Choose the sentences in which the phrasal verb is used correctly:
(A) The alarm clock ticked off at six and woke the whole house.
(B) Small tea stalls have sprung up all along the new highway.
(C) Mother chopped down the onions finely for the curry.
(D) The cashier slipped up while counting and gave me fifty rupees extra.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → (B) and (D) only
A phrasal verb is a verb joined with a small word such as up, out or together. The two words together have a new meaning.
(A) The alarm clock ticked off at six and woke the whole house. — Incorrect. “Tick off” means to put a tick against an item on a list to show it is done.
Correct form: The alarm clock went off at six and woke the whole house.
(B) Small tea stalls have sprung up all along the new highway. — Correct. “Spring up” means to appear or come up suddenly, often in large numbers.
(C) Mother chopped down the onions finely for the curry. — Incorrect. “Chop down” means to cut through a tree so that it falls.
Correct form: Mother chopped up the onions finely for the curry.
(D) The cashier slipped up while counting and gave me fifty rupees extra. — Correct. “Slip up” means to make a careless mistake.