Common Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs with "up"
pick up: bring somebody in one's car
Note: We say pick up somebody or pick somebody up, but we don't say pick up him/her!
Mrs Harley usually picks up her son at 1 pm. (correct)
Mrs Harley usually picks her son up at 1 pm. (correct)
Mrs Harley usually picks up him at 1 pm. (incorrect)
Mrs Harley usually picks him up at 1 pm. (correct)
Never use personal pronouns after the phrasal verb "pick up". Place the personal pronouns between "pick" and "up" like this:
pick her/him/us/you/them up
pick up also means learn
Sheila picked up Japanese fast while she was living in Tokyo.
pick up also means improve
Our business has picked up and we're planning to open a new branch.
pick up also means receive
Due to bad weather, we were unable to pick up the broadcast on Channel 8.
pick up also means give somebody a lift to a place
My car is at the garage. Can you please pick up my colleague on your way to the office?
pick up also means collect something
Can you please help me pick up my suit and jacket at the laundry shop?
spring up is a phrasal verb which means appear/develop/grow quickly or suddenly (past tense - sprang/past participle - sprung) (spring is an irregular verb)
Weeds have sprung up everywhere since I cleared the flower bed.
New houses, shops and high-rise buildings are springing up all over the town.
catch up is a phrasal verb which means reach somebody who is ahead (past tense - caught/past participle - caught) (catch is a irregular verb)
Henry quickly caught up with his friends who were running ahead of him.
catch up also means get one's work up to date
Although Kelvin didn't attend class for two weeks, he could easily catch up on the lessons he had missed.
turn up is a phrasal verb which means come
A few attendees did not turn up for the meeting.
turn up also means increase volume
I really can't hear anything. Can you please turn the radio up?
look up is a phrasal verb which means consult/search for information
I was not sure about the spelling, so I looked it up in the dictionary.
look up also means find or trace an old friend
I haven't seen my old friend, Tommy, since we left college, so I tried to look him up when I went back to my home town.
hang up is a phrasal verb which means end a phone call
(past tense - hung/past participle - hung) (hang is an irregular verb)
She realized she had called the wrong number and quickly hung up.
make up is a phrasal verb which means put on cosmetics
(past tense - made/past participle - made) (make is an irregular verb)
The stage performers made up their faces very heavily.
make up also means invent
Tony often makes up scary ghost stories to frighten his little sister.
take up is a phrasal verb which means consume/occupy
(past tense - took/past participle - taken) (take is an irregular verb)
This boring project is taking up too much of our time.
All this furniture takes up a lot of space in the living room.
take up also means start a new hobby/pastime
She decided to take up swimming to slim herself down.
give up is a phrasal verb which means stop doing something
(past tense -gave/past participle - given) (give is an irregular verb)
The search party gave up after they failed to find the missing boys.
give up also means abandon a job
Mrs Lee decided to give up her well-paid job.
give up also means surrender
My sister asked me to guess what she bought at the department store. I had no idea, so I gave up and let her tell me what she bought.
give up also means end a habit
He has given up smoking and drinking.
draw up is a phrasal verb which means prepare something such as a schedule/contract/itinerary/sales report/etc (past tense - drew/past participle - drawn) (draw is an irregular verb)
Have you drawn up the sales report yet?
The secretary has been told to draw up the minutes of meeting.
shut up is a phrasal verb which means stop talking or making noise
(past tense - shut/past participle - shut) (shut is an irregular verb)
It was extremely rude of Linda to tell the fastidious customer to shut up!
shut up also means close for a short while
The owner of the candy store shut his store up while he was having a 2-week vacation in Italy.
own up is a phrasal verb which means confess or admit
I know you broke my vase. Why don't you own up?
Felicia owned up that she did take the money from her mother's purse.
The boys finally owned up to stealing the DVD player.
pass up is a phrasal verb which means decline a chance or abandon an opportunity
Belinda was offered a rather well-paid job, but she simply passed it up.
(It means Belinda did not want to accept the job.)
screw up is a phrasal verb which means do badly or fail
Linda screwed up the English grammar test and got only 55%.
mess up is a phrasal verb which means spoil or ruin
Teresa and her friends were playing chess happily. Suddenly, Teresa's little sister came running in and messed up their game by jumping onto the table!
mess up also means make something untidy or dirty
I've just straightened the bedsheets and blankets. Don't mess them up again.
Be careful when you're making the cookies. Don't mess up my kitchen!
mess up also means cause mental or physical emotional problems
Poor Jenny got so messed up after she had been jilted by her boyfriend.
If you would like to view some more words/phrases, click on "vocabulary" articles".
pick up: bring somebody in one's car
Note: We say pick up somebody or pick somebody up, but we don't say pick up him/her!
