EXAMPLE: 

My mother blew me up this morning for having stayed the night at a friend's house.

Note: Transitive phrasal verbs can take the object after the preposition:

EXAMPLE:  

I ran into an old flame of mine at Sara’s birthday party last night; alas, I couldn’t speak to her for very long since my current girlfriend was keeping an eye on my whereabouts. It was obvious that she was not very pleased to see my ex-girlfriend there and, then, just before midnight, my ex and I decided to leave the party together.  

Note: Some phrasal verbs can take a preposition in both places: 

EXAMPLE: 

A.     Sally does not think that I am anything special; however, I would argue that I am and to prove it I shall bring the subject up at an emergency meeting being called for tonight by the managing director. This gathering offers me a tailor-made opportunity to stake a claim to a place on the board of directors.

B.      Sally brought up numerous valid points in the argument but they did not make much difference to the way in which the board voted; they accepted my claims and I was made a director of the board.  

Act

Act up   Be naughty; ill disciplined; mischievous; misbehave; badly behaved; play up; not work properly.

A.    I had a terrible time with my daughter last night. She acted up all evening and she refused to go to bed when I asked her to so; in the end, I had no choice but to put her into bed.

B.     I had better take my car to the garage as it has been acting up recently.

Act like

A.     What is the matter with James? He’s acting like a berk.

B.     Whenever I see Jennifer she acts like someone from another planet. She loves doing all sorts of things to catch people’s attention and she is a very hotheaded person who never stops to think of the results of her actions. She said that she was marrying Benjamin last week and now she decided against it; she really enjoys being in the limelight. However, she fools no one since everyone knows what she is like.

Back

 Back down 

Stop defending your opinion in a debate.

Adjudicar; conceder; Acceder; Conceder; Ceder; abrirse; Desistir; abandonar; dejar; apartarse.

A.     Sally would never back down; she loves an argument.

B.     She will never back down unless she is forced to do so.

 Back out        

Give no support to; not keep a promise, agreement, deal; give no support to.

Retirar; romper un acuerdo, una promesa; volverse atrás; rajarse; abrirse.

A.     It is rather late to back out now as I have already paid the builder half of the money he asked to do the job.

B.     The competition for places in the first team is hotting up. I was due to sign a three-year contract with The Blues but I am glad that I backed out at the last minute. My reason for doing so was the manager’s refusal to guarantee me a place in the starting eleven.

C.     I am sorry but it is too late to back out now; you will have to go through with the order.

Back out of     

Not keep a promise, agreement, deal.

Example: Sally backed out at the last second.  

Retirarse; excluir; aislarse; arrinconarse

A.     Sorry sir, it is too late to back out of the deal. The document has been signed.

B.     Am I afraid, you cannot back out of the deal since your wife has given us the go ahead and we will start installing the system tomorrow morning.

C.     They have backed out of the promise of selling the house to me at the last minute.                      

Back up      

Give support; move backwards; reverse.

Apoyar ; respaldar ; confirmar; ratificar; fortalecer; corroborar. Retroceder; recular; volverse; retraer; retrocederse.

A.     You need evidence to back up your defence.

B.     Sara always backs her family up when they are in trouble.

C.     Could you back up a little so I can get out of this corner, please?

D.     The police asked the gathering to back up so that the injured man could receive medical attention.

Bail

Bail out

Remove from; to aid someone or thing out of out of a tricky situation.

Fianza; garantia; resguardo; deposito; arras; sacar a alguien de apuros.

A.     It is a big challenge to rebuild the confidence of someone when the team one once played for and managed leaves one down. He was in charge of the team only until yesterday afternoon when he was sacked by the board but I am sure that his resilience would bail him out of this thorny situation.

B.     When I find myself in times of trouble I can count on my mother to bail me out.  

Be

Be over: Finished; ended; over and done with; completed; curtains; conclude; terminated.

Terminar; concluir; acabar; finalizar; cesar; saldar; sellar;   

A.     Summer has come and gone, and autumn will be soon over.

B.     The match was virtually over in the first half when Raul scored a hat trick in a ten-minute spell taking his tally to twenty-five goals, which makes him the top marksman in Europe this campaign.                   

Bawl

Bawl out     

Reprimand; criticize.

Amonestar; reprender; regañar; sermonear; moralizar; escaldar; criticar; reprochar.

A.     She bawled him out for arriving late.

B.     My partner bawled me out yesterday for forgetting her birthday.           

Bear

Bear down on      

Bite;     to corner someone; threaten; be a menacing indication of.

Morder; avanzar hacia alguien amenazadoramente; amenazar.

A.     The poor man had to bear down on a leather belt while the physician abstracted a bullet from the man’s leg.

B.     After a merciless chase the foxhound bore down on the defenceless and frightened fox.     

Bear down on       

Take strong measures against.

Distribuidores, despenseros, intermediarios de drogas, substancias.

A.     The government is bearing down on drug pushers.

B.     The Home Office is bearing down on illegal immigrants.    

Bear on      

Have to do with.

Referirse a; relatarse; tiene que ver con algo.

A.     This information bears on the subject of national security.

B.     Mary’s remark does not bear on your ability to do a good job for the company.     

Bear up      

Withstand; cope with something.         

Aguantar; tolerar; sobrellevar; tolerar; sufrir; conllevar; soportar; sobreponerse a.

A.     I didn’t think she would bear up as well as she had since the death of her husband.

B.     Tony must be very disappointed in having failed his driving test. How is he bearing up?  

Bear up under               

Withstand; behave under pressure.     

Soportar, tolerar tal presión, carga, imposición; mandato.

A.     How does he bear up under such an extreme pressure?

B.     He does well to keep his cool when everyone else is losing his or hers. It must be said that he bears up well under pressure.           

Bear with         

Be patient with; tolerate; endure patiently; ability to endure something.       

Tener paciencia con; tolerar; soportar; aguantar.

A.     Could you bear with me for a minute or two while I try to connect you?

B.     I cannot bear with her cheekiness any longer. She will have to learn some manners or else.