Part 1: The Phrasal Verb List (101-150)
Topic A: Agreement, Disagreement & Persuasion
101. Agree with: To have the same opinion as someone.
* Sentence: “I completely agree with the notion that education should be free for all.”
102. Go along with: To agree with or accept something, sometimes reluctantly.
* Sentence: “I don’t really like the plan, but I’ll go along with it for now.”
103. Stand by: To continue to support a person or opinion.
* Sentence: “Even though his comments were unpopular, he stood by them.”
104. Stick up for: To defend or support a person or idea.
* Sentence: “It’s important to stick up for your beliefs when they are challenged.”
105. Argue out: To discuss all the details of a problem to reach a solution.
* Sentence: “The committee needed several hours to argue out the final details of the policy.”
106. Talk into: To persuade someone to do something.
* Sentence: “My friends talked me into taking a gap year to travel.”
107. Talk out of: To persuade someone not to do something.
* Sentence: “I’m glad you talked me out of quitting my job; it was a rash decision.”
108. Win over: To persuade someone to support you or agree with you.
* Sentence: “He was initially skeptical, but her compelling argument won him over.”
109. Back down: To withdraw a claim or opinion in the face of opposition.
* Sentence: “The government was forced to back down on its proposed tax after public protests.”
110. Fall for: To be deceived by something.
* Sentence: “The email looked so real that I almost fell for the phishing scam.”
Topic B: Emotions & Reactions
111. Cheer up: To become happier or to make someone happier.
* Sentence: “I was feeling sad, so I watched a comedy to cheer myself up.”
112. Calm down: To become more relaxed after being angry or upset.
* Sentence: “After the argument, I needed a few minutes alone to calm down.”
113. Face up to: To accept and deal with a difficult situation or truth.
* Sentence: “He had to face up to the fact that his business was failing.”
114. Freak out: To become very anxious, excited, or frightened.
* Sentence: “I completely freaked out when I saw the spider on my pillow.”
115. Look forward to: To feel pleased and excited about something that is going to happen.
* Sentence: “I’m really looking forward to graduating and starting my career.”
116. Bottle up: To refuse to express emotions, especially negative ones.
* Sentence: “It’s very unhealthy to bottle up your feelings; talking about them helps.”
117. Open up: To start to talk more about your personal feelings.
* Sentence: “It took a long time for him to open up about the pressures he was under.”
118. Break down: To lose control of your feelings and start crying.
* Sentence: “She broke down in tears when she heard the wonderful news.”
119. Chicken out: To decide not to do something because you are too frightened.
* Sentence: “I was going to try bungee jumping, but I chickened out at the last moment.”
120. Deal with: To handle or manage a situation or emotion.
* Sentence: “Learning how to deal with stress is a crucial life skill.”
Topic C: Social Interaction & Relationships
121. Ask out: To invite someone on a romantic date.
* Sentence: “He was too shy to ask her out for nearly a year.”
122. Break up: To end a romantic relationship.
* Sentence: “It was mutual and amicable when we decided to break up.”
123. Make up: To reconcile after an argument.
* Sentence: “We had a big fight, but we made up the next day.”
124. Drift apart: To gradually become less close to someone.
* Sentence: “After university, we slowly drifted apart and lost touch.”
125. Fit in: To be accepted by a group because you are similar to them.
* Sentence: “I never really fit in with the crowd at my first school.”
126. Hang out: To spend time relaxing or socializing informally.
* Sentence: “On weekends, I usually hang out with my friends at the park.”
127. Get together: To meet socially.
* Sentence: “We should all get together for a reunion sometime soon.”
128. Look down on: To feel that someone is inferior to you.
* Sentence: “It’s wrong to look down on people from different social backgrounds.”
129. Put down: To criticize or make someone feel foolish.
* Sentence: “A good manager encourages their team; they don’t put them down.”
130. Show off: To behave in a way to attract attention and admiration.
* Sentence: “He was showing off his new car to all the neighbors.”
Topic D: Understanding & Knowledge
131. Catch on: To understand something, especially after a long time.
* Sentence: “The concept was difficult, but I finally caught on after the teacher’s third explanation.”
132. Figure out: To understand or solve something.
* Sentence: “I need to figure out why my computer keeps crashing.”
133. Brush up on: To improve your knowledge of something you have partly forgotten.
* Sentence: “I need to brush up on my Spanish before my trip to Barcelona.”
134. Read up on: To learn about a subject by reading a lot about it.
* Sentence: “I’ve been reading up on the history of the city I’m moving to.”
135. Find out: To discover a fact or piece of information.
* Sentence: “Did you find out what time the IELTS results are released?”
