To Give Away

1. To give something away= to give something you no longer need to a person or an organization as a gift or a donation.

For example, “I am going to give some of my old clothes away this weekend.”

2. To give something away=to reveal a secret, often accidentally.

For example, “Jeff gave away the surprise birthday party and basically told everyone he knew about it.”

3. To give away someone= to hand over the bride to the groom on their wedding day, usually performed by the father of the bride.

For example, “Bradley gave his daughter away to Simon on their wedding day.”

4. To give yourself away= to accidentally tell or share some news that you wanted to keep private.  

For example, “Susana was pregnant, but she was keeping it a secret.  She gave herself away by rubbing her belly continuously.”

To Give Back

1. To give something back to someone=to return something to someone.

For example, “Timmy gave his pencil back to Quin.”

2. To give back=to donate time or money to help society.

For example, “We decided to give back to the community and organize a tree  planting in the local park.”

To Give In

• To give in= To agree to do something even though you don’t really want to do it.  For example, “My son always begs me to take him to the mall until I give in.”

To Give Out

• To give out= To distribute flyers, papers, and worksheets to people. For example, “The workers gave out the flyers about the labor rights protest on Sunday.”
• To give out on= to stop working. “My coffee grinder gave out on me last week.”

To Give Up

• To give something up=to stop doing an activity that you regularly do. For example, “Brian gave up beer because it was giving him a stomach ache.”
• To give up on someone=to no longer be concerned with a person and what they decide to do. For example, “I gave up on Seth because I realized he wasn’t going to take my advice about getting off drugs.”

To Give Off

• To give off=to radiate or emanate. For example, “The sewage system is giving off a bad smell.”

To Give Forth

• To give forth=to emit or release something. For example, “The roses give forth an uplifting fragrance.”

To Give Over

• To give over=to deliver a person to the authorities. For example, “The teen gave over her neighbor to the authorities because he had been seen robbing someone in the street.”   
• To give over=to transfer control or to hand over.  For example, “The small fruit company wasn’t doing well and was given over to the larger, international company.”

Phrasal Verbs with Give Quiz

Test your Knowledge of these Phrasal Verbs with Give

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Do you want to learn more about phrasal verbs? Check out this awesome Youtube video: 

Conversation Questions with Phrasal Verbs:

1) Do you give up easily or are you persistent?
2) What kitchen appliance recently gave out on you (broke)?
3) Do you give in easily when other people want to do something that you don’t really want to do or do you “stick to your guns?” “Stick to your guns” is an expression that means you refuse to compromise or change your mind.
4) What is one bad habit you want to give up this year?
5) How often do you give clothes away?
6) Is it more likely for you to keep a secret or give away a secret?
7) Do you give back to your community and volunteer or donate money to local organizations?