Group Verbs
Group Verbs
Group Verbs
A Group Verb is a verb which combining with a preposition or an adverb expresses a new meaning. Group verbs are also called Phrasal Verbs as they express a sense like a phrase, though not a complete sense. There are many group verbs that have enriched the vocabulary of the English language. Here a list of the most commonly used Group Verbs has been given with illustration.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
Act
Act for (act on behalf of): The Prime Minister acts for us all.
Act under (to act under force or pressure): The members of the club act under the President.
Act on (to influence; to affect): Heat acts on water and makes it vapour.
Act upon (to act according to): I acted upon the instruction of my teachers.
Act up to (to fulfil): Ram acts up to his promise.
Group Verbs
Bear
Bear down: (to crush down by force): The Ahoms could bear down the invasion of the Mughals.
Bear off or away (to win):Â Ramen bore off (away) the second prize in the sports.
Bear out (to support): The evidence bears out the opposition of Pakistan.
Bear up: (to endure): The people can hardly bear up such an insulting comment made by the Chief Minister.
Bear on (to apply to): A wise man can bear on the trouble he faces in everyday life.
Group Verbs
Beat
Beat against (to strive): The wind beats against my face.
Beat off (to drive back by force): The Americans beat of the English.
Beat down: (to subdue): Please try to beat down the enemy of your motherland.
Group Verbs
Blow
Blow away: (to fly away): The wind blows away the cotton.
Blow out (to extinguish by a puff of breath or wind): The hurricane blew over my cottage.
Blow over (to pass away without causing any harm): The storm blew over my cottage.
Blow up (to explode): It is not easy to blow up a mountain with a gun only.
Blow down: (to be thrown down by the force of wind): The tree was blown down by the storm wind.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
Break
Break down (to collapse): His health broke down because of overwork.
Break away (to free one-self by force): The cow breaks away from her rope.
Break forth/out (to come out suddenly: Smallpox has broken forth (out) in the city.
Break off: (to separate by force): Please, don’t try to break off our holy relationship.
Break up (to end suddenly): The school broke up at 3 P.M.
Break with (to end friendly relations): It is a disgrace to a wise man if he breaks with his friends.
Group VerbsÂ
BringÂ
Bring about (to cause to happen): Ram is going to bring about a change of his bad habit.
Bring down: (to cause to come down): The price of wheat has broken down for some days.
Bring forth (to give birth to): To bring forth a child is a glory to a mother.Â
Bring in (produce income): My younger brother brings in a large profit.
Bring on (cause to happen): Overwork brings on weakness.
Bring over (to win over): It is not easy to bring over the terrorists.
Bring round (to recover): I am trying to bring him round soon.
Bring under (to subdue; to conquer): The Muslims tried hard to bring down the English.
Bring out (to bring to light): Raman brought out the secret.
Bring up (to nurse): A mother brings up her child with care.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
BurstÂ
Burst into (to cry): Ram suddenly bursts into tears.
Burst out (to call out suddenly): Why do you burst out at night?
Group VerbsÂ
Call
Call at (to see): Please try to call at me.Â
Call for (to demand): I have nothing to call for you.
Call in (to send for): Ramen went to call in a doctor.
Call upon (to pay a brief visit): Please, do not mind, I cannot call upon (on) you at your office.
Call off (to call away): I call the boy off.
Call out (to speak out one after another): The teacher is calling out the names of the students.
Call over (to speak out one after another): He is calling over the names of leaders.
Call names of (to abuse): I cannot call the names of others without serious cause.
Group Verbs
Carry
Carry about (to keep something with oneself): Ramen always carries about a note-book.
Carry away (to remove): Carry away the rotten mangoes.
Carry off (to kill): Cholera has carried off the lives of many people this year.
Carry on (to continue with something): The conversation is carrying on in full swing.
Carry out (to act upon): You should carry out the suggestion of your teacher.
Carry through (to bring out successfully): Money can carry everything through all difficulties.
Carry up (to call to mind): I cannot carry up your name.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
Cast
Cast about for (to be in search of): I am going to cast about for a good day.
Cast aside (to reject): His application was cast aside.
Cast down (gloomy): He looks cast down to-day.
Cast off (to discard): Please cast off your bad habits.
Cast up (to calculate): Cast up your cash-money.
Cast out (to turn out): We should not cast out a beggar.
Group Verbs
Come
Come about (to happen): How did it come about?
Come across (to meet by change): While going to school I came across my best friend.
Come by (to get; to acquire): He comes by huge money.Â
Come down (to reduce in price): The price of books can never be come down.
Come in for (to receive): He comes in for good wealth from his uncle.
Come off (to take place): The marriage of my sister may come off next month.
Come out (to become public ): This book may come out in January.
