Idiomatic Verbal Phrases act for—officiate He will act for the principal on the school’s Annual Day. act on—act according to T have acted on your advice. act upon—take action He acted upon his belief. account for—explain satisfactorily The driver was unable to account for the delay of arrival.VOCABULARY ask after—ask for news about I met your old friend tod: ask out—invite for a me; I asked her out in the attend on (upon)—assist She has many servants attend; attend to—listen carefully Attend to your mother’s advice, back out—withdraw from a promise or understanding He promised to help and then backed out. back down—give up a claim 55 lay and he asked after you. al or an entertainment evening, but she said she was busy. jing on (upon) her. I see he has backed down from the position he took last week. back up—support I shall back up your claim, bear away—win My brother bore away the first prize. bear down—move towards someone quickly in a determined way People revolted as the soldiers bore down upon them. bear up—not to despair In his grief, he got strength from prayers to bear up. bear out—confirm The evidence on record does not bear out the charge brought against bear upon—be relevant to Your evidence did not bear upon the inquiry. bear with—tolerate I can no longer bear with such insolent behaviour. bear down upon—approach with determination I bore down upon him and he accepted my proposal. beat against—strike The sea waves beat against the shore. beat down—crush; subdue The police beat down the agitators. beat up—hit somebody repeatedly He has been beaten up by those naughty boys. beat back—compel to move back The flames beat back the firemen. blow down—throw down by force by wind The storm blew down many houses and trees. blow out—extinguish by puff of breath or wind Blow out the candle and go to bed.ENGLISH-1 plow over—pass away without harmful effect The storm has blown over without harming the crops. blow up—shatter, explode ‘The rebels blew up two bridges break down—fail, not function All arrangements to control the crowd broke down. break away—free oneself from restraint The elephant broke away and trampled a boy to death. break into—enter a building by force Thieves had broken into the bank last night by killing the watchma, break off—stop abruptly We broke off our conversation when he arrived. break out—escape from The prisoner broke out of the jail last night. break up—disperse ‘The meeting broke up at eleven o'clock. break with—discontinue or cease to be on friendly terms. T have broken with him because I found him insincere. break through—make a way through The ship sank while trying to break through the ice. bring on—produce, cause Starvation brings on revolution. bring about—cause to happen ‘The new officer brought about many changes in the administratie set-up. bring forth—produce Good actions bring forth good results. bring down—humble, cause to come down I advised him to bring down his arrogance. bring up—rear and educate She brought up the orphan as her own child. bring round—persuade I shall bring him round to our point of view. bring out—reveal clearly These facts have clea ‘ © bring forward—bring fi oa ont that they are Hastiaji Se nr tats a proposal which was rejected by his partne™ This factory brings i : i burn ae eae income of rupees one lakh. The angry mob burnt di Maine own the palace. 56 yesterday.VOCABULARY ez call at—visit somebody’s house, office etc, He called at our house this morning. call on—to pay a brief visit; visit a person I called on Mohan yesterday. call for—demand The situation calls for prompt action. call down—reprimand The officer called him down for negligence. call forth—evoke His speech called forth an angry response. call in—summon As the patient was seriously sick, a doctor was called in. call out—shout I called out to him, but he took to his heels. call up—remember or recollect. I cannot call up events which occurred long ago. call upon—require He was called upon to give evidence before the officer. call off—cancel, declare to end The strike was called off as the demands were accepted by the management. care for—like He doesn’t much care for television, carry away—captivate, excite feelings People were carried away by the President's speech. carry on—manage, continue His son carried on his business in his absence. carry out—obey, execute He agreed to carry out my orders. carry off— (i) win a prize He carried off the first prize in the essay competition. (i) be killed Many persons were carried off by cholera last month. carry over—postpone The meeting was carried over to the next day. cast about for—look for He is casting about for a suitable job. cast aside—discard . I have cast aside my old tools. cast away—wreck; waste The ship was cast away on the coast of Mumbai,58 ENGLISH - I —dej depressed . “Th defeated candidate Tooned east down ater the declaration of, results. cast off—discard (a garment, etc.) Give the servant the old shirt I have cast off. catch at—try to seize : Clever people catch at all opportunit catch up with—over take I walked fast but I could not