I’ve been meaning to write some articles covering phrasal verbs, as these are always a difficult area to master with lots of specific considerations.

To cover all the very specific meanings of the different phrasal verbs, in each article I’ll take one root verb and discuss all its variations with definitions and examples. Starting today with phrasal verbs using the verb to be.

Phrasal Verbs with “to be”

Phrasal verbs with to be are an interesting place to start because to be sentences often take a complement, sometimes with a preposition of place. You might easily confuse these phrasal verbs as stative comments with a preposition complement, when it’s actually a particle completing a phrasal verb with a more specific meaning. Here’s a list of to be phrasal verbs with explanations and examples.

to be against / for

To support (for) or oppose (against) something, often used with a noun phrase or gerund.

• I’m for the new school uniform.
• She is against animal cruelty.
• They are for going home early.
• We are against using microwaves.

to be away

To not be in an expected location; usually not at home (often for more than a day), but also for other common locations, such as away from work/the office/your desk.

• She is away for the weekend. (not home for the weekend)
• He’s away from his phone right now.

to be back

To have returned after a temporary absence.

• When is Frank back from holiday?
• I did not know she was back from lunch.

to be in (1)

To be at home or in another expected location (such as your workplace).

• When my sister is in, she plays music very loudly.
• I will ask Steph for help if she is in today. (e.g. at work)

to be in (2)

To commit to something, such as a plan, project or game. (Note, this could be used with ‘for’ to quantify the commitment, which is different to the phrasal verb ‘be in for’ below.)

• Who’s going to the cinema tonight? I’m in!
• Once we explained the scheme, they were all in for fifty pounds each.

to be in for

To be about to encounter something, usually unpleasant or negative.

• Once she ate the bad shellfish, she was in for a bad weekend.
• If he thinks he’s going to complete his homework quickly, he’s in for a shock.

to be over (without object)

To be finished.

• The sky is clear: the storm is over.
• They went home once the game was over.

to be over (with object)

To stop caring about or overcome something (typically referring to the memory of or an emotional connection to something).

• We are finally over the upsetting election results.
• I am over my ex-husband.

to be out (1)

To be away from an expected location, such as home or work, for a temporary time. Often used to refer to doing an evening activity, rather than staying in (at home).

• Bob’s out all morning doing home visits.
• Are you out this evening, Wendy?

to be out (2)

To be removed from or abandon something (such as a game or when involved in a project).

• They’ve caught the ball, and Wilson is out of the game!
• I can’t work with these people – I’m out!

to be up

To be out of bed (or sometimes to mean awake/active, even if still in bed).

• It’s 10 a.m., you should be up already!
• She was up and making phone calls at dawn.

to be up for (1)

To be ready / willing to do something.

• After all this work, I’m up for a good night out!

to be up for (2)

To be in line to receive something, usually positive.

• Jill’s been working hard all year, she’s up for a promotion.

to be up to (1)

To be in appropriate condition for a challenge (physically or mentally).

• I’m not sure our current Prime Minister is up to facing this crisis.

to be up to (2)

To be occupied with something suspicious, usually mischievous or involving trickery. (Note the object is usually something indefinite.)

• I don’t trust those boys, they’re always up to something.
• Lana watched him carefully, suspecting he was up to no good.

to be up to (3)

To be the responsibility of the object, usually for a decision or when relying on someone.

• I’m sure if I can come to the party, it’s up to my wife.
• We have done our bit, now it’s up to Carl to complete the project.

That’s all I’ve got, do let me know if I’ve missed any or if anything is unclear!