Phrasal Verb: 'Fall through' (Fail)

This phrasal verb is what we call 'intransitive.' That is just a fancy way of saying it does not take an object. You cannot fall through a meeting. Instead, the meeting falls through. It is a self-contained action. You also cannot split this verb. The through must stay right next to fall. If you try to put a word between them, the sentence breaks. It is like a married couple that refuses to hold hands with anyone else. The subject of the sentence is almost always an abstract noun. Think of words like deal, plan, arrangement, or sale. You are describing the status of that thing. It is not about a person failing. It is about the idea or the contract failing. It is a very 'clean' grammar point once you get the hang of it.

1. 1Using fall through is a simple three-step process:
2. 2Identify your subject. This should be a plan, deal, or agreement.
3. 3Choose your tense. Remember, fall is an irregular verb (fall, fell, fallen).
4. 4Add the particle through immediately after the verb.
5. 5For example, in the present tense: "The deal falls through if we don't sign today."
6. 6In the past tense: "The house sale fell through last week."
7. 7In the present perfect: "Our travel plans have fallen through again."
8. 8Notice how the person involved is often not the subject. You do not say "I fell through the plan." You say "My plan fell through." It is a subtle shift in focus. It places the 'blame' on the situation rather than the person.

You should use fall through when a formal or informal agreement collapses. It is perfect for real estate scenarios. Imagine you are buying a house. The survey comes back with bad news. The sale falls through. It is also great for business negotiations. If two companies cannot agree on a price, the merger falls through. Use it for social life too! If your friends all get sick before a big dinner, the plans fall through. It implies that the foundation of the plan wasn't strong enough. It is very common in professional emails. "I am sorry to report that the partnership has fallen through." It sounds professional yet clear. It avoids the robotic tone of 'terminated' or 'aborted.' Use it when you want to sound like a seasoned pro.

Do not use this for physical actions. If you trip and fall into a hole, you literally fall through the floor. That is not the phrasal verb; that is just a verb and a preposition. Also, do not use it for personal failures. If you fail a driving test, you did not fall through. You just failed. It is only for plans or organized events. Do not use it for things that simply 'end.' A movie doesn't fall through when the credits roll. It only falls through if the cinema burns down before the movie starts! Finally, avoid using it for people. "My boyfriend fell through" sounds like he fell into a manhole. You mean "My date with my boyfriend fell through."

One of the biggest mistakes is adding an object. You might want to say, "The weather fell through our picnic." This is incorrect. The picnic is the subject! You should say, "Our picnic fell through because of the weather." Another mistake is using the wrong past participle. Some people say falled, but it is always fallen. Also, watch out for the 'person-as-subject' trap. You are not the one falling. Your plans are. It is a bit like a grammar traffic light. If you put a person at the start, the light turns red. If you put a plan at the start, the light turns green. Even native speakers occasionally mix this up in fast speech, but at C1, you want to be precise.

How does this differ from fall apart? When a plan falls apart, it happens slowly. It is messy. Pieces of the plan fail one by one. When a plan falls through, it is usually a total, sudden cancellation. Think of fall apart as a crumbling wall and fall through as a trapdoor. What about call off? To call off something is a deliberate choice. A manager calls off a meeting. But a meeting falls through because of circumstances. Call off needs a person to do the action. Fall through happens to the plan itself. Lastly, compare it to fail. Fail is very broad. Fall through is specific to arrangements. It adds a layer of 'native' flavor to your vocabulary.