Phrasal verbs

give …

The full list of 20 words in this set. Open any word for its pronunciation, collocations, a band 8 sentence and the mistakes Vietnamese learners make.

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20 words

  1. 1

    give birth tophrasal verb/ɡɪv bɜːθ tuː/

    to produce a baby; to cause something new to exist

    The factory gave birth to a new industry in the area.

  2. 2

    give heed tophrasal verb / formal collocation/ɡɪv hiːd tuː/

    to pay careful attention to something (especially advice or warnings)

    Policymakers should give heed to the researchers' recommendations.

  3. 3

    give the green light tophrasal verb/ɡɪv ðə ɡriːn laɪt tuː/

    to officially allow or approve something

    After reviewing the safety report, the council decided to give the green light to the new factory.

  4. 4

    give the lie tophrasal verb/ɡɪv ðə laɪ tə/

    to show that a claim or idea is false

    The new survey data give the lie to the minister's optimistic claims.

  5. 5

    give pausephrasal verb/ɡɪv pɔːz/

    to cause someone to hesitate or think carefully; to cause doubt or concern

    The dramatic rise in cases should give policymakers pause before easing restrictions.

  6. 6

    give the impressionphrasal verb / collocation/ɡɪv ði ɪmˈprɛʃən/

    to cause someone to think that something is true or likely

    His silence gave the impression that he agreed.

  7. 7

    give someone a breakphrasal verb / informal idiom/ɡɪv ˈsʌm.wʌn ə breɪk/

    to stop criticizing someone or to give someone an opportunity/short rest

    Come on, give him a break — he was late because of the traffic.

  8. 8

    give someone an edgephrasal verb / collocation/ɡɪv ˈsʌmwʌn ən ɛdʒ/

    to provide someone with an advantage over others

    Extra practice gives candidates an edge in the interview.

  9. 9

    give one's wordphrasal verb/idiom/ɡɪv wʌnz wɜːd/

    to promise someone seriously that you will do something

    I gave my word that I'd help her with the presentation.

  10. 10

    give someone the benefit of the doubtphrasal verb

    to decide to believe someone or accept their explanation even though you are not certain

    Even though the story sounded unlikely, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

  11. 11

    give something a tryphrasal verb/ɡɪv ˈsʌmθɪŋ ə traɪ/

    to attempt to do something, to try something out

    If you have doubts, give it a try and see what happens.

  12. 12

    give the nod tophrasal verb / idiom/ɡɪv ðə nɒd tə/

    to give approval or agreement, often formally

    The board gave the nod to the revised budget after a lengthy discussion.

  13. 13

    give over tophrasal verb/ɡɪv ˈəʊvə tuː/

    to hand something over to someone or to devote something (time, energy) to a particular purpose; (informal BrE) to stop doing something

    They gave over the management of the project to an outside firm.

  14. 14

    give someone the time of dayidiom / phrasal expression

    to give someone any attention (often used negatively: to refuse to give someone attention)

    She won't even give him the time of day after the argument.

  15. 15

    give someone the creepsphrasal verb / informal idiom/ɡɪv ˈsʌm.wʌn ðə kriːps/

    to make someone feel uncomfortable, uneasy, or frightened

    That abandoned house gives me the creeps.

  16. 16

    give someone a hard timephrasal verb/ɡɪv ˈsʌmwʌn ə hɑːd taɪm/

    to criticize someone or make life difficult for someone (often in a teasing or annoying way)

    Don't give me a hard time — I was late because of traffic.

  17. 17

    give someone a piece of one's mindidiom / phrasal expression

    to tell someone angrily what you think about their behaviour

    When I found out what he had done, I gave him a piece of my mind.

  18. 18

    give it your allphrasal verb / idiom/ɡɪv ɪt jɔːr ɔːl/

    to try as hard as you possibly can

    I gave it my all in the final, but the other player was better on the day.

  19. 19

    give someone the runaroundidiom / phrasal expression

    to treat someone in a way that avoids giving them a straight answer or proper service

    When I complained, the company just gave me the runaround.

  20. 20

    give someone the slipphrasal verb/ɡɪv ˈsʌmwʌn ðə slɪp/

    to escape from someone who is trying to catch or follow you

    He managed to give the police the slip by hiding in a side street.

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