Phrasal Verbs (advanced) Hopefully the price of that car will come down and I

will be able to buy it.

Be not on – to not be acceptable.
Come through (something) – to survive a difficult
It is not on that Jason always turns up late. period in one’s life.
The referee keeps giving their team cheap free kicks. The pandemic was a difficult time for him, but
That’s not on. somehow he came through it.
Be through (with something) – to be tired or bored Max is sick and in hospital, but the doctor is confident
with an activity. he will come through.
I am through with this computer game tournament. Fall apart – to be destroyed
See you guys tomorrow.
After his wife left him, his life fell apart.
He was through with the pressure of his job, so he
quit. Thankfully, the world didn’t fall apart, and things
started to get better.
Be up to (something) – be doing something wrong or
bad. Task 1: Multiple Choice Questions

Emma thinks that her boyfriend is up to something. 1. The aim of anarchists is for the entire system
of society to …
We thought that our neighbour was up to something a) clear off
because we kept seeing suspicious people coming and b) fall apart
going. c) be through
Call (someone) out – to make it known that someone d) come about
is cheating. 2. There were times when Matthew thought
that he ____________ with his training
Jack has been stealing money from the company for regime, but thanks to his resolve he kept at it
some time now, so I’m calling him out. and achieved his goals.
You treat your partner badly so I’m calling you out. a) was up to
Do better. b) came about
c) called out
Call in – to make a short visit d) was through
3. Yesterday I went to the bank and at least five
I will call in after work.
people cut into the queue instead of joining at
David sometimes calls in on Saturdays. the back. That ___________.
a) is not on
Clear off – to leave somewhere quickly.
b) calls out
His friend was annoying him, so he told him to clear c) clears off
off. d) comes down
4. That divorce was always going to
When the police arrived wearing riot gear, the
_____________. Mark and Leanne were
hooligans cleared off in an instant.
always fighting after she discovered he had
Come about – to happen been cheating on her.
a) come through
I never envisaged an event like a worldwide pandemic b) call out
coming about, even though there were signs with the c) call in
Zika virus and SARS. d) come about
Just when he least expected it, some good fortune 5. It is important to ______________ bullies
came about. wherever bullying occurs, because it is not on.
a) fall apart
Come down – to decrease b) be up to
The value of the dollar has come down in recent c) call out
weeks. d) be through
6. The reason why Amanda was going through 13. The police could tell from the man’s agitated
his social media accounts was because she and suspicious behaviour that he
thought he _____________ something. _______________ something.
a) was up to a) was up to
b) called out b) called out
c) came about c) came through
d) was through d) was through
7. Everyone fancied Arsenal to win the league 14. If you don’t start making an effort now, all the
this season, but as in previous years, they hard work that you put into the first part of
_______________ at crunch time. the year _______________.
a) have come through a) will call out
b) have fallen apart b) will come down
c) have cleared off c) will come about
d) have come down d) will fall apart
8. That was a tough game for Djokovic, but he 15. The mayor promised to improve the roads but
still _____________ with a win in five sets. after two years in power we haven’t seen any
a) fell apart improvement whatsoever. It ____________ to
b) came through commit yourself to a plan of action and then
c) was up to fail to deliver.
d) called in a) is not on
9. If he can leave work early this afternoon, Neil b) is up to
is going to _____________ at the gym on his c) comes through
way back home. d) calls in
a) call in /15
b) be through
Exercise 2: Cloze Exercise
c) come about
d) come down Fill in the gaps with one of the phrasal verbs
10. I know that it was not meant as an insult, but
making jokes about his family It is true that the time of the pandemic was extremely
______________. demanding and that (without wanting to sound too
a) was up to dramatic) our way of life _____________(1). Indeed,
b) came through everyone was waiting for the worrying statistics of
c) fell apart deaths to ____________(2), so they could
d) was not on ______________(3) at their friend’s house instead of
11. Rebecca loves having her family round to having to isolate all the time.
celebrate, but when her cousins stayed the During most the pandemic the Prime Minister was
entire weekend, she was hoping that they Boris Johnson, the Conservative leader. He actually
would ____________. caught COVID-19, and after a long battle with the
a) be not on illness he finally ____________(4) thanks to the
b) come down efforts of the medical professionals. However, people
c) call out started to ____________ him ____________(5) on
d) clear off breaking the laws he had made on social distancing.
12. Everyone thought that he would be a terrible They said that it _______________(6) that he had
leader and that the company been seen drinking with colleagues at a party,
_________________, but he actually boosted especially when many ordinary British people had
our profits and opened up new markets. been dutifully respecting the laws he had put in place,
a) would be through even in cases where they could not attend funerals.
b) would clear off Eventually, it _______________(7) that Boris had to
c) would fall apart resign from his position under immense pressure
d) would be up to from his own party and from the press.

Generally, the British people didn’t pay much

attention to the mask mandates, and many people
________________ (8) with wearing masks by early
2021. There was also a lot of paranoia that the
government _______________ (9) something by
instituting so many laws restricting people’s
movement and by ordering numerous lockdowns.
Also, while Boris Johnson was a popular leader with
just over the majority of the British public, about 40%
of the population wanted him to
_______________(10), especially after various
allegations of deception occurred, plus the revelations
that he had broken the laws he instituted.

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Task C: Writing

Write your own original work using some of the

phrasal verbs studied in this class. (150 words)
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