Phrasal verbs are commonly used in day-to-day conversations in English. They add variety and express nuanced meanings. Here are some examples of how 25 phrasal verbs can be used in different contexts:
Phrasal Verbs
“Turn up”:
“I invited Sarah to the party, but she didn’t turn up.” (meaning: she didn’t come)
“Can you turn up the volume on the TV?” (meaning: increase the volume)
“Give up”:
“I’m not going to give up on my dreams.” (meaning: stop trying)
“He should give up smoking for the sake of his health.” (meaning: quit)
“Take off”:
“I need to take off my jacket; it’s getting warm in here.” (meaning: remove)
“The plane will take off in an hour.” (meaning: depart)
“Look after”:
“Can you look after my dog while I’m on vacation?” (meaning: take care of)
“She’s always looked after her younger siblings.” (meaning: cared for)
“Break down”:
“My car broke down on the way to work.” (meaning: stopped working)
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you break down in tears.” (meaning: start crying)
“Bring up”:
“He was brought up by his grandparents.” (meaning: raised)
“I didn’t mean to bring up that sensitive topic.” (meaning: mention)
“Put off”:
“I have to put off our meeting until next week.” (meaning: postpone)
“The bad weather put off our plans for a picnic.” (meaning: discourage)
“Get on”:
“How are you getting on with your new job?” (meaning: making progress)
“I don’t get on well with my neighbor.” (meaning: have a good relationship)
“Look for”:
“I need to look for my keys; I can’t find them.” (meaning: search)
“She’s been looking for a new apartment for weeks.” (meaning: searching)
“Make up”:
“They had a fight, but they made up the next day.” (meaning: reconcile)
“I can’t make up my mind about what to wear.” (meaning: decide)
Call off”:
“They had to call off the meeting due to a scheduling conflict.” (meaning: cancel)
“The referee called off the soccer game because of the storm.” (meaning: terminate)
“Look forward to”:
“I’m really looking forward to our vacation next month.” (meaning: anticipate with excitement)
“She’s looking forward to meeting her favorite author at the book signing.” (meaning: anticipating)
“Run out of”:
“We ran out of milk, so I need to buy some more.” (meaning: have none left)
“I’m running out of time to finish this project.” (meaning: have little time remaining)
“Set up”:
“They set up a new business together.” (meaning: establish or start)
“I need to set up an appointment with my doctor.” (meaning: arrange or schedule)
“Bring back”:
“This song brings back memories of my childhood.” (meaning: evoke or recall)
“I’ll bring back some souvenirs from my trip for you.” (meaning: return with)
“Take over”:
“The new CEO will take over the company next month.” (meaning: assume control)
“Can you take over my shift at work tomorrow?” (meaning: assume someone else’s responsibility)
“Get along”:
“They used to fight a lot, but now they get along well.” (meaning: have a good relationship)
“I get along with my colleagues at work.” (meaning: have a harmonious relationship)
“Put up with”:
“I can’t put up with his constant complaining anymore.” (meaning: tolerate or endure)
“She puts up with a lot of difficult situations in her job.” (meaning: tolerate)
“Give in”:
“After a long argument, I finally gave in and let him choose the movie.” (meaning: yield or surrender)
“Don’t give in to peer pressure; stick to your principles.” (meaning: yield or succumb)
“Get over”:
“It took her a while to get over her breakup.” (meaning: recover from)
“I can’t seem to get over my fear of public speaking.” (meaning: overcome)
“Turn down”:
“He turned down the job offer because the salary was too low.” (meaning: reject)
“Can you turn down the music? It’s too loud.” (meaning: decrease the volume)
“Look up”:
“If you don’t know the meaning of a word, you can look it up in the dictionary.” (meaning: search for information)
“Things are finally looking up; I got a promotion at work.” (meaning: improving)
“Break up”:
“They decided to break up after being together for five years.” (meaning: end a relationship)
“The students can break up into groups to work on the project.” (meaning: divide into smaller parts)
“Give away”:
“She gave away all her old clothes to charity.” (meaning: donate)
“Don’t give away the surprise; it’s a secret.” (meaning: reveal unintentionally)
“Hold on”:
“Hold on a second; I need to grab my coat.” (meaning: wait or pause)
“Hold on tight; the roller coaster is about to start.” (meaning: grip tightly
These are just a few examples of phrasal verbs and their usage. Phrasal verbs are versatile and used extensively in everyday conversation, so it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with their meanings and usage to better understand and engage in English conversations. Master your spoken English by using these phrasal verbs.
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