English, baby!

Phrasal verbs "to fall"

Date: Oct 03 2007

Lesson

Using the verb 'to fall' combined with particles. 'to fall apart' means to break into pieces because it is badly made.

It was a cheap dress. The first time I wore it, it fell apart.
I had terrible problems assembling the shelves, then they fell apart as soon as I put something on them.

'to fall apart' also means to stop working properly or efficiently.

The group fell apart when two or three members left and no one replaced them.
Without Joe's leadership, the department just fell apart and was unable to work as it had before.

'to fall back on something' means to use something when everything else has failed, to use something reliable.

'to fall behind' means to do something more slowly than others so that you are behind.

I couldn't walk as fast as everyone else and soon fell behind.
When she fell behind the other runners, no one thought she would catch up and win the race.

'to fall behind' also means to not be on schedule.

We didn't want to fall behind so we worked late into the night.
The problems we have had mean that we have fallen behind and won't meet the deadline.

'to fall down' means to go from a vertical position to the ground.

'to fall down' means an argument or an idea is not complete or doesn't work.

That's where your argument falls down. What you say isn't logical.
This is the difficult part where everyone falls down. Nobody knows how to do it.

'to fall for' means to fall in love with.

He is besotted. He has really fallen for her in a big way.
He fell for her the first time he saw her and asked her to marry him the second time!

'to fall for' also means to be taken in by a trick or something that is not true.

'to fall in with' means to become friendly with a group.

'to fall into' a category or group means that it belongs to that group.

It isn't a romantic comedy or a drama. It doesn't really fall into either category.
The work falls into three distinct parts; administrative, planning and financial.

'to fall off' means to separate from something it was attached to.

When I got home I was surprised to see that picture had fallen off the wall.
I still haven't picked up the apples that fell off during the strong winds last week.

'to fall off' also means to become less or lower.

Demand for our products is falling off in Europe although it remains high in America.
The number of tourists falls off during the wet season but quickly goes back up as soon as it is over.

'to fall out' means to have an argument and no longer be friendly with that person.

It's not that important. I don't want to fall out over it.
They fell out over money when they started a business together and haven't spoken since.

'to fall out' also means something drops to the ground from the container it was in.

When I opened the cupboard, it fell out and broke on the floor.
I held on very tightly to the side of the boat. I couldn't swim so I didn't want to fall out.

'to fall over' means to become unbalanced and end up lying on the ground.

I tripped on the edge of the sidewalk and fell over into the road.
During the play, some of the stage set fell over and hit one of the actors on the head.

'to fall through' is used about a plan or arrangement that goes wrong and cannot be completed.