Spring has sprung! March 20 marked the beginning of spring, and in San Diego and San Francisco, the flowers are in full bloom. To celebrate the change of seasons, CISL presents a phrasal verb with the word spring.

Phrasal Verb: spring for

Definition: to spring for something means to pay for something. Usually English speakers use this phrasal verb when talking about buying something special or something expensive.

Examples: “I really love U2, so I think I am going to spring for the closest seats that I can get at the U2 concert.

“We were planning on just eating burgers, but the Indian food from the restaurant across the street smelled so good that we sprang for the expensive Indian restaurant instead.”

“My Dad has often sprung for first class seats when we fly. He likes the leg room!”

Note: the past tense of spring is sprang (as with the second example sentence) and the past participle is sprung (as with the third example sentence).

This phrasal verb cannot be separated. The object that you spring for must always be placed after the word for and cannot go in between the words spring and for.

Have you ever sprung for something expensive? What was it?