Cambridge First Certificate in English Gold First Certificate
Phrasal Verbs
PHRASAL VERBS WITH TAKE – Unit 1
Take after - to be or look like a parent or relation
He takes after his mother.
Take back – to admit that something you said to or about someone was wrong
I didn’t mean what I said – I take it back.
Take down – to make a note of something
I can take down the messages that come in.
Take in - to understand or remember something that you hear or read
I had to read the letter twice before I could take it all in.
Take off - to leave the ground, to remove clothes
The plane took off at 8.30 a.m
Take on - to begin to deal with something, such as a job or responsibility
I can’t take on any more work at the moment.
Take out – to get something from the place it is in
Henry took out his wallet to pay the bill.
Take over - to take control of something.
The firm has been taken over by one of its main competitors.
Take to – to feel or begin to feel a liking for somebody
I took to John immediately. He´s a very caring and loving person.
Take up - to begin a hobby, pastime etc.
Chris has taken up jogging and his health has improved a lot.
PHRASAL VERBS WITH TURN – Unit 5
Turn away – Refuse someone permission to enter a place
The doorman turned him away from the nightclub because he was wearing trainers.
Turn down - Reject an offer, invitation, etc./Reduce volume, temperature, etc.
They offered her the job, but she turned it down.
The room was too hot, so she turned the heating down.
Turn on – Attack/Start a machine
The neighbour's dog turned on me when I tried to stroke it.
I turned the radio on to get the weather forecast.
Turn out - Produce an unexpected result/Produce
It looked as if we were going to fail, but it turned out well in the end.
The factory turns out three thousand units a day.
Turn up – Appear/ Increase volume, temperature, etc.
She didn't turn up for class today.
I turned the music up full blast.
Turn off - Cause someone to dislike
I thought the subject would be interesting, but the professor's boring lectures really turned me off.
PHRASAL VERBS WITH GET – Unit 6 Get after – Chase He took it from my pocket. Get after him! Get ahead – move on
It wasn’t easy, but I got ahead nonetheless.
Get along – have a good relationship Peter gets along with everyone. Get around – travel
My job allows me to get around.
Get away – escape
I have a bad feeling. I think we should get away from here.
Get back – return It’s late. I really should get back now. Get back into – start doing sth again I’ve just got back into running after two years. Get back to – return a phone call I must hang up now. I’ll get back to you in a few minutes. Get by – manage
I haven’t studied enough, but I’m sure I’m going to get by.
Get somebody down – make somebody feel unhappy or depressed
The chaos in his house was starting to get him down.
Get in – arrive You got in very late last night.
Get into – get involved He always gets into problems. Get on – enter a bus, train, plane I don’t have much time now. I’m about to get on the plane.
Get off – leave a bus, train, plane We have to get off the train at the next station. Get out – leave Get out of here! Leave me alone! Get over – overcome I was able to get over my fears once I faced them. Get round – convince No matter how hard you try, you’re not getting round me. Get through – solve Don’t worry, we’re going to get through it. Get to – start doing sth I got to work as soon as you told me to. Get up – get out of bed after sleeping
I’m not used to getting up so early.
PHRASAL VERBS WITH WORK – Unit 8
Work around - To successfully find your way around an obstacle or a problem without having to directly deal with it or solve it.
I didn’t have all the ingredients to make the dish from the recipe, but I worked around it by substituting a few items. Work in - To consciously integrate something.
He said he was too busy to exercise, but I convinced him to work in a few sessions at the gym. Work off - To compensate for money owed (or any other type of debt.)
The kid didn’t have money to pay for his meal, so the restaurant owner let him work it off by washing dishes for an hour. Work on - To spend time and effort improving something
I have a lot of problems with my pronunciation, but I’m working on it. Work out - To do any form of exercise with a focus being on the physical activity/To result in success/To Fix-Solve Something
I try to work out 3 times a week after work.
When he first started his new job, he was scared things wouldn’t work out.
When you’re having relationship problems, it’s best to try to work it out.
Work through - To gradually deal with or solve.
The couple was having serious problems, so they decided to go to a relationships counselor to help them work through their issues.
Work towards - To make an effort with the intention of achieving a future objective.
The marathon runner woke up at 5 am every day as he worked toward his goal of running for the 42km marathon
PHRASAL VERBS WITH “ON” – Unit 11 Call on - To visit (a person).
I really should call on my grandmother more often.
