FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and the adverb back

FOCUS ON phrasal verbs and the adverb back

The adverb back is sometimes used with phrasal verbs to mean again. The follow­ing sentences have the same meaning:

We got together again. We got back together.

Back is always placed directly before the particle. When back is used with separa­ble phrasal verbs, the object must separate the verb and particle, and back must be placed between the object and the particle:

put the engine back together. I put back together the engine.

Do not confuse the adverb back, which modifies phrasal verbs, with the particle back that is part of some phrasal verbs (and has the same meaning of again).

get together (with) p.v. When two people get together, they meet and spend time together. When you get together with someone, you meet and spend time with

that person. When a man and woman resume a relationship after separating, they get back together.

If you're not busy tomorrow night, would you like to get together?

We're going to get together with Bill and Nancy tomorrow.

Judy and Sam had separated, but now they've gotten back together.

get-together n. An informal gathering is a get-together.

I'm having a little get-together tonight. Would you like to come?

get... together p.v. When you get things together, you collect them so they are in the same place.

You should get all your tools together so you will have them when you need them.

Linda got all her tax records together to show to her accountant.

get... together p.v. [informal] When you get yourself together, or get it together, you gain control of your emotions after you have become upset or emotional.

Bob was very upset before the party, but he got it together before the guests came.

Hey, get yourself together! Everyone is watching you.

go over (to) p.v. When people move from where you are to a place, thing, or person that is farther away from you, they go over or go over to that place, thing, or person.

I'm busy. Go over there and stop bothering me.

I was hot, so Maria went over to the window and opened it.

go over (to) p.v. When you go to someone's house for a visit, you go over or go over to that person's house.

Have you gone over to Nicole's house to see her new baby yet?

I went over to Erik's for dinner last night.

go over p.v. When you carefully read or review important written material, you go over it.

Here's a magazine article I just finished writing. Go over it and tell me what you think.

The actor went over his lines before the audition.

going-over n. When you examine or inspect something carefully, you give it a going-over.

I gave his report a good going-over and found a lot of mistakes.

go over p.v. When you carefully explain something, usually something that is complicated but important, you go over it.

Before the trial Hank and his lawyer went over what Hank was going to say.

No one understood the manager's plan after he explained it, so he went back over it.

go over p.v. When an idea, suggestion, or performance is accepted and liked by other people, it goes over.

Senator Dolittle's plan to raise taxes didn't go over with the voters.

The sinaer's performance went over well with the critics.

go up (to) p.v. When you move to a higher level or position, or from south to north, you go up or go up to that place. Go down is the opposite of go up.

Suzie came down from her tree house to eat lunch, but she went back up after she finished.

I spend the winters in Mexico, and go up to my home in Ohio in the summer.

go up (to) p.v. When the cost, rate, quality, quantity, or level of something increases, it goes up. Go down is the opposite of go up.

The price of gas hasn't gone up in two years.

In the summer the temperature in Saudi Arabia can go up to 125 degrees.

go up (to) p.v. When a schedule or plan ends at a certain time or date, the schedule or plan goes up to that time or date.

Do you have the new schedule? This one goes up only to the end of April.

The teacher gave the students a syllabus that went up to the midterm.

go up (to) p.v. When something extends to a certain point that is farther north or at a higher elevation, it goes up to that point. Go down is the opposite of go up.

This trail went up to the base camp at the foot of the mountain.

Interstate 5 goes up to Seattle.

go up (to) p.v. When you approach a person, you go up to that person.

There's Sarah, Go up and introduce yourself.

Janice isn't shy - she went right up to the president of the company and asked for a raise.

let in on

let... in on p.v. When you tell people information that is secret or not widely known, you let that person in on the information.

General Chambers let me in on the top secret information.

I'm going to let you In on something not many people know about me.

Infinitive

present tense -ing form past tense past participle

open up

open up & opens up opening up opened up opened up

open ...up p.v. When you open something up, you reveal what is inside so that people can see it.

Sofia opened the box up and looked inside.

Mike's going to open up his computer to try to find the problem.

open ... up p.v. When you open a room or building up, you unlock or open the doors so that people can enter.

The office closes at 12:00 for lunch and opens back up at

The manager was late and didn't open up the store until 10:30.

open ... up p.v. When a new business starts, it opens up or is opened up by someone.

was driving through town, and I noticed that a new book store has opened up on Maple Street.

Jimmy wants to open up a restaurant near the new office building.

put together

put together & puts together putting together put together put together

put... together p.v. When you assemble the parts of something, you put it together. Put together is the opposite of take apart.

Sally got a bicycle for her birthday, and her father put it together after dinner.

It was easy taking my car's engine apart, but putting it back together was a lot harder.

put... together p.v. When you organize some ideas, plans, or suggestions in order to show them to someone or discuss them with someone, you put them together.

Mr. and Mrs. Flores want to redecorate their house, so they asked an interior designer to put some ideas together.

I have an interesting idea for a new business, and I'm putting together a proposal.

put... together p.v. When you position people or things so that they are close to each other or touching, you put them together.

The teacher told Timmy and Mike to put their desks together so they could work on their project.

