1. Mike told me that Jerry had been angry and was going to hit Bill, but that Jerry had then changed his mind and walked away. What had Jerry done?
2. Luis had written his name on a piece of paper to show that he had come to work. What had Luis done?
3. The carpenter had dropped suddenly from the second floor to the first floor through a hole IN the floor. What had the carpenter done?
4. Timmy had argued with his mother because he didn't want to go to bed. What had Timmy done?
5. Todd's explanation made a good impression on the jury. What had Todd's explanation done?
6. The rich lady had given the money to build an animal shelter. What had the rich lady done?
7. The host of the TV talk show had said that the dancing bear act was going to take place right after the commercial. What had the host of the TV show said about the dancing bear act?
8. The cook had turned the lid of the jar so that it was tight. What had the cook done?
9. In Question 8, how would you describe the lid of the jar after the cook turned it so that it was tight?
10. The homeless shelter had allowed them to sleep there overnight. What had the homeless shelter done?
11. The president canceled his vacation because a serious problem had suddenly occurred. Why did the president cancel his vacation?
12. We'd had a deal to buy a new house, but we didn't buy it because of a problem. What had happened to our deal?
13. Marsha's name had been mentioned during the meeting. What had Marsha's name done?
14. The Ortegas had built a fence around their swimming pool. What had the Ortegas done?
15. You had found some old newspapers while cleaning the attic. What had you done?
16. Miguel had traveled from Miami to New York. What had Miguel done?
17. The doctor had written her name on a piece of paper to show that she had left the hospital. What had the doctor done?
EXERCISE 12c — Write eight original sentences using phrasal verbs from this section. Try to make some of them questions, some negative, and some present or past perfect.
1. _________________________________________________. 2. ___________________________________________________. 3.________________________________________________________. 4. ________________________________________________________. 5. ________________________________________________________ 6. ________________________________________________________. 7. ________________________________________________________. 8. ______________________________________________________.
EXERCISE 12d, 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.
| back up, 11 | follow up, 11 | point to, 4 | try out, 11 |
| cut off, 11 | go after, 4 | put to, 4 | wake up, 11 |
| drop off, 11 | pay for, 4 | take out, 11 | work out, 11 |
| fall off, 10 | plan for, 4 | throw up, 2 | wrap up, 4 |
1. I don't care if it takes me the rest of my life, you'll ________ ________ the terrible thing you did!
2. The salesman got a good lead from a friend, and he ________ ________ on it immediately.
3. We need to take the baby to the doctor right now. She's ________ ________ twice in the last hour.
4. Sales have ________ ________ by 13 percent in the last year.
5. That was a very interesting question you _______ _______ Mark at the meeting.
6. Relax, everything's going to ________ ________ okay.
7. Can you follow me in your car so that I can _____ my car _____ at the mechanic?
8. Erik ________ his son ________ and told him it was time for school.
9. I drove into the mountains to ________ my truck's four-wheel drive ________.
10. You should always ________________anything important before you install a new program.
11. The police officer asked the boy where his father was, and the boy ________ ________ the bar across the street.
12. It's getting pretty late. Let's ________ this meeting ________.
13. The guy behind the counter ________ ________ a small piece of cheese so I could taste it.
14. It was a bit of a problem when Jane brought her children with her to my dinner party. I hadn't ________ ________ so many people.
15. The censor told the film director to _______ _______ some of the violent scenes.
16. Jane's going to ________ ________ that new job in the Boston office.
13. FOCUS ON: passive phrasal verbs, 1
The passive voice is used when what happened (the verb) is more important than who did it (the subject):
The scene of the crime was dosed off by the police.
when the subject is obvious:
The tests were handed in. (by the students — who else?)
or when the subject is unknown:
My dog was run over. (by an unknown person)
The passive is formed with be and the past participle of the verb. Be can be in any tense and can be continuous:
The game has been called off.
My name was left off.
The tent Is being set up.
The criminals willbe tracked down.
As we saw in the first three examples, saying who performed the action with a by phrase is optional, but it is always possible. This is a good way to test a sentence to see if it is in the passive:
The game has been called off by. the, referee.
My name was left off by Charles.
The tent is being set up by. the campers.
The criminals will be tracked down by the police.
| Infinitive | ||||
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle | |
| call off | ||||
| call off & calls off | calling off | called off | called off |
1. call... off p.v. When you call off an event, such as a party, game, or something else that had been previously planned, you cancel it.
The football game was called off because of rain.
We can't call the party off — it's going to start in half an hour.
| dose off | close off & closes off | closing off | closed off | closed off |
1. close...off p.v. When you close off an area/you prohibit people from entering it or passing through it by locking the door or blocking the entrance.
The police closed several streets off because of the parade.
The house was so expensive to heat that the owners closed several rooms off.
closed off part.adj. An area that you are prohibited from entering or passing through because the door has been locked or the entrance has been blocked is closed off
Three rooms in the museum are closed off.
| Infinitive | ||||
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle | |
| hand in | ||||
| hand in & hands in | handing in | handed in | handed in |
1. hand... in (to) p.v. When you complete a test, report, or project and you give it to the person who assigned the work, you hand it in or hand it in to that person. Turn in is similar to hand in.
The tests must be handed in no later than 11:00.
He finished his investigation and handed his report in to the committee.
2. hand... in p.v. When you hand in your resignation or letter of resignation, you inform your employer that you are quitting your job.
/ was so furious that I handed my letter of resignation in the next day.
The President asked the cabinet members to hand in their resignations.
3. hand... in (to) p.v. When you give something to a person of authority who has demanded it or because you no longer need or want it, you hand it in or hand it in to a person of authority. Turn in is similar to hand in.
The guard was ordered to hand his gun in after he shot the window washer.
The drivers return to the factory at 5:00 and hand their keys in to the dispatcher before they leave.
hit onhit on & hits on hitting on hit on hit on
1. hit on p.v. When you think of an interesting idea or a solution to a problem, you hit on it.
/ think I've hit on a way to solve this problem.
After two years of tests, they finally hit on the solution.
2. hit on p.v. [informal] When you hit on a person of the opposite sex, you approach and aggressively try to interest that person in you romantically or sexually.
Lydia had a terrible time at the party. She was hit on by every guy there.
Let's go somewhere else — Mark keeps hitting on me, and I'm tired of it.
leave off leave off & leaves off leaving off left off left off
1. leave... off p.v. When you do not include people or things on a list, either accidentally or deliberately, you leave them off.
After what happened at the last party, Dan wasn't surprised that he was left off the guest list.
Check to make sure you don't leave anyone off the list.
2. leave off p.v. When you interrupt something that you intend to finish later, you leave off at the point where you stop.
Okay class, we left off on page 92 last week, so open your books to page 93.
Finish your story. Uncle Fred. You left off where the giant octopus was about to eat you.
| Infinitive | ||||
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle | |
| let off | let off & lets off | letting off | let off | let off |
1. let... off p.v. When you let someone off a bus or other form of transportation, you stop it so that person can leave it.
The driver let her off at the corner. That's my house there. Can you let me off please?
2. let... off p.v. When you are let off by a person in authority, you are not punished or you are given only a light punishment.
It was Jake's first offense, so the judge let him off with a warning.
People were shocked that he had been let off so lightly.
3. let... off p.v. When you fire a gun or explode bombs or fireworks, you let them off. (regional) When you let off steam, you express angry feelings or frustration or do something to relieve those feelings.
The high school was evacuated after someone let off a smoke bomb.
When I was a kid I used to love letting off firecrackers on the Fourth of July.
I'm sorry I was so angry this morning; I was just letting off steam.
