The ultimate phrasal verb book

427 Pages·1999·1.548 MB·English

by  Hart C.W.

THE ULTIMATE PHRASAL VERB BOOK
Contents...............................................................................4 7. FOCUS ON: separable phrasal verbs with long
objects..........................................................................45
TO THE TEACHER..........................................................6 cut up......................................................................45
hold up....................................................................46
let out......................................................................46
TO THE STUDENT...........................................................7 point out..................................................................47
run over...................................................................47
see about.................................................................48
1. FOCUS ON: separable and nonseparable phrasal take in.....................................................................48
verbs...............................................................................9
8. FOCUS ON: present perfect phrasal verbs..............54
come from.................................................................9
figure out.................................................................10 burn out...................................................................54
give back.................................................................10 fall over...................................................................55
look for....................................................................10 fight back................................................................55
put on......................................................................10 hear of.....................................................................56
run into....................................................................11 pick out...................................................................56
show up...................................................................11 tear down................................................................56
take off....................................................................12 work in....................................................................57
2. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and do, does, and did....16 9. FOCUS ON: two-word phrasal verbs that require an
additional particle when used with an object, 1....61
come off..................................................................17
doze off...................................................................18 break out.................................................................62
fall for.....................................................................18 catch up...................................................................62
give in.....................................................................18 chicken out.............................................................63
hear about................................................................18 get along.................................................................63
pull through.............................................................18 give up....................................................................63
stay off....................................................................19 hang up...................................................................63
throw up..................................................................19 hook up...................................................................64
work up...................................................................64
3. FOCUS ON: three-word phrasal verbs.....................22
10. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs used as nouns, 1..........69
feel up to.................................................................22
get over with...........................................................22 fall off.....................................................................69
go along with..........................................................22 kick back.................................................................70
go in for...................................................................23 lay off......................................................................70
look forward to.......................................................23 screw up..................................................................71
put up with..............................................................23
screw out of............................................................23
11. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs used in compound
talk down to............................................................23
nouns............................................................................76
4. FOCUS ON: present and past continuous phrasal backup.....................................................................77
verbs.............................................................................26 cut off......................................................................78
drop off...................................................................79
cheat on...................................................................26 follow up.................................................................80
go after....................................................................26 take out...................................................................80
look up....................................................................27 try out......................................................................81
pay for.....................................................................27 wake up...................................................................82
plan for....................................................................28 work out..................................................................82
point to....................................................................28
put to.......................................................................28
12. FOCUS ON: past perfect phrasal verbs..................89
wrap up...................................................................29
back off...................................................................89
5. FOCUS ON: pronunciation of two-word phrasal come across............................................................90
verbs.............................................................................32 come up..................................................................90
fall through............................................................91
break down.............................................................32 put out.....................................................................91
burn down...............................................................34
call in.......................................................................34
13. FOCUS ON: passive phrasal verbs, 1......................95
find out....................................................................34
hand back................................................................34 call off.....................................................................95
look at.....................................................................35 dose off...................................................................95
setup........................................................................35 hand in....................................................................96
let off.......................................................................97
6. FOCUS ON: pronunciation of three-word phrasal light up....................................................................97
verbs.............................................................................40 track down..............................................................98
boil down to............................................................40
14. FOCUS ON: participle adjectives formed from
come down with.....................................................40
phrasal verbs, 1........................................................102
come up with..........................................................41
get around to...........................................................41 butt in....................................................................103
get out of.................................................................41 dress up.................................................................103
go back on...............................................................41 dry up....................................................................103
go through with......................................................42 fill out...................................................................104
monkey around with...............................................42 put away................................................................104
stick up..................................................................104 zip up....................................................................165
use up....................................................................105
22. FOCUS ON: the particle up and the adverbs right
15. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and will or be going to and all........................................................................169
