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Music students living in a retirement home? Three-part phrasal verbs: look up to, come up with

This B2 ESL lesson plan teaches three-part phrasal verbs through Judson Manor, a retirement community in Cleveland where music students have lived rent-free since 2010 and give concerts in return.

Grammar
Verb + particle + preposition with one meaning (look up to, come up with, put up with, cut down on), never split, with -ing after look forward to.
Topic
How the deal at Judson Manor works, from the residents' interview to the monthly concerts, with words such as conservatory, recital and assisted living.
Activities
An explainer to read, a field interview and a reader's voice memo to hear, self-checking drills, a neighbor chat and boxes about sharing a building.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Warm-up: neighbors of every age

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: a home full of musicVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and choose the wordChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: the musicians down the hall

    • Look at the picture: neighbors of every agePictureUnlock
    • Read Harper's explainer on The Why DeskArticleUnlock
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Match the paragraphs and the headingsMatchUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: could it work in every city?

    • Listen to Harper and LorenzoListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the correct answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to the Reader's Rebuttal: Mildred's voice memoListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: I look forward to it all month

    • Study the scheme: three-part phrasal verbsGrammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the correct optionChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: Harper's notebookDrag and dropTry it
    • Fill in the table: complete the phrasal verbsFill in the tableUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: what does it mean?QuizUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: a music afternoon in the lobby

    • Choose the right replies: plan a music afternoon with ReginaldChatTry it
    • Sort the sentences into the correct columns: could it work anywhere?Sort into columnsUnlock
    • Open a box and answer: young and old under one roofOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Match the words and the meaningsMatchUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps with the lesson's wordsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Find the matching pairs: words and meaningsMemory gameUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: new sentencesChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: use the words in bracketsFill in the gapsUnlock
    • Put the words in the correct orderUnjumbleUnlock
    • Choose the correct answer: which sentence is correct?QuizUnlock
    • Drag the words into the gaps: the building newsletterDrag and dropUnlock
    • Choose the correct option: Harper answers MildredChoose the optionUnlock

33 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Vocabulary

12 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+9 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • retirement community
  • conservatory
  • recital
  • in return
  • luxury
  • grand piano
  • applaud
  • intergenerational
  • assisted living

Grammar: three-part phrasal verbs

A three-part phrasal verb is a verb, a particle and a preposition with one meaning: look up to means “admire.” In a building where students and retirees share the hallways, people get along with, look forward to and put up with a lot, so learners keep all three words together, with the object after them, and use -ing after look forward to.

Three-part phrasal verbs: look up to, come up with, look forward to

A verb, a particle and a preposition work as one verb with one meaning, and the object always comes after all three.

Three words, one meaning

The meaning belongs to the whole verb: get along with (be friendly with), keep up with (stay at the same level), catch up on (do what you missed), cut down on (use less of). Learn each verb with its meaning and an example: Who came up with the idea?

Nine verbs in three parts

Phrasal verbMeaningExample
get along withbe friendly, have a good relationshipLorenzo gets along with his neighbors.
get on withcontinue, or make progress withWith no rent to pay, he can get on with his music.
look up toadmire and respectYoung players look up to older musicians.
look forward tofeel happy about something that's comingI look forward to the concert. I look forward to seeing you.
keep up withstay at the same speed or levelIt's hard to keep up with all the new apps.
catch up ondo or learn what you missedOn Sundays, I catch up on sleep and news.
come up withthink of an idea, a plan or an answerWho came up with the idea?
put up withaccept something annoyingCan they put up with cello practice at 8 a.m.?
cut down ondo or use less ofWe're cutting down on plastic cups.

At Judson Manor and The Why Desk

  • Lorenzo gets along with his neighbors.
  • The residents look forward to a concert about once a month.
  • With no rent to pay, the students can get on with their music.
  • Who came up with the idea first? The sources don't agree.
  • The practice room helps Lorenzo keep up with his classmates.
  • Cello practice at 8 a.m.? Not everyone can put up with it.

Never split them: put up with it

With many two-part verbs, it and them go in the middle: Turn it off. A three-part verb stays in one piece, and the object, even a pronoun, follows it: I can't put up with it, not put it up with; She looks up to them.

Two parts: it and them go in the middle

  • Turn it off.
  • Pick them up.
  • Write it down.

