Step 77: Work It Out
Idiomatic actions — Phrasal verbs 2: work and relationships
📖 Read — The Team That Fixed Everything
At Lisa's software company, Monday began with a problem: the app had a bug. “Let's not panic,” said Lisa. “We'll figure it out.” By noon, her colleague David had come up with a clever theory. They worked it out together — step by step — and fixed the bug by three o'clock.
Not everything was smooth. Two teammates fell out over the design — they didn't speak for a day. But on Wednesday, they made up over coffee. “I look up to Lisa,” David said. “Yesterday I ran into our first customer at the store, and she loves the app now. When a team sees eye to eye, every problem becomes smaller.”
🧩 Grammar — Phrasal Verbs 2 — Solving and Relationships
Theme groups make phrasal verbs stick. SOLVING: figure out / work out (find the answer), come up with (produce an idea). RELATIONSHIPS: fall out (with) (argue and stop being friendly), make up (become friends again), look up to (admire), run into (meet by chance), bring up (start talking about a topic). Separable ones still put pronouns in the middle: work IT out, figure IT out. Three-word verbs (look up to, come up with) never split.
- We figured out the problem.
- She came up with a great idea.
- They fell out but soon made up.
- I ran into an old friend downtown.
🏗️ Key structures
- figure it out / work it out — Don't tell me — let me figure it out.
- come up with ___ — He came up with a plan.
- fall out with ___ / make up with ___ — They fell out with each other but made up the next day.
⭐ Idiom & natural phrases
We don't always see eye to eye, but we respect each other.
🔤 New words
find the answer to a problem; also exercise at a gym
We worked out the budget together.
understand or solve something after thinking
I finally figured out the math problem.
think of and produce an idea or plan
She came up with a brilliant name for the app.
start talking about a topic; also raise a child
Don't bring up politics at dinner!
argue with someone and stop being friendly (with)
The brothers fell out over money.
become friends again after an argument
They argued, then made up an hour later.
admire and respect someone
Kids look up to their coaches.
meet someone by chance, unexpectedly
I ran into my teacher at the mall.
🎧 Say it with me
We figured it out, we worked it out, and when we fell out, we made up — because our team sees eye to eye.
🎤 Your turn to speak
Tell a team story: one problem you figured out, one idea someone came up with, and either a fall out + make up or a run into moment.
Say it out loud three times. Even better: record it on your phone and listen — your ear is your best teacher.
✍️ Your turn to write
Write 5 sentences about solving a problem with other people. Use at least four phrasal verbs from this step.
See a model answer
Our class project was in trouble: nobody could figure out the budget. Then our classmate Chris came up with a simple plan, and we worked it out together in an hour. Two students fell out over the design, but they made up the next day. I really look up to our teacher: she never panics.
Self-check: capital letters? Full stops? Did you use the grammar of this step?
📝 Quick check
Go deeper
This step is a doorway — the full lesson goes much further:
Phrasal Verbs: The Grammar (separable or not?) — full lesson + 50-question quiz
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