catch up with him. clear off—make an end of You clear off your debt first. clear out—be off ‘The magistrate warned the crowd to clear out at once. clear up—put in order Clear up your table before you leave the office. close down—shut permanently : In the wake of the recession, several small industrial units closed down, ties of making money., close in—approach from all sides As the police closed in, the hooligans surrendered. come about—happen; occur This state of things came about as a result of your own folly. come across—meet by chance I came across one of my old friend today morning. come by—obtain, to gain How did you come by that watch? come in for—receive She has come in for some harsh comments. come into—be heir to At his father’s death, he came into a lot of property. come of—issue from He comes of a very rich family. come off—take place The expected meeting did not come off, come round : (i) recover from illness The patient will soon come round, (i) agree to T hope he will come round to our views, come from—belongs : He comes from Hyderabad, come out—appear Several new books have come out this year.VOCABULARY 59 come down upon—rebuke He comes down upon me even when I make a mii i come upto—be like, be equal of ea He will come upto his teacher's ex come upon—find by accident I came upon an interestin; mewspaper. come to—amount to The taxes come to a large sum. come up—raise for discussion The question came up before the President last week. count for—be of much importance Knowledge without common sense counts for little. count on/upon—expect with confidence, rely upon We count upon your help. crop up—appear suddenly As we began to implement the plan, several problems cropped up. cry against—protest against Lakhs of people cry against the policies of the government. cry down—condemn All sorts of corruption should be cried down. cry up—extol That young author is cried up by his friends. cut down—reduce ‘The government has decided to cut down expenditure. pectations as he is intelligent. 'g matrimonial advertisement in today’s cut off— i) _—_ discontinue - As I forgot to pay my electricity bill, they cut off my electric supply. @) ‘kill, die He was cut off in the prime of life. cut out—be suited for He was cut out to be a great leader. cut up—emotionally upset, distressed His wife’s death cut him up terribly. cut in—interrupt , : It is bad manners to cut in, when some person is speaking. deal in—trade in I deal in silk goods. deal with—trade with I don’t deal with that firm. deal out—distribute Please deal out the cards.60 ENGLISH =H die away—decrease (sound) The noise of the crowd died away: die down—decrease : ‘The fire died down when water was thrown over it. die out—disappear gradually Many old customs are dying out. done for—ruined I am done for; God i: do over—do again The exercise will have to done up—exhausted Iam done up and need rest. do out of—cheat ‘The rich do the poor out do away with—to get rid of We must do away with old customs. do with—manage T can do with even with a small salary. is my only hope now be done over. ‘of their right. draw back—retreat ‘She drew back when she found her mother angry- draw on—depend He drew on his savings to build his house. draw up—attract ‘They were drawn to each other. draw into—drag She drew me into a controversy. drop in—visit casually On my way to office, I dropped in at my sister’s house. drop off— (i fall asleep Some students drop off in their seats in class room. (i) decrease in number ‘Traffic has dropped off since the bye-pass opened. drop out—cease to belong to He dropped out of the team at the last minute. drop through—fail : The whole project dropped through owing to his negligence: enter into—() “begin (a conversation, business a 7 ‘They entered into a discussion on the modern ft io (i) to become a party to ree He entered into an agreement with me.VOCABULARY oo enter upon—engage in When are you entering upon your new business? fade away—become gradually fainter As the light faded away, the curtain fell, fall behind—make less progress If you do not study properly you will fall b er student ill hi th dents. ehind ot On seeing the police, the thieves fell back. fall back upon—depend upon We must save something in our youth to fall back upon in old age. fall in with—agree They fell in with all my proposals. fall off—withdraw, decrease The strength of students has fallen off due to the strike. fall in—collapse The roof fell in due to heavy rain. fall out—quarrel Friends should not fall out over minor issues. fall to—apply oneself to, begin He fell to his work with a great zeal. fall under—come under This area does not fall under the jurisdiction of this police station. fall through—fail My suggestion fell through for want of support. fall on—attack Our army fell on the enemy at mid-night. fall out of—give up, leave He had to fall out of the race due to a knee injury. fed up with—be tired of I am fed up with typing and want to look for a new job. fill in/up—complete (forms, etc.) Please fill in these forms if you want to open an account. find out—discover