There are 9 similar points across the English Grammar Profile in the category of VERBS covering phrasal verbs across the levels. And the differentiation between the levels becomes difficult to interpret since it is more about the vocabulary. For this reason, the English Vocabulary Profile is probably more beneficial even though the logic of what students can do and how rare the phrasal verbs are in expert corpora does not match up. Regardless, here we list the grammar entries and the most frequent examples. (*this post will not cover the phrasal-prepositional)
22 A2 a limited range of phrasal verbs + object pronoun + particle.
_VV _PP _RP
pick_VVI you_PPY up_RP
Ring_VV0 me_PPIO1 up_RP
throw_VVI it_PPH1 away_RL *(this is tagged as a locative adverb by claws7)
help_VVI me_PPIO1 out_RP *EVP B2
23 A2 a limited range of phrasal verbs without an object.
get_VVI up_RP
go_VVI out_RP
meet_VVI up_RP *In iWeb not in top 100, listed occurrences = 36585
come_VVI over_RP *not in top 100, 35258
wake_VV0 up_RP
33 B1 an increasing range of phrasal verbs without an object.
hang_VVI out_RP *not in top 100 87676
run_VVN out_RP
give_VVI up_RP (same example + object also B1)
37 B1 increasing range of phrasal verbs + object pronoun + particle.
check_VVI it_PPH1 out_RP
trying_VVG them_PPHO2 on_RP
think_VV0 it_PPH1 over_RP
44 B1 limited range of phrasal verbs + particle + object.
give_VVI up_RP this_DD1 class_NN1
pick_VVI up_RP my_APPGE award_NN1
turned_VVD off_II the_AT phone_NN1
46 B2 wide range of phrasal verbs without an object.
dying_VVG out_RP (*not in top 100)
show_VVI up_RP
end_VVI up_RP
53 VERBS phrasal B2 phrasal verbs + nouns as object + particle.
take_VVI some_DD time_NNT1 off_RP
turn_VVI the_AT computers_NN2 off_RP
call_VVI the_AT electrician_NN1 up_RP
work_VVI this_DD1 problem_NN1 out_RP
*I have put Point 53 to the side
because it is easy to differentiate
from the rest
since it only requires a noun or noun phrase to be B2.
57 B2 wide range of phrasal verbs + particle + object
put_VVI off_RP my_APPGE crossing_NN1
look_VVI up_RP some_DD useful_JJ information_NN1
59 C1 wide range of phrasal verbs + object pronoun + particle.
check_VVI them_PPHO2 out_RP
clean_VVI it_PPH1 up_RP
fix_VVI it_PPH1 up_RP
At C2 in the English Vocabulary Profile:
A furious wind began blowing around him, urging him on.
Most notably, the country has reached a critical need for more baby formula
after a recall wiped out huge amounts of stock in US stores.
iWeb search for _VV _PP _RP:
1 CHECK IT OUT 103828
In the EGP ‘check it out’ is B1, while ‘check them out’ is C1. You can quickly see that the EGP examples do not really help to mark complexity as it would be suggested by less frequent clusters in expert corpora. I cannot tell why ‘it’ is less complex than ‘them’. Yes, ‘check it out’ is 4 times more common, but that doesn’t really explain it when ‘pick you up’ is 10 times less common and at A2. ‘Think it over’ is in the B1 examples but it doesn’t exist in the top 100. A search for ‘think it over’: THINK IT OVER 1649, suggests that it is 16 times rarer than ‘check them out’. This has very large implications for curriculum writers who base what should be learnt at what level on the EGP.
PELIC STUDENT:
Japanese,Female,5,g
Before I beli[e]ve something, I could check it out for myself.
*There are three other B1 grammar points in the above sentence. Conjunction, mental process verb and self-reflexive pronoun.
Arabic,Female,4,g
Therefore, I called my husband to check it out
2 TRY IT OUT 41944
*B1 example ‘try them on’ / EVP B2 Try something out it doesn’t differentiate between pronouns or noun phrases./So I have no idea what level to give to this…safest is to assume the lowest at A2.
Arabic, Male, level 4, writing class
And if you think it works, try it out.
3 FIGURE IT OUT 41676
*’figure’ as a verb is C2 in EVP but ‘figure out’ is B2. Quite odd! This makes it very hard for the complexity checker to highlight as a result since usually, longer strings are of higher complexity.
