Turn out

Phrasal Verbs | B1

Listening exercises with “Turn out”

We use the phrasal verb turn out to describe something that happens which is surprising or different to what we were expecting.

For example, if I say that something turned out well, I was probably expecting it to be bad, but it was actually OK. If something turned out very badly, I was probably confident or optimistic about something, but in the end it was a disaster.

We can also use this verb with an infinitive if we want to add more detail.

For example: “I met a man on the bus this morning who turned out to be my cousin’s new boyfriend”. In this example, the result (the man is connected to you in some way) is unexpected and surprising.

Have a go at these micro-dictation exercises to hear this expression being used in context – how much can you understand?

Accent: North America