Classwork Series and Exercises {English Language – SS1}: Phrasal Verbs

English Language SS1 Second Term

Week 5

Contents:

Phrasal Verbs

Comprehension

A. STRUCTURE: PHRASAL VERBS

Someone may put a question to you ‘What time did you get up this morning?’

“Get up” is an example of phrasal verb meaning ‘to rise’ (from one’s bed). Here are some more examples

I put on my sleek jeans

What if he didn’t turn up.

What is a Phrasal Verb?

A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition or an adverb; the combination creates a meaning different from the original verb alone.

Example :
To get  =  to obtain	I need to get a new battery for my camera.
To get together  =  to meet	Why don’t we all get together for lunch one day?

Phrasal verbs are part of a large group of verbs called “multi-part” or “multi-word” verbs. The preposition or adverb that follows the verb is sometimes called a particle.

Phrasal verbs and other multi-word verbs are an important part of the English language. However, they are mainly used in spoken English and informal texts. They should be avoided in academic writing where it is preferable to use a formal verb such as “to postpone” rather than “to put off”.

Points to Note about Phrasal Verbs

1. The verb consists of two words sometimes three e.g give in
2. The first word is short very commonly used word such as go, come, get, run, put, take e.t.c.
3. The second and (third) word is another short familiar word such as up, to, down, in, out, off e.t.c. Such words maybe regarded to as prepositions or adverb: here we will call the particles.
4. The separate words are not always a clear guide to the meaning of a phrasal verb as a whole. The meaning can however be inferred from the context just like any other word. What is the meaning of turn up?
5. Use your dictionary to find three phrasal verbs. A good dictionary contains examples.

Read the following paragraph and find out four phrasal verbs. Can you work out what they mean.

I first came across Chinua Achebe’s novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ when I was teaching in Passnownow Secondary School in Nigeria. At one stage, I heard he was going to give a lecture at the university – but sadly, the visit was called off at the last minute.

Ever since then, I have eagerly bought a copy of each of his novels as soon as they came out.

As an avid reader of his novels, I was very upset when the news came through of his road accident. It was a great relief to all of us to hear that he had come through, although badly injured.

Sentence Completion Exercise

Fill the gaps with suitable phrasal verbs from the options given in the table below.

With Come

Phrasal Verb	Meaning	Example
Come about	Happen, develop	How did the strike come about?
Come across	Find	If you come across a pen, it’s mine.
Come by	Obtain	How did you come by this jotter?
Come in	To be received (income)	I have 50,000 naira coming in monthly
Come forward	To be identified	The detectives are appealing to witnesses to come forward
Come off	a.      To stop being connected b.      To happen c.      To succeed	a.      Your button is coming off b.      Do you think the election will come off c.      Tolu tried but his joke didn’t quite come off
Come on	a.      As a word of encouragement b.      To make progress c.      To begin	a.      Come on it’s not far now! b.      How is your school work coming on c.      I think I have a bit of malaria coming on
Come out	To appear, to emerge	His new book is coming out soon
Come round	a.      To visit b.      To change opinion c.      To happen as usual d.      To regain consciousness	a.      When are you coming round to our house b.      In the end, they came around to our point of view c.      Your birthday comes around soon, doesn’t it? d.      After a few minutes, he gradually came around
Come through	a.      To arrive b.      To survive	a.      The news has just come through b.      She nearly died but managed to come through
Come to	a.      To regain consciousness b.      To reach a statec.      To add up	a.      I think she is coming to life b.      What is the world coming to?c.      The bill comes to 1000naira
With Call
Call at	To visit	The train calls at enugu
Call back	To ring again	I’ll call back later if she is busy
Call by	To visit	Do you mind if I call next Friday?
Call for	a.      To require b.      To demand	a.      That calls for the strongest action by the teachers b.      The farmers called for better prices
Call in	To telephone	He called in to say he was sick
Call off	To cancel	They called off the match because of injury
Call on	a.      To visit b.      To formally request	a.      Let’s call on Tony this eveningb.      The UN called on both parties to cease fire
Call out	To announce	The teacher called out their names
Call up	a.      To telephone b.      To make something appear	a.      Bobola called up last night b.      Joke called up the page from the website

1. The handle of the door _____ when I was trying to use it.
2. It’s difficult to say how much this terrible situation _____
3. He never warns people before he _____
4. I fainted when I _____ there was no one to be seen
5. The government _____ everyone concerned to negotiate
6. I’m in the middle of a difficult sum. Could you ask him to ____ later
7. A new syllabus ____ some years ago
8. It’s not a direct flight – it _____ Abuja on the way
9. I was amazed: I never thought that the plan they had developed would _____
10. I think that my work in English is _____very well.

B. COMPREHENSION 

 Leaving home

Ochola was still immersed in his thoughts when Nyapol shouted to him that the bus was coming. His heart pounded with excitement as he rushed back to collect their belongings. In no time the Uyomakisumu bus appeared. It swerved and lurched dangerously to a standstill at the side of the road where the passengers were still waiting. Within minutes their luggage had been thrown on top, while a bus conductor packed the passengers in a space hardly large enough to seat a child. Nyapol started to grumble, but when she noticed the discomfort on the faces of the other passengers she kept quiet. Babies were screaming and some passengers were talking at the top of their voices and laughing. Cigarette smoke, children vomiting and the smell of humanity all combined to produce a stale, sickening smell that choked Nyapol as soon as she entered the bus.

 A passenger complained bitterly that the bus was too full. The conductor turned promptly on him. You get out and walk.’ he said and shook his fist rudely,’ what do you people want? If I leave someone behind, because the bus is too full, you curse and swear at me. If I squeeze you all in, and save you waiting a whole day, you abuse me. Well, gentleman, you either get down and walk or keep your big mouth shut. The man looked at the conductor in dismay and keeps his mouth shut. The packed bus groaned several times before it started moving, blanket of smoke followed behind, saturating the air with diesel fumes. Nyapol glanced sadly at the village where she had been married and lived for only a few months. She did not have many friends there, but she had become deeply attached to the old man and her step-mother-in-law. She would also miss Nyariwo who plaited her long hair on Sundays. She knew the old man would miss her taking him his breakfast.

Since her marriage, she had taken him a large mug of sweetened tea each morning, sometimes with boiled cassava or sweet potatoes and, when they were lucky, a sliced of bread. Nyapol’s thoughts were interrupted by a big jolt as the heavy bus bumped its way over the lower bridge, which consisted of boards precautious suspended on cement pillars. The jolt was a severe one. She felt a sharp pain in her womb, and tighten her lips. She cursed the driver and blamed ochola for exposing her to such rough travelling during her early pregnancy.

 Yet the government was partly to blame. They combed the village, turning people’s purses inside out looking for taxes. But still the narrow bridges were washed away by the floods each season, and the people themselves had to replace them.

Questions:

1. Nyapol was sad to leave the village because of?

a. she had lived there all her life

b. she wanted to stay there with her mother and sisters

c. she would deeply miss several people

d. she knew she would miss the food

e. she hated journeys

2. The rough journey was particularly unpleasant for Nyapol because?

a. she was frightened of the dangerous bridges

b. the bus was crowded and full of diesel fumes

c. she was expecting a baby

d. she had to stand

e. the bus conductor was rude to her

3. How did the conductor justify himself when the passengers complained about the bus being too crowded

4. Why was the Government partly to blame according to the writer?

5. ‘cigarette smoke, children vomiting and the smell of humanity…

• what is the grammatical name to the above given expression,
• what is its function?

6. For each of the following words, find another word or phrase that means the same as used in the passage

a. pounded

b. bitterly

c. saturating

d. attached

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