The word ‘fall‘ can mean many different things. As a verb, the meanings include to lose balance or move to a lower position.
For example:
- I fell down the stairs. (lose balance)
- My team has fallen 7 places in the league table. (move to a lower position)
Fall is an irregular verb. The past tense is fell and the past participle is fallen.
phrasal verbs with fall
Phrasal verbs with ‘fall’ include:
- fall apart
meaning – break into pieces
example – My marriage fell apart last year, I’m filing for divorce. - fall behind
meaning – progressing at a slower rate
example – Read chapter two over the weekend so you don’t fall behind. - fall down
meaning – fall to the ground
example – I had a dream. I was falling down a mountain, then I woke up. - fall off
meaning – become detached from an object
example – I fell off the sofa and fractured my wrist. - fall out
meaning – become detached from an interior or stop being friends
example – I’ve fallen out with my best friend; we haven’t spoken for 2 weeks. - fall over
meaning – fall from an upright position
example – My son fell over onto the concrete, he scraped his knee badly. - fall through
meaning – a plan/deal fails or break through a surface
example – I made an offer on a house, but it fell through at the last minute.
picture phrasal verbs with fall
Let’s learn the meaning of the phrasal verbs that contain the verb ‘fall’ 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 fall, how about learning the idioms with fall too?