Phrasal Verbs Topics is designed to help intermediate to advanced learners of English improve their knowledge of phrasal verbs. It can be used as a self-study guide by learners, or used by teachers in their EFL/ESL classes whether online or classroom based learning and teaching.
See also. . .
| call back |
I’m just on my way into a meeting so I can’t talk now, but I’ll call back as soon as it’s over. |
| I called Jim but he was busy. He said he’d call me
back later tonight. |
|
| call for | The president made a serious mistake and many people thought it
called for an official enquiry, but nothing was done. |
| Many people called for his resignation after he was
charged with corruption. |
|
| call off | We didn’t play golf today. We decided to call the game off because of the rain. |
| The meeting was called off because our CEO was
ill and couldn’t come. |
|
| call on | Did you call on Mike and see his new apartment while you were in New York City? |
| Whenever they’re in Paris,
they call on old friends who live there. |
|
| call out | I saw Terry walking along the street, so I called out his name and he turned around and waved. |
| If you think you know the
answer, don’t call it out. Write it down instead. |
|
| call up | Did you find Mike’s phone number and call him up while you were in New York? |
| They called up their friends to arrange a visit. | |
| calm down | If the baby gets upset and starts to cry, she’ll calm down if you hold her and gently rock her. |
| The plane’s crew had to calm the passengers down
during the storm. |
|
| care for | He’s staying with his grandmother so he can care for her while she’s recovering from her illness. |
| Our company supports an organization that cares for
homeless children. |
|
| care for
(formal) |
The waiter said, ‘Would you care for some more wine, madam?’ |
| After a lovely meal, our
host said, ‘Care for some tea or coffee?’ |
|
| carry on | The tennis match was stopped because of the rain, but carried on as soon as the rain stopped. |
| We’ll stop the meeting now, and carry on after
lunch. |
|
| carry out | The players listened to their coach and then did their best to carry out
his instructions during the game. |
| We expect our staff to carry their duties out to
the best of their ability. |
|
| catch on | Cable TV took a while to catch on, but now nearly everyone watches it. |
| A new hairstyle can catch on quickly if kids see a pop star with it. | |
| I didn’t understand what she was saying at first, but I soon caught on
when she started speaking slower. |
|
| It took a while for them to catch on, but scientists
understand Einstein now. |
|
| catch up | She was a long way behind the leaders, so she had to run fast to catch up and win the race, but she did it. She caught up and won! |
| I missed many classes, so I’ll have to work hard to
catch up with the others. |
|
| catch up on | If Mike travels on business, he takes his laptop computer and catches up on work or his emails whenever he gets the chance. |
| I went to bed early last night because I needed to
catch up on some sleep. |