Carry on - To continue or proceed as before/To take baggage on an plane, rather than check it.
I'll be gone for some days, but I hope you will carry on in my absence.
You may only carry on a small bag on the plane.
Get on - To board or mount a vehicle/To progress, advance.
Please, get on the bus.
To get on in life, you need to work hard.
Hold on - To grasp or grip firmly/To wait (also on phone), to maintain position.
Hold on tightly to the railing.
"Can I talk to Ms Smith?" "Hold on. I'll see if she is here".
Keep on - To persist or continue.
Don't give up, keep on trying.
Look down on - To regard or treat as inferior.
It is wrong to look down on people less fortunate than yourself.
Move on - To leave somewhere for another place/To start dealing with something else.
After spending the night at the hotel, they decided to move on.
You need to forget about the past and move on.
Put on - To place a garment, jewellery, etc. on part of one's body/To increase in body weight.
Joan put on her new cotton dress.
He has given up his diet and put on 5 kilos.
Switch on/ Turn on - To power up a device, to cause to start operating.
Please, switch/turn on the lights. I can't see what I am reading.
Try on - To test for fit (clothes).
I tried the dress on and decided I didn't like it.
PHRASAL VERBS WITH “OFF” – Unit 11 Call off - To postpone or cancel something.
We had to call off the meeting because the client was ill.
Go off - To explode or fire/To begin making noise.
The gun went off at the beginning of the race.
The alarm clock will go off at 6 a.m.
Make off - To leave quickly.
The robbers made off with two million dollars.
Pay off - To yield good results, succeed.
My hard work has paid off, I got very good marks in my exams.
Put off - To avoid, delay, postpone.
We put off the picnic until tomorrow because it was raining.
See off - To say goodbye to someone.
He came to the airport to see me off.
Show off - To brag about one's abilities or accomplishments.
John likes to show off how much he knows about music.
Take off - To remove clothes, to get undressed/To become airborne (a bird/plane)
I can't wait to get home, take off my clothes and have a hot bath.
The plane is going to take off from runway 3.
Turn off/ Switch off - To power down, to stop a device.
Please, turn/switch off the lights. I want to go to sleep.
PHRASAL VERBS WITH GO – Unit 12 Go after - Pursue (an object or a goal)
Emma went after her dreams and now she is an actress. Go ahead - proceed or be carried out
The project will go ahead no matter what the manager thinks. Go along - Continue an activity
He added funny details to the story as he went along. Go away - Leave a place
We decided to go away for a few days. Go back – Return
Children go back to school after the holidays. Go by – Pass-
Put up your hand or the bus will go by without stopping. Time goes by so quickly! Go down - Decrease; reduce/ become ill
The price of property has gone down a bit lately. Half the team has gone down with the 'flu. Go for - Try to achieve or attain
Jack trained hard and decided to go for the gold medal. Go in – Enter/Join or enter a profession
There's a hotel. Let's go in and book a room. Tom decided to go into the army when he left school
Go off – Explode/Ring/make a loud noise/Stop working/No longer good to eat or drink
A bomb went off in a crowded restaurant. The alarm clock was set to go off at 6 am. The heating has gone off. It's freezing in here! The milk has gone off. Don't drink it. Go on – Continue
Sorry for interrupting. Please go on. Go out - Leave one's home to attend a social event/be extinguished/Have someone as a boyfriend/girlfriend
Many young people go out a lot. The ights went out before we got to the door. Is Julie going out with Tom? Go over – Review
Please go over your answers before handing in your paper. Go up - Increase; rise
The price of petrol is expected to go up. Go through – Experience/Examine; study carefully
Peter went through a lot of pain after the accident. You should go through the contract before signing it.
PHRASAL VERBS WITH COME – Unit 13
Come across - Find by chance/Appear or seem; make an impression.
Julie came across some photographs of her grandparents in the attic.
The candidate came across as a dynamic person during the interview.
Come back – Return.
He hopes his son will come back one day
Come down with - Become ill with.
The architect planned to attend the inauguration but he came down with the 'flu yesterday.
Come out -Become known.
The truth will come out sooner or later. It's just a matter of time.
Come round - Regain consciousness.
She still hasn't come round after the anaesthetic.
Come up - Appear, occur or present itself.
The subject came up at the meeting.
Sorry I'm late. Something came up at the last minute.
She's got her twentieth birthday coming up soon.
