Particle guide

Phrasal verbs with down

The particle down starts from one core idea — downward motion. Sink In groups its verbs by the recurring ways that idea plays out, so verbs that look unrelated line up into patterns.

102 phrasal verbs · 11 meaning groups

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Downward

Movement goes from high to low.

Eat Or Drink

Food, drink, or medicine goes down the throat into the body.

Less

A level or amount becomes lower. This can happen to prices, sound, heat, or speed.

Calming

Strong feelings or energy become lower and calmer.

Losing

A structure, a system, or someone's mood can go down when it fails.

Writing

Information is fixed in words, on paper or in a recording.

Pressure

Something is pressed down and kept from rising again.

Into Parts

You move from the whole thing to the smaller parts, so you can understand it.

Breakdown

A whole loses its structure and breaks into simpler parts.

Exact Point

Attention moves down to one exact point. A target is found, fixed, or specified.

Surface Work

The hand moves down along a surface. It presses, fixes, wipes, or checks it closely.

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Practice the down patterns in Sink In

The app turns each meaning group into short review cards: recognition, particle cloze, meaning-to-particle recall, and schema matching.

  • Learn the pattern behind dozens of verbs at once — not one-off translations.
  • Spaced repetition (SM-2) brings each meaning back right before you forget.
  • Four practice modes train recall and discrimination, not just recognition.
1,300+ phrasal verbs26 particle patternsBuilt for B1–C2
Sink In particle down shown through its meaning patterns