Practice
Phrasal verbs with call: meanings and examples
Sign in to saveCall can mean phone, speak loudly, or ask for something. The short word after it changes the meaning: call off a picnic means cancel it, while call in an electrician means ask one to come and help.
Understand and use six phrasal verbs with call by choosing the meaning that fits the situation.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
call back /kɔːl ˈbæk/
The short answer
Useful phrasal verbs with call include call back (phone again), call off (cancel), call on (ask someone to speak), call for (need or ask for), call out (say loudly), and call in (ask someone to come and help).
The coach called off the match because the field was unsafe.
Why it works: Call off means decide that a planned event will not happen.
6 more examples
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I'll call you back after my meeting.
Call someone back means phone that person again, often after an earlier call or message.
Not this:I'll
call youafter my meeting. What changes: Call you only promises a phone call. Call you back connects it to an earlier call or a return call. -
The museum called off its outdoor event because of the storm.
Call off means cancel a planned event or stop an activity.
Not this:The museum
delayed its outdoor eventbecause of the storm. What changes: Delayed means the event may happen later. Called off means it will not happen as planned. -
The teacher called on Mateo to explain his answer.
In a class or meeting, call on someone means ask that person to speak or answer.
Not this:The teacher
spoke to Mateoafter class. What changes: Spoke to Mateo does not say that the teacher asked him to answer in front of the group. -
This job calls for careful planning.
Call for means need or require something in this sentence.
Not this:This job
includes careful planning. What changes: Includes says planning is part of the job. Calls for says the job needs that planning. -
From the garden, Noor called out her brother's name.
Call out means say something in a loud voice so a person can hear it.
Not this:From the garden, Noor
said her brother's name quietly. What changes: Said quietly does not show that Noor was trying to make her voice carry to someone else. -
We called in an electrician when the lights stopped working.
Call in someone means ask that person to come and help with a problem.
Not this:We
called the electricianafter the lights stopped working. What changes: Called the electrician tells us about a phone call. Called in also says that the electrician was asked to come and help.
Read the full guide
Start with the whole phrase, not call on its own. If a teacher calls on Ana, the teacher asks Ana to speak. If a recipe calls for eggs, the recipe needs eggs. The noun or situation after the phrase helps you make the right choice.
Read the whole phrase
I know call, but I do not know what call off means. Read the verb and the short word as one unit. The word off changes a phone or loud-voice meaning into the idea of canceling a plan.
The team called off Saturday's practice because the hall was closed.
The team is not making a phone call. It is deciding that the planned practice will not happen.
Did the team cancel the practice or phone the hall?
It canceled the practice. Saturday's practice is the planned event after called off.
Return a phone call
I want to say that I will phone a person again. Use call someone back. This phrase often answers an earlier call, but it can also mean phone the person again after you could not talk.
I'm on the train now, but I'll call you back this evening.
Call you this evening gives the time of a phone call. Call you back also tells the listener that it is a return call.
Which phrase fits a reply to a missed call: call you back or call you off?
Use call you back. The situation is about making a return phone call.
Cancel a plan
I can say call off the meeting, but where does it go? With a noun, both positions are possible: call off the meeting and call the meeting off. With a short pronoun, keep the pronoun in the middle: call it off.
The rain got worse, so they called the picnic off.
They called off it.
Complete the sentence: The concert is canceled, so the organizers called ___ off.
It. Say called it off when the pronoun refers to the concert.
Ask someone to speak
I hear call on in class and think it means telephone. In a class or meeting, call on someone means choose that person to speak or answer. Keep the phrase together before the person's name.
During the discussion, the chair called on Farah for her view.
Farah is being asked to speak. The phrase does not mean that the chair is calling her on the phone.
Who is expected to speak after the chair calls on Farah?
Farah. The name after call on identifies the person the chair asks to speak.
Name what is needed
I see call for and cannot tell whether anyone is phoning. When a situation calls for something, that thing is needed. A group can also call for a change when it publicly asks for the change.
Moving the piano safely calls for three strong people.
The sentence says that three people are needed for the move. It does not say that someone will call them on the phone.
What does the move need: three strong people or a canceled plan?
It needs three strong people. The phrase calls for points to a requirement.
Use a loud voice
I heard call out and thought someone was being invited somewhere. Call out means say a word or phrase loudly, often to get a person's attention. Call in someone has a different idea: ask a person to come and help.
When the child ran ahead, his father called out, 'Wait for me!'
The father uses a loud voice. If the family called in a guide, they would be asking a guide to come and help.
Which phrase means ask a specialist to come and help: call out or call in?
Use call in. Call out is about saying something loudly in this lesson.
Before you go
Remember this
Read call with its short word and the words around it. Call back is about a return phone call; call off cancels; call on asks a person to speak; call for needs or asks for; call out uses a loud voice; and call in brings in help.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Phrasal verbs with call: meanings and examples"
What does call back mean?
Call someone back means phone that person again. It often means returning an earlier call or message: I'll call you back after my meeting. Call back without an object can also mean return to a place, so the situation matters.
I'll call you back after my meeting.
What does call off mean?
Call off means cancel a planned event or stop an activity. A school might call off a trip because of dangerous weather. With a pronoun, say call it off, not call off it.
I'll call you after my meeting.
What does call on someone mean in class?
In a class, call on someone means ask that person to speak or answer a question. If the teacher calls on you, the teacher expects you to answer. It does not mean make a phone call.
The museum called off its outdoor event because of the storm.
What does call for mean?
Call for can mean need something: This task calls for patience. It can also mean publicly ask for something to happen: The group called for safer streets. Read the noun and situation after the phrase.
The museum delayed its outdoor event because of the storm.
What is the difference between call out and call in?
Call out means say something loudly, often to attract attention. Call in someone means ask that person to come and help with a problem. You might call out a name, but call in an electrician.
The teacher called on Mateo to explain his answer.