Here’s a question for you: What’s the most difficult thing about learning English? When I ask this question to English learners, the most common answer is: “Phrasal verbs! Why do they exist? Why do you have to make English so complicated with these stupid things!” And it’s a fair point — phrasal verbs are unnecessarily complicated. But let’s not make life difficult. You don’t need to learn long lists of phrasal verbs. Honestech tvr serial. It’s more efficient to focus on the phrasal verbs that are used the most in English. That’s where I can help! I researched the 50 most common phrasal verbs in British English.1, 2 There were a lot of phrasal verbs that you probably already know (like “give up” and “go on”), but some of the most common phrasal verbs surprised me — because English learners typically don’t know or use them. So here they are! Thank me later — with chocolate coins! PHRASAL VERB #1 | Carry outWhat does it mean?This means “implement” or “execute,” which basically means “do” — in a way. How can I use it?We only use this in quite serious, getting-things-done kinds of situations. So “ And don’t say, “ But we can:
… stuff like that. Serious, grown-up stuff. PHRASAL VERB #2 | Point outWhat does it mean?This one means “bring something to someone’s attention.” How can I use it?So perhaps you’re writing an awesome book. You’ve basically finished it, but is it ready to publish? Before you publish it, you need someone to have a look at it and find the mistakes you’ve made (the ones that you haven’t noticed yet), right? Once they point out the mistakes, you’ll be able to correct them. And then your book will truly be awesome. You can:
Finally, it’s also really common to use this structure: point out + that + SVO What’s SVO? Click here. SVO = subject, verb, object e.g. I’ll make tea. I = subject So I might want to point outthat we just don’t have enough time to sit around eating doughnuts. Or point outthat everyone went home ages ago, so there’s no need to keep singing. Or that you have a duck on your head. PHRASAL VERB #3 | Make upAccording to my research, this is the 11th most common phrasal verb. That’s probably because it actually has a few different meanings: Make up | Meaning #1What does it mean?It means “invent” or “create.” How can I use it?We usually use this for stories. Think of a dad sitting down with his kid at bedtime, and the kid wants a story. Because kids always want stories, for some reason. They like stories. Now, either the dad can find a book and just read a story from the book. Or he can make one up! We can:
Make up | Meaning #2What does it mean?It means “to compensate for something.” How can I use it?OK. When was the last time you forgot someone’s birthday? Or didn’t meet up with them when you said you would? Or had to cancel plans with them? Or accidentally dropped their new phone in the river? Feels kind of bad, right? So what do you do when you’ve let someone down like that? What do you do to make it up to them? Buy them cake, of course! (Or maybe something else.) There are a couple of ways we can form a sentence with this phrasal verb: #1 – Make it up to someone Like, “Can you do my shift on Friday? I’ll make it up to you by doing yours on Saturday.” #2 – Make up for something Like, “Yeah, I’m taking him to Euro Disney. I’m making up for telling him that Father Christmas doesn’t exist.” Make up | Meaning #3What does it mean?![]() This basically means “to make friends again” — after a fight, an argument or a disagreement. Or after you’ve looked at someone the wrong way, and then they look at you the wrong way, and suddenly you hate each other for no good reason. How can I use it?This one’s similar to the last use. The main difference is that instead of one person doing something wrong to someone, you’ve both had some sort of argument or disagreement. Maybe you’ve stopped talking to each other for a while. Maybe you’ve been giving each other evil looks for ages, too. But after a while, it’s time to make up. Forget the argument — forget the fight! Shake hands and give each other a hug. And everything’s well again! Yep – time to make up! PHRASAL VERB #4 | Come onThis one also has a few meanings: Come on | Meaning #1What does it mean?It means, “I think you’re being unreasonable, and now I’m strongly saying that you should change your mind.” How can I use it?OK. Here’s a situation. You’ve just written a great short story. It’s about Freddie Mercury, and how he escapes a burning airport and saves the British Queen’s favourite corgi. (Corgis are those annoying dogs that the Queen appears to like for some weird reason.) Anyway – your story’s great, and naturally, you want to show it to someone. You ask your best friend, but she’s just being difficult. She’s just refusing to read it. She has no time. She doesn’t like Freddie Mercury. Or corgis. You try to convince her. She’s being unreasonable, of course. (Who doesn’t like Freddie Mercury? I