Phrasal verbs: transformation exercise

Los ejercicios de transformación con verbos frasales son más fáciles de lo que pueda pensarse. La clave está en encontrar un sinónimo no-frasal del verbo frasal en cuestión. He aquí algunos ejemplos:

- to account for sth = to justify - dar cuenta de, explicar, justificar: Every penny you spend will have to be accounted for/will have to be justified - tendrás que dar cuenta/justificar cada penique que gastes
- to act/play up = to give trouble - causar problemas, dar la lata: my car has been acting up/has been giving me trouble again - mi coche me ha estado dando la lata otra vez
- to blow over = to be forgotten - pasar, olvidarse (suceso): I hope the incident will soon blow over/will soon be forgotten - espero que el incidente se olvide pronto
- to blow up a photograph = to enlarge a photo- ampliar una foto: I like this photo. I'm going to have it blown up/to have it enlarged - me gusta esta foto. La voy a ampliar
- to brush up on sth = to review - poner al día/revisar (conocimientos): If you are going to France, you must brush up on/you must review your French - si vas a ir a Francia, debes poner al día tu francés
- to call sth off = to cancel - cancelar, suspender: The meeting has been called off/cancelled - la reunión se ha suspendido
- to put sth off = to postpone- aplazar: The football match has been put off/postponed because of the rain - el partido de fútbol se ha aplazado a causa de la lluvia
- to call on sb = to visit - visitar a alguien, pasar a ver: One of our agents will call on you/will visit you tomorrow morning - uno de nuestros agentes le visitará mañana por la mañana
- to carry on (with sth) = to continue - continuar: carry on with your work/continue with your work - continúa con tu trabajo
- to carry sth out = to conduct - llevar a cabo: We need to carry out/conduct some experiments - necesitamos llevar a cabo algunos experimentos 
- to die out = to become extinct - extinguirse: Dinosaurs died out/became extinct long ago - los dinosaurios se extinguieron hace tiempo
- to fall out with sb = to quarrel with sb- pelearse con alguien: He's fallen out/quarrelled with his partner - se ha peleado con su socio
- to get sb down = to depress sb- deprimir: This bad weather gets me down/depresses me - este mal tiempo me deprime
- to put some money aside = to save - ahorrar: Lucy's putting some money aside for her holidays/Lucy's saving for her holidays -Lucy está ahorrando para sus vacaciones
- to go off = to go bad - echarse a perder (alimentos): I'm afraid the fish has gone off/has gone bad - me temo que el pescado se ha echado a perder
- to look down on sb = to despise - despreciar, mirar por encima del hombro: Don't look down on him/don't despise him just because he's not rich - no lo mires por encima del hombro solo porque no es rico
- to look into sth = to investigate - investigar algo: The police will look into/investigate the matter - la policía investigará el asunto
- to put up with sth/sb = to stand, to tolerate- soportar, aguantar: How can you put up with/stand that awful noise? - ¿cómo puedes soportar ese horrible ruido?
- to make sth up = to invent sth - inventar (una historia, algo falso): That isn't true, he's made it up/he has invented it - eso no es verdad, se lo ha inventado
- to run sb down = to criticize - criticar a alguien, ponerlo verde: Stop running him down/criticizing him - deja ya de criticarlo
- to walk out = to go on strike - ponerse en huelga: The miners walked out/went on strike again this morning - los mineros se pusieron en huelga otra vez esta mañana

EJERCICIO

Re-write the sentences using the word given in brackets, so that they have the same meaning as the original:

a.- I'm really excited about the holiday 
(looking)
a.- I'm.............................the holiday

b.- His parents raised him very strictly 
(up)
b.- His parents..................very strictly

c.- Fortunately, the bomb did not explode
 (go)
c.- Fortunately, the bomb ......................

d.- The old man died in his sleep 
(passed)
d.- The old man ..................in his sleep

e.- Who spread that rumour?
 (put)
e.- Who .......................?

f.- The enemy forces are retreating
 (pulling)
f.- The enemy forces .......................

g.- Could you give me accommodation for the night?
 (up)
g.- Could you ...........................for the night?

h.- My daughter resembles my wife
 (takes)
h.- My daughter ......................my wife

i.- She'll inherit a large fortune when her uncle dies
 (into)
i.- She'll .........................a large fortune when her uncle dies

j.- Now it all makes sense
 (adds)
j.- Now it all ....................

k.- He improvised a few verses at his mother's birthday party (knocked)
k.- He ...................a few verses at his mother's birthday party

l.- He wouldn't lend me the money, but I managed to persuade him (round)
l.- He wouldn't lend me the money, but I .................

m.- Be careful! You're going to upset that vase
 (knock)
m.- Be careful! You're going to.................that vase .....

n.- A big crowd gathered to hear the President
 (turned)
n.- A big crowd ...................to hear the President

ñ.- The economy is beginning to improve at last
(pick)
ñ.- The economy is beginning ................at last.

o.- The children seem to like their new teacher 
(taken)
o.- The children seem to ......................their new teacher

p.- John is making a slow recovery from his illness
 (getting)
p.- John ...............................his illness

q.- Jimmy was scolded by his mother for being so rude
(told)
q.- Jimmy's mother ........................for being so rude

r.- I want to listen to the news. Increase the TV volume a bit, will you?
 (turn)
r.- I want to listen to he news. Will you ......................a bit?

s.- They don't know yet what caused the accident
(brought)
s.-  They don't know yet what .................the accident 

KEY

a.- looking forward to
b.- brought him up
c.-didn't go off
d.- passed away
e.- put that rumour about?
f.- pulling back
g.- put me up
h.- takes after
i.- come into
j.- adds up
k.- knocked off 
l.- got round him
m.-knock that vase over
n.- turned out
ñ.- to pick up
o.- have taken to 
p.- is slowly getting over
q.- told him off
r.- turn the TV up/turn up the TV
s.- brought about

To learn more useful phrasal verbs and their non-phrasal synonyms, you can have a look at my Gramática Inglesa, 9th ed., Pearson, pp. 700-726.