Come over (to come to one’s mind): The names of Ram and Krishna come over my mind every day.
Come round (to recover from illness): Ram has come round from fever.
Come to (amount to): His annual income comes to Rupees 10 lakh.
Come up with (to overtake): I can come up with my younger sister in the village.
Group Verbs
Cut
Cut down (to hew): The peepul tree will be cut down.
Cut off (to separate by cutting; to die): (i) Ram cuts off the twig from the tree. (2) He was cut off in his old age.
Cut out (to give a particular shape by cutting): The sculpture will cut out a statue from this piece of the hill.
To be cut out for (to be suited for a particular position): They are not cut out for the post of a professor.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
Cry
Cry for(to beg ): He was crying for a book.
Cry up (to praise highly): An honourable man never cries up his good deeds.
Cry down (to depreciate): Only a man can not cry down the price of gold.
Cry out against (to complain loudly against someone): Nobody should cry out against an honest man.
Group Verbs
Do
Do away with (to remove): Lord William Bentings did away with the ‘sattee-da-pratha’.
Do for (serve the purpose of ): (i) This pen will do for writing. (ii) I am done for.
Do in (to approach): Our marriage ceremony is to do in.
Do up (to put in order): It is God who does up everything of nature.
Do into (to translate): Do this passage into English.
Do up (to be tired): Sarkar was done with hard work.
Do with (to make use of): What did the man do with this broken chair.
Group Verbs
Draw
Draw away (to distract): Nothing can draw away my mind from writing.
Draw in (to approach): My good days are drawing in.
Draw out (to attract): The teacher should try to draw out the attention of his students before he begins his lecture.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
Deal
Deal in (to trade in): Ram deals in vegetables.
Deal with (to have a relation with): I will not deal with him.
Deal out (to distribute): Please deal out the mangoes among the children.
Group Verbs
Fall
Fall away (to become weak): The patient has fallen away in a fortnight.
Fall back (to go back): The army has fallen back.
Fall down (to fall from high to low): The mango has fallen down.
Fall in (to get in order): The word should fall in this paragraph.
Fall from (to withdraw from): Ram has fallen from his idealism.
Fall in with (to agree with): I cannot fall in with your opinion in this respect.
Fall off (to drop down): The apple has fallen off.
Fall out with (to quarrel): Nobody should fall out with his parents.
Fall through (to fail): His desire for a higher job fell through for want of bribery.
Group Verbs
Fly
Fly at (to attack someone suddenly): Chilaray could fly at his enemy with victory.
Fly away: The bird has flown away.
Fly into (to be excited suddenly): Ram flew into a rage at once.
Group Verbs
Get
Get about (to move): He can easily get about nowadays.
Get ahead (to go forward): He is getting ahead in his business.
Get at (to reach): Nobody can get at our secrets.
Get along (to be progressing): I am getting along with my writing.
Get away (to be free): It is not easy to get away from the net of love.
Get back (to receive back): He can get back his lost book.
Get between (to arrive between): I got between the quarreling students and parted them.
Get beyond (to get outside a limit): He got beyond his mental ability.
Get down (to come down): I cannot get down from a running bus.
Get forward (to prosper): She is getting forward in her studies.Â
Get in (to enter): Ram has got in debt.Â
Get into (to enter into something): Ramesh has got into the business.
Get off (to come down): Don’t try to get off a running train.
Get on with (to have good terms with some person): I am getting on with my life-long partner.
Get over (to overcome): He has gotten over his difficulties.
Get out (to get free): Take care of the boy so that he cannot get out.
Get through (to finish some work): I have got through all my regular examinations.
Get up (to awake up): He has got up in the morning.
Group Verbs(Group Verbs)
Give
Give away (to distribute): The chief minister had given away all the prizes.
Give back (to return): Please give his bag back.
Give in (to admit defeat): The Mughals gave in in front of the Ahoms.
Give out (to declare): Our principal will give out our result today.
Give up (to shun totally): He has given up all his demands.
Give way (to break): Ram struck at the door and it gave way.
Give over (to hand over): I cannot give over the rights of my writings.
Group VerbsÂ
GoÂ
Go about (to move from place to place): The beggar is going about from shop to shop.
Go against (to go against somebody): I cannot go against my parents.
Go abroad (to go to a foreign country): I like to go abroad once a year.
Go after (to follow): The students should go after their teachers.
Go ahead (to move forward): He is going ahead in his business.
Go along with (to accompany): Silesh went along with his parents.
Go away (to depart): He went away the town yesterday.
Go back (to return): He must go back to the market.
Go between (to go in the midst of two): Ramen had gone between the principal and the students.
Go by (to pass near): The bus goes by Nalbari.
Go down (to come down from a high place): Ramen Das has gone down from the post of a principal to a clerk.
