Phrasal Verb Fun

join
(joined, joined, joined)
This means to 'put together' or 'come together in a group'.
join in
You join in a game when you start to play
in
the game with other people.
Gordon was a strange child who became a strange adult. The other
children would never let him join in.
Inseparable two-word verb
No problem.
join up
In the old days,
up
was where the authority was. When you joined up, you
signed to defend the King against his enemies. You joined the army.
Sign up
has the same meaning, and the
call up
means that you have been
'invited' to join the forces.
Two-word verb without an object
No problem.
keep,
keep on
(keep, kept, kept)
To keep something is have it in your possession forever.
To keep doing something is to continue to do it.
Another variation is to add
on
, keep on doing it. This is similar to
carry on
'Why did you hit the defendant?'
'Because he kept on tapping his desk all morning.'
keep ahead
In any race, the person, horse or car in front of the others, is
ahead
.

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If you keep ahead, it means that you are ahead in the race, and that you
continue to be ahead.
Stay ahead
means exactly the same.
Two-word verb without an object
No problem.
keep at
Keep means continue and
at
means to be in contact. When Herbert keeps
at something it means the same as keeping on doing.
Horace keeps at his studies all day and most of the night, because he
wants to be a psychiatrist. He keeps on studying.
Inseparable two-word verb
No problem.
keep in with
Keep in with the right people is easy to understand. It means to stay
in
their company, to please them. The right people are the people who can
help you, which means the rich, the upper class or the well-connected.
Keeping in with the right people is what social climbers have been doing
forever.
Three-word verb
No problem.
keep off
Off
is the opposite of ON, or it can be a move away from an ON position.
KEEP OFF THE GRASS You might see this sign in a park. You are not on
the grass, but don't go on it. Continue not to be on the grass.
'Stay off the grass'
means exactly the same.
Inseparable two-word verb
No problem.
keep on about
This - the
on
of continue - means the same as
going on about
somethng,
saying the same thing over and over and over and over and over again.
'Have you heard? Kenny lost all his money in a business opportunity.'
'Yes, we heard. We hear it again and again. He keeps on about it all the
time.'
Three-word verb
No problem.
You will also hear 'She keeps going on about it.' when more emphasis is
needed.

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