Phrasal Verbs: S

save * up +	accumulate (money)	I hope I will be able to save up enough money to go to school.
see about +	arrange or consider something	My dad said he was going to see about buying me a car.
see * off	say good-bye to someone at the beginning of their trip (at the airport, train station)	Did you see your sister off at the train station?
see to +	make sure something happens, arrange	I'll see to it that Mr. Ramirez gets your message.
see * through	finish something despite difficulties	Are you going to be able to see your studies through now that you have a baby?
sell * out	tell on someone	My partner in crime sold me out for a reduced jail sentence.
set * up	arrange a relationship	My mom set me up with her friend's son.
set * up	falsely incriminate a person	I don't think he killed those men. Somebody set him up.
set up +	arrange (an appointment, a meeting,etc.)	I set up an appointment with my doctor at 3:30 this afternoon.
settle on +	make a decision after a period of time	I settled on the job at the oil company.
settle up	pay one's debts	We need to settle up before you move.
show * off +	show to everybody with a lot of pride	He always shows off his new things.
show off	boast, draw attention to oneself	Young boys show off in order to impress girls.
show * up	make someone seem inferior	He's always trying to show up his co-workers in order to get ahead.
show up	arrive without previous notice	I hadn't seen my cousin for years, and all of a sudden, he showed up at my workplace yesterday!
shut * off	stop from functioning	If you don't pay your electric bill, your power is going to get shut off.
shut * up	make quiet	Would someone shut him up! He's talking so loudly that we're going to get in trouble.
slow * down +	make move more slowly	Because Mary's level in English is lower than the rest of the students, she slows the class down.
slow * up +	make move more slowly	Because Mary's level in English is lower than the rest of the students, she slows the class up.
spell * out +	to explain something in a detailed way so that the meaning is clearly understood	He's so stupid that you have to spell everything our for him.
stand by	wait	I need you to stand by and answer the phone when my broker calls.
stand for +	represent	SCUBA stands for "self contained underwater breathing apparatus."
stand for +	tolerate	I won't stand for people criticizing me.
stand out	be very noticeable	Soledad is so beautiful! She really stands out in a crowd.
stand * up	not arrive to a date or an appointment (inf.)	I arranged to meet Joe at the library at 8:00, but he stood me up. I hope he has a good excuse.
stand up for +	defend (something one believes in)	Every individual must stand up for what they believe in.
stand up to +	defend oneself against someone or something	I think you should stand up to your older brother and tell him to stop pushing you around.
stay over	spend the night at a person's house	It takes you so long to take the bus home, so why don't you just stay over?
stick it to +	severely criticize a person (inf.)	My boss really stuck it to me when I arrived late to work for the third time this week.
stick to +	persevere, keep trying	Even though English is a hard language to master, you must stick to it!
stick up for +	defend oneself or opinions	Joseph joined the army because he believes he must stick up for his country.

Phrasal Verbs: hold

hold * back +	restrain	The police held the demonstrators back while the politicians entered the building.
hold back	not allow to advance in school	The teacher held Frank back a year, so he couldn't enter fifth grade.
hold * off +	restrain	Mr. Johnson held the dog off while we crossed the yard.
hold off on +	delay	We should hold off on making dinner until your parents arrive.
hold on	grasp tightly	Hold on tight! The roller coaster is about to take off.
hold on	tell someone to wait on the telephone	Hold on a minute. I'll get Carol.
hold on to +	grasp tightly	Make sure you hold on to the hand rail as you walk down the stairs.
hold out	not give in, continue to resist	Stop holding out and tell us where you found all of these old records.
hold out against +	not give in, resist	They held out against enemy attack.
hold * up +	delay (a flight, traffic);	The accident held traffic up for an hour.
hold * up +	rob (a bank, a person) with a weapon	Five men held the bank up yesterday.
hook * up +	make the electrical connections required for a machine or information service	Can you hook up the fax machine for me?

