1. I don't like this hotel room. I'm going to ask the desk clerk about changing to a different room. What am I going to do?
2. No one believes in the scientist's theories anymore. What haven't the scientist's theories done?
3. Janice is going to make her pants smaller. What is she going to do?
4. Mr. Ortega was tricked by the salesman. What happened to Mr. Ortega?
5. A car drove over you. What happened to you?
6. The jeweler showed me several flaws in the diamond. What did the jeweler do?
7. The game started late because it was raining. What did the rain do?
8. Susie is using scissors to make several small pieces of paper from a larger piece of pap What is Susie doing?
9. The posts are supporting the porch. What are the posts doing?
10. The woman told the bank teller to give her all the money in the cash register or she would shoot him. What did the woman do?
11. In Question 10, what happened at the bank?
12. I put my broken TV in my car, drove to the repair shop, and carried the TV in. What did to my TV?
13. Bill separated all the parts of his typewriter. What did Bill do?
14. There was too much water in the bathtub, and it spilled onto the floor. What did the water do?
15. After my parents died, my grandparents let me live with them. What did my grandparents do?
16. Mr. Young told some people about the secret information. What did Mr. Young do with the secret information?
17. I saw an empty luggage cart at the airport, and I went to it quickly and grabbed it. What did I do?
18. When the thief started to open the woman's door, a scream came from her mouth. What did the woman do?
19. I've been using this lawn mower for twenty-five years, and it still works fine. What has the lawn mower done?
20. The cowboy opened the gate so that the cattle could leave the corral. What did the cowboy do?
21. Dr. Smith went to a museum while he was in Rome. What did Dr. Smith do?
22. The meeting was supposed to end at 2:00, but it hasn't ended yet. What is the meeting doing?
23. I'm making my pants bigger. What am I doing?
EXERCISE 7d, 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.
| boil down to, 6 | figure out, 1 | go through with, 6 |
| come down with, 6 | get around to, 6 | look forward to, 3 |
| come off, 2 | get out of, 6 | monkey around with, 6 |
| come up with, 6 | go after, 4 | put on, 1 |
| doze off, 2 | go back on, 6 |
1,1 thought about what I was going to say to her, but when the time came, I was so nervous I couldn't________________________it.
2. The President's news conference didn't ________ ________ well because it revealed his poor understanding of the situation.
3.1 _______ ________ ________ watching Aunt Kathy's vacation videotape by saying I had to study for a test.
4. I don't usually ________ ________ ________ doing my Christmas shopping
until December 24. 5. I've been ________ ________ ________ this broken refrigerator all day, but I still don't know what's wrong with it. 6. Mexico City's problems _______ _______ ______ one thing — too many people.
7. Have you seen my pen? I can't ________ ________ what happened to it.
8. If you _______ a coat of paint ________ that old house, it wouldn't look so bad.
9. One police officer helped the mugging victim while her partner ________ _______the mugger.
10. My son promised that he would stop cutting school, and so far he hasn't ________ _______ ________ that promise.
11. The company ________ ________ ________ a way to decrease labor costs without lowering wages.
12. I have never been to Thailand, and I'm really ______ ______ ______ going there.
13. She was so tired she ________ ________ as soon as she sat down.
14. The show was canceled after the star ________ ________ _______ laryngitis.
8. FOCUS ON: present perfect phrasal verbs
The present perfect is used to talk about the past and the present at the same time:
They have torn down the building. (The building is not there now because they tore it down in the past.)
or to say that something is completed:
She has picked out some library books.
The present perfect is formed with have, or when the subject is he, she, it, or the name of one person or thing, has, and the past participle of the verb:
present: The tree falls over.
past: The tree fell over.
present perfect: The tree has fallen over.
Remember that have can be combined with pronouns as 've:
They' ve never heard of him. and has with nouns and pronouns as's:
The tree' s fallen over.
He' s never heard of her.
Be careful not to confuse the's contraction of has and the's contraction of is:
She' s picked out some library books. (She has...) She' s picking out some library books. (She is...)
| Infinitive | ||||
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle | |
| burn out | ||||
| burn out & burns out | burning out | burned out | burned out |
1. burn out p.v. When a fire, candle, or other flame stops burning because it has no more fuel, it burns out.
We need more wood; the fire has burned out.
Don't worry; the sun won't burn out for another four billion years.
burned-out part.adj. After a fire, candle, or other flame stops burning because it has no more fuel, it is burned-out.