mean — look at him!) So you want to say something to both convince her that she’s being unreasonable and to help persuade her to read it. “Come on! Just read it!” It’s a bit like “please,” but don’t use it in a sentence; it’s used by itself. Also, it’s not as polite. Come on | Meaning #2What does it mean?It basically means, “Let’s go!” How can I use it?Be a little careful with this. I said this is like “let’s go!” but it’s not exactly the same. Don’t use it with someone you’re unfamiliar with – and please don’t use this with your boss. Unless you’re really friendly with your boss (or you like getting fired). We can use this one with friends. Especially if we want to hurry them up. I also find myself saying this to an invisible bus while I’m waiting for it in the rain. Come on | Meaning #3What does it mean?OK. This one usually happens when person A comes on to person B. Person A is usually a guy and person B is usually a lady (though I have seen some rather interesting situations with the roles reversed). To put this bluntly (directly), this is when person A tries to “make the first move” with person B, hoping that it’ll lead to sex. Most of the time, person B isn’t interested in having sex. At least not with person A, who smells and still lives with his mother. In a car. How can I use it?Do you remember Tony from my negative personality adjectives lesson? Tony has a lot of negative characteristics. He loves himself, he can be rude, and he’s also very arrogant. And when he sees something he wants (or someone he wants), he just tries to take it. So imagine you’re at a cafe or in a bar. Tony just casually walks up to you. He talks to you for a while, mostly about himself, of course. Then he asks you to come back to his place for a little “you-know-what.” Well – he just came on to you! PHRASAL VERB 5 | Go downUnsurprisingly, this one has a few meanings, too. Let’s look at them. Then coffee? Go down | Meaning #1What does it mean?This means “to happen.” How can I use it?I’m glad you asked that question. There are only a few ways you can use this phrasal verb to mean “happen.” It can be a question: “What went down, man?” Or it can be used in this phrase: “… and that’s how it went down.” or “… and that’s what went down, dude.” Sometimes like this, too: “Here’s how it’s going to go down.” We basically use it to refer to something undefined (“that,” “what,” “how,” etc.). But it’s a bit weird saying something like, “A major earthquake has just That’s because “go down” in this sense is VERY informal — and quite American. Think hip-hop stars and surfers. Go down | Meaning #2What does it mean?This one basically means “how people reacted to something.” In other words, it could mean “be received.” (We can talk about how someone “receives” news, information, a performance or something they can react to.) How can I use it?We almost always use this one to talk about how well or how badly something was received. So it’s common to hear it as a question with “how”: “How did your cat juggling performance go down?” And it’s also common to hear it with “well” or “badly” (or “brilliantly” or “terribly,” etc.). “How did it go down? It went down terribly! Nobody understood it.” Go down | Meaning #3What does it mean?This is going to sound a bit strange, but this just means “go.” We add “down” for almost no reason. It just sounds more friendly and can sound quite relaxed and natural. How can I use it?OK. So this has the same meaning as “go,” but you can’t use it in any situation. We can use it when we’re talking about going to a particular physical place. So you can say: “I’m just going down to the shops. Do you want anything?” Don't hesitate to explain what songwriters and singer wanted to say. Also we collected some tips and tricks for you: • Don't write just 'I love this song.' Big papa lyrics. But not: “ You would probably only use it for relatively short distances, too. So you can say: “I went down to your house the other day. But you weren’t there. Were you cat juggling in town again?” But it’s probably a bit weird to say: “ ![]() OK. So there we are – 5 of the most common phrasal verbs! How many of the phrasal verbs from today can you remember? Can you answer these questions:
Answer in the comments and let’s share our experiences and knowledge, and get some excellent practice going! Did you find this useful? Do you know any people (or ducks) that might also benefit from this? Then BE AWESOME AND SHARE! Spread the knowledge! 1. Gardner, D., & Davies, M. (2007). Pointing Out Frequent Phrasal Verbs: A Corpus-Based Analysis. TESOL Quarterly, 41(2), 339-359. 2. Zarifi, V., & Mukundan, J. (2013). Phrasal Verb Combinations in Corpus-Based Studies: A Critical Review. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 2(4), 212-217. Turn on / Turn off
Put on / Take off
You can use put on / take off with clothes, shoes, hats, watches, and jewelry. Find outTo discover or learn information.