After a lot of effort, fix up—arrange He fixed me up with a job. move about a comes so heavily today that it is impossible to get about. get ahead—succeed ‘You can get ahead with hard work: the engineer found out what had gone wrong.62 ENGLISH - 1 get under one’s skin—penetrate That sort of music always gets un get along—advance, progress He is getting along well in his trade. get at—reach Our purpose in holding this enquiry is to get at the truth. get back from—return He got back from Chennai yesterday. get back to—return Now he has got back to his studies. get down—descend She got down from the tree. get down to—attend seriously Let us get down to our business. get by—manage unpleasantly T hope I will get by these unruly students. get up—rise I get up at 7 o'clock every morning. get on—pull on The couple could not get on together for long. der my skin. get over—recover He never got over the shock. get on with—progress, live socially with It is hard to get on with a suspicious man. get off—escape The boy got off with a warning from the principal for his mischievor behaviour. get in—enter He got in his car. get into—be involved in, put on Let's not get into the discussion. get through—pass T am sure he will get through in his final examination. get away—escape The thief got away with my cash-box. get out of—remove from It is not easy to get out of a debt. get around—circulate ‘A ba. news gets around very fast. get ahead of—surpassVOCABULARY 63 got away with—do something undesired without punishment oliticians get away with all sorts of « get round—persuade I got him round my views. give away—distribute The Chief guest gave away the prizes in the meeting. give in—yield, surrender I did not give in despite threats. give out—announce He gave out that he was going abroad. give over—abandon Give over this foolish attempt. give up—abandon I have given up the idea of accepting that post. give way—fall The tree has given way in the storm. give forth—publish; announce Soon after the news was given forth, everyone believed it. give back—return He gave me back the money he had borrowed from me. give off—emit The fire gave off a dense smoke. go about—move from place to place He goes about doing nothing. go after—follow; pursue The hunter went after the deer. go at—attack somebody They went at each other furiously. go ahead—make progress He is going ahead fast in his career. go along with—accompany Til go along with you to your native place. go against—be opposed to In her marriage she went against the wishes of her parents. go around—circulate Rumours go around fast. go back on—fail to keep promise ; ‘You have made a promise, you cannot go back on it. go for—attack The terrorists went for the bus passengers. corrupt practices.ae to—examine, into the matter. go in He promised to go Ley in for—take (an examinatio! | pean g in for Civil Services examination? Are you goin, go by—(of time) elapse, Pass Two weeks have gone by, bi go down—be accepted The Sepoy Mutiny W’ go over—examine He went over the charge sheet once 4! go through—examine from beginning to end I must go through the accounts. go upon—foundation or evidence Have you anything to g0 upon go under—be called by some title He goes under the assumed name ‘Chitti’. go on—happen What is going on in Sri Li go with—match Her blouse goes with her saree. go without—manage without I can go without sugar in tea. hand down—give The Court handed down the decision. hand in—submit You should now hand in your home work. hand on—transmit ‘The clerk handed the message on to the officer. hand out—distribute He handed the prizes out to the winners. hand over—transfer He handed over the business to me. hang around—loiter Many men hang around drug stores. hang about—loiter near place He always hangs about the house of his beloved. hang up—terminate a phone call " She hung up before the message was over. hang upon—depend upon : Don’t hang upon thers; you should rather manage your own afi ut the murderer remains untraced, {Il go down in history a8 4 remarkable even, gain. your statement? anka is not good.VOCABULARY 65 hang out—frequent Young men hang out at the beach to look at the damsels. hang over—be delayed This case will very easily hang over another two months. hang on—hold He hung on to the mast till the ship sank. hang together—keep united ~ Good friends hang together through thick and thin. hang back—hesitate Don’t hang back when friends ask for help. hold back—conceal Why did you hold back the information from me? hold on—continue one’s grasp If you hold on a little longer, things will definitely improve. hold down—control Prices must be held down. hold out—give; offer I do not want to hold out any false promises to you. hold over—defer, postpone The subject is held over till next meeting. hold in—restrain I could not hold my anger in. hold up—delay, stop ‘The train was held up on account of an accident. hold off— (i) stop If the storm holds off, we can go to our office. Gi) keep at a distance Hold off or else I will shoot you. jump at—accept with enthusiasm If you offer him the post of