The burned-out rocket landed in the ocean.
burned-out part.adj. When people are extremely tired, either physically or psychologically, because of stress or hard work, they are burned-out.
Teaching those awful students for so many years has left him burned-out.
Taking care of four small children day after day would leave any mother burned-out.
2. burn out p.v. When a light bulb stops producing light because it has reached the end of its useful life, it burns out.
These new bulbs are guaranteed not to burn out for ten years. I can't see what I'm doing because this bulb has burned out.
burned-out part.adj. A light bulb that no longer produces light because it has reached the end of its useful life is burned-out.
/ climbed the ladder and unscrewed the burned-out bulb.
3. burn...out p.v. When people are forced to leave their home or some other shelter or hiding place because of fire or fire damage, they are burned out.
The only way to get the enemy soldiers out of the tunnels was to burn them out.
Seven families were burned out of their homes by the huge fire.
burned-out part.adj. Something that has been damaged or destroyed by fire is burned-out.
After the war, nothing was left but burned-out cars and buildings.
| Infinitive | ||||
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle | |
| fall over | ||||
| fall over & falls over | falling over | fell over | fallen over |
1. fall over p.v. When people or things fail over, they fall to the ground from an upright position.
That tree has been dead for fifty years, but it still hasn't fallen over.
I almost fell over when I heard the terrible news.
2. fall over p.v. When you fall over yourself or (usually) fall all over yourself, you try so hard to serve someone or to make someone like you that you appear foolish.
The supervisor fell all over himself trying to satisfy the customer.
Mike was falling all over himself trying to impress Heather.
| fight back | |||
| fight back & fights back | fighting back | fought back | fought back |
1. fight back p.v. When you fight back, you fight, either physically or with words, someone or something that attacked you first.
The soldiers fought back bravely, but the situation was hopeless.
After being accused of corruption, the senator said she would fight back and prove her innocence.
2. fight back p.v. When you fight back an emotional response, such as tears or fear, you try very hard to overcome the emotion.
The mother fought back tears when she saw the little white coffins.
I had to fight back the urge to punch him in the nose.
| Infinitive | ||||
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle | |
| hear of | ||||
| hear of & hears of | hearing of | heard of | heard of |
1. hear of p.v. When you learn about something for the first time, you hear of it.
Do I know Fred Smith? No, I've never heard of him.
I told my real estate agent, "If you hear of a good deal on a three-bedroom house, please call me right away."
2. hear of p.v. When you learn information about something that makes you angry and you say you will not hear of it, you mean that you will not tolerate or allow it.
Our daughter wants to fly to Mexico with her boyfriend?
I won't hear of it! I told him that his scheme was outrageous and that I wouldn't hear of such a thing.
| pick out | ||||
| pick out & picks out | picking out | picked out | picked out |
1. pick... out p.v. When you choose something from a group because you prefer it to the others in the group, you pick it out.
Have you picked out a dress to wear to the party yet?
Mike's dog had puppies, and he asked me to pick one out.
2. pick... out p.v. When you are able to find and recognize something in a group, you pick it out.
Even though the class photo was fifty years old, I picked my father out easily. The police detective asked me if I could pick the mugger out from a group of photos.
| ring up | ||||
| ring up & rings up | ringing up | rang up | rung up |
1. ring... up p.v. When you want to buy something in a store, a cashier uses a cash register to ring up what you want to buy in order to determine how much money you must pay.
Well, I guess I'll take this one. Can you ring it up please?
I couldn't believe it when the clerk finished ringing it all up — $946!
2. ring... up p.v. (mainly British) When you call people on the telephone, you ring them up.
He rang up Nancy and asked her to go to the dance.
If you need a ride, ring me up when you arrive at the airport.
| tear down | ||||
| tear down & tears down | tearing down | tore down | torn down |
1. tear... down p.v. When you tear down a building, you deliberately and completely destroy it.
They tore so many old buildings down in my hometown that I barely recognize it.
A lot of smaller homes in the suburbs are being torn down and replaced with larger ones.
| Infinitive | ||||
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle | |
| work in | ||||
| work in & works in | working in | worked in | worked in |
1. work... in p.v. When you make room, with some difficulty, for something in a schedule or plan, you work it in.
We're going to be in Chicago for only a couple of days, but I'll try to work in a Cubs game. I told him my schedule was pretty tight, but that I'd try to work the meeting in.
