Phrasal verbs exercises: 80 questions with answers
Most exercises on phrasal verbs test the wrong thing. They hand you an alphabetical list on Monday and a gap-fill on Friday, and the gap-fill only checks whether the list stuck. It rarely does, because an alphabetical list is the worst possible order: blow up sits next to break down and the two share nothing. The nine sets on this page are organised the way phrasal verbs are actually learned, : meaning first, then the particles, then the word-order rules, then one verb family and one particle family in depth.
Every question has an answer, checked as you go, and every set doubles as a printable worksheet with its own answer key (see the printable downloads further down). If a set exposes a gap, each section below points at the page that teaches the rule properly. Start with what phrasal verbs are if the whole topic is new.
How to practise phrasal verbs
Two organising ideas beat any list:
- verb. The big verbs each carry a family: get, take, put, come, go, look. Ten get verbs learned together reinforce each other; ten alphabetical neighbours do not.
- particle logic. The particles carry meaning of their own. Up so often means completely (eat up, use up, tear up); out so often means until gone (burn out, die out, sell out); on so often means continuing (carry on, go on, hold on). Once you feel the logic, half the new verbs you meet explain themselves.
The sets below drill both directions. Do them in order the first time; after that, jump to whichever skill is weakest.
Set 1: meanings
The warm-up: twelve common phrasal verbs matched to plain meanings. If more than three of these are unfamiliar, spend some time in the full examples list first; it groups the essential verbs with a sentence for each, which is far better preparation than a bare list.
Sets 2 and 3: choose the particle, then type it
The particle carries the meaning, so these two sets attack it twice. Set 2 gives you four particles to choose from; set 3 takes the options away and makes you produce the particle from memory, which is harder and worth more. Notice how often the particle logic above gives the answer: the fire went out (gone), she grew up (completely), the meeting went on (continuing).
Set 4: word order with pronouns
The rule that generates real errors. With a noun, separable verbs give you a choice: turn off the light and turn the light off are both right. With a pronoun there is no choice: turn it off, never turn off it. And the inseparable verbs refuse to split whatever you do: look after them, never look them after. This set mixes both kinds so you have to decide, not just follow a pattern. The full rules and lists are on the separable phrasal verbs page.
Set 5: the whole verb in context
Four options, one sentence, and the options share a base verb so the particle does all the work. This is the format exams prefer, and it is also how real listening works: you hear took and the meaning hangs on what follows. When a family here feels shaky, each base verb has its own page: get, take, put, come, go and look.
Set 6: phrasal verbs with on
One particle in depth. The on family splits into two clear ideas: (carry on, go on, hold on, and come on as encouragement) and activating (put on clothes, turn on a machine, try on shoes), with get on with covering relationships. Eight sentences, and this time the particle is fixed while the verb changes, the reverse of sets 2 and 3.
Set 7: separable or inseparable?
Set 4 tested whether you can apply the word-order rule; this one tests whether you can make the call in the first place. Eight verbs, one judgement each. There is no perfect shortcut, but one pattern earns its keep: verbs whose second word is a true preposition with an object (look after, run into, take after) do not separate.
Set 8: three-part verbs
The phrasal-prepositional verbs (look forward to, put up with, run out of) obey two iron rules: the three parts never separate, and a verb after the final preposition takes the -ing form: I look forward to hearing from you, never to hear. This set drills both traps. If either rule is news, read the phrasal-prepositional verbs page before attempting it; the rules take five minutes and hold with no exceptions.
Set 9: opposites
The closer: eight pairs of opposites. Learning phrasal verbs in opposing pairs (put on and take off, check in and check out) is one of the cheapest memory tricks in the topic, because each verb becomes a hook for the other.
Printing these exercises
Teachers and self-studiers who want paper: every set above is generated as a printable worksheet, one sheet per set, each with an answer key. They are listed in the printable downloads section on this page. Print the single sheet that matches the skill you are teaching, or the full run of nine for a complete phrasal-verb workout.
When you can clear all nine sets, you are past what practice pages can teach and the remaining work is exposure: the verb-family pages (get, take and the rest) are the efficient next step, and the pillar guide ties the whole system together.