Three parts: never split them

  • I can't put up with it. (not: put it up with)
  • We came up with it together.
  • She looks up to them.

Look forward to + noun or -ing

In look forward to, to is a preposition, so a noun or an -ing form comes next: I look forward to the concert. I look forward to seeing you, not to see you. Any verb after a three-part verb takes -ing: put up with getting up early.

look forward to + a noun or -ing

In look forward to, to is a preposition, so a noun or an -ing form comes next: I look forward to the concert. I look forward to seeing you. Not: look forward to see. A verb after any three-part phrasal verb takes -ing too: Some people can't put up with getting up early.

Common mistakes

  • I look forward to see you.

    I look forward to seeing you.

    to is a preposition here: add -ing

  • She came up to a great idea.

    She came up with a great idea.

    an idea: come up with; come up to = walk over to

  • It's hard to keep up of the news.

    It's hard to keep up with the news.

    keep up with

  • I really look up at my grandmother.

    I really look up to my grandmother.

    respect: look up to; look up at = raise your eyes

Get along with or get on with?

For a friendly relationship, American English says get along with: I get along with my roommate. Get on with means “continue” or “make progress with”: Stop chatting and get on with your work! And never He gets on to his neighbors.

American English: get along with

For a friendly relationship, Americans say get along with: I get along with my roommate. Get on with means “continue” or “make progress with”: Stop chatting and get on with your work! Not: He gets on to his neighbors.

One small word changes the meaning

Change one word and you get a different verb: look up to someone (admire them), but look up at the sky; come up with an idea, but come up to a person; catch up on the news, but catch up with a friend.

One small word changes the meaning

look up to someone = admire them; look up at the sky = raise your eyes. come up with an idea = think of it; come up to someone = walk over to them. catch up on news, sleep or work = do what you missed; catch up with a person = reach them, or talk after some time apart.

More lessons on this grammar: Phrasal verbs lessons and exercises

Try the three-part phrasal verbs exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 20 auto-checked exercises
  • 4 games
  • 1 article
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • talk about neighbors and plans with three-part verbs: Lorenzo gets along with his neighbors. Who came up with the idea?
  • keep the three parts together, with the object after them: I can't put up with it, not put it up with
  • use a noun or an -ing form after look forward to: I look forward to seeing you, not to see you
  • tell close verbs apart: look up to or look up at, come up with or come up to, get along with or get on with
  • argue whether a building shared by music students and retirees could work in every city: Not every town has a conservatory nearby.

Lesson 30 is the second lesson of Generations, unit 8 of English B2.2 · Culture and Society. B1.2 lesson 12 met run out of, and lessons 22 and 24 of this course showed what particles mean and made nouns from phrasal verbs; now every verb has three parts. Lesson 31, Conversations kept for history, turns to negative and echo questions. Young musicians and retirees under one roof get along with, look up to and put up with each other, which suits the grammar.

Students spin a wheel about neighbors of every age, then learn twelve words, from look up to and conservatory to grand piano and assisted living, with pictures and audio. They read Harper's explainer on Judson Manor, then hear her interview Lorenzo, an invented cello student who lives there, and Mildred, 79, from Dayton, Ohio, push back on Harper's ending; both are AI-voiced. The grammar chapter has the scheme and five self-checking exercises, among them a table where both small words are missing. In the speaking chapter, students help their neighbor Reginald plan a music afternoon in a chat, sort arguments on copying the idea and open boxes about sharing a roof.

All nine homework tasks check themselves: a word match, gaps with the lesson's words and a memory game, then new sentences to choose from, verbs to put in the right tense, word order and a quiz on correct sentences, ending with a newsletter from an apartment building and Harper's answer to Mildred.

Grammar:
three-part phrasal verbs · look forward to + -ing · get along with, look up to · come up with, put up with · phrasal verbs that never split
Topic:
Judson Manor · the Cleveland Institute of Music · Cleveland, Ohio · retirement communities · intergenerational living · generations · The Why Desk

Teaching tips

  • Write the three parts on separate cards: come, up, with. Students build each verb, then try to put it in the middle and see why I can't put it up with doesn't work.
  • Ask who would live next to much older neighbors before the reading, and what each side could offer. Students then read to find what the students and residents at Judson Manor really share.
  • Play the interview twice: first to decide who thinks the idea could work everywhere, then to catch every three-part verb (get along with, look up to, keep up with, came up with).
  • Collect real annoyances for put up with: noisy neighbors, early alarms, slow Wi-Fi. Students say what they can and can't put up with, then suggest a fix with cut down on.

