Lexique de ‘Phrasal Verbs’ de M au Z
Les verbes qui servent de plusieurs mots
'M' Phrasal Verbs
To make out: to manage to hear, see or read something with difficulty
Ex: His handwriting is so bad that I can’t make out what he’s written on the report!
To make up: to invent a story or an excuse
Ex: He’s always making up excuses to explain why he is late in the mornings; the truth is that he get up late!
To make up for: to make a bad experience or a loss better (FR: compenser)
Ex: Our manager took us to a very nice restaurant to make up for asking us to work last weekend
'P' Phrasal Verbs
To pay back: to give back money you have borrowed from someone (Ex: rembourser)
Ex: I borrowed 100€ from my friend last week and I paid it back as soon as possible
To pay off: to complete payment on a debt; to be profitable or successful after a period of time
Ex1: We hope to pay off all our bank loans next year
Ex2: All his hard work and dedication to the company paid off when he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer
To pick out: to choose from a group of people or things
Ex: He was picked out to represent his company at the conference
To pick up: to collect someone by car (1)
Ex: They sent a car to pick me up from the airport and take me to my hotel
To pick up: to lift (2)
Ex: The job is tiring as it involves picking up heavy objects and placing them on shelves
To pick up: to increase (3)
Ex: Following a disappointing first quarter, sales began to pick up again in May
To put forward: to propose
Ex: Sophia was put forward for election to board of directors
To put off: to postpone
Ex: Tomorrow’s meeting has been put off till next Monday because most of the attendees are ill
To put up: to raise
Ex: The government announced they plan to put up the taxes next year and a lot of people are protesting
To put up with: to tolerate
Ex: HR warned Paul that they will not put up with him being late any longer – if he’ s late once more, he’ll be fired
'R' Phrasal Verbs
To run into: to see or meet someone unexpectedly (1)
Ex: When I was in Paris, I ran into my old boss at a restaurant! I hadn’t seen him in 10 years
To run into: to face problems you didn’t expect (2)
Ex: Unfortunately the project ran into financial problems and this caused long delays
To run out of: to have no more of something
Ex: ‘We’ve run out of coffee – can you buy some when you go shopping please?’
'S' Phrasal Verbs
To see about: to arrange for something to be done or provided
Ex: The IT technician said he would see about getting me a better laptop because the one I’m using now is really slow
To see to: to deal with something
Ex: I asked my assistant to see to my accommodation for the trip to Rome
To set aside: to reserve (money, time etc)
Ex: The Christmas party is going to be very expensive this year but we’ve set aside enough money to pay for it
To set off: to begin a journey
Ex: As long as I set off before 8 am, I can be at the office in 20 minutes
To set out: to begin work with a particular aim in mind
A: I heard that the new boss has set out to cut costs immediately
To set up: to establish
Ex: My son graduated from Business school in June and he’s setting up a sports equipment company
To stand for: to represent, to mean (1)
Ex: CSR stands for Corporate Social Responsibility
To stand for: to accept, to tolerate (used in negative sentences) (2)
Ex: I won’t stand for any fighting within the team
To stand out: to be better or more noticeable from other similar things / people
Ex: His CV stood out from all the CVs we received for the job position
To stand up for: to defend or support someone strongly
Ex: When our manager was accused of stealing from the company, we all stood up for him as we knew he was an honest man
'T' Phrasal Verbs
To take in: to understand
Ex2: The audience was really interested in the presentation and took in every word.
To take off: to start to improve (1)
Ex: After a disappointing start to the year, sales took off in the second trimester so we should make a good profit
To take off: to leave the ground (2)
Ex1: ‘Although the flight was supposed to leave at noon, the plane didn’t take off until 1.30!’
To take on: to accept to do (1)
Ex: The boss expects us to take on more work when our colleagues are on holiday
To take on: to employ (2)
Ex: Amazon always takes on more staff during Christmas
To take up: to start a hobby
Ex: He was feeling stressed so I suggested he take up a hobby like playing golf
To tear down: to demolish a building
Ex: The council has decided to tear down the old hospital and build a shopping centre in its place
To tear up: to destroy something by cutting it in small pieces
Ex: He was so angry with the customer that he tore up the contract!
To think over: to consider something carefully before making a decision
Ex: I suggested a new process and my manager said he would think it over before deciding whether to use it or not
To think through: to consider all the possible effects or consequences of something
Ex: The company hasn’t thought through the consequences of outsourcing the customer service department to India
To throw away: to put something in the rubbish (1)
Ex: My pen was broken so I threw it away
To throw away: to waste a chance or opportunity (2)
Ex: When he refused the promotion to CEO he threw away the opportunity of a lifetime
To throw up: to vomit
Ex: I ate some raw chicken by mistake and spent the evening throwing up
To try on: to wear something in order to check if the size, colour etc. is right
Ex: We advise customers to try on shoes before buying them as we don’t accept returns
To try out: to test something in order to see how effective or useful it is
Ex: Some people don’t like the new financial software we are trying out at the moment
To turn around: to become or to make something successful after a period of failure
Ex: The new finance minister promise to turn the economy around in two years
To turn down: to refuse or reject (1)
Ex: His application for the position of assistant to the Directors was turned down
To turn down: to lower (2)
Ex: ‘Can you turn down the ringer on your mobile please? It’s very loud!’
To turn into: to be transformed into
Ex: The meeting about the budget for the project turned into a big fight between the two project managers
To turn off: to stop heat, power or water being produced by something
Ex: You should always turn off the light when you leave the office
To turn on: to cause heat, power or water to be produced by something
Ex: It’s quite cold in here – let’s turn on the heating
To turn out: to prove to be
Ex: Although nobody knew at the time, it turned out that when he left the company, he went to work for our main competitor
To turn up: to arrive unexpectedly
Ex: I was so stressed about my interview that I turned up at the company three hours early!!