English phrasal verbs starting with a. Phrasal Verbs

Phrasal verbs are peculiar combinations of “simple” verbs and prepositions (one, maximum two) or adverbs. The main property of phrasal verbs is semantic and syntactic indivisibility.

Features of phrasal verbs

Many English learners struggle with translating English phrasal verbs because they are often idioms. In this case they cannot be translated literally. However, sometimes such a decoding of the elements that form the phrasal verb helps to approximately understand the essence of the words. Some phrasal verbs can have different, sometimes even idiomatic, translations, while others, on the contrary, are easily translated word for word.

Almost all phrasal verbs one way or another have a more formal counterpart, used in formal speeches and correspondence.

Frequently used phrasal verbs

This article gives you the opportunity to consider all the main phrasal verbs of the English language. Nowadays, the most commonly used phrasal verbs in the English language are considered to contain the following words: look, take and come. So let's talk about them separately.

Look and its forms

Using a verb look - look The following phrasal verbs can be formed:

look after - take care of someone

Your mum has been looking after you since you were born.

Your mother has looked after you since you were born.

look ahead - think about the future (look forward)

Stop being a child! Please, look ahead .

Stop being a child (stop fooling around)! Maybe it's time to think about the future.

look down on - look down on someone

My friend never looks down on somebody who gets bad marks at school.

My friend never looks down on anyone who gets bad grades in school.

look on - look, observe

Liza didn't take part in the play. She just looked on .

Lisa is not involved (does not take part) in the play. She just looks.

look for - look for something

What is Matt doing? He's looking for a newspaper.

What is Matt doing? He is looking for a newspaper.

look forward to - look forward to something

I look forward to hearing from you.

I'm really looking forward to hearing from you.

look up to - admire

Your new hairstyle is marvelous. Everybody looks up to it.

Your new hairstyle is simply beautiful. There is no one who does not admire her.

Combinations with take

Also, popular phrasal verbs of the English language include all sorts of variations in the use of the verb take - take :

take after - to be like someone; take on certain traits (in character, appearance, behavior)

You absolutely take after your mom.

You look a lot like your mom.

take care of = look after

He won't take care of your parrot while you are off.

He will take care of your parrot while you are away.

take off - take off, get off the ground

The plane to Canada takes off at 7.15 p.m.

The plane departing for Canada will take off at 19:15.

take on - hire workers, personnel

I have been taken on by a leading company.

A very promising company is hiring me as an employee.

take out - move, remove

He took out his laptop to search for information.

He took out his laptop to search for the information he needed.

Come and the troubles that come with it

An incredible amount of difficulty in learning causes both beginners and those who continue at least one of the phrasal verbs based on come -come :

come across - accidentally stumble upon; seem, make an impression

I usually come across some photos of my childhood.

I quite often come across photographs of myself from childhood.

I hope I came across as an enthusiastic person.

I hope I come across as a concerned person.

come forward - introduce yourself, name yourself

The teacher asked me to come forward .

The teacher asked me to introduce myself.

come up against - face problems

The film is going to come up plenty of criticism.

The film will have to face a lot of criticism.

About dictionaries

If you have a lot of time and space for books, you can try to carry out the study procedure using a dictionary of phrasal verbs in the English language.

Such collections are very often published and republished by such famous companies as Cambridge University Press, Longman and Pearson.

However, in the age of technology, paper publications are losing their former popularity, and on the Internet you can already find many different online dictionaries, as well as courses, methods of studying and memorizing words.

Another advantage of online learning is the ease with which everyone can find the necessary list of phrasal verbs in the English language, which is mandatory to ensure fluent and relaxed communication. After all, as we already know, phrasal verbs are practically not used in formal speech, official letters and other business messages.

But how can you learn all the necessary phrasal verbs in English? The table will help us.

Phrasal verbs A-D

Letter	Phrasal verb	Meaning (translation)	Usage examples
A	abide by	Submit; follow	If you want to study at university, you must abide by the appropriated rules. You will have to obey certain rules if you want to study at university.
	account for	Explain; make excuses	I hope you are able to account for money you spent. I really hope you can explain where you spent this money.
	agree with	Agree with someone	That's right. I agree with you. This is right. I absolutely agree with you.
	answer back	It's rude to answer; bicker	Do not answer back your teacher! Don't you dare talk to the teacher so rudely!
	applyfor	Apply (for a job, for a visa, etc.)	I applied for the job of customer assistant two weeks ago. Two weeks ago I applied for a job as a salesperson.
B	back up	1) support 2) save (file, program, image)	1) Could you back me up, please? Could you support me please? 2) You"d better back up all your files.
		Improve; improve	I decided to beef up my presentation with images and graphics. I decided to improve my presentation with images and graphs.
		Explode	The terrorists made the car blow up. Terrorists blew up a car.
	break up	Break up (about relationships)	Matt and Lindsey broke up yesterday. Matt and Lindsay broke up yesterday.
	bring up	Raise a child	You should stop your nightlife and start to bring up your child. It's time for you to stop going to clubs and start raising your child.
C	call back	Call back (by phone)	You have to call me back after a while. You'll have to call me back in a while.
	call off	Cancel	The end-year-party has been called off by the headmaster. The school's principal canceled the end-of-year party.
	calm down	Calm down; relax	Calm down, please. That's just a little problem. Please calm down. This is just a small difficulty.
	carry on	Continue	Carry on, Harry. You are going to be the winner! Harry, keep up the good work. You must be a winner.
	cut down on	Reduce (expenses for something; size)	We need to cut down on chocolate. You need to stop eating so much chocolate.
D	deal with	Solve problems; deal with something	You need to know how to deal with girls. It's time for you to learn how to deal with girls.
	do without	To get by, to live without something	You have to do without choclate for two days. You'll have to go without chocolate for a couple of days.
		Sign; record	We used to draw up such good things. We used to record such beautiful things.
	dress up	1) Dress beautifully, elegantly 2) Dress up (for a holiday)	1) How often does he dress up? Does he often dress so nicely? 2) Halloween is a right time to dress up. Halloween is the best time of the year to dress up in unusual costumes.
		Visit regularly; visit	I always drop in to see my dad on my way from university. I always visit my dad on the way from university.

