Phraseological Units

1. do away with – cause to end, abolish

All these silly restrictions should be done away with.

2. find fault with – to complain, perhaps too much or too often

The poor child is always found fault with.

3. lose sight of – 1. to cease to see

At last the ship was lost sight of.

4. to forget

The main purpose of this discussion mustn’t be lost sight of.

4. make use of – to use well, to take advantage of

These are good examples. They should be made use of in the report.

4. make fun of – to laugh or cause others to laugh rather unkindly

She is often made fun of because she wears such strange hats.

4. pay attention to – to take notice of

All his remarks were paid little attention to.

4. put an end to - to stop from happening any more

This state of affairs will be put an end to.

4. put up with – to accept an unpleasant situation or person without complaining

Her attitude to her duties can’t be put up with.

4. set fire to – to light (something) not really meant to burn, set something on fire

The house was set fire to in the middle of the night.

4. take (good) care of – to be responsible for someone or something

I hope the child will be taken good care of.

4. take notice of – to pay attention to

She said something but her words were taken no notice of.

Phrasal Verbs

1. blow down – to fall by blowing

Several trees were blown down by the storm last night.

2. bring up – 1. to educate and care for the family until grown up: to bring up children

It was clear that the child had been brought up well.

3. to raise or introduce (a subject) – to bring up a question

The question of Judy’s future was brought up at the regular meeting of the committee.

4. call up – to order (someone) to join the armed forces

He was called up in 1996.

5. give up – to stop believing that someone can be saved especially from death

The boy was given up for lost.

6. hold up – to delay

The building of the new road has been held up by bad weather.

7. knock down – to destroy a building (bridge) by means of blows

Our house is being knocked down to give way for a new road.

There used to be a church here but it was knocked down.

8. let down – to cause (someone) to be disappointed in one’s loyalty; fail to keep a promise to someone

It was difficult to believe that he had been let down by his friend.

9. pick on – a) to choose someone to do an unpleasant job or blame someone for something, especially unfairly

Why am I always picked on (by the boss)?

b) to choose something or someone

Any student can be picked on to answer the examiners’ questions.

10. pick out – a) to choose someone or something carefully

All the synonyms to the word “despair” must be picked out from the text.

b) to recognize someone or something in a group of people or things

Bob’s father could be easily picked out of the crowd.

11. pick up – a) to lift something up from a surface

The baby is always picked up whenever it cries.

The litter should be picked up.

b) to collect someone who is waiting for you or something that you have left somewhere

The mail will be picked up a bit later.

I hope to be picked up at 8.00 at the latest.

The hitchhiker was picked up by the truck driver.

12. point out – to draw attention to something or someone

Not all the mistakes in Bob’s written test were pointed out.

13. pull down – to break to pieces and destroy something

Half the houses in the street are being pulled down to make room for the new post-office.

14. put off – to move to a later date, to delay

Their wedding has been put off.

The meeting will have to be put off till later in the week.

15. run over (of a vehicle or its driver) – to knock down and pass over the top of (esp. a creature)

The brakes failed and the old man was run over by the bus.

They had a dog but it got run over.

16. see off – to go to the airport, station, etc. with someone who is beginning a trip

When he was going away he was seen off by all his friends at the airport.

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