Phrasal Verbs: give

give * away +	give something without asking for anything in exchange	Why did Nancy give all of her furniture away?
give * away +	betray (a secret)	We are having a surprise party for Susan next Saturday, so don't give our surprise away by acting suspicious.
give * back +	return something you borrowed	When are you going to give that book back to your teacher?
give in	stop trying	Never give in! You can do it!
give off +	release (a smell, light)	That white flower gives off a beautiful smell.
give * out +	distribute	I earn extra money by giving out brochures on the street.
give out	become very tired (inf.)	I hope this car doesn't give out in the middle of the desert.
give * up +	surrender something	The police told the thief to give his gun up.
give up	surrender	Never give up learning English!

Phrasal Verbs: take

take after +	resemble a parent or relative	I take after my father. Who do you take after?
take * away +	remove, seize or capture	The soldiers took the captives away.
take * back +	retract something you said	I demand that you take back what you said.
take * back +	return an item to a store	The dress my grandmother bought for me didn't fit, so I took it back and exchanged it for a pair of pants.
take * down +	write down what is said	Would you mind taking down my messages while I am on vacation?
take * down +	remove (from a high place)	The city government made the shop take down their bright, neon sign.
take * for	consider, view as	Do you take me for an idiot?
take * in +	learning	Are you taking in all of these phrasal verbs?
take * in +	deceive a person	He was taken in by the con artist.
take * in +	make smaller when sewing	I lost weight, so I need to take some of my skirts to the tailor to have them taken in.
take * off	when a plane or rocket leaves the ground	My stomach felt funny when the plane took off.
take * off +	remove	In many cultures, it is appropriate to take off your shoes when entering a house.
take * off +	leave work or school for a period of time	I was sick last week, so I took a few days off of work.
take off	leave	We took off after dinner.
take on +	accept (responsibilities, work)	She has taken on too much responsibility in this project.
take * over +	take control of	Who is going to take over the family business when Aretha's father dies?
take over	take control of	If the President is assassinated, the Vice-president will take over.
take * out +	accompany a person on a date (for dinner, the movies)	I can't meet you tonight because I am taking Fernanda out to dinner.
take * up +	begin a new hobby	Have you taken up any new hobbies since you moved here?
take * up +	discuss (at a later date)	We should take this issue up in the meeting tomorrow.
take * up +	shorten a garment when sewing	This dress is too long, I am going to take it up.
take up +	occupy space	This couch takes up too much space in the living room.

Phrasal Verbs: make

make * out	decipher	I can't make out your handwriting. What does this say?
make * out +	write a check or other document	Who should I make this check out to?
make out	succeed	He really made out in the stock market last year.
make out	progress	How is your son making out in his new job?
make out	kiss passionately	I saw Benno and Isabelle making out in the movie theater last night!
make out with +	kiss someone passionately	Did you make out with Sally?
make * over	do again	The teacher made me do my homework over.
make * up +	invent ( a story)	Don't believe anything she says. She always makes things up.
make * up +	complete what was missed	Fortunately, my professor let me make up the exam I missed yesterday.
make * up +	put on cosmetics	I takes me 10 minutes to make my face up.
make up	reconcile	You two have been friends for so long that I think you should make up.
make up for +	compensate for	Allen made up for being late by getting me flowers.

Phrasal Verbs: put

put * across +	communicate (an idea or suggestion) clearly so that it is understood	I thought Ms. Smith put her ideas across rather clearly in the meeting.
put * away +	return to the proper place of storage	I told you kids to put your toys away.
put * down +	insult, say bad things about	She always puts down people who don't share her opinions.
put in +	officially submit a request (in the armed forces or public services)	He put in for a transfer to the division in Los Angeles.
put * off +	postpone	Don't put off your work - do it now!
put * on +	wear	Make sure you put on a sweater before you go outside.
put * on +	deceive	I didn't believe a thing he said. I think he was putting me on.
put * out +	extinguish (a fire)	Don't use water to put out a grease fire.
put * out +	inconvenience someone	I don't want to put you out, but could you pick me up at the airport.
put out +	spend (usually used with unreasonably large sums of money)	I can't put out that much money each month.
put * up	have a guest stay in your house for a short time	Can you put me up while I'm in town.
put up with +	tolerate	Sandy will not put up with smoking in her house.

