Phrasal verbs. Part 4. By

Hi there,

Oops, it's been quite a while, but I'm back with more phrasal verbs. Hope you enjoy this post.

By: next to, close to.

CALL BY: "to visit somewhere for a short while on your way to somewhere else".  Hacer una visita de paso. Synonyms: pay a visit, come by, drop by, call round, come round, drop round.

Do you want me to call by tomorrow? ¿Quieres que me pase mañana?

I just thought I'd call by on my way into town=Se me ocurre que podría pasarme de camino al centro.


GET BY: "to get past an obstacle with difficulty", "surviving a hard life". Buscarse la vida, salir adelante, arreglárselas, apañárselas.Synonyms: cope, subsist, manage on, get along.

How can he get by on so little money?=¿Cómo puede arreglárselas con tan poco dinero?


GO BY: "to move past, in space or time". Pasar (por un lugar, el tiempo). Synonyms: pass.


You can watch the trains going by from this window=Puedes ver los trenes pasar desde esta ventana.
You can't let an opportunity like that go by - it's too good to miss= No puedes dejar pasar una oportunidad así, es demasiado buena para perderla.
Hardly a day goes by when I don't think about her=No pasa un día sin que piense en ella.

Can you hear this phrasal verb on this song? 






PUT BY: " to save an amount of money to use later". Ahorrar, guardar, reservar, apartar (dinero). Synonyms: Put away, put aside, set aside.

I try to put by a few pounds every week=Procuro ahorrar unas cuantas libras cada semana.

STAND BY: "to be waiting and ready to do something or to help". Mantenerse a la espera, estar listo/preparado. Synonyms: Await, wait, hang on/round, be ready.

Cabin crew, please stand by for take-off=Personal de tripulación, por favor prepárense para el despegue.




STAND BY SOMEBODY: "to continue to support or help someone who is in a difficult situation". Apoyar, respaldar, defender. Synonyms: support, back.

She has vowed to stand by her husband during his trial=Ha jurado apoyar a su marido en el juicio.


This phrasal verb can be easily remembered through this well-known song:



STAND BY SOMETHING: " to continue doing what you said you would when you made a decision, agreement, or promise", " to continue to believe that something you have said before is still true". Atenerse, mantener (una decisión, acuerdo o promesa). Synonyms: maintain, abide by (formal), keep to, comply, adhere to.

Despite its financial problems, the company is standing by the no-redundancy agreement=A pesar de sus problemas económicos, la empresa se atiene al acuerdo de no reducción de plantilla.


I stand by the statement I made earlier - there is no reason for the minister to resign=Mantengo lo que dije antes: que no hay razón para que dimita el ministro.

Do you agree with this?