Go on (to continue): Her examination is going on.
Go without (to remain without something): I can never go without a pen.
Group Verbs
GrowÂ
Grow from (to come out): A plant grows from a seed.
Grow up (to rise gradually): The moon is growing up.
Group Verbs(Group Verbs)
Hand
Hand in (to give from hand to hand): He handed in the letter to Hari.
Hand over (to transfer something to any other): I can hand over the right of my novel to the New Publishing Company.
Group Verbs
Hang
Hang about (to move about near a place): I don’t like to hang about the park.
Hang on (to continue clinging to someone or something): He hangs on me.
Hang up: Let him hang up his towel on the rock.
Group Verbs(Group Verbs)
HoldÂ
Hold back (to keep back): Never try to hold back a student from his studies.
Hold to (attach to): The rock is holding to the brick.
Hold in (to control): Try to hold in oneself.
Hold off (to keep at a distance): Please hold off the broken glass.
Hold over (to postpone): The parliament holds over the discussion.
Hold with (to agree with): I hold with your view that we can change ourselves.
Group Verbs
Keep
Keep back (to conceal): Never try to keep back the truth.
Keep away (to keep at a distance): Everybody should keep away from bad company.
Keep at (to continue): The machine is keeping at the production of cotton thread.
Keep down (to hold under control): Keep him down.
Keep from (to abstain or refrain from): It is not easy for a drunkard to keep from wine.
Keep off (to keep at a distance): Keep him off from these difficulties.
Keep to (not to deviate from): Always keep to the left side.
Keep up (to maintain): Keep up your good hobby.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
Lay
Lay aside (to discontinue): I cannot lay aside my studies.
Lay by (to store for future use): We should lay by something for the rainy-days.
Lay in (to store): The ant lays in for the winter, but the spider does not.
Lay down (to put down): Who is there to lay down the enemies of democracy?
Group Verbs
Lead
Lead aside (to keep aside): Please lead aside the hot cream.
Lead into (to bring into): They are good friends who lead one into mental understanding.
Lead on to (to continue leading): Gambling often leads on to misfortune.
Group Verbs
LetÂ
Let alone (to keep alone): Please let me alone, I want not to enter into your affairs.
Let in (to allow to enter): Ram demanded to let in.
Let off (to release): Please let off the innocent prisoner from Jail.
Let aside (to keep aside): Who is there to let aside the prime minister?
Group Verbs
LookÂ
Look about (to look on all sides): I was looking about for a piece of stone.
Look after (to take care): We should look after the patient.
Look for (to search for): Ram is looking for a good hotel.
Look forward to (to wait with pleasure): I am looking forward to meet my life-long partner.
Look up (to search out): I tried hard to look up my lost book.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
Make
Make after (to run after): The Rajputs made after the Mughals.
Make away with (to destroy): Nobody should make away with the objects of Nature.
Make for (to move forward): The train makes for the station.
Make out (to understand): I could not make out the theories of Einstein when I was a student of Class X.
Make over (to transfer): Kumar made over the rights of his hotel to his youngest son.
Make up (to fill up): Make up the gaps.
Make off with (to run away with): Ram made off with my pencil yesterday.
Group Verbs
Pay
Pay for (to give the price): I will pay for all things I buy.
Pay off (pay what is due): Please pay off your former debt.
Group Verbs
Pass
Pass away (to die): Pandit Nehru has passed away.
Pass by (to go alongside): No poet can pass by a natural scenery without stopping some time there.
Pass on (to go forward): Let me pass on to another book.
Pass for (to be regarded): Ram passes for a learned teacher.
Pass through (to go through the other side): Petrol passes through the pipe.
Pass off (to come to an end): The ceremony is going to be passed off.
Pass over (be overlooked): His application was passed over.
Group Verbs
Put
Put by (to store): A wise man always puts by something.
Put down (to subdue): The Company put down the Sepoy Mutiny very vehemently.
Put off (to postpone): Put off your bombastic lecture.
Put on (to wear dress): Please put on your white shirt.
Put out (to extinguish): Please put out the candle.Â
Put up (to live with): I put up with my parents.
Put up with (to endure): I cannot put up with your arrogance.
Group Verbs
Run
Run after (to follow): We should not run after physical beauty.
Run at (to attack): The tiger suddenly ran at him.
Run away (to flee): No student should run away from school.
Run away with (to make off with something or someone): I don’t like to run away with anything.
Run down (to be tired): Ram ran down because of hard labour.
Run into (to involve into): I will not run into the quarrel.
Run on (to continue): I am running on my business.
Run out (to come to an end): The water of this well has run out.
Run over (to drive over): The bundle of paper was run over by a truck.
Run up (to increase): Nowadays our expenditure is running up.