Phrasal Verbs: check

check back	return to see if everything is OK	We will check back tomorrow to make sure the project is finished.
check by +	go to a place to see if everything is OK	We need to check by the office to see if the documents are ready.
check for +	try to find	They checked for termites before they bought the house.
check in	enter a hospital, hotel etc.	They need to check in before noon.
check into +	enter a hospital, hotel etc.	They checked into the hotel at 11:00 AM.
check into +	investigate, look for (often through a service)	We are checking into discount flights to London.
check * off +	make a mark next to (an item on a list)	Check each name off the list.
check on +	make sure something is OK	Let's check on the baby again before we go to sleep.
check * out +	investigate, take a look at	He checked out the new restaurant down the street.
check out	leave a hotel, hospital	It's already eleven. We need to check out.
check out of +	leave a hotel, hospital	We checked out of the hotel before ten.
check * over +	closely examine the condition of something	He checked over the old car to see if it was worth buying.
check up on +	investigate someone or something	The police are checking up on the bomb threats.
check * through	send luggage through (to a destination)	Your luggage will be checked through to Paris.
check with +	ask a person for confirmation	He needs to check with his parents before he goes.

Phrasal Verbs: Get

get * across +	cause to be understood	It's difficult to get humor across in another language.
get ahead	make progress	I can't get ahead even though I work two jobs.
get ahead of +	surpass	You need to work overtime in order to get ahead of schedule.
get along	have a good relationship	Do you and your sister get along?
get along with +	have a good relationship	Giovanna doesn't get along with her two brothers.
get around +	avoid someone or something	Some people get around paying taxes by hiring a good accountant.
get around	go many places	It's easy to get around town with public transportation.
get away	escape	The bank robbers got away.
get away with +	do something against the rules or illegal and not get caught or punished	My sister gets away with everything!
get by	survive without having the things you need or want	I lost my job, so I am having a hard time getting by this year.
get by on +	survive with minimal resources	It's nearly impossible to get by on making minimum wage.
get by with +	manage with	You don't need a computer. You can get by with the typewriter.
get down to +	get serious about a topic	Enough small talk. Let's get down to business.
get in +	enter ( a car, a small boat)	Get in the front seat. You will have more leg room.
get in	enter	Get in. I will give you a ride to school
get * off +	send (a package)	I finally got my sister's birthday present off yesterday.
get * off	remove ( a spider from your shirt)	Can you get this spider off my shirt?
get off +	leave (a bus, plane, train, boat)	We need to get off the bus at the next stop.
get off	leave	It's dangerous to sit on the roof. Get off!
get off	idiomatic phrase - How does he justify saying that?!	Where does he get off saying that?!
get * on	put on (clothes)	You should get your jacket on because it's going to be cold.
get on	enter (a bus, train), mount (a horse, a bike)	The train is leaving. Quick, get on!
get on +	enter (a bus, train), mount ( a horse, a bike)	Get on my bike and I will give you a ride home.
get on	have a good relationship	Natasha doesn't get on with her co-workers.
get on with +	have a good relationship	Do you get on with your neighbors?
get on with +	continue an activity	Now that the police have left, let's get on with the party!
get out of +	exit (a small boat, car, an enclosed area)	I fell into the water when I tried to get out of the canoe.
get over +	recover (a cold, a disease, an ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend)	Jennifer still hasn't gotten over her breakup with Peter.
get through +	complete	We will never get through all of these boxes by 9:00 PM.
get through +	penetrate	We need a stronger drill to get through this wall.
get through	penetrate	The door was jammed, so we couldn't get through.
get through (with) +	finish	Have you gotten through with your homework yet?
get through to +	make contact	It's hard to get through to Janet because her telephone line is always busy.
get * up	cause someone to rise (from a sitting position or a lying position)	Ahmed got Abdul up at 5:30 in the morning by turning the music up really loud.
get up	rise (from sitting position or a bed)	What time did you get up this morning?