Phrasal Verbs – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are writing a review on TripAdvisor about your recent stay at a beach resort. Choose the correct phrasal verb (A, B, C, or D) to complete your review naturally.
1 We arrived at the resort at 2 PM, but the receptionist told us we couldn’t ______ until 3 PM.
(A) check out
(B) check in
(C) check into
(D) check in it
2 On our last day, we had to ______ early because our flight was at 10 AM.
(A) check off
(B) leave out
(C) check out of
(D) check out
3 The resort offered a free luxury shuttle bus to ______ from the airport.
(A) pick up us
(B) take us up
(C) bring us up
(D) pick us up
4 When the taxi arrived at the resort, the driver ______ right at the main lobby doors.
(A) left us off
(B) dropped us off
(C) dropped off us
(D) let us down
5 My husband and I had been ______ this tropical vacation for over a year!
(A) waiting forward to
(B) looking ahead to
(C) looking forward to
(D) looking forward
6 When we finally got to the front desk, the receptionist asked me to ______ a long registration form.
(A) fill in
(B) write in
(C) note down
(D) fill on
7 We were very disappointed to ______ that the hotel spa was closed for renovations.
(A) look out
(B) find out it
(C) find out
(D) figure out
8 After leaving our bags in the room, we spent the afternoon ______ the beautiful resort gardens.
(A) looking around at
(B) looking for
(C) seeing around
(D) looking around
9 There was a billing error with our room service, but the lovely manager ______ very quickly.
(A) sorted it out
(B) solved it out
(C) figured it
(D) cleared it off
10 Unfortunately, we had to ______ loud construction noise from the pool area every single morning.
(A) put up
(B) stand up to
(C) put up with
(D) tolerate with
11 During a phone call to the front desk, the clerk rudely told me to ______ and then put me on hold for ten minutes.
(A) hold on to
(B) hang up
(C) wait on
(D) hang on
12 Despite the terrible start at the reception, the rest of our holiday ______ to be quite relaxing.
(A) ended up
(B) turned out
(C) came out
(D) resulted out
13 We wanted to avoid the heavy morning traffic, so we ______ for the resort before sunrise.
(A) set off
(B) went off
(C) took off
(D) set out to
14 The room was beautiful, but the noisy air conditioner caused me to ______ multiple times during the night.
(A) wake up
(B) get up
(C) awake up
(D) wake up me
15 We were exhausted after the long flight, so ______ our luxury suite was the only thing on our minds.
(A) checking in
(B) entering into
(C) checking into
(D) check into
16 I had high expectations for their famous seafood buffet, but the terrible food really ______.
(A) put me down
(B) let me down
(C) let down me
(D) dropped me down
17 They charged us $10 for a small bottle of water! We definitely felt like the resort was trying to ______.
(A) rip us off
(B) steal us out
(C) rip off us
(D) tear us off
18 I highly recommend this resort if you want to ______ from the stressful city life for a few days.
(A) escape out
(B) get away
(C) get out away
(D) run away
19 Please be aware that ______ the hotel before 6 AM requires advance notice to the night staff.
(A) checking out
(B) leaving out
(C) check out from
(D) checking out of
20 While walking along the private beach, we ______ a beautiful hidden cave.
(A) met across
(B) found out
(C) came into
(D) came across
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) check in
Why it is correct: “Check in” is the standard intransitive phrasal verb meaning to register upon arriving at a hotel.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) check out (Strong Distractor: means leaving, not arriving). – (C) check into (Common Mistake: “check into” requires a direct object like “check into the hotel,” but there is no object here). – (D) check in it (Structural Error: wrong pronoun placement).
2 (D) check out
Why it is correct: “Check out” is the standard intransitive phrasal verb meaning to pay your bill and leave the hotel.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) check off (Structural Error: means to mark items on a list as completed). – (B) leave out (Strong Distractor: means to omit or not include something). – (C) check out of (Common Mistake: requires an object, e.g., “check out of the room”).
3 (D) pick us up
Why it is correct: “Pick up” means to collect someone in a vehicle. The pronoun “us” MUST go in the middle.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) pick up us (Structural Error: incorrect pronoun placement). – (B) take us up (Common Mistake: literal translation error). – (C) bring us up (Strong Distractor: means to raise a child or introduce a topic).
4 (B) dropped us off
Why it is correct: “Drop off” means to take someone to a place and leave them there.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) left us off (Strong Distractor: confusing “leave” and “drop off”). – (C) dropped off us (Structural Error: incorrect pronoun placement). – (D) let us down (Common Mistake: means to disappoint someone).
5 (C) looking forward to
Why it is correct: “Look forward to” is an inseparable 3-part phrasal verb meaning to feel excited about a future event.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) waiting forward to (Common Mistake: mistranslating the feeling of “waiting excitedly”). – (B) looking ahead to (Strong Distractor: means to plan for the future, lacking the excitement factor). – (D) looking forward (Structural Error: missing the required preposition “to”).
6 (A) fill in
Why it is correct: “Fill in” (or “fill out”) means to complete a form by writing information on it.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) write in (Structural Error: usually means to write to an organization, not complete a form). – (C) note down (Strong Distractor: means to quickly write something to remember it). – (D) fill on (Common Mistake: invalid preposition).
