Lesson 6: Phrasal Verbs for Law & Crime: Meanings + Exercises

Exercise 1 — Precision Cloze (form + meaning + register)

Choose the single best option and conjugate if necessary.

1. After six hours of bargaining, the board refused to ________ its plan to outsource customer support.
   A) back down from B) take down C) make off with D) hold up
2. The siren suddenly ________ during the chemistry exam, sending everyone out into the corridor.
   A) let off B) went off C) broke out D) made off
3. The IT director promised to ________ the matter of repeated log-in failures before the launch.
   A) look into B) look for C) take down D) bring in
4. Witnesses were urged to ________ any video footage from the incident.
   A) take in B) come forward with C) get away with D) make off with
5. Because of a multi-car collision, the courier was ________ on the motorway for nearly an hour.
   A) let off B) held up C) taken down D) brought in
6. The thieves ________ two prototype chips and disappeared into the crowd.
   A) got away with B) made off with C) took in D) broke out
7. Parliament is expected to ________ new disclosure rules by the end of the quarter.
   A) bring in B) hand in C) hold up D) look into
8. The intern carefully ________ every number the CFO dictated, digit by digit.
   A) hand in B) took down C) broke out D) backed down from
9. He thought the email was from the bank and was completely ________ by the fake logo and tone.
   A) let off B) taken in C) taken down D) made off
10. The director won’t ________ pricing, but she’s flexible on delivery dates.
    A) look into B) go off C) back down on D) break out of
11. Two inmates managed to ________ the transport van near the toll gate.
    A) make off with B) break out of C) hand in D) get away with
12. If you copy sections of the report without citing them, you won’t ________ it in this course.
    A) go off B) get away with C) take in D) hold up
13. The fireworks were ________ just after the team lifted the trophy.
    A) brought in B) handed in C) let off D) backed down
14. Please ________ your lab notebooks at the end of the session, even if you haven’t finished.
    A) make off with B) hand in C) break out of D) take in

Exercise 2 — Surgical Error Repair (edit precisely)

Fix the underlined part. Keep everything else unchanged; adjust tense/form if needed.

1. Due to flooding, several trains were looked into for hours.
2. He handed out his resignation at noon and cleared his desk.
3. The alarm was accidentally set off at 3 a.m., so everyone went it off to the car park.
4. She refused to back off the policy even after the backlash.
5. Detectives looked the complaint into and found inconsistencies.
6. The blogger was taken down by a scam promising guaranteed returns.
7. Protesters vowed not to bring in until their demands were heard.
8. The pickpocket got away it because the crowd was dense.
9. After the meeting, the assistant took down it word for word.
10. The burglars broke out the jewellery with them.
11. The committee handed in new attendance rules next month.
12. We were held on for forty minutes at security.

Exercise 3 — Meaning-preserving Transformations

Rewrite using the specified phrasal verb. Keep meaning/register; change grammar as needed.

1. Introduce → use bring in: The CEO will ________ a mentoring scheme next spring.
2. Escape with laptops → use make off (with).
3. Investigate pipes → use look into.
4. Submit ID badges → use hand in.
5. Robbery (passive) → use hold up.
6. Volunteer photos → use come forward.
7. Avoid punishment for plagiarism → use get away with.
8. Won’t change position on overtime pay → use back down (+ preposition).
9. Alarm sounded suddenly → use go off.
10. Light penalty to the driver → use let off.
11. Pursued the suspect → use chase after.
12. Recorded the testimony verbatim → use take down.

Exercise 4 — Long Contexts with Gaps

A) City Incident Report

1. The stadium alarm ________ at 18:42.
2. In the confusion, three youths ________ several wallets.
3. Officers attempted to ________ one suspect, but rush-hour traffic ________ them near the east gate.
4. By 19:30, two witnesses ________ with videos, which an analyst later ________ frame by frame.
5. The council vowed to ________ stricter bag-check rules next month.
6. One teenager was ________ with community service, but two denied the charges and refused to ________.