.....................................................................................111
burn up..................................................................170
blow away.............................................................112 clear up.................................................................170
come through........................................................112 count up................................................................171
dry out...................................................................113 eat up.....................................................................171
fix up.....................................................................113 heat up...................................................................171
go with..................................................................114 pay up...................................................................171
head back..............................................................115 plug up..................................................................172
tell on....................................................................116 wipe up.................................................................172
16. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs with gerund objects, 1 23. FOCUS ON: two-word phrasal verbs that require
.....................................................................................120 an additional particle when used with an object, 2
....................................................................................176
believe in...............................................................120
carry on.................................................................121 crack down...........................................................176
count on................................................................121 cut down...............................................................176
get through............................................................122 drop out.................................................................178
go for.....................................................................123 get away................................................................178
hold off..................................................................123 hold out.................................................................179
put past..................................................................123 make up................................................................179
think about............................................................124 stay out..................................................................181
watch out..............................................................181
17. FOCUS ON: adverbs and phrasal verbs...............129
24. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs used as nouns, 2........185
come over..............................................................130
get back at.............................................................130 come down...........................................................185
go about................................................................131 Let up....................................................................186
grow out of............................................................131 print out................................................................186
rip up.....................................................................131 show off................................................................187
wear down.............................................................132 slow down.............................................................187
stop over...............................................................188
18. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and can, could, will, and trade in..................................................................188
would..........................................................................137
25. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and have to, have got to,
breakthrough.........................................................138
and must....................................................................193
figure on................................................................138
get off....................................................................139 do with..................................................................194
go beyond..............................................................140 have on..................................................................194
lift upon.................................................................140 hurry up................................................................195
line up...................................................................140 knock over............................................................195
stand around..........................................................141 lighten up..............................................................195
tell apart................................................................141 plan ahead.............................................................195
settle for................................................................196
19. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and the adverb right.145 think up.................................................................196
aim at.....................................................................145
26. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and the adverb back.199
bring back.............................................................146
bring over..............................................................146 get together...........................................................199
cool off..................................................................146 go over..................................................................200
go back..................................................................147 go up.....................................................................201
hand over..............................................................147 let in on.................................................................201
pull over................................................................147 open up.................................................................202
warm up................................................................148 put together...........................................................202
shut off..................................................................202
20. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs followed by the -ing start up..................................................................203
form............................................................................153
27. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs with the particle off and
end up....................................................................153
the adverb right........................................................207
go around..............................................................153
Go off....................................................................155 bite off...................................................................208
hang around..........................................................156 break off................................................................208
lie around..............................................................157 dry off...................................................................208
start out.................................................................157 knock off...............................................................209
stay up...................................................................157 tear off...................................................................209
wash off................................................................209
21. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and should and ought to wear off.................................................................210
.....................................................................................162 wipe off.................................................................210
look around...........................................................163
28. FOCUS ON: passive phrasal verbs, 2....................215
look over...............................................................163
pick on...................................................................163 beef up..................................................................215
settle down............................................................164 break up................................................................215
step on...................................................................164 call back................................................................216
take out on............................................................164 call up...................................................................216
think ahead............................................................165 carry out................................................................216
give away..............................................................217 live with................................................................271
mess up.................................................................217 make of.................................................................272