Find out can be used to discover information on purpose (first example) or by accident (second example). Give upTo stop doing something.
You can use give up with an activity (smoking) or a thing (fast food). Put awayTo put something in its place.
Throw away (Throw out)To put something in the garbage/trash.
Fill inTo give missing information.
Get along (+ with)To have a good relationship.
We select the most common and useful English phrases in this course. Most of them are phrasal verbs. Each phrase has at least two sentence examples and a simple dialogue to demonstrate how it is used. If the phrase is difficult to learn or has different meanings, we have more sentences to help you understand better. In the video, the native English teacher repeats each sentence three times for learners to improve listening comprehension. Listen to and repeat after the teacher. You'll see awesome results and feel amazed after just a short period of time. After years of learning grammar and words, you still feel something is missing. Something is more confusing to you. You got it! English phrases and idioms are one of the biggest challenges advancing your English. You know the individual word in a phrase, but you may get confused about the meaning. In daily conversation, phrasal verbs are frequently used.If you have a good command of phrasal verbs, you will find it is much easier to express yourself in English. We put a lot of efforts into writing sentence examples and dialogues for the purpose of practical use in daily lives. We want you to use them instead of just 'keeping in mind.' We suggest that you read the sentence examples repeatedly until you are able to say them clearly and naturally. COPY the sentences and USE them. Speaking English can be so easy. Let us help you overcome the challenges of English phrases. Join us and give it a try!
Sometimes English phrasal verbs make sense… And sometimes they seem totally random. Most Used Phrasal Verbs PdfLook at the cute kitten at the top of this page, for example. It looks like she’s going to hit those paper birds until they fall down. It’s pretty easy to guess that this means she’s going to make the birds fall or drop. But what if I shouted to her, “Cut it out!” It sounds like I’m asking her to grab a pair of scissors, right? But I’m just telling her to stop what she’s doing. Phrasal verbs open up a whole new world of possibilities for speaking English. They are phrases that give verbs completely different meanings. They are also used incredibly often in everyday conversation, which makes them important to know. The good news is that a lot of English phrasal verbs share the same base verb (cut it out, cut off, cut in — more on all of those below). If you learn the phrasal verbs associated with one verb, you’ll give your vocabulary an instant boost! In this English phrasal verbs list, we’ll show you 56 of the most common phrasal verbs—conveniently organized by type. So come on, let’s learn some phrasal verbs. What Is a Phrasal Verb?A phrasal verb is a phrase that’s made up of a verb and another word or two, usually a preposition but sometimes an adverb. So before we can talk about English phrasal verbs, it’s important to understand what verbs, prepositions and adverbs are.
