 10 phrasal verbs with the word fall from EspressoEnglish.net Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb plus a preposition. Today, you're going to learn all of these different phrasal verbs. Let's get started! Number one, fall apart. Fall apart has two meanings. It can mean when an object literally breaks into pieces. For example, that chair is so old it looks like it will fall apart if anyone sits on it. In the picture, you can see a chair that has fallen apart. It has broken into pieces. The other meaning of fall apart is when a person becomes emotionally upset and incapable of behaving normally. For example, after Tanya's husband left her, she completely fell apart. This means her heart is in pieces emotionally. Number two, fall back. Fall back means to retreat, to go back, especially when an army retreats from its previous position. For example, the general ordered the soldiers to fall back to a safer location. Number three, fall back on. Fall back on refers to when you have the option to use something else if other plans are not successful. So, for example, if I don't get this job, I still have my freelance work to fall back on. The freelance work is the backup plan. It's the second option that I can depend on if I don't get the job. So, to fall back on something means to use your second option or second plan if your first choice doesn't work out. Number four, fall behind. If you fall behind, it means you don't make sufficient progress to stay on schedule. For example, we fell behind on the project and finished it ten days late. Numbers five and six, fall down and fall over. Both of these phrasal verbs mean when a person or structure falls to the ground. For example, the skaters fell down in the middle of their performance. You can see in the picture that the skaters have fallen down. Here's another example. The latter fell over when he tried to climb it. Number seven, fall for. This phrasal verb also has two meanings. When you fall for a person, it means you fall in love. You develop a romantic attraction to that person. For example, I think I'm falling for Jeremy. I just can't stop thinking about him. Fall for can also mean to believe a lie or a story that is false. For example, Vivian told the teacher that she missed class because her dog was sick and the teacher fell for it. This means the teacher believed Vivian's false story. Number eight, fall off. We use fall off when something detaches from a bigger object. In the picture, you can see the wheels falling off the vehicle. Here's another example. My glasses fell off when I bent down to pick up the paper from the floor. Number nine, fall out. We use fall out when something accidentally goes out of some enclosed space like a box or basket. For example, excuse me, is this your wallet? It fell out of your pocket. We also use fall out for children's teeth. When children are young, they lose their baby teeth and we say the tooth has fallen out. The other meaning of fall out is to have an argument with someone and then be angry with each other. For example, John left the company after falling out with his business partner. We can also use the expression have a falling out with the person. For example, I had a falling out with my best friend and now she's not speaking to me. And number ten, fall through. Fall through means to be unsuccessful. We usually use this phrasal verb with plans. For example, we were going to travel to Russia but our plans fell through because we couldn't get a visa. So our plans fell through means our plans were unsuccessful and they had to be cancelled. Are you ready to review the phrasal verbs from today's lesson? Click on the link in the video to take a phrasal verb quiz. And you can learn a lot more phrasal verbs in my course, phrasal verbs in conversation. This course is unique because it teaches you the phrasal verbs inside dialogues so that you can learn them in context and there are lots of exercises to help you practice. Click on the link in the video for more information.