In this article you will learn:
- Phrasal Verbs
- Prepositional Verbs
- Particle Verbs
- Important Phrasal Verbs for Competitive Exams
Exam Connect:
Important Phrasal Verbs are one of the most integral parts of the verbal ability section of English for Entrance Exams. Usually, a candidate gets a sentence where he/ she has to fill in the appropriate Phrasal Verb. Questions appear in the forms of:
- Fill in the blanks
- Choose the right Option
Phrasal Verbs
A Phrasal Verb is a phrase constructed around a verb, that gives a different meaning than the individual parts of it. Important Phrasal Verbs contain two or three words, ideally a verb and a particle such as a preposition or an adverb. Consider the following sentence:
- I ran into an old friend on the way here.
In the above-given sentence, the phrasal verb is ran into. It contains a verb and a particle and has a meaning that is different from its individual parts. It does not mean that the person “ran” into an old friend, but just that he/she met an old friend unexpectedly.
Prepositional Verbs
Phrasal verbs that include a preposition are known as prepositional verbs. An example of one of these Important Phrasal Verbs is given below:
- Mina looks after her neighbor’s dog when he goes on vacation.
Here, the prepositional verb is looks after. It is a phrase that contains a verb and a preposition. Here the sentence does not mean that Mina literally looks at the dog, but instead, it means that she “takes care” of the dog for her neighbour when he goes on vacation.
Particle Verbs
Phrasal verbs that include a particle are also known as particle verbs. An example of one of these Important Phrasal Verbs is given below:
- Raj was just heading out when he met Simran at the door.
Here, the particle verb is looks after. It is a phrase that contains a verb and a particle. Here the phrase means that Raj was “going out” when he met Simran at the door. It does not have anything to do with him using his head!
Important Phrasal Verbs for Competitive Exams
Important Phrasal Verbs along with their meanings that are often asked in competitive exams are given below in the box:
| Important Phrasal Verbs | Meaning | Example |
| Account for | To explain the reason for | The government should account for everything that is happening in the country. |
| Ask after | To make inquiries about the health of someone | Riya asked after Shyam, who had met with an accident the previous week. |
| Back out | To withdraw from something before completion/to fail to keep a promise | She backed out of studying Important Phrasal Verbs at the last minute. |
| Break down | To stop working | My computer broke down yesterday night. |
| Break out | To start suddenly(disease, war, taken up to, etc) | The fire broke out in the kitchen. |
| Bring on | To cause to happen | Gandhi brought on a major change in the method of protest against the British. |
| Bring up | To raise/ to rear/ to increase | I was brought up by my grandparents. |
| Call on | To visit a person | Varna called on her yesterday. |
| Call off | To cancel | They are thinking about calling off the wedding. |
| Come across | To find (unexpectedly) or meet by chance | I came across the book yesterday at the store. |
| Count on | To depend on, to rely on | Ravi was counting on Important Phrasal Verbs questions of the exam to score some marks. |
| Deal with | To handle | I cannot deal with the office work right now. |
| Die out | To get extinct | The fire died out after some time. |
| Figure out | To understand | I couldn’t figure out what was happening. |
| Get away with | To do something wrong or illegal without getting caught or punished | He got away with the murder so easily. |
| Give away | To distribute, to reveal, to betray | I heard that the president is giving away the prizes. |
| Give up | To leave, to stop doing something/to yield | Giving up is not an option in a competition. |
| Keep up | To maintain | Keeping up with the news is difficult to do. |
| Let someone down | To disappoint someone | I do not want to let down my parents. |
| Live upto | To live or act in accordance with | I want to live up toverbs the expectations of my parents. |
| Look after | Take care of | I can look after the baby for a short while. |
| Look forward to | Expect with pleasure | I look forward to meeting your parents. |
| Look into | Investigate | I will look into who drew the graffiti on the wall. |
| Makeover | Convert, redo, renovate | Riya needs a complete makeover. |
| Move on | To concentrate one’s other matter in recovering from a setback or difficulty | I need to move on from the last term marks. |
| Pass away | To die | My grandmother passed away in March. |
| Put off | To postpone/ to repel ( as from bad manners) | I want to put off the exams as much as possible. |
| Run into | Transform into/amount upto/to face/to meet by chance | I ran into an old friend at the market yesterday. |
| See off | To take leave of | I will see you off at the gate. |
| Send for | To call, summon | The headmaster has sent for Vinaya. |
| Step down | To resign from a high post | Vimal decided to step down from the post of CEO. |
| Step in | To intervene | I think I will have to step in for Madhur. |
| Taken aback | To be surprised | I was taken aback by Neha’s sudden change of mood. |
| Take after | To resemble a close, older relative | I take after my mother. |
| Take over | To take responsibility for or control of | Raghu took over the post of CEO after Vimal stepped down. |
| Turn down | To refuse or reject | I turned down his offer to give me a lift. |
Important Phrasal Verbs Practice Test
Fill in the following sentences with appropriate phrasal verbs:
1. _________ the doctor immediately.
- Call in B) Call on C) Call at D) None of the Above
Answer: A
Explanation: Call in is one of the important phrasal verbs which means “bring in”.
2.Priya ___________us yesterday.
- Called in B) Called on C) Called out D) None of the Above
Answer: B
Explanation: Called on is one of the important phrasal verbs which means “visited”.
3. Vishnu’s grandmother cannot __________ past events.
- Bring up B) Bring out C) Call up D) None of the Above
Answer: C
Explanation: Call up is one of the important phrasal verbs which means “remember”.
4. Riya was _________ by her grandparents.
- Brought out B) Brought up C) Brought about D) None of the Above
Answer: B
Explanation: Brought up is one of the important phrasal verbs which means “raising someone”.
5. Mukesh Ambani is _______.
- Well off B) Well in C) Well of D) None of the Above
Answer: A
Explanation: Well off is one of the important phrasal verbs which means “rich”.
English for Entrance Exams is generally an easy section for any entrance examinations, but the grammar part of it has always confused exam takers. Questions of the section conduct tests about the in-depth knowledge of a student in using the English Language. Hope this article was helpful to you in understanding the Important Phrasal Verbs section of entrance exams. All the best!