Phrasal verbs E-J

Letter	Phrasal verb	Meaning (translation)	Usage examples
E		Finish something in a certain way	He has had troubles since his childhood. So he ended up in prison. He had problems since childhood. As a result, he ended up in prison.
F	fill out	Fill out (form, application)	You also need to fill out this form. You also need to fill out this form.
	find out	Learn	I will find out the time train leaves. I'll find out when the train leaves.
G		Climb (on board, into the bus)	I hope you will get on board without problems. I hope you board without any problems.
	get out of	Avoid something	I"m sure my son tries to get out of doing his homework. I am absolutely sure that my son is trying to avoid the process of doing homework.
		Give up; throw	Never give up! You will achieve great results. Never give up! And you will achieve excellent results.
H		Hang up; end a phone call	Please, do not hang out. We will be back to you after a minute. Hold the line, please. We'll get back to you in a minute.
	hurry up	hurry up; hurry	If you are not hurry up, we will miss the train. We'll miss the train if you don't hurry up.
J		Join; take part	Come on, Suzie! Join in our team. Come on Susie! Join our team.
	jot down	Record quickly; take notes	I had to jot down his email. I had to quickly write down his email.
K		Continue doing something	Please, make him keep on silence. Please keep him silent.
	keep up with	Keep up with someone	I don't want to keep up with her. I don't want to constantly try to keep up with her.
L	let down	Let down; disappoint	I have never let anyone down. I've never let anyone down before.
	leave out	Not made public; not mentioned	Nobody knows the prince name because it is not left out. Nobody knows the prince's name because it has not yet been announced.

Phrasal verbs M-Z

Letter	Phrasal	Meaning (translation)	Usage examples
M		Confused (about names)	I"ve been acquainted with too many people. So I still mixing up their names. I've been introduced to too many people. I still get their names confused.
		Move in (to a new house)	I"ve just bought a new apartment but I still haven"t move in. I just bought a new apartment. But I haven't moved in yet.
	move out	Move out (from home)	My friend got a job in the UK. She moves out next week. My friend got a job in the UK. She will move out of the apartment next week.
N	note down	write something down	I need to note down a few numbers. Can you give me a paper? I need to write down a couple of numbers. Give me a piece of paper, please.
P		Include	Can you put on the TV? Could you please turn off the TV?
		pick someone up	Listen carefully. Jamie will pick you up at 7 o"clock. Don"t be late! Listen to me carefully. Jamie will pick you up at 7. Don't be late!
R		Rely on someone	Darling, you can always rely on me. Honey, you can rely on me.
	run away	Run away	My dad ran away from his place at the age of eighteen. My father ran away from home when he was 18 years old.
	run out of	End; expire	Can you borrow me some coffee? Sorry, I"m running out of it. Can you lend me some coffee? Sorry, but I don't have any left.
S	show off	Show; boast	Maureen show off with her new bike. Maureen wants to show off to everyone on her new motorcycle.
		(Spoken) Shut up	I"ve had enough of it. Shut up now! I've had enough. Shut up!
	sit down	sit down	Hello. What's up? You can sit down if you want. Hello. What's happened? You can sit down if you want.
T	think over	To reason, to think	I need to think over before I make up my mind. I need to think things through before I decide.
	try sth on	Try on	This T-shirt is XL-size. Do you want to try it on? This T-shirt is size XL. Would you like to try it on?
U		spend to the end	My roommate always uses up my cereals. My roommate always eats my cereal.
W	watch out	Be careful!	Watch out! It's hazardous to go there. Be careful! It's dangerous to go there.
	work out	1) exercise 2) Find a solution 3) Count something	Janine exercises three times a week. 2) You need to find a solution. Come on, work it out! You need to find a solution. Come on!

Practical tasks

When learning English, like any other language, practice plays a dominant role in achieving success. Those wishing to learn or recall any topic will need special exercises. English phrasal verbs are no exception. Only by trying to thoroughly understand this difficult topic and practicing the language every day and with diligence can you count on good results.

