The phrasal verbs are common English expressions that combine a verb with a preposition or adverb, and together they take on a different meaning. They are key to understanding real conversations, songs, films and any everyday situation in English.
🧠 What is a phrasal verb?
A phrasal verb is a structure consisting of a main verb and one or more particles (preposition or adverb) that completely change their meaning.
For example:
- Look up → Search (information)
- Turn off → Switch off
- Give up → Surrender
These phrasal verbs are so common that native speakers use them all the time. Understanding them and knowing how to use them correctly will give you a great advantage when communicating.
🧬 Types of phrasal verbs
1. Transitive vs Intransitive
- Transitivesneed an object.
Ex: She turned off the TV. - Intransitivesno object.
Ex: The plane took off at 9.
2. Separable vs Inseparable
- Separableyou can place the object in the middle.
Ex: He turned the lights off. - InseparableThey cannot be separated.
Ex: We ran into an old friend.
🏆 List of phrasal verbs most used
📚 Everyday use
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Wake up | Wake up | I wake up at 7. |
| Turn off | Switch off | Please turn off the light. |
| Pick up | Collect | Can you pick up the kids? |
| Go out | Exit | We go out every Friday. |
| Come back | Back to | He came back yesterday. |
🧳 Travel
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Check in | Register | We checked in at 2 p.m. |
| Set off | Going on a trip | They set off early. |
| Take off | Despegar | The plane took off on time. |
| Get on | Go to | I got on the bus. |
| Get off | Download | She got off at the station. |
💼 Business
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Carry out | Perform | We carried out a study. |
| Call off | Cancel | They called off the meeting. |
| Look into | Research | The team will look into it. |
| Figure out | Resolve | We need to figure out a solution. |
| Take on | Assume | She took on more responsibility. |
🎓 Study
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hand in | Deliver | I handed in my paper. |
| Look up | Search | I looked up the word. |
| Catch up | Catching up | I need to catch up on work. |
| Drop out | Leave | He dropped out of college. |
| Go over | Check | Let's go over the notes. |
❤️ Relationships
| Phrasal Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Get along | Getting along | Do you get along with her? |
| Break up | Breaking | They broke up last year. |
| Cheer up | Take heart | Cheer up! |
| Fall for | Falling in love | He fell for her. |
| Make up | Reconciliation | They made up quickly. |
🎯 How to learn phrasal verbs
- 📌 Learn by context: real phrases and everyday situations.
- 🗂️ Organise by theme: work, travel, friendship, etc.
- 🧠 Spaced repetition: review with flashcards.
- ✍️ Write personal sentencesUse what you have learnt in your own texts.
- 🎧 Listen to real English: films, series, podcasts.
📝 Practice exercise
Fill in the gaps with the phrasal verb correct:
- I need to ___ (review) the documents again.
- She ___ (broke up) with her boyfriend.
- Can you ___ (pick up) me at 6?
- I ___ (I left) the course last semester.
- He ___ (fell in love) with her best friend.
Answers
1. go over
2. broke up
3. pick up
4. dropped out
5. fell for
🔗 Recommended resources
❓ FAQ on phrasal verbs
What are the phrasal verbs?
They are combinations of a verb with one or more particles that change the original meaning of the verb.
Why are they important?
Because native speakers use them all the time. They are key to speaking and understanding real English.
¿Cuántos phrasal verbs is there in English?
There are hundreds, but by learning the most common ones you can communicate fluently.
Is it possible to separate the phrasal verbs?
It depends. Some are separable and some are not. Example: "turn off the TV" → you can also say "turn the TV off".
How can I learn them faster?
Use real phrases, repeat them often, and apply what you learn in your daily life.
And remember that if you want to continue learning English, you can ask us about our free in-company English courses. See you in the next post!
