Grammar notes: phrasal verbs H-L

hand something out
to distribute

Can you hand out the brochures to everyone who attends the presentation, please?

Wouldn't it be better to hand them out afterwards? People might not concentrate on what we're saying otherwise.

hand-out (noun)

The hand-outs need to be photocopied.

Stop asking me for money! If you want a hand-out, ask someone rich!

hand something over
to give to someone else

When the managing director retired, she handed over the running of the company to her son.

Responsibility will be handed over to you at the end of the financial year.

handover (noun)

The official handover took place at the Shareholders' Annual Meeting.

hang on (and hold on)
to wait

hang on to something
to keep in your possession

Hang on a minute. I've just got to make a phone call.

Can you hang on while I check for you, or would you like me to ring you back?

Do we really need to hang on to these old files? They're all on computer now.

You should hang on to those old typewriters - they're really useful for completing forms.

hit on something
to think of

We've hit on a brilliant idea for the new advertising campaign!

I think you've hit on something very important there.

hold on (see hang on)

hold something up
to delay

Sorry I'm late. I was held up by my last appointment.

We can hold the process up till the end of the week, but we'll need to have everything ready for Monday.

hold-up (noun)

The leaflets aren't ready yet. There's been a hold-up at the printer's.

keep someone on
to not dismiss from work

When the factory closed, the only person kept on was the accountant.

I realise we'll have to lose a lot of the staff, but the minimim number we need to keep on is twenty.

key something in
to type into the computer

All the new data needs to be keyed in. Make sure you take a break from time to time so you don't strain your eyes.

The figures don't tally. Someone must have keyed the information in wrongly.

lay someone off
to dismiss from work

We're going to have to lay off some staff until we get some more orders.

It's seasonal work, so he generally gets laid off at the end of October.

lay-off (noun)

There's not much money around because of all the lay-offs at the factory.

leak out
to become known

News of the redundancies has leaked out, and now the union representatives want to have a meeting with you.

Well, I don't know how that leaked out, but it was only discussed by the Board of Directors yesterday.

look down on someone
to consider inferior

He looks down on everyone else because he's the only one in the department who went to Oxford.

He's not the right person to be in charge of customer services because he looks down on anyone who hasn't got the same accent as he has.

look forward to something
to anticipate with pleasure

I look forward to hearing from you.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. At last I'll be able to have a good rest.

look into something
to investigate

What about that problem with the agency? Have you looked into it yet?

I apologise for the delay. We're looking into the causes now, and hope to have everything back to normal by this afternoon.

look up
to improve

look something up
to find information (when you know where it is)

We've got new orders worth £25,000. Things are looking up at last!

Things must be looking up - we're getting a Christmas bonus this year!

Can you look the phone number up for me, please?

I looked it up in the dictionary, but it wasn't there. Maybe it's under a different spelling.

look up to someone
to respect

If the staff don't feel they can look up to you, then you can't be the right person for the job.

Everyone looked up to the old manager because he always listened to what people had to say.