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Unit 05
Work, Study & Business
set up, carry out, figure out…
Phrasal Verbs at Work and School
These phrasal verbs are common in offices, meetings, emails and classrooms. Many of them have a formal equivalent (carry out = conduct, call off = cancel), but in everyday work communication the phrasal verb is usually more natural.
Work & Business
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| set up | to start a company or organisation; to arrange | She set up her own business in 2020. |
| carry out | to do or complete a task, test or plan | The team carried out a survey of 500 customers. |
| lay off | to dismiss workers because there is not enough work | The factory laid off 200 workers. |
| call off | to cancel | They called off the meeting. |
| deal with | to handle a problem or situation | I'll deal with the customer complaints. |
| follow up (on) | to take further action on something | I'll follow up with an email tomorrow. |
| run out of | to have none left | We've run out of paper. |
| sort out | to solve a problem; to organise | Don't worry, I'll sort it out. |
| back up | to support; to make a copy of computer files | Always back up your files. |
Study & Thinking
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hand in | to give work to a teacher or an official | Please hand in your essays by Friday. |
| fill in / fill out | to complete a form | Fill in this form, please. |
| figure out | to understand or solve something after thinking | I can't figure out how this app works. |
| work out | to calculate or solve; to exercise; to end well | I work out at the gym three times a week. |
| catch up (on) | to reach the same level as others; to do work you missed | I missed a week of school and need to catch up. |
| fall behind | to fail to keep up with others or with a schedule | If you don't study regularly, you'll fall behind. |
| point out | to draw attention to a fact | She pointed out a mistake in my report. |
| brush up (on) | to improve a skill you have not used for a while | I should brush up on my French before the trip. |
| drop out (of) | to leave school or a course before finishing | He dropped out of university. |
Watch Out
- Fill in (UK) and fill out (US) both mean completing a form. A form is never just
filled. - Run out (intransitive): Time is running out. / run out of + noun: We ran out of time.
- Work out has many meanings — exercise, calculate, solve, end well.
Annotated Examples
Subject
Verb
Auxiliary
Object
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Hover over any word to see its role.
subjectWeverbhave run out ofobjectprinter ink.
↳ run out of + noun = have none left.
subjectCan youverbfigure outobjectthe answer?
↳ figure out = understand or solve.
subjectThe researchersverbcarried outobjectan experiment.
↳ carry out = do, conduct (formal contexts too).
Common Mistakes
We ran out the coffee.
→
We ran out of coffee.
run out of + noun.
Please fill this form.
→
Please fill in this form.
A form needs in or out: fill in / fill out.
They cancelled off the trip.
→
They called off the trip.
Use call off or cancel — not cancel off.
I need to catch up my lessons.
→
I need to catch up on my lessons.
catch up on + work you missed.
He dropped out the university.
→
He dropped out of university.
drop out of + school / university / course.