Phrasal Verbs – English Grammar Exercises for B1
You are sending a long message to your best friend, updating them on your family life, your relationships with different relatives, and your daily responsibilities. Choose the correct phrasal verb to complete the story naturally.
1 Since my mom started her new night shift, I have to ______ my little sister every evening.
(A) care after
(B) take care
(C) look after
(D) look for
2 I consider myself very lucky because I really ______ my older brother; we almost never argue.
(A) get on well with
(B) keep up with
(C) get in well with
(D) get well with
3 We ______ in a very small apartment in the city, so we spent most of our childhood sharing a single bedroom.
(A) raised up
(B) grew out
(C) grown up
(D) grew up
4 Everyone says I ______ my mother because we both have the exact same smile and stubborn personality.
(A) take from
(B) take after
(C) look after
(D) take after to
5 Because my parents worked abroad, my grandparents ______ when I was a toddler.
(A) grew me up
(B) brought up me
(C) brought me up
(D) raised up me
6 Last week, my sister and I ______ over a silly misunderstanding and we didn’t speak for three days.
(A) fell down
(B) fell apart
(C) fell out
(D) falled out
7 Thankfully, we talked about our feelings and decided to ______ yesterday over a cup of coffee.
(A) make it up
(B) make up
(C) do up
(D) make over
8 As a kid, I always ______ my grandfather because he was the kindest and wisest man I knew.
(A) looked up at
(B) looked forward to
(C) looked up
(D) looked up to
9 Whenever I have a serious personal problem, I know I can always ______ my family for support.
(A) depend to
(B) count on
(C) believe on
(D) count up
10 We used to be completely inseparable as kids, but sadly, my cousin and I have ______ over the years.
(A) grown away
(B) grown out
(C) grown apart
(D) growed apart
11 When my little brother accidentally broke the antique vase, my dad really ______.
(A) told him off
(B) told off him
(C) spoke him off
(D) shouted him out
12 I love my teenage son deeply, but sometimes it is very hard to ______ his messy bedroom and loud music.
(A) stand up with
(B) put up to
(C) deal out
(D) put up with
13 I promised I would attend my niece’s piano recital, and I definitely didn’t want to ______.
(A) let down her
(B) drop her down
(C) let her down
(D) put her down
14 My mom was feeling quite sad about turning fifty, so we bought her a beautiful bouquet of flowers to ______.
(A) happy her up
(B) make her up
(C) cheer up her
(D) cheer her up
15 My youngest brother is definitely the favorite child; he can ______ absolutely anything without getting punished!
(A) get out with
(B) escape with
(C) get away with
(D) get away from
16 Even though we are all busy, my entire extended family tries to ______ for a big dinner every Sunday.
(A) gather up together
(B) get together
(C) meet up to
(D) come across
17 Now that I am an adult living alone, I love to ______ my childhood holidays with such fond memories.
(A) return back to
(B) remind back
(C) look back on
(D) reflect back
18 It took my brother a long time to mature, but he finally ______ and started a beautiful family.
(A) sat down
(B) calmed down
(C) settled up
(D) settled down
19 It was incredibly emotional when I had to ______ the family home at eighteen to go to university.
(A) leave out of
(B) move out of
(C) move out from
(D) pass away from
20 Being a parent is exhausting, but seeing your younger siblings or children succeed makes you realize that all the hard work ______.
(A) gives off
(B) pays off
(C) pays back
(D) works off
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) look after
Why it is correct: “Look after” means to take care of someone or something.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) care after (Common Mistake: mixing “care for” and “look after”). – (B) take care (Structural Error: missing the preposition “of” to connect to the object “my little sister”). – (D) look for (Strong Distractor: means to search for something lost, which changes the meaning completely).
2 (A) get on well with
Why it is correct: “Get on well with” (or “get along well with”) is the standard 3-part phrasal verb meaning to have a good, friendly relationship with someone.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) keep up with (Strong Distractor: means to move at the same speed as someone, not about relationship quality). – (C) get in well with (Common Mistake: adding “in” incorrectly). – (D) get well with (Structural Error: missing the particle “on” or “along”).
3 (D) grew up
Why it is correct: “Grow up” means to gradually become an adult / spend your childhood in a particular place.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) raised up (Common Mistake: mixing active/passive. Parents raise children, but children grow up). – (B) grew out (Strong Distractor: “grow out of” means to become too big to wear certain clothes). – (C) grown up (Structural Error: past participle used without an auxiliary verb like “had” or “have”).
4 (B) take after
Why it is correct: “Take after” means to resemble an older family member in appearance or character.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) take from (Common Mistake: literal translation error from native languages). – (C) look after (Strong Distractor: means to care for, not to look similar to). – (D) take after to (Structural Error: “take after” does not take “to”).
5 (C) brought me up
Why it is correct: “Bring up” means to raise a child. Because “me” is a pronoun, it must go exactly between the verb and the particle.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) grew me up (Common Mistake: “grow up” is intransitive; you cannot “grow someone up”). – (B) brought up me (Structural Error: the pronoun is placed incorrectly at the end). – (D) raised up me (Structural Error: “raise” is just a normal verb, adding “up” and putting the pronoun at the end is entirely wrong).
6 (C) fell out
Why it is correct: “Fall out” means to have an argument and stop being friends/friendly.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) fell down (Common Mistake: literal physical falling to the ground). – (B) fell apart (Strong Distractor: means a system failed or a person had an emotional breakdown, not an argument between two people). – (D) falled out (Structural Error: incorrect irregular past tense of “fall”).
