Learn English Phrasal Verbs:At School
This set is for students and teachers who need the phrases you hear in class: handing in work, looking up a word, and keeping up with the lesson.
hand in
submit
Please hand in your essays at the end of the lesson.
Please submit your essays at the end of the lesson.
🚀 Ready to practice?
hand out
give out
Miss Cole handed out the worksheets.
Miss Cole gave out the worksheets.
🚀 Ready to practice?
speak up
talk louder
Could you speak up? The students at the back can’t hear you.
Could you talk louder? The students at the back can’t hear you.
🚀 Ready to practice?
look up
check in a dictionary
If you don’t know the word, look it up in the dictionary.
If you don’t know the word, check it in a dictionary.
🚀 Ready to practice?
copy down
write down
Please copy down the homework from the board.
Please write down the homework from the board.
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go over
review
Let’s go over the test answers before we start.
Let’s review the test answers before we start.
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read out
read aloud
Sam, please read out the first paragraph.
Sam, please read aloud the first paragraph.
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point out
show
Miss Patel pointed out a mistake in my homework.
Miss Patel showed me a mistake in my homework.
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put up (one's hand)
raise your hand
If you know the answer, put up your hand.
If you know the answer, raise your hand.
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take in
understand
I couldn’t take in all that grammar in one lesson.
I couldn’t understand all that grammar in one lesson.
🚀 Ready to practice?
work out
solve
I couldn’t work out the last problem on the worksheet.
I couldn’t solve the last problem on the worksheet.
🚀 Ready to practice?
catch up (on)
get up to date with
I stayed after school to catch up on the lessons I missed.
I stayed after school to get up to date with the lessons I missed.
🚀 Ready to practice?
fall behind
get behind
You’ll fall behind if you skip too many lessons.
You’ll get behind if you skip too many lessons.
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keep up (with)
stay level with
I can’t keep up with the rest of the class.
I can’t stay level with the rest of the class.
🚀 Ready to practice?
drop out
leave school without finishing
He dropped out of school at sixteen.
He left school without finishing at sixteen.
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stay behind
remain after class
I had to stay behind to finish the test.
I had to remain after class to finish the test.
🚀 Ready to practice?
act up
misbehave
A few pupils acted up when the supply teacher arrived.
A few pupils misbehaved when the supply teacher arrived.
🚀 Ready to practice?
mess about
waste time
Stop messing about and open your books.
Stop wasting time and open your books.
🚀 Ready to practice?
About this set
Use them when you talk about homework, tests, and what happens if you miss a few days.
A few items are informal British classroom English — mess about, act up, stay behind — so they sound like real school, not a textbook list.
Usage notes
- hand in. Separable. Hand your essay in or hand it in — not hand in it.
- look up. Separable when the object is a word: look the word up / look it up.
- catch up (on). Usually catch up on homework or lessons. Catch up with a person means reach the same level or meet them.
- keep up (with). Keep up with the class is inseparable. Do not say keep the class up with.
- mess about. Informal British English. American speakers more often say mess around.
Common questions
What is the difference between hand in and hand out?
Students hand in finished work to the teacher. Teachers hand out worksheets to the class. The object usually sits between the verb and the particle when you use a pronoun: hand it in, hand them out.
Is catch up the same as keep up?
No. Keep up with the class means you stay at the same pace. Catch up on lessons means you were behind and are getting back to date. If you fall behind first, you then need to catch up.