When you plan your dinner party seating arrangement, put Heather and Jimmy together.

shut off

shut... off p.v. When you shut off an electrical or mechanical device, you cut the power going to it so that it stops operating. Turn off and switch off are similar to shut off. 

Timmy's mother told him to shut off the TV and go to bed.

I'm freezing. Would you mind shutting the air conditioner off?

shut off part.adj. After you shut off an electrical or mechanical device, it is shut off. Turned off and switched off are similar to shut off.

Well, no wonder it's so cold in here - the heat's shut off.

shutoff n. When you shut off something, or when something shuts off, this action is a shutoff. When you shut off something, you use the shutoff switch, button, valve, and so on.

The electricity shutoff lasted twenty minutes.

In case of emergency, turn this shutoff valve here.

start up

start up & starts up starting up started up started up

start ...up p.v. When an electrical or mechanical device starts up or someone starts it up, it begins to operate.

My car's engine died at a red light, and it wouldn't start up again.

You push this button here to start the computer up.

start-up n. When you start up something, or something starts up, this action is a start-up. When you start up something, you use the start-up switch, button, and soon.

To start the computer up, push this start-up button.

If your computer's hard disk crashes, you can use a floppy as the start-up disk.

start... up p.v. When you start up a new business or company, you take the steps necessary to begin a new business or company.

You should have a detailed business plan before starting a business up.

Jane borrowed the money she needed to start up her business from her uncle.

start-up n. A start-up or start-up business or company is a new business or company.

Most start-up businesses aren't successful.

EXERCISE 26a - Complete the sentences with phrasal verbs from this section. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense.

Your important papers are all over the house. You should them and keep them in a safe place.

It was so cold this morning that it took half an hour to my car

This is awfully complicated. Could you ________________ it one more time?

The police ordered the people in the house to the door

The sergeant ________ ________ the hill to look for the enemy soldiers.

The account executive was asked to some ideas for a new advertising campaign.

I'm trying to sleep. Would you please the lights?

Linda saw her favorite movie star, but she was too shy to ________ ________ to him and ask for his autograph.

I'll you a little secret.

I'm going to___________to Todd's house to help him with his math homework.

This calendar is useless-it only to August.

Thank you for your application. I will________________it carefully and call

you in a few days.

This jigsaw puzzle has 1,000 pieces. It'll take forever to it

If that big discount store outside of town, all these little shops will go out of business.

The level of water in the river always falls during the summer but back the next spring.

Sam's idea of giving all the workers a 10 percent pay raise didn't well with management.

I know you're upset, but you have to yourself

On Saturday nights Mike usually ____ _____ with some friends and plays poker.

As soon as we arrived at the party, David to the buffet table and grabbed a plate.

Without the combination, there's no way to this safe

all your Spanish books on the same shelf.

I'll need around $25,000 to my new business.

EXERCISE 26b - Write three sentences using the objects in parentheses. Be sure to put the objects in the right place.

EXERCISE 26c - Write answers to the questions using phrasal verbs and nouns from this section. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense.

Frank read my report carefully. What did Frank do to my report?

In Question 1, what did Frank give my report?

Judy walked toward the king, stopped next to him, and gave him the petition. What did Judy do to the king?

Mike told me a secret. What did Mike do?

Bill and some friends are going to meet and spend some time together. What are Bill and his friends going to do?

In Question 5, what is this activity called?

My computer begins to operate from the hard disk. What does my computer do from the hard disk?

In Question 7, what would you call the hard disk?

The mayor's plan to fight crime in the streets was very successful with the voters. What impression did the mayor's plan have on the voters?

The heater stops operating automatically when the temperature reaches a certain point. What does the heater do automatically?

In Question 10, what is the temperature that makes the heater stop operating called?

You quit your job so that you could begin your own company. Why did you quit your job?

In Question 12, what would you call your new company?

You assembled all the parts of your model airplane. What did you do to your model airplane?

This airplane schedule gives flight times until December 31. What does the airplane schedule do?

The supermarket unlocks its doors and lets people in at 7:00 a.m. every day. What does the supermarket do at a.m. every day?

EXERCISE 26d, Review - Complete the sentences with these phrasal verbs from-* previous sections. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense. To check their meanings, review the section number given after each one.

I'm asking $10,000 for my car, but I'll

That new manager is really hard on the employees. He ought to ______ ______.

At the supermarket, Tom hit the stack of boxes with his shopping cart and ________ them 201

We had planned to go to France on our vacation, but we ________ ________ going to Spain instead.

Will you ________ ________! If we don't leave soon we're going to be late.

Mark hates his job, and he comes home every night and it his family.

My doctor got the test results from the lab, and she them very carefully.

your coat It's cold outside.

Don't wait until the last minute to make your vacation airline reservations. You have to _______ ________.

I hated my older brother when I was a kid. He always me.

How are we going to get $500 in two days? We need to a good plan.

I didn't understand everything the computer shop guy said, but it had something to ________ ________ memory.

Jim tries to answer every question the teacher asks. He's always_____ ______.

That meeting was so boring. It seemed like it was going to _____ _____ forever.

The police officer must be off duty; he doesn't his uniform