phrasal verbs and midsentence adverbs

33. FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and midsentence adverbs As we saw in Section 17, adverbs are words that modify verbs. Some adverbs are called midsentence adverbs because they are commonly placed in the middle of a sentence. Midsentence adverbs are usually placed before main verbs: He X goofs around. She X helped him out. after any form of be: He is X goofing around. She wasn't X helping him out. and between an auxiliary (helping) verb and the main verb: He will X goof around. She can't X help him out. In questions, a midsentence adverb is usually placed between the subject and the main verb: Does he X goof around? Is he X goof ing around? Has she X helped him out? The following are common midsentence adverbs. Adverbs of frequency ever typically normally hardly ever always ordinarily occasionally almost never constantly often sometimes never almost always frequently seldom not ever usually generally rarely Other midsentence adverbs already merely ultimately probably just finally eventually most likely 250 Infinitive present tense -ing form past tense past participle blow up blow up & blows up blowing up blew up blown up 1. blow . up p.v. When something blows up or when someone blows something up, it explodes. Seven people were killed when the building blew up. The hijackers ultimately blew the plane up. 2. blow . up p.v. When something blows up or when someone blows something up, it becomes much larger because air or something else is being forced into it. It always takes me an hour or more to blow up the balloons for a party. Hank blew up a beach ball and threw it in the pool. 3. blow . up p.v. When you make a picture or photograph larger, you blow it up. I blew the photograph up and framed it. When you blow this photo of the car up, you can make out the license plate number. blowup n. A blowup is a picture or photograph that has been made larger.I made a blowup of the photo and framed it. 4. blow up (atIover) p.v. [informal] When you blow up or blow up at someone, you suddenly become very angry. When you blow up over something, you suddenly become very angry because of it. Heather blew up when she saw her boyfriend dancing with Linda. Heather blew up at her boyfriend when she saw him dancing with Linda. Dad blew up over the increase in our property taxes. catch on catch on & catches on catching on caught on caught on 1. catch on p.v. When a fashion or habit becomes popular and is adopted by many people, it catches on. When a product or service becomes popular and is used or bought by many people, it catches on. Beta VCRs never caught on. If his striped business suits catch on, the designer will become famous. 2. catch on p.v. When you eventually begin to understand something or begin to learn a skill after practicing and studying, you catch on. When Sally studies something, she usually catches on right away. Learning to dance the cumbia wasn't easy, but I eventually caught on. 3. catch on (to) p.v. When you catch on or catch on to people, you realize that they are trying to trick or cheat you. 251 If you keep lying to everyone, they'll eventually catch on. It took me a while, but I finally caught on to him. Infini tive present tense -ing form past tense past participle come about come about & comin g about come about came about come about 1. come about p.v. When something comes about, it happens, usually as a result of a series of events and actions. He was the richest man in town, and now he's bankrupt. How did that come about? Several major medical advances have come about in the last fifty years. fall behind fall behind & falls behind falling behind fell behind fallen behind 1. fall behind p.v. When you are in a group that is walking, running, driving, and so on, and they move ahead of you because you are moving more slowly than the others, you fall behind. Keep up is the opposite of fall behind. Alfonso and Tom are walking so fast that I've fallen behind. I was supposed to be following Linda to the party, but I fell behind and got lost. 1. fall behind (in) p.v. When you are in a group that is studying, working, and so on, and they learn faster or get more work done because you are learning or working more slowly than the others, you fall behind or fall behind in your work, studies, and so on. When you do not complete work as fast as it was originally planned and expected, you fall behind schedule. Get behind is similar to fall behind. Keep up is the opposite of fall behind. Timmy was sick last semester, and he fell behind in his studies. The sales manager wanted to know why I had fallen behind the rest of the department. The building project will fall behind schedule if the construction workers go on strike. 