English Grammar Online

Phrasal Verbs with Put, Set, and Turn

PUT, SET, and TURN phrasal verbs form essential combinations for expressing actions, arrangements, and changes in English, creating versatile expressions that describe everything from placing objects and establishing systems to changing direction and adjusting conditions. These action-oriented verbs combine with particles to express complex ideas about positioning, organisation, and transformation that are fundamental to clear, precise communication.

Understanding PUT phrasal verbs enables you to discuss placement, tolerance, postponement, and accommodation using natural expressions that native speakers employ constantly. SET combinations help you express establishment, preparation, departure, and arrangements with professional precision. TURN phrasal verbs allow you to describe changes, adjustments, rotations, and transformations with the nuanced language that characterises sophisticated English usage.

These verb families extend from concrete physical actions like putting down objects and setting up equipment to abstract concepts like putting up with difficulties, setting aside differences, and turning over new leaves. This versatility makes them indispensable for discussing both practical tasks and complex life situations across all communication contexts.

Mastering PUT, SET, and TURN phrasal verbs will significantly enhance your ability to express actions and changes with natural fluency, enabling you to discuss arrangements, adjustments, and transformations using the authentic language patterns that native speakers use instinctively in both casual conversation and professional communication throughout all aspects of daily life.

PUT Phrasal Verbs

Physical Placement and Position

Basic Placement:

  • put down - place on surface
    "Put down your bags and relax."
  • put up - raise/erect
    "Let's put up the tent before it rains."
  • put away - store in proper place
    "Please put away your toys after playing."
  • put back - return to original position
    "Put back the books on the shelf."

Clothing and Wearing:

  • put on - wear/dress
    "Put on your coat, it's cold outside."
  • put off - remove clothing (less common)
    "Put off your wet clothes immediately."
  • put together - assemble
    "It took hours to put together the wardrobe."
  • put out - extend/display
    "Put out your hand so I can see the ring."

Tolerance and Endurance

Accepting Difficulties:

  • put up with - tolerate/endure
    "I can't put up with this noise anymore."
  • put through - cause to experience
    "Don't put me through that again."
  • put aside - ignore temporarily
    "Let's put aside our differences."
  • put behind - forget past problems
    "We need to put this behind us."

Support and Accommodation:

  • put up - provide accommodation
    "Can you put me up for the night?"
  • put forward - propose/suggest
    "She put forward an interesting idea."
  • put across - communicate effectively
    "He puts his ideas across very clearly."
  • put in for - apply for
    "I'm putting in for a promotion."

Time and Postponement

Delays and Changes:

  • put off - postpone/delay
    "We had to put off the meeting until Friday."
  • put back - reschedule to later time
    "The concert was put back by two hours."
  • put aside - save for later
    "Put aside some money each month."
  • put away - save/store
    "She puts away £100 every month."

Stopping and Extinguishing:

  • put out - extinguish
    "The firefighters put out the blaze quickly."
  • put down - stop/suppress
    "The rebellion was put down by the army."
  • put an end to - stop completely
    "We must put an end to this behaviour."
  • put a stop to - prevent continuation
    "The manager put a stop to overtime."

SET Phrasal Verbs

Establishment and Preparation

Creating and Organizing:

  • set up - establish/arrange
    "We need to set up a meeting room."
  • set out - arrange/display
    "Set out the chairs for the presentation."
  • set aside - reserve/allocate
    "Set aside time for revision."
  • set apart - distinguish/separate
    "His talent sets him apart from others."

Starting and Departure:

  • set off - begin journey
    "We set off early to avoid traffic."
  • set out - begin journey/explain
    "Let me set out the main points."
  • set about - begin task
    "How should we set about this project?"
  • set to - begin work energetically
    "The team set to work immediately."

