Verb Phrase C

call for +	require (as in a recipe)	This recipe calls for milk, not water.
call * off +	cancel something	They called the picnic off because of the rain.
call * off +	order to stop (an invasion, guard dogs)	He called off the dogs when he saw it was his neighbor.
call on +	visit	Mark called on Naomi while he was in town.
call on +	invite someone to speak in a meeting or a classroom	Professor Tanzer called on Tim to answer the question.
call * up +	telephone	I called Sam up to see if he wanted to go to the movies.
calm * down +	make someone relax	You can calm the baby down by rocking her gently.
care for +	nurse someone or something	He cared for the bird until its wing healed.
care for +	like someone or something	I don't care for sour cream on my potato.
carry on +	continue (a conversation, a game)	Please, carry on. I didn't mean to interrupt you.
carry on about +	continue in an annoying way	He kept carrying on about how much money he makes.
carry on with +	continue	I want you to carry on with the project while I am out of town.
carry * out +	complete and/or accomplish something	The secret agent carried out his orders exactly as planned.
carry * over +	continue on a subsequent day, page, etc.	The meeting carried over into lunch time.
catch on	slowly start to understand (inf.)	He caught on after a few minutes.
catch up	make up for lost time	I will never catch up. I am too behind in my work.
catch up with +	speed up to be at the same place as a person or thing in front of you	I had to run to catch up with the others.
catch up on +	become up-to-date	I need to catch up on world events. I haven't seen the news in ages.
check back	return to see if everything is OK	We will check back tomorrow to make sure the project is finished.
check by +	go to a place to see if everything is OK	We need to check by the office to see if the documents are ready.
check for +	try to find	They checked for termites before they bought the house.
check in	enter a hospital, hotel etc.	They need to check in before noon.
check into +	enter a hospital, hotel etc.	They checked into the hotel at 11:00 AM.
check into +	investigate, look for (often through a service)	We are checking into discount flights to London.
check * off +	make a mark next to (an item on a list)	Check each name off the list.
check on +	make sure something is OK	Let's check on the baby again before we go to sleep.
check * out +	investigate, take a look at	He checked out the new restaurant down the street.
check out	leave a hotel, hospital	It's already eleven. We need to check out.
check out of +	leave a hotel, hospital	We checked out of the hotel before ten.
check * over +	closely examine the condition of something	He checked over the old car to see if it was worth buying.
check up on +	investigate someone or something	The police are checking up on the bomb threats.
check * through	send luggage through (to a destination)	Your luggage will be checked through to Paris.
check with +	ask a person for confirmation	He needs to check with his parents before he goes.
cheer * up	make someone feel cheerful	The party really cheered me up.
cheer up	become cheerful	Cheer up. Everything will be all right.
chew * up +	chew into small pieces	The dog chewed up my shoe.
chop * down +	fell/cut ( a tree)	The lumberjack chopped the tree down.
chop * up +	chop/cut into small bits	He chopped the meat up into little pieces.
clean * up +	tidy	Susan cleaned the mess up before she left.
clear out	leave ( inf.)	Everybody clear out! We're closed.
clear * up +	tidy	Susan cleared up the mess before she left.
close * down +	close a place permanently	The corner market closed down because they didn't have many customers.
close down	close permanently	The bar was closed down because they served alcohol to minors.
close in on +	approach and threaten	The rebels were closing in on the capital, so the government called in the army.
close * up +	close temporarily	They are closing the ski resort up for the summer.
close up	close temporarily	The ski resort is closing up for the summer.
come about	occur / happen	How did you idea for the book come about.
come across +	discover by accident	They came across some lost Mayan ruins in the jungle.
come across +	initially seem or have the appearance	He comes across as rather rude, but he isn't.
come along	accompany someone	If you want, you can come along.
come along with +	accompany	Sam came along with us to the beach.
come along	progress	How's the research paper coming along.
come along with +	progress	How are you coming along with the research paper.
come away	leave a place with a particular feeling or impression	I came away from the meeting feeling like the presentation was a success.
come back	return	What time are you coming back?
come by +	get, receive	How did you come by that new Mercedes?
come by	visit a person at their house	I'll come by later this afternoon.
come down with +	become sick with	He came down with the flu.
come into +	inherit	He came into a large sum of money when his aunt died.
come off +	fall off, break off	The handle came off the suitcase when I picked it up.
come out	appear	I didn't see the car at first. It came out of nowhere.
come out	reveal you are homosexual	Sam finally came out last month.
come out	turn out, end up	The pictures came out great.
come out with +	produce and distribute a product	Microsoft is coming out with a new video game system next month.
come over	visit someone at their house	Why don't you come over after work for dinner.
come to	regain consciousness	Don't worry! She faints all the time. She always comes to after a few minutes.
come through	do what is needed or expected	Terry really came through for us in the end.
come up to +	approach; to equal	The job offer didn't come up to her expectations.
come up with +	produce or create (an idea, a plan)	She came up with a great proposal for the new advertising campaign.
come with +	include (an accessory)	The computer system doesn't come with a printer.
count * in +	include	Did you count expenses in?
count on +	depend/rely on	You can really count on Sarah.
count * out +	exclude	You can count James out. He hates playing poker.
count * up +	add	Count the change up and see how much we have.
crack down on +	become tougher on, better enforce laws on	The police have been cracking down on drunk driving.
crack up	laugh uncontrollably, laugh a lot	When I told the joke, they all cracked up.
crack up at +	laugh uncontrollably about, laugh a lot about	I cracked up at his joke.
cross * out +	draw a line through something, eliminate	Why did you cross my name out on the list?
cut down	decrease the amount of	You eat too much fat. You need to cut down.
cut down on +	decrease the amount of	You need to cut down on your fat intake.
cut in	interrupt	She suddenly cut in and delivered the news
cut in on +	interrupt	She cut in on the conversation and delivered the news.
cut * off	interrupt someone while they were speaking	She cut him off before he said something he would regret later.
cut * off +	sever ( with a knife)	His finger was accidentally cut off in an industrial accident.
cut * out +	remove	He cut the bone out of the steak.
cut * out	stop an action	Cut it out! You're bothering me.
cut * up +	cut into small pieces	He cut the beef up and put the pieces in the soup.