Phrasal Verbs esenciales para B2, C1 y C2 Cambridge

Phrasal Verbs esenciales para exámenes B2, C1 y C2 Cambridge

Actualizado 2025

Be about to: Estar a punto de
"I was about to leave when you called."

Be after: Querer / Estar buscando
"He's after a new job in the city."

Be down: Estar triste o enfermo
"She’s been down since she failed the exam."

Be down to: Ser responsabilidad de alguien
"The success of the project is down to our teamwork."

Be in for: Estar a punto de experimentar algo
"We are in for a long winter this year."

Be into: Estar interesado en algo
"She is really into classical music."

Be off: Irse / No estar disponible
"I’m off to the gym, see you later!"

Be on: Estar encendido / Emitirse en TV
"The football match is on tonight."

Be out of: No tener algo / Quedarse sin
"We are out of sugar, can you buy some?"

Be up to: Estar haciendo algo (a menudo sospechoso) / Ser capaz de
"What are you up to this weekend?"

Carry away: Dejarse llevar
"He got carried away with the excitement and spent too much money."

Carry off: Llevarse algo / Tener éxito en una situación difícil
"She carried off the award with confidence."

Carry on: Seguir adelante / Continuar
"Despite the noise, he carried on with his work."

Carry out: Llevar a cabo
"The scientists carried out an important experiment."

Carry over: Extender / Aplazar
"The holiday spirit carried over into the new year."

Carry through: Superar con éxito / Cumplir
"His determination carried him through the difficult times."

Be carried away: Estar emocionado o entusiasmado en exceso
"She was carried away by the music and started dancing."

Carry around: Llevar consigo
"He always carries around a notebook to write down his ideas."

Carry back: Recordar el pasado
"That song carries me back to my childhood."

Carry forward: Progresar / Transferir
"We need to carry forward this initiative to see real change."

Cut across: Tomar un atajo / Interrumpir
"We cut across the park to save time."
"He cut across the conversation to make his point."

Cut back (on): Reducir
"We need to cut back on our expenses this month."

Cut down: Reducir / Derribar
"He’s trying to cut down on sugar."
"They had to cut down the old tree in the garden."

Cut in: Interrumpir / Meterse (en tráfico)
"She cut in while I was talking."
"That car just cut in front of me!"

Cut off: Cortar / Desconectar / Aislar
"The storm cut off the electricity supply."
"The village was cut off due to heavy snowfall."

Cut out: Eliminar / Dejar de hacer algo
"You should cut out fast food from your diet."

Cut through: Atravesar / Superar
"We cut through the crowd to get to the stage."
"His speech really cut through the confusion."

Cut up: Cortar en trozos / Afectar emocionalmente
"He cut up the paper into tiny pieces."
"She was really cut up about the bad news."

Cut into: Interrumpir / Reducir
"Loud music cut into our conversation."
"Rising costs are cutting into our profits."

Cut loose: Liberarse / Relajarse
"After the exams, they finally cut loose and had fun."

Keep at: Perseverar / No rendirse
"Even though it’s difficult, keep at it!"

Keep away: Mantenerse alejado
"Keep away from the fire, it’s dangerous!"

Keep back: Mantener la distancia / Retener algo
"The police asked the crowd to keep back."

Keep down: Mantener bajo control / Evitar que suba
"Try to keep the noise down, people are sleeping."

Keep from: Evitar hacer algo / Ocultar información
"I couldn’t keep from laughing during the meeting."

Keep in: No dejar salir / Mantener a alguien adentro
"The teacher kept the students in after class for misbehaving."

Keep off: No pisar / Mantenerse alejado
"Please keep off the grass."

Keep on: Continuar haciendo algo
"She kept on talking even though no one was listening."

Keep to: Seguir una regla o plan
"We must keep to the schedule to finish on time."

Keep up with: Mantenerse al mismo ritmo que alguien o algo
"I walk fast, so try to keep up with me."

To turn away:  Rechazar, negar la entrada
“They turned me away at the club because I wasn’t on the guest list.”

To turn back:  Volver atrás, regresar
“It started raining so heavily that we had to turn back.”

To turn down:  Rechazar, bajar el volumen
“She turned down the job offer because the salary was too low.”
“Please turn down the music, it’s too loud.”

To turn in:  Entregar, irse a dormir
“Don’t forget to turn in your assignment by Friday.”
“I’m really tired; I think I’ll turn in early tonight.”

To turn into:  Convertirse en
“The caterpillar turned into a beautiful butterfly.”

To turn off:  Apagar, desconectar
“Please turn off the lights before leaving.”

To turn on: Encender, activar
“He turned on the TV to watch the news.”

To turn out:  Resultar, asistir
“The event turned out to be a huge success.”
“A lot of people turned out for the concert.”

To turn over:  Dar la vuelta, entregar
“She turned over the page to continue reading.”
“The suspect turned over the stolen money to the police.”

To turn up:  Aparecer, subir el volumen
“She didn’t turn up for the meeting.”
“Can you turn up the radio? I love this song!”

To go after:  Perseguir, intentar conseguir
“He went after his dream of becoming a doctor.”
“The police went after the thief but couldn’t catch him.”

To go ahead:  Seguir adelante, proceder
“Despite the bad weather, the festival went ahead as planned.”

To go away:  Irse, desaparecer
“She went away for the weekend to relax.”
“My headache finally went away after taking some medicine.”

To go back: Volver, regresar
“I went back to my hometown after many years.”

To go by:  Pasar el tiempo, guiarse por
“As time goes by, we realize what really matters.”
“I always go by my grandmother’s advice.”

To go for:  Optar por, intentar conseguir
“I think I’ll go for the steak instead of the fish.”
“He went for the gold medal in the competition.”

