Words of the day:

1. Forfeit: lose or be deprived of (property or a right or privilege) as a penalty for wrongdoing.

(verb)
Example: He cheated on the examination so the price was forfeited.

2. Fluctuate: rise and fall irregularly in number or amount.

(Verb)
Example: Calambas population tends to fluctuate every month.

Phrasal Verbs
A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition or an adverb; the combination creates a
meaning different from the original verb alone. Phrasal verbs often have more than one meaning.

Examples:

A. I run into my crush every Saturday. (run + into = meet)

B. You dont have to run away when you are mad. (run + away = leave home)

Important: It is not advisable to memorize phrasal verbs because they have so many meanings. We should just be
familiar with the usage of each one. Meaning of a Phrasal Verb may change depending on how in used in the sentence.

The structure of a phrasal verb is:

verb + adverb

Phrasal verbs can be:

Transitive (with direct object) (The direct object of a verb is the thing being acted upon (the receiver of the action).
intransitive (no direct object)
Look at these examples of phrasal verbs:

example sentence

phrasal verb meaning direct object

transitive put of postpone We will have to put of the meeting.

turn down refuse They turned down my offer.

intransitive get up rise from bed I don't like to get up.

break down cease to function He was late because his carbroke down.

Separable phrasal verbs

When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a direct object), we can usually separate the
two parts. For example, "turn down" is a separable phrasal verb. We can say: "turn down my
offer" or "turn my offer down". Look at these example sentences:

They turned down my offer.

They turned my offer down.

However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have no choice. We must separate the phrasal verb and
insert the pronoun between the two parts. Look at these examples with the separable phrasal verb "switch on". Note
that the last one is impossible:

John switched on the radio.

John switched the radio on.
John switched it on.
John switched on it.
Separable or inseparable?
Many dictionaries tell you when a phrasal verb is separable. If a dictionary writes "look
(something) up", you know that the phrasal verb "look up" is separable, and you can say "look
something up" and "look up something".

Shown on the table below are the 200 most common Phrasal
Verbs in English:

Verb Meaning Example

ask someone out invite on a date Brian asked Judy out to dinner
and a movie.

ask around ask many people I asked around but nobody has
the same question seen my wallet.

add up to something equal Your purchases add up

to$205.32.

back something up reverse You'll have to back up your car

so that I can get out.

back someone up support My wife backed me up over my

decision to quit my job.

blow up explode The racing car blew up after it

crashed into the fence.

blow something up add air We have to blow 50

balloonsup for the party.

break down stop functioning Our car broke down at the side
(vehicle, machine) of the highway in the snowstorm.

break down get upset The woman broke down when

the police told her that her son
had died.

break somethingdown divide into smaller Our teacher broke the final
parts project down into three separate
parts.

break in force entry to a Somebody broke in last night

building and stole our stereo.

break into something enter forcibly The firemen had to break intothe
 room to rescue the children.

break something in wear something a I need to break these

few times so that it shoes inbefore we run next week.
doesn't look/feel
new

break in interrupt The TV station broke in to report

the news of the president's death.

break up end a relationship My boyfriend and I broke

upbefore I moved to America.

break up start laughing The kids just broke up as soon as

(informal) the clown started talking.

break out escape The prisoners broke out of jail

when the guards weren't looking.

break out insomething develop a skin I broke out in a rash after our
condition camping trip.

bring someone down make unhappy This sad music

is bringing medown.

bring someone up raise a child My

grandparents brought meup afte
r my parents died.

bring something up start talking about My mother walks out of the room
a subject when my father brings up sports.

bring something up vomit He drank so much that

hebrought his dinner up in the
toilet.

call around phone many We called around but we weren't

different able to find the car part we
places/people needed.

call someone back return a phone call I called the company back but
the offices were closed for the
weekend.

call something off cancel Jason called the

wedding offbecause he wasn't in
love with his fianc.

call on someone ask for an answer The professor called on me for

 or opinion question 1.

call on someone visit someone We called on you last night but

you weren't home.

