200 Most Common Phrasal Verbs (Part 1)

Question 1

I ______ him/her _____ to dinner and a movie.

If he ______ her _____, she would say no.

Answer 1

ask (someone) out

[invite on a date]

Question 2

I usually ______ ______ to see what other people think about it.

Answer 2

ask-around

[ask a lot of people the same question]

Question 3

Everything _____ _____ _____ around $1,000.

Answer 3

add-up to (something)

[the total of everything]

Question 4

Excuse me, could you please _____ (your car) _____ a little bit? I can’t get out of my parking spot. Your car is blocking me.

Answer 4

back (something) up

[reverse, go backward]

Question 5

My parents _______ (my decision to go to college) ______.

Answer 5

back (someone) up

[support, give support to]

Question 6

The terrorist ______ (the building) ___ with explosives.

Answer 6

blow (something) up

[explode]

Question 7

We ______ ____ (a hundred balloons) for my brother’s birthday.

Answer 7

blow (a balloon) up

[fill with air]

Question 8

(My car) ________ ______ last week.

Answer 8

(A machine) breaks-down

[stop functioning; not work anymore]

Question 9

(Sarah) ________ ______ in tears because her boyfriend broke up with her.

Answer 9

(A person) breaks-down

[feel very sad and/or upset]

Question 10

If you ________ (this sentence) ______, you will see that it includes many different parts of a sentence.

James _______ (his iPhone) _______ to see how it was made.

Answer 10

break (something) down

[take a large thing and divide into smaller parts]

Question 11

A thief _______ ____ last night.

The police _______ ____ (the home) of the suspected criminal.

Answer 11

break-in (when) / break-into (something/place)

[enter illegally and without permission]

Question 12

I bought some new shoes. They are too stiff right now. I need to _______ (them) ____.

I have to _______ (these new baseball gloves) ____.

Answer 12

break (something) in

[wear or use something so that it does not feel new anymore]

Question 13

I _______ ____ with my girlfriend yesterday.

My sister is _______ ____ with her boyfriend as we speak.

Answer 13

break-up

[end a relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend]

Question 14

I _______ (them) ____ because they were fighting.

She ______ (them) _____ because she didn’t like the new girlfriend.

I _______ (him) _____ (with her) because she was mean.

Answer 14

break (someone) up

[to separate two people; or cause another person’s relationship to end]

Question 15

Did the prisoner in Shawshank Redemption _______ ____ of prison?

We are going to _______ _____ of here!

Answer 15

break-out

[escape]

Question 16

I _______ ______ (in pimples) all over my face the night before my prom.

I am _______ ______ (in rashes) on the back of my neck.

He will _______ _____ (in hives) if he eats that mango.

Answer 16

break-out (in something)

[develop a skin condition, like a rash or pimples]

Question 17

The depressing movie _______ (her) _____.

The sad music is _______ (her) _____.

That story has _______ (me) _____ before.

Answer 17

bring (someone) down

[make unhappy; make sad; create a bad mood for]

Question 18

Steve Jobs’ adoptive parents _______ (him) ____, not his biological parents.

I was _______ _____ by my grandparents.

Answer 18

bring (someone) up

[raise; take care of; teach/educate]

Question 19

We wanted to talk about money, but nobody _______ (it) ____ yet.

We usually don’t _______ (religion) ____ when talking with new co-workers.

Answer 19

bring (something) up

[start talking about a subject; introduce a new subject in the conversation]

Question 20

The disgusting smell _______ (my food) _____.

The gross movie _______ (her dinner) _____.

Answer 20

bring (someone’s food) up

[make food come up from the stomach; feel sick; vomit]

Question 21

I _______ _______ to see which store had the best price.

Can you _______ _______ to find the best deal for us?

Answer 21

call-around

[call many different people/places with the same question]

Question 22

I will _______ (you) _______ after I’m done.

He _______ (me) _______ right away.

Answer 22

call (someone) back

[return a phone call]

Question 23

I should _______ (the meeting) _______ because I can’t make it tonight.

They will _______ (the baseball game) _______ because it’s going to rain tonight.

Julia Roberts _______ (many weddings) _______ in the movie, “Runaway Bride.”

Answer 23

call (something) off

[cancel a meeting or appointment]

Question 24

The teacher _______ ___ (the student) for an answer.

This professor usually _______ ____ (students) that are not paying attention.

Answer 24

call-on (someone)

[ask for an answer or opinion, usually from a student]

Question 25

My brother _______ (me) ___ to ask for $1,000. If you need anything, _______ (this guy) ____. He will help you.

Answer 25

call (someone) up [to call by telephone, usually to request something]

Question 26

I need to _______ _______ because I'm too upset right now. She needs to _______ _______. She is way too excited right now.

Answer 26

calm-down [relax yourself after being angry, upset or too excited]

Question 27

You need to _______ (your friend) _______ because he is creating a lot of problems right now. I will _______ (my friend) _______.

