Question 1

What phrasal verbs can I use to describe feeling ill?

Accepted Answer

There are several phrasal verbs for describing illness and symptoms. "Throw up" means to vomit: "I threw up twice during the night." "Pass out" means to lose consciousness or faint: "She passed out from the heat." "Come down with" means to start showing signs of an illness: "I think I'm coming down with a cold." "Break out in" describes a sudden skin reaction: "He broke out in spots after eating the prawns." "Flare up" describes a condition that suddenly becomes worse: "My back pain flared up again." For describing recovery, use "get over" (recover from: "It took me a week to get over the stomach bug") or "come round" (regain consciousness: "She came round after a few seconds"). These are commonly tested at B1 and B2 level.

Question 2

What is the difference between work out and warm up?

Accepted Answer

"Work out" and "warm up" are both used in the context of physical exercise, but they refer to different stages. "Work out" means the main exercise session — the period when you are actively training: "I work out for an hour every morning." It can also be used as a noun: "That was a tough workout." "Warm up" means the gentle preparation exercises you do before the main session to prepare your muscles: "Always warm up before you start running." "Warm up" can also be a noun: "Do a five-minute warm-up first." There is also "cool down," which is the gentle exercise you do after the main session to help your body recover. The sequence is: warm up, then work out, then cool down.

Question 3

How do I use get over when talking about illness?

Accepted Answer

"Get over" means to recover from an illness, injury, or unpleasant experience. For physical illness: "It took her three weeks to get over pneumonia." For injuries: "He's still getting over his broken leg." For emotional experiences: "She never really got over losing her job." The phrasal verb is inseparable — the illness or experience comes after "over": "get over the flu" (not "get the flu over"). "Get over" suggests a process that takes time, not instant recovery. For a quicker recovery, you might hear "bounce back": "She bounced back quickly after the operation." In Cambridge B2 First exams, "get over" often appears in the reading and listening sections in contexts about health, relationships, and personal difficulties.

Phrasal Verbs for Health Exercises

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-ed vs -ing Adjectives

Conditionals

Present Perfect

Reported Speech

Passive Voice

Past Simple