Chinese,Female,5,w
I had very good logic to figure numbers and things out, but I lack organization.
4 PICK IT UP 40422 A2
When it gets here, I‘ll give you a call, you come pick it up.
*Interestingly, there are many examples of ‘pick it up’ only from level 4 and mostly the grammar class. *This phrasal verb has idiomatic meaning too.
Chinese,Female,4,g
And I called my friend to pick it up.
5 SET IT UP 36490
*3 examples all come from the level 4 grammar class again. And the B1 grammar: PAST MODALITY masks the B1 phrasal verb.
Arabic,Male,4,g
I realized that I should have set it up better before I had left.
6 HELP YOU OUT 35108 A2
Korean,Female,4,g
I think that a real friend is someone who can help you out when you are in trouble.
7 CHECK THEM OUT 27618 C1
*as mentioned earlier, this should probably take a lower level than EGP has it.
Arabic,Male,4,g
Check them out soon.
8 PUT IT BACK 24112
9 HELP ME OUT 23432 A2
10 TURN IT OFF 21806
11 KEEP IT UP 21494
12 GET IT BACK 20536
13 TURN IT ON 19485
14 BRING IT BACK 19192
15 BREAK IT DOWN 17681
16 TAKE IT OUT 17656
17 PICKED IT UP 17053
18 PICK THEM UP 16803
19 PULL IT OFF 15904
20 PUT IT ON 15714
21 LOOK IT UP 15534
22 FIGURED IT OUT 15279
23 BACK IT UP 13765
24 MIX IT UP 13670
25 GET IT OUT 13600
26 TOP IT OFF 13203
27 PUT IT DOWN 12835
28 TAKE IT OFF 12250
29 SET YOU BACK 11621
30 TAKE IT BACK 11599 *B1 EVP
Azerbaijani,Female,5,l
Kramer finds a way to get the statue back : he pretends as if he is a policeman, goes to that guy[‘]s house and takes it back.
31 TAKE THEM OUT 11520
32 SEND IT BACK 11310
33 WRITE IT DOWN 11035
34 WORK IT OUT 10492
35 PULL IT OUT 10411
36 BRING IT UP 10387
37 GIVE IT UP 10122
38 TEST IT OUT 10068
39 BRING THEM BACK 9933
40 OPEN IT UP 9877
41 CLEAN IT UP 9676 C1 example
42 SET THEM UP 9514
43 MAKE IT OUT 9401
44 TRY THEM OUT 8959
45 PUT IT OUT 8884
46 PUT IT UP 8792
47 SET YOU UP 8685
48 GET THEM BACK 8629
49 PLUG IT IN 8600
50 PUT THEM BACK 8507
51 PICK YOU UP 8321 A2 example
52 MAKE IT BACK 8317
53 SHUT IT DOWN 8283
54 PASS IT ON 8235
55 PUT IT IN 8228
56 PICK ME UP 8044
57 LEAVE IT ON 7880
58 LET YOU DOWN 7735
59 SUCK IT UP 7618
60 TAKE YOU BACK 7389
61 MAKE IT UP 7192
62 PUT THEM ON 7184
63 CUT IT OUT 7055
64 LET ME DOWN 7046
65 SETTING IT UP 6931
66 TAKE IT DOWN 6887
67 TOOK IT OUT 6824
68 SORT IT OUT 6818
69 BATTLE IT OUT 6717
70 PRINT IT OUT 6553
71 GET YOU BACK 6455
72 TAKE THEM OFF 6413
73 HOLDING YOU BACK 6400
74 LOOKED IT UP 6338
75 PICK HIM UP 6292
76 FILL IT UP 6185
77 THROW IT OUT 6179
78 BRING HIM BACK 6053
79 PAY IT OFF 6050
80 TRIED IT OUT 6041
81 GET THEM OUT 6017
82 TAKE IT UP 5980
83 HELPED ME OUT 5941
84 LET YOU IN 5870
85 HELP US OUT 5808
86 MAKE IT THROUGH 5807
87 TRYING IT OUT 5739
88 HIT IT OFF 5732
89 HELP THEM OUT 5725
90 GET YOU UP 5714
91 SLOW IT DOWN 5713
92 SET YOURSELF UP 5685
93 GET IT OFF 5644
94 TURN IT BACK 5639
95 BREAK IT UP 5571
96 WAIT IT OUT 5471
97 GET IT UP 5455
98 SUM IT UP 5438
99 FINISH IT OFF 5384
100 MADE IT BACK 5339
_VV _RP
1 SET UP 1054759
Arabic,Male,149,4,g
One day, I wanted to set up a dental appointment.
