Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "stop"

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

‘to stop away’ means to deliberately not go back to a place.

* Since the beach was polluted by petrol, people have been stopping away.
* After the terrorist attacks on London, tourists stopped away for a while.

‘to stop back’ means to return to a place at a later time.

* I didn’t have time to talk so I told him to stop back later when I had some free time.
* I’ll stop back on the way home from work and see how you are.

‘to stop behind’ means to stay in a place after everyone else has left.

* I stopped behind after the meeting to talk to Bill.
* Stop behind after class so I can give you some extra work to do.

‘to stop by’ means to visit a place quickly.

* I’m going to stop by Jim’s house on the way home.
* Stop by for a coffee when you are next here.

‘to stop in’ means to not go out.

* I’m not going to the cinema with them this evening. I’ve decided to stop in.
* I’m stopping in and watching TV tonight. I can’t afford to go out.

‘to stop off’ means to stay in a place in the middle of a journey.

* We stopped off in Paris on the way to Nice to visit some friends.
* I’ll stop off at the shops on the way home and buy some bread.

‘to stop out’ means to stay out late at night.

* When I was a student, I often stopped out all night and came home for breakfast.
* He often stops out all night during the holidays and comes home at dawn.

‘to stop over’ means to spend a night in a place in the middle of a journey.

* On the way to Australia, we are stopping over in Singapore.
* On the round the world ticket, we can stop over in five different countries.

‘to stop up’ means to not go to bed until much later than usual.

* Don’t stop up too late. You’ve got school tomorrow.
* We all stopped up until midnight to see the New Year in.

Exercises:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/stopphrasals/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/stopphrasals/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/stopphrasals/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "stay"

Now let’s look at some common expressions using the verb ‘to stay’ combined with particles:

‘to stay ahead’ of someone or something means to remain in a better position than them

* We have to invest in new equipment if we want to stay ahead of the competition.
* The company is always looking for a way to stay ahead of the others.

‘to stay away from’ someone or a place means to avoid them, not to go near them.

* I told you to stay away from that part of town, it is dangerous.
* I prefer to stay away from discussing politics. It always causes an argument.

‘to stay behind’ means to remain in a place after everyone else has left.

* The teacher asked me to stay behind after class to finish my work.
* I stayed behind after the meeting to discuss a few things that were not on the agenda.

‘to stay in’ means to not go out but to remain at home.

* I’m going to stay in tonight and get an early night.
* We didn’t go out. We stayed in and watched TV yesterday evening.

‘to stay off’ means to not go to work or school.

* Stay off until you’re feeling better. Don’t come in to work tomorrow.
* I stayed off for three days until I felt better.

‘to stay on’ means to remain in a place or job longer than planned.

* He stayed on as a consultant after he retired as chairman.
* You can leave school at sixteen but I stayed on until I was eighteen.

‘to stay out’ means to remain away from home.

* We stayed out all night and took the subway home as people were going to work.
* As I was leaving, my mother told me not to stay out too late.

‘to stay out of’ something means to not get involved or take part.

* Stay out of this. It doesn’t concern you.
* I’m staying out of this. I don’t want to get involved.

‘to stay over’ means to spend the night at someone’s instead of leaving.

* Why don’t you stay over? You’re going to miss the last train.
* I stayed over at my friend’s because I don’t like driving at night.

‘to stay up’ means to not go to bed at the usual time.

* I’m really tired today. I stayed up until two last night.
* He stayed up all last night working. He had an essay to finish.

Exercises:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/stayphrasals/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/stayphrasals/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/stayphrasals/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "stand" part 2

Here are some more common expressions using the verb ‘to stand’ combined with particles:

‘to stand in’ means to replace or represent someone for a short time.

* I’ll ask one of my colleagues to stand in while I’m away.
* Another actor stood in for him while he was ill.

‘to stand out’ means to be much better than similar things or people.

* One person stands out from all the candidates that we have met.
* There is one solution that stands out clearly as the best.

‘to stand out’ also means to be noticeable because they are very different from others.

* With her height and red hair, she always stands out in a crowd.
* Children never want to stand out but to be just like everyone else.

‘to stand over’ means to supervise closely, watch what someone is doing.

