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The word ‘call‘ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meaning is to shout or contact by phone.
For example:
- I’ve been calling your name for ages; didn’t you hear me? (shout)
- I called Liam but he didn’t answer. (contact by phone)
Call is a regular verb. The past tense and past participle is called.
phrasal verbs with call
Phrasal verbs with ‘call’ include:
- call around/over/round
meaning – visit someone/somewhere briefly
example – I’ll call round later and drop off the costume you lent me at the weekend. - call away
meaning – ask someone to go to a different place
example -The mother called her child away from the tiger enclosure. - call back/call back in
meaning – return a phone call, return to a place
example – I fed Tim’s cats this morning. I’ll call back in tonight and check on them. - call for
meaning – a public statement something is needed, collect someone from their house
example – I’ll come and call for you at 8 am tomorrow, we can walk down together. - call inmeaning – phone into a tv or radio show, visit someone
example – I’ll call in on my way home and give you the money I owe you. - call on
meaning – visit someone briefly, request someone do something
example – I’ll call on nan on the way home to see if she’s feeling any better. - call out/call someone out
meaning – say something loudly, challenge someone to a fight, request a service
example – Put your hand up if you know the answer, don’t call out. - call off
meaning – cancel an event
example – I think we’ll have to call off the match, we don’t have nearly enough players. - call up
meaning – phone someone, select someone for a team or do a particular job (or call upon)
example – I’ll call up the lost property department and see if my scarf was handed in.
picture phrasal verbs with call
Let’s learn the meaning of the phrasal verbs that contain the verb ‘call’ in more detail and see some examples in use.
Did you know that many idiomatic expressions (idioms) in English also contain a lot of verbs? Just like phrasal verbs, idioms are a major part of the English language (slang in particular). They are used constantly amongst native English speakers and are handy to know and understand.
Now you’ve learnt all the phrasal verbs with call, how about learning the idioms with call too?
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