Phrasal Verb

1. For three days the wind blew hard and strong, but on the fourth day it died down.
2. I thought John and Mary were happy, but they recently got a divorce; how did it come about?
3. My old car has a very bad engine; it will probably break down and need repairs.
4. If you want to get ahead in life, you have to work hard and save your money.
5. His poor clothes really stood out at the meeting because everyone else was wearing a suit and tie.

6. Since you don’t have a car or motorcycle, how do you get around?
7. Our plans for a trip to Europe fell through because we hadn’t saved enough money for the plane tickets.

8. Please hold on; I’d like to ask a question before you continue your lecture.

9. He told me all of his marriage problems, from beginning to end; he really opened up.

10. Because several students didn’t understand the teacher’s ideas, many questions came up.

11. While I was talking, Tom broke in to tell me that he disagreed.

12. After I spent two hours trying to explain the difficult idea, John finally caught on.

13. While his friends were playing football, poor Joe, who had a broken leg, could only look on
14. At first the students in my class were too noisy, but eventually they settled down to work.

15. It’s already 10 o’clock and Bill hasn’t come yet; if he doesn’t show up soon, our meeting will fall through.
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III. EXPLANATION OF THE IDIOMS

 

You probably have a good idea what each idiom means by now. Study the following explanations so that you can understand them completely.

 

1. to die down – to become more quiet; to diminish, to subside

Usual subjects; feelings (excitement, nervousness, anger, love/hatred); natural events (storm, wind, fire); sounds (music, voices, noises).

My anger at him has died down since he apologized to me.

After the storm, the strong winds died down .

The loud music died down after the police came.

 

2. to come about – to happen, to occur, to be caused

Usual subjects: events (accident, death, failure/success, defeat); situations (problem, discussion, argument).

This idiom is most often used in a How-question, when we want to know the cause of something.

How did the automobile accident come about?

His success came about after he started working harder.

The argument came about because they were talking about politics.

 

3. to stand out – to be noticeable, to be prominent, to be clearly seen

Usual subjects: color, tone, figure, shape; people

With this subject, there is a contrast with something else.

A very tall man wearing a big hat stood out in the crowd of people.

The large black letters on this small white sign really stand out .

Joe is so intelligent that he stands out in class.

 

4. to break down – to fail to function, to stop working properly.

Usual subjects: machines (typewriter, engine, air-conditioning);

Vehicles (car, truck, plane, train, etc).

The travelers were delayed because the bus had broken down .

It would be very regrettable if the air conditioning broke down on a very hot day.

 

5. to fall through – to fail to occur, not to happen

Usual subjects: plan, project, arrangement, agreement, contract.

If your new contract agreement falls through , the workers in your company will go on strike.

The plan for a new part fell through because no citizen wanted higher taxes.

The project is so well planned that it couldn't possibly fall through .

 

6. to get ahead – to make progress, to succeed

Usual subjects: people

Anyone can get ahead in life if he or she really tries hard.

Can a criminal get ahead by stealing money from a bank?

The dream of most politicians is to get ahead in national politics.

 

7. to get around – to travel, to move about

Usual subjects: living things (people, animals); information (news, ideas, secret, gossip)

It's difficult for a person with a broken leg to get around.

Everyone knows him well; he really gets around

How did my secret get around to all my friends so quickly?

 

8. to hold on – to wait, to pause

Usual subjects: people

This idiom is usually used in a polite command form or in indirect speech. It is commonly used when asking someone to wait on the telephone.

Please hold on ; I'll see if the doctor is in. (polite command)

I asked him to hold on before he finally left. (indirect speech)

Unusual: He held on before he left.

It is usually followed by a time expression such as “a second, a minute”.

Please hold on a second!

Cold you hold on a minute? (A question form is possible).

 

9. to open up – to talk honestly and freely; to reveal a secret.

Usual subjects: People

This idiom basically means that one doesn't hide his true feelings.

Their marriage plans fell through because neither one of them could ever open up to the other.

In court, you are expected to open up about what you know.

 

10. to come up – to arise

Usual subjects: a problem, question, issue

A serious problem came up after the project had been started.

Many questions came up about the quality of the project.

A political issue came up which embarrassed the candidate.

 

11. to break in – to interrupt (someone who is already speaking)

Usual subjects: people

While I was explaining my point of view, he broke in to argue with me.

During the regular TV programme, the newsman broke in to tell about the recent disaster.

When your teacher is speaking, you shouldn't break in .

 

12. to catch on – to finally understand

Usual subjects: people

This idiom means that someone had difficulty in understanding something, but finally was able to understand.

After two hours of trying to learn the new game, he caught on .

The lady in the back of the room repeated her question several times but I still couldn't catch on .

13. to look on – to watch, to observe, to be a spectator

Usual subjects: people

I looked upon as they tried to fix the machine which had broken down.

The shopkeeper could only look on as the armed robbers stole all of his money.

When people are playing sports, I don't enjoy looking on ; I would rather play also!

 

14. to settle down – 1) to become calm, quiet, or peaceful

2)       to begin a normal, stable life

Usual subjects: living things (people, animals)

#1 – The children settled down when their teacher entered.

The barking dogs settled down after the loud truck passed by.

#2 – Many young people are now getting steady jobs, getting married, and

settling down in their own homes.

Many people settle down in San Diego because of the fine weather.

 

15. to show up – to arrive, to appear

Usual subjects: people

This idiom is often used when someone appears somewhere late.

He finally showed up an hour late.

I hope our teacher doesn't show up so that we can leave.