call someone up phone Give me your phone number and I

will call you up when we are in
town.

calm down relax after being You are still mad. You need
angry tocalm down before you drive
the car.

not care not like (formal) I don't care for his behaviour.
forsomeone/something

catch up get to the same You'll have to run faster than that
point as someone if you want to catch upwith
else Marty.

check in arrive and register We will get the hotel keys when
at a hotel or we check in.
airport

check out leave a hotel You have to check out of the

hotel before 11:00 AM.

checksomeone/somethingout look at carefully, The company checks out all new

investigate employees.

check outsomeone/something look at (informal) Check out the crazy hair on that
guy!

cheer up become happier She cheered up when she heard

the good news.

cheer someone up make happier I brought you some flowers

tocheer you up.

chip in help If everyone chips in we can get

the kitchen painted by noon.

clean something up tidy, clean Please clean up your bedroom

before you go outside.

come acrosssomething find unexpectedly I came across these old photos

when I was tidying the closet.

come apart separate The top and bottom come

 apart if you pull hard enough.

come down withsomething become sick My nephew came down

withchicken pox this weekend.

come forward volunteer for a The woman came forwardwith

task or to give her husband's finger prints.
evidence

come fromsomewhere originate in The art of origami comes

fromAsia.

count onsomeone/something rely on I am counting on you to make

dinner while I am out.

cross something out draw a line Please cross out your old address
through and write your new one.

cut back onsomething consume less My doctor wants me to cut back

on sweets and fatty foods.

cut something down make something We had to cut the old tree in our
fall to the ground yard down after the storm.

cut in interrupt Your father cut in while I was

dancing with your uncle.

cut in pull in too closely The bus driver got angry when
in front of another that car cut in.
vehicle

cut in start operating (of The air conditioner cuts inwhen

an engine or the temperature gets to 22C.
electrical device)

cut someone off take out of a will My grandparents cut my

fatheroff when he remarried.

cut something out remove part of I cut this ad out of the

something (usually newspaper.
with scissors and
paper)

dosomeone/somethingover beat up, ransack He's lucky to be alive. His shop

(Br.E., informal) was done over by a street gang.

do something over do again (N.Amer.) My teacher wants me to do my

essay over because she doesn't
like my topic.
do away withsomething discard It's time to do away with all of
these old tax records.

do something up fasten, close Do your coat up before you go

outside. It's snowing!

dress up wear nice clothing It's a fancy restaurant so we have

to dress up.

drop back move back in a Andrea dropped back to third

position/group place when she fell off her bike.

drop in/by/over come without an I might drop in/by/over for tea

appointment sometime this week.

dropsomeone/somethingoff take I have to drop my sister off at

someone/somethin work before I come over.
g somewhere and
leave them/it there

drop out quit a class, school I dropped out of Science

etc because it was too difficult.

eat out eat at a restaurant I don't feel like cooking tonight.

Let's eat out.

end up eventually We ended up renting a movie

reach/do/decide instead of going to the theatre.

fall apart break into pieces My new dress fell apart in the
washing machine.

fall down fall to the ground The picture that you hung up last
night fell down this morning.

fall out separate from an The money must have fallen

interior out of my pocket.

fall out (of hair, teeth) His hair started to fall outwhen
become loose and he was only 35.
unattached

figure something out understand, find I need to figure out how to fit
the answer the piano and the bookshelf in this
room.

fill something in to write Please fill in the form with your

information in name, address, and phone
blanks (Br.E.) number.
fill something out to write The form must be filled out in
information in capital letters.
blanks (N.Amer.)

fill something up fill to the top I always fill the water

jug upwhen it is empty.

find out discover We don't know where he lives.