Now that you know what verbs and prepositions are, you’re ready to start putting them together into phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs work by changing the verb’s meaning based on the preposition that follows them. It’s easier than you think—you probably already know a number of phrasal verbs. For example, read the last sentence before this section: “So come on, let’s learn some phrasal verbs.” The words “come on” in that sentence are a phrasal verb! The word “come,” on its own, means to move towards something. Together with the preposition “on,” though, the phrase “come on” becomes a phrase of encouragement. There are many other phrasal verbs out there! How to Learn English Phrasal VerbsEnglish phrasal verbs are everywhere, so one of the best ways to learn them is to try to listen for them. These phrases are commonly used, and would not be unusual to hear in a conversation. Do you hear a verb used together with another word very often? It might be a phrasal verb. If you’re not sure whether a phrase is a phrasal verb or just a verb that happened to be spoken with a preposition, try looking it up. Most dictionaries have entries for phrasal verbs, so look the phrase up to be sure. You can also look up the phrase in the online Oxford Phrasal Verbs Dictionary, which is an excellent resource, so save that link! Some phrasal verb meanings are obvious—like “fall down”—but some are almost like idioms since they can’t be literally translated. To make them easier to learn, you can try grouping the phrasal verbs into categories, like we’ve done with our phrasal verbs list below. Don’t be afraid to create your own categories from different types of phrasal verbs. For example, you could group phrasal verbs that are focused on time of day (e.g. wake up, lie down) or positive vs. negative (e.g. cheer up/give up). That’s why we’ve organized our phrasal verbs list below into groups. There are so many phrasal verbs that it might seem difficult to learn them all. But many of these phrases become natural after a while—all it takes is some repetition and practice. One of the fastest ways to understand phrasal verbs and use them correctly is watching videos on FluentU. FluentU provides authentic English videos—like movie trailers, TV commercials, inspiring speeches and more—where you will hear tons of phrasal verbs used naturally by native speakers. And you never have to worry about misunderstanding them. That’s because FluentU has English learning tools built into every video, including interactive subtitles. Just tap on any phrasal verb (or any word at all) and FluentU will give you an instant definition, grammar information and examples. As an example, if you tap on the word “brought,” then you see this: FluentU lets you tap to look up any word. There are also flashcards and fun quizzes for every video to help you remember what you’ve learned. FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. For instance, watch this video of José Gonzales performing the song “Heartbeats,” which has several English phrasal verbs. If you sign up for a FluentU trial, you can watch with all the learning features and explore the full video library. There are thousands of videos for beginners through advanced learners. How to Use English Phrasal VerbsPhrasal verbs are used just like verbs—you can use them anywhere they make sense! Usually, the verb and preposition in a phrasal verb need to be said together, like in the phrase “fall down.” In some cases, though, you can separate the verb and the preposition by putting other words in between them. For example: the phrase “turn off” can be used just like that, or it can be interrupted by stating what you’re turning off. In other words, you can say “turn off the TV,” but you can also say “turn the TV off.” Both are correct! Another thing to keep in mind about phrasal verbs is that they are still verbs. That means the verb part of the phrase can be changed depending on the tense and subject of the sentence. So “turn off” can transform like this: I turned off the TV this morning. She turns off the TV every time I enter the room! It will take you a while to get used to which phrasal verbs can be separated and which can’t, so hang in there! Below are some of the most common English phrasal verbs. We organized them alphabetically so they’re easy to find—like an English phrasal verb dictionary—but you can group them however you want when you’re learning them! Phrasal Verbs with “Bring”Bring upTo mention something. Note: The two parts of this phrasal verb can be separated in a sentence. “Mark was sick and had to miss the party, so please don’t bring it up, I don’t want him to feel bad for missing it.” Bring onTo cause something to happen, usually something negative. The two parts of this phrasal verb can be separated by what’s happening. “His lung cancer was broughton by years of smoking.” Bring it on!To accept a challenge with confidence. “You want to have a race? Bringit on! I can beat you!” Phrasal Verbs with “Call”Call onThis can mean either to visit someone, or to use someone’s or something’s knowledge. To visit someone: “I’ll call on you this evening to see how you’re feeling.” To use someone’s knowledge: “I may need to call on the