25 Arranging things

A

B

A group of students are organising things for a college open day. Note how they use phrasal verbs to talk about arranging things.

Ben We need something to prop up1 the video camera. Maybe we could use that big box?

Anna Or we could rest it on the bookcase. That could double up as2 a camera support.

1 make something stay in a particular position by putting something underneath or against it 2 also be used as

4 remove something from a large group of things 5 find and gather together a group of people or animals 6 divide a group of people or things into smaller groups

7 examine a large collection of something, especially papers, usually in order to discover something or to decide what is important

Tim Let’s gather up all those brochures and stack them up in one pile over here.

Elodie OK, then I’ll have to see about3 an extra table; we’ve got too much stuff.

3 deal with something, or arrange for something to be done

Sacha We need to space out the tables a bit; they’re too close together at the moment.

Lizzie Yes, and we should line them up a bit better too so that it all looks neat.

Paul Why don’t we separate off4 all the student work displays and put them all together in the other room?

Jake Yes, OK. I’ll round up5 some more helpers; it’s going to be quite a big job.

Paul Yes, and then separate out6 the first-year students’ work, the second-year students’ work and the third- and fourth-year students’ work and make a special display of it. That would be nice.

Jake OK, but how will I know the first-year stuff from the rest?

Paul The name and the year are on the back of each piece of work.

Kelly Hey everyone, if you could pile up all your rubbish in the corner there, I’ll get someone to take it all away at once.

Paul OK, but I think we should sift through7 everything before we throw it away in case we’re throwing away things we should keep.

Other verbs connected with organising and arranging things

We hoarded away dozens of bottles of water as we knew there would be a shortage in the hot weather. [put a supply of something in a safe place so that it can be used in the future] I’ve been trying to fix up a meeting with our local MP so we can get to know her better. [(informal) arrange] He folded up the scarf, wrapped it in gold wrapping paper and did it up with a red bow, ready to give to his grandfather on his birthday. [fasten or tie something] The headteacher geared his speech more towards the parents than the pupils. [designed something so that it was suitable for a particular purpose, situation, or group of people] Norton College ranks among the best in the country. [has a particular position in a list arranged in order of quality]

25.1

25.2

25.3

25.4

Answer these questions about the verbs in A.

1 What other things can someone round up, apart from people? 2 What might you prop your head up with if you’re reading on the sofa? 3 Which other verb in A is close in meaning to stack up? 4 If you sift through papers, what are you doing? 5 Does the particle up seem to have any similar meanings in the verbs in A?

Choose the correct phrasal verb to complete these sentences.

1 We had to stick up / stock up / stack up the chairs after the meeting and lock the hall. 2 Could you round in / round up / round off some people to help move the furniture? 3 Let’s separate off / separate away / separate out the blue forms, the green forms and the white forms so that they don’t all get mixed up together.

Complete the gaps in the texts with a particle from B opposite.

My nine-year-old son is so untidy. I’m tired of trying to get him to fold his clothes (1) and put them neatly into drawers. The trouble is, his drawers are full of other things – toys and games, stones and pieces of wood that he has hoarded (2) for some reason or another.

I’ve just done a presentation of our company’s products with a major firm we’d like to do business with. It’s ranked (3) the biggest in the country, so we could make a lot of money if they agree to let us supply them with our boxes. I geared my presentation (4) the quality of our boxes, and at the end of it I presented their team with one of our boxes done (5) in specially-designed paper in their company colours and filled with information about our company. I think they may be interested. They’ve certainly agreed to fix (6) another meeting.

Answer these questions using a phrasal verb based on the verb in brackets in your answer.

1 What would you do if you wanted to discuss a business idea face-to-face with your bank manager? (fix) 2 If students are taking an important written exam, what are schools usually required to do with the desks where they sit to write their exams? (space) 3 If one leg of a table is shorter than the others, how might you use a book? (prop) 4 If you recycle your rubbish, why might you need several different containers? (separate) 5 For a school photo, how does the photographer typically arrange the pupils? (line) 6 If you are a student living in one room and you often have friends and family to stay with you, why might it be useful to have a large sofa? (double) 7 If you have a lot of papers on the floor and you want to tidy your room, what do you do with the papers? (gather) 8 If you are going to meet someone who you’ve never met before at a crowded café, why might you each agree to wear something distinctive? (know) 9 You are arranging a party and want to ask an artistic friend to deal with decorating the room where the party is to be held. What could you say to your friend? (see) 10 You have a pile of papers that you think it may be all right to throw away, but what is it a good idea to do with them first? (sift)