If you’re preparing for the Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) or C2 Proficiency (CPE) exam, having a good knowledge of phrasal verbs is essential. They frequently appear in the Reading and Use of English paper, particularly in the multiple-choice cloze and key word transformation tasks. They’re also extremely useful for improving the quality of your speaking and writing.
In this article, I’m going to introduce you to 10 common and particularly useful phrasal verbs for these exams.
These aren’t necessarily the most advanced phrasal verbs in English. In fact, that’s quite deliberate. At C1 and C2 level, it’s not simply about learning the most sophisticated vocabulary you can find. It’s about understanding how words are used in context, the words they commonly combine with (collocations) and the subtle differences in meaning between similar expressions.
Some of the phrasal verbs below might look relatively straightforward, but knowing precisely how to use them is what really matters.
Let’s take a look.
1. Bring about
Meaning: To cause something to happen, particularly a change or development.
We often use bring about when talking about changes, improvements or developments. One particularly common collocation is bring about change.
Example:
The law which was introduced last year brought about many changes.
Here, brought about means caused. However, notice how naturally this phrasal verb combines with the noun changes.
Other useful examples include:
- The new government hopes to bring about significant improvements in the education system.
- Technological advances have brought about considerable changes in the way we communicate.
- The introduction of new regulations could bring about a reduction in air pollution.
Exam tip: Pay attention to the nouns that commonly follow bring about, particularly change, improvement, reform and development.
2. Go through
Meaning: To experience something, particularly a difficult or unpleasant situation.
Although go through can have several meanings, we’re focusing on its use when describing experiences, especially challenging ones.
It’s frequently used with nouns such as difficulties, hardship and a tough time.
Example:
After university, Sarah went through a tough time before she found a job.
In this sentence, went through means experienced. Sarah experienced a difficult period before finding employment.
More examples:
- The company went through a difficult period following the financial crisis.
- She’s been going through a lot recently, so try to be understanding.
- Many families went through considerable hardship during the economic downturn.
Exam tip: Remember that go through is often associated with negative experiences. It’s a useful alternative to experience when discussing difficult situations.
3. Take on
Meaning: To accept responsibility for something, particularly a task, job or additional work.
We often use take on when someone agrees to accept additional responsibilities or undertakes something that requires time and effort.
Example:
Charles realised he had taken on too much when he had to work on Sunday morning.
In other words, Charles had accepted more work or responsibilities than he could comfortably manage.
More examples:
- She’s reluctant to take on additional responsibilities at work.
- The company has taken on several new employees to cope with the increased workload.
- He decided to take on the responsibility of organising the annual conference.
Exam tip: Remember the expression take on too much. It’s particularly useful when discussing work, responsibilities and commitments.
4. Rule out
Meaning: To eliminate or exclude a possibility or option.
This is a particularly useful phrasal verb for formal writing, especially essays, reports and proposals.
Example:
They couldn’t rule out the possibility of human error.
This means they couldn’t eliminate the possibility that someone had made a mistake.
More examples:
- The investigators have not ruled out the possibility of foul play.
- We shouldn’t rule out alternative solutions before examining all the evidence.
- The government has ruled out the possibility of introducing further restrictions.
Exam tip: Learn the collocation rule out the possibility of something. It’s particularly useful when discussing potential explanations, solutions or outcomes.
5. Come across
Meaning: To give a particular impression or appear to have a particular quality.
This is an interesting phrasal verb because the impression someone gives isn’t necessarily an accurate reflection of their personality or intentions.
It’s commonly followed by as and an adjective or noun phrase.
Example:
Caroline tried not to come across as pushy in her sales pitch.
Caroline wanted to avoid giving the impression that she was being too aggressive or trying to pressure potential customers into buying something.
More examples:
- He sometimes comes across as arrogant, although he’s actually quite shy.
- The candidate came across as confident and knowledgeable during the interview.
- I didn’t mean to come across as unfriendly. I was just tired.
Exam tip: Remember the structure come across as + adjective/noun phrase.
Some particularly useful combinations include:
- come across as arrogant
- come across as confident
- come across as unfriendly
- come across as ignorant
- come across as enthusiastic
6. Turn down
Meaning: To reject or refuse something, particularly an offer or proposal.
