Environment & Nature — Part 3
The Celpip Plus team
Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria
What you'll learn: the phrasal verbs native speakers reach for when discussing environmental change — "phase out plastic," "clean up a river," "die out" — instead of stiffer single-word substitutes.
Why phrasal verbs matter on the environment topic
Phrasal verbs are one of the fastest ways to sound natural rather than textbook-formal, which matters most in CELPIP Speaking, where fluency and coherence are scored alongside vocabulary. They also work well in Writing Task 2 when your tone can be slightly less formal than an email. Learn each one as a fixed chunk with its typical object.
Environment phrasal verbs
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| cut down on (waste) | reduce the amount of something | Our office is trying to cut down on paper waste this year. |
| phase out (plastic) | gradually stop using something | The province plans to phase out single-use plastic bags by 2027. |
| clean up (a park/river) | remove litter or pollution from a place | Volunteers gathered on Saturday to clean up the local river. |
| die out (a species) | become extinct over time | Without protection, this frog species could die out within decades. |
| run out of (resources) | have no more of something left | Some regions are at risk of running out of fresh water. |
| give off (emissions) | release gas, heat, or smell | Older furnaces give off more emissions than newer models. |
| break down (biodegrade) | decompose naturally over time | Plastic can take hundreds of years to break down. |
| pile up (garbage) | accumulate in a growing amount | Garbage began to pile up after the strike delayed collection. |
| wipe out (a species) | destroy completely | A single storm can wipe out a fragile coastal ecosystem. |
| cut back on (consumption) | reduce how much you use | Many families are trying to cut back on electricity consumption. |
| clamp down on (illegal logging) | take strict action to stop something | Authorities have started to clamp down on illegal logging. |
| switch over to (solar power) | change from one system to another | The factory recently switched over to solar power. |
Worked example — CELPIP Speaking Task 4 (unusual situations)
Prompt: You notice your neighborhood park is covered in litter. Describe what you would do.
Honestly, the first thing I'd do is organize a small group to clean up the park myself rather than wait for the city. I'd also cut down on how much single-use packaging I bring there in the first place. If I saw the same problem every week, I'd report it, because litter that's left too long tends to pile up fast, and plastic doesn't just break down overnight — it sits there for years. I'd also talk to neighbors about trying to cut back on disposable cups and bottles at the park, maybe even push the city to phase out plastic bins in favor of recycling stations.
Common mistakes
- Confusing cut down on (reduce) with cut off (disconnect) — they're unrelated phrasal verbs despite sharing "cut."
- Using phase out with the wrong preposition — it's "phase out plastic," never "phase off plastic."
- Forgetting that die out applies to species or traditions over time, not a single sudden event — for a fast, single event use wipe out.
- Saying "give out emissions" instead of the correct give off emissions — a frequent CELPIP writing error.
Recap
You've collected twelve environment-related phrasal verbs — phase out, clean up, die out, wipe out, and more — that add fluency and naturalness to spoken and written answers. Part 4 shifts to formal, written-register phrases and connectors built specifically for CELPIP Writing Task 2.