrasal verbs

Dear Learners,
Do you know what are phrasal verbs And its importance in English?
Now I want to explain to you about Phrasal Verbs.


Phrasal verbs are phrases that indicate actions. They are generally used in spoken English and informal texts. Examples of such verbs include: turn down, come across, and
run into.
Def: A Phrasal verb is a verb that is made up of the main verb together with an adverb or a preposition or both.

When added to the verb the preposition or adverb may change completely the meaning of the verb. Here are some examples:
  • Look for means Search for. For Eg: He is looking for his keys.
  • Look up to means Have a great deal of respect for a person. For Eg: Dr.BR Ambedkar is my role model. He is the person I look up to.
  • Look up means to try to find a piece of information by looking in a book or on a computer.For Eg : She didn’t understand the word. So she looked it up in her dictionary.

I want to let you know some more like this.
1. Account for: Give Good reason for
Eg: You must account for what you spend.

2. Allow for: Take into account
Eg: You must allow for damages in the transport.

3. Answer back : Answer a reproof impudently
Eg: She insulted me in the public and so I wanted to answer back.

4. Back out : Withdraw, refuse.
Eg: He promised to help me but he backed out later.

5. Back up : Support Morally
Eg: My friend did not back me up in my difficulty

6. Call at : Visit
Eg : I called at my friend at the temple.

7.Call for :
Ask someone to give an explanation
Eg: The principal called him for an explanation.

8. Call in : Drop in
Eg: The technician called in and rectified the defect of our TV set.

9. Call on : Visit a person, ask someone to do something
Eg: The P.M. called on the President yesterday.

10. Call off : Cancel something
Eg: The workers called off the strike.

11. Catch up with : Overtake
Eg: Indians must try to catch up with other nations in technology.

12. Fall in with : Accept, agree with plans
Eg : I fell in with my friend on the issue.

13. Hang back : Show unwillingness to act
Eg : My friend hung back, when I asked him for help

14. Hang on to :
Retain, keep
Eg : My Grandfather wanted to hang on to the old house because he was born there.

15. Let down : Disappoint
Eg : My friend always tries to let me down in everything.

16. Pay up : Pay money in full
Eg: Don’t worry about your money, I will pay up soon.

17. Pull through : Recover
Eg : She pulled through her illness completely and felt better.

18. Lay up : Store carefully
Eg: The merchant laid up a large quantity of sugar and rice to sell in black market.

19. Pull off : Succeed
Eg: The electronic company pulled off the project and earned huge profits.

20. See off : Accompany someone to a train/boat/plane
Eg : I saw my friend off at the airport.

21. See over : meet a person at a place
Eg : Please see me over at my place

22. See through : Discover hidden attempt
Eg: He tried to kill his wife but she saw through his cruel intention

23. Take after : Resemble
Eg: Radha takes after her mother

24. Wink at :
pretend not to notice
Eg : Most politicians wink at poverty in India.

25. Watch over : Look carefully
Eg: She decided to watch over her servant.

Finally I want to conclude that sometimes, it is difficult to understand the meaning of phrasal verbs. Before looking them up in a dictionary, it would be helpful to use the context to understand them.
Thank you.
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Ramandeep Singh

Ramandeep Singh - Educator

I'm Ramandeep Singh, your guide to banking and insurance exams. With 14 years of experience and over 5000 successful selections, I understand the path to success firsthand, having transitioned from Dena Bank and SBI. I'm passionate about helping you achieve your banking and insurance dreams.

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