phrasal verbs – English Grammar Profiler
There are 9 similar points across the English Grammar Profile in the category of VERBS covering phrasal verbs across the levels. And the differentiation between the levels becomes difficult to interpret since it is more about the vocabulary. For this reason, the English Vocabulary Profile is probably more beneficial even though the logic of what students can do and how rare the phrasal verbs are in expert corpora does not match up. Regardless, here we list the grammar entries and the most frequent examples. (*this post will not cover the phrasal-prepositional)
22 A2 a limited range of phrasal verbs + object pronoun + particle.
_VV _PP _RP
pick_VVI you_PPY up_RP Ring_VV0 me_PPIO1 up_RP
throw_VVI it_PPH1 away_RL *(this is tagged as a locative adverb by claws7)
help_VVI me_PPIO1 out_RP *EVP B2
23 A2 a limited range of phrasal verbs without an object.
get_VVI up_RP go_VVI out_RP
meet_VVI up_RP *In iWeb not in top 100, listed occurrences = 36585
come_VVI over_RP *not in top 100, 35258
wake_VV0 up_RP
33 B1 an increasing range of phrasal verbs without an object.
hang_VVI out_RP *not in top 100 87676 run_VVN out_RP
give_VVI up_RP (same example + object also B1)
37 B1 increasing range of phrasal verbs + object pronoun + particle.
check_VVI it_PPH1 out_RP
trying_VVG them_PPHO2 on_RP
think_VV0 it_PPH1 over_RP
44 B1 limited range of phrasal verbs + particle + object.
give_VVI up_RP this_DD1 class_NN1 pick_VVI up_RP my_APPGE award_NN1
turned_VVD off_II the_AT phone_NN1
46 B2 wide range of phrasal verbs without an object.
dying_VVG out_RP (*not in top 100)
show_VVI up_RP
end_VVI up_RP
53 VERBS phrasal B2 phrasal verbs + nouns as object + particle.
take_VVI some_DD time_NNT1 off_RP
turn_VVI the_AT computers_NN2 off_RP
call_VVI the_AT electrician_NN1 up_RP
work_VVI this_DD1 problem_NN1 out_RP
*I have put Point 53 to the side
because it is easy to differentiate
from the rest
since it only requires a noun or noun phrase to be B2.
57 B2 wide range of phrasal verbs + particle + object
put_VVI off_RP my_APPGE crossing_NN1
look_VVI up_RP some_DD useful_JJ information_NN1
59 C1 wide range of phrasal verbs + object pronoun + particle.
check_VVI them_PPHO2 out_RP
clean_VVI it_PPH1 up_RP
fix_VVI it_PPH1 up_RP
At C2 in the English Vocabulary Profile:
A furious wind began blowing around him, urging him on.
twcenter.net
Most notably, the country has reached a critical need for more baby formula
after a recall wiped out huge amounts of stock in US stores.
foxnews.com
iWeb search for _VV _PP _RP:
1 CHECK IT OUT 103828
In the EGP ‘check it out’ is B1, while ‘check them out’ is C1. You can quickly see that the EGP examples do not really help to mark complexity as it would be suggested by less frequent clusters in expert corpora. I cannot tell why ‘it’ is less complex than ‘them’. Yes, ‘check it out’ is 4 times more common, but that doesn’t really explain it when ‘pick you up’ is 10 times less common and at A2. ‘Think it over’ is in the B1 examples but it doesn’t exist in the top 100. A search for ‘think it over’: THINK IT OVER 1649, suggests that it is 16 times rarer than ‘check them out’. This has very large implications for curriculum writers who base what should be learnt at what level on the EGP.
PELIC STUDENT:
Japanese,Female,5,g
Before I beli[e]ve something, I could check it out for myself.
*There are three other B1 grammar points in the above sentence. Conjunction, mental process verb and self-reflexive pronoun.
Arabic,Female,4,g
Therefore, I called my husband to check it out
2 TRY IT OUT 41944
*B1 example ‘try them on’ / EVP B2 Try something out it doesn’t differentiate between pronouns or noun phrases./So I have no idea what level to give to this…safest is to assume the lowest at A2.
Arabic, Male, level 4, writing class
And if you think it works, try it out.
3 FIGURE IT OUT 41676
*’figure’ as a verb is C2 in EVP but ‘figure out’ is B2. Quite odd! This makes it very hard for the complexity checker to highlight as a result since usually, longer strings are of higher complexity.
