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2. fall off p.v. When the quality, degree, or frequency of something decreases, it falls off.

Sales of fountain pens fell off after the ballpoint pen was invented.

The quality of his work has fallen off as he has gotten older.

falloff n. A decrease in the quality, degree, or frequency of something is a falloff.

The chairman was asked to explain the falloff inthe company's sales.

Egypt experienced a big falloff in tourism after several terrorist incidents.

Infinitive
present tense / -ing form / past tense / past participle

fill in

fill in & fills in / filling in / filled in / filled in

1.fill... in p.v. When you fill in a form, you put information in the correct spaces.
Fill out is the same as fill in.

Maria filled in the job application and gave it to the secretary.

The teacher gave us the quiz and told us to fill the blanks in with the correct answers.

filled in part.adj. After you write all the information in the correct spaces of a form, the form is filled in.

Are those forms blank or filled in?

This check isn't any good —the amount isn't filled in.

2.fill... in p.v. When people want or need more information about a plan, situation,
or occurrence and you supply that information, you fill them in.

Something interesting happened while you were gone. I'll fill you in later.

I fell asleep during the meeting. Can you fill me in?

3.fill in (for) p.v. When you temporarily do someone else's job, you fill in for that
person.

The regular bartender is on vacation, so Todd is filling in.

She's the star of the show. No one can fill in for her.

fill-in n. Someone who temporarily does someone else's job is a fill-in.

Jerry is Ann's fill-in while she's on vacation.

The regular driver is in the hospital, and the fill-in doesn't know the route.

goahead

go ahead & goes ahead / going ahead / went ahead / gone ahead

1. go ahead (with) p.v. When you take an action you have already considered doing, you go ahead with the action.

I've decided to go ahead with my plan to reorganize the company.

After she learned about Jim's drug problem, Raquel went ahead with the marriageanyway.

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2. go ahead p.v. When you tell people to go ahead, you tell them to do something without any further delay or hesitation. If you are in a position of authority and you tell someone to go ahead with an action, you give permission for that action.

What are you waiting for? Go ahead.

Yes, go ahead and leave work early. It's no problem.

go-ahead n. When you give people permission to perform an action, you give them the go-ahead.

We approved his plan and gave him the go-ahead.

The Food and Drug Administration gave the pharmaceutical company the go-ahead to test the drug on humans.

Infinitive
present tense / -ing form / past tense / past participle

grow up

/ grow up & grows up / growing up / grew up / grown up

1.grow up p.v. When you grow up, you gradually change from a child to an adult.

Igrew up on a small farm in North Dakota.

Growing up without a father wasn't easy.

grown-up part.adj. [informal —used primarily by children] When children behave in a mature way, they are grown-up. Something that relates to adults, and not children, is grown-up.

Susie is only eleven, but she acts very grown-up.

Timmy doesn't like grown-up books because they don't have any pictures.

grown-up n. [informal —used primarily by children] A grown-up is an adult.

There were children and grown-ups at the party.

Only grown-ups are allowed to sit in the front seat of the car.

2.grow up p.v. When you tell people to grow up, you are saying that their behavior
is childish and immature.

You're acting like a baby. Why don't you grow up!

When he put his fist through the wall, I said, "Oh, grow up!"

hand out

hand out & hands out / handing out / handed out / handed out

1. hand ... out p.v. When you distribute something to other people, you hand it out. Give out is similar to hand out.

The teacher handed the tests out to the class.

Emergency loan applications were handed out to the flood victims.

handout n. Something given free to people in need to help them is a handout.

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The mayor offered to put up half the money necessary to build a new stadium

for the team.

Mr. Taylor said he would put up $3 million toward the cost of a new cancer

treatment facility.

6.putup p.v. When you fight, resist, or argue against something, you put up a
fight or put up resistance.

The union put up a fight when the company tried to lay off workers.

The Japanese put up little resistance when the marines landed.

7.put... upp.v. When you put people up, you let them stay with you, usually
temporarily, in your house or in a hotel.

Sam didn't have anywhere else to go after the fire, so I said I would put him up for a couple of nights.

The hotel desk clerk apologized for not being able to put us up.

Infinitive
present tense / -ing form / past tense / past participle

screw on

screw on & screws on / screwing on / screwed on / screwed on

1.screw... on p.v. When you screw on the top of a circular container, you turn it so
that it becomes tight and keeps the contents of the container inside.

I hadn't screwed the top of the gas can on tight enough, and all the gas leaked out.

If you don't screw the top of the bottle on, the soda pop will go flat.

screwed on part.adj. After you turn the top of a circular container so that it becomes tight and keeps the contents of the container inside, the top is screwed on.

2.screw... on p.v. When you attach part of a mechanical device with spiral grooves
to another part with spiral grooves, you screw it on.

Make sure you screw each of the nuts on tightly.

Put the new ink cartridge in the bottom half of the pen and then screwon the top.

screwed on part.adj. After you attach part of a mechanical device with spiral grooves to another part with spiral grooves, the first part is screwed on.

The top of that water bottle isn't screwed on, and it might leak all over the place.

sign in

sign in & signs in / signing in / signed in / signed in

1. sign ... in p.v. When you sign in, you write your name on a list to show that you have arrived at your workplace or at some other place, such as a hotel or a club.

I'm going to be late. Could you sign me in?

All visitors to the consulate are asked to sign in.

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Infinitive
present tense / -ing form / past tense / past participle

sign out

sign out & signs out / signing out / signed out / signed out

1.sign ... out p.v. When you sign out, you write your name on a list to show that
you have left your workplace or some other place, such as a hotel or club.

Jim isn't here. He signed out at 5:06.

Dr. Wood usually forgets to sign out when she leaves the dink.

2.sign ... out p.v. When you sign something out, such as a book or something
valuable or important, you write your name on a list to show that you have borrowed
the item and are responsible for returning it.

The professor signed the book out of the rare book room.

Remember to sign out your lab equipment before chemistry class.

EXERCISE 12a —Complete the sentences with phrasal verbs from this section. Be sure the phrasal verbs are in the correct tense.

1.The information in this file is top secret. You have to______it ______before you can remove it from this room.

2. Something______at the last minute, and I had to cancel my trip.

3. We'd better______the tent before it gets too dark.

4. I was in the library, and I______some interesting books.

5. I was sure Janice was still in the building somewhere because she hadn't______yet.

6. The wedding______when the groom was arrested for bigamy.

7. My son always______a big fight when I try to get him to go to bed.

8. I wasn't in the mood for a fight, so I decided to______.

9. The search party found that the snowmobiler had______a hole in the ice and drowned.

10.No one said anything about you last night. Your name didn't______even once.

11. The storeowner______a "no smoking" sign.

12. To attach the filter to the camera lens, you just______it______.

13. The manager always checked to see who didn't______on time.

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