* She stood over me while I did the work just to be sure that I had done it properly.
* I had to stand over my children otherwise they didn’t do their homework.

‘to stand round’ means to spend time standing, waiting for someone or something or doing nothing.

* They just stood round and watched. They didn’t help.
* We stood round in the cold for half an hour waiting for them to arrive.

‘to stand up’ means to rise into a standing position.

* At school, we had to stand up whenever a teacher entered the room.
* When she came in the room, everyone stood up to greet her.

‘to stand someone up’ means to fail to meet them on purpose, usually for a romantic date.

* He didn’t come. He stood me up!
* I waited in the restaurant for an hour before I realised I’d been stood up.

‘to stand up for’ something means to defend it because you believe in it.

* You have to stand up for what you believe in.
* You have to stand up for yourself, no one else will.

‘to stand up to’ means to not give in to someone in a powerful position, to argue your case

* He was never afraid to stand up to his father even when he was very small.
* The management is too weak to stand up to the union and their demands.

Exercises:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/standphrasals2/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/standphrasals2/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/standphrasals2/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "stand" part 1

Now let’s look at the verb ‘to stand’. Here are some common expressions using this verb combined with particles:

‘to stand around’ mean to stand in a place doing very little or waiting for something.

* We just stood around for half an hour waiting for the concert to begin.
* Lots of teenagers just stand around on street corners because they have nothing to do.

‘to stand aside’ means to move to a position where you do not block others.

* I told everyone to stand aside to let them pass.
* Everyone stood aside to let the rescue workers pass.

‘to stand back’ means to move a short distance away from something.

* Please stand back from the objects. You must not touch them.
* You can see the paintings better if you stand back a little.

‘to stand back’ also means to take a bit of distance from a problem in order to understand it

* It‘s difficult to stand back and be objective when you are talking about your children.
* We need to stand back and think about this.

‘to stand by’ means to be waiting and ready for something.

* Riot Police were standing by in case the demonstration got out of hand.
* Ambulance teams were standing by in case any of the participants got into difficulties.

‘to stand by’ also means to continue to support someone or something.

* We stand by our decision in spite of the opposition to it.
* His wife stood by him through the scandal.

‘to stand down’ mean to leave or resign from an important position.

* The Prime Minister stood down after the defeat in the elections.
* Even though he still had the support of the shareholders, he decided to stand down.

‘to stand for’ means is an abbreviation for.

* BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation.
* What does PGCE stand for?

‘to stand for’ can mean to support or represent an idea or attitude.

* I agree with everything that Greenpeace stand for.
* The Conservative Party stands for family values.

‘to stand for’ also means to accept someone’s behavior without complaining.

* I don’t see why I should stand for his bad behaviour.
* I don’t know how she stands for it. He’s impossible to live with.

Exercise:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/standphrasals/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/standphrasals/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/standphrasals/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "sit"

Now let’s look at the verb ‘to sit’. Here are some common expressions using this verb combined with particles:

‘to sit around’ means to spend time doing very little.

* They just sit around and do nothing all day.
* We sat around in the hotel until it stopped raining.

‘to sit back’ means to wait for something to happen while deliberately not being involved.

* She just sat back and waited for us to do everything.
* You can’t just sit back and expect me to do everything.

‘to sit down’ means to lower your body into a sitting position.

* We looked for somewhere to sit down.
* She sat down beside me on the sofa and started talking.

‘to sit in on’ something means to be present during a meeting or event but not participate.

* He asked me to sit in on the discussion and report back to him.
* When I was new to the department, I sat in on meetings to learn the procedures.

‘to sit on’ a committee or panel means to be a member.

* As the representative of the personnel, I sat on the board of directors.
* He sat on many committees dealing with education.

‘to sit out’ means to be outside rather than inside.

* While the weather was good, we sat out and had lunch.
* We went to the pub and sat out at the tables in the garden.

‘to sit out’ something means to wait for it to finish.

* His injury meant that he had to sit out the rest of the competition.
* When it started raining, we decided to sit out the storm in the café.

‘to sit over’ someone is to watch them very carefully to check up on them.

* I sat over him and made sure he took his medicine.
* She sat over me until I had finished everything.

