Phrasal verbs 3: out | Unit 139 | PrepMyEnglish
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Accueil English Grammar Unit 139 — Phrasal verbs 3: out
Unit 139 · Grammar Lesson
Unité 139 · Leçon de Grammaire

Phrasal Verbs 3 — out
Go Out · Work Out · Carry Out · Find Out · Sort Out · Turn Out — Complete Guide
Verbes à Particule 3 — out
Go Out · Work Out · Carry Out · Find Out · Sort Out · Turn Out — Guide Complet

The particle out has many uses beyond movement: extinguishing fires, exercising, calculating, discovering, sorting and more.

La particule out va bien au-delà du mouvement : éteindre, faire de l’exercice, calculer, découvrir, résoudre et plus encore.

B1 – B2 4 Rules · 4 Exercises · 200-Q Quiz · PDF 4 Règles · 4 Exercices · Quiz 200 Q · PDF 🇬🇧 EN / 🇫🇷 FR

In Unit 138 we saw out as movement away from a space. Here, out goes further: it can mean something stops (fire, light), something is distributed (hand out), discovered (find out), developed (work out) or resolved (sort out). These are high-frequency expressions you will encounter constantly.

Dans l’Unité 138, out exprimait un mouvement. Ici, out va plus loin : quelque chose s’arrête (feu, lumière), est distribué (hand out), découvert (find out), évolué (work out) ou résolu (sort out).

A

out = not burning / not shining

out = éteint / qui ne brille plus

Goes out on its own

S’éteint tout seul

The fire went out.
All the lights went out.
The candle went out in the wind.

Cause it to go out

Causer l’extinction

put out a fire / cigarette / light
turn out a light (= switch off)
blow out a candle
Suddenly all the lights went out. (stopped on their own)
I put the fire out with a fire extinguisher.
I turned the lights out before leaving.
You can blow it out. (extinguish by blowing)
Suddenly all the lights went out. (se sont éteintes seules)
I put the fire out with a fire extinguisher.
I turned the lights out before leaving.
You can blow it out. (éteindre en soufflant)
💡
put out vs turn out: Use put out for fires and cigarettes. Use turn out (or turn off) for lights. Use blow out only for candles and flames. put out vs turn out : Utilisez put out pour les feux et cigarettes. Turn out (ou turn off) pour les lumières. Blow out uniquement pour les bougies.

B

work out — 4 meanings

work out — 4 sens

1. Do physical exercise1. Faire de l’exercice physique
Rachel works out at the gym three times a week.

Rachel works out at the gym three times a week.

2. Develop / progress (well or badly)2. Se passer / évoluer
I hope everything works out well. / Things didn’t work out.

I hope everything works out well. / Things didn’t work out.

3. Calculate3. Calculer
The bill works out at £32 each. / I can’t work it out in my head.

The bill works out at £32 each. / I can’t work it out in my head.

4. Understand / find a solution (= figure out)4. Comprendre / trouver une solution
I can’t work out why she is upset. = I can’t figure out why she is upset. I can’t work out why she is upset. = I can’t figure out why she is upset.
📌
work out = figure out for meanings 3 and 4. Both mean calculate or understand. work out = figure out pour les sens 3 et 4. Les deux signifient calculer ou comprendre.

C

carry out · find out · give/hand out · point out

carry out · find out · give/hand out · point out

Phrasal verbVerbe à particule Meaning & ExampleSens & Exemple
carry out execute an order, plan, experiment, survey
An investigation will be carried out.
exécuter un ordre, un plan, une enquête
An investigation will be carried out.
find out discover a fact, get information
I found out it was her birthday.
découvrir un fait, obtenir des informations
I found out it was her birthday.
give / hand out distribute to each person
The speaker gave out information sheets.
distribuer à chaque personne
The speaker gave out information sheets.
point out draw attention to something
Nobody pointed out my mistake.
attirer l’attention sur quelque chose
Nobody pointed out my mistake.
⚠️
find out vs know: Find out = the moment of discovery. I found out that Tom had left = I discovered this fact. Once you know, you simply know it. find out vs know : Find out = le moment de la découverte. I found out that Tom had left = j’ai découvert ce fait. Une fois qu’on le sait, on le sait.

D

run out · sort out · turn out · try out

run out · sort out · turn out · try out

Phrasal verbVerbe à particule Meaning & ExampleSens & Exemple
run out (of) use all of something so none remains
We ran out of petrol on the motorway.
épuiser tout quelque chose
We ran out of petrol on the motorway.
sort out solve a problem, put things in order
There are problems we need to sort out.
résoudre un problème, mettre de l’ordre
There are problems we need to sort out.
turn out prove to be / develop in a certain way
He turned out to be right. / It turned out that they had never met.
se révéler, se passer d’une certaine façon
He turned out to be right. / It turned out that they had never met.
try out test something to see if it works
The company is trying out new software.
tester quelque chose
The company is trying out new software.
💡
turn out is great for surprising results: It turned out that… = in the end, we discovered that… Often introduces an unexpected fact. turn out est parfait pour les résultats surprenants : It turned out that… = au final, on a découvert que…

Phrasal verbs out — Exercises

Verbes à particule out — Exercices

Check your answers instantly

Vérifiez vos réponses instantanément

EX 1

Match the verb with the correct object.

Associez le verbe au bon complément.

(turn out / blow out / put out / carry out / try out / sort out)

(turn out / blow out / put out / carry out / try out / sort out)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Answers:Réponses : 1. turn out · 2. blow out · 3. carry out · 4. put out · 5. try out · 6. sort out
EX 2

Complete using a verb + out.

Complétez avec un verbe + out.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Answers:Réponses : 1. trying out · 2. works out · 3. carried out · 4. ran out · 5. work out / figure out · 6. find out · 7. pointed out · 8. work out · 9. went out · 10. turned out
EX 3

Complete the dialogues with a phrasal verb.

Complétez les dialogues avec un verbe à particule.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Answers:Réponses : 1. put it out · 2. work it out / figure it out · 3. sorted it out · 4. pointing it out · 5. try it out
EX 4

Complete with the correct form of a phrasal verb from this unit.

Complétez avec la forme correcte d’un verbe à particule de cette unité.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Answers:Réponses : 1. handed out / gave out · 2. find out · 3. ran out of · 4. turned out · 5. works out at

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions Fréquentes

Four main meanings: (1) exercise physically; (2) develop or progress; (3) calculate a number; (4) understand or solve a problem (= figure out). Context always makes the meaning clear.

Quatre sens principaux : (1) faire de l’exercice ; (2) évoluer ou se passer ; (3) calculer ; (4) comprendre ou résoudre (= figure out).

Find out refers to the moment of discovery: you didn’t know something and then you learned it. Know means you already have the information.

Find out désigne le moment de la découverte. Know signifie qu’on possède déjà l’information.

For lights, both work though turn off is most common. For fires, only put out. For candles, blow out. In practice: turn the lights off, put the fire out, blow the candle out.

Pour les lumières, les deux fonctionnent mais turn off est le plus courant. Pour les feux, seul put out. Pour les bougies, blow out.

It turned out that… = in the end, we discovered that… It often introduces a surprising result: I thought the meeting would be boring, but it turned out to be fascinating.

It turned out that… = au final, on a découvert que… Cela introduit souvent un résultat inattendu.

🎯 Unit 139 · MCQ QuizUnité 139 · Quiz QCM

Phrasal verbs 3: out — Quiz

Verbes à particule 3 : out — Quiz

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Unit 139 Quiz

Quiz Unité 139

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