Causes and Triggers

Activating and Triggering:

  • set off - trigger/activate
    "The smoke set off the alarm."
  • set in motion - start process
    "The new policy set changes in motion."
  • set in - begin (weather/conditions)
    "Winter has set in early this year."
  • set upon - attack suddenly
    "The dog set upon the intruder."

Goals and Standards:

  • set down - establish rules
    "The committee set down clear guidelines."
  • set back - delay progress
    "The accident set back our schedule."
  • set against - oppose/compare
    "Set the benefits against the costs."
  • set forth - explain/present
    "The report sets forth our findings."

TURN Phrasal Verbs

Direction and Movement

Physical Rotation:

  • turn around - rotate completely
    "Turn around and face the camera."
  • turn over - flip/rotate
    "Turn over the pancake carefully."
  • turn upside down - invert
    "The storm turned everything upside down."
  • turn inside out - reverse
    "You've turned your shirt inside out."

Controls and Adjustments:

  • turn on - switch on/activate
    "Please turn on the heating."
  • turn off - switch off/deactivate
    "Don't forget to turn off the lights."
  • turn up - increase volume/intensity
    "Can you turn up the music?"
  • turn down - decrease volume/reject
    "Turn down the TV, please."

Changes and Transformations

Becoming and Converting:

  • turn into - transform/become
    "The caterpillar turned into a butterfly."
  • turn out - result/develop
    "The party turned out really well."
  • turn against - oppose/reject
    "The crowd turned against the speaker."
  • turn to - resort to/seek help
    "She turned to her friends for support."

Appearance and Arrival:

  • turn up - appear/arrive
    "He finally turned up two hours late."
  • turn in - go to bed/submit
    "I think I'll turn in early tonight."
  • turn away - refuse entry/reject
    "They turned away customers at the door."
  • turn back - return/reverse direction
    "The weather forced us to turn back."

Common Mistakes to Avoid

✗ "I can't put up this noise anymore."

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✗ "commonMistakes.mistakes.0.wrong2"

✓ "I can't put up with this noise anymore."

"Put up with" is a three-word phrasal verb - never separate it

✗ "Please set up the meeting room up."

commonMistakes.mistakes.1.note

✗ "commonMistakes.mistakes.1.wrong2"

✓ "Please set up the meeting room."

Don't repeat particles - "set up" is complete

✗ "Can you turn on it?"

commonMistakes.mistakes.2.note

✗ "commonMistakes.mistakes.2.wrong2"

✓ "Can you turn it on?"

Pronouns must separate separable phrasal verbs like "turn on"

✗ "The meeting was put off to next week."

commonMistakes.mistakes.3.note

✗ "commonMistakes.mistakes.3.wrong2"

✓ "The meeting was put off until next week."

Use "until" or "till" with future times, not "to"

✗ "He turned out to be right."

Wait, that's correct!

✗ "He turned right out to be."

✓ "He turned out to be right."

Keep phrasal verbs together in the correct order

Separability Patterns

PUT - Mostly Separable:

  • put on - Put it on / Put on the coat
  • put off - Put it off / Put off the meeting
  • put away - Put it away / Put away the toys
  • put down - Put it down / Put down the book
  • Exception: put up with (inseparable)

SET - Usually Inseparable:

  • set up - Set up the room (can separate)
  • set off - Set off early (no object)
  • set out - Set out the plan (can separate)
  • set about - Set about the task (inseparable)
  • set aside - Set aside money (can separate)

TURN - Mixed Patterns:

  • turn on/off - Turn it on (separable)
  • turn up/down - Turn it up (separable)
  • turn into - Turn into something (inseparable)
  • turn to - Turn to someone (inseparable)
  • turn out - Turn out well (inseparable)

Multiple Meanings: Context is Key

PUT OFF - Different Uses:

  • Postpone: "We had to put off the meeting."
  • Discourage: "Don't let his attitude put you off."
  • Remove clothing: "Put off your wet clothes. (rare)"
  • Distract: "The noise put me off my work."