Run through (to go through something): I am running through difficulties.
Run for (to go on behalf of someone): I cannot run for you.
Group Verbs(Group Verbs)
Set
Set about (to begin): We set about for Delhi at 9. AM.
Set aside (to reject): Please don’t set aside this petition.
Set down (to record): The clerk set down my name as a young essayist.
Set forth (to proclaim): Ramesh set forth that he was the only good boy in his class.
Set in (to begin): The train has set in its movement.
Set off (to start): I have to set off my journey.
Set on (to incite): Don’t set on a barking dog.
Set out (to start for a journey): We will set out at 4 A. M. for Delhi.
Set up (to establish): I have set up a library.
Group VerbsÂ
Stand
Stand against (to resist): I can stand against the enemy of my motherland.
Stand by (to help): A true friend always stands by his friends in times of need.
Stand aloof (to keep at a distance): I do not like Kanak because he always stands aloof when I fall in difficulty.
Stand on (to insist on): He stands on his view.
Stand out against (to oppose): Everybody stands out against Lavita because she is wayward and immoral.
Stand up for (to fight for): I will stand up for the welfare of my motherland.
Group Verbs
SeeÂ
See off (to bid farewell): I went there to see off my friend.
See for (to wait): He sees for his sister for half an hour.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
Strike
Strike at (to hit): The thief had struck at the door to break into the hall.
Strike for (to try to achieve): They had been striking for more salary.
Strike in (to enter suddenly): Ram had struck in and began to play on the guitar.
Strike in with (to agree with): Only a few can strike in this point with you.
Strike off (to erase): The piece of wood was struck off.
Strike up (to begin to sing or play): Ram struck in the room and began to strike up the harmonium.
Group VerbsÂ
Take
Take after (to resemble): His son takes after him.
Take away (to remove): Please take away the dirty things.
Take down (to write down): Take down what the teacher says.
Take for (to mistake someone for another): I took Ram for Ramen.
Take in (to understand): The students did not take in the sentence.
Take over (to assume responsibility): The new principal took over the charge in January, 2017.
Take off (to remove): Take off your usual dress.
Take up (to occupy): Ram took up the house from his uncle.
Group Verbs
Talk
Talk about (to talk about something): We talked about the problems of a democracy.
Talk away (to continue talking): Ram talked away for an hour.
Talk over (to discuss some matter):Â For the whole night we talked over our problems.
Talk to (to rebuke gently): I will talk to him today.
Group Verbs(Group Verbs)
Tell
Tell against (to harm, to destroy): His evidence will tell against the jury.
Tell upon (to lose, to harm): Overwork may tell upon everybody’s health.
Group Verbs
Throw
Throw about (to fling here and there): In anger, he threw about his books.
Throw away (to lose something for negligence): He threw away the opportunity of taking up the job.
Throw back (to reply back): Ram threw a letter back to me.
Through off (to cut off, to give up): We should through off smoking.
Throw out (to reject): Please do not throw out my application.
Group Verbs (Group Verbs)
Turn
Turn against (to become hostile): Ram suddenly turned against me.
Turn aside (to change): I cannot turn aside my decision.
Turn away (to dismiss) : Ram was turned away from his job.
Turn back (to return): Please turn back my book erelong.
Turn out (to expel): Don’t turn out him from the playground.
Group Verbs
Work
Work against (to work in opposition to): You can work against me, but I will never mind.
Work away (to continue working): He was working away though he was ill.
Work at (to be busy with): I am working at a novel.
Work upon (to influence): The writings of a humanist-writer will work upon everybody’s mind.
Work out (to perform): The students could not work out the sum.
Work up (to excite): The boy worked up the newcomer
Group Verbs. (Group Verbs)
Wait
Wait upon (to nurse, to look after): We should wait upon our parents in their old age.
Wait at (attend as a servant): He waited at the dinner time.
Wait on (to result from): Wealth waits on hard labour. 0 0 0
Group Verbs
N.B. Â The article ‘Group Verbs’ originally belongs to the book ‘School English Grammar Part- I‘ by Menonim Menonimus. Group Verbs
Books of Composition by M. Menonimus:
- Advertisement Writing
- Amplification Writing
- Note Making
- Paragraph Writing
- Notice Writing
- Passage Comprehension
- The Art of Poster Writing
- The Art of Letter Writing
- Report Writing
- Story Writing
- Substance Writing
- School Essays Part-I
- School Essays Part-II
- School English Grammar Part-I
- School English Grammar Part-II..
Books on Linguistics by M. Menonimus:
- A Brief History of the English Language
- Essays on Linguistics
- My Imageries
- Felicitous Expression: Some Examples
- Learners’ English Dictionary
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- 80 Most Common Phrasal Verbs
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