Dreams and Discoveries
More phrasal verbs
Learn more phrasal verbs and what they mean.
You met phrasal verbs in Unit 2: a verb + a small word working as one unit, with a meaning you can't guess from the separate words. This story gives five more:
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tripped off | set off, activated (often by accident) | We accidentally tripped off the fire alarm with the bonfire smoke. |
| let up | stopped or eased (rain, pain, pressure) | Thankfully, the rain let up just as the guests arrived. |
| turned out | proved to be, in the end | Despite the chaos, the function turned out to be a huge success. |
| ran out of | had none left | We ran out of time to set up. |
| rigged up | put together quickly with whatever was there | We quickly rigged up some decorations. |
The story's own uses: the alarm is "tripped off" when the door opens; "as it turned out, we could not try out the time machine that day at all"; and Papa is sure Anand rigged up the water bag.
Note that ran out of takes two small words: you run out of something.
All five in one paragraph: "It had been raining and we ran out of time to set up for the function, so we quickly rigged up some decorations. We accidentally tripped off the fire alarm because of the smoke from the bonfire. Thankfully, the rain let up just as the guests were arriving, and the function turned out to be a huge success."
None of them can be guessed: let up has nothing to do with letting or up! That's exactly what makes them phrasal verbs.
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