Verb
The verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence. A verb or compound verb
asserts something about the subject of the sentence and express actions, events, or states
of being. The verb or compound verb is the critical element of the predicate of a sentence.
In each of the following sentences, the verb or compound verb is highlighted:
Transitive Verbs followed by Adverbs
back up: support I will back up your story.
bail out: rescue If you run into difficulties, who will bail you out?
break in: make something new fit
for use
I broke in my new hiking boots.
breathe in: inhale We breathed in the fresh air.
breathe out: exhale I breathed out a sigh of relief.
bring back: return She brought back her library books.
bring around: persuade
We gradually brought her around to our point of
view.
bring up: raise Bringing up children is never easy.
butter up: flatter
We buttered him up, hoping that he would agree to
our proposal.
call in: ask to assist I think it is time we called in an expert.
call off: cancel We called off the meeting.
call up: telephone Why don't you call him up?
cheer on: cheer, encourage I will be there to cheer you on.
chop down: fell They chopped down the dead tree.
clean up: tidy
The mayor asked everyone to help clean up the city
streets.
fend off: repel The goalie fended off every attack.
ferret out: find with difficulty We managed to ferret out the information.
figure out: solve, understand I can't figure out what happened.
fill in: complete Please fill in this form.
fill out: complete I filled out the form.
fill up: make full We filled up the glasses with water.
give back: return I gave back the bicycle I had borrowed.
give off: send out Skunk cabbage gives off an unpleasant odor.
hand down: give to someone
younger
The tradition was handed down from father to son.
hand in: give to person in
authority
The students handed their assignments in to the
teacher.
hand on: give to another person I am not sorry to hand the responsibility on to you.
hand over: transfer We had to hand the evidence over to the police.
hang up: break a telephone
connection
After receiving a busy signal, I hung up the phone.
hold back: restrain, delay He is so enthusiastic; it is hard to hold him back.
iron out: remove I am sure we can iron out every difficulty.
knock out: make unconscious Boxers are often knocked out.
lap up: accept eagerly The public lapped up the story.
lay off: put out of work The company laid off seventy workers.
leave behind: leave, not bring I accidentally left my umbrella behind.
leave out: omit Tell me what happened. Don't leave anything out!
let down: disappoint We will let him down if we don't arrive on time.
live down: live so that past faults
are forgotten
This will be hard to live down!
look up: find (information) We looked up the word in a dictionary.
make up: invent She likes to make up stories.
pass up: not take advantage I couldn't pass up such an opportunity.
pension off: dismiss with a
pension
He was pensioned off at the age of sixty.
phase in: introduce gradually
The new program will be phased in over the next six
months.
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