Phrasal Verbs – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are telling your friends about a terrible road trip you took last weekend that was ruined by car trouble. Choose the correct phrasal verb to complete the story naturally.
1 We were so excited for the picnic, so we ______ early in the morning to avoid the heavy city traffic.
(A) took off
(B) set off
(C) went out
(D) set off to
2 Before leaving town, I drove to Sarah’s house to ______ for the trip.
(A) pick her up
(B) pick up her
(C) bring her up
(D) take her up
3 Everything was going perfectly until my old car suddenly ______ in the middle of nowhere.
(A) broke off
(B) broke out
(C) broke down
(D) broken down
4 I glanced at the dashboard and realized we had ______ petrol miles ago!
(A) run out
(B) run out of
(C) ran out of
(D) run away with
5 We had to ______ the car to push it to the side of the road safely.
(A) get out of
(B) get out from
(C) get off
(D) get away
6 The engine was smoking, so I knew I had to ______ immediately before it caught fire.
(A) pull up
(B) stop over
(C) pull over
(D) pull over it
7 I opened the hood to ______ the problem, but I know nothing about car engines.
(A) look out
(B) look for
(C) look into
(D) look at to
8 We tried calling for a tow truck, but we couldn’t ______ to anyone because there was no signal.
(A) get over
(B) get through
(C) get across
(D) get to through
9 Sarah tried to ______ how to fix the radiator by reading the car manual.
(A) figure out
(B) figure out it
(C) make out
(D) solve out
10 After an hour in the boiling sun, we were exhausted and almost ready to ______.
(A) give in
(B) give up
(C) give away
(D) give up it
11 Another driver finally stopped to help us, but he was ______ by his angry wife who wanted to keep moving.
(A) hurried up
(B) told off
(C) shouted out
(D) told off by
12 We asked if he could take us to a gas station, but he said it was too far to ______.
(A) turn back
(B) return back
(C) go backwards
(D) turn behind
13 We had been delayed for so long that there was no way we could ______ our original schedule.
(A) catch up with
(B) catch up to with
(C) keep up
(D) reach up with
14 Eventually, a kind farmer stopped his truck and offered to ______ at the nearest town.
(A) drop off us
(B) leave us off
(C) drop us off
(D) let us down
15 I usually love summer, but I really couldn’t ______ the terrible heat while waiting on the highway.
(A) stand up to
(B) put up with
(C) tolerate with
(D) put up
16 Because we stood in the dusty wind for hours, Sarah ended up ______ a terrible cold the next day.
(A) coming down with
(B) catching down with
(C) falling down with
(D) getting sick of
17 We had to cancel the picnic, but I promised Sarah I would ______ it next weekend.
(A) make up to
(B) make up for
(C) do up for
(D) make up for it
18 Despite the disaster, we decided to ______ walking toward the village to find a cafe.
(A) carry on
(B) carry on with
(C) keep on to
(D) move on
19 The situation was stressful, but it ______ to be a funny story we now laugh about.
(A) turned out
(B) came out
(C) resulted out
(D) turned out that
20 When I ______ that day, I realize I really need to buy a newer, more reliable car.
(A) look back on
(B) reflect back on
(C) look back at on
(D) think back to
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) set off
Why it is correct: “Set off” means to start a journey.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) took off (Strong Distractor: grammatically fine, but usually implies leaving hastily or refers to airplanes).
- (C) went out (Common Mistake: too general, usually means leaving the house for social events, not starting a road trip).
- (D) set off to (Structural Error: “set off” does not take “to” unless followed directly by a destination noun, which isn’t the case here).
2 (A) pick her up
Why it is correct: “Pick up” is a separable phrasal verb. When the object is a pronoun (“her”), it MUST go in the middle.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) pick up her (Structural Error: pronoun placed after the particle).
- (C) bring her up (Strong Distractor: means to raise a child or mention a topic).
- (D) take her up (Common Mistake: literal translation error from native languages).
3 (C) broke down
Why it is correct: “Break down” is the precise phrasal verb for when a vehicle or machine stops working.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) broke off (Strong Distractor: means to detach or suddenly stop talking).
- (B) broke out (Common Mistake: means to escape or suddenly start, like a fire or war).
- (D) broken down (Structural Error: Past participle form used without an auxiliary like “had/was”).
4 (B) run out of
Why it is correct: “Run out of” means to completely use up a supply of something.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) run out (Structural Error: missing the preposition “of” to connect to the object “petrol”).
- (C) ran out of (Common Mistake: using the V2 form instead of the V3 “run” after the past perfect auxiliary “had”).
- (D) run away with (Strong Distractor: wrong meaning, implies stealing something).
5 (A) get out of
Why it is correct: You “get out of” a car (unlike buses or trains, where you “get off”).
Distractor Analysis: – (B) get out from (Structural Error: incorrect preposition collocated with “get”).
- (C) get off (Common Mistake: used for public transport like buses/trains, not private cars).
- (D) get away (Strong Distractor: means to escape from a person or place).
6 (C) pull over
Why it is correct: “Pull over” means to steer a vehicle to the side of the road and stop.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) pull up (Strong Distractor: means to arrive and stop, but “pull over” specifically emphasizes moving to the side for safety).
- (B) stop over (Common Mistake: means a temporary stay during a long journey, like a flight layover).
- (D) pull over it (Structural Error: “pull over” is intransitive here; it doesn’t take a direct object).
