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?

Phrasal verbs. Part 3. AWAY

Away: "somewhere else, or to or in a different place, position, or situation so that you never see it again".

BLOW SB AWAY : 
1) To surprise or please someone very much: ( Informal). Flipar, molar, alucinar.

Synonyms: impress, knock sb out, please.

The ending will blow you away: Fliparás con el final.







2) To kill a person by shooting them: (Informal). Cargarse a alguien, mandarlo al otro barrio.  Synonyms: knock sb off, polish sb off, pop sb off, rub sb out, do away with sb.


This phrasal verb can be heard in this crazy song, but -hey- don't take its words too seriously!


 Blow 'Em Away
by Chuck Brodsky

Every morning, I commute.
Mild-mannered man. In a business suit.
When I wanna come home at the end of my day
There's all these other cars stacked up in my way.
I pull up behind one
Pull out my pistol
Blow 'em away

When I'm driving my car I just wanna go fast
But there's this slow car, won't let me pass
I flash my lights. I honk my horn.
Well.... I have to consider him warned.
I pull up behind him
Pull out my pistol
Blow 'em away

Jesse James behind the wheel
It's high noon in my automobile
You call me crazy,
You call me sick
Yeah, I got to get to where I'm going to quick

Son of a bitch, he cut me off.
Three whole lanes he pulled across
Made me mad. Made me swerve.
Son of a bitch got what he deserved.
I pulled up behind him
Pulled out my pistol
Blew 'em away.

Oh, look
Motorcycle, is riding between
He's splittin' lanes, if you know what I mean
This cuttin' in line that's an act of war
I saw him comin'. I opened my door.
Knocked him over
Pulled out my pistol
Blew 'em away

Jesse James behind the wheel
It's high noon in my automobile
You call me crazy,
You call me sick
Yeah, I got to get to where I'm going to quick

Little ol' lady, bless her heart.
She's walkin' her poodle 'cross the boulevard.
It was wearin' a red knitted sweater, little knitted hat
Probably named "Fifi" or somethin' stupid like that!
I say, "Here Fifi"
Pulled out my pistol
Blew it away.

GET CARRIED AWAY: "to become so excited about something that you do not control what you say or do". Emocionarse o entusiasmarse con algo y llevarlo al extremo, írsele a uno la olla. Synonym: overdo.

Do you remember this video? If you watch it again, you'll hear this phrasal verb:




GIVE SB AWAY:To show someone's secret feelings. Delatar, "decirlo todo". Synonyms: show, express, signify, make noticeable, reveal.
She thinks no one knows how much she likes him, but her face when I said he'd be there really gave her away: Cree que nadie sabe que le gusta, pero cuando dije que él estaría allí, su cara le delató / lo dijo todo..


GIVE STH AWAY: 
1)To tell people something secret, often without intending to. Escapársele a uno, desvelar (un secreto). Synonym: let sth slip.
The party was meant to be a surprise, but Sharon gave it away: Se suponía que la fiesta era una sorpresa pero a Sharon se le escapó y lo dijo.

2) To give something to someone without asking for payment. Regalar, donar, obsequiar. Synonyms: grant, present, render.
Nobody wants this type of heater any more - I can't even give it away!: Ya nadie quiere esta clase de calentador, no vale ni para regalar.

Do you remember Red Hot Chili Peppers' Give It Away song?  The meaning behind this song is all about the philosophy of altruistic behaviour. Apparently vocalist Anthony Kiedis was very touched when his former girlfriend, punk rock singer Nina Hagen, gave him her favourite jacket. She said, 'if you have a closet full of clothes and you try to keep them all, your life will get very small. But if you have a full closet and someone sees something they like, if you give it to them, the world is a better place.'

Kiedis adopted Hagen's philosophy and later explained, 'it was such an epiphany that someone would want to give me her favorite thing. That stuck with me forever. Every time I'd be thinking 'I have to keep,' I'd remember 'No, you gotta give away instead.' 

