Below you will find two of the uses of the phrasal verb 'base on' which you are likely to find used in the Cambridge Advanced exam.

In addition to the meaning/definition for each use, you will also find two examples of it being used with each meaning (to help you better understand its use and the context it is used in).

In order to remember these uses, make sure to make an example in your own words with the phrasal verb.

Use 1

To use information, data or knowledge to make a prediction about what will happen in the future or to recommend if something should be done or not.

“I only have one question, will it work?”
“BASED ON the tests we have done, I think it should.”

BASED ON the last 30 years of global temperatures recordings, we predicate that the average global temperature will increase by 1.6 degrees centigrade by 2040.

Click here to watch a YouTube video on this meaning of the phrasal verb

Use 2

To say who a fictional character is inspired by or from where the main story used in a film, novel, theatre play originally comes from (e.g. a real life event, another book etc...).

The film Apocalypse Now is BASED ON Joseph Conrad’s novel The Heart of Darkness.

The novel is BASED ON the real life of the British comedian Eric Morecambe.

Click here to watch a YouTube video on this meaning of the phrasal verb


Return to the list of 50 commonly phrasal verbs in the CAE exam.