A traditional village barber

Phrasal Verbs with 'lay'

Lay something aside = to keep money for future use e.g. We need to lay some money aside for our children’s education.


Lay something aside = to stop doing/thinking about something for a short while e.g. They laid aside their plans of having a baby until they were older.

Lay something down = to officially establish a rule e.g. I think we need to lay down the rules for on-campus entertainment.

Lay into someone = to attack/criticise someone e.g. He started laying into me when I brought up the idea of leaving my job.

Lay someone off = to stop employing someone due to lack of work. e.g. The factory in China had to lay off workers as there was no demand for the products in Europe.

Lay off someone = to stop annoying/upsetting/hurting someone e.g. Lay off! Can you go and play in the other room? I’m trying to watch this programme.

Lay off something = to stop using/doing something e.g. I’ve decided to lay off eating fast food.

Lay on something = to provide something for a group e.g. They lay on a feast for us when we arrived.

Lay it on = to complain about something that is not so important e.g. She laid all her work problems on her husband when she got home.

Lay something out = to put something on a flat surface e.g. We laid the bowls of soup on the table.

Lay something out = to describe clearly in writing e.g. The company laid out its policy to all employees.

Lay out = design of a building, garden, city e.g. The landscape gardener laid the garden out beautifully.

Lay over = to stay somewhere for a short while before continuing a long plane journey e.g. On our way to Canada we had a lay over in London.

Environmental Pollution (Vocabulary)

Phrasal Verbs with 'kick'

Kick back = to relax e.g. This weekend I’m planning to kick back and do some gardening.

Kick down something = to knock a door until it falls e.g. The police kicked down the door and entered the building.

Kick in = to start to take effect e.g. I’ve just taken a pill for my headache and I’m waiting for it to kick in.

Kick off something= to start e.g. The match kicks off at 8pm.

Kick someone out = to force someone to leave e.g. When he was caught sleeping at his desk, he was kicked out of the company.

Kick something over = to make something fall on its side e.g. He got angry and kicked the table over.

Kick up something = to complain/be angry about something e.g. She kicked up a fuss when they told her there were no tickets available.

Phrasal Verbs with 'keep'

Keep ahead = to continue to be advanced e.g. She keeps ahead of her colleagues by working very hard.


Keep at = to continue working hard at something difficult e.g. If you keep at it long enough you will be able to learn Chinese.

Keep away = to not go near someone/something e.g. Keep away from Keith, he doesn’t have a good character.

Keep something back / Keep something from someone= to not tell someone something you know about an event e.g. I have the feeling that he’s keeping something back.

Keep something down = to prevent noise from becoming too loud e.g. If the neighbours don’t keep the music down I’m going to call the police.

Keep something down = to stop the size of something from increasing e.g. The One Child Policy in China is designed to keep the population down.

Keep someone down = to prevent someone from having any power/freedom e.g. If women don’t have the vote they will be kept down.

Keep someone in = to keep someone in hospital as they are unwell e.g. She fainted and had to be kept in for further tests.

Keep something in = to not show your feelings e.g. She doesn’t want to upset her mother so she keeps everything in.

Keep someone off something = to not go onto an area e.g. There was a sign telling people to keep off the grass.

Keep something off = to prevent from touching/harming e.g. If you want to keep the flies off the food, you need to cover it.

Keep on doing something = to continue to do something e.g. If you keep on working too much, you will harm your health.

Keep someone on = to continue to employ someone e.g. His knowledge is valuable so we’ve decided to keep him on.

Keep on = to continue going somewhere e.g. Keep on going straight and you’ll see the school on your left.

Keep on at someone = to complain continuously e.g. I forgot the lights on and he kept on at me for hours.

Keep someone out of something = to not be involved e.g. I don’t know what you are gossiping about but keep me out of it.

Keep something to yourself = to keep a secret e.g. I would appreciate it if you kept it to yourself.

Keep up = keep at the same level e.g. Try to keep up with the rest of the group.

Keep something up = to continue something e.g. Keep up the good work.

Keep someone up = to make someone go to bed later than usual e.g. I kept John up all night talking about the film.

Phrasal verbs with 'hold'

Hold on = to wait for a short while e.g. Hold on – Let me get my keys.

Hold on = a confused/surprised expression e.g. Hold on! Didn’t you tell me you weren’t interested?

Hold onto something = to keep something you have e.g. You should hold onto your grandfather’s watch. It is valuable.

Hold out something = to hold something in front of you e.g. She held out her plate and asked for more potatoes.

Hold out for something = to wait until you get what you want e.g. She’s holding out for a wealthy man.

Hold out on someone = to not give information to someone e.g. I asked him about it but I think he’s holding out on me.

Hold someone to something = to make someone do what they have agreed to do e.g. I’m going to hold him to his word and collect what he owes me next week.

Hold up = to support e.g. Those two columns hold up the building

Hold up something = to delay e.g. The competition was held up because the team arrived late.

Hold up = to steal money from a building/person/vehicle e.g. There was a hold up at our local bank last week.

Hold someone/something up as something = to use as a good example e.g. She is often held up as a role model because of her charity work.

Phrasal verbs with 'hang'

Hang around somewhere = to spend time somewhere without doing a lot e.g. I use to hang around that park when I was a child.


Hang out somewhere/with someone = to spend time e.g. I hang out with my friends a lot.

Hang around together / with someone = spend time together e.g. We used to hang around together when we were younger.

Hang around = slow to do something e.g. If you hang around too long, you will miss the last bus.

Hang in there/ hang on = to continue doing something despite difficulties e.g. Hang in there! I know you can do it.

Hang on = wait for a short time e.g. Hang on. I’ll go put my shoes on now.

Hang on = to hold something/someone tightly e.g. Hang on to your belongings, there are many thieves in this area.

Hang on! = a confused/surprised expression e.g. Hang on! Didn’t you tell me that you left the company?

Hang on to something = to keep e.g. You should hang on to that flat. Its value will go up.

Hang something out = to dry e.g. I always hang my washing out to dry.

Hang over something = to be worried e.g. Gurbinder lost his job and I have that hanging over my head.

Hang up = to suddenly end a telephone conversation e.g. He made me angry and I hung up without saying goodbye.

Hang up = to be delayed e.g. We were hung up in traffic because of an accident.