7 (C) look into
Why it is correct: “Look into” means to investigate or examine a problem.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) look out (Common Mistake: means to be careful or watch out).
- (B) look for (Strong Distractor: means to search for a lost item, not to investigate an issue).
- (D) look at to (Structural Error: double preposition).
8 (B) get through
Why it is correct: “Get through” means to successfully make contact on the phone.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) get over (Strong Distractor: means to recover from an illness or shock).
- (C) get across (Common Mistake: means to successfully communicate an idea).
- (D) get to through (Structural Error: invalid combination of prepositions).
9 (A) figure out
Why it is correct: “Figure out” means to understand or solve a problem.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) figure out it (Structural Error: pronoun must go in the middle: “figure it out”, though here it precedes a “how to” clause so “it” is entirely wrong).
- (C) make out (Strong Distractor: means to see/hear with difficulty).
- (D) solve out (Common Mistake: false combination, “solve” does not take “out”).
10 (B) give up
Why it is correct: “Give up” means to stop trying or surrender.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) give in (Strong Distractor: means to finally agree to something you opposed, or surrender to an opponent/feeling).
- (C) give away (Common Mistake: means to donate or reveal a secret).
- (D) give up it (Structural Error: intransitive use doesn’t take an object here).
11 (B) told off
Why it is correct: “Tell off” means to speak angrily to someone because they did something wrong.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) hurried up (Strong Distractor: means to make someone go faster, but doesn’t convey the “angry wife” context as naturally).
- (C) shouted out (Common Mistake: means to announce loudly, not to scold).
- (D) told off by (Structural Error: “by” is already in the stem after the blank).
12 (A) turn back
Why it is correct: “Turn back” means to return the way you came.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) return back (Common Mistake: redundancy/tautology. “Return” already means to go back).
- (C) go backwards (Strong Distractor: means to move in reverse gear).
- (D) turn behind (Structural Error: invalid phrasal verb).
13 (A) catch up with
Why it is correct: “Catch up with” means to reach the same level or schedule as originally planned.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) catch up to with (Structural Error: too many prepositions).
- (C) keep up (Common Mistake: means to maintain pace, but they were already delayed, so they needed to catch up).
- (D) reach up with (Strong Distractor: incorrect verb collocated with the particles).
14 (C) drop us off
Why it is correct: “Drop off” means to take someone to a place and leave them there. With a pronoun, it must be separated.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) drop off us (Structural Error: pronoun cannot go at the end).
- (B) leave us off (Common Mistake: mixing “leave” and “drop off”).
- (D) let us down (Strong Distractor: means to disappoint someone).
15 (B) put up with
Why it is correct: A 3-part phrasal verb meaning to tolerate an unpleasant situation.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) stand up to (Strong Distractor: means to defend yourself against a bully/threat).
- (C) tolerate with (Structural Error: “tolerate” is a regular verb that does not take “with”).
- (D) put up (Common Mistake: missing “with”, “put up” alone means to provide accommodation or build).
16 (A) coming down with
Why it is correct: “Come down with” means to start getting an illness (like a cold).
Distractor Analysis: – (B) catching down with (Structural Error: fake phrasal verb, mixing “catch a cold” and “come down with”).
- (C) falling down with (Common Mistake: literal translation error).
- (D) getting sick of (Strong Distractor: means to be annoyed by something, not physically ill).
17 (B) make up for
Why it is correct: “Make up for” means to compensate for something bad.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) make up to (Strong Distractor: means to be unusually nice to someone to get favor).
- (C) do up for (Structural Error: “do up” means to redecorate or fasten).
- (D) make up for it (Common Mistake: “it” is already acting as the object in the sentence stem “it next weekend”).
18 (A) carry on
Why it is correct: “Carry on” means to continue doing something.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) carry on with (Structural Error: “with” requires a noun object immediately after, but here it’s followed by a gerund “walking”).
- (C) keep on to (Common Mistake: “keep on” takes an -ing verb directly, no “to”).
- (D) move on (Strong Distractor: means to forget the past and start a new phase in life, not physically continue walking).
19 (A) turned out
Why it is correct: “Turn out” means to result or end up in a particular way.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) came out (Strong Distractor: means to be published or revealed).
- (C) resulted out (Common Mistake: mixing “resulted in” and “turned out”).
- (D) turned out that (Structural Error: “that” introduces a clause, but here we have the infinitive “to be”).
20 (A) look back on
Why it is correct: “Look back on” means to reflect on a past event.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) reflect back on (Common Mistake: redundancy, “reflect” already implies looking back).
- (C) look back at on (Structural Error: too many prepositions).
- (D) think back to (Strong Distractor: structurally correct, but “look back on” is the stronger, more natural collocation for reflecting on memories).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Separable vs. Inseparable: Many phrasal verbs are separable (e.g., pick up, drop off). Crucial rule: If the object is a pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them), it must go in the middle!
Correct: Drop us off.
Wrong: Drop off us. - Three-Part Phrasal Verbs: Verbs like run out of, come down with, put up with, look back on are inseparable. You cannot put objects between them. They are excellent for B1/B2 learners to sound fluent.
- Vehicle-Specific Verbs: Always use break down (stop working), pull over (stop at the side of the road), and get out of (exit a car – remember: use get off for buses/trains).
- Avoid Redundancies: Common mistakes happen when learners translate directly. Do not say return back (just turn back or return) because both words carry the same directional meaning.