stand up.................................................................218 narrow down.........................................................272
trick into................................................................272
29. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and might, may, and can
.....................................................................................222 36. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs with the particle down
....................................................................................276
ask for...................................................................222
come apart.............................................................223 back down.............................................................276
drop in...................................................................223 calm down............................................................277
flip out...................................................................223 fall down...............................................................277
look out.................................................................223 go down................................................................277
luck out.................................................................223 lay down...............................................................278
make out................................................................224 put down...............................................................278
run across..............................................................224 run down...............................................................279
sit down................................................................280
30. FOCUS ON: participle adjectives formed from
phrasal verbs, 2........................................................228 37. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs used as nouns, 3........285
lock in...................................................................229 brush off................................................................285
Lock out................................................................229 come on................................................................286
punch in................................................................230 cover up................................................................287
put out...................................................................230 hang out................................................................287
sort out..................................................................231 leave over left over...............................................287
space out...............................................................232 Let down...............................................................288
wash up.................................................................232 talk to....................................................................289
31. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and gerund subjects.238 38. FOCUS ON: the verb keep and adverbs and
adverbials showing degrees of variability............294
care for..................................................................238
cut out...................................................................239 keep at...................................................................295
do away with.........................................................239 keep away.............................................................295
do without.............................................................240 keep down.............................................................295
look into................................................................240 keep from..............................................................296
plan on...................................................................240 keep off.................................................................296
put off....................................................................240 keep on..................................................................296
rule out..................................................................241 keep to...................................................................297
keep up..................................................................297
32. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs with the particle out.244
39. FOCUS ON: passive phrasal verbs, 3....................301
clean out................................................................245
clear out................................................................246 chop up.................................................................302
come out................................................................246 cross off................................................................302
empty out..............................................................248 fill up.....................................................................302
fall out...................................................................248 pick up..................................................................303
go out....................................................................248 sell out...................................................................304
leave out................................................................249 straighten out........................................................305
stick out.................................................................249 take over...............................................................305
wipe out................................................................306
33. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and midsentence
adverbs.......................................................................255 40. FOCUS ON: gerund phrasal verbs vs. phrasal
verbs followed by the -ing form.............................312
blow up.................................................................256
catch on.................................................................256
come about............................................................257 -ing form..................................................................312
fall behind.............................................................257
goof around...........................................................257 gerund......................................................................312
help out.................................................................258 blow off................................................................312
know about...........................................................258 burst out................................................................313
pull off...................................................................258 come back.............................................................313
get off on...............................................................314
go away.................................................................314
34. FOCUS ON: pronunciation of two-and three-word
run around.............................................................314
phrasal verbs, 2........................................................262
The cat ran around the room chasing the
do over..................................................................262
float around...........................................................263 mouse.................................................................314
lead up to...............................................................263
put up to................................................................263 The children were running around the
stand for................................................................263 museum, and the guard told them to
stick around...........................................................264 stop.....................................................................314
stick to...................................................................264
stick with..............................................................315
take back...............................................................265
41. FOCUS ON: two-word phrasal verbs
35. FOCUS ON: gerund phrasal verbs........................269
with the particle in that require into
fool around............................................................270 when used with an object.............................319
go by......................................................................270
hold against...........................................................271 break in.................................................................320
leave behind..........................................................271 Check out..............................................................321
go in......................................................................322 talk out of..............................................................365
let in......................................................................322
plug in...................................................................322 47. FOCUS ON: particles used without
sneak in...............................................................323
sneak out.............................................................323 verbs........................................................................369
brush up................................................................369
42. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs with get, 1.327 come in.................................................................370
cut back.................................................................370
get back...............................................................327 move in.................................................................371
get behind............................................................328 move out...............................................................371
get down................................................................329 pull out..................................................................372
get in......................................................................329 put in.....................................................................372
get out..................................................................330 run out...................................................................373
get over................................................................331
get up...................................................................332
48. FOCUS ON: modals and present perfect
passive phrasal verbs......................................377
43. FOCUS ON: modals and present perfect
phrasal verbs.......................................................336 close down............................................................378
knock out..............................................................378
blow out...............................................................337 look down on........................................................379
give out.................................................................338 look up to..............................................................379
gross out................................................................338 put back................................................................379
run up....................................................................338 switch off..............................................................380
shut up...................................................................339 throw out...............................................................380
stop off..................................................................339
try on.....................................................................339
49. FOCUS ON: combinations of get, right,
back, and to..........................................................385
44. FOCUS ON: participle adjectives and
passive phrasal verbs with the verb get dog up...................................................................388
.....................................................................................345 get ahead...............................................................388
get back to............................................................388
beat up...................................................................346 get on....................................................................388
mix up...................................................................347 get to.....................................................................389
piss off...................................................................348 hang on.................................................................390
rip off....................................................................348 start off..................................................................390
throw away...........................................................390
45. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs with the
verb turn................................................................353 50. FOCUS ON: Keep at it!...............................395
turn down..............................................................353 ask out...................................................................395
turn in....................................................................353 come down to.......................................................395
turn into.................................................................354 deal with...............................................................395
turn off..................................................................354 hold on..................................................................396
turn on...................................................................355 pay back................................................................396
turn out..................................................................356 take up on.............................................................396
turn over................................................................357 turn around...........................................................396
turn up...................................................................358 wear out................................................................397
46. FOCUS ON: pronunciation of phrasal Answers............................................................................403
verbs with the particle into..........................363
build in..................................................................363 Index.................................................................................425
bump into..............................................................363
con into.................................................................364
con out of..............................................................364
freak out................................................................364
make for................................................................364
talk into.................................................................364
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
4. Present and Past Continuous Phrasal
To the Teacher / iv Verbs / 18
5. Pronunciation of Two-Word Phrasal
To the Student / v Verbs / 24
6. Pronunciation of Three-Word Phrasal
1. Separable and Nonseparable Phrasal
Verbs / 32
Verbs / 1
7. Separable Phrasal Verbs with Long
2. Phrasal Verbs and do, does, and did / 8
Objects / 37
3. Three-Word Phrasal Verbs / 14
8. Present Perfect Phrasal Verbs / 46 41. Two-Word Phrasal Verbs with the Particle in
That Require into When Used with an Object
9. Two-Word Phrasal Verbs That Require an
Additional Particle When Used with an /314
Object, 1 / 53 42. Phrasal Verbs with get, 1 / 322
43. Modals and Present Perfect
10. Phrasal Verbs Used as Nouns, 1 / 61
Phrasal Verbs / 331
11. Phrasal Verbs Used in Compound Nouns / 44. Participle Adjectives and Passive Phrasal
70 Verbs with the Verb get I 340
12. Past Perfect Phrasal Verbs / 83 45. Phrasal Verbs with the Verb rum / 348
46. Pronunciation of Phrasal Verbs
13. Passive Phrasal Verbs, 1 / 91
with the Particle into / 358
14. Participle Adjectives Formed from Phrasal
47. Particles Used Without Verbs / 364
Verbs, 1 / 98 48. Modals and Present Perfect
15. Phrasal Verbs and will or be going to /107 Passive Phrasal Verbs / 372
49. Combinations of get, right, back, and t_ /
16. Phrasal Verbs with Gerund Objects, 1 / 116
380
17. Adverbs and Phrasal Verbs / 125 50. Keep at It! / 390
18. Phrasal Verbs and can, could, will, Answers to Exercises / 398
and would / 133
Index / 410
19. Phrasal Verbs and the Adverb right
I 141
20. Phrasal Verbs Followed by the -ing
Form / 149
21. Phrasal Verbs and should and ought to 158
22. The Particle up and the Adverbs right and all
I 165
23. Two-Word Phrasal Verbs That Require an
Additional Particle When Used with an
Object, 2 / 172
24. Phrasal Verbs Used as Nouns, 2 / 180
25. Phrasal Verbs and have to, have got to, and
must / 188
iii
26. Phrasal Verbs and the Adverb bade / 194
27. Phrasal Verbs with the Particle off and the
Adverb right I 202
28. Passive Phrasal Verbs, 2 / 210
29. Phrasal Verbs and might, may, and can /217
30. Participle Adjectives Formed
from Phrasal Verbs, 2 / 223
31. Phrasal Verbs and Gerund Subjects / 233
32. Phrasal Verbs with the Particle our / 239
33. Phrasal Verbs and
Midsentence Adverbs / 250 34.
Pronunciation of Two- and Three-
Word Phrasal Verbs, 2 / 257
35. Gerund Phrasal Verbs / 264
36. Phrasal Verbs with the Particle down / 271
37. Phrasal Verbs Used as Nouns, 3 / 280
38. The Verb keep and Adverbs and Adverbials
Showing Degrees of Variability / 289
39. Passive Phrasal Verbs, 3 / 296
40. Gerund Phrasal Verbs vs. Phrasal
Verbs Followed by the -ing Form / 307
TO THE TEACHER
The inspiration for The Ultimate Phrasal Verb Book came about when a student asked
me for a textbook to help her learn the meanings of common phrasal verbs. I had
nothing to offer. The only textbook focusing on common verbs that I could give her
contains not one phrasal verb — it teaches arise but not get up, awake but not wake
up, seek but not look for.
Phrasal verbs are verbs, not idiomatic curiosities. There is no logic to classifying
take over with take the bull by the horns. Phrasal verbs are an essential part of
spoken and written English at all levels, and no student who hopes to master the
language can afford to overlook them.
Although this textbook is intended primarily for high-intermediate to advanced
students, ambitious students at lower levels will benefit from it as well. Only some
FOCUS sections may prove to be a little beyond them; otherwise, there is nothing to
prevent any student from studying the definitions and examples and attempting the
exercises.
A vocabulary textbook should provide mechanics as well as meaning. Students
want to know more than what a word means — they want to know how to use it
correctly.