Specialized publications

As exercises, you can purchase various specialized books for a detailed study of the topic “phrasal verbs of the English language.” Examples of such publications are easy to find in bookstores.

Each of them has its pros and cons, but a textbook alone will not be enough. Anyone who wants to learn a language is strongly recommended to purchase a workbook containing tests, paraphrasing tasks, as well as oral tasks aimed at final practice of phrasal verbs. Give preference to publications whose content is diverse. This approach helps to work on the topic of English in its various aspects at a high level.

A little surprise

People viewing this article must be still learning or even about to study today's topic - English phrasal verbs. The test offered to you is not intended to reveal in-depth knowledge of phrasal verbs. However, these 10 questions will help you get started on today's topic. This simple test will be a good start to progressive learning.

The answers are at the end of the article!

Test on the topic "Phrasal verbs"

Number	Question	Answer options
1	What time does he ____? At 7.15 p.m. My flight back is at 9.45 p.m.
2	- Don’t ___! You will take this exam again in July.
3	- I have to ___ every day to be ready for a tennis tournament.
4	- The match was ___ due to the rainy weather.
5	Do you bring my copybook with you? Oops, sorry. I've forgotten to take it. Oh God. You've __ me __ again.	3) calm... down
6	Hello. It’s Matt and his telephone answering machine. I'm not available now. So you should __ me __ later or leave me a message.	2) call... back 4) note... down
7	It's dark outside. Maybe you should __ the light __.
8	Jessica and Mike have ___ __.	1) answered back
9	If you want to ____ __ the UK visa you need at least the passport.
10	You are my only friend. Don’t ____ __ from me now.

Summing up

With the help of the tips given above in this article, as well as regular practice and skill-building exercises, you will very quickly achieve the desired result. Don't forget that the main criterion in learning a language is regularity. Exercise for at least 15 minutes every day. And you will see that it is much more convenient and effective than torturing yourself with an exercise for 2 hours, but only once a week. This approach loads the head with work, but, due to the structure of the brain, a person cannot remember much.

According to research results, a graded memorization system is best suited for learning phrasal verbs. Learn 5 verbs a day. Is this a lot? Of course not. But now let's resort to simple arithmetic. 5 times 7 (days of the week) is 35 words per week. 35 times 4 (weeks in a month) is 140 phrasal verbs per month. Just think - 140!

Just one month is enough to acquire the vocabulary that will provide you with the prerequisites for fluency in spoken English.

Practice and remember: consistent practice plays a dominant role in learning English!

And now the promised answers: 2, 1, 4, 1, 4, 2, 2, 2, 3, 2.

Good luck in learning English!

2016-04-04

Greetings, my dear readers.

Have you ever watched a movie or ? Or maybe you had to listen to natural, rather than academic, English speech? If the answers to these questions are positive, then you should definitely have noticed that native speakers use phrasal verbs in almost 80% of their sentences. Therefore, today we have a lot and important topics on the topic of the day:

I want to tell you what it is - a phrasal verb,
I will share with you my top 20 “The most popular phrasal verbs in the English language”,
I’ll also give you a couple of secrets on how to remember them the fastest.

Are you ready? Then go ahead!

By the way, after studying, you can continue to get acquainted with them further:

What is a phrasal verb?

I would even say this is a phenomenon when a verb, together with a certain preposition, acquires a certain meaning. Let's look at an example.

What are you looking for ? - What you looking for?

Do you still look after you grandmother? - Are you still looking after for your grandmother?

In this way, by changing the preposition after the verb, you can radically change the meaning of the entire word and even a sentence.

What is extremely important is not to confuse phrasal verbs with dependent prepositions. The latter are always paired with a certain word (for example, listen to smth- listen to something) and if you change the preposition, the phrase will simply be incorrect. But if you change the preposition in a phrasal verb, you can get the correct, but completely different meaning.

I think you get the idea, and now my table is a list of the most common verbs with translation and examples for better understanding and memorization.

Top 20 most popular phrasal verbs and examples of their use

Go on - continue.

I suddenly stopped talking.

- Go on , - she said.

Suddenly I stopped talking.

-Continue, she said.

Pick up - pick up.

The telephone was ringing, but I couldn’t pick it up. - The phone was ringing, but I couldn't raise phone.

Get up - get up.

Get up , brush your teeth and hair. I almost have finished preparing the breakfast.- Get up, brush your teeth and comb your hair. I'm almost finished cooking breakfast.

Turn on\off - turn on/off.

Turn on the light, please, and turn off the radio. - Please, turn it on light and turn it off radio.

Turn around - turn around.

You look amazing in this dress. Turn around one more time. - You look great in this dress. Turn around again.

Hold on - hold, wait.

Hold on a minute, please. I need to check schedule. -Wait a moment please. I need to check the schedule.

Give up - give up.

Never give up if you don’t have faith in you success at the moment. - Never Not give up, even if you don’t believe in your success at the moment.

Carry on - continue.

Whatever happens - just carry on ! - Whatever happens - continue.

Come on - come on, go ahead!

Come on , guys! You can win! -Forward, Guys! You can win!

Call off - cancel.

