Answers for the previous exercise: 1-a), 2- i), 3-e), 4-f), 5-d), 6-j), 7- c), 8-h), 9- g), 10-b)

Hello again!

I hope you’ve had a good week! Last time we talked about money and I really hope you’re saving up yours for Christmas shopping soon to come.

However, until then, we need to stay on track with our business English lessons.

cartoonbeToday we’re going to talk about phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs, also called multi word verbs, are a combination of verb + particle. The problem is that the combination has a different meaning than the verb itself, so we need to learn phrasal verbs as we’d learn new words.

Phrasal verbs are very common in business discussions and today I’ve chosen a few of the most common ones.

Let’s get started!

  • to back (someone) up = to support
  • to call (something) off = to cancel
  • to check (someone/something) out = to look at carefully, investigate
  • to chip in (also to pitch in) = to help
  • to come across = to find unexpectedly
  • to cut back on   = to consume less
  • to do (something) over = to do again
  • to do away with = to discard; to put an end to
  • to figure (something) out = to understand; to find the answer
  • to give up = to stop trying
  • to go against = to compete; oppose
  • to go over = to review
  • to hand (something) in = to submit (a report, a paper, etc)
  • to look forward to = to be excited about something in the future
  • to look into = to investigate
  • to put (something) off = to postpone
  • to set (something) up = to arrange; organize
  • to shop around                = to compare prices
  • to sort (something) out               = to organize or resolve a problem
  • to turn (something) down = reject and offer
  • to try (something) out = to test or use something experimentally
  • to use (something) up = to finish the supply

I hope you’ve remembered the meanings of each verb. Since practice makes perfect, here’s an exercise to practice on:

  1. Thanks for ………..up in the meeting.
  2. We should bid low on this one. They always………
  3. Management is going …………because so many people are out sick today.
  4. I was reading last night and I ……………a couple of phrasal verbs I had never seen before.
  5. We should be able to finish quickly if everyone……………
  6. I can’t believe I closed the document without saving. Now I’m going to have………..
  7. It’s a tough economy. We’re trying ………unnecessary expenses.
  8. I …………….why the printer isn’t working. I’ve tried everything, and it still won’t work.
  9. They ……….with bonuses last year because their profits were so low.
  10. I’m not sure why the copier isn’t working. I’ll …………….
  11. We ……….three or four other contractors. Be sure to bid low.
  12. I want …………last month’s numbers with you.
  13. I can’t believe it’s only May and ……….all my sick days already.
  14. Please ………some ways we can cut costs. Every penny counts.
  15. They …………….our proposal.
  16. I’ ……….an extended weekend next week
  17.  I forgot ……………my expense reports. Now I won’t get reimbursed until next month.
  18. Just because we failed the first time doesn’t mean we should………. We just need to change a few things.
  19. There was some confusion with the new work schedule. No one is sure who works on Sunday. We’re calling a meeting to…………..
  20. I haven’t done my taxes yet. I …………for a long time.
  21. We’re going to ………for a few weeks and let you know what we think. If we like it, we’ll place an order.
  22. I’ll …………the conference call and send you an invite.

Raspunsuri:

1- backing me 2- shop around 3 – to call the meeting off 4 – came across 5 – pitches in 6- to do the whole thing over 7 – to cut back on 8 – can’t figure out 9- did away 10- check it out. 11 – ‘re going against 12 – to go over 13 – I’ve used up 14 – look into 15 – turned down 16-  ‘m really looking forward to having 17- to hand in 18 – give up 19 – sort it out 20 – ‘ve been putting it off 21 – try it out 22 – set up

Sursa foto aici.

Autor:

Laura Sîrbu este absolventă a Facultăţii de Litere din cadrul Universităţii Bucureşti, specializarea Română – Engleză. Tot în cadrul Universităţii, ea a absolvit masteratul „Studii Americane”, organizat la Facultatea de Limbi şi Literaturi Străine.

Laura deţine autorizaţie de traducător pentru limba engleză şi atestatul lingvistic „Cambridge Proficiency Certificate.”

Laura a participat la numeroase workshop-uri şi are cunoştinţe solide în ceea ce priveşte studiile culturale, antropologia şi multiculturalismul.

În cadrul Centrului de Limbi Străine A_BEST, Laura susţine cursuri de pregătire pentru examenele CAE (Cambridge Advanced English) şi IELTS, pe lângă cursurile de limba engleză şi limba română pentru străini din cadrul companiilor.