Work & Careers — Part 3
The Celpip Plus team
Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria
What you'll learn: the multi-word verbs native speakers use to describe everyday workplace actions — covering for colleagues, dealing with tasks, and managing a career — instead of single-word substitutes that sound stiff.
Why phrasal verbs sound more natural here
Single-word verbs like "substitute," "resign," or "postpone" are correct, but in spoken and semi-formal English, native speakers default to phrasal verbs: "fill in for," "step down," "put off." Using the phrasal-verb version in CELPIP Speaking especially signals natural fluency, because it's the form people actually use in real workplace conversation, not the form found in a dictionary definition.
Reading them apart: particle changes the meaning
Many work phrasal verbs share a base verb but change meaning entirely with the particle: "take on" (accept new work) versus "take over" (assume control of something) versus "take off" (leave suddenly, or for a career, succeed rapidly). Paying attention to the particle, not just the verb, is the key to using these correctly.
Word bank: workplace phrasal verbs
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| fill in for (someone) | temporarily do someone else's job | I filled in for my manager while she was on leave. |
| take on (a task) | accept additional work or responsibility | He took on a second project without complaining. |
| step down (from a role) | voluntarily leave a position, often senior | The director stepped down after ten years in the role. |
| catch up on (work) | finish work that has fallen behind | She spent the weekend catching up on emails. |
| put off (a task) | delay or postpone something | Don't put off the report until the deadline is close. |
| deal with (an issue) | handle or resolve a problem | Customer service has to deal with complaints daily. |
| burn out | become exhausted from prolonged overwork | Many employees burn out during the busiest quarter. |
| move up (in a company) | be promoted or advance in rank | She moved up quickly thanks to strong performance reviews. |
| branch out (into) | expand into a new area of work | The company branched out into online retail last year. |
| lay someone off | end someone's employment, usually due to budget cuts | The factory laid off dozens of workers during the downturn. |
| take over (a project) | assume control or responsibility for something | He took over the account after the previous manager left. |
| sort out (a problem) | resolve an issue or organize something confusing | We finally sorted out the scheduling conflict on Monday. |
Worked example — Speaking Task 6 (difficult situation)
Prompt: A colleague asks you to cover their shift, but you already have plans. Explain the situation to them.
"Hi, thanks for asking, but I'm not sure I can fill in for you this weekend — I already have plans. I know you've had to deal with a lot lately, and I don't want to just put off helping you, but I also can't take on another shift right now without burning out. What if I helped you sort out a different option — maybe someone else on the team could take over just for Saturday? I really do want to help, just not by taking the whole shift myself."
The phrasal verbs here carry the entire emotional and practical logic of the response — a rater hears natural hesitation, negotiation, and problem-solving, which is exactly what Task 6 evaluates.
Common mistakes
- "Take up for someone" instead of fill in for someone — a common blend error; "take up" means to start a hobby or occupy space, not to substitute for a colleague.
- "Put off" used with the wrong object — "I put off my boss" (wrong; sounds like avoiding a person) instead of putting off a task; the particle "off" attaches to the action, not the person.
- "Fall down" instead of "fall behind" when describing missed work — a literal-translation error; the correct collocation for lagging on tasks is fall behind, and the fix is catch up on the backlog.
- Confusing "take over" and "take on" — "I took over a new project" (should be took on, since "take over" implies replacing someone already doing it).
Recap
Phrasal verbs are the natural register for describing day-to-day workplace actions, and the particle after the base verb often changes the meaning completely, so they're worth learning as fixed units rather than word-by-word. Pick three phrasal verbs from the table and describe a real or invented workday using all three in a short spoken summary, paying close attention to keeping the particle attached correctly.