7 (C) find out
Why it is correct: “Find out” means to discover a fact or piece of information.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) look out (Strong Distractor: means to watch out for danger). – (B) find out it (Structural Error: “it” cannot be placed immediately before a “that” clause). – (D) figure out (Common Mistake: means to solve a problem or understand someone, not to discover a simple fact).
8 (D) looking around
Why it is correct: “Look around” means to explore a place by walking around it and seeing what is there.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) looking around at (Structural Error: ending with a preposition without an object). – (B) looking for (Strong Distractor: means searching for a lost item). – (C) seeing around (Common Mistake: unnatural verb combination).
9 (A) sorted it out
Why it is correct: “Sort out” means to resolve a problem. The pronoun “it” must be placed in the middle.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) solved it out (Common Mistake: “solve” does not take “out”). – (C) figured it (Structural Error: missing the particle “out”). – (D) cleared it off (Strong Distractor: means to remove items from a surface).
10 (C) put up with
Why it is correct: “Put up with” is a 3-part phrasal verb meaning to tolerate an annoying or unpleasant situation.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) put up (Common Mistake: missing “with”). – (B) stand up to (Strong Distractor: means to bravely confront a bully or threat). – (D) tolerate with (Structural Error: “tolerate” is a regular verb and does not take “with”).
11 (D) hang on
Why it is correct: “Hang on” means to wait for a short time (especially on the phone).
Distractor Analysis: – (A) hold on to (Structural Error: requires an object, meaning to grip something tightly). – (B) hang up (Strong Distractor: means to end a phone call, which contradicts “put me on hold”). – (C) wait on (Common Mistake: means to serve food to customers in a restaurant).
12 (B) turned out
Why it is correct: “Turn out” means to happen in a particular way or have a final result, often unexpectedly.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) ended up (Strong Distractor: “ended up” must be followed by an -ing verb or prepositional phrase, not an infinitive “to be”). – (C) came out (Common Mistake: means to be published or revealed). – (D) resulted out (Structural Error: mixing “resulted in” and “turned out”).
13 (A) set off
Why it is correct: “Set off” means to begin a journey.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) went off (Common Mistake: means an alarm rang or food went bad). – (C) took off (Strong Distractor: usually used for airplanes or leaving very quickly). – (D) set out to (Structural Error: requires a verb following it, e.g., “set out to explore”).
14 (A) wake up
Why it is correct: “Wake up” means to stop sleeping.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) get up (Strong Distractor: means to physically leave the bed, but the noise caused her to stop sleeping). – (C) awake up (Structural Error: invalid combination). – (D) wake up me (Common Mistake: wrong pronoun placement).
15 (C) checking into
Why it is correct: “Check into” is used when there is a direct object following it (“our luxury suite”). As the subject of the clause, it needs the gerund form (-ing).
Distractor Analysis: – (A) checking in (Common Mistake: missing the preposition “to” to connect to the object). – (B) entering into (Strong Distractor: used for agreements/contracts, not hotel rooms). – (D) check into (Structural Error: base verb cannot be the subject here).
16 (B) let me down
Why it is correct: “Let down” means to disappoint someone. The pronoun “me” MUST go in the middle.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) put me down (Strong Distractor: means to insult someone). – (C) let down me (Structural Error: incorrect pronoun placement). – (D) dropped me down (Common Mistake: literal translation).
17 (A) rip us off
Why it is correct: “Rip off” means to overcharge someone or cheat them financially.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) steal us out (Structural Error: invalid phrase). – (C) rip off us (Structural Error: incorrect pronoun placement). – (D) tear us off (Common Mistake: literal translation).
18 (B) get away
Why it is correct: “Get away” means to go on a holiday or escape from daily stress.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) escape out (Common Mistake: redundancy). – (C) get out away (Structural Error: double particle). – (D) run away (Strong Distractor: means to flee secretly from danger or home).
19 (D) checking out of
Why it is correct: “Check out of” is the correct form when followed by an object (“the hotel”). As the subject, it needs the gerund (-ing).
Distractor Analysis: – (A) checking out (Common Mistake: missing the preposition “of” to connect to the object). – (B) leaving out (Strong Distractor: means to omit). – (C) check out from (Structural Error: wrong preposition and wrong verb form).
20 (D) came across
Why it is correct: “Come across” means to find something by chance.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) met across (Common Mistake: invalid verb). – (B) found out (Strong Distractor: means to discover a fact, not a physical location). – (C) came into (Structural Error: means to inherit money/property).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Check in vs. Check into / Check out vs. Check out of:
- Use Check in / Check out when there is NO object. (Example: We checked in at 2 PM. / We need to check out early.)
- Use Check into / Check out of when you specifically mention the place. (Example: We checked into the hotel. / We checked out of our room.)
- Hotel Jargon: To sound like an experienced traveler, use drop off (to be left at a destination), fill in (to complete a registration form), sort out (to resolve an issue with the bill or room), and rip off (when the hotel charges you way too much money!).
- The Pronoun Rule: For separable phrasal verbs like pick up, drop off, let down, rip off, if the object is a pronoun (it, us, me, him, her, them), you MUST place it directly between the verb and the particle.
- Correct: Drop us off. / Rip us off.
- Incorrect: Drop off us. / Rip off us.