To butter up somebody (or butter somebody up) is to flatter or be very nice to someone so that they will do what you want them to do.

Examples of use:

1. A. You're looking very beautiful today – I love your new hairstyle and you have such gorgeous eyes.

    B. Are you trying to butter me up?

2. He desperately wants a promotion so he's always trying to butter up our boss.

3. I tried buttering her up but she still wouldn't lend me her new boots.

4.The MPs are buttering up the voters before the election.

5. You'll have to butter her up a bit before she'll agree to spending so much money on a new car.

Can you write a sentence using this phrasal verb? 

Image © Ralph Unden

50 common English phrasal verbs is a free PDF for readers of this blog.

I've gathered together fifty frequently used English phrasal verbs from my blog, and put them in this handy PDF with over 300 example sentences showing how these phrasal verbs are used in everyday conversation.

Some phrasal verb definitions and examples have the opportunity for you to practise using them in your own sentences, and at the end of the PDF are twenty gap-fill exercises for more practice.

Download your free copy here.

I hope it's useful

1. To dress up is to put on costumes or clothes to make yourself look like someone or something else, usually for fun.

Examples of use:

a) The actor dressed up as a ghost.

b) He dressed up as Superman for the New Year's Eve party

c) The children love dressing up in their Halloween costumes.

d) When I was a child I loved dressing up in my mother's clothes and shoes.

e) She always dresses up as Marilyn Munroe for fancy dress parties.

2. To dress someone up is to put clothes or a costume on someone so they look like someone or something else, usually for fun

Example:

She dressed her baby up as a bee for the birthday party.

3. To dress up (or dress someone up) is to put on formal or smart clothes for a special occasion.

Examples of use:

a) When our grandmother came to stay, our mother used to dress us up in our best clothes.

b) When he was a boy he hated it when his mother dressed him up in smart suits.

c) She loves dressing up for weddings.

d) The whole family is getting dressed up for our daughter's graduation ceremony.

e) Come to our house for dinner tomorrow. You don't need to dress up - just wear your normal clothes.

Can you write a sentence using this phrasal verb?

Did you like dressing up when you were a child?

The image above is another picture from the old book Physics in Pictures (1882). I think the special effects used in the theatre are interesting. What do you think?

If a photograph or part of a photograph comes out, the picture can be seen clearly

Examples of use:

1. The red chair came out really well in this photo.

2. Your graduation photo has come out well – you look great!

3. My photos of sunsets never come out as well I hope they will.

4. We're so disappointed that our wedding photos didn't come out very well.

5. Our camera was faulty and none of our holiday photos came out.

Have you taken any photos that haven't come out very well?

The image in this photo is from a very old book Physics in Pictures, which was published in 1882. I think the person who drew that picture would be amazed at how much photography has changed since 1882.