Advanced Phrasal Verbs in Context

Overview

Phrasal verbs at the C1 level are not simply longer or more complex versions of the ones encountered at lower levels. They are often verbs whose meaning is entirely opaque from the words themselves, whose grammar patterns require precise handling, and whose register or context of use is narrower than their simpler counterparts. A learner who treats them as vocabulary items to be memorised in isolation will find them difficult to retain. A learner who encounters them in meaningful contexts, studies their grammar carefully, and then uses them actively will find them genuinely useful.

This lesson focuses on eight phrasal verbs that appear consistently in C1-level reading, writing, and spoken English: come across, fall through, bring about, give in, account for, carry out, look into, and put up with. Each has been selected because it appears frequently in professional, academic, and formal contexts, because it carries a meaning unlikely to be guessed from its parts, and because it presents at least one grammatical or register consideration worth examining carefully.

The Eight Phrasal Verbs

Come Across

Come across has two closely related but distinct meanings at the C1 level. The first, and more common, is to find or encounter something or someone by chance, without planning or searching. The second is to create a particular impression on others.

In the encounter meaning, come across is inseparable. The object always follows the full phrasal verb.

In the impression meaning, come across is intransitive and is followed by as plus an adjective or noun, or by an adverb.

The two meanings are usually clear from context. The first involves finding or encountering something concrete. The second involves a perceivable quality or impression.

Fall Through

Fall through means that a plan, agreement, deal, or arrangement fails to happen or collapses before it is completed. It is always intransitive, always referring to an event or plan rather than a person, and carries no object.

Fall through implies that something was expected or arranged but ultimately did not happen. It is particularly common in business and professional contexts. No direct synonym perfectly replaces it: collapse comes close, but fall through is more specifically about an arrangement failing before completion, not about something breaking down after it has started.

Bring About

Bring about means to cause something to happen, particularly a change, a result, or a significant event. It is a separable transitive phrasal verb, and in professional and academic writing it often replaces cause or produce to achieve a more formal and precise register. The object is typically an abstract noun describing a change, outcome, or development.

When the object is a pronoun, it goes between bring and about: "The reform was controversial, but she brought it about nonetheless."

Bring about cannot be used for negative outcomes in the way that cause or lead to can. It tends to appear with changes, reforms, shifts, and transformations rather than with accidents, disasters, or personal failures.

Give In

Give in means to stop resisting and accept something one was previously opposing. It can be used intransitively or followed by to plus a noun phrase describing what the person accepted.

Give in is distinct from give up. Give up means to stop an attempt or abandon something entirely. Give in means to stop resisting something external and accept it. The difference is directional: give up is about abandoning one's own effort; give in is about yielding to someone else's position or pressure.

The first describes abandoning a personal effort. The second describes yielding to external pressure.

Account For

Account for is a three-part inseparable phrasal verb with two important meanings at the C1 level. The first is to explain the reason for something or to be the reason for something. The second is to constitute or represent a particular proportion or amount.

In the explanatory meaning:

In the proportional meaning:

Both meanings require that the object follow the full three-word verb. The verb is always inseparable, and pronouns also follow the complete phrase: "The variance is significant. Can you account for it?" Placing the object between any of the component words is always incorrect.

Carry Out

Carry out means to perform, complete, or put into effect a task, duty, investigation, or instruction. It is one of the most common formal alternatives to do or perform in professional and academic writing. The verb is separable, and its object is typically a task-oriented noun: an investigation, a survey, a plan, a procedure, or an instruction.

When the object is a pronoun, it goes between carry and out: "The procedure was complex, but they carried it out without incident."

Carry out is distinctly formal in register. In conversational English, do or complete would be the natural choice. In reports, academic writing, official documents, and professional communication, carry out is consistently preferred.

Look Into

Look into means to investigate or examine something in order to understand it better or to find more information about it. It is an inseparable two-part phrasal verb, and the object is whatever is being investigated or examined.

Look into is closely related to investigate and examine, but it is less formal than investigate and carries a sense of active inquiry rather than passive examination. It sits comfortably in both professional speech and written communication. Pronouns follow the full verb: "The complaint was serious, and the board looked into it immediately." Placing the pronoun between look and into is always incorrect.

Put Up With

Put up with means to tolerate something difficult, unpleasant, or annoying without complaining or leaving the situation. It is a three-part inseparable phrasal verb. The object is the thing or person being tolerated, and it always follows the full three-word structure.

Put up with is notably more expressive than its synonym tolerate. It carries a clear sense of ongoing endurance and implies that the situation is unreasonable or difficult. The object always follows the complete three-word phrase: "The delays are difficult to put up with." Moving any word out of position produces an incorrect sentence.

