Phrasal Verbs Extended

Add up to. His business expenses add up to around 4.000E a year

Suman en total

Add up to. These new measures do not add up to genuine reform

Llevar a

Answer back. I got into trouble for answering the teacher back

Replicar insolentemente

Ask out. Fred asked Vanessa to go out with him but she said no

Pedir para salir

Back down. I am not going to back down just because a few people disagree with me

Recular, echarse para atrás

Back up. I did not believe Simon´s story until Janice backed him up

Respaldar, apoyar a alguien

Back up. Make sure you back all your data up, just in case you get a virus

Hacer una copia de seguridad

Black out. He had blacked out as his car hit the tree

Desmayarse

Black out. The whole city was blacked out for nights on end during the war

Oscurecer, cortar la luz

Blend in. The building does not really blend in very well with others around it

Camuflarse, mimetizarse, fundirse, "pegar"

Blurt out. She blurted out his name, then gasped (suspiró) as she realised what she had done

Soltar, desembuchar

Board up. We boarded the house up because we knew a bad storm was coming

Sellar

Break down. The amount doesn´t seem quite so bad when you break it down into monthly payments

Romperse, dividirse

Break up. Break that old wardrobe up; then I can put it on the fire

Romper, dividir en partes

Break up. The meeting finally broke up after three hours

Terminar, finalizar

Break up. When did Diana and James break up?

Separarse una relación

Brighten up. It´s brightening up, at last

Brillar, el tiempo meteorológico ha mejorado

Brighten up. Sarah brightened up considerably as she thought of Emily´s words

Empezar a estar más contento o mejor otra vez

Brighten up. You could brighten up that skirt with a red blouse

Ponerle luz o color

Bring about. It´s not something we can bring about overnight

Ocasionar, provocar

Bring out. That dress really brings out the green in your eyes

Realzar, resaltar

Bring out. They´ve brought out a new 3D video camera

Producir, lanzar

Bring together. The attack on the city really brought people together

Juntar, unir, hermanar

Brush up (on). I took a class to brush up (on) my German before the trip

Repasar, refrescar la memoria

Build up. Many popular writers built up their reputations during the war

Desarrollar gradualmente

Build up. The food industry needs to build up consumer confidence again

Aumentar

Build up. They have built him up to be something that he is not

Hablar muy positvamente de alguien

Build up. You need lots of fresh fruit to help build you up

Crecer, crecimiento, desarrollar

Bump into. Guess who I bumped into in town?

Encontrarse con

Bump into. It was dark and I bumped into the table

Darse un golpe, chocar

Buy off. Efforts to buy her off have failed

Comprar, sobornar

Buy out. The other directors have offered to buy me out

Comprar parte del negocio

Buy up. Developers have been buying up old theatres and converting them into cinemas

Acaparar, comprar todo

Cancel out. These headphones cancel out any other noise so all you can hear is the music

Neutralizan, anulan

Carry over. You are not allowed to carry over holiday entitlement from one year into the next

Acumular vacaciones

Catch on. He did not catch on at first

Comprender

Catch on. Sports drinks have caught on as consumers have become more health-conscious

Ponerse de moda

Centre around. The book centres around a woman who becomes an astronaut

Gira alrededor, habla de

Chance upon. We chance upon a charming little restaurant

Toparse con, dar con.

Change around. My friends had changed all the furniture in my room around as a joke

Cambiar la posición

Change into. Let me just change into something a bit more comfortable

Cambiarse de ropa

Change into. The film was about a man who changes into a werewolf during the full moon

Transformarse

Change out of. Come inside and change out of those wet things

Cambiarse de ropa

Check out. I have been taking loads of photographs, just to check out the camera

Examina, chequea, confirma

Check out. Their story just did not check out

Constatar, confirmar

Clock up. Dawson has clocked up 34 years as a police officer

Hacer, llevar ejerciendo

Close up. The newsagent was closing up for the evening

Echar el cierre

Club together. Let´s all club together and get her a nice present

Compartir el coste de algo, pagar a "pachas"

Come (a) round (to). I did not agree at first but I have come around to the idea now

Cambiar de opinión porque alguien te ha persuadido

Come across. I came across a reference to my grandfather in an old book

Tropezarse, dar con algo

Come between. I would never let anything come between us

Que algo se interponga entre nosotros.

