Monday 9 July 2012

Phrasal verbs with 'break'

Break away = to leave a group because you disagree with them e.g. We broke away from the Creative Writing Group because we wanted to take our writing seriously.
Break away = to be different e.g. Leslie’s novels break away from traditional narratives.
Break down = to stop working e.g. The coffee machine broke down.
Break down = to start crying e.g. Hardeep was so upset when he heard the news that he broke down and cried.
Break down = to become mentally/physically ill e.g. After his son’s death he had a break down.
Break down = to divide information into small pieces e.g. We can break down the information according to age and region.
Break in = to enter a building/car in order to seal something e.g. They broke into my flat last night and stole my computer.
Break something in = to wear some new to make it more comfortable e.g. I wore my new McQueen shoes to break them in.
Break into something = to become involved in an area that is difficult to enter e.g. The fast food chain broke into the Chinese market.
Break off = to stop talking suddenly e.g. The president broke off in mid-sentence.
Break something off = to end a relationship e.g. Chang broke off their friendship as she didn’t trust him anymore.
Break out = to escape from prison e.g. The inmates broke out by digging through a wall.
Break out = If a war, disease or fire suddenly starts e.g. The fire broke out in the hotel lobby.
Break out into = if sweat, spots or a rash suddenly appears on your skin e.g. When I got up to speak in front of all the university I broke out into a sweat.
Break through = an important discovery or success e.g. The university has made a major breakthrough in its research on dyslexia.
Break up = a marriage or romantic relationship that ends e.g. Manisha and Alok have broken up.
Break something up = to add a different colour to make something more interesting e.g. Loucas wore a blue jacket to break up the excessive black in his outfit.

No comments:

Post a Comment