Lesson 4: B2 ‘Media’ Phrasal Verbs: 14 Essentials + 10 Exercises with Answers

Exercise 1 — Precision Multiple-Choice in Context

Choose the option (A–D) that best completes each sentence.

1. The committee agreed that the safety incident should be ______ at the very start of the briefing.
   A) made up   B) brought up   C) turned over   D) stood out
2. The streetlights usually ______ at dusk, but tonight the system failed.
   A) come out   B) come on   C) go into   D) put forward
3. The quarterly audit will ______ on Monday, together with a press statement.
   A) come out   B) hand out   C) look up   D) make out
4. Please ______ the registration form using capital letters.
   A) fill in   B) flick through   C) bring up   D) put forward
5. He only ______ the report on the train; he’ll need a deeper read tomorrow.
   A) looked up   B) stood out   C) flicked through   D) put forward
6. I can’t ______ the figure on this receipt; is that a 6 or an 8?
   A) make up   B) make out   C) see through   D) turn over
7. Volunteers ______ reusable bottles at the finish line.
   A) handed out   B) brought up   C) came on   D) turned over
8. If you’re not sure about the collocation, ______ it ______ in the learner’s dictionary.
   A) look / for   B) look / up   C) look / out   D) look / on
9. The company’s announcement ______ last night, confirming the merger.
   A) came out   B) came on   C) stood out   D) turned over
10. After a tense debate, the chair ______ a compromise that satisfied both teams.
    A) went into   B) put forward   C) filled in   D) looked up
11. The board wants us to ______ the findings in more detail next week.
    A) go into   B) hand out   C) turn over   D) come on
12. She tried to flatter the interviewer, but he ______ her act immediately.
    A) turned over   B) made out   C) saw through   D) came out
13. In a market full of lookalikes, the brand needs a clearer message to ______.
    A) stand out   B) come on   C) see through   D) bring up
14. During the exam, do not ______ your paper until the invigilator says so.
    A) flick through   B) put forward   C) see through   D) turn over
15. I don’t want to ______ the old conflict, but we should learn from it.
    A) make out   B) bring up   C) look up   D) go into

Exercise 2 — Error Surgery (Find & Fix)

Each sentence has one phrasal-verb error. Rewrite correctly.

1. Please look up for the word “throughput” in the corpus.
2. The film will come on next Friday nationwide.
3. The chair put forward to delay the vote until after lunch.
4. They brought up about staffing shortages in the Q&A.
5. Could you hand out them after I finish the instructions?
6. The document goes into about the limitations, but not the costs.
7. The brochure was flicked through by I on the bus.
8. She made the numbers out to look higher than they were. (pretend/claim)
9. The car turned over the page when I pressed the button.
10. If you don’t know that idiom, look up it in a learner’s dictionary.
11. His portfolio stands out than the others for clarity.
12. It came on that the investigation had serious flaws. (became public)

Exercise 3 — High-Register ↔ Phrasal Transformations

Rewrite in the other register without changing meaning.

1. A) The spokesperson proposed a partial refund for pre-orders.
2. A) The findings will be published after the ethics review.
3. A) Please complete the risk-assessment questionnaire before Friday.
4. A) The article does not examine the historical causes in depth.
5. A) The coordinator distributed reusable badges at the entrance.
6. B) A sudden pop-up came on, blocking the login page.
7. B) It’s hard to make out the text on the sign from this distance.
8. B) He made up a story to justify the budget overrun.
9. B) The keynote speaker brought up AI governance in the Q&A.
10. B) Her thesis really stands out for methodological clarity.

Exercise 4 — Separable Mechanics (Pronouns & Long Objects)

Complete with the correct phrasal verb and correct object placement. Use each once: bring up, fill in, hand out, look up, make up, turn over.

1. If you don’t remember the rule, ______ ______ in the OALD app. (object = “it”)
2. We shouldn’t ______ sensitive issues in the chat; let’s wait for the meeting.
3. Could you ______ the consent forms now and collect them later?
4. I accidentally ______ the invoice number; here’s the corrected version.
5. Please ______ the evaluation form with your full legal name and today’s date.
6. When the invigilator tells you to, ______ your paper and begin Section B.

Exercise 5 — Mini-Reading Cloze (Nuance Bank)

Insert the best phrasal verb (correct tense/form). Use each once: came out, put forward, go into, see through, flicked through, brought up, stand out, make out, handed out, looked up.

At the pitch meeting, the team lead (1) ______ three questions about data ethics that nobody had planned for. The consultant (2) ______ a modest timeline extension as a solution, but the board wanted proof. During a short break, I (3) ______ the competitor’s white paper—just enough to catch the headings. Back in the room, the CFO tried to present the delay as “unavoidable,” yet several members (4) ______ the exaggeration. Overnight, the auditors’ summary (5) ______, and two tables really (6) ______ for their transparent methodology. Before the second day began, the coordinator (7) ______ printed ID badges to speed up entry. When the discussion resumed, the chair said we couldn’t (8) ______ every statistical caveat, so we focused on the largest risks instead. I couldn’t (9) ______ a key figure in the slide from row eight, so I quickly (10) ______ the term on my phone to check the formula they used.

