Phrasal Verbs and Collocations Mastery

Welcome to this comprehensive English language module focused on phrasal verbs and common collocations. Mastering these expressions will help you sound more natural, improve reading comprehension, and boost your writing fluency. This course is organized around real‑world quiz items, each followed by detailed explanations, usage tips, and practice ideas.

1. Starting a New Friendship – strike up

Quiz Prompt: "She finally ___ a friendship with her new colleague after the team lunch."

Correct answer: strike up
Incorrect options: thwart expectations, run past, shy away from

Why strike up works: The verb strike up means “to begin” or “to start” something, especially a conversation or a relationship. It conveys a proactive, friendly action, which matches the context of forming a new friendship after a social event.

Common collocations: strike up a conversation, strike up a relationship, strike up a dialogue.

Tip for learners: Visualize a spark (the “strike”) that ignites a connection. When you think of starting a friendship, picture a small spark that quickly grows into a warm fire.

Practice: Write three sentences using strike up with different objects (conversation, partnership, habit).

2. Delaying a Project – set back

Quiz Prompt: "The project was ___ by unexpected budget cuts."

Correct answer: set back
Incorrect options: exude confidence, draw on experience, boost energy

Meaning: Set back is a phrasal verb meaning “to cause a delay or to hinder progress.” It is often used in business, engineering, and academic contexts.

Collocations to remember: set back a deadline, set back a plan, set back progress.

Memory trick: Imagine a heavy stone being placed “back” on a moving train, slowing it down. The stone sets back the train’s speed.

Practice: Replace the noun in the sentence with another (e.g., "The renovation was ___ by supply shortages.") and fill in the correct phrasal verb.

3. Eliminating Outdated Procedures – do away with

Quiz Prompt: "We need to ___ the outdated procedures."

Correct answer: do away with
Incorrect options: come about, mess about with, go into

Definition: Do away with means “to eliminate completely” or “to discard.” It is often followed by a direct object.

Typical collocations: do away with rules, do away with habits, do away with waste.

Learning tip: Pair the phrase with the visual of throwing something into a trash bin. The action of discarding mirrors the meaning of the verb.

Practice: List three workplace items you would do away with and explain why.

4. Obtaining Information Indirectly – get (somebody) out of

Quiz Prompt: "He tried to ___ the secret."

Correct answer: get (somebody) out of
Incorrect options: stem from, run (something) past, come round to

Explanation: This idiom means “to coax or persuade someone to reveal information they are reluctant to share.” It often appears in informal conversation.

Collocations: get someone out of a tight spot, get someone out of a lie, get someone out of a secret.

Visual cue: Imagine gently pulling a fruit (the secret) from a tree without the tree noticing. The act of “getting out of” the fruit mirrors the subtle extraction of information.

Practice: Create a dialogue where one character tries to get another out of a hidden fact.

5. Presenting an Idea – run (something) past

Quiz Prompt: "After reviewing the draft, she decided to ___ the proposal to her manager."

Correct answer: run (something) past
Incorrect options: thwart expectations, exude confidence, boost energy

Meaning: To “run something past” someone is to show or discuss it with them for feedback or approval.

Common uses: run an idea past a colleague, run the numbers past the accountant, run the plan past the team.

Memory aid: Picture a runner passing a baton to a teammate; the information is the baton being handed over.

Practice: Rewrite a sentence about sharing a vacation itinerary using run ... past.

6. Gradual Knowledge Growth – accumulate knowledge

Quiz Prompt: "Students ___ knowledge through reading."

Correct answer: accumulate knowledge
Incorrect options: deepen understanding, boost energy, determine the facts

Definition: To accumulate means to gather or collect over time. When paired with “knowledge,” it emphasizes a steady, additive process.

Related collocations: accumulate wealth, accumulate experience, accumulate data.

Study tip: Visualize a bookshelf filling up with books; each book adds to the learner’s knowledge base.

Practice: List three activities (besides reading) that help students accumulate knowledge.

7. Making a Process More Complex – complicate matters

Quiz Prompt: "The new regulations ___ the compliance process."

Correct answer: complicate matters
Incorrect options: exude confidence, boost energy, meet the criteria

Explanation: The phrase “complicate matters” means to make a situation more difficult or tangled.

Typical collocations: complicate the issue, complicate the situation, complicate the timeline.

Mnemonic: Imagine a simple knot that becomes a tangled knot; the knot now “complicates” the rope.

Practice: Transform a sentence about a simple task becoming harder by inserting complicate matters.

8. Relying on Past Experience – draw on experience

Quiz Prompt: "She ___ her previous projects to solve the problem."

Correct answer: draw on experience
Incorrect options: shy away from, mess about with, stem from

Meaning: To draw on something is to use it as a resource. When combined with “experience,” it indicates leveraging past knowledge.

Collocations: draw on resources, draw on expertise, draw on past lessons.

Visual cue: Picture an artist dipping a brush into a palette of colors (the experience) and applying it to a new canvas (the problem).

Practice: Write a short paragraph describing how a professional might draw on experience in a crisis.

Key Takeaways

Identify the core meaning of each phrasal verb before selecting it for a sentence.
Notice the typical objects that accompany each verb; this helps avoid common traps.
Use visual or mnemonic devices to cement the connection between the phrase and its meaning.
Practice regularly by rewriting sentences, creating dialogues, and pairing verbs with new collocations.

Further Study Resources

To deepen your mastery, explore these additional tools:

Online corpora: BYU Corpus of Contemporary American English – search real‑world examples of phrasal verbs.
Flashcard apps: Anki or Quizlet – create decks for each verb with example sentences.
Listening practice: Podcasts such as "BBC Learning English" often feature idiomatic expressions in context.

By integrating these strategies, you’ll not only pass quizzes but also communicate with confidence and nuance in English.

Phrasal Verbs and Collocations Mastery

Which phrasal verb best fits: "She finally ___ a friendship with her new colleague after the team lunch."

In the sentence "The project was ___ by unexpected budget cuts," which phrasal verb correctly conveys a delay?

Choose the phrasal verb that means "to eliminate something completely" in the context: "We need to ___ the outdated procedures."

Which phrasal verb expresses the idea of "obtaining information indirectly" as in "He tried to ___ the secret."

Identify the phrasal verb that best fits the context: "After reviewing the draft, she decided to ___ the proposal to her manager."

Which phrasal verb conveys "to gradually increase knowledge" in the phrase "Students ___ knowledge through reading."

Select the phrasal verb that means "to cause something to become more complex" in the sentence "The new regulations ___ the compliance process."

Which phrasal verb best expresses "to rely on past experience" as in "She ___ her previous projects to solve the problem."

In the phrase "The speaker ___ confidence during the presentation," which phrasal verb correctly fills the blank?

Choose the phrasal verb that means "to avoid something due to fear or doubt" in "He tends to ___ criticism."