The importance of mechanics is the reason for the emphasis on the prepositions
required when some phrasal verbs are used transitively and for the inclusion of
reviews of points of grammar not specific to phrasal verbs. Prepositions are the glue
that holds English together, but many students falter when using newly learned verbs
because they do not know that a preposition is also required, or if they do, which one.
This aspect of English is not given the attention it deserves because it is difficult to
teach — there are no rules that govern when a preposition, or which preposition, is
required, and no teacher likes to say "You just have to remember."
The hope of the latter feature, the discussion of points of grammar not specific to phrasal
verbs, is that combining practice with phrasal verbs and practice with a variety of
grammatical structures will increase not only the student's confidence in the
knowledge of phrasal verbs but also his or her willingness and ability to use them in a
wider range of situations.
There is inevitably a degree of oversimplification. That phrasal verb particles are
sometimes prepositions and sometimes adverbs is mentioned only once. No purpose
is served by differentiating between them, and the overlap between the two is
confusing to the student. Phrasal verbs are not identified as transitive or intransitive
because this is dictated by logic. Less common meanings of some phrasal verbs have
not been included. Adverb placement is presented and illustrated in simplified form
without discussion of the different types of adverbs — doing so would have gone
beyond the scope of this textbook.
iv
THE ULTIMATE PHRASAL VERB BOOK Student
And no differentiation is made between recognized adjectives derived from past participles and
past participles with adjectival meaning. The adjectival use of past participles (both phrasal and
nonphrasal) is an extremely important aspect of spoken English — something every student of
English should be familiar with — yet the dividing line between true adjectives derived from
past participles and passive sentences employing past participles with adjectival meanings is
ill-defined and problematic. Native speakers of English regularly use past participles in
superficially passive sentences with purely adjectival meaning. Whether the past participles are
verbs or actually adjectives is of no concern to the native speaker and is entirely irrelevant to
the student of English. Rather than distract the student with an unnecessary element of
confusion, both are referred to as participle adjectives throughout this textbook.
The exercises in this textbook are intended to reinforce meaning and mechanics. A cloze
exercise always comes first, followed by exercises focusing on sentence structure and the
FOCUS discussion. Last are exercises that ask the student to answer questions or write
original sentences.
There is a good deal of review built into this textbook. Every section contains two or more
exercises requiring the student to refer back to a previous section in order to review a phrasal
verb, participle adjective, or noun. When a phrasal verb has two or more meanings, it is
intentional that no help is provided to the student in determining which meaning applies;
students have to review them all and figure it out for themselves.
I have tried in this textbook to imitate the form and content of everyday English. If
occasionally the register and subject matter of some examples and exercises seem not quite
right for formal discourse, that is deliberate. Students need to learn formal English, of course,
but since most people speak informally most of the time, students need to gain familiarity with
the syntax, usage, and content of the informal English they read and hear every day at work, at
school, at home, and on television.
TO THE STUDENT
Phrasal verbs are combinations of ordinary verbs like put, take, come, and go and particles like
in, out, on, and off. They are a very important part of everyday English. Every student of
English needs a basic understanding of the most common phrasal verbs and also of common
nouns and adjectives made from phrasal verbs.
Most phrasal verbs are nor informal, slang, or improper for educated speech or formal writing.
Exactly the opposite is true — most phrasal verbs are acceptable at all levels of spoken or
written English. In fact, for many of the phrasal verbs in this textbook, there is no alternative to
the phrasal verb — there is no other way to say it.
v
However, a few phrasal verbs in this textbook are identified as informal, and it is
better not to use them in serious, formal speech or writing. But these informal phrasal
verbs are important because they are very common in everyday informal speech and
writing.
Some phrasal verbs are very easy to understand. For example, it is not difficult to
understand sit down or come in because their meanings are obvious. But many phrasal
verbs are very idiomatic. Idiomatic means that there is no way to know what the verb and
particle mean together by knowing what the verb and particle mean separately. For
example, every beginning-level student learns what the words call, run, off, and out
mean, but that does not help the student to know that call off means cancel or that run out
means use all of something.
Each section of this textbook starts with a FOCUS, an explanation of something
important about phrasal verbs. Then eight phrasal verbs and an explanation of each
important meaning of each one are presented along with one or more example sentences
for each meaning. Following that are several exercises to help you understand and
remember what the phrasal verbs mean and how to use them in a sentence. And like real
conversation, questions asked with I or we are answered with you, and questions asked
with you are answered with / or we.