Grammar Patterns at a Glance

The eight verbs in this lesson span four grammatical categories. Knowing which category each verb belongs to is essential for placing objects and pronouns correctly.

Register and Context

Several of the eight verbs carry specific register considerations that affect when and where they are most naturally used.

Carry out and bring about belong firmly in formal written registers. They appear in reports, research papers, policy documents, and corporate communications. Using carry out in casual speech in place of do or get done would sound stiff; the reverse, using do in a formal report where carry out is expected, sounds insufficiently precise.

Come across in the impression meaning is common in professional spoken contexts such as interviews, presentations, and evaluations. It is less common in formal written documents.

Put up with is more expressive and carries emotional weight. It works in spoken English, in interviews, and in writing that aims to convey frustration or endurance. In a formal policy document, tolerate would be the preferred choice.

Look into and account for are versatile across registers. Both appear naturally in professional speech and formal writing without sounding either too casual or too stiff.

Fall through and give in are neutral in register and appear across professional, journalistic, and conversational contexts.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Attempting to Separate Inseparable Three-Part Verbs

Account for, put up with, and look into are all inseparable. Moving the object or pronoun between any of the component words is always incorrect.

Confusing Give In and Give Up

Give in means to stop resisting external pressure and yield to it. Give up means to abandon one's own effort. Using one in place of the other changes the meaning of the sentence.

Using Bring About with Personal or Negative Subjects

Bring about describes how a change, reform, or significant outcome was caused. Using it to describe a personal failure or a purely negative event sounds unnatural.

Treating Come Across as Interchangeable in Its Two Meanings

The two meanings of come across have different grammatical structures. Confusing them produces sentences that are grammatically plausible but semantically wrong.

The incorrect version reads as finding the committee by chance rather than making an impression on them.

Omitting To After Give In When Naming What Was Yielded To

When naming the thing or person one has yielded to, give in is always followed by to. Dropping to and placing the object directly after give in is ungrammatical.

Using Look Into When Look At or Look Over Is Intended

Look into means to investigate a problem, question, or matter. It is not a synonym for examining a document carefully, which is better expressed as look at, look over, or review.

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Match the Phrasal Verb to Its Meaning

Match each phrasal verb on the left to its correct meaning on the right.

1. come across (encounter)
2. fall through
3. bring about
4. give in
5. account for
6. carry out
7. look into
8. put up with

a. To tolerate something difficult without complaining b. To cause a change or significant outcome to happen c. To investigate a problem or matter in order to understand it d. To find or encounter something by chance e. To stop resisting and accept what someone else wants f. To perform or complete a task or instruction g. To fail to happen, especially after being planned or expected h. To explain the reason for something, or to represent a proportion

Exercise 2: Complete the Sentence

Fill each blank with the correct form of the phrasal verb in brackets.

1. The external consultants were brought in to _______ a full operational audit. (carry out)
2. The funding deal _______ just days before the contract was due to be signed. (fall through)
3. After weeks of deadlock, the negotiating team finally _______ the other side's core demand. (give in)
4. The new regulations _______ a dramatic shift in how data is stored and shared. (bring about)
5. Management have promised to _______ the complaints raised in the staff survey. (look into)
6. Online subscriptions now _______ more than half of all new revenue streams. (account for)
7. During the presentation, she _______ confident and thoroughly prepared. (come across)
8. The team had been _______ unreliable infrastructure for over eighteen months. (put up with)

Exercise 3: Correct the Error

Each sentence contains one error related to the phrasal verbs in this lesson. Rewrite it correctly.

1. She put the workload up with for six months before requesting a meeting with her manager.
2. The committee gave in the pressure from the lobbying group and amended the policy.
3. Independent auditors were asked to carry the compliance review out by the end of Q3.
4. Could you look this discrepancy into before tomorrow's presentation?
5. The reorganisation brought about by poor results that had been building for two years.

Exercise 4: Choose the More Precise Option

Choose the phrasal verb that creates the more natural and precise meaning.

1. The merger (fell through / gave in) after the two parties failed to agree on valuation.
2. The new director (brought about / carried out) a full review of the department's structure.
3. The noise from the construction site was something no one could reasonably be expected to (put up with / account for).
4. She (came across / looked into) several relevant case studies while reviewing the literature.
5. The complaint was serious enough that the director personally agreed to (look into / carry out) it.

Summary

The meanings of advanced phrasal verbs are rarely guessable, their grammar patterns require individual attention, and their register considerations demand awareness of when each verb fits and when a different word would serve better.