36. Focus on: phrasal verbs with the particle down
The particle down is used in many phrasal verbs and has many meanings. Down can be used to say that something literally moves from a higher position to a lower position or from north to south:
Bob went down the ladder.
His friends came down from Canada.
Sit down; dinner is ready.
that something decreases in size, intensity, quantity, or quality:
Her fever has gone down to 100 degrees.
The doctor gave her a sedative to calm her down.
We've narrowed the list down to three choices.
that something or someone is fought, defeated, or overpowered:
Hank backed down when he saw my shotgun.
The police cracked down on street crime.
that something falls to the ground:
The boy was running and fell down.
The warehouse burned down.
Open the door or I'll break it down!
or that a process or activity is ending or has ended:
My car broke down on the highway.
The FBI tracked down the spy.
The campaign is winding down.
| Infinitive | ||||
|
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle |
| back down | back down & backs down | backing down | backed down | backed down |
1. backdown p.v. When one side in a disagreement stops making threats and lets the other have what it wants or do what it wants, the side that stops making threats backs down.
The dictator didn't back down after the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of sending in troops.
The police officer tried to force me to pay him a bribe, but when I said I would report him to the chief of police, he backed down.
| Infinitive | ||||
|
| present tense | -ing form | past tense | past participle |
| calm down |
|
|
|
|
| calm down & calms down | calming down | calmed down | calmed down | |
1. calm ... down p.v. When you calm down, you become less active, nervous, or upset. When you calm other people down, you do something to make them less active, nervous, or upset. Settle down is similar to calm down.
I was very nervous about the test, but I calmed down when I saw how easy it was.
Mike tried to calm his sister down after she had a fight with her husband.
2. calm ... down p.v. When a confused or violent situation becomes less confused or violent, it calms down. When you calm a confused or violent situation down, you make it less confused or violent and more calm. Settle down is similar to calm down.
The neighborhood where the riot occurred calmed down after the army started patrolling the streets.
A conference between the two sides was organized to try to calm the situation down.
- The ultimate phrasal verb book
- 28. Passive Phrasal Verbs, 2 / 210
- 30. Participle Adjectives Formed from Phrasal Verbs, 2 / 223
- Come from
- 2. Focus on: phrasal verbs and do, does,anddid
- Fall for
- 4. Focus on: present and past continuous phrasal verbs
- 5. Focus on: pronunciation of two-word phrasal verbs
- 7. Focus on: separable phrasal verbs with long objects
- 8. Focus on: present perfect phrasal verbs
- 9. Focus on: two-word phrasal verbs that require an additional particle when used with an object, 1
- 11. Focus on: phrasal verbs used in compound nouns
- Light up
- 14. Focus on: participle adjectives formed from phrasal verbs, 1
- Dress up dress up & dresses up dressing up dressed up dressed up
- Dry up & dries up drying up dried up dried up
- Put away
- Stick up
- 16. Focus on: phrasal verbs with gerund objects, 1
- Hold off hold off & holds off holding off held off held off
- Put past
- Intransitive phrasal verbs
- 18. Focus on: phrasal verbs and can, could, will, andwould
- Figure on
- Lift upon
- Line up
- Tell apart tell apart & tells apart telling apart told apart told apart
- 19. Focus on: phrasal verbs and the adverb right
- Bring over
- Cool off
- Hand over hand over & hands over handing over handed over handed over
- Pull over
- 20. Focus on: phrasal verbs followed by the -ingform
- Start out start out & starts out starting out started out started out
- Stay up stay up & stays up staying up stayed up stayed up
- 21. Focus on: phrasal verbs and shouldandought to
- Very probable: should and ought to
- Look over look over & looks over looking over looked over looked over
- Pick on
- Step on
- Take out on
- 22. Focus on: the particle upand the adverbsright andall
- Clear up
- Heat up
- Plug up
- Wipe up
- 23. Focus on: two-word phrasal verbs that require an additional particle when used with an object, 2
- Cut down
- Get away
- Make up
- Watch out
- Exercise 23b — Complete the sentences with the correct second particles.
- Print out print out & prints out printing out printed out printed out
- Slow down
- Trade in trade in & trades in trading in traded in traded in
- 1. The doctor said I was cured, but he wants me to see him in a year for a __________.