To go in for:  Participar, interesarse por
“She went in for the photography contest.”
“I never really went in for sports, but I love swimming.”

To go off:  Explotar, sonar, estropearse
“The bomb went off suddenly.”
“My alarm went off at 6 AM.”
“The milk went off, don’t drink it.”

To go on: Continuar, suceder
“Please go on with your presentation.”
“What’s going on here?”

To go out:  Salir, apagarse
“We went out for dinner last night.”
“The lights suddenly went out.”

To go over:  Revisar, repasar
“Let’s go over your essay before submitting it.”

To go through:  Pasar por, revisar
“She went through a difficult period after losing her job.”
“I need to go through these documents before the meeting.”

To go with:  Combinar con, acompañar
“That shirt goes with your jeans perfectly.”
“I’ll go with you to the store.”

To go without:  Prescindir de, quedarse sin
“Many people had to go without food during the war.”

Pick at: Comer a picoteos / Criticar
"She was not hungry and just picked at her salad."
"He’s always picking at my work."

Pick off: Eliminar uno por uno
"The sniper picked off the targets one by one."

Pick on: Meterse con alguien / Criticar
"The other kids always pick on him because he’s different."

Pick out: Elegir / Identificar
"She picked out a beautiful dress for the party."
"Can you pick out your friend in this photo?"

Pick up: Recoger / Aprender / Mejorar
"I will pick you up at the airport."
"She picked up French while living in Paris."
"Sales are finally picking up after the slow season."

Pick up on: Notar / Retomar un tema
"She picked up on his nervousness immediately."
"Can we pick up on that topic later?"

Pick through: Buscar entre algo
"He picked through the pile of clothes to find his jacket."

Pick apart: Analizar en detalle / Criticar duramente
"The teacher picked apart my essay and gave me lots of corrections."

Pick off: Derribar / Matar selectivamente
"The defense picked off the quarterback's pass."

Pick yourself up: Recuperarse / Levantarse
"After the failure, he picked himself up and tried again."

See about: Encargarse de / Ocuparse de
"I’ll see about getting us a table at the restaurant."

See after: Cuidar de alguien o algo
"Can you see after my cat while I’m away?"

See into: Acompañar a alguien hasta un lugar / Investigar
"The receptionist saw me into the manager’s office."

See off: Despedir a alguien que se va
"We went to the airport to see her off."

See out: Acompañar a alguien hasta la salida
"Let me see you out."

See over: Inspeccionar un lugar
"We saw over the new apartment before signing the contract."

See through: Ver las verdaderas intenciones de alguien / No dejarse engañar
"I could see through his lies immediately."

See to: Encargarse de algo
"Can you see to the guests while I finish cooking?"

See beyond: Entender más allá de lo obvio
"She sees beyond his tough exterior and knows he is kind-hearted."

See through to: Seguir con algo hasta el final
"Even though it was hard, I saw the project through to completion."

To call off:  Cancelar
“They called off the meeting due to bad weather.”

To call back:  Devolver una llamada
“I missed his call, so I’ll call him back later.”

To call out:  Gritar, llamar la atención
“She called out his name across the street.”
“The teacher called out the students who were cheating.”

To call up:  Llamar por teléfono, reclutar
“I’ll call up my friend to see if he’s free.”
“He was called up for military service.”

To call in: Pedir ayuda, llamar
“We need to call in an expert for this problem.”

To call on:  Pedir a alguien que haga algo, visitar
“The professor called on me to answer the question.”
“I’ll call on my grandmother after work.”

To call for:  Requerir, exigir
“This situation calls for immediate action.”

To call away:  Llamar a alguien para que se vaya
“He was called away in the middle of the meeting.”

To call at:  Hacer una breve parada
“The train calls at every major city along the route.”

To call up:  Recordar, evocar
“That song calls up memories of my childhood.”

Set about: Comenzar a hacer algo
"He set about cleaning the house as soon as he woke up."

Set apart: Distinguir / Diferenciar
"Her dedication really sets her apart from the rest of the team."

Set back: Retrasar / Obstaculizar
"The bad weather set back the construction work by two weeks."

Set down: Escribir / Registrar
"Make sure you set down all the important details for the report."

Set forth: Exponer / Explicar
"In the meeting, she set forth her ideas for the new project."

Set in: Comenzar y probablemente continuar
"Winter has set in, and the temperatures are dropping rapidly."

Set off: Activar / Desencadenar
"Opening the old book set off a cloud of dust."

Set out: Emprender un viaje / Exponer una idea
"They set out on their journey early in the morning."
"In his speech, he set out the main goals for the year."

Set up: Organizar / Montar / Establecer
"They set up a new company last year."

Set upon: Atacar
"The dog suddenly set upon the intruder."

To make up:  Inventar, compensar
“She made up an excuse for being late.”
“I forgot your birthday, but I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

To make up for:  Compensar
“Nothing can make up for the time we lost.”

To make out:  Entender, distinguir, besarse
“I couldn’t make out what he was saying.”
“They were making out in the park.”

To make over:  Renovar, transformar
“They made over the entire house before selling it.”

To make off with:  Escapar con algo robado
“The thief made off with all the money from the register.”

To make do with:  Conformarse con
“We don’t have any sugar, so we’ll have to make do with honey.”

To make of: Opinar, interpretar
“What do you make of this situation?”

To make for: Dirigirse hacia, contribuir a
“After work, I made for the nearest café.”
“His honesty makes for a great leader.”

To make into:  Convertir en
“They made the old factory into a museum.”

To make up one’s mind:  Decidirse
“I can’t make up my mind about which car to buy.”