AAAmerican Accent US

fall through

No object

This verb takes no object at all.

How to say it

Stress the particle, not the verb: fall THROUGH. Saying “FALL through” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.

No pause between the words. /l/ runs straight into /θ/ — “fall through” is one rhythmic unit with a single stressed beat on the particle. Watch the TH in “through” — tongue tip between the teeth, voiceless. Swapping it for /t/ or /s/ is the usual slip.

What it means

  1. (Of a plan or arrangement) to fail to happen.

    • “The house sale fell through at the last minute.”
    • “Our holiday plans fell through when the flights were cancelled.”

    Similar: collapse, fail

The particle logic

through

Something passes from one end of an obstacle to the other.

Listen + practice

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More FALL phrasal verbs

Compare the whole family →

fall apart

(Of a plan or organisation) to collapse or fail.

fall behind

To fail to keep pace with others or with a schedule.

fall for

To be deceived by a trick or a lie.

fall out

To quarrel and stop being friends.

fall down

To collapse or drop to the ground.

fall back on

To resort to a reliable alternative when your first choice fails.

fall off

To decrease in amount or quality.

fall through — meaning, examples & how to say it