Phrasal verbs: grow out of, grow into, hand down

  1. grow out of something
    Transitive, Inseparable
    Meaning: get too big for
    Example: Babies grow out of clothing so quickly!
  2. grow into something
    Transitive, Inseparable
    Meaning: grow big enough to fit
    Example: These pants are too big for him now, but he’ll grow into them soon.
  3. Hand something down
    Transitive, Intransitive, Separable
    give something used to someone
    Example:  My mom saved some things to hand down to my sisters and I.

When I was a child I never had new clothes because I was the youngest and my mom would wait for my older sisters to grow out of their clothes so that she could hand down the clothes to me and I could grow into them.

Phrasal verb: go out

  1. go out
    Meaning: leave home and go to a social event
    Example: It’s Friday night.  Let’s go out!

    How many nights a week do you go out?

  2. go out with someone
    Transitive, Inseparable
    Meaning: date
    Example: She has been going out with him since last year.

In the United States, it is normal for a couple to go out with one another for 2-3 years before getting married.  Is it the same in your native country?

Phrasal verb: count on

  1. count on someone/something
    Transitive, Inseparable
    Meaning: rely on
    Example: I know that I can count on my best friend to cheer me up.

Did you know that the average Facebook user has 262 confirmed friends?  I wonder how many of those friends he/she can count on?

idiom (6)

Phrasal verb: grow apart

  1. grow apart
    Meaning: to stop being friends over time
    Example: My best friend and I grew apart after she moved away.

    Studies have shown that couples’ personalities converge over time to make partners more and more similar.  So, it’s easier to grow together than to grow apart!


Phrasal verb: give away

  1. give something away
    Transitive, Separable
    Meaning: ruin a secret
    Example: I accidentally gave the surprise party away by leaving my car parked outside my friend’s house.

    Meaning 2: give something to someone for free (Transitive or Intransitive)
    Example: I’m moving, so there are some things that I want to give away.

Phrasal verb: get back

  1. get back
    Meaning: return
    Example: She got back from France yesterday.  I hope she brought me some cheese!

    get something back
    Transitive, Separable
    Meaning: receive something you had before
    Example: She finally got her jacket back from her friend who borrowed it last month.

    get back at someone
    Transitive, Inseparable
    Meaning: retaliate, take revenge
    Example: My sister got back at me for borrowing her shoes without asking.  She stole my favorite shirt.