And because there is a lot to learn in this textbook, there is a lot of review to help you learn
it. Every phrasal verb is reviewed at least twice later in the book. The more idiomatic
phrasal verbs are reviewed more often, and the more important meanings of phrasal
verbs with several meanings are reviewed more often.
Terms, Abbreviations, and Symbols Used in this Textbook
verb Verb refers to the verb part of a phrasal verb. In other words, the phrasal verb minus the
particle. In the phrasal verb pull over, pull is the verb and over is the particle.
particle The adverbs and prepositions in phrasal verbs are both called particles in this book. Many
particles are adverbs and prepositions, and it can be very difficult and confusing to
figure out if a particle in a particular phrasal verb is one or the other. Fortunately,
this is almost never important to the student, so it is a lot easier to simply call them
both particles.
p.v. phrasal verb n. a noun made from a
phrasal verb
part.adj. participle adjective — a past participle of a phrasal verb used as an adjective put on it.
When words or sentences have a line through them, it means that they are
incorrect.
... Three dots between the verb and the particle mean that the object of the
phrasal verb can be placed between the verb and the particle.
vi
1. FOCUS ON: separable and nonseparable
phrasal verbs
Phrasal verbs are either separable or nonseparable. Unfortunately, there is no rule that will help
you to look at a phrasal verb and always know whether it is separable or nonseparable.
Separable phrasal verbs
Separable phrasal verbs can be separated by their object. When the object is a noun, it
is usually entirely optional whether the object is placed between the verb and the particle
or placed after the particle. Both sentences below are correct:
I took my shoes off.
I took off my shoes.
However, when a pronoun is used instead of a noun, the pronoun must be placed
between the verb and the particle:
I took them off.
I took off them.
But in one type of sentence, separable phrasal verbs must be separated — when the
phrasal verb has two objects:
She put a blanket on.
She put on a blanket.
She put a blanket on the bed.
She put on a blanket the bed.
Nonseparable phrasal verbs
Nonseparable phrasal verbs cannot be separated by their object:
He ran into a tree.
He ran a tree into.
Throughout this book, phrasal verbs that can be separated have three dots (...) between
the verb and the particle.
Infinitive_____________________________________________
present tense -ing form past tense past participle
come from
come from & comes from coming from came from come from
1. come from p.v. When you come from a place, you were born there or lived there
previously. When you come from a family or a social situation, your past experience helps
to explain your present attitudes and behavior.
Mike comes from Alaska, so he's used to cold weather.
Jane had a difficult childhood. She came from a broken home.
1
2. come from p.v. When something comes from a source, that is where it
originated.
The word "admiral" comes from an Arabic word.
The mechanic heard a strange sound coming from the engine.
Infinitive
present tense -ing form past tense past participle
figure out
figure out & figures out figuring out figured out figured out
1. figure ... out p.v. [the object can be a noun or a noun clause] When you figure out something, such as
the answer to a question, the solution to a problem, or why a person is a certain way or acts
a certain way, you think about and succeed in understanding it.
Joe's so hostile all the time. I can't figure him out.
I looked everywhere for my keys, but I couldn't figure out where I put them.
give back
give back & gives back giving back gave back given back
1. give ... back (to) p.v. When you return something to someone, you give it back.
Can I use your pen? I'll give it back after the test.
Timmy, give that toy back to your sister right now!
look for
look for & looks for looking for looked for looked for
1. look for p.v. When you look for things or people, you try to find them.
/ looked for you at the party, but I didn't see you.
Excuse me, can you help me? I'm looking for 303 Main St.
put on
put on & puts on putting on put on put on
1. put... on p.v. When you place something on or apply something to your body, you put it
on.
I put on my new dress before going to the party.
Eric forgot to put suntan lotion on, and now he's as red as a lobster.
2. put... on p.v. When you place something on or apply something to another surface, you
put it on.
I put the book on the table.
Jerry put too much fertilizer on his lawn, and now he has to cut it twice a week.
3. put... on p.v. When you attach or affix something to another thing, you put it on.
The Wilson’s put a new roof on their house last year.
I told the tailor to put red buttons on the dress he's making for me.
4. put... on p.v. When you put on weight, you gain weight.