Come out in. She can´t eat shellfish without coming out in spots

Salir, aparecer

Come out with. You never know what the children are going to come out with

Venir con

Come out. Everything came out all right in the end

Salir

Come out. He said it will all come out in court

Salir a la luz

Come out. That came out wrong. Let me rephrase

Sonar, salir, entender

Come out. The magazine comes out every Thursday

Salir a la venta

Come out. The stain finally came out, but I had to wash the T-shirt three times

Salir, quitar, eliminar

Come out. These differences do not come out until you put the two groups in a room together

Aparecer, emerger

Come round. I felt sick when I came round after the operation

Volver en sí.

Come round. Jean´s annual garden party must be coming round again soon

Volver a suceder

Come round. We were sure she would come round in the end.

Convencerse a sí mismo

Come round. Why do not you come round after work?

Dejarse caer.

Come up with. Is that the best you can come up with?

Conseguir, inventarse, elaborar

Cool down. It´s cooled down a lot in the last couple of days

Enfriar, aplacar

Cordon off. Why have they cordoned off the city centre?

Acordonar

Cotton on. Suddenly I cottoned on. She had been lying from the start

Darse cuenta

Crack down (on). It´s about time they cracked down on people who drop litter

Utilizar mano dura de castigo

Crease up. You really crease me up!

Troncharse de la risa

Creep up on. I watched a cat as it crept up on a bird

Acercarse sigilósamente

Crop up. Ben had to go back to work, something´s cropped up there

Salir de la nada, aparecer de la nada

Crowd around. Everyone crowded around the actor as he signed autographs

Rodear, o moverse para rodear a alguien

Cut back. I´m trying to cut back on groceries

Reducir la cantidad de algo, especialmente dinero

Cut out. Cut out the material you need and make sure it´s the right size

Recortar

Cut out. I´m going to have to cut coffee out because it gives me indigestion

Dejar de, parar

Die out. There used to be wolves here but they have died out

Extinguirse

Dig up. Archaeologists have dug up a bag of coins from Roman times

Desenterrar

Dig up. Police have dug the garden up looking for evidence

Cavar

Dig up. See what you can dig up on the internet on Mr. Anderson

Excavar metafóricamente

Dive in. Sometimes you have just got to take a chance and dive in

Meterse de lleno

Do away with. Did you hear that they are going to do away with private universities altogether?

Eliminar algo, acabar con

Do up. Do your coat up or you will catch cold.

Abrochar

Do up. We bought an old farmhouse in France, intending to do it up.

Redecorar

Drum up. Advertisements should help to drum up some business

Suscitar, fomentar

Dry up. I hope I do not dry up in the middle of my speech

Quedarte en blanco

Dry up. I´m a TV repairman, but work seems to have dried up lately

No haber, no haber disponible

Dry up. The river has completely dried up.

Secarse

End up. Keep on doing that and you will end up in serious trouble

Terminarás en, sin intención

Face up to. He was the only one who faced up to the problem

Plantarse a alguien, encararse a alguien

Fade away. To my amazement, the letters on the page slowly faded away.

Difuminarse

Fall behind. I was off school for two months with my illness and I fell behind the others

Quedarse atrás

Figure out. We had to figure out the connection between the two events

Averiguar

Fix up. Why do not we try to fix up that old bike of yours?

Reparar

Follow up. The police are now following up some new leads

Investigando

Follow up. The study followed up over 200 heart patients

Seguimiento del paciente

Get (a) round. The rumours got around town very quickly, did not they?

Correr rápidamente, se esparcieron

Get across. We have got to get the message across more clearly

Hacer entender

Get down. Doing the same thing every day can get you down.

Desanimar

Get in. If I get in, there will be a few changes around here.

Ser elegido para un trabajo político

Get into. Craig started to get into crime while he was still at school

Estar envuelto en, relacionado