3. fall behind (in) p.v. When you do not make the regular payments you are required to make, you fall behind or fall behind in your payments. When I lost my job, I fell behind in my mortgage payments. Don't fall behind in your payments, or your car will be repossessed. goof around goof around & goofs around goofing around goofed around goofed around 1. goof around p.v. [informal] When you waste time playing or doing silly or unimportant things, you goof around. Fool around is the same as goof around. My brother drives his teachers crazy. He constantly goofs around and creates problems. Stop goofing around and get to work. 252 Infinitive present tense -ing form past tense past participle help out help out & helps out helping out helped out helped out 1. help . out (with) p.v. When you help out or help people out, you assist them in doing some work or you lend or give them money or something else that they need. Can you help me out? I need a hundred bucks until payday. We had a lot of work to do, so Maria helped out. know about know about & knows about knowing about knew about known about 1. know about p.v. When you know about a situation, plan, or other information, you are aware of it. Jim isn't here. Maybe he doesn't know about the schedule change. Thanks for telling me, but I already know all about it. 2. know about p.v. When you have studied something and learned it, you know about it. I don't know much about history. I was a business major. Knowing about art and being an artist are two different things. pull off pull off & pulls off pulling off pulled off pulled off 1. pull .off p.v. When you pull something off, you succeed in doing something difficult and possibly sneaky or illegal even though the chances of success are not high. Mike tried to juggle three butcher knives and two bowling balls at the same time, but he couldn't pull it off. When Jake said he was going to try to rob a Las Vegas casino, no one believed he could pull it off. 2. pull off p.v. When you are driving and you pull off the road, you drive to the side of the road and stop. If I get sleepy while I'm driving, I always pull off the road and take a nap. When I heard that strange noise, I pulled off to the side and checked the engine. EXERCISE 33a — Complete the sentences with phrasal verbs from this section. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense. 1. I need to move some furniture, and it's too heavy for me. Could you ________ me ________ tonight? 253 2. Television was invented in the 1920s, but it didn't start to ________ ________ until the 1950s. 3. Math is very difficult for Mike. If he takes the advanced class, he'll most likely ________ ________. 4. I didn't think Todd could manage going to school and working at the same time, but he ________it________. 5. When Jim shows his terrible report card to his mother, she'll _______ _______. 6. Nancy's a hard worker. She never________________. 7. The terrorists tried to ________ ________ the embassy. 8. A lot of changes have ________ ________ in the last few years. 9. The truck driver was lost, so he ________ ________ to the side of the road and checked his map. 10. Sam and Dave are so much faster on their bikes than I am that I always _______ ________. 11. Don't ask Ann; she doesn't ________ anything ________ it. 12. I used to be able to trick my rich uncle into giving me money, but he's starting to ________ ________ to me. 13. ________ ________ the balloons now; the party's going to start soon. 14. Bob started taking dance lessons, and he ________ ________ right away. 15. If you _____ ____ in your credit card payments, you'll damage your credit rating. 16. I usually ask Bill what he thinks before I buy a stock. He ________ a lot ________ ________ investing. 17. I asked the photo lab to ________ the photo ________ 300 percent. EXERCISE 33b — Complete the sentences with the correct second particles. 1. Todd was fired after he blew up ________ his boss. 2. Todd is usually so easygoing. What did he blow up _________? 3. Karen thinks she's so clever, but I'm starting to catch on _________ her. 254 4. If you don't start working harder, you're going to fall behind ________ math. 5. Thanks for helping me out ________ my algebra homework. EXERCISE 33c — Write answers to the questions using phrasal verbs from this section. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense. 1. The company started to sell chocolate toothpaste, but it never became popular. What didn't chocolate toothpaste do? 2. Sam has a lot of work to do before 5:00, so Lydia is doing some of it for him so that he won't have to work late. What is Lydia doing for Sam? 3. Nobody in the criminal gang thought they could steal an airplane, but they did. What did the gang do? 4. Ali doesn't usually do any work. He usually watches TV and listens to music. What does Ali usually do? 5. They sometimes destroy old buildings by making them explode. What do they sometimes do to old buildings? 6. The teacher frequently gets very angry at his students. What does the teacher frequently do? 7. Janice is aware of the problem because someone told her about it. What can you say about Janice and the problem? 8. The company was supposed to finish the project by September 1, but they didn't finish until November 14. What happened? 9. The professor asked you to explain how this situation happened. What did the professor ask you? EXERCISE 33d, Review — Complete the sentences with these phrasal verbs from previous sections. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense. To check their meanings, review the section number given after each one. come out, 32 fall out, 32 look into, 31 rule out, 31 cut out, 31 give away, 28 plan on, 31 sort out, 30 do without, 31 go around, 20 put off, 31 space out, 30 empty out, 32 go out, 32 put out, 30 stick out, 32 255 1. Jake was in jail when the crime was committed, so the police were able to ________ him ________ as a suspect. 2. My fiancee's father got sick suddenly, so we had to ________ ________ the wedding until later. 3. I was a little ________ ________ when Melanie disagreed with me. 4. Linda's going to ________ ________ getting her teeth bleached. 5. No one was surprised when the news ________ ________. 6. The family business had to be sold after the family members ________ ________ with each other. 