‘to sit through’ means to remain until something is finished, especially if it is unpleasant.

* They sat through a very long meeting.
* We had to sit through a very boring lecture before we could go for a drink.

‘to sit up’ means to not go to bed until it very late.

* I sat up and waited for him to come home.
* She sat up all night to finish her project before the deadline.

Exercise

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/sitphrasals/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/sitphrasals/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/sitphrasals/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "set" part 2

Here are some more common expressions using the verb ‘to set’ combined with particles:

‘to set something off’ means to cause it to start or happen.

* The smoke from my cooking set the smoke alarm off.
* The proposals for a new shopping centre have set off a very heated debate in the town.

‘to set someone off’ means to start them laughing, crying or talking.

* Every time Jake used that silly voice, it started me off laughing.
* Kelly started crying and that set everybody off too.

‘to set on’ means to begin a physical attack.

* If I went into the garden, she said she would set the dog on me.
* Coming out of the pub, he was set on by a gang of boys and his money stolen.

‘to set out’ is to start on a journey.

* We wanted to get there before lunch so we had to set out just before dawn.
* They packed their bags and set out early as they had a long walk.

‘to set out’ to do something means that you have a clear idea of what you intend to achieve.

* We didn’t achieve what we’d set out to do.
* He didn’t set out to invent the microwave oven. He discovered it while doing other research.

‘to set out’ facts or opinions is to explain them clearly in writing or in speech.

* All the terms and conditions are set out in this document.
* Your terms of employment are set out in your contract.

‘to set something out’ is to organize it so that it is ready to use.

* When I arrived all the materials and equipment were set out ready for use.
* The chairs were set out in a circle ready for the class to begin.

‘to set up’ means to start a company or organization.

* After a few years developing the products, they needed to set up a company to sell them.
* The UN was set up when representatives of fifty countries signed the charter in 1945.

‘to set up’ also means to make arrangements for a meeting, a committee, or an investigation.

* I’d like to discuss that in more detail. Can we set up a meeting with everyone concerned?
* The government has set up a committee to investigate possible fraud.

‘to set up’ a structure or building means to erect it.

* It took almost an hour to set up the tent in the rain.
* The Police set up road blocks throughout the county to try to find the thieves.

Exercise:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/setphrasals2/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/setphrasals2/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/setphrasals2/exercise3.html

Pearson Brown English Lesson - Phrasal Verb "set" part 1

The next verb we’re going to look at is ‘to set’ combined with particles. Here are the first of the most common:

‘to set about’ is to dealing with something in a particular way.

* I need to find a new flat but I’m not sure how to set about looking for one.
* I don’t think you are setting about it the right way.

‘to set against’ means balance one thing against another.

* The advantages are not so big when set against the disadvantages.
* We can set our expenses against the tax.

‘to be set against’ something means to be opposed to doing it.

* He won’t change his mind. He is absolutely set against it.
* His parents were set against him becoming a musician and made him study engineering.

‘to set aside’ means to use something, often time or money, for a specific purpose.

* I have enough money for the deposit set aside.
* I’ve set aside Monday and Tuesday to work on it.

‘to set back’ is to cause a delay.

* Bad weather was the reason that the launch of the rocket was set back until Monday.
* The whole project has been set back by the late delivery of some of the parts.

‘to set down’ something you are holding means to put it down.

* She lifted up the teapot but set it down again without pouring any tea.
* The waitress set down an enormous plate of steak and salad in front of me.

‘to set down’ your ideas or some facts means to record by writing them.

* Here is the leaflet where we have set down guidelines for our employees.
* We were all asked to set down our views on what had happened.

‘to set in’ is when something unpleasant starts and seems likely to continue.

* It looks as if the rain has set in for the afternoon.
* Panic didn’t really set in until just before I was due to give my presentation.

‘to set off’ means to start on a journey.

* Sorry we’re late. We didn’t set off until half past eight.
* The weather was perfect when we set off but it was raining when we got back.

Exercise:

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/setphrasals1/exercise1.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/setphrasals1/exercise2.html

http://www.carolinebrownenglishlessons.com/setphrasals1/exercise3.html