Chinese,Female,5,w
I had very good logic to figure numbers and things out, but I lack organization.
4 PICK IT UP 40422 A2
When it gets here, I‘ll give you a call, you come pick it up.
listen
*Interestingly, there are many examples of ‘pick it up’ only from level 4 and mostly the grammar class. *This phrasal verb has idiomatic meaning too.
Chinese,Female,4,g
And I called my friend to pick it up.
5 SET IT UP 36490
*3 examples all come from the level 4 grammar class again. And the B1 grammar: PAST MODALITY masks the B1 phrasal verb.
Arabic,Male,4,g
I realized that I should have set it up better before I had left.
6 HELP YOU OUT 35108 A2
*B2 in the EVP, and there is an example that is a pronoun: “Her parents helped her out with the cost of the course.”
Korean,Female,4,g
I think that a real friend is someone who can help you out when you are in trouble.
7 CHECK THEM OUT 27618 C1
*as mentioned earlier, this should probably take a lower level than EGP has it.
Arabic,Male,4,g
Check them out soon.
8 PUT IT BACK 24112
9 HELP ME OUT 23432 A2 10 TURN IT OFF 21806 11 KEEP IT UP 21494 12 GET IT BACK 20536 13 TURN IT ON 19485 14 BRING IT BACK 19192 15 BREAK IT DOWN 17681 16 TAKE IT OUT 17656 17 PICKED IT UP 17053 18 PICK THEM UP 16803 19 PULL IT OFF 15904 20 PUT IT ON 15714 21 LOOK IT UP 15534 22 FIGURED IT OUT 15279 23 BACK IT UP 13765 24 MIX IT UP 13670 25 GET IT OUT 13600 26 TOP IT OFF 13203 27 PUT IT DOWN 12835 28 TAKE IT OFF 12250
29 SET YOU BACK 11621
30 TAKE IT BACK 11599 *B1 EVP
Azerbaijani,Female,5,l
Kramer finds a way to get the statue back : he pretends as if he is a policeman, goes to that guy[‘]s house and takes it back.
31 TAKE THEM OUT 11520 32 SEND IT BACK 11310 33 WRITE IT DOWN 11035 34 WORK IT OUT 10492 35 PULL IT OUT 10411 36 BRING IT UP 10387 37 GIVE IT UP 10122 38 TEST IT OUT 10068 39 BRING THEM BACK 9933 40 OPEN IT UP 9877
41 CLEAN IT UP 9676 C1 example
42 SET THEM UP 9514 43 MAKE IT OUT 9401 44 TRY THEM OUT 8959 45 PUT IT OUT 8884 46 PUT IT UP 8792 47 SET YOU UP 8685 48 GET THEM BACK 8629 49 PLUG IT IN 8600 50 PUT THEM BACK 8507
51 PICK YOU UP 8321 A2 example
52 MAKE IT BACK 8317 53 SHUT IT DOWN 8283 54 PASS IT ON 8235 55 PUT IT IN 8228 56 PICK ME UP 8044 57 LEAVE IT ON 7880 58 LET YOU DOWN 7735 59 SUCK IT UP 7618 60 TAKE YOU BACK 7389 61 MAKE IT UP 7192 62 PUT THEM ON 7184 63 CUT IT OUT 7055 64 LET ME DOWN 7046 65 SETTING IT UP 6931 66 TAKE IT DOWN 6887 67 TOOK IT OUT 6824 68 SORT IT OUT 6818 69 BATTLE IT OUT 6717 70 PRINT IT OUT 6553 71 GET YOU BACK 6455 72 TAKE THEM OFF 6413 73 HOLDING YOU BACK 6400 74 LOOKED IT UP 6338 75 PICK HIM UP 6292 76 FILL IT UP 6185
77 THROW IT OUT 6179
78 BRING HIM BACK 6053 79 PAY IT OFF 6050 80 TRIED IT OUT 6041 81 GET THEM OUT 6017 82 TAKE IT UP 5980
83 HELPED ME OUT 5941
84 LET YOU IN 5870
85 HELP US OUT 5808
86 MAKE IT THROUGH 5807 87 TRYING IT OUT 5739 88 HIT IT OFF 5732
89 HELP THEM OUT 5725
90 GET YOU UP 5714 91 SLOW IT DOWN 5713 92 SET YOURSELF UP 5685 93 GET IT OFF 5644 94 TURN IT BACK 5639 95 BREAK IT UP 5571 96 WAIT IT OUT 5471 97 GET IT UP 5455 98 SUM IT UP 5438 99 FINISH IT OFF 5384
100 MADE IT BACK 5339
_VV _RP
1 SET UP 1054759
Arabic,Male,149,4,g
One day, I wanted to set up a dental appointment.
