Phrasal Verb Fun

Verbs
ask
(ask, asked, asked)
When you use your voice to
find out
new information. You ask questions.
You ask people questions. Once you asked your mother, 'Why is the sky
blue?'
ask about, ask around
Maybe you want to know which restaurant in your town is the best for a
celebration, so you ask all your friends. You ask around all your friends.
You ask around.
Ask about has the same meaning.
Two-word verb without an object
No problem.
BUT to ask about something means something different.
Mrs Omicron asked me about my new job. Did I like it?
ask after
In the morning I saw Jenny. I asked her, 'How is your sister, Jenny?' I
asked after her sister. This
after
is similar to
look after
.
Inseparable two-word verb
No problem.
ask out
When you ask somebody
out
, it is romantic. It means that you hope to
go
out with
them.
'Philomena, would you like to come and play bingo with me on Thursday
night? We could have a beer afterwards.'
Peregrine has just asked Philomena out.
Separable two-word verb
Be careful.
back
(back, backed, backed)

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Your back is the part of the body that is away from the direction you
normally move. It's the same for a car or a train. It is, of course, the most
dangerous place an attack can come from. The verb to back has two main
senses. To move in the opposite direction from normal, or to help protect
someone else from an attack from his back, to add your forces to theirs.
When a sponsor or an investor gives you money so you can
keep on
with
your work, they are backing you.
back down
Down
is the socially bad place to be. (Think of
look down on
or
put down
)
When someone backs down from a confrontation, he has lost. He did not
have enough courage to dominate. He submitted to the strength of the
other. No Hollywood Hero ever backs down.
Two-word verb without an object
No problem.
back off
You are going for a walk in the jungle when suddenly you see a large
snake on the path. What do you do? You back off. You go back the way
you came. You retreat. This
off
means 'away from here'.
Two-word verb without an object
No problem.
back out
This out means 'coming from inside'
out
in the world. Literally, you can
back your car out of your garage. So, by extension, you can back out of a
situation.
LongShot Corporation was about to make a good offer for the
ForgetMeNot Company, but they backed out at the last minute.
They decided not to
go ahead
with it.
Notice that unlike
back down
or
back off
there is no sense of danger or
fear here.
Two-word verb without an object
No problem.
back up
When you back something or somebody up, you are reinforcing them and
making them stronger. When you back up your friend, you are helping him

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against his enemies. When you back up what he says, you are giving
more evidence that what he says is true. And when you back up the files
in your computer, you are making extra copies in case of disaster.
Separable two-word verb
Be careful.