Phrasal verbs: cause and effect

This ESL worksheet focuses on expressing cause and effect in English through high-frequency phrasal verbs and verb phrases such as lead to, bring about, stem from, end up, set off, account for, and boil down to. Designed for upper-intermediate to advanced learners (B2–C1), it helps students move beyond basic connectors and communicate ideas with greater precision, fluency, and sophistication. It can be used in general and business English classes.

Activities overview:

Activity 1 – Phrasal verbs in context 
Students read a workplace dialogue and identify phrasal verbs that express cause and effect. They match each verb (e.g., lead to, stem from, bring about, end up, force into) to its correct definition.

Activity 2 – Sentence completion with target language
Learners complete sentences using the correct phrasal verb in the appropriate grammatical form.

Activity 3 – Discussion: Root causes and effects
Students choose several contemporary topics (e.g. burnout, cost of living, influencer culture, fast fashion) and discuss their causes and consequences using guided sentence frames. This promotes fluency, opinion-giving, and structured spoken responses.

Activity 4 – Identifying cause verbs in dialogue
Learners read short dialogues and underline verbs that express cause (account for, boil down to, arise from, be rooted in). This noticing activity expands students’ verb range and builds receptive awareness before active use.

Activity 5 – Matching sentence halves
Students match sentence beginnings with logical endings so that each completed sentence contains a cause-and-effect phrasal verb. This strengthens comprehension and reinforces meaning through context.

Activity 6 – Guided speaking practice
Learners answer discussion questions using specific target verbs (e.g. stem from, boil down to, force into). This controlled speaking task helps students practice accuracy while expressing personal ideas.

Activity 7 – Sentence transformation
Students rewrite sentences so they retain the same meaning while replacing simple verbs (cause, explain, trigger) with more advanced phrasal verbs. This develops paraphrasing skills and lexical range.

Activity 8 – Creative storytelling task
Finally, students choose a dramatic or unexpected situation (e.g. being locked out at midnight, interviewed on national news) and write or tell a short story explaining how they ended up there. They must use multiple cause-and-effect phrasal verbs, encouraging creativity, coherence, and extended speaking or writing.

For more speaking practice, and to review these phrasal verbs, you can use the printable conversation cards.