Phrasal Verbs with FALL

Phrasal Verbs with FALL

Hello English learners! Phrasal verbs are everywhere in English, and if you’re preparing for the Cambridge B2 First or C1 Advanced exams, you’ll know how important they are for both speaking and writing. Today, we’re focusing on phrasal verbs with the verb fall—a surprisingly versatile word that can change its meaning completely when combined with different prepositions. From fall apart to fall through, these expressions will help you sound more natural, expand your vocabulary, and understand native speakers better. Let’s dive in and see how many of them you already know!

Fall about

If you fall about, then you laugh a lot and can’t stop laughing.

• When Mark told us a joke, we all fell about. It was so funny we couldn’t stop laughing.
• Sara looked so funny that everybody fell about laughing.

Phrasal Verbs with FALL

Fall apart

The first meaning of fall apart is to break into pieces because something is too old or damaged.

• His car was so old that it was falling apart.

We can also use this phrasal verb to say that it is no longer possible to keep something going.

• After Alison found her husband cheating on her with the neighbour, their marriage fell apart.

It is very common to hear that somebody’s life or world fell apart because something very bad happened that changed their life completely.

• When they went bankrupt, their world fell apart. Nothing was the same anymore.

Fall back on

To fall back on something usually refers to the savings you have to use because you don’t have any other sources of income.

• When he lost his job,  David fell back on his savings.
• After buying a car, Thomas had no more money to fall back on.

Phrasal Verbs with FALL

Fall behind

If you fall behind someone or something, then you can’t keep up with them.

• After being absent from school for a week, Ryan fell behind with his homework.
• Tara hurt her leg so she fell behind in the marathon.

Fall down

Someone or something can literally fall down.

• The peaches were so ripe that they were falling down from the tree.

It also means to fail.

• Brian is very good at reading Spanish, but he falls down on speaking.
• Plan A fell down. let’s try plan B.

Phrasal Verbs with FALL

Fall for

To fall for somebody means to be attracted to them.

• When he first met his wife, William fell for her completely.
• My mum fell for my dad at college because he use to write poetry.

However, to fall for something means to believe that something is true although it doesn’t necessarily have to be so.

• I was late for the meeting, but luckily, the president fell for the excuse I gave him about losing my car key.
• Is it possible that you fell for that stupid trick!

 

Fall in

If a ceiling or a wall collapses, we say that it fell in.

• The house was so old that its roof fell in so we had to bring it down.

Also, to fall in love means to start having romantic feelings for someone.

• Robert fell in love with Fiona during a city break in Rome.

Phrasal Verbs with FALL

Fall in with

If you fall in with something, you accept or agree with it.

• Henry is willing to fall in with our suggestion of making a birthday surprise for Milly.
• I won’t buy this jacket because it doesn’t fall in with my taste in clothing.

Fall off

If something falls off something, then it is no longer part of it.

• The button fell off my shirt. 
• Could you please fix this handle? It’s falling off.

To fall off also means to decrease in quality, amount, rate, etc.

• The number of likes on my Facebook page has been falling off lately.
• The rate of growth has been falling off in the past few months.

Phrasal Verbs with FALL

Fall on

We can use fall on to say that something happens on a particular day.

• My birthday falls on a Friday.
• Easter always falls on Sunday.

We also use fall on to say that someone is responsible for something.

• After his wife died, the household fell on him.
• A heavy burden of suspicion fell on him as he had no alibi.

Fall out

When something such as a tooth or hair becomes loose and drops, we say that it fell out.

• Marco’s hair fell out when he was in his thirties.
• The tooth fairy will give you money for your fallen out tooth.

To fall out also means to quarrel with someone.

• Young married couples often fall out because of money.
• Cinthia is always falling out with people.

Phrasal Verbs with FALL

Fall over

To fall over someone or something means to stumble and fall because you accidentally hit someone or something.

• Mike fell over the fence in the dark last night.
• While he was hurrying towards the exit, Mike fell over a dog.

If a business goes bankrupt, we can say that it fell over.

Many hairdressers fell over during the pandemic.

Fall through

We can say that someone or something fell through if they physically leap or jump into something.

• Watch out not to fall through the thin ice.
• While they were walking over the old roof, they had to be careful not to fall through.

When things fail to happen, we can say that they fall through.

• I’m afraid that our plan to go away for the weekend fell through because I have to write a report.
• If your plan falls through, you’ll be $20,000 in debt.

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