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The whole course: English B2.2 · Culture and Society

32 more lessons for adults at B2 in American English, with the same Why Desk team in Pittsburgh. Each lesson answers one question about how Americans learn, work, travel and remember, from the law behind the 40-hour week to the oral histories of StoryCorps. Learners link ideas in formal writing, report what is said and believed, and pack more into a sentence with participle and relative clauses. The practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Learning reimagined

    adjective suffixes and negative prefixes, mixed conditionals, provided that and on condition that

    1. Lesson 1College for farmers' kids?Adjective suffixes and negative prefixes
    2. Lesson 2One cousin, one video, millions of learnersMixed conditionals: a past cause, a result now
    3. Lesson 3A college that says yesConditional linkers: provided that, on condition that, assuming, otherwise
    4. Lesson 4School in the woodsMixed conditionals: a present state, a past result

  2. Unit 2 Work-life balance

    be required to and be entitled to, present and perfect participle clauses, participle clauses after conjunctions

    1. Lesson 5Who decided a week is 40 hours?Formal rules: be required to, be entitled to, be exempt from
    2. Lesson 6A paid year off: rest or research?Present participle clauses for time and reason
    3. Lesson 7Was the coffee break born in Wisconsin?Perfect participle clauses: having done and having been done
    4. Lesson 8Why is the first Monday of September a day off?Participle phrases after conjunctions

  3. Unit 3 Turning points

    reduced relative clauses, preposition + which and whom, which for a whole clause, noun + preposition

    1. Lesson 9The keyboard that opened the officeReduced relative clauses: -ing and the past participle
    2. Lesson 10Earthrise: the photo that changed how we see EarthPreposition + which and whom
    3. Lesson 11A city of white palaces for six monthsSentence relative clauses: which for a whole clause
    4. Lesson 12The count that took eight years?Noun + preposition: a need for, a solution to, access to

  4. Unit 4 News and truth

    although, whereas and while, the impersonal passive, despite and however, is said to have

    1. Lesson 13A newspaper of their ownLinkers of contrast: although, even though, whereas and while
    2. Lesson 14Bat-people on the Moon?The impersonal passive: It is said that…
    3. Lesson 15Read like a fact-checkerLinkers of contrast: despite, in spite of, however and even so
    4. Lesson 16Did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree?Passive reporting verbs: is said to have done

  5. Unit 5 Travel that gives back

    so as to, in order to and so that, modifying comparatives, linkers of reason and result, verb + object + preposition + -ing

    1. Lesson 17Seven rules for the wild?Linkers of purpose: to, in order to, so as to, so that
    2. Lesson 18A lottery to see firefliesModifying comparatives and superlatives
    3. Lesson 19Sunrise with the turtlesLinkers of reason and result
    4. Lesson 20Volunteer on vacation?Verb + object + preposition + -ing

  6. Unit 6 Sport and society

    verb + noun collocations, what phrasal verb particles mean, a for-and-against essay, nouns from phrasal verbs

    1. Lesson 21The college team that changed disability sportVerb + noun collocations
    2. Lesson 22When women played pro baseballPhrasal verbs: what the particles mean
    3. Lesson 23Who needs a referee?The for and against essay: plan and linkers
    4. Lesson 24The comeback of Jim ThorpeNouns from phrasal verbs

  7. Unit 7 Buildings and heritage

    past participle clauses, quantifier + of which and of whom, report language, turn out and prove

    1. Lesson 25Homes built into the cliffsPast participle clauses with a passive meaning
    2. Lesson 26A house over a waterfallQuantifier + of which and of whom
    3. Lesson 27From factory to art museumReport language: headings, impersonal style, recommendations
    4. Lesson 28The towers the city tried to pull downTurn out and prove + to-infinitive or that clause

  8. Unit 8 Generations

    adverb + adjective collocations, three-part phrasal verbs, negative and echo questions, prepositional phrases

