FOCUS ON: passive phrasal verbs, 1

FOCUS ON passive phrasal verbs, 1

The passive voice is used when what happened (the verb) is more important than who did it (the subject):

The scene of the crime was dosed off by the police.

when the subject is obvious:

The tests were handed in. (by the students who else?)

or when the subject is unknown:

My dog was run over. (by an unknown person)

The passive is formed with be and the past participle of the verb. Be can be in any tense and can be continuous:

The game has been called off.

My name was left off.

The tent Is being set up.

The criminals will be tracked down.

As we saw in the first three examples, saying who performed the action with a by phrase is optional, but it is always possible. This is a good way to test a sentence to see if it is in the passive:

The game has been called off by. the, referee.

My name was left off by Charles.

The tent is being set up by. the campers.

The criminals will be tracked down by the police.

call... off p.v. When you call off an event, such as a party, game, or something else that had been previously planned, you cancel it.

The football game was called off because of rain.
We can't call the party off it's going to start in half an hour.

close ...off p.v. When you close off an area/you prohibit people from entering it or passing through it by locking the door or blocking the entrance.

The police closed several streets off because of the parade.
The house was so expensive to heat that the owners closed several rooms off.

closed off part.adj. An area that you are prohibited from entering or passing through because the door has been locked or the entrance has been blocked is closed off

Three rooms in the museum are closed off.

hand ... in (to) p.v. When you complete a test, report, or project and you give it to the person who assigned the work, you hand it in or hand it in to that person. Turn in is similar to hand in.

The tests must be handed in no later than 11:00.

He finished his investigation and handed his report in to the committee.

hand ... in p.v. When you hand in your resignation or letter of resignation, you inform your employer that you are quitting your job.

was so furious that I handed my letter of resignation in the next day.

The President asked the cabinet members to hand in their resignations.

hand ... in (to) p.v. When you give something to a person of authority who has demanded it or because you no longer need or want it, you hand it in or hand it in to a person of authority. Turn in is similar to hand in.

The guard was ordered to hand his gun in after he shot the window washer.

The drivers return to the factory at 5:00 and hand their keys in to the dispatcher before they leave.

hit on hit on & hits on hitting on hit on hit on

hit on p.v. When you think of an interesting idea or a solution to a problem, you hit on it.

think I've hit on a way to solve this problem.

After two years of tests, they finally hit on the solution.

hit on p.v. [informal] When you hit on a person of the opposite sex, you approach and aggressively try to interest that person in you romantically or sexually.

Lydia had a terrible time at the party. She was hit on by every guy there.

Let's go somewhere else Mark keeps hitting on me, and I'm tired of it.

leave off leave off & leaves off leaving off left off left off

leave... off p.v. When you do not include people or things on a list, either accidentally or deliberately, you leave them off.

After what happened at the last party, Dan wasn't surprised that he was left off the guest list.

Check to make sure you don't leave anyone off the list.

leave off p.v. When you interrupt something that you intend to finish later, you leave off at the point where you stop.

Okay class, we left off on page 92 last week, so open your books to page

Finish your story. Uncle Fred. You left off where the giant octopus was about to eat you.

let... off p.v. When you let someone off a bus or other form of transportation, you stop it so that person can leave it.

The driver let her off at the corner. That's my house there. Can you let me off please?

let... off p.v. When you are let off by a person in authority, you are not punished or you are given only a light punishment.

It was Jake's first offense, so the judge let him off with a warning.

People were shocked that he had been let off so lightly.

let... off p.v. When you fire a gun or explode bombs or fireworks, you let them off. (regional) When you let off steam, you express angry feelings or frustration or do something to relieve those feelings.

The high school was evacuated after someone let off a smoke bomb.

When I was a kid I used to love letting off firecrackers on the Fourth of July.

I'm sorry I was so angry this morning; I was just letting off steam.

light up

light... up p.v. When you shine lights on something or attach lights to something, you light it up.

Airport runways are lit up so that pilots can see them in the dark.

The police lit the house up with their spotlights.

lit up part.adj. After a light is shined on something or you put lights inside or attach lights to the outside of something, it is lit up.

The signs aren't lit up, so it's hard to see them at night.

light... up p.v. When you light up a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, you use a match or lighter to start it burning.

Here are the matches let's light up. Lighting a cigarette up next to the gasoline truck was the last thing he ever did.

track... down p.v. When you find things or people after looking very hard for them, you track them down.

The terrorists were tracked down by Interpol.

I finally tracked down that book I've been looking for.

EXERCISE 13a Complete the sentences with phrasal verbs from this section. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense.

The judge ________ her with a warning.

It wasn't cold enough, so we ________ ________ the hockey game.

As soon as Nancy's boyfriend went to the washroom,the guy at the next table ________ ________ her.

Every Christmas my father used to ________ ________ our house with thousands

of lights.

The police finally ________ the killers and arrested them.

The principal caught me as I was _______ _______ a cigarette in the washroom.

The room that was damaged by the fire was ________ ________ to the public.

I was really angry that I was ________ ________ the list.

That's a great idea! You've really ________ ________ something.

Three students got a zero because their projects weren't ______ ______ on time.

Driver, can you ________ me at the next corner?

Dr. Smith resumed his lecture where he had ________ ________ before the lunch break.

After Wilson screwed up the finance department, he was asked to ________ _________ his letter of resignation.

Even though the enemy soldiers were half a mile away, we ________ ________

a few shots.

The crooked police officers were ordered to ________ their badges

EXERCISE 3b Write three sentences using the objects in parentheses. Be sure to put the objects in the right place.

He discovered the source of the rumor. What happened to the source of the rumor?

The students finished their quizzes and gave them to the teacher. What happened to the quizzes?

The judge never sends first-time offenders to jail. What always happens to first-time offenders?

A guy started talking to Heather at the dance. What happened to Heather?

The list of candidates didn't include your name. What happened to your name?

The referee canceled the game. What happened to the game?

They are putting ropes around the plaza so that no one can go in. What is happening to the plaza?

In Question 7, after they finish putting ropes around the plaza, how would you describe it?

The battleship shined lights on the enemy submarine. What happened to the enemy submarine?

In Question 9, how would you describe the submarine after the battleship shined lights on it?

EXERCISE 13d, Review Complete the sentences with these phrasal verbs from previous sections. To check their meanings, review the section number given after each one.

1. Most of the city was ________ ________ by the invading soldiers.

Teacher, will points be ________ ________ for spelling?

A conference will be ________ ________ between the lawyers for each side.

The Taylors were ________ ________ ________ their life savings by their

stockbroker.

The children were happy to be ________ ________ of school early.

The entire staff was ________ ________ to the office and given pink slips.

Raquel was almost ________ ________ by a cement truck while she was driving to work.

There wasn't enough room inside the cabin, so the firewood had to be

H. The general said the occupied territory would never be ________ ________.

This engine has been ________ ________ three times, but no one can figure out

what's wrong with it.

This is a very important project. Every possible problem must be ______ ______.

My neighbor stopped at the side of the road to change a flat tire, and he was

and killed by a drunk driver.

Each proposed design for the new flag was ________ ________ and rejected.