Phrasal Verbs – Definitive Guide for School Exams
Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb + preposition/adverb that have a special meaning different from the original verb. They are very common in ICSE exams through fill-in-the-blanks, error correction, and transformation of sentences. This guide includes our custom lists of frequently tested phrasal verbs.
Key Points to Know
1. Learn verb + particle as a single unit (e.g. "give up" = abandon)
2. Particle can change meaning completely (put on = wear / put off = postpone/remove)
3. Separable phrasal verbs can have objects between parts: "turn it down" OR "turn down it"
4. Inseparable phrasal verbs need object after both parts: "look after him" (NOT "look him after")
1. Comprehensive Phrasal Verbs List (ICSE Focus)
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Act on/upon | affect | Smoking acted on his health. |
| Ask for | pray for/want | She asked for a favour. |
| Bring out | publish | The company brought out a new product. |
| Bring up | rear/raise | She brought up three children alone. |
| Call at/on | visit | I'll call on you this evening. |
| Call for | demand | This situation calls for immediate action. |
| Call in | send for | They called in the doctor at midnight. |
| Call out | shout | The teacher called out the names. |
| Call up | remember | That song calls up old memories. / I cannot call up his name. |
| Carry on | continue | Carry on with your work. |
| Carry out | execute/obey | They carried out the plan perfectly. |
| Come across | meet/find by chance | I came across this book yesterday. |
| Come of | be born/descend from | She comes of a noble family. |
| Come round | recover | The patient came round after surgery. |
| Cut down | reduce | We must cut down on expenses. |
| Do away with | abolish | They did away with old customs. |
| Fall out | quarrel | The brothers fell out over money. |
| Fall through | fail | Our plans fell through at the last moment. |
| Give away | distribute | He gave away all his old books. |
| Give in | surrender | They gave in after a long fight. |
| Give up | leave/abandon | Don't give up hope. |
| Go through | read/examine | Go through your notes before the exam. |
| Keep up | maintain | Keep up your good work. |
| Lay by | save | She lays by some money each month. |
| Look after | take care of | Who will look after the baby? |
| Look down upon | despise | Don't look down upon the poor. |
| Look into | investigate | The police will look into the matter. |
| Make out | understand | I can't make out what he means. |
| Make up for | compensate | Work hard to make up for lost time. |
| Pass away | die | His father passed away last year. |
| Put down | write | Put down your name here. |
| Put off | postpone | Don't put off your work till tomorrow. |
| Put on | wear | Put on your warm coat. |
| Put out | extinguish | Put out the fire before leaving. |
| Put up with | tolerate | I can't put up with this noise. |
| Run after | chase | The dog ran after the cat. |
| Run away | flee/escape | The thief ran away from the police. |
| Run over | knock down | The car ran over the stray dog. |
| Set in | begin | Winter has set in early this year. |
| Set out | start a journey | They set out at dawn. |
| Set up | establish | The government set up a new school. |
| Sit for | appear in exam | She will sit for her boards next year. |
| Take after | resemble | She takes after her mother. |
| Turn down | reject | He turned down the job offer. |
| Work out | solve | Work out this sum carefully. |
2. Additional List of Common Phrasal Verbs
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Break down | fail/stop working | The car broke down on the highway. |
| Break into | enter by force | Thieves broke into the house. |
| Break out | start suddenly (war/disease) | War broke out in 1939. |
| Break up | end (relationship/school) | They broke up after five years. |
| Build up | gradually increase | Build up your stamina slowly. |
| Come up | arise/approach | A new problem has come up. |
| Fill in | complete (form) | Fill in the application form. |
| Fill up | make completely full | Fill up the water bottle. |
| Get along | have good relations | They get along very well. |
| Get over | recover from | Get over your illness quickly. |
| Get through | pass (exam) | She got through her finals. |
| Get up | rise from bed | Get up early tomorrow. |
| Grow up | become adult | She grew up in Delhi. |
| Hand in/over | submit | Hand in your assignments. |
| Hang up | end phone call | Hang up the phone now. |
| Hold on | wait | Hold on a minute please. |
| Look forward to | await eagerly | I'm looking forward to the holidays. |
| Look up | search information | Look up the word in dictionary. |
| Pick up | collect/learn | Pick up your books. |
| Run into | meet by chance | I ran into an old friend. |
| Run out of | use completely | We ran out of milk. |
| Show off | display proudly | Don't show off your new phone. |
| Show up | arrive/appear | He never showed up for practice. |
| Take off | put off/remove (clothes) /plane leaves | Take off your shoes. |
| Take over | assume control | He took over the family business. |
| Turn up | arrive | Guess who turned up at the party! |
| Use up | finish completely | You used up all the paint. |
| Wear out | make tired/use until damaged | The long walk wore him out. |
| Work up | develop gradually | She worked up courage to speak. |
3. ICSE Exam Tips
Strategy:
1. Read entire sentence first to understand context
2. Eliminate phrasal verbs with different meanings
3. Look for context clues (time, place, result)
4. Common exam pairs: give up/away/in, put on/off/out, look after/into/down, take after/off/on
5. Memorise 50 most common (marked in bold above)
This article is drafted with AI assistance and has been structured, reviewed, and edited by Jayanta Kumar Maity, M.A. in English, Editor & Co-Founder, Englicist.
While we strive for accuracy and clarity, if you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know to improve further.