We were about to go for a meeting when it was suddenly called off. - We were about to go to the meeting when he suddenly canceled.

Break down - break down.

I can't meet you. My car has broken down recently. - I can't meet you. My car recently broke.

Bring up - to educate.

It costs a lot to bring up a child nowadays. - Now grow child is very expensive.

Find out - find out.

What if he finds out? - What if he finds out?

Walk away - to leave.

If you don't love me - just walk away. - If you don't love me - just leave.

Look for - to search.

What are you looking for? - What you looking for?

Stand up - get up.

When the teacher enters the classroom - stand up. - When the teacher enters the classroom - stand up.

Sit down - sit down.

When the teacher asks you to sit down- do it. - When the teacher asks you sit down- sit down.

Run away - run away

How many times did I want to run away from all my problems? - How many times have I wanted run away from all my problems?

Come in - to enter.

Come in! Mother almost has finished serving the table. -Come in. Mom has almost finished setting the table.

Try on - try on.

This dress matches your eyes. You should try it on . - This dress matches the color of your eyes. You need him try on.

How to quickly and easily learn phrasal verbs?

Oh, there is no universal answer to this question. But from my own experience, as well as many years of experience working with my students, I can say that learning basic phrasal verbs is much easier than you think. Here are some tips and methods for remembering:

Divide them into groups.

According to any principle convenient for you: by the main word, by preposition, by topic, or simply by quantity - as long as it is convenient for you to remember. The point is that you start to master small groups of phrases.

Make mental analogies.

At one time phrasal verb look for - search, - I remember it because it is pronounced like the Russian word “lupa”. And to this day, a picture of a magnifying glass pops up in my head every now and then.

Draw analogies and associations, build your visual system that will help you quickly and preferably.

Practice.

A lot of practice never hurt anyone. , listen to natural English speech, fiction - you yourself will not notice how you will begin to use phrasal verbs more and more.

Well, if you're tired, then here's what I'll tell you:

« Calm down and carry on - relax and continue!”

But if you still feel that you need support in learning the language, subscribe to my blog newsletter, where I regularly share important and useful information.

For now I have everything.

When learning English, many people have difficulty mastering phrasal verbs. The fact is that they can quickly and unexpectedly change their values and there are a lot of them. Phrasal verbs are especially common in spoken English. Let's look into this interesting topic.

Types of phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are an almost countless group of verbs that, when combined with various prepositions or short adverbs, can take on a variety of new meanings. In a strict sense, there are three types of phrasal verbs:

Directly phrasal verbs formed with the help of adverbs:

give up- give up, stop
find out- find out, find out
take off- take off, leave quickly

Prepositional verbs:

go on- continue
look after- take care, look after
come across- stumble upon, find by chance

Phrasal-prepositional verbs containing both an adverb and a preposition:

put up with- endure, put up with something
come up with- invent
look up to- respect, lead by example

History of phrasal verbs

The origins of phrasal verbs can be traced back to the earliest Old English written sources. The adverbs and prepositions in them were used in a very literal sense and mainly denoted the direction, place or orientation of an object in space. For example:

The man walked out. - The man came out. ( direction)

The man stood by. — The man was standing nearby. ( place)

The man held his hand up. — The man raised his hand up. ( orientation)

In addition, both adverbs and prepositions indicated the relationship between the verb and the object in the sentence:

The woman stood by the house. — The woman was standing near the house. ( place)

The thief climbed out the window. — The thief climbed out of the window. ( direction)

He hung the coat over the fire. — He hung his cloak over the fire. ( spatial orientation)

The number of combinations of verbs with adverbs and prepositions has accumulated over the centuries. Their meanings sometimes changed beyond recognition. To illustrate the development of meanings, consider below the nuances that the adverb “out” has acquired over several centuries.

OUT: adventures of one adverb

In the 9th century, it had only a literal meaning - “outward movement”, for example, walk out (go out) and ride out (leave out). Around the 14th century, the meaning of “to make a sound” was added, for example, cry out (shout out) and call out (call, appeal). In the 15th century, the meaning “to cease to exist” appeared - die out (die out) and burn out (burn out, burn out).

By the 16th century, the meaning of “to distribute equally” appeared, as in pass out (distribute) and parcel out (distribute). And by the 19th century, the meaning “to free from contents” was added, for example, clean out (clean out) and rinse out (wash). Additionally, in modern colloquial English, the verb pass out means “to pass out, to pass out.”

As you may have noticed, most of the verbs in the above example are translated by a Russian verb with a prefix - in this case, the prefixes “you-” and “raz-”, which, like “out,” have the basic meaning of moving outward.

Connecting your intuition

As in the Russian language, the prefix serves as a powerful tool for forming various verbs from the same root ( walk, You walk, at walk, With walk, at walk etc.), so in English the same role is played by prepositions and adverbs.

The meanings of some phrasal verbs are intuitive, as they are easily derived from their constituent elements: come back, go away, stand up, and so on. Others wear, and their meanings just need to be remembered separately, for example: take after - take an example, be like someone.

