Advanced Phrasal Verbs for Exams
Advanced Phrasal Verbs for Exams — 20 high-frequency words, with pronunciation, collocations, word traps and four interactive exercises.
📌 Contents
🎯 Lesson goal
The twenty phrasal verbs that appear most often in Use of English at CAE and CPE 🎓, each with its formal equivalent, because the Key Word Transformation asks for exactly this: going from postpone to put off and back, without losing the meaning. 🚀
🗂️ Word Bank
Tap 🔊 to hear the British pronunciation. The IPA transcription is under each word.
📖 Words in context
How a Key Word Transformation works · tap a highlighted word to hear it.
The exercise looks simple and is not. You are given a sentence, a key word, and a gap of three to six words. The meaning must stay identical.
*They postponed the meeting until Friday.* — key word: put off — becomes *They* put off *the meeting until Friday.* One transformation, three marks lost if you change the tense.
The trap is that most candidates know the phrasal verbs passively. They recognise that carry out means *conduct* and that do away with means *abolish*, but under pressure they cannot come up with the right particle. So they give in and guess. The remedy is to learn each verb together with its formal twin: *cancel / call off*, *investigate / look into*, *tolerate / put up with*, *reject / turn down*, *cause / bring about*.
One more warning. Some phrasal verbs are separable and some are not: you may put the meeting off, but you cannot *put up this with*. Learn the pattern, not only the meaning — because at C2, marks come down to exactly that kind of detail.
🔗 Collocations & chunks
Words travel in groups: learn the whole chunk, not just one word.
| Chunk / collocation | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| put off a decision | to delay deciding | Don't put off the decision again. |
| carry out research | to do a study | The team carried out research abroad. |
| come up with an idea | to think of a new idea | He came up with a brilliant idea. |
| cut down on spending | to spend less money | We must cut down on spending. |
| take on responsibility | to accept a duty | She took on more responsibility. |
| look into a complaint | to investigate a complaint | We'll look into your complaint. |
⚠️ Word traps to avoid
| English word | Real meaning ✅ | Watch out ❌ |
|---|---|---|
| assist | to help someone with a task | does not mean “be present at”: that is attend; to care for someone ill, say look after |
| support | to help, back or hold up | not “to stand something unpleasant”: that is put up with or tolerate |
| realise | to understand and notice a fact | not “to make a plan happen”: that is carry out or implement |
| attend | to be present at an event or class | does not mean “wait”: that is wait for |
🎚️ Register: when to use them
| Expression | Register | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| We put it off. | informal to neutral | speech and informal writing |
| The meeting has been postponed. | neutral to formal | professional emails |
| The decision has been deferred. | formal | official documents, minutes of meetings |
| Implementation has been suspended pending review. | bureaucratic | the highest register: recognise it, don’t copy it |
🚫 Common mistakes to avoid
| Mistake ❌ | Correct ✅ |
|---|---|
| I can't support this noise. | I can't put up with this noise. |
| They have realised a new project. | They have carried out a new project. |
| I put off it until tomorrow. | I put it off until tomorrow. |
| We must face with this problem. | We must deal with this problem. |
🎮 Vocabulary gym
Four ways to practise the same 20 words. Your progress is saved on this device.
Tap the card to flip it.
Tap an English word, then its meaning. Eight pairs per round.
Complete the ten sentences with the right word. The clue under each sentence will help you.
- They decided to the decision.💡 to postpone
- They had to the match because of fog.💡 to cancel
- The reform will lasting change.💡 to cause something to happen
- They will a full inspection.💡 to perform or conduct a task
- She managed to a solution.💡 to think of an idea or plan
- You should caffeine.💡 to reduce the amount of something
- The school will the old system.💡 to get rid of; to abolish
- He always seems to it.💡 to escape punishment for something
- Eventually the union had to .💡 to stop resisting; to surrender
- The committee will the matter.💡 to investigate