7. I ________ ________ and forgot to put socks on this morning. 8. I felt like an idiot — I had to ________ ________ all day without socks on. 9. You can still eat this apple — just ________ ________ the bad part. 10. When we decided on the Bahamas for our honeymoon, we didn't ________ ________a hurricane. 11.1 was angry with my sister, but we talked and ________ everything ________. 12. Timmy told his mother that he hadn't eaten any cake, but the chocolate frosting on his face ________ him ________. 13. If you're studying a language, you can't ________ ________ a dictionary. 14. Jim's job is very dangerous, but if he _________ it _________ for another year, he can retire with a pension. 15. These trash cans are getting full. Could you ________ them ________, please? 16. Put some more wood on the fire — it's starting to ________ ________. 256 34. FOCUS ON: pronunciation of two-and three- word phrasal verbs, 2 As we saw in Sections 5 and 6, phrasal verbs are sometimes accented on the verb and sometimes accented on the particle. It might seem difficult to know whether to accent the verb or the particle since it depends on whether the phrasal verb is separable or nonseparable, transitive or intransitive, or a two- or three-word phrasal verb; however, it boils down to this: always accent the particle after the verb unless the phrasal verb is a nonseparable, transitive, two-word phrasal verb — then accent the verb. Remember that some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive: Nonseparable, two-word, intransitive stick ROUND float ROUND Nonseparable, two-word, transitive STICK to STAND for STICK around FLOAT round Nonseparable, three-word, transitive lead UP to Separable, two-word, transitive take BACK do OVER Separable, three-word, transitive put UP to Initive present tense -ing form past tense past participle do over do over & does over doing over did over done over 1. do . over p.v. When you do something over, you do it again in order to improve it or to correct mistakes. This is all wrong — it'll have to be done over. I got a bad grade on my paper, but the teacher said I could do it over. 257 Infinitive present tense -ing form past tense past participle float around float around & floats around floating around floated around floated around 1. float around p.v. [usually continuous] When something is floating around a place, it is there somewhere, though you are not sure exactly where. / don't know where the stapler is, but it's floating around here somewhere. The new schedule was floating around the office yesterday. 2. float around p.v. When a rumor or some information is floating around, it is being repeated and discussed among a group of people or within a place. There's a rumor floating around that the factory's going to be closed. Something about a change of management has been floating around lately. Have you heard anything? lead up to lead up to & leads up to leading up to led up to led up to 1. lead up to p.v. When one or more actions, events, or situations lead up to a final action, event, or situation, they precede and cause or partially cause it. Several minor battles led up to a full-scale war. The detective said, "Jake didn't shoot Hank for no reason — something led up to it." 2. lead up to p.v. When you lead up to something when you are speaking or writing, you gradually move toward an important point by saying or writing information that will support that point. In his speech, the President didn't immediately announce that he would run for a second term; he led up to it by recalling the accomplishments of his first term. I've been listening to you talk for thirty minutes. What's your point? What are you leading up to? put up to put up to & puts up to putting up to put up to put up to 1. put . up to p.v. When you persuade or pressure people to do something that is illegal, dangerous, foolish, or unwise, you put them up to it. / didn't think it was a good idea to demand a raise, but my wife put me up to it. When Jake was arrested for shooting Hank, he said Raquel had put him up to it by threatening to tell the police about his other crimes. stand for stand for & stands for standing for stood for stood for 1. stand for p.v. When abbreviations, acronyms, or symbols represent longer words or groups of words, they stand for them. The "DC" in Washington, DC, stands for "District of Columbia." "Scuba" stands for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus." 258 2. stand for p.v. When people or objects support, represent, or are identified with ideas, values, or beliefs, they stand for them. This flag stands for freedom. He was a great man who stood for equal rights and opportunity for all people. 3. stand for p.v. When you will not stand for something that you think is illegal, improper, or unjust, you will not tolerate it or allow it to happen. Cruelty to animals is one thing I will never stand for. I told my son I wouldn't stand for that kind of language in this house. Infinitive present tense -ing form past tense past participle stick around stick around & sticks around sticking around stuck around stuck around 1. stick around p.v. [informal] When you stick around, you stay where you are. Can you stick around? We're going to have lunch in an hour. Don't go yet — stick around until Sarah gets here; she'd love to see you. stick to stick to & sticks to sticking to stuck to stuck to 1. stick to p.v. When one thing sticks to another, it remains attached to it. The magnet sticks to the chalkboard because there's metal underneath. I used the wrong glue, and the tiles didn't stick to the floor. 