Chapter 1

Intransitive Verbs with Particles

1. For three days the wind blew hard and strong, but on the fourth day it died down.

2. I thought John and Mary were happy, but they recently got a divorce ; how did it come about?

3. My old car has a very bad engine ; it will probably break down and need repairs.

4. If you want to get ahead in life, you have to work hard and save your money.

5. His poor clothes really stood out at the meeting because every one else was wearing a suit and tie.

6. Since you don’t have a car or motorcycle , how do you get around?

7. Our plans for a trip to Europe fell through because we hadn’t saved enough money for the plane tickets.

8. Please hold on; I’d like to ask a question before you continue your lecture .

9. He told me all of his marriage problems, from beginning to end; he really opened up.

10. Because several students didn’t understand the teacher’s ideas, many questions came up.

11. While I was talking, Tom broke in to tell me that he disagreed.

12. After I spent two hours trying to explain the different idea, John finally caught on.

13. While his friends were playing football, poor Joe, who had a broken leg, could only look on.

14. At first the students in my class were too noisy, but eventually they settled down to work.

15. It’s already 10 o’clock and Bill hasn’t come yet; if he doesn’t show up soon, our meeting will fall through.

1. To die down – to become more quiet; to diminish , to subside

Usual subjects: feelings (excitement, nervousness, anger, love/hatred); natural events (storm, wind, fire); sounds (music, voices, noises)

My anger at him has died down since he apologized to me.

After the storm, the strong winds died down.

The loud music died down after the police came.

2. To come about – to happen, to occur; to be caused

Usual subject: event (accident, death, failure/success, defeat); situations (problem, discussion, argument)

This idiom is most often used in a How-Question, when we want to know the cause of something

How did the automobile accident come about?

His success came about after he started working harder.

The argument came about because they were talking about politics.

3. To stand out – to be noticeable . To be prominent ; to be clearly seen

Usual subjects: color, tone, figure, shape, people

With this subject, there is a contrast with something else.

A very tall man wearing a big hat stood out in the crowd of people.

The large black letters on this small white sign really stand out.

Joe is so intelligent that he stands out in class.

4. To break down – to fail to function, to stop working properly

Usual subjects: machines (typewriter, engine, air conditioning); vehicles (car, truck, plane, train)

The travelers were delayed because the bus had broken down.