Are you ready to enquire your classmates and share your life experiences with them? If so, read up on the phrasal verbs below. Do you know them? Worries away. The Find Someone Who communicative activity will help you brush up on C1 phrasal verbs while interacting with your peers. To befriend the C1 phrasal verbs has never been so easy!
This is a follow-up to the first set of C1 phrasal verbs. If you missed out on the first part, access it here: Find Someone Who with C1 Phrasal Verbs
C1 Phrasal verbs Set 2
DOWN
- lay something down – state a rule, a law, or procedures
- let down – disappoint, break a promise
- live down – make people forget that you made a big mistake or something embarrassing in the past
- put something down to something – ascribe to
IN/INTO
- go in for – make a habit of or to enjoy something; enter competition
- have it in for – be deliberately unkind to someone
- let someone in on something – allow someone to be part of a secret
- look into – investigate, try to find more information
- pack something in – stop an activity
- put in for – make an official request to have or do something, e.g. job, exam
OFF
- give off – produce heat, light, a smell or gas
- go off – become bad – food or drink
- hit it off – get on well with someone, become friendly
- let off someone – excuse from punishment
- make off with – run away with something, steal
- pull something off – succeed in doing something difficult
- put someone off – discourage, upset
ON/ONTO
- go on – happen
- grow on – become more liked
- hang onto – keep
- hit on/upon – discover by chance (an idea)
- look on – consider
- push on – persevere, continue with some effort
OUT
- give out – be used up, exhaust
- have it out with someone – express feelings to settle a problem
- hold something out – offer a possibility, solution, or hope; stay optimistic
- make out – pretend
- make someone/something out – hear, see, or understand someone/something with difficulty
- miss out – fail to include; lose a chance
- point out – draw attention to a fact
- put oneself out – take trouble to help someone
UP
- give oneself up – surrender
- hold up – delay
- keep up – make something continue at its present level
- live up to – reach an elected standard
- look someone up – visit when in the area
- make up – invent
- make up for – compensate for
- own up – confess
- pick up – improve, increase
- play up – behave or work badly
- put someone up – offer accommodation
- put up with – tolerate, bear
Other prepositions:
- give away – betray
- give over – stop doing something
- give something over to – give someone the use of or the responsibility for something
- go back on – fail to keep a promise
- go round – be enough
- go through with – complete a plan, a promise, usually unwillingly
- hold with – agree with – an idea
- make for something – result in, make possible
- pay someone back – take revenge
- put across – communicate ideas
ESL Conversation questions with C1 phrasal verbs
Move around, ask & talk
A. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- can easily hit it off with people.
- has a sibling who never gives over complaining how hard school life is.
- has promised to look a childhood friend up when in the area on business or holidays.
- is sure that their teacher/boss always has it in for them.
- has got a handwriting not easy to be made out by themselves, let alone other people.
B. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- doesn’t hold with the idea that standardized exams are useful.
- doesn’t really go in for sports very much.
- strongly believes that cutting down on using private cars would make for a greener planet.
- has never gone back on their word.
- no matter the situation, always holds out hope of coming up with a solution.
C. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- has decided not to go through with a threat.
- must look into a personal matter a friend has asked about.
- has put strangers up for some days.
- cannot put up with dusty furniture.
- is always willing to put themselves out for other people, be it friends or strangers.
D. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- couldn’t watch their favourite programme because the TV was playing up.
- normally buys too many groceries which in the end go off.
- was let off with a warning rather than a fine by the police.
- had to take extra classes to make up for the time they had missed.
- must urgently have it out with a classmate/colleague as they cannot put up with it any longer.
E. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- will always hold onto a thing that has got sentimental value.
- pointed out to a friend how expensive an item of clothing was from a high street shop.
- thinks that good company management involves laying down clear rules.
- is good at making up excuses.
- needs to do the weekly grocery shopping as all the food supplies are about to give out.
F. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- was very naughty as a child and had done something they still haven’t owned up to.
- has missed out on a fantastic bargain in the summer sale.
- was planning a plot surprise, but a friend gave it away.
- had a holiday which didn’t live up to their expectations.
- has been let down by a friend who didn’t show up.
G. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- is following a special diet to keep their strength up.
- has started to read a book which is beginning to grow on them.
- would rather cook more dishes when having guests for dinner to make sure the food goes round.
- was held up in a traffic jam for more than one hour.
- has made such a big change in their hairstyle that their parents will never let them live it down.
H. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- feels content their English fluency is beginning to pick up.
- has ever made out that they had forgotten a friend’s/relative’s birthday.
- has been given a space in their house over to them after having done it up.
- is pushing on with their English course until they reach the C2 Proficiency level.
- has had their house broken into, and the thieves made off with a valuable object.
I. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- though not revengeful, at times thinks of paying their neighbours back for the noise they are always making.
- was put off taking the plane because of some nightmare travelling experience.
- thinks that success can only be put down to hard work rather than mere luck.
- is thinking about packing a tough job/task in.
- has recently hit upon an awesome idea to make more money.
J. FIND SOMEONE WHO …
- can easily put their ideas across.
- firmly believes politicians tend to conceal what really is going on in the political arena for the best of the citizens.
- is thinking of installing a radiator because the old fan heater doesn’t give off much heat.
- can recall the name of a film in which some members of a gang gave themselves up.
- used to let his friends in on his plans a greater deal than now.
Some variations on Find Someone Who
To keep this game new every time students are asked to stand up and walk around asking the five C1 phrasal verbs questions, update the activity with this suggestion:
- Say it “YES, OF COURSE!”
When asked, whatever the question, students must always reply with an affirmative answer. To find out whether the person is telling the truth or lying, the interviewer must ask for details, like WHEN, WHERE, WHO WITH-questions.
Stay tuned for more words of advice and handy material!
