Differences between similar Phrasal verbs

Question

Hello everybody I had to study loads of phrasal verbs for my next week exam. I have found several p.v. which have same meaning but ~~I fear~~ they are slightly different. So I decided to ask you
The ones in question are:

Bring along - Bring in (meaning: To bring someone or something to certain place)
Bring about - Bring on (meaning: To cause)
Call up - Call in (meaning: To telephone)
Call in - Call on (meaning: To visit)
Cut back - Cut down (meaning: To reduce costs)
Give out - Give off (meaning: To emanate)
Give in - Give up (meaning: To surrunder)
Let in - Let into (meaning: To let someone to go in)
Pull up - Pull in (meaning: To stop by car)
Run down - Run over (meaning: To hit by with the car)
Set out - Set off (meaning: To leave)
Take down - Take apart (meaning: To disessamble)
Turn into - Turn off (meaning: To turn by car)

Many thanks

Prajwalkr · Accepted Answer

Hi

I have tried my best to look into these. I would also request a native to improve my answer.

POPY91Bring along - Bring in (meaning: To bring someone or something to certain place)

Bring along: (To bring someone or something to certain place)

I brought Sam along to the party.
Bring in:http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/bring?q=bring+in#bring__51
The idea you are trying to convey in the second case is not a phrasal verb.

POPY91Bring about - Bring on (meaning: To cause)

POPY91Call up - Call in (meaning: To telephone)

If you ask me I'd use the first as it's far more common than the second. Call in also has several other meanings apart from the one you have mentioned.

POPY91Call in - Call on (meaning: To visit)

In your sense, http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/call?q=called+in#call__21 isn't a phrasal verb. Apart from that, I would say that "you call on someone", whereas you "call in at a place."

POPY91Cut back - Cut down (meaning: To reduce anything, not only costs)

They are pretty much interchangeable. I see some teeny-weeny difference:
You cut back on something because you can't afford to continue at the same levels. You are forced to cut back.
You cut down on something because you are doing too much of it. You feel it's necessary to cut down on those things.

POPY91Give out - Give off (meaning: To emanate)

Both mean the same when used in the correct context.(Give out also means exhausted)

POPY91Give in - Give up (meaning: To surrunder)

Look at the Miriam-Webster's examples for both:

don't give up on the project
forced to give up his job
refused to give up her efforts
give in and have some chocolate
after withstanding hours of begging, their father finally gave in and let them go to the amusement park
give in his resignation

I hope you got the idea.

POPY91Let in - Let into (meaning: To let someone to go in)

I don't see much difference in the sense 'to enter'.

POPY91Pull up - Pull in (meaning: To stop by car)

These are very much different:
pull in

1. To arrive at a destination: We pulled in at midnight.

2. To rein in; restrain.

3. To arrest (a criminal suspect, for example).

pull up
1. To bring or come to a halt.

2. To move to a position or place ahead, as in a race.

POPY91Run down - Run over (meaning: To hit by with the car)

Interchangeable. I think run down is mostly on purpose whereas run over is mostly by accident.

POPY91Set out - Set off (meaning: To leave)

In the sense of beginning a journey, the second one is more casual to me. The first is more serious, and it sounds as if the journey is made in order to accomplish something. Having said that, these are quite interchangeable in such contexts.

POPY91Take down - Take apart (meaning: To disessamble)

They are synonymous in such contexts.

POPY91Turn into - Turn off (meaning: To turn by car)

Sorry, but I haven't heard that first phrasal verb mean so.

Sorry for making it so long....

Prajwal

CalifJim · Answer

POPY91I had to study loads of phrasal verbs for my next week's exam. / for my exam next week.

You have my sympathies.

Bring along - Bring in (meaning: To bring someone or something to certain place)

along emphasizes accompanying someone/something throughout the whole journey.
in emphasizes entry into the place of destination.

Bring about - Bring on (meaning: To cause)

These are about the same. bring about is probably more usual.

Call up - Call in (meaning: To telephone)

call up = call. call in = call a specific place
example 1: call in to a televised charity drive to offer money
example 2: call in to the main office to say where you are (for workers who travel)

Call in - Call on (meaning: To visit)

These are about the same.

