Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb combines a main verb with a particle (such as "up", "down", "out", or "off") to create a meaning that is often very different from the original verb. You already know common phrasal verbs like "pick up" and "give up" -- now it is time to explore a wider range and learn how to tell when a phrasal verb is used literally and when it is used figuratively.

What You'll Learn

How to recognise and use a wider range of phrasal verbs beyond the common ones learnt in P4
How to distinguish between the literal (physical) meaning and the figurative (non-physical) meaning of the same phrasal verb
How to work out the meaning of a phrasal verb from the context of a sentence
How to choose the correct phrasal verb to complete a sentence

When to Use

When describing emotions or reactions: "She was nervous, but she did not break down in front of her classmates."
When talking about plans or decisions: "The school committee called off Sports Day because of the heavy rain."
When expressing change or development: "The shy new student slowly opened up and made friends with everyone in the class."
When talking about discovering or understanding: "After reading the passage twice, I finally worked out the answer to the comprehension question."
When describing how events happen: "The fire alarm went off during recess, and everyone gathered at the assembly area."

How to Form

Literal vs Figurative Meanings

Many phrasal verbs have both a literal (physical, concrete) meaning and a figurative (abstract, non-physical) meaning. The context of the sentence tells you which meaning is intended.

Phrasal Verb	Literal Meaning	Figurative Meaning
break down	stop working (a machine)	lose control of emotions; cry
pick up	lift something from a surface	learn something new without studying
run into	physically collide with something	meet someone unexpectedly
go through	pass through a physical space	experience something difficult
fall through	drop through a hole or gap	fail to happen as planned
bring up	carry something to a higher place	mention a topic in conversation
turn down	reduce the volume or level	reject an offer or invitation
come across	cross over to the other side	find something by chance

More Phrasal Verbs for P5

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example Sentence
call off	cancel	The teacher called off the quiz because half the class was absent.
carry out	perform or complete (a task)	The students carried out the science experiment carefully.
come up with	think of or produce (an idea)	Our group came up with a creative plan for the project.
count on	rely on or depend on	You can always count on your best friend during tough times.
get along	have a friendly relationship	The two teams got along well during the inter-school competition.
get over	recover from	It took her a week to get over the disappointment of losing.
go off	explode or sound suddenly	The fire alarm went off during the assembly.
hand in	submit	Please hand in your compositions by Friday.
hold on	wait	Hold on -- let me check the answer before you move to the next one.
look into	investigate	The principal promised to look into the matter.
look up to	admire and respect	Many pupils look up to their favourite author.
make up	invent (a story); become friends again	She made up an excuse for being late. / They quarrelled but made up the next day.
point out	draw attention to	The teacher pointed out the errors in my composition.
put off	postpone	The school put off the excursion until next month.
set up	arrange or establish	The volunteers set up the booths for the charity carnival.
take over	assume control of	The vice-captain took over when the captain was injured.
work out	solve; exercise	She worked out the maths problem after three tries.

Key Rules

Context determines the meaning: The same phrasal verb can have a literal or figurative meaning. "He ran into the wall" (literal -- physical collision) vs "He ran into his old neighbour at the market" (figurative -- met unexpectedly). Always read the full sentence before deciding.
Phrasal verbs cannot be guessed from their parts: "Come up with" does not mean to come upwards. It means to think of an idea. You must learn the figurative meaning of each phrasal verb as a complete unit.
One phrasal verb, multiple meanings: Some phrasal verbs have more than one figurative meaning. "Make up" can mean to invent a story ("She made up an excuse"), to become friends again ("They made up quickly"), or to apply cosmetics. Use the context to choose the right meaning.
The particle changes the meaning entirely: Changing even one particle creates a different phrasal verb. "Look up to" (admire) is not the same as "look into" (investigate) or "look after" (take care of). Pay close attention to the exact particle.
Tense still applies: Phrasal verbs change tense just like ordinary verbs. "She called off the meeting" (past), "She calls off meetings often" (present), "She will call off the event" (future). The particle stays the same.
Figurative uses are more common in writing: In compositions and comprehension passages, phrasal verbs are frequently used in their figurative sense. If the literal meaning does not make sense in the sentence, the figurative meaning is almost certainly intended.

