Phrasal Verbs — Complete BCS Guide

Concept

Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb and a preposition or adverb (called a particle) that create a new meaning different from the original verb. "Give up" does not mean "give" in an upward direction — it means to abandon or stop trying. BCS exams test phrasal verbs heavily because they are essential to English fluency, and their meanings are often non-literal. The exam either asks the meaning of a phrasal verb or asks you to fill in the correct particle.

The challenge is that one base verb can have many phrasal verbs, each with a completely different meaning: look after (care), look for (search), look into (investigate), look forward to (anticipate eagerly). Similarly, one phrasal verb can have multiple meanings: make up = invent a story / reconcile after a fight / apply cosmetics.

Key Lists / Tables

40+ BCS Most Tested Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
Bear out	Confirm/support	The evidence bears out his claim
Break down	Collapse/stop working	The car broke down on the highway
Break out	Start suddenly (war, disease)	War broke out in 1971
Bring about	Cause to happen	Technology brought about great changes
Bring up	Raise a child / mention a topic	She was brought up by her grandmother
Call off	Cancel	They called off the meeting
Carry on	Continue	Please carry on with your work
Carry out	Execute/perform	The police carried out an investigation
Come across	Find by chance	I came across an old photo
Come round	Recover consciousness / visit	He fainted but soon came round
Cut down	Reduce	You should cut down on sugar
Do away with	Abolish/eliminate	They did away with the old rules
Fall out	Quarrel	The two friends fell out over money
Get along	Have a good relationship	They get along well with each other
Get rid of	Remove/free from	We must get rid of corruption
Give in	Surrender/yield	He finally gave in to pressure
Give up	Abandon/stop trying	Never give up your dreams
Go through	Experience / examine	She went through a difficult time
Hold on	Wait	Hold on, I will be there in a minute
Keep up	Maintain pace/standard	Keep up the good work
Look after	Take care of	She looks after her elderly parents
Look for	Search	I am looking for my keys
Look forward to	Anticipate eagerly	I look forward to meeting you
Look into	Investigate	The police are looking into the case
Make out	Understand / decipher	I cannot make out his handwriting
Make up	Invent / reconcile	They quarreled but made up quickly
Pass away	Die (polite form)	His grandfather passed away last year
Put off	Postpone	The match was put off due to rain
Put on	Wear	Put on your jacket, it is cold
Put out	Extinguish	The firefighters put out the fire
Put up with	Tolerate	I cannot put up with this noise
Run out of	Exhaust supply	We have run out of milk
Set up	Establish	He set up a new business
Take after	Resemble (family)	She takes after her mother
Take off	Remove clothing / depart (plane)	The plane took off on time
Turn down	Reject/refuse	She turned down the job offer
Turn up	Appear/arrive unexpectedly	He turned up at the party uninvited
Work out	Solve / exercise	I finally worked out the problem
Look down on	Despise	Do not look down on the poor
Come up with	Think of / produce	She came up with a brilliant idea

BCS Shortcuts (Mnemonics & Grouping Tricks)

Group by Base Verb:

LOOK family:

• Look after = care for | Look for = search | Look into = investigate
• Look forward to = anticipate | Look down on = despise | Look up to = admire

PUT family:

• Put off = postpone | Put on = wear | Put out = extinguish
• Put up with = tolerate | Put away = store

GIVE family:

• Give in = surrender | Give up = abandon | Give away = distribute free

BREAK family:

• Break down = collapse | Break out = start suddenly | Break in = enter by force | Break up = end a relationship

TAKE family:

• Take after = resemble | Take off = remove/depart | Take over = assume control | Take up = start a hobby

MAKE family:

• Make out = understand | Make up = invent/reconcile | Make up for = compensate

TURN family:

• Turn down = reject | Turn up = appear | Turn off = switch off | Turn on = switch on

CARRY family:

• Carry on = continue | Carry out = execute

Particle Meaning Patterns:

• out often = completely or to extinction: put out, carry out, work out, find out, wear out
• up often = completely or to increase: give up, bring up, set up, make up, turn up
• off often = separation or cancellation: call off, put off, take off, break off
• down often = reduction or decline: cut down, break down, turn down, look down on

Solved Examples (5 BCS-style MCQ with Explanations)

Q1. "The meeting was called ___" means the meeting was cancelled.

• (a) on (b) off (c) up (d) out
• Answer: (b) off — "Call off" means to cancel. "Call on" means to visit. "Call up" means to telephone.

Q2. "She takes after her mother" means —

• (a) She follows her mother (b) She resembles her mother (c) She obeys her mother (d) She takes care of her mother
• Answer: (b) She resembles her mother — "Take after" means to resemble a family member in appearance or character. "Take care of" would be "look after."

Q3. I cannot put up ___ his rudeness.

• (a) on (b) off (c) with (d) to
• Answer: (c) with — "Put up with" means to tolerate. This is a three-word phrasal verb — all three parts are essential.

Q4. "Look forward to" is followed by —

• (a) base verb (b) infinitive (c) gerund (-ing) (d) past participle
• Answer: (c) gerund (-ing) — "I look forward to hearing from you" (not "to hear"). Here "to" is a preposition, not part of an infinitive, so it takes a gerund.

Q5. "The fire brigade put ___ the fire."

• (a) off (b) on (c) out (d) up
• Answer: (c) out — "Put out" means to extinguish. "Put off" means to postpone. "Put on" means to wear.

Common Mistakes — Watch Out!

• "Look forward TO + gerund" — The "to" here is a preposition, NOT part of an infinitive. Say "I look forward to meeting you" (not "to meet"). This is the #1 BCS phrasal verb trap.
• "Make up" has multiple meanings — It can mean: (1) invent a story, (2) reconcile after a quarrel, (3) apply cosmetics, (4) constitute/form. Context determines which meaning applies.
• "Call off" vs "Call on" — Call off = cancel; Call on = visit or request someone to speak. Completely different meanings.
• "Give in" vs "Give up" — Give in = surrender to someone else's demands; Give up = stop trying entirely. Subtle but important difference.
• "Break down" vs "Break out" — Break down = stop functioning / collapse emotionally; Break out = start suddenly (war, disease, fire).
• "Turn down" vs "Turn off" — Turn down = reject an offer; Turn off = switch off a device. Do not mix them.

Question Pattern Recognition

• "Meaning of [phrasal verb]" — Direct recall. Memorize the 40+ list.
• "Fill in the particle: verb + ___" — Context is key. Read the full sentence to determine which particle fits the intended meaning.
• "Which phrasal verb means [definition]?" — Reverse recall. Harder than forward recall.
• "Grammatical form after phrasal verb" — Tests rules like "look forward to + gerund" or "give up + gerund."
• BCS most tested: Call off, Put off, Put up with, Look forward to, Carry out, Break down, Break out, Take after, Give up, Give in, Make up.
• Strategy: Group phrasal verbs by base verb (look, put, give, break, take, turn, make, carry) for systematic memorization.