Cut back - Cut down (meaning: To reduce costs)

About the same. Both usually with on: cut back on; cut down on.

Give out - Give off (meaning: To emanate)

About the same. give off is probably more used. out suggests emanation from inside of something; off suggests emanation off the surface of something.

Give in - Give up (meaning: To surrunder)

give up is more closely associated with surrender (as in war) or acknowledging defeat in a guessing game.
give in is more like yield to persistent coaxing and agree to a request.

Let in - Let into (meaning: To let someone to go in)

These strike me as quite literal, not phrasal verbs. Allow to come/go in/into (somewhere).

Pull up - Pull in (meaning: To stop by car)

I can't think of any comment here.

Run down - Run over (meaning: To hit by with the car)

run down seems more 'on purpose'; run over seems more 'accidental'

Set out - Set off (meaning: To leave)

About the same. set out seems more neutral. set off seems more adventurous.

Take down - Take apart (meaning: To disessamble)

take apart seems more like disassemble. take down seems more literal, and not really like disassemble. Take down the curtains. NOT Take apart the curtains!

Turn into - Turn off (meaning: To turn by car)

Only the point of view is different. You turn into [where you are going]; you turn off [where you were]. If you are on the main road and you're going to a place that is on a side road, you turn off the main road / you turn into the side road.

CJ

Edit: Whoever made this list has a very liberal idea of what a phrasal verb is. Many of them didn't strike me as phrasal verbs but as normal verbs with literal adverbs attached.

POPY91 · Answer

You are all so kind

Not like those of WordReference... -.-"
Anyway, to say the truth it was me who said that they are phrasal verbs, in reality in the exam I have loads of verbs followed by an empty space, in which I have to put the preposition I think is needed.
Ok, now I'll check all your suggestions

Many thanks

Prajwalkr · Answer

POPY91You are all so kind

Good to know that you liked our forum!

POPY91in reality in the exam I have loads of verbs followed by an empty space, in which I have to put the preposition I think is needed.

Best of luck!

Prajwal

POPY91 · Answer

Well, I have a website where I can train for the exam, and the right prepositions for the following phrases are:

The war brought about huge social and political changes in Europe.
His heart attack was brought on by stress and high blood pressure.

but I can't see why. I read on internet that Bring on = Cause, Provoke / Bring about = Take place ... but this explanation doesn't help me very much in this case.

PS: Prajwarkl your link is about the difference between Bring about/out =)

Prajwalkr · Answer

POPY91 I read on internet that Bring on = Cause, Provoke / Bring about = Take place ...

How about these links:
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/bring?q=bring+something+on#bring__61
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/bring?q=bring+about#bring__33

Does this help?

POPY91 Prajwal your link is about the difference between Bring about/out =)

Prajwal

POPY91 · Answer

Don't worry

I think to have understood through the example that: Bring on = To cause to someone specific / Bring about = To cause to something general, such as society. Could it be right?

And, sorry, but as regards To visit, the problem was between Call on and Call round (not Call in).

I called round to see John yesterday, but he wasn’t in.
While I was visiting the area, I decided to call on a friend I hadn’t seen for years.

?

Prajwalkr · Answer

POPY91Bring on = To cause to someone specific / Bring about = To cause to something general, such as society.

I see no such definitions in the link I have suggested. They both have the same meaning to cause sth to occur.

Prajwal

POPY91 · Answer

<img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/6.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/6.gif' alt='Emotion: sad'/> So I don't see any differences and can't understand why one is used in one case and one in the other.

CalifJim · Answer

POPY91-
The war brought about huge social and political changes in Europe.
His heart attack was brought on by stress and high blood pressure.

These are pretty typical.

bring about is very common in speaking of large social or political movements.

The invention of the printing press brought about ...
The assassination of Duke Ferdinand brought about ...

bring on is very common in speaking of changes in health, where certain conditions gradually bring on a disease or health crisis.

Working too long in the sun day after day brought on ...
Standing all day in the rain brought on ...

CJ

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