B) Compliance Audit Memo

1. Our team will ________ the spike in password resets.
2. Staff must ________ their legacy keycards by Friday.
3. During an unrelated fire drill, the ground-floor siren ________, causing delays.
4. A contractor claims he was ________ at the gate and missed his slot.
5. Two employees say they were ________ by a fake supplier email.
6. Security has ________ each interview and archived the files.
7. Legal recommends we ________ a two-factor mandate across all sites.

Exercise 5 — Collocation & Pattern Map

Pick the only option that collocates naturally.

1. back down ___ your threat → a) from b) of c) with
2. get away ___ a warning → a) by b) with c) from
3. make off ___ the prototype → a) with b) of c) from
4. break out ___ custody → a) from b) of c) on
5. come forward ___ statements → a) with b) to c) on
6. hand ___ it ___ (pronoun placement) → a) in/in b) in/— c) —/in
7. take ___ the notice (remove it) → a) down b) in c) off (use target verb)
8. look ___ the allegations → a) for b) into c) up
9. hold ___ traffic (delay) → a) off b) on c) up
10. let ___ with a fine → a) off b) out c) down
11. chase ___ impossible perfection → a) after b) for c) over
12. bring ___ new reporting rules → a) over b) in c) out (stick to target list)

Exercise 6 — High-stakes Multiple Choice

1. During the Q&A, the journalist asked if the minister would ________ the promise of free lunches.
   A) back down from B) hold up C) bring in D) let off
2. The CEO asked Finance to ________ last quarter’s expense anomalies.
   A) look for B) look into C) take down D) make off with
3. After the fireworks were ________, several car alarms ________.
   A) brought in / broke out B) let off / went off C) handed in / made off D) held up / took down
4. The report was dictated over the phone; the assistant ________ every detail.
   A) took down B) took in C) held up D) handed in
5. Two teenagers ________ with the donation box but were caught a block away.
   A) broke out B) came forward C) made off D) backed down
6. HR plans to ________ a clearer parental-leave policy next cycle.
   A) bring in B) hand in C) hold up D) look into
7. The lecturer spoke so fast that half the class couldn’t ________ everything.
   A) take down B) take in C) go off D) come forward
8. You won’t ________ using AI without attribution in this module.
   A) get away with B) make off with C) look into D) let off

Exercise 7 — Style & Register Challenge

Replace the bold verb with the most natural phrasal verb from the target list. Keep each sentence idiomatic.

1. The city will introduce curfews in certain districts.
2. Please submit the access logs by 5 p.m.
3. An alarm sounded just as the keynote started.
4. The spokesperson refused to concede any point.
5. The agency will investigate whether the outage was deliberate.
6. Residents were urged to volunteer any footage they captured.
7. The gang escaped carrying two art books.
8. The cashier said the store had been robbed at lunchtime.
9. The judge spared the driver due to her clean record.
10. The note-taker recorded the conversation word for word.
11. The journalist was deceived by a fabricated press kit.
12. The officer pursued the suspect until backup arrived.

Exercise 8 — Paragraph Rewriting with Constraints

Rewrite using at least eight target phrasal verbs (bold each). Keep the order of events. Include at least one passive and one continuous form.

The museum suddenly had an emergency. The security alarm activated; two visitors escaped with a small bronze statue. Staff tried to pursue them, but roadworks delayed everyone. Later, several people volunteered information and the city promised to introduce stricter checks. Initially, the thieves avoided consequences, but a clerk recorded a license plate and the pair were given community service.

Exercise 9 — Forensic Listening / Dictation Strategy

Pick the two exact phrasal verbs the trainee must use and write corrected versions.

1. “I think the council will bring new CCTV laws next term.”
2. “The sergeant said she would take the statement word for word.”

Exercise 10 — Mini-Case Analysis (choose, justify, transform)

Brief: During a charity match, pyrotechnics were set off outside the stadium. Fans panicked; in the chaos, two people stole a donation tin and escaped. Police appealed for witnesses and said they would review footage. A teen later admitted being tricked by a social-media page that looked official.

1. A) Press note (90–110 words): Use at least seven target phrasal verbs (bold each) with varied tenses/voices.
2. B) Justify: List the seven verbs you used and explain (1 sentence each) why they fit the semantics + pattern.
3. C) Transform: Convert any two of your sentences to the passive (without changing meaning).

Answer Key & Explanations