cashier, he will jump at it. keep at—continue Keep at the hard work for success. keep off—ward off His stern looks keep off the flatterers. keep on—continue She kept on talking. keep to—adhere to We must always keep to our word. keep from—restrain from | He was kept from going to the function.ee ENGLISH -11 keep up—maintain He is trying his best to keep ¥ keep out of—stay away She kept out of my room afte keep up with—keop pace with ‘As you read too fast, I canne Keep in—confined to the ae i 1d. T was kept in by a bad co / intain fri ations =, with—maintain friendly relaHions / ae may happen, I will keep in with my friend. down—keep expenses low =H poe jncome compels him to keep down his budget. knock about—roam, wander about — Why are you knocking about doing nothing? Knock down—indicate the sale of an article in auction TThe sale of the house was knocked down at my offer of one p the reputation of his family, 1 scolded her. t keep up with you. rupees. knock up—exhaust We were greatly knocked up after our steep climb, knock out—defeat India knocked out Australia by three wickets. knock against—collide ‘The car knocked against the tree. knock off—leave off work ‘The labourers knocked off work for the day as a protest agains management. lay off—dismiss The factory had to lay off some workers. lay aside—discard You should lay aside all fear and hesitation, and speak boldly. lay by—keep for future use You must lay by enough money for your years of retirement lay down—surrender The rebels laid down their arms. lay out—display = laid out his goods in his shop. lay up with—confine to bed She is laid 7 i up with fever, leave out—omit ‘You can leavi e out ee the last two lessons and study the rest rant ing down, surrend; ly friends let me down i ai m in time of need, IVOCABULARY 67 let into—acquainted with I was let into her secret, - ‘ith only a warning. let in—allow to enter He opened the door and let the visitors in. let on—allow to be known She let on that she was marrying. let out—release He let his breath out briskly after the exercise. let up—lessen We shouldn't let up our efforts. live on—use as regular food Elephants live on plants. live upto—maintain a certain standard She is struggling hard to live up to her reputation as an intellectual. look after—take care of He looks after his old parents with great devotion. look around—search I am just looking around for my pen. look down upon—despise Don’t look down upon the poor. look for—search for He was looking for his spectacles. look forward to—expecting with pleasure I am looking forward to seeing my parents in the summer vacation. look ahead—plan for future We should look ahead for success. look at—to direct one’s gaze seriously I took a good look at what he was doing. look away—turn one’s eyes aside When I glanced at the girl she looked away. look into—examine I shall look into the matter very carefully. look over—examine superficially I have looked over your answer book. look up to—respect : The students should always look up to their teachers. look back—to think over the past; reminiscence The father looked back at the wasted life of his drunkard son with Tegret.68 ENGLISH - ty : a ani it. Look through the report and give your opinion on » look back on—recollect past . : The old man Jooks back on his yo search for foe the word in the dictionary: look on—regard T look on him as my S0R- look to—careful about Look to your own manners Jook at—consider He will not look at your offer. make after—chase : 7 The policeman made after the thief but in vain. squander, to run off with make away with—(@ : The clerk has made away with five thousand rupees in the cours three weeks. Gi) ill He shot to make away with the manager but missed. make out—understand I could not make out anything of his letter. make off with—run away with ‘The servant made off with all my valuable articles. make over—transfer I intend to make over my property to my son. make up—reconcile They have made up their quarrel, and are now getting on quite" make out—prove You have not been able es to make out your case. Contentment makes for happiness. mix up—confuse As the names got mi : Seon en oe I have bought a new fl; lat; I am ae move out—leave house moving in tomorrow. before commenting on his. 1 have been asked to vacate, : : Bass aw 0) 2. die + s0 Tam moving out in a week's tit His father passed away last ev: : : “s evening. His troubles will pass away,own. VOCABULARY 69 Pass by—disregard, overlook He generally passed by the faults of his subordinates. pass on—give She passed her property on to her daughter. pass off—pretend to be He passed himself off as a gentleman. pass through—underwent The crew of the boat passed through terrible sufferings. pass for—accept, to be regarded as He passed for a scholar in our small town. pass over—omit ‘The stenographer passed over the latter portion of my speech. pass into—get blended, go into change _In the evening, during sunset, various colours pass into one another. pass out—distribute The report was passed out to all present. pick at—find fault with Don’t pick at