2 CHECK OUT 929931
Japanese,Female,4,w
Then, to make your trip better, you can check out the landmarks, restaurants, history, and specialities.
3 FIND OUT 922067
Arabic,Female,3,r
That’s not surprising when you find out that per capita consumption (the amount we spend per person) has risen 45 percent since 1970, but the quality of life has decreased 51 percent.
4 END UP 612432 B2 EGP example // but EVP has this at B1 which seems more logical.
Arabic,Male,4,w
If you can’t, you will probably end up feeling guilty.
5 PICK UP 521095
6 GOING ON 520080
7 GO BACK 482025
8 FIGURE OUT 460897
9 COME UP 419208
10 ENDED UP 400017
11 COME BACK 361901
12 TAKE ON 350343
13 PICKED UP 331503
14 MAKE UP 310217
15 GET BACK 300665
16 SIGN UP 300485
17 MADE UP 294536
18 COME OUT 260909
19 TURNS OUT 259418
20 CAME OUT 256650
21 WENT ON 253127
22 GO OUT 252653
Male,4,w
Mamadou is one of my cousins, who I lived with and used to go out with sometimes.
23 TURNED OUT 250625
24 CARRIED OUT 248831
25 SETTING UP 244294
26 GREW UP 243856
27 SHOW UP 240300 B2 EGP example
28 KEEP UP 238295
29 GIVE UP 236013 in the B1 EGP examples
30 GO ON 229709
31 WORK OUT 226859
And all I need is eighty of the elements, and I can work out the rest and rebuild it myself.
32 COME IN 220056
33 SET OUT 219513
34 FOUND OUT 218195
35 CAME UP 207430
36 POINTED OUT 189969
37 MOVE ON 176991
38 CARRY OUT 175570
39 STAND OUT 163658
40 COMING UP 163399
41 GOES ON 163056
42 GET OUT 162658
43 WAKE UP
161100
*Side note, ‘is a great way to‘ is the 11th most frequent 5-word Ngram in English.
iWeb 110,780
44 OPEN UP 158855
45 CAME BACK 157024
46 GROWING UP 156035
47 POINT OUT 154979
48 GOING BACK 154494
49 PUT UP 150034
50 BUILD UP 148492
51 FILL OUT 148007
52 GO DOWN 143400
53 COMING BACK 141793
54 GET UP 140447 A2 example
55 PICKING UP 136401
56 SHUT DOWN 135882
57 TAKE UP 131764
58 WENT BACK 125917
59 REACH OUT 121230
60 SIT DOWN 120215
61 COME ON 120202
62 GO UP 118332
63 COMES IN 116521
64 CUT OUT 116240
65 CLEAN UP 115133
66 CAUGHT UP 115025
67 BRING IN 114843
68 BREAK DOWN 112960
69 COMES OUT 112186
70 TAKE OUT 111790
71 ENDS UP 111085
72 SLOW DOWN 110151
73 POINTS OUT 108824
74 CAME IN 107988
75 TRY OUT 104961
76 WORKED OUT 104401
77 COMING OUT 103246
78 STAND UP 102736
79 FIGURED OUT 102310
80 LOG IN 102107
81 WORKING OUT 100710
82 TURN OUT 100526
83 PUT OUT 98668
84 COMING IN 97712
85 GAVE UP 96626
86 LOOK UP 96280
87 WENT OUT 95206
88 COMES DOWN 95112
89 TURN OFF 93960
90 LOOK BACK 93801
91 PAY OFF 92487
92 PUT ON 91619
93 CATCH UP 89937
94 SHOW OFF 89351
95 GET IN 89318
96 SIGNED UP 88265
97 GOING OUT 88061
98 SHOWED UP 87336
99 WORKING ON 87309
100 TAKE OFF 87160
_VV * _N _RP
1 KEEP AN EYE OUT 33532
myPolice
2 TAKE A STEP BACK 15527
3 GET THE WORD OUT 10771
4 TAKE A LOOK BACK 5402
5 KEEP AN EYE ON 4689 (not in evp)
Thai,Female,5,w
In other words, you have to keep an eye on your employees’ work.