How can we find out?

find something out discover We tried to keep the time of the

party a secret, but
Samanthafound it out.

get somethingacross/over communicate, I tried to get my

make pointacross/over to the judge
understandable but she wouldn't listen.

get along/on like each other I was surprised how well my new
girlfriend and my sistergot
along/on.

get around have mobility My grandfather can get

aroundfine in his new wheelchair.

get away go on a vacation We worked so hard this year that

we had to get away for a week.

get away withsomething do without being Jason always gets away

noticed or withcheating in his maths tests.
punished

get back return We got back from our vacation

last week.

get something back receive something Liz finally got her Science
you had before notesback from my room-mate.

get back at someone retaliate, take My sister got back at me for

revenge stealing her shoes. She stole my
favourite hat.

get back intosomething become interested I finally got back into my novel
in something again and finished it.

get on something step onto a vehicle We're going to freeze out here if
you don't let us get on the bus.

get over something recover from an I just got over the flu and now
 illness, loss, my sister has it.
difficulty

Phrasal Verbs Quiz

1. Would you _______________ my dog for me this weekend?
A. look
B. look after
C. look up

2. My neighbor _______ eggs yesterday.

A. ran
B. ran out of
c. ran into

3. I ____________ my leg at my baseball game.

A. broke
B. broke down
C. broke off

4. Our boss ___________ our meeting until next week.

A. put
B. put off
C. put down

5. Could you ____________ the music while I'm on the phone.

A. turn
B. turn off
C. turn around

6. I don't ______________ my new Science teacher.

A. get up
B. get on with
C. get over

7. I ______________ meeting your new girlfriend.

A. look
B. look up
C. look forward to

8. My car ___________ on the highway today.

A. broke down
B. broke off
C. broke away

9. It will be easier to read if you ____________ the lights.

A. switch
B. switch on
C. switch over
10. I have to ___________ to the finish line and back.
A. run away
B. Run out of
C. run

Preposition
EXAMPLES OF PREPOSITION
about by outside according to
above down over because of
across during since by way of
after except through in addition to
against for throughout in front of
around from till in place of
at in to in regard to
before inside toward in spite of
behind into under instead of
below like until on account of
beneath near up out of
beside of upon

besides off with

between on without

beyond out

A preposition describes a relationship between other words in a sentence.

Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in

We use at to designate specific times.
The train is due at 12:15 p.m.
We use on to designate days and dates.
My brother is coming on Monday.
We're having a party on the Fourth of July.

We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.

She likes to jog in the morning.
It's too cold in winter to run outside.
He started the job in 1971.
He's going to quit in August.

Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in

We use at for specific addresses.

Grammar English lives at 55 Boretz Road in Durham.

We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, etc.

Her house is on Boretz Road.

And we use in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
She lives in Durham.
Durham is in Windham County.
Windham County is in Connecticut.

Prepositions of Movement: to
and No Preposition

We use to in order to express movement toward a place.

They were driving to work together.
She's going to the dentist's office this morning.

Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. These are simply variant spellings
of the same word; use whichever sounds better to you.
We're moving toward the light.
This is a big step towards the project's completion.
With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition.
Grandma went upstairs
Grandpa went home.
They both went outside.

Prepositions of Time: for and since

We use for when we measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years).
He held his breath for seven minutes.
She's lived there for seven years.
The British and Irish have been quarreling for seven centuries.

We use since with a specific date or time.

He's worked here since 1970.
She's been sitting in the waiting room since two-thirty.

Unnecessary Prepositions

In everyday speech, we fall into some bad habits, using prepositions where they are not necessary. It
would be a good idea to eliminate these words altogether, but we must be especially careful not to use them
in formal, academic prose.

She met up with the new coach in the hallway.

The book fell off of the desk.

He threw the book out of the window.

She wouldn't let the cat inside of the house. [or use "in"]

Where did they go to?

Put the lamp in back of the couch. [use "behind" instead]

Where is your college at?

