Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "to be"

These exercises are about using the verb ‘to be’ combined with particles:

‘to be away‘ means to have gone to another place.

* Sandra won’t be back until next month, she is away in China at the moment.
* I’m sorry but Martin is away on holiday this week. Can I help you?

‘to be down‘ means to be unhappy or depressed.

* Until I found a new job, I was down for a long time.
* Sue has been down since she turned 50.

‘to be down‘ can also mean the opposite of ‘to be up’, to have fallen or got smaller.

* The dollar is down one cent against the euro.
* Profits are down this quarter due to bad sales in Europe.

‘to be in‘ means to be at home.

* I tried to phone Donna last night but she wasn’t in so I couldn’t speak to her.
* I’ll be in this afternoon if you’d like to come for tea.

‘to be off‘ means to leave or to start on a journey.

* I’ll see you tomorrow morning, I’m off now. Have a nice evening.
* We’re off to Florida on Tuesday. The flight leaves at ten o’clock.

‘to be off’ can also mean that food is old and has gone bad.

* Don’t eat that yoghurt, I think it’s off. It’s been in the fridge for ages.
* Smell the milk, I think it’s off.

‘to be on‘ means that something is taking place

* That documentary is on TV tonight but I don’t know which channel it is on.
* Let’s go shopping on Saturday. The sales are on at the moment.

‘to be on‘ can also mean to be working or switched on.

* I think he must be deaf, the TV was on very loud.
* When I arrived, the lights were on but nobody was at home.

‘to be out‘ is the opposite of ‘to be in’ so means to not be at home or to be absent.

* I’m sorry but Jack’s out. Can I take a message?
* Marie is out until lunchtime. She’s got an appointment at the dentist this morning.

‘to be up‘ means to have risen, got higher.

* Prices are up more than ten per cent.
* Unfortunately our costs are up more than twenty per cent because of the increase in the cost of petrol.

Exercises:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/bephrasals/exercise1.html
http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/bephrasals/exercise2.html
http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/bephrasals/exercise3.html