Phrasal verb turn: meanings, exercises and examples

2024 Author: Angel Austin | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:14

Everyone who has been studying English for a long time, sooner or later, has to deal with phrasal verbs that are very difficult to remember at first. But gradually (taking into account hard study, of course), you will still remember all the main combinations, and this article will help you master one of them - the phrasal verb turn. All you have to do is read carefully.

Meanings of the verb

Turn - “to rotate (s), turn (s)”. The table shows other meanings of this word.

Phrasal verb	Values
to turn against	oppose/put someone up against
to turn (a)round	1) turn around, changing direction to the opposite; 2) move someone or something, forcing it to change direction to the opposite; 3) make changes for the better
to turn somebody away	refuse to let in, not to allow
to turn away	refuse to help anyone
to turn back	1) put part of something like thisso that it covers the other part; 2) change plans; 3) return to the original position
to turn down	1) reject (request, order, etc.); 2) reduce the amount of light, electricity, sound, heating, etc.
to turn in	1) hand over someone (including yourself) to the police; 2) exchange; 3) achieve excellent results; 4) go to bed
to turn into	change into something else
to turn off	1) turn off, cut down; 2) cause someone boredom or hostility; 3) rotate, change direction
to turn on	1) include; 2) to attack (especially through criticism) someone; 3) have something in priorities
to turn on the charm	use charm
to turn out	1) come to see or take part; 2) produce something in large quantities and with a certain frequency; 3) have a certain result; 4) to appear; 5) turn inside out, turn over; 6) force someone to leave a place
to turn over	1) transfer (including control); 2) flip(s)
to turn round	1) turn something bad into something good; 2) consider, discuss from the other side
to turn to	1) focus on one thing (often something new); 2) to contact someone in order to get something (for example: advice,help)
to turn up	1) arrive at the scene; 2) suddenly appear; 3) to show up, open up (about the possibility); 4) increase the amount of something (especially heating or sound)

Sentences with the phrasal verb turn

To better understand how a phrasal verb is used in speech, here are some examples:

1. Her own children turned against her. - Her own children rebelled against her.
2. I turned around to see the owner of the voice. - I turned to see who the voice belonged to.
3. They turned into enemies despite being friends for so long. - They became enemies despite being friends for so long.
4. She suddenly turned up right behind me. - She suddenly appeared right behind me.
5. I turned round everything he said so as to make his speech less stupid in our mother's eyes. - I turned everything he said inside out to make his speech less stupid in our mother's eyes.

Phrasal verb turn: exercises

Exercise 1. Match the phrasal verb with its translation.

Task number	Phrasal verb	Letter of translation option	Translation
1	to turn over	a	produce
2	to turn up	b	off
3	to turn out	to	turn over
4	to turn to	r	attack someone
5	to turn into	d	refuse to help
6	to turn away	e	turn someone, something into someone, something
7	to turn off	f	appear suddenly
8	to turn on	z	refer to someone, something

Exercise 2. Match the phrasal verb turn with its translation.

Task number	Phrasal verb	Letter of translation option	Translation
1	to turn against	a	include
2	to turn (a)round	b	go back, turn back
3	to turn back	to	turn, unfold
4	to turn down	r	Come to participate or just watch
5	to turn in	d	to benefit
6	to turn on	e	revolt or rebuild against
7	to turn out	f	reduce, decrease, decrease
8	to turn round	z	return

Answers to the exercises are suggested below.

Exercise 1.

Task number	Correct answer
1	to
2	f
3	a
4	z
5	e
6	d
7	b
8	r

Exercise 2.

Task number	Correct answer
1	e
2	to
3	b
4	f
5	z
6	a
7	r
8	d

We hope you can now use the phrasal verb turn with confidence.