Fill in the Blanks
🔒 Log in to trackPhrasal-verb blanks: verb + particle as one unit
🔒 Log in to trackA phrasal verb is a verb plus a small word like off, up or into. Together they make a new meaning. Call off means cancel; it has nothing to do with calling. So first find the meaning the sentence needs, then pick the verb and small word that carry it.
One verb plus a small word
A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle (a small word such as off, on, up, in, out, down). The pair works as one new word.
Example: The strike was called off. Here "called off" means cancelled. He gave in. Here "gave in" means surrendered.
So the blank tests meaning. Read the sentence, say its meaning in one plain word, and pick the phrasal verb that means that.
Same verb, different small words
This is the favourite question. One verb repeats; only the small word changes.
| Verb | Small word and meaning |
|---|---|
| call | off cancel; on urge, appeal to; for demand, need; up telephone; in summon, withdraw |
| look | after care for; into investigate; forward to wait with pleasure; down upon despise; up to admire; for search |
| put | off postpone; up with tolerate; down suppress; across communicate; out put out a fire |
| turn | down reject; up appear; out prove to be; over hand over |
| give | in (to) surrender; up quit; away reveal or donate; off send out (smell, heat) |
Rule: When the options share one verb, ask: "Which meaning does this sentence need?"
Other common phrasal verbs
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| carry out | perform | carry out orders / a survey |
| break out | begin suddenly | a fire broke out |
| run out of | have none left | we ran out of time |
| do away with | abolish | the tax was done away with |
| bring about | cause | the reform brought about change |
| cut down on | reduce | cut down on sugar |
| stand by | support, stay loyal | she stood by her friend |
| come across | find by chance | I came across an old letter |
What the small word often adds
The particle often gives a direction. Use it when two options both look possible.
- off: cancel, away (call off, put off)
- out: burst out, give out (break out, carry out)
- up: appear, build (turn up)
- down: reject, reduce (turn down, cut down)
- in: give way, enter (give in)
Watch: This is a hint, not a law. Always test the full meaning in the sentence.
The "to" that takes -ing
In three common phrases, to is a preposition, so an -ing form follows it.
- look forward to meeting you
- be used to working late
- object to paying extra
The blank may be the particle itself: I am looking ___ to hearing from you → forward.
Where the object goes
- Put up with needs an object: put up with the noise. Give in needs none: the rebels gave in.
- A two-part verb can split around its object: call the match off or call off the match.
- A pronoun must go inside: call it off, never call off it.
- Three-part verbs never split: put up with it, look down upon, get away with, run out of.
- Break out (war, fire, disease) has no passive. "Was broken out" is wrong.
Choose the plain option over the fancy one. If two options are real phrasal verbs, test each in the sentence and let meaning decide.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Same verb, different small words
One verb repeats in all options (called off / called on / called for / called up). Only the particle changes.
Say the meaning the sentence needs in one word.
Match it to the particle: cancel = off, demand = for, telephone = up, urge = on.
Read the finished sentence once to confirm.
Each particle turns the same verb into a different word, so only meaning can choose.
The board meeting has been ___ because the chairman is unwell.
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The meeting will not happen, so the meaning is 'cancelled'.
Cancelled = called off.
Called for = demanded; called up = telephoned.
called off
look-family blanks
The verb 'look' comes before the blank, or the options are look after / into / forward to / up to / down upon.
Decide the meaning: care for, investigate, wait eagerly, admire or despise.
Pick the matching particle: after, into, forward to, up to, down upon.
If you choose 'forward to', check that an -ing form or a noun follows.
'Look' is the most tested phrasal verb because its particles give five everyday meanings.
A three-member committee will look ___ the ragging complaint.
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A committee checks a complaint, so the meaning is 'investigate'.
Investigate = look into.
Look after would mean the committee takes care of the complaint.
into
put-family blanks
The sentence is about postponing, tolerating, stopping or explaining. The options are put off / put up with / put down / put across.
Decide the meaning: postpone, tolerate, suppress or communicate.
Match: off, up with, down, across.
For 'put up with', check that an object follows 'with'.
'Put up with' is a three-part verb, and students often stop at 'put up'.
The workers refused to put ___ the unsafe conditions any longer.
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The workers will not bear the conditions, so the meaning is 'tolerate'.
Tolerate = put up with.
The object 'the unsafe conditions' follows 'with'.
up with
Mixed common phrasal verbs
The options are four different phrasal verbs (turned down / turned up / carried out / gave in). Only one fits the sentence.
Say the meaning the sentence needs: reject, perform, surrender, begin suddenly.
Map it: reject = turn down, perform = carry out, surrender = give in, begin suddenly = break out.
Check the words after the blank: an object, a 'to', or nothing.
With different verbs the options cannot be confused by shape; meaning and the words around the blank decide.
The college turned ___ his application because the marks card was incomplete.
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The college refused the application, so the meaning is 'rejected'.
Rejected = turned down.
Turned up would mean the application appeared.
down
look forward to / be used to / object to + -ing
The blank comes right after 'look forward to', 'be used to' or 'object to'. The options mix the base verb and the -ing form.
Spot the phrase ending in 'to'.
Remember that this 'to' is a preposition.
Pick the -ing form.
A preposition is followed by a noun or an -ing form, never by a base verb.
The villagers objected to ___ extra for the new water connection.
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The phrase is 'objected to'.
Here 'to' is a preposition.
So the -ing form follows: 'paying'.
paying
break and run families
The options share 'break' or 'run' with different particles (break out / break down / break into; run out of / run into / run over).
Decide the meaning: begin suddenly, stop working, enter by force; have none left, meet by chance, hit with a vehicle.
Match: break out, break down, break into; run out of, run into, run over.
Check the subject: fires and wars break out; machines break down.
Each particle gives the verb a separate meaning, and the subject of the sentence usually points to it.
Our bus broke ___ on the highway, so we reached the venue late.
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A bus that stops working has 'broken down'.
Break out is for fires, wars and diseases.
Break into means enter by force.
down
Shortcuts that save time
Put the sentence's action in one plain word: cancelled, tolerated, abolished. Then pick the phrasal verb that means that word.
The company had to call ___ the proposed merger after the audit.
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The action is 'cancel'.
Cancel = call off.
Call up = telephone, call for = demand, call out = shout.
off
Replace each option with a one-word verb (call off = cancel, turn down = reject). The option whose swap keeps the meaning is right.
Ask what happens to the object: stopped or removed (off, out), raised (up), lowered or refused (down), accepted (in). Match that to the particle.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Picking the particle your first language would use.
Learn each phrasal verb as one unit with its English meaning.
Mixing 'put up with' (tolerate) and 'put off' (postpone) because both start with 'put'.
Say the meaning first, then choose: tolerate = put up with, postpone = put off.
Reading only the clause with the blank.
Read the whole sentence; the doer and the reason are often in the other clause.
Writing 'was broken out' for a fire or a war.
Break out has no passive: 'a fire broke out'.
Writing 'look forward to meet you'.
The 'to' here is a preposition: look forward to meeting you.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
A phrasal verb is verb + small word with a new meaning: call off = cancel.
call off cancel; call on urge; call for demand; call up telephone.
look after care for; look into investigate; look up to admire; look down upon despise.
put off postpone; put up with tolerate; turn down reject; give in surrender.
look forward to / be used to / object to + -ing.
Pronouns go inside two-part verbs (call it off); three-part verbs never split.
Test each option in the sentence; meaning decides, not familiarity.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 7 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.