Phrasal Verbs: Hand In, Set Up, Count On, Sort Out

1. Warm-Up (3 min)

Question: Think of school, work, or projects.

• Have you ever forgotten to hand in homework?

• Have you ever had to sort out a problem at work?

Sample answers:

• “Yes, I forgot to hand in my assignment once.”

• “I had to sort out a problem with my computer at work.”

2. Presentation (5 min)

Read the examples:

• Hand In

  • “I forgot to hand in my essay.” (submit work)

  • “The students must hand in their homework by Friday.”

• Set Up

  • “They set up a new company last year.” (establish, organise)

  • “Can you help me set up the projector before the meeting?”

• Count On

  • “You can count on me to finish the report.” (depend on, trust)

  • “We can always count on Sarah to bring good ideas.”

• Sort Out

  • “We need to sort out this problem quickly.” (resolve, organise)

  • “I spent the afternoon sorting out my desk and files.”

👉 Notice: Hand In is about submitting work; Set Up works for businesses or equipment; Sort Out can mean to fix or organise something.

3. Controlled Practice (6 min)

Choose the correct phrasal verb.

1. “He will ____ the documents by tomorrow morning.”

   • (a) hand in

   • (b) set up

2. “We need to ____ a meeting with the new client.”

   • (a) sort out

   • (b) set up

3. “Don’t worry, you can always ____ your best friend for help.”

   • (a) hand in

   • (b) count on

4. “The IT team will ____ the computer problem this afternoon.”

   • (a) sort out

   • (b) count on

4. Interactive Practice (5 min)

Matching activity (click/drag): Match the beginnings with the endings.

• Column A

  • “I need to ____ my project before the deadline.”

  • “She decided to ____ her own business.”

  • “You can always ____ your teacher for advice.”

  • “They tried to ____ the confusion at the office.”

• Column B

  • “…hand in”

  • “…set up”

  • “…count on”

  • “…sort out”

5. Free Practice (5 min)

Type your answer:

• What is something you usually hand in?

• If you could set up any kind of business, what would it be?

• Who do you usually count on for help?

• What problem have you had to sort out recently?

6. Wrap-Up & Review (1 min)

Quick recap:

• Hand In → submit work

• Set Up → organise/start

• Count On → depend on

• Sort Out → solve/organise

Self-check: Can you make your own sentence with each verb?

✅ Answer Section

Controlled Practice:
1 → (a) hand in
2 → (b) set up
3 → (b) count on
4 → (a) sort out

Matching Activity:

• Hand in → “…my project before the deadline.”

• Set up → “…her own business.”

• Count on → “…your teacher for advice.”

• Sort out → “…the confusion at the office.”