Focused listening library
Phrasal verb listening exercises
Improve recognition of everyday phrasal verbs through original recordings and focused dictation.
Turn down
You can turn down a job because it is unsuitable, or turn down the music because it is too loud. One reduces an opportunity; the other reduces a level.
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Turn out
A difficult recipe can turn out well, and a rumour can turn out to be false. The phrase often reveals a final result that was uncertain or surprising.
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Turn up
A late guest can turn up at your door, lost keys can turn up under a sofa, and you can turn up the heating. Context separates arrival, discovery and a higher level.
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Work out
You can work out a bill, work out why a device failed, work out at the gym, or hope a plan works out. The object and subject reveal the meaning.
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How this practice helps
Listen for the whole phrasal verb, including the small word after the verb and any object in between.
Read one meaning and its pattern, then practise the same expression in a complete sentence.
