Expressions and Phrasal Verbs with the Words UP, DOWN, IN and OUT

LESSON: VOCABULARY
Expressions and Phrasal Verbs with the Words UP, DOWN, IN and OUT


UP
1. Direction/Movement - Example: "I climbed up the hill."
2. Increase - Example: "The prices went up last month."
3. Awake – Example: “I am usually up at 6 in the morning.”
4. Next – Examples: “After John, I am up next.” “What’s coming up after the presentation?”
Q: After you have done your work, who is up next? –


Be UP TO
1. "up to" means that the decision or responsibility lies with a specific person.
Example: "The choice is up to you." (You decide what to choose.)
Q: If it were up to you, what would you change in your company  –

2. "up to" also means what someone is doing or planning, often indicating curiosity or suspicion.
Examples:

• "What are you up to this weekend?" (What are your plans for the weekend?)
• "I wonder what Trump is up to right now." (I’m curious about what he is currently doing.)
• Q: What have you been up to since the last time we talked? –

DOWN
1. Direction/Movement – Example: "She walked down the stairs."
2. Decrease – Example: "Sales are down this quarter."
3. Feeling sad – Example: "He’s feeling down today."
Q: When was the last time you felt down and why? –


Be DOWN TO + VERB / be DOWN FOR + NOUN
Willing to do something or participate
Examples:

• "I’m down to help you with your project.”
• “Are you down for a movie tonight?"
• Q: What activities are you not down for? –

 

Be UP FOR + NOUN
Willing and excited to do something or participate

• “He’s up for a game of tennis.”
• “If you're up for it, we can go see a movie tonight.”
• Q: What are you up for this weekend? –

IN
1. Location/Position – Example: "I am in the house."
2. To be involved, included, or agree to participate in something
Examples:

• "Count me in." (I want to be included.)
• "I’m in for the game tonight." (I want to participate in the game tonight.)
• Q: Regarding work, are you in it for the money or the sense of fulfillment? –

3. Fashionable or currently popular
Examples

• "Graphic tees are in this season." (Graphic tees are currently popular.)
• "Minimalist decor is really in right now." (Minimalist decor is fashionable at the moment.)

* The opposite is “out.”  Bellbottoms are out! [Les pantalons à bretelles sont de sortie !]
Q: What is in and out this season in Paris? –


Be INTO
have a strong interest or enthusiasm for something or someone
Examples

• “I am into extreme sports.”
• “He is nice but I am just not into him.”
• Q: What are you into? –

 

OUT
1. Indicating someone or something not included – Example: "He’s out of the group."

2. to indicate information that has been disclosed or a product has been released in the market
Examples:

• "The news is out."
• “Lady Gaga’s new CD is now out on sale.”

OUT (verb) (also: to come out)
As a verb, "to out" means to reveal something that was previously a secret, especially in the context of someone's sexual orientation or identity. It can also refer more generally to exposing someone’s secrets or hidden aspects.

Examples

• “The young actor decided to out himself to the public.”
• “The journalist threatened to out the politician’s secret affairs."
• Q: Is there a French actor, actress, singer, or politician who outed himself (came out) recently? –

Be OUTED
The phrase "be outed" typically refers to someone being revealed or exposed by someone else.
Examples:

• "She was outed by a friend who didn't respect her privacy."
• "He was outed in a public forum, which caused him a lot of distress."

Phrasal verbs ending in Up

1. Cheer up – To become happier. Example: She always knows how to cheer me up when I'm feeling down. (Elle sait toujours comment me remonter le moral quand je ne vais pas bien.) Q: What usually cheers you up? –

 

2. Give up – To stop trying. Example: I decided not to give up on my dreams, no matter how difficult it gets. (J'ai décidé de ne pas abandonner mes rêves, peu importe la difficulté.) Q: What did you give up recently? –

 

3. Look up – To search for information or to improve. Example: I always look up new words in the dictionary to improve my vocabulary. (Je cherche toujours de nouveaux mots dans le dictionnaire pour améliorer mon vocabulaire.) Q: What subject did you look up recently and why? -

4. Break up

• To end a relationship. Example: They decided to break up after realizing they wanted different things in life. (Ils ont décidé de se séparer après avoir réalisé qu'ils voulaient des choses différentes dans la vie.) Talk about the last time a call was breaking up. What happened in the end? –
• To end a phone call or conversation due to poor connection.  Example: Sorry, I couldn't hear you; you keep breaking up. (Désolé, je ne t'entends pas bien ; la connexion est mauvaise.) Q: Talk about the last time a call was breaking up. What happened in the end? –
• To separate into smaller parts. Example: We decided to break up the project into several smaller tasks to make it easier to complete. (Nous avons décidé de diviser le projet en plusieurs petites tâches pour le rendre plus facile à réaliser.) Q: When do you choose to break a big assignment into smaller parts? -
• To disperse or stop a gathering. Example: The police had to break up the crowd at the concert. (La police a dû disperser la foule au concert.)
• To interrupt a fight or argument. Example: He stepped in to break up the fight between the two boys. (Il est intervenu pour interrompre la bagarre entre les deux garçons.) Q: Have you ever broken up a fight or a serious argument? What happened? -

5. Raise up – To lift or elevate something. Example: We need to raise up the box onto the shelf so it fits better. (Nous devons soulever la boîte sur l'étagère pour qu'elle s'adapte mieux.)