We frequently use turn down when talking about rejecting job offers, invitations, requests and proposals.
Example:
Mike had to turn down the job offer as he was unwilling to relocate.
In other words, Mike rejected the offer because he didn’t want to move to another part of the country.
More examples:
- She turned down the opportunity to study abroad.
- The company turned down our proposal because it was too expensive.
- He was surprised when his application was turned down.
Exam tip: Remember that turn down is a separable phrasal verb. You can say turn down an offer or turn an offer down. However, when using a pronoun, it must go between the verb and particle: turn it down.
7. Get away with
Meaning: To avoid punishment or criticism for doing something wrong.
This phrasal verb is particularly useful when talking about situations in which someone does something they shouldn’t do but escapes the consequences.
Example:
The exam invigilator made sure no one got away with cheating.
In this case, the invigilator wanted to ensure that nobody escaped punishment for cheating in the examination.
More examples:
- He thought he could get away with lying about his qualifications.
- Some companies believe they can get away with exploiting their employees.
- You can’t expect to break the rules and get away with it.
Exam tip: Pay attention to the grammatical structure:
Get away with + noun or -ing form
For example:
- get away with murder
- get away with cheating
- get away with lying
- get away with breaking the rules
8. Put up with
Meaning: To tolerate or accept something unpleasant or undesirable.
This is an extremely common phrasal verb in everyday English and one that you should definitely know if you’re preparing for C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency.
Although tolerate is a perfectly good alternative, put up with is often more natural in everyday conversation.
Example:
The teacher refused to put up with the students’ repeated unpunctuality.
In other words, the teacher refused to tolerate the students repeatedly arriving late.
More examples:
- I don’t know how she puts up with his constant complaining.
- Employees shouldn’t have to put up with unacceptable working conditions.
- We had to put up with a considerable amount of noise during the building work.
Exam tip: Remember that put up with is followed by a noun or an -ing form, not an infinitive.
For example:
- I can’t put up with his behaviour.
- She refuses to put up with being treated unfairly.
9. Come up with
Meaning: To think of, devise or invent an idea, plan or solution.
We often use this phrasal verb when someone produces an idea or finds a solution to a particular problem.
Example:
In the meeting, Olga came up with an ingenious solution to the problem.
In this sentence, came up with means thought of or devised.
More examples:
- We need to come up with a more effective way of reducing costs.
- The researchers came up with an innovative approach to tackling the problem.
- Nobody has managed to come up with a satisfactory explanation.
Exam tip: Learn the collocations come up with an idea, come up with a solution and come up with a plan. They’re particularly useful in both speaking and writing.
10. Carry out
Meaning: To perform or conduct a task, experiment, investigation or study.
This is a relatively formal phrasal verb and is particularly useful in academic and professional contexts.
For this reason, it’s an excellent expression to have in your vocabulary when preparing for the Writing paper.
Example:
A study was carried out to evaluate the impact of remote working.
Here, carried out means conducted or performed.
More examples:
- Further research needs to be carried out before any conclusions can be drawn.
- The police are carrying out an investigation into the incident.
- The experiment was carried out under carefully controlled conditions.
Exam tip: Remember these particularly useful collocations:
- carry out research
- carry out an investigation
- carry out an experiment
- carry out a survey
- carry out a task
Final thoughts: How to learn phrasal verbs for C1 and C2
As you’ve probably noticed, not all of these phrasal verbs are particularly advanced. Some of them are relatively common expressions that you might already be familiar with.
However, there’s an important distinction between knowing what a phrasal verb means and knowing exactly how to use it.
For the Cambridge C1 Advanced and C2 Proficiency exams, you need to understand the context in which phrasal verbs are used, the words they commonly combine with and the grammatical structures that follow them.
Don’t simply memorise a list of phrasal verbs and their definitions. Pay attention to collocations, learn example sentences and practise using them in your own speaking and writing.
Remember, using a phrasal verb appropriately and naturally is much more valuable than trying to squeeze an unnecessarily complicated expression into a sentence just to impress the examiner.
If you’d like to take your vocabulary to the next level, you can also check out my Advanced Phrasal Verbs for C1 and C2 English course, where we explore a much wider range of expressions and their different meanings and uses.