call in
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: call IN. Saying “CALL in” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
Link across the gap. The final /l/ of “call” moves onto the particle and starts its syllable: “call in” is said “ca-lin”. Pausing between the words is what makes phrasal verbs sound recited rather than spoken.
2 meanings
- 1
To summon a professional for help.
- “They called in an electrician after the third power cut.”
- “We had to call the police in.”
Similar: summon
- 2
To phone your workplace, especially to report an absence.
- “He called in sick on Monday.”