university’s excellent professors in order to answer your question.” Call offTo cancel something. “The picnic was called off because of the rain.” Phrasal Verbs with “Cheer”Cheer onTo support someone by giving them words of encouragement. This phrasal verb can be separated by the name or pronoun of the person/people being cheered on). “Even though Samantha was in the last place, her brother cheered her on through the entire race.” Cheer upThis phrase can either be used as a phrase of encouragement said to someone who seems sad (just saying “cheer up!” to them), or it can mean to try to make someone happier. “Andrew was having a bad day, so his girlfriend cheered him up by taking him out for ice cream.” Phrasal Verbs with “Come”Come up (with something)To think of an idea. “I cameup with this idea for a TV show about a woman living with her best friend and daughter. I call it ‘Two and a Half Women.’” Come upTo bring up a topic, or when something happens unexpectedly. To bring up a topic: “I wanted to tell her that I got a new job but the chance never cameup.” Unexpected occurrence: “I was going to meet my friends for dinner, but something cameup so I had to cancel.” Come inTo enter. “‘Come in, the door is open!’ said the grandmother to the wolf.” Come acrossTo meet or find by chance. “I was cleaning the attic and I cameacross my high school uniform. Can you believe it still fits?” Come forwardTo volunteer information about something, like a crime. “The police are encouraging people to comeforward with any information about the kidnapped girl.” Phrasal Verbs with “Cut”Cut offThis phrase can be used in several ways, but its general meaning is “to interrupt or stop something.” (Can be separated.) While driving, to get in front of another car suddenly: “That red car just cut me off and I almost crashed into it.” To stop supplying things to or communicating with someone: “His father is rich but he cut him off without any money of his own.” Cut (it) outThis phrase has the same meaning as saying “Stop it.” “Hey, cut it out! I was watching that movie, so stop changing the channel!” Cut inTo interrupt someone when they are speaking. “I was about to ask that girl on a date, but her friend cut in and I lost the chance.” Phrasal Verbs with “Drop”Drop by/inTo stop by for a visit, for a short time. “Andrew is such a great boyfriend, when he heard that his girlfriend had a cold he dropped by to bring her some soup.” Drop offTo leave something or someone in their destination. It can be separated by the object being dropped off. “I can give you a ride and drop you off at work.” Phrasal Verbs with “Fall”Fall apartThis phrase means “to break into pieces,” but it can be used to talk about things that are not physical, like a marriage or a person. “They tried to save their marriage by going to therapy but in the end if fellapart anyway.” Fall downTo drop to the ground, usually by accident. “My friend slipped on a banana peel and felldown. I thought that only happened in cartoons!” Phrasal Verbs with “Fill”Fill (someone) inTo give someone the details about something. This English phrasal verb is usually separated by the person getting filled in. “Quickly, let’s go! There’s no time to explain, I’ll fill you in on the way.” Fill upTo become completely full. “The little girl filledup on candy before dinner, and didn’t want to eat any of the chicken.” Phrasal Verbs with “Get”Get awayTo escape. You may have heard the phrase “getaway car,” which can help you remember this phrasal verb. That’s the car used by criminals to run away from a crime scene, like a bank robbery. “Carmen’s neighbor tried to show her pictures of all her cats, but Carmen managed to get away.” Get aroundTo solve a problem by avoiding the main issue. This phrase can also be used very informally to refer to someone who has many sexual partners. As you can imagine, it’s not very nice to say that someone “gets around”! “Some people know all the different ways to getaround tax laws.” Get along (with)To have a friendly relationship with someone. “Some people are surprised that I getalongwith my mother-in-law really well!” Get upTo stand up, or to wake up. “I have so much trouble gettingup in the morning that I have to set three alarms.” Get back toTo return to someone or something. This phrase is often used to say that you will return with an answer to a question or a request at a later time. “Derek’s coworker wasn’t sure what time the meeting was, so he said he’d getbackto him with the time.” Get back atTo get revenge on someone. “Her ex-husband took her house so she gotbackat him by taking his dogs.” Phrasal Verbs with “Give”Give outThis phrase can mean to break down or stop working, or to hand out or distribute something. To stop working: “The city had to rebuild the bridge completely, because it was about to giveout and fall down.” To distribute: “He has a lot of contacts because he givesout his business card to everyone he meets.” Give inTo surrender, especially in a fight or argument. “Ben’s mother gavein and let him stay out late with his friends.” Give awayTo hand things out for free. This phrasal verb can be separated by the item being given away. “When Linda’s cat had kittens, she gave them all away to good homes.” Give