your friends. Pick off—shoot one by one Dacoits picked off the passengers after looting them. pick out—select; choose ‘The teacher picked out the best student in the class. pick up—recover or regain health after an illness He took about two months to pick up. pick of—the choicest He is the pick of his class. pick on—single out Senior boys pick on the fresh students for ragging. play out—to develop in a particular way No one knows how the situation will play out after the firing. point out—find out It is easy to point out the faults of others but difficult to amend one’s pull on—live It is difficult to pull on with this meagre amount now-a-days. pull through—get out of difficulty A little more effort will pull you through this mess. pull off—succeed in a plan He pulled off the business transaction. pull out—leave Ramesh pulled out of the partnership.70 ENGLISH - I! pull over—drive to the side and stop The policeman told me to pull over my ‘ull about—treat roughly : il ‘you please stop pulling the child about? yull in—arrive : : "When will the Chennai bound train pull in? pull down—demolish "all old houses should be pulled scooter. down. pull up—take to task ‘You should pull up the rowdy s pull together—work together Unless we pull together, we cannot succeed. put across—convey He puts his ideas across convincingly. students. put aside—leave Put aside the over ambitious plans. put away—give up He put away his dreams of love. put by—save, lay aside He has put by some money for hard times. put down—suppress The government has put down the rebellion with a firm hand. put off) postpone Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today: @ lay aside He put off his shoes before entering the temple. put up—i) lodge Where do you intend to put up for the night? (i) bear i T cannot put up with i your sill nes sully arguments. She looks beautiful when put out—(i) extinguish ie ees nan ha Please put out the light, s Gi) vexed le was put out when I ee ee refused He has put in a clai acl put téaive ‘aim for compensation. Tam so; ry to put you to so much trouble. his request for a loan.VOCABULARY a put through—pass The measure was i put through without iti ring up—telephone “rpm fa Please ring up the airport and find out the time of arrival of the Delhi ring off—end a telephone conversation Someone gave this information and then rang off suddenly. round up—gather On the eve of the general strike, the police rounded up the leaders. Tun away—flee The little girl took a necklace and ran away. run across—find by chance She ran across her old photograph in a box. run after—follow The policeman ran after the thief. run along—go away Now boys, run along. run for—contest election Venkata Raman ran for Presidentship. run down—(i) _ overtake The police ran down the thief outside the airport. (run over Two boys were run over by a bus. (ii) Speak ill of Don’t run down the government. run out—come to an end The supplies of petrol are likely to run out by the end of this month. run over—overflowing The cistern is running over. run up—increase Recently our expenses have run up considerably. run against—chance to meet ; While turning the comer, I ran against an old friend of mine. run up to—reach an amount The bill ran up to a thousand rupees. run into—incur He has run into debt. run through—squander away\ He has run through his fortune. see into—discern I have not been able to see into the meaning of what he said.ENGLISH - Tea oueh—comprehend detect rough the trick played by him. See off—bid farewell His friends were present at the station to see him off. See to—attend to He will see to my office work during my absence. see about—consider The minister promised to see about the matter. sell out—sell all the stock We sold out the books in two days. send for—summon The principal sent for the science lecturer. send in—give You must send in your application for the job this week itseip send for—ask to come Please send for a doctor. set aside—cancel The High Court set aside the orders of the Sessions Judge ang prisoner was released. set back—check progress The fire in the plant set production back for a year. set in—begin The winter season has already set in. set up—establish He has decided to set up a small factory. set on—assault The officials were set on by the workers during the strike. set out—start When will you set out for the picnic? set against—oppose I have no guts to set myself against his arguments. set by—save Set by something for a rainy day. set offi) leave They decided to set off before sunrise. (i) start ‘The party set off at dawn. (ii) explode The bomb was set off when the car ran over it. set about—Gi) —_took steps towards He immediately set about organising the department.VOCABULARY he (ii) begin Tell him to, set about the work immediately. set down—(i) snub somebody Thad to set him down when he became abusive. Gi) charge You may set down his loss to me. ii) write You must set it down lest you forget. set apart—reserve These seats are set apart for ladies. set forth—made known He set forth his views on prohibition. set upon—attack