2 CHECK OUT 929931
Japanese,Female,4,w
Then, to make your trip better, you can check out the landmarks, restaurants, history, and specialities.
3 FIND OUT 922067
Arabic,Female,3,r
That’s not surprising when you find out that per capita consumption (the amount we spend per person) has risen 45 percent since 1970, but the quality of life has decreased 51 percent.
4 END UP 612432 B2 EGP example // but EVP has this at B1 which seems more logical.
Arabic,Male,4,w
If you can’t, you will probably end up feeling guilty.
5 PICK UP 521095 6 GOING ON 520080 7 GO BACK 482025 8 FIGURE OUT 460897 9 COME UP 419208
10 ENDED UP 400017
11 COME BACK 361901 12 TAKE ON 350343 13 PICKED UP 331503 14 MAKE UP 310217 15 GET BACK 300665 16 SIGN UP 300485 17 MADE UP 294536 18 COME OUT 260909 19 TURNS OUT 259418 20 CAME OUT 256650
21 WENT ON 253127
22 GO OUT 252653
Male,4,w
Mamadou is one of my cousins, who I lived with and used to go out with sometimes.
23 TURNED OUT 250625 24 CARRIED OUT 248831 25 SETTING UP 244294 26 GREW UP 243856
27 SHOW UP 240300 B2 EGP example
28 KEEP UP 238295
29 GIVE UP 236013 in the B1 EGP examples
30 GO ON 229709
31 WORK OUT 226859
And all I need is eighty of the elements, and I can work out the rest and rebuild it myself.
listen
32 COME IN 220056 33 SET OUT 219513 34 FOUND OUT 218195 35 CAME UP 207430 36 POINTED OUT 189969 37 MOVE ON 176991 38 CARRY OUT 175570 39 STAND OUT 163658 40 COMING UP 163399 41 GOES ON 163056
42 GET OUT 162658
43 WAKE UP
161100
It’s a great way to wake up.
listen
*Side note, ‘is a great way to‘ is the 11th most frequent 5-word Ngram in English.
iWeb 110,780
44 OPEN UP 158855 45 CAME BACK 157024 46 GROWING UP 156035 47 POINT OUT 154979 48 GOING BACK 154494 49 PUT UP 150034 50 BUILD UP 148492 51 FILL OUT 148007 52 GO DOWN 143400 53 COMING BACK 141793
54 GET UP 140447 A2 example
55 PICKING UP 136401 56 SHUT DOWN 135882 57 TAKE UP 131764 58 WENT BACK 125917 59 REACH OUT 121230 60 SIT DOWN 120215 61 COME ON 120202 62 GO UP 118332 63 COMES IN 116521 64 CUT OUT 116240 65 CLEAN UP 115133 66 CAUGHT UP 115025 67 BRING IN 114843 68 BREAK DOWN 112960 69 COMES OUT 112186 70 TAKE OUT 111790
71 ENDS UP 111085
72 SLOW DOWN 110151 73 POINTS OUT 108824 74 CAME IN 107988 75 TRY OUT 104961 76 WORKED OUT 104401 77 COMING OUT 103246 78 STAND UP 102736 79 FIGURED OUT 102310 80 LOG IN 102107 81 WORKING OUT 100710 82 TURN OUT 100526 83 PUT OUT 98668 84 COMING IN 97712 85 GAVE UP 96626 86 LOOK UP 96280 87 WENT OUT 95206 88 COMES DOWN 95112 89 TURN OFF 93960 90 LOOK BACK 93801 91 PAY OFF 92487 92 PUT ON 91619 93 CATCH UP 89937 94 SHOW OFF 89351 95 GET IN 89318 96 SIGNED UP 88265 97 GOING OUT 88061 98 SHOWED UP 87336 99 WORKING ON 87309
100 TAKE OFF 87160
_VV * _N _RP
1 KEEP AN EYE OUT 33532
EVP C1
2 TAKE A STEP BACK 15527 3 GET THE WORD OUT 10771
4 TAKE A LOOK BACK 5402
5 KEEP AN EYE ON 4689 (not in evp)
Thai,Female,5,w
In other words, you have to keep an eye on your employees’ work.
