The world of phrasal verbs: A unique challenge in English

What Are Phrasal Verbs?

Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb and one or two particles (prepositions or adverbs). These particles change the meaning of the original verb, creating a new, often idiomatic expression.

Examples:

• give up: (stop trying) “Don’t give up on your dreams!”

• look into: (investigate) “The police are looking into the incident.”

• run out of: (use up) “We’ve run out of milk.”

• put up with: (tolerate) “I can’t put up with his rude behavior.”

• get along with: (have a good relationship) “I get along with my coworkers.”

Why Phrasal Verbs Are Difficult for English Learners

1. Unpredictable Meanings: The meanings of phrasal verbs often don’t make sense if you just look at the individual words. For example, “run into” (meet by chance) has nothing to do with the usual meaning of “run.”

2. Multiple Meanings: Many phrasal verbs have multiple meanings depending on the context. For example, “pick up” can mean “lift,” “collect,” “learn,” or “improve.”

3. Verb + Many Particles: A single verb can combine with many different particles, each creating a new meaning. For example, “look” can be followed by “up,” “down,” “into,” “for,” “after,” and many others.

4. Separable or Inseparable: Some phrasal verbs are separable, meaning the object can go between the verb and particle (“pick up the book” or “pick the book up”). Others are inseparable, meaning the verb and particle must stay together (“look after the children”).

5. Informal Language: Phrasal verbs are often used in informal speech and writing, so learners who primarily study formal English may not encounter them as frequently.

Tips for Learning Phrasal Verbs

1. Learn in Context: Don’t just memorize lists of phrasal verbs. Instead, learn them in context through reading, listening, and conversation.

2. Focus on Common Phrasal Verbs: There are hundreds of phrasal verbs, so focus on the most common ones first. These are the ones you’ll encounter most often in real-life situations.

3. Use a Dictionary: A good dictionary will provide definitions and examples of how to use phrasal verbs in context.

4. Practice: Use phrasal verbs in your own speaking and writing to solidify your understanding.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Make Mistakes: Phrasal verbs can be tricky, so don’t get discouraged if you make mistakes. The more you practice, the better you’ll become at using them correctly.

Basic phrasal verbs (A1-A2)

1. Ask out: Invite on a date

2. Back up: Reverse

3. Break down: Stop functioning

4. Break up: End a relationship

5. Bring up: Mention

6. Call back: Return a phone call

7. Call off: Cancel

8. Check in: Register at a hotel

9. Check out: Leave a hotel

10. Clean up: Tidy

11. Come back: Return

12. Come in: Enter

13. Come over: Visit someone at their house

14. Come up: Arise, appear

15. Drop by: Visit informally

16. Drop off: Deliver something

17. Fall down: Collapse

18. Fill in: Complete (a form)

19. Find out: Discover

20. Get along: Have a good relationship

21. Get up: Rise from bed

22. Give back: Return something

23. Go away: Leave

24. Go on: Continue

25. Hang out: Spend time relaxing

26. Help out: Assist

27. Hold on: Wait

28. Keep on: Continue doing something

29. Look after: Take care of

30. Look for: Search

31. Look up: Search for information in a reference book or database

32. Pick up: Lift; Collect someone

33. Put away: Put something in its proper place

34. Put on: Dress oneself

35. Run away: Escape

36. Set up: Arrange, organize

37. Show up: Arrive

38. Slow down: Decrease speed

39. Speak up: Talk louder

40. Stand up: Rise to one’s feet

41. Take off: Remove (clothing); A plane departing

42. Talk about: Discuss

43. Throw away: Discard

44. Try on: Sample clothing

45. Turn off: Deactivate

46. Turn on: Activate

47. Wake up: Stop sleeping

48. Wash up: Clean oneself

49. Work out: Exercise

50. Write down: Record in writing

Intermediate phrasal verbs (B1-B2)

1. Blow up: Explode

2. Break in: Enter by force; Interrupt

3. Bring about: Cause to happen

4. Bring down: Make someone sad

5. Call on: Visit someone

6. Catch up: Reach the same point/level as

7. Come across: Find by chance

8. Count on: Rely on

9. Cut off: Disconnect, interrupt

10. Deal with: Handle, take care of (a problem)

11. Drop out: Quit a class, school

12. End up: Finally be in a particular place or situation

13. Figure out: Understand, find the answer

14. Fill out: Complete (a form)

15. Give in: Surrender

16. Give up: Quit a habit

17. Go after: Pursue

18. Hang up: End a phone call

19. Hold back: Restrain

20. Keep away: Avoid

21. Leave out: Exclude

22. Look forward to: Anticipate with pleasure

23. Make up: Invent a story or lie; Reconcile

24. Pass out: Faint

25. Put off: Postpone

26. Put up with: Tolerate

27. Run into: Meet unexpectedly

28. Settle down: Become calm or stable

29. Take care of: Be responsible for

30. Take out: Remove; Extract

31. Throw out: Discard

32. Turn down: Decrease the volume or strength; Reject

33. Turn up: Increase the volume or strength; Arrive unexpectedly

34. Watch out: Be careful

35. Work on: Practice, improve

Advanced phrasal verbs (C1-C2)

1. Account for: Explain

2. Bail out: Save from a problem

3. Boil down to: Be summarized as

4. Branch out: Expand or extend one’s interests

5. Break away: Escape

6. Bring off: Accomplish

7. Burn out: Become extremely tired or sick by working hard

8. Call down: Criticize

9. Catch on: Become popular or fashionable

10. Chip in: Contribute money or assistance

11. Come about: Happen

12. Come up with: Think of an idea or plan

13. Cut back on: Reduce in size or amount

14. Dress up: Wear nice clothing

15. Drop in: Visit unexpectedly

16. Ease off: Reduce in degree, speed or intensity

17. Fall through: Fail to come to completion

18. Get across: Successfully communicate

19. Get ahead: Progress

20. Get by: Survive

21. Get over: Recover from an illness or hardship

22. Give out: Distribute; Become exhausted

23. Go through: Examine or search carefully

24. Grow up: Become an adult

25. Hang in: Persist

26. Head off: Prevent

27. Hold off: Delay

28. Iron out: Resolve

29. Kick in: Contribute money or assistance

30. Knock out: Make unconscious

31. Lay off: Dismiss from employment

32. Lead to: Result in

33. Look into: Investigate

34. Make do with: Accept something less satisfactory

35. Make of: Understand or have an opinion

36. Nail down: Succeed in understanding or solving

37. Narrow down: Reduce the number of possibilities

38. Opt out of: Choose not to participate in

39. Pay off: Yield good results; Finish paying for something

40. Phase out: Gradually stop using

41. Point out: Indicate or mention

42. Pull off: Succeed in doing something difficult

43. Put down to: Attribute to

44. Put together: Assemble

45. Run after: Pursue, chase

46. See through: Realize the truth about

47. Set in: Begin and seem likely to continue

48. Show off: Act extra special for people watching

49. Shut down: Close a business or a machine

50. Take after: Resemble a parent or older relative

51. Take in: Deceive; Understand

52. Take up: Begin a hobby

53. Talk down to: Speak to someone as if they are less intelligent

54. Think through: Consider all aspects of a problem

55. Throw off: Get rid of

56. *Turn around: Change to the opposite direction

57. Use up: Consume all of something

58. Weigh in on: Give an opinion about something

59. Wind up: Finish, end up

60. Zero in on: Focus closely on