6 WORK YOUR WAY UP 4257
7 TAKE A LOOK AROUND 3620
8 KEEPING AN EYE OUT 3456
9 GOING TO WORK OUT 3181
10 GETTING THE WORD OUT 3105
11 TAKING A STEP BACK 2759
12 GET MY HANDS ON 2619
13 GET YOUR HANDS ON 2471
14 PUT YOUR FEET UP 2253
15 TOOK A STEP BACK 2210
16 TAKE SOME TIME OFF 2183
17 TAKE A DAY OFF 1956
18 SHUT THE FUCK UP 1921
19 KEEP A LOOK OUT 1914
20 TAKE SOME TIME OUT 1802
21 KEEP THE LIGHTS ON 1785
22 GET THEIR HANDS ON 1753
23 GET THE MESSAGE OUT 1698
24 KEEP YOUR EYE OUT 1698
25 KEEP YOUR HEAD UP 1692
26 GIVE A SHOUT OUT 1671
27 TURN THE HEAT DOWN 1671
28 WORKED HIS WAY UP 1644
29 GET YOUR HOPES UP 1640
30 GET A LOT OUT 1574
31 HELP ME FIGURE OUT 1518
32 GET YOUR NAME OUT 1515
33 GET YOUR MONEY BACK 1514
34 MAKE YOUR WAY BACK 1502
35 KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF 1486
36 PUT THE PHONE DOWN 1484
37 FIND THEIR WAY BACK 1462
38 FIND A WAY OUT 1414
39 TAKE THE EDGE OFF 1315
40 GET A LEG UP 1291
41 WORK YOUR WAY DOWN 1267
42 KEEPING AN EYE ON 1263
43 KNOWN THE WORLD OVER 1246
44 MADE ME LAUGH OUT 1134
45 MAKE THIS STUFF UP 1125
46 LET YOUR GUARD DOWN 1089
47 LET YOUR HAIR DOWN 1080
48 TAKE MY HAT OFF 1057
49 EAT YOUR HEART OUT 1001
50 PULLING MY HAIR OUT 1000
51 GET A MOVE ON 975
52 TAKING A LOOK BACK 974
53 GET MY HOPES UP 957
54 KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN 956
55 MADE HIS WAY BACK 955
56 TURN HIS LIFE AROUND 938
57 MAKE THEIR WAY BACK 935
58 GET YOUR HEAD AROUND 925
59 TAKE THE DAY OFF 918
60 TAKE A YEAR OFF 912
61 TURN THE BALL OVER 904
62 KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF 903
63 GET YOUR MESSAGE OUT 862
64 TAKE A TRIP BACK 858
65 KEEP YOUR EYES OUT 857
66 PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN 851
67 FIND YOUR WAY BACK 845
68 TURNED THE BALL OVER 823
69 KEEP THE COST DOWN 816
70 WORK THEIR WAY UP 812
71 TAKEN A STEP BACK 806
72 ROLL THE DOUGH OUT 805
73 WANT TO STOCK UP 799
74 FIND YOUR WAY AROUND 797
75 TAKING SOME TIME OFF 795
76 THROW THE BABY OUT 794
77 LET ME POINT OUT 786
78 MADE OUR WAY BACK 783
79 GET HIS HANDS ON 777
80 TOOK A YEAR OFF 756
81 WORK MY WAY UP 753
82 WORKED MY WAY UP 748
83 TURN THEIR LIVES AROUND 744
84 KEEP YOUR CHIN UP 742
85 TURN THE LIGHTS OFF 739
86 NEED TO STOCK UP 735
87 PUT THE FIRE OUT 729
88 TOOK SOME TIME OFF 726
89 MADE THEIR WAY BACK 724
90 WORKING YOUR WAY UP 720
91 TURNING THE BALL OVER 711
92 MAKE YOUR WAY OVER 710
93 TAKE A WEEK OFF 709
94 BROUGHT THE HOUSE DOWN 700
95 TAKING THE TIME OUT 700
96 PUT THE BOOK DOWN 699
97 TAKES A LOOK BACK 682
98 GET OUR HANDS ON 681
99 TURN THE HEAT OFF 681
100 FIND A WAY BACK 668
Didn’t matter whether it was a car engine or a toastie oven, he‘d pull it apart and reassemble it again bit by bit.