EducationEnglish.Phrasal verbsCOMMUNICATION · A2–B1

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← Phrasal verbs

Lesson 109 / Plans & outcomes

Trying a new plan.

5 phrases · 12 minutes · Look, listen and try.

Rely on support, notice surprises and see what a plan leads to.

After this lesson, you can

  • Use this lesson’s expressions to talk about the situation introduced above.
  • Distinguish “bank on” and “crop up” in context.
  • Use “deter from” in a sentence connected to your own situation.
Practice and check your answers →

Match words to pictures →Play What is She/He doing? →

A randomly assigned, fixed male or female synthetic voice for each phrase or sentence · Slow playback at 0.7× preserves pitch.

Phrase 1 / 5Understand context
Bảo banks on Duy to help assemble the group model.
Bảo banks on Duy to help assemble the group model.

bank on

We are banking on Duy to help with the model.

Read the example again

We are banking on Duy to help with the model.

Do not bank on the weather staying dry.

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Do not bank on the weather staying dry.

View meaning & usage

Rely on someone or something

bank on someone or somethingbank on someone to do somethingbank on something happening

An informal expression unrelated to putting money in a bank. After “on”, use a person, an event or an -ing clause.

Cambridge Dictionary · bank on

Haven't studied yet
Heavy rain deters Bảo from drawing with chalk outside.
Heavy rain deters Bảo from drawing with chalk outside.

deter from

Heavy rain deterred us from drawing outside.

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Heavy rain deterred us from drawing outside.

The long walk did not deter her from joining us.

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The long walk did not deter her from joining us.

View meaning & usage

Discourage someone from doing something

deter someone from doing something

Put the person between “deter” and “from”, followed by an -ing action. Write “deterred” and “deterring”.

Haven't studied yet
An unexpected tear crops up in the large sheet Bảo needs for his model.
An unexpected tear crops up in the large sheet Bảo needs for his model.

crop up

A problem cropped up while we were making the model.

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A problem cropped up while we were making the model.

New questions often crop up during a discussion.

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New questions often crop up during a discussion.

View meaning & usage

Appear or arise unexpectedly

something crops up

Informal; often used with problems, questions or unexpected events. It is not about farming. Write “cropped” and “cropping”.

Cambridge Dictionary · crop up

Haven't studied yet
Interest in Bảo’s game plan gradually fizzles out.
Interest in Bảo’s game plan gradually fizzles out.

fizzle out

Interest in the game fizzled out after a few weeks.

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Interest in the game fizzled out after a few weeks.

Their long discussion slowly fizzled out.

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Their long discussion slowly fizzled out.

View meaning & usage

Gradually lose strength or interest and stop

something fizzles out

Emphasises gradually losing energy or appeal, often without a clear or impressive ending. It is not a sudden explosion.

Haven't studied yet
Bảo reuses scrap paper to make a set of handmade cards, showing a clear result.
Bảo reuses scrap paper to make a set of handmade cards, showing a clear result.

result in

Reusing the scrap paper resulted in three handmade cards.

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Reusing the scrap paper resulted in three handmade cards.

Clear instructions can result in fewer mistakes.

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Clear instructions can result in fewer mistakes.

View meaning & usage

Leads to/produces results

result in somethingresult in someone doing something

The outcome follows “in”. Compare “result from”, which is followed by the cause. Keep cause and outcome in the correct order.

Haven't studied yet

The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 10, 35, 30, 46, 107. A2–B1 is the course’s intended level.

OBSERVE · UNDERSTAND · MATCH

Match phrases to pictures

Drag a wire from the dot beside a phrase to the dot beside its matching picture. You can also tap a phrase, then a picture. Drag again to change a pair before checking.

Read the picture descriptions for more context. Similar expressions are accepted when they fit the particular scene.

A conversation in context

Read the conversation and find the expressions you have learned.

  1. Mai

    Can we bank on everyone arriving by nine?

    Read the example again

    Can we bank on everyone arriving by nine?

  2. Alex

    Probably, but another problem could crop up.

    Read the example again

    Probably, but another problem could crop up.

  3. Mai

    Then we should have a backup plan so the project does not fizzle out.

    Read the example again

    Then we should have a backup plan so the project does not fizzle out.

Compare the uses

bank on / crop up

“Bank on” means rely on something happening; “crop up” means appear unexpectedly. A plan distinguishes what it relies on from problems that may arise.

Practice and check your answers

Try answering before revealing the suggested answer. This practice is not scored.

The answers below are models. Other answers can also work if they preserve the facts, meaning and structure requested in the task.

A situation to apply what you have learned

A festival relies on volunteers arriving early. An unexpected delivery problem may appear.

  1. Describe relying on the promised help.

    Show the answer and explanation

    We are banking on the volunteers arriving early.

    The group relies on early volunteers, so uses “banking on” followed by “the volunteers arriving early”.

  2. Complete: Another problem could crop ___.

    Show the answer and explanation

    up

    “Could crop up” describes a problem possibly appearing unexpectedly; “could” does not assert that it has happened.

  3. Write a sensible contingency message.

    Show the answer and explanation

    We can bank on the volunteers, but we need a backup if problems crop up.

    The message combines reliance on support with a backup for unexpected problems rather than treating the plan as certain.

The usage comparisons are checked against the Cambridge Dictionary entries linked beside the compared expressions. The additional conversations and exercises are written for this course.

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