Phrasal Verbs Exercises: Grammar Practice (A2-B2) with Answers

⏱ Time: 10:00 📝 Questions: 20 📊 Level: A2, B1, B2 📚 Type: Grammar ⭐ XP: up to +22 (on pass)
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How well do you really know Phrasal Verbs? Find out with 20 exercises for Level A2-B2 learners. Instant scoring shows exactly where you stand, and detailed explanations turn every mistake into a learning moment. Retake any time to measure your improvement.

⏱ You have 10:00 to answer 20 questions. The timer only starts when you click Begin.

Q1  20
Q1 20

Question 1: I need to ___ up early tomorrow morning.

Question 1 options
'Get up' means to rise from bed. 'Put up' means to tolerate or place something higher. 'Give up' means to quit. 'Take up' means to start a new hobby or activity.
Q2 20

Question 2: Please turn ___ the light. It is too dark in here.

Question 2 options
'Turn on' means to activate a device or light. 'Turn off' means to deactivate. 'Turn down' means to reduce volume or reject. 'Turn over' means to flip something.
Q3 20

Question 3: She is looking ___ her lost keys everywhere.

Question 3 options
'Look for' means to search for something. The particle 'for' is required after 'look' to express the meaning of searching.
Q4 20

Question 4: Can you ___ off the TV? I want to sleep.

Question 4 options
'Turn off' means to switch something so it stops working. 'Put off' means to postpone. 'Call off' means to cancel an event. 'Take off' means to remove clothing or for a plane to leave the ground.
Q5 20

Question 5: A phrasal verb is made of a verb plus one or more particles (an adverb or a preposition).

Question 5 options
True because phrasal verbs are multi-word verbs consisting of a main verb combined with a particle such as an adverb (e.g., 'up', 'out') or a preposition (e.g., 'for', 'with'), or both.
Q6 20

Question 6: The meeting was called ___. Nobody went to the office.

Question 6 options
'Call off' means to cancel something. 'Call up' means to phone someone. 'Call in' means to ask someone to come. 'Call on' means to visit or ask someone to speak.
Q7 20

Question 7: I ran ___ an old friend at the supermarket yesterday.

Question 7 options
'Run into' means to meet someone unexpectedly. 'Run out' means to exhaust a supply. 'Run over' means to hit with a vehicle. 'Run off' means to leave quickly.
Q8 20

Question 8: Which sentence correctly separates the phrasal verb with a pronoun object?

Question 8 options
'Pick it up' is correct because when the object of a separable phrasal verb is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle. 'Pick up it' is ungrammatical with a pronoun. 'Pick up to it' adds an unnecessary preposition. 'Pick it to up' is nonsensical.
Q9 20

Question 9: With separable phrasal verbs, a noun object can go either between the verb and particle or after the particle.

Question 9 options
True because separable phrasal verbs allow noun objects in both positions. For example, 'turn off the light' and 'turn the light off' are both correct.
Q10 20

Question 10: Match each phrasal verb to its meaning.

Question 10 options
give up
look after
bring up
put off
stop trying
mention a topic
postpone
take care of

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

'Give up' means to stop trying. 'Look after' means to take care of someone. 'Bring up' means to mention a topic. 'Put off' means to postpone something.
Q11 20

Question 11: She takes ___ her mother. They have the same smile and personality.

Question 11 options
'Take after' means to resemble a family member in appearance or character. 'Take off' means to remove or depart. 'Take up' means to begin a hobby. 'Take over' means to assume control.
Q12 20

Question 12: We need to ___ out how to solve this problem before the deadline.

Question 12 options
'Figure out' means to understand or solve something through thinking. 'Carry out' means to perform a task. 'Point out' means to indicate. 'Work out' can mean to exercise or resolve, but 'figure out' specifically means to find a solution through reasoning, which best fits the context of solving a problem.
Q13 20

Question 13: The company went ___ because it had too many debts and no customers.

Question 13 options
'Go under' means to fail or go bankrupt, which fits the context of a company with debts and no customers. This is an intransitive phrasal verb that cannot take a direct object.
Q14 20

Question 14: You can't ___ the noise of the traffic. You'll just have to get used to it.

Question 14 options
'Put up with' is an inseparable three-word phrasal verb meaning to tolerate something unpleasant. 'Catch up with' means to reach the same level. 'Come up with' means to think of an idea. 'Look forward to' means to anticipate with pleasure.
Q15 20

Question 15: The phrasal verb 'look into' is inseparable. Which sentence uses it correctly?

Question 15 options
'The police are looking into the crime' is correct because inseparable phrasal verbs require the object to follow the complete phrasal verb. You cannot place the object between the verb and the particle with inseparable phrasal verbs, so 'looking the crime into' and 'looking into it the crime' are incorrect. 'Looking the crime it into' is nonsensical.
Q16 20

Question 16: Put these words in the correct order to form a sentence with a separable phrasal verb and pronoun object:

Question 16 options
  • down
  • it
  • politely.
  • She
  • turned

Drag items or use arrows to arrange them in the correct order.

The correct order is 'She turned it down politely' because when a separable phrasal verb has a pronoun object, the pronoun must be placed between the verb and the particle.
Q17 20

Question 17: The meaning of 'break down' changes depending on context. In which sentence does it mean 'to start crying'?

Question 17 options
'She broke down when she heard the sad news' uses 'break down' to mean losing emotional control and crying. In the other options, 'break down' refers to a machine stopping (the car), analyzing into parts (the report), or a physical collapse (the wall).
Q18 20

Question 18: He came ___ with a brilliant idea during the brainstorming session at work.

Question 18 options
'Come up with' is a three-word phrasal verb meaning to think of or produce an idea. The particle 'up' is required here to form this specific phrasal verb before 'with'.
Q19 20

Question 19: In formal writing, which alternative is preferred over the phrasal verb 'find out'?

Question 19 options
'Discover' is the formal single-word equivalent of the phrasal verb 'find out'. In academic and formal writing, Latinate single-word verbs are generally preferred over informal phrasal verbs. 'Explore' means to investigate broadly. 'Reveal' means to make known. 'Search' means to look for something.
Q20 20

Question 20: The phrasal verb 'look forward to' is followed by a gerund (-ing form), not a base infinitive.

Question 20 options
True because 'to' in 'look forward to' functions as a preposition, not part of an infinitive. Prepositions are followed by gerunds (e.g., 'I look forward to meeting you'), not base forms.