6 WORK YOUR WAY UP 4257 7 TAKE A LOOK AROUND 3620 8 KEEPING AN EYE OUT 3456 9 GOING TO WORK OUT 3181 10 GETTING THE WORD OUT 3105 11 TAKING A STEP BACK 2759 12 GET MY HANDS ON 2619 13 GET YOUR HANDS ON 2471 14 PUT YOUR FEET UP 2253 15 TOOK A STEP BACK 2210 16 TAKE SOME TIME OFF 2183 17 TAKE A DAY OFF 1956 18 SHUT THE FUCK UP 1921 19 KEEP A LOOK OUT 1914 20 TAKE SOME TIME OUT 1802 21 KEEP THE LIGHTS ON 1785 22 GET THEIR HANDS ON 1753 23 GET THE MESSAGE OUT 1698 24 KEEP YOUR EYE OUT 1698 25 KEEP YOUR HEAD UP 1692 26 GIVE A SHOUT OUT 1671 27 TURN THE HEAT DOWN 1671 28 WORKED HIS WAY UP 1644 29 GET YOUR HOPES UP 1640 30 GET A LOT OUT 1574 31 HELP ME FIGURE OUT 1518 32 GET YOUR NAME OUT 1515 33 GET YOUR MONEY BACK 1514 34 MAKE YOUR WAY BACK 1502 35 KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF 1486 36 PUT THE PHONE DOWN 1484 37 FIND THEIR WAY BACK 1462 38 FIND A WAY OUT 1414 39 TAKE THE EDGE OFF 1315 40 GET A LEG UP 1291 41 WORK YOUR WAY DOWN 1267 42 KEEPING AN EYE ON 1263 43 KNOWN THE WORLD OVER 1246 44 MADE ME LAUGH OUT 1134 45 MAKE THIS STUFF UP 1125 46 LET YOUR GUARD DOWN 1089 47 LET YOUR HAIR DOWN 1080 48 TAKE MY HAT OFF 1057 49 EAT YOUR HEART OUT 1001 50 PULLING MY HAIR OUT 1000 51 GET A MOVE ON 975 52 TAKING A LOOK BACK 974 53 GET MY HOPES UP 957 54 KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN 956 55 MADE HIS WAY BACK 955 56 TURN HIS LIFE AROUND 938 57 MAKE THEIR WAY BACK 935 58 GET YOUR HEAD AROUND 925 59 TAKE THE DAY OFF 918 60 TAKE A YEAR OFF 912 61 TURN THE BALL OVER 904 62 KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF 903 63 GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT 862 64 TAKE A TRIP BACK 858 65 KEEP YOUR EYES OUT 857 66 PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN 851 67 FIND YOUR WAY BACK 845 68 TURNED THE BALL OVER 823 69 KEEP THE COST DOWN 816 70 WORK THEIR WAY UP 812 71 TAKEN A STEP BACK 806 72 ROLL THE DOUGH OUT 805 73 WANT TO STOCK UP 799 74 FIND YOUR WAY AROUND 797 75 TAKING SOME TIME OFF 795 76 THROW THE BABY OUT 794 77 LET ME POINT OUT 786 78 MADE OUR WAY BACK 783 79 GET HIS HANDS ON 777 80 TOOK A YEAR OFF 756 81 WORK MY WAY UP 753 82 WORKED MY WAY UP 748 83 TURN THEIR LIVES AROUND 744 84 KEEP YOUR CHIN UP 742 85 TURN THE LIGHTS OFF 739 86 NEED TO STOCK UP 735 87 PUT THE FIRE OUT 729 88 TOOK SOME TIME OFF 726 89 MADE THEIR WAY BACK 724 90 WORKING YOUR WAY UP 720 91 TURNING THE BALL OVER 711 92 MAKE YOUR WAY OVER 710 93 TAKE A WEEK OFF 709 94 BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN 700 95 TAKING THE TIME OUT 700 96 PUT THE BOOK DOWN 699 97 TAKES A LOOK BACK 682 98 GET OUR HANDS ON 681 99 TURN THE HEAT OFF 681
100 FIND A WAY BACK 668
Didn’t matter whether it was a car engine or a toastie oven, he‘d pull it apart and reassemble it again bit by bit.
listen