In combination with various elements, the main verb can acquire a variety of meanings, which at first glance have little connection with each other in meaning. For example:

look- look

look for- search

look after- take care

look up to- respect

Synonyms of phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs can be found in both genres, but still the main area of their use is colloquial speech. In official business and scientific style, it is more common to use verbs of French, Latin or Greek origin. This is not a strict rule, but a stable trend, and it has a long history.

Phrasal verbs arose naturally in English, but an event occurred that forced the language to develop in two parallel ways. This event was the Norman Conquest of England, which occurred in 1066.

After William the Conqueror invaded the country and seized power, French began to predominate among the upper classes of society, and English was supplanted and became the language of the common people. This situation persisted for a century and a half, until England was freed from French rule in 1204.

During this time, French became the language of educated people, and it was from it that writers borrowed new words to replenish the impoverished vocabulary of English. In addition, many scientists spoke Latin and Ancient Greek, so they turned to these languages, drawing from them terms for new fields of knowledge.

Which, along with the original ones, expressed the nuances of the same concept. For example, the meaning of the word foretell (to predict) can be expressed by the Latin word predict or the Greek prophesy. As a result, while native phrasal verbs naturally developed in popular speech, borrowed words expanded scientific and literary vocabulary.

The English language continues to develop today along these two parallel paths. Therefore, hundreds of English phrasal verbs have French, Latin or Greek synonyms, which have a similar meaning but a more “scientific” sound. Here are just a few of these synonyms:

blow up	explode	explode)	find out	ascertain	clarify, clarify
give up	surrender	give up	go against	oppose	mind, counteract
hand in	submit	submit (documents)	leave out	omit	miss (not notice)
look forward to	anticipate	expect, look forward to	look up to	admire, respect	admire, respect
make up	fabricate	invent	point out	indicate	show
pull out	extract	extract, pull out	put off	postpone	put off (for later)
put out	extinguish	put out (fire)	put together	assemble, compose	gather
speed up	accelerate	accelerate)	stand up for	defend	protect

Separability of phrasal verbs

Most phrasal verbs are undivided, meaning the preposition or adverb follows immediately after the main clause. You can say:

"She looks after her sister" (“She takes care of her sister”), but you can’t - “She looks her sister after".

However, there are many verbs that can be separated. Phrases "He took off his coat" ("He took off his coat") and "He took his coat off" are equally true.

To figure out which verbs can be separated and which cannot, you need to remember two classifications. First, as we said at the beginning of the article, phrasal verbs form three subcategories: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and prepositional-phrasal verbs. Secondly, any verb can be transitive (have a direct object) or intransitive (have no object).

Prepositional verbs are of the form verb + preposition

A preposition is always followed by an object (noun or pronoun), so all prepositional verbs have a direct object. He is looking for his glasses. — He's looking for his glasses.

Prepositional verbs cannot be divided, that is, we cannot put an object between its parts. You can't say "He is looking his glasses for".

Phrasal verbs have the form verb + adverb

Short adverbs are not always easy to distinguish from prepositions. Let's say in the sentence "You can count on them" (“You can count on them”), on is a preposition, and in the sentence “You can go on" (“You may continue”) is an adverb. The grammatical difference is that an adverb does not always require an object. Thus, phrasal verbs can be either transitive or intransitive. For example:

give up- give up (intransitive verb)

A kind of sign by which one can identify the level of English language proficiency.

A phrasal verb exists as a single inseparable semantic unit of language and carries semantic meaning only in this form:

verb + preposition (Verb + Preposition)
verb + adverb (Verb + Adverb)
verb + preposition and adverb (Verb + Preposition + Adverb)

Classification of phrasal verbs

Transitional (transitive), requiring a direct object

I have turned down his proposal.
I rejected his offer.

Intransitive (intransitive), not requiring a direct object

He goes on foot, because his car has broken down.
He walks because his car has broken down.

Inseparable (inseparable phrasal verbs). This category includes all transitive and some intransitive

His car ran into the tree.
His car collided with a tree.

Shared(s eparable phrasal verbs) - exclusively transitive

You should turn off the music.
You should turn the music off.
You should turn off the music.

However, not everything is so simple, because the same verbs, depending on their meaning, can be either transitive or intransitive. That is, in one case they can be separable and require additions, but in another meaning they do not require addition.

For example, get the children up- raise the children, but to get up early in the morning- get up early. Therefore, check the transitive or intransitive word in the dictionary.

How to effectively memorize phrasal verbs

It's best to remember them in context;
immediately remember which category (separable/inseparable, transitive/intransitive) the verbs belong to;
memorize with their synonymous meanings of Latin origin;
start by studying the most commonly used phrasal verbs, and not all existing ones (link to the list of such verbs at the end of the article);
remember all the meanings and translations, because the same phrasal verb can have several completely different meanings depending on the context.

Practice using phrasal verbs

Work through these texts, find and translate phrasal verbs, you can also memorize the texts.

