Driving · Getting around
run out of petrol
have no fuel
If you run out of petrol, your car has no fuel left.
This vs that
We've run out of petrol.
We need to fill up.
Hear it in real life
Why are you parked on the hard shoulder?
I've run out of petrol.
We ran out of petrol just outside the village and had to walk to a garage.
Which sounds natural?
Psst — which one would you actually say?
People describe this problem with the phrasal verb 'run out of', not with a technical description.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: We ran out ‸ petrol on the motorway.
Say: We ran out of petrol on the motorway.
Keep 'of' after 'run out' when you mean use all of something.
Build it
How it fits in a sentence.
run out ofnoun; run out of petrol
Phrases to borrow
More for talking about driving.
keep an eye on the road
Keep an eye on the road while I check the map.
get stuck behind ___
We got stuck behind a slow lorry.
Driving words
Getting around · Driving: the words around “run out of petrol”.
Compare it
Where this one sits next to the phrases it gets mixed up with.
Your turn: say it out loud
We've run out of petrol.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
run out of petrol
have no fuel
“We ran out of petrol just outside the village and had to walk to a garage.”
heytardy