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
She ran into the wall at the market. (meaning: met)	She ran into her friend at the market.	"Ran into the wall" sounds literal (physical collision); the object must be a person for the figurative meaning
I will look up the matter.	I will look into the matter.	"Look up" means to search for information; "look into" means to investigate
He called up the event.	He called off the event.	"Call up" means to phone someone; "call off" means to cancel
The teacher pointed up our mistakes.	The teacher pointed out our mistakes.	"Point out" is the correct phrasal verb meaning to draw attention to something
She got along the flu quickly.	She got over the flu quickly.	"Get along" means to have a friendly relationship; "get over" means to recover from
We came up an interesting idea.	We came up with an interesting idea.	"Come up with" needs all three words; dropping "with" changes the meaning

Clue Words

Particles that appear in P5 phrasal verbs

up, down, out, off, into, over, through, along, on, across

Context clues for figurative meaning

When the literal meaning does not fit the sentence, the phrasal verb is being used figuratively:

If someone "runs into" a person (not a wall), it means met unexpectedly
If something "falls through" (but there is no hole), it means failed to happen
If someone "goes through" a difficult time (not a door), it means experienced hardship
If someone "breaks down" (but is not a machine), it means cried or lost control

Common phrasal verbs grouped by theme

Cancelling or postponing: call off, put off, fall through
Investigating or discovering: look into, find out, work out, come across
Relationships: get along, make up, count on, look up to
Emotions: break down, get over, open up

Tip: When you see a phrasal verb in a sentence, try replacing it with a single word. If "called off" can be replaced by "cancelled" and the sentence still makes sense, you have found the correct figurative meaning. This "swap test" is especially useful in comprehension and cloze passages.

Practice Tips

Literal or figurative?: For each phrasal verb you encounter, ask yourself: "Is this describing a physical action or a non-physical idea?" If the sentence says "He broke down the door," the meaning is literal. If it says "He broke down and cried," the meaning is figurative.
Context scan: Before choosing a phrasal verb in a fill-in-the-blank question, read the entire sentence. Look for clues -- who is performing the action? What is the object? These details help you pick the right phrasal verb and the right meaning.
Build a phrasal verb journal: Group new phrasal verbs by their base verb (all the "look" ones, all the "get" ones, all the "come" ones). This helps you see how different particles create completely different meanings from the same verb.
Swap test for exams: Replace the phrasal verb with a single-word synonym. If the sentence still makes sense, your understanding is correct. "The school put off the trip" = "The school postponed the trip." This technique is especially helpful for Match the Meaning questions.

Quick Reference

Phrasal Verb	Figurative Meaning	Single-Word Synonym	Example Sentence
break down	cry; lose emotional control	collapse	She broke down when she heard the sad news.
call off	cancel	cancel	The match was called off due to lightning.
carry out	perform or complete	conduct	The prefects carried out their duties responsibly.
come across	find by chance	discover	I came across an old photograph in my grandmother's flat.
come up with	think of (an idea)	devise	Can you come up with a better solution?
count on	rely on	depend	We count on the class monitor to keep order.
get along	have a good relationship	cooperate	The siblings get along very well.
get over	recover from	overcome	He finally got over his fear of public speaking.
look into	investigate	examine	The police will look into the missing items.
look up to	admire	respect	Many students look up to their CCA instructor.
make up	invent; reconcile	create / reconcile	She made up a story to entertain her younger brother.
point out	draw attention to	highlight	My partner pointed out a mistake in my working.
put off	postpone	delay	They put off the decision until the next meeting.
run into	meet unexpectedly	encounter	I ran into my former neighbour at Jurong East MRT.
take over	assume control	replace	The new chairperson took over at the start of the term.
work out	solve	figure out	We worked out the pattern after studying the table.

Phrasal Verbs (P5) (Primary 5)