I'm a 'morning person'

The alarm goes off at 7:00. I wake up, lean over and turn off the alarm. I get up quickly and go downstairs. I put on the coffee. I go back upstairs and have a shower. I sing a song in the shower. I put on my clothes. When I come downstairs again, I have my first cup of coffee. Mmmmm! Then I have some toast and a second cup of coffee. I wash my cup and tidy up the kitchen. I take my bag and set off to work. It is 8:00 am. I lock up the house before I go. Sometimes I run to catch the bus. I get on the bus and go for three or four stops. Then I get off the bus. I go into work and say “GOOD MORNING!” to my first class. It is 8:45am.

Sarah had a problem

For a long time Sarah wanted to go out with a very handsome man called Mike, and then one day he turned up at her door. Just like that! She asked him in. Mike took his coat off and sat down. Then he explained that while driving past her house his car broke down. It was outside. Sarah said Mike could call out a mechanic and she looked up the nearest garage in the phone book. She offered him a cup of tea. Not accepted. But then she realized there was no milk. “We’ve run out of milk” she said and popped
out to buy some more. While Sarah was away the mechanic turned up. He got on with mending the
car and Mike watched. When it was mended Mike got in his car and drove away.
In the shop Sarah suddenly remembered her little baby sister who she was looking after was at home. She ran back to the house and saw that Mike had left. Her little sister was crying inside, and she had no keys!

Synonyms of phrasal verbs

For best use, phrasal verbs need to be learned in tandem with their regular synonymous verbs. Here are examples of some phrasal verbs and their synonyms of Latin origin:

Put off - put off = postpone
Continue - go on = continue
get together = congregate
Depart - get off = depart
Explode - blow up = explode
Find out - find out = ascertain
Object - go against = oppose
Anticipate - look forward = anticipate
Put off (for later) - put off = postpone
Accelerate - speed up = accelerate

There are a lot of phrasal verbs, and you shouldn’t rush to study them all at once. To get started, download a list of the most necessary phrasal verbs with examples.

Phrasal verbs are a dark horse in English. Teachers do not like to explain this topic, justifying themselves by saying that “it is not so necessary.” Meanwhile, if you know phrasal verbs, your English will certainly improve. Let's try to help with this. Since the topic is large, the article will be divided into two parts. In the first, we will open the door to the world of these mysterious verbs, tell you what is there, why and how. In the second part there will be many, many examples and secrets of effective memorization.

Part one, in which we get acquainted with phrasal verbs

If you ask the average English speaker what phrasal verbs are, they will shrug their shoulders. This is a term that appeared precisely in the context of learning a foreign language. For the English, there are simply verbs, some of which are used in conjunction with short parts of speech - adverbs or prepositions.

For simplicity, we will sometimes call these short words particles.

For example, there is the verb put. And there is its use with numerous particles - on, off, down, across, back and so on. The meaning is different in each case.

That is, phrasal English verbs are verbs that consist of two parts:

1. Actually, verb 2. Particle

The particle changes the meaning of the verb, sometimes beyond recognition:

Break- break
Break in- break in

Somebody broke in last night and stole my jewelry.
Last night someone broke in and stole my jewelry.

Give- give
Give up- give up

Don't give up, because you have friends.
Don't give up, because you have friends. Sometimes, knowing the translation of the verb and particle separately, you can guess the meaning of the phrasal verb:

Sit- sit down, down- down

Sit down- sit down

Let's- let, in- V

Let's in- let in

Let the cat in, please.
Let the cat in, please.

And sometimes it’s impossible to guess the meaning the first time you encounter a phrasal verb:

Let's- let, down- down. But the phrase “allow down” makes no sense.

Let's down- let down

Don't let me down this time.
Don't let me down this time.

Phrase natives and non-phrase conquerors

Phrasal verbs are a very old phenomenon in English. They were already found in the most ancient written sources. At first, their meanings were literal - direction of movement, place, position of objects in space:

Unlike short adverbs, prepositions show not only the location of objects in space, but also the relationship between the verb and the object.

The story of one particle

Over time, the meanings of phrasal verbs have been modified. The relationship between verb and particles became increasingly complex. Particles no longer meant only physical movement somewhere, but also allegorical movement, and much more.

For example, adverb out. British scientists followed its evolution, and this is what they saw:

In the ninth century out meant only movement from inside to outside:
Walk out - go out
Ride out - go out
By the fourteenth century out already expressed the idea of something audible:
Cry out - shout out
Call out - call
A hundred years later, another meaning was added - erasing something from the face of the earth:
Die out - to die out
Burn out - burn out
In the sixteenth century, new meanings appeared: to distribute, to distribute:
Pass out - distribute
Parcel out - divide into parts
In the nineteenth century out already used with verbs meaning “to remove something from something”
Rinse out - wash, rinse
Clean out - to clean

Needless to say, it was a powerful means of language development. But in 1066 something terrible happened. England was conquered by Normandy, led by William the Conqueror (it was not for nothing that he had such a nickname). The English language was literally in disgrace for about one hundred and fifty years. It began to be considered the language of common people. Can you imagine this now? Neither do we. People who considered themselves cultured spoke French.

It was indecent to say, for example, make up(do). After all, there was a “cultural” French fabriquer with the same meaning. This is how the English verb to fabricate appeared.