upTo stop trying, surrender. “After two weeks of trying to build my own table, I gaveup and just bought one.” Phrasal Verbs with “Go”Go out (with)To go on a date with someone. “Sarah was so happy when Peter finally asked her to gooutwith him!” Go aheadTo go in front of someone, or to give permission to do or say something. “Go ahead, explain to me why there is a car on my roof.” Phrasal Verbs with “Grow”Grow upTo grow up, sometimes used to tell someone to stop acting childish. “Some people tell Steve he needs to growup, but he loves acting like a child.” Grow apartTo get distant from someone, like a friend. “When my friend moved to a different country I tried to stay close with her, but we slowly grewapart.” Phrasal Verbs with “Hang”Hang onTo keep something. ![]() “When everyone else was getting fired, Paul managed to hangon to his job.” Hang outTo spend time with someone, casually. “My friends and I used to hangout in the park after school.” Hang upTo end a call on the phone, especially if it’s before the other person is ready. “I was in the middle of a sentence, and he hungup on me! How rude.” Phrasal Verbs with “Hold”Hold onTo hold something tightly. This phrase can also be a way of asking someone to wait for a moment. “You’d better holdon to your hat, it’s windy out there!” Hold backTo stop yourself from doing or saying something. “Amy has a great voice but whenever she’s singing in public she feels shy and holdsback.” Phrasal Verbs with “Log”Log in (to)Used with computers, this phrase means to sign into your account on a website or computer. “Don’t forget to login to your FluentU account to learn English better and faster.” Log out/offAlso used with computers, this phrase means to sign out of your account. “You should always logout of your accounts when you use a public computer.” Phrasal Verbs with “Look”Look upTo check the meaning of something—can be separated by the item being looked up. “If you don’t know the meaning of a word, you should look it up in the dictionary.” Look outTo watch out for something. “Lookout, there’s a baseball coming your way!” Phrasal Verbs with “Pay”Pay backTo give someone back money that you owe them—can be separated by the person getting paid back. When it’s written as one word, “payback” means revenge. “Thanks for getting me lunch when I forgot my wallet at home! I’ll pay you back tomorrow.” Pay forThis phrase can either mean to give someone money for a particular purpose (like paying for a new car), or to suffer because of something you did. “He’ll pay for all the problems he caused me by being late today!” Phrasal Verbs with “Put”Put outThis phrase can mean to extinguish a fire, or to irritate someone by asking them for a favor. (In the case of annoying someone, can be separated by the person getting annoyed.) Be aware that in very informal slang, this phrase has a more offensive meaning. To extinguish a fire: “The firefighters managed to putout the fire before it spread to other houses.” To irritate someone: “I’d ask you to make me dinner but I don’t want to put you out.” Put onTo get your clothes or makeup on. “Every morning she putson her dress, lipstick, shoes and hat—in that order.” Phrasal Verbs with “Take”Take offThis phrase can mean to remove clothing, or to leave for a journey (e.g. planes take off when they begin their flights). “She was very happy when she finally got home and tookoff her shoes. They had been hurting her feet all day!” Take outTo remove something, like from a pocket or a bag. This phrase can also mean to take someone on a date. It can be separated by the item or person being taken out. The phrase can also mean to remove someone, as in by killing them—but this is probably not something you would need to use in everyday conversation! To remove something: “The children sat at their desks and tookout their pens and paper.” To take someone on a date: “He took her out to the most expensive restaurant in the city.” Phrasal Verbs with “Turn”Turn on/offTo switch a machine or light on or off. “Turn off the light, I’m trying to sleep!” Turn aroundTo move so that you’re facing the opposite direction. “Sally was about to get on the plane, but she turnedaround when someone called her name.” Turn upWhen something that was lost is found unexpectedly. “Anything I lose usually turnsup under the couch. It’s my cat’s favorite hiding place.” Phrasal Verbs with “Warm”Warm up (to)To start liking someone or something more as you spend more time with them, especially if you didn’t really like them in the beginning. “The new puppy was scared of my husband when we first got him, but he warmedupto him pretty quickly.” Phrasal Verbs with “Work”Work outTo exercise. “I try to workout every morning, by repeatedly lifting a heavy donut to my mouth.” Work (something) outTo come up with a solution or a compromise with someone. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we can worksomethingout so that everyone is happy.” How many of these English phrasal verbs did you already know? Phrasal verbs are everywhere! Don’t be afraid of how many there are—just start with a few at a time and soon you’ll be an expert. If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn English with real-world videos.
See moreComments are closed.
|