 PREPOSITIONS OF TIME

PREPOSITION USE EXAMPLES

in months in July; in September
year in 1985; in 1999
seasons in summer; in the summer of 69
in
in the morning; in the afternoon; in the
part of the day
evening
duration in a minute; in two weeks
part of the day at night
time of day at 6 o'clock; at midnight
at
celebrations at Christmas; at Easter
fixed phrases at the same time
days of the week on Sunday; on Friday
date on the 25th of December*
on on Good Friday; on Easter Sunday; on my
special holidays
birthday
a special part of a day on the morning of September the 11th*
after later than sth. after school
ago how far sth. happened (in the 6 years ago
past)
before earlier than sth. before Christmas
between time that separates two points between Monday and Friday
by not later than a special time by Thursday
 through the whole of a
during during the holidays
period of time
for period of time for three weeks
from Monday to Wednesday
from ... to from...
two points form a period from Monday till Wednesday
till/until
from Monday until Wednesday
past time of the day 23 minutes past 6 (6:23)
since point of time since Monday
till tomorrow
till/until no later than a special time
until tomorrow
to time of the day 23 minutes to 6 (5:37)
up to not more than a special time up to 6 hours a day
within during a period of time within a day

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE AND MOVEMENT

PREPOSITION USE EXAMPLES

above higher than sth. The picture hangs above my bed.
across from one side to the other There is a bridge across the river.
after one follows the other The cat ran after the dog.
along in a line; from one point to another They're walking along the beach.
among in a group I like being among people.
around in a circular way We're sitting around the campfire.
behind at the back of Our house is behind the supermarket.
below lower than sth. Death Valley is 86 metres below sea
level.
beside next to Our house is beside the supermarket.
Our house is between the supermarket
between sth./sb. is on each side
and the school.
by near He lives in the house by the river.
close to near Our house is close to the supermarket.
down from high to low He came down the hill.
from the place where it starts Do you come from Tokyo?
in front of facing sth./sb. Our house is in front of the
supermarket.
inside opposite of outside You shouldn't stay inside the castle.
into entering sth. You shouldn't go into the castle.
near close to Our house is near the supermarket.
 next to beside Our house is next to the supermarket.
off away from sth. The cat jumped off the roof.
onto moving to a place The cat jumped onto the roof.
opposite on the other side Our house is opposite the supermarket.
out of leaving sth. The cat jumped out of the window.
outside opposite of inside Can you wait outside?
over above sth./sb. The cat jumped over the wall.
past going near sth./sb. Go past the post office.
through going from one point to the other You shouldn't walk through the forest.
I like going to
to towards sth./sb. Australia. Can you
come to me? I've
never been to Africa.
towards in the direction of sth. We ran towards the castle.
under below sth. The cat is under the table.
up from low to high He went up the hill.

Preposition Exercise 1
Write the proper preposition on each number such as in, at, to or x if no preposition needed.

1. He lives _________ Zielona Gora.

2. She went _________ home.

3. Piotrek works _________ Grow Wlkp.

4. He went _________ his friend's house.

5. She arrived _________ Manchester for the celebrations.

6. I'm going to stay _________ home this weekend.

7. Joanna works _________ the hospital.

8. Why don't we go _________ the movies tonight?

9. I'm going to see Hania _________ France this summer.

10. I arrived _________ work early this morning.

11. She came home _________ early.

12. We stayed _________ the Mieszko Hotel.

13. They visited _________ England last summer.

14. She's going to travel _________ Finland this summer.

15. I'll be _________ school later today.

Preposition Exercises 2
Write the proper preposition such as for, while, or during.

1. He's been working _________ three weeks.

2. I fell asleep _________ the film.

3. Did you see Donata _________ your holiday?

4. We talked _________ an hour.

5. He watched TV _________ I cooked.

6. _________our stay in London, we visited a lot of museums.

7. What did you do _________ you were in London?

8. I think I need to study Polish_________ a few months before I go there.

9. I came up with a great idea _________ I was thinking about my class.

10. They drove through the countryside _________ they were staying in France.

11. He was out of work _________ six months before he found a new job.
12. I broke my finger _________ I was playing squash.

13. Please, don't interrupt the teacher _________ he is speaking.

14. Magda broke into tears _________ the film.

15. Could you hold on _________ a few moments?