- 25. Focus on: phrasal verbs and haveto,have got to,andmust
- Do with
- Have on have on & has on having on had on had on
- Knock over
- Lighten up
- Plan ahead
- Think up think up & thinks up thinking up thought up thought up
- 26. Focus on: phrasal verbs and the adverb back
- Open up open up & opens up opening up opened up opened up
- Put together put together & puts together putting together put together put together
- Shut off shut off & shuts off shutting off shut off shut off
- Start up
- 27. Focus on: phrasal verbs with the particle off and the adverbright
- Break off
- Tear off
- Wash off
- Wipe off
- Break up
- Call up
- Carry out carry out & carries out carrying out carried out carried out
- Mess up
- It looks like Timmy was the last one in the bathroom — it's really messed up.
- 29. Focus on: phrasal verbs and might,may, andcan
- Drop in
- Flip out
- Look out
- Luck out
- Run across run across & runs across running across ran across run across
- 30. Focus on: participle adjectives formed from phrasal verbs, 2
- Lock out
- Punch out & punches out punching out punched out punched out
- Put out & puts out putting out put out put out
- Wash up wash up & washes up washing up washed up washed up
- 10. Thanks for helping me move my piano. I'm sorry to ________ you ________.
- Do away with
- Look into look into & looks into looking into looked into looked into
- Plan on
- Put off & puts off putting off put off put off
- 32. Focus on: phrasal verbs with the particle out
- Come out come out & comes out coming out came out come out
- Fall out
- Stick out
- 33. Focus on: phrasal verbs and midsentence adverbs
- Catch on catch on & catches on catching on caught on caught on
- Fall behind
- Goof around
- Know about know about & knows about knowing about knew about known about
- Pull off pull off & pulls off pulling off pulled off pulled off
- Exercise 33b — Complete the sentences with the correct second particles.
- 34. Focus on: pronunciation of two-and three-word phrasal verbs, 2
- Lead up to
- Stand for
- Stick to stick to & sticks to sticking to stuck to stuck to
- Leave behind
- Live with
- Narrow down narrow down & narrows down narrowing down narrowed down narrowed down
- Trick into trick into & tricks into tricking into tricked into tricked into
- 36. Focus on: phrasal verbs with the particle down
- Fall down
- Go down
- Put down put down & puts down putting down put down put down
- 37. Focus on: phrasal verbs used as nouns, 3
- Hang out
- Leave over left over
- 38. Focus on: the verb keepand adverbs and adverbials showing degrees of variability
- Keep away
- Keep down
- Keep off keep off & keeps off keeping off kept off kept off
- Keep on keep on & keeps on keeping on kept on kept on
- Keep up
- 39. Focus on: passive phrasal verbs, 3
- Cross off
- Fill up
- Take over
- 40. Focus on: gerund phrasal verbs vs. Phrasal verbs followed by the -ing form
- Bring up & brings up bringing up brought up brought up
- Come back
- Go away
- Run around run around & runs around running around ran around run around
- 41. Focus on: two-word phrasal verbs with the particle in that require into when used with an object
- Let in & lets in letting in let in let in
- Plug in
- Sneak out
- 43. Focus on: modals and present perfect phrasal verbs
- Gross out gross out & grosses out grossing out grossed out grossed out
- Head toward & heads toward heading toward headed toward headed toward
- Run up & runs up running up ran up run up
- Stop off
- 44. Focus on: participle adjectives and passive phrasal verbs with the verb get
- Stress out & stresses out stressing out stressed out stressed out
- 45. Focus on: phrasal verbs with the verb turn
- Turn in
- Turn off
- 46. Focus on: pronunciation of phrasal verbs with the particle into
- Bump into
- Freak out freak out & freaks out freaking out freaked out freaked out
- Make for make for & makes for making for made for made for
- Talk into
- Talk out of
- 47. Focus on: particles used without verbs
- Cut back
- Move out
- 48. Focus on: modals and present perfect passive phrasal verbs
- Knock out
- Look up to
- 1. Look up to p.V. When you look up to people, you admire and respect them.
- Put back
- Switch on & switches on switching on switched on switched on
- Throw out throw out & throws out throwing out threw out thrown out
- 49. Focus on: combinations of get, right, back, and to
- Get ahead
- Get back to
- Start off
- Come down to
- Deal with
- Pay back
- Take up on
- 1. Take... Up on p.V. When you take people up on an offer, you accept their offer.
- Wear out
- Index of Phrasal Verbs by Section