TOEIC Link Part 5: Phrasal Verbs — How to Decode Verb + Particle Combinations

A phrasal verb is a verb joined to a small word — a particle such as out, up, on, off, or for — that together carry a meaning you cannot guess from the verb alone. Carry means to hold and move something; carry out means to perform or execute. Look means to direct your eyes; look into means to investigate. TOEIC Link Part 5 leans on these combinations heavily, because they are everywhere in real business English and because they are hard: the test can hold the verb steady and ask you to choose the particle, which forces you to know the exact pairing rather than the general idea. This guide shows you how the particle does the work, which combinations appear most often, and a reliable process for the moment you face four particles in a blank.

Why phrasal verbs are tested the way they are

Part 5 has two favorite ways to test a phrasal verb. In the first, the verb is given and the particle is the blank:

The committee will carry ___ the audit next quarter. → (A) on (B) out (C) off (D) over

Here carry out means to perform the audit, so the answer is (B). Carry on means to continue, carry off means to succeed at something difficult, and carry over means to transfer to a later period. Same verb, four different meanings — the particle decides everything.

In the second pattern, the particle is given and the verb is the blank, testing whether you know which verb pairs with that particle to fit the sentence. Either way, the test is checking a fixed pairing, not a guess. You cannot reason your way to carry out from the meaning of carry; you have to recognize the unit.

The particle changes the meaning, not just the grammar

The single most useful habit is to read the verb and particle as one word with one meaning. Compare how one particle, up, transforms different verbs:

follow up → to check on progress after an earlier contact set up → to arrange or establish take up → to begin or occupy (time, a role, space) draw up → to prepare a document or plan

None of these meanings comes from a literal sense of up. The particle is idiomatic, and the only safe approach is to learn the whole combination. When you study a phrasal verb, store the meaning attached to the pair, not to the parts. This is the same recognition-on-sight discipline that makes word form and part-of-speech questions fast: you stop decoding and start matching a known unit.

High-frequency business phrasal verbs to recognize on sight

These combinations appear repeatedly in Part 5 business contexts. Read each one until the meaning is automatic:

carry out — to perform or execute (carry out a survey)
follow up on — to take further action after earlier contact (follow up on the proposal)
account for — to explain, or to make up a proportion of (account for the shortfall)
set up — to arrange or establish (set up a meeting)
look into — to investigate (look into the complaint)
point out — to draw attention to (point out an error)
bring about — to cause (bring about a change)
call off — to cancel (call off the launch)
put off — to postpone (put off the deadline)
take over — to assume control of (take over the account)
come up with — to produce an idea or solution (come up with a plan)
fill in for — to substitute for someone (fill in for a colleague)

Notice that several of these have two particles — follow up on, come up with, fill in for. These three-part phrasal verbs are common in Part 5, and the test will sometimes blank the second particle (come up ___ a plan → with). Learn the full string.

Separable versus inseparable: a quick word on placement

Some phrasal verbs let an object sit between the verb and particle (set the meeting up, set up the meeting — both correct), while others never split (look into the issue, never look the issue into). Part 5 occasionally tests this by placement, but far more often it tests the meaning. If you are unsure whether a verb separates, default to keeping the verb and particle together — it is correct for inseparable verbs and acceptable for separable ones when the object is a full noun phrase. Only pronouns force the split: call it off, never call off it.

A process for choosing the particle under pressure

When you face a phrasal-verb blank, work in this order:

Read the whole sentence for meaning. What is the verb actually doing here — canceling, investigating, postponing, explaining? Fix the intended meaning before you look at the options.
Test each option as a unit. Say the verb with each particle and check whether that combination carries the meaning you identified. Call off = cancel; call on = visit or ask; call up = telephone or summon. Match the meaning, not the sound.
Watch for a required second particle. If the sentence has an object that needs a preposition (account ___ the difference), the answer is the particle that completes the fixed string (for).
Confirm the rest of the sentence still fits. A phrasal verb often pairs with a typical object or preposition. If your choice creates an odd collocation, reconsider.

This is the same disciplined elimination that works on modal verb questions: identify the meaning first, then let the meaning select the answer rather than choosing by feel.

Common traps to avoid

The literal-meaning trap. The most tempting wrong answer is often the particle whose literal sense matches the scene (put ___ the meeting until Friday tempts back, but the fixed verb is put off). Trust the combination, not the picture.
The near-synonym trap. Bring about and bring up both start with bring, but bring about means to cause and bring up means to raise a topic. Two valid phrasal verbs, only one fits.
The missing-particle trap. In three-part verbs, the test blanks the small word you are most likely to drop — the on in follow up on, the with in come up with. Memorize the full chain.

How to build phrasal-verb fluency

Phrasal verbs reward exposure more than rules, because the pairings are idiomatic. The fastest way to internalize them is repeated retrieval in context: see the verb, recall the particle, confirm the meaning, repeat. EnglishBlitz drills the highest-frequency TOEIC Link phrasal verbs in short, timed sets so the verb-plus-particle unit becomes automatic — the same recognition speed you need on test day. Build the pairings into long-term memory through spaced practice, and Part 5 phrasal-verb questions turn from guesses into instant matches.

The bottom line

A phrasal verb means what the verb and particle mean together, and Part 5 tests that you know the exact pairing. Read for the intended meaning first, test each option as a single unit, and watch for required second particles in three-part verbs. Learn the high-frequency business combinations until they trigger on sight, and the literal-meaning trap stops working on you. The verb tells you the topic; the particle tells you the answer.