Phrasal verbs of the English language with translation and their synonyms come from France:

This is why phrasal verbs usually have non-phrasal synonyms. Until now, phrasal verbs are more often found in colloquial speech than in literary speech. Of course, now the division is no longer so strict. Many phrasal verbs are used so often that you hear them literally everywhere, see them in books, not to mention films and TV shows. That is, we cannot say in any way: don’t learn phrasal verbs, you can do without them. You'll get by, but you'll just sound very unnatural. Your interlocutors will constantly have the feeling that a time machine has been invented, and you have just stepped out of it.

More phrasal verbs and their more literary analogues:

How to learn to speak using phrasal verbs?

So, you've decided to get closer to the English people and decorate your speech with native phrasal verbs so as not to sound like a snob. It can be difficult. There are two reasons:

Most often at school or college we are taught book variants of verbs. Only then, if we're lucky, do we come across some phrases and learn their translation. It happens that students don’t even realize they exist until they reach the intermediate level.
Even if you know about the existence of such structures, it is easy to confuse the particles or place them in the wrong place. Therefore, application in speech is hampered by the banal fear of error.

The first problem has been dealt with: now you know that this phenomenon exists in the English language, and it occupies a very important place.

And in order to kill fear, you just need to find out what structures there are and learn to navigate them.

So, there are five main designs:

Verb + adverb
Verb + adverb + object
Verb + object + adverb
Verb + preposition + object
Verb + adverb + preposition + object

Verb + adverb. The first combination is the simplest and shortest:
Otherwise, phrasal verbs of this type are called intransitive, that is, the action does not move from the verb to some object.
The plane will take off on time - the plane will take off on time
My computer broke down - my computer is broken
Verb + adverb + object. If we add an object to the previous construction - what the action of the verb is directed at - we get the second type:
Such phrasal verbs are called transitional. The action does not end with the verb, but moves on to some object.
Verb + object + adverb: You can insert an object between a verb and an adverb:
Sometimes it is possible to insert an object either before or after an adverb, and the meaning will not change either way:
But there are cases when an object should only be in a certain place:
- If the object is very long, or there is a semantic emphasis on it, there is a tendency not to break the phrasal verb:
  Wash out the aluminum glass-topped coffee pot.
  Wash that aluminum coffee pot with the glass lid.
- If the direct object is a gerund (ending in ing), the phrasal verb is not broken:
  give up smoke ing- quit smoking
  keep on talking ing- keep talking
  put off decid ing- postpone the decision
  take up danc ing- start dancing
- If the object is a pronoun, it is always inserted between the verb and the particle:
  wash it out(you can’t say: wash out it)
  blow it up
  take it off
  put them on
  hand it in
- Many phrasal verbs are traditionally used in the same form:
  Let's off steam- let off steam
  Put up a good fight- fight for something
  Keep your shirt on- keep yourself in control
  Cry your eyes out- cry your eyes out
  Blow someone's head off- blow someone's head off
Verb + preposition + object.
This is similar to the verb + adverb + object construction. But, unlike an adverb, a preposition serves to connect a verb with an object. The word order here is always clear. This order is similar to Russian in sentences with prepositions. In Russian we can say the phrase "I count on friends", where “I count on” is a verb, “on” is a preposition, and “friends” is an object. You can't tell "I count friends on".
It's the same in English. You can say:
I count on my friends
I head for home,
but you can't:
I count my friends on,
I head home for.
Verb + adverb + preposition + object.
This formula combines the first and fourth structures. Let's look at examples:
It is curious that in phrasal verbs the adverb or preposition always appears after verb. And in nouns that were formed from these verbs, the adverb is almost always in front.
Part two, in which we make friends with phrasal verbs

You can be friends with them in different ways.
One of them is to learn phrasal verbs in English not separately, but with the help of daisies. Not real ones, of course, but drawn ones, where the core is a phrasal verb, and the petals are phrases in which it can be used. Or instead of petals there could be planets that revolve around the sun - whatever you prefer.
Yes, for calm down(calm down, calm down), we have four phrases:
1. Tea calms me down immediately. Tea instantly calms me down.
2. Count down to calm down. To calm down, count backwards.
3. Ways to calm yourself down. Ways to calm down.
4. Calm your baby down. Calm your child.
We place calm down to the center of the planetary system. Here's what we got:
Phrasal verbs in English, the list of which will be very, very long, cannot be taught one by one. Speech consists of phrases, and individual words have little meaning. Therefore, teaching them with companions is easier and more effective.
You can find “companions” on the Internet, overhear them in TV shows, or copy them from a magazine, or even from a textbook - any trusted source is good. Phrases can be anything: long, short, frequently used or rare, but interesting to you personally.
Another "solar system" - clean up(clean, wash).
1. Let's clean up! Let's clean up!
2. Spring litter clean-up
(this is a phrasal noun, but it’s also useful). Spring garbage collection.
3. Clean up the mess! Clean up the mess!
4. It's properly cleaned up. It is well washed.
An additional advantage of this method is that you see the word used in different grammatical forms. Not only in the infinitive, but also in the past tense, passive voice, third person, and so on.
The second way is to distribute phrasal verbs by topic.