Here is the video:





This phrasal verb can also be heard on this video about tiny house builder Dee Williams' experience of living in a small house, a growing trend in the US: (Clic here for the transcript)

Watch The 'tiny house' movement on PBS. See more from Need To Know.

Phrasal verbs. Part 2. AFTER

After: "Later in time".

ASK AFTER SOMEBODY: Preguntar por alguien (su estado de salud)

Tell your father I was asking after him: Dile a tu padre que he preguntado por él.

CALL AFTER / NAME AFTER: Poner de nombre por (algo o alguien)

John was named after his grandad: Le pusieron John por su abuelo.



















COME AFTER / GO AFTER: Perseguir, ir detrás de.

The police went after him but he got away: Fue perseguido por la policía pero consiguió escaparse.
My husband came after me for so long that I finally agreed to marry him: Mi marido fue detrás de mí tanto tiempo que al final acepté casarme con él.

TAKE AFTER SOMEBODY: Parecerse a, salir a (alguien de la familia) 
He takes after his mother: Ha salido a su madre.

LOOK AFTER: Cuidar, hacerse cargo de.

We look after the neighbours' cat while they're away: Cuidamos del gato de los vecinos cuando están fuera.

Phrasal verbs. Part 1. ABOUT

Los phrasal verbs suelen utilizarse más en el inglés hablado aunque también los podemos encontrar en el escrito. Suelen evitarse en situaciones y textos formales, en cuyo caso se recurre a sinónimos, la mayoría, y esta es la buena noticia para los hispanohablantes, provenientes del latín. Por ejemplo, en un contexto formal sería preferible utilizar 'tolerate' antes que' put up with' o 'increase' antes que 'go up' o 'enquire' antes que 'ask for'.

Sabemos que la manera más eficaz de aprenderlos es verlos en contexto, con lo que más que memorizar verbos sueltos es mejor memorizar frases completas o asociarlos a imágenes o historias o anécdotas que nos resulten significativas; o sencillamente no preocuparse en exceso por ellos, que a fuerza de leerlos y escucharlos en su contexto y utilizando la intuición ya se irán aprendiendo poco a poco. Aquí y aquí puedes encontrar tips útiles a este respecto. También recomiendo leer Phrasal Verb Fun de Peter Gray.

Lo que nos proponemos para los próximos posts es proporcionar una herramienta de consulta de los phrasal verbs, en la que encontraremos el phrasal verb en contexto y un sinónimo como poco.

Para ello analizaremos las partículas, las cuales en ocasiones cambian totalmente el significado del verbo al que acompañan o tan solo añaden un matiz otras veces.

ABOUT: 

 De entre todos sus posibles significados, los más utilizados para formar phrasal verbs son dos:


1) ' In many different directions' o 'around a place, often without a clear purpose or order, all over the place' (US AROUND):

FALL ABOUT (UK informal): ' to laugh without being able to stop'. Partirse/caerse de risa.

We fell about when we heard her reply.

GET ABOUT (US GET AROUND/ROUND):
'Move': My gran is finding it harder to get about these days.

'Travel': Spain last week and Germany this week - he gets about, doesn't he!

PUT STH ABOUT/AROUND (Informal):'tell a lot of people something that is not true'. Extender un rumor o cotilleo.

I'd like to know who put the rumour around that I'm pregnant.

Someone's been putting it about that Dan is leaving.






TURN STH ABOUT/AROUND/ROUND: Revitalise (an unsuccessful business), dar la vuelta, revitalizar (un negocio).

2) 'Almost now' o 'near here':

BE ABOUT TO: Be on the point of (doing sth), almost We're about ready to leave.Well, I think that's about it for now  (= we have almost finished what we are doing for the present).

BRING STH ABOUT: Produce, cause, provocar, ocasionar, traer (cambio). He brought about his company's collapse by his reckless spending.(=Provocó la ruina de la empresa por su gasto desmedido)

COME ABOUT: Happen, pasar, ocurrir. How did the problem come about in the first place?


How did the bill for shutdown pay come about? The Washington Post


Sources: Cambridge Online Dictionary, Phrasal Verb Fun by Peter Gray.