2. stick to p.v. When you are speaking or writing and you stick to a certain subject, you talk or write about that subject only. The teacher said, "Do this paper over and stick to the point — don't talk about 100 other things that aren't important." In his news conference, the President stuck to the new tax legislation, but the reporters kept asking about the latest scandal. 3. stick to p.v. When you stick to a certain belief, claim, policy, habit, plan, type of work, and so on, you continue as before, without change. Stick with is similar to stick to. Jake claimed he was innocent of Hank's murder. He stuck to his alibi that he had been at the racetrack when the murder occurred. After the audition, the director told me I was a terrible actor and that I should stick to singing. 4. stick . to p.v. [informal] When you stick it to people, you deliberately try to tease, annoy, or embarrass them with an accusation, provocative statement, or difficult question. Sam thinks the new manager is an idiot, and he likes to stick it to him. One woman at the shareholders' meeting really stuck it to the president of the company. She asked why he deserved a $19 million bonus even though the company had lost money that year and 4,000 workers had been laid off. 259 [...]... back to a time in the past Looking through my high school year book sure takes me back My grandfather found his old uniform in the attic, and he said it took him back to when he was stationed in England during the war EXERCISE 34a — Complete the sentences with phrasal verbs from this section Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense 1 After being embarrassed last night, I'm going to ... Write answers to the questions using phrasal verbs from this section Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense 1 Janice said I was a cheapskate, but she later admitted that it wasn't true What did Janice do? 2 A number of situations and events helped to cause the Civil War What did those situations an events do? 3 You've rewritten this story four times, and you're still not happy with it What... in sales and the need to reduce labor costs, we knew what he was 20 Don't leave these dirty dishes here; them to the kitchen 21 Don't pay any attention to that rumor— it's been for three years EXERCISE 34b — Review the explanation at the beginning of this section of how two- and three-word phrasal verbs are pronounced Then, say each sentence in Exercise 34a aloud and circle... magazine and then giving it to someone else What has the magazine been doing? 10 She asked me what "Ph.D." represents What did she ask me? 11,1 felt ridiculous dressing as a pink dinosaur for my nephew's birthday party, but my brother persuaded me to do it What did my brother do? EXERCISE 34d, Review — Complete the sentences with these phrasal verbs from previous sections Be sure the phrasal verbs are... the place where you bought it and ask to have it repaired, to exchange it for something else, or for the money you paid for it, you take it back or take it back to the place where you bought it / have to take back these pants that I bought yesterday because the zipper's already broken That new TV that Nancy bought was a piece of junk; she took it back to the store and demanded her money back 3 take ... Bill has a system for picking good stocks, and he always uses it What does Bill do with his system? 6 Mr Tucker's fifteen-year-old daughter wants to get a tattoo, but he absolutely will not allow it What won't Mr Tucker do? 7 Visiting his old high school brought back a lot of memories What did visiting his old high school do to him? 262 8 Carlos came to my house and stayed for a while What did Carlos do... you return it Lydia borrowed this book from the library six months ago, and she still hasn't taken it back I need to take Jim's lawn mower back to him 5 take back (to) p.v When you take people back or take people back to a place where they were before, you go with them to that place Our son was home from college for the summer, and we're taking him back tomorrow Mike got sick again, so we took him... about, 33 goof around, 33 pull off, 33 stop over, 24 come out, 32 let in on, 26 put together, 26 wear off, 27 1.1 asked Sam how his job interview _ _, and he said it went great 2.1 asked my history teacher what led up to the American Revolution, and he said the war _ as a result of several factors 3 After the tranquilizer , the elephant will wake up 4 The new owners of the company... Tonight I'm going to _ _ with some friends and watch the game 7 Mark has a rich father, so Mark doesn't work; he just most of time 8 The finance minister a plan to revive the nation's economy 9 That's a pretty big project Are you sure you haven't more than you can chew? 10 The new system at the warehouse was a disaster, and we in filling orders 11 I didn't sleep... terrible thing I think someone him it 10 I hate it when it's so humid that your clothes your skin 11 "UAE" for United Arab Emirates 12 I felt terrible about what I said, and I it immediately 13 One of the guys at work is a real baseball nut from Chicago, so we love to it him about how bad the Cubs are 14 I don't have Linda's electric drill anymore; . FOCUS ON: phrasal verbs and midsentence adverbs As we saw in Section 17, adverbs are words that modify verbs. Some adverbs are called midsentence adverbs because. pronunciation of two -and three- word phrasal verbs, 2 As we saw in Sections 5 and 6, phrasal verbs are sometimes accented on the verb and sometimes accented