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...)

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.

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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.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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.

1. tear... down p.v. When you tear down a building, you deliberately and com­pletely destroy it.

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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.

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.

EXERCISE 8a — Complete the sentences with phrasal verbs from this section. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense.

1. The Leaning Tower of Pisa still hasn't ________ ________.

2. Every year I have to replace the Christmas tree lights that have ________ _____

3. The enemy was so strong that there was no way we could have ________

4.1 don't have time to talk about it now. I'll ________ you ________ after dinner.

5. Sarah always tries to ________ ________ a little sightseeing on her business trips.

6. My brother is pretty easy to ________ ________ in a crowd — he's almost seven feet tall.

7. If you haven't ________ ________ a video yet, you'd better hurry — the store's closing in five minutes.

8. The firefighters decided to let the fire in the lumberyard ________ itself________.

9. That cashier has been yakking with his friends for ten minutes and still hasn't ________ our stuff ________.

10. A screen door on a submarine? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever ________

11. When I told the waiter I was the owner of the restaurant, he ________ all ________ himself trying please me.

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12. The taco stand moved across the street after it was ________ ________ by the fire.

13. When I found out that one of my employees cheated a customer, I said I wouldn't ________ ________ such a thing in my store.

14. I had to ________ ________ my fear as I waited for my turn to jump from the plane,

15. They'll have to ________________ most of the buildings that were damaged by

the earthquake.

EXERCISE 8b — Write three sentences using the objects in parentheses. Be sure to put the objects in the right place.

1. The sheriff burned out. (the escaped convicts, them) ) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————————————————————————————

2. Bill has picked out. (a new car, one) ) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————————————————————————————

3. The clerk hasn't rung up yet. (these CDs, them) ) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————————————————————————————

4. The new owners have torn down. (the garage, it) ) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————————————————————————————

5. The mayor tried to work in. (a tour of the factory, it) ) ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————————————————————————————

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EXERCISE 8c — Write answers to the questions using phrasal verbs and participle adjectives from this section. Make all the phrasal verbs present perfect.

1. I asked my father if I could smoke in the house, and he became angry and said he wouldn't allow it. What did my father say about smoking in the house?

2. The forest fire has stopped because there aren't any more trees left to burn. What has the fire done?

3. The cashier has totaled how much we must pay for our groceries. What has the cashier done?

4. They have chosen a hotel for their wedding reception. What have they done?

5. Sally's mother couldn't stop her tears. What couldn't Sally's mother do?

6. One of my car's headlights isn't working anymore. What did the headlight do?

7. In Question 6, how would you describe the headlight?

8. The stack of books was too high, and now the books are on the floor. What did the books do?

9. The coffee shop had to move to a different location because of a fire. What happened to the coffee shop?

10. In Question 9, how would you describe the coffee shop's previous location?

11. After they attacked us, we didn't attack them. What didn't we do?

12. I've made room in my busy day for a game of tennis. What have I done?

13. She hasn't called me on the telephone. What hasn't she done?

14. They've completely destroyed the old factory. What have they done?

15. The sergeant tried extremely hard to show the captain how well he was training the soldiers. What did the sergeant do?

16. I asked Jim if anyone had ever told him about the new seafood restaurant in the mall. What did I ask Jim?

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EXERCISE 8d, 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.

1. My bicycle was really dirty, so I ________ it ________ and cleaned it.

2. it was a very serious injury, and no one expected Raul to ________ ________.

3. I've been waiting for the TV repair guy all day, but he still hasn't ________

4. I feel just awful. I was driving to work, and I ________ ________ a dog.

5. The detectives weren't ________ ________ by the crook's explanation.

6. The detectives didn't ________ ________ the crook's explanation.

7. Mrs. Taylor's husband doesn't have any teeth, so she has to ________ all his food________.

8. The freight train ________ ________ traffic for twenty minutes, so we were late for work.

9. In his report yesterday, the head of marketing ________ ________ several ways to increase the company's sales.

10. I. _______ the word Internet ________ in an old dictionary, but I couldn't find it.

11. Susie's mother told her, "I'm not going to ________ you ________ of this house until you finish your homework."

12. The company finally ________ ________ to demands that it hire more women and minorities.

13. I'm having root canal surgery next week. I'll be glad to ________ it ________.

14. David called the travel agency to ________ ________ getting his ticket changed.

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15. Karen loves to ski. In fact, she________________________ most winter sports.

16. Betty told the doctor she couldn't ________ ________ ________ the pain any longer, and she asked him for morphine.