    1. Lesson 29Who decides where a generation ends?Adverb + adjective collocations
    2. Lesson 30 · you're hereMusic students living in a retirement home?Three-part phrasal verbs
    3. Lesson 31Conversations kept for historyNegative questions and echo questions
    4. Lesson 32A day for grandparentsFixed prepositional phrases

Questions about this lesson

What are three-part phrasal verbs?
They're a verb, particle and preposition used as one verb: look up to (admire), come up with (think of), put up with (accept something annoying), look forward to (feel happy about something coming). The meaning comes from all three words together, so learn each verb as a whole. The B2 lesson Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai teaches nine of them through Judson Manor in Cleveland.
Can you separate three-part phrasal verbs?
No. The object always comes after all three words, even when it's a pronoun: I can't put up with it, not I can't put it up with; We came up with it together; She looks up to them. That's the big difference from many two-part verbs, where it goes in the middle: Turn it off. The homework's word-order task in Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai practices this.
What are phrasal prepositional verbs?
It's another name for three-part phrasal verbs: a verb + an adverb particle + a preposition, such as get along with, keep up with and cut down on. The particle (along, up, down) works with the verb, and the preposition takes the object: I get along with my roommate. Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai calls them three-part phrasal verbs and teaches nine.
What's the difference between “look up to” and “look up at”?
Look up to someone means admire and respect them: Young players look up to older musicians. Look up at is literal: you raise your eyes, as in look up at the sky. So I really look up at my grandmother is a mistake when you mean respect. Come up with an idea and come up to a person are another such pair in Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai.
Is it “look forward to see” or “look forward to seeing”?
It's look forward to seeing. In look forward to, to is a preposition, not part of an infinitive, so a noun or an -ing form follows: I look forward to the concert. We're looking forward to seeing you. The same goes after other three-part verbs: Some people can't put up with getting up early. It's the first common mistake in the scheme of Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai.
What is the music student program at Judson Manor?
Judson Manor is a retirement community in University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio. Since 2010, graduate music students have lived there at no charge; they come from the Cleveland Institute of Music, a conservatory in the same neighborhood. In return, they give concerts and other cultural programs, about once a month, and residents share art lessons, cooking tips and career advice. Harper's explainer in Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai describes the deal.
How does a student get an apartment at Judson Manor?
In 2014, Judson described the steps: the student writes an essay, the Cleveland Institute of Music approves, and then a group of residents interviews the student, looking mainly for a good personality fit and comfort with older people. The building has its own story: it opened in 1923 as Wade Park Manor, a luxury apartment hotel. Both facts are among the surprises in Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai.
How do I teach three-part phrasal verbs to B2 students?
Give each verb a meaning and a real situation, then show that the object goes at the end, never in the middle. Contrast them with two-part verbs (turn it off) and with near twins like look up at. Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai moves from Harper's explainer and her interview with Lorenzo to the scheme and five drills, among them Harper's notebook to complete.
What's a good game for practicing three-part phrasal verbs?
Play “Build the verb”: give teams three piles of cards (verbs, particles, prepositions) and a list of meanings such as “admire” or “use less of.” Teams race to build look up to or cut down on and use it in a sentence. For speaking, the boxes in Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai ask What would be harder to put up with: a neighbor who practices the drums or one who asks questions all day?
What's good homework for three-part phrasal verbs?
Good homework fixes the tense with a time word: Yesterday, my sister ___ (come up with) a great plan for Mom's birthday. Add choices between look up to and look up at, word order and a quiz on correct sentences. All nine homework tasks in Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai check themselves, ending with a building newsletter and Harper's answer to Mildred, a reader from Dayton.
How do you practice three-part phrasal verbs one-to-one?
Plan a real event together: the student says who came up with the idea, what guests will look forward to and what the neighbors will have to put up with, and the teacher adds problems to solve. The chat in Music students living in a retirement home? on edio.ai works without a partner: Reginald, an older neighbor, plans a music afternoon in the lobby, and the student helps him.
Are there interactive exercises for three-part phrasal verbs?
Yes. This page plays three parts of Music students living in a retirement home?, a B2 lesson on edio.ai, without an account: Harper's interview with Lorenzo; Harper's notebook with eight verbs to drag in; and Reginald's chat about a music afternoon. Everything else needs an account.
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