Come up with - Produce a plan or idea.
Sacha came up with a great idea for the party.
Cambridge First Certificate in English Must-know First Certificate phrasal verbs
Must-know First Certificate phrasal verbs
1. Break down – When a machine or vehicle stops working: The car broke down in the middle of the motorway and we had to call a tow truck. 2. Bring up someone – Raise a child: She brought up two children on her own. 3. Call off – Cancel: The match was called off due to the frozen pitch. 4. Carry on – To continue doing something: The boss told me to carry on painting the wall even though it was past my break time. 5. Carry out – To do a particular piece of work, like a project, investigation or building work: The police are going to carry out an investigation after the incident. 6. Fall out with someone – Stop being friendly with someone because you have had a disagreement with them: Mum and I used to fall out a lot. 7. Find out something – Discover a fact or piece of information: The police are determined to find out who committed the crime. 8. Get by – Have just enough of something (like money or knowledge) so that you can do what you need to do: I can just about get by on my basic salary. 9. Get on with someone – Have a friendly relationship with someone: We don’t really get on with our neighbours. 10. Give back something – Give someone something that they owned or had before: The company had to give back all the money customers had paid. 11. Give up something – Stop/quit doing something: I’m so unfit! I really ought to give up smoking. 12. Go away – To leave your home for a period of time, especially for a holiday: I love living in the city but I need to go away once a month. 13. Go out (with someone) – To have a romantic relationship with someone and spend a lot of time with them: Ben and Lisa were going out for at least 3 years. 14. Grow up – Gradually become an adult: John never saw his relatives living abroad when he was growing up.
15. Leave out (someone or something) – To not include someone or something: The report is good but you left out the information we spoke about in the meeting. 16. Let down someone – Disappoint someone: He let down his teammates because of his bad attitude. 17. Live on – To have a particular amount of money to buy the things you need to live: My grandparents have to live on a pension of £400 a month. 18. Look after someone – Take care of someone: It’s hard work looking after three children. 19. Look back – To think about the past: When I look back I realise that I’ve done some stupid things over the years. 20. Look for (something or someone) – To search for something or someone: Excuse me. I’m looking for the sales department. Do you know where it is? 21. Look forward to something – Feel excited about something that is going to happen: I’m really looking forward to my retirement. 22. Look up something – Try to find a particular piece of information by looking in a book or on a list, or by using the internet: I didn’t know what the word meant so I looked it up in the dictionary. 23. Make up (with someone) – To become friendly with someone again after having an argument: Arguing isn’t a problem in a relationship as long as you make up soon after. 24. Pick up (someone) – To collect someone from somewhere in a vehicle: The flight arrives pretty late but my brother is going to pick me up at the airport. 25. Put off – Postpone: We’ll have to put off the meeting until tomorrow. 26. Put out (something) – To extinguish a fire or finish a cigarette: The fire brigade struggled to put out the fire due to the strong wind. 27. Put up with something – Tolerate something unpleasant: If you live in a flat you have to put up with a lot of noise from your neighbours. 28. Set off – To start a journey or start going somewhere: We set off really early the next morning to avoid the traffic. 29. Set up (something) – To start something like a business or an organisation: Dave set up the language school with the aim of implementing his teaching methods.
30. Split up (with someone) – To separate after being in a relationship with someone: In the end they decided to split up and live separate lives. 31. Stand out – When something or someone is easy to notice or see because they are different: His white suit made him stand out in the crowd. 32. Take up something – Start doing something regularly, like a new hobby: Emma decided to take up yoga after she lost her job. 33. Take after someone – Look or behave like an older relative: My son takes after my husband. 34. Take back (something) – To return something you have borrowed or something that you wish to change in a shop: Make sure you take that book back to the library before the end of the month. 35. Take on (someone) – To start to employ someone: The human resources department said the company shouldn’t have taken on so many people. 36. Take off – When a plane leaves the ground and starts flying: I was asleep on the plane but woke up when the engines started and it took off. 37. Tell off someone – Criticise someone angrily for doing something wrong: The teacher told me off for speaking during the class. 38. Throw away – Get rid of something that you no longer want: I threw away all the rotten apples. 39. Turn up – Arrive somewhere, especially unexpectedly or after you have been waiting a long time: The party starts at 8pm but people won’t turn up until much later. 40. Work out – To calculate: We need to work out all the costs before we invest in this project.