SET UP - Different Uses:

  • Establish: "Set up a new business."
  • Arrange: "Set up the chairs for the meeting."
  • Trap/trick: "He was set up by his enemies."
  • Install: "Set up the new software."

TURN UP - Different Uses:

  • Arrive: "He turned up two hours late."
  • Appear: "My keys turned up under the sofa."
  • Increase volume: "Turn up the radio."
  • Discover: "The investigation turned up new evidence."

Professional and Business Context

Formal/Professional Usage:

  • put forward - propose ideas/candidates
  • set out - explain plans/procedures
  • set forth - present formally
  • turn over - transfer responsibility
  • put across - communicate effectively
  • set about - begin systematic work

Casual/Informal Usage:

  • put up with - tolerate annoying things
  • turn up - arrive unexpectedly
  • put off - postpone casual plans
  • turn in - go to bed
  • set off - begin journey
  • turn out - result/develop

Using PUT, SET, TURN Across Tenses

PUT Examples:

Present: I put on my coat daily.
Past: She put off the meeting.
Present Perfect: We've put up with this.
Future: They'll put forward a plan.
Continuous: I'm putting away clothes.
Modal: You should put aside money.

SET Examples:

Present: We set off at 8am.
Past: They set up the business.
Present Perfect: Winter has set in.
Future: I'll set about the task.
Continuous: She's setting out plates.
Modal: We must set aside time.

TURN Examples:

Present: He turns on the lights.
Past: It turned out well.
Present Perfect: She's turned against us.
Future: Things will turn around.
Continuous: It's turning into a disaster.
Modal: You could turn to family.

Passive Voice with PUT, SET, TURN

Common Passive Forms:

  • put off → "The meeting was put off until Friday."
  • set up → "The company was set up in 1995."
  • turn down → "His application was turned down."
  • put forward → "The proposal was put forward."
  • set out → "The rules were clearly set out."
  • turn over → "The case was turned over to police."

Particle Position in Passive:

Active: They put off the meeting.

Passive: The meeting was put off.

Particle stays with verb in passive voice

Active: Someone set up this company.

Passive: This company was set up in 1995.

Keep phrasal verb together in passive

Essential PUT, SET, TURN Combinations

Top PUT phrasal verbs:

put on - wear, switch on
put off - postpone, discourage
put up with - tolerate
put away - store, save money
put down - place down, criticise
put up - erect, accommodate
put out - extinguish, publish
put forward - propose, suggest
put across - communicate
put back - return, postpone
put through - connect, cause to experience
put aside - save, ignore temporarily
put together - assemble
put in for - apply for
put behind - forget past problems

Top SET phrasal verbs:

set up - establish, arrange
set off - begin journey, trigger
set out - explain, begin journey
set aside - reserve, save
set about - begin task
set down - establish rules
set back - delay, cost
set in - begin (weather)
set apart - distinguish
set forth - present formally
set against - oppose, compare
set to - begin work
set upon - attack
set forward - advance time
set on - determined to do

Top TURN phrasal verbs:

turn on - switch on, attack
turn off - switch off, repel
turn up - arrive, increase volume
turn down - reject, decrease volume
turn out - result, produce
turn into - transform, become
turn over - flip, transfer
turn around - rotate, improve
turn back - return, reverse
turn away - refuse entry
turn to - seek help, resort to
turn against - oppose, become hostile
turn in - submit, go to bed
turn inside out - reverse
turn upside down - invert

Learning Strategy Tips

Grouping techniques:

  • By action type: PUT (placement), SET (establishment), TURN (change)
  • By separability: Group separable vs inseparable together
  • By context: Home/work/technology contexts
  • By formality: Professional vs casual usage

Practice methods:

  • Daily routines: Use PUT/SET/TURN for morning/evening activities
  • Technology practice: TURN on/off, SET up devices
  • Problem-solving: PUT forward solutions, SET about tasks
  • Storytelling: Describe how things "turned out"

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