This week’s lesson is about common phrasal verbs involving “to fall”. The past tense of this verb is fell.
Fall apart
Break into pieces
“My new t-shirt is falling apart!”
Fall down
Fall to the ground
“Josh fell down during the basketball game last night.”
Fall out
Become detached and drop out
“All children’s teeth fall out before they get new ones."
Let's take a look at some meanings of the phrasal verb hang on. The past tense of the verb hang is hung or hanged.
To hold/cling something tightly.
"Hang on! Don't let go of the rope!"
To continue with something difficult.
"Hang on, don't give up yet, we're almost at the finish line."
To keep a telephone connection open.
You may know about brushing your hair with a brush or that you brush the dirt off a seat before you sit down, but do you know these other brush words?
A brief encounter with something notable or unpleasant is a brush with. It's used for situations in which you experience or nearly experience something.
Being interviewed by a local TV station was my only brush with fame.
If for example you nearly die, you have a brush with death.
A phrasal verb is a group of words that function as a verb and is made up of a verb and a preposition, an adverb, or both. Phrasal verbs have a different meaning to the meaning of their separate parts.
The hotel staff need to see our passports before we check in.
I left my phone in the car, I'll have to go back and get it.
I never wake up early on the weekend.
A phrasal verb is a verb that has two or more words.
They are basically made of a verb and a particle.
For example:
Turn up means increase volume: Turn up the radio, I love this song!
Call off means cancel: They called off the football game because of the bad weather.
Take back means return: I need to take back these books to the library.
When we close something or it becomes closed it is shut.
Can you shut the door, please?
She shut the suitcase.
He shut his eyes and listened to the music.
Here are some other common shut expressions:
Shut yourself away
When you stay at home so you don't have to see anyone, you shut yourself away. Usually because you or unhappy or because you need a quiet place to work/concentrate.
Cut down means to use less or do less of something.
You should cut down on the amount of cigarettes you smoke.
I've cut down on how much coffee I drink. I used to drink five cups a day, now I drink two.
We're cutting down on the amount of paper we use in the office.
To completely stop eating something, usually for health reasons.
My doctor recommended I cut out salt from my diet.
These are all expressions we can use casually to describe intelligent people. Aprt from boffin, they are all adjectives.
Brainy
She's the brainiest student in the school.
Bright
She's a bright girl.
Clever
My dog is really clever, he can do a lot of tricks.
Smart
My brother's smarter than me.
Today we're going to look at phrasal verbs with the word 'make'. Read these definitions and examples, and then try to complete the sentences below with the correct phrasal verb.
Note: You will have to change the tense!
1. Make something out - to see/recognise something in the distance
Even if you are not a football fan, you have probably heard that Uruguay’s Luis Suarez is in big trouble for biting a player during a World Cup game.
The present tense verb is bite:
Do you want a bite of my apple?
The simple past tense is bit:
The dog bit my foot.
The past participle is bitten:
Have you ever been bitten by Luis Suarez?