Today we have chosen five topics:
1. Love and feelings (where would we be without them);
2. Internet and computer (you can’t go anywhere without this);
3. Food;
4. Sports and physical activity;
5. Study.
Love and feelings

So, if you want to start a romantic relationship with someone, then you have so many ways to say it using phrasal verbs. If you
have your eye on someone- have your eye on someone,
you can start
hit on him/her- flirt with him or her,
chat up- start a conversation to get to know each other,
ask him/her out- invite him/her on a date.
If you are not very good at it yet
pick up- seduce,
and you were refused, there is an option
run after him/her- “run” after him/her, that is, try to attract attention(although we don't recommend doing this).
Well, if you had a relationship, but for some reason it didn’t work out, you can always
Break up with him/her- break up with him or her.
Almost all phrasal verbs in the English language are used in songs. Well, songs about love are their inexhaustible source. Can you figure out where the phrasal verbs are hidden?
I know you ain't in love with him, break up with him.
I know you're not in love with him, break up with him.
I got to ask her out before I get too old.
I have to ask her out before I get old.
He runs after a girl until he"s caught.
He runs after the girl until he himself is caught.
Internet and computer

Many phrases in this topic involve the verb to go. It doesn’t have any meanings - enable, log in, gain access, use something...
Whenever I go on a computer, the first thing I open is the website and YouTube.
When I sit down at the computer, the first thing I do is go to the website and YouTube.
More useful words:
Sign up- subscribe
Print off (out)- print
Set up- install
Type in- print, enter (for example, in the input line)
Plug into- connect
Filter out- filter (for example, spam)
No doubt you've encountered at least some of them on the World Wide Web, reading something like the following:
Sign up to see photos and videos from your friends.
Subscribe to see photos and videos of your friends.
Do I have to print out the e-tickets?
Do I need to print out e-tickets?
Plug the keyboard into your computer.
Connect your keyboard to your computer.
Food

Are you hungry? No problem, let's cook something.
Open up the fridge- open the refrigerator.
Get out of there everything that is bad.
Cut everything up- cut everything,
add in some spices of your choice- add spices to taste,
fry it up- fry it. Don't forget on time
turn it over- turn over.
Was it not very tasty? If you don't
full up- ate,
then there is only one way out -
eat out- eat out.
The main thing when you sit in a restaurant is not to suddenly remember what you forgot
turn off the oven- turn off the oven.
Sports and physical activity

After eating, you can stretch a little. So to speak,
work off- work out those delicacies that were eaten in a restaurant.
And in general, it would be nice
get rid of- get rid of from several kilograms.
Do you like to work out? Do you enjoy working out?
To begin with, you definitely need
warm up- warm up.
Spread out your arms - extend your arms to the sides.
Bend down your knees - bend your knees,
jump your feet apart- jump, spread your legs wide and
jump your feet together- collect your legs with a jump.
Go on jumping - keep jumping.
Fine. Now
cool down- take a hitch, cool down.
Stretch up- do some stretching.
If you're bored of studying alone, you can
Join in- join, join a running club.
Then maybe someday you
take part- take part in the marathon. Over time you
bulk up- gain muscle mass.
Studies

We know that you, our readers, are constantly learning. Maybe in order to
sail through the exams- pass exams successfully, not
scrape through them- hand them over somehow
and don't let the teachers
mark you down- lower your rating.
Maybe you are gnawing on the granite of science in order to
to get into a good university- get into a good university to be able to
major in- specialize in what you like and, over time,
leave behind- overtake everyone else.
You are passionate about studying English. You
write down- write down new words,
skim through- look through articles about English grammar,
go over- learn irregular verbs and idioms.
Keep it up! Main,
Don't ever give up- never give up! And you will succeed.
Now GET a bonus!

Finally, a little about the word get. This is not a very familiar word to us. Meanwhile, this is a great injustice, because it can be used for literally everything. No, really, if you have forgotten all the phrasal verbs of the English language, and non-phrasal ones too, say get, and you will be understood. Yes, this is the very word for “any unclear situation”:
How did you get here? - How did you come here?
I don't get you, could you explain? - I don’t understand you, could you explain?
Get some beer with you - Take some beer with you.
Noticed that get goes instead of arrive, understand, take? And these are just some of the meanings. And what about phrasal verbs? get forms visible-invisible. Today we will introduce you to some of them.
Get by
Coping with difficulty
I will get by with a little help from my family.
I will get through this with a little help from my family.
Get along
Be on good terms with someone.
My sister and I get along well.
My sister and I have a good relationship.
Get at
Hint.
What are you getting at?
What are you hinting at?
Get ahead
To get ahead of someone, to make progress in some area compared to others.
He has done everything to get ahead of his colleagues.
He did everything to get ahead of his colleagues.
Get into
1. Get carried away by something;
2. Enroll, get (into an educational institution)
I got into piano playing again.
I started to get interested in playing the piano again.
What if I don’t get into any university?
What if I don't get into university?
Get away
1. Go on vacation/vacation;
2. Hide, run away.
I love to get away on summer breaks.
I love going somewhere in the summer.
The thieves couldn't get away in broad daylight.
The thieves couldn't escape in broad daylight.