Answer 27

calm (someone) down [make SOMEONE ELSE more relaxed after being angry, upset or too excited]

Question 28

I do not _______ ____ (spending $900) on sweaters. They don't _______ ____ (those things).

Answer 28

not care for (s.o. / s.t.) [formal way of saying 'do not like']

Question 29

I need to _______ _____ with all material. All the other runners usually have to _______ ____ to Usain Bolt because they are almost always slower than him.

Answer 29

catch-up [get to the same point as another person]

Question 30

I can _______ ____ after 3:00 p.m. The hotel doesn't allow people to get their room keys before that. When I arrive at JFK airport, I will _______ ___ and get my tickets.

Answer 30

check-in [get your room at the hotel; get your airplane tickets at the airport]

Question 31

We need to _______ ____ by tomorrow at noon. I bought something on Amazon.com. When I _______ ___, I realized that it all added up to a lot.

Answer 31

check-out [leave a hotel room and pay the bill] [pay for an online purchase]

Question 32

I found a great apartment online. However, I need to _______ (the apartment) _______ before I sign the lease. Hey, look at this! _______ (it) _______! The FBI is _______ (this person) _______ to see if he is good or bad.

Answer 32

check (s.o. / s.t.) out [look at it carefully; inspect it; investigate it]

Question 33

Hey, _______ ____ (that hot guy). Hey, _______ ____ (that hot girl) over there. Did you _______ ____ (the schedule)?

Answer 33

check out (s.o / s.t.) [take a look at (informal)]

Question 34

I need to _______ _____. You need to _______ ____ more. She needs to _______ ____ because she has a pretty good life.

Answer 34

cheer-up [become happier; make yourself happy]

Question 35

I need to _______ (you) _____. You need to _______ (her) _____ more. She needs to _______ (her sister) ____ because she looks really sad right now.

Answer 35

cheer (someone) up [make someone else happier]

Question 36

Volunteers _______ ____ to feed the victims of hurricane Sandy. I have great neighbors who _______ ____ to keep our neighborhood clean and safe.

Answer 36

chip in [to provide extra help]

Question 37

My assistant _______ (my office) _____ every morning. My sister never _______ (her bedroom) ____.

Answer 37

clean (something) up [tidy, clean]

Question 38

I _______ ______ (a $50 bill) on the street as I was walking. I hope I _______ _____ (a briefcase full of money) because I'm broke.

Answer 38

come-across (something) [find something and did not expect to find it]

Question 39

Do I _______ _______ as a mean girl to you? Does he _______ _______ as a smart person? They _______ _______ as people who likes to chip in.

Answer 39

come-across as (something) [seem like something to someone]

Question 40

The wires on my earphones are always tangled. They don't _______ _______ no matter how hard I try. Cornbread _______ _______ as soon as you pull on it.

Answer 40

come-apart [separates by itself or separates easily]

Question 41

I _______ _______ with (the flu). He doesn't feel well. I think he _______ _______ with (some kind of illness) last night.

Answer 41

come-down with (something) [become sick with something]

Question 42

The police want witnesses to _______ _______ with any information about the crime. The teacher wants the student who threw the paper to _______ _______. He will not let anyone leave until someone admits that he/she threw it.

Answer 42

come-forward [give information; or admit doing something]

Question 43

He _______ _______ (Italy). That is where he was born and raised. This nut _______ _______ (Hawaii). It is called a Macadamia nut.

Answer 43

come-from (somewhere) [originate from; the original location is from here]

Question 44

I am _______ _____ (my stocks) to go up. We are going camping tomorrow. Jim is the only one with a tent. We need him to bring it tomorrow. If he doesn't we will not have a tent and it will be very uncomfortable. So we are _______ _____ (Jim) to bring the tent tomorrow.

Answer 44

count-on (s.o. / s.t.) [rely on; put trust and hope on]

Question 45

I don't need this item on my list anymore. I am _______ (it) _______. This word is not a commonly used word. _______ (it) _____.

Answer 45

cross (something) out [cancel; draw a line through; delete]

Question 46

I need to _______ _______ _____ (shopping). I am spending too much money on clothes. I need to _______ _______ ____ (eating fatty foods). I am gaining too much weight. I have to _______ _______ _____ (drinking alcohol) every weekend. It is not good for my health.

Answer 46

cut-back on (something) [consume less; eat less; drink less; buy less; do less]

Question 47

The people _______ (the tree) _______ because it was getting dangerous to the homes around it. The lumberjacks _______ (all the trees in our forest) _______.

Answer 47

cut (something) down [cut it and make it fall to the ground]

Question 48

I don't like it when people _______ ____ while I'm telling a story. They should just let me finish before saying what they have to say. My brother _______ _____ to stop me from saying something I will probably regret later.

Answer 48

cut-in [interrupt while doing something]

Question 49

The impatient driver _______ ____and almost caused an accident. Why did you _______ ____ like that? You didn't even signal before changing lanes.

Answer 49

(s.o. / vehicle) cut-in [person or vehicle drives their car in front of someone and too close to the person]