Practical Activities with Phrasal Verbs for B2/C1 students – EPISODE 3

As you know Phrasal Verbs play a major role in language learning. This time we are going to focus on the following 10 Phrasal Verbs: WORK OUT TO – TUCK IN – SWING BY – ROUGH UP – PULL THROUGH – DRESS DOWN – MISS OUT ON – COME INTO – SNEAK AWAY – LUCK OUT

I – Meaning/Explanation of the Phrasal Verbs + Example Sentences

1. Work out to: amount to; reach a total

Ex.: “The rent plus utilities work out to about two thousand dollars.”, said Bill to a friend.

2. Tuck in: a. put someone, esp. a child, to bed, making sure they are warm and comfortable

Ex.: “I think Billy has fallen asleep, honey. Can you tuck him in?”, Alice asked her husband.

b. push the end of a shirt or T-shirt inside the pants

Ex.: “You will make a better impression if you tuck your shirt in.”, Margaret told Josh.

c. (informal) eat up

Ex.: “I was so hungry I tucked in a huge bag of chip potatoes alone.”, said Jeff to a friend.

3. Swing by: visit a person or place briefly

Ex.: “I talked to Terry on the phone just now. He said he would swing by later.”, Mick told Charlie.

4. Rough up:beat up; attack someone physically

Ex.: The gangsters told Mr. Robinson that if he didn´t cooperate they would have to rough him up.

5. Pull through: survive a dangerous or difficult situation, such as an accident, a disease, etc.

Ex.: “The doctors didn´t think that car crash victim would survive, but fortunately he somehow pulled through.”, said Hank to a friend.

6. Dress down: wear plain or simple clothes; dress informally

Ex.: “I wish I could dress down in old ripped jeans and a T-shirt. I feel a lot more comfortable like that.”, Jim told a coworker.

7. Miss out on: fail to take advantage of an opportunity, etc.

Ex.: “I think we missed out on a great sale. Everything was fifty per cent off.”, said Thelma to her husband.

8.Come into: inherit; receive money or property from someone who has died

Ex.: Jefferson came into a fortune when he inherited his father´s estate.

9. Sneak away: leave a place quietly and in secret

Ex.: “This lecture is so dull! I´ll try to sneak away as soon as I can.”, said William to a classmate.

10. Luck out: be lucky or fortunate; experience good luck in a situation

Ex.: “You seem to have lucked out investing in the stock market. The shares you bought have been doing great.”, Murray told Nick.

II – Exercise 1: Fill in the short dialogues below with phrasal verbs

Mini-dialogue 1

Doug:There´s something I need to talk to you about.
Wayne: Uh, I´m kind of busy right now, but I can ____________ your office later.
Doug: That would be perfect. I´ll see you later then.
Wayne: Sure Doug, bye!

Mini-dialogue 2

Sheena: This party is so boring.
Jake: You can say that again! What do you say we just ______________?
Sheena: Sneak away? Don´t you think we´d be missed?
Jake: Honestly? I don´t think anyone would care or even notice it.

Mini-dialogue 3

Thomas: How´s your dish?
Will: Honestly? Not as good as I thought it would be. How about yours?
Thomas: It´s delicious! I guess I ______________ when I ordered the lamb.
Will: I´m sure you did!

Mini-dialogue 4

Fred: So, I heard you went to a luxurious pub last night. Did you have a good time?
Tony: We did! It´s a great place. I´d never been there and I have to tell you, they do have some fancy drinks at this place.
Fred: Really? You guys must have paid top dollar then.
Tony: Uh, yeah, a little pricy, but worth it. The bill ______________ about two hundred and seventy dollars. Not that bad when you split it four ways!
Fred: That´s right! Let me know when you´re planning to go there again. I´m looking forward to a fancy drink in a new place.
Tony: Sure Fred! I will.

Mini-dialogue 5

Derek: Have you heard the news? Roger is a rich man now!
Pamella: Are you kidding? I heard he was struggling to just make ends meet. How can he have gone from rags to riches in no time?
Derek: I´ll tell you how: he ____________ a fortune! An old aunt of his passed away last week and left him all her money and properties.
Pamella: Seriously? Wow, what a lucky guy!

III – Exercise 2: Click the link below to listen to the phrasal verb sentences and write them.

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IV – KEY TO EXERCISES

Exercise 1: Fill in the short dialogues below with phrasal verbs

Mini-dialogue 1: swing by
Mini-dialogue 2: sneak away
Mini-dialogue 3: lucked out
Mini-dialogue 4: worked out to
Mini-dialogue 5: came into

Exercise 2: Listen to the phrasal verb sentences and write them

1. Some demonstrators accused police officers of roughing them up.
2. Jason often tucks his daughter in and reads her a bedtime story until she falls asleep.
3. “Then environment at this company is pretty informal, so don´t be afraid to dress down.”, said Richard to a new coworker.
4. “Too bad you missed out on that great opportunity. You´d better keep your eyes open next time.”, said Howard to a friend
5. After spending a week in the ICU of a Boston hospital, the victims of the car accident fortunately pulled through.

Source: FALE TUDO EM INGLÊS AVANÇADO – Author: José Roberto A. Igreja / Disal Editora