1. My father came into my bedroom, shook my shoulder, and told me that breakfast was almost ready. What did my father do?
2. I live in New Orleans, and it's difficult to find the time to travel to Minnesota to visit my sister. What is difficult?
3. After you were arrested for drunken driving, you were in a lot of trouble. What did you do?
4. You need to return to your home very quickly. What do you need to do?
5. After Judy pays her bills, she just barely has enough money to survive until the end of the month. What can Judy just barely do?
6. If Heather doesn't work harder in her math class, she will not be able to stay at the same level as the other students. What will happen to Heather if she doesn't work harder?
7. It's been five years, but Frank is still sad about his brother's death. What hasn't Frank done yet?
8. I was trapped in my car after an accident, but a rescue worker removed me from my car. What did the rescue worker do?
9. Alex is removing his toy train from the closet. What is Alex doing to his toy train?
10. Carlos is standing on a table so that he can get the toy airplane that he threw on top of the refrigerator. What is Carlos doing?
11. The sofa was too big, and the movers couldn't bring it inside our new house. What couldn't the movers do?
12. There is a huge truck in front of us, and we can't pass it. What can't we do?
13. Lydia left the building when she heard the fire alarm. What did Lydia do?
14. After getting out of her car, Janice entered it again. What did Janice do?
15. Erik's bicycle was stolen, but now he has it again. What did Erik do?
16. The pilot had mechanical problems with her airplane, but the controllers on the ground helped her land. What did the controllers do to the pilot?
17. Bill called and asked me to come to his house very quickly. What did Bill ask me to do?
EXERCISE 42c, 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.
| brush off, 37 | float around, 34 | punch in, 30 | sneak out, 41 |
| call back, 28 | go in l into, 41 | punch out, 30 | start up, 26 |
| call up, 28 | leave behind, 35 | run around, 40 | |
| clear out, 32 | pick up, 39 | sell out, 39 | |
| cross off, 39 | plug in l into, 41 | sneak in l into, 41 |
1. There's nothing to eat for dinner tonight. Can you ________ some takeout food ________ when you come home from work tonight?
2. My brother wants to store some of his stuff in my attic, so tonight I'm going to ________ some of the junk up there ________ to make more room.
3. If you want to get a ticket for the Superbowl, you'll need to hurry — they're ________ ________ fast.
4. When I go on vacation, I want to relax at the beach and _____ my worries _____.
5. Ned is worried. There's a rumor ______ ______ that someone is going to get fired.
6. I can't find the toy my daughter wants for her birthday anywhere. I've been ________ ________ all day looking for it.
7. I'm going to be late for work. Would you mind _________ me _________?
8. Dan must still be here in the office somewhere. He hasn't _______ _______ yet.
9. I haven't talked to Nancy in a long time. I think I'll ______ her ______ tonight.
10. Nancy was in the shower when I called, but her brother said she'd ________ me right ________.
11. Are you sure this is the right key? It won't ________ ________ the lock.
12. Margaret Cummings decided to leave her job with a big company and ________ ________ her own company.
13. _______ _________the theater was easy. One of our friends went inside and opened the fire exit for the rest of us.
14. My father won't let me go to the dance, so I'm going to ________ ________ after he goes to bed.
15. None of the bad things people say about Charles bother him. He just ________ it ________.
16. I made a list of people to invite to my wedding, but after I heard all those nasty things Sarah said about my fiance, I ________ her name ________ the list.
17. Well, I think I've fixed the vacuum cleaner. Let's ________ it ________ and see if it works now.
43. FOCUS ON: modals and present perfect phrasal verbs
Remember that the present perfect is formed with have or the contraction 've and the past participle. The only difference is that has is not used for the third person singular:
He has run up a big bill. He would have run up a big bill.
The meanings of the modal and semimodal auxiliaries are unchanged in the present perfect, except for may and might.
Past speculation and you do not know what happened: might have or may have
When discussing something that was possible in the past and you do not know what happened, either might have or may have can be used:
l wonder where Jim is. He might have stopped off at the bar. I wonder where Jim is. He may have stopped off at the bar.
Because you do not know whether Jim stopped off at the bar, either might have or may have can be used.
Past speculation and you know what happened: only might have
When discussing something that was possible in the past and you know what happened, only might have can be used:
Climbing that tree was stupid. You might have fallen out. Climbing that tree was stupid. You may have fallen out.
Because I know that the person I am talking to did not fall out of the tree, only might have can be used.
| Infinitive | ||||
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle | |
| blow out | ||||
| blowout & blows out | blowing out | blew out | blown out |
1. blow... out p.v. When a flame blows out or is blown out by a strong wind, it stops burning. When you blow out a flame, you use your breath to make the flame stop burning.
Don't open the window — the candles will blow out.
I couldn't light my cigarette; the wind kept blowing the match out.
The stove isn't working. Maybe the pilot light has blown out.
2. blow...out (of) p.v. When something is moved outward away from where it was by an explosion or a very strong wind, it is blown out or blown out of where it was before.
The force of the explosion blew all the windows out.
Look, there's a dead bird. The wind might have blown it out of its nest.
blowout n. When a tire bursts and suddenly loses its air while you are driving, you have a blowout.
Maria had a blowout while she was driving, lost control of her car, and hit a tree.
3. blow... out p.v. When a piece of electrical equipment or a fuse blows out, it fails because too much electricity is passing through it.
Don't be surprised if the fuse blows out — you have seven lights, your computer, and your TV all plugged into one outlet.
When lightning hit our house, it blew all the telephones out.
| Infinitive | ||||
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle | |
| give out | give out & gives out | giving out | gave out | given out |
1. give...out (to) p.v. When you distribute something to other people, you give it out or give it out to them. Hand out is similar to give out.
They gave out free hats to the first 5,000 fans to enter the stadium.
The aid workers would have given more food out to the famine victims, but they didn't have enough.
2. give out (on) p.v. When a mechanical or electrical device stops working, it gives out or gives out on you. When a supply of something is completely used, it gives out or gives out on you.
The explorers tost their way in the desert and died after their water gave out.
I bought a Chevrolet in 1964 and drove it more than 300,000 miles before it finally gave out on me.