Phrasal verbs ending in Down

1. Calm down – To relax or become less agitated. Example: He took a few deep breaths to calm down before giving his speech. (Il a pris quelques respirations profondes pour se calmer avant de donner son discours.)

2. Write down – To record information in writing. Example: Please write down your answers on the paper provided. (Veuillez écrire vos réponses sur le papier fourni.)

3. Go down – To decrease or fail. Example: The project went down (failed) after the team missed the deadline. (Le projet a échoué après que l'équipe a manqué la date limite.) Q: Have you ever had a project that went down? If so, what happened? 

4. Back down – To retreat or withdraw a position. Example: He decided to back down from the argument when he saw he was wrong. (Il a décidé de se retirer de la dispute quand il a vu qu'il avait tort.) Q: Talk about a time when you backed down from an argument or an agreement and why. (You may also use other people)  -

5. Break down

• To stop functioning (used for machines). Example: My car broke down on the way to the party, so I had to call for help. (Ma voiture est tombée en panne sur le chemin de la fête, alors j'ai dû appeler à l'aide.) Q: Talk about a time when something you own (car, computer) broke down. What happened and what did you do?  -
• To become emotionally overwhelmed (used for people). Example: She started to break down in tears when she heard the sad news. (Elle a commencé à craquer en larmes quand elle a entendu la triste nouvelle.) Q: Talk about a time when you or someone you know broke down.  -

Phrasal verbs ending in IN

1. Check in – To register or confirm arrival. Example: Please check in at the front desk when you arrive at the hotel. (Veuillez vous enregistrer à la réception lorsque vous arrivez à l'hôtel.)

2. Come in

• To physically enter. Example: Please come in and take a seat while you wait for your appointment. (Veuillez entrer et prendre un siège en attendant votre rendez-vous.)
• To arrive or be received (related to information). Example: The results of the test will come in next week. (Les résultats du test arriveront la semaine prochaine.) Q: In France, when do the results of the presidential election come in? -
• To become involved or participate. Example: This is where you come in; we need your expertise. (C'est là que tu interviens ; nous avons besoin de ton expertise.)
• Come in handy: to be relevant or applicable. Example: Her ability to speak multiple languages will come in handy during our international meetings. (Sa capacité à parler plusieurs langues sera utile lors de nos réunions internationales.) .) Q: What skills will come in handy in your work? -
• To succeed or win. Example: He hopes to come in first in the race. (Il espère arriver premier dans la course.) Q: Have you joined a race or a competition? If so, did you come in first? –

3. Fill in

• To complete a form or provide information. Example: Please fill in the form with your personal information. (Veuillez remplir le formulaire avec vos informations personnelles.)
• To substitute for someone. Example: Can you fill in for me at the meeting tomorrow?" (Peux-tu me remplacer à la réunion demain ?)

Q: Who usually fills in for you when you are not available? –
Q: Have you ever filled in for someone? Why? -

• To provide missing information. Example: I need you to fill in the blanks on this test. (J'ai besoin que tu remplisses les espaces vides sur ce test.)
• To complete something. Example: She filled in the details of the report after the meeting. (Elle a complété les détails du rapport après la réunion.)
• To make something fuller or denser. Example: The artist filled in the colors on the canvas. (L'artiste a rempli les couleurs sur la toile.)

4. Join in – To participate in an activity (not followed by an object). Example: The team was brainstorming ideas, so I decided to join in and share my thoughts. (L'équipe faisait un brainstorming, alors j'ai décidé de me joindre à eux et de partager mes idées.) Q: Have you been asked to join a group, a meeting, or a conference? Did you accept? -

5. Give in – To yield or surrender. Example: After a long discussion, she decided to give in and accept their proposal. (Après une longue discussion, elle a décidé de céder et d'accepter leur proposition.) Q: Talk about a time when you had to give in. Why? -


Phrasal verbs ending in OUT

 

1. Find out – To discover information. Example: I need to find out what time the meeting starts tomorrow. (Je dois découvrir à quelle heure commence la réunion demain.)

2. Go out – To leave home for social activities. Example: We plan to go out for dinner after the movie. (Nous prévoyons de sortir dîner après le film.) Q: How often do you go out with friends? What do you usually do? -

3. Drop out – To withdraw from a course or activity (examples: school, group, game). Example: He decided to drop out of college to pursue his passion for music. (Il a décidé de quitter l'université pour poursuivre sa passion pour la musique.)

 

Q: Did you consider dropping out of school when you were young?

Q: Have you dropped out of a competition?


4. Turn out – To result in a particular way.

Examples:

• It turned out that the event was more popular than we had expected. (Il s'est avéré que l'événement a été plus populaire que prévu.)
• She turned out to be much friendlier than I had thought at first. (Elle s'est révélée beaucoup plus amicale que je ne l'avais pensé au départ.)
• Q: Talk about a time when something or someone turned out to be different from you first thought. -

 

As a noun, "turnout" generally refers to the number of people who attend an event or participate in a particular activity, such as an election or a meeting. For example: The turnout for the concert was much higher than expected. (La participation au concert a été beaucoup plus élevée que prévu.)

 

5. Run out – To use up a supply completely. Example: We need to buy more milk because we have run out. (Nous devons acheter plus de lait car nous n'en avons plus.) Q: What item at home do you often run out of? - 

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