7 (B) make up
Why it is correct: “Make up” (intransitive) means to forgive each other and become friendly again after an argument.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) make it up (Structural Error: “make it up” requires “to someone”, e.g., “I will make it up to you”). – (C) do up (Strong Distractor: means to redecorate a room or fasten a jacket). – (D) make over (Common Mistake: means to give someone a physical beauty transformation).
8 (D) looked up to
Why it is correct: “Look up to” means to admire and respect someone.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) looked up at (Common Mistake: literally looking at something above you physically). – (B) looked forward to (Strong Distractor: means to be excited about a future event). – (C) looked up (Structural Error: missing the preposition “to” to connect to the object “my grandfather”).
9 (B) count on
Why it is correct: “Count on” means to rely on or trust someone for support.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) depend to (Structural Error: the correct preposition is “depend on“). – (C) believe on (Common Mistake: the correct phrasing is “believe in“). – (D) count up (Strong Distractor: means to calculate a total number).
10 (C) grown apart
Why it is correct: “Grow apart” means that people slowly stop being close friends or having a good relationship over time.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) grown away (Common Mistake: literal translation of distance). – (B) grown out (Strong Distractor: means to become too old/big for something). – (D) growed apart (Structural Error: wrong past participle form of “grow”).
11 (A) told him off
Why it is correct: “Tell off” means to speak angrily to someone for doing something wrong. The pronoun “him” must separate the verb and particle.
Distractor Analysis: – (B) told off him (Structural Error: wrong pronoun placement). – (C) spoke him off (Common Mistake: confusing “speak to” and “tell off”). – (D) shouted him out (Strong Distractor: “shout out” is modern slang for publicly praising someone, which is the opposite of scolding).
12 (D) put up with
Why it is correct: “Put up with” is a 3-part phrasal verb meaning to tolerate an unpleasant situation or person without complaining.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) stand up with (Common Mistake: confusing “stand” (tolerate) and “put up with”). – (B) put up to (Structural Error: wrong preposition; “put someone up to” means encouraging them to do something bad). – (C) deal out (Strong Distractor: means to distribute things, like cards in a game).
13 (C) let her down
Why it is correct: “Let down” means to disappoint someone by failing to do what you promised. The pronoun “her” must go in the middle.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) let down her (Structural Error: pronoun placed at the end). – (B) drop her down (Common Mistake: literal physical lowering). – (D) put her down (Strong Distractor: means to insult someone or make them feel stupid).
14 (D) cheer her up
Why it is correct: “Cheer up” means to make a sad person feel happier. The pronoun “her” must separate the two parts.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) happy her up (Common Mistake: “happy” is not a verb). – (B) make her up (Strong Distractor: means to apply cosmetics to her face). – (C) cheer up her (Structural Error: wrong pronoun placement).
15 (C) get away with
Why it is correct: “Get away with” means to escape punishment for doing something wrong.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) get out with (Structural Error: invalid phrasal verb combination). – (B) escape with (Common Mistake: literal translation). – (D) get away from (Strong Distractor: means to physically run away from a place or person, not to avoid punishment for a concept “anything”).
16 (B) get together
Why it is correct: “Get together” is the natural phrasal verb for people meeting socially, especially family.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) gather up together (Common Mistake: redundant and unnatural). – (C) meet up to (Structural Error: “meet up” doesn’t take “to” unless followed by a verb, but it’s at the end of the clause here). – (D) come across (Strong Distractor: means to find something by accident).
17 (C) look back on
Why it is correct: “Look back on” means to think about something that happened in the past, often with nostalgia.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) return back to (Common Mistake: extreme redundancy). – (B) remind back (Structural Error: “remind” takes an object, not “back”). – (D) reflect back (Strong Distractor: redundant, “reflect on” is enough, adding “back” makes it clunky).
18 (D) settled down
Why it is correct: “Settle down” means to start living a quiet life in one place, often getting married and having children.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) sat down (Common Mistake: literal physical action). – (B) calmed down (Strong Distractor: means to stop being angry or panicked, not a lifestyle change). – (C) settled up (Structural Error: means to pay money you owe someone).
19 (B) move out of
Why it is correct: “Move out” means to leave the house you are living in. When mentioning the place, you add “of”.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) leave out of (Structural Error: “leave out” means to exclude someone from a group). – (C) move out from (Common Mistake: incorrect preposition choice). – (D) pass away from (Strong Distractor: “pass away” means to die).
20 (B) pays off
Why it is correct: “Pay off” (intransitive) means that a risk or hard work yields good results or success eventually.
Distractor Analysis: – (A) gives off (Structural Error: means to produce a smell, heat, or light). – (C) pays back (Strong Distractor: means to return money you borrowed). – (D) works off (Common Mistake: means to exercise to lose weight).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Relationships Vocabulary: To sound warm and natural, use get on well with (instead of have a good relationship), look after (instead of protect/monitor), and bring up (instead of educate/raise).
- Arguments and Reconciliation: If family members argue, they fall out. When they forgive each other, they make up. If they slowly lose touch over the years, they grow apart.
- The Pronoun Rule: If a phrasal verb is separable (like tell off, let down, cheer up, bring up), and the object is a pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them), the pronoun MUST be trapped in the middle!
- Correct: Tell him off. / Cheer her up.
- Incorrect: Tell off him. / Cheer up her.
- Three-Part Phrasal Verbs: Verbs like look up to (respect), put up with (tolerate), and get away with (avoid punishment) are inseparable. You cannot break them apart, and they are essential for achieving a natural B1/B2 speaking style.