136. Sink in: To be fully understood or realized.
* Sentence: “It took a few days for the news of my acceptance to sink in.”
137. Make out: To see, hear, or understand something with difficulty.
* Sentence: “The writing was so small I could barely make it out.”
138. Think through: To consider the consequences of something fully.
* Sentence: “You haven’t thought this through; what’s your plan if it fails?”
139. Dawn on: To suddenly realize or understand something.
* Sentence: “It suddenly dawned on me that I had left my passport at home.”
140. Get at: To try to suggest something without saying it directly.
* Sentence: “What are you getting at? Are you saying you don’t trust my decision?”
Topic E: Conflict & Resolution
141. Sort out: To resolve a problem or disagreement.
* Sentence: “We need to sort out the misunderstanding before it damages our friendship.”
142. Clear up: To solve a problem or clarify a misunderstanding.
* Sentence: “A quick phone call was all it took to clear up the confusion.”
143. Make up for: To compensate for a mistake or something bad you have done.
* Sentence: “I’m sorry I was late; I’ll buy you lunch to make up for it.”
144. Patch up: To repair a relationship, often temporarily.
* Sentence: “They managed to patch up their argument before the wedding.”
145. Smooth over: To make problems or disagreements seem less serious.
* Sentence: “He tried to smooth over the tension with a joke, but it didn’t work.”
146. Blow over: When a problem or argument is forgotten.
* Sentence: “Don’t worry, this scandal will blow over in a few weeks.”
147. Stand for: To tolerate or accept.
* Sentence: “I will not stand for such rude behavior in my classroom.”
148. Lash out: To suddenly speak angrily or attack someone.
* Sentence: “He was so stressed that he lashed out at his colleagues.”
149. Pick on: To repeatedly criticize or be unkind to someone.
* Sentence: “Bullies often pick on those they perceive as weaker.”
150. Walk out: To leave a situation angrily, especially a meeting or relationship.
* Sentence: “Several delegates walked out in protest during the speech.”
Part 2: Your Active Learning Workshop
Activity 1: The Emotion & Reaction Match
Instructions: Match the phrasal verb on the left with the most likely emotional context on the right.
| Phrasal Verb | Emotional Context |
|---|---|
| 1. Cheer up | A) Feeling scared and deciding not to act. |
| 2. Bottle up | B) Feeling sad and needing to feel happier. |
| 3. Break down | C) Refusing to express negative feelings. |
| 4. Freak out | D) Losing emotional control and crying. |
| 5. Chicken out | E) Reacting with sudden, extreme fear or excitement. |
Answer Key: 1-B, 2-C, 3-D, 4-E, 5-A
Activity 2: The Conversation Builder
Instructions: Complete the following dialogue using phrasal verbs from the list. Pay attention to the context.
Alex: “I’m so nervous about the presentation tomorrow. I think I might just (1) chicken out.”
Ben: “Don’t be silly! You’ll be great. Just try to (2) calm down. If you (3) freak out, take a deep breath. You’ve (4) read up on the topic, so you know your stuff.”
Alex: “I suppose you’re right. I just don’t want to (5) break down in front of everyone.”
Ben: “You won’t! And if anyone tries to (6) put you down with a difficult question, I’ll be there to (7) stick up for you.”
Answer Key:
(1) chicken out, (2) calm down, (3) freak out, (4) read up on, (5) break down, (6) put you down, (7) stick up for
Activity 3: The “Agree/Disagree” Role-Play
Instructions: With a study partner, choose one of the statements below. One person argues ‘for’ and the other ‘against,’ trying to use at least 3-4 phrasal verbs from the “Agreement, Disagreement & Persuasion” section.
- Statement 1: “Social media does more harm than good to personal relationships.”
- Statement 2: “University education should be free for all citizens.”
- Example for Statement 1 (For): “I completely agree with that statement. Social media often makes people bottle up their real feelings. It’s easy to look down on others based on their posts, and this can cause families to drift apart.”
Activity 4: The Personal Reflection Journal
Instructions: This activity internalizes the vocabulary. Write a short paragraph (4-5 sentences) about a recent personal experience related to one of the themes below, using the specified number of phrasal verbs.
- A recent disagreement or misunderstanding. (Use:
sort out,clear up,make up for) - A time you felt a strong emotion (happiness, fear, sadness). (Use:
cheer up,freak out,look forward to) - A change in a relationship with a friend or family member. (Use:
drift apart,get together,open up) - Example: “Recently, I had a misunderstanding with my roommate about cleaning. It created a lot of tension, but we finally sat down to sort it out. We managed to clear up the confusion, and I offered to cook dinner to make up for my part in the problem.”