EducationEnglish.Phrasal verbsCOMMUNICATION · A2–B1

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← Phrasal verbs

Lesson 89 / Home & rest

A quiet corner at home.

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

Pack things away, care for a pet and prepare for a quiet evening.

After this lesson, you can

  • Use this lesson’s expressions to talk about the situation introduced above.
  • Distinguish “shut out” and “let out” in context.
  • Use “sit up” 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
An closes the curtains to keep bright sunlight out of her reading corner.
An closes the curtains to keep bright sunlight out of her reading corner.

shut out

Close the curtains to shut out the bright light.

Read the example again

Close the curtains to shut out the bright light.

The thick door shuts out most of the noise.

Read the example again

The thick door shuts out most of the noise.

View meaning & usage

Keep outside light or noise from entering

shut out somethingshut something out

Here this means preventing light or sound from entering. Put a pronoun in the middle: “shut it out”; the past form is also “shut”.

Cambridge Dictionary · shut out

Haven't studied yet
An opens the door for a cat to enter a safely enclosed yard, with an adult nearby.
An opens the door for a cat to enter a safely enclosed yard, with an adult nearby.

let out

Please let the cat out into the enclosed garden.

Read the example again

Please let the cat out into the enclosed garden.

I let the dog out after breakfast.

Read the example again

I let the dog out after breakfast.

View meaning & usage

Allow someone or an animal to go out

let someone / something outlet someone / something out of a place

Put the person or animal between “let” and “out”. It means allowing them outside, the opposite direction to “let in”; the past form is also “let”.

Cambridge Dictionary · let out

Haven't studied yet
An sits upright on a chair and reads a book at a low table.
An sits upright on a chair and reads a book at a low table.

sit up

I sat up straight so I could see the page clearly.

Read the example again

I sat up straight so I could see the page clearly.

She asked us to sit up and listen.

Read the example again

She asked us to sit up and listen.

View meaning & usage

Sit in a more upright position

sit upsit up straight

This emphasises sitting more upright, unlike “sit down”, which means moving from standing to sitting. The past form is “sat”.

Haven't studied yet
An wears pyjamas, yawns gently and pulls up the blanket as she gets ready for bed in soft light.
An wears pyjamas, yawns gently and pulls up the blanket as she gets ready for bed in soft light.

turn in

I am tired, so I will turn in early tonight.

Read the example again

I am tired, so I will turn in early tonight.

We turned in after finishing our story.

Read the example again

We turned in after finishing our story.

View meaning & usage

Go to bed (informal)

turn inturn in early / late

An informal way to say go to bed, rather than hand in work in another sense of “turn in”. There is no object in this use.

Haven't studied yet
An packs game cards into their box and stores the box on a low shelf.
An packs game cards into their box and stores the box on a low shelf.

pack away

Pack the game away before dinner.

Read the example again

Pack the game away before dinner.

We packed away the art materials after class.

Read the example again

We packed away the art materials after class.

View meaning & usage

Pack and store things after use

pack away somethingpack something away

Similar to “put away”, often emphasising packing a set of materials or equipment after use. With a pronoun, say “pack them away”.

Haven't studied yet

The examples were written for this course. Usage was checked against Matt Errey’s book, pages 117, 78, 118, 133, 94. 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

    Close the curtains to shut out the sunlight.

    Read the example again

    Close the curtains to shut out the sunlight.

  2. Alex

    I will let the cat out into the enclosed garden first.

    Read the example again

    I will let the cat out into the enclosed garden first.

  3. Mai

    Then let us pack away the equipment and turn in early.

    Read the example again

    Then let us pack away the equipment and turn in early.

Compare the uses

shut out / let out

Here “shut out” keeps outside light from entering; “let out” allows the cat to leave. Keep the object and direction of each action clear.

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 studio’s curtains keep bright sunlight outside. A cat waits by a door to an enclosed garden while the occupants pack up for the evening.

  1. Describe the curtains’ purpose.

    Show the answer and explanation

    The curtains shut out the sunlight.

    The curtains keep sunlight from entering: “shut out the sunlight”; the aim is darkness.

  2. Replace “the cat” with “it”: Let the cat out.

    Show the answer and explanation

    Let it out.

    “It” replaces the cat being allowed into the enclosed garden; “let it out” keeps the pronoun between “let” and “out”.

  3. Write an evening plan using turn in.

    Show the answer and explanation

    We will pack away the equipment and turn in early.

    “Pack away” stores the equipment before “turn in early”, which here means go to bed early, not submit work.

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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