V - Z

*wake up and get up*
Definition: wake up: to stop sleeping
get up : to leave your bed after waking up
E.g.1: Jean always gets up as soon as she wakes up.
E.g.2: On Sundays, I often wake up at 9 o’clock. I have breakfast in bed and read a book. Then I get up at about 12 o’clock.
E.g.3: Alice woke the baby up first to feed her. Then she got the other children up.
These phrasal verbs can be separated.

*wind (someone) up*
Definition: (informal) to deliberately tell someone something which is not true in order to make a joke or in order to annoy the person.
(This phrasal verb has more than one meaning)
E.g.1: Fred: Bill told me that he learned English in 5 days!
Sue: He was winding you up!
E.g.2: They sometimes wound their teacher up by pretending they didn’t know the answers.
This phrasal verb can be separated. (E.g. 1 and 2)

*wash (something) down*
Definition: to drink something after eating, or while eating.(This phrasal verb has more than one meaning)E.g.1: My favourite meal is grilled kidneys and beans, washed down with a nice glass of Chianti.
E.g.2: If you’re going to the shops, could you buy me a sandwich and a can of lemonade to wash it down?
This phrasal verb can be separated.

*wrap (something) up*
Definition: to completely cover something in paper or cloth.
(This phrasal verb has more than one meaning)
E.g.1: He wrapped her birthday present up using pretty pink paper.
E.g.2: The parcel was wrapped up in brown paper.
This phrasal verb can be separated. (E.g. 1)

*write (a debt / money) off*
Definition: to accept that you are not going to receive the money someone owes you.
E.g.1: That company has serious financial problems. I don’t think they will pay us the money they owe us, so we should write it off.
E.g.2: Many people think that the World Bank should write off the debts of developing countries.
This phrasal verb can be separated (E.g. 1)

*write (something) up*
Definition: to write a complete and final version of a document, using notes that you have made.
E.g.1: After the lecture, she went home and wrote up the notes she had made.
E.g.2: The journalist interviewed her, wrote his notes up and gave the finished article to his editor before the end of the day.
This phrasal verb can be separated. (E.g. 2)


*zip (something) up *
Definition: to fasten something using a zip. (N.B. the opposite is ‘unzip’, not ‘zip down’)
E.g.1: The teacher wondered why the class was laughing until he noticed that he had forgotten to zip his trousers up.
E.g.2: Her suitcase was so full that she couldn’t zip it up without sitting on it.
This phrasal verb can be separated. (E.g. 1 and 2)