Fall apart, fall behind, fall through and fall back on are four phrasal verbs you will hear constantly at work, and they are not interchangeable. Something that falls apart stops working successfully. Someone who falls behind is making less progress than planned. A plan that falls through never happens at all. And whatever you fall back on is your backup. Learn these four together and you will understand most of what people mean when they use fall in a business conversation.
Here is the quick version, and then each one in detail with examples you can use today.
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Synonyms | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall apart | Stop working successfully | collapse, deteriorate, fail | Their plan fell apart due to rising costs. |
| Fall behind | Make less progress than planned | lag, be behind | We have fallen behind schedule. |
| Fall through | Not happen or be completed | fail, be canceled | The deal fell through at the last minute. |
| Fall back on | Use something as a backup | rely on, turn to | I had to fall back on Plan B. |
Fall apart
Meaning: to stop working successfully. Use it when something that was holding together starts to come undone, whether that is a plan, a team, a relationship or a physical object.
Synonyms: collapse, deteriorate, fail
- I can see the deal falling apart if we do not act.
- The department fell apart after I left.
- Their plan fell apart due to rising costs.
Note: fall apart describes a process. Things come apart gradually, piece by piece. That is why you can watch something falling apart over weeks, but you cannot really watch something falling through. It either happens or it does not.
Fall behind
Meaning: to make less progress than planned, or to be slower than expected.
Synonyms: lag, be behind
- Production is falling behind.
- We have fallen behind schedule.
- Careful not to fall behind on work.
Note: you can use fall behind on its own, or add on or with plus the thing you are behind on. She fell behind on her emails. We have fallen behind with the reporting. Both are natural. It is also the standard verb for payments: They fell behind on the rent.
Fall through
Meaning: to not happen, or to not be completed. Use it for arrangements that were agreed or expected and then collapsed before they were finished.
Synonyms: fail, be canceled
- The deal fell through at the last minute.
- Our supplier agreement fell through.
- The sponsorship fell through unexpectedly.
Note: fall through is used almost entirely for plans, deals, sales, agreements and arrangements. You would not say a machine fell through, or a friendship fell through. Those fall apart.
Fall back on
Meaning: to use something as a backup when your first choice is not available.
Synonyms: rely on, turn to
- I had to fall back on Plan B.
- We have extra stock to fall back on.
- George will need to fall back on his savings if he does not get a job soon.
Note: this one always needs an object. You fall back on something. You cannot simply say I had to fall back and expect to be understood, because fall back on its own means to retreat or move backwards, which is a different verb entirely.
Fall through or fall apart? The difference that matters
This is the pair that causes the most trouble, because in many languages one word covers both.
- Fall through is a single moment. The thing never happened. The merger fell through. There is no merger.
- Fall apart is a process. The thing existed and then disintegrated. The merger fell apart. It was underway, and it came undone.
A useful test: if you could point to the exact day it died, it probably fell through. If it got worse over weeks until there was nothing left, it fell apart.
Grammar you need for all four
Fall is irregular: fall, fell, fallen. This trips people up in the present perfect, which is exactly where these verbs are most useful at work.
- Correct: We have fallen behind schedule.
- Wrong: We have fell behind schedule.
- Correct: The deal fell through yesterday.
- Wrong: The deal falled through yesterday.
All four are inseparable. The particle stays attached to the verb, so you cannot put the object in the middle. Say we fell behind the project, never we fell the project behind.
Common mistakes
- The deal fell down. This means it physically dropped. You want fell through.
- I fell back my savings. Missing the on. It is fall back on.
- We are falling behind of schedule. No of. Just falling behind schedule.
- The relationship fell through. Relationships fall apart. Deals fall through.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fall through and fall apart?
Fall through means something never happened at all, usually a plan or a deal. Fall apart means something that existed stopped working and came undone over time.
Is fall back on formal or informal?
Neutral. It is perfectly at home in a board meeting and in a conversation with a friend, which makes it a safe choice in professional English.
Can I say fall behind with instead of fall behind on?
Yes. Both are correct. On is more common for payments and tasks, with slightly more common for work in progress. Neither will sound wrong.
What is the past tense of these phrasal verbs?
All use fell for the past simple and fallen for the past participle: fell apart, fell behind, fell through, fell back on, and have fallen apart, have fallen behind, have fallen through, have fallen back on.
Key takeaways
- Fall apart is a process. Something that was working comes undone.
- Fall behind is about pace. You are slower than the plan.
- Fall through is a single event. The plan never happened.
- Fall back on always needs an object. It is your Plan B.
- The past forms are fell and fallen, never falled and never have fell.
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