Mrs Harley usually picks up her son at 1 pm. (correct)
Mrs Harley usually picks her son up at 1 pm. (correct)
Mrs Harley usually picks up him at 1 pm. (incorrect)
Mrs Harley usually picks him up at 1 pm. (correct)
Never use personal pronouns after the phrasal verb "pick up". Place the personal pronouns between "pick" and "up" like this:
pick her/him/us/you/them up
pick up also means learn
Sheila picked up Japanese fast while she was living in Tokyo.
pick up also means improve
Our business has picked up and we're planning to open a new branch.
pick up also means receive
Due to bad weather, we were unable to pick up the broadcast on Channel 8.
pick up also means give somebody a lift to a place
My car is at the garage. Can you please pick up my colleague on your way to the office?
pick up also means collect something
Can you please help me pick up my suit and jacket at the laundry shop?
spring up is a phrasal verb which means appear/develop/grow quickly or suddenly (past tense - sprang/past participle - sprung) (spring is an irregular verb)
Weeds have sprung up everywhere since I cleared the flower bed.
New houses, shops and high-rise buildings are springing up all over the town.
catch up is a phrasal verb which means reach somebody who is ahead (past tense - caught/past participle - caught) (catch is a irregular verb)
Henry quickly caught up with his friends who were running ahead of him.
catch up also means get one's work up to date
Although Kelvin didn't attend class for two weeks, he could easily catch up on the lessons he had missed.
turn up is a phrasal verb which means come
A few attendees did not turn up for the meeting.
turn up also means increase volume
I really can't hear anything. Can you please turn the radio up?
look up is a phrasal verb which means consult/search for information
I was not sure about the spelling, so I looked it up in the dictionary.
look up also means find or trace an old friend
I haven't seen my old friend, Tommy, since we left college, so I tried to look him up when I went back to my home town.
hang up is a phrasal verb which means end a phone call
(past tense - hung/past participle - hung) (hang is an irregular verb)
She realized she had called the wrong number and quickly hung up.
make up is a phrasal verb which means put on cosmetics
(past tense - made/past participle - made) (make is an irregular verb)
The stage performers made up their faces very heavily.
make up also means invent
Tony often makes up scary ghost stories to frighten his little sister.
take up is a phrasal verb which means consume/occupy
(past tense - took/past participle - taken) (take is an irregular verb)
This boring project is taking up too much of our time.
All this furniture takes up a lot of space in the living room.
take up also means start a new hobby/pastime
She decided to take up swimming to slim herself down.
give up is a phrasal verb which means stop doing something
(past tense -gave/past participle - given) (give is an irregular verb)
The search party gave up after they failed to find the missing boys.
give up also means abandon a job
Mrs Lee decided to give up her well-paid job.
give up also means surrender
My sister asked me to guess what she bought at the department store. I had no idea, so I gave up and let her tell me what she bought.
give up also means end a habit
He has given up smoking and drinking.
draw up is a phrasal verb which means prepare something such as a schedule/contract/itinerary/sales report/etc (past tense - drew/past participle - drawn) (draw is an irregular verb)
Have you drawn up the sales report yet?
The secretary has been told to draw up the minutes of meeting.
shut up is a phrasal verb which means stop talking or making noise
(past tense - shut/past participle - shut) (shut is an irregular verb)
It was extremely rude of Linda to tell the fastidious customer to shut up!
shut up also means close for a short while
The owner of the candy store shut his store up while he was having a 2-week vacation in Italy.
own up is a phrasal verb which means confess or admit
I know you broke my vase. Why don't you own up?
Felicia owned up that she did take the money from her mother's purse.
The boys finally owned up to stealing the DVD player.
pass up is a phrasal verb which means decline a chance or abandon an opportunity
Belinda was offered a rather well-paid job, but she simply passed it up.
(It means Belinda did not want to accept the job.)
screw up is a phrasal verb which means do badly or fail
Linda screwed up the English grammar test and got only 55%.
mess up is a phrasal verb which means spoil or ruin
Teresa and her friends were playing chess happily. Suddenly, Teresa's little sister came running in and messed up their game by jumping onto the table!
mess up also means make something untidy or dirty
I've just straightened the bedsheets and blankets. Don't mess them up again.
Be careful when you're making the cookies. Don't mess up my kitchen!
mess up also means cause mental or physical emotional problems
Poor Jenny got so messed up after she had been jilted by her boyfriend.
If you would like to view some more words/phrases, click on "vocabulary" articles".
By Susan L
On 1/17/2010 05:18:00 PM
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View More Articles... On 1/17/2010 05:18:00 PM
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