5 exercises — the phrasal verbs you need for IT team communication: starting and ending meetings, following up, approving, and reviewing.
Meeting phrasal verb cluster
kick off — start a meeting, sprint, or project
wrap up — bring a meeting or task to a close
follow up (on / with) — take further action after a conversation
sign off on — formally approve a design, plan, or document
run through — quickly review or walk through steps together
look into — investigate a problem or issue in depth
touch base — make a quick check-in with someone
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
The Scrum Master says: "Let's _____ the sprint planning meeting — we have a lot to cover today." Which phrasal verb is correct?
Kick off means to start a meeting, project, sprint, or event — it's extremely common in agile and corporate environments. "Kick off the sprint planning", "kick off the project", "kick off the retro". The noun "kickoff" is used for the event itself: "the sprint kickoff", "kickoff meeting", "project kickoff call". "Kick off" implies an energetic, organised start — not just beginning, but beginning with intent and a group. Related: "kick things off" = start proceedings: "Let's kick things off with a quick round of status updates." "Fire up" is informal and suggests enthusiasm (fire up the team, fire up the engine) — it's not the standard choice for formally starting a meeting. "Launch away" — not standard; "launch" alone is used for products, features, or campaigns. "Open through" — not a standard phrasal verb in this context.
2 / 5
At the end of the retrospective, the team lead says: "OK, let's _____ — it's been a productive session." Choose the right phrasal verb.
Wrap up means to bring a meeting, conversation, or task to a close in an organised way — summarising, completing, and concluding. "Wrap up the retro", "wrap up the call", "wrap up this feature". The noun "wrap-up" is used for a summary or closing section: "Let's do a quick wrap-up before we log off." "Wrap up" conveys a sense of tying loose ends together — not just stopping, but completing properly. "End away" — not a phrasal verb. "Finish off" can mean to complete the last part of something ("finish off the PR review"), but it's less natural for formally closing a meeting. It can also mean to use the last of something ("finish off the coffee") or to eliminate (informal). For meetings, "wrap up" is the standard choice. "Close through" — not a standard phrasal verb.
3 / 5
After the standup, the PM says: "I'll _____ with you after this call about the timeline change." Which phrasal verb is correct?
Follow up means to take additional action after an initial conversation, meeting, or event — to continue a thread of communication or ensure something was done. "I'll follow up with you" = I'll contact you again to continue this discussion. The noun "follow-up" is ubiquitous in IT teams: "follow-up message", "follow-up ticket", "follow up on the PR review". "Follow up on" something specific: "Can you follow up on the security audit status?" vs. "Follow up with someone": "I'll follow up with the client tomorrow." "Check back" means to return to a conversation or source at a later time: "Check back with me later" / "Check back on the ticket tomorrow" — it implies the conversation is paused, not continued. "Come back around" — informal but sometimes used; "come back to it later" is more common. "Touch forward" — not a standard phrase; "touch base" is the standard: "Let's touch base after the release."
4 / 5
In a design review, the senior architect says: "I need to _____ the new API contract before we commit to this approach." Choose the correct phrasal verb.
Sign off on means to formally approve something — giving your official endorsement or authorisation. "Sign off on the design", "sign off on the budget", "sign off on the architecture decision". In IT contexts, sign-off is a key gate in design review, security review, and change management processes. "Get sign-off" = obtain approval: "We need sign-off from the security team before deployment." "Sign off" (without "on") also means to end a session: "I'm going to sign off for the day" — so the "on" is essential when talking about approvals. "Look over" means to review or examine, but it doesn't imply formal approval — it's informal: "Can you look over my PR?" vs. "Can you sign off on this architecture?" "Check into" means to investigate or to register at a hotel — not for formal approvals. "Agree over" — not standard; "agree on" is correct: "We agreed on the approach."
5 / 5
The team says: "Let's _____ the release plan one more time before the call with the client."
Run through means to go over something quickly — to review, rehearse, or summarise so everyone is aligned. "Run through the plan", "run through the agenda", "run through the steps". It implies a focused, systematic review rather than a casual glance. "Let's run through the release plan" = Let's cover the main points together before the meeting. "Run over" is tricky: in British English it can mean to review quickly (similar to "run through"), but it primarily means to exceed a time limit ("the meeting ran over by 20 minutes") or to hit something with a vehicle. In international/remote teams, "run through" is safer and unambiguous. "Look into" means to investigate something: "I'll look into why the tests are failing" — implies a deeper investigation, not a quick review. "Go away with" — not standard; "go over" means to review: "Let's go over the plan" is also perfectly natural.