The robbers set upon the travellers in the bus. settle down—become accustomed (to a new place) ‘The children were unhappy when we moved to our new pl now they have settled down. show up— (i) expose Please do not show up my shortcomings. (i) be present Only four members showed: up for the meeting. show down—shout loudly so that the speech is not heard ‘As the speech was not interesting, students shouted him down. show off—display Our books are shown off in the racks of good book sellers. show over—show every part of He showed over every room of his house to me. sit back—relax ; You have been working really hard for so many days; now you should sit back. speak of—worth mentioning The library in London has no good books to speak of. speak out—express opinion freely Twas determined to speak out against their intentions in this regard. stand around—be idle : Many clerks in the public sector just stand around. stand aside—not participating One should not stand aside when there is work. stand by—support Good friends stand by one another in difficult times. lace, but74 eee ENGLISH -I1 a cen nst—withstand stand es stand against a powerful enemy? The P ‘or—maintain 7 : are determined to stand up for their rights. over—postpone Let this matter stand over for the present. stand out—(i) endure without yielding It is hard but I think I can stand it out. Gi) be prominent She is so beautiful that she would stand out in the party, stand for—represent The Ashoka Pillar stands for the ideals of peace. stand off—remain at a distance; deadlock The 10 day old stand off was no closer to being resolved, stand on or upon—depend His promotion stood upon the recommendation of his immediat,, strike down—attack by He is struck down witlr paralysis. strike off—remove School authorities struck off his name from the rolls. strike in—interrupt While we were planning a family picnic, my sister struck ini suggestion of inviting our neighbourers. stay up—stay awake Don’t worry about. me; I can stay up as long as you want. step up—increase The industrialists have agreed to step up production. stick out—stand out, project One trait of his sticks out in his personality. Stick to—continue at Stick to a task until it is finished. take after—resemble He takes after his father. take down—write down You should take down notes very carefully. take for—form an impression about somebody's identity He was taken for a Bengalee. take in—swindle deceive He was taken in by her sweet words. take off—remove Please take off your wet coat.VOCABULARY 75 take on—face The Minister took on the whole Parliament. taken aback—surprised He was taken aback at the comments on him. take back—withdraw She did not take back her comments in spite of protests. take up—(i) resume ‘The police took up the case again. (i) occupy ‘The piano takes up too much room. take over—assume control Tatas have now taken over the whole tea industry. take out—delete, remove Take that word out of the sentence. take to—become addicted to Don’t take to drinks and drugs. talk over—(i) discuss We talked over the matter for an hour. Gi) convince I hope to talk him over to our view. tell upon—affect Overwork is beginning to tell upon his health. tell against—prove unfavourable I am afraid your antecedents will tell against you. throw at—throw to hit He threw the stone at the cat. throw away—discard My old books were thrown away by him. throw out—{i) remove by force ‘The manager ordered the peon to throw out of his misbehaviour. (i) reject The bill was thrown out by the Parliament. throw up—resign In disgust, he threw up his appointment. throw over—abandon; desert When he became rich he thr think over—consider Please think over this proposal and let me two days’ time. the new clerk on account ew over all his old friends. know your decision in76 him. ENGLISH - II try out—test The teachers will try out the new syllabus. try on—see whether it fits well etc. He went to the tailor to have a suit tried on, turn against—become hostile to I don’t understand why he has turned against me, turn away—not allow to enter The conductor turned away the commuters as the bus turn down—reject The government has turned down the request of the g turn over—give or pass on I turned the business over to my brother. turn up—arrive I did not expect him, but he turned up at the function, turn in—go to bed He turned in rather early today. turn out—produce The factory turns out one lakh lbs of cloth a week. turn off—shut off Why don’t you turn the T.V. off? wind up—bring to an end Wind up the discussion and start work. wipe out—destroy totally The floods wiped out the village completely. wear off—be rubbed off The effects of the medicine quickly wore off. wear out—become useless My shoes are worn out. work on—influence We tempted him with many promises, but nothing wot! Was fy PRosit, dw work out—solve, calculate He worked out the problem in a few minutes. The engineer worked out the cost of the project. work up—excite He got worked up about something trivial. work upon—influence He worked upon the ignorant villagers. work off—get rid of