Exercise 6 — Choose-All-That-Apply (Subtle Grammar & Meaning)

More than one option may be correct.

1. A
   i) We’ll bring up it at the end.   ii) We’ll bring it up at the end.   iii) We’ll bring up the topic at the end.
2. B
   i) The device came on automatically at 6 a.m.   ii) The new privacy policy came on last night.   iii) The new privacy policy came out last night.
3. C
   i) Turn over to page 10.   ii) Turn the page over to 10.   iii) Turn the page over.
4. D
   i) She made the numbers out to be higher than before.   ii) She made out the numbers to be higher than before.   iii) She made it out that the numbers were higher than before.
5. E
   i) The article goes into the methodology.   ii) The article goes into about the methodology.   iii) The article goes into how the model was trained.

Exercise 7 — Micro-Dialogues (Select & Justify)

Fill each blank with the best phrasal verb, then justify your choice in one sentence.

1. A: “When does your favorite quiz show ______?”   B: “Eight sharp—don’t be late.”
2. A: “We’ll need your signature here.”   B: “Sure—do I ______ both sides?”
3. A: “I couldn’t ______ the street sign in that rain.”   B: “Same—I missed our exit.”
4. A: “The professor ______ a new reading list for the seminar.”   B: “Nice—more recent sources!”
5. A: “Don’t ______ excuses; we have the logs.”   B: “You’re right—I’ll send the raw data.”
6. A: “The updated policy ______ last night.”   B: “Great—let’s read it before the stand-up.”
7. A: “Let’s not ______ the budget cuts during the celebration.”   B: “Agreed—tomorrow’s enough.”
8. A: “Her prototype really ______ at the demo.”   B: “Yes, the interface was so clean.”
9. A: “We don’t have time to ______ every exception.”   B: “Then focus on the critical ones.”
10. A: “Before we start, I’ll ______ the agenda.”   B: “Thanks—people arrived late.”

Exercise 8 — Tense, Voice & Structure Mastery

Transform each sentence as instructed using the given phrasal verb.

1. Passive with put forward: “The junior analyst put forward two alternatives.”
2. Present perfect with come out: “The final draft comes out today.”
3. Modal + negative with go into: “We will discuss the algorithm’s bias later.”
4. Imperative with turn over: “You may now begin Section C.”
5. Past continuous with hand out + time reference.
6. Cleft sentence (It was … that …) with stand out.
7. Future perfect with fill in about a deadline.
8. Reported speech with bring up (past reporting).
9. Comparative clause with see through to show speed.
10. Question form with make out (hearing problem).

Exercise 9 — Tight Minimal Pairs (Choose One)

Pick the single verb that fits precisely.

1. The whitepaper doesn’t ______ the historical failures; it only lists outcomes.
   A) go into   B) look up   C) put forward
2. The headline numbers ______ in yesterday’s late-night update.
   A) came on   B) came out   C) brought up
3. Jenna ______ a schedule change that would avoid Friday traffic.
   A) stood out   B) turned over   C) put forward
4. From the balcony, I couldn’t ______ the reference number on the screen.
   A) make out   B) make up   C) see through
5. The teacher asked us to ______ the handout and start task two.
   A) stand out   B) turn over   C) come on
6. We only ______ the report on the train; we’ll need a full read later.
   A) flicked through   B) went into   C) handed out
7. If you don’t know that prefix, ______ it in a reliable source.
   A) bring up   B) look up   C) fill in
8. Their campaign tries to look humble, but most voters can ______ it.
   A) see through   B) make out   C) come out
9. To ______ at interview, quantify at least three results.
   A) come out   B) stand out   C) put forward
10. Don’t ______ the old argument tonight—this is a birthday dinner.
    A) go into   B) bring up   C) make up

Exercise 10 — Guided Paraphrase (Keep the Meaning)

Rewrite so the sentence keeps the same meaning and uses the target phrasal verb shown in brackets.

1. We should discuss the security hole at the start. (bring up)
2. The livestream starts broadcasting at half past. (come on)
3. The report will be released tomorrow. (come out)
4. Please complete all the boxes in the application. (fill in)
5. I skimmed the contract on the bus but didn’t read carefully. (flick through)
6. Let’s not explain the math in full right now. (go into)
7. The stewards distributed the maps before the hike. (hand out)
8. If you’re unsure of the pronunciation, check it in a dictionary. (look up)
9. Through the static, I could hardly hear the last sentence. (make out)
10. He invented an excuse about traffic. (make up)
11. The chair proposed a new voting system. (put forward)
12. The audience quickly realised the speaker’s false humility